Wrestling: Crystal Lake Central ends season in 39-30 sectional loss to Deerfield

WOODSTOCK – Justen Lehr knew his team was in for a tough battle when Crystal Lake Central drew Deerfield for its Class 2A Woodstock North Dual Team Sectional matchup.

The Warriors showed why they are one of the favorites to win a state title, ending the Tigers’ season, 39-30, on Tuesday night and securing their spot at the dual team state tournament.

“Not much you can do,” Lehr said. “The kids gave a great effort, we were overmatched. They have six state placers, we had one. For us to make it to dual (sectional), the kids wrestled really well.”

The night started well for Central when Leo Diaz won his match at 285 pounds with a disqualification and Payton Ramsey won at 106 with a pin, but Deerfield won the next six matches.

The dual shifted at 126 when Jackson Palzet won, 10-9, for the Warriors in overtime against the Tigers’ Greco Rendon. Lehr had planned out his matchups with the expectation to win against Palzet after Central had beaten him during the season, but Palzet held off a Rendon comeback to secure a key win for Deerfield.

Connor Lezama tried to turn the tide at 152. Lezama was down 10-3 early in the second period to Stamos Tsakiris, but he went on a 8-1 run to tie the match at 11 before taking lead in the final minute to cut Central’s deficit to 30-15.

Lezama was proud to comeback against Tsakiris, who eliminated Lezama in the blood round of the individual state tournament this past weekend in Champaign, and gave his team hope late in its dual.

“It felt great,” Lezama said. “That’s the fourth time I’ve seen him this season. Obviously, it stings losing to him in the blood round of state, but it was just good to redeem myself.”

Later, Dillon Carlson moved up to 170 and won his match, 4-0, to get Central back within 36-18 with three matches to go, but Deerfield’s Braeden Wittkamp defeated Central’s Ben Butler, 8-1, to secure his team a berth to Bloomington this weekend.

Central’s Jon Barrick (195) and Mitch Helm (220) both won by forfeit at the end of the night.

“This is a tough team that has a chance to win a state championship,” Lezama said of Deerfield. “It’s just unlucky we got them in the first round.”

Lehr was proud of his team’s effort not only Tuesday night but throughout the season. Central came into the season inexperienced but had strong senior leadership, which Lehr credited for surprising many.

The Tigers had a chance to force a first-place tie for the Fox Valley Conference in their last match of the season, and Lehr had strong performances from different wrestlers throughout the year.

“I thought we had a great year,” Lehr said. “I thought we had a chance, a couple bad breaks with Huntley and we were there to maybe win a conference championship. We had good senior leadership.”