Posts by Mick Torres

By Patrick Z. McGavin

Lincoln-Way East senior Jake LaMonto had the longest weeks of his young life awaiting the opportunity to avenge his loss against Lockport sophomore Andrew Blackburn-Forst.

The stage was set at this year’s Class 3A Lockport Regional, as LaMonto and Blackburn-Forst were the two top seeds of the 195-pound weight class at opposite ends of the bracket. LaMonto, the top-seed, was haunted by his loss in the conference championship.

LaMonto won the first match between the two earlier this year via 8-5 decision. and he jumped out to an apparently commanding lead against Blackburn-Forst on a conference title mat, only to see the dynamic and athletic Blackburn-Forst respond with a stunning pin.

“This whole week, I focused a lot of my game play specifically on him,” LaMonto said. “I thought a lot about keeping my composure. When I got down in the match, I knew that I had to come back.”

Refreshed and jacked up by two quick pins in the preliminary stages, Blackburn-Forst seized the quick advantage with the first takedown just 12 seconds into the match.

He also earned back points and he was leading 6-0 midway through the second period.
Things were not looking up for LaMonto but in a flash, everything changed.

Blackburn-Forst took hold of a single leg but LaMonto broke free and then drove through the Lockport sophomore, stunningly putting him on his back.

Blackburn-Forst fought off his back and escaped the 7-5 lead but the brazen and confident LaMonto locked up the match at 7-7 apiece with another takedown.

Blackburn-Forst took an 8-7 lead with an escape but LaMonto again tied the match with an escape to start the third. The 8-8 tie held until the closing seconds of the match, when LaMonto earned a takedown and back points to win a 12-8 comeback thriller in the best match of the day.

“The last takedown was one of my go-to moves,” he said. “It was a sweep single, and I practiced it the whole year. I knew if I continued to put pressure on him, some of my shots would open.

“I took full advantage of it, and I took him down.”

Ranked No. 10 at 195 in Rob Sherrill’s IWCOA rankings, LaMonto improved his record to 32-5, while No. 9 Blackburn-Forst is now 35-7.

The performance of Bloom senior Jevin Dampier in the back draw at 195 was also significant. Dampier’s win in the third-place match ensured that all nine schools qualified at least one individual for the Class 3A Quincy Sectional on Saturday, February 15.

In the team race, Lockport dominated the lower weights in winning its sixth consecutive regional with 190 points to outdistance Lincoln-Way West (158).

Lincoln-Way East finished third with 124.50 points.

Lockport had the perfect symmetry: three winners, three runner-ups and three third-place finishers. Lincoln-Way West and Andrew matched Lockport with three individual champions, but couldn’t match the Porters’ depth across the board; Lockport is also unbeaten in dual meets this year, with a 19-0 record.

Six of the nine competing schools had an individual champion. Fourth-place Andrew had three first-, two second- and one third-place finisher.

Homewood-Flossmoor and Providence also had five qualifiers.

Marian Catholic had two individual champions in freshman Vincent Robinson (120) and the comeback story of Kendall Norfleet (145).

“You never know what is going to happen,” Lockport coach Josh Oster said. “Competition is competition, and we had some kids who were pretty confident coming into the regionals. Every kid scored points. We had 30 different kids win a dual match this year.”
The regional largely played out to the expected narrative with a couple of stunning examples. Ten of the 14 regional champions were the top-seeded wrestlers in their weight class.

Two second-seeds, a third-seed and a fourth-seed also captured individual championships.

Lockport featured dominant performances by individual champions Kaleb Thompson (113), Mikey Kaminski (126) and Keegan Roberson (132).

Thompson, ranked No. 4, ran his record to 17-1 by recording a pin and two technical falls. Against Lincoln-Way West freshman Tyler Mansker in the championship, Thompson had five takedowns in the first period in running out to a 15-4 lead.

Thompson, Kaminski and Roberson are heirs to Porters’ greats Matt Ramos and Anthony Molton, former lower weight state champions who helped establish the program’s culture and standards of excellence.

Kaminski posted back-to-back technical falls in capturing his title at 126 pounds. Ranked No. 3, Kaminski worked at a feverish pace, destabilizing opponents with speed, quickness and superb technique.

He overpowered Lincoln-Way East freshman Ari Zaeske with a second period technical fall (20-5) that held particular significance.

“I’m at thirteen technical falls on the season, and I’m going for the school record, which is 16, by our coach, Josh Oster,” Kaminski said.

“Ramos and Molton are the ones who really inspired me,” Kaminski continued. “The coaches got me into wrestling and taught me all of those things. Having those two great wrestlers from my freshman to junior years, getting their advice and seeing how they wrestled, it was the greatest experience I could ask for.”

Roberson’s title-mat showdown with Andrew senior Kyle Silzer at 132 was another of the day’s marquee events. It marked the fourth time this year the two clashed.

Roberson held a 2-1 advantage in the season series, with each match decided by one point. Roberson won twice in 1-0 matches, while Silzer struck back to win a 4-3 decision.

Roberson knew the situation demanded a different response, and he could not use the past to predict how the match would play out.

“I just (stayed on) offense the whole time,” he said. “All of the other times, I was just defending the whole time. This time, I opened up my offense and I actually shot. In the other three matches, I did not shoot very much. I was tired of the 1-0 matches and I knew I had to start working on it.”

Roberson was aggressive from the start, securing the early advantage with the first period takedown he parlayed into an impressive 9-0 victory.

Roberson (ranked No. 6) is now 29-7 and Silzer (No. 7) is 32-8.

Roberson also talked of the impact of the Porters’ legacy of accomplishment.

“It is really just motivation,” he said of Ramos and Molton, “and seeing guys coming out of Lockport and going to great (colleges). That is just motivation to go out and achieve something.”

The Roberson-Silzer showdown also underscored the deeply personal, family connections that bind so much of the sport.

Silzer’s younger brother, freshman Trevor Silzer, defeated Providence freshman Billy Meiszner, 3-1 in the 106-pound championship.

Trevor Silzer recorded a late first-period single and takedown that was the difference. The two wrestlers traded off escapes for the final margin. Meiszner had several strong chances at his own takedown in the final minute, twice getting in deep against Silzer’s body, but Silzer fought him off.

Lockport sophomore Cody Silzer, a cousin of the brothers from Andrew, also qualified by finishing third at 170 pounds.

A traditional power at Class 2A, Marian Catholic has experienced a problem with numbers in making the leap the higher class size.

The Spartans featured two dynamic and thrilling performers in the precocious Robinson, ranked No. 4 at 120. Up just 5-3 to start the third period, he put on a magnificent closing run in powering past Andrew’s very capable Joey Roti 15-6 in the 120-pound final. The win improved Robinson’s record to 21-2.

“I just like to attack first and get the match going,” he said. “I like to attack and get into my moves. I never want my matches to be close, so I just have to go. My mentality was just to come out here and dominate every match. You can’t hit a moving target.”

Junior Kendall Norfleet also broke the streak of the top-seeded wrestlers who won the first six weight classes.

The third seed at 145 pounds, Norfleet improved his record to 33-6 with a first period pin and a very impressive majority decision over Providence’s highly regarded Kevin Countryman, a top-4 state finisher last year.

Norfleet then beat Lincoln-Way West’s Garrett Geiger 8-5 for his first regional championship.

“I knew him and his brother (Payton Geiger). I knew what he was capable of, and I knew I had to come up with something to win,” Norfleet said.

“I had the advantage, and I know that nobody can really dig out of a hole. If you get yourself down four or five points, it is hard to come back against somebody good.”

Garrett Geiger takes a season record of 35-5 to this year’s sectional meet.

The victory marked something special for Norfleet, whose older brother, Kordell Norfleet, was a two-time state champion who now wrestles at Arizona State University.

“My brother is one of the main influences on my style,” he said. “Now I have a state title to win. I made some dumb mistakes last year. I didn’t make weight.

“My freshman year, I didn’t make it out of the sectionals. Just knowing they expect somebody else to win, it gives you motivation. I have to make a name for myself and prove a lot of people wrong.”

Garrett Geigner’s fraternal twin brother, Payton Geiger, recorded a second period pin against Homewood-Flossmoor junior Stacey Terry to capture the 160-pound title.

Lincoln-Way West’s power is concentrated in the middle weights with its four “horsemen” — the Geigner twins, junior Javen Estrada and Brock Pfeifer.

Ranked No. 5, Estrada continued his season-long impressive performance with a 10-2 majority decision over Lockport junior Nate Ramsey at 138 pounds.

Pfeifer, who’s ranked No. 7, defeated Lockport senior Joe Oster by fall at 3:44 at 152 pounds. Estrada is now 37-1; Pfeifer is 33-5.

“I knew what I had to do right away,” Pfeifer said. “At times, I thought the pace was not quick enough. I wish it were quicker, but I got the job done.

“The next week is going to be a tough one. I have a lot of guys who have similar types of skills as I do, and I have to make sure that I am better than them.”

Every regional has a dark horse, a victor who comes seemingly out of nowhere. On Saturday the honor belonged to Andrew senior Nick Barberi at 170 pounds.

Barberi entered the regional with a 17-20 record. He also came with the sense of a clean slate, the chance to begin anew.

“I wrestled hard and I wrestled aggressive,” Barberi said. “Coming in here, I told myself I just had to be aggressive and I could beat anybody here.”

He stunned top-seeded Ian Swidergal of Lincoln-Way West with a 3-0 decision in the semifinal round. He punctuated his run with the 9-6 title victory over Romeo Williams of Homewood-Flossmoor.

The fourth-seeded Barberi was the lowest-seeded champion.

Homewood-Flossmoor sophomore Haku Watson-Castro ran his record to 26-7 with a 7-1 title-mat decision at 182 over Lincoln-Way West junior Andrew Hesse.

In the title match at 220 pounds, Andrew senior Andrew Salah upended top-seed Justin Thomas of Homewood-Flossmoor by 8-3 decision.

Fittingly, the day that started as a kind of coronation that followed the season-long dominance and depth of Lockport ended with the most shocking upset imaginable.

The 285-pound final was thought to be a fait accompli with the state’s top-ranked wrestler, Providence sophomore Ryan Boersma, overpowering the opposition.

Homewood-Flossmoor junior Brian Smith had other ideas.

Smith (20-9) took Boersma to his back and pinned him, stunning the crowd with the fall just 26 seconds into the match and handing Boersma (37-2) his first loss to an in-state opponent this season.

Smith provided a stunning ending to a fine day of wrestling in Lockport. “I was just trying to work the move, and it was not working so he tried to throw me and I just adjusted from there,” Smith said. “I believe I caught him by surprise.”

Host Joilet Catholic Academy impresses as runner-up.

by Mike Garofola

Joilet Catholic Academy –


Marian Central Catholic drove over 80 miles to claim its second ESCC championship trophy in program history Friday night at tourney host Joilet Catholic Academy.

The point differential for the Hurricanes was not as dramatic as it was when the No. 1 club in 2A won the Geneva Invite, or, one week later at Batavia – but on this night, it was enough to hold off ever improving Joilet Catholic Academy, which has gone from nothing to something in three short years.

The Hilltoppers won (5) individual titles, one more than MCC, who, with its gift of depth, and brilliance from both Daniel Valeria and Dylan Connell, outscored the home side 176.5 – 159.5.

“The goal is always more than winning the ESCC, especially with the start the postseason about to begin – but we’re still happy to leave with the conference championship (it’s) just that we still have a lot of work ahead of us to get ready for regionals next weekend,” admitted Valeria, now 36-0 after another marvelous performance at 132 to win the second title for his club – ahead of Connell (170) then Nico Lopez at 182.

“It’s all about the team when we go to a tournament,” continued Valeria, who will wrestle next fall at St. Cloud State, and who has set his sites on either education as a guidance counselor, or in the field of physical therapy.
“I love to compete, it’s the ‘work’ I do right now, so I wrestle for the team (first) – then myself, all the time looking to make a big contribution for my team.”



The top rated 170-pounder (Connell) continues to destroy whatever stands in his way – earning high praise from the likes of head coach Augie Genovese (Notre Dame) while watching the performance of the two-time state champ.

“It’s not fair to say, but (Dylan) makes it looks so easy out there – he’s really something else to watch,” said Genovese while watching the MCC junior during his semifinal victory.

“It’s nice to hear those type(s) of comments from others, but I have never enjoyed talking about myself or my individual accomplishments – instead I just let my work out on the mat speak for me,” said a humble Connell, now 35-0.

Connell and tournament O.W.  – DJ Hamiti, had a chance to chat in between sessions, and the two stars, with a combined (4) state titles would later show why each are on the road to a third state crown.

“DJ and I have known each other since our IKWF days, and we’ve been able to see each other at Team Illinois events as well – so it’s great to ‘catch-up’ with him, and hopefully in three weeks down in Champaign,” said Connell.
Hamiti, again, was unstoppable at 152, winning his second ESCC title, the first coming two years ago as a freshmen at 106 pounds.

“For me, right now, it’s all about staying healthy, working hard in the room, and with my conditioning – and cleaning up all of the little things in advance of the postseason (where) my goal is not to get scored upon,” said Hamiti.

The genie might be out of the bottle for Hamiti, and his Hilltoppers’ mates – who three years ago at the ESCC tourney finished dead last with a paltry 43 points – before increasing that point total to 103.5 last season and a fifth place finish.

“There wasn’t much here when I came in three years ago,” began Cumbee, who came over from a successful run at Marmion Academy to join the program to work alongside Mac McLaughlin.

“DJ and Jack (Finnegan) were are only two medal winners back then, but we’ve built around those guys, and the work ethic from those (two) along with our three other ESCC champions  has brought our room to another level, and I could not be more proud of this team on this night, and in our gym.”

The junior Finegan (30-12) would avenge a 3-1 loss last week to Bryce Shelton with a hard fought six minute defensive effort to win at 138.
“Bryce is very good, so I knew it would be a dogfight in our final, but that take-down with 13 seconds left in the second period to put me up 2-1 was big, and allowed me to ride out most of the third period to get the win,” said Finegan.

Hilltoppers rookie, Gylon Sims (106, 32-5) would get the home crowd ready for more when he opened the final session with sensational 19-7 major decision victory over Ethan Bednarczyk (20-19) from Marist.

“Being in a room with a two-time state champ like (Hamiti) has made a big influence on me because of the way he trains and works harder each and everyday,” said Sims, currently fifth in the most recent IWCOA poll.

The hits kept coming for the Hilltoppers faithful with sophomore Shay Korhorn following up Sims’ victory with a 3-2 victory over No. 6 Sean Conway (St. Patrick, 27-5) who finished third a year ago in Champaign.
In a edgy six minute affair, Korhorn (33-8) took a 1-0 lead in the second period with an early escape, conceded a third period escape to Conway – then hit the match winner at five minutes, before holding off his opponent for good.

“I was ‘decent’ at the start of the year, but I’ve made steady improvement with each week thanks to the coaches, and my teammates in the room who constantly push us to work and train even harder,” said Korhorn, who was a starer on the JV last season.

MCC senior Elon Rodriguez (34-2) would slow the Hilltoppers’ run with his well-played 5-0 decision over Owen Dunlap (32-8) of Marist in the 120-pound final.

“It’s all about staying mentally strong in order to close out your opponents,” said Rodriguez, who now has four majors to his credit this season.
“It’s nice to win as a team, but after tonight, it’s obvious to me that we have a lot of the little things to clean up before regionals begin next weekend.”
The aforementioned Nico Lopez, who came over from Montini Catholic during the offseason to give the Hurricanes another upper weight weapon, earned the fourth and final individual title for his club with his 7-3 decision over Marist junior, Bobby Gaylord.

“It was disappointing to lose my final at Batavia (Justin Peake, Johnsburg) to a reversal with ten seconds left in the match – so that loss would help (me) keep my focus more clear in this match, and especially in the third period when it really counts,” said Lopez, a state qualifier a year ago with 21 wins at 160 pounds.

Lopez defended a shot from Gaylord with 30 seconds remaining, and turned it around to increase his lead to 7-3 with a take-down at 17 seconds.
Ghee Rachal (220) and Tom Munoz (285) would end the night for Marist on a high note with back-to-back victories for the eventual third place team that scored 151 overall points, far ahead of fourth-place St. Patrick and its 72 points.

Rachal, second here a year ago as a freshmen, could not be touched in his two bouts – winning his first with a pin at 3:35, and the final, in which he needed but 29 seconds to achieve success.

“Coming from a wrestling family like (mine) your going to get a lot of experience, and you better be tough to withstand it all,” said the affable Rachal (34-4) whose twin brothers, Baan and WeWe and Baan, are both redshirt freshmen at Illinois this season.

In the always unpredictable heavyweight division, it was Munoz (21-9) who came out on top when he pinned his way to his first ESCC title of his career.

“Not making it downstate after twice advancing into sectionals was enough motivation for me to work as hard as I could in the offseason,” said Munoz, who will attend Illinois State next fall, where he plans on majoring in Special Education.

Munoz, a defensive lineman on the Marist football team, says the two sports are great for each other, and have helped his advancement in both.

“Wrestling has helped with my toughness, hips, footwork, and conditioning, which is so important when your competing at this weight,” said Munoz.

Last year-here, Louie Stec, himself a star at football at Nazareth Academy, and now playing at the University of Iowa, was crowned heavyweight champ, along with two others for head coach, Denis Laughlin.

On this night, Laughlin would celebrate two individual titles, each the first ever for Alex Carillo and Robert Gurley, both strong candidates to medal in Champaign in class A competition.

Carillo, a three-time state qualifier, turned in a quality six minutes to decison Peter Marinopolous (Marist) in a 145-pound final that ended 9-5.
Marinopolous would defeat No. 2 seed Vincent Swindell (23-11) earlier in the semifinal round – with Swindell suffering an injury that forced the Carmel Catholic senior out of action as a precautionary measure.

This championship night for Carillo (29-4) was highlighted by his program record 118th career victory – breaking the old record set by Pat Vitek, who was fourth overall at state in 2013.

“It’s an awesome feeling knowing I have the most wins in our program, and tonight, hopefully, will be the start of a great run towards a state medal,” said Carillo, who, along with Gurley, were key figures on the 7A state runner-up football team last November.

Carillo, fifth in the IWCOA poll, will continue his football career, likely as a running back, at Valparaiso University in the fall.

His teammate Gurley (30-2) came back twice in his 195-pound final with Lou Gaddy (11-3) to defeat the Marian Central Catholic junior, 7-5
Gaddy took an early lead with a take-down near the edge, then go up 4-2 midway through the second period.

An escape by Gaddy to start the third period leveled things at 5-5, until Gurley prevailed with his match-winning two.

“I was eliminated in the blood round (5-3) last year at sectionals in the final seconds, so you (know) that was all I needed to motivate me during the offseason,” admitted Gurley, who went out at 36-6 overall in 2019.
Gurley, a linebacker, and strong safety last fall, will take his 3.95 GPA (4.00) to Indianapolis University after visits to NIU, SIU and Minnesota, where he will continue to play football, and begin his studies in kinesiology.

I am very fortunate to have young men like Alex and Robert in our program, their work ethic, presence in the room, and terrific personalities make our room a great place to be,” said Laughlin, who added that Gurley will be lead in an upcoming musical at Nazareth following the state tournament.

No. 6 Terrence Stamp added the fifth championship to the Hilltoppers total after his impressive performance at 160 pounds, including his 8-1 decision over No. 8 Kaden Randazzo (33-4) of Marian Central Catholic.

Stamp (30-11) who transferred over from nearby Joilet West, where as a sophomore he advanced into sectionals, says the chance to be in the Hilltoppers program was one to good to pass up.

“Just being in a room with a guy like DJ (Hamiti) makes all of us better, and along with my teammates and coaching staff, coming here is the best thing for me,” said Stamp, who pushed the pace in his final, and was strong on top when asked to ride out his opponent.

It appears that Marian Catholic freshmen, Vincent Robinson is ready to continue the success that his brother Travis Ford-Melton (Purdue) began when he stepped into the Monarchs room.

From the opening moments of his first round match – and right up until the referee signaled his technical fall victory at 126 pounds – Robinson made a strong statement on what to expect in the next three weeks.

“Travis was unbelievably good, but I want to be better than he ever was,” Robinson said boldly as recording a pair of dynamic major decision vicories in his first two bouts – followed with an extraordinary effort in his final that featured power, lightning quick speed, power and the ability to finish a shot at will.

“I like to think that I can be the best, and right now, I feel like I am kind of flying under the radar heading into the postseason, which is a good place to be,” continued Robinson, who came through the Twisters youth program, where he was a IKWF State Champion.

While the teams slowly made their way out into the night – Cumbee had this to say before, he too, left for home.

“I could not be more excited about the way we’re entering the state series, all of my guys are laser focused on their goals to improve in the room, which aligns perfectly with my message that you earn your medal at practice (competition) is where you pick it up.”

“I anticipate this momentum to be contagious, and carry us deep into the posteaason.”

The Hilltoppers move on to compete at the Rich East regional, Marian Central Catholic travels to Woodstock North, while Marist stays close to its campus at Stagg.

By Patrick Z. McGavin

In the South Side Hyde Park neighborhood on the first Saturday in December, Mount Carmel had Montini on the ropes.

The Caravan hosted the Broncos as part of a stacked quad. Mount Carmel was coming off the Class 7A state football championship, and the roster was still in flux.

The Montini roster, was also very much a work in progress. The natural experimentation marking the early season was on full blast.

The dual began at 220 pounds, and Nik Misha and heavyweight Eliot Lewis started things off hot with a decision and pin for the 9-0 Mount Carmel lead.

After Connor Gaynor won by forfeit at 145 pounds, Mount Carmel held a seemingly insurmountable lead at 26-12.  Then bam, bam, bam, the lights went out.

Montini reeled off five straight victories. Senior Josh LaBarbera, a transfer from Metea Valley, beat Robert Bowman 9-3 at 195 pounds for the thrilling 32-26 Montini victory.

Montini is the gold standard. Mount Carmel is the chaser. The two have been rated 1-2 in the Class 3A team rankings all year.

That was the backdrop to the latest collision of the two best teams in the state. The platform shifted to the Catholic League conference championship at Providence Saturday.

That December dual meet functioned as a primer and a time machine, as a way to survey the future. But the song remained the same.

Montini won 10 individual championships in capturing the team title with 373 points. The Broncos also had a second, third and fourth-place finish.

Nine of the 14 titles involved a showdown involving Montini and Mount Carmel. After all, that is the way it should be, best up against the best with heightened stakes and a demanding format.

Seven of those showdowns ended up in favor of the Broncos. Mount Carmel had two individual champions and eight runners-up in finishing second at 322.5 points.

Represented by the 113-pound title of defending state champion Diego Sotelo, Marmion finished third with 225.5 points.

Fourth-place finisher Providence accounted for the other individual champion as sophomore heavyweight Ryan Boersma pinned Mount Carmel’s Jalen Grant to run his record to 35-1.

At 6-foot-6, Boersma is long and rangy and virtually impossible to get in on. Grant showed admirable toughness and strength in countering Boersma.

With the match deadlocked at 1-1 midway through the third period, Boersma seized his chance and threw Grant down on his back for the pin at 5:04.

“I have had some common opponents against him, and I have seen him wrestle before,” Boersma said. “I knew what to expect. I knew he was going to be strong in his upper body, and I had to be patient and wear him down and wait for my opportunity.”

Mount Carmel also had two third-place finishers and a fourth-place. Marmion added two second-place finishes, and four third-place performers, while Providence had two second and two third-place wrestlers.

But Montini shaped the narrative, and the gulf between Montini and the field has widened. The conference meet underscored the dominance, roster flexibility and versatility of the Broncos.

“They are on top right now, and we have a month to try and catch them,” Mount Carmel coach Alex Tsirtsis said. “There are a ton of close matches that is going to decide the state championship this year.”

The meet also featured more top-ranked wrestlers than any other in Illinois.

Five Catholic League wrestlers are currently ranked No. 1 in their weight class: Sotelo, Mount Carmel’s Colton Drousias (120) and Connor Gaynor (145), Montini’s Trevor Swier (182) and Boersma. Sotelo and Drousias are also returning state champions.

Four CCL wrestlers are ranked No. 2: Montini’s Dylan Ragusin (126), Mount Carmel’s Noah Mis (132), Montini’s Fidel Mayora (145) and Joe Roberts (152).

Montini sophomore Joe Fernau started things right by defeating Mount Carmel junior Noel Rosales 5-0. 

The two had split 1-1 in their previous matches this season. Fernau was driven by that memory.

“We wrestled in the dual at the start of the year, and I had a couple of good takedowns and I beat him there,” Fernau said. “At Ironman, I was able to get to his legs a lot, but I was not able to finish. 

“The game-changer today was I got to his legs and this time I finished.”

Ranked No. 5, Fernau improved his record to 27-8. The conference meets effectively launches the state series. Establishing momentum is crucial.

“You always go through ups and downs during the season,” he said. “I lost to a kid I should have beat a couple of weeks ago, and I kind of brought myself down. Lately, I have had a couple of confidence boosts.

“Just getting back on my feet and grinding and building, that is my focus. I feel like I am better now than I was all season.”

Drousias and Montini junior Nain Vazquez are practically sparring partners. The 120-pound championship marked the fourth time this season the two have confronted each other.

Vazquez stunned Drousias 4-2 in that early dual meet. The memory also sparked Drousias in his 3-1 victory Saturday.

Nothing ever stays the same. The best always have to adapt on the fly.

“We are so familiar with each other,” Drousias said. “Anybody can beat anybody on any given day. I knew what I had to do as far as attacking, and what I had to do in the match.

“That early match of the year when he beat me, that has stuck with me the whole season. That motivated me to go into every single match doing whatever I had to do to beat him so I never have that feeling again.”

Mis secured the Caravan’s other individual title with his 5-1 victory Montini junior Ethan Stiles at 132 pounds. He improved to 28-3.

“I just wanted to make sure there was no debate,” Mis said. “I was just out to prove that I was best kid in the bracket. I was aggressive the whole match.”

From there, Montini ostensibly ran the table. In almost every instance, the Broncos’ wrestlers were able to bend the moment to their will, dictate the tempo or establish a more dominant rhythm.

Dylan Ragusin interrupted the Marmion and Mount Carmel runs with a dominant run at 126 pounds. He pinned Marmion sophomore Tyler Perry in 1:49.

Braden Stauffenberg (138), Fidel Mayora (145), Joe Roberts (152), Brayden Thompson (160), Cooper Wettig (170). Swier (182), Nathan Wemstrom (195) and LaBarbera (220) punctuated the superb team performance.

The frightening part for the rest of the Class 3A field is that Montini is getting better. In the marquee title at 145 pounds, Mayora avenged an earlier defeat against Gaynor with the 2-1 victory.

Past performance is not always predictive of future results. Nothing ever quite stays the same. Mount Carmel is a great team in its right. 

Now they are forced to play catch up.

“We have to get better every single day over the next month,” Tsirtsis said. “A couple of matches we wrestled really well. What was unfortunate is that we wrestled poorly on the bottom. 

“We practice on it all the time, and the kids know what to do. That is not acceptable.”

Every Montini wrestler has a different style or mode of working. Swier epitomized drive, power and remarkable consistency by wreaking havoc on the field at 182 pounds. 

Showcasing a staggering blend of athleticism, speed and power, he secured a pin against De La Salle senior Mikhel Teverbaugh in just 39 seconds. His record is now 31-6.

“I just wanted to wrestle very clear and direct, and not try anything special,” Swier said. “I wanted to be aggressive and be able to get to my attacks in the first period.”

LaBarbera sealed the comeback in the December dual meet. He completed the Montini run with the tactical and hard fought 1-0 victory over Mount Carmel’s Nik Mishka that improved his record to 30-8.

“My style is really about being calm, cool and collected,” LaBarbera said. “I can be explosive when I need to be. My main focus is maintaining my composure and never overreacting to anything that might happen out there.

“Especially at 220 pounds, not many kids in the country let alone the state are able to keep my pace. I know if I can pushing, pushing, pushing, kids are going to get tried and that is where they make mistakes and I am going to capitalize.”

Broncos best MSL field for second consecutive season

by Mike Garofola

Wheeling High School –

Luke Rasmussen continued to make his mark at another weekend tournament – this one the 50th Mid-Suburban League conference tournament – using a blistering attack to easily repeat as a league champion, while helping his mates from Barrington lift the championship trophy.

The Broncos 29-point (270.5-241.5) advantage over runner up Prospect gave Dave Udchiks’ club its second straight title, and 8th in program history, all of which have come after 2006.

“After our slow start on Friday night, it was nice to see us rebound (today) and come out and wrestle hard all throughout the brackets, avenge a few early season conference losses, and come out of here with the conference title,” said Udchik.

“We set a lot of goals as a team before the season: one of which is to win the MSL, and even though the ultimate goal is to get guys downstate and win medals, and later have us get to team state to compete for a trophy – it’s still a big deal for us to come in here and win the conference championship,” added Rasmussen, now a sparkling 36-0 after pinning his way to the 170-pound crown.

“We’ve got a great room, with great teammates, and former teammates (who) come in and work  with us each and everyday to help all of us be better,” said Rasmussen (27 pins), who spent all of 3:34 minutes combined in his three bouts on Saturday at host Wheeling High School.

Since the Broncos ‘three-peat’ from 2011 to 2013, the big trophy has been dominated by Prospect, Conant, and of course, Barrington – and on this day, try as they might, MSL East champion Prospect was never able to take a bit out of the Broncos lead.

“I said before the tournament that Barrington was the team to beat – too much firepower and depth – but we made it interesting with our four individual champions, almost two more, and (12) overall medals,” said a proud Prospect head coach, Tom Whalen.

“We still have a lot of work ahead of us before regionals, but I am pleased with our four champs, all of which continue to work hard in the room, are coachable, and (today) took chances in order to get us bonus points to help the cause.

Six clubs would own the top of the podium on this second day of action: Barrington and Prospect each claiming four titles each, Buffalo Grove and Fremd two, while Hersey and Schaumburg grabbed one a piece.

One of the championship trophies lifted by a Buffalo Grove Bison came near the very end of the tournament in what was the most anticipated, and highly entertaining bout of the day.

Bison senior, Gio Jackson and Barrington junior, Evan Roper, who have each held the No. 1 spot in the state at 220 pounds at varying times this season – met on center stage in what would be the second, and potentially four matches between these two terrific young men.

Jackson would defeat Roper 5-3 way back in the second week of the regular season, and up until last weekend, was the No. 1 man, according to the IWCOA polls.

His fall from the spot came after Jacobs star, Ryan Golnick sent shockwaves through the old gym at Batavia when he pinned Jackson in the final moments of their final at the Batavia Invite.

“Yeah, that loss to Golnick was the wake-up call I needed,” admitted Jackson, who entered this tournament at No. 2, while Roper held down the No. 3 spot.

An edgy, first period of play would end scoreless, but Jackson’s easy escape, followed by a nice take-down from Roper (25-3) at three minutes made it 2-1, until Jackson recorded another escape thirty seconds later to level the proceedings heading into the third period.

“Their was a lot of hand fighting in our match, and (he) was going to my head from the opening whistle, so I did my best to ‘swat’ his hands off my head – and just looking for my shots while all of that was going on,” said Jackson.

Roper executed a sweet take-down near the edge – carefully keeping his toes inside the line to go up 5-2 after his escape opened the final period.

The big crowd came alive – roaring its approval when Jackson drew back even with 30 seconds left in regulation.

After a whistle stopped the action, Roper, starting down, was allowed an easy escape at 16.8 seconds – until Jackson set the audience into orbit with his game-winning take-down with the clock ready to go to zeros.

“Coach (Kurt Kutska) told me afterwards to pull the trigger more on my shots – I took only two in that match, and both were good,” said an exhausted Jackson, now 32-1.

“That loss to Golnick gave me some new life, and the motivation to work harder this week in advance of knowing that Evan and I would probably meet in the final today,” continued the Bison big man.

“It was a great match, one that everyone here was looking forward to, and they were not let down with all of the action and last second results,” said Udchik.

“We obviously were looking for a better outcome, but those two could meet again at the Stevenson regional, and later sectionals at Barrington, so that will be something to watch later for sure.”

While that final was one of epic proportions – others, while not providing the same dramatic outcome, were still marvelous to watch because of the superb talent competing down on the floor.

Will Basingar and Jack Milos were brilliant at 106 and 132 for Prospect – neither man rarely challenged – both doing so with a relentless, ferocious, all-action attack that left each of their opponents rendered helpless.

The freshmen Baysingar (37-0) is No. 1 at 106 in the state, and the affable Knights rookie says  his lofty spot in the polls has had a positive effect on his overall game.

“Coming in(to) high school, I figured I would be the guy chasing all of the top wrestlers, but being No. 1 doesn’t mean anything (except) having that target on my back has made me work and train harder than I ever have,” says Baysingar, who needed just under four minutes to pin three opponents.

His teammate Milos, himself undefeated in 37 matches, yet surprisingly, behind three others in the polls at 132 – tore through the field on his way to a second MSL crown, his first coming two years ago as a freshmen.

“I think I’ve come a long way from being away from the sport last season, to the Moore-Prettyman where I was gassed in my final, and very sloppy with the way I wrestled,” began Milos, who was a state qualifier two years ago as well.

“Since then, I’ve been working hard in the room, really pushing myself, thanks to my teammates and coaches, and making sure my conditioning improves each week,” added Milos.

The sophomore-senior duo of Charlie Fifield and Isaih Pettigrew from Fremd, were just as magnificent as Baysinger-Milos, as each left little doubt as to whom were the best at 126 and 195.

Fifield, just 22-20 last season, improved his record to an astounding 35-2 following his tech-fall performance at 126.

“When I found out that coach (Jeff) Keske was coming over to run our program at Fremd, I knew he was a great wrestler in high school, was a key guy at Poeta, and was someone that could turn all of us around,” said an appreciative Fifield, who won the Mudge-McMorrow earlier in the season.

“It’s because of him that I feel my game has improved so much, and will continue to do so,” said an appreciative Fifield.

Pettigrew, one match from going downstate a year ago in his first full season of varsity play, echoed those statements from Fifield, while adding:

“Coach (Keske) is all about the technical and tactical side of things, and he’ll put the extra work in with (you) – whatever it takes,” said the 195-pound champ, Pettigrew (28-1) who in the early morning lifts and wrestles as part of his training regimen.

“Watching Isiah’s self confidence grow the past year has been impressive,” begins Keske, a former star under Dale Eggert at Libertyville.

“He (Isiah) needed to compete more in the offseason in order to make up for his lack of experience, he’s done that, plus he’s taken his strength training very seriously the past two years, and it has shown.”

“Charlie is becoming a real student of the game, and after wrestling nearly 100 matches during the offseason, he now has the experience needed to compete at a high level,” said Keske of the sophomore Fifield.

The aforementioned Jackson from Buffalo Grove was joined atop the podium by teammate, Alejandro Mejia (22-3) who after missing nearly three weeks to an injury – won his first MSL title at 152 pounds.

“I felt a little rusty in my first two matches, but a lot more comfortable and ready to go for my final,” said Mejia.

“It feels great to win a conference title (it’s) been one of my goals, but there’s more work to do if I want to get downstate.”

Barrington’s Jack Hartman (182, 31-5) collected his first league title after his third pin of the tournament insured victory – while sophomore Brian Beers (113, 32-6) won his second straight, and Kai Conway became the 25th in MSL history to win three individual titles.

“It would have been nice to get four, but (Jack) Lingle (Schaumburg) was deserving of his championship last year,” said a gracious Conway, who lost in overtime a year ago to Lingle, who would later advance to the state tournament.

Conway, a state qualifier as a sophomore, began his Barrington career at 106.

Beers figures his second take-down of Marcus Santos (26-7) in the later stages of the third period was key in his eventual 5-4 decision over his opponent from Prospect as it gave the 2019 state qualifier a little breathing room after Santos drew one point closer (3-2) following his early third period take-down.

“It was big to get those extra points to extend my lead, and it felt good to do my part for the team with my championship, with every point so important in the final team race,” said Beers.

Hartman, also a 2019 state qualifier, admits his first year with the big club was a difficult one, despite his success.

“Coming in at the varsity level and competing at 182 is tough – but it was really tough being at 175 pounds,” said Hartman, who would offset the weight difference with his quickness, despite a more defensive approach and lack of quality shots.

Grant Hansen (27-9) was thrilled with his first league title, which came at 145 pounds following his 6-0 decision over Barrington senior, Trey Cysewski.

“Despite plenty of ups-and-downs this season, the reason for my success today is that I have great teammates, and coaches in our room who continue to work us hard – pushing us to be better each time out,” said Hansen, who was one win away from going downstate last season.

Lennon Steinkuehler and Joe Miller were the other half of quartet of champions from Prospect – both first-time winners, Steinkuehler at 120, Miller 138.

“I tried to stay cool and calm after he (Russell Hoeft, Conant, 25-7) got back into the match and tied it up in the third period,” began Steinkuehler, who is in his first full year with the big club.

The Knights freshmen would explode for (7) points in the second period, fueled by a near fall midway through to take a 7-2 advantage into the final period.

Hoeft would make it 8-4, then 8-6, before drawing level at (8) with a minute remaining – setting up an escape from Steinkuehler (30-9) who held on for the last 14.9 seconds to earn the 9-8 victory.

Tom Whalen would praise Miller for his 138-pound triumph, who would move his overall record to 29-13 after his 11-2 major decision victory over Christian Gilbert (17-6) from Conant.

“What an impressive tournament for (Joe) – he beat the No. 2 seed to get to the final, then the top seed to win it all,” said Whalen of the Knights junior.

Last, but not least, and only due to the usual scheduling protocol that has the 285-pound division at the end of most tournaments – Hersey senior, Austin Korba (29-3) won his second major of the season – this one breaking a long dry spell for the Huskies program.

Korba, a football star, who has transioned nicely into his second sport, earned a MSL crown for the first time in program history since Hunter Rollins, state runner-up in 2013, did so, at 160 pounds.

“This is such a fantastic day for Hersey wrestling, for Austin, and Hunter, who is the guy who coaches Austin,” said a proud Huskies head coach, Joe Rupslauk.

“To think-that (Austin) nearly quit his sophomore season when he started at 0-10 (and) to see how far he’s come in just two short years is really quite impressive.”

“It’s because of Hunter, coach (Jim) Wormsley and coach Shin (Shinhoster) that I’ve been able to improve each time out this year – they have put all the extra time in with me, and have never stopped believing in me,” said Korba, who registered a pin at 4:38 in his final.

“Austin is a real source of pride for our program, is so coachable, and he’s a big reason for the success the guys have had this year – especially compared to last season at this tournament,” added Rupslauk.

For the record: Hersey, fifth overall on this day with 167 points, (10) top six medals, after finishing a dreadful 11th one year ago, with just 61 points, and three medals.