Wrestling: Several state qualifiers return to lead local teams

ANTIOCH

Coach: Wilbur Borrero

Key returning wrestlers: Seniors – Nathan Dlugopolski, Jake Gross, Jeramiah Ryes, Steve Frandsen and Dylan McBride; Juniors – Pat Schoenfelder and George Bessette; Sophomores – R.J. Vazquez and Drew Porter.

Key Newcomers: Sophomores – DeShawn Williams, DeAndre Burns and John Boyd; Freshmen – Xavier Sanchez, Trent Porter and Sammie Schultz.

Outlook: Things look good for Antioch with four wrestlers returning who all qualified for state, including Dlugopolski and Schoenfelder, who have medaled at state.

CARMEL

Coach: Bob Kuykendall

Key returning wrestlers: Seniors – Mike Tortorice, Kenny Barber and Nathaniel Morris; Junior – Bobby Pryhocki; Sophomore – Anthony Schaer.

Key newcomers: Juniors – Frank Jaeger and Will Martin; Sophomore – Braden Foster; Freshmen – Riley Palm and Tommy Hoy.

Outlook: Carmel did lose some key wrestlers to graduation, but by no means are the cupboards bare. Coach Kuykendall likes the mix of old and new he has wrestling for the Corsairs this season. Carmel should be very competitive once again with Tortorice, Barber and Morris, who have all been state qualifiers.

GRANT

Coach: Lenny Grodoski

Key returning wrestlers: Seniors – Christian Kanzler, Jordan Favela, Alex Rodriguez, Kobe Lear and Justin Gilich; Sophomore – Spencer Welter.

Key newcomers: Seniors – Dylan Mannes and Cole Berg; Junior – Kris Krey; Sophomore – Tucker Rogan.

Outlook: A new era begins at Grant with Lenny Grodolski taking the reigns as head coach. Grodolski inherits a team that should be one of the top teams in the North Suburban Conference. The Bulldogs are a senior led team this season and are led by Kanzler, who has qualified for state twice in his high school career.

GRAYSLAKE CENTRAL

Coach: Matt Joseph

Key returning wrestlers: Seniors – Larry Augustine, Ryan Mikes, Joey Tarnowski and Collin Pogue; Sophomore – Austin Connelly.

Key newcomers: Sophomore – Jacob Quantrell, Freshmen – Alex Cramer, Nick Tarnowski and Ethan Torres.

Outlook: This will be a rebuilding year for Grayslake Central in several ways. The Rams lost two wrestlers to graduation who qualified for state, along with a third who didn't go out for wrestling this season. In addition, Matt Joseph takes over as the head coach.

GRAYSLAKE NORTH

Key returning wrestlers: Seniors – Jake Wright and Blake Wilshire; Juniors – Joe Arroyo, Alex Moran and Justin Bock.

Key newcomers: Seniors – Nick Chiochios and Bradley Keil; Juniors – Fernando Gonzalez, Nolan Elsing and Anthony Johnson; Sophomores – Michael Johnson, Zach McCauley and Angel Flores; Freshman – Adam Blonski.

Outlook: Grayslake North gains a new challenge this year as the Knights will wrestle in 3A instead of 2A this postseason. North returns several wrestlers and have a lot of newcomers they like. The Knights will be led by Wright and Arroyo, who are previous state qualifiers.

LAKES

Coach: Mark Stave

Key returning wrestlers: Seniors – Jared Smith, Max Hill, Chase Deatherage, Drew Lockas, Mike Gottmann and Marshall Rice; Juniors – Xavian Girona, Cameron Larson and Ishmael Velasquez.

Key newcomers: Junior – Jeff Kleppin; Sophomores – Brett Holmes, Ryan Gregory and Joe Dillon; Freshmen – Camden Frisby and Jack Brunati.

Outlook: Lakes returns several wrestlers and looks to make a run in conference and in the postseason. The Eagles will be led by state qualifiers Smith and Hill, who are returning state qualifiers.

LIBERTYVILLE

Coach: Dale Eggert

Key returning wrestlers: Seniors – Will Johnson, Mike Beck, Max Michelotti, Mike Hogan, Brian Vickers, Jack Meyer, Nick Kraus, Kyle Smith, Izaiah Hernandez and Ben O'Donnell; Juniors – Alex Mitchell, Drew Onufer, Gabe Castillo, Jack Damenti and Adam Koziol; Sophomores – Will Bertaud and Tyler Padilla.

Key newcomers: Juniors – Ryan Cleary and Konnor Lindsey; Sophomore – Charlie Schmidt; Freshman – Michael Gunther.

Outlook: Libertyville returns a lot of wrestlers but will be lacking in experience. The Wildcats will improve as the season moves on. Several of the returning wrestlers are sectional qualifiers.

MUNDELEIN

Coach: Mark Stewart

Key returning wrestlers: Seniors – Alec Riportella, Cesar Obispo, Victor Rodriguez, Kamil Olechno, George Konstantinidis and Armondo Garcia; Juniors – Tony Laurie, Zach McCraw and Alex Hendon; Sophomore – Dane Durlacher.

Key newcomers: Sophomore – Junior Hernandez; Freshmen – Reese Durlacher and Logan Kvien.

Outlook: Mundelein has a new coach to lead its relatively young team. Mark Stewart takes over as head coach for the Mustangs. Mundelein should get better as the season progresses. One of the tough things for Mundelein will be the really deep conference they are in.

ROUND LAKE

Coach: Mike Hruska

Key returning wrestlers: Seniors – Juan Arteaga, Sergei Wawrzyniak and Angel Landa; Sophomore – Anthony Enriquez.

Key newcomers: Junior – Davonte Barfield; Sophomores – Joshua Jackson, Jeron Rogers and Andre Neal; Freshmen – Zach McCain and Chris Macias.

Outlook: This is definitely a rebuilding year for Round Lake. The Panthers graduated a lot of key wrestlers from last season. Coach Hruska will need some of the newcomers to step up in order for the Panthers to succeed.

VERNON HILLS

Coach: Jerry Miceli

Key returning wrestlers: Seniors – Max Rickard, Angel Tino, Jeff Echeverria, Issam Khayr, Stephen Chan, Dan Tomback and Connor Wood; Junior – Collin Turley; Sophomores – Jesse Goldufsky and Scott Harris.

Key newcomers: Junior – Calvin Park; Sophomores – Blake Teschly; Freshmen – Faheem Mannan and Andrew Jeon.

Outlook: Vernon Hills is a young team that will have a tough time replacing two wrestlers who had state experience. The Cougars return several wrestlers and look to gain experience as the season progresses.

WARREN

Coach: Jake Jobst

Key returning wrestlers: Seniors- – Zach Khoury, Sergio Sosa and Chris Presberg; Junior – Andrew Demos; Sophomore – J.T. Vandervere.

Key newcomers: Juniors – Richard Howard, Grant Zamin, Kendall Bell, Brandon Hergenrader and Jared Pompulus; Sophomore – Jariston Clarke.

Outlook: Jake Jobst takes over as the new coach at Warren. Jobst is fortunate to have nine starters return from last season. Warren has a chance to compete for a North Suburban Conference championship.

WAUCONDA

Coach: Tom Nance

Key returning wrestlers: Seniors – Eric Tabaka, Allan Bastea, Yael Garcia, Dahyron Valnzuela and James Barton; Juniors – Jose Munoz, Tyler Stankiewicz, Justin Mitchell, Tyler Husko, Byron Aguirre, Nick Schomer, Devin Parrish and Mike Turzynski.

Key newcomers: Senior – Jimmy Myers; Juniors – Frank Milella, Ryan Zahari, Mitchell Bastea and Carlos Hernandez; Sophomores – Mickey Landick, Jared Dewyze, Drake De Latorre and Brandon McKimmy; Freshmen – Evan Husko, Sean Zahari and Dalon Kanari

Outlook: Coach Tom Nance returns for one more season, which will be his 32nd. The Bulldogs have a lot of motivation to succeed as Nance has announced that this will be his final season. Wauconda returns several wrestlers this season and Nance has a chance to bring a few wrestlers far into the postseason.