Wilmington rolls to state berth again

LISLE -- Last weekend, Tom Courtney was one of the few members of the Wilmington High School wrestling team not participating in the individual tournament. The Wildcats had wrestlers in nine of the 14 weight classes, but Courtney wasn't one of them.

One of the reasons he wasn't there: Lisle's David Pawlowicz.

Pawlowicz had gotten the best of Courtney all season, defeating him in a dual meet, the Interstate Conference meet and in the sectional.

On Tuesday night, the two met again in the 160-pound bout of the Class 1A Lisle Sectional in the team-dual competition.

Courtney took the mat with his team leading 23-4 and well on its way to a fourth straight trip to the state finals. Even so, redemption was on Courtney's mind.

"He (Pawlowicz) beat me in the dual, in the conference and in the sectional," Courtney said. "I wanted to beat him tonight, not just for me but for the team. I didn't want to lose and give up team points."

Courtney battled Pawlowicz, a state qualifier, to a 0-0 tie at the end of the first period, and it was 2-2 at the end of the second after each wrestler scored on a reversal.

In the third period, Courtney rode Pawlowicz for the better part of the two minutes, finally gaining an edge with about 15 seconds left. At the urging of his sideline, he became stone still as he was sprawled atop Pawlowicz, earning three near-fall points to pull off the 5-2 victory.

Wilmington went on to defeat Lisle 60-13 and will take on Harvard -- a 55-21 winner over Reed-Custer in the other match -- in the state quarterfinals at 9 a.m. Saturday.

"I was hoping to get out of the first period 0-0 and get him on the mat," Courtney said. "When I lost to him earlier this year, he was able to take me down and get points. I didn't want that to happen.

"I felt like I would have an advantage against him when we got on the mat, and I was able to get the advantage at the end. I didn't know how much time was left, but I just heard (assistant) Coach (Robbie) Murphy yelling, 'Don't move!' I knew I was getting close to winning."

The win put Wilmington, which has won 24 straight duals after losing its opener to Plainfield Central, ahead 26-4.

Wilmington's Jeremy Bailey followed Courtney's win with a pin in 1:35 before Lisle's Kevin Murray, a state qualifier at 215, beat Wilmington's Steve Liaromatis 6--3 at 189. Wilmington's Dino Saracco (215) and Alfonso Dingillo (285) each won by forfeit before Charlie Mannix got pinned by Lisle state qualifier Brad Blechschmidt. Alex Jones, who finished second at 103 in the individual tourney, won by forfeit at 112 for Wilmington before Garth Cartwright scored a 9-0 major decision at 119. Bryan Evans finished the match off with a pin of Henry Yan in 3:21.

"Tom Courtney beat a real good wrestler tonight," Wilmington coach Rob Murphy said. "He wasn't one of the nine that qualified last week, and that's hard for all those guys. This team dual tournament is their time to shine. They are hungry.

"When we get to state, we know what to expect out of our all-staters. Whether we win or lose will hinge on the guys like Tom. They can help the team by coming up with an upset, or by just not giving up a pin or a tech fall or a major decision. They are very important parts to our team success."

Wilmington's Steve Heino began the meet with a forfeit win at 130 before Ben Strobeck lost a major decision at 135. John Van Duyne, who won the state title at 135 last weekend, won by pin in 1:00 of the 140-pound match before Bryan Evans won by pin in 3:41 of the 145. At 152, Jake Murphy picked up a 16-1 technical fall victory.

In the other match, Reed-Custer's Zach Speed picked up a surprise pin victory at 189, while state qualifiers Trent Lyons (103), Stephen Rosenburg (112) and Billy Chancey (125) also won. Rosenburg and Chancey won by pin, while Lyons claimed a 4-0 win over Cesar Martinez.

"We were happy to be here with such a young team," Reed-Custer coach Andy Gleixner said. "This sectional had the Nos. 1, 4 and 8 teams in the state, so for us to even be in that crowd is quite an accomplishment.

"Zach Speed was a pleasant surprise tonight. He works hard and he's unpredictable when he hits the mat. And our light guys did what they do.

"They are all freshmen, so they are a nice core to build a program around the next few years. What we need to do is look at Harvard with all the guys they brought and try to get there."