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Wrestling: Burlington Central prevails at Batavia quad
Mary Beth Nolan~For Sun-Times Media
Updated: January 7, 2012 11:38PM
Postseason success in wrestling is often a product of lessons — and defeats — from the grind of regular-season tournaments and duals.
That was the case Saturday for West Aurora and host Batavia in a quadrangular meet in which Class 2A Burlington Central surprised a trio of 3A opponents for the team title with a 3-0 showing. The Rockets squeezed out a last-match 32-31 triumph over the Bulldogs to keep the hosts from creating a three-way tie for the top slot. Batavia was a 45-29 winner over West Aurora, while falling short in a 33-31 tussle with Schaumburg.
“This time of the year it’s all about learning to compete and stay tough,” Batavia coach Ben Morris said. “Unfortunately we faded at the end of last year, and with a pretty young group including a lot of freshmen, we’re hoping to avoid that this season.
“Today was about learning to wrestle in a dual-meet and finding out how important one point is or what a difference a pin can make when it comes to the team score. With three points making the difference for us in two losses, it’s the best way to drive home the importance of each individual’s contribution to the overall outcome. You lose a decision by seven instead of eight, and it saves you a team point.”
Morris also cited the value of seeing a teammate sacrifice for the overall good by pointing to the effort of 138-pounder Tony Scaccia.
“He’s had some great individual results and came into the quad with a 23-1 record,” Morris said. “He got a second loss today only because I asked him to bump up a weight to help the team. We still came up a little short against Central, but he didn’t complain. Trevor (Kilgallen at 145 pounds) did the same for us.”
Scaccia was on the empty end of a 1-0 battle with Burlington Central’s Johnny Major. while Kilgallen lost by an 11-8 margin. The 1-2 showing moved the Bulldogs’ season record in dual meets to 7-11.
Going winless for the day dipped West Aurora’s ledger to 9-13 and prompted Blackhawk boss Mike DiNovo to avoid singling out any one wrestler.
“We wrestle as a team and we win or lose as a team,” DiNovo said. “The major lesson to be learned is to wrestle to the final whistle. Everybody wrestled to the best of their ability and we’re building for the postseason.”
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