HH_021518

homerhorizon.com SPORTS
the Homer Horizon | February 15, 2018 | 39
fastbreak
Wrestling
Six qualify for state for Porters out of Alton Sectional
1st and 3
Adam Jomant/
22nd Century Media
Lockport girls
bowling claims
sectional title to
advance to state
1. Top of the pack
The Lockport girls
bowling team won
the Bolingbrook
Sectional by 320
pins Saturday, Feb.
10, with a final score
of 5,991.
2. Delrose wins
individual title
Lockport’s Bailey
Delrose, the only
returning starter
from last season’s
second-place state
team, had a 1,396
personal total to
win the solo title.
She also won an
individual sectional
title as a sophomore.
3. Hitting a career best
Freshman Chloe
Siezega rolled
a 1,253 at the
sectional, including
a high of 235 in
Game 3, to notch
her new six-game
series high.
Reese wins weight
class at 152 pounds
Erin Redmond
Freelance Reporter
Matt Ramos was one point
shy of making a run at a sectional
title.
A 3-2 double overtime
decision was the difference
between the Lockport wrestler
going home with a thirdplace
finish instead of first
as he fell to the 2017 state
runner-up to drop into the
consolation bracket.
And he came back with a
vengeance.
Ramos became one of six
state qualifiers for the Porters,
knocking off last year’s
113-pound state champion
with a 10-5 decision en route
to his third-place finish at the
Class 3A Sectional Saturday,
Feb. 10, at Alton. Lincoln-
Way East also qualified two
wrestlers for state.
“[Because of Ramos],
the returning state champ
didn’t make it out of the sectional
tournament,” Lockport
coach Josh Oster said.
“Matt’s wrestling really
well. He’s in that discussion
to be a state champ next
week.”
Of the six qualifiers, only
one walked away a sectional
champion: Zach Reese at
152.
“It took him awhile last
year to believe that he belonged
in that top group of
kids,” Oster said of Reese.
Matt Ramos finished in third place for the Porters in his weight class at 113 pounds
Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Alton Sectional. 22nd Century Media File Photo
“This year, he [has] been a
lot more confident, and he
came in and showed it. It
was no-nonsense, and he
took care of business today.
It was a little bit tighter in
the finals than he wanted, but
he wrestled well and stayed
focused and kept grinding
away.”
Lincoln-Way East’s Nick
Mihajlovich was the lone
champion for the Griffins,
too. The 182-pounder
knocked off Yorkville’s Nick
Stemmet in the title match
with a 9-7 decision.
“Nick had a good tournament;
he set himself up
nice,” Griffins coach Tyrone
Byrd said. “I was pretty
pleased to see him get one of
the seeds, and we’ll see how
that plays out as the other
sectionals wrap up. He’s a
junior, so it’s nice to get this
experience and … he set
himself up to get All-State.”
Mihajlovich dominated
his way through the 182
bracket, quickly pinning his
Collinsville opponent in the
first period of his first match
of the day. He then squared
off with Lockport’s Yousif
Salah, who took the eventual
champ to wire before being
pinned with just seven seconds
left in regulation.
Salah, a senior, finished
fourth and punched his ticket
to state for the first time in
his four years on varsity. He
was pinned in the first round
of the third-place match after
knocking off his Granite
City opponent 7-1 to keep
his state hopes alive.
Lockport’s Mike Kaminski
— a 106-pound wrestler
— will also head to state for
the first time. The first year
varsity wrestler took third
after beating senior Isaiah
Tapia of Moline 4-2.
“He was a kid that looked a
little off in the semis, looked
like he was a little afraid to
make a mistake,” Oster said.
“We had to sit down afterwards
and tell him to relax,
it’s just wrestling, it’s just
another match. He came out
and wrestled really well after
that.”
Anthony Molton took second
at 120 for the Porters,
dropping a major decision to
champ Travis Ford-Melton
of Marian, who has just one
loss on the entire year.
Sophomore Jimmy Pierandozzi
will also make the
trip to state after taking third
at 138. He missed a large
chunk of the season, but he
didn’t let that get in his way
as he squeaked out a 1-0 victory
over Garrett Bass of
Belleville West in the thirdplace
match.
LWE’s Devin O’Rourke
placed second in the heavyweight
bracket, losing due to
injury to Homewood-Flossmoor’s
Jeff Griffin.
O’Rourke reached the
finals after besting his Lincoln-Way
West counterpart,
Nick Skentzos, in a 1-0 decision.
“I think it was a good way
for him to wrap up his senior
season,” Byrd said. “We
still have a little bit of work
to do. We want to see both
those guys on the podium.”
Lockport’s stellar six and
LWE’s dynamic duo now
prepare for the IHSA Individual
State Tournament,
which kicks off Thursday,
Feb. 15, at the State Farm
Center in Champaign.
Byrd said that staying
healthy and remaining confident
will be the focus for his
wrestlers as they prepare to
take the mat in Champaign.
“They’re both capable of
getting on that podium,” the
LWE coach said. “We want
them as high on the podium
as possible. They’re both
great kids and have worked
hard all year. They deserve
to be on the podium at the
end.”
As the defending state
team champions, Oster said
his team will undoubtedly
have a target on its back at
state — just as it has all year.
“It’s something they’re
used to,” he said. “... If it’s
hard, it’s OK. Pressure is
OK, as long as you know
how to handle it, and we’ve
been practicing with it all
year.”
LISTEN UP
“I didn’t really expect this, but it feels good to be
part of the state team. I feel like I’m contributing a
lot, and it feels great to be with my teammates.”
Chloe Siezega — Lockport freshman girls bowler, after helping
the team win the Bolingbrook Sectional
Tune In
Girls bowling
The final destination — Friday, Feb. 16 and Saturday, Feb.
17, at The Cherry Bowl, Rockford
• The Lockport girls bowling team heads northwest with
aspirations to win it all at state.
Index
36 - This Week In
35- Athlete of the Week
FASTBREAK is compiled by Editor Thomas Czaja,
tom@homerhorizon.com.