A few minutes removed from claiming a sectional championship, Huntley’s David Ferrante experienced a feeling several other Elgin area wrestlers also had in Saturday’s Class 3A Barrington Sectional.
“It’s definitely surreal,” Ferrante said. “You know you’ve accomplished something and you want to keep striving for the higher goal, which is placing at state.”
Surreal, perhaps, but Ferrante was unreal.
A freshman, Ferrante won 4-1 in double overtime at 152 pounds against Barrington’s Jake Cysewski as Huntley had a school-record five state qualifiers.
“It’s been a season of firsts for us,” Ferrante said. “First conference title, first regional, and now most guys ever sent down to state. It’s just really cool to be a part of all that.”
Ferrante (26-2) will be joined in Champaign by teammates Zach Spencer (126), Sammy Spencer (106), Josh Stenger (120) and Juan Quiroz (160). Jacobs’ Jake Harrier (113) and Beau Harrier (120) also advanced, along with Dundee-Crown’s Chase Raap (182).
“I was trying to stay in good position throughout the match,” Ferrante said. “I knew he was long and was going to try to tie me up. So I played to my strength with heavy hands.”
Ferrante has adjusted his tactics this season.
“I couldn’t use some of the JV type of moves that work in middle school, like shooting from far away,” Ferrante said. “It was an adjustment.”
The Spencer brothers took thirds, while Beau Harrier and Quiroz placed fourth. Stenger (38-7), Jake Harrier (36-7) and Raap (40-8) lost in championship matches.
Jake Harrier, like Ferrante a freshman, lost 8-3 in the final to Stevenson’s Tommy Frezza.
Stenger lost for the second straight week to DeKalb freshman Fabian Lopez in finals, but it was closer than at regional. Down 5-1, Stenger rallied before falling 8-7.
“I’m a little disappointed in how it ended up, coming off of two sectional titles,” Stenger said. “I was really looking forward to getting a third.
“I think where the match went wrong was I didn’t really capitalize on positions where I feel like I normally dominate.”
Raap was bidding to upset Highland Park’s DJ Penick (35-0) when they went into a roll that ended with Penick in control for a pin in 3:01.
“I wasn’t expecting that last roll at the end,” Raap said. “I’ll be ready for it if I see it again next week. I’ll work on it.
“State is what I’ve been shooting for since last year when I won my first match here, and then lost the next two.”
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Real sectional drama occurs in wrestleback semifinals for state berths. Beau Harrier experienced anxious moments before rallying past Libertyville’s Drew Onufer 5-2.
“I spun around and came around the back,” Harrier said. “They wouldn’t give it to me for a while, so I ended up trying to hook the leg before they finally gave it to me.”
Zach Spencer experienced similar anxious moments.
Spencer’s takedown in the final 25 seconds earned an 8-7 win in wrestleback semifinals over Warren’s J.T. Vandervere. Joining his freshman brother at state made it more emotional.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Spencer said. “But making state the last two years means really nothing compared to this one because I got to see my little brother make it.
“I got tears in my eyes watching him make it.”
Class 3A: South Elgin’s Bobby Tornabene (113) finished fourth at the Class 3A Conant Sectional to qualify for state. St. Charles East’s Joe Ruffino (106), who fell 6-2 to Oak Park-River Forest’s Nico Bolivar in finals, made state with teammates Ben Anderson (113), Justin Benjamin (120) and Cody Glidewell (182). St. Charles North’s Kolbe O’Brien (132) also advanced.
Class 2A: At Sterling, Burlington Central had second-place finishes from Austin Macias (126), Nick Termini (132) and Erik Hansen (195). Hampshire’s Max McGowan (160) took third and Pawel Barnas (285) placed fourth to advance as well.
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