Schroeder shines for St. Charles East at sectionals
It was billed as a must-see second rounder - No. 10 Peyton Schroeder versus No. 9 Logan Balosky (Wheaton North, 32-7) - and Schroder did not let the St. Charles East faithful down.
The Saints senior avenged a 12-3 defeat at the DuKane Conference tournament in style, taking the lead early en route to an impressive 8-5 victory Friday night in Hoffman Estates at the Class 3A Conant sectional.
Schroeder (132, 31-13) will lead four other teammates into Saturday's semifinals where one victory will guarantee a trip to the state tournament next week.
"Just a great win for Peyton tonight," beamed head coach, Jason Potter.
"(Balosky) is a big move type of guy, so we game-planned for that, and his strength, and it all worked out really well for me," said Schroeder, a 2019 state qualifier.
Max Sztuk (120, 29-19), Jake Penzato (126, 24-6), Carter Maggio (170, 35-7) and heavyweight Xander Song (19-3) remain alive in the front draw, as so conference rivals from Batavia: Kaden Fetterolf (106, 29-10), Riley Woods (138, 27-9) and No. 4, Mikey Caliendo (35-1) who is on a collision course with No. 2 Fidel Mayora (37-4) in the 145-pound final.
Penzato, who had labrum surgery last May and is now healthy, looked sharp in his lone bout of the night. He is on track to claim a second state appearance after doing so two years ago as a freshman.
The aforementioned Woods won two on Friday, the second coming in thrilling ultimate tiebreaker fashion, 4-3 over Daniel Uribe (31-4) from Leyden.
"I trust in myself, and my coaching staff, and I wasn't going to let anything stop me out there tonight," said Woods.
Northwestern-bound Elijah Lopez (South Elgin, 23-4) took a giant step towards earning his second consecutive trip downstate following his hard-fought 4-2 decision over Shane Piper (25-8) of Lake Park.
"I was fortunate to beat (Piper) twice previously, but I knew I was in for a dogfight today. It's always difficult to wrestle someone three times in a season," said Lopez.
His teammate, Mike Roath, remains alive in the front draw after his 11-4 victory, and will now face Wheaton North junior, Cam'ron Harper (27-10).
Bartlett's top man, Jacob Cwenar (182, 35-3), defeated league rival Alan Facio (20-9) from Larkin to advance after his 5-4 victory, the second win over Facio this season.
Day No. 2 begins at 9 a.m. with the first round of wrestle-backs, followed immediately by semifinals at 10:30.
The final session is set to begin at 2:45 p.m.