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frankfortstation.com sports
the frankfort station | March 15, 2018 | 47
fastbreak
Wrestling
Hickory Creek eighth-grader captures state title
22nd Century Media file
photo
1st-and-3
Three things to
know about the
East-West Aurora
basketball game
1. Sam Shafer,
a Griffins senior,
finished his career
for East with a
game-high 22
points. He will
continue to play at
Southern Illinois
University in the
fall.
2. Zach Parduhn
scored 9 points and
sunk a 3-pointer
during the first half
to give his team
its largest lead at
20-15.
3. Joey Buggemi,
who tallied 13
points during the
game, scored on
a layup halfway
through the third
quarter to reduce
the West Aurora
Blackhawks'
advantage to eight
points.
RANDY WHALEN
Freelance Reporter
The Hickory Creek wrestling
program has come a
long way in four years. This
past weekend the Tigers had
a first: a state champion.
Dominic Adamo capped
an undefeated season by
taking home the state title
at 155 pounds on Saturday,
March 10. That was at the
Illinois Elementary School
Association State Finals at
Northern Illinois University.
Not only did Adamo capture
a championship, but he
defeated a two-time defending
state champion to win it.
That was fellow eighth grader
Maurice Edwards from
Grayslake Middle School.
All Edwards had done the
past two seasons was win
the title at 135 pounds last
year and also at 119 as a
sixth-grader in 2016. In fact,
he was undefeated the past
three seasons.
Until he met Adamo.
Completing an undefeated
(37-0) season of his own,
Adamo toppled Edwards 2-1
in double overtime to win
the championship. He had
extra motivation to do it too.
"My sister, Gabby, pushed
me the entire way," Adamo
said. "She said I'd have to
walk home if I didn't win it."
When Gabby talks, her
younger brother listens.
That's because the 2015
Lincoln-Way East grad is
battling T-Cell acute lymphoblastic
leukemia. She
was diagnosed in September
2016, and her treatment process
will take more than two
years.
"This [past] Tuesday
[March 13] he's going to donate
bone marrow to her,"
Hickory Creek wrestling
coach Josh Napier said of
Adamo doing anything he
can to help his sister. "She's
a huge influence on him."
That influence was certainly
there in the state title
match. The score was tied
1-1 heading into the overtime
period. There, neither wrestler
scored so it went to the
ultimate tiebreaker. Each guy
had an escape, with Adamo
getting his in the third period.
Since Edwards had his score
first [in the second period] he
got to choose if he was in the
up or down position in the
second OT. He chose down.
From there, it was simple; if
he escaped in the 30 second
period, he won. If not, he lost
and Adamo would win it.
Adamo, who was state
runner-up at 126 pounds last
year, wasn't going to be denied.
"I held him down for the
win," Adamo said. "We were
match of the night and I
knew after the [scoreless]
first period that I just had to
push past him."
Indeed, the matchup was
a big talk in the wrestling
community.
"It was hyped up and
there was a lot of talk in the
wrestling community about
it," Napier said. "There was
Hickory Creek wrestling coach Josh Napier (center) poses
with student athletes Dominic Adamo (left) and Ari Zaeske
(right) Saturday, March 10, at the Illinois Elementary School
Association State Finals at Northern Illinois University.
Photo submitted
a lot of talk for a couple of
weeks about it when people
realized the possibility
they could meet for the
title. Maurice Edwards had
pinned everyone on the way
to getting to [the title match].
So he only had maybe two
and a half minutes on the
mat, and by the end of the
overtime he seemed gassed.
But at the end, he [Edwards]
was a complete class act. He
hugged Dominic and congratulated
him.
"It was my most exciting
moment as an athlete or a
coach."
It's also a moment that
Napier envisioned when
he started the program at
Hickory Creek four years
ago. The Tigers steadily improved
for three straight seasons
and this year they sent
five guys to state this season
and placed 14th overall with
53 points. Homer Jr. High
from nearby Homer Glen
was the team champion. In
addition to Adamo, who had
a 4-0 tournament record,
seventh grader Ari Zaeske
went 3-3 at state and placed
sixth overall at 100 pounds.
Both Adamo and Zaeske
were champions at the Jeffereson
Sectional, which took
place on Saturday, March 3
in Woodridge. Zaeske wrestled
the entire tournament
with an AC joint sprain. He
went 32-5 on the season and
is only the third wrestler ever
to medal in the tournament
for Hickory Creek. He has a
great shot to be back and do
better next year.
Also wresting at state for
the Tigers were eighth graders
Jack Marion — who
had a 2-2 tournament record
at 90 pounds — and
Jared Stearns, who had a
1-2 tournament record at
95 pounds. Seventh grader
Zach LaMonto went 1-2
in the tournament at 112
pounds. The trio had all
placed second at the sectional
the week before,
helping Hickory Creek to a
third place team finish with
110 points. Homer Glen was
the sectional champion and
the host school was second.
The regional took place on
Saturday, Feb. 24 at nearby
Liberty Jr. High in New
Lenox. There the Tigers
won a regional title for the
first time in school history
with a total of 318 points
to edge the host school by
20 points. Hickory Creek
had five regional champions.
They were Marion, Za-
Please see wrestling, 42
Listen Up
"These kids have been developing their skills for a long time with
us, and we're extremely proud of how far they've come."
Rich Kolimas — Lincoln-Way East boys basketball coach
What 2 Watch
Girls badminton
Hosts Andrew, Thursday, March 15, 4:30 p.m.
• The Griffins girls badminton team takes part
in their first meet of the season.
Index
42 — This Week In...
41 — Athlete of the Week
FASTBREAK is compiled by Editor Nuria Mathog,
nuria@frankfortstation.com.