Prep Wrestling: Falcons, Tigers Ready to Take the Mat at Regionals

Both Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South will take part in Saturday’s 10-team Glenbard North Class 3A individual wrestling regional.

The host Panthers—the state’s No. 2 ranked team which finished third at last season’s dual team state tournament—will be formidable once again, with four wrestlers ranked among the state’s top 10 in their respective weight classes. Chief among them is defending 125-pound state champion Joe Gosinski, who’s wrestling at 130 this season.

But the Tigers and Falcons will make their presence known on Saturday. Both squads, of course, are hoping to advance individuals to next week’s Downers North sectional. Here’s a look at each team going into regionals:

Wheaton North

Coach Steve Holland’s Falcons head into Glenbard North with a little momentum after earning a respectable fourth-place finish at last weekend’s DVC meet.

Junior 189-pounder Mike Swider, who’s ranked seventh in the state by Illinois Matmen, sports a 33-2 record and won his first DVC title. Swider’s only losses this season are to Lockport’s Brad Johnson—the state’s top-ranked 3A wrestler at 189—and to Gage Harrah of Crystal Lake Central, No. 1 in the state in Class 2A.

Sean Murray, a sophomore, owns a 26-8 record at 119 and was runner-up at the DVC meet. Seniors Zach Striplin and Don Hane each finished third in the DVC at 140 and 145, respectively.

Murray, Striplin, Hane and 112-pound senior Tyler Simmons are all Illinois Matmen honorable mention selections in their weight classes.

Wheaton South

Like Glenbard North, the Tigers, coached by Ryan Ferguson, list four of their matmen among the state’s top 10. Sparty Chino (29-1), a senior, is seeking his third straight trip to the state tourney in Champaign. This year, he’ll attempt to qualify at 152 after finishing fifth at state last season at 140 and fifth as a sophomore at 135.

Chino, a defensive lineman for the two-time defending Class 7A state champion , is coming off a last week. He’s currently ranked second in the state.

Senior 215-pounder Joe Hall, ranked seventh in the state, is enjoying an equally successful season. Hall, who won a 7-0 decision in his DVC title match, is 25-1. Junior Steve Franke won another DVC crown with his 4-0 victory at 160. He’s 30-3 so far and ranked seventh.

Wheaton South got another DVC championship from junior Evan Welsh, who’s 9-1 at 171. Returning state qualifier Mark Savenok put up a fight before falling in the 145-pound DVC title match. It was only the senior’s second loss of the year (14-2). Savenok is ranked fourth in the state.

Another senior, Vinny Lamontagna, is the state’s 12th-ranked wrestler at 189.

Tiger sophomore Billy Conner (103) also will compete at the regional tourney. His 20-15 record might not appear to be particularly impressive on paper, especially when compared to the records of some of his teammates.

But Conner, who was born with oromandibular limb hypogenesis syndrome, doesn’t have any hands and wears a prosthesis on his right leg (which he has to take off when he wrestles). Despite this, he’s pinned eight of his opponents this season and placed fourth at the DVC tournament.