The Oak Park and River Forest High School boys wrestling team has been on a rebuild the past two seasons.
But the Huskies have promising young talent that can help bring the program back into state title contention in the near future, and it was on display Feb. 4 at the IHSA Class 3A OPRF Regional as a pair of freshmen won individual championships.
Freshman Zev Koransky improved his record to 33-7, rallying in the 113-pound final to defeat Lane Tech’s Alex Valentin 8-4. Koransky got an escape and then two takedowns in the third period to secure the victory.
“I had to keep wrestling,” Koransky said of his approach. “I kept moving, got a reversal, and finished the match on top.”
In perhaps the match of the day, OPRF freshman David Ogunsanya (26-7) staged a late rally against Sean Van Sleet of York to force an extra period. Then just 15 seconds into sudden death, he notched a takedown to earn a 9-7 win and the 126-pound championship.
“I trusted in my training and hard work,” said Ogunsanya, whose older brothers Joshua and Peter also wrestled for the Huskies. “My brothers have helped me as drill partners and guided me.”
OPRF coach Paul Collins couldn’t say enough about the efforts of Koransky and Ogunsanya.
“We knew Zev and David were going to be good and contribute this year,” he said. “But the idea that they were able to come in and have successful years is a credit to their ability and focus. Zev and David came in to work from day one, are very coachable, and are great kids and students.”
The Huskies finished second in the team standings with 185 points to York, which won the regional with 230.5 points. Still, Collins was pleased with the showing of OPRF, which advanced 11 wrestlers to the individual sectional.
“It was pretty good,” he said. “We had a decent shot [at the team title], but a couple of injuries didn’t help. But everyone who wrestled got at least one win.”
The Huskies’ other wrestlers advancing to the sectional are Tej Menon (106 pounds, 2nd), Joe Knackstedt (132, 2nd), Cooper Lacey (138, 2nd), Will Kelly (145, 3rd), Isaac Davies (152, 2nd), Vance Domenz (182, 2nd), C.J. Robinson (195, 2nd), Kole Sneed (220, 3rd) and Eric Harris (285, 2nd).
“Joe, C.J. and Eric are all sophomores,” Collins said. “It feels good to know we’re going to have some guys for a few more years. Today was a good tournament, and we feel good about our opportunities to get guys downstate.”
OPRF will compete in the Class 3A individual sectional at Conant Feb. 10-11.
Fenwick advances 9 to sectionals
The Fenwick High School wrestling team placed second at the IHSA Class 2A Ridgewood Regional on Feb. 4 with 186 points, 33.5 behind champion St. Patrick.
The Friars advanced nine wrestlers to the individual sectional, which takes place at Deerfield on Feb. 10-11.
Fenwick had six individual champions at Ridgewood. Finn McGee continued his strong season at 170 pounds, defeating Gio Hernandez of St. Patrick 3-0 for the title and improving his record to 32-3.
The Friars’ other titlists were Aidan Burns (18-7) at 152 pounds, Vincent Fioravanti (19-10) at 160, Jack Paris (15-6) at 182, Luke D’Alise (12-14) at 195 and Conor Stetz (18-8) at 220.
Max Kenny (3rd place, 132 pounds), Eiam Staples (3rd, 138) and Gianni Bertacchi (3rd, 285) also advanced to Deerfield.
