Luke Roth finishes in 3rd place, Ben Williamson finishes in 4th place at IHSA Sectionals
February 9, 2013
The Redhawk Wrestling Team sent five individuals to the IHSA Sectional Tournament held at Shepard High School and two came away with a birth to the state tournament.
By virtue of winning the Regional Tournament, Luke Roth drew a bye in the opening round of Sectionals. In round two, Roth was pinned by Gore of Sandburg. It was the first time this year that Roth was defeated. Roth's path to state would have to come through the wrestle-backs. Roth defeated Allen of Hinsdale Central by a score of 8-3. In the quarter-final wrestle-back Roth defeated Ocequerra of Downers Grove South. That win set up a match against McGee from St. Rita for a birth to state. Roth scored a takedown in the first period to take a 2-0 lead and added an escape and penalty point in the second period to extend his lead to 4-0. Roth added another takedown in the third period after giving up an escape to win 6-1. The victory makes Roth a three time state qualifier, the most in NCHS history. Luke Roth capped off the tournament with a 4-3 victory against King of Hinsdale Central to finish in third place. Roth's record in the tournament was 4-1 and he wins the team's "I'm Somebody" award.
Ben Williamson began with tournament with a solid 8-0 victory over Marc Kosiek of Hinsdale South. The win put Williamson in the quarterfinals where he lost to Michael O'Connor of St. Rita 2-8. To qualify for state, Willliamson would need to win three matches in a row. That effort began with a win against Balich of Brother Rice by a score of 4-0. In the quarter-final wrestle-backs, Williamson gave up the first takedown to Bianco of Morton, but came back with a takedown of his own in the second period. The takedown proved decisive because Williamson took his opponent to this back and got the fall.
In the semi-final wrestle-back, Ben faced Sanders of Lyons Township. The winner gets the birth to state. Williamson left no doubt - coming out with a takedown and a pair of near-falls to gain an early 7-0 lead. Williamson extended the lead to 12-0 after the second period earning an escape, takedown, and another set of near-falls. Williamson held on for the victory in the third period, winning 13-2 for his 35th win of the year. The newly crowned state-qualifier lost 4-6 against Leveille of Marist and finished the tournament in 4th place with a 4-2 record.
Ryan Berg finished his tournament 2-2 and failed to qualify for state a second time. The 195 pounder began with a 3-1 overtime thriller win against D'Wayne Franklin of Thornton. Berg lost his overtime effort in the quarter-finals verses Threloff of St. Rita by a score of 2-1. On day two of the tournament, Berg scored five takedowns against Sierzega of Brother Rice to win 11-4 and advance to the quarter-final wrestle-backs. Berg lost to Pruitt of Marist in that match by a score of 3-7. Ryan Berg completes the season with a record of 34-7, scoring 111 takedowns and finishing first in three tournaments including DVC Conference.
Senior Hunter Stephens competed aggressively, throwing both of his opponents for takedown and near-fall, but neither throw resulted in a win. Hunter fell behind against Bates of Lyons Township but came back with a big headlock to take the lead. Bates scored later in the tournament and completed a fall. In match two, Hunter scored on another throw verses Threloff of St. Rita to take a 4-0 lead, but was reversed and pinned later in the period. Hunter finishes with a record of 24-17 with an amazing 21 of those wins by fall.
Shuji Mizoguchi was pinned by Silzer of St. Rita and by Lukanich of Marist. The freshman becomes a sectional qualifier.
IHSA State action begins on Thursday, February 14th at the Assembly Hall on the campus of the University of Illinois. Ben Williamson and Luke Roth will compete in the 6:00pm session.
GO REDHAWKS!