The Oak Park and River Forest High School boys wrestling team finished third in the Rex Whitlach Invitational at Hinsdale Central, Dec. 21, with 180 points. The Huskies had two individual winners: sophomore MJ Rundell improved to 17-0 with a technical fall victory over Barrington’s Matthew Blanke in the 106-pound final, while at 138, Joe Knackstedt defeated Donald Cannon of Rockford East in the final to also remain unbeaten at 16-0.
“They’re head and shoulders above where a lot of guys are now,” said OPRF coach Paul Collins of his undefeated duo. “A lot of times in high school wrestling, it comes down to the ability and will to fight, and overall we did that in a lot of matches. It’s a testament to the work the guys are putting in the room.”
Traditionally over the holidays, OPRF has gone to downstate Granite City and then to Minnesota for invitationals. However, this year will be different as the Huskies travel to California for two meets, both taking place Jan. 3-4 – the Clovis Doc B Invitational and the Redwood Invitational.
“These are some of the better competitions in the country,” Collins said. “We wanted to give our guys an opportunity to compete at a high level. We’ll send our top guys to Clovis because that’s where a lot of the top teams will be, but we’re fortunate to have another good tournament [Redwood] nearby where we can send the rest. We’ll get to bring everyone on the varsity, and that’s cool.”
The main purpose of the holiday trips is to further build and develop camaraderie.
“The stronger the relationships are,” Collins said, “the stronger the team is.”
With a little time off before the California trip, he said the Huskies will focus on recovery as a few wrestlers are out or otherwise hampered by injuries.
“We’ll also focus on technique and go over some things as a team and individually,” he added. “We’re excited for the time we have now. We’re going to get challenged in California, and we’ll make that final push in January.”
Fenwick
The Friars have had a good season so far; the highlights include winning the Hinsdale South Invitational, Dec. 7, for the first time in 14 years.
“It’s going great,” said Fenwick coach Seth Gamino. “We have high expectations just like any year, and this senior class is special. Ten of them are in the lineup; they’ve stuck together, and the young guys are looking up to them. I couldn’t ask for a better start to the season.”
Fenwick looks to keep momentum going forward at the Morton Holiday Classic Dec. 27, followed by a triangular meet at Providence Catholic, Dec. 28, the St. Viator Invitational, Jan. 3, and a home quad meet with De La Salle, St. Rita, and Waterloo on Jan. 4.
“We just want the boys to keep working hard and get better every week,” Gamino said. “We can’t hang our hats on achievements or doing well. We need to tighten up and commit as few mistakes as possible.”
The Friars also created a girls wrestling program this season, and four students came out. Cecilia Andino, Aurelia Auteri, Amirah Favela, and Valerie Franco made their season debuts at a dual meet at Kennedy in Chicago, Dec. 14.
“It’s going with the times,” said Gamino, who is also coaching the girls for now. “Girls wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports in Illinois and around the nation, and I always knew we would have a girls team. Three weeks before the season started, six girls approached me and said they wanted to wrestle. I was excited about it, but was also concerned because schedules had already been set.
“I said I would take on the responsibilities of coaching,” he added. “When we go to a school that has girls wrestling, that’s when our girls will wrestle. They’re sticking with it, they haven’t buckled or bended, and I believe they’re in it for the long haul; they’re not giving up at all. Two are freshmen and two are juniors; we can start building the program around them.”