Athlete of the week
Lucas Busse
McHenry, sr., 120 pounds
For the second week in a row, Busse had a strong tournament showing and beat a ranked conference opponent. On Thursday, he won a 3-1 decision over Jacobs’ Beau Harrier, and Saturday he won the Batavia tournament with a tech fall, a major decision and a decision. He is 28-1 on the season and ranked as an honorable mention 120-pounder in Class 3A by illinoismatmen.com.
NORTHWEST HERALD Power Rankings
1. Huntley (14-9, 6-0 Fox Valley Conference): The Red Raiders picked up another FVC win Jan. 12, beating Crystal Lake South, 55-18, and earning coach BJ Bertelsman his 100th victory in the process. Huntley went 0-3 against some tough nonconference competition over the weekend, including dual losses to the No. 8- and No 10-ranked teams in 3A. The Red Raiders remain ranked as an honorable mention in 3A.
2. Crystal Lake Central (14-4, 7-0 FVC): The Tigers remained undefeated in FVC duals with a win over Prairie Ridge, and then went 2-1 at the Sandburg duals, their only loss coming to the No. 2-ranked team in 3A. The Tigers remain ranked No. 2 in 2A.
3. Jacobs (11-3, 5-2 FVC): The Golden Eagles continued to pick up steam, winning their fourth consecutive FVC dual, 40-26, over McHenry. Jacobs remained ranked as an honorable mention in 3A.
4. McHenry (11-8, 3-4 FVC): The Warriors lost an FVC dual to Jacobs on Thursday, but rebounded with a strong weekend at Batavia, taking second overall with three champions (Lucas Busse, Jaden Glauser and AJ Sweeney).
5. Marengo (9-3): The Indians had a mixed week of nonconference action, going 1-2 at the Round Lake quad (with a win over Crystal Lake South) and then beating Prairie Ridge, which they will see again in regionals. The upcoming two weeks are big, however, with multiple Kishwaukee River Conference matches. Marengo remained at No. 20 in the 2A team rankings.
Noteworthy
Losing by a hair: Jacobs senior Beau Harrier is one of the Golden Eagles’ leaders and best wrestlers, ranked as an honorable mention at 3A at 120. After a 3-1 loss to McHenry’s Busse this week, Harrier now has lost to five of the other ranked 120-pound wrestlers in 3A. Those five losses all have been by decision, and only by a combined 12 points.
“He’s been losing just constant close matches, so we’re hoping that turns the wind around a bit when regionals and sectionals come around,” Jacobs coach Gary Conrad said. “I think it’s always better going into a regional or sectional losing to someone and getting to see them again, rather than beating them then having to see them again.”
Thinking man’s game: Many wrestling teams share crossover two-sport athletes with football (although maybe not as many as wrestling coaches would like), but the end of the fall football playoffs can end up bumping into the beginning of winter wrestling season.
When Marengo’s James Mier, one of many Indians wrestlers who also plays football, mentioned that some guys still are trying to heal bumps and bruises from football season before the wrestling postseason. Asked if it’s tough to transition between the two sports, Mier said physically it wasn’t too bad, but mentally there was a bit of a challenge.
“It’s like a mental thing to change from just tackling people and hitting people hard to trying to think about what you’re about to do in the next move instead of what you’re about to do and just hit the person in front of you.”
When asked which he prefered, Mier said, “I like wrestling better, I like thinking.”
Schedule adjusting: At 30-0, McHenry freshman Jaden Glauser hasn’t shown many signs of struggling with adjusting to life as a high school wrestler.
One thing he did point out after a dual this week was the difference in schedule from youth club wrestling up to the high school level.
“I feel like I’m at a pretty good spot,” Glauser said. “As far as the season goes, I’m not used to how short the season is, because when I was in middle school, obviously, the season is a lot longer. But when you’re in high school, everything is compacted down into 21/2, three months where you’re wrestling every week during the week and on weekends. But I feel like I’m in a pretty good spot so far going into the postseason.”
Events to watch
Cary-Grove at Crystal Lake South,
6 p.m. Thursday
Dubbed “Anguish in the Auditorium,” these two FVC rivals will wrestle on the stage in South’s auditorium as a unique way to promote the sport. The two teams should be relatively evenly matched, making for a good dual, and the special setting should make for an interesting viewing experience and atmosphere.
Richmond-Burton at Harvard,
4 p.m. Saturday
An already interesting dual between two of the better team in the KRC will be preceded by a special reunion. At 3:30 p.m., Harvard will be honoring its 1992 team, which won the dual team state championship. Coach Tim Haak is expected to be in attendance, as well as most of the other coaches and wrestlers from the championship team.
– John Wilkinson, jwilkinson@shawmedia.com