By Bobby Narang- Photos by Renee Kaspar and Alexa Bordick
** Additional Phtos are available at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p876380179 **
Joliet Central High School was the place to be to watch top-notch wrestling on Saturday. The venerable high school was filled with wrestlers across many ages, leading to a bevy of activity between the two main gymnasiums. In the sunny fieldhouse, the high school-aged kids were battling for the top spots in the various weight classes.
The main gymnasium featured the future of the sport, with the youth teams locked all morning and afternoon in a heated regional. The Orland Park Pioneers were among the teams involved in the regional, sending several boys and girls to the regional for a chance to land a spot in the sectionals next weekend. The top six wrestlers from each weight class advanced to the sectionals.
And several Orland Park Pioneers were in the thick of the action.
In total, across the seven divisions – bantam, intermediate, novice, senior, girls bantam, girls intermediate and girls novice, the Orland Pioneers qualified 40 wrestlers for this weekend’s sectionals at Lincoln-Way West.
The Lincoln-Way Wrestling Club captured the IKWF South Chicago Regional Joliet title with 1,215.5 points, while the Pioneers placed second with 575.5 points. The Lockport Junior Porters Wrestling Club snared third place with 489.5 points in the seven-team regional.
Orland Park Pioneers assistant coach Dave Hoenig said the entire program performed well on Saturday.
“I think it has been the whole process, working hard all year,” Hoenig said. “We started in November, practicing in tournaments every week. All that hard work pays off now in regionals, sectionals and state. Everyone’s goal is to win a state title. That’s what we’re shooting for, and hopefully all the hard work will pay off. Overall, our varsity group has been working hard, but all levels have come together.”
Orland Park assistant coach Mark Garrity, who had two of his sons wrestling at the regional, said he was encouraged by the growth of several of the wrestlers in the program, especially at the power-packed regional.
“The kids have done a great job,” Garrity said. “Some of them this is their first year doing wrestling, while some of them have been wrestling for over six years. That’s fun to see. We’re a young program. Our average age is 10 years old. It’s kind of cool to have a great group of kids. A lot of them are friends in and out of school, and play football.”
“They spent a lot of time with each other and push each other. We had a lot of them today have to wrestle a teammate, which is never an easy task. It’s all about progression at this age. We want to retain them in the sport. Each year we help and built them to get to the next level in high school. Anytime you can expose kids to the next level of expectations is a good thing, so that’s it’s not a big shock when they get to the novice and senior levels.”
The Orland Park Pioneers had standouts all over the various divisions, with the wrestlers in blue and red giving it their best effort and providing numerous highlights for their coaches, teammates and parents in attendance.
In the girls bantam, Kamilla Ulaszek captured first place. Teammate Gemma Laniosz earned a second-place medal, which was sparked by a 6-4 victory in the semifinals.
Isabella Schoenemann notched second place in the girls bantam 68-pound class. Arabella Hernandez notched second place in the 67-pound girls intermediate, but her teammate, Ally Atzman, took home a first-place medal in the 73-pound class. Emma Overman earned second at 73 pounds.
“I had one match, but won it,” Atzman said. “I think I did pretty good. This is my second year of wrestling. It’s fun competing. I really like the sport.”
In the girls novice classes, Riley Hoenig scored 16 points for the Pioneers with a first-place medal at 69 pounds. Hoenig said she’s been pleased with her development this season.
“I’ve been wrestling for about five years,” Hoenig said. “I like hanging out with my teammates and teamwork. I just try and go out there and try my best. I used to cry after every single match that I lost, but I’ve definitely got better at not crying.”
Alyse Sparacino also collected some impressive hardware, earning a first-place medal at 112 pounds to round out a very productive day for the Orland Park Pioneers.
In the TOT 39-to-42 pound boys division, Ronan Murphy finished in third place to advance to sectionals, while teammate Vincent LaPapa also placed third in the TOT 43-to-45 pound class. Also, Ayyub Abdelrahman won both of his matches to earn a first-place medal in the 46-to-48 pound region.
John DuBois wrestled strong in earning a third-place medal in the boys bantam 46-pound class. Martin Groark continued the momentum with a fourth-place showing at 55 pounds. His teammate, Avery Hanson, wrestled with full effort and energy in the same class, so did Caleb Kalseth, Taylan Morandi and Dylan Abbs.
At 58 pounds in the bantam division, Luke Bosack had a busy day working his way through the consolation bracket on his way to a third-place medal. His teammates, Anthony LaPapa, Nathan Abbs and Syf Ali, also wrestled in the same class. At 62 pounds, Gavin Garrity brought a smile to his father’s face with a second-place showing after a grueling day of matches at 62 pounds. Adam Krokos stole the spotlight with a first-place medal at 62 pounds, while Ethan Thielen displayed heart and toughness in the same class.
At 66 pounds, Peyton McGovern managed a fifth-place effort to score six points for the Pioneers. Teammate Joey Zotto managed a win over McGovern in the consolation semifinals which helped me finish in third place for 18 team points. Zotto certainly had a long day for wrestling, ending his match-filled meet by winning his third-place match.
McGovern said he was thrilled with how he stuck to his game plan to advance to sectionals.
“In the last match, when I was on top, I pulled his leg up, so I could break him down and pin him,” McGovern said. “I lost my first match but came back strong to win my second match. I like wrestling so much. I’m excited about sectionals.
Michael Patterson rose to the occasion with a fourth-place showing at boys bantam 70-pound class, while Paul Davies’s claimed first place at 120 pounds.
In the boys intermediate division, Jackson Biskup notched fifth place by showing toughness in several of his matches. Brock Walsh also performed strong in the 64-pound class, so did Anthony Baniewicz at 69 pounds. Thomas Sutter battled in the 69-pound class, and Michael O’Connor continued his solid season with a third-place medal at 74 pounds. Luke Krokos took fourth at 74 pounds for the Pioneer, with teammate Jordan Ulaszek also having a standout regional.
“I’m happy to make it to sectionals,” Sutter said. “My season has gone pretty well so far. I’ve made a lot of friends at tournaments and am just hoping to keep doing well at wrestling.”
Owen Garrity shined in the 79-pound class to score 13.5 points for the Pioneers, bouncing back from a tough semifinal match defeat. Kristian Willis earned third place at 84 pounds, and Scott Gumienny wrestled strong in his two matches.
Owen Garrity, who also plays football and baseball, said he was happy with his performance on the mat.
“The key for me was to keep shooting my shot and setting it up and going on from there,” Garrity said. “I’ve been to sectionals twice. I’m looking forward to it. I like how fun wrestling is. I’m happy about my season and all the tournaments that I’ve gone to and how I’ve progressed throughout the year. Wrestling is probably my best sport.”
At 98 pounds, Lucca Morandi collected second place, earning a sudden death victory in the semifinals. Nicholas Peisker wrapped up a productive regional by winning the 98-pound class. The Pioneers kept the momentum going, when Karam Olyyan took first at 108 pounds. He wrestled with vigor in both of his matches to score 22 points.
Peisker said he’s starting to reap the benefits of all of his hard work this season.
“My season is going well and I’ve been doing good,” Peisker said. “I tried to do all the tournaments leading up to regionals. My best tournament was probably getting third place at one of the tournaments. I like wrestling because it’s like football, where you just go at the guy and it’s fun. I’m happy to be here and to have this opportunity to wrestle.”
In the boys novice division, Joshua Vaisman placed fifth at 80 pounds. The Pioneers had several wrestlers at the 86-pound class, with Charles Schoenemann earning fifth, Kyle Krokos taking sixth and John Sutter gaining valuable experience in his two tough matches.
Krokos, who also plays football and baseball, said he made a point to focus on his technique during regionals.
“I qualified for sectionals based on how many people are in bracket and how it’s set up,” Krokos said. “I’m pretty excited for sectionals. I was there the last two years. I have to not do stupid moves. Last year I didn’t shoot that much. I had more of a defensive style. This year I’ve been more on the offensive.”
Meanwhile, Schoenemann said his experience in tough matches helped me against the tough competition.
“This is my seventh year,” Schoenemann said. “It’s a very demanding sport. My season is going pretty good. I’m getting a lot more escapes this year and bumped my wrestling to another level. I’m also more aggressive.”
At 93 pounds, Michael Stefancic ended a busy day with a fourth-place finish, his teammate Riley Atzman ended in sixth and Colin Petras competed in four matches.
The Pioneers hit a run of quality wins late in the day, highlighted by Ameer Mohammed leaving the gym with a third-place medal in the boys novice 100-pound class. Drake Ulaszek was right behind his teammate, finishing in fourth. At 125 pounds, Keegan Fogarty tallied 11 points with a third-place showing at 125 pounds.
Mohammed said he was encouraged by his showing on the blue mats.
“I tried to keep him down and just worked hard,” Mohammed said. “I think I did well today. I like contact sports. I’m really excited for sectionals.”
As one of the tallest wrestlers at regionals, Fogarty said he’s starting to really enjoy his time in wrestling.
“I feel like you get to go at the guy,” Fogarty said of wrestling. “My season is going pretty well. This is probably my best season so far. The highlight of my season has been the Bear Bash. I won a match at 12-0. I just had to focus.”
Also, in the boys senior division, Nicholas Baniewicz scored nine team points with a fourth-place showing at 79 pounds. Connor Gavin snared second place at 126 points, and Lucas Brennan notched a second-place effort at 188 pounds. His twin brother, Jacob Brennan, also took second at 215 pounds.
“I like how wrestling helps me lose weight and I can do it my friends,” Lucas Brennan said. “It was a tough match. Wrestling is very hard. I want to get top three.”
His twin brother said wrestling is a good way to spend time with his teammates.
“I was happy to wrestle,” Jacob Brennan said. “I just really like to wrestle. It’s very fun for me. I’ve been losing a lot of weight and feel great. Wrestling has helped me a lot. I want to get a top three next weekend.”