NNHS squeaks out a victory at Central
In another cross-town classic, Naperville North edged Naperville Central by a final score of 26-27 at Central on Friday, January 7th. Both teams won 7 contested matches so the dual was decided by "bonus points." Bonus points are those points scored above a regular decision. In the battle of bonus points, North won 6-5. Central is now 8-7 on the year and 2-3 in the DVC conference.
The contest started at 140 pounds where Kyle Miller earned a bonus point by majoring Junior by a score of 9-1. NCHS took a team score lead to begin the night that they would not relinquish for 10 matches. John Graeber scored a 8-3 decision at 145 pounds and Alex Sokolowski stayed hot with a 17-7 major at 152 pounds. Alex earned a bonus point and pushed the team score to 11-0 in favor of the Hawks. The Huskies answered with a technical fall at 160 which scored two bonus points and a decision at 171 making the team score 11-8.
Luke Roth and Walker brought the crowd to their feet with a 17-15 battle for the ages. In all 9 takedowns were scored, 6 by Roth, but Walker nearly locked down a fall in the middle of the 3rd period. Luke's match was followed by a strategic 6-4 decision by Will Damron at 215 pounds. Will's match was a critical win for the Redhawks and earned him the team's "I'm Somebody Award" for the night. James Mitchell finished off a solid 5-2 decision at 285 to make the team score 20-8 in favor of Central.
But the Huskies came firing back with wins in 5 of the last 6 weight classes. Ryan Porter dropped a major decision at 103 pounds. Mitch Lee was leading 5-0 after the first period but he couldn't hold on and was pinned in a critical 112 pound bout. North scored three bonus points at 103 and 112 and took their first team score lead of the night at 20-21. Senior Jon Williamson overcame a deficit and scored a second period fall at 125 pounds. The fall gave the Redhawks three much needed bonus points and put Central up by five with two matches to go. Kick Cherep fell short of his upset bid by a decision of 6-11 at 130 pounds leaving the dual in the hands of the 135 pounders.
Josh Tardy and Frankie McKeown, both mentioned in state rankings, faced off at 135 with McKeown scoring takedown in the first period and Tardy escaping. McKeown earned an escape in the second period but Tardy got back into the match when McKeown was assessed a penalty for fleeing the mat. In the third, Tardy scored a quick escape to make the score 3-3 and the two wrestlers exchanged takedown attempts to the final second of the period when McKeown was able to spin behind Tardy as the buzzer sounded.
In JV1 action, the Redhawks prevailed by score of 56-13. Naperville North defeated Central 36-41 in the JV2 dual and Naperville Central won the freshman contest 52-35.
All teams will compete on Saturday with the varsity heading to Niles North for a quad with Niles North, Prospect, and Hoffman Estates. The JV1 team will travel to Bolingbrook for a tournament, the JV2 team will be at home for the Naperville Central JV2 invit, and the freshman will compete at Hinsdale South for a tournament.