Seven Redhawks place in the top three and qualify for the IHSA
Sectionals
NCHS takes 3rd place out of 9 teams
February 4, 2017
The postseason has begun for varsity wrestlers all around the state of
Illinois. Naperville Central wrestlers
competed at the IHSA Class AAA Regional Tournament held at Batavia High
School. In each weight class, nine teams
competed for a top three finish and a trip to the Sectionals. Naperville Central sent five wrestlers to the
championship match and two more to the deciding third place match.
The Keating brothers stole the show for the Redhawks, both bringing
home gold. At 132 pounds, Nick Keating
entered the tournament as the fourth seed.
After a first round fall, Nick Keating knocked of the top seed Callaway of
Marmion by a score of 9-1. He followed
the victory up by pinning second-seeded Major of Batavia in the finals. Jake Keating, wrestling at 145 pounds, also
notched a first round pin and then advanced to the finals with a technical fall
over Brantland of Waubonsie Valley in the semifinals. Against the number one seeded Polka of
Marmion, Jake Keating used a lateral throw to score a takedown with three
near-fall points and then held on the rest of the match to win 7-2. Both Keatings will enter the Sectionals with
a first round bye.
Kyle Guttosch, Cameron Palmer and Christian Nussbaum all punched their
tickets to Sectionals by scoring semifinal victories. Kyle Guttosch, 106, won 17-1 in the first
round and then scored a win by fall in the semifinals over Medlin of West
Aurora. Guttosch suffered a 0-8 loss to
Jaffe from Marmion in the finals.
Cameron Palmer, 170, also had a first round pin and then battled to an
8-3 decision over Matar of Naperville North before losing in the finals to
Ferrero of Marmion. Christian Nussbaum,
wrestling at 220 pounds, became a Sectional Qualifier for the second year in a
row by scoring a win by fall in the first round and a 5-2 decision over Gray of
Naperville North. Nussbaum lost by fall
to Sondag of Waubonsie Valley to take second place.
Two Redhawks needed a win in the third place bout to make the trip to
Sectionals. Joe Lopez, 126, scored a 4-0
win in the consolation semifinals and then a 16-4 major decision over Gonzalez
of Waubonsie Valley to take the bronze medal.
At 152 pounds, Derek McDaniel defeated Johnson of West Aurora in the
consolation semifinals to make the blood round.
McDaniel needed extra time to defeat Deetjen of Naperville North for
third place. An overtime takedown
decided the contest.
Two seniors saw an end to their season efforts at the tournament. Mujtaba Ahmed capped off his wrestling efforts
with a 2-2 record in the highly regarded 120 pound bracket. Ahmed scored a 25-7 technical fall over Mayo
of East Aurora and a 12-3 major decision over Burgess of Wheaton Warrenville
South before he succumbed in the consolation semifinals. Heavyweight Michael Norwood defeated Ferrer
of Wheaton Warrenville South, but then was unable to continue his magic ride
into the post-season.
Jackson Punzel lost a heartbreaker in the final seconds of his match against
Dalan of WWS to see his 2016-17 season come to a close. Punzel wrestled at 160 pounds. Colin Baumgartner and Ben Cianchetti, 113 and
182 respectively both battled by ended up 0-2 on the day. Leo Keating stepped in at 138 pounds and gave
a tough effort, but also ended 0-2 on the day.
The Redhawks took 3rd place in the tournament. Marmion won the event with 212.5 points and
thereby qualified for the 16 team State Dual Team Tournament which will commence
starting the Tuesday after the IHSA Individual State Tournament. Wheaton Warrenville South took 2nd
place with 132.5 points, NCHS took 3rd with 124.5 points followed by
4th: West Aurora, 5th: Metea Valley, 6th:
Naperville North, 7th: Batavia, 8th: Waubonsie Valley, 9th:
East Aurora.
Marmion also lead the way with 10 sectional qualifiers but the Redhawks
were second with 7 qualifiers. WWS had 6
while MV and NN both had 5 each.
NCHS finished the tournament with a 22-17 record in overall matches.
Next up the seven qualifiers will compete in the IHSA class AAA
Sectional Tournament on Friday and Saturday, February 10-11 held at Downers
Grove North High School. There are 12
individuals at each weight class all vying for a top four finish to qualify for
the IHSA State Tournament the following weekend. Action starts Friday at 6:00pm.
GO REDHAWKS!