The Oak Park and River Forest High School boys wrestling team has spent the past two seasons re-establishing itself as one of the best in the Chicago area. Their performance in the annual Village Cup match against Fenwick, Jan. 18, could be a major indicator that the Huskies are indeed back. After splitting the first two matches, OPRF rattled off seven consecutive wins to roll to a 56-18 victory over the visiting Friars.
“It’s always good to have this rivalry. I’m super-thankful to [Fenwick coach Seth] Gamino for helping to bring it back,” said OPRF coach Paul Collins. “There’s always a little extra fire when we go up against Fenwick.”
MJ Rundell got things started for OPRF with a technical-fall (TF) victory at 106 pounds. But Fenwick’s CJ Brown evened the match with his own technical-fall victory at 113.
“CJ is really solid,” Gamino said. “He’s really clicking at the right time of the year.”
OPRF then won the next seven matches: Jameel Castleberry (120, TF), Gabe Rojas (126, pinfall), Isaiah Gibson (132, forfeit), Joe Knackstedt (138, TF), AJ Noyes (144, pinfall), Tristan Kidd (150, TF), and Jeremiah Hernandez (157, pinfall).
“We had a hard practice this morning, and I was interested to see how they would respond,” Collins said. “I thought they responded tremendously well.”
Fenwick replied with three consecutive victories of its own, courtesy of Aiden Burns (TF at 165), Dominic Esposito (4-0 decision at 175), and Jack Paris (TF at 190).
“They’re captains and good leaders, and they wrestled well tonight,” Gamino said.
OPRF closed things out in grand fashion, getting wins via pinfall from Lucas Albrecht at 215 and Terrance Garner at heavyweight.
As the season goes into the final weeks, both coaches like where their teams are.
“We still haven’t had our full lineup, but we’re excited,” said Collins, whose Huskies will host their annual invitational on Jan. 25. “We want to get everyone back and healthy, but we’re definitely trending in the right direction. We’ve been challenging these guys a lot since we came back from California, and they’ve responded well.”
“There’s still a lot to clean up,” Gamino said, “but we’re feeling good. The CCL (Chicago Catholic League) is, in my opinion, the best conference in the state and one of the top in the nation. Wrestling a team like Oak Park and in the CCL meet (Jan. 25 at Montini Catholic) will get us in line for the post-season.”
OPRF boys basketball
Oak Park and River Forest’s Alexander Gossett (4) goes to the basket against Downers Grove North’s Jack Crowley (11) during a West Suburban Conference game Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025 in Downers Grove. | Steve Johnston 
Oak Park and River Forest’s Andrew Zhou (3) lines up a three point attempt against Downers Grove North during a West Suburban Conference game Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025 in Downers Grove. | Steve Johnston 
Oak Park and River Forest’s Alexander Vincent (33) puts up a shot over Downers Grove North’s Bobby Grganto (10) during a West Suburban Conference game Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025 in Downers Grove. | Steve Johnston 
Oak Park and River Forest’s Cameron Woods (0) drives to the basket between the Downers Grove North defense during a West Suburban Conference game Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025 in Downers Grove. | Steve Johnston 
Oak Park and River Forest’s Cameron Woods (0) lays in a basket against Downers Grove North’s Bobby Grganto (10) during a West Suburban Conference game Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025 in Downers Grove. | Steve Johnston
Senior Alex Gossett passed 1,000 points in his career, Jan. 17, as the OPRF boys basketball team got by host Proviso West 78-77 in a West Suburban Silver contest.
“Such an amazing accomplishment from an amazing kid,” said OPRF coach Phil Gary of Gossett, who finished with 28 points and six rebounds.
Jerome Delaney and Alex Vincent each scored 10 points and AJ Enyia had nine points for the Huskies (8-9, 2-3 in WSC Silver), who have home games against Lyons Township, Jan. 24 (7:30 p.m.), and Thornwood, Jan. 25 (2 p.m.).
Boys regional bowling
OPRF junior bowler Ethan Gettinger qualified for the Naperville Central sectional with a score of 1,342 pins at the Glenbard East regional, Jan. 18. That was the second-highest total among individuals from teams who did not advance, and third overall.
The Huskies finished 11th in the team standings with a score of 4,562. Sophomore Callum Jennings (1,134, 28th), junior Adrian Levy (1,050, 41st), and senior Gabriel Leal (1,036, 44th) were OPRF’s other competitors.
Also at Glenbard East, Fenwick placed 13th with a score of 3,633. Senior Benicio Carideo had the Friars’ top showing, finishing 19th with 1,090 pins. Junior Connor Walsh (937, 34th), sophomore JR Welshons (808, 37th), and senior Alfonsia Martin (798, 38th) completed Fenwick’s lineup.