Glenbard North overwhelms Moline
Watching Glenbard North battle this season, you'd never guess the Panthers were hit hard by the graduation of the slew of talented wrestlers last year.
The storied program has multiple junior captains among its team leaders and a sophomore heavyweight, yet Glenbard North looked as mighty as ever in taking down visiting Moline 53-22 Friday night in Carol Stream.
The Maroons made the long trek and brought along four top-notch wrestlers, each of whom left town with impressive wins. Still, the Panthers' depth proved just too much as the home team fell behind 11-0 after two bouts but still won going away.
"We wrestled how we know how to wrestle. We grinded out matches we needed to grind out and even if they had a tough kid, and Moline did have some tough kids, our guys went out and wrestled tough," sophomore heavyweight Charlie Robertson said. "Glenbard North has depth. We just have tough wrestlers fill in. They come in and do their thing."
Roberston has been pretty tough himself. After qualifying for sectionals as a freshman heavyweight, he is 19-4 this season after pinning Moline's Nate Parker in the second period of Friday's final bout.
"I've got big goals this year, like qualifying for state. It's attainable. I just have to keep working hard. I'm really looking forward to how the second half of this season goes for me."
Also picking up pins for the Panthers against Moline were junior captains Kyler Kradle (152 pounds) and Patrick Kerin (138), as well as 160-pounder Cody Dertz.
"We've been working hard and we've been grinding out some tough matches and just wrestling as a team," said Kerin, who wrestled at 113 last year. "Right now we're getting all the kinks worked out and focusing on deeper in the season ... team sectional, team state and all that. I feel like we're moving in a good direction. By the end of the year, hopefully we'll be one of the best in the state."
Kradle has jumped up from wrestling at 138 as a sophomore to splitting time between 152 and 160 this winter. Like Kerin and the program's other captains, he takes the added leadership role seriously.
"Being a captain as well, coach (Mark Hahn) puts a lot on us and expects a lot from us," said Kradle, who is 23-7. "Half of the captains are seniors and half juniors ... he expects us to lead the group well this year."
The results have been impressive. Friday's win improved Glenbard North to 18-4 in duals. Maroons coach Jacob Ruettiger welcomed the opportunity for his squad to take on the Panthers.
"They've got a rich history. They've been good for many, many years. Coach Hahn has done a wonderful job. The only way we're going to get better is to face the best competition. That's what we're doing," Ruettiger said.
The Maroons (13-13) did bring some pretty impressive competitors themselves, including Charlie Farmer who improved to 36-1 at 106 pounds, and three other wrestlers now sporting 32-4 records.