The Oak Park and River Forest High School boys wrestling team spent some of its holiday break on the West Coast, competing in a pair of top invitationals. Head coach Paul Collins split up his team. Eight wrestlers went to the Redwood Invitational in Visalia, California, while six others participated in the Doc Buchanan Invitational in Clovis, California. Both events took place Jan. 3-4.
The Huskies fared well as four individuals finished on the medal podium — one at the Doc Buchanan, three at Redwood.
“Overall, the trip was a success in terms of seeing where we are against high-level competition,” Collins said. “We had some guys who responded positively and others not the way they could have. But the biggest thing going forward is seeing how they learn and progress.”
At Redwood, sophomore Lucas Albrecht had an impressive showing, going 4-1 to place second at 190 pounds. Albrecht lost in the final via technical fall to Christian Tapia of Porterville (CA). However, he improved his season record to 16-4.
“He’s had a very good season so far,” Collins said. “The thing about Lucas is that for the most part he competes really hard. He’s a little bit unorthodox, but his ability to push the pace has allowed him to have a lot of success.”
Also at Redwood, seniors Gabriel Rojas (12-6) and Terrence Garner (13-6) each placed fifth at 120 and 285 pounds respectively. Each went 5-2 in the tournament.
Others competing at Redwood were Tristan Kidd at 144 pounds (3-2), Jeremiah Hernandez (2-2) at 150, Ryan Wozniak (2-2) at 157, Zach Michaud (4-2) at 165, and Ben Martin (1-2) at 190. As a team, the Huskies placed tenth out of 52 schools with 110 points.
At the Doc Buchanan, sophomore MJ Rundell went 4-2 to place fifth at 106 pounds. At 138, Joe Knackstedt notched his 100th career victory at OPRF and went 4-2 but did not place.
Other OPRF competitors were Jamiel Castleberry (2-2) at 120 pounds, Zev Koransky (1-2) at 132, David Ogunsanya (0-2) at 150, and Eric Harris (1-2) at 215.
The Huskies look to stay unbeaten in the West Suburban Silver when they travel to Hinsdale Central, Jan. 9. They’ll also compete in a quad with Glenbard West and Homewood-Flossmoor at Naperville Central, Jan. 11.
“There’s plenty for everyone to work on,” Collins said, “but it’s more about focus now. We always get up for our conference duals, and we have a nice quad at Naperville. That’ll be a good day of wrestling, team and individual-wise.”
Fenwick
At the Steve Eckert Holiday Classic held at Morton, Dec. 27, Fenwick High School finished second with 166.5 points. The Friars won two individual titles, with two others finishing runner-up.
Senior CJ Brown won at 113 pounds, edging past Adam Beedon of Naperville North 16-14 in the final to improve his season record to 10-3. At 157, senior Aiden Burns (17-1) won the final via technical fall over Timothy Garmon of Naperville North.
Sophomore Harrison Brown (10-5) lost the 106-pound final 7-0 to Liam Kissane of St. Laurence. At 138, senior Max Kenny lost in the final via pinfall to Naperville North’s Ben Messier.
Six seniors also made the podium for Fenwick. Eiam Staples (8-6) took fifth at 144 pounds; Brian Timpone (7-5) fourth at 150; Dominic Esposito (12-6) fifth at 165; Jack Paris (16-5) sixth at 190; Patrick Gilboy (14-4) third at 215; and Gianni Bertacchi (11-9) at 285.
Fenwick has a triangular meet at Loyola Academy, Jan. 8, against the host Ramblers and Hope Academy. The Friars also compete in the Chicago Catholic League Mega Quads at St. Ignatius, Jan. 9; host a triangular meet, Jan. 10; and go to Evanston Township for a quad, Jan. 11.