Eight Is Great For Sandwich
Wrestlers
Wrestlers
Yorkville Carries The Day At Own Regional ...
By Bill Lidinsky
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Contributor
YORKVILLE - It wasn’t the top team finish that Sandwich head coach Josh McCarty
ultimately desired, but in the end Saturday afternoon at the Class 2A Yorkville
Wrestling Regional, McCarty’s grapplers proved strong individually qualifying in
eight weight classes for next weekend's Sectional tournament at Lemont.
The Indians claimed four second place medals along with a quad of third place
bling that helped secure a respectable team finish.
Sandwich (133.5 points) held firm to the third overall spot behind second place
Lincoln-Way West (142) and champion Yorkville (211.5). The host Foxes ran away
with the team title and advanced their whole club to sectionals by nailing down
seven first place crowns.
Ottawa (31) and Streator (27) concluded in seventh and eighth place respectively,
both advancing only one wrestler to Lemont for sectional matches that are set to
start on Friday.
“We definitely had a good day today. We walked away with seven champs, two
seconds, and a third. It was a great day for our guys overall,” said Yorkville head
coach Shane Darnell. “But credit Lincoln-Way West and Sandwich for really
pressing us. They both had nice days as well and they’ll each be sending a bunch
of wrestlers to Lemont next weekend.”
“I was hoping that at least we could catch Lincoln-Way West for second place as a
team, but we didn’t. I’m still happy with the way we wrestled and happy with the fact
that we’ve now got eight guys moving onto sectionals next weekend,” McCarty
said. “I think it was a good tournament for us. Would I be happier with a better
team finish? Yes, I would, but I’m also thrilled for the guys who still have a chance
at Lemont.”
The Indians started off with a second place finish at 112 pounds where sophomore
Alphonse Vruno (33-2) defaulted to Yorkville sophomore Connor Bass (32-9) after
winning his first match. Vruno has been battling bronchitis, so McCarty chose to
rest him instead of taking any chance of Vruno getting sicker and possibly missing
sectionals.
After that, Sandwich senior Vinny DeFily (19-14) wrestled for the 125 pound title,
but was pinned by Joliet Catholic sophomore Adrian Palacios (15-6) at 0:31.
Indian junior Travis Fuller (23-12) then qualified for sectionals by placing third at
130 pounds with an earlier 14-4 walkover victory against Yorkville freshman Brian
McCue.
Senior Lon McCaslin (20-11) also registered a third place walkover victory for
Sandwich at 135 pounds with an 11-0 win over freshman Alex Friedman (23-18) of
Pontiac. Junior teammate Nolan Gipe (22-16) then pinned junior Tre Wade (8-19)
of Streator at 5:00 to also claim a third place medal and a trip to Lemont.
Sandwich’s best shot for an individual championship came at 171 pounds where
junior Tim Schmitt (31-8) hooked up with Joliet Catholic junior Andrew Elliott (27-5)
in a tense match that went down to the wire. Schmitt trailed 6-2 early on before
going ahead 7-6 at the five-minute mark. But Elliott tallied the last four points late
in the contest to come away with the thrilling 10-7 victory.
“I thought there was a takedown later in the third period that Tim didn’t get the call
on. But honestly, I thought Tim did a great job battling and coming back after
trailing early in the match,” McCarty said.
The Indians closed out with their seventh and eighth sectional qualifiers as
freshman Logan Lee (13-10) pinned Morris senior Alex Clubb (9-24) at 3:00 to
grab third at 215 pounds, while senior teammate Derek Hall (11-13) claimed
second place at 285 pounds despite getting stuck by Pontiac sophomore Quinn
Ballard (18-9) at 3:07.
“I think Tim and Alphonse have a strong chance to win at sectionals next
weekend,” McCarty said. “But we’ll bring a great group of eight and based off of
today, I think we’ll compete at Lemont very well.”
For Streator, junior standout Cristian Martinez (33-3) battled Yorkville junior Adam
Wyeth (26-10) tooth-and-nail at 103 pounds. Leading 3-1 in the third period,
Martinez got caught by Wyeth with a tough move and ultimately was pinned at 5:00
falling to second place. Martinez was the only sectional advancer for the Bulldog
mat men.
“He (Wyeth) tried the same move on me four or five times earlier and I fought it off.
The last time it was in the third period and I was up in the score thinking about a
regional championship,” Martinez said. “I got a little bit too cocky and he got me
nice and tight on my back. Hopefully I can meet him again next weekend at
sectionals. I know if I see him again, I won’t let it happen the same way.”
Ottawa’s lone sectional advancer was senior Alex Bishop (27-12) at 189 pounds.
Bishop survived his first two matches 12-10 and 2-1 before getting pinned by
Yorkville senior Brendan Mahoney (34-8) at 2:17 in the championship hookup.
“As a team we didn’t do as well as we were hoping to do today, but we got Alex
(Bishop) through to sectionals,” said Ottawa head coach Peter Marx. “Even though
he lost the championship match at 189, I think he’ll come back next week at
sectionals and really do a good job.”
Bill Lidinsky is a Northern Illinois Sports Beat contributor. He can be reached in
care of NISB at Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's
written on our Message Boards!
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Contributor
YORKVILLE - It wasn’t the top team finish that Sandwich head coach Josh McCarty
ultimately desired, but in the end Saturday afternoon at the Class 2A Yorkville
Wrestling Regional, McCarty’s grapplers proved strong individually qualifying in
eight weight classes for next weekend's Sectional tournament at Lemont.
The Indians claimed four second place medals along with a quad of third place
bling that helped secure a respectable team finish.
Sandwich (133.5 points) held firm to the third overall spot behind second place
Lincoln-Way West (142) and champion Yorkville (211.5). The host Foxes ran away
with the team title and advanced their whole club to sectionals by nailing down
seven first place crowns.
Ottawa (31) and Streator (27) concluded in seventh and eighth place respectively,
both advancing only one wrestler to Lemont for sectional matches that are set to
start on Friday.
“We definitely had a good day today. We walked away with seven champs, two
seconds, and a third. It was a great day for our guys overall,” said Yorkville head
coach Shane Darnell. “But credit Lincoln-Way West and Sandwich for really
pressing us. They both had nice days as well and they’ll each be sending a bunch
of wrestlers to Lemont next weekend.”
“I was hoping that at least we could catch Lincoln-Way West for second place as a
team, but we didn’t. I’m still happy with the way we wrestled and happy with the fact
that we’ve now got eight guys moving onto sectionals next weekend,” McCarty
said. “I think it was a good tournament for us. Would I be happier with a better
team finish? Yes, I would, but I’m also thrilled for the guys who still have a chance
at Lemont.”
The Indians started off with a second place finish at 112 pounds where sophomore
Alphonse Vruno (33-2) defaulted to Yorkville sophomore Connor Bass (32-9) after
winning his first match. Vruno has been battling bronchitis, so McCarty chose to
rest him instead of taking any chance of Vruno getting sicker and possibly missing
sectionals.
After that, Sandwich senior Vinny DeFily (19-14) wrestled for the 125 pound title,
but was pinned by Joliet Catholic sophomore Adrian Palacios (15-6) at 0:31.
Indian junior Travis Fuller (23-12) then qualified for sectionals by placing third at
130 pounds with an earlier 14-4 walkover victory against Yorkville freshman Brian
McCue.
Senior Lon McCaslin (20-11) also registered a third place walkover victory for
Sandwich at 135 pounds with an 11-0 win over freshman Alex Friedman (23-18) of
Pontiac. Junior teammate Nolan Gipe (22-16) then pinned junior Tre Wade (8-19)
of Streator at 5:00 to also claim a third place medal and a trip to Lemont.
Sandwich’s best shot for an individual championship came at 171 pounds where
junior Tim Schmitt (31-8) hooked up with Joliet Catholic junior Andrew Elliott (27-5)
in a tense match that went down to the wire. Schmitt trailed 6-2 early on before
going ahead 7-6 at the five-minute mark. But Elliott tallied the last four points late
in the contest to come away with the thrilling 10-7 victory.
“I thought there was a takedown later in the third period that Tim didn’t get the call
on. But honestly, I thought Tim did a great job battling and coming back after
trailing early in the match,” McCarty said.
The Indians closed out with their seventh and eighth sectional qualifiers as
freshman Logan Lee (13-10) pinned Morris senior Alex Clubb (9-24) at 3:00 to
grab third at 215 pounds, while senior teammate Derek Hall (11-13) claimed
second place at 285 pounds despite getting stuck by Pontiac sophomore Quinn
Ballard (18-9) at 3:07.
“I think Tim and Alphonse have a strong chance to win at sectionals next
weekend,” McCarty said. “But we’ll bring a great group of eight and based off of
today, I think we’ll compete at Lemont very well.”
For Streator, junior standout Cristian Martinez (33-3) battled Yorkville junior Adam
Wyeth (26-10) tooth-and-nail at 103 pounds. Leading 3-1 in the third period,
Martinez got caught by Wyeth with a tough move and ultimately was pinned at 5:00
falling to second place. Martinez was the only sectional advancer for the Bulldog
mat men.
“He (Wyeth) tried the same move on me four or five times earlier and I fought it off.
The last time it was in the third period and I was up in the score thinking about a
regional championship,” Martinez said. “I got a little bit too cocky and he got me
nice and tight on my back. Hopefully I can meet him again next weekend at
sectionals. I know if I see him again, I won’t let it happen the same way.”
Ottawa’s lone sectional advancer was senior Alex Bishop (27-12) at 189 pounds.
Bishop survived his first two matches 12-10 and 2-1 before getting pinned by
Yorkville senior Brendan Mahoney (34-8) at 2:17 in the championship hookup.
“As a team we didn’t do as well as we were hoping to do today, but we got Alex
(Bishop) through to sectionals,” said Ottawa head coach Peter Marx. “Even though
he lost the championship match at 189, I think he’ll come back next week at
sectionals and really do a good job.”
Bill Lidinsky is a Northern Illinois Sports Beat contributor. He can be reached in
care of NISB at Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's
written on our Message Boards!
| Northern Illinois Sports Beat http://www.northernillinoissportsbeat.com |
IHSA Class 2A Regional
at Yorkville
1. Yorkville (211.5), 2. Lincoln-
Way West (142), 3. Sandwich
(133.5), 4. Joliet Catholic
(119), 5. Pontiac (92), 6.
Morris (85), 7. Ottawa (31), 8.
Streator (27).
Championship Round
103 pounds – Wyeth (York.)
pin Martinez (Str.), 5:00. 112 –
Co. Bass (York.) def. Vruno
(Sand.), default. 119 –
Schloegel (LWW) dec. Bass
(York.), 8-6 (ot). 125 –
Palacios (JCA) pin Defily
(Sand.), 0:31. 130 – Souder
(LWW) dec. Lanning (Pont.),
6-0. 135 – Ruettiger (LWW)
dec. Anderson (York.), 8-4.
140 – Lightfoot (York.) def.
Crosby (LWW), default. 145 –
Balderas (York.) pin Ryan
(LWW), 3:48. 152 –
Messenger (York.) dec.
Kennedy (LWW), 5-0. 160 –
Corwin (York.) dec. Collefello
(JCA), 4-2. 171 – Elliott (JCA)
dec. Schmitt (Sand.), 10-7.
189 – Mahaney (York.) pin
Bishop (Ott.), 2:17. 215 –
Rich (Pont.) dec. Broderick
(JCA), 1-0. 285 – Ballard
(Pont.) pin Hall (Sand.), 3:07.
Third Place Sectional
Qualifiers
103 – Lind (Pont.), 112 –
Richardson (Pont.), 119 –
Mann (Morr.), 125 – Watts
(York.), 130 – Fuller (Sand.),
135 – McCaslin (Sand.), 140
– Kowalewski (Morr.), 145 –
McIntire (Morr.), 152 –
Cocanig (JCA), 160 – Gipe
(Sand.), 171 – Barry (Morr.),
189 – Haney (JCA), 215 –
Lee (Sand.), 285 – Bibian
(JCA)
at Yorkville
1. Yorkville (211.5), 2. Lincoln-
Way West (142), 3. Sandwich
(133.5), 4. Joliet Catholic
(119), 5. Pontiac (92), 6.
Morris (85), 7. Ottawa (31), 8.
Streator (27).
Championship Round
103 pounds – Wyeth (York.)
pin Martinez (Str.), 5:00. 112 –
Co. Bass (York.) def. Vruno
(Sand.), default. 119 –
Schloegel (LWW) dec. Bass
(York.), 8-6 (ot). 125 –
Palacios (JCA) pin Defily
(Sand.), 0:31. 130 – Souder
(LWW) dec. Lanning (Pont.),
6-0. 135 – Ruettiger (LWW)
dec. Anderson (York.), 8-4.
140 – Lightfoot (York.) def.
Crosby (LWW), default. 145 –
Balderas (York.) pin Ryan
(LWW), 3:48. 152 –
Messenger (York.) dec.
Kennedy (LWW), 5-0. 160 –
Corwin (York.) dec. Collefello
(JCA), 4-2. 171 – Elliott (JCA)
dec. Schmitt (Sand.), 10-7.
189 – Mahaney (York.) pin
Bishop (Ott.), 2:17. 215 –
Rich (Pont.) dec. Broderick
(JCA), 1-0. 285 – Ballard
(Pont.) pin Hall (Sand.), 3:07.
Third Place Sectional
Qualifiers
103 – Lind (Pont.), 112 –
Richardson (Pont.), 119 –
Mann (Morr.), 125 – Watts
(York.), 130 – Fuller (Sand.),
135 – McCaslin (Sand.), 140
– Kowalewski (Morr.), 145 –
McIntire (Morr.), 152 –
Cocanig (JCA), 160 – Gipe
(Sand.), 171 – Barry (Morr.),
189 – Haney (JCA), 215 –
Lee (Sand.), 285 – Bibian
(JCA)
C o d y' s
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