One undefeated record moved forward. Another was put to bed.
Sandburg’s Rudy Yates drew first blood against Thornwood’s Kris Williams in their highly anticipated 126-pound match Saturday at the Class 3A Stagg Regional.
Yates (33-0) largely controlled the action and appeared the aggressor in taking a 3-1 decision over the three-time state champion Williams (33-1).
“I’ve been looking forward to this match all week,” Yates said. “I was really mad when I couldn’t wrestle him at conference (due to an illness). I knew if I pushed the pace I’d be OK.”
Yates, a state champ in 2013, understands it’s just the first step in a long journey. Both wrestlers are considered two of Illinois’ best and could meet in the sectional and state finals in the following weeks.
“I’ll for sure wrestle him again,” Yates said. “Definitely at least one more time, but hopefully two more in the state finals.”
But Williams has a way of turning things around, which wasn’t lost on Sandburg coach Eric Siebert, who pointed out the Nebraska recruit only has one regional title to his name despite three state championships.
“I can definitely learn from this: I have to open up and put on the pressure,” Williams said. “I was stalling a little bit. I wasn’t trying to force anything and it ended up hurting me. He definitely controlled the match.”
Sandburg made hay all afternoon, topping Marist in the team standings 264.5-218 behind a whopping nine champions.
Louie Hayes (106), Robbie Precin (113), Colin Glascott (132) and Christian Robertson (138) joined Yates atop the podium for Sandburg’s strong group of lightweights.
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Hayes was barely on the mat. He secured two-first period pins after an opening-round bye.
“At this point of the season, it’s not about going out there and scoring a lot of points,” Hayes said. “It’s about getting the job done right away and getting off the mat as quick as possible. I want to send a message that I mean business.”
Other champions for Sandburg included Tom Slattery (160), Brian Krasowksi (170), Patrick Brucki (182) and Cole Bateman (182).
In arguably the second most high-profile match of the tournament, Brucki topped Marist’s Alex Benoit, a three-time state-placer, with a 5-3 decision in which Brucki landed two takedowns.
However, Marist wasn’t left out in the cold. The RedHawks secured titles from Nick Lukanich (120), Nick Gasbarro (145), David Kasper (152), Diata Drayton (220) and heavyweight Jake Ford.
Drayton was dynamic in his 9-1 title victory over Sandburg’s Matt Frostman. The sophomore looks to be rounding into top form, and could be one of the bigger surprises heading into the state tournament.
“I wanted to get back at (Frostman) because he beat me 4-3 earlier in the year,” said Drayton, who landed a couple of athletic throws. “The last throw — because I wanted to get back at him — meant more to me.”
Stagg finished third in the standings with 97.5 points behind a strong runner-up showing from Noah Price (113). Shepard was fourth and T.F. South fifth in the nine-team meet.
Logan Malloy is a freelance writer.