What a difference a year makes for the Highland Park wrestling team.
At the Class 3A Stevenson Regional on Saturday, the Giants sent five wrestlers to the sectional round. That was in stark contrast to a year ago, when Highland Park got one wrestler to sectionals.
“I was optimistic we’d have five guys [competing for a top-three finish], and we had seven,” coach Chris Riley said. “We exceeded my expectations.”
Highland Park broke through with a balanced roster featuring an influx of young talent conjoined with tactically savvy veterans.
“Everything fell into place,” Riley said.
It was in the lower weights where Highland Park began accumulating enough points to finish in fourth place (behind third-place Libertyville, runner-up Stevenson and champion Deerfield). For freshman Alex Rosenbloom, his rise to 126-pound champion began several weeks ago.
In the semifinals of the Leyden Invitational on Jan. 10, Rosenbloom lost to Conant junior Kyle Peisker in a gritty 3-1 decision. Rosenbloom gained a valuable lesson moving forward.
“I saw where I was with one of the top guys in the state,” Rosenbloom said of his performance against Peisker, currently ranked No. 4 at 126 pounds by illinoismatmen.com. “It showed that I could fight. Something clicked. I started peaking.”
A runner-up finish at the Central Suburban League meet Jan. 24 further boosted his confidence. In the regional final, Rosenbloom outlasted Libertyville senior Dan Schilling to take a 5-2 decision.
Right after Rosenbloom’s match, junior Andrew Cohen took the mat in the 132-pound championship. Cohen said he was well aware of Rosenbloom’s accomplishment.
“When a teammate wins, we like to feed off of that. It set the pace. It motivated me,” Cohen said.
Having already clinched a sectional spot with his top-three standing, Cohen wrestled aggressively, going for shots. He had no trouble dispatching his opponent, winning an 8-0 major decision.
Three matches later, at 152 pounds, sophomore DJ Penick pulled an astonishing feat by winning the Giants’ third individual championship.
Wrestling Mundelein senior Brae Cruz, Penick trailed 13-8 late in the third period. From a few feet away, Riley watched and barked out words of encouragement.
“The beautiful thing in my eyes is he never stopped trying to wrestle. Never stopped trying to win,” Riley said.
With 30 seconds left, Penick was awarded a one-point escape. He then drove Cruz to the mat, earning two more points. When he came an eyelash away from pinning Cruz, Penick was given three more points. Those six points were enough to overtake Cruz. He rode out the final seconds for a dramatic 14-13 decision.
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Two other Highland Park wrestlers clinched sectional spots by winning their third-place matches — junior Spencer Jacobsen (160) and senior John Ciancio (170).
A year removed from sending one wrestler (Dom Ciancio) to the Class 3A Barrington Sectional, the Giants will have five at Barrington on Saturday.
“There’s a much different feel this year,” Riley said. “I’m happy the kids are responding. I think we wrestled about as well as we can.”
Jon Kerr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.