Naperville Central 46 – Naperville North 6
12/14/2023
Naperville Central defeated crosstown rival Naperville North
in front of a sellout crown hosted by Central.
The dual was contested in the main gym.
The Hawks are now 8-1 on the season and 3-0 in the DVC. In the dual, Central won twelve of the
fourteen matches with many coming down to the final seconds. The Redhawks won three matches by fall.
Naperville Central won the first ten matches of the evening, but it was not easy. The battle started at heavyweight. Central’s Will Erbeck and Steven Harvey went scoreless in the first period. After a Harvey escape, Erbeck scored a takedown with nearfall points to move up 5-1. Another Harvey escape made it 5-2 entering the third period. Erbeck locked down the victory with an escape and takedown for a 8-2 decision. Cycling down to the light weight classes, Austin Aguinaldo (106) of Central and Adam Beedon also went scoreless in the first period. Aguinaldo opened the second period with an escape and takedown and Beedon added an escape. Up 3-1, Aguinaldo tacked on a takedown to win 5-1. Next up, Jacob Cochran (113) defeated Alexander Paunkov by fall 44 seconds into the third period. Cochran scored a takedown and back-points in the first period to take a 7-0 lead and added another takedown in the second before securing his fall.
Redhawk Ty Martin (120) and Connor McDonald had one of the
more exciting matches of the night.
Martin open with a low single leg takedown, but McDonald took the lead
with a reversal to the back 4-2. A late
escape pull Martin within one heading to the second frame. There, Martin took the lead with an escape
and takedown 6-4. Picking bottom,
McDonald pulled within one with his escape then took the lead with a takedown
up 7-6. Martin escaped to knot the score
7-7 and with less than a minute left, he scored the winning takedown for a 9-7
decision. At 126, Central’s Mitchell
Kaszuba earned a 7-4 victory over Ben Messier.
Kaszuba was able to control the first period with a takedown and
ride-out and added a takedown and near-fall in the second period. Up 6-2, Kaszuba earned an escape in the third
period. Messier got a takedown, but was
unable to score again. Vince Bern
wrestled at 132 for the Hawks and fought for a 13-0 major decision over Michael
Arredondo. Bern scored takedowns in each
of the three periods and back-points in both the first and third periods.
Naperville North’s standout Tyler Sternstein wrestled CJ
Bierman at 138 that ended in the strangest way.
Bierman scored a takedown and nearfall points on a cradle early in the
match, but Sternstein recovered with an escape.
Sternstein went to work on top scoring a two-point near-fall and then
caught Bierman with a spadle cradle taking him to his back. Both wrestlers struggled with Sternstein
stretching back to secure the fall. In
the process, Sternstein put himself on his back and was called pinned
defensively. Hagan Taylor (NC) squared
off against Zachary Mally in a battle of tough 144 pounders and Taylor came out
on top. Taylor scored an early takedown
and near-fall points to go up 4-0. After
a Mally escape, Taylor ended up on top with another takedown. Mally bounced back with a takedown in the
second period, but Taylor was able to reverse and get the fall last in the
second.
The most exciting match of the night came at 150
pounds. Central’s sophomore Yusuf
Sikander competed in his first varsity match against Evan Marschitz. The match had four lead changes and 33 total
match points scored. Sikander scored the
first two takedowns sandwiched around a Marschitz escape. Marschitz then took the lead with a reversal
and back points 6-4 to end the first frame.
Marschitz extended the lead with an escape and nice double for a
takedown. A penalty point for stalling
added to Marschitz’s total. However,
Sikander was able to escape and score two more takedowns in the second period
to pull within one, 10-9. The third
period provided more fireworks.
Marschitz earned a penalty point to go up 11-9. Sikander was able to score three takedowns in
a row, around Marschitz escapes to take the lead 15-14. Marschitz then regained the lead again with a
reversal, 16-15. As the final seconds
ticked by, Sikander reversed back for the winning score 17-16. Both wrestlers laid exhausted upon the final
buzzer. Sikander’s first ever varsity
win will be memorable.
Senior Hawk Chris Bern defeated Nick Oblanzny in a
hard-fought match by decision 8-4. Bern
scored the first takedown, but Oblanzny answered with a takedown in the first
period as well. Tied 3-3, Oblanzny
earned an escape, but Bern was able to lock down a takedown and a ride out to
go ahead 5-4 to the third. Bern got out
for an escape and iced the decision after a third takedown.
Huskie Matas Budreika put Naperville North on the scoreboard
with a well-earned 11-8 decision over Central’s John Carens at 165. Budreika scored takedown and nearfall points
early. In the second period, down 0-4,
Carens tied the score with a takedown and a cradle, but Budreika reversed
Carens in the process and added three near-fall points of his own to go up
9-4. Caren’s attempt at a comeback fall
just short. He was able to score a
takedown and another cradle to pull within one at 9-8, but a reversal by
Budreika secured the win. Henry
Rydwelski and Kyle Gatlin faced off in a key match at 175. After a scoreless first period, Rydwelski
earned an escape and takedown in the second.
Gatlin got away making it 3-1 going into the third. Another escape in final period made the score
3-2, but that’s how it ended with a win for Rydwelski.
Central and North split the final two matches of the
night. At 190 pounds, Matt Murphy of
North won 6-4. Murphy scored takedowns
in the first and second period while Smetters scored escapes in both periods
and a reversal in the second to end on the top position. The score tied at 4, Murphy won with a double
leg takedown in the third. Senior
Nicolas Besteiro capped off the night with a 5-2 decision at 215 over Mathew
Randal. With nobody scoring in the first
period, Besteiro earned an escape and a penalty point to move up 2-0 to the
third period. After Besteiro gave up an
escape, he scored a key takedown in the third.
The NCHS and NNHS girls had five matches against each other
with the Redhawks winning three of them.
The Huskie Keyi Wang defeated Annika Hull in an exciting trip-overtime
thriller by a score of 4-2. Central
wrestler’s Gracie Meluch and Ellen Purl both posted first period falls in their
matches. Naperville North’s Lauren Cook
took advantage of several takedowns and secured a second period fall over
Sophia Lui. Arianna Rico came from
behind to win by fall over Harper Hastings.
In other action, the NCHS Junior Varsity 1 team defeated NNHS by a score of 47-19. In JV2 action, Central defeated North 48-28. The Redhawk freshman team beat the Huskies 51-21.