Rams Take Second in Fox Valley JV Conference Tournament

Head Rams JV Wrestling Coach Jim Mazzetta, along with assistants August Trexler and Dan Erlenbaugh, guided their young squad to an unexpected second place conference finish. McHenry took first place, Grayslake Central took second and Crystal Lake South took third.

Mazzetta and his staff thought that the team would maybe finish in the middle of the pack at the Conference Tournament due to the large amount of inexperienced freshman on the team.

"We figured that if things went well perhaps we would finish 5th or as high as 4th place in the conference tournament," said Mazzetta. "But all of our guys wrestled their best matches of the year. What  a great time for them to peak."

"The freshmen grew tremendously in terms of their mat skills, their confidence and their concentration and that is why our team did so well," Mazzetta said.

The meet began at 98 pounds, where  Freshman John Muno took 5th place and ended his season with a 15-7 record. "The Crystal Lake Central guy I wrestled was my toughest match this year," said Muno.

There was no one to wrestle at 103 so the next weight class was the 112-pound class where Freshman Tim Engdahl took 6th place. Engdahl had a season record of 14-13 and also wrestled on the varsity at the Regional Tournament.

Freshman Matt Morrissey took 4th place at 119 pounds and wound up 22-10 for the year. Morrissey had the most total victories on the JV team. "My best match was against the Crystal Lake Central guy, too," said Morrissey.

The 125-pounder Tyler Sentz took 4th place, compiled a 12-4 record and wrestled several matches at the Varsity level this year gaining valuable experience.

John Clancy wrestled at 130 for the JV Rams. The freshman wound up 7-9 for the season. At 135 pounds Freshman Javier Campos took 3rd place and posted 10 wins against only 3 losses. "I think I have a good shot to wrestle Varsity next year if I continue to work hard," said Campos.

Fellow freshman Jake Sawusch went 11-11 for the season at 140 pounds while Junior Kevin Augustin went 2-4 at 145 pounds. "I made some mistakes that messed up my season," admitted Augustin. "But my best match was my first one coming back from my torn hamstring injury."

Sophomore Teddy McGraw took 5th place at 152 pounds with a 12-4 record. Senior Vinnie Culhane took 2nd place at 160 pounds with a season record of 10-5. Junior Timor Khalilov took 5th place at 171and finished with a 13-7 record on the season. Khalilov also wrestled several matches on the Varsity level.

Senior Byron Perez took 2nd place at 189 pounds and ended his year with a solid 12-5 record. Sophomore Daniel Choi took 5th place at 215 pounds and finished with the second most victories on the JV squad with 18 against only 7 losses. "I had a good season, but I have some work to do if I want to wrestle Varsity next year," said Choi. He is noted around the school for his spot on impersonation of AD Tom Kim that fools even teachers.

Senior Lee Brown took 3rd place in his first year of wrestling at 285 pounds even though he weighed substantially less than many of his opponents. Brown ended the year with a phenomenal 13-2 record and also wrestled several matches at the Varsity level. "The guy I wrestled from Dundee Crown for the championship was my toughest opponent this year," said Brown. "After graduation I am looking to attend the University of Illinois and major in Engineering/Business."

Head Freshman/Assistant JV Coach Dan Erlenbaugh had a side bet going with his roommate John Glorioso the JV coach at North as to who would finish higher in the Conference Tournament. The loser would have to wear a shirt from the other school all day long at his job on the next day of school. Since North finished 7th to Central’s 2nd, Glorioso had to wear a Central shirt all day and took lots of heat for it.

"We had the same bet going in football and I lost that one. Dan gave me a Central T-Shirt and the kids ripped it off my back," Glorioso said as he rolled his eyes. "I had to tell Dan that I owed him a new T-shirt."

Erlenbaugh gave his roommate a nicer polo shirt to wear, but admonished him to guard it with his life. "I told him not to let the kids rip it or spit on it because I wanted that shirt back in one piece."

With such a strong group of wrestlers in the lower ranks, the wrestling program at Central looks to grow into a title contender in the mat jungle that is the Fox Valley Conference.

"Jim and his staff have done an outstanding job with the kids for us this year. We are going to be so much stronger as a team next year because of their efforts," said Head Varsity Coach Dan Catanzaro. "I couldn’t be happier that Jim Mazzetta, August Trexler and Dan Erlenbaugh are coaching our future varsity stars. We are very fortunate to have such knowledgeable and dedicated guys working with the kids."