Carmel's Palm, Grayslake Central's Cramer in pursuit of titles
CHAMPAIGN - Riley Palm and Alex Cramer continued to impress in the early stages of the wrestling state tournament. And in the knockout round Friday night, they both found a higher level still.
As a result, Palm (Carmel Catholic) and Cramer (Grayslake Central) will compete for state championships Saturday at State Farm Center following winning efforts in the semifinals. Both will be pursuing the first wrestling state titles in their program's history.
"I've been here two times before this season with nothing to show for it, so the work during the off-season was all about changing that this year," said Cramer (45-1), who prefers to guard his emotions closely. "But I still have one more to go before I can celebrate."
It was all Cramer as the state's top-ranked junior met No. 2 Casey Allen (Hampshire, 40-2). Cramer recorded his third consecutive major decision victory to set up a 160-pound final against No. 4 Jared Head (39-5) from 2A state power Washington.
Palm (40-0), after thrashing his first two opponents here with pins, found himself in a tight defensive semifinal with No. 3 Leo Mushinsky (42-4) from Peoria Notre Dame. But the Corsairs junior did not change his tactics despite the limited pace.
"Once he got that stall warning, I knew this match was mine because my conditioning and pace was way too much for him to counter," said Palm, whose sudden-victory win, 3-1 in overtime, sends him into the 138-pound final with two-time state champion We Rachel (28-5) from Washington of the Chicago Public League.
"I said at the start of the season, my focus was on getting back down here and into the final and winning a state title," said Palm, who in two previous appearances has come away with sixth-place finishes. "One more tomorrow night and that will happen."
The news was not as good for three others from Lake County who advanced into the semifinals - Alex Barbarise (Antioch, 40-7), Tommy Frezza (Stevenson, 120, 38-6) and Danny Pucino (42-3) of Libertyville.
Barbarese fought back from a 3-0 first period deficit against No. 3 Joey Cape (Washington, 39-5). But the fourth-ranked Sequoits star was unable to get back even in a 7-4 loss.
The sophomore, along with Frezza, Pucino and a handful of others will look to fight their way back into medal contention in wrestlebacks Saturday morning.
Frezza gave his state championship hopes a boost after a 7-3 win in the quarterfinals over No. 5 Ben Anderson (St. Charles East, 40-2). But the Patriots junior was unable to continue his magical run in the front draw as third-ranked Travis Ford-Melton (Marian Catholic, 31-1) edged Frezza 3-1.
Pucino, a sophomore, got his day off to a flying start by beating third-ranked Patrick Nolan (Sandburg, 34-8) in the quarterfinals. But it was too much speed and quickness from No. 2 Eddie Bolivar (OPRF, 40-7) during a 9-3 decision in the semis.
The news was rough for the Mundelein trio of Dane Durlacher (106), Reese Durlacher (126) and junior Logan Kvien (182). Each fell out of championship contention, with only No. 2 Dane Durlacher (45-2) and Kvien (41-6) still alive via wrestleback.
The third- and fifth-place contests will begin at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, with the state finals set to start at approximately 7 p.m.