This past weekend DGS hosted the annual Larry Gassen boys varsity wrestling tournament, hosting 20 different teams with 14 who are ranked in Illinois.
DGS placed fourth overall going 3-2. Their lineup for the day was: 106 pounds Trevor DiNaso, 113 pounds Miguel Castaneda, 120 pounds Jadon Dinwiddie, 126 pounds Jordan Christin-Holley, 132 pounds Drew Woolsey, 138 pounds Nicholas Spirek, 144 pounds TJ Johnson, 150 pounds Eduardo Sanchez, 157 pounds Hugo Contreras, 165 pounds Noah Greene, 165 pounds Connor Kelly, 175 pounds RJ Samuels, 190 pounds Alex Auernhamer, 190 pounds Matty Lapacek, 215 pounds Mack Piehl and 285 pounds Jacobi Spraggins.
Crystal Lake was their first duel of the day (46-10). DiNaso started the match off with a pin against Colin Mize, which was followed by five more pins that gave DGS a high lead.
The second duel of the day was against Tinley Park (51-16). This was Lapacek’s first match back after a long back injury, but it did not stop Lapacek from dominating the match; he pinned Jordan Wandick at 3:24.
“I felt really good being back on the mat and excited to move along in the season. Wrestling this top competition and going 3-0 was a very big relief and overall a good feeling to get my hand raised,” Lapacek said.
The last duel in the pool play bracket was against Coal City, who was ranked the highest in the tournament. It was a close duel, but DGS pulled off a 39-34 win. Lapacek also finished his match over Cade Poyner with a pin at 1:36.
“I liked how our team did and how we wrestled. We dueled top teams, one of which was ranked first in 1a and going 3-2. They were all very close duels, I was proud of how our team came together,” Lapacek said.
Going into bracket play with a 3-0 record, DGS was placed in the championship bracket, they went against Barrington. The other duel was Lincoln-Way East up against Chatham (Glenwood).
DGS started the match off slowly, losing the first six matches, but Greene, Samuels, Lapacek and Piehl gained some points from their matches. It was not enough, however, as DGS fell to Barrington (39-31), who in the end won the tournament.
The final match of the day for DGS was against Lincoln-Way East on the third place mat. DGS started the same way they did in the prior match, losing the first six matches, but only lost by three points. DGS finished off the day losing 39-36, placing fourth overall.
