NT_021518

northbrooktower.com sports
the northbrook tower | February 15, 2018 | 43
Wrestling
Williams heading down to state meet
Scott Margolin/22nd
Century Media
1st-and-3
Stars of the Week
1. Jake Shapiro
(ABOVE) The
Glenbrook North
swimmer helped
the Spartans win
the CSL North
title when he
won the 200-yard
freestyle.
2. Trent Williams
The Spartans
junior’s dream
came true when
he won at his
sectional and will
now go down to
the state meet.
3. David Rubin The
GBN boys hockey
team captain was
the hero for the
Spartans again,
this time scoring
the go-ahead
goal against the
rival Spartans in
the first game of
the Scholastic
playoffs.
Gary Larsen
Freelance Reporter
Like every wrestler in
Illinois, Glenbrook North
junior Trent Williams began
the season dreaming
of making it to the individual
state finals.
“That was my goal
but at the time I honestly
didn’t see it coming true,”
Williams said.
Williams can stop
dreaming after placing
second in Barrington at
220 pounds in the IHSA
Sectional on Saturday,
Feb. 10.
The top four finishers
in each weight class advance
downstate, and Williams
(35-7) punched his
ticket to Champaign with
a 9-2 championship semifinal
decision over Hononegah’s
Nate Kaiser.
After a 0-0 first period,
Kaiser chose bottom to
start the second period and
Williams rode him out and
turned him twice for a 6-0
lead, then turned Kaiser
again in the third in taking
a 9-0 lead.
“I’ve been pretty good
on top all year,” Williams
said. “I just knew if he
wanted to keep it scoreless
in the first period, then
I could at least ride him
out.”
Despite qualifying
downstate for the first
time, Williams barely celebrated
after his momentous
win over Kaiser.
“I haven’t really processed
this yet but I just
want to stay humble,”
Williams said. Glenbrook
North coach Jason Erwinski
was beaming after Williams’
Champaign-clinching
win.
“He’s getting everything
he deserves,” Erwinski
said. “He works
hard, he’s a great young
man, and he’s been a pleasure
to coach so far. It’s a
little emotional because
he works so hard and as a
coach you love to see that
out of a kid.”
Williams finished second
in a 7-3 decision to
Cary Grove’s Cadin Koeppel.
Junior Cam Casey
also competed for Glenbrook
North and finished
the year with a 34-9 record
at 182 pounds.
Loyola’s Sean Cloherty
and Quinn McCarthy
weren’t able to advance
downstate this year, and
Ramblers coach Joe Haney
lost much more than just a
few senior wrestlers.
“It’s hard for me to talk
about either of them right
now,” Haney said.
“They’re both fantastic
guys. Sean has an ROTC
scholarship and all the kids
look up to him, even some
of his fellow seniors, and
Quinn is just a great kid,
super-smart and I’m pretty
sure he’s trying to go to an
Ivy League school.”
McCarthy finished 23-
11 at 138 pounds and
Cloherty went 34-8 at
145 pounds and set new
program records in career
wins and pins at Loyola.
“Sean has been sick for
the last two days, so he
didn’t have his full arsenal
this weekend,” Haney
said. “He wasn’t at school
Thursday because he was
sick so I was just hoping
he’d be better. But he felt
worse today than he felt
yesterday so the timing
was just awful.”
The Ramblers’ practice
room next year will start
out in transition mode with
Cloherty and McCarthy
gone.
“When they’re not in the
room, you can tell they’re
not there. The intensity
level drops, big-time,”
Haney said.
“They’re always grinding,
working hard, and
they were like that as juniors,
too. I hope our juniors
coming back next
year can pick up the slack
but at the beginning of the
year, there’s going to be a
little bit of a hole because
those two kids won’t be
there.”
New Trier senior Patrick
Ryan has been one
of Illinois’ best wrestlers
for three seasons, and
was a sectional runner-up
in advancing to the Class
3A state tournament in
his sophomore and junior
years.
But this season, Ryan
is simply at another level.
Glenbrook North’s Trent Williams (left) on the mat
against Hononegah’s Nate Kaiser in a semifinal match
at 220 pounds Saturday, Feb. 10, in Barrington. Gary
Larsen/22nd Century Media
He won his first sectional
title at Barrington on Saturday,
Feb. 11, and was
one of only four wrestlers
at the sectional to remain
unbeaten on the year.
“I know that if I put
three good periods together
I can beat anyone in the
state,” Ryan said. “And if I
can put four good matches
together, I know I can win
a state title and that’s the
ultimate goal.”
Ryan won 7-5 over
Fremd’s Cole Riemer on
the title mat at 145 pounds
and will take a 44-0 record
to next week’s individual
state finals in Champaign.
Ryan is currently ranked
fourth in Illinois at 145 by
Illinois Matmen.
“Cole and I have wrestled
a bunch,” Ryan said.
“I know he’s super strong,
physical, and really good
on top. But I have confidence
that I can go with
anyone on my feet. The
game plan was to get a
good first-period lead and
then just play it smart from
there.”
In placing second at 152
to Barrington’s Markus
Hartman, Trevians senior
Jack Tangen (41-2) also
advanced downstate.
“But overall I thought
Barrington had one of the
toughest fields at 152 and
I was happy with the way
I pushed the pace there.
Now my goal is to get to
the podium and I feel a
lot more confident going
(downstate) this year.”
Also competing at the
sectional for New Trier
were seniors Bayne Kiser
(30-17 at 160), Russell
Sanchez (27-16 at 170),
and Jimmy McDermed
(30-13 at 285).
Listen Up
“That was my goal. But at the same time I
honestly didn’t see it coming true.”
Trent Williams — The GBN junior wrestler on his
qualification for the state meet.
tunE in
What to watch this week
The Glenbrook North boys basketball team takes on
Highland Park on Thursday, Feb. 15.
• 6 p.m. at GBN
Index
39 - Boys Track and Field
38 - Athlete of the Week
Fastbreak is compiled by The Tower’s staff. Send comments to
m.dwojak@22ndcenturymedia.com.