Scouting Lake County wrestling regionals
CLASS 3A
Grant individual regionalWhen: 9 a.m. Saturday, semifinals at 11 a.m., first- and third-place matches at 1:30 p.m.
Advancement: first-place team advances to the Glenbrook North dual-team sectional Feb. 25 at 6 p.m., top three individuals in each weight class advance to the Barrington individual sectional Feb. 14-15.
Teams: Grant, Libertyville, Mundelein, Warren, Round Lake, McHenry, Waukegan, Zion-Benton
Top area competitors: 106 - Libertyville sophomore Caelan Riley; 132 - Warren senior Cameron Domke; 138 - Warren senior Joel Vandervere, Libertyville senior Danny Pucino; 145 - Round Lake senior Ender Kongkaeow; 152 - Libertyville senior E'lan Heard, Warren junior Isaiah Parker; 160 - Libertyville sophomore Josh Knudten, Grant senior Eddy Tregenza; 170 - Libertyville junior Chase Baczek; 182 - Grant senior Ethan Geist; 195 - Grant senior Justin Brown; 220 - Mundelein senior Jason Guadarrama, Libertyville senior Jordan Smith
Outlook: After clinching the North Suburban Conference championship last week with a 7-0 record in dual meets, Libertyville is the team to beat with Warren and the host Bulldogs hoping to push the Wildcats to the limit in this eight-team meet. As was the case at the Lake County Invite two weeks ago, the 138-pound final is expected to be a showdown again with No. 1-ranked Vandervere and No. 2-ranked Pucino battling it out for the third time this season. Pucino won the first meeting 12-9 at home before Vandervere captured an 8-7 decision at Antioch. The other three regionals that feed into the Barrington individual sectional and the Glenbrook North dual-team sectional are at Stevenson, Prospect, and Huntley.
Stevenson individual regionalWhen: 9 a.m. Saturday, semifinals at 11 a.m., first- and third-place matches at 2 p.m.
Advancement: (same as Grant individual regional)
Teams: Stevenson, Lake Zurich, Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Dundee-Crown, Highland Park, Fremd, Palatine
Top area competitors: 113 - Stevenson freshman Lorenzo Frezza; 120 - Stevenson sophomore Cole Rhemrev, Lake Zurich senior Logan Naurauter; 160 - Stevenson junior Arie Guzman; 182 - Lake Zurich senior Joey Mrazek; 285 - Lake Zurich junior Alan Pantoja, Stevenson junior Keegan Houlihan
Outlook: Perennial power Barrington will be tough to stop in this eight-team meet as the Broncos bring an abundance of depth and talent to the table once again. The host Patriots made a late surge two weeks ago at the Lake County Invite to finish in a second-place tie with Libertyville. Frezza and Pantoja both brought home titles at the Lake County meet.
CLASS 2A
Grayslake Central individual regionalWhen: 9 a.m. Saturday, semifinals at 11 a.m., first- and third-place matches at 1:30 p.m.
Advancement: first-place team advances to the Fenton dual-team sectional Feb. 25 at 6 p.m., top three individuals in each weight class advance to the Deerfield individual sectional Feb. 14-15.
Teams: Antioch, Grayslake Central, Grayslake North, Lakes, Carmel Catholic, Vernon Hills, Wauconda, Lake Forest
Top area competitors: 106 - Antioch freshman Caleb Nobiling; 113 - Antioch freshman Anthony Streib, Wauconda junior Jack Sullivan; 120 - Antioch senior Alex Barbarise; 126 - Grayslake North senior Jake Jozwiak, Antioch senior Luke Menzies; Antioch junior Drew Lehn; 132 - Antioch senior Danny McPherson, Wauconda sophomore Colin Husko; 138 - Grayslake North senior Nick Kozanecki, Carmel senior Christian Valadez; 145 - Carmel senior Vince Swindell, Antioch senior Eli Reyes; 152 - Antioch senior Devin Nobiling; 170 - Lakes senior Kurtis Smith, Grayslake Central junior Joey Jens; 182 - Grayslake Central junior Adrien Cramer, Antioch junior Chad Cowart; 195 - Antioch senior Niall Schoenfelder, Grayslake Central junior Jake Lester; 220 - Carmel senior Jonathan Lopez; 285 - Grayslake Central junior Jonathan Trudeau
Outlook: Antioch rolled to the Lake County crown two weeks ago, and it is unlikely any team will be able to match the fourth-ranked Sequoits' talent, depth and experience. They have five wrestlers who have competed in the state meet, and Barbarise is a two-time state medalist. Grayslake Central has a lot of star power in its lineup, including No. 1-ranked Cramer and state medalist Jens (two-time qualifier). The other three regionals that feed into the Deerfield individual sectional and the Fenton dual-team sectional are at Woodstock North, Notre Dame and Elmwood Park.