12/19/2024
Naperville Central defeated DuPage Valley Conference foe
DeKalb on a snowy night at DeKalb by a final score of 44-26. The Redhawks won nine of the fourteen matches
contested, four by fall and two more by technical fall. Central improves to 3-0, first place in the
conference dual standings. The Hawks
took the team score lead in the second match and never looked back.
The contest started at the 157 weight class. Central’s Yusuf Sikander took an early lead but couldn’t hold on and fell by decision to Cam Matthews by a score of 11-8. Sophomore phenom Nick Olvera got the Hawks on the board with a third period fall over Preston Kjell at 165. Captain Henry Rydwelski made quick work of Hussul Greer Jr., scoring a first period fall for the Redhawks at 175. Central made it three matches in a row when Paul Peradotti, 195 locked down the shoulders of Erick Rivas in the third period. The Barbs came back when Nicholas Waddle pinned Nithilan Gandi early in the 215 contest. Senior standout Will Erbeck jumped out to and early lead for the Redhawks and held on to win by decision 11-5 at Heavyweight.
The Barbs answered with two wins that cut the team score
lead to 21-20. Jaden Bradley won by
technical fall over Jack Fitzgerald at 106 and Julian Hartwin scored a fall
over Jack Schwartz at 113. Leading by
the slimmest of margins, the Redhawks roared to life winning the next four
matches and five of the last six. At 120
pounds, Jake Moore took advantage of his wrestling experience winning by
technical fall 16-0 over Daniel Sandoval.
At 126 pounds, Jacob Cochran fought Ayden Shuey in a back-and-forth
contest that saw Cochran prevail by decision 11-5. Senior Gavin McDonald made the most of his
varsity opportunity, impressing the crowd with a solid 11-2 major decision over
Tyler Daub at 132. Vince Bern, 138,
continues his hot streak, adding 5 takedowns this his stats and a second period
fall against Grady Fowler. DeKalb scored
a fall at 133 when Michael Hodge pinned Stavros Gerousis, but CJ Bierman, the
Redhawks 150 pounder, finished the night with a first period fall over Murdock
Hernandez.
The Redhawk girls won six of ten contested matches against powerhouse DeKalb. Dezi Azar, 125 looked impressive in a 14-2 major decision against state placewinner Reese Zimmer. Senior Annika Hull added a fall to her wrestling resume over Jade Weiss. Bianca Arredondo, 130 battled Kara Zimmerman earning a pin in the second period of her match with a headlock. Gracie Meluch, 115 wasted no time in a headlock and pin over Sciabaras in 26 seconds. Arianna Rico continues to show improvement with another first period pin at 145 pounds. Young Melva Gallego-Sugar added a pin to her young career.