Cayden Parks stays undefeated, leads Crystal Lake Central past Cary-Grove in 62-14 win

CARY – One of the greatest things to happen in Crystal Lake Central senior Cayden Parks’ wrestling career came during one of his toughest moments.

Parks overcame an arm injury last postseason to reach the Class 2A 190-pound state championship match. But he couldn’t finish the impressive run, losing to Rock Island’s Andrew Marquez in the title match.

Nearly 10 months later, Parks called the loss the greatest thing that could’ve happened to him.

“I’ve never felt more determined, more driven, wanted to work harder,” Parks said. “It lit a fire under me, like I can do this, I know I can do this now.”

That fire has translated to an impressive start to his season. He stayed undefeated after he picked up a win in Crystal Lake Central’s 62-14 victory over Cary-Grove on Thursday night.

Much like he’s approached this season, Parks came out aggressive in his 190 match. After roughly 30 seconds of hand fighting, Parks forced Trojans senior Will Nichols out of bounds and into a down position. He took advantage quickly and forced a pin roughly 10 seconds later.

“If I see an attack that I like, I’m just going to fire the shot,” Parks said. “I’m going to go for the move. That’s kind of how it goes. Can’t second guess yourself.”

Central coach Justen Lehr said Parks had the potential to be a state champion had he not suffered an arm injury last season. Parks spent much of last year trying to reach 190 and learning how to wrestle at the weight.

This season, Lehr said Parks has looked dominant in his 18-0 start while he tries to diversify his toolbox to prepare his run at a state championship.

“He’s been working on a lot of different things, scoring, on top, different turns,” Lehr said. “He looks great right now.”

The Tigers (8-4, 4-1) looked great Thursday after an impressive start to the dual. Central ran out to a 26-0 lead after freshman Colton Leager won 106 by forfeit, sophomore Jackson Marlett (113) and junior Dylan Ramsey (126) each won by fall and senior Payton Ramsey (120) took his match by technical fall.

Sophomore Nick Zuehlke (150), senior Dominic Vitale (157), junior Tyler Porter (175) and senior Tommy McNeil (215) each won by fall while sophomore Daniel Snow (132) won 11-8 and Richie Butler (144) won by forfeit.

Starting fast has been a goal for the Tigers as a team and Parks was encouraged to build early momentum in a Fox Valley Conference match.

“It really helps for those matches that you know are going to be closer,” Parks said. “[Starting fast] just gives a lot of momentum and boosts everybody’s morale. So it’s massive to get up early.”

Senior Noah Pechotta won by fall at 165 for the Trojans (4-8, 1-3) while senior Lucas Burton (285) won in a 3-0 decision and sophomore Jacob Turner (138) won by technical fall.

Cary-Grove coach William Petersen hoped some of those early matches could’ve gone longer but was proud of the wins the Trojans put together.

“Our guys who we rely on to go out there and lead the team with some scoring, they went out there and got the job done,” Petersen said. “We were happy about those guys coming through. We wish we got to win a few more of those battles.”

The Trojans will have a break for the holidays until they compete against Crystal Lake South on Jan. 9.

“I’ve never felt more determined, more driven, want to work harder. It lit a fire under me, like I can do this, I know I can do this now.”

—  Cayden Parks, Crystal Lake Central senior

Parks and the Tigers will test themselves this weekend in Harlem’s Dvorak Tournament, one of the top wrestling tournaments in the state. Central has tested itself against some of the best teams in the area to prepare for the state meet.

The Tigers will get another chance to prove themselves this weekend.

“You always want to have those hard meets, hard losses, everything like that, because it’s all just preparing you for the state series in the end,” Parks said. “We’ve had our ups and downs but I’m very happy with the team, where the team is and I think we’re only going to get better throughout the year.”

https://www.shawlocal.com/northwest-herald/2024/12/20/cayden-parks-stays-undefeated-leads-crystal-lake-central-past-cary-grove-in-62-14-win/