Wrestling: Jacobs’ Dominic Ducato, Joey Scrivani win titles at Class 3A Fremd Regional

PALATINE – With an all-star cast spread all throughout the weight classes and four high-profile teams all part of the Class 3A Fremd wrestling regional, it’s little wonder the race for the championship trophy would likely come down to the last couple of matches.

When it appeared just that, and with Mid-Suburban League champion Hersey having the prohibitive favorites at 220 and 285 pounds, it looked as if the Huskies were in position to be victorious.

However the host Vikings, who stayed just in front of Hersey and Stevenson just before the final round, closed out the field when Michael Kuehn’s pin in his third-place bout dashed the hopes of all for good.

The Vikings would capture their first regional championship since 1996 by five points (189.5 to 184.5) over Hersey, and 12.5 points better than third-place Stevenson, much to the delight of coach Jeff Keske, as well as top wrestlers Charlie Fifield, and Maddoz Khalimsky.

“To win this regional, which was loaded from top to bottom against a group of coaches that I have so much respect for, makes this a real special day for Fremd wrestling,” said a proud Keske, who also celebrated Alumni Day, with the return of several former wrestlers and coaches.

“To win a regional title in our home gym, and on the last time I’ll ever wrestle here, is just an amazing feeling, and all of the credit goes to coach Keske, who has turned our program around in just a few short years,” said Fifield (41-4), who won at 145.

Khalimsky (31-6) and freshman Evan Gosz (113, 37-3), who is set to lead the next generation after claiming his fifth major title of the season, also were paramount to Fremd’s crown.

“We’ve come a long way from where we were when I came to Fremd. We have a dynamic room and a great coaching staff leading the way,” Khalimsky said.

The Vikings’ junior’s 5-0 decision at 132 gave his teammates a 12-point lead over Hersey, which slowly evaporated as both the Huskies and North Suburban Conference champion Stevenson did its best to draw closer.

Stevenson’s superb duo of Lorenzo Frezza (126, 36-1) and Cole Rhemrev (138, 36-0) were near perfect on their way to regional titles, as was varsity newcomer Carter Rand (34-9), who took home the 170-pound crown.

“Lorenzo and Cole are great role models, and two guys who are the leaders in the room. They work and train harder than anyone I’ve ever seen,” Rand said.

The Patriots will send eight wrestlers to the Barrington sectional next weekend, while NSC rival Lake Zurich advanced four, one more than Jacobs, which of its three moving on include a pair of champions.

No. 6 Dominic Ducato (24-5) upended No. 4 Wiley Jessup (Fremd, 38-3) in their 106-pound final with a 8-1 decision after an impressive six-minute effort.

“Dominic’s win is a result of us having such a difficult nonconference schedule which prepares our guys to compete at a high level against really good competition when it matters the most,” Jacobs coach Gary Conrad said.

Conrad would later watch sophomore Joey Scrivani (11-0) cruise to the 170-pound title, ending with a 9-2 victory.

James Wright also advanced for Jacobs after taking second at 126 pounds.

Sophomore Ayden Salley (28-6) continues to shine in his first season with the Barrington varsity team, taking home his first regional crown, and second major of the campaign, following a last-second comeback victory (7-6) over top seed Dan Hull (20-6) of Lake Zurich.

“It wasn’t easy out there today, but fortunately I have a great teammate in the room (Zach Meyer). We work on everything all throughout the week and it is all of that work that helped me survive that scramble at the end to get the winning takedown,” said Salley, who won a MSL title back in January.

Barrington will have seven wrestlers at its own sectional next weekend, while Buffalo Grove, with David Rodriguez (120, 22-22) and Palatine’s Leonel Franco (20-10) coming back to advance as well as the Broncos’ Meyer (35-6), who took an injury default win over Stevenson senior Jacob Whiting (34-5) at 195.

With the regional trophy safely in hand, the Vikings have now qualified to the Stevenson dual-team sectional on Feb. 22, where they will join other regional champions Huntley, Libertyville and Prospect.

https://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20220205/fremd-savors-first-regional-crown-since-1996