Eight win sectional titles; 25 reach state

By CURT HERRON cherron@shawmedia.com

Feb. 14, 2015

NORMAL – Plainfield North’s Luke Smiley was kind of upset no one considered him a likely candidate to compete for a title at the Class 3A Normal Community Sectional.

So the Tigers sophomore got a takedown six seconds into overtime to edge Lincoln-Way East’s Jason Stokes, 4-2, for the 126-pound championship.

“When the last rankings went up, I wasn’t even on them, but I beat five kids that were ranked, so I guess that it shows them,” Smiley said. “There were three kids that I had beaten the previous week, and that motivated me for the rest of the week. I knew that I could go out and beat any of the guys that they said were better than me, and I did.”

Smiley was one of eight area champions and 25 individual qualifiers for next weekend’s state finals in Champaign.

Lockport led all area teams with five qualifiers and three champions – Abdullah Assaf (113), Shayne Oster (138) and Tyler Johnson (195). Plainfield East advanced three individuals, including champions Michael McGee (106) and Zach Krause (132). Minooka’s Carson Oughton (170); and Plainfield South’s Eric Johnson (220) also won titles.

Lincoln-Way Central had four qualifiers but failed to win a title. Plainfield Central and Plainfield North also had three qualifiers; Lincoln-Way East, Minooka and Plainfield South had two apiece; and Joliet West advanced one to state.

McGee recorded a reversal with three seconds left to claim a 4-3 victory in the 106 finals over Joliet West’s Darvell Flagg, a three-time qualifier.

“Making it out of the semis to the finals was good, but I’m glad that I got first so that I can have a better seed next week because that’s important,” said McGee. “I was working on that last move this week, and it ended up paying off.”

Assaf started Lockport’s run of titles when he edged Plainfield Central’s Cody England, 4-2, in the 113 championship match.

“I didn’t wrestle as good as I wish I would,” Assaf said. “That kid’s good, and he wrestled well. But I have to wrestle better than that if I want to compete at state.”

Krause didn’t have many difficulties in capturing the 132 title after posting a 7-0 victory over Oswego’s Jack Pradel.

“I really feel like I’m hitting my stride right now,” Krause said. “A lot of things are working for me, so I’m not really adding anything new – I’m just tweaking what I’m doing. My teammates and I have been rallying behind each other, and we have a good support system going.”

Oster earned his third state trip and second straight sectional title after recording a fall in 5:19 in the 138 finals over Plainfield Central’s Clayton Ledbetter.

“I feel pretty ready for the state tournament,” Oster said. “Winning sectionals helps to get you seeded, and it also helps your confidence since you know that you’re looking good going into it. I’ve had a lot of success lately, so hopefully I can keep that going.”

Oughton won his second sectional and earned his third state trip after getting a takedown and nearfall with 30 seconds left in a 6-4 win over O’Fallon’s Keajion Jennings at 170.

“Getting a big win here sets your mindset for next week,” Oughton said. “I won at 145 when I was a freshman and fell short last year and came back strong this year. I’m peaking at the right time and have a good mindset. I’ll try to stay focused and get a bracket board.”

Tyler Johnson captured his second straight sectional and heads to state for a third time after claiming a 6-3 win over Plainfield South’s Danny Saracco in the 195 finals.

“I feel good and feel fresh,” Johnson said. “I had a little mental block with my moves and wasn’t trusting myself. But now I’m like, whatever happens, happens – and I’m not going to be the state champ without taking risks. So now I’m doing it, and it’s looking good.”

And Eric Johnson recorded a fall in 3:38 to defeat Yorkville’s Will Ferguson in the 220 championship match.

“This really is pretty cool,” Johnson said. “I’ve made a good improvement from last year to this year. My coaches and teammates have really helped me to improve my skills. This was the fourth time I’ve wrestled him, and he’s good. I was happy that I finally pinned him.”

Other local individuals who dropped title matches were Lincoln-Way Central’s Vinnie Piunti (120), Lockport’s Trevell Timmons (152), Lincoln-Way Central’s Jake Dudeck (182) and Plainfield North’s Nick Wolf (285).

Piunti fell, 9-4, to Oswego’s Andrew McFall at 120, and Dudeck dropped a 5-0 decision at 182 to Bradley-Bourbonnais’ Mason Delong. Timmons lost to Alton’s Nicholas DeLoach, 7-4, at 152, while Wolf got pinned in 2:31 by Belleville West’s Ricky Nelson at 285.

Finishing in third place were Lincoln-Way Central’s Matt Crnich (126) and Bryan Ditchman (285), Plainfield North’s Marcus Povlick (106) and Plainfield East’s Jake Mayon (182).

Plainfield Central’s Jared Ellingwood (132), Lincoln-Way East’s Brian Burns (170), Minooka’s Josh Bouie (195) and Lockport’s Chris Murino (220) all took fourth place.

Class 3A wrestlers hope for big sectional weekend

By CURT HERRON cherron@shawmedia.com

Feb. 11, 2015

Lincoln-Way Central wrestling coach Jason DePolo heads into this weekend’s Class 3A Normal Community Sectional feeling confident for a very big reason.

That’s because the Knights claimed four of their six regional titles from 170 to 285 pounds, and those four wrestlers – Brandon Dominski (170), Jake Dudeck (182), Sean Kelly (220) and Bryan Ditchman (285) – are ranked and figure to be in the mix to earn trips to the state meet.

“We haven’t had the level of competition with our big guys like this,” said DePolo, a 2003 Central graduate. “When we start practice to when we finish, it’s kind of a bloodbath in there sometimes. But it’s a fun group when you’re a big guy like me. Practices are going to be tough, but I grew up in that room with Rudy (Mark Ruettiger) doing that same thing.”

The Knights have another ranked individual among their 10 qualifiers – Vinnie Piunti (120). Lockport, which was the other area Class 3A school that won a regional title, has four athletes in the rankings. Coach Josh Oster’s Porters pace all area teams with 11 qualifiers.

Leading the way for the Porters are ranked individuals Abdullah Assaf (113), Shayne Oster (138), Trevell Timmons (152) and Tyler Johnson (195).

“This is the part of the season we train all year for,” Josh Oster said. “Our schedule is tough for the purpose of preparing for the postseason; now we have another three weeks to finish strong. Our guys are excited to compete both for the individual and team state series. This is the next step for our team to get where we want to go.”

Of the 19 area individuals in the latest GEI Wrestling Apparel rankings on Illinois Matmen, 11 of them compete in weight classes from 170 to 285.

Joliet West’s Darvell Flagg (106) and Minooka’s Carson Oughton (170) are two of those ranked competitors. They join Oster and Johnson as individuals seeking a third state trip.

Others who qualified for state a year ago and are ranked include Plainfield East’s Michael McGee (106) and Zach Krause (138), Plainfield South’s Eric Johnson (220), Timmons, Piunti and Ditchman. Lincoln-Way East’s Jake DiBenedetto (120) also advanced last year.

Here’s a closer look at each of the 14 weight classes:

• 106: Plainfield North’s No. 4 Marcus Povlick (31-3) should see Joliet West’s No. 8 Darvell Flagg (28-3) in the quarterfinals, while Plainfield East’s No. 5 Michael McGee (32-2) is favored in the other bracket.

• 113: Lockport’s No. 4 Abdullah Assaf (37-5) is the favorite at this weight.

• 120: Lincoln-Way Central’s No. 8 Vinnie Piunti (31-8) gets the nod in the top bracket, while Oswego’s No. 11 Andrew McFall (35-4), a two-time qualifier, is favored on the other side.

• 126: There are no ranked competitors at this weight class.

• 132: Plainfield East’s No. 6 Zach Krause (35-3) is the clear favorite.

• 138: Lockport’s No. 2 Shayne Oster (32-3) and Granite City’s No. 4 Devon Simpson (42-7) are in the bottom bracket, while Quincy’s No. 5 Michael Peters (37-5) is favored on the other side.

• 145: Alton’s No. 4 Phyllip DeLoach (34-0) is the favorite at this weight class.

• 152: Lockport’s No. 6 Trevell Timmons (35-5) is the favorite in the lower bracket, while Alton’s No. 7 Nicholas DeLoach (44-0) gets the nod in the other bracket.

• 160: Yorkville’s No. 8 Bryce Shewan (35-7) is the slight favorite at this weight.

• 170: Minooka’s No. 4 Carson Oughton (33-2) could see Belleville East’s No. 5 Matt Striegel (42-1), a two-time qualifier, in the semifinals, while Lincoln-Way Central’s No. 11 Brandon Dominski (30-12) is favored in the bottom bracket.

• 182: Pekin’s No. 6 Alex Bleeker (33-1) may meet Lincoln-Way Central’s No. 9 Jake Dudeck (29-7) in the quarterfinals, while Plainfield East’s No. 10 Jake Mayon (28-3) is favored in the other bracket.

• 195: Lockport’s No. 1 Tyler Johnson (15-0) could run into Minooka’s No. 3 Josh Bouie (32-3) in the quarterfinals, while Plainfield South’s No. 12 Danny Saracco (30-5) is a slight favorite in the bottom bracket.

• 220: Plainfield South’s No. 6 Eric Johnson (40-3) and Lincoln-Way Central’s No. 10 Sean Kelly (30-10) could meet in the semifinals, while the other bracket is wide open.

• 285: Lincoln-Way Central’s No. 1 Bryan Ditchman (36-2) may face Plainfield North’s No. 7 Nick Wolf (34-2) in one semifinal, while Belleville West’s No. 5 Ricky Nelson (33-3) is favored in the other bracket.

Minooka wrestling rallies past Plainfield Central

By CURT HERRON cherron@shawmedia.com

Jan. 29, 2015

MINOOKA – There have been bigger dual meets between Minooka and Plainfield Central wrestling throughout the years, but Thursday’s matchup between the two rivals was probably one of the more dramatic in the longtime series.

After the Wildcats claimed six straight wins to grab a 17-point lead, the Indians responded by winning five of the last six to claim a 39-34 win on a night that it honored three seniors.

“When you looked at the lineups on paper, it may not have had the appeal as some of those in years past, but we managed to make it an exciting one,” Indians coach Jeff Charlebois said. “We had five freshmen and a sophomore competing, but that’s how it’s been this year. We have definitely improved from the night before Thanksgiving to today.

“Noah Perez wrestled his first varsity match last week and this was only his second and he didn’t succumb to the pressure in a tight match and came through for us big. And Derek Wentworth is a freshman who’s just scratching 240 pounds. When you have some kids out, it’s nice when get you some others the opportunity to compete and see what it’s about.”

The Wildcats still led 34-24 with three matches left after Akwasi Aikins won by technical fall at 182 but Minooka won the final three matches, starting with Josh Bouie’s fall at 195.

The final two matches were up for grabs with less than a minute to go. Perez swung the momentum toward Minooka when he pinned John Harris with 21 seconds left at 220.

Then in the finale at 285, Central’s Kamil Fit took a 2-0 lead in the first period and carried it into the third, when he yielded an escape to Wentworth. It remained 2-1 until the undersized Indian freshman got a takedown with six seconds left to capture a 3-2 win.

“We knew that it was senior night so we wanted to put on a show,” said Bouie, who is joined in the senior class by Chris Hiscock and Erik McMillin. “We’re getting healthy right now and it seems that we’re getting a little bit of momentum with these last duals and that should help us later on. We have a lot of guys in our middle- and upperweights who can make some noise in the postseason and some of our young guys can learn from that.”

Two of those young guys, the McDowell twins, got tings started off well for Minooka. Zach won by fall at 106 and Adam followed with a forfeit win to give the hosts a quick 12-0 lead in the Southwest Prairie Conference match.

But then it was Central’s time to shine, and that’s just what happened, beginning with Ethan Plese’s 6-0 win over Jake Bugajski at 120. Cody England followed with a 15-3 victory and then John Nudera won by technical fall at 132 to create a 12-all tie.

The Wildcats moved in front when Jared Ellingwood recorded a fall at 138 and Clayton Ledbetter followed up with a win by technical fall.

Ryan Yohe completed the run when he got a fall at 152 to give Central a 29-12 advantage.

But Minooka answered with a first-pin from Kenny Kirkland at 160 and then a similar effort from Carson Oughton at 170 to close to within 29-24.

After Aikins claimed the final Wildcat win, the Indians closed with three victories, including the final two in dramatic fashion.

“We’ve been working hard in the room and have really been getting at it,” Kirkland said. “We have a lot of guys who are injured but hopefully we can get some of them back for the regional and then hopefully make a run at getting to team state. Our lower level guys have really been stepping up for us. I like how we may start off slow, but we finish strong.”