Glenbard East, Elgin perfect at UEC mega-duals
Glenbard East sustained serious graduation losses from a wonderful club which featured nearly 200 victories, not including the 37 Reese Martin took with him when he transferred to Neuqua Valley.
However, Miguel Garcia is back, so is Doug Pham and three others from the starting lineup of the Rams' 2019 regional team, and this quintet showed why East can be considered the favorite at the UEC tournament later this month.
The Rams swept aside three league opponents Friday at the UEC mega-duals inside Elgin's Chesbrough Field House, outscoring their rivals by a combined 199-46.
Host Elgin also went 3-0 on the day, with East Aurora and West Chicago next best with three victories in four duals.
"(Yes) we lost a lot of great guys from a year ago, two of which were state qualifiers (Alex Posada, and Martin), but we have a real solid young group of sophomores and juniors who are (absorbing) as much as they can, and are willing to work hard, so I know the future is bright here," said Garcia, now 28-3, and just on the cusp of being rated in the top 10 at 106 pounds.
"Not making it out of sectionals and downstate was all the motivation I needed to get back in the room to begin training for my senior year (with) the goal of getting downstate and going after a medal," added Garcia, who won 34 matches last season.
Both Garcia and Pham went 5-1 last weekend at the highly regarded Don Flavin Invite at DeKalb.
Also last week, South Elgin senior Elijah Lopez claimed second place at the 60th Berman Holiday Classic at Palatine.
"I wasn't very happy with my performance in my final at the Berman (but) I offer no excuses for that effort, my opponent was better on that day," said Lopez, who advanced to his first appearance at state in 2019 during a season in which he won an UEC title, while recording a dazzling 34-9 overall record.
"The big difference between my sophomore season and now is my positioning, moves, and not allowing my opponents to dictate the action," said Lopez, now 17-3.
After visits to Harvard, Yale and the University of Chicago, the South Elgin senior chose Northwestern for his new address next fall, where he will study either linguistics, cognitive science or neuroscience.
The Storm were 0-3 on the day, just behind short-handed Larkin and Streamwood, each 1-3 overall.
Bartlett senior Jacob Cwenar (182) helped his club win two of its three matches, its lone loss at the hands of West Chicago, 42-37.
Cwenar, runner-up at the 24-team Robert Powell Invite at Niles West two weeks ago, was one victory shy of advancing to sectionals from a weight class which featured eventual two-time state champion Abe Assad of Glenbard North.
"I've worked really hard since my sophomore year when I went something like 9-11, and I really believe what has helped me the most with my footwork, quickness and overall toughness has been my participation in MMA," said Cwenar, 28-8 a year ago, and now 22-2 after his perfect 3-0 Friday.
Mark Woollard was thrilled of the effort of his Elgin club, making a special point on the 3-0 results from Jaret Godinez (138), Eric Santana (145) and Chris Santana (152) as well as his best man, senior Brian Rea.
"Today the guys saw that the work they do in the room translated onto the mats in all of their matches, and I am super proud of all of them, and especially with how they fought in their individual matches," said Woollard.
Rea, who has spent plenty of time at 132 in advance of competing at 126 when the postseason arrives, used this past offseason putting in the extra time to sharpen his game, while also continuing to compete in jui-jitsu.
"Two guys in my weight class at regionals last year made it to state, so this year won't be any easier (but) it's my senior year, and I am going to do all that I can to make it downstate," said Rea, 28-10 in 2019 and 18-5 currently.