Wrestling: Huntley boys, girls sweep McHenry in Fox Valley duals

MCHENRY – Huntley didn’t need any more motivation for its boys wrestling matchup against McHenry on Thursday night.

The Red Raiders and Warriors have built a strong rivalry over the last couple of seasons, with McHenry besting Huntley for the Fox Valley Conference crown last year. Add that both teams were still undefeated in conference action heading into their dual, and they knew the importance of Thursday night.

Huntley coach BJ Bertelsman challenged his team to come out fast, and the Red Raiders responded, picking up a 49-18 win.

[ Photos: Huntley vs.McHenry boys and girls wrestling ]

“I’m glad we got it done,” Huntley senior Markos Mihalopolus said.

The Red Raiders (18-5, 7-0 FVC) couldn’t have asked for a better start. Lucas Bittman won his match by pin at 175 pounds, and Wyatt Theobald (190) and Dylan Cerny (225) each won by decision.

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Huntley’s Cameron Abordories controls McHenry’s Cameron Abordo during the 113-pound match of a Fox Valley Conference boys wrestling match Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, at McHenry High School. (Gregory Shaver/Gregory Shaver )

That set the stage well for Mihalopolus, who said he couldn’t stop thinking about his match with McHenry’s Jesse Saavedra all day. The two were tied at 1-1 heading into the third period before Mihalopolus grabbed a 3-1 lead. Saavedra made it 3-2 and tried to get back into it by grabbing Mihalopolus’ leg, but Mihalopolus hung on to earn the win, which built Huntley’s lead to 15-0.

“I just knew what to do because I had been in that position many times,” Mihalopolus said. “It was just muscle memory.”

The Red Raiders ran out to a 24-0 lead when Collin Abordo (106) won by pin and Cameron Abordo (113) won with a 5-2 decision. Gavin Nischke (132), Matthew Keaty (138) and Alex Napientek (165) won their matches by fall, Radic Dvorak (157) won by major decision, and Alex Gutierrez (126) won 7-6.

Bertelsman thought the Red Raiders got the message, especially at the start.

“It was a great start,” Bertelsman said.

Ryan Hanson (120) got McHenry (12-5, 6-1) on the board with a win by fall, and Jeff Schwab (144) and Pedro Jimenez (150) each joined him with pins.

I’m glad we got it done.”

—  Markos Mihalopolus, Huntley senior

Warriors coach Dan Rohman thought his team could’ve come out with more intensity.

“They came ready to wrestle, and they took it to us,” Rohman said. “We’ve got some work to do. This isn’t going to define our season, but we’ve got some things to work on.”

The Red Raiders control their own fate with FVC dual meets against Dundee-Crown and Hampshire left to decide the crown. While Thursday was a big step, there’s more work left to be done.

“It’s not done yet, we still have a little more,” Mihalopolus said. “We just have to keep pushing. Hampshire will be the cherry on top. That’s the goal.”

Girls wrestling: Huntley 48, McHenry 21

Thursday night was a special night for the Red Raiders girls wrestling team.

Not only did Huntley get an opportunity to compete in one of its few duals of the season, but the Red Raiders did it in commanding fashion, winning by 27 points.

“It’s definitely exciting because I have my whole team behind me and supporting me,” Taylor Casey said. “It’s fun.”

Janiah Slaughter (105), Casey (110), Valaria Sanchez (115), Amanda Wiktor (125), Aubrie Rohrbacher (130) and Grecia Garcia (145) each won by fall. Lianny Guzman (135) and Abby Ward (170) won by forfeit.

The Red Raiders came out quickly with pins by Slaughter, Casey and Sanchez and didn’t let up in the middle of their lineup.

“We’ve got a bunch of good wrestlers scattered throughout the lineup,” Huntley coach Gannon Kosowski said. “It works really well.”

Addison Hodges (120), Natalie Corona (140) and Maddalyn Sima (155) each won by pin, and Sophia Brown (235) won 10-9.

McHenry coach James Buss was proud of how his team battled and what it still can accomplish with a few weeks left before the postseason.

“We showed a lot of bright spots,” Buss said. “There’s a lot of things that we can work on that we have a couple weeks to clean up before regionals.”