Feb. 22, 2007 High School Blog
Montini gets revenge, advances to first AA state meet
By Rob Sherrill, W.I.N. High School Editor
Only in Illinois would two of the nation’s top 10 teams meet not in the state tournament, not even in the sectional final, but in a sectional semifinal.
That’s what happened Feb. 20, in the Lombard Montini dual-team sectional, where the host Broncos, ranked No. 4 nationally by W.I.N., upended No. 9 Carol Stream Glenbard North High, 27-19, to advance to the final.
Montini, a four-time Class A dual state champion, then beat Elmhurst York High, 39-11, in the title match to advance to its first state meet as a Class AA school.
Last year, Glenbard North edged Montini, 26-23, in the sectional final, then lost in the state quarterfinals to eventual champion Orland Park Carl Sandburg High.
Carl Sandburg put itself in position to contend for the third consecutive title, outlasting New Lenox Providence High, 31-27, in another semifinal match involving nationally-ranked teams, then boat-racing West Aurora High, 45-18, in the title match. The championship match featured two-time state champion Conrad Polz’s 7-3 decision over Junior National runnerup Jonathan Drendel at 145.
The Class AA quarterfinal pairings Feb. 24 at Northern Illinois University: Montini (32-1) vs. Fox Lake Grant High (20-2); Edwardsville High (18-1) vs. No. 25 Chicago St. Rita High (17-2); No. 8 Carl Sandburg (25-2) vs. Chicago Mount Carmel High (19-6); and Minooka High (22-2\ vs. Rockton Hononegah High (26-4).
Key to Montini’s victory was four wrestlers dropping a weight from 160-275 to 152-215: Carl Foreside, four-time state champion Mike Benefiel, state qualifier Dan Grimes, state place-winner Ethan Winel and backup heavyweight David Lembas.
Colton Rasche (103) beat Jamie Warczynski 6-2 to give Montini a 3-0 lead before Ray Varella (112) and state champion Tony Ramos (119) picked up a decision and technical fall to give the Panthers (23-3) an 8-3 lead. Montini, which won eight matches in the dual, then won three in a row as Carson Beebe repeated his third-place state win over Jimmy Chase, 3-0, Andrew Saunders then won an 8-6 decision over 125-pound state placewinner Geno Capezio at 130 and Jered Hensley’s pin at 135 put the Broncos in front 15-8.
Victories by state place-winners Danny Monaco (140) and Vince Ramos (145) and 160-pound state champion Bryan O’Connor (152) gave Glenbard North its final lead at 17-14.
Back came Montini as Benefiel beat Eric Wahrman, 8-4, and Grimes and Winel added decisions to make it 24-16. Lembas lost 3-2 to Glenbard North’s Mike Eldridge, but state champion Garrett Goebel nipped Alex Hansen, 3-2, at heavyweight to clinch it.
Barrington shows class at dual sectional
On Chicago’s north shore, an unfortunate situation occurred in the Class AA regional at Mundelein High Feb. 3. Regional officials reported, to the Illinois High School Association and to the world, that Barrington High was the tournament winner, 137.5-130, over Libertyville High.
Why is that important? Because only the regional champion earns a berth in the dual-team state series.
Five days later, on Feb. 8, it was discovered that the team scores had been computed incorrectly and, by the slimmest of margins (one-half point), Libertyville was the actual winner by a score of 144-143.5 over Barrington, and therefore should have advanced to the dual state series.
However, an IHSA rule states that such an error must be identified and corrected within 30 minutes of the conclusion of the tournament; otherwise, the originally reported results stand.
The IHSA was consulted and ruled that Barrington would remain the regional champion and advance to the dual sectional.
The story might have ended there. At least, that’s what Libertyville coach Dale Eggert thought had happened.
But in a classy gesture, at the dual sectional Tuesday at Northbrook Glenbrook North High, Barrington’s captains presented the regional championship plaque to Eggert, who attended the meet as a spectator.
“It was a very classy move on their part,” Eggert told the Arlington Heights Daily Herald. “They didn’t have to give it to us. We were happy with second place. We thought we had a very good regional. Barrington seemed to do very well so I didn’t question it at the time.
“We thought very highly of the Barrington program, and this certainly adds to it. At the same time, I feel bad for them. It wasn’t their fault. But I think they’ll tell you they didn’t feel comfortable keeping it.”
“They beat us,” Barrington co-captain Jon Sesso told The Daily Herald. “It was the right thing to do. It’s too bad the way it worked out (for Libertyville) but we were happy to give the trophy to them.”
Footnote: Barrington lost 42-34 to Wheeling High in the sectional semifinal.
By Rob Sherrill, W.I.N. High School Editor
Only in Illinois would two of the nation’s top 10 teams meet not in the state tournament, not even in the sectional final, but in a sectional semifinal.
That’s what happened Feb. 20, in the Lombard Montini dual-team sectional, where the host Broncos, ranked No. 4 nationally by W.I.N., upended No. 9 Carol Stream Glenbard North High, 27-19, to advance to the final.
Montini, a four-time Class A dual state champion, then beat Elmhurst York High, 39-11, in the title match to advance to its first state meet as a Class AA school.
Last year, Glenbard North edged Montini, 26-23, in the sectional final, then lost in the state quarterfinals to eventual champion Orland Park Carl Sandburg High.
Carl Sandburg put itself in position to contend for the third consecutive title, outlasting New Lenox Providence High, 31-27, in another semifinal match involving nationally-ranked teams, then boat-racing West Aurora High, 45-18, in the title match. The championship match featured two-time state champion Conrad Polz’s 7-3 decision over Junior National runnerup Jonathan Drendel at 145.
The Class AA quarterfinal pairings Feb. 24 at Northern Illinois University: Montini (32-1) vs. Fox Lake Grant High (20-2); Edwardsville High (18-1) vs. No. 25 Chicago St. Rita High (17-2); No. 8 Carl Sandburg (25-2) vs. Chicago Mount Carmel High (19-6); and Minooka High (22-2\ vs. Rockton Hononegah High (26-4).
Key to Montini’s victory was four wrestlers dropping a weight from 160-275 to 152-215: Carl Foreside, four-time state champion Mike Benefiel, state qualifier Dan Grimes, state place-winner Ethan Winel and backup heavyweight David Lembas.
Colton Rasche (103) beat Jamie Warczynski 6-2 to give Montini a 3-0 lead before Ray Varella (112) and state champion Tony Ramos (119) picked up a decision and technical fall to give the Panthers (23-3) an 8-3 lead. Montini, which won eight matches in the dual, then won three in a row as Carson Beebe repeated his third-place state win over Jimmy Chase, 3-0, Andrew Saunders then won an 8-6 decision over 125-pound state placewinner Geno Capezio at 130 and Jered Hensley’s pin at 135 put the Broncos in front 15-8.
Victories by state place-winners Danny Monaco (140) and Vince Ramos (145) and 160-pound state champion Bryan O’Connor (152) gave Glenbard North its final lead at 17-14.
Back came Montini as Benefiel beat Eric Wahrman, 8-4, and Grimes and Winel added decisions to make it 24-16. Lembas lost 3-2 to Glenbard North’s Mike Eldridge, but state champion Garrett Goebel nipped Alex Hansen, 3-2, at heavyweight to clinch it.
Barrington shows class at dual sectional
On Chicago’s north shore, an unfortunate situation occurred in the Class AA regional at Mundelein High Feb. 3. Regional officials reported, to the Illinois High School Association and to the world, that Barrington High was the tournament winner, 137.5-130, over Libertyville High.
Why is that important? Because only the regional champion earns a berth in the dual-team state series.
Five days later, on Feb. 8, it was discovered that the team scores had been computed incorrectly and, by the slimmest of margins (one-half point), Libertyville was the actual winner by a score of 144-143.5 over Barrington, and therefore should have advanced to the dual state series.
However, an IHSA rule states that such an error must be identified and corrected within 30 minutes of the conclusion of the tournament; otherwise, the originally reported results stand.
The IHSA was consulted and ruled that Barrington would remain the regional champion and advance to the dual sectional.
The story might have ended there. At least, that’s what Libertyville coach Dale Eggert thought had happened.
But in a classy gesture, at the dual sectional Tuesday at Northbrook Glenbrook North High, Barrington’s captains presented the regional championship plaque to Eggert, who attended the meet as a spectator.
“It was a very classy move on their part,” Eggert told the Arlington Heights Daily Herald. “They didn’t have to give it to us. We were happy with second place. We thought we had a very good regional. Barrington seemed to do very well so I didn’t question it at the time.
“We thought very highly of the Barrington program, and this certainly adds to it. At the same time, I feel bad for them. It wasn’t their fault. But I think they’ll tell you they didn’t feel comfortable keeping it.”
“They beat us,” Barrington co-captain Jon Sesso told The Daily Herald. “It was the right thing to do. It’s too bad the way it worked out (for Libertyville) but we were happy to give the trophy to them.”
Footnote: Barrington lost 42-34 to Wheeling High in the sectional semifinal.