High school wrestling: McHenry beats Cary-Grove

McHENRY – With six wrestlers out of the lineup due to injury, things did not look good for McHenry in a Fox Valley Conference Valley Division dual against Cary-Grove on Thursday.

On the mat, the Warriors looked pretty good.

McHenry relied on its subs and pulled out a 39-27 win to improve to 3-0 in the Valley Division. One of those subs was freshman Mason Brakefield, who got a 2-0 win in overtime at 182 pounds in his first varsity match.

Warriors’ coach Will Gaddy said he called Brakefield into his office to tell him he was needed on varsity.

“[Brakefield’s] eyes kind of opened wide,” Gaddy said. “He did his job. That was huge.”

The match was scoreless after three periods and Brakefield got the takedown in overtime for the win. Gaddy said he wasn’t familiar with Brakefield’s tendencies and relied on freshman coach Joe Retek to help him through the match.

McHenry started the match strong and was up 24-0 after five matches. Zach Sielck got a pin at 182 in that run. Up 3-0 going into the final period, Sielck got a takedown and pin 31 seconds into the third.

“I knew it was going to be close. I just wanted to win,” Sielck said. “I saw (an opportunity for a pin) and went after it.”

Sielck said being able to count on everyone in the lineup is what makes the Warriors strong.

“I feel like our theme this year is ‘rely on each other’,” Sielck said.

Starting with a pin by C-G’s Michael Gomez at 285, the Trojans started to climb back into the match, but the deficit proved too big. Carter Herber sealed the win for McHenry with a, 7-2, decision at 138.

“We all got in the mindset to wrestle our best,” Herber said. “I was into it because it’s one step closer to winning the Valley.”

Gaddy said being able to count on seniors like Herber is important.

“It’s nice to have those seniors win those matches when they know it’s on the line,” Gaddy said.

Also getting pins for McHenry were Ian Mullen at 106, Lucas Busse (120) and Matt Nagel (170).

Cary-Grove coach Ryan Ludwig said he needed more production from his heavier weights.

"Our big guys need to put some work in," Ludwig said. "They need to start stepping up."
Overall, he feels his team is progressing but is not there yet.

“As a team they’re doing well, just not where we need to be,” Ludwig said.

C-G (1-2) also got pins from Michael Cullen at 126 and John Cullen who bumped up to 145.

Standout stats

Zach Sielck, McHenry, jr., 195 lbs.

Sielck got a pin at 195 to put the Warriors up, 18-0, in a 24-0 run to start the match.

THE NUMBER 6

Starters in the McHenry lineup who were out due to injury.

Big moment

Ian Mullen at 106 and Lucas Busse (120) won by pin to all but put the match away for the Warriors.

McHenry 39, Cary-Grove 27

106: Ian Mullen (McH) p. Nick Gerstbrien, 1:30

113: Adam Pinter (CG) dec. Matt Gutierrez, 5-0

120: Lucas Busse (McH) p. Sam Kleinke, 2:58

126: Michael Cullen (CG) p. Robby Duh, 1:09

132: Sean Cullen (CG) dec. Derek Neises, 2-0

138: Carter Herber (McH) dec. Dale Charlier, 7-2

145: John Cullen (CG) p. Joey Collins, 1:43

152: Grant Glueck (CG) dec. Jake Leske, 8-1

160: Pat Roewer (McH) dec. Michael Gustafson, 12-6

170: Matt Nagel (McH) p. Daniel Montemurro, 2:38

182: Mason Brakefield (McH) dec. Eric Lind, 2-0 (OT)

195: Zach Sielck (McH) p. Owen Henriques, 5:29

220: Josh Little (McH) by forfeit

285: Michael Gomez (CG) p. Brandon Paszternak, :55