2022-2023 season notes

Naperville Central Redhawk Wrestling 2022-2023 Preview


The NCHS Redhawk wrestling team looks to build on a very successful 21-22 campaign with a few standbys and some fresh faces entering the varsity line-up.

The varsity season will kick off at home on November 26 against Batavia, Lincoln Way West and York.  Central will host DVC duals on Thursdays against Waubonsie Valley and Nequa Valley in early December before traveling to Naperville North on December 15 for the crosstown classic.  On Saturdays in December NCHS will compete in the annual Mega-Duals, Prospect Tournament and Oak Forest Duals.  The Prospect Tournament is a new event for Central.

Over winter break the Hawks will compete in the prestigious two day Flavin Dual Tournament followed by hosting Schaumburg, Libertyville and Bolingbrook.  Central will travel to DVC foe DeKalb and will complete a whirlwind of winter break wrestling at Downers Grove North to take on the Trojans with Barrington and South Elgin.

January will include a DVC matchup at Metea Valley followed by the overnight trip to Mahomet-Seymour.  The following weekend Central will compete in the DuPage Valley Championships hosted by DeKalb to complete the regular season.  Regionals will be February 4th.

Returning seniors include two-time state qualifier Ethan Olson leading the way with returning starters Gavin Bohan, and Chase Enfield.  Alexander Kelsey, Charles Kuang, Alex Montchik, Larry Stubitsch, and Joe Thomas round off an impress class of returning twelfth graders.

There is plenty of talent in the junior class including returning varsity wrestlers Chris Bern, Niko Besteiro, Mitchell Kaszuba and state-qualifier Tyler Martin.  Looking to make their mark are Luci Antonietti, John Carens, Luke Moen, Javier Sevilla, Jacob Smetters, and Hagan Taylor.

Watch out for a few stand out sophomores as plenty competed in multiple events over the summer or return as varsity wrestlers.  Highlighted sophs include varsity returner Gavin McDonald.  CJ Bierman, Will Erbeck, Henry Rydwelski, and Dylan Schroeder all added several tournaments of experience in the offseason.  There is no shortage of talented underclassman.

Naperville Central Kickoff 2022-2023 Season with Two Wins

NCHS finishes 2-1 in opening home quad.

November 26, 2022

·   Batavia W 50-22

·   York W 37-33

·   LWW L 28-32

The Redhawks kicked off the 2022-23 wrestling season defeating Batavia and Elmhurst York before falling to Lincoln Way West.  Junior standouts Tyler Martin and Niko Besteiro finished the day both 3-0 at 113 and 220 pounds respectively.

NCHS defeated a depleted Batavia team in the opening dual by a score of 50-22. Batavia High School football team advanced to the IHSA state football championship game. Many of Batavia’s wrestlers were unavailable for the dual. Recording wins for the Hawks were Vince Bern, Mitchel Kaszuba, Larry Stubitsch, and Niko Besteiro. Central won four additional matches by forfeit.

Next off Central defeated Elmhurst York in a closely contested dual 37-33.  York jumped out to a 6-0 team score lead after the first two matches, but the Redhawks responded with three wins in a row.  Hagan Taylor recorded a fall at 145 pounds and Chris Bern added a major decision 15-2 at 152 pounds.  John Carens then earned his first pin of the year at 160.  The two teams traded wins from that point forward.  Junior Jacob Smetters locked down a fall at 195 and Besteiro fought to his second win of the night 8-4.

Freshman Jacob Cochran was able to earn his first contested varsity win, a pin at 106.  Ty Martin finished the winning for the Hawks with a pin at 113 pounds early in the third period of his match.

In the final dual, Naperville Central fell to Lincoln Way West 28-32.  Central won six of the fourteen matches.  Hagan Taylor scored his second pin.  Chris Bern battled to a 10-5 decision at 152.  John Carens ended on top with a second period stick.  Niko Besteiro impressed the home crown with his third win on the day, a pin.  Heavyweight Chase Enfield won a high scoring affair by a score of 11-9.  Tyler Martin added his third win, a major decision by a score of 15-3.

The NCHS JV1 team defeated Batavia and York, but also lost to Lincoln Way West.  Central put together a Freshman-Sophomore team and travelled to Plainfield South for the F-S Super Quad and won all four duals, taking first in the event.  They beat Oak Lawn, Plainfield South, Prospect and Joliet West.

History was made when the NCHS Girls Wrestling Team competed for the first time ever.  The team competed at the Inaugural Niles West Girls Invite.  Ellen Purl finished 2-2 and finished in the top eight.  Annika Hull finished 1-2 at the event, her win coming by fall.

Naperville Central Blanks Waubonsie Valley

December 1, 2022

·       NCHS (3-1, DVC: 1-0) 76 – Waubonsie Valley 0

Naperville Central defeated DVC foe Waubonsie Valley at home by a score of 76 – 0.  The Warriors forfeited five of the fourteen matches and Central won all nine contested matches.  Of those nine, NCHS won by fall in six of them.

The contest started at 220 pounds where undefeated Redhawk Niko Besteiro pinned Walker with a great throw in 41 seconds.  Freshman standout Jacob Cochran (106 lbs) battled to the second period before winning by fall.  Not to be outdone, Mitchell Kaszuba (132) matched Besteiro with a throw of his own scoring a fall in 48 seconds.  Central’s Larry Stubitsch (138) scored six takedown in route to a 16-9 decision over Geataz.

In perhaps the most exciting match of the night, junior Redhawk Hagan Taylor outscored Wojtowich by a score of 15-13.  Taylor (145) scored a key takedown off a missed throw midway through the third period and then held on for the victory as the clock ran out.  Chris Bern (152) followed with a 13-5 major decision of Garcia, scoring six takedowns in his match, four of which came in the third period.

Naperville Central completed the contest with three falls.  John Carens (160) jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first period of his match before earning a pin in the second period.  Will Erbeck (170) was able to put his opponent’s shoulders to the mat in the second period.  Jacob Smetters completed the dual with a fall early in the second period of his match.

Central defeated Waubonsie Valley at the JV1 level by a score of 63-6, at the JV2 level 69-6, and at the freshman level 60-21.  Naperville Central girls competed as well.  Annika Hull scored a fall while newcomer Ella Sabugal was defeated in her effort.

Redhawks Finish 2-1 at Mega Duals

December 3, 2022

·   NCHS 44 – West Aurora 30

·   NCHS 66 – Oswego East 12

·   NCHS 12 – St. Charles East 69

Naperville Central improved to 5-2 on the season after defeating West Aurora and Oswego East at the Mega Duals held at West Aurora High School.  Central was defeated by St. Charles East.

Finishing with three wins on the day were Niko Besteiro (220) and Ty Martin (113).  Both wrestlers remain undefeated at 7-0 on the season.

In the West Aurora Dual, Central fell behind by a team score of 5-12 after the first four matches, but pair of second period pins by Hagan Taylor (145) and Chris Bern (152) put Central ahead 17-12.  The Blackhawks regained the lead with three pins in a row by a score of 17-30.

Jacob Smetters (195) started the comeback with a second period pin.  Niko Besteiro (220), Chase Enfield (285) and Jacob Cochran (106) all responded with first period pin and Naperville Central quickly put a cap on the dual win, taking a 41-30 team score lead.  Ty Martin put the icing on the Redhawk victory with a 8-6 decision at 113 pounds.

Central defeated Oswego East, winning seven of the ten contested matches, all seven matches were wins by fall.

Besteiro and Martin both won their matches by fall against St. Charles East.

The Naperville Central JV1 team finished 3-0 in the Mega Duals held at Wheaton Warrenville South.  They defeated Oswego East 67-6, Oswego 55-28, and St. Charles East 39-34.  Central’s JV2 team also finished 3-0 in the Mega Duals held at St. Charles East, defeating Metea Valley 60-12, West Aurora 52-30 and Oswego East 46-30.

The Naperville Central freshman won the eight team Lyons Township Freshman Invitational, scoring 195.5 team points over Lyons and Sandburg (2nd at 3rd with 169 and 168 team points).  Jake Moore (99), Austin Aguinaldo (106), Stavros Gerousis (132), Yusef Sikander (145), and Paul Peridotti (160) all won the tournament.  Tony Coclanes (99), Vince Miller (113), Daugirdas Acas (120), and Matt Guerin (152) all took a silver.  Austin Wadas-Luis (138) and Nate Sadowski (195) took bronze.

Naperville Central (6-2, 2-0 DVC) Knocks Off Neuqua Valley

·       NCHS 61 – NV 18

December 8, 2022

The Naperville Central wrestling team improved to 6-2 on the year and 2-0 in the DuPage Valley Conference after defeating Neuqua Valley High School by a score of 61-18 at home.  The dual was highlighted by an excellent rendition of the Star Spangled Banner played by guitar by Central 195 pounder Jake Smetters.  The Wildcats forfeited four weight classes to the Redhawks.  Central won seven of the remaining ten matches.

Gavin McDonald (113) started the action for the Hawk and scored the first takedown, but was unable to hold on and was defeated by fall.  Ty Martin (120) scored five takedowns in route to a 14-4 major decision.  Mitchell Kaszuba (132) wasted no time scoring a first period fall.  Hagan Taylor (145) impressed the home fans with a couple of throws and a second period pin.

Upstart starter Chris Bern (152) racked up twelve takedowns towards a decisive technical fall by a score of 27-9.  Central gave up pins at 160 and 170 pounds respectively.  Sophomore Will Erbeck (182) showed some grit in earning a pin in the second period of his very closely contested match.  The dual was anchored by Central’s two standouts Niko Besteiro (220) and Chase Enfield (285).  Besteiro battled to a 12-2 major decision while Enfield closed down the night with a fall in the opening period.

Central Girls were 1-2 against Neuqua Valley with Ellen Hull pinning her opponent.

Naperville Central won the JV1 dual by a score of 84-0.  Neuqua Valley did not field a JV2 team.  Central’s freshman defeated Neuqua Valley 46-27.

Naperville Central Competes at Prospect Tournament

12/10/2022

The Redhawks competed at the Mudge-McMorrow Wrestling Invitational, held at Prospect High School and took sixth place.  Host Prospect won the tournament.  Naperville Central is a new entrant into the event, now in its 62nd year.  Joliet Catholic, Libertyville, McHenry and Grayslake Central round off the top five teams.

Top finishers for the Redhawks were Niko Besteiro (220) and Ethan Olson (126), both finishing in fourth place.  Top performers were Hagan Taylor (145), Larry Stubitsch (138) and John Carens (160).  All three finished with 3-1 records and in seventh place.  Taylor recorded three pins on the way to his place.  Mitchell Kaszuba (132) also won three matches, two of which were falls on his way to a fifth place finish.  Jacob Smetters (195) earned two falls on his way to a fifth place as well.

Chase Enfield (285) added a couple of wins to his senior season, ending in sixth place.  Tyler Martin was also a sixth place finisher.  Freshman Jake Moore (106) battled to his first career varsity win, a 6-1 decision and that was enough for seventh place.  Chris Bern (152), and Will Erbeck (182) also had wins at the event, both falls.

The NCHS JV1 team took top honors at the Streamwood Dual Tournament winning all three duals.  Central defeated Bartlett 61-18 in the quarterfinals and South Elgin 65-18 in the semifinals before beating Wheeling in the finals 51-30.  Triple winners were Luke Moen (132), Bradley Anderson (145), Javier Sevilla (152), Luci Antonietti (160), Joe Thomas (170), and Duncan Foley (285).

The NCHS Girls Team competed at the Pontiac Munch Tournament on Friday, 12/9.  Annika Hull (110) scored a pin there.

Naperville Central wins Crosstown Clash

December 15, 2022

·   NCHS 43 – NNHS 19

The Redhawks of Naperville Central defeated the Huskies of Naperville North in the annual Crosstown Clash held at North by a score of 43-19 in front of a sellout crowd.  Central won ten of the fourteen matches contested, three by fall and one by technical fall.  The Hawks improve their record to 7-2 on the season and 3-0 in the DVC.

Central jumped off to a six-point team lead when senior heavyweight Chase Enfield won by fall in the first period of the opening bout over Kushenback.  Sanath (North) defeated Jake Cochran by a score of 7-4, making the team score 6-4.  Junior standout Ty Martin battled at 113 against Ben Messier and won by decision 7-1.  The Huskie’s Aiden Hinkle (120) pinned Vince Bern in the third period of a close match to make the dual meet score 9-9.

The Hawks then won the next six matches starting with a 9-6 decision by Ethan Olson against Tyler Sternstein at 126.  Junior Mitchell Kaszuba wrestled aggressively and won by fall against Zach Malley at 132.  Larry Stubitsch (138) executed six takedowns toward a 15-9 decision over Clayton Champion  Hagan Taylor came from behind and headlocked for a fall against Grant Gentile in a very exciting match at 145 pounds.  Junior Chris Bern (152) added nine takedowns to his team-leading total to win by technical fall against Noah Herscher 22-7.  In the closest match of the night Junior John Carens (160) scored a late two point nearfall verses Kai Goodrick in the third period to send his match to overtime with a score of 8-8, then earned the victory with a takedown midway through the one minute extra period.  After the six matches Naperville Central lead the team score 35-9.

Naperville North answered with a couple of wins.  Matas Budreikas won by fall in the first period over Central’s Joe Thomas and Huskie standout Kyle Gatlin (182) earned a 8-0 major decision over Will Erbeck.  The Rehawks won the final two matches of the evening, both by major decision.  Jacob Smetters (195) defeated Zach Schmidt by a score of 11-2 and Junior Niko Besteiro (220) capped the dual with a 13-5 win against Steve Harvey.

The Redhawks defeated North at the JV1 level by a score of 45-27.  Naperville North won the JV2 dual by a score of 30-38.  Central’s freshman were victorious by a score of 49-21.


Naperville Central finishes 3-1 at Oak Forest MegaDuals

December 17, 2022

·   NCHS 45 – Bradley Bourbonnais 27

·   NCHS 19 – Prospect 50

·   NCHS 44 – Oak Forest 28

·   NCHS 66 – Joliet Central 9

The Redhawks are now 10-3 on the season after winning three of four duals competed at Oak Forest High School.  Freshman Jacob Cochran (106) was the lead winner for the day with three victories and a win by forfeit.  Niko Besteiro (220), Chris Bern (152), Chase Enfield (285), Mitchell Kaszuba (132), CJ Bierman (126), and Vince Bern (120) all finished with a record of 3-1.

In the opening dual Central defeated Bradley Bourbonnais by a score of 45-27.  The Boilermakers forfeited five weight classes.  Central won three of the contested matches.  Chris Bern (152) won with a first period fall, Henry Rydwelski (170) won by decision 9-3 and Niko Besteiro (220) won by fall.

In dual two, NCHS was defeated by highly ranked Prospect by a score of 19-50.  Central’s points came by way of four wins.  CJ Bierman overcame a five-point deficit to win by major decision 15-5 at 126 pounds.  His win was followed in victory by Mitchell Kaszuba at 132 pounds.  Niko Besteiro (220) locked down his second pin of the day.  Jacob Cochran finished the contest with a pin at 106 pounds.

The third contest pitted the Redhawks against the host school Oak Forest, won by NCHS 44-28.  Central won seven of thirteen matches, five by fall and all five of the last matches.  Vince Bern picked up a forfeit at 120 pounds.  After three consecutive losses the Hawks scored wins at 145 and 152 pounds.  Hagan Taylor headlocked to a fall in 52 seconds.  Chris Bern scored three takedowns in the opening period and coasted to a 10-7 victory.  Down by a score of 15-27, Central started a five match winning streak with three consecutive falls.  The first from Jacob Smetters (195) who scored his pin in the second period.  Niko Besteiro (220) earned his third consecutive win with a first round fall.  He improved his record to 15-3.  Chase Enfield (285) scored two takedowns before putting his opponent’s shoulders to the mat in the second round.  Jacob Cochran (106) scored ten points by nearfall on the road to a 16-1 technical fall.  Junior Tyler Martin completed the dual with a fall at 113.

The final dual saw the Redhawks defeat Joliet Central 66-9.  Central won twelve of fourteen matches, nine by fall, two by decision and one by forfeit.  Wrestlers winning by fall were CJ Bierman, Mitchell Kaszuba, Hagan Taylor, Chris Bern, John Carens, Jacob Smetters, Chase Enfield, Jacob Cochran and Ty Martin.  Taylor, Enfield and Martin all have 12 wins each on the season.

The Naperville Central junior varsity team won all three of their duals at Bolingbrook in decisive fashion.  The Hawks defeated Joliet Central 57-14, Oak Forest 57-12, and Bolingbrook 78-6.  Triple winners were Jack Schwartz, Gavin McDonald, Luke Moen, Charles Kuang, Bradley Anderson, Javier Sevilla, Luci Antonietti, Alexander Kelsey, Joe Thomas and Duncan Foley.

Central put together a freshman-sophomore team that took second place at the nine team Maine South FS Tournament.  Hersey won the event with 178 points to Central’s 149.5 points.  Brother Rice third with 136 points and Maine South fourth with 128.5 points.  Take the gold were Jake Moore (101), Zach Moen (113), Paul Peradotti (160), and Nick Zbylut (182).  Silver medalist were Austin Wadas-Luis (138) and Nithilan Gandi (220).  Matt Guerin (152) won four matches and took third place.


Naperville Central Finishes in 15th place at 32 team Flavin Invitational

NCHS Wins Two of Six Duals

December 29 – December 30, 2022

Day 1

·   NCHS 54 – Oswego 21

·   NCHS 22 – Lockport 52

·   NCHS 24 – Washington 45

Day 2

·   NCHS 33 – West Aurora 34

·   NCHS 39 – Stevenson 32

·   NCHS 29 – Mukwonago, Wi 39

The Redhawks (12-7) finished in 15th place at the prestigious Flavin Invitational Dual Tournament held at DeKalb High School.  Central won the opening dual over Oswego by a score of 54 – 21 to advance the semifinals of their pool.  Central was defeated by Lockport 22 – 52 who when on to finished seventh place.  In the pool’s third place match, Washington who finished tenth defeated the Redhawks 24 – 45.  Both Lockport and Washington are highly ranked teams in Illinois.

On day two of competition, NCHS won one of three duals.  All three duals were decided in the final match.  Central lost by criteria to West Aurora 33-34.  In dual two, the Hawks needed a pin in the final match and got one from upstart junior Nyree Dabney to defeat Stevenson 39-32.  In the final match, Central almost stole the dual from Mukwonago in the final match, but fell short, losing 29-39.

Top performers in the tournament were Niko Besteiro (220) and Tyler Marton (113), both finished with a record of 5-1.  Besterio added four pins to his record while Martin scored a fall and a technical fall in his efforts.  Junior star Chris Bern (152) finished with a 4-2 record and added an impressive 23 takedowns in his six matches.  Nyree Dabney (182) finished 3-2 with three pins.  Mitchell Kaszuba (132), Hagan Taylor (145), Jacob Smetters (195), and Ethan Olson (126) all earned three victories.  Kaszuba and Taylor’s wins were all by fall.

Naperville Central JV team won the 13 team Libertyville Invitational on Wednesday, December 28.  Central scored 252.00 team points to second place Libertyville with 247.00 points.  Lyons Township (187.00) was third and Grayslake Central (141.00) fourth.  Central advanced seven to the finals, with three champions and four runner-ups.  Gold Medalists were Gavin McDonald (120), CJ Bierman (126) and Luke Moen (132).  Silver medalist were Flynn Collins (106), Vince Miller (113), Javier Savilla (152), and Joe Thomas (170).  Luci Antonietti (160) took third and Quinn O’Donnell (138), Bradley Anderson (145), Alex Kelsey (160), Nithilan Ghandhi (220) and Duncan Foley (285) all took fifth.

The Naperville Central girls’ team competed at the Ottawa Girls Tournament on Tuesday, December 27.  Annika Hull took fourth place.  Bianca Arredondo won her first match.

Central’s freshman finished in third place at the Hinsdale South Freshman Tournament on Friday, December 30.  Wheaton North won the tournament with 211 points.  Hersey took second with 165 and Central scored 153 points.  Jake Moore (100), Austin Aguinaldo (106), and Adrian Wadas-Luis (126) brought home gold for the Redhawks.  Austin Wadas-Luis (138) and Yusuf Sikander (145) took second place.  Starvros Gerousis (132) and Nate Sadowski (195) both took bronze.  Gerousis won four matches and Sadwoski won three.


Naperville Central Sweeps Home Quadrangular on Senior Night

 

·   NCHS 51 – Plainfield South 18

·   NCHS 40 – Schaumburg 22

·   NCHS 57 – Bolingbrook 11

January 3, 2023

Naperville Central rang in the new year with three dual wins at home to improve to 15-7 on the season.  

Between duals two and three the Redhawks honors their seniors and families.  Honorees include Gavin Bohan, Chase Enfield, Duncan Foley, Alexander Kelsey, Charles Kuang, Ethan Olson, Larry Stubitsch, and Joseph Thomas.

Top performers at the event for the Redhawks include Hagan Taylor (145), Chase Enfield (285), Mitchell Kaszuba (132), Ethan Olson (126) and Henry Rydwelski (170) who all won all three of their matches.  Taylor led the way with three pins.  Taylor’s record is not 18-8 with 17 of those wins coming by fall, which leads the team.  Heavyweight Chase Enfield improved to 17-10 on the year after earning his three wins today, two coming by fall.  Senior Ethan Olson scored three victories against stiff competition, one win coming in overtime.  Mitchell Kaszuba, also now 17-10 continues to show improvement wrestling at 132 pounds.  Two of his three wins were by fall.  Sophomore Rydwelski had a banner day scoring seven takedowns towards his three wins.  One of his wins was in overtime.

Niko Besteiro (220) leads the team with 22 wins after locking down two additional wins on a team-leading nine takedowns.  Chris Bern (152), Jacob Smetters (195), Ty Martin (120), and Larry Stubitsch (138) all also added to wins to their record.  Martin is now 19-6 on the year, second on the team in wins.  Chris Bern leads the team with 77 takedowns and is now 17-8 this season.

Freshman Austin Aguinaldo took advantage of his varsity chance, scoring his first ever varsity win at 106 pounds against Bolingbrook.  Will Erbeck (182) won the only match he wrestled.  Nyree Dabney finished 1-1, with his win coming by fall.  Vince Bern (120) won his only varsity match.  Gavin Bohan (160) and Jake Cochran (106) also had a wins.

The NCHS JV team also won all three duals, defeating Plainfield South 78-3, Schaumburg 61-15 and Bolingbrook 66-16.

The NCHS Girls wrestled with Bianca Arredondo winning both of her matches.

NCHS Girls Compete at Batavia Round Robin

 1/4/2023

The Redhawk Girls Wrestling Team travelled to Batavia for a round-robin tournament winning six matches of nine.  Ellen Purl (125) led the way with three straight pins out of three matches.  Annika Hull (110) won both of her first two matches, both by fall, before losing the third.  Bianca Arredondo (120) came away with a pin in her final match.

NCHS Defeated by DeKalb

·       NCHS 19 – DeKalb 47

1/5/2023

Naperville Central (15-8, 3-1 in DVC) was defeated by Dupage Valley Conference foe DeKalb.  The dual was contested at DeKalb High School.  Central won four of the thirteen contested matches.

Ty Martin (120) fell behind 1-4 in the first period but battled back by scoring a near-fall in the third period and was awarded a penalty point to send the match into overtime.  Martin scored on a double leg takedown early in the sudden-victory extra period to win 9-7.  Ethan Olson (126) scored five takedowns to win by major decision 11-3.  Mitchell Kaszuba (132) was nearly defeated by a score of 3-4.  Kaszuba nearly scored the match winning nearfall late in the third period.  Gavin Bohan (160) came from behind and scored on a takedown to force overtime, but lost in sudden-victory 5-7.  Henry Rydwelski (170) scored a third period takedown but his efforts fell short, losing 6-9.

Upstart junior Nyree Dabney (182) earned a couple takedowns and added nearfall points before pinning his opponent.  Niko Besteiro (220) also looked aggressive earning two takedowns and a fall in his match.  Chase Enfield (285) jumped out to a 4-1 lead in his match before succumbing to his opponent.

The NCHS JV1 team defeated DeKalb 53-21 and the JV2 team won 70-12.  The Redhawk freshman team also won by a score of 43-33.  Four of the Redhawk girls wrestled with Ellen Purl (130) winning by fall in the third period.


Naperville Central finishes 3-0 at Downers Grove North Quad

 

NCHS JV1 Team Wins 16-team Bolingbrook Invitational

NCHS JV2 Team Wins 9-team Naperville Central Invitational

 

Varsity Scores:

·   NCHS 37 – Barrington 34

·   NCHS 54 – South Elgin 28

·   NCHS 35 – Downers Grove North 30

January 7, 2023

Central improved to 18-8 on the 2022-2023 wrestling season after defeating Barrington, South Elgin and Downers Grove North at DGN High School.  Winners of all three duals were Ty Martin (120), Ethan Olson (126), Mitchell Kaszuba (132), Gavin Bohan (160) and Niko Besteiro (220).

In the opening contest, the Redhawks needed a win at heavyweight to secure the team victory and Chase Enfield punched the ticket to victory with a pin in the second period.  Earlier in the dual, Ty Martin (120) opened with a win by major decision and Ethan Olson (126) followed with a second period fall.  Mitchell Kaszuba (132) made it three matches in a row with a 9-1 major decision.  Barrington won the next three matches, but Gavin Bohan (160) stopped the bleeding with a solid 17-2 technical fall.  Austin Aguinaldo (106) and Niko Besteiro (220) both received wins by forfeit.

In dual two, Central faced off against South Elgin with the Hawks winning five of ten contested matches and picking up four forfeits.  Ty Martin (120) won his second match of the day with a first period fall.  Ethan Olson (126) scored three takedowns before earning a pin in the third period.  Mitchell Kaszuba (132) won by fall in the first period.  Chris Bern (152) was ahead by six points when he locked down a fall in the third period.  Henry Rydwelski (170) took a 0-0 match into the third period when he scored an escape, takedown and fall.  Zach Moen (113), Gavin Bohan (160), Jacob Smetters (195) and Niko Besteiro (220) all received forfeits.

The Hawks lined up against host Downers Grove North in the final challenge and won eight of fourteen, including the first four matches.  Ty Martin (120), Ethan Olson (126) and Mitchell Kaszuba (132) all finished undefeated on the day.  Against the Trojan’s, Martin and Olson won by fall while Kaszuba won by technical fall, 15-0.  Senior Captain Larry Stubitsch (138) squeaked out a 3-2 decision.

Gavin Bohan (160) scored in every period in route to an 11-4 decision.  Henry Rydwelski (170) scored a takedown in the first period and held on to win 3-2.  Nyree Dabney (182) blasted out an opening period pin.  Niko Besteiro scored five takedowns as he worked to a 12-7 victory.

The Naperville Central JV Team dominated the challenging sixteen team Bolingbrook JV Invitational, scoring 244 team points.  Lyons Township took second with 194 points.  Top teams include Yorkville (3rd, 157), Lincoln Way Central (4th, 144.5) and Joliet West (5th, 124.5).  The Redhawks advanced eight wrestlers out of fourteen weight classes to the finals with six champions.  Taking gold were Jacob Cochran (106), CJ Bierman (120), Charles Kuang (132), John Carens (160), Will Erbeck (182), and Duncan Foley (285).  Making the finals and taking second: Javier Savilla (152) and Joe Thomas (170).  Lucas Moen (126) took third, Flynn Collins (106) took fourth, Gavin McDonald (113) took fifth and Bradley Anderson (145) finished in sixth place.

Not to be outdone, the Central JV2 Team hosted and won the nine-team Naperville Central JV2 Invitational.  The entire tournament came down to the last match as Central trailed in team points to Naperville North.  Sean FitzGerald rolled his opponent over in the second period for the fall, moving the Hawks to first place.  Naperville Central actually fielded two teams: NCHS Team Red and NCHS Team White.  The Red team scored 180.5 team points with Naperville North second at 175 points.  West Aurora third at 126, Romeoville fourth with 118, and NCHS White fifth with 110 points.  Here are Central’s placewinners:

·   1st: Vince Miller (113), Matt Guerin (152), Nick Zbylut (170), Sean FitzGerald (285)

·   2nd: Jack Schwartz (106), Caelon Young (138), Mark Klovohn (152), Luci Antonietti (160)

·   3rd: Justin Rodriguez (106), Ryan Serbinski (113), Austin Schiltz (126), Liam Baker (138), Paul Peradotti (160)

·   4th: Jackson Bell (106), Daugirdas Acas (113), Cayden Castro (120), Joseph Trupia (126), Angel Bravo (138), Tyler Kim (195)

·   5th: Niko Karalis (132), William Kotecki (145), Nate Radtke (182), Nate Sadowski (195)

 ·       6th: Landon Lucero (106), Nick Tomeczko (113), Matt Cisneros (132)


Naperville Central Shuts Out Metea Valley

NCHS 79 – MV 0

·   January 12, 2023

Naperville Central traveled to Metea Valley for the final regular season dual meet of the season and shut out the home team 79-0.  Central finishes the regular season with a dual meet record of 19-8 and 4-1 in the DuPage Valley Conference.

The Mustangs forfeited seven weight classes and sent seven wrestlers to the mat.  The Redhawks won all seven with five coming by fall.  The Redhawks did not give up a takedown in the dual.

Senior Captions Larry Stubitsch (138) and Gavin Bohan (160) led the way with two of those pins.  Stubitsch’s stick came in the first period, just 40 seconds into the match.  Bohan battled to the second period before earning his slap on the mat.

Hagan Taylor (145), Nyree Dabney (182) and Niko Besteiro (220) were all winners by fall.  Henry Rydwelski (170) scored five takedowns towards his win by major decision 12-3.  Chase Enfield (285) was a winner by decision 4-3.  He scored two takedowns, one in each of the first two periods and held on through the third period to secure the win.  Winners by forfeit were Jacob Cochran (106), Zach Moen (113), Ty Martin (120), Ethan Olson (126), Mitchell Kaszuba (132), Chris Bern (152) and Jake Smetters (195).

The NCHS JV team won 72-9 and the NCHS Freshman team won 48-18.  Metea Valley did not field a JV2 team.

NCHS Wins Combined Freshman/JV Tournament at Oswego

January 14, 2023

Naperville Central won the combined 8-Team Freshman and JV Tournament held at Oswego High School. 

Independently, NCHS Freshman took 1st place and NCHS JV finished 2nd.  Central had 11 champions and 18 finalists out of 28 weight classes.  Tournament champions were Jake Moore (F, 100), Austin Aguinaldo (F, 106), Vince Miller (F, 113), Adrian Wadas-Luis (F, 120), Stavros Gerousis (F, 132), Austin Wadas (F, 138), Matthew Guerin (F, 152), Flynn Collins (JV 106), Luke Moen (JV, 126), Nick Zbylut (JV 170), and Will Erbeck (JV 182).  Making the finals and finishing second were Austin Schiltz (F, 126), Paul Peradotti (F, 160), Nate Sadowski (F, 195), Jayden Davis (F, 220), Ryan Serbinski (JV 113), Charles Kuang (JV 132) and Alex Kelsey (JV 170).

Naperville Central Girls Bring Home Gold at Batavia

·       Annika Hull: 1st Place

·   Ellen Purl: 1st Place

·   Ella Sabugal: 6th Place

January 14, 2023

The Naperville Central Girls team crowned two tournament champions at the Batavia Girls Tournament.  Sophomores Annika Hull (105) and Ellen Purl (125) both earned gold and both by fall in the finals.  Hull pinned her way through the tournament.  Purl advanced with decision of 6-2 and 6-0.  Ella Sabugal (115) earned an exciting come-from-behind pin in the second period of her consolation semifinal.  Sabugal finished sixth.  Bianca Arrendondo also competed in the event.


Naperville Central Finishes 3rd at 26-Team Marty Williams Invitational

·       1st Place: Mahomet Seymour 400.5 points

·       2nd Place: Normal West 380 points

·       3rd Place: Naperville Central 374.5 points

·       4th Place: Ft. Zumwalt South High School 341.5 points

·       5th Place: Normal Community High School 323 points

January 14, 2023

Naperville Central finished in third place at the Marty Williams Invitational held at Mahomet-Seymour High School.  The host school won the event with 400.5 points.  The event begins with a preliminary round in a round-robin format with 2-0 wrestlers competing in the gold bracket, placing 1st - 8th, 1-1 in the silver bracket placing 9th – 16th.  Eight Redhawks advanced to the Gold bracket.

Ethan Olson finished with a record of 5-0 and brought home a tournament championship at 126 pounds.  Olson lead the team with 14 takedowns in the tournament.  Gavin Bohan (160) finished in third place winning three of the four matches he wrestled.  Chris Bern came home as a fourth place finisher at 152 pounds.

Central had four wrestlers take fifth place.  Mitchell Kaszuba (132), Hagan Taylor (145) and Ty Martin (113) all finished with four wins out of five and all with three of those wins coming by fall.  Martin and Taylor tied with eleven takedowns in their matches.  Chase Enfield (285) also finished fifth but needed only three wins out of four.  Niko Besteiro (220) made the gold bracket and finished 8th place.

NCHS had three wrestlers win the Silver Bracket, coming in ninth place.  Larry Stubitsch (138), Nyree Dabney (182) and Jake Smetters (195) all won four out of five matches.  John Carens (160) and CJ Bierman (120) both made the finals in the Silver Bracket and finished in tenth place.  Hendy Rydwelski (170) injury defaulted to 12th place.  Duncan Foley (285: 13th, record 3-2), Vince Bern (120: 13th, record 2-2), Jake Cochran (106: 13th, record 2-2), and Joe Thomas (160: 18th, 2-3 record).  Foley record his first varsity wins as a Redhawk.


 

Naperville Central Nearly Wins DVC Tournament

·   1st: DeKalb 269

·   2nd: Naperville Central 254.5

·   3rd: Naperville North 197

·   4th: Neuqua Valley 94.5

·   5th: Waubonsie Valley 92

·   6th: Metea Valley 56

January 20, 2023

Naperville Central finished in second place at the DuPage Valley Conference Tournament held at DeKalb High School.  The top two teams battled for first place through the last three bouts of the place matches.  Chase Enfield scored a technical fall at 285 pounds in his third place bout on mat 3 to put the Redhawks in the team score lead.  DeKalb answered later, scoring wins in the finals at 182 and 195 pounds to secure overtake the team score lead.  DeKalb is ranked 6th by “Illinois Matmen.”

The Hawks crowned four individual conference champions in the six-team tournament and advanced ten to the finals.  All fourteen Central wrestlers placed in the top three.  In all, NCHS finished with a record of 19-10 with nine wins coming by fall.

Leading the way for Naperville Central was junior standout Ty Martin.  The 113 pounder scored falls against Sifuentes (WV) in the semifinals and Castro (D) in the finals to become DVC Champions.  At the conclusion of the tournament, Martin was named the co-winner of the Al Collins Outstanding Wrestler award.

Senior captain and two time state qualifier Ethan Olson walked through the 126 pound weight class to win his third DVC title.  Olson defeated Sternstein (NN) for gold by a score of 11-0.  First seeded Olson won by fall over Chidley (NV) in the semifinals.

Perhaps the surprise of the tournament was freshman Vince Bern.  Bern, seeded fourth at 120, defeated Hinkle (NN) in the semifinals, overcoming a previous defeat to the Huskie.  In the finals, Bern came from behind with a lateral-throw on the edge of the mat to upset top seeded Airhart (D) in the finals by a score of 13-9 to win gold.

Senior Gavin Bohan won the 160 pound weight class to become DVC champion.  Bohan came out of the three seed and needed three wins to stand on top of the podium.  Bohan opened with a fall against Nurundinov (NV) to get to the semifinals.  There, he faced off against Kolkebeck (D) whom Bohan lost to in Central-DeKalb dual.  Bohan was down 1-6 after the first period but scored a takedown in the second period to close the score to 4-7.  Then came a flurry of points in the third period that included three takedowns by Bohan.  The wrestlers also traded reversals.  With 11 second left in the third and down by one, Bohan choose a free-release escape point to go down by two to attempt to tie the match.  Tie he did with a double leg as time expired to send the match to overtime.  Early in the sudden victory, Kolkebeck stepped out of bounds and was penalized for stalling giving Bohan the 13-12 win and sending the senior to the finals.  As if that wasn’t exciting enough, Bohan came from behind once more in the championship match.  He needed a last second takedown against Goodrick (NN) in the finals to win the conference championship by a score of 4-3.

Six additional Central wrestlers won their semifinal matches to make the finals.  Henry Rydwelski, sophomore 170 pounder needed come-from-behind points to defeat Franco (D) in the semis.  The aggressive action needed to retake the lead resulted in a fall for Rydwelski for his highest placement of a tournament all year.  Senior Larry Stubitsch (138) scored multiple takedowns in route to a 15-7 major decision over Geataz (WV) to earn a silver medal in the DVC.  Mitchell Kaszuba continues to show grit in his successful wrestling season.  The strong top wrestler locked down a pin against Gonzalez (WV) to make the championship match.  Hagan Taylor (145) was down by one point going into the third period of his semifinal match and choose neutral to start the period.  That choice proved to be a good one as Taylor was able to headlock Wojtowich (WV) for the pin to move Taylor to the finals.  Junior Chris Bern placed second by defeating Garcia (WV) by major decision 20-9.  Bern racked up eight takedowns in that match.  Niko Besteiro (220) battled Nurundinov (NV) in the semifinals earning a solid 10-5 victory.

For additional Redhawks finished the tournament with a win and a 2-1 record for third place.  Senior Chase Enfield (285) defeated Ericson (D) by technical fall 19-4 for bronze.  Enfield avenged an earlier loss to the Barb for the win.  Jake Smetters scored a key takedown early in his place match against Housour (WV) and held on for the key win at 195 pounds.  The victory kept the team tournament championship alive for the Hawks.  Nyree Dabney impressively scored two falls out of two in his efforts at 182 pounds with the place match coming against Funk (MV).  Dabney held a solid lead against Funk before earning the big fall.  Freshman Jacob Cochran (106) battled Benjamin (NN) and earned a couple of sets of nearfall points in his match, but Cochran fell short of winning that match and ended up placed third in his first DVC tournament.

Naperville Central JV2 DuPage Valley Conference Champions

·   1st: Naperville Central 291

·   2nd: Naperville North 199.5

·   3rd: Neuqua Valley 113.5

·   4th: Metea Valley 112

·   5th: DeKalb 109

·   6th: Waubonsie Valley 94

January 21, 2023

The Naperville Central Junior Varsity 2 Team won the JV2 DuPage Valley Conference Tournament in convincing fashion.  The tournament was held at DeKalb High School.  The Hawks were able to send 16 individuals to the finals and crowned ten DVC Conference champions out of fourteen weight classes.  Twelve of the fourteen weight classes had at least one Central wrestler in the finals.  Four of the weight classes featured two Redhawks squaring off against each other.  At 138 pounds, the Hawks place three in the top three.  In all, Central finished 71-32 in individual matches with an outstanding 52 wins coming by fall.

Conference champions were: Jack Schwartz (106), Adrian Wadas-Luis (126), Niko Karalis (132), Austin Wadas-Luis (138), William Kotecki (145), Matthew Guerin (152), Luci Antonietti (160), Nick Haddad (170), Nick Zbylut (182), and Nate Sadowski (195).

Conference runner-ups were: Austin Aguinaldo (106), Zach Moen (113), Quinn O’Donnell (138), Mark Klavohn (152), Paul Peradotti (160), and Sean FitzGerald (285).

Bronze medalist were: Austin Schiltz (126), Caelon Young (138), Yusuf Sikander (145), and Nate Radtke (195).

Other place winners were: Jackson Bell (4th at 106), Cayden Castro (5th at 120), Stavros Gferousis (5th at 132), and Akhil Kanuri (6th at 120)

 

Naperville Central JV1 DuPage Valley Conference Champions

 

·   1st: Naperville Central 258

·   2nd: DeKalb 222

·   3rd: Naperville North 176

·   4th: Waubonsie Valley 109

·   5th: Neuqua Valley 49

·   6th Metea Valley 44

January 28, 2023

The Redhawk Junior Varsity 1 team repeated as DuPage Valley Champions, winning the six-team conference tournament held at Waubonsie Valley High School.  Central advanced twelve individuals to the finals and crowned five champions.  DeKalb took second place and Naperville North took third.

Senior Joe Thomas (170) brought home gold.  Juniors Javier Sevilla and John Carens were champions at 152 and 160.  Sophomores Flynn Collins and Will Erbeck both stood on top of the podium at 106 and 182 respectively.

Central had seven additional finalist, taking second place.  Senior Alex Kelsey made an all Redhawk final at 160 pounds.  Senior Duncan Foley finished with a silver at 285.  Other finalist were Gavin McDonald (120), CJ Bierman (126), Lucas Moen (132), Bradley Anderson (145), and Dylan Schroeder (195).

Senior Hawk Charles Kuang (138) was the winningest wrestler of the tournament, finishing with three wins and a bronze medal.  All three of his wins were by fall.  Vince Miller battled to a third place at 113.  Nithilan Gandi (220) and Jake Moore (106) placed fifth.

Three Naperville Central Girls Place at OPRF Girls Tournament

January 28, 2023

In the last regular season girls tournament of the season, three Redhawks places at Oak Park and River Forest High School.  Ellen Purl (125) led the way with a third place finish, winning two of three matches, both by fall.  Purl nearly defeated the eventual champion in the semifinals.  Bianca Arredondo (120) needed the tiebreaker overtime to win her fifth place match.  She won by fall in the consolation semifinals.  Annika Hull (110) needed to come from behind to win her fifth place match, eventually locking down her second fall of the day.  Ella Sabugal competed at 115 pounds.


Naperville Central IHSA Regional Wrestling Champions

 

·       1st: Naperville Central 213.5

·       2nd: Naperville North 144

·       3rd: Wheaton Warrenville South 125

·       4th : Bolingbrook 115

·       5th: Glenbard West 97

·       6th: Glenbard East 86

·       7th: Willowbrook 52.5

·       8th: Neuqua Valley 37

February 4, 2023

The Naperville Central Redhawk wrestling team won the IHSA Regional Wrestling Tournament hosted by Glenbard East High School.  Central outscored their next opponent by over 69 team points.  NCHS advanced ten wrestlers to the Individual Sectional Wrestling Tournament which will be competed at Hinsdale Central High School next week.  Seven Redhawks made the finals and five came home with gold.  Three more Hawks took third place and qualified.  Three Central wrestlers finished in fourth place.  All fourteen Central wrestlers won at least one match. The team finished by winning 32 matches to just 13 losses.

By virtue of winning the Regional title, the Redhawks will face Chicago Mt. Carmel High School in the Dual Sectionals to be held at Marmion High School on February 21.  But, there will be plenty of individual wrestling ahead of that as sectional qualifiers will battle for a trip to Champaign for the State Wrestling Tournament.

Leading the way for the Hawks was junior standout Tyler Martin (113).  Martin, the number one seed, advanced to the finals with a 9-3 decision over Harris of Bolingbrook.  Martin faced a familiar foe in the finals in Messier of Naperville North.  Martin prevailed by a score of 11-2 to take gold.

Central won three championship matches in a row at 145, 152, and 160 pounds.  First up was Hagan Taylor (145) who won in the quarterfinals and semifinals by fall to advance.  In the gold medal match, Taylor won 10-3 over Gross of Wheaton Warrenville South.  Chris Bern (152) capped off an impressive tournament by winning in the finals over Francisco (WWS) by fall.  Bern earned decisions in the preliminary matches by scores of 7-1 and 10-0.  Senior Gavin Bohan (160) continues to thrill spectators.  Bohan, seeded two, won 9-0 and 10-3 in the quarter’s and semi’s.  The team caption defeated Goodrick of Naperville North to stand atop the podium.  Junior Niko Besteiro (220) added Central’s fifth title with pins in the semifinals and finals.  Besteiro won by fall over Clayton of Glenbard East in the title match.

Senior Chase Enfield (285) earned two falls in both the quarterfinals and semifinals to earn a shot at the title.  Enfield and Amoh of Bolingbook had three lead changes in their battle.  Amoh had only a 10-8 lead when he won by fall in the final second of the last match.  Enfield advances to sectionals along with Ethan Olson (126).  Olson defeated Moore of Glenbard East 9-2 and Rosas of Glenbard West 3-1 before falling to Camacho of Bolingbrook.

Three Naperville Central wrestlers won the all-important bronze medal, sectional qualifying match.  Freshman Vince Bern (120) punched his ticket to sectionals by winning by fall over Hinkle of Naperville North.  Bern was losing at the time of the fall.  The two wrestlers had seen each other several times this year.  Bern finished 3-1 on the day, defeating Tabaku of WWS and Giroux of Willowbrook earlier.  Nyree Dabney (182) also needed a fall to get his sectional invitation.  Down by five, Dabney threw Odiet of Glenbard West for the win.  Dabney finished the day with a record of 3-1 with all three wins coming by fall.  Dabney beat Shanahan (Bolingbrook) and Gul (WWS).  Jake Smetters (195) followed Dabney’s lead exactly with three pins in the tournament, the last good enough bronze verses Monce (WWS).  Smetters stuck Hackett of Willowbrook in the quarterfinals and Winkler of Glenbard East in the consolation semifinals.

Three Redhawks just missed qualifying.  All three become alternates for the sectional tournament.  Freshman Jake Cochran (106) finish 2-2 in his first varsity experience with both of his wins by fall.  Senior Larry Stubitsch (138) battled gallantly to make the third place match, defeating Smith in a hard fought 4-3 match.  Sophomore Henry Rydwelski (170) opened the tournament with a fall and finished 1-2.  Mitchell Kaszuba (132) finished 1-2 with his win coming fall.

Naperville Central Competes in IHSA Boys and Girls Sectional Tournaments

Jake Smetters State Qualifier

February 10 – February 11, 2023

Naperville Central advanced ten individuals to the IHSA Boys Sectional and entered four more into the IHSA Girls Sectional Tournament this weekend.  Junior 195 pounder Jake Smetters becomes the latest NCHS wrestler to qualify for state.  The tournaments were held at Hinsdale Central High School and Schaumburg High School respectively.

On the boys side, the Redhawks advanced four wrestlers to the semifinals and five wrestlers to the consolation semifinals, or “blood round” for a state qualifying birth.

Junior Jake Smetters became a sectional qualifier by taking third place at the regionals.  Smetters opened the tournament winning by injury default to Favia of Marmion.  After losing to King from Lyons Township, Smetters won three matches in a row in the consolations.  His first match by fall over Miles of Downers Grove South.  The Redhawk needed two periods to dispatch Alomari of Sandburg by fall to advance to the blood rounds.  Smetters scored two takedowns in a 4-2 decision of Hargrove of Bolingbrook to punch his ticket to state.  Smetters finished in fourth place after losing to Ibarra of Oswego in the place match.  Smetters is now a thirty match winner this year, 30-17.

Central had four chances other chances for state birth.  Junior Ty Martin (113) just missed advancing after losing a 0-1 decision to Fidler of Marist.  Martin advanced to the semifinals earlier in the tournament by defeating Parker of Sandburg 2-1.  Martin lost in the semis to Pigoni of Marmion 7-2.  Martin’s record stands at 33-9 for the season, the most wins on the team.  Senior captain Ethan Olson (126) won two in a row on Friday night to advance to the semifinals, defeating Gutierrez of Sandburg 8-2 and Commings of Downers Grove North 17-4.  Olson lost to top ranked Garcia of Marmion 3-14.  In the blood round, Olson lost 2-3 to Camacho of Bolingbrook.  Hagan Taylor (145) came within a match of state after winning the regional and defeating Perez of Hinsdale Central by fall in the quarterfinals.  He faced two very challenging opponents, Serio of West Aurora in the semifinals, and Scolaro of Marmion.  Taylor lost 3-17 and 1-9 in those matches.  Taylor’s record is not 28-13 with a team leading 25 wins by fall.  Senior Gavin Bohan defeated Butler of Chicago Curie to advance to the semifinals at 160 pounds.  Bohan lost to Swan of Downers Grove South 3-9.  In the blood round, Bohan took a 1-1 tie into the third period, but could not hold on, losing by fall to Chumbley of Marmion late in the match.

Senior heavyweight Chase Enfield came within two matches of qualifying, finishing 2-2 in the tournament.  Enfield opened the tournament with a 3-2 decision over Koschik of Hinsdale Central.  After losing in the quarterfinals, Enfield won by fall over Lanigan of Marist to advance on the consolation side, but he was defeated by Croswell of DGS.  Enfield’s record stands at 27-18.  Junior Nyree Dabney (182) finished 1-2 in the event, defeating Lopez of East Aurora in his first match by fall.  Sixteen of Dabney’s eighteen wins have come by fall this season.  Niko Besteiro (220) also finished 1-2 defeating Clayton of Glenbard East by fall in the first period of the first round of consolation.  Besteiro is second on the team in both wins and falls, 32-11, 20 falls.  Junior Chris Bern lost both of his matches in perhaps the most loaded bracket of the tournament, 152.  Bern stands at 25-16 and leads the team in takedowns with 106.  Brother Vince Bern, freshman 120 pounds competed in his first sectional.

The season is not concluded however at the Redhawks will face Chicago Mt. Carmel in the IHSA Dual Sectional hosted by Marmion High School on Tuesday, February 21.

To the girls who continue their journey in this, the inaugural year of the NCHS Girls Wrestling Team.  The four girls combined for a 7-8 record against stiff competition at Schaumburg High School.  Top finisher Ellen Purl just missed qualifying for the blood round in her efforts at 125 pounds.  Purl finished with a record of 3-2 defeating Guzman of Lake Park and Pizano of Elgin to qualify for the quarterfinals.  After losing there, Purl defeated Jones of Conant by major decision 14-6.  Purl took a six-point lead into the second period of her last match but was defeated by fall against Hart of Hinsdale Central.  Purl’s sophomore year finishes with an impressive record of 19-8.  Bianca Arredondo, 120, put together an impressive showing, winning three matches.  She opened with a 5-2 decision over Conrad of Maine West.  After a loss, Arredondo won two matches in the consolation side, pinning Hodzovic of Maine South and defeating Nelson of Richmond Burton 4-2.  Arredondo finished the year with a record of 10-16.  Sophomore returner Annika Hull (105) won a match in the consolation round, a tough battle over DiSilvestro of Geneva 9-3.  Hull wrestled 32 matches this season, winning 15.  Ella Sabugal wrestled at 115 pounds at sectionals, losing both of her matches.

Jake Smetters Competes at State

 February 16-17, 2023

Junior standout Jake Smetters, 30-20 represented Naperville Central High School at the IHSA Boys Individual State Wrestling Tournament held on the campus of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.  The competition was held at the State Farm Center.

Smetters drew highly ranked Drew Surges of St. Charles North in the opening round on Thursday and lost by a score of 0-15.  Smetters had two chances on the top position at the beginning of periods 2 and 3, but was unable to hold his opponent down.

Jake Smetters dropped to the first round consolation round competed on Friday morning against Porter Leith of Dundee-Crown.  Leith scored a takedown just as time expired in the first period to open a 0-2 lead.  Leith picked down to start period and escaped to extend his lead to 0-3.  No other points were scored in the second period, although Smetters nearly escaped at the end of the period.  Smetters picked down to start the third period, but Leith was able to keep Smetters down, scoring a three-point near-fall toward the end of the final period to finish 0-6.

Naperville Central Concludes 2022-2023 Wrestling Season at Sectional Duals

·       NCHS 9 – Chicago Mt. Carmel 63

February 21, 2023

The 22-23 Redhawk wrestling season concluded after losing to Chicago Mt. Carmel at the IHSA Dual Sectionals held at Marmion High School.  Mt. Carmel is the defending 2022 IHSA state champions.  Central won two matches of fourteen contested, but scored several offensive points in the contest.  The Caravan now advance to IHSA Dual State in the state quarterfinals.  Naperville Central finish as one of the top 16 teams in class AAA.  Host Marmion defeated Downers Grove South to advance as well.

Central’s winners were Nico Besteiro (220) and Gavin Bohan (160).  Besteiro won by fall at 1:28 in the first period.  Bohan won by decision 9-2.  Besteiro scored a takedown on a go-behind before throwing a half to gain the fall.  Bohan opened the first period with a takedown and extended his lead to 5-0 after escaping from the bottom and scoring on a single in the second period.  Bohan added two more takedowns in the third period for his nine points.  State qualifier junior Jacob Smetters (195) scored a reversal in his match in the third period.

Central wrested four seniors at the event including Chase Enfield, Larry Stubitsch, Ethan Olson and Bohan, all of whom competed for the last time as Redhawks.  Olson scored offensive points in his match with a reversal in the second period and nearly pinning his opponent in the third, coming away with a three-point nearfall.  Enfield locked up on a throw but was countered in his match.  Stubitsch battled with a two time state champion at 138 pounds.


Notes of interest