Wrestling: Sandburg Rules Roost at Southwest Suburban Conference Tournament

Hot Read: Sandburg crowned four individual champions and had 13 placewinners to claim the unofficial title in the Southwest Suburban Conference wrestling meet on Saturday at Joliet Central. The Eagles’ Ricky Robertson, rated No. 1 at 170 pounds by Illinois Best Weekly, topped Thornton’s Domonique Bryant 10-1. The win pushed Robertson’s record to 37-0.

Unofficial Team Standings: 1. Sandburg 347.5, 2. Lincoln-Way Central 263, 3. Lockport 212, 4. Joliet West 169, 5. Lincoln-Way East 167, 6. Homewood-Flossmoor 165.5, 7. Bradley-Bourbonnais 133, 8. Thornton 132, 9. Andrew 127, 10. Joliet Central 125, 11. Lincoln-Way West 120, 12. Bolingbrook 105, 13. Stagg 70.5, 14. Thornwood 66, 15. Lincoln-Way North 61, 16. Thornridge 9. Note: Official conference team champs are determined by dual meet results.

Patch’s MVP: Kevin Moylan, senior, Stagg. Molyan scored on an escape with 1:35 left in his 1-0 victory over Sandburg’s Colin Holler in the 145-pound championship match. Moylan boosted his record to 38-0. He is ranked No. 3 in the state by Illinois Best Weekly. Holler is ranked fourth.

Andrew: Matt McLaughlin (113, 8th), Sean McMahon (120, 4th), Matt Gardner (132, 6th), Doug Platt (170, 8th), John Golden (195, 7th), Stu Landin (220, 3rd), Cory Chojnowski (285, 2nd).

Homewood-Flossmoor: Mike Burke (106, 4th), Heath Weatherspoon (126, 5th), Connor Bandy (138, 5th), Cameron Beale (160, 3rd), Keith Smith (170, 5th), Faraan Brantley (182, 4th), Donnie Bell (195, 2nd), Alec Guenter (285, 6th).

Lincoln-Way Central: Danny Harris (106, 8th), Tyler Price (113, 4th), Joey Nelson (120, 2nd), Mick Korte (126, 4th), Robbie Mikenis (132, 2nd), Logan Doyle (145, 4th), Tyler Schneider (152, 1st), Brendan Ditchman (160, 5th), Bryce Gorman (170, 3rd), Brett Ditchman (182, 3rd), Ryan Gromnicki (195, 4th), Grant Bartell (285, 4th).

Lincoln-Way East: Sean Sibley (106, fifth), Brendan Blayney (113, 6th), Brendan Gaynor (120, 7th), Kyle Langenderfer (138, 1st), David Rollins (145, 7th), Mitch Murphy (152, 6th), Cole Mroczkowski (160, 6th), Joey Allegretti (220, 2nd), Nicky Allegretti (285, 3rd).

Lincoln-Way North: Alex Vargas (152, 3rd), Tyler Hill (220, 6th), Nick Becker (285, 7th).

Lincoln-Way West: Kyle Rodriguez (126, 7th), Luke Keefe (138, 8th), Will Hubbard (145, 3rd), Josh Ruettiger (152, 5th), Jake Bohne (160, 7th), Tommy Demma (170, 4th), Alec Posewick (182, 8th), Colin Mulroe (195, 3rd).

Sandburg: Jim Pellegrino (106, 2nd), Jim Panozzo (113, 3rd), Sebastian Pique (120, 1st), John Pellegrino (126, 1st), Dan Garcia (132, 1st), Mitch Cook (138, 3rd), Colin Holler (145, 2nd), C.J. Brucki (152, 2nd), Chris Pajak (160, 2nd), Ricky Robertson (170, 1st), Bill Gore (182, 5th), Pat Halpin (195, 5th), Jerry Blake (220, 8th).

Stagg: Roshan Lukose (132, 8th), Ryan Valentino (138, 7th), Kevin Moylan (145, 1st), Khalid Abour (160, 8th).

Quotable I: “He’s a tough kid,” Stagg’s Kevin Moylan said following his 1-0 victory over Sandburg’s Colin Holler in the 145-pound title bout. “I grew up wrestling with him at the Orland Park Pioneers when we were little. So, I know him well. He’s a tough wrestler. The match was close. It was good match.”

Quotable II: “I didn’t feel good at the beginning of the day,” Sandburg’s Sebastian Pique said after he defeated Lincoln-Way Central’s Joey Nelson 9-4 in the 126-pound championship match. “So, I was just trying to go as hard as I could, so I could maybe gut it out, feel better in the finals. And it worked. I felt a lot better as the day went on. I’m just coming back from the flu or a cold, something like that.”

Quotable III: “I truly think that this conference is the best conference in Illinois,” Lincoln-Way Central’s Tyler Schneider said after his 5-2 victory over Sandburg’s C.J. Brucki in the 152-pound finals. “You have to be good to take this, of course.”

What’s Next: Sandburg plays host to Andrew at noon on Saturday, Jan. 23. The next big date for all the teams is Feb. 4. That’s when the IHSA postseason series begins with regional wrestling competition.