High School Wrestling: The View from 30,000 Feet

Monday marked the first day of high school wrestling teams actually taking the mat in competition ... which kicks off three months of thrills in gyms throughout the Southland. Probably lots of upsets as well.

The teams that claimed the top three spots in the Class AAA dual-team state tournament last February are, to no one's surprise, atop the preseason rankings published by The Illinois Best Weekly, which enters its 28th season.

The order is a little different, though. Sandburg, which finished third in Bloomington, entered the season ranked No. 1, with state runnerup Minooka ranked No. 2. The Indians wrestle defending state champion Glenbard North, No. 3 entering the season, tonight in the Fulk Quad at Carol Stream in a key opening-week dual meet. The match winner has gone on to win it all the past two seasons.

The Eagles' two key transfers, juniors Sebastian Pique (Hinsdale South) and Ricky Robertson (Mount Carmel), patch a pair of key holes in a lineup that was otherwise hit hard by graduation a year ago. Gone are seven starters—including three state placewinners—who accounted for 264 victories a year ago.

But Pique, the 112-pound state champion last year, and Robertson, the Junior National freestyle champion at 171, will help ... even though the Sandburg lineup appears better-suited for tournaments right now.

A Sandburg-Minooka showdown, though will have to wait a while ... maybe all the way to February. The two teams didn't meet last season. Glenbard North ruined a potential title-match showdown by upending the Eagles in the semifinals—avenging a regular-season loss—then beating the Indians for the title.

Sandburg and Minooka do wrestle under the same roof on Jan. 14, at the Sandburg Duals. But they didn't face each other in the event last year.

You have to like Minooka's balance, but both teams are likely to look much different at the end of the season.

They're baaack ...

In its first year as a varsity program last year, Lincoln-Way West made a huge splash in Class AA. The Warriors started the season ranked No. 4—virtually unheard of for a new program. And despite being stuck in a killer sectional, Lincoln-Way West stayed in that spot all season long.

So the fact that Lincoln-Way West entered the season unranked might have come as a mild surprise. That is, until you consider that the Warriors graduated six starters who won 30 or more matches, two others who won 25 or more and lost their only state qualifier, senior Joe Kennedy, who transferred to Reavis.

About the only thing the pre-season tells you, however, is who's good on paper. With one of the Southland's bright young coaches, Brian Glynn, Lincoln-Way West doesn't need paper to win matches.

The Warriors traveled to No. 11 Yorkville on Tuesday and rallied for a 34-31 victory. Lincoln-Way West never led until the final match ended. Trailing 31-19, Tommy Demma eked out a 5-4 win at 182 and Colin Mulroe (195) and Erwin Ferreira (220) scored back-to-back pins to cap the comeback in a meet that featured a 7-7 match split.

Could be one of those seasons where nothing surprises us.