Prospect claims Mudge-McMorrow title

Prospect appears to be back and ready to roll.

After a pair of losses during the first week of the season followed by two recent losses at the hands of Class 2A state power Aurora Christian, as well and Warren, the Knights enjoyed a sensational day of wrestling on Saturday in Mount Prospect

Coach Tom Whalen's club lifted the championship trophy at the 60th annual Mudge-McMorrow Invite on the floor of the Jean Walker Fieldhouse.

Led by sparkling performances by Will Baysingar and Jack Milos, the reigning Mid-Suburban East champions outscored Libertyville 176-170 to carry off top honors.

"We've come a long way since the start of the season," said Whalen, who watched his team take a 14.5 point lead (85.50-71.0) over Libertyville before the start of the semifinal round then close out the field with a strong finish.

"We received medals from 11 of the 13 guys in our lineup today, did very well in the wrestleback semifinals, and Will and Jack were just fantastic today."

Glenbrook South finished in third ahead of Fremd (135-133.50) while New Trier would round out the top five on the leaderboard with 121.50 overall points.

The freshman Baysingar, who won the Moore-Prettyman crown on Thanksgiving weekend, put an exclamation point on the first half of his season when he edged Moline's Charlie Farmer, the No. 1 rated 106-pounder in the state, 2-1.

"This was a big step for me," said Baysingar, whose escape to start the third period was enough to stun the Moline star.

Milos, himself No. 4 in the state polls, likely is on the way up after the demolition of the 138-pound bracket.

"Jack never wrestled into the second period all throughout the day," said Whalen, after the junior recorded a fall just 18 seconds into his final with Kole Brower of Moline.

Fourth-place Fremd celebrated championship days from Charlie Fifield (126) as well as another by Isiah Pettigrew, who impressed during his 12-4 major decision to claim his 195 gold medal.

It was Fifield who was unstoppable at 126, recording one fall, one major, and two tech falls, the last coming in his final bout of the day.

"I don't want my season to end like it did last year, so I am pushing myself each day in the room, and trying to score as many points as I can during my matches in order to get downstate," said Fifield.

Three-time state qualifier and 2019 state runner-up Danny Pucino of Libertyville says his focus is solely on wrestling after his commitment to the University of Illinois and he showed that with the 138-pound title Saturday.

"It's nice to have that decision taken care of and out of the way so I concentrate on the season only," said Pucino, who was third at state as a sophomore.

John Asiuras, who won 28 a year ago for Addison Trail, earned first place honors at 120, while teammate Nick Skamra was second at 182.

Ender Kongkaeow of Round Lake fell to Logan Lagerhausen (Stillman Valley) in the 145-pound final.

•With a first-class lineup filled with nine sectional qualifiers and five seniors all with 30 victories or more, Naperville Central would destroy the competition at the Mickey Marchese Memorial Tournament in Hoffman Estates.

With several newcomers in their lineup, the Redhawks won four individual titles while taking home 14 medals to win their second consecutive championship trophy.

Tommy Porter (113, 8-0) and Tyler Driessens (120, 10-0) got Central off to a flying start and later Elrin Esporlas (138, 8-1) and Angelo Eklou (220, 9-1) finished off the field to lead the Redhawks to a 27-point victory (248.5-221.5) over runner-up Joliet West.

Willowbrook (159), Cary-Grove (156.50) and Notre Dame (141) were next in line as the top five in the final standings.

"We lost a lot of great guys at our upper weights so with the new guys who have taken over for them there's been a period of adjustment as they figure things out at the varsity level," said Driessens, who followed up Porter's pin at 2:30 with one of his own at 1:39 to give him his second-straight Marchese title.

Driessens, who came into the weekend at No. 9 in the state polls, went 34-10 last season on his way to advancing into the state tournament.

"Last year I was just happy to get downstate - this year it's all about making it back down and trying to win it all," added Driessens.

Eklou joined Driessens as a two-time Marchese champion, as did Cary-Grove star Charlie Gruen (11-3), who pinned his way to the 132-pound title.

"Making it to state last year for the first time was a great experience, and it's helped get me ready for this season," said Gruen, who would celebrate teammate Wade Abrams' title at 170.

The Trojans would jump up and over Notre Dame late in the day, thanks in part to the three third-place medals.

Willowbrook senior John Peterson (11-1) was the 182-pound champ when challenger Isaac Rands was forced to take an injury default in the first period of their match.

State qualifier and South Elgin senior Elijah Lopez (9-2) was third at 160 after falling to eventual champion Jeremy Pulled of Joliet West.