Junior Bazil Bennett (right) went toe-to-toe with Dixon state qualifier Andrew Wolber (left) at the IHSA Class 2A Team Sectional at Rochelle Township High School a few weeks ago. (Photo by Russell Hodges)
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ROCHELLE — After taking home a NIB-12 conference championship for the first time in school history last season, the Hubs varsity wrestling team took things one step further this year, winning a first-ever individual regional title and sending eight competitors to the sectional tournament and two to the state finals in Champaign.
And that’s just an appetizer for what could be coming next season.
With only one senior set to graduate (Jon Drilling), the Rochelle wrestling program is loaded with young talent at the freshman, sophomore and junior levels. While head coach Rich Harvey is keeping his expectations tempered, he said Thursday that he’s excited about the depth his program has.
“We have to work in the offseason to get stronger and I think the kids are willing to do that,” Harvey said. “There are going to be a lot of great matches in our mat room next year because we have good depth at a lot of our weights… We’re so young and it’s a nice opportunity for our kids to compete in the mat room and make themselves better to make the team better.”
Other standout performers include sectional qualifiers Nick Henson (19-16), Aidan Eckhardt (16-15) and Jesse Mohica (6-10), who battled his way onto the varsity lineup after wrestling most of the year with the junior varsity team, which finished 16-3 in duals this year and took second at the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference Tournament. Freshman Keegan Davis (10-17) and junior Bazil Bennett (9-10) also reached the sectional tournament this season, while sophomore Edwin Vega (17-19) and junior Austin Tracey (15-13) both compiled winning records for the Hubs.
Combined with up-and-comers from the junior varsity team such as freshman Diego Escobar and sophomores Will Jandak and Brandon Johnson, Harvey said he’s pleased with the progress his boys have made over the past few years, and he’s excited to continue working with Rochelle’s junior competitors in both the Rochelle Wrestling Club and the Rochelle Middle School wrestling program.
“Our kids club is sending more kids up into the high school experience and it’s paying off, he said. “The kids program and the junior high program are sending kids into high school with more experience and we are seeing more success because of that.”