The Oak Park and River Forest High School girls wrestling team went through a rebuilding process this season, with several new members filling the holes an accomplished senior group left behind.
While the results did not go as they would have liked, the Huskies can celebrate the fact that one wrestler advanced out of the Willowbrook Regional, Jan. 31-Feb. 1. Junior Isabella Miller’s third-place finish in the 140-pound weight class qualified her for the Schaumburg Sectional, which takes place Feb. 14.
“I think Isabella did awesome,” said OPRF coach Patrick Woulfe. “Friday wasn’t too tough, but Saturday it was important for her to win the first match, which she did. She’s been hurt on and off for the past couple of weeks, but she was able to push through.”
In the first round on Friday, Miller pinned Laila Cuadra of St. Charles East in just 56 seconds. Then in the quarterfinals on Saturday, she defeated Suzanne Stally of Glenbard North 11-6.
After losing in the semifinals via fall to eventual champion Abigail Ji of Hoffman Estates, Miller displayed fortitude by pinning Clara Fetzer of York at 1:27 in the wrestleback to assure advancement as the top four places in each weight class qualify for the sectional. She then pinned Lake Park’s Ava Burns at 1:13 in the third-place match.
“When she lost to [Ji], Isabella handled her business and wrestled Huskie-style,” Woulfe said. “That’s wrestling hard and the right way.”
OPRF narrowly missed having two more sectional qualifiers as junior Michelle Kpekpe lost in the final wrestleback at 130 pounds and senior Kemaria Freeman lost in the wrestleback semifinals at 190.
“They both wrestled awesome,” Woulfe said. “Kemaria was one match away from qualifying and that would’ve been huge for her as a senior. She’s been one of the leaders in our program this year. Michelle had some pretty good success this year and heading into next year, the sky’s the limit.”
Sofia Hinojosa (120), Anahi Banuelos (125), Kayla George (155), and Nerissa Blue (170) also competed for the Huskies, with Banuelos winning via fall in the second round and George winning a consolation match, also via fall.
“As a team, we’ve gone through a lot of growing pains this year,” Woulfe said. “We have a young team, and losing Sarah Ephstein and Trinity White from last year, we felt it in both competitions and in the practice room. I think the group we have took their lumps, but if they stick it out, put in the work, and come back ready to roll next year, we could have a really solid team.”
Fenwick
Fenwick freshman Aurelia Auteri had already made school history by being one of four students who comprised the first-ever girls wrestling team this season.
Auteri came close at Willowbrook to making more history by qualifying for the sectional, but she lost in the final wrestleback of the 135-pound class 10-8 to Fenton’s Lucy Rodriguez. Had Auteri prevailed, she would have finished in the top four and clinched a sectional berth.
“Unfortunately, she lost a very close match,” said Fenwick coach Seth Gamino.
Auteri pinned Allison Flores-Morales of Willowbrook at 5:22 in her Friday match. Then she notched a quarterfinal victory on Saturday when her scheduled opponent, Nora Bestor of Hoffman Estates, was scratched, but she was pinned by eventual champion Sharon Olorunfemi of Schaumburg at 1:25 in the semifinals.
Fenwick’s other three wrestlers competed, each winning a match. At 145, junior Cecilia Andino won a consolation match 2-0 over Geneva’s Katelyn Wray. At 170, junior Valerie Franco pinned OPRF’s Nerissa Blue at 3:01 of her opening match. And at 190, freshman Amirah Favela was awarded a win via a consolation round bye.
Overall, Gamino thought the debut of girls wrestling at the school went very well, and he’s optimistic that more girls will join the program next year.
“It was a great learning experience for the girls, and the best part is they get to come back next year,” he said. “We’ll have proper coaching for them, and the sky’s the limit.”