Jackson
Punzel finishes in 5th place
2/14-16/2019
Four
Naperville Central wrestlers competed at the IHSA Individual State Tournament
at the State Farm Center on the campus of the University of Illinois,
Champaign-Urbana. That would tie for the
most state qualifiers in school history and the most since 1982 (four in 1962,
1975, and 1982).
The
top performer was Jackson Punzel.
Punzel, competing in the 170 pound weight class entered the tournament
as the overall third seed after winning the Sectional tournament the weekend
before. Punzel, now a two-time qualifier,
defeated Migawa (Andrew) 1-5 on day one of the competition and Pennington
(Glendard North) 17-10 Friday morning to qualify for the semifinals. The second win punched his ticket onto the
podium as a state place winner. Punzel
was defeated by Boumans (Neuqua Valley) by a score of 1-8, ending his dream of
participating in the championship match.
Coming back on day three, Punzel was defeated by Dixon (Shepard) by a
score of 3-10. The loss sent Punzel to
the 5th place match where he faced Chisum (Zion). Punzel scored the opening takedown late in
the first period and maintained a 2-0 lead heading into the second period. Punzel picked the bottom position and escaped
early. Chisum got into a deep shot, but
Punzel was able to defend and score to take a 5-0 lead. An escape by Chisum allowed Punzel to defend
another shot and counter for his third takedown of the match. The third period began with Punzel on top
with a 7-1 lead. Chisum attempted an
escape that was countered by Punzel.
Punzel then wrapped up his opponent’s arms and turn him for the fall at
4:33 in the match. Punzel finishes on
top for his 42 win of the year against 5 losses.
Tyler
Driessens (113) was defeated in round one by Valtierrez of Chicago Taft
0-7. But, Driessens pinned Doke (Harlem)
in just 27 seconds to get a state win.
In round two of wrestle-back competition, Driessens was defeated by
Valdez (Andrew) 2-9. Valdez ended the
tournament in 6th place.
Driessens competes the season with a record of 34-10. Tyler Driessens is a junior.
Colin
Baumgartner (120) lost both of his matches at state. He was defeated by Domke (Warrren) by fall
and then by Bolivar (OPRF) by a score of 2-13.
Baumgartner completes his senior year with a record of 33-13.
Ben
Cianchetti (195) also lost both of his matches.
Cianchetti wrestled the distance against Gomez (Stevenson), coming up
short by a score of 0-6. In match two,
Cianchetti last to Tolbert (Wheaton North) by fall. Cianchetti finished his final year with a
32-5 record.
The
2018-2019 Naperville Central wrestling team will celebrate their
accomplishments on Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at their wrestling banquet. Among other honors, the Most Valuable, Most
Improved, Hardest Worker, Most Inspirational, JV and Freshman Wrestler of the
Year Awards and the Red-White Award will be presented.
Editor’s
note, at the conclusion of the banquet there will be one more NCHS Wrestling
Newsletter for this season.
GO
REDHAWKS!