Wrestling: Vernon Hills qualifies eight for sectionals

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Updated: March 10, 2012 8:27AM

The 152-pound weight class was stacked in the Marengo Regional on Saturday.

In one of the better matches of the entire regional, Vernon Hills High School’s Dan Klema rallied to defeat Wauconda High School’s Donte Arnold in the consolation semifinals. Klema’s 8-6 victory came in overtime. He was one of eight Vernon Hills wrestlers who advanced out of regionals.

“One of the other coaches came up to me and said, ‘Your kid wanted it more,’ ” recalled Vernon Hills coach Jerry Miceli. “That was a very nice compliment to Danny. He was in the down position, and he was able to reverse the kid and ride him out. It was a great match.”

Miceli said Klema’s experience was a big advantage.

“He’s been there before and knows how to win that type of match,” Miceli said.

The Cougars advanced 60 percent more of their wrestlers to sectionals than the previous season. Vernon Hills challenged for second place overall, but came up a little bit short. Wauconda (147.5) edged the Cougars (141). Crystal Lake Central (220) finished first.

Numbers game: Sophomore Jordan Reich does not have to cut weight to be under the 106-pound weight limit. He weighs about 95 pounds, and gives up 10 or 11 pounds every time he competes.

“Eleven pounds doesn’t seem like much, but that’s 11 percent of your body weight,” Miceli said.

How does Reich compensate?

“He gets in good positions, where he knows guys can’t turn him,” Miceli said. “He doesn’t give up a lot of points and keeps it close all the time. He wrestles a lot of close matches and is real solid in those situations.”

On their way: Senior Jeremy Brazil (285) cruised to a regional title, pinning all of his opponents. He’s ranked No. 1, in his weight class, in IHSA Class 2A.

“He took care of his business,” Miceli said.

Brazil will wait until after the IHSA state tournament to make a college decision.

“I think that’s wise of him,” Miceli said. “When people see what he can do, he’ll probably get a few more offers.”

Brae Cruz (113) continued his productive freshman season with a third-place finish in the regional.

“He’s one of those happy-go-lucky kids that works really hard,” Miceli said.”He’s learned a lot this year, and it’s paying off for him. He’s getting some great experiences.”

Senior Patrick Conrad (120) earned his first trip to sectionals.

“He’s moving on, and I’m as happy as I could be for him,” Miceli said.

Sophomore Felipe Vasquez was second at 126.

“He’s pretty quick, and is a nice, solid wrestler,” Miceli said. “As he gets stronger, he’ll continue to get better.”

Junior Jake Hallendorff placed third at 138. He pinned Wauconda’s Elias Mazikowski in the consolation finals.

“We had been working on some pin combinations, so that was great to see,” Miceli said. “He’s always really stingy with giving up points. I think he may have turned the corner.”

Senior Tim Claussen made it out with a third-place finish at 195.

On the schedule: The Cougars will compete at the Grayslake Central Sectional Friday and Saturday.

“We’ll clean up a lot of stuff in practice this week and figure out the matchups,” Miceli said. “Everyone is in good shape at this point of the season. Now, it’s all about heart and who wants it more.”