Learning experiences for Mt. Carmel, Lemont, Oak Forest

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- For Chris Wright and his Mount Carmel teammates, the waiting really is the hardest part.

"Everybody kept saying, 'Wait till next year, wait till next year,'" said Wright, a freshman 140-pounder. "We wanted it this year."

But the Caravan went one and out in the team state wrestling tournament Saturday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum, falling 30-26 to Edwardsville in a Class 3A quarterfinal.

The other two Southland teams in the Elite Eight also were gone after one round. Lemont lost 30-25 to Triad and Oak Forest couldn't keep up with Crystal Lake Central in a 58-12 loss.

Wright, who won a 10-4 decision over Edwardsville's Ethan Knoebel, is just one of the Caravan wrestlers who can't wait to get back on the mat. Mount Carmel's lineup Saturday featured four freshmen, four sophomores and three juniors.

"This is a great opportunity for the kids to grow from this and use it as motivation for next year, because we've got a great nucleus coming back," Caravan coach Jason Erwinski said. "These kids have grown tremendously from the beginning of the season to now. I just wish we had another week or two."

And the Caravan would like to have the 135 bout back. Locked in a close match with Edwardsville's Greg Jackson, Mount Carmel freshman Tim Corse was disqualified for flagrant misconduct and the Caravan was docked three team points.

That turned a 21-20 Edwardsville lead into a 27-17 cushion for the Tigers and Mount Carmel couldn't recover. Though Wright kept the Caravan alive with his win, the Tigers built an insurmountable 30-20 lead thanks to Quincy Jackstadt's 8-5 win over David Skrzypiec at 145. Edwardsville forfeited to Brian Strenk at 152 for the final margin.

"He got a little rough," Erwinski said of Corse. "He's a freshman, put into a big match. ... He just let the emotions overtake him a little bit. That won't happen to him again. I know it won't."

Mount Carmel (17-14) also had a technical fall from Mike Maggi (125) and major decisions from Charles Argue (171), Brendan Tyler Hall (103) and Tyler Argue (130). Kevin Skryzpiec (119) won a decision.

Lemont led Triad 19-15 after Matt Leibforth -- a Class 2A state placer at 135 last weekend -- dropped down a weight and won an 11-3 major decision over Curtis Neubaur, who placed at 130.

"Matt's a tremendous competitor," Lemont coach John St. Clair said. "He did it for the team."

But Triad came right back with a decision at 135 and falls at 140 and 145 to build an unbeatable 30-19 lead.

"We tried mixing our weights around so we'd get a better advantage against them, but it didn't work out so well," Leibforth said.

"The big matchup (advantage) were were trying to get was moving Connor (Nagel) up to 215, but that didn't work out at all," St. Clair said. "That was a big swing for them, getting six points out of (189 and 215)."

Lemont (13-11) did get decisions from Cody Kamberos (160), Angel Cabral (285) and Glen Malecki (112), along with a pin from Derek Nagel (152). Jake Kaminsky (119) took a forfeit.

"I told them we got a taste," St. Clair said. "Unfortunately it doesn't feel good when you lose. But it was fun to be in this atmosphere."

Oak Forest coach Bucky Randolph felt the same way, even though the Bengals (11-8) won just four matches: decisions by Tom Higgins (160), Colby Stopyak (103, Ryan Burton (130) and Lenny Kuspa (152).

"They're a good program and we're young," Randolph said. "In a couple of matches we were just overpowered. ... There's not a whole lot you can tell your guys, just go fight hard.

"We gave up too many pins, but you know, it wasn't because of a lack of effort."