Neuqua Valley edges Wheaton Warrenville South

Neuqua Valley edged Wheaton Warrenville South 28-26 in an intense DuPage Valley Conference wrestling meet decided in the last match.

It came down to the 170-pound weight class, with WW South holding a 26-25 advantage behind a furious comeback in the middle weight classes. Jacob Boumans and Lukaz Szudarski found themselves tied at 5 going into the third period.

Boumans executed an early escape in the third period and added a takedown later in the period to record an 8-5 victory to improve Neuqua Valley's dual meet record to 11-0.

"It was exciting (and) good for the guys," said Neuqua Valley coach Mike Mucha. "It was good pressure situation for Jacob Boumans to close it out. It wasn't the prettiest, we left a lot of points on the table to get there, but I credit our guys for fighting through and just continuing to believe."

Early in the night it was Neuqua Valley's Roberto Pena who taught a lesson on how to win a match at the buzzer.

Pena and WW South's John Cooper battled to a stalemate in the first period at the 285-pound weight class. Cooper led 3-1 going into the third period, but Pena narrowed the deficit to 1 point with an escape early in the third period.

Pena notched a victory with a takedown with one second left on the clock in one of the most intense matches of the night.

"Great match, wrestled for a full six minutes and fought through every single position," Mucha said. "That's a guy that's making a lot of progress. He kept putting the pressure on and it paid dividends, and that's what happens when you keep on fighting and keep believing you can score."

In the middle weight classes the Tigers (10-6) busted out four straight wins to erase a significant early deficit and take a 26-25 advantage with one match remaining.

The run started with an 11-3 decision from Josh Dorr in the 132-pound weight class followed by a pin from Preston Berry (138 pounds), a 3-1 decision from Peyton Berry (145 pounds), and a commanding 10-2 decision from Nate Dalan at the 152-pound class.

"Guys were wrestling tough and executing and doing the things that we needed to do to get it done," said Tigers coach Matt Janosek. "So that's why we came back a little there. (But) we have to be able to finish those close matches."

Boumans defeated Szudarski in the final match to seal the victory for the Wildcats.