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Athlete of the week
Michael Petersen, Crystal Lake Central, Sr. 145 lbs.
Petersen pinned three times Saturday to win the 145-pound title at the 2A Antioch Sectional. Petersen has won all six of his regional and sectional matches by fall as he heads back to state for the third time.
Power rankings
1. Crystal Lake Central: The Tigers had four wrestlers qualify for state at the 2A Antioch Sectional. Lenny Petersen (138), Michael Petersen (145) and Austin Parks (220) won sectional titles while Keegan O’Donnell (195) finished fourth to qualify. As a team, the Tigers will compete in a 2A dual sectional Tuesday.
2. Huntley: For the second consecutive year, Huntley will send four wrestlers to the state finals. At Saturday’s 3A Barrington Sectional Josh Stenger won the title at 120 while Zach Spencer (113) and Petros Mihalopoulos (195) finished second and Dominic Swanson (285) took third. “Second year in a row we’ve got four, so I guess that’s our standard now," Huntley coach B.J. Bertelsman said. "Not a bad standard but we’ll try to beat it next year. But no, I’m happy. I think I need to find another hotel room now.”
3. Prairie Ridge: A week after finishing a strong second at its regional, the Wolves had three champions – Travis Piotrowski (126), Luke Silva (132) and Dereck Pearson (285) – at the 2A Antioch Sectional. They will also send Jace Sparks (106) and Nick Fetzner (170) to state.
4. Harvard: The Hornets didn’t have an individual champion at the 2A Antioch Sectional, but will send five wrestlers to the state finals. Senior Josh Fiegel (113) returns to Champaign after placing at 1A state last year and will be joined by Sergio Esquivel (120), Justin Wilcox (132), Sergio Jimenez (145) and Zach Martin (195).
5. Jacobs: After being shutout last year, the Golden Eagles are sending three wrestlers to state. Dean Lane (160), Michael Bujacz (195) and Jack Golnick (220) all finished third at the 3A Barrington sectional.
Noteworthy
Chasing perfection: Two local wrestlers head to Champaign with a chance to not only win a state title, but finish off perfect senior seasons. Prairie Ridge's Travis Piotrowski (126) is 36-0 on the season while Dundee-Crown's Christian Brunner (195) is 44-0 on the season. Both are returning state placers and the top seeds in their respective brackets.
Offseason pays off for Jacobs' Dean Lane: You couldn't wipe the smile off Dean Lane's face after winning his consolation semifinal at Barrington Saturday. With his first trip to state secured, the senior was in disbelief. "It's crazy. I never, freshman year coming in I never thought I'd do it, I wasn't that big, but it's crazy, I worked hard for this. It's just nice, I can't believe it," Lane said. Lane mentioned not being big enough, and he looks somewhat small for a 160-pounder, but he later said that after not taking wrestling as seriously the past three years, he worked hard in the offseason to bulk up for his senior year and the extra strength has contributed to a 32-2 record this season.
Events to watch
IHSA Individual state tournament, Thursday-Saturday at University of Illinois’ State Farm Center, Champaign
Forty three local wrestlers, representing 16 schools, qualified for the state tournament which begins Thursday. Last year the area produced four state champions.
Crystal Lake Central vs. Chicago St. Patrick, 6 p.m. Tuesday at Fenton High School in Bensenville
The Tigers are the lone local team alive in the dual team sectionals. A win against St. Patrick sends them to Bloomington on Feb. 27. Central finished fourth at dual team state last year and is ranked No. 4 in 2A by illinoismatmen.com this year.