The Lake Forest wrestling team knows it is not an elite program. But the Scouts also knew they were better than how they performed Friday.
On the first day of the North Suburban Conference tournament at Warren, Lake Forest had wrestlers competing in nine of 14 weight classes. The Scouts finished 9-9 in 18 total matches. But in only four weight classes — 126, 145, 170 and 285 pounds — did Lake Forest win a championship-bracket match.
“Friday was a rude awakening and reminder how tough this conference is,” coach Matt Fiordirosa said. “There are some [good] kids here.”
In most matches, Lake Forest wrestlers lost to superior opponents. That’s not what pained Fiordirosa on Friday night.
“I was upset because we didn’t perform the way I thought we were capable of because we were hesitant. That’s why I was frustrated,” he said. “We didn’t look like we were fighting as we were in the past.”
On Saturday, the fight Fiordirosa said was missing in the tournament’s opening rounds returned as Lake Forest rebounded in the consolation bracket.
More Top Picks Best Catadioptric Telescopes
Junior Gage Griffin earned a medal with a sixth-place finish at 120 pounds. Junior John Frauenheim did the same at 170, as did 285-pound senior Jonathan Bang. Junior Devin Reich won his fifth-place match against Lake Zurich junior John Strojny by a 4-2 decision. Sophomore Cory Barth, wrestling in the fifth-place match at 195, pinned Grant senior Anthony Mostachio in the second period.
The victories did not change the Scouts’ conference tournament trajectory. But they did show a collective combativeness the team will try to carry over to the February state series.
“It was important to show that we can come back and be all-conference, and show that we can have a good chance of going to sectionals and state,” Barth said.
No wrestler performed more admirably than 145-pounder Corey Knudsen. The senior came into the tournament as the Scouts’ most consistent performer, with a 25-3 record. After winning his preliminary bout, he faced a tough first-round match against Lake Zurich senior Max Brummel.
In Lake Forest’s first dual meet of the season, against Lake Zurich on Nov. 26, Knudsen lost to Brummel. Not this time, as Knudsen won a tough 4-3 decision. After a 10-5 loss to eventual conference champion Patrick Schoenfelder in the semis, Knudsen won two matches in the wrestlebacks. The last was a 9-0 major decision in the third-place match against Brummel.
“I lost to [Brummel] in the first match of the season and I wanted to go out and beat him,” Knudsen said. “We came out flat [Friday], but [Saturday] we had a better mindset. To come out and compete with all of the top schools, it’s a big test before the state series.”
Lake Forest’s 12th-place finish out of 13 teams may have been poor, but the Scouts’ six individual place-winners tied Zion-Benton for sixth-best among all schools. That result had Fiordirosa optimistic about the Class 3A Stevenson Regional on Saturday — and beyond.
“Do you want to go home or keep fighting? That kind of sunk in [Saturday]. They came out and attacked,” Fiordirosa said. “We have to get through regionals. Once we get to sectionals, anything can happen.”
Jon Kerr is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.