Franklin Park Herald-Journal
Pioneer Press released February 8, 2006
BY DANNY CARLINO
CONTRIBUTOR
Both Leyden and Elmwood Park came into the Fenton Regional knowing their inexperienced wrestlers would not have an easy road to make sectionals, but each team was able to get someone through to the next round. Elmwood Park senior Rudy Bahena earned his first appearance, while Leyden booked eight spots for the Eagles' own sectional, which will begin Friday and conclude Saturday.
Overall, Leyden missed out on qualifying as an entire team by eight points, finishing with a score of 155.5 -- good for third place. Lake Park won the title (181) with Maine South (163.5) taking the second and final team spot for the Fenwick Sectional with points. Elmwood Park took eighth place in the nine-team field with a score of 23. "I'm pretty excited about how we've competed all season," said Leyden head coach Jason Potter. "It was exciting to see how many guys got through considering how young we are. They really stepped up." Of the eight Leyden qualifiers, Matt Soch was the only champion. The sophomore proved why he was the top seed going into the meet when he pinned his way to the 135-pound title, upping his record to 23-9. This will be his second straight sectional appearance after qualifying last year as a freshman. "We knew if he wrestled well that he'd win it," Potter said. "He came ready to go, and we know what he's capable of doing. He continues to wrestle hard after having a rough spot in the middle of the season. I will be excited to see him compete this weekend." Five more Leyden qualifiers reached the finals in their respective weight classes but fell short in the championship bout. Senior D.J. Rodriguez (27-12 at 160 pounds) and junior Chris Reed (21-11 at 119) have records that seem to fit a second-place finisher. The other three, though, seemingly came out of nowhere to get to the final. Sophomore Isiah Recinos finished second at 112, while classmate Bhavik Patel (15-12) earned the runner-up spot at 103. Anthony Raimondi knocked off top seed Darren Shaw of Lake Park at 152 with a dramatic pin -- just after taking a one-point lead with 12 seconds remaining -- in his semifinal match to earn a shot at the championship. Elmwood Park's qualifier also finished in second place. Bahena has a 25-11 record and didn't deviate from his form during the season to earn that spot at 140 pounds. Why toy with success in a critical situation when you have a good record like that? He didn't, and -- as the third seed -- Bahena upset the second seed, defeating Maine South's Matt Heller 6-2 before falling to the top seed in the final. "I told him to stick to what he was doing all year," Elmwood Park head coach Lane Stone said of Bahena. "Don't try anything new. Stick with what's worked. He went out there and pinned his first guy in the first period. He wrestled well. It was not like he made any mistakes. He just got out-wrestled in that last match. He was a little disappointed that he lost, but he is also excited that he is moving on to next level." Elmwood Park thought they might have someone joining Bahena in the next round, but freshman Matt Rivera withdrew from the 103-pound field after suffering a concussion during training. After consulting a doctor, competing was just not worth the risk. He will have opportunities in the future. Two Eagles also took third-place honors on Saturday, as David Turner and Adam Schammert came up big in their respective consolation matches. Turner, a junior, won a 6-5 nailbiter to claim the third and final qualifying spot at 215, while Shammert earned a pin in the second round to even his record at 18-18 and advance to the sectional at 130 in his freshman year. Things will get tougher for everyone as the scene shifts to the sectional round. It will be a bit more comfortable for Leyden's qualifiers since the sectional will be at their home gym in Franklin Park. The Eagles will try as best they can to put that comfort zone to their advantage. "I think it's definitely to our advantage," Potter said. "It takes a lot of the nerves out of it. Any time when you have to win to continue, you'll take anything you can to feel comfortable and normal and just think about wrestling." The quality of competition moves up a notch, but that doesn't mean the results have to match the predictions. Keeping a level head and a positive outlook can do wonders when a state finals appearance is at stake. Whoever keeps his eye better focused on the prize has the best chance of reaching it.
"You just have to win a couple key matches," Stone said. "That's what has happened in the past. Anybody can win and be beat. This is the time when all the upsets happen. (Rudy) has 11 losses, and some kids will overlook him. The wrestlers he has lost to are all tough guys." "As far as records go it's easy to overlook us, but if the kids wrestle as hard as they can, they have the potential to upset people and get through," said Potter.
Franklin Park Herald-Journal
Pioneer Press released January 11, 2006
BY RICK BEHREN
CONTRIBUTOR
Leyden wrestler D.J. Rodriguez not only won the championship in his weight division at Saturday's 30th Leyden Wrestling Invitational, he also won the respect and admiration of several other coaches.
Leyden finished tied for fifth place at the meet, which featured grapplers from 11 schools, but Rodriguez went 3-0 in his 160-pound weight class matches and also won the Most Outstanding Wrestler award, voted on after the meet by the coaches of participating schools. Rodriguez (18-8 overall) began the impressive day with a 2-0 decision over Josh Napier of Oak Forest. He then defeated Quantez Jackson of Vernon Hills 16-4 before winning the championship with a 10-4 decision against Prentice Phillips of Conant. "There were no real surprises today," said Leyden head wrestling coach Jason Potter. "D.J. wrestled to his capability and it resulted in a brilliant tourney. He has a lot of potential and today it was his turn to shine. "I look for a consistency in wrestling and if D.J. is on the offensive and he just relaxes and wrestles he's at his best. Today that was the D.J. people saw," Potter added. The Leyden coach said he was pleased with many of the other performances from his wrestlers but admitted, "We lost a few that were disappointing." Leyden's Chris Reed (14-5) took a third place at the meet, finishing with a 2-1 record at 119 pounds. Reed won his first match by pinning Mahul Amin of Oak Forest at 2 minutes 20 seconds before losing to Geno Capezio of Glenbard North in a 14-7 decision. He then won the third-place match against Adam Wright of Conant in a 6-3 decision. "Chris took a third and he is getting better every week," Potter said. "We had a kind of down week at 103 pounds and 130 and 135 pounds but we should get better in coming weeks." The Eagles' Jason Giron (7-8) went 3-1 on the day but could only muster a fifth-place finish. He lost his first match to New Trier's John Russo by a 7-4 decision before beating Plainfield North's Paul Duke by a fall at the 3:21 mark and Keith O'Brien of Oak Forest in a 4-2 decision. He then bested Ken Aleksiak of Conant by fall at the 3:16 mark to take fifth place. Matt Soch, 135 pounds, and David Turner, 215 pounds, also went 2-1 on the day and had fifth-place finishes for Leyden. Potter said he is looking for a few more wrestlers to peek during upcoming dual meets, "just in time for the regionals. If we peek at the right time, I'll be happy."
Glenbard North finished first overall at the invitational with 333.50 points, followed by New Trier, 182.50; Stevenson, 149; Conant, 144; Leyden and Vernon Hills, 113; Oak Forest, 88; Maine East, 69; Highland Park, 64; Plainfield North, 8; and Blue Island Eisenhower, 6.50.
River Grove Messenger
Pioneer Press released December 14, 2005
BY DANNY CARLINO
CONTRIBUTOR
After dropping their opening dual at Rolling Meadows on Nov. 22, Leyden's wrestlers took 11th in the 16-team field at the Conant Invite over last weekend. It's a young team with seven sophomores and a freshman as part of the mix. It was that freshman who placed the highest at Conant on the day.
Adam Schammert took fifth place at 130 pounds with four wins and two losses in the tournament. He fell in the semifinals in overtime, but what he showed overall stuck in his coach's mind. "He really came to wrestle for a freshman," said Leyden head coach Jason Potter. "I was impressed with the way he came out to compete. If you looked at the team, you wouldn't know he was the freshman in the group." Senior D.J. Rodriguez also took fifth place at 160 pounds. Sophomore Bhavik Patel took sixth at 103 pounds while junior Chris Reed finished the day in seventh place in the 119-pound division. "As the season goes on, I will be looking for them to shine," Potter said. "They're going to improve greatly through the season. A few went up and beyond with their lack of experience. You never know how they'll handle being in their first tournament." One wrestler handled things particularly well in the dual meet at Rolling Meadows. Senior Tony Raimondi won his 152-pound bout and gave the Eagles a 31-30 lead in the match. Schammert and sophomore Matt Soch (135 pounds) also got key wins that day before the host school came back to seal the deal. The effort is there, and some talent is starting to shine through. It's up to rookie coach Potter and assistant coaches Byron Benion and Jim Rosetti to extract the skills from each wrestler throughout the season. Being that so many of the athletes are new to the sport, the staff feels that will make things easier when it comes to developing each wrestler's style. "I'm learning as much about them as I can as it goes on," Potter said. "It's a unique situation where the whole team - including the coaching staff - is learning about each other. The fact that they're raw makes them easier to mold so I can really teach them what I want them to know. They're willing to learn, intense and in great shape. For a first week, I'm pretty happy with how the wrestlers have grown."
This week the Eagles have two outings. First the conference season opens on Friday night at Willowbrook before Leyden hosts the first of two quad tournaments on Saturday.
Daily Herald
Wrestling: Conference previews
By Mike Garofola | Daily Herald Correspondent
Posted Friday, December 02, 2005
WSC GOLD
Leyden
Coach: Jason Potter (First year).
Last year: (4th WSC Gold; 3rd at Lake Park regional).
Key losses: Jordan McCabe (3-time state qualifier, Harper), Zach Lynch (2-time sectional qualifier, 23 wins, Kentucky), Joe Balogh (2-time sectional qualifier, 24 wins, Western Illinois), Julio Santana (2- time sectional qualifier, 16 wins), Jordan Lima.
Top returners: Seniors D.J. Rodriguez (171, 2-time sectional qualifier, 32 wins), juniors Chris Reed (119, sectional qualifier, 21 wins), Emil Raytchev (125), David Turner (215); sophomore Matt Soch (135, sectional qualifier, 17 wins).
New faces: Senior Tony Raimondi (152); junior Juan Giron (160); sophomores Bhavik Patel (103), Isaiah Recinos (112), Mike Cocozza (140), Mike Feldmann (145), Vince Leidig (189), John Burke (275); freshman Adam Schammert (130).
Outlook: Youth is the theme for Potter, who inherits the talented Rodriguez and only four others (2 sectional qualifiers) on a club that features 7 sophomores and 1 freshman on its varsity roster. “We had so many competitive wrestle-offs the week prior to our dual (with Rolling Meadows) and the tournament at Conant last weekend to decide our starting lineup and the guys really competed hard at both places,” said Potter, who takes over for former coach Kevin Summerville. Despite wrestling for the first time ever when he entered high school three years ago, the athletic Rodriguez (49 wins, 2 years) has been able to earn a pair of visits to the sectionals, and the respect of his opponents. “The potential for D.J. is unlimited If we can get him to fine-tune the technical part of his game, to go along with whatever he does so naturally.”
Franklin Park Herald-Journal
Wednesday, December 7, 2005
Reed paces up-and-down Eagles
BY DANNY CARLINO
CONTRIBUTOR
Leyden wrestling's weekend was a mixed bag as the young squad opened its first conference dual with a loss to Willowbrook on Friday before winning a match in a quad meet the Eagles hosted on Saturday.
The win over the weekend came in the match-up against Buffalo Grove on Saturday as Leyden prevailed 43-32. The Eagles fell to Lake Zurich 36-34 and New Trier 52-18. New Trier dominated the meet winning the other two confrontations it had as well. Junior Chris Reed had the best weekend of all. He went undefeated in his four bouts in the two days. He recorded a pin against Willowbrook and New Trier at 119 pounds while recording a 14-6 victory against Lake Zurich and an 8-2 triumph with his Buffalo Grove opponent. He is now 4-2 on the season. "We know he's very talented," said Leyden head coach Jason Potter. "He had a slow weekend the week before. He is one of the leaders of the team and capable of doing great things. He has athletic ability and is in tremendous shape. He gets his body ready and competes hard and can win close matches in the third period. He does what you ask him in the practice room." Sophomore Matt Soch also swept through his bouts on Saturday, and he did it in quite impressive fashion. Soch pinned his Buffalo Grove opponent while shutting out his counterpart from Lake Zurich 4-0 and cruising past New Trier 8-2. Juan Giron overcame a lot of obstacles to come away unscathed on Saturday. While only weighing in at 160 pounds, the junior won both bouts he competed in at 171 pounds. He's still pretty raw, but his hard work was enough to carry him through on Saturday. Expect more from him when he gets more experience and is truly comfortable with all the techniques on the mat. Besides Reed, sophomore Bhavik Patel (103 pounds), freshman Adam Schammert (130), senior D.J. Rodriguez (171) and Vito Derisi (215) won their respective bouts in the 41-26 loss to Willowbrook. Rodriguez and Schammert top the team with season records of 7-3 up to this point. Coming up for the Eagles this week is another Friday night conference showdown as Leyden hosts Downers Grove South in its first home dual meet. A trip to Maine East is in store for the Eagles on Saturday as they compete in a quad meet. Every week is another advancement in the learning process for these wrestlers, and Potter feels they've made improvements so far. He's looking for more from them every step of the way.
"We're young, so most of the guys don't have the technique that the seniors and juniors on other teams would have," he said. "They can rely on technique, but our kids have to outwork their opponents. If we make key adjustments this week, and everyone is ready to go, we can turn the corner and go in the right direction."