LT Roundup: Wrestlers, Swimmers Have Strong Finishes to 2011 [VIDEO]

Because of an injury, Lyons Township senior Tony Banda made his varsity wrestling debut at Palatine’s Berman Holiday Classic Dec. 27-28.

He left as one of the meet’s top wrestlers.

After losing his first match, Banda responded with five victories – all by pin – to finish fifth at 285 pounds in the 27-team meet.

LT (113.5 points) finished ninth with sophomore Adam Villarreal (third at 132 pounds) and seniors Jaime Jones (fourth at 182), Carter Beebe (eighth at 126) and Noah Avery (eighth at 152) also as top-eight placewinners.

Banda, the backup for injured senior starter Adam Rodgers, earned the invite’s award for the most pins in the shortest amount of cumulative time (5 minutes, 26 seconds).
 
“It’s a nice backup, isn’t it?” joked LT coach Griff Powell. “That was awesome (for Banda). That’s what we talk about with the kids. You might not be the starter, but you might get your chance and if you do, take advantage of it so you’ve got to work your butt off in the (wrestling) room and Tony’s done that.”

Banda, who pinned Hillcrest’s Matthew Daniels in 51 seconds for fifth, came close to finishing even higher. After being pinned his first match in 37 seconds, Banda had four straight pins, ranging in 46 seconds to 2:02, before being pinned by fourth-place Nicky Allegretti of Lincoln-Way East in 3:46.

Banda led Allegretti 2-1 late in the second period when he inadvertently grabbed Allegretti’s headgear, a one-point penalty, to force a 2-2 tie.

“Otherwise, (Banda) would have gone into the third period winning 2-1. He doesn’t have to go down (to start the third period) and now the kid has to take him down and Tony’s really good on his defense,” Powell said.

Villarreal (21-4 record) and Jones (16-6) also nearly placed higher and continued their strong seasons.

Villarreal was pinned in the quarterfinals by sixth-place Austin Graham of Metea Valley but responded with four straight victories in the backdraw, concluded by a 12-5 third-place victory over Lake’s Jose Collado. Villarreal, who already has as many victories as all of last season, had two earlier wins by pin and two by decision. 

Jones, No. 6 at 182 in the Class 3A rankings Dec. 21 by IllinoisMatmen.com,  led the third-place match when he pinned by Antioch’s Zach Freundt in 3:16.

Jones reached the semifinals before losing to second-place Chris Giatras of Lemont 12-8. In his next match, Jones trailed Lincoln-Way Central’s Brett Ditchman 4-0 after two periods but got a takedown with nine seconds left to force overtime at 5-5 and another takedown in sudden-death overtime to prevail 7-5.

“A.J. wrestled a great tournament. He made one mistake (against Graham), found a way to come all the way back and take third. Jaime wrestled a nice tournament, made one little mistake in that third-place match,” Powell said.

In their seventh-place matches, Beebe lost to Oswego’s Frank Yattoni 8-0 and Avery lost to Mundelein’s Jake Long by technical fall in 3:51.

Seniors Jack Pearson (12-10 and 160) and Justin Fuller (10-9 at 195) and juniors Jack Bates (15-9 at 145) and Eric Rende (8-6 at 170) had 3-2 overall records and were one victory from top-eight finishes. The Lions forfeited at 120 and 220, where senior Juan Montes was a late scratch because of a skin condition.

“We had some guys that wrestled well. We had some guys that didn’t wrestle well,” Powell said. “We were right there and lost a bunch of close matches. That could be the difference of us taking maybe fourth as opposed to ninth. We’re getting there. We just need to work on a few things.”

The Lions return to action Friday with a home dual against Downers Grove North and then compete in a triple dual at Lincoln-Way Central Saturday.

LT boys swimming and diving

The Lyons Township boys swimming team ended 2011 with a second-place finish that felt like a victory in other respects.

After a tough dual loss to rival Hinsdale Central, the Lions responded the next day with their runner-up finish at the Marmion Relays Dec. 17 in Aurora to the host Cadets. Bryon was third.

LT won the 200-yard freestyle relay with senior Kovas Zygas, junior Peter Dore and Joe Shannon and senior Danny McGuinness and the 300 breaststroke relay with junior Sean McMahon, freshmen Lucas O’Bryan and Ben Hewett and consistently had top-three finishes in the other events.
 
More important was the workman-like approach the 12 swimmers brought to the invite on the heels of the Lions’ 130-56 West Suburban Conference Silver Division home dual loss to the Red Devils.

“I just sat back and didn’t say anything to see how the kids would respond on their own (at Marmion). It was a positive meet for us,” LT coach Scott Walker said. “I said, ‘Guys this is exactly what (assistant coach Dana Krolikiewicz) and I have been waiting to see.’
 
“They warmed up the right way. They did it together. Their team spirit was phenomenal compared to (the Hinsdale Central dual). They all had some sort of leadership. They all felt like they had ownership. When there were breaks, they all got in the water, even the kids that were done.  I tell them any time you have an opportunity, get in and swim. I didn’t (say) anything and they all did it.”

Against Hinsdale Central, the Lions dropped to 1-1 in Silver duals with their lone varsity event victory from diver Craig Pace (161.80 points). The LT junior varsity won 100-78, and the freshmen lost 134-43.

The Lions had 18 swimmers sit out the meet because of injuries, illness or for team reasons. Walker said the team already has had seven swimmers who have missed time because of concussions.

“The highlight was we got to really see where we’re at. I’ve never had a butt kicking like that since I’ve been (head coach) here,” Walker said. “That’s why I was really happy to see what happened (at Marmion) because they raced. They swam with a little attitude, not like we did (against Hinsdale Central).”

That approach is especially important because the Lions are trying to rebuild the varsity with an inexperienced lineup that’s using several underclassmen. Walker is optimistic the group is learning how to train and be competitive on that level and mold as a unit.

The Lions return to action with a Silver dual meet at York Friday.

“I really think the reason we did so well (at Marmion) is because it wasn’t one kid. It was across the board, all of the freshmen, sophomores, all classes took ownership with one another,” Walker said.

 “My expectations are no different than they’ve been the last 18 years. Everything up on the record board and everything that hangs in the hallways is because of these same expectations. It’s starting to come around and a lot of it is because they haven’t trained in the offseason.”

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