Three Wildkit Girls Move On To Mat Sectional

Fatima Gomez learned from her mistakes Saturday at the Grayslake Central Regional tournament.

And because she did, the Evanston senior kept her season alive and joined teammates Oyetola Rachael Jacobs and Omowonuola Fajimolu in claiming automatic berths for the Chicago Phillips Sectional tournament.

Gomez’s buzzer-beating pin of Deerfield’s Alexa Kirchen at 190 pounds --- after she lost a decision to Kirchen to open the tourney --- secured a third place finish for the ETHS standout. Both Jacobs (120 pounds) and Fajimolu (235) earned runner-up finishes in their respective weight classes as Evanston placed 6th in the team standings with 117 points.

The top four placers in each weight class automatically get the right to move on to sectional competition.

Experience counts for any high school athlete in the postseason, but especially in the sport of girls wrestling which is still in the early stages of gaining popularity. Not many girls who crack the starting lineup had any experience before they entered high school and that can make the difference between the season ending --- and staying alive.

Gomez stayed alive after bowing to Kirchen 6-0 in the first round of the two-day test on Friday.

“Fatima beat her at the (Central Suburban League) tournament, but for some reason that girl was seeded ahead of Fatima even though she won the title,” said ETHS coach Antonio Martinez. “Almost no one voted for Fatima. I’m just super proud of her for the way she came back after that loss.

“They wrestled each other twice before the tournament (and split). They know each other so well, they know each other’s weaknesses, and the first time that girl took her down and beat her. Give her credit because she had a game plan, and she stuck with it.

“But after she got past the blood round (medal qualifying), Fatima got the lead on her in that last match and then she used a changeover to put her on her back (official time of 6:00 on the pin). Fatima saw an opportunity, and she took advantage of it. That came down to her experience.”

Gomez improved to 19-7 on the season with that win. After bowing to Kirchen, she made quick work of her next three foes, pinning Emma Wilson of Niles West (0:56 seconds), Jaidyn Collins of Grayslake Central (0:45) and Angie Wszolek of Maine East (1:22) to build momentum towards that revenge victory versus Kirchen.

“I think all three of our girls (qualifiers) are peaking at the right time,” Martinez praised. “I made a point of telling Fatima before the tournament that you’re a senior and you’re done after this. So if you don’t leave it all out on the mat, you’re going to regret it. I think that caused her to step it up. It really lit a fire under her.”

At 120, Jacobs owned the No. 1 seed and looked like the grappler to beat with consecutive falls against Abigail Hernandez of Antioch (1:03), Lian Basa of Niles North (1:07) and Naleah Parham of Warren (5:20), but was no match for Stevenson’s Natasia Kobets in the title bout as Kobets scored a technical fall (16-1) triumph.

Jacobs, a sophomore, will take a 23-8 record to the sectional round.

“I still think Rachael was the better wrestler in that last match,” Martinez pointed out. “She just fell into what I call a head lock trap. It’s a beginner move really, but the Stevenson girl was good at it and it cost Rachael big points early on. She just got lulled into it again and again and again. That young lady seemed like she was afraid of Rachael, but she saw an opportunity --- and she took it.”

Fajimolu lost to Maine South’s Sophia Fortis, one of the leading contenders for the state heavyweight championship, for the third time among her six losses on the season in the finale there. Fajimolu, the No. 2 seed, advanced by pinning Lyric Walton of Maine East (1:28) and Jacklynn Linares of Waukegan (0:22) before falling behind Fortis 14-1 before getting pinned at the 3:26 mark.

The loss dropped Fajimolu to 20-6 on the season.

Evanston trailed only Warren (197.5 points), Stevenson (150), Antioch (130), Maine South (124) and Maine East (117.5) in the team standings. And the unwieldy size of the field (29 schools represented, not all by full lineups) also caused the Kits some bitter to go with the sweet realization of advancing three girls to the sectional.

The Illinois High School Association had difficulty finding a host for the regional and wound up splitting sites, with matches held at Vernon Hills on Friday and then at Grayslake Central on Saturday.

The competition lasted past 11 p.m. on Friday and the short turnaround eventually cost Evanston junior Samantha Gipson a chance to advance at 125 pounds. After winning her first two matches Friday with impressive pins, Gipson couldn’t make weight on Saturday and had to forfeit the rest of the way.

Gipson, according to her coach, missed making the weight cut by 2-10ths of a pound, a heartbreaking way to end her season.

“I know the other girls all had to deal with it, too,” said Martinez. “She made an error and it was just too late to correct it. She handled it pretty well and was there on Saturday cheering the others on. But I had an expectation that she’d make it to the sectional, too. I thought she’d be in the finals against the No. 1 girl in the state, and she’s wrestled well against that girl the three times they’ve met, even though she lost all three.

“It’s tough to swallow and I think there’s been horrible mismanagement of the regionals. There shouldn’t be more than 8 or 10 teams in a regional, and it’s hard to find a (host) school with 29 teams because it’s two days and a huge commitment for them.”