Returning seniors on the Rochelle Hub varsity wrestling team had revenge on their minds as they took the mat for their season-opening dual against Dixon on Tuesday night.
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BURLINGTON — Returning seniors on the Rochelle Hub varsity wrestling team had revenge on their minds as they took the mat for their season-opening dual against Dixon on Tuesday night.
Looking to avenge a loss to the Dukes last year, Rochelle found itself trailing early in the match, with Dixon taking a 27-9 lead after winning six of the first eight bouts. The Hubs took control as the match progressed to the upper weights, however, as Rochelle delivered two pins and two technical falls over the final six bouts to clutch out a 37-34 win over the Dukes. The victory set the tone for the Hubs, who dominated Burlington Central 62-18 later in the evening to start 2-0.
“It’s huge for our confidence that we came back and beat Dixon after a tough loss to them last year,” said senior Xavier Villalobos, one of four Hubs to win by fall against the Dukes. “We have a lot of things we still need to work on, but it feels good to start off strong… We’re all a family and we’re all pushing each other to be the best we can be. Everybody in the room wants to get better so we can make it down to state. We want Rochelle to be a team to look out for.”
Rochelle’s first win against the Dukes came from freshman Aidan Lopez, who scored two takedowns and three reversals during his 13-6 major decision over Kye Dieterle in the 120-pound bout. Villalobos followed with a first-period fall over Gavin Kramer in the 132-pound bout, but three straight victories from the Dukes put the Hubs in an 18-point hole. Junior Brenden Voight sparked Rochelle’s rally with a 16-1 technical fall in the 157-pound bout.
The Hubs made the score 25-27 after senior Grant Gensler took a forfeit and senior Matt Lynn locked down a key victory in the 175-pound bout, where he compiled five takedowns, including three in the second period, for a 20-3 technical fall against Dixon’s Spencer Pleskovitch. Junior Roman Villalobos pinned Daniel Fordham in the 190-pound bout to give Rochelle its first lead.
Leading 31-27 with two bouts remaining, Rochelle clinched the dual win over the Dukes in the 215-pound bout, where senior Kaiden Morris overcame an 8-4 deficit in the first period to beat Dixon’s Will Howell by second-period fall. The match nearly went the way of the Dukes, as Howell came within inches of pinning Morris, who navigated out of bounds to reset the match.
“This was a dual that was marked on my calendar for a while,” Morris said. “We had a pretty heartbreaking loss to them last year, but we came back and I thought we wrestled well for the amount of practice we’ve been able to put in. It’s a confidence booster, but there’s so much room for growth. We’re returning just about everybody and we have a few spots we’re sewing up. I think we have a great team and I think we’ll definitely be able to make a run.”
Burlington Central
The Hubs controlled their match against Burlington Central from start to finish, winning 11 of the 14 bouts and recording eight falls. Freshman Aidan Lopez took a forfeit and junior Keagan Albers scored a first-period fall over David Wyruchowski to win the 126-pound bout. Xavier Villalobos followed with two takedowns in a 7-0 decision over Austin Lee in the 132-pound bout.
Leading 15-0, Rochelle added to its total after Deegan Schabacker took a 7-2 lead over Barry Yildirim into the second period, where Schabacker pinned to take the 138-pound bout. Junior Frank Nasca then claimed the 144-pound bout against Jack Aguirre, holding an 11-7 advantage before scoring a third-period takedown and fall at the 4:45 mark to extend Rochelle’s lead.
Sophomore Josh Lassiter continued the pinning streak in the 150-pound bout, where Lassiter struck down RJ Perez to give the Hubs a 38-6 lead. Brenden Voight dominated the 157-pound bout against Samvir Denineni, earning four takedowns and one near fall in the first period alone before adding a fifth takedown in the second period for an 18-2 technical fall. Grant Gensler needed only 20 seconds to take down and pin Gavin Theisen to win the 165-pound bout.
Roman Villalobos and Kaiden Morris each collected pins for the Hubs, with Villalobos beating Michael Junitz to claim the 190-pound bout and Morris locked down a first-period fall to take the 215-pound bout. Rochelle’s final victory of the night came in the 113-pound bout, where junior Freddie Hernandez rallied from a 3-1 hole to pin Eduardo Venes in the second period. Rochelle (2-0, 0-0 Interstate 8) will return to action at the Giardini Invitational in Rockford next weekend.
