Huntley junior Zach Spencer had one more comeback to make.
Spencer’s weary team couldn’t do the same.
Huntley’s season of wrestling firsts ended in the Class 3A Rockford East Team Sectional Tuesday when Wheeling put together four pins and two technical falls to come away with a 40-27 victory.
“We had a long season, a lot of matches,” Spencer said. “Our team fought hard. Sure, a couple matches didn’t go our way today.
“As a team we’ve gotten further than we’ve ever gotten. So we can’t say it’s a bad ending at all.”
The 126-pound Spencer built a reputation for comebacks during a state run that ended Saturday after two wins and two losses in Champaign. Spencer’s greatest comeback might have been in Tuesday’s dual meet against Wheeling’s Mason Skloot.
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Spencer was on his back once and trailed 9-2 in the second period. A reversal and takedown tightened it, and he still trailed 9-8 before scoring a pin in 5:02.
“I just wrestled my match,” Spencer said. “I knew eventually he would tire out and that I would be able to catch him in the end.
“I know sometimes I have to come up against adversity, and when it comes up I have to stay calm. That’s what I did.”
With the pin, Spencer’s teammates roared as momentum built in lighter weights.
Just before Spencer’s win, Huntley senior Josh Stenger (120) scored a 14-3 major decision over Brian Madrigal.
Huntley’s Joey Armijo (132) scored a takedown with three seconds left in overtime to win 6-4 over Andy Madrigal. Then Luke Loprieno (138) hung on for a 4-2 decision over Wheeling’s JP Smith.
“I felt in control,” Loprieno said. “He was pretty tough, but my endurance is really good. I just wanted to do what I needed to help the team.”
Huntley’s other points came by pin from Christian Benitez (285) and technical fall from Justin Allen (195).
An unexpected turning point came with Huntley trailing 23-22.
Huntley freshman David Ferrante (152) captured fourth in Class 3A on Saturday, but Wheeling’s lanky Tristin Guaman wrestled up a class and beat him 8-0.
“We had two guys wrestling at state just three days ago — David and Zach,” Huntley coach BJ Bertelsen said. “It’s crazy, going back to back. It’s tough. And especially it was rough because we had five guys make state.
“(Wheeling) had two guys make state and kept everyone else home practicing, while we had kids go downstate to watch. You live and learn. But give Wheeling credit. They wrestled tough.”
The Red Raiders also suffered a blow when Spencer’s brother, Sammy (106), couldn’t wrestle due to a concussion suffered at state.
Huntley’s first regional and conference titles, and school-record total of state qualifiers convinced Wisconsin-La Crosse recruit Stenger he’d been in on the start of something special.
“We may have fallen short, but they’re going to come back next year and be even tougher than this year,” Stenger said.
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