ROCHELLE — It was business as usual on Wednesday for the Rochelle Hub varsity wrestlers, who remained undefeated on the season after a pair of dominant nonconference victories. 

Rochelle flexed its muscles during its triangular meet with Sterling and Marengo, recording nine falls and nine technical falls across two duals to move to 6-0 on the season. The Hubs opened the evening with a 50-28 victory over Sterling before ending the night with a 55-21 victory over Marengo. Junior Deegan Schabacker was one of eight two-match winners for the Hubs, who will face Kaneland on the road Thursday before traveling for the Washington Duals on Friday night.

“I think we’re all wrestling well,” Schabacker said. “I was being more aggressive on my feet and wrestling smarter. I’m trying to go as far as I can and take things more seriously than I did last year. I want to get better in neutral and I need to use my head more when I wrestle. My practice partners and I work really hard in the room and we’re trying to get better however we can.”

Senior Grant Gensler earned Rochelle’s first win in the dual against Sterling, using the hurt box technique to his advantage for three near falls and a 17-0 technical fall over Tatum Allen at 165 pounds. Junior Roman Villalobos made easy work of Colt Buntjer at 190 rounds, scoring three first-period takedowns before a reversal and near fall led to a pin in the second period.

Senior Kaiden Morris followed with a decisive win at 215 pounds, taking down Axel Valdivia three times before recording a fall midway through the first period. While the Golden Warriors received forfeits at 285 pounds and 106 pounds, it wasn’t enough to slow down the Hubs, who took the win at 113 pounds after junior Freddie Hernandez took down and pinned Evan Jones.

Freshman Aidan Lopez kept the Hubs rolling, using two third-period takedowns to finish off a 17-1 technical fall over Landon Heckman at 120 pounds. In the marquee matchup of the night, senior Xavier Villalobos dominated his bout against Zyan Westbrook at 132 pounds, scoring multiple takedowns and extending Rochelle’s lead to 33-24 with a 17-2 technical fall.

Schabacker needed only 38 seconds for a first-period takedown and fall over Adrian Pineda at 138 pounds. Junior Frank Nasca sealed Rochelle’s victory with a hard-fought win at 144 pounds, turning a 6-0 lead into a third-period fall over Sterling’s Jonahas Tyne. Junior Brenden Voight finished the dual off with a 19-3 technical fall over Elian Rascon at 157 pounds.

“A lot of the guys have been practicing all offseason, which is good for us,” Nasca said. “With some of us coming in from football, we were a little slow to start the season, but we’re definitely catching up and getting our conditioning back. I’ve been trying to work on my counter ties and my defense. I try to work on my defense as much as I can. I’m definitely trying to score points and help us win duals. Personally, I want to succeed and hopefully be a state qualifier.”

Marengo

Rochelle took the first two bouts of its dual against Marengo. Roman Villalobos turned two takedowns into a first-period fall over Devin Storti at 190 pounds before Kaiden Morris compiled three takedowns and two near falls in his 16-1 technical fall over Owen Bills at 215 pounds. Freddie Hernandez racked up five takedowns in his 18-3 technical fall over Jaden Ortega at 113 pounds and Aidan Lopez took a forfeit at 120 pounds to give the Hubs a 22-12 advantage.

Junior Keagan Albers bounced back from a loss in Rochelle’s dual against Sterling, using just 24 seconds for a takedown-to-fall combination against Marengo’s Eli Brase at 126 pounds. Deegan Schabacker was just as fast in his match against Diego Romo, scoring a takedown and fall in only 29 seconds to win at 138 pounds. Frank Nasca started a string of three straight technical falls, notching five takedowns in his 19-4 win over Hunter Boley at 144 pounds.

Sophomore Josh Lassiter capitalized on his rolling technique during his match against Jacob Stonis, earning two near falls in the first period of his 17-1 victory at 150 pounds. Brenden Voight scored 10 points in the second period of his match against Owen Ostler, turning a takedown into back-to-back near falls for a 17-0 victory at 157 pounds. Grant Gensler capped off the dual win with a 27-second takedown-to-fall over Gavin Boorsma at 165 pounds.