Barrington sectional produces big results for Northwest suburbs' competitors

A quartet of Northwest suburbs wrestling stars proved near untouchable Saturday afternoon at the Class 3A Barrington sectional.

No. 2-ranked Will Baysingar of Prospect would validate his lofty status at 132 pounds with another scintillating performance to win his title, while Evan Gosz and Charlie Fifield of Fremd, and Hersey senior Manny Mejia followed in the footsteps of the reigning state champion Baysingar.

All four would ensure a top-four seed when the state tournament in Champaign begins on Thursday as they dominated their respective weight classes to lead a 25-man contingent downstate.

Jacobs junior Dominic Ducato (24-5) also claimed an individual title after his hard-fought 2-0 victory over Brayden Tuenissen (41-5) from Belvidere in the 106-pound final.

"I knew I could be contender for the 126-pound state title if I had certified, but I figured if I continued to work to get bigger, stronger, and faster I could do the same at 132," said Baysingar, who along with two-time state champion Nasir Bailey of Rich Township will be the favorites when the action begins in Champaign.

Gosz (38-3) and Fifield (42-4) dazzled at 113 and 145, respectively, with the No. 6 rated Gosz using an early takedown over No. 7 Bryce Durlacher (Mundelein, 36-2) on his way to a 13-0 major decision victory.

"Evan has turned in some terrific performances this season, but this was his best by far," said Fremd coach Jeff Keske, who will bring four with him downstate, including Maddox Khalimsky (132, 31-7) for his second time, and junior Casey Bending (220, 38-12) for his first visit.

Fifield, a state qualifier in 2020 before tearing his ACL twice to erase his 2021 season, never looked better during his 16-4 major decision triumph over talented Belvidere junior Antonio Alvarado (38-5).

"There was a time when I wasn't sure if I would be able to wrestle after my latest ACL injury so I feel very fortunate to be back wrestling and heading downstate next week," said Fifield, who won 39 matches in 2020 at 126.

Mejia, who led Hersey to its first Mid-Suburban League title in 20 years recently, showed why he will be a favorite to win a state medal. The senior smashed all three of his opponents with a pair of pins in advance of his tech-fall victory over Ty Stringer (New Trier, 26-4) to capture the 220-pound title.

"I've never worked harder this season and this week I'll work ten times harder to get myself ready for state," said Mejia, now 43-5 on the season.

Ducato of Jacobs will be joined by 126-pound runner-up James Wright (24-6) and third-place medal winner Joey Scrivani (170, 12-1) in Champaign.

Ducato, for the second consecutive weekend, has made it difficult for others to pry open the Golden Eagles' star, who won a regional title a week ago to solidify his No. 4 spot in the state polls.

"Dominic has improved with each week, and his performance at the Dvorak against some great opponents has helped get him ready for these types of moments," said Jacobs coach Gary Conrad.

Connor Munn (Prospect, 152, 30-11), Zach Meyer (Barrington, 35-7, 195) and Huntley heavyweight, Markos Mihalopoulos (29-18) were runners-up in their respective weight classes.

Fremd, Hersey, and Prospect sent five each to the state tournament, Barrington and Huntley three each, while Hampshire junior Dimitri Skoulikaris (18-9) finished fourth at 170.