High school wrestling insider: Marian Central's Luke Silva is athlete of the week; power rankings; notes

Athlete of the Week

Luke Silva

Marian Central, Sr., 160

Every second matters.

Marian Central’s Luke Silva set a school record for fastest pin, besting the previous record by one second. Silva’s six-second pin Saturday at a quad meet at Glenbard East beat out 2016 Marian graduate Joe Herff’s previous record of seven seconds.

Silva and the Hurricanes are off to a 9-1 start. Silva is coming off a junior season in which he finished fourth in Class 2A at 152 pounds and went 39-7. He is currently ranked third in Class 2A at 160.

Power rankings

1. Huntley (8-1, 1-0 FVC)

The Red Raiders’ lone loss came against Glenbard North, who is currently ranked No. 8 in Class 3A (one spot ahead of Huntley). Sam Spencer (113 pounds) and Zach Spencer (126) each went 3-0 over the weekend at the Plainfield Central Quadrangular. The Raiders picked up wins over Downers Grove South and Plainfield Central.

2. Crystal Lake Central (2-0, 2-0 FVC)

The Tigers finished seventh at Conant’s Chris Hruska Cougar Classic, which featured a handful of top-ranked teams in Class 2A and 3A. The Tigers are ranked No. 2 in Class 2A and have dual wins over Cary-Grove and Jacobs.

3. Marian Central (9-1)

The Hurricanes are off to a hot start, with their only loss to Class 3A No. 18-ranked Glenbard East. Marian picked up a victory over the defending Class 2A state runner-up Wauconda last week in a dual match in Woodstock. The Hurricanes are ranked No. 14 in 2A.

4. Harvard (8-3)

The Hornets went 7-3 over Thanksgiving weekend at the Vernon Hills Dual Tournament. Keenan Brummett is 11-0 at 145 pounds, with six pins for the defending Kishwaukee River Conference champions. They cracked the top 25 in Class 2A at No. 25.

5. Johnsburg (1-0)

Johnsburg won Richmond-Burton’s Tom DuBois Classic over the weekend, finishing ahead of the likes of R-B, Marengo and Woodstock. The Skyhawks, an honorable mention in the Class 2A rankings, had four wrestlers reach the final in their respective weight classes, with Austin Butler winning the title at 170. They also have a dual match victory over Prairie Ridge.

Noteworthy

Quick pins: Silva wasn't the only local wrestler with a school record for fastest pin during the first two weeks of the wrestling season.

Crystal Lake South’s Alec Natrop (285) recorded a pin in seven seconds at a tournament in Antioch on Nov. 24. Natrop finished fourth in the tournament, recording four pins in a total of 74 seconds.

The Gators junior followed it up by going 2-1 last weekend at a tournament at East Leyden in Franklin Park.

What to watch

Huntley at Jacobs, 6:30 p.m. Thursday

The Golden Eagles finished eighth at Conant’s Chris Hruska Cougar Classic over Thanksgiving weekend, one spot behind Central. Jacobs has a fair mix of experienced and inexperienced wrestlers in the starting lineup. The Eagles will meet a tough test when Huntley comes to town for an FVC dual. Huntley will try to pick up its second FVC victory.