GA_021419

glencoeanchor.com sports
the glencoe anchor | February 14, 2019 | 29
Wrestling
Loyola, New Trier wrestlers see season end at sectional
Gary Larsen
Freelance Reporter
It’s always difficult for
a wrestler to see his high
school career end but
Loyola Academy senior
Aidan McKeag will walk
away from the Ramblers’
program with an invaluable
life lesson.
“After so long doing the
sport, I’ve had so many
coaches teach me about
discipline and the value of
wrestling,” McKeag said.
“The discipline, the hard
work, and literally every
day working your (backside)
off.
“It’s true what they say;
everything else seems easy
compared to wrestling.”
McKeag fought through
ankle and hip injuries at
this year’s Class 3A Barrington
Sectional on Saturday,
Feb. 9. He opened
with a win at 132 pounds
before consecutive losses
ended his season.
For Loyola coach Joe
Haney, McKeag’s value to
his program went beyond
the 30 wins that the threetime
sectional qualifier
posted this season.
“Aidan is a great kid
and a great person,” Haney
said. “He showed up every
day and worked hard.
He was like my lunchpail
wrestler and he never complained
about anything.
When he wasn’t a hundred
percent, he just fought
through it. He was one of
those lead-by-example
guys.”
McKeag injured his
ankle a month ago but it
was his hip that gave him
the most trouble in Barrington.
“My hip gave out three
days ago,” McKeag said.
“I was literally just jogging
and something popped.
I was wrestling (Libertyville’s
Danny) Pucino
and it popped again. But
I wrestled him to the end.
That’s all I could do.”
Fellow senior Sam Schierloh
(195) joined McKeag
as a sectional qualifier
for Loyola this season.
Schierloh went 2-2 in Barrington
and finished one
win away from advancing
to the 3A individual state
finals in Champaign.
Schierloh lost his first
match before posting two
wins by fall in the consolation
round. He then lost by
fall to see his season end.
Schierloh finished 21-6
this year, after sitting out
last season to concentrate
on football. But he let
Haney know he’d be back
for his senior wrestling
season.
“He said that but a lot of
kids say that and then they
don’t come back,” Haney
said. “He said it and he
kept to his word.
“He came back and kind
of picked up where he left
off, for the most part. By
the time the conference
meet came around he had
only wrestled like one full
match because he was pinning
everyone.”
Someday when New
Trier senior Tyler Janczak
looks back on his high
school wrestling career,
he knows what he’ll value
most.
“What it means to be
a leader,” Janczak said.
“Freshman year I was a
captain and I learned a ton
about leadership.
Janczak (195), Matt
McKenna (145), and Jack
Cummings (160) all competed
at this year’s 3A
Barrington Sectional for
the Trevians. Janczak and
Cummings finished one
win away from qualifying
for next week’s 3A state
finals.
McKenna lost to the
third- and fourth-place
sectional finishers in Barrington.
“Matt McKenna got injured
last year and didn’t
qualify so he made it here
New Trier’s Matt McKenna takes control of an opponent
during the Class 3A Barrington Sectional Saturday, Feb.
9, in Barrington. Gary Larsen/22nd Century Media
for his first time,” New
Trier coach Marc Tadelman
said. “He’s upset but
he’s made progress. He
hung in there with two
state qualifiers today.”
The freshman Cummings
reached the championship
semifinals before
losing to eventual sectional
champ Brock Emmerich
of Deerfield. A consolation
semifinal loss then ended
his season.
“We’ve had confidence
in Jack’s wrestling abilities
all year,” Tadelman
said. “He has progressed
throughout the year. We
were hoping he could win
that match so it’s frustrating,
but I’m proud of him.
I’m proud of all our guys.”
Janczak missed much of
this season due to injury
but garnered a regional
championship this year.
His season also ended in
the consolation semifinal
round.
“Janczak wasn’t even a
varsity wrestler for the entire
year last year,” Tadelman
said. “But he’s always
been a hard wrestler and
we always thought he had
the capabilities of being
a champion, and he won
a regional championship
this year.”
Boys swimming and diving
New Trier takes third at Central Suburban League South meet
Michael Wojtychiw
Sports Editor
New Trier has long had a
hold on Central Suburban
League South swimming
and diving. The Trevians
had won seemingly every
conference title in recent
memory.
The champions have
been dethroned, however.
Glenbrook South, which
defeated the Trevians in
a dual meet earlier this
year for the first time ever,
continued its successful
season with a CSL South
title for the first time since
1987, or about at least 14
years before many of the
current swimmers were
born.
“We’ve had some really
strong teams but it’s coincided
with New Trier being
really powerful too,”
Glenbrook South coach
Keith MacDonald said.
“Some of the guys
stepped up where it was
their last meet today. Nick
Khatkovyy and Jackson
Hogue have been guys
who have been in the
shadows this year and they
swam really, really well.”
The Titans would cruise
to the title Saturday, Feb.
10, in Evanston, racking
up 456 points to Evanston’s
297. The Trevians
took third with 285 points.
“I thought we performed
really well and had some
nice swims but we swam
some events where we
went best times, but didn’t
swim them smart,” New
Trier coach Josh Runkle
said. “We’ve got a couple
kids we shaved today who
we’re bringing back for
the sectionals, so hopefully
we’ll be a little more
calm.”
While the day may not
have gone as the Trevians
had hoped, the New Trier
swimmers still came away
with a number of good
swims.
After graduating a senior-heavy
class, New
Trier knew it was going
to see a lot of its younger
members, including numerous
freshmen having
to step up.
The one constant, however,
had been junior
Pearce Bailey. Bailey took
second in the 50 free in a
time of 21.86, fourth in the
100 free (49.01) and was
part of the third-place 200
free relay team with Nick
Torre, Topher Shepherd
and Marc Hagist, as well
as the runner-up 400 free
relay with Shepherd, Torre
and Rishi Nair.
“I thought our nonshaved
guys swam really
well today,” Runkle said.
“Pearce (Bailey) has been
fighting a little bit of an illness,
a couple guys have,
but I thought they did a really
nice job.
“Everything is all about
being consistent, not just
Monday-Saturday, not
just Friday and Saturday. I
think that’s the youth and
inexperience, but it’s getting
there. Will Newlands
swam great.”
New Trier also got
impressive swims from
freshman Will Newlands,
who took second in the
100 breaststroke (1:01.24),
freshman Matt Gibson,
who took fourth in the 100
back (55.67) and freshman
Ethan Chan, who took
fourth in the 100 fly in a
time of 54.11.