West Aurora's Khurshidov destroys 195-pound field at Newbill
Dzhabrail Khurshidov was simply untouchable Saturday at Geneva at 195 pounds.
Miguel Garcia etched his own personal triumphs at close to the opposite end of the wrestling spectrum with his similar production at 106 pounds at the Newbill Invitational.
Khurshidov, the West Aurora returning state qualifier who is ranked No. 3 in Class 3A at his weight class, stormed to the championship match with respective pins in 23 and 36 seconds.
Metea Valley senior Sean Burke would last all of 43 seconds against Khurshidov in the finals.
Garcia also recorded three falls for Glenbard East to claim the Rams' sole title as well.
Garcia captured his 30th win on the season against 3 defeats in the process.
"I just took him with a cross-face cradle," Khurshidov said of his match with Burke. "I think my speed (was the difference). No one was able to react to my speed today. I feel leaner than ever."
Khurshidov has experimented widely with 220 pounds this season, but the senior intends to conclude the season at the lower weight.
"We're feeling pretty good at 95," West Aurora coach Andrew Plata said. "He's mixing it up a bit more."
Marian Central Catholic, second ranked in Class 2A, dominated the team race with five champions and six others in the top three to accumulate 256.5 points.
Addison Trail was a distant runner-up with 149 points. West Aurora, which tied Marian Central with 11 place-winners, was third at 130.
Glenbard East, the defending champion, was fourth with 121.
Wheaton Warrenville South had three finalists to finish eighth with 96 points; Metea Valley, Dundee-Crown and Geneva were bunched in succession at Nos. 13, 14 and 15.
Andrew Tijerina and Joseph Virgen won major-consolation final matches for West Aurora at 120 and 132 pounds.
For the host Vikings the return of Tom Chernich was an emotional boost for the program dealing with a rash of injuries.
Chernich, the veteran coach who was hospitalized for an extended period prior to the official beginning of the season, returned to the sidelines in an assistant capacity on Monday.
"He lives for this stuff," Geneva senior standout Ian Huck said of Chernich.
"I feel good," Chernich said. "This is my first week back to school and practice."
Huck, the Vikings' lone returning state qualifier, and fellow senior Blake Kunkel, led the team with fifth-place finishes.
Preston Leake was the other place-winner, seventh at 138, for Geneva.
"We had only six guys today," Geneva coach Jimmy Russell said. "We have to be ready to go and finish out the season."
Huck is 20-7 on the season after breezing through the fifth-place semis and finals with a technical fall and 15-1 major decision.
"I (messed) up in the quarterfinals," Huck said of his 4-2 loss to Marian Central junior Scotty Burke. "That kid was really tough on top. I am not happy with (my season thus far). I am making a lot of mistakes in my losses."
Kunkel pinned his West Aurora opponent in his fifth-place final at 285.
"I knew (the Blackhawks' Jordan LIshman) was bigger than me," Kunkel said. "When he got the underhook, I shot my arm in there. It could have turned out either way."
Matt Impastato and Wyatt Griggel were the leaders for Dundee-Crown with their consolation wins for fifth place at 113 and 182 pounds.
Garcia shortened his mat time on each occasion in his three straight pins for Glenbard East.
The Rams' senior stopped Joliet Central sophomore Tony Toledo with 16 seconds remaining in the first period to cap his day.
"I have to say listening to my coaches," Garcia said of a central key. "I put in the work in the offseason. I drove (Toledo) down with the half-(nelson) and pinned him."
Emiliano Garcia looked to emulate his cousin with a championship effort at 145 pounds for Glenbard East.
But Anthony Bitner, the top seed for Oak Lawn, stopped Emiliano Garcia with a second-period fall in the finals.
"As a wrestler, I feel like I have improved," Emiliano Garcia said. "I could have finished the match better with my game plan and execution."
The season-long leaders for WW South - Aidan Waszak, Josh Dorr and Andrew Janiec - all fell in consecutive finals matches between 126 and 138 pounds.
"I felt that I wrestled hard in my first three matches," said Waszak, who fell to Plainfield Central junior Nick Minnito 8-2. "I just have to keep working hard and fix some things."
Dorr is 22-3 after dropping a 14-5 major decision to Marian Central stalwart Daniel Valeria.
"I am pretty happy," Dorr said. "This is my first time wrestling 32 all season. The final match isn't what I wanted."
Janiec also fell to another top seed from Marian Central, Bryce Shelton, 8-3 at 138.
"The whole day I have been having trouble keeping the guys off my legs," Janiec said. "(Shelton) took me down a couple of times with that single."
Adam Skryzpek and Xavier Sierra were the Addison Trail champions at 113 and 220 pounds.
Sierra followed pins in the quarters and semis with a finely executed 9-1 win the finals.
John Asiuras and Jake Matthews suffered heart-wrenching title losses at 120 and 152 pounds.