Sycamore dropped a 37-30 decision to Hersey in its second dual during Monday’s Don Flavin Invitational at DeKalb.

The narrow loss followed an opening 45-27 loss to Lincoln-Way West, but the Spartans bounced back to finish with a victory, closing the morning session in the Wayne Miller bracket with a 48-26 win against Glenbard East.

Liam Schroeder (113), Jayden Donoghe (144), Jack Nordstrom (150), Cooper Bode (165) and Adam Carrick (215) needed just a minute-and-change to win by fall against the Rams, while Collin Hughes (285) pinned Ricardo Alanis in 57 seconds.

Sawyer Davis (132) won by major, Seth Diaz (175) earned a 7-5 decision and Douglas Gemberling (157) scored a tech fall victory as Sycamore had nine wrestlers prevail during the team’s lone team win.

“We definitely wrestled well, but ended up getting out-hustled,” Hughes said. “We definitely tried. It wasn’t what we wanted, but we never gave up. We fought until the end trying to get the last points.”

Hughes and Schroeder each had huge performances, both finishing 3-0 on the day.

In addition to his closing win, Hughes pinned Lincoln-Way West’s Brayden Nelson in 1:37 before winning by forfeit against Hersey.

“I definitely wrestled better than I have in a while,” Hughes said. “Today was just another day of wrestling. Nothing too complicated, just getting back into it.”

Hughes took fourth place at the 60th Rus Erb Tournament at Glenbrook North on Dec. 20, getting pinned in the semifinals and in his third-place match.

“It was a bit of a struggle at the Rus Erb being fresh back from the meniscus injury,” he said. “So today was definitely a big confidence booster, getting back to it and what I can do. I definitely am feeling a lot closer to 100%. The brace that I got helps a little bit.”

Being banged up isn’t going to stop the sophomore.

“Going back to eighth grade, I had a partial tear in my MCL and severe bone bruising so I’ve had a bit of a knee problem, but nothing too serious,” he said. “This year in football it got a bit worse so I threw on the brace and dealt with it. In a dual against Hampshire (Nov. 26), the guy pushed my knee in the wrong way and that kind of left me unable to walk a little but it was not going to stop me. I’m feeling pretty confident, and as my dad always says, stay humble, trust in my abilities and protect myself.”

Schroeder scored an 18-0 tech fall over Lincoln-Way West’s Kellan Hack before pinning Hersey’s Donavan Hernandez in 1:11. Although just a freshman, Schroeder is performing like a seasoned vet having just won a title at the Rus Erb.

“Today I was just approaching every single match like I have been with the same thoughts,” he said. “Just going out there and wrestling my best match, giving my best effort.”

Despite being a newcomer, Schroeder’s already showing leadership qualities, calling out the efforts of a pair of teammates who stepped up and filled in for Charlie Olson and Carson West.

“It’s the next man up mentality,” Schroeder said. “Chase Cook (106) and David Ruiz (138) didn’t win any matches, but they went out and gave their best effort and saved some points.”

Michael Olson (120) scored a 13-3 major over Lincoln-Way West’s Charlie Strezo and won by forfeit against Hersey.

Peter Gehrig (190) and Bode (165) also won against the Warriors while Donoghe, Gemberling and Carrick picked up victories against the Huskies.