- 1st NCHS 451.5
- 2nd Mahomet-Seymour 450.5
- 3rd Yorkville Christian 407.5
- 4th Normal Community West 318.5
- 5th Rock Island 317.5
1/15/2022
Naperville Central held on to win the 24-team Marty Williams
Invitational by a single team point over host Mahomet-Seymour High School. The Redhawks sent 24 wrestlers to the
tournament, 14 point scorers and 10 additional wrestlers. In 104 total matches, the Hawks won 66 with
47 of those wins coming by fall. Two
NCHS wrestlers made the finals and seven additional wrestles finished in the
top four.
The tournament places each wrestler in one of eight
three-man round robin brackets. Wrestlers who finish 2-0 in the round robin
bracket complete in the Gold 8-man bracket and place first through eighth. Those who finish 1-1 in the round robin
bracket complete in the Silver 8-man bracket for ninth through 16th
place. The rest complete in the Bronze
bracket for a chance to earn 17th place.
Leading the way for the Redhawks was David Pirozhnik (182) who won all five matches toward a first place finish. Pirozhnik pinned both opponents in his RR bracket and rolled to the finals with a pin in the quarterfinals and a 14-7 victory in the semifinals. Pirozhnik faced off with Brock Leenerman of Normal Community West for the championship. The NCHS star scored offensive points in all three periods including three takedowns to win by decision 12-6 and gold. Pirozhnik improves to 25-1 on the year with a team leading 18 falls.
Taking second place for Central was senior captain Tommy
Porter (138). Porter scored a pair of
falls in the RR bracket and added another fall in the quarterfinals before
facing Spinazzola of Peotone in the semifinals.
With the match tied, Porter scored a reversal in the final seconds to
win 5-3. Porter is now 23-3 on the
season, and second on the team in three categories, wins, falls, and takedowns.
Naperville Central scored a couple of key wins in the bronze
medal matches to help carry them to the team championship. Senior Chris Ramirez (145) finished with four
wins including a 10-5 decision against Decker from Lincoln for Bronze. In five matches Ramirez earned 18 takedowns
and leads the team with 71 takedowns on the season. Sophomore Tyler Martin (113) scored a very
important bonus point, winning his third place match 15-6 over McGrew of Normal
West. Martin added three total wins on
the day.
Five NCHS wrestlers battled to fourth place: Mitchell
Kaszuba (132), Larry Stubitsch (126), Gavin Bohan (152), Haaris Khan (195) and
Nick Antonietti (285). Kaszuba won his
first two matches by scores of 15-0 and 11-3.
Stubitsch entered the tournament as a non-scorer and earned his first
varsity win. Bohan battled on a score
knee all day, but was able to finish 3-2 with three falls. Antonietti lost in the bronze medal match,
but kept the match close enough to secure a team title.
Two NCHS wrestlers won key final matches to place fifth
place. Senior Tristen Hall (170) came
from behind and locked down a fall against Navarro of Champaign Centennial and
Niko Besterio (220) added a fall in the second-to-last match that was huge for
the Redhawks. Both wrestlers finished
3-1 on the day. Placing sixth was Ethan Olson
(120) and Sophomore Joe Thomas (160).
Olson had three pins and now has a record of 19-6 on the year. Thomas, a non-scoring wrestler impressed his
coaches by advancing to the Gold bracket and scoring a fall in his second
match. Muhammad Totten took 7th
place and Hagan Taylor placed eighth.
Taylor earned his first two varsity wins.
Four Hawks placed ninth.
Wrestlers who placed ninth went 1-1 in the round robin bracket, but then
won all three matches in the Silver Bracket.
August Kukis (126) finished with a record of 4-1 and improved to 13-13
on the season. Charlie Morgan (160) lost
to the eventual silver medalist in the RR bracket but then pinned his way
through the Silver Bracket. Patrick
Bohan (170) and Ethan Pytlak (195) both non-scorers, finished 4-1 and 3-1 on
the day. Bohan earned his first varsity
matches of his career.
Other places include Chase Enfield (10th at 285),
Charles Kuang (11th at 126), Neil Rao (13th at 138),
Gavin McDonald (17th at 106) and Chris Bern (17th at
138). Enfield, Kuang, and McDonald all
earned their first varsity wins.
McDonald and Bern both won the Bronze Bracket.
Naperville Central fielded a freshman-sophomore team that
traveled to Oswego High School and won all four duals there to take first
place. They defeated Joliet West, Oswego
East and both Oswego teams.
Next week the Redhawks will honor their seniors on Senior
Night against Wheaton North at home on Thursday, then complete in the DuPage
Valley Tournament on Saturday.