Five Redhawks Advance to Sectionals

Roth 1st, Mizoguchi, Williamson, Stephens, and Berg 3rd
February 2, 2013

At the IHSA Regional Tournament, five Redhawks placed in the top three and advanced to the IHSA Sectional tournament. The Regional Tournament was held at Naperville Central High School.

Senior Luke Roth was crowned Regional Champion at 220 pounds. Roth, the number one seed, advanced to the semifinals with a bye. There, he defeated Zheng of Naperville North by a first period fall. In the finals, Roth controlled Freelund of Metea Valley by a score of 5-0. Roth qualifies for Sectionals for the third time.

Four more Redhawks qualified for the 3rd place match and had to win to advance to Sectionals. All four Redhawks won. Shuji Mizoguchi finished the day 3-1 for third place. The freshman came from behind to defeat Zinzer of West Aurora. Down 3-8 after the first period, Mizoguchi scored a takedown in the second period to cut the deficit to 3, then scored an escape and two takedowns in the final frame to win 10-9. Mizoguchi lost 2-5 in the semifinals, but won 14-2 against MacDonald of Geneva and 11-3 against Oskvarek of Downers Grove South for his bronze.

Ben Williamson defeated Lettieri of Metea Valley by a score of 4-2. In the semifinals, Williamson lost 7-9 in the semifinals, but won two matches in the wrestle-backs to take third. Williamson pinned Rivera of West Aurora, then held on to beat Johnnic of Wheaton Warrenville South 6-4 for his medal.

Hunter Stephens provided the most excitement in the tournament. Stephens lost to the number one seed Hickok of DGS to start the tournament to drop into the wrestle-backs. Stephens scored a fall against Goodin in just 19 seconds. In the wrestle-back semifinals, Stephens faced number 2 seed Graham of Metea Valley. Graham, a state qualifier from last year, took the lead with a takedown in the first period. In the second period, Stephens escaped from the bottom and then headlocked Graham for a fall. A rematch with Engblom of Naperville North followed for third place. The two wrestlers had split a pair of matches earlier in the season. Engblom took a 2-4 lead out of the first period and extended his lead to 3-11 after the second period. In the third period, Stephens scored a reversal and, after letting his opponent escape, scored another headlock and fall late in the third period. Stephens becomes a sectional qualifier for the first time. Stephens gets “I’m Somebody” for his thrilling effort.

Ryan Berg logged the most wrestling minutes in the tournament. Berg opened the tournament with a 10-5 decision against Barry of Downers Grove South. In the semifinals, Berg lost in sudden-death overtime to Watson of Batavia by a score of 9-10. In the wrestle-backs, Berg defeated Adams of Wheaton Warrenville South 3-2 setting up a rematch against Walker of Naperville North for third place. Berg and Walker have met twice before this season and several times in previous seasons. With the score 1-1 in the third period, Berg scored a takedown to take a 3-1 lead. Walker escaped to make the score 3-2. The match went into overtime when Berg was penalized for stalling with just three seconds left in the match. In just 20 seconds into overtime, Berg scored the deciding takedown to win 5-3. Ryan Berg qualifies for Sectionals for the second time.

Six seniors saw their seasons end at the Regional Tournament. Mitch Lee finished the day 1-2. Lee avenged a loss to Drummond by a score of 5-4 in the wrestle-backs. Justin Tardy opened the tournament with a 14-4 win, then he just missed a semifinal victory when he lost 5-6 against Williams of West Aurora. Joe Saleh won 9-5 verses Anderson of Geneva in the wrestle backs. Tardy and Saleh also finished 1-2. Aidan Kehrli, John Needham, and Eric Reents failed to win a match in the tournament.

Junior Louie Giovannetti and Sophomores Derek Wilke and Matt Chobak also failed to win a match in the tournament.

Roth, Mizoguchi, Williamson, Stephens, and Berg will compete at Shepherd High School on Friday and Saturday, February 8-9. There are twelve wrestlers in the sectional bracket and the top four advances to the State Tournament the following weekend.

GO REDHAWKS!