High school wrestling: After taking 4th at state, Huntley returns with 'new hunger'

HUNTLEY – Huntley’s Nik Wise wasn’t an individual state qualifier last year. Seven of his teammates qualified to wrestle in Champaign, a record for Huntley, but he wasn’t one of them.

So when Huntley qualified for the Class 3A dual team state tournament a week after individual state, Red Raiders wrestlers such as Wise earned one more opportunity to make their mark on the 2017-18 season.

Huntley did so, taking fourth at dual team state, bringing home its first wrestling state trophy. Wise, a 220-pounder, felt the experience opened his eyes to Huntley’s potential.

“Before, we saw ourselves as a good team,” Wise said. “I felt like, at least for me personally, I didn’t see us up there with the top teams. With the whole team state experience, it really helped give us that confidence boost. That’s really helping us come back strong this season.”

Wise went 22-13 last year as a junior. He is one of a number of Red Raiders who missed out on individual state but played key roles in Huntley’s run to fourth in dual team state.

Huntley returns three individual state qualifiers, including junior Sam Spencer, a fifth-place medalist at 113 pounds in Class 3A. Junior David Ferrante (160) and senior Gannon Kosowski (145/152) are also returning state qualifiers.

Coming off back-to-back Fox Valley Conference championships, the Red Raiders have high expectations again this year, but they will be young at the lower weights.

“We’ve got some holes,” coach BJ Bertelsman said. “We’re going to have a lot of young kids, probably three to four freshmen [in the lineup]. We have a lot of good kids, but they’re all centered around a couple weights.”

Spencer said he has been impressed with two varsity newcomers: freshmen Joaquin Miranda (145) and Ryder Hunkins (145/152). Freshmen Jake Jensen (106) and Sam Henkle (113) likely will be factors in the starting lineup.

Ferrante was an individual state medalist as a freshman before falling short of the podium last year. He committed during the offseason to wrestle at Northwestern.

“It’s always weird in the beginning of the season getting the lineups right, getting the weights right, seeing where everyone falls,” Ferrante said. “I feel like once that happens, we’ll be just as good as last year, if not better.”

Huntley’s schedule does it no favors. The Red Raiders wrestle in two of the toughest tournaments in the state: the William “Red” Schmitt Holiday Tournament at Granite City and the Al Dvorak Invitational at Harlem. Additionally, they travel to Rochester, Minnesota, for “The Clash,” which features some of the best teams in the Midwest, and teams from as far away as California and Oregon.

But Bertelsman believes last season’s tough schedule paid off in February.

Rukkus Hunkins (170) had a losing record during the regular season but still won two matches at sectionals. Matt Burba (285) didn’t even qualify for sectionals but came up with a key pin in Huntley’s quarterfinal dual against Glenbard North, a 35-31 Huntley win, which guaranteed it a state trophy.

“We’re all coming back with a new hunger, a new drive,” Wise said. “[Last season] set a precedent for us that we want to at least meet or surpass again. We have something to work toward.”