DGS Wrestling Regular Season Review

The 2015-2016 regular season, as well as the seasons for the Freshmen and JV levels has come to a close for the Downers Grove South Wrestling program.  To say that it has been a successful one would be an understatement as all levels excelled on the mat this year in what was perhaps one of the most successful seasons in program history.

Here are the season reviews for each of the levels:

VARSITY - 20-4, 6-0 WSC Gold

The Varsity Mustangs finished the regular season with a dual meet record of 20-4, which ties the dual meet record of 20 wins set by the 2000 and 2012 Mustangs who were both under the direction of long-time Head Coach Rick LeBlanc.  The Mustangs also swept the West Suburban Gold Conference Championship going 6-0 in duals with the closest being an 11 point margin vs Leyden in December.  All-Conference wrestlers are not named until after the IHSA state series, but the Mustangs should be well represented.  The Mustangs also started and ended the season (#16) in the IL Best Weekly Rankings for the first time in the history of the publication.

DGS Varsity Dual Team Tournament-  The Mustangs placed 4th in what has become a premier dual team format tournament in IL dropping duals to #2 ranked (and #10 nationally) Chicago Mt. Carmel and to #4 ranked Crystal Lake Central (29-28).  SR Tyree Johnson was named to the All-Tournament team at 145 lbs.

Rex Whitlach Invitational- Hinsdale Central High School- The Mustangs placed 7th out of 24 teams in one of the toughest tournaments in IL.  Senior Tyree Johnson (145 lbs) and Sophomore Sergio Villalobos (195 lbs) both reached the finals at the Rex Whitlach.

Mid-States Tournament- Whitewater, WI-  The Mustangs finished 3rd in the 35 team field at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.  Winning titles for the Mustangs were Senior Ahmir Hooks (132 lbs) and Senior Ramarro Lamar (170 lbs), while Senior Tyree Johnson (145 lbs) also reached the finals.

Sycamore Invitational-  The Mustangs placed 6th out of 24 teams which included #1 ranked Washington HS. Senior Tyree Johnson (145 lbs) won his weight class which included highly touted wrestlers from both Moline and Washington HS.  Sophomore Sergio Villalobos (195 lbs) also won his first Varsity tournament at Sycamore.

JUNIOR VARSITY- 16-2, 6-0 WSC Gold

The JV Mustangs, led by Coach Greg Maloney and Coach Gates, had an outstanding season in not only sweeping the WSC Gold conference, but also going 10-2 outside the conference.  The Mustangs placed 3rd at the Oswego East JV Dual Team Tournament, 2nd Place at the Hinsdale South JV Tournament, and 3rd Place at the WSC Conference held at Hinsdale South High School.  The JV Mustangs also stepped in many times to the Varsity line-up and contributed to the stellar Varsity season record while also maintaining a great record on the JV level.

WSC JV Tournament- Hinsdale South HS- 1st Place- SR Jeff Gonzalez, JR Jacob Liaromatis, 2nd Place- SO's Donte Reed, Kuba Diggory, JR Dylan Soto, SR Ryan Kolb, 3rd Place- SO Cole Campagna, JR Kemonie Miller, 4th Place- Andrew Dobes

WSC SO Tournament- York HS- 1st Place- SO Jacob Holous, David Lee, 4th Place- SO Anthony Martinez

FRESHMEN- 11-2, 6-0 in WSC Gold

The Freshman Mustangs, led by Dave Lee and Devon Smith had a great season this year.  While small in numbers, they were not short on accomplishments as they swept the WSC Gold Conference title.  This was a great accomplishment as four FR Mustangs were in the Varsity line-up as opposed to competing on the Freshmen level.

WSC FR Tournament-  Lyons Township HS- 1st Place- Jairo Huerta, 2nd Place- Andres Lopez, Bryan Esparza, and Stepan Fedoryshn

Downers Grove South will be hosting the IHSA Regional on Saturday, February 6th, and the field will include #4 Lyons Township, #6 Montini HS, #16 Downers Grove South, HM Glenbard East and Willowbrook, as well as Hinsdale Central, Riverside Brookfield, Downers Grove North, and Morton.  The top three individuals will advance to the Batavia Sectional Tournament while the winning team will advance to the Argo Team Sectional.