Veteran Central too much for North in Naperville

By Gary Larsen

Central simply had too much for North in this year’s battle of the Napervilles.

Rob Porter’s Redhawks drove across town and earned a 10 to 4 edge in matches won against Tom Champion’s Huskies, in posting a 40-19 win in a DuPage Valley Conference dual on Friday.

“It’s always good to get a win against Naperville North,” Porter said. “They have such a strong tradition in wrestling, so when our boys feel like they can beat North, they feel like they can beat anybody. That’s the kind of respect we have for Naperville North.”

The win for Central put its dual record this year at 14-4 overall, 3-0 in the DVC.

“We’ve been doing great this year,” the Redhawks’ Kirk Cherep said. “This is like the best lineup we’ve ever had.”

The dual essentially pitted an experienced, senior-heavy team from Central against a North team that’s building for next season.

“We just don’t have the guns right now, but the young guys are doing well,” Champion said. “We’ll get there, but it’s not going to be today.”

The night began with arguably the marquee match of the dual, pitting Central’s Adam Gebner against North’s Steve Gutka at 152 pounds. Gutka brought a perfect 20-0 record into the match, while Gebner went in with a record of 19-2.

Gebner shot a double to go up 2-0 in the first period, and earned a reversal in the third to win a 4-2 decision. “It was kind of a slow match,” Gebner said. “We’ve wrestled last year and he’s completely changed since then. He’s a lot better than he was last year.”

At 160, Central benefited from the return of Joe Savina to its lineup after a three-week layoff due to injury. Savina built a 6-0 lead on two takedowns and a reversal in building a 6-0 lead on North’s Sam Gutknecht (10-10), and posted a takedown as time expired in the match to post the major decision win.

The three-week layoff didn’t seem to hinder the 10-1 Savina. “I felt good,” he said. “It felt like I’d been wrestling the whole time. I was feeling a little weird before the match but once I stepped on the mat I was fine.”

“It’s good to get him back in the lineup, and that really helped us,” Porter said. “He’s got a ways to go before he’s all the way back but it’s good to seen him back in.”

Eric Krieger (10-8) put North on the board with a 7-4 decision over Central’s Nate Delisle at 171, but decision wins by Central’s Steve Bus (18-10) at 189 and Matt Schefke at 215 put Central up 13-3.

Bus won 7-3 over Dalton Henninger, while Schefke gutted out a 1-0 win over Tim Hasse.

“That was a key match,” Porter said of Schefke’s win. “That was a turning point for us because I think both coaches saw that they had a chance to win that match. You look at those matches that are toss-ups, and those are always important to win.”

North heavyweight Jack Fissinger (13-9) won by fall over James Mitchell, and at 103 Wayne Yuan’s win over Central’s Mitch Lee tied the score at 13-13. Yuan led 5-2 after a period, and Lee turned him to start the second.

Yuan (10-5) earned a reversal and two near-fall points of his own before the end of the period, and extended his lead in the third to a major decision, tying the team score. Central forfeited at 103 for much of the year, but the freshman Lee has battled well at 103 when Porter has inserted him into the varsity lineup.

“He fights,” Gebner said. “He’s not just out there saving us (forfeit) points. He’s out there trying to win.”

Central exploded after the match at 103, winning six consecutive matches to effectively bury the Huskies. “It was nice winning ten matches but the boys know they aren’t where they need to be,” Porter said. “They won’t rest on their successes, and there’s still a lot of work to do.”

Jon Williamson (19-8) posted a first-period pin at 112 before Nick Santos (20-7) won by fall at 119, providing both of Central’s pins on the night. Champion was happy with the way Juan Ramirez battled against Santos before losing by fall, late in the third period.

“He’s a sophomore, and that’s a five-point match until the last thirty seconds,” Champion said. “(Ramirez) hung with a very tough kid in that match.”

Cherep came next, and he tangled with North’s Frank McKeown in a dogfight at 125 pounds. Cherep earned a takedown in the first period, McKeown answered with a takedown in the second, and Cherep got a takedown late in the third in winning a 6-4 decision.

“I wanted that takedown really bad. My team was screaming at me,” Cherep said. “He shot really low earlier in the match and I was just sprawling. There was a point earlier in the match where I was in that position and it was a stalemate. So I had to push it even harder, hook that leg and get around there.”

“That was a big win for Kirk. He’s one of the hardest workers in the room, he always stays after practice to run a few sprints and today it paid off.”

North’s Max Obriecht gave Central’s Josh Tardy all he could handle at 130, with Tardy (25-4) toughing out a 6-3 decision. Central’s John Graeber (17-10) won a major decision at 135, and teammate Andy Kovalsky (24-2) posted a second-period tech fall win at 140 pounds to give Central a 40-13 lead.

North’s Adam Hankin (20-2) ended the night with a pin at 145 pounds. “Adam is so much fun to watch,” Champion said. “I wrestle him every day in the room and he has such great body awareness. He burns a lot of energy in his matches.”

Hankin liked the effort he saw from his side against its cross-town rival on Friday.

“Even though we lost a lot of matches, none of our kids were giving up in their matches,” Hankin said. “I thought we wrestled pretty well. Now we just have to fix some of the mistakes we’re making.”

“I love the young guys on this team because they’re so full of energy. None of them have been burned out by the sport and they’re learning new moves and fixing their mistakes every week.”