Boys wrestling: Joliet West, Yorkville, Lockport bring back 3A sectional championships from long day in Normal

NORMAL – A long day at the Class 3A Normal Community Individual Wrestling Sectional, starting at 9 a.m. and going a few minutes past 5:30 p.m., was well worth it Saturday for the 56 state qualifiers heading to Champaign for the IHSA State Finals.

Included among their number are sectional champions from Lockport, Joliet West and Yorkville, with Lockport’s Justin Wardlow (38-12) the first of them to clinch his sectional title when his championship opponent at 120 lbs., Andrew’s Trevor Silzer, was forced to offer an injury default.

“It feels awesome [going to state] my first year,” said Wardlow, a freshman. “I was expecting to win regionals and sectionals, because I work hard in the room every day, and I believe in myself. It feels awesome to see the hard work pay off.

“I wanted to smile [when I heard I’d won the title], but at the same time I wanted to wrestle him.”

The lack of suspense in Wardlow’s championship was more than made up for at 126.

Joliet West’s Carson Weber (38-2) and Lincoln-Way Central’s Nathan Knowlton (36-7) battled to a grind-it-out thriller, with Knowlton leading 1-0 in the third period when he was hit with a boisterously debated penalty for use of what the officials deemed an illegal full nelson, tying the score 1-1. Weber, a sophomore, then scored an escape for a 2-1 decision over the senior Knowlton.

“I was [nervous] a little bit [trailing heading into the final period], but I just kept calm and was able to finish out with a win,” Weber said.

“This one felt pretty good. I’ve been working for this the entire season, and it’s all coming together. I’m ready for state next week.”

Lockport’s Logan Swaw (43-1) needed little drama to claim the title at 160. The Porters senior scored a first-period takedown for a 2-0 advantage, led 4-1 at the end of the first period, and used a second-period reversal to all but put away Quincy’s Owen Uppinghouse in an eventual 8-1 victory.

“I completely agree [the second-period reversal] was big,” Swaw said. “I knew that was what he was going to do, I’d watched a little film, so I knew the leg was going to come in, and I knew how to stop it. ...

“I want to be a state champ. That’s the goal.”

The next match saw Yorkville’s Luke Zook (40-7) lead throughout in a more comfortable fashion than the 6-3 decision may indicate over Lincoln-Way East runner-up Ari Zaeske (38-4) at 170.

“I was strong in the first period and just built off my attacks,” Zook said. “I just tried to stay aggressive and work on the good stuff, do what works best for me.

“I want to keep pushing forward, keep winning, and I’m looking to place at state.”

Zook’s teammate Ben Alvarez (34-8) broke a scoreless bout with a familiar opponent, Normal Community’s Cooper Caraway, in the 220 championship with a seemingly out-of-nowhere takedown in the closing seconds of the opening period. Alvarez then scored a one-legged takedown with 30 seconds remaining to put away a 4-1 decision for the title.

“I wrestled him at regionals and kind of had a fluke, and he beat me, so I came here with a gut feel of how he wrestled at regionals,” Alvarez said. “I planned accordingly, outmatched him and ended up getting the win. ...

“[For the key first-period takedown], I looked at the clock and saw there were 20 seconds left, and I’d hit that shot in the regional, so I went back to it, and it ended up working out and shifting the momentum back my way the rest of the match.”

In keeping with the long day, both the first and final championship matches took extra time to decide.

Plainfield North’s Maddox Garbis (39-2) had to settle for second at 106 after losing a 3-2 lead midway through the third period and getting taken down eight seconds into overtime by the host school’s Caden Correll in a battle of sophomores.

At 285, Joliet West’s Wyatt Schmitt (39-2) trailed 1-0 after one period, tied Belleville East’s Jonathan Rulo 1-1 in the third to force overtime, then saw his title hopes dashed with time running out in the first extra period when he was penalized for gripping Rulo’s uniform in a confusing, anticlimactic finish that gave Rulo the championship by a 2-1 decision.

In between those two overtime weight-class finales, Yorkville’s Jack Ferguson (38-9) lost the 132 title match via a 24-9 technical fall to Homewood-Flossmoor’s Vincet Robinson; Lockport’s Logan Kaminski (32-20) lost the 138 championship via a second-period pin by Rich Township’s Nasir Bailey; Minooka’s Elijah Munoz (29-5) was on the wrong side of a 3-1 decision to Homewood-Flossmoor’s Jermaine Butler to finish second at 152; and Yorkville’s Hunter Janeczko (18-4) placed second at 195 after dropping a 3-0 decision to Belleville East’s Dominic Thebeau.

Third-place finishers also qualifying for state included Lockport’s Jad Alwawi (24-13) at 126, Lincoln-Way West’s Karter Guzman (38-8) at 132, Yorkville’s Ryder Janeczko (37-10) at 145, L-W East’s Domanic Abeja (20-9) at 152 and Zach LaMonto (38-7) at 160, L-W Central’s Tim Key (40-11) at 170, Plainfield South’s Matthew Janiak (34-6) at 195, and Plainfield North’s Leonardo Tovar (43-8) at 220.

Placing fourth and advancing were Romeoville’s Brian Farley (23-5) at 120, Lincoln-Way East’s Tyson Zvonar (25-7) at 126, Lockport’s Carlos Munoz-Flores (14-6) at 132 (though he had to be taken out of the gym by medical staff after suffering an injury in the third-place bout), L-W West’s Luke Siwinski (25-19) at 138, Joliet West’s Austin Perella (26-10) at 152, Plainfield North’s Anthony Gulino (36-16) at 160, Romeoville’s Mason Gougis (25-9) at 170, Joliet West’s Jovon Johnson (32-11) at 195, and Joliet Central’s Charles Walker (35-12) at 220.

The Class 3A IHSA Individual State Finals begin early Thursday evening at State Farm Center.