Hubs wrestling team grapplers with Geneseo

Rochelle matmen fall 45-27 to Maple Leafs

Russell Hodges
Posted 12/23/17

Justin Hernandez had his hands full with Geneseo grappler Andrew Rizzo when the Hubs varsity wrestling team squared off against the Maple Leafs at Rochelle Township High School on Thursday.

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Hubs wrestling team grapplers with Geneseo

Rochelle matmen fall 45-27 to Maple Leafs

Posted

ROCHELLE — Justin Hernandez had his hands full with Geneseo grappler Andrew Rizzo when the Hubs varsity wrestling team squared off against the Maple Leafs at Rochelle Township High School on Thursday.

Tied 4-4 with just seconds remaining in regulation, it appeared that Rizzo scored a takedown on Hernandez to seal victory during the 138-pound bout. But the official ruled that Rizzo’s score took place after the final buzzer sounded, sending the rematch of the Rockford East Giardini Invitational finals into overtime.

Both wrestlers were unable to score in overtime, and after Hernandez successfully rode out Rizzo in the first tiebreak period, the senior Hub earned a point from Rizzo’s side to start in neutral, and he held off Rizzo long enough to win by 5-4 tiebreak.

“It’s a good confidence builder for him,” head coach Rich Harvey said. “Justin’s really improving. He started this season hot and he’s continuing to wrestle really well. That match was big for him because that kid was ranked ahead of him in the state.”

Freshman Ben Harvey kicked off Rochelle’s varsity match with Geneseo by pinning Maple Leaf wrestler Heath Henderson at 170 pounds in 1:07. Senior Austin Tracey then took the mat, and the co-captain wore down Geneseo’s Eli Allen at 182 pounds to win by 5-2 decision.

“Austin works hard and he’s one of the leaders in our room,” Harvey said. “He’s always there for the kids, and as we’ve seen over the last few years with him, he gets stronger as the year goes on. He’s starting to show that right now.”

Senior Alex Harvey gave Rochelle a 15-0 advantage over the Maple Leafs after he pinned 195-pounder Ethan McKelvain in 3:32. Geneseo scored its first point of the match when 220-pounder Joe Stohl outlasted Rochelle senior Bazil Bennett by 6-4 decision. 285-pounder Billy Blaser then won by fall over Hub junior Nick Henson in 2:27 to cut Rochelle’s lead to 15-9.

Two forfeits at 106 and 113 gave Geneseo the lead, and the Maple Leafs added on when 120-pounder Luke Henkhaus won by fall over Rochelle freshman Grant Thompson in 2:31. Another forfeit from the Hubs at 126 increased the gap before Geneseo’s Logan Tuggle pinned Rochelle senior Andy Silva at 132 pounds in 4:23.

“We talk a lot about not going out to lose,” Harvey said. “A lot of kids are worried about losing and we talk about going out to win, wrestling hard and taking chances when they have to. I want to see those kids start to wrestle that way, because they have nothing to lose when they wrestle.”

Hernandez’s win over Rizzo at 138 stopped the bleeding for Rochelle, and the Hubs won the next two matches courtesy of junior Eddie Villalobos, who won by 19-4 technical fall over Jack Morrell at 145 pounds, and senior Ehren Metzger, who earned a 13-3 major decision over Jayden Erdman at 152 pounds. Josh Decker pinned Rochelle sophomore Gavin Ansteth at 160 pounds in 5:34 to end the dual meet. Geneseo defeated the Hubs (7-6) by a final score of 45-27.

“I thought we wrestled well tonight and we did a lot of things that we’ve been practicing,” Harvey said. “Our conditioning looks better and I thought we had a better team effort.”