Waylon Theobald, Huntley win Fox Valley Conference showdown

HUNTLEY – Huntley wrestler Waylon Theobald paused several seconds after a reporter’s opening question.

“Sorry, I’ve never done this before,” Theobald said. ”First time."

If the sophomore keeps performing on the mat like he did Friday night against Crystal Lake Central, and like he has this season, more interviews could be in his future.

Theobald’s pin with 20 seconds left in the second period at 175 pounds was one of many highlights for the defending Fox Valley Conference champions, who used a strong start en route to a 40-28 win, despite the visitors winning the last three matches.

Huntley, which has won six of the past eight FVC titles, improved to 6-0 and 3-0 in the conference. Central fell to 5-2 and 3-1.

“We knew we had to win a couple of close matchups,” Tigers coach Justen Lehr said. “[113 and 120 pounds] were matches we thought if we get those we got a chance to win.”

The match started at 106 pounds, and Huntley won by forfeit. Huntley junior Colin Abordo then edged Jackson Marlette 1-0 at 113, and Cameron Abordo (Colin’s identical twin) won a 5-3 decision over Peyton Ramsey at 120.

“You saw two pretty good matches,” Lehr said. “[113] was a barnburner. Two really good kids.”

“The Marlette kid for them is good, like, really good,” Huntley coach B.J. Bertelsman said. “Colin and Cameron (Abordo) have been stepping it up.”

Huntley kept winning. Alex Gutierrez won by fall at 132, Gavin Nitschke won a 15-2 major decision at 138, and Matt Keaty made it three straight wins for the Red Raiders with a 17-0 technical fall to pad the lead to 22-6.

Nick Zuehlke (150) notched a pin for Central, but Radic Dvorak answered for Huntley with a 2-0 decision over Dominic Vitale at 157.

Bertelsman credited Vitale for not getting turned against Dvorak, who pins a lot of his opponents.

“That kid’s got a job to do, and he’s a strong kid,” Bertelsman said of Vitale.

Huntley’s Lucas Bittman then won a 17-4 major at 165 over Tommy Tommasello, before Theobald fired up his team with his pin of Tyler Porter.

“It’s almost like, when you do what coach tells you, you win,” Theobald said after improving to 10-6. “[Porter] got a little too high throwing his legs. I’ve done that myself a couple of times. I know what to do when they get high because people do it to me all the time. I was able to swim through, came up on top and just was able to throw a half [nelson] and pin him.”

Theobald’s pin came after he trailed 3-0 after the first period. He chose the bottom position to start the second, then made his momentum-changing move.

His pin hiked Huntley’s lead to 40-12 with three matches left.

“I did not expect the results at [165] and [175],” Lehr said. “I thought we’d win at [175]. We got caught and pinned. That was a big deal.”

Central finished strong, as its football-lineman trio of Cayden Parks, Tommy McNeil and Logan Gough all won. Parks pinned his opponent at 190, McNeil won a 8-0 major decision at 215, and Gough rallied from a 3-0 deficit to record a second-period pin in his heavyweight match.

“He was dead. He was really tired moving a big guy like me,” the 280-pound Gough said of his opponent, all-conference football player Mason Maldonado. “He’s a true 215.”

Central’s first points came from 126-pounder Dylan Ramsey, whose opponent was disqualified for accidentally biting on a cross-face move. That was one of the few negatives all night for Huntley.

“We were hoping to win so we could get the conference title,” Gough said. “This is a tricky team. We battled it off.”

The turning point might have been the match starting at 106 pounds.

“We’re kind of top heavy with our lineup,” Lehr said. “Momentum is bigger in wrestling than a lot of other sports. It’s huge, because those are your practice partners you’re watching lose or win. You have a personal investment in what happens in your buddy’s match.”