Wrestling notes: McHenry shows off depth to win Mid-States Invitational

Jacob Guardalabene was proud his team won the Mid-State Invitational, but how his wrestlers won had the McHenry coach excited for what it could mean for the postseason.

The Warriors held first place after day one of the 39-team tournament at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, but started the day two with a 1-6 start. McHenry wrestlers regrouped later in the day, good enough to help the Warriors win the invite by scoring 278 points, half a point better than Hersey.

“I didn’t think we’d be able to win the tournament after having that bad round to open the day on day two,” Guardalabene said. “All those guys came back to win matches.”

Chris Moore won the 160-pound championship and Brody Hallin won the 170 title. Luke Zunkel finished third at 220, Pedro Jimenez earned fourth place at 126 and Lucas Van Diepen finished seventh at 120.

While Guardalabene enjoyed watching his top wrestlers win, it’s how the rest of the team responded to adversity that has him encouraged for the team’s future. The Warriors who lost to start the second day rebounded 45 minutes later and won their consolation matches, helping McHenry win the tournament.

“We’ve got our horses that are going to win tournaments, and then we’ve got the rest of our guys who are going to pick up points in the wrestle backs coming from the backside of the tournament,” Guardalabene said.

McHenry heads back to tournament play when it competes in the Sycamore Invitational on Saturday. With another chance to improve as the season heads into its final month, Guardalabene is encouraged that tournaments like Mid-States will help the Warriors come postseason time.

“Having those guys come back after a loss was huge,” Guardalabene said. “That’s how we’re going to have a chance to win the regional.”

Trying to synchronize

B.J. Bertelsman is still trying to find some cohesion among his Huntley wrestlers.

The Red Raiders coach watched his wrestlers take down McHenry for the conference lead in December, but injuries and COVID-19 have made it tough for the team to come together in a manner Bertelsman wants.

“We’re not synchronized yet, to say the least,” Bertelsman said. “Hopefully give it a week or two and we’ll be back in shape and back in the daily routine, because right now there is no daily routine.”

Huntley missed six starters at the William “Red” Schmitt Tournament hosted by Granite City on Dec. 29-30. Adam Pena finished seventh at 120 and Marko Mihalopoulos finished eighth at 285.

Bertelsman was proud of both wrestlers’ placements, but impressed with how Pena pinned a Missouri state finalist twice and defeated another Missouri state placer.

“The maturity is there,” Bertelsman said of Pena. “He knows when he wrestles a bad match and he knows what he can do better. He’s beating good kids.”

The Red Raiders travel to Minnesota this weekend to take part in The Clash Duals Tournament, where they’ll try to heal up as they prep for the final month of the season.

“We usually peak at regionals, we’re pretty good at that,” Bertelsman said. “Hopefully that happens again this year.”

Spacing out

Crystal Lake South coach Ross Ryan tried to predict the unpredictable over the summer.

Ryan tried to figure out what would be the best type of schedule to have this winter while managing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m taking the approach this season of operating as much as I can to what each individual needs rather than what the entire group needs, because it’s a house of cards that could easily fall,” Ryan said. “That has been happening all over.”

The Gators coach decided to space things out between tournaments, which is why it will almost be three weeks since Crystal Lake South wrestlers competed when they wrestle at Wheeling on Saturday.

Ryan has tried to space things out to keep everyone as healthy as possible for the first half of the season. After the Gators compete at Wheeling this weekend, they’ll have a week before they compete at the Larkin tournament and another week before competing at the Stagg tournament.

He’ll try to keep everyone as healthy as possible heading down the stretch.

“I’m optimistic there’s some down time heading into the biggest competitions to try and make sure to have as much of a full-power lineup that we can have, which is obviously difficult right now,” Ryan said.