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Sports

Knights' Wrestlers Take Down Rams

The Grayslake Knights won 9 of 14 matches to win the dual meet over the host Grayslake Rams, 34-23.

There are very few sporting events more exciting than a wrestling match between rival high schools. Anytime the Knights and Rams find themselves in such a contest, you can be sure that it will be an epic clash with a packed house of screaming fans. There was a large crowd of die-hard wrestling fans at the dual meet. 

"It is always an intense battle with our rival school and I have never been disappointed by the wrestlers of both schools," said Grayslake North Athletic Director Tina Woolard.

Details of the meet:

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120 lbs. - Angel Cabrera got things rolling for the Knights when he defeated Matt Morrisey 21-6 for a technical fall (lead of more than 14 points).

Knights 5, Rams 0

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126 lbs. - Freshman Jonathan Makey of Central won by decision 11-6 over A.J. Downes in a what was a very close match until the third period.

Knights 5, Rams 3

132 lbs. - Tom Halloran gave the Rams the lead by pinning Austin Cloe at the 4:40 mark in their match.

Knights 5, Rams 9

138 lbs. - Joel Armenta of North decisioned Davonte Jennings in a very exciting, hard fought match 11-8. The crowd really got going. There was a great deal of cheering and were yelling for their wrestlers in the final 2-minute period. The Rams held their last lead of the night at this point.

Knights 8, Rams 9

145 lbs. - Senior Aaron Hoover of North went back and forth with Sean Keever of Central in perhaps the most intense match of the evening and came out on top with a 10-8 decision to give the lead back to the visiting Knights.

"My conditioning helped me pull this one out," said Hoover. "My goal is to place in the conference tournament."

Knights 11, Rams 9

152 lbs. - North’s Zac Juron wrestled well enough to decision Chris Wolmuth 5-2 and extend the Knight lead.

Knights 14, Rams 9

160 lbs. - Dylan Hay of Central broke up the Knights’ run with a 17-2 major decision over Ryan Merki and pulled the Rams into a tie with the crowd jacked up and screaming loudly.

Knights 14, Rams 14

170 lbs. - Senior Andrew Soulis dominated Central’s Mark Long for a 9-4 decision that put the Knights back in the lead and they never looked back.

"We out condition the other teams," said Soulis. "When that third period rolls around, we’re ready to go and we are not tired. With Coach West, if you are not conditioned, you won’t be getting on the mat for the Knights. Plus we know that we will perform better."

Knights 16, Rams 14 (a one point penalty was assessed against the Knights for unsportsmanlike conduct.)

182 lbs. - Sophomore Ian Pearce wasted no time in pinning Central’s Arjun Walia in 1:57 to extend the Knight lead. 

Knights 22, Rams 14

195 lbs. - North’s Zach Young upset Central’s Jimmy Molitor (24-4) 3-2 in an intensely fought defensive battle.

Knights 25, Rams 14

220 lbs. - Senior Joey Valdivia, two-time state qualifier and last year’s third place winner in the state, won by forfeit. The visitor’s lead shrank to 5 points and the crowd was on its feet.

Knights 25, Rams 20

285 lbs. - Senior Kasen Christiansen showed amazing quickness for a big man and after a scoreless first period scored a 6-0 decision over Central junior Cameron Hosimer who fought off several pin attempts. The conditioning of Coach West showed in his aggressive style for the entire three periods that he wrestled. Kasen is the returning conference champion and looking to repeat for the title and head downstate.

"Kasen is so talented and athletic," West said. "He is what we hope Cameron will become next year."

Knights 28, Rams 20

106 lbs. - North’s Luke Pritchett pinned John Muno in 1:34 to seal the Knights victory in the meet.

Knights 34, Rams 20

113 lbs. - Freshman Martin Nunez showed great promise and defeated a future star in North’s freshman Tony Fields 15-13 in a match that was tied at 9 all after two periods.

Knights 34, Rams 23

Speaking with senior team leaders Aaron Hoover, Andrew Soulis, Jimmy Prince and Kasen Christiansen during the meet, they all agreed that they were in the best shape of their lives thanks to the conditioning program of first year Coach Ryan West. Prince, the regular starting 182 pounder for North, credited the conditioning program for his own and the team’s success.

"We did a lot of running, weight conditioning, plyometrics and just non-stop movement in our practices," Prince said.

West said it is all part of training.

"We’re not doing anything special or ground shattering by any means," West said. "We just do whatever it takes to wrestle six minutes and then some, if we need to. Doesn’t matter if you’re a big guy or a little guy, everyone does the same things."

West cites the team’s weekly improvement as evidence that the kids have bought into his program. This was his first experience with the cross-town rivalry and he said, "It was very exciting. I told my guys going into it we were going to do whatever it takes to gut out a win and I’m proud of them. I wish we could do this more often. I wish we could get more crowds like this."

The Grayslake Youth Wrestling club was there to support the teams and both coaches agreed that this was essential to building the high school programs.

"We can’t build without them. They do a great job and we really appreciate what they do," said West.

Central’s Coach Dan Catanzaro said the sports programs are doing well, making it a good time to be competing in sports in Grayslake.

"It was a great meet," he said. "The matches at 138, 145, 152 and 195 were tight and they won them to go away with a victory. Hats off to them. We win three of those and we would have won. Both of us know that we have some pretty good guys on our teams. We just told the seniors, thank you for making this program relevant again. With a home basketball game going on, our gym was packed with fans who really cared about wrestling. It’s awesome to see. This is a fun time to be in Grayslake. All of our winter programs at Central, boys and girls, are over .500."

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