Record-setting seasons are difficult to duplicate for any high school athletic program. After losing several contributing seniors this past year, the Rochelle varsity wrestling team faced more challenges during the 2018-19 season as first-year head coach Alphonso Vruno reworked his lineup with returning talents and new faces.
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ROCHELLE — Record-setting seasons are difficult to duplicate for any high school athletic program. After losing several contributing seniors this past year, the Rochelle varsity wrestling team faced more challenges during the 2018-19 season as first-year head coach Alphonso Vruno reworked his lineup with returning talents and new faces.
The Hubs went 9-19 during dual matches this winter, finishing 12th out of 23 schools at the Mahomet-Seymour Marty Williams Invitational and eighth out of 12 teams in the Rockford East Giardini Invitational. RTHS placed eighth in the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference before taking fourth in the IHSA Class 2A Rochelle Regional.
“We knew we may not be as good as we were during the 2017-18 season,” Vruno said. “But we knew we would still have some hammers and we knew we could still compete. We battled some adversity throughout the season, and we had several starters out of the lineup at different times due to injuries or sickness. It was a real battle for us.”
Two individual state qualifiers including sophomore Ben Harvey (44-5 at 182) and senior Eddie Villalobos (16-8 at 138) led Rochelle in the mat room this winter. Villalobos will be one of seven seniors including varsity starters Jacob Fore (12-14 at 152), James Rodriguez (4-9 at 285) and Pedro Lopez (12-13 at 220) who will graduate from the program this year.
“Our senior class brought varying things to the table for us,” Vruno said. “Eddie brought a very high level of talent, and he also brought close to half of our fan base every time he wrestled. The fans and the kids in our wrestling club got excited every time he went out and competed.”
As Rochelle prepares to transition into the Interstate Eight Conference next year, juniors such as Keegan Davis-Carter (18-22 at 132), Zeke Horn (18-24 at 160), Bryan Garza (26-14 at 170), Gavin Ansteth (26-15 at 195) and Zack Capes (8-13 at 285) will be counted on for more victories. Returning sophomores including Harvey, Ivan Pineda (4-28 at 106), Grant Thompson (16-17 at 126), and NIB-12 Open Championship winner Ethan Albers will help as well.
“I’m really excited,” Vruno said. “Our process will be to keep building throughout the offseason… It’s important for the kids to stay active and keep wrestling in the back of their minds. We see ourselves doing better next year, and both the coaching staff and I have talked about recruiting more kids in the school to fill some weight classes.”