LT Sports Roundup: Wrestlers Take Second; Swimmers, Gymnasts Prepare for Silver Meets [VIDEO]

The Lyons Township wrestling team gave a great effort Friday against higher-ranked rival Hinsdale Central.

The Lions did even better Saturday.

LT didn’t have any individual champions but put 12 of its 14 wrestlers among the top six in their respective weight classes to earn second place at the 10-team Oak Park-River Forest Invitational Saturday.

Adam Rodgers (285 pounds) and Jack Bates (145) both finished second. Carter Beebe (120), A.J. Villarreal (132), Jaime Jones (182) and Justin Fuller (195) were third.

“One of the things we were talking about was building off our performance (Friday and not) kind of have a high and then take a step back. I was very pleased with the way we performed on Saturday,” LT coach Griff Powell said.

The Lions share No. 25 in the Jan. 18 Class 3A team rankings by IllinoisMatmen.com. On Saturday, their 185 points were a distant second to the host and No. 1-ranked Huskies (259.5 points), who won five weight classes, but just ahead of Oswego (183) and No. 7 Minooka (176.5). Taking fifth and sixth were perennial out-of-state powers Arrowhead from Wisconsin (170) and Fort Zumwalt West from Missouri (141.5).

On Friday, the Lions nearly beat No. 10 rival Hinsdale Central but lost 30-29 in West Suburban Conference Silver Division dual action in La Grange.

“(Oak Park) is arguably the toughest little tournament in the state of Illinois,” Powell said. “For us to place 12 of our 14 guys and to get second, beating Minooka and those other teams, was just a great performance for our guys – and actually without a champion. That’s very difficult to do. We won a ton of close matches.”

Rodgers (19-7 record) and Bates (21-4) both were defeated by ranked opponents in the finals Saturday. Rodgers lost to Oswego senior and No. 10-ranked Luis Flores 6-2, and Bates lost to Minooka junior and No. 7-ranked Corbett Oughton by technical fall just at the very end of the bout.

Beebe (24-12) beat Minooka’s Dan Ruettiger 7-2 for third place after losing 11-1 in the semifinals to the eventual champion, No. 4-ranked OPRF freshman Larry Early, who won his other two matches by pin.

In their third-place victories, No. 7-ranked Jones (21-7) pinned Hersey’s Nate Fakhouri in 1:41, Villarreal (29-8) pinned Oswego’s Nick Aguirre in 4:34 and Fuller edged Hersey’s Deon Rice 5-4.

Taking fourth were LT’s Brian Krueger (113), Jack Pearson (160) and Juan Montes (220). Chris Letsinger (106) and Eric Rende (170) were fifth and Noah Avery (152) was sixth.

Against Hinsdale Central, the Lions (9-10, 1-4 in Silver) nearly surprised the Red Devils as consecutive pins by Beebe (120), Russell Meyers (126) and Villarreal (132) gave them a 25-20 lead. Meyers, a sophomore, was making his varsity debut.

“He’s losing 5-0 right at the beginning of the match and he came all the way back and pinned the kid,” Powell said.

After the teams split major decisions with Bates (145) winning 11-2, the Red Devils won the last two matches. In the finale at 160, LT’s Jack Pearson was edged 1-0 on a third-period escape by Tim Glavin.

Pearson was on the verge of a match-winning takedown when time expired. LT lost three decisions by a combined six points.

“Just both sides (performed great). I thought Hinsdale wrestled well. I thought we wrestled well and it was what high-school athletics is all about,” Powell said.

“I like the way our guys competed. Even though we lost, at least we were focusing on the things that we’ve been talking about. It’s nice to see the majority of our guys executing.”

LT had the only three pins of the dual. Besides Bates, Jones also won by major decision (13-4 at 182), and Fuller won 5-3 at 195. The Red Devils had two technical falls, the major decisions and four decisions.

LT boys swimming and diving

Lyons Township boys swimming coach Scott Walker took advantage of the additional entries allowed for Saturday’s Downers Grove North Invitational.

He received even more help that he didn’t expect.

The Lions enjoyed success in the invite format that actually had two levels.  The varsity (158 points) took third to Naperville Central (287) and Metea Valley (273), and the LT frosh-soph team (282) was second to Naperville Central (282).

“I was really impressed with (our) parent support in the stands. It was nice to hear them in the stands when the kids were being recognized (during awards) and everybody would cheer,” Walker said.  

“You very rarely get that anymore. We haven’t had that in a good couple of years. I’m hoping maybe that’s the start of having a ‘third’ entry in a two-entry meet, kind of like when they play at Seattle in football and they have the ‘12th man.’ ”

Both levels allowed two entries per individual event, similar to a sectional format, and Walker took full advantage. He kept many of his younger varsity regulars on the frosh-soph level, where sophomores Brendan Weibel and David “Texas” Freund contributing to a combined five victories individually or with relays.

The Lions’ highest varsity finishes were fourth places from Danny McGuinness in the 50-yard freestyle (23.41) and 100 free (51.59) and the 200 free relay of Peter Dore, Rob Williams, Joe Shannon and McGuinness (1:36.61).

Weibel won the 200 individual medley (2:09.01) and 500 free (5:09.07), Freund won the 100 free (53.60) and the 400 free relay of freshmen Ben Hewett and Lucas O’Bryan, Weibel and Freund prevailed in 3:39.38.

Both lineups managed to excel even though they competed Friday night, when many other high-school sporting events were cancelled because of the snowstorm.

The Lions made a lengthy bus ride to Oak Park-River Forest’s Senior Night. The varsity lost 99.5-86.5 but junior varsity won 99-86 and the frosh-soph won 122-60. Individual winners for the varsity were Shannon (100 backstroke in 1:04.92), Weibel (200 IM in 2:10.22) and McGuinness (50 free in 23.22).

“That (ride to OPRF) was brutal. It was easier getting back,” Walker said. “They all swam pretty well (Saturday) considering what we went through the night before. I kind of wanted to make it interesting and let the frosh-soph kids swim straight up against the varsity upperclassmen (under the same conditions).”

The Lions continued their momentum Tuesday with a 106-76 varsity victory over Downers Grove North in Western Springs to improve to 3-2 in West Suburban Conference Silver Division duals. The junior varsity won 146-23 and the frosh-soph won 127-49.

Shannon was part of three varsity victories, winning the 200 free (1:56.26) and 100 breast stroke (1:05.85) and joining Freund, Dore and Adam Kline on the winning 200 free relay (1:36.04). Other winners were Chris Withington (100 backstroke in 1:01.74), Weibel (200 IM in 2:09.47), Hewett (500 free in 5:09.29) and diver Craig Pace (177.95 points).

LT’s last Silver dual is Senior Night Friday against Glenbard West followed by the five-team LT Invitational Saturday with Hinsdale South, Marmion, Oak Park-River Forest and York. Diving starts at 8 a.m. and swimming events begin at 11 a.m.
The Silver Meet is Feb. 4 at Downers Grove North.

“There’s no question that we’re getting better as we’re going along. The problem is the season goes by so fast that all of a sudden we’re making all of this progress and boom, now I am starting all of the kids on tapering,” Walker said.
“We’re just going to have to learn from this and hope that the younger ones learn from it and they’ll be (better) prepared for next season.”

Downers Grove North Invitational
Varsity top five teams: 1. Naperville Central 287, 2. Metea Valley 273, 3. Lyons Township 158, 4. Prospect 153, 5. Downers Grove North 150
LT varsity results
200-yard medley relay: 7. Chris Withington, Joe Shannon, Pete Perez-Tamayo, Rob Williams 1:50.50
200 free: 6. Shannon 1:56.41, 9. Mike Krol 2:00.39
200 IM: 8. Perez-Tamayo 2:18.64, 9. Sean McMahon 2:20.70
50 free: 4. Danny McGuinness 23.41, 10. Peter Dore 24.12
Diving: 7. Craig Pace 230.60 points, 8. Jimmy Woulfe 197.60
100 butterfly: 10. Steve Carlson 1:03.66
100 free: 4. McGuinness 51.59, 13. Dore 55.01
500 free: 5. Josh Hirt 5:16.98, 7. Krol 5:23.49
200 free relay: 4. Dore, Williams, Shannon, McGuinness 1:36.61
100 backstroke: 7. Ed Berzanskis 1:03.31, 10. Withington 1:04.51
100 breaststroke: 6. Shannon 1:04.69, 11. Andrew Balch 1:10.16
400 free relay: 6. Dore, Hirt, Williams, McGuinness 3:39.30
Frosh-soph top three teams: 1. Naperville Central 299, 2. Lyons Township 282, 3. Benet 194
LT frosh-soph top-three finishers
200 medley relay: 3. Jack Garrow, Erik Grosskopf, Adam Kline, Peter Newman 1:54.27
200 free: 2. Ben Hewett 1:57.29, 3. David Freund 1:58.08
200 IM: 1. Brendan Weibel 2:09.01, 3. Lucas O’Bryan 2:11.89
Diving: 3. Matt Benz 119.25 points
100 free: 1. Freund 53.60
500 free: 1. Weibel 5:09.07, 2. Hewett 5:09.36
200 free relay: 2. Hewett, Kline, Weibel, Freund 1:38.25
100 back: 3. Ed McCarter 1:03.81
400 free relay: 1. Hewett, O’Bryan, Weibel, Freund 3:39.38

LT varsity 126, Downers Grove North 76
LT top-two finishers
200 medley relay: 2. Chris Withington, Joe Shannon, Adam Kline, Peter Dore 1:48.35
200 free: 1. Shannon 1:56.26, 2. Hewett 1:56.62
200 IM: 1. Brendan Weibel 2:09.47, 2. Josh Hirt 2:09.79
50 free: 2. Dore 23.88
Diving: 1. Craig Pace 177.95, 2. Matt Benz 147.20
500 free: 1. Hewett 5:09.29, 2. Hirt 5:10.30
200 free relay: 1. David Freund, Dore, Shannon, Kline 1:36.04
100 back: 1. Withington 1:01.74, 2. Ed Berzanskis 1:03.00
100 breast: 1. Shannon 1:05.85
400 free relay: 2. Freund, Weibel, Hewett, Lucas O’Bryan 3:41.38
LT junior varsity 146, Downers Grove North 21
LT event winners
200 medley relay: Ben Wilson, Danny Mohler, Pete Perez-Tamayo, Rob Williams 1:56.62
200 free: Sebastian Hoak 2:07.42
200 IM: Mike Krol 2:16.56
50 free: Pete Perez-Tamayo 25.39
Diving: Cipri Olteon 110.40
100 fly: Kevin Roggensack 1:08.23
100 free: Williams 57.23
500 free: Perez-Tamayo 5:44.49
200 free relay: Krol, Brad Linden, Wilson, Roggensack 1:42.17
100 back: Danny Mohler 1:11.09
100 breast: Nate Henderson 1:21.76
400 free relay: Roggensack, Krol, Hoak, Williams 3:53.67
LT frosh-soph 127, Downers Grove North 49
LT event winners
200 medley relay: Ed McCarter, Erik Grosskopf, Nathan Kriha, Nick Bonneville 1:54.83
200 free: Matt Baldassarre 2:05.65
200 IM: Peter Newman 2:23.60
50 free: John Gallucci 26.67
Diving: Andrew Lipchik 106.10
100 fly: Kriha 1:01.05
100 free: George Duffy 56.28
500 free: Jack Patel 5:45.22
200 free relay: McCarter, Baldassarre, Kriha, Newman 1:42.66
100 back: McCarter 1:03.19
100 breast: Grosskopf 1:12.09
400 free relay: 1. Baldassarre, Bonneville, Thomas Waters, Newman 3:51.06

Oak Park-River Forest 99.5, LT varsity 86.5
LT top-two finishers
200 medley relay: 2. Jack Garrow, Joe Shannon, Lucas O’Bryan, Peter Dore 1:48.47
200 free: 2. Shannon 1:55.78
200 IM: 1. Brendan Weibel 2:10.22, 2. O’Bryan 2:16.22
50 free: 1. Danny McGuinness 23.22
Diving: 2. Jimmy Woulfe 171.80 points
100 free: 2. McGuinness 51.35
500 free: 2. Weibel 5:09.18
200 free relay: 2. Shannon, Dore, XX Freund, McGuinness 1:37.05
100 backstroke: 1. Shannon 1:04.92
400 free relay: 2. Freund, Weibel, Hewett, McGuinness 3:35.37
LT junior varsity 99, Oak Park-River Forest 86
LT event winners
200 free: Mike Krol 2:03.16
200 IM: Josh Hirt 2:13.11
50 free: Kevin Roggensack 25.89
100 fly: Hirt 1:01.55
100 free: Roggensack 56.03
500 free: Krol 5:33.44
100 backstroke: Ed Berzanskis 1:04.94
400 free relay: Hirt, Steve Carlson, Brad Linden, Berzanakis 3:48.93
LT frosh-soph 122, Oak Park-River Forest 60
LT event winners
200 medley relay: Nick Bonneville, John Balch, Nathan Kriha, Matt Baldassarre 1:59.02
200 free: Jack Linden 2:07.56
50 free: Peter Newman 25.22
Diving: Andrew Lipchik 112.50 points
100 free: Newman 55.97
500 free: Bonneville 5:33.39
200 free relay: Thomas Kaptur, Balch, Kriha, Newman 1:44.87
100 breaststroke: George Duffy 1:14.25
400 free relay: Bonneville, Duffy, Thomas Waters, Baldassarre 3:54.57

LT boys bowling

The Lyons Township boys bowling team’s hopes of its first appearance at the state meet fell a few pins shy Saturday.

Needing a top-team team finish at Saturday’s Hinsdale South Sectional, the Lions finished third at Willowbrook Lanes with 6,073 pins for five bowlers over six games.

Richards (6,322) won the team title comfortably while LT was just 61 pins behind second-place Oak Lawn (6,134). In 2011, the Lions finished fifth at the same sectional with 5,889 pins.

The top two scoring individuals not among the advancing teams also qualify for state, and once again the Lions came close.

LT sophomore Mike Kicmal (1,304) was sixth overall and the third individual candidate, 59 pins from the second individual qualifier.

LT senior Matt Rivera (1,253) was 11th overall and the sixth individual candidate, and sophomore Robert Kicmal (1,248) was 14th overall. Senior Ryan Suhajda (800) bowled four games, junior Marko Micovic (594) and senior Joe Delpino (540) three games and senior Kyle Gasteier (333) two.

In just their third year of existence and second as a varsity program, the Lions posted a 10-0 dual record and won their first team trophy as runners-up at the St. Charles East Invitational Dec. 17.

LT girls gymnastics

The Lyons Township girls gymnastics team will try to get at least a share of the overall West Suburban Conference Silver Division title at the Silver Meet at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Downers Grove North.

The overall title is 50-50 combination of regular-season dual and Silver Meet standings. The Lions, who were second in duals at 4-1, need to finish one place ahead of current first-place Glenbard West to earn an overall share.

On Jan. 17, the Lions won their final Silver dual 139.20 to 119.00 over Downers Grove North on Senior Night in La Grange.

Varsity gymnasts Kalen Iffert and Ali Stuck, the lone LT seniors in the program, were honored before the meet.

LT freshman Kelsy Kurfirst swept first place in all-around (37.20), vault (9.45), uneven parallel bars (9.4), floor exercise (9.35) and balance beam (9.0).

Iffert was second on floor (9.15) and Stuck was third on beam (8.3) and shared third on floor (8.6) with junior Maren Craig, who was second in all-around (35.20), vault (9.3), beam (8.9) and uneven bars (8.4). Freshman Kelly Ryser, limited to three events by a foot injury, was third on uneven bars (8.25).

On Saturday, LT will be trying to regain a conference title after their streak of four straight outright or shared crowns ended last season. The Lions finished third at the 2011 Silver Meet and third overall behind champion Glenbard West and Hinsdale Central.

The Lions lost this season’s dual at Glenbard West 140.30 to 140.25 Dec. 14 in Glen Ellyn but have since scored twice above 142 with a season-best 142.325 Jan. 14. The Hilltoppers have scored above 146 twice with a season-high 147.30 Jan. 4. Third-place Hinsdale Central’s season high is 139.95.

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