Wrestling: Rochelle honors seniors against Freeport

Fore, Hasz, Lopez, Rodriguez & Villalobos recognized before final home dual meet

Russell Hodges
Posted 1/14/19

The Rochelle varsity wrestling team recognized five senior grapplers before the Hubs took the floor for the group’s final home dual meet of the season against Freeport on Tuesday.

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Wrestling: Rochelle honors seniors against Freeport

Fore, Hasz, Lopez, Rodriguez & Villalobos recognized before final home dual meet

Posted

ROCHELLE — The Rochelle varsity wrestling team recognized five senior grapplers before the Hubs took the floor for the group’s final home dual meet of the season against Freeport on Tuesday. 

Jacob Fore, Cody Hasz, Pedro Lopez, James Rodriguez and Eddie Villalobos all received loud applause from the Rochelle crowd as the Hubs geared up for their penultimate nonconference dual with the Pretzels. Rochelle rallied late with strong victories by sophomore Ben Harvey and junior Gavin Ansteth, but the Hubs fell just short, losing 48-31 and dropping to 9-19 overall.

“All five of the seniors have been part of the program for a long time,” head coach Alphonso Vruno said. “They’ve all contributed to the team and they’ve all done everything we’ve asked them to do, whether it’s wrestling junior varsity matches or practicing with certain people.”

Freeport began the match with Javon Thompson pinning Rochelle junior Zack Capes at 285 pounds. Tyler Calam then pinned Hub sophomore Ivan Pineda at 106 before Markel Baker earned a forfeit at 113 for the Pretzels. Jaylon Hail pinned Rochelle freshman Denny Johnson at 120 to give Freeport a 24-0 advantage before Hub sophomore Grant Thompson won by fall over Shay Schramm at 126 to get Rochelle on the scoreboard.

“The season’s been a roller coaster of good performances and poor performances,” Vruno said. “We’ve been battling through injuries, weight issues and keeping our mentality up in the locker room… I thought we left those things behind us tonight and we wrestled hard.”

K.K. Collier pinned Rochelle sophomore James Kopec at 132 before Hub junior Keegan Davis-Carter controlled Freeport’s Tarrone Jackson at 138, winning by 16-6 major decision to cut the Pretzel lead down to 30-10. Villalobos faced Christian Avila at 145 pounds, overcoming a series of blood stoppages to win by 9-2 decision in his first bout since Rochelle faced DeKalb nearly two months ago. Villalobos, a two-time state qualifier, had been sidelined with a back injury.

“His performance was exactly what we planned on,” Vruno said. “We know from last season what Eddie’s capable of and now it’s his job to try and get back there in a short amount of time. We’re looking for him to take a few people with him as well… We’re looking for him to step up as a senior leader.”

Leading 30-13, the Pretzels jumped further ahead after Keondre Jackson pinned Fore at 152, but the Hubs earned six points back when junior Zeke Horn received a forfeit at 160. Freeport’s Major Dedmond cradled Rochelle junior Bryan Garza into a pin at 170, setting the stage for two top-6 ranked state wrestlers in Harvey and NIC-10 Conference champion Matthew Chavers.

Harvey (No. 4 at Class 2A) and Chavers (No. 6 at Class 2A) grappled for control of the ring early in the first period before the Rochelle sophomore took Chavers down with authority, scoring two quick points before rotating around Chavers and successfully pinning the Freeport wrestler. Harvey’s decisive win preceded Ansteth’s dominant victory by fall over Duane Meighan at 195 to bring Rochelle within 11 points (42-31) of the Pretzels.

“Ben’s far stronger than me and I’m a 24-year-old man,” Vruno joked. “He’s very mature on and off the mat. He always has a plan when he’s on the mat, and his strength helps his abilities a lot. He stays in good positions which allows him to avoid being scored on.”

Freeport’s Ramon Flemming pinned Lopez at 220 to conclude the dual match. Rochelle will compete at the Northern Illinois Big 12 Varsity Conference Championships this weekend.