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newlenoxpatriot.com sports
the new lenox patriot | May 9, 2019 | 43
Volleyball
West celebrates huge senior class in win over Lockport
RANDY WHALEN
Freelance Reporter
When you have 11 seniors
on a team, the Senior
Night celebrations aren’t
only big, they’re special.
Especially for a group
like the Lincoln-Way West
boys volleyball team.
The Warriors celebrated
Senior Night on April 30
with a 25-18, 25-27, 25-
16 victory over Lockport
in a SouthWest Suburban
match in New Lenox.
“It was a lot of fun and
a great atmosphere,” West
senior right side hitter Tyler
Holubek said. “Our JV
team did a great job setting
up everything for us.”
There were a lot of orange
balloons and banners
in the gym for the special
evening.
“This is a great group
and a lot of them have been
with me since I got here,”
said West coach Jodi Frigo,
who is in her third season
as Warriors coach. “It
hasn’t sunk in yet that these
guys are seniors, maybe
since it’s not our last home
match.”
The Warriors have one
more home match next
week against Lincoln-Way
East. But with that matchup
likely being for the conference
title, they decided to
hold Senior Night last week.
While West utilized an
all-senior lineup for the first
two sets, that wasn’t too far
off its regular lineup. There
are only two juniors on the
team: libero Tyler Vedder
and right side/outside hitter
Shane Wegrzyn.
Against Lockport, most
of the West seniors got in
on the stat line. The seniors
are outside hitter/defensive
specialist Travis Bernhard
(two kills), libero Jason
Cler, middle hitter Chris
Dargan (seven kills), setter
David Flores (26 assists,
eight digs), Holubek (five
kills, nine assists), middle
hitter Jack Hrvatin (two
kills, four blocks), outside/
middle hitter Alex Mc-
Donald (three kills, three
blocks), setter/right side
hitter Louden Moran (eight
kills), outside hitter Ben
Pluskota (nine kills), right
side/middle hitter Drew
Shingler (six kills), and
outside/ right side hitter
Nico Studer.
There were three early
ties in the first set. Then
Pluskota pounded an ace
and Dargan dinged a kill
in a 3-0 run to put the Warriors
ahead for good at 5-3.
Ahead 11-8, West went on
a 5-0 burst, where Shingler
smacked a kill and a block,
to pull away.
In the second set, there
were nine ties and five
lead changes. Hrvatin had
another block and a kill in
another 5-0 spurt that gave
the Warriors a 12-10 lead.
They looked like they were
going to close it out but
Lockport rallied from 24-
21 down to steal the set.
“We’re really good when
we communicate well,”
McDonald said. “With Senior
Night we were having
a lot of fun. But when it
went to the third set we had
to be serious.”
The Warriors were as
they never trailed in the
final set. There was one
tie, at 2-2. Then Moran
tipped a kill to give them
the lead for good. Ahead
12-10, West went on a 12-2
blitz. Lockport (16-10, 0-4
SWSC) saved four match
points, but Holubek hammered
a kill to end it.
West closed last week
with a 25-14, 25-20 victory
over host Homewood-
Flossmoor on May 2 in
another SWSC clash. The
Warriors improved to 28-3
and 4-0 in the conference.
Flores found his way to
19 assists and six kills to
lead the way. Pluskota (six
kills, six digs), Dargan (six
kills), Moran (six kills, five
aces) and Vedder (six digs)
also contributed.
“We just have to take
them one at a time,” Holubek
said. “When we play
to our potential, we can be
really good.”
Youth Sports
Martino wrestler Knowlton excited for future after back-to-back state titles
Steve Millar
Sports Editor
Nathan Knowlton was
already a state wrestling
champion, but still felt like
he had something to prove.
The eighth grader at
Martino Junior High wanted
to show that his 2017-
2018 title was no fluke.
On March 9, at Northern
Illinois University’s
Convocation Center in
DeKalb, Knowlton made
his mission of going backto-back
a reality, pinning
DeKalb-Huntley’s Hudson
Ikens in the Illinois
Elementary School Association
Class AA 75-pound
state championship match.
“It was definitely a
little different this year,”
Knowlton said. “It was
even better because I knew
everybody wanted to beat
me.
“I had to keep proving
myself. Winning it a second
time shows that I’m
the best and I’m on top
right now.”
Knowlton said he wasn’t
thrilled with how he wrestled
in the semifinals, beating
Mahomet-Seymour’s
Caden Hatton 3-0.
He went into the championship
match looking
to dominate, and pinned
Ikens in just 2 minutes, 4
seconds.
“In the championship
match, I just kept telling
myself that I’m the best,”
Knowlton said. “I told myself
that I’ve been wrestling
for all these years
and it all came down to
this and I just had to go out
there and do my job.”
Knowlton has been
wrestling since he was 5
years old, and he caught on
quickly. He won his first
state title, in the bantam
division, in just his second
year in the sport.
“My older brothers, Ron
and Nigel, were already in
the sport, so my dad [Ron]
put me into it. I was just
naturally good at it. I was
good right away.”
Knowlton now has four
state titles, two at the bantam
level in addition to his
championships the past
two seasons.
Still, he went into the
state meet this year not
feeling like he was the favorite.
“I felt like people were
doubting me,” Knowlton
said. “I didn’t wrestle as
much this year, because I
had an arm injury. It felt
good to prove everyone
wrong.
“I wanted to make my
family proud and my
school proud and it was
great to be able to do that.”
Knowlton finished the
season with a 26-1 record.
He said he’s continued
to progress in wrestling by
following his dad’s advice.
“I listen to my dad and
he’s pushed me to do my
best and keep working
hard,” Knowlton said.
“Whatever he tells me to
do, I’ll go do it. He knows
how to be the best. He used
to be a really good martial
arts fighter.”
Knowlton plans to wrestle
at Lincoln-Way Central
next season.
With the lowest high
school weight class being
106 pounds, his first objective
is to put on some
weight.
“I’m already starting
to lift more weights and
trying to get a little bigger,”
he said. “I’m excited
to learn more stuff from
Martino Junior High eighth grader Nathan Knowlton
won his second straight state wrestling title in March.
Photo submitted
people who are more advanced
than I am now. I’m
hoping to get to state and
get more great experience
with wrestling.”
His future goals are big.
“I’d like to wrestle in
college, win a couple national
titles in college, and
then go on and try to make
a name for myself at the
Olympic level,” he said.