Moran, Glover stay undefeated for Crystal Lake South
Shane Moran wasn't thrilled with his win against Jacobs on Thursday night.
The Crystal Lake South wrestler thought he could have won his 182-pound matchup earlier in the first period, but had to settle for a technical fall win in the Gators' 46-27 win over the Golden Eagles.
Moran's win secured Crystal Lake South its first conference win of the season, but the No. 1-ranked wrestler at 182 pound in Class 3A is just working for a bigger goal later in the season.
"I try to prepare for every match the same," Moran said. "I'm superstitious. I try to score right away, I try to keep scoring, keep imposing my will, just keep trying to win."
Moran started with a 4-2 lead over Jacobs' Reid Roberts before he took control, earning eight straight points before ending the first period. He scored five more points before he forced a technical fall and continued his undefeated start to the season.
While Moran would've liked for the contest to have been called sooner in his favor, he's working toward becoming a wrestler who can win a state title in Champaign. For now, he just works on his different approaches and tries to perfect them with each match.,
"He's hungry, as he should be," Crystal Lake South coach Ross Ryan said. "It was a crazy season last year with that summer season. I think he's just happy to be back to normalcy and he's got goals in mind. He's doing everything he can to work toward them."
The Gators (6-8, 1-3) started the night strong with a win from No. 2 ranked Josh Glover at 113. He ran out to a quick 7-0 lead before ending the first period up 12-1. He built that lead in the second period before he forced a fall and stayed undefeated on the season.
Glenn Donohue (120), Amador Castro (126), Dominic Ariola (170), Mikey Knowles (220) and Andy Burburijia (285) all earned wins on forfeits.
Ryan was impressed with what KC Brichta Bachar did at 195. He started off with a 2-0 lead after the first frame before working back to a 5-0 lead before earning the win on a fall.
Brichta Bachar faces off with Moran every day at practice, so sometimes it's hard to find success. But wins like the one on Thursday will help build confidence for the talented wrestler.
"To see him get out there and put together some pieces of the puzzle is awesome," Ryan said.
A week after a tough loss to McHenry, Jacobs (1-7, 1-2) wrestlers regrouped and saw their hard work at practice pay off, with some Golden Eagles earning their first varsity wins. James Wright had full control of his match at 132, running out to a 13-0 lead in the third period before he won on a technical fall.
Evander Lands built off that strong match right after at 138, leading 4-0 in the second frame when he won on a fall. Daniel Mendez won his match 13-2 at 152 and Casey Lechuga pinned Anthony Davis at 160 when they were tied at two in the second period.
Dominic Ducato won by forfeit at 106 and there was a double forfeit at 145.
After a tough loss the week before, Jacobs coach Gary Conrad was proud of the way his wrestlers grew during practice in the week to earn wins and progress as the season continues.
"I think we wrestled well," Conrad said. "Our goal was to win more matches than we lost and I think we accomplished that."
Jacobs will travel to Burlington Central on Friday and then take part in the Dvorak Invite at Harlem on Saturday and Sunday. Crystal Lake South will face Cary-Grove before traveling to the Dvorak Invite.
While Ryan is happy with the way his top wrestlers are competing, he wants to make sure his younger wrestlers continue to learn and grow as they face tougher competition.
"So from a team perspective, it's trying to build up those younger guys," Ryan said, "get them the experience while simultaneously starting to see them put together that success with the technique and make the cards fall correctly there."