High school wrestling: Downers Grove North, Downers Grove South nab several spots in sectional tourney

LA GRANGE – Sergio Villalobos was modest about it, but he knows how important winning a regional title was to his wrestling postseason.

The Downers Grove South junior pinned Lyons Township’s Nick Rivera at the 3:23 mark of the 195-pound title bout at the Class 3A Lyons regional, a win that will make Villalobos’ sectional tournament just a bit easier.

“It feels pretty good, especially going into [the sectional] where it’s going to be a little bit harder. It’s going to be nice to have the first-round bye,” said Villalobos, who takes a 33-4 record into the sectional. “It’s the hardest sectional in the state, so I’m focused so I can hopefully get to state.”

Villalobos spent less than five minutes on the mat to win the regional. He had a bye in the quarterfinals and pinned Montini’s Pat Peters at the 1:22 mark of the semifinal bout to reach the final.

Several other Mustangs booked sectional berths at the regional.

Despite losing via technical fall in the 145-pound final against Montini’s Will Lewan, senior Jacob Chisholm said he was firing on all cylinders. He also said facing a wrestler like Lewan early in the postseason has its benefits.

“He’s a No. 1 kid, so it’s not going to get any tougher than that, but I think I can be up there with him,” said Chisholm, who went 2-1 in the regional to improve to 32-7 on the year. “I think I have a good chance of qualifying [for state]. It’s going to be a tough sectional and there’s going to be ranked kids either way, but I’ve been beating ranked kids all year, so I think I can pull it off.”

Sophomore Matt Straus just missed out on a sectional berth last season. He won by fall at the 5:34 mark of the 113-pound third-place match to move on this time around.

“It’s a great feeling and I can’t thank the coaches and teammates enough,” Straus said. “I wouldn’t be here without them.”

Junior Jacob Holous placed second at 170. Freshman Shawn Lee (220) and senior Dylan Soto (285), who won by fall at the 3:30 mark of his third-place bout, also made the sectional.

Downers Grove North

Nate Cummings (106 pounds) and Jim Flavin (220) were both finalists for North who finished second at the Class 3A Lyons Township regional to advance to their home turf for the sectional tournament.

Cummings and Flavin both lost by tech fall, losses that will serve as motivation in preparation for the sectional.

“It feels good to move on, but I was coming in here hoping to at least close the gap on [Montini’s Dylan Ragusin] from when I faced him earlier in the year,” Cummings said.

Flavin’s loss by tech fall came midway through the second period against Glenbard East’s Jesus Lopez.

“I was just embarrassed. I wasn’t wrestling my match,” Flavin said. “I didn’t feel very good beforehand, so next time I have to go in with a clear mind.”

Flavin said he is excited for his first sectional, but won’t think about a possible state berth until it’s close to a reality. Cummings has some insights that might be helpful for both to get through to the state tourney.

“You just have to walk on the mat with confidence,” Cummings said. “Your opponent can see how confident you are, so you just have to show how confident you are in your abilities.”

Westmont

Zach Muller needed just 1:04, including a pin four seconds into the title bout, to win two matches and take home the 285-pound title at the Class 1A Lisle regional Feb. 4.

Jacob Juska (170) also was a regional champ while Westmont teammates Adrian Garcia (106), Curtis Green (138), Luis Rodriguez (152), Jacob Torrens (160) and John Karesh (195) won third-place matches to make it to the sectional.