February 25,
2020
Naperville
Central 28 - Chicago Mt. Carmel 47
Naperville
Central’s 2019-2020 season came to a close after being defeated by Chicago Mt.
Carmel at the IHSA Dual Sectional. The
dual was contested at Sandburg High School.
Mt. Carmel was ranked 2nd by IWCOA state rankings and 21
nationally by Intermat. Naperville
Central was ranked 12th in the state. NCHS won 5 of the 14 matches. Central finished with a dual meet record of 22-5. Host Sandburg defeated Oak Park and River
Forest in the adjoining dual. Mt. Carmel
and Sandburg advance to Dual State (State Quarterfinals) to be competed in
Bloomington this Saturday, February 29th. They will wrestle Minooka.
With the
matches starting with the 195 pound weight class, Central’s Austin Longmire
lost by fall in the second period to Mt. Carmel’s Bowman after some good scrambles. Senior and state qualifier Angelo Eklou put
the Redhawks on the board with a decisive second period fall against Elliott
Lewis at 220 pounds. Eklou finishes his
season with 35 wins, second on the team.
The Caravan answered with two to pins at 285 and 106. State placer Jalen Grant overtook Central’s Carson
Enfield and Noel Rosales defeated Ethan Olson.
Both matches were decided by fall in the first period.
Sophomore
Tommy Porter scored a quick takedown and added two sets of nearfall points before
pinning Caleb Drousias at 113 pounds.
The fall came in the second period.
Porter finishes with a record of 35-6.
NCHS sent upstart freshman Patrick Geiger against state champion Sergio
Lemley. Geiger battled into the second
period before succumbing by fall at 120.
Junior Redhawk Ethan Jones was put to work against former state champion
Colton Drousias at 126. Drousias was
able to win by technical fall 4-20.
Senior
captain and two-time state qualifier Tyler Driessens put on the Redhawk singlet
for the final time and made his last match count. Driessens took a 7 point lead into the third
period and late into the match went upper-body.
The gamble paid off as Driessens was able to lock down a fall with just
three seconds left on the clock.
Driessens competed at 132, two weight classes above his season weight
class. He completes a 42-4 season,
leading the team with 30 falls. Chicago
Mt. Carmel won the following four matches in a row, enough to mathematically
ice the dual win. State Champion Noah
Mis defeated senior Elrin Esporlas at 138, but not without a fight. The final score was 4-14. Sophomore and rising star Ayden Lutes was
defeated by a 4-10 decision at 145 pounds.
State runner-up Connor Gaynor won by technical fall over the Redhawk
senior captain Ryan Silva at 152. Silva’s
final record is 34-11 with 11 wins by fall.
Finally, Ashton Breen, a 5th place finisher at state, won by
fall over senior Sean King at 160 with a fall coming in the second period. King end the season 30-13 and second on the
team for number of falls with 24.
The dual win
out of reach, the Redhawks sent out their final two wrestlers. At 170 pounds, junior Shane Roth scored early
with a takedown and earned nearfall points right out of the gate. Roth then coasted to a 11-2 major decision
over Owen Jacobson. Roth complete a
33-10 season, leading the team in total takedowns with 83. In the event’s final match at 182 pounds,
senior Tariq Sikander scored three takedowns quickly and, after giving up a
reversal, caught Patrick Navarre from the bottom position with a reversal of
his own. The maneuver put Sikander in
position for a fall and he didn’t let the opportunity slip away locking down
the pin at the 1:13 mark.
The event
concludes the season for the Redhawks, but look to see freshman and sophomore Central
wrestlers continue to compete at the IWCOA Regionals this weekend at Oswego
East High School.
Naperville
Central will celebrate the season with their annual awards banquet to be held
Sunday, March 1st at NCHS.