2/3/2024
- 1. Naperville Central 251.5
- 2. West Aurora 194
- 3. Naperville North 173
- 4. Bolingbrook 87
- 4. Neuqua Valley 87
- 6. Waubonsie Valley 48
- 7. East Aurora 45
- 8. Metea Valley 14
Naperville Central won the IHSA Regional title, repeating as champions. The tournament was held at East Aurora High School. All fourteen wrestlers competing for the Redhawks placed in the top three and therefore qualified for the IHSA Individual Sectional Tournament next weekend at Hinsdale Central. Wrestlers placing in the top four at sectionals will become Illinois state qualifiers and will earn a trip to the University of Illinois to wrestle in the State Farm Center the following weekend. It was the first time in school history that Central qualified all fourteen wrestlers. Central crowned six regional champions, had twelve in the finals and two others placed third.
In addition, as tournament
champions, Naperville Central has qualified for the sixteen-team state dual series. The round of sixteen begins with the IHSA
Dual Sectional on Thursday, February 20 where the Hawks will face host Downers
Grove South. The team winning that dual
will qualify for team state the following weekend. It won’t be easy and the Mustangs of DGS also
qualified all fourteen of their wrestlers to sectionals. Central has only qualified for dual state
twice in its school history (2009, 2012).
The Redhawks won 28
matches in the event to just 8 losses.
Of the wins, fourteen came by fall and one other came by technical fall.
Central’s sophomore
Jake Moore, competing at 106 pounds, entered the tournament with a record of 4-2. Moore advanced to the finals by way of a pin against
Dean of West Aurora. In the finals, Moore
faced off against Beedon of Naperville North.
After two scoreless periods, Moore scored a reversal and rode his
opponent out for a regional title.
Fellow sophomore Jacob Cochran pinned his way to a 113-pound title. His wins came against Podracky of Neuqua
Valley and Harris of Bolingbrook. Cochran
will take a 27-8 record to sectionals with 18 pins, second best in both wins
and falls. Senior Ty Martin made it
three gold medals in a row for the Hawks.
Martin (120) pinned Duffield of Waubonsie Valley and defeated McDonald
of Naperville North by a score of 11-5 to make the finals. Martin’s title did not come easy. Tied 2-2 late in the third period against Craig
of Bolingbrook, Tyler scored his winning reversal and held on for the 4-2
victory. Martin improves to 24-9 on the
season.
NCHS’s Mitchell Kaszuba
(126) just missed earning a regional title, losing 6-7 in the finals against Matkovich
of West Aurora. Kaszuba, 24-6, won his
match in the semifinals over Hudson of Bolingbrook 14-3. Vince Bern opened with two victories in a row
at 132 pounds, pinning Amini of Metea Valley and defeating Piatt of West Aurora
12-6. Bern was stopped by Sternstein of
Naperville North in the championship match.
Vince Bern will enter sectionals with a 20-15 record. At 138 pounds, Stavros Gerousis stepped in
for his injured teammate and made the most of his opportunity, making it to the
finals and earning a ticket to sectionals.
Gerousis defeated Chidley (NV) in the semifinals by a score of 3-2. Gerousis lost to Ortiz (WA) in the finals.
In perhaps the most
loaded weight class of 144, senior Hagan Taylor battled to a regional title. Taylor won by fall in the quarterfinals over
Ayala (WA), then Taylor won a hard-fought 14-8 decision against Wojtowich (WV). Taylor faced off against Camacho of
Bolingbrook for gold. That match ended
early when Camacho defaulted by injury. Taylor’s
record is now 27-7 with 18 wins by fall.
Senior Javier Sevilla (150) improved to 5-7 on the year after finishing 2-1
on the day. Sevilla lost in the semifinals
to Pape (NV) by a score of 1-6 and then needed two wins to qualify for
sectionals. Two wins he earned, both by
fall; the first verses Lackings of East Aurora and the second over Verge (WV). Senior standout Chris Bern, 157, punched his
ticket to sectionals with two pins in the quarter and semifinals to Stribley (WV)
and Poe (Bolingbrook) respectively. Bern
competed against Quintana (WA) in the finals.
Bern fell behind early and his comeback attempt was cut short by time, losing
6-12. Bern holds a record of 24-8 and continues
to be second on the team in takedowns with 66.
Senior John Carens defeated
Evans (NV) to open his efforts at 165 pounds.
Carens lost in the semifinals to Budreika (NV) 1-8, so he too
needed work back in the wrestle backs to qualify for sectionals. Carens advanced to the third-place match with
a bye, then defeated Menendez (NV) in a tough 7-3 match. Carens will carry a 21-14 record to
sectionals. At 175 pounds, Henry Rydwelski
placed second after losing to Gatlin of Naperville North in the finals. Rydwelski made his way to the finals with a
technical fall over Oribo (WV) 17-2 and a major decision to Hernandez
(EA). Rydwelski is now 25-11 and leads
the team in takedowns with 76. Senior
and former state qualifier Jacob Smetters, 190, won against Cruz of Bolingbrook
14-0 and then stuck Diaz’s shoulders to the mat for a pin in the semifinals. Smetters battled Murphy of Naperville North
in the championship match, falling short 2-10.
Smetters will try to repeat as a state qualifier, taking a 22-12 record to
sectionals.
The final two weigh
classes proved to be two of the most exciting matches in the finals for the
Redhawks. First up, senior Nico
Besterio, 215, battled Walker of East Aurora in the finals after Besterio upended
Ibragimov (NN) in the semifinals 7-3.
Walker earned a first period takedown and lead 2-1 after one period. Besterio got an escape and a takedown in the
second period, but Walker answered with an escape to make the score 4-3 in
favor of Besterio. Walker tied the score
with an early escape in the third period, but then took a second injury timeout
that, by rule, allowed Besterio to pick bottom when wrestling resumed. Besterio took the lead with another escape
and added an insurance takedown to win a regional title 7-4. He is now 24-3 on the season.
Junior Will Erbeck
entered the tournament as the number one seed and a record of 31-2. After a win by fall over Charon (WA), Erbeck
squared off against Amoh of Bolingbrook in the finals and the last match of the
event. A missed headlock by Erbeck put
Amoh ahead 2-0 early. Erbeck got the escape
to finish the period. In period two,
Erbeck fought off the bottom for a reversal, but gave up an escape to make the
score 3-3 heading into the third period.
Amoh got off the bottom for the 4-3 lead quickly and that’s how the score
remained at the second clicked off the clock.
Erbeck tried several throws, but none scored until the final
seconds. Another headlock by Erbeck put
Amoh on his back, but he immediately rolled through putting the wrestlers on
the mat, side by side. In the ensuing scramble,
Erbeck high bridged and came out on top – scoring the fall with just three
second left. The pin brought the crown
and his teammates to his feet and capped off a great day for the Redhawks. Erbeck, now 33-2 continues to lead the team in
wins and falls with 20.