Monday, September 8, 2014

Welcome Back!!!

Downers Grove South High School is now entering their third full week of school and the pre-season for the DGS Wrestling Program is upon us.  There were many things to celebrate this summer, below you will find some of those highlights.  In addition to the success of the Mustangs, there are also several announcements about our pre-season Strength and Conditioning and Wrestling programs.

SUMMER SUCCESS

  • 2014 World Wrestling Camp Team Champions
  • Zach Muller (SO)- Cadet Greco National Qualifier
  • Mike Hobbs-  Junior Freestyle and Greco- All-American (5X All-American)
  • Sergio Villalobos (FR)-  Schoolboy Team IL Freestyle and Greco- Greco All-American
  • Mark Chapman (JR)- Midwest Nationals Champion
  • Zach Muller (SO) and Cormac Burke (JR)- 2014 Off-Season Points Leaders and winners of custom DGS Headphones from Flips Audio


FALL ANNOUCEMENTS/PRE-SEASON

  • DGS Wrestling Boosters Meeting- Tuesday, September 9- 7:00 PM in D180
    • Meetings will be held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month through May
  • Pre-Season Meeting on Thursday, September 11th- 2:30/3:30 in D174
  • 2014 DGS Wrestling Tailgate- Friday, September 12th- 5:30 PM-7:00 PM- Parking Lot by Baseball field
  • Strength and Conditioning begins on Monday, September 15th
    • Monday and Wednesday from 2:30 PM-4:30 PM
    • Friday from 6:20 AM-7:20 AM
  • Pre-Season Wrestling will begin Tuesday, October 7th
    • Tuesday and Thursday from 2:30 PM-4:30 PM
UPDATED DAILY CALENDAR ON DGS WRESTLING BLOG
  • If you want to know what is on the schedule for the day, check the bottom of the DGS Wrestling Blog as it will have the daily events for the DGS Wrestling Program year round.  
SEE BELOW




Sunday, May 18, 2014

Two Mustangs Place at IL Greco State Tournament

The "unofficial" Spring season came to an end as two members of the DGS Wrestling program participated and placed in the 2014 IL Greco State Tournament.  Greco Roman Wrestling is a unique style where wrestlers cannot use their legs to trip their opponents and cannot grab their opponents legs with their hands.  While there are a lot of upper body throws in Greco, the main focus of Greco is in the hand fighting, mat awareness, and mental toughness it builds.

Senior Michael Hobbs added to his hardware collection as he won the 285 weight class in the Junior Division.  Hobbs was not challenged on the day as he tech falled everyone in his weight class, including lifting a wrestler who weighed over 250 lbs over his head and bringing him to the mat.  Hobbs now qualifies for the Asics Junior National Tournament in both Greco and Freestyle where is already a 3X All-American.  Hobbs looks to become a 5X All-American which would make him the most decorated Freestyle and Greco wrestler in the history of DGS.

Freshman Zach Muller also wrestled in the Greco State tournament.  Muller had a small but tough pool in the 220 lb Cadet Division.  Muller dropped his first match to returning Cadet All-American All Stallings and then faced an opponent who had already defeated Stallings.  Muller battled in the first period as has he threw his opponent to his back and looked for the pin (winning 6-3) he was rolled through to his own back and the match ended in a fall.  Muller then won by Injury Default in his 5th place match.  Muller also placed 5th at the Freestyle State Tournament.  Muller will look to qualify for the Asics Cadet National Tournament at the IL Second Chance Qualifier on June 7th.



It was a great Spring for all of the wrestlers who participated and the battle for the custom DGS Wrestling Flips headphones is heating up.  The wrestler with the most points by July 31st will win the head phones.  Points in the summer can be accumulated through the DGS Summer Wrestling Camp, World Wrestling Camp Team Camp, Fargo, and other off-season wrestling tournaments.  Here are the point leaders from each of the classes:

2015:  Marcus Rutledge, Shawn Jager, Joe Nugent
2014:  Cormac Burke, Patrick Azer, Kyler Wold
2013:  Zach Muller, Jacob Liaromatis, Ryan Olsen
Future Mustangs:  Keiran Burke, David Lee, Shawn Lee

Monday, May 12, 2014

DGS Hosts 5th Annual IL Freestyle Club Cup

On Saturday, May 10th, Downers Grove South hosted the 5th Annual IL Freestyle Club Cup.  This is the 4th year that Downers Grove South has hosted the event and during that time it has grown from eight to twelve teams.  The tournament has also drawn clubs from IA, IN, and WI including the Ringers (WI) and Region Wrestling Academy (IN) this year.  Members of the DGS Wrestling team wrestled for Suburban Sprawl which fielded two teams, Suburban Sprawl South (DGS, DGN, West Aurora, Glenbard West) and Suburban Sprawl North (Barrington, Rolling Meadows, Lake Park, West Aurora). The ten DGS wrestlers competed were Jacob Liaromatis, Cormac Burke, Kyler Wold, Shawn Jaeger, Marcus Rutledge, Michael Hobbs, Ryan Gurski, Zach Muller, Ryan Olsen, and Keiran Burke.  Many other wrestlers worked tables and helped with the set-up and breakdown of the field house as this also served as a fund raiser for the DGS Wrestling program.  We also wanted to thank all of the parents and members of the DGS Wrestling Boosters who helped run a great event!

The event was a success as there was a ton of great wrestling happening in our very own field house.  Suburban Sprawl South opened the meet with a win over former Club Cup finalist club Ringers from WI.  Suburban Sprawl South then dropped their next two duals to Team Poeta and Spartan Elite to put them in the 7th place dual with Fox Lake WC.  Suburban Sprawl competed, but fell short to finish in 8th place.  While this may not seem like a successful day, it was a great opportunity for some of our wrestlers to wrestle several quality opponents on the day.  Many of the clubs pull from the entire Chicago area and pay hundreds of dollars to train.  Martinez Elite defeated Let's Get Weird in the championship dual.  Suburban Sprawl is essentially a homegrown team that consists kids starting out in Freestyle and Greco who are looking to get some additional wrestling experience in the off-season.  This is the 7th year of the club and this year we expanded to several different practice locations (Glenbard West and Harper College) in addition to Downers Grove South.  We held several match days with our Suburban Sprawl "brother locations" and also got to know some kids from some of the other high school programs in the Chicago area.  For the fifth consecutive year Suburban Sprawl will also be sending several kids to the Asics Freestyle and Greco National Championships in Fargo, ND in July.  Our official Spring season will conclude next weekend at the Greco State Championships which will be held on Saturday, May 17th at Lincoln Way Central High School.

Our DGS Summer Wrestling Camp will begin on the week of June 16th and many members of the DGS Wrestling program will head to the World Wrestling Camp Team Camp in the Wisconsin Dells from June 23-26.  For more info on the camps please follow the links below:

World Wrestling Camp Team Camp Form

DGS Summer Wrestling Camp


 

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Three Mustangs Place at Freestyle State!!!

The 2014 Freestyle State Tournament was once again a showcase of some of the best freestyle wrestlers in the nation. IL has won several national titles in the National Duals and Asics Cadet/Junior Nationals over the past five years, and 2014 looks to be no different.  The Downers Grove South Mustang Freestylers Competed for Suburban Sprawl, which also included wrestlers from Downers Grove North, Barrington, Lake Park and Rolling Meadows.  There were a total of thirteen current and future Mustangs wrestling for Suburban Sprawl.

Incoming Freshman David Lee (Jefferson) and Keiran Burke (DG Cougars) competed in the Schoolboy division along with 7th grader Jeff Nugent who wrestled at 120 lbs.  It was a great experience for these young wrestlers and they will be seasoned Freestyle veterans when they get to high school.  Freshman Ryan Olsen (126 lbs) and Jacob Liaromatis (132 lbs) each won a match in their brackets as did Sophomore Cormac Burke (132 lbs).  Sophomore Ahmir Hooks (126 lbs) went 2-2 at the tournament, while Sophomores Calum Bonds (132 lbs) and Patrick Azer (113 lbs) also competed.

Freshman Zach Muller, who was fresh off a broken hand, bounced back with a gutty performance and a 5th place finish at Cadet Heavyweight.  Zach was no doubt the smallest wrestler in his bracket, however he was about an inch from pinning IHSA State Placer and eventual champion Bryan Ditchman.  With his 5th place finish, Zach will also have a chance to wrestle at the Northern Plains Regional on Team IL.  Junior Marcus Rutledge placed 6th in a tough Heavyweight bracket and battled through some tough matches.  Marcus literally had just brought his bout card back from his one match, when they gave him another one for his next match.  Marcus moved well and showed some some of the other top Heavyweights that DGS will be just as tough at Heavyweight next year as they were this year.

Speaking of tough Heavyweights, Michael Hobbs placed in this top tournament once again.  This time, his 2nd place finish ensures him a spot on Team IL for the National Duals and the Asics Junior National Duals in Fargo, ND in July.  Hobbs wrestled one of the marquee match-ups of the day vs current State Champion, former All-American and BFF Adarios Jones who was wrestling for Impact Wrestling Club, but is from Moline, IL.  It was a great match between two competitors and friends with one having to come out on top.  Hobbs just missed exposing (putting him on his back) Jones as they went out-of-bounds and fell just short.  Despite the loss, Hobbs probably had more "5's" than anyone else in the tournament as he picked up several kids weighing more than 250 lbs and brought them back over his head for full back exposure.  Unfortunately for Hobbs, they got rid of the "5" rule and Hobbs could only earn 4 for them.  Hobbs will look to add to his hardware collection at Greco State in two weeks as well as the National Duals and Junior Nationals.  Hobbs is already a 3X All-American.  With one more All-American finish, Hobbs will leave DGS as the most decorated Freestyle and Greco finisher in DGS history.

Several Mustangs will compete for Suburban Sprawl at the 5th Annual IL Freestyle Club Cup, which will be hosted by Downers Grove South on Saturday, May 10th in the Field House.  There will also be wrestlers competing at the Greco State Tournament at Lincoln Way Central High School in two weeks.


Sunday, April 13, 2014

Suburban Sprawl Match Day at Rolling Meadows High School

This past Saturday, the Suburban Sprawl Wrestling Club participated in a match day where the DGS location met up with the other Suburban Sprawl locations and some other local clubs, teams, and wrestlers for a match day.  While the Sprawl gets after it on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Downers Grove South, Coach Pat McCluskey has a crew going at Glenbard West High School and Coach Dave Udchik (Barrington HS) has started a Sprawl location which practices out of Harper College and includes Barrington and Rolling Meadows High School.  We all met up this past Saturday in our first "Match Day" of the Spring.

Sometimes developmentals can not only get costly ($15-$20), but they may also require you to be in a gym from 8:00 AM-2:30 PM and only get two, maybe three matches in on the day.  At a match day we do a group warm-up, followed by about 60 minutes of technique where wrestlers can focus on the small details of their technique, and ending with about 60 minutes of matches on a running clock where we break into two groups.

Saturday, Shannon Gillespie was an NCAA All-American (3rd) for Lock Haven University in PA when he competed in college.  He was also a multiple time Freestyle All-American.  Coaching is where Shannon has really shined as he has coached on a national and world level, including time spent as a US National Team Coach for the women's team in the United States.  He is also an IL product and graduate of Evanston High School.  Here now serves as a head instructor for Team Overtime which operates out of Naperville and Crystal Lake. Shannyn Gillespie Bio

We counted about 65 kids there on Saturday, eight of which are current or future DGS Mustangs.  Antonio Cook, Jacob Chisholm, Cormac Burke, Calum Bonds, Tyree Johnson, Patrick Wilson, Kyler Wold, and McKyla Kerr.  We joined our other "Sprawlers" from DGN, Glenbard West, Barrington, Rolling Meadows, and Lake Park.  There were also some kids there from Stevenson, Prospect, and Johnsburg High School.  we started a little after 9:00 AM and we were out of there by 11:30 AM to enjoy the rest of our Saturday with friends and family.

Suburban Sprawl will be having another match day this Saturday, April 19th at Glenbard West High School.  The format will be similar and the technique will be lead by 3X NCAA All-American Mike Poeta.   Mike Poeta Bio

Match Day Breakout

Drums + Wrestling = Match Day
*Note Lazo Lovelace on end

Sprawlers wrestle on of many matches on the day


Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Suburban Sprawl Gear Orders by March 23rd

Hard to imagine that the Spring Season is almost upon us.  Wrestlinggear.com has once again made it easy for wrestlers and parents to order gear for the off-season.  This year, singlets, compression shorts, and Cliff Keen shorts are available through Wrestlinggear.com.  These orders will need to be placed by Sunday, March 23rd in order for the wrestlers to receive the gear during the Spring.  You can access the gear at the link below.  Please let Coach Lovelace know if you have any questions about the Spring or gear for the Spring.

Suburban Sprawl Gear Orders

Coach Lovelace
slovelace@csd99.org
630-290-1834



Sunday, February 23, 2014

Hobbs Places 5th at 2014 IHSA State Wrestling Tournament

The 2013-2014 wrestling season has finally come to a close for the Mustangs.  Three Mustangs wrestled this past weekend at the IHSA State Wrestling Tournament in Champaign, IL.  Michael Hobbs (SR-285) completed a storied career at HWT for the Mustangs with a 5th place All-State finish in what was perhaps the deepest HWT field in 30 years.  The weight class included several high school All-Americans, several ranked in the top 20 in the nation and also the defending state champion at that weight class.  Michael was right in the mix and finished 3-2 on weekend for his 5th place finish and the seventh time in the last eight years that the Mustangs have had an All-State wrestler.

Michael started the tournament with a last second win over #6 ranked Kyrin Tucker from Normal West who came into the match 32-2.  This put Hobbs in the Quarterfinals for the second consective year and also a facing a familiar foe in Libertyville's Chris McDermand.  Hobbs and McDermand battled in a tight match as they always do, unfortunately McDermand ultimately prevailed in the third overtime period 5-3.  This put Hobbs in the wrestlebacks where he pinned Matt Zolper from Schaumburg and then defeated Mantas Drukteinis from Stagg 4-3 with a takedown in the final five seconds.  Hobbs then came out on the wrong end of an 8-0 decision with Lincoln Way East's Nicky Allegretti which meant he would wrestle for 5th place.  In the placing match, Hobbs defeated #8 ranked Bryan Ditchman from Lincoln Way Central with another third period takedown 3-1 to claim 5th place and All-State status.

Hobbs finishes the season with a record of 38-6.  All of the season's statistics will be finalized prior to the Awards Night on March 6th, but Hobbs looks to be among the school's best in pins, two year win totals and wins in the Heavyweight division.  It's also impossible to put a number on the amount of time that Michael has put into getting himself to this point over the past four years.  Michael won numerous All-American honors (3X and will compete this summer) and was also a member of several national championship dual teams for IL.

Juniors Joe Nugent (132) and Shawn Jager (160) also competed in the state tournament for the Mustangs, but failed to win any matches on the weekend.  Nugent dropped a 9-0 decision to #2 ranked Dan Radcliffe from Lockport, and was then eliminated from the tournament when Radcliffe was head locked and pinned by Bobby Alexander from Conant.  Jager faced off against #8 ranked Emery Parker from Warren in his first match.  While Parker was somewhat of an unknown before the tournament started, he wasn't for very long as he wrestled his way all the way to the finals including a first period fall over Jager.  Jager then dropped a decision to Maine South's Tom Brewster who finished with a 4th place finish at 160 lbs.  While the state tournament did not end how Nugent and Jager would have liked, both will have a shot at earning a medal and All-State status next year in their senior seasons.  The Mustangs will return two state qualifiers for the second consecutive year for the first time in school history.