Wrestling: Libertyville has four winners at regionals
By bob gosman Contributor February 6, 2012 11:48PM
Kayne MacCallum of the Wildcats (top) takes charge of Warren's Aaron Brewton during the 152-pound final on Saturday. | Joe Cyganowski~For Sun-Times Media
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Updated: April 10, 2012 11:54AM
At one point in the season, Libertyville High School sophomore wrestler Kayne MacCallum had a 3-8 record.
That must seem like a long time ago.
MacCallum (152 pounds) currently sports a 17-9 mark, and can add the title of regional champion to his résumé. MacCallum defeated Warren’s Aaron Brewton 2-1 in overtime during Saturday’s Libertyville Regional.
“He’s a great competitor,” said Wildcats coach Dale Eggert.“I’m thrilled for him.”
MacCallum missed the first four weeks of the season recovering from a knee injury sustained during football. Once he regained his conditioning, MacCallum started to display his form. His record early on also was hurt by the tough competition he faced in a number of tournaments.
MacCallum’s performance helped Libertyville place second in the regional with 174.5 points. Grant (180) won the overall title, and McHenry (119) and Warren (111.5) were second and third, respectively.
Big match: Early in the 145-pound championship match between Wildcats junior Austin Pettinato and McHenry’s Jake Pait, Pettinato sustained an ankle injury. He took the full 90 seconds of injury time, and there was the very real possibility that he would be unable to return.
Although Pettinato (32-9) was assured of advancing, it was important that he earn as high a seed as possible for the sectional tournament so that he would have a better chance of qualifying for State. So he grimaced, gutted out the pain and returned to the mat.
“He’s a very tough individual to begin with, but I was concerned,” Eggert said. “He had to find a way to put the pain out of his mind. He clicked into another gear that most guys don’t have and found a way to send the match into overtime.”
Pettinato ended up with a 6-4 victory in overtime.
“He was limping but he was able to finish it off,” Eggert said.
Moving on: The Wildcats will bring quite a contingent to the sectional meet. In addition to MacCallum and Pettinato, sophomore Steve Polakowski and junior Sal Ayala also earned regional titles.
All told, the team advanced nine wrestlers. Two Wildcats lost third-place matches.
Polakowski (30-7) defeated McHenry’s Mike Sikula 4-0 in the 113-pound final. Polakowski also won the conference title.
“He’s got plenty of experience and he’s a steady performer,” Eggert said.
Ayala (29-12) scored an exciting 13-11 decision over Grant’s Charles Williams in the final at 160. Ayala fell behind 7-3 in the second period before a reverse led to three points.
“It’s tough to come back from four points, but (Ayala) was able to put some points together in a hurry,” Eggert said. “He needed every one of them. It was very exciting.”
Senior Pat Fitzgerald (32-9) finished in second place at 120 after losing 4-2 to Grant’s Ben Soumar in a match that went to overtime.
“It was a good match and could have gone either way,” Eggert said.
Senior Charlie Meyer (23-17) placed second at 132. He fell to Zion-Benton’s Abel Rios 6-3 in the title bout.
“He has the ability to rise to the occasion in big matches,” Eggert said. “He’s very workmanlike; he just goes about his business.”
Sophomores Kevin Barbian (220) and Chris McDermand (285) each placed second. Barbian (23-15) was pinned by Grant star Quinton Quarles, who now has a 34-3 record. McDermand (29-10) lost to Grant’s Dan Haeffele 5-1.
“It’s not easy to be a sophomore at the upper weights,” Eggert said. “Both guys are coachable and have a maturity about them.”
Sophomore Austin Koziol lost in the first round but battled his way through the backdraw to finish third at 170. He edged Mundelein’s Javier Dominguez 6-5 in the third-place match.
“He has a good mind about him during competition,” Eggert said. “He knows his limitations and how to fight his way back.”
The near misses were Kyle May (4th at 126) and Josh Hirth (4th at 138).
On the schedule: The Wildcats will compete in the Barrington Sectional Friday and Saturday.
“We’ll compete as hard as we can and try to get some people to State,” Eggert said.
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