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Sports

Wrestling: Minooka Dominates at SPC Tourney

Indians win nine individual titles, beat Plainfield Central by 89 points in a romp to conference championship.

One of the best ways for a team to head into the postseason is to turn in a dominating performance in a conference tournament.

And that's just what Minooka's wrestling team did on Saturday when it took part in the Southwest Prairie Conference tourney in Joliet.

The defending Class 3A champions ran away from the rest of the field in the eight-team competition that took place at Plainfield South.

Minooka rattled off nine straight wins in contested championship matches before finally losing a close decision in its final title match. As a result, 13 individuals placed among the top four at their weights to help the Indians beat Plainfield Central 241-152 for top honors.

It marked the ninth straight year that coach Bernie Ruettiger's team has won the Southwest Prairie or the Suburban Prairie conference title. The Indians also went 5-1 in head-to-head championship matches with the runner-up Wildcats, capturing wins in the first five showdowns.

Minooka and Central will meet up again in next Saturday's Moline Regional with a trip to the dual meet sectional competition at stake.

"We need to stay focused for next week's regional tournament," Ruettiger said. "Plainfield Central had a couple of their top guys out today, but they'll be back and it will be a battle.

"Our kids stayed in good position and didn't get frustrated out there. Like I always tell them, 1-0 is still a win. It doesn't matter how you win, the bottom line is we want to win."

Winning titles for Minooka were Corbett Oughton (112), Mike McNulty (119), Jake DeKlerk (125), Bobby Zabel (130), Blake Montella (135) and Leo Ruettiger (140).

Jake Residori (152), Kalvin Hill (160) and Josh Pullara (171) also won titles, while Kevin Akers (145) and Mitch Morris (189) each claimed second-place finishes.

It was the third conference title for Montella and Ruettiger, while DeKlerk, Zabel and Residori all won their second championships.

"This was my first week back from injury, and it felt great to perform well to help the team," DeKlerk said. "We have a nice rivalry with Central, and this gives us momentum for regionals."  

The only other team who won multiple titles was Central, which had two champions to go along with half a dozen second-place finishers.

Winning titles for the Wildcats were Jordan Ellingwood (189), who repeated as a conference champion, as well as Greg Cameron (215).

Nick Nasenbeny (103), Ryan Holzrichter (130), Terry Kubski (135), Ryan Soraghan (140), Tyler Ledbetter (160) and Henry Thigpen (171) took second for Central. 

In title matches between the top two teams, Zabel edged Holzrichter 6-5, Montella claimed a 6-3 victory over Kubski and Ruettiger rallied late for a 2-1 win over Soraghan.

"We really wanted to make a statement," Montella said. "We've turned it up in the room and we wrestled our style today and it shows. All that really matters is peaking at the right time."

Hill captured a 14-6 win over Ledbetter, Pullara recorded a 5-1 victory over Thigpen and Ellingwood was a 5-2 winner over Morris.

"I'm pretty happy with where I'm at, but I have to push myself harder in practice," Ellingwood said. "I wanted to get a title for the team since watching our guys lose made me work harder." 

Oswego (134), Oswego East (102), Plainfield North (75), Romeoville (48), Plainfield South (40) and Plainfield East (35) rounded out the field.

The other three champions in the competition were Oswego East's Reuben Reyes (103), North's Nick DiNardo (145) and Oswego's Jovan Lee (285).

Finishing in second were Romeoville's Aaron Brooks (119) and Caleb Ramos (125), Oswego's Frank Yattoni (112) and Max Larsen (152) and 

Oswego East's Brandon Rivera (215) and Plainfield East's Erick Urbieta (285) also claimed second-place finishes.

Reyes received the Outstanding Wrestler Award after edging Nasenbeny 4-3 in the opening championship match. 

In other close title matches, Oughton edged Yattoni 2-0, McNulty beat Brooks 2-1 in overtime and Cameron won 5-2 over Rivera.

"Last week we were tied 1-1 in the third period and he pinned me," McNulty said of Brooks. "It was a great day for me to avenge a loss and win conference in my first year on the varsity."


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