Sweet Six For JCA Wrestling

Shorewood native Wes Whalen placed third as the Joliet Catholic Academy wrestling team advanced six individuals to sectionals.

On paper, even Joliet Catholic Academy junior Wes Whalen admitted that he was not close to being the favorite wrestler to win the 138-pound bracket of the 1A Sandwich Regional. Regardless, Whalen walked onto the mat for his first postseason bout with a renewed attitude. Records, schmecords. “I’ve faced some of the best competition in the state,” said Whalen, whose father Frank is a football and wrestling coach at Glenbrook North. “I knew some people would look at my record and think I wasn’t anything special, but I came in with a bunch of confidence and knew I had to get the job done.” Confidence carried the JCA wrestling team at the Sandwich Regional, with six individuals advancing to next Saturday’s Plano Sectional. A Shorewood native, …

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JCA Rides Big Mac Attack

Anthony McInerney and Nick Collofello each placed second for the Joliet Catholic Academy wrestling team at the ESCC Championships.

Losing can be a traumatic experience. Several minutes after walking off the mat Friday night, Joliet Catholic Academy’s Anthony McInerney demonstrated the proper perspective. The sophomore 195-pounder lost a tough title match, 19-4 by technical fall in 5:25, to Marist’s Josh Pruitt at the East Suburban Catholic Conference Wrestling Championships. And as McInerney stepped onto the medal stand, the encased second-place silver reward in his right hand, he wasn’t very happy. But he wasn’t vanquished, either. “He’s ranked in the state for Class 3A and he has a lot more experience than I have,” McInerney said of Pruitt, slotted 10th in 3A by Illinois Matmen. “We’ve been going up against state-ranked guys from 2A and 3A schools the past couple of…

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Collofello Comeback Kid For JCA

Senior 180-pounder Nick Collofello was named MVP of the Lisle Tournament as the Joliet Catholic Academy wrestlers placed third.

Twists and turns are a natural part of a wrestler’s season. Senior Nick Collofello showed he is ready to use some unusual twists and turns to his, and Joliet Catholic Academy’s, benefit. A returning Class 2A state qualifier, Collofello was named MVP of the Lisle Tournament after winning the championship at 182 pounds, featuring a highlight-reel pin in the final 10 seconds of the title match. He’s back. Again. “Nick got ready with a couple of days of practice and took the tournament,” JCA coach Cory McLaughlin said of Collofello, a third-time champion at the Lisle event. “All of the coaches named him MVP, too.” Opposing coaches understand the threat posed by Collofello, who originally planned on walking away from the mat after helping the …

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JCA Wrestlers Have Frank Attitude

Joliet Catholic Academy earned a split in the East Suburban Catholic Conference wrestling triangular as Frank Bruno notched his first varsity win.

As his teammates rolled up the wrestling mats Friday night, Joliet Catholic Academy junior Frank Bruno did the type of math that went far beyond a win by pin in one minute and two seconds. It’s the journey. “I worked three years,” a beaming Bruno said, “for one match.” That one match became the highlight in an East Suburban Catholic Conference split for JCA, which hosted the triangular. The Hilltoppers edged Marian Catholic 42-39 and lost to Notre Dame 68-9. A big pin by junior Cody Beck (Romeoville) at 220 pounds provided the key swing of points to propel JCA (2-3, 1-1) past Marian. Freshman Cameron Haney (Plainfield) at 113, junior Matt Madrigal (Joliet) at 182 and sophomore Anthony McInerney (Bolingbrook) at 195 posted wins as well …

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What Joe Hosey Thinks

Stars Pointing to Astrology

Let's hope Mike Smith wins us some money.

What Joe Hosey thinks is the No. 1 horse is going to come in for him. I also think the 1, Astrology, will finish first or second with either Dance City or Mucho Macho Man taking the other half of the exacta. I say this with the full realization that what I think about horse races is often wrong. But those are the picks for today's Preakness. That said, I still wouldn't mind seeing Animal Kingdom win and keep the possibility of a Triple Crown alive. I don't believe he has it in him to win twice in a row on dirt against this kind of competition, and even if he does he'll probably pay less than 2-1, so we're going to stay away from the Derby winner. Speaking of bad payouts, don't be surprised if Mucho Macho Man's 6-1 morning line drops due to…

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Minooka Honors Wrestling Team's Season

Students, faculty recognize Indians' second-place finish in 3A Dual Team State Wrestling Championships.

It looks like Minooka needs to do some renovating. The Indians must add some wall space to fit another banner, this one  celebrating their second-place finish in the 2011 IHSA 3A Dual Team State Wrestling Championships. Glenbard North beat the Indians, 31-24, Saturday at Bloomington’s U.S. Cellular Coliseum. Students and faculty, including Supt. David Middleton, greeted the wrestlers in warm fashion during a pep rally Monday morning at Minooka High School.  “This is turning into a great program here,” Minooka coach Bernie Ruettiger said. “We’re one of the few schools to make it downstate three years in a row now. It’s becoming a nice little tradition.” It should continue next season as well. The Indians could return as many as 11 starters …

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Wrestling: Experienced Minooka Looking to Repeat

Defending Class 3A state champion Indians could reach third straight state title match.

DARIEN–If experience counts for anything, the Minooka wrestling team has a distinct advantage heading into its Class 3A quarterfinal matchup against West Aurora. The Indians are making their sixth trip to the state tournament over the last eight seasons, taking second in 2009 before winning it all a year ago. West Aurora is making its state-tourney debut. The Indians (24-3) and Blackhawks (22-3) will square off at 9 a.m. Saturday in U.S. Cellular Coliseum for the right to advance to the state semifinals. The winner will face No. 7 Machesney Park Harlem or Lane Tech in a 2 p.m. semifinal. The third-place and state final duals will start at 6 p.m. The other quarterfinal matchups are No. 5 Barrington vs. No. 1 Sandburg and No. 4 Lyons …

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Wrestling: Defending State Champ Minooka Denies Marist

Indians use fast start to notch 27-24 victory over RedHawks, advance to Class 3A quarterfinals on Saturday.

DARIEN–Minooka’s Bobby Zabel won and a host of Indians followed suit. Minooka won six straight matches to start the night on its way to a berth in the Class 3A state wrestling tournament for the sixth time in the last eight years after beating Marist 27-24 in the Granite City Sectional, which was contested at Hinsdale South High School Tuesday. Minooka (24-3) built a 21-0 lead and did not allow Marist (23-6) a chance to recover. Minooka will take on West Aurora at 9 a.m. Saturday in U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington. The defending state champion Indians, who beat Marist 31-27 earlier this year, won nine of 13 contested matches and allowed just three bonus points in their four setbacks. “That’s big,” Minooka coach Bernie Ruettiger said…

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Wrestling: Minooka, Plainfield Central Flex Muscles

Indians, Wildcats combine to win 9-of-14 individual titles at Class 3A Moline Regional.

Orange and black. Green and white. Those were the dominant colors at the Class 3A Moline Sectional. And they belonged to the two dominant wrestling teams—Minooka and Plainfield Central. The Southwest Prairie Conference rivals traveled more than 125 miles on Saturday to stage what turned out to be a dual meet. Minooka crowned six individual champions and won the team title with 219.5 points. Plainfield Central had three individual champs and placed second with 165.5 points. The Indians move on to face Chicago Marist on Tuesday, Feb. 22, in dual-team sectional competition. Corbet Oughton (112 pounds), Bobby Zabel (130), Blake Montella (135), Leo Ruettiger (140), Jake Residori (152) and Kalvin Hill (160) won titles for Minooka. Oughton, a …

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Sandburg Wrestlers Dominate at SWSC Meet

Eagles win three titles, capture unofficial SouthWest Suburban Conference crown; Bolingbrook's Jordan Laster wins a title.

Although Saturday's SouthWest Suburban Conference wrestling tournament was technically not scored, few could argue about who was the “unofficial” champion. Blue Division champ Carl Sandburg beat Red Division winner Lincoln-Way West 270.5-177 in the two-day, 16-team meet that ended Saturday in New Lenox. The Eagles accomplished that by placing 12 individuals among the top four at their weights, while two others received medals for finishes in the top eight. Winning championships for Sandburg were Nick Fishback (145) and brothers Brandon Lopez (171) and Chris Lopez (285), with the latter repeating as a champion. Fishback beat Lincoln-Way East's Wally Piech 8-4, Brandon Lopez pinned Thornton's Dominic Bryant in 3:44 and Chris Lopez won 6-1 …

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