2016-2017 Season Notes
Naperville Launches 2016 Season with Two Wins
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Naperville Central launched their 2016-2017 wrestling season with two victories in three duals at home. Central defeated Lane Tech 57-15, then lost to Batavia by a score of 40-33. NCHS bounced back and won impressively against Downers Grove South by a score of 42-21. DGS defeated Batavia earlier in the day.
Several Redhawks finished the day earning all three wins. Leading the way was sophomores Luke Russell and Kyle Guttosch. Both wrestlers scored three pins each. Senior Jake Keating looked sharp in his three wins. Jake scored two pins and one win by technical fall. Jake gathered a total of 15 takedowns on the day. Derek McDaniel earned three wins including an exciting overtime victory in his match against Downers Grove South. Joe Lopez not only earned his first varsity win, but decided to win all three of his matches, one by fall.
Nick Keating finished 2-1 and helped the Hawks with both of his wins by pin. Sophomore Colin Baumgarter earned his first two victories on the year, one at 106 and one at 113. Seniors Christian Nussbaum and Brad Catalano also came away with two wins each. Nussbaum won one of his matches by technical fall. Catalano was awarded a penalty point when his opponent was caught stalling and squeezed out an exciting 2-1 win. Cam Palmer earned his first varsity win at 170 pounds with a 4-1 win against DGS. Palmer also won a match by forfeit. Jackson Punzel scored a pin against Lane Tech. Mujtaba Ahmed competed at 120 pounds but lost a couple of very close matches.
The NCHS JV1 team defeated all three of the teams they faced at home. They beat Stagg, Batavia and Downers Grove South. Top performer with Jacob Smitas who won all three matches by fall.
The NCHS Freshman/Sophomore team finished 3-1 and took 3rd place at the Plainfield South Super Duals.
Naperville Central Tops Glenbard North 43-19
December 2, 2016
NCHS defeated Glenbard North at GN by a score of 43-19. Although not confirmed, we are told that this is the first defeat of GN in a DuPage Valley Conference dual in 18 years.
The action started at 170 pounds where Jackson Punzel bumped up to defeat Willman 7-5. Punzel overcame a 1-2 deficit going into the third period but racked up 6 points in the frame to win. Cam Palmer made the bump to 182 and won 6-0. Palmer scored a takedown in each of his three periods. Ben Cianchetti completed the trio that moved up a weight class as he competed at 195. Cianchetti scored a first period pin.
At 220 pounds Christian Nussbaum earned four takedowns including two in the final 15 seconds of the match to win by major decision 12-4. In perhaps the weirdest result of the night, Brad Catalano won by disqualification in the second period. His opponent was ejected for misconduct. That made the team score 22 to -3.
Swinging down to the 106 pounds, Kyle Guttosch completed the sweep of the first six matches in the dual by winning with a fall. Collin Baumgartner was defeated at 113 pounds and Mujtaba Ahmed lost his match at 120 pounds. Senior Joe Lopez got the Redhawks back on track with a third period fall to put Hawks up 34-6.
With five matches left NCHS needed just one more win to ice the dual meet victory and Nick Keating did not disappoint. His pin put the Redhawks over the top leading 40-6 and the score insurmountable.
Cade Wilke filled in at 138 as was defeated by Gomez. The match of the night pitted Jake Keating against Assad. Keating struck first with a takedown at the end of the first period to go up 2-0. Keating added an escape in the second period, but Assad battled with a takedown to close the match to 3-2. A late escape by Keating added a point, sending the match to the third period 4-2. Keating on top burned off most of the clock and added three nearfall points as Assad was caught on his back attempting to escape. Final score 7-2.
Glenbard North added two victories at the end of the dual as Derek McDaniel was defeated by a late takedown to lose by one and Luke Russell lost by major decision at 160 pounds.
The Naperville Central freshman team won their dual against Glenbard North by a score of 51-21. GN won by JV1 and JV2 duals.
Naperville Central Sweep the Mega-Duals
NCHS 35 – St. Charles East 25
NCHS 43 – Rockton Hononegah 22
NCHS 56 – West Aurora 19
December 3, 2016
Naperville Central improved to 6-1 on the young season after sweeping the Mega-Duals held at West Aurora High School. In the first match, the Redhawks defeated St. Charles East 35-25. Starting at 145 pounds, NCHS won the first seven matches to go up 29-0 before SCE earned their first win. The Hawks added to more victories to hold on for the win. In the second dual, the Redhawks again jumped out to an early lead, earning a win by major decision and two pins to start up 16-0 against Hononegah. Rockton answered with a major and two pins of their own in three of the next four matches to pull within 6 points, 22-16. But NCHS won five of the final seven matches for the dual win.
In the final match of the day, the Redhawks defeated former DVC foe West Aurora by a score of 56-19. In that matchup, NCHS won 11 matches, six by fall and one by forfeit.
The day was ruled by sophomore Jackson Punzel who earned all three of his victories by fall. Christian Nussbaum was also undefeated and had two pins and a major decision. Luke Russell continued his fine work from the top position. We was 3-0 with two pins and a win by forfeit. Kyle Guttosch, Jake Keating, and Derek McDaniel were each 3-0 as well. Kyle had one fall while Jake had two. Every varsity wrestler came away with at least one win.
The Naperville Central freshman wrestling team took 3rd place at the tough Lyons Tournament. Tyler Driessens won the championship at 99 pounds. The Redhawks sent 6 individual to the finals in the tournament.
Naperville Central Defeats Neuqua Valley at Home
December 8, 2016
NCHS 48 - NV 17
Naperville Central improved to 2-0 in DVC competition after defeating Neuqua Valley in front of a home crowd. NCHS welcomed the Naperville Wrestling Club as special guests to the event. Central also won at JV1, JV2 and Freshman levels, sweeping all levels.
Actions started at 182 pounds where sophomore Cam Palmer was pinned in the second period. But, the Redhawks bounced back with five wins in a row. Ben Cianchetti locked down a pin in the second period and Christian Nussbaum earned a fall in the first period. Senior heavyweight Brad Catalano looked impressive, scoring a takedown in the first period and a reversal with two back points very late in the second period. He then cruised to a 7-0 decision.
At 106 pounds, Kyle Guttosch continued his winning streak by scoring a takedown and a pair of reversals to win 6-4. In perhaps the most exciting match of the night, sophomore Colin Baumgartner won his match against highly regarded Shah of NV. Baumgartner earned the first takedown in the second period to take a 2-1 lead going in to the final frame. A reversal by Baumgartner put him ahead 4-1, but Shaw responded with an escape and a takedown to tie the match at 4-4. As time was expiring, Baumgartner scrambled for a match winning reversal; 6-4.
Mujtaba Ahmed lost by technical fall, but then the Redhawks rattled off another five wins in a row. Joe Lopez held on to an exciting 3-2 win at 126 pounds. Nick Keating scored a fall in the third period of his match. Senior Cade Wilke battled to a 6-0 decision at 138 pounds. Jake Keating racked up 13 match points and then a fall all in the first period of his match at 145 pounds. Derek McDaniel used a body lock to pin his opponent at 152 pounds. NV won their third match of the evening when Luke Russell was defeated at 160 pounds. Jackson Punzel scored three takedowns in route to a 7-5 decision at 170 pounds. Final team score 48-17. Central won 11 of the 14 matches contested.
Naperville Central Defeats Metea Valley
December 9, 2016
NC 42 – MV 27
Naperville Central won their second conference dual in as many days at home against Metea Valley by a score of 42-27. Central won 7 contested matches, 4 by fall, and picked up a forfeit.
The event started at 145 pounds where Jake Keating continued to impress. He scored 8 takedowns to win by technical fall 21-6. Derek McDaniel looked very impressive, using a body lock to pin his opponent in the second period. Luke Russell jumped out to a 5 point lead but couldn’t hold on. He was defeated at 160 pounds. Jackson Punzel answered with a first period fall. That put the Redhawks up 21-7.
Cameron Palmer wrestled well, scoring three takedowns and two sets of nearfall for a 12-2 major decision. Ben Cianchetti lost his match at 195 pounds 9-14. Central and Metea traded pins at the 220 and 285 weight classes. Christian Nussbaum scored a fall in just 53 seconds. Brad Catalano was pinned in the second period.
At 106 pounds, Kyle Guttosch continued to impress his coaches, scoring a pin of his own in 53 seconds. That made the team score lead 33-15 for the Redhawks. Colin Baumgartner was defeated by a score of 2-9. Mujtaba Ahmed won when Metea Valley forfeited their match at 120 pounds. Joe Lopez was defeated at 126. Nick Keating scored a takedown with two point nearfall in the second period and added a third period takedown for a 8-4 decision. Cade Wilke lost the final match of the night at 138 pounds.
For the second time in a row, Naperville Central swept all four levels, winning at the JV1, JV2 and freshman levels.
Naperville Central Wins 39th Marchese Wrestling Invitational
December 10, 2016
NCHS 1st place of 13 teams
1st NCHS 273.5
2nd Notre Dame 202
3rd Lincoln-Way Central 171.5
4th Bolingbrook
5th Willowbrook
6th South Elgin
Thirteen Redhawk wrestlers entered at the Marchese Wrestling Invitational placed in the top 6 at Hoffman Estates this weekend. Naperville Central sent 8 wrestlers to the finals and finished with four champions in the 13 team event. All three Redhawk wrestlers won their third place matches. Central also had a 5th and 6th place finisher.
Bringing home the gold for the Hawks were Kyle Guttosch, Jake Keating, Derek McDaniel, and Christian Nussbaum. Taking the silver were Colin Baumgartner, Luke Russell, Jackson Punzel and Cam Palmer. The bronze winners were Mujtaba Ahmed, Nick Keating, and Ben Cianchetti. Taking 5th was Brad Catalano. Joe Lopez took 6th place. Cade Wilke entered the tournament as a non-scorer at 138 pounds and finished 2-2.
Central sent 11 of their wrestlers to the semifinal round. In all, NCHS locked down 20 pins in the tournament.
Kyle Guttosch dominated his weight class in the tournament, pinning all three of the opponents he faced. Jake Keating scored two falls and a major decision win in his three matches. Derek McDaniel used scoring to win his matches, racking up two wins by technical fall and a 7-1 decision in the finals. Christian Nussbaum advanced to the finals having only wrestled 46 total seconds. He earned a bye in the quarter-finals after receiving the number 1 seed. His quick semi-final pin sent him to the finals fairly fresh. There, he scored a pin in the third period of his match.
Unseeded Colin Baumgartner knocked off the number 1 seed in the semifinals and just missed earning gold after dropping his finals match 3-1. Like last year, Luke Russell pinned his way to the championship match. Jackson Punzel pinned the number one seed in the semifinals in just 57 seconds to make the finals. Cam Palmer pinned the number three seed and won 12-0 against the number two seed in his route to the championship match.
Mujtaba Ahmed defeated the number one seed in the quarterfinals by a score of 5-3. He took third place winning 9-2 in the bronze medal match. Nick Keating matched his seed, taking 3rd place by a score of 10-9 in his last match. Unseeded Ben Cianchetti finished 2-1 with two pins to take third.
Brad Catalano was 4-1 in the tournament and took 5th place. He was defeated by the number one seed and eventual champion in the quarter-finals. Two of his wins were by fall. Joe Lopez finished 1-2, but lost to the eventual champion in the quarter-finals. He was defeated in overtime for 5th.
The NCHS JV1 team won the Streamwood JV Dual Tournament, defeating Bartlett in the finals by a score of 54-24. They defeated West Chicago in the semifinals 43-33 and won the first dual against South Elgin 65-6. The Redhawks only lost 4 contested matches in the three duals.
The NCHS Freshman team won all four of their duals at Lyons quad.
It was a good weekend for the Redhawk wrestling team as they swept all four duals on Thursday, all four duals on Friday, all four duals for the freshman at Lyons, a dual tournament championship at Streamwood for the JV team and a tournament championship at Hoffman Estates for the varsity.
Naperville Central defeats Waubonsie Valley
December 16, 2016
NCHS 48 – WV 22
Naperville Central (9-1) improved to 4-0 in the DuPage Valley Conference by defeating Waubonsie Valley by a score of 48-22. It was their eight dual win in a row. The match took place at WVHS.
The dual started at 220 pounds where Christian Nussbaum dropped a 5-9 decision to highly ranked Sondag. Nussbaum did get on the board with a takedown in the second period. Brad Catalano scored a second period fall in the 285 pound match. After WV forfeited the 106 pound weight class, Colin Baumgartner won by pin in the second period to put the Redhawks up 18-3 in the dual. Mujtaba Ahmed was defeated by a score of 6-11 at 120 pounds.
Then, Central rattled off five wins in a row. Joe Lopez took a 2-0 lead into the second period, but pinned his opponent midway through the third period. Nick Keating scored a fall just as the buzzer sounded in the first period. Cade Wilke added a major decision at 138 pounds with a 8-0 win. Jake Keating racked up seven takedowns in a 21-10 major decision. Derek McDaniel continued the takedown strategy scoring seven of his own to win 15-7. By the end of the streak the Redhawks owned an insurmountable 42-6 team score lead.
Luke Russell nearly pulled off a pin with a reversal and cradle, but just missed. He was pinned at 160. Jackson Punzel was defeated 2-12 at 170. Ben Cianchetti scored the fifth pin of the night for NCHS at 182. The Redhawks forfeited the final weight class to Kroening at 195.
The NCHS JV1 team won their dual as did the NCHS freshman. Waubonsie Valley forfeited the JV2 dual.
Naperville Central Finishes 5-1 in Two Quads
December 29 at Naperville Central
NCHS 33 – St. Charles North 6
NCHS 66 – Genesco 3
NCHS 45 – Plainfield East 18
December 30 at Schaumburg High School
NCHS 42 – Libertyville 25
NCHS 24 – Sandburg 46
NCHS 64 – Schaumburg 12
Naperville Central finished 3-0 at home on Thursday, December 29 and finished 2-1 at Schaumburg on Friday, December 30. The Redhawks are now 14-2 on the season. Three NCHS wrestlers finished undefeated on the week. Senior Jake Keating finished 5-0 with three pins and two wins by technical fall. Jackson Punzel also ended the two days with a 5-0. Four of Punzel’s wins were by fall. Ben Cianchetti was the third wrestler to finish without a defeat. He won five matches with three pins and the other two by forfeit.
Kyle Guttosch, Mujtaba Ahmed, Cam Palmer, and Christian Nussbaum all ended the week with just one loss. Palmer had a very good week, finishing with five wins, three of them by fall. Nussbaum also had three wins by pin.
Derek McDaniel and Luke Russell both ended the day 4-2.
The Redhawk JV team took 5th place at the twelve team Libertyville JV Invitational. Zeke Hill took 2nd place as the top finisher.
The Redhawk freshman team took first place at the Hinsdale Freshman Tournament. Bryce Cooperkawa, Elrin Esporales, and Ange Eklou took home the gold.
Central Defeats North in Wrestling’s Crosstown Rival Match
NCHS 46 – NNHS 21
January 5, 2017
Naperville Central defeated its sister school Naperville North in front of a rambunctious crowd at NNHS by a score of 46-21. Central improves to 15-2 on the season and 5-0 in the DVC conference.
With the dual starting at 113 pounds, Lucas Van Poucke of Naperville North started things off for the Huskies with a 0-15 technical fall win against Colin Baumgartner. At 120 pounds, Kruk added a major decision with a 2-11 win against Central’s Mujtaba Ahmed. The two wins put North up 0-9 in the team score.
Naperville Central answered with win technical falls in a row. Joe Lopez defeated Summers by a score of 15-0 and Nick Keating scored a 20-5 win over Gallegos. Central took a 10-9 team score lead.
McKenna of Naperville North battled freshman Qayin Dabney to a 6-9 decision to put the Huskies up 10-12. Naperville Central retook the team score lead when Jake Keating pinned Davidson in the second period at 145 pounds. Keating racked up 7 takedowns in his match. Derek McDaniel of Central won one of the more exciting matches of the night by a score of 9-6. Matar (NN) then pinned Luke Russell in another exciting match at 160 pounds bringing the team score to 19-18 in favor of Central.
But it was the Redhawks that got on a roll from that point forward. Central won five of the final six matching including three pins in a row. That streak started with Jackson Punzel, who got his fall in the first period over Lapsey. Cam Palmer came from behind to pin Simmelink in the second period of his 170 pound match. Finally, Ben Cianchetti scored a reversal and pin in the second period of his match verses Martin at 195. After Christian Nussbaum battled to a 9-5 decision over Gray at 220, the Redhawks held a commanding 40-18 team score lead and mathematically won the dual.
Brad Catalano lost a tough overtime battle to Habarra of Naperville North by a score of 3-1 at the heavyweight weight class. Kyle Guttosch locked down a fall in the first period in the final match of the night against Allgood of North to complete the 46-21 victory for the Redhawks.
Naperville North won the JV1 contest by a score of 28-36. The JV2 dual was wrestled to a 24-24 tie. Naperville Central won the freshman dual 54-15.
Naperville Central loses to Wheaton Warrenville South
NCHS 30 – WWS 36
January 6, 2016
Naperville Central was defeated by Wheaton Warrenville South in DVC conference action at home on Friday, January 6th. The Redhawks were not without their bright spots. Christian Nussbaum scored a 5-1 win at 220 pounds. Kyle Guttosch locked down a pin in the first period of his match. Mujtaba Ahmed looked strong with a pin at the 1:36 mark of the first period at 120 pounds. Qayin Dabney won by forfeit.
Jake Keating scored six takedowns toward a 20-5 technical fall in his match at 145 pounds. Jackson Punzel earned a major decision at 160, winning by a score of 9-1.
NCHS won the JV1 dual 54-6 and the JV2 dual 49-18. The NCHS freshman won 71-3.
Naperville Central sweeps three duals at Downers Grove North
January 7, 2017
NCHS 58 – South Elgin 6
NCHS 65 – Champaign Central 6
NCHS 50 – Downers Grove South 21
The Redhawks won 27 of 33 contested matches in a quad competed at Downers Grove South on Saturday, January 7th. There were six additional wins gathered by forfeit.
Jackson Punzel had a particularly good day, finishing 3-0 with three pins. Other three match winners were Jake Keating, Mujtaba Ahmed, Nick Keating, Christian Nussbaum and Colin Baumgartner. Jake Keating scored two pins and a technical fall. Ahmed added one pin and a technical fall. Nick Keating scored two pins and picked up one win by forfeit. Nussbaum got a pin as well.
Three more Redhawk wrestlers finished undefeated on the day. Luke Russell ended up 2-0 with two pins. Cameron Palmer was also 2-0, with one pin. Derek McDaniel won one match by fall and one by injury default.
Kyle Guttosch, Joe Lopez, Ben Cianchetti, and Brad Catalano all finished 2-1 on the day. Qayin Dabney won his first varsity match, an 18-4 victory against Pelmore of Champaign Central.
The Naperville Central JV2 team took 2nd place at the eight team Naperville Central tournament on Saturday.
The Naperville Central JV1 team took 3rd place at the 17 team Bolingbrook Tournament. Zeke Hill won the tournament at 160 pounds. Jacob Smitas, Tyler Driessens, and Michael Norwood all took second place.
Naperville Central Wins Marty Williams Invitational
January 14, 2017
1. Naperville Central 574
2. Normal West 524.5
3. Mahomet-Seymour 516.5
4. Bloomington 497
5. Rochelle 443.5
6. Tinley Park Andrew 425.5
For the third year in a row, the Naperville Central Redhawk Wrestling team took first place at the 37th annual Marty Williams Invitational held at Mahomet-Seymour High School. There were 17 teams that competed at the event. Several teams were unable to make the trip due to poor weather. This was the second tournament that the Redhawks won this year, after winning the Hoffman Estates Tournament back in December.
The tournament was held in a round-robin format with each wrestler placed in a 3 or 4 man pool. Each wrestler competes with all opponents in his pool and is then placed in an A, B, or C bracket based on the results of pool competition.
The Redhawks were allowed to enter additional wrestlers to the competition and chose to bring Tyler Driessens (106), Leo Keating (120), Cade Wilke (138), Jake Smitas (152), Zeke Hill (160) and Michael Norwood (285). A total of 19 wrestlers competed for NCHS. All six additional wrestlers won at least two matches each and Driessens, L. Keating, Smitas, Hill, and Norwood were all credited with their first ever wins at the varsity level.
Winners of their pool competition and placed in the A bracket were Kyle Guttosch, Mujtaba Ahmed, Jake Keating, Derek McDaniel, Luke Russell, Jackson Punzel, Christian Nussbaum, and Michael Norwood.
NCHS advanced four wrestlers to the championship matches. Jake Keating continued to impress his coaches winning all four of his matches, all by four. Keating brought home the gold and maintains his undefeated senior season. Derek McDaniel, Jackson Punzel, and Christian Nussbaum all took second place and all finished with a 4-1 record. McDaniel scored two falls and Punzel and Nussbaum had three.
Mujtaba Ahmed took third place while Kyle Guttosch and Michael Norwood both finished in fourth place.
Taking fifth place and winning the B bracket were Colin Baumgartner, Leo Keating, Joe Lopez and Brad Catalono. Nick Keating finished in 6th place.
Luck Russell and Cam Palmer took 7th place. Cade Wilke and Ben Cianchetti both took 8thplace. Cianchetti was injured, and defaulted down to 8th place. NCHS coaches are hoping for a speedy for Cianchetti. Other placewinners were Tyler Driessens (11th), Jake Smitas (14th) and Zeke Hill (17th).
Naperville Central Defeats Lake Park
January 19, 2017
NCHS 58 – LP 9
Naperville Central traveled to Lake Park to take on the Lancers on a Thursday and won the dual by a score of 58 – 9. The dual win improves Naperville Central record to 19-3 on the year and 6-1 in the DVC.
The dual started at 120 where Mujtaba Ahmed nearly defeated Laygo but lost by a score of 4-6. Joe Lopez was next up and he won by a score of 12-4. Derek McDaniel scored six points in the final frame of his match to win 8-3. Luke Russell wrestled at 160 and recorded a pin in 32 seconds. At 170 pounds, Jackson Punzel scored offensive points in every period of his match to win 9-6. In the final match of the night, Christian Nussbaum earned a first period fall. Lake Park forfeited to Kyle Guttosch, Colin Baumgartner, Nick Keating, Jake Keating, and Michael Norwood. Both teams forfeited 195 pounds.
NCHS also won duals at the JV1, JV2 and freshman levels.
Naperville Central Falls to Wheaton North
January 20, 2017
NCHS 21 – WN 37
Wheaton North defeated Naperville Central at NCHS. The loss marks only the second time this year that the Redhawks lost a varsity DVC dual. This concludes dual meets for the 2016-2017 season. The Redhawks finish with a 19-4 record and 6-2 in the DVC.
Naperville Central also recognized its 12 seniors and their families. The seniors were: Mujtaba Ahmed, Brad Catalano, Jimmy DeTulleo, Zeke Hill, Kevin Hu, Jake Keating, Joe Lopez, Michael Norwood, Christian Nussbaum, Jacob Smitas, Jacob Viehmann, and Cade Wilke.
The dual started at 182 where senior Kevin Hu stepped in for the injured Ben Cianchetti. Kevin gave a tough effort but was pinned in the first period. After NCHS forfeited the 195 pound weight class, senior Christian Nussbaum won a tight decision at 220 pounds by a score of 3-2. Senior Michael Norwood, replacing Brad Catalano, lost by fall at 285 pounds.
Kyle Guttosch won an impressive 21-6 technical fall at 106 pounds and Colin Baumgartner looked equally remarkable, winning by a 14-4 major decision.
Wheaton North the rattled off four wins in a row to take control of the contest. Senior Joe Lopez lost by a score of 2-12. Nick Keating’s come-back attempt was halted and he lost 5-9. Senior Cade Wilke lost a 5-15 decision but scored the last takedown.
In the match of the night, Senior Jake Keating defeated highly touted Nelson by a score of 8-2. Keating overcame an opening takedown by Nelson, scoring an escape and a takedown to leave the first period up 3-2. Another escape and takedown put Keating up 6-2 after two periods. A two point nearfall gave the final result.
Derek McDaniel scored five points in the final period of his match to win 5-1 at 152 pounds. Luke Russell lost do Donovan 4-12. Cam Palmer finished the dual on a high note for the Redhawks, winning by major decision 9-0.
The Falcons defeated the Redhawks at the JV1 and JV2 levels. NCHS won the freshman dual. The win for the freshman was significant as it marks an 8-0 DVC record and unofficial DVC title for the freshman team.
Naperville Central takes 3rd place at JV1 DVC Conference Tournament and 2nd place at DVC JV2 Conference Tournament
NCHS JV1: 3rd
NCHS JV2: 2nd
January 21, 2017
The Naperville Central JV1 team took 3rd place at the 9-team DuPage Valley Conference Tournament held at Glenbard North High School. The Redhawks entered 16 competitors in the event and all wrestlers placed in 6th place or higher. There were 13 of 16 Naperville Central wrestlers that qualified for the semifinals six of whom won and made the finals and four DVC champions. In all, six Redhawks finished the day undefeated.
Three NCHS seniors finished their final tournament as champions. At 120 pounds, Jake Viehmann held on to a 1-0 decision in the finals to be crowned champ. At 160 pounds, Zeke Hill scored two wins and a decision to bring home the gold. And at 285 pounds, Michael Norwood, unseeded, avenged a loss earlier in the season by pinning his opponent from Naperville North. Then he won 2-0 against the number one seed and followed that up with a 3-0 decision for first place in the conference. In addition to the three seniors, sophomore Luke Russell won three matches, one by disqualification and two more by fall to take first in the conference.
Seniors Jacob Smitas and Cade Wilke both took second place in the conference tournament. Senior Jimmy DeTulleo, Qayin Dabney and Sam Piazza all took third place in the tournament. It should be noted that both Dabney and Piazza finished the tournament undefeated. Dabney decided to forfeit his semifinal match to Wilke, the point scorer for the tournament and Piazza did the same to Smitas for the same reason.
Freshman Ryan Silva just missed making the finals, losing in triple overtime in the semifinals. He finished in 4th place. Freshman Gerson Hernandez, Leo Keating, and Sean King all ended up in 5th place. King scored a fall in his place match down by 8 points. Dakota Wiskari wrestled well and also took 5th place. Senior Kevin Hu won his first match by a score of 5-0 and finished the tournament in 6th place. Tyler Driessens scored a 18-1 technical fall in the wrestle-backs and finished in 6th as well.
Every NCHS wrestler won at least one match in the tournament. The Redhawks took 3rdplace to Wheaton North and Glenbard North.
In the JV2 tournament held at Wheaton Warrenville South High School, the Redhawks came away with a 2nd place team finish to Wheaton North. NCHS advanced five wrestlers to the finals. Bryce Cooperkawa shined at 113 pounds, coming away with the only tournament championship for the Hawks. But, NCHS scored a ton of team points by placing in nearly every weight class. Bringing home second place were: Griffin Irle, Ben Marrero, Nolan O’Rear, and Quinn Farrell. Taking third and winning their final matches were: Elrin Esporlas, Alek VanEeuwen and Angelo Eklou. Ryan Chitwood, Matt Chiavola, Matthew Kaszuba, and Josh Virella all took 4th place.
Fabricio Navarro, Manny Rivera, and Carson Enfield finished strong with 5th place. Tariz Sikander and Michael Orlandino took 7th place. Aidan Horan competed at 220 pounds for the Hawks.
Naperville Central Finishes in 3rd Place at the DVC Tournament
January 28, 2017
1. Wheaton North 236
2. Glenbard North 233
3. Naperville Central 194
4. Naperville North 184
5. Metea Valley 149.5
6. Neuqua Valley 145.5
7. Wheaton Warrenville South 139
8. Waubonsie Valley 134
9. Lake Park 104.5
Naperville Central finished in 3rd place in the 9 team DuPage Valley Conference Tournament held at Lake Park High School. Wheaton North won the event and Glenbard North took second. Glenbard North had won at least the previous 18 DVC tournaments in a row prior to this year. Wheaton North started the event with 24 team points by virtue of going 8-0 against DVC competition in duals (3 team points per dual win). Naperville Central, Glenbard North, and Wheaton Warrenville South all started with 18 team points due to all three finishing 6-2 in DVC duals.
NCHS competed in 11 of the 14 weight classes, forfeiting 152, 182, and 195. Of those 11, eight made the semifinals and four advance to the championship match. Ten of the 11 placed in the top 5. The Redhawks won 26 matches and lost 15. The third place finish ties for the best finish since the Redhawks took second place in 2012.
The four Hawk wrestlers that made the finals were Kyle Guttosch (106), Jake Keating (138), Jackson Punzel (160) and Christian Nussbaum (220). Guttosch won two matches, one by technical fall and one by fall to make the finals. He lost to Badger of Lake Park by a score of 2-4. Jake Keating won by fall in the quarterfinals and won 4-2 to advance to the championship match before succumbing to highly ranked Gomez of Glenbard North by a score of 10-25. It was the first loss suffered by Keating all season. Jackson Punzel scored two quick pins to make the gold medal match. He lost 3-8 against Donovan of Wheaton North. Christian Nussbaum scored two decisions prior to his blue ribbon match, then lost to Sondeg of Waubonsie Valley 2-7.
Five additional Redhawk wrestlers made the consolation finals and competed for third place. Four of the five won their matches. Senior Joe Lopez (126) finished the day 3-1, winning his bronze medal by a score of 10-4 over Naperville North’s Summers. Nick Keating (132) also turned in a 3-1 day, defeating Schrey of Neuqua Valley 11-3. Derek McDaniel (145) had a solid day also ending 3-1. His third place match was won by a score of 11-5 over Brantland of Waubonsie Valley.
Michael Norwood (285) gained a large following as he made his way through the tournament. The senior, unseeded, came out of the pigtail part of the bracket and started with a fall before losing to the top seed Papiernick of Metea Valley. Norwood turned in two wins in the wrestle-backs, one by fall and a 1-0 decision to the second seeded Ibarra of Naperville North to make the consolation finals. That match proved significant to the final team score as Norwood wrestled Kenny of Glenbard North. With the tournament team score extremely close between Glenbard North and Wheaton North, Norwood’s match drew the attention of, well nearly everybody in the gym. Norwood took a 4-0 lead into the third period when Kenny of GN chose the top position. Norwood fought off a great effort by Kenny for a fall, earning an escape late in the third period to seal the win. Norwood finished 4-1 on the day.
Cam Palmer (170) lost two heart-breakers and ended up in 4th place. Cam’s scored two wins, on by fall and another by major decision 9-0. Colin Baumgartner (113) also finished 2-2, winning by fall early in the tournament and winning 3-1 against Kamissi of Wheaton North for 5th place. Mujtaba Ahmed (120) won 11-7 in the pigtail match and ended the day in 8thplace.
That concludes the regular season for the Redhawks. Naperville Central finishes the year 19-4 in duals, 6-2 in the DVC, with a first place finish at the Hoffman Estates Tournament, a first place finish at the Mahomet-Seymour Tournament, and a third place finish in the DVC tournament.
Naperville Central Wrestlers Compete at the IHSA Regionals
Seven Redhawks place in the top three and qualify for the IHSA Sectionals
NCHS takes 3rd place out of 9 teams
February 4, 2017
The postseason has begun for varsity wrestlers all around the state of Illinois. Naperville Central wrestlers competed at the IHSA Class AAA Regional Tournament held at Batavia High School. In each weight class, nine teams competed for a top three finish and a trip to the Sectionals. Naperville Central sent five wrestlers to the championship match and two more to the deciding third place match.
The Keating brothers stole the show for the Redhawks, both bringing home gold. At 132 pounds, Nick Keating entered the tournament as the fourth seed. After a first round fall, Nick Keating knocked of the top seed Callaway of Marmion by a score of 9-1. He followed the victory up by pinning second-seeded Major of Batavia in the finals. Jake Keating, wrestling at 145 pounds, also notched a first round pin and then advanced to the finals with a technical fall over Brantland of Waubonsie Valley in the semifinals. Against the number one seeded Polka of Marmion, Jake Keating used a lateral throw to score a takedown with three near-fall points and then held on the rest of the match to win 7-2. Both Keatings will enter the Sectionals with a first round bye.
Kyle Guttosch, Cameron Palmer and Christian Nussbaum all punched their tickets to Sectionals by scoring semifinal victories. Kyle Guttosch, 106, won 17-1 in the first round and then scored a win by fall in the semifinals over Medlin of West Aurora. Guttosch suffered a 0-8 loss to Jaffe from Marmion in the finals. Cameron Palmer, 170, also had a first round pin and then battled to an 8-3 decision over Matar of Naperville North before losing in the finals to Ferrero of Marmion. Christian Nussbaum, wrestling at 220 pounds, became a Sectional Qualifier for the second year in a row by scoring a win by fall in the first round and a 5-2 decision over Gray of Naperville North. Nussbaum lost by fall to Sondag of Waubonsie Valley to take second place.
Two Redhawks needed a win in the third place bout to make the trip to Sectionals. Joe Lopez, 126, scored a 4-0 win in the consolation semifinals and then a 16-4 major decision over Gonzalez of Waubonsie Valley to take the bronze medal. At 152 pounds, Derek McDaniel defeated Johnson of West Aurora in the consolation semifinals to make the blood round. McDaniel needed extra time to defeat Deetjen of Naperville North for third place. An overtime takedown decided the contest.
Two seniors saw an end to their season efforts at the tournament. Mujtaba Ahmed capped off his wrestling efforts with a 2-2 record in the highly regarded 120 pound bracket. Ahmed scored a 25-7 technical fall over Mayo of East Aurora and a 12-3 major decision over Burgess of Wheaton Warrenville South before he succumbed in the consolation semifinals. Heavyweight Michael Norwood defeated Ferrer of Wheaton Warrenville South, but then was unable to continue his magic ride into the post-season.
Jackson Punzel lost a heartbreaker in the final seconds of his match against Dalan of WWS to see his 2016-17 season come to a close. Punzel wrestled at 160 pounds. Colin Baumgartner and Ben Cianchetti, 113 and 182 respectively both battled by ended up 0-2 on the day. Leo Keating stepped in at 138 pounds and gave a tough effort, but also ended 0-2 on the day.
The Redhawks took 3rd place in the tournament. Marmion won the event with 212.5 points and thereby qualified for the 16 team State Dual Team Tournament which will commence starting the Tuesday after the IHSA Individual State Tournament. Wheaton Warrenville South took 2nd place with 132.5 points, NCHS took 3rd with 124.5 points followed by 4th: West Aurora, 5th: Metea Valley, 6th: Naperville North, 7th: Batavia, 8th: Waubonsie Valley, 9th: East Aurora.
Marmion also lead the way with 10 sectional qualifiers but the Redhawks were second with 7 qualifiers. WWS had 6 while MV and NN both had 5 each.
NCHS finished the tournament with a 22-17 record in overall matches.
Naperville Central Sends Keating and Nussbaum to State
February 11, 2017
IHSA Individual Sectional Naperville Central Results
Jake Keating 2nd Place: State Qualifier
Christian Nussbaum 4th Place: State Qualifier
Naperville Central competed at the IHSA Individual Sectional Tournament held at Downers Grove High School on February 10th and 11th, 2017. Central qualified seven individuals to the tournament from the Regionals, all hoping to place in the top four and qualify for state. The Downers Grove Sectional is widely considered the toughest class 3A sectional of the four, and therefore the most difficult to qualify.
Jake Keating, 145, did not disappoint. Keating becomes a three-time state qualifier by taking second place. He previously qualified for state his sophomore and junior seasons. Keating is only the third individual from Naperville Central to qualify for state in three different seasons. Due to his regional championship, Keating had a bye first round and then defeated Chisholm of Downers Grove South to advance to the semifinals. There, Keating defeated Houston of Sandburg by a score of 11-3 to make the finals. In the championship match, Keating was pinned by top-ranked Lewan of Montini.
Christian Nussbaum, 220, wrestled his way to a state birth by winning three in a row on Saturday through the consolation bracket. The first of those was a 1-0 victory over Nako of Eisenhower. Next up, Nussbaum scored five takedowns to defeat Williams of Argo. That win set Nussbaum up for a consolation-semifinal, blood round decision over Lopez of Glenbard East. Nussbaum scored another six takedowns in the bout to take control. Goal achieved at the sound of the final buzzer. Nussbaum was defeated by a score of 3-8 by Bateman of Sandburg in the bronze medal match.
Both Jake Keating and Christian Nussbaum will start their state efforts on Thursday at the State Farm Center on the campus of the University of Illinois. Wrestling for class 3A is scheduled to start at around 5:00pm in the preliminary round (round of 16). Competition continues through Saturday.
Five other Redhawks competed at the tournament as well. Nick Keating just missed a trip to state at 132 pounds. Keating won his first match against Price of Stagg by a score of 3-0 to advance to the semifinals. Keating then lost to Garcia of Lyons by a score of 0-7. In the consolation-semifinals, Keating dropped a 6-12 decision to Ranieri of Willowbrook. Nick Keating is an alternate for the state tournament.
Senior Joe Lopez saw his season efforts come to a close in the tournament. Lopez, 126, came away with a 7-3 decision against Kilroe of Marist in the first round of the wrestle-backs. His day ended when we was pinned by Chumbley of Marmion.
Derek McDaniel battled at 152 in the tournament, winning his first match by a score of 12-3 against Osborn of Thornton. McDaniel lost his next two matches by scores of 1-6 and 4-6 respectively.
Cameron Palmer score a pin in 51 seconds over Martinez of Chicago Curie in the first round of the tournament. Palmer ended the day 1-2 wrestling at 170 pounds. Kyle Guttosch nearly won both of his matches in the tournament. Guttosch, wrestling at 106 pounds, lost by scores of 5-7 and 5-6.
Naperville Central Crowns Two State Place Winners
February 16th – February 18th, 2017
Jake Keating, 145: 5th Place
Christian Nussbaum, 220: 6th Place
Naperville Central crowned two state place winners at the IHSA Individual State Wrestling Tournament held at the State Farm Center (formally Assembly Hall) on the campus of the University of Illinois. Central has its first place winner since 2011 and the first time since 1989 (28 years) that Central placed more than one competitor in the same tournament.
Jake Keating, wrestling at 145 pounds, made his third trip to state this year. Keating, entering the tournament after taking 2nd place at the Sectional, defeated Rafael Roman, a senior out of Edwardsville, by a score of 4-2 in the first round. The victory was the first for Keating in the tournament. On the following day, Keating put himself in the state semifinals after defeating Abe Assad (Glenbard North). Keating had defeated Assad earlier in the season when NCHS wrestled at GN in a DuPage County Conference dual. Keating’s 5-0 victory assured him of a spot on the podium at title of All-State Wrestler.
The semifinal match was not as kind to Keating as he was defeated by (Illinois Matman 2ndranked) Markus Hartman of Barrington by a score of 0-10. Keating was defeated in the consolation semifinals by Baylor Fernendes of Lockport by a score of 2-10. That loss put Keating in the 5th place match against DVC foe Duncan Nelson of Wheaton North, another opponent that Keating defeated earlier in the year. Keating jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first period with a throw, but was reversed and gave up 2 near-fall toward the end of the first period. After Duncan picked down, Keating rode and eventually tilted Duncan for a three point near-fall to end the second period. Leading 8-4, Keating picked down to start the third period and scored an escape to extend his lead to 9-4. Duncan scored the final takedown in the match, but it wasn’t enough and Keating came away with the 9-6 decision and 5th place finish.
Christian Nussbaum entered the event ranked 11th by Illinois Matman and took 4th place in the sectional tournament. Nussbaum was defeated by Blake Zalapi of Rockton Hononegah (ranked 3rd, 1st at his sectional) by a score of 1-6. Nussbuam then had to hope for a victory from Zalapi to pull him back into the tournament, and Zalapi didn’t disappoint. Given new life, Nussbaum wrestled Tyree Williams of Quincy. Nussbaum made the most of the opportunity scoring a fall at the 1:44 mark of the first period. That win put Nussbaum in the “blood round,” a win-or-go-home showdown against Alex Andrews of Rock Island. Nussbaum gave up the first takedown in the first period, but was able to escape before the clock ran out. Given a 1-2 deficit, Nussbaum scored an escape and takedown to take a 4-2 lead. The lead was extended to 6-2 after another takedown in the second period. Andrews tied the match in the third period with an escape and takedown for a 6-6 tie, but an escape and takedown by Nussbaum put the match away. The final score was 9-7 and a medal earned by the senior from Naperville. Nussbaum was defeated by fall against Jake Dudeck of Lincoln-Way West and by Nick Sondag of Waubonsie Vallley, but the goal had been earned; 6th place finish for Nussbaum.