Mustangs battle but fall on mats
The past three days of arctic weather have been eventful to say the least for the Warren wrestling team.
After defeating Stevenson at home in a North Suburban Conference Lake Division dual meet Thursday, the Blue Devils' NSC crossover meet at Antioch was canceled Friday because of the weather.
But Warren (15-1) shook off the cold and the distractions Saturday to stay on the winning track with a 35-32 non-onference victory over visiting Rolling Meadows in a double-dual meet. The Blue Devils also defeated Westosha Central of Wisconsin 42-27.
Rolling Meadows (19-5) rolled to a 50-15 non-conference victory over Westosha Central in the opening round. The Mustangs then faced Warren in the second round.
With the meet starting at 160 pounds, Rolling Meadows' Steve Orchell recorded a pin over Justin Santiago with 21 seconds remaining in the third period, before 171-pound teammate Tim Herff posted a 13-4 major decision for a 10-0 advantage.
With Warren standout Tyreese Woodard out of the lineup Saturday, Thomas Davidson (26-4) picked up a forfeit victory at 189 to stake the Mustangs to a 16-0 lead.
Rolling Meadows was without 189-pound standout Alex Bueno because of a shoulder injury he sustained Friday night.
The Blue Devils began their comeback when 215-pounder Chandler Sperry recorded a pin with 13 seconds left in the third period.
Warren 285-pounder Cody Hoag held off Jordan Farnum for a 1-0 decision, and 103-pound teammate Robby Schultheis (22-1) recorded an 11-1 major decision to cut Meadows' lead to 16-13.
At 112, Mike Metzger's pin in 3:40 gave the Mustangs some breathing room with a 22-13 lead, but Warren 119-pounder Connor Drew (21-2) posted a 13-4 major decision to keep the Blue Devils within striking range.
At 125, Damen Curry kept the Blue Devils' momentum going with a 9-4 decision over Cory Jauch, and 130-pound teammate Leon Megerdichian pinned his opponent in 2:54 to give Waren its first lead at 26-23.
The Mustangs hung tough as 135-pounder Andrew Smaida outlasted Brandon Tyler 5-3 in overtime to deadlock the score at 26-26 with three matches to go.
Warren 140-pounder T.J. Parker edged Dennis Caravello 5-3 for a 29-26 lead, setting the stage for the key 145-pound bout.
Senior Jon Hamilton pinned Mark Herff with only four seconds left in the second period to give the Blue Devils a 35-26 advantage.
At 152, Meadows' Joey Caprio recorded a pin in the final match, but the Blue Devils walked away with the 35-32 win.
The Mustangs' Metzger, Smaida, Orchell, Tim Herff, and Davidson all picked up 2 wins.
"The heavyweight match could have gone either way, but they won 8 matches and we won 6," said Mustangs coach Dave Froehlich. "We had two seniors that we lost for the season to injury, but we've subbed in with a bunch of young guys and they've done very well for us."
At Stevenson
Host Stevenson (11-6) sandwiched a pair of routs over St. Viator and Elk Grove around an impressive 39-34 triumph over Deerfield (16-2).
The Patriots beat St. Viator (9-13) in its opener 57-17 and completed its sweep with a 66-4 win over Elk Grove (2-15).
Against the Grens, Nick Pagano defeated Mike Alcazar (17-13) with a late third-period explosion 11-5, before his teammate Brandon Weber (160) used an escape with 18.5 seconds left in the fourth OT period to upend Brett Lesniak 4-3.
"We've got some terrific young wrestlers in our program right now, and two great senior leaders (Alcazar and Rich Szaflarski) who unfortunately won't be around when things begin to turn around for us in another year," said Grens first-year coach Craig Johnson.
Szaflarski (16-11) finished with a flurry when his 11-2 major decision at 215 pounds in the final bout against Stevenson gave the Grens their lone points against the hosts.
St. Viator sophomore Danny Sabatello (26-3) proved to be the brightest light for the Lions with a trio of victories, including an impressive technical fall at four minutes over Deerfield's Lenny Bloom.
"I put a lot of time during the off-season and made a total commitment to wrestling when I stopped playing football this season," said Sabatello, who coming into the weekend is ranked No. 10 in the state at 112 pounds.
Sabatello had little to do with the Lions' 39-30 victory over Elk Grove as he and six others took forfeit victories, mostly at the lower weights. Eric Abrahamian (160) and William (171) and Richard Rittmeyer (189) all pinned their opponents.
- Mike Garofola
$CLASS=breakhead$Girls bowling
Schaumburg sophomore Jodi Gawlik rolled a 278 and knocked down 1,445 pins to win the individual medal at the 24-team Fenton Fred Green Classic in Wood Dale.
Her sister, senior Marilyn Gawlik, was second as the Saxons captured the team title with a 486-pin victory over runner-up Lockport.
"When they come in focused like they did today you just let 'em bowl," said Saxons coach Mark Kelly.
"They almost give you a guarantee that they can bowl 600-plus at any time."
Elk Grove boasted three bowlers in the top 25 as the Grenadiers finished third, just 7 pins out of second place.
"These tournaments are so exciting," said Grens freshman Ashley Dolce (22nd overall, 232 high game.) "Some of the teams come from far away and you get to meet a lot of new people."
Grens sophomore Caerlina Williams (267) took ninth and freshman Tedra Tado was 17th.
Samantha Downs (1,175 pins) led Leyden to sixth place.
- Bill Esbrook