LF_121219

LakeForestLeaderDaily.com SPORTS
the lake forest leader | December 12, 2019 | 29
Wrestling
Posted to LakeForestLeaderDaily.com 2 days ago
Scouts still hunting for more after historic season
Nick Frazier, Sports Editor
Some losses prove to be
beneficial for a team in the
long run.
That could be the case for
Lake Forest’s 36-35 loss to
Rockford East on Nov. 26.
Scouts head coach Matt
Fiordirosa doesn’t mince
his words, as he believes
his team should have won
that match.
The Illinois Wrestling
Coaches and Officials Association
ranked Lake Forest
fifth in the preseason,
and that honor may have
negatively impacted the
Scouts in their season
opener.
“I think that got to
our heads a little bit, we
thought we were better
than some of the things we
were doing,” Fiordirosa
said. “It was a good little
learning point. You hate
to have it as a coach, but
at the same time it was a
nice little reality check. If
anything we got a target
on our back now because
we’re not going to surprise
people anymore.”
The Scouts are now one
of the top Class 2A programs
in the state after a
historic 2018-19 season.
Lake Forest compiled a
28-2 record, the most in
program history, and sent
two wrestlers to the state
meet. The IWCOA ranked
the Scouts 10th at the end
of the year.
The program has seen
continued improvement
the last four years, winning
16 matches three
years in a row before the
jump to 28, and Fiordirosa
is a big reason why. Lake
Forest rebounded from the
Rockford East loss with
four wins, giving its head
coach the most victories in
program history.
“It’s been really cool
to see how it’s all working
out,” Fiordirosa said.
“These kind of milestones,
I don’t check them everyday,
it just kind of happens
after eight years. You look
back and go ‘Oh man, I’m
pretty close to that record.’”
Despite last season’s
success, the Scouts were
still hoping to do more, as
Remaining Scouts schedule
• Dec. 12 - hosts Lake Zurich, 5:30 p.m.
• Dec. 13 - at Warren, 5:30 p.m.
• Dec. 20-21 - tournament at Glenbrook South
• Jan. 3 - hosts quad, 10 a.m.
• Jan. 10 - at Zion-Benton, 5:30 p.m.
• Jan. 11 - quad at Round Lake, 5:30 p.m.
• Jan. 15 - at Vernon Hills, 5:30 p.m.
• Jan. 16 - hosts Waukegan, 5:30 p.m.
• Jan. 17-18 - invitational at Reed-Custer
• Jan. 24-25 - Lake County Invitational at Antioch
• Jan. 30 - hosts Libertyville, 5:30 p.m.
• Jan. 31 - hosts Stevenson, 5:30 p.m.
• Feb. 8 - IHSA Regional
• Feb. 14 - IHSA Sectional
• Feb. 20-22 - IHSA State
the team battled injuries
and sickness near the end
of the season. With only
one starter from last year
having graduated, Lake
Forest is reloaded and
ready to make a deeper
run.
That starts with senior
Chase Waggoner and junior
Truman Thuente, the two
wrestlers who were state
qualifers a year ago. Waggoner
recently committed
to the University of Illinois
and Thuente has two years
left to get back to state.
Other top athletes for
the Scouts will be Bennett
Duggan, Jackson Meadow,
Jack Heydorn and Jack
Owen. Duggan in particular
should be an entertaining
wrestler this season.
“He’s awesome, he’s the
technician guy, he knows
his stuff,” Fiordirosa said.
“He’s entertaining to
watch.”
All of those wrestlers
are upperclassmen who
are used to a successful
Chase Waggoner sizes up an opponent in a meet last
season. 22nd Century Media File Photo
team. Fiordirosa believes
that will keep the Scouts
hungry this winter.
“They’ve been on three
record-breaking teams in
a row, the expectations
are high,” Fiordirosa said.
“That’s all they know how
to do, is just win. They’re
leading by example, we’re
expecting some big things
from them. There’s not one
kid that I listed that doesn’t
think they should be downstate
come February.”
Lake Forest is now a
threat to every top contender
in Class 2A, and
that target is squarely on
the team’s back. Other
than that, nothing changes,
and the Scouts are still putting
the work in and are eager
to excel.
The team’s motto this
season is “Still Hunting,”
as the Scouts aren’t content
yet.
“We did some good
things, but we didn’t get to
where we want to,” Fiordirosa
said. “It’s a chip on
our shoulder right now
that we’re still hunting.
We want to keep making
names, we want to bring
home some team hardware,
we want to bring
some individual hardware
as well. We’re happy with
what we did, but we’re not
satisfied.”
Basketball Power Rankings
The 22nd Century Media Sports Editors ranked the North Shore area boys and girls basketball teams in our coverage area
throughout the season.
BOYS BASKETBALL
1. Loyola Academy (Previous
week: 1)
Ramblers head coach Tom
Livatino is the programs winningest
coach after his team’s
win over Leo .
2. Glenbrook South (2)
The Titans survived a scare
against New Trier, winning in
Winnetka for the first time since
2008.
3. New Trier (3)
New Trier got a taste of some
of the better teams in the area,
falling to Glenbrook South and
Lane Tech.
4. Highland Park (5)
The Giants started conference
play strong with an impressive
performance from Nate Fleisher.
5. Lake Forest (6)
The Scouts split their games
this week, defeating Grayslake
Central and losing to Prospect.
6. Glenbrook North (4)
A young Spartans team fell on
the road in Evanston in a game
that could help speed up the
learning curve.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
1. Lake Forest (1)
The Scouts took down Libertyville
and Stevenson as they
seem to be cruising at the beginning
of the season.
2. Loyola Academy (2)
Loyola had a mixed week with
a win over St. Laurence and a
loss at the Kalamazoo Central
Shootout.
3. New Trier (3)
The Trevians took care of both
Glenbrook schools before falling
to Mother McAuley at the Chicagoland
Invitational Showcase.
4. Highland Park (4)
Highland Park split its week,
losing to Vernon Hills and winning
against Round Lake.
5. Glenbrook North (5)
The Spartans continue to learn
after falling to New Trier and
Evanston before taking down
Waukegan.
6. Glenbrook South (6)
South is still figuring things
out, falling to Maine South, New
Trier and Taft.