April 23, 2024
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Boys wrestling: Zack Crawford wins sectional title, leads three Sycamore wrestlers into state tournament

By Eddie Carifio
Sycamore Zack Crawford, left, and Crystal Lake Central wrestler Ben Buter get tangled up during the 2A 160 weight class sectional championship match up where Ben took the victory on Saturday Feb. 11th held at Rochelle High School.

Sycamore Zack Crawford, left, and Crystal Lake Central wrestler Ben Buter get tangled up during the 2A 160 weight class sectional championship match up where Ben took the victory on Saturday Feb. 11th held at Rochelle High School. (David Toney for Shaw Local/David Toney)

ROCHELLE – Last year, Zack Crawford took third at a sectional and said it felt incomplete.

Fast forward a year, and Crawford fixed that.

The Sycamore senior 160-pounder won the Class 2A Rochelle Sectional, earning a trip to the IHSA State Tournament starting Thursday in Champaign.

“I didn’t feel quite like I got the job done the way I wanted to,” Crawford said of last year when he didn’t medal at state after his third-place finish in the sectional. “So to come up here and win the sectional bracket felt really nice.”

Crawford was one of three Sycamore qualifiers on Saturday, with Gus Cambier and Lincoln Cooley each taking second.

Crawford didn’t give up a point on Saturday, but had to grind out a semifinal win (1-0 against Dunlap’s Nick Mueller) and a final victory (2-0 against Crystal Lake Central’s Ben Butler).

Against Butler, Crawford got a takedown late in the first period. After he couldn’t notch an escape in the second, he returned the favor against Butler in the third.

“I knew I was up 2-0 and I knew this kid was good,” Crawford said. “He stayed in good position. He didn’t really show any flaws. ... It felt nice to ride him out and get that win.”

Sycamore coach Randy Culton said Crawford is laser-focused on not only winning state, but avenging his one loss on the year at the hands of Joliet Catholic’s Mason Alessio in DeKalb’s Don Flavin Invitational.

“He’s focused on winning a state title,” Culton said. “Anyone who gets in the way, God help them.”

Kaneland and Burlington Central were both shut out of any qualifiers. Caden Grabowski made the consolation semifinals, but suffered an injury default and was eliminated, finishing 44-6.

Kaneland coach Kenneth Paoli said Grabowski finished his career in the top five in school history in both wins and pins.

“It’s heartbreaking because he’s a senior, he’s a captain, he’s the toughest-working kid in the room,” Paoli said. “To have it end like that was tough to watch. But I’m very proud of him.”

Kaneland had four wrestlers reach the consolation semifinals, but all four lost.

Paoli said he was pleased with the way the year went, which included coming up just shy of winning a regional championship last week at Burlington Central, challenging Sycamore for the title until late in the day.

“We didn’t get the ending we wanted,” Paoli said. “We had four guys alive in the blood round and didn’t win any of those matches. Tough at the end, especially with Caden not being able to continue with his toe injury. That one was tough to watch. But overall very happy with our performance. We had four guys that were one match away from going to state, and two of them are coming back next year.”

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