LT Wrestlers Fall to Glenbard North in State Quarterfinals

The end came too soon for Lyons Township’s wrestling team, in a Class 3A state quarterfinal loss to Glenbard North on Saturday, but Lions coach Griff Powell was thrilled with the ride his team took him on this season.

“We made it to the state series for our first time since 1996, and we were conference champs in the toughest conference in the state,” Powell said. “We won the regional, won the sectional, and put ourselves in a position to win a trophy. We had a great year.”

Glenbard North went on to wrestle Minooka for the 3A team state title.
Against LT (19-3), the Panthers earned an 8-3 edge in matches won in building a 36-10 lead, before forfeiting the final three weights to the Lions.

North earned bonus points in four of those eight wins, while only LT senior Drew Bates managed bonus points for the Lions, in a 14-0 major decision at 135 pounds.

Seniors Joe Gonzalez (215) and Brian Pieroth (285) won straight decisions, while Luke Polka (145), Matt Nora (152), and Jack Pearson (160) received forfeits.

“I think they just had more confidence than we did,” Bates said. “Their guys who weren’t supposed to be as good came out and wrestled hard, and our guys didn’t. It’s got to be a full team thing if you’re going to win here.”

Powell agreed. “They won the swing matches and they did all the little things that you have to do to win a trophy and put yourself in position to win the state title,” he said. “They were better than we were today, without a doubt.”

Bates (130) and Gonzalez (215) were state runners-up at the individual state finals last week and Nora earned a third-place medal to lead a parade of seven state qualifiers to Champaign.

Polka, Pieroth, Jack Windmoeller (135), and Jaime Jones (189) were also state qualifiers this season, for an LT team that went 6-0 in duals in the West Suburban Conference’s Silver Division.

The Lions’ nine senior starters went into Powell’s program as promising freshmen and left by fulfilling that promise in 2011.

“We’ve been working hard for a long time. I started in third grade,” Bates said. “We came together, worked hard, and just fell a little bit short.”

“We had a great senior group and a lot of them had a chance to qualify for state,” Powell said. “A few came up short but they had a great senior season in terms of how they performed in the conference duals and in the tournaments throughout the year.

“We’re going to miss this group.”