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11-25-2006, 09:10 PM
BY SHANNON HEATON
sheaton@qconline.com
Published: 11/23/06
The United Township Triple Duals were already a tough way to start the 2006-07 wrestling season.
But, with the invasion of western suburban teams Yorkville and Maple Park Kaneland in Wednesday night's edition at the Panther Den, competition became all that much tougher for local teams UT, Moline and Rock Island.
And, even before the Foxes and Knights came in to sweep three duals, the Panthers, Maroons and Rocks all were up against it in just dealing with their internal challenges.
In UT's case, graduation of a strong senior class left many questions. For Moline, it was the meshing of a first-year coach -- James Ealy -- with a very green Maroon squad. At Rock Island, there were three holes in the lineup.
But the locals fared reasonably well in what was the season-opening competition for UT and Moline and just the second event for Rock Island. UT had the most success, going 2-1. Moline and Rock Island went 1-2 in their matches.
The Panthers rallied from a 44-15 loss to Kaneland with a pair of resounding wins, 62-18 over Sycamore and 51-25 over Machesney Park Harlem.
"We bounced back pretty nicely," Panthers coach Bam Pustelnik said. "We were really flat in the first match. The kids wrestled like their conditioning was lacking, but we're in better shape than what we showed in the first match. The second and third matches, we wrestled a lot more under control."
Raul Jimenez (112 pounds) and Robert Cooney (189) were the Panthers' only three-match winners, with Jimenez winning all of his matches by fall. Cooney had a pin and a pair of decisions.
"Raul wrestled well, Cooney was real focused, real solid," Pustelnik said. "He (Cooney) has got to open up his offense a little more."
Taking two wins each for UT were Billy Christiansen (103), Lupe Jimenez (119-125), Nick Meyers (152) and C.J. Mason (275).
Though the Rocks (1-3) were giving up three forfeits, the remaining 11 wrestlers in the lineup showed some quality. After an opening 55-21 loss to Yorkville, RI wrestled Harlem tough before falling 42-30, finishing off with a 54-30 rout of Sycamore.
"It's like it always is (at triple duals), the tough ones win and the ones that aren't ready just weren't quite there," Rocks coach Larry Kanke said. "We saw some good things from some inexperienced wrestlers. They're good athletes; they just need work and mat time. By the end of the season, we'll be there."
Triple winners for Rock Island included Sepehr Kalhor (125), Reese Taylor (140), Curtis Lewis (145) and Donotello Crisp (152). Crisp had three pins, while Taylor and Lewis each had two pins and a forfeit and Kalhor two pins and a decision.
"Reese (Taylor) is on a roll; he's pinned everybody he's wrestled so far," said Kanke of his talented junior. "He knows what it's going to take to be a champion and be a placewinner at state."
With just two seniors seeing action in all three matches, plus a plethora of freshman starters even at some upper weights, Moline (1-2) might struggle early, but the Maroons looked more than competitive despite their youth.
"We threw some kids out there into different spots. A lot of them have very little mat experience," said Ealy. "The main thing is that they have to get out there and compete; the more they do that, the better they'll be come regional time."
Moline started with a 48-29 win over Sycamore, but fell to both Kaneland (58-14) and Yorkville (55-6). Felipe Villagomez (135), Nick Bruder (189) and Felipe Tristan (215) had two wins each for the Maroons.
"They both stepped up pretty big for us," said Ealy of his Felipes. "They both had two good wins."
sheaton@qconline.com
Published: 11/23/06
The United Township Triple Duals were already a tough way to start the 2006-07 wrestling season.
But, with the invasion of western suburban teams Yorkville and Maple Park Kaneland in Wednesday night's edition at the Panther Den, competition became all that much tougher for local teams UT, Moline and Rock Island.
And, even before the Foxes and Knights came in to sweep three duals, the Panthers, Maroons and Rocks all were up against it in just dealing with their internal challenges.
In UT's case, graduation of a strong senior class left many questions. For Moline, it was the meshing of a first-year coach -- James Ealy -- with a very green Maroon squad. At Rock Island, there were three holes in the lineup.
But the locals fared reasonably well in what was the season-opening competition for UT and Moline and just the second event for Rock Island. UT had the most success, going 2-1. Moline and Rock Island went 1-2 in their matches.
The Panthers rallied from a 44-15 loss to Kaneland with a pair of resounding wins, 62-18 over Sycamore and 51-25 over Machesney Park Harlem.
"We bounced back pretty nicely," Panthers coach Bam Pustelnik said. "We were really flat in the first match. The kids wrestled like their conditioning was lacking, but we're in better shape than what we showed in the first match. The second and third matches, we wrestled a lot more under control."
Raul Jimenez (112 pounds) and Robert Cooney (189) were the Panthers' only three-match winners, with Jimenez winning all of his matches by fall. Cooney had a pin and a pair of decisions.
"Raul wrestled well, Cooney was real focused, real solid," Pustelnik said. "He (Cooney) has got to open up his offense a little more."
Taking two wins each for UT were Billy Christiansen (103), Lupe Jimenez (119-125), Nick Meyers (152) and C.J. Mason (275).
Though the Rocks (1-3) were giving up three forfeits, the remaining 11 wrestlers in the lineup showed some quality. After an opening 55-21 loss to Yorkville, RI wrestled Harlem tough before falling 42-30, finishing off with a 54-30 rout of Sycamore.
"It's like it always is (at triple duals), the tough ones win and the ones that aren't ready just weren't quite there," Rocks coach Larry Kanke said. "We saw some good things from some inexperienced wrestlers. They're good athletes; they just need work and mat time. By the end of the season, we'll be there."
Triple winners for Rock Island included Sepehr Kalhor (125), Reese Taylor (140), Curtis Lewis (145) and Donotello Crisp (152). Crisp had three pins, while Taylor and Lewis each had two pins and a forfeit and Kalhor two pins and a decision.
"Reese (Taylor) is on a roll; he's pinned everybody he's wrestled so far," said Kanke of his talented junior. "He knows what it's going to take to be a champion and be a placewinner at state."
With just two seniors seeing action in all three matches, plus a plethora of freshman starters even at some upper weights, Moline (1-2) might struggle early, but the Maroons looked more than competitive despite their youth.
"We threw some kids out there into different spots. A lot of them have very little mat experience," said Ealy. "The main thing is that they have to get out there and compete; the more they do that, the better they'll be come regional time."
Moline started with a 48-29 win over Sycamore, but fell to both Kaneland (58-14) and Yorkville (55-6). Felipe Villagomez (135), Nick Bruder (189) and Felipe Tristan (215) had two wins each for the Maroons.
"They both stepped up pretty big for us," said Ealy of his Felipes. "They both had two good wins."