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Upcoming Competition

   The regular season is over, on the Regionals.  Grant is the host with the competition beginning at 9:00.  The beginning of the consolation semifinals and place matches are tentatively scheduled to begin at 12:15.  The teams competing are Grant, Warren, McHenry, Mundelein, Round Lake, Zion-Benton, and Waukegan.  The top 3 finishers at each weight qualify for the sectionals next weekend at Barrington.

 

2025 Results

   Week 8: January 31/February 1): The varsity completed the regular season with the North Suburban Conference duals on Friday.  We competed in our final two conference duals, beating Lake Forest (82-0), losing to Warren (43-32).  We finish in 4th place in the conference with a 4-3 record, finishing with a 9-12 overall record.

 Mary Minogue (120) competed in the Girls Regionals.  She scored a technical fall and two pins to reach the finals, finishing in second place.  Her finish qualifies her for Sectionals on Friday/Saturday: February 14/15 at New Trier.

   The JVs competed in the JV Conference and won our first JV Conference title since 2020.  We scored 182 points to second place Mundelein's 157.  Following were Warren (149), Zion-Benton (144), Stevenson (140), Lake Zurich (76), Lake Forest (43), and Waukegan (39).  We were led by individual champion Alexander Osborne (138).  Second place finishers were Liam Huizenga (106), Breckin Hanahan-McKenzie (120), and Liam O'Connell (157).  Third place finishers were Riggs Mitran (113), Brayden Liu (126), Jack Gershtenson (150), Jon Garrison (165), and Nate Woolford (215).  Daniel Samper-Garcia (144) finished 4th.

 

   (Week 7: January 24/25).  The varsity wrestlers competed in the Lake County Invitational and finished 7th.  Caleb Baczek (215) won our only title, pinning three opponents in the first period.  

   Other Libertyville placewinners were Tyler Wuh (4th at 120), Jake Shafer (4th at 126), Ethan Trowbridge (4th at 165), James Scanio (5th at 175), and Elliott Hibbard (6th at 138).

   On Friday night, Mary Minogue was our only competitor in the Lake County Girls Invitational.  She won the 120 title with three first period pins and a tech fall in the finals over a returning state qualifier.  

   The sophomores competed in the Waukegan Sophomore 12 team tournament and finished second behind Grant (195-184).  Breckin Hanahan-McKenzie won the 120 title with three pins.  Brayden Liu (126) and Aleks Nikolich (285) finished in second.  Liam Huizenga (106) and Jon Garrison (165) finished in third.  Ryan Sherman (132), Ruben Quintero (150), Liam Coyle (175) and Jacob Syc (215) finished in 4th.  Quinn Schmitt (144) and Mason Roe (157) finished in 5th.

 

   (Week 6: January 17/18): Libertyville beat conference opponent Zion-Benton 66-11.  The top performance was by Steve Strelow at 190, down by 7 with :30 left to go.  He got an escape to be down by 6, then hit a throw taking the Zion-Benton man to his back for 7 points and a 15-14 win.  Other winners were Jake Shafer, Jacob Whisenand, Ruben Quintero, Pierce Adams, Ethan Trowbridge, James Scanio, Caleb Baczek, along with 4 forfeit wins.  On Saturday, the varsity went 1-2 in the Conant Quad, losing to Grant and DeKalb while beating the host school.

   The sophomores competed in the Woodstock Invitational, winning the team title by 78 points over second place Grant, 226-148.  5 LHS wrestlers won individual titles, Mary Minogue (120), Brayden Liu (126), Ruben Quintero (150), Jon Garrison (165), and Jacob Syc (215).  Other placewinners were Ryan Sherman (2nd at 132), Mason Roe (2nd at 157), Karim Alaoui (190), Joe Gawronski (3rd at 106), Aleks Nikolich (5th at 285), Quinn Schmitt (6th at 144).

 

   (Week 5, January 10-11): Libertyville beat conference opponent Waukegan and came away with a 61-9 win to raise our conference record to 2-2.  On Saturday we competed in the 12 team Glenbard West Invitational where we placed 2nd behind champion Glenbard West but 2 points ahead of Lockport (175-173).  We were led by two individual champions, James Scanio (175) and Caleb Baczek (215).  Second place finishers were Tyler Wuh (120) and Jack Treutelaar (190).  Jake Shafer (126), Pierce Adams (157), and Steve Strelow (190) finished in third.  5th place finishers were Liam Huizenga (106), Elliott Hibbard (138), Ruben Quintero (150), Callum O'Connell (157), and Ethan Trowbridge (165).

 

Libertyville JV Invitational

  (January 4): Libertyville finished 2nd in the LHS JV Invite behind Naperville Central (255-192) with Lyons coming in third with 182.  Two Libertyville won titles, Elliott Hibbard (138) and Steve Strelow (190).  2nd place finishers were Liam Huizenga (106), Riggs Mitran (113), Callum O'Connell (157), Nate Woolford (215), and Gabe Turchinsky (285).  Eddie Brown (215) took third.  4th place finishers were Brayden Liu (126) and Mason Roe (157).  Jon Garrison (165) finished 5th.

 

DeKalb Dual Team Tournament

   (December 27-28): We had a tough go at the DeKalb 32 team tournament December 27/28.  The first day we lost 3 duals to ranked teams, Marmion (60-15), Glenbard North (54-27), and Sycamore (51-25), all ranked teams.  That put us in a bracket with other 0-3 teams the second day.  We went 1-2 the second day, beating Glenbard East (41-35), then losing to Moline (53-23) and Pewaukee, WI (49-30).

   Chase Baczek went 6-0 at 215.  Steve Strelow went 5-1 at 190.  Ethan Trowbridge went 3-2 at 165 including the meet clinching pin over Glenbard East.  Others getting wins were Jake Shafer (3 at 126), James Scanio (3 at 175), Pierce Adams (2 at 157), Jacob Whisenand (2 at 150), Liam Huizenga (1 at 106), and Callum O'Connell (1 at 157).

 

Week 4 Competition results

   (December 20/22): It hasn't happened in 40 years but Mundelein defeated us Friday night, 40-26.  Winners for us were Jake Shafer (18-13 a 126), Elliott Hibbard (pin at 138), Pierce Adams (10-1 at 157), James Scanio (Tech Fall at 175), Jack Treutelaar (4-0 at 195), Erich Walldorf (2-0 at 215).

   We took half of our team to the Harlem 42 team invitational and finished in 32nd place.  Our younger varsity starters went to a Sophomore Invitational at Maine South.  We had two Harlem top 8 placewinners, James Scanio (7th at 175) and Jack Treutelaar (8th at 190).  Others winning matches were Jake Shafer (3 wins at 126), Pierce Adams (1 win at 157), Ethan Trowbridge (2 pins at 165), Erich Walldorf (1 win at 285).  

   For Scanio, he had a most impressive meet.  He opened with a technical fall over the previously #10 ranked wrestler.  He got caught off the first takedown and pinned by a Moline wrestler in the second round.  In the wrestlebacks he opened with a tech fall over Schaumburg, a tech fall over Wheaton North to make it into day 2.  In the 4th round wrestleback to make it into the top 8, he beat the #9 ranked Plainfield South wrestler, 13-5.  This win was especially impressive in that James lost to the Plainfield South wrestler in the Barrington Invite by a technical fall.  He lost to the state's #5 wrestler in the consolation quarterfinal to drop him in the 7th place match.  There he met the same Moline wrestler that pinned him earlier in the tournament off the opening takedown.  This time James lost the opening takedown, then ran off 18 unanswered points to take 7th on a technical fall.  It was his 5th technical fall of the weekend.

    Below are James Scanio (right) and Jack Treutelaar (left) after the Harlem Awards Ceremony .  .  .

 

 

Week 3 Competition results

   (December 13/14): We got our first conference victory of the season in two tries Friday night in beating Lake Zurich, 45-19.  It was a close meet for the first half but broken open in the upper weights when Pierce Adams (157) and Ethan Trowbridge (165) got pins, we got a forfeit win at 175, Jack Treutelaar (190) won 14-7, and Erich Walldorf (285) got a pin.  Freshman Riggs Mitran (113), in his first varsity match, had a pin.  Another freshman, Elliott Hibbard (138), also had a pin.
   On Saturday, the varsity wrestlers finished 7th in the 15 team Prospect Invite.  Our top finishers were Erich Walldorf (3rd at 285), Sophomore Jacob Syc (4th in his first varsity time), Jake Shafer (5th at 126), James Scanio (5th at 175), Jack Treutelaar (5th at 190), Elliott Hibbard (6th at 138).

 

Week 2 Competition results

   (December 3/4): It was tough sledding in the second week of the season.  Stevenson, ranked in the top 20 of state, beat us 61-10.  We won three matches, and they were hard fought: Ethan Trowbridge, 12-10 at 165, Jack Treutelaar, 12-2 at 190, Caleb Baczek, 11-7 at 215.
   On Saturday we competed in a mega dual at Wheaton Warrenville South.  We beat Buffalo Grove 39-34, losing to Oswego 54-25 and Hononegah 43-22.
   The bright spot of the day are some first ever varsity wins out of several of our sophomores, including several comeback wins.  Breckin Hanahan-McKenzie stepped in at 120 and had two wins.  Quinn Schmitt (144) came back from a four point deficit to win 8-6.  Ruben Quintero (150) had a 15-4 win over Hononegah.  Jon Garrison, the back up 165, stepped into the 175 spot and won 9-3.  Junior Jack Gershtenson (157) had a varsity win as a freshman but hasn't been on the varsity mat since then.  He filled in Saturday and got two wins, one a 14-13 comeback win over Buffalo Grove that secured our team win.  Our top wrestler Caleb Baczek had an 11-8 win over Stevenson and 3 first minute pins on Saturday.

 

Wrestling opens the 2025 season

   (Week 1, November 27/30): The varsity wrestlers completed the first week of competition with a 40-34 win over McHenry and a 43-27 win over Antioch on Alumni Night, Wednesday: November 27.  Below is a picture of the returning alums .  .  .

   On Friday and Saturday the varsity wrestlers competed in the 32 team Barrington Invitational and finished 16th.  Caleb Baczek was our top finisher with a 2nd place at 215.  Other placewinners were Jack Treutelaar (6th at 190), Erich Walldorf (7th at 285), and James Scanio (8th at 175).  Other wrestlers winning matches were Tyler Wuh (120), Jake Shafer (126), Joe Minogue (132), Pierce Adams (157), and Ethan Trowbridge (165).

   The JVs competed in the 12 team Glenbard North Invitational and finished 2nd.  3 Libertyville wrestlers won individual titles, Breckin Hanahan-McKenzie (120), Brayden Liu (126), and Elliott Hibbard (138).  2nd place finishers were Pierce Adams (157) and Jon Garrison (165).  Judah Gershtenson (132) finished 3rd.  Jacob Syc (215) took 5th.

 

 

2024 Season Results

 

Libertyville finishes 4th in the 2024 Dual Team State

   After advancing to the semifinals with our win over Oak Park, we lost 36-20 to Yorkville, then lost 37-22 to St. Charles East for third place.  Wrestlers winning three matches on the weekend were Owen McGrory, who had a 15-0 tech fall over an Oak Park Sectional Champion, a 7-2 win over the Yorkville defending state champion, and a pin over a St. Charles East state qualifier.  This pin was Owen's 31st of the season breaking the previous record set by Cole Matulenko in 2023.  Matt Kubas has a pin, a major decision, and a 3-2 win over the St. Charles East opponent that had beaten him in the previous weekend's state tournament 3rd place match.  Luke Berktold had a decision, a major decision, and a forfeit win.  Orion Moran had a pin and two decisions.

Dual Team State Quarterfinal Recap

   The Libertyville wrestlers defeated Oak Park, 45-24, in the Dual Team State Quarterfinals to advance to the Semifinals where they will face Yorkville at 11:00.  Win or lose they will compete for 1st or 3rd at 6:00.

   The Oak Park meet began at 215 where our 4th in State, Owen McGrory, matched up with Oak Park's Sectional Champion.  Owen dominated with a 15-0 technical fall.  Erich Walldorf, a usual 190 pounder went up to face a 260 pound sectional qualifier and got a first period pin.  These two matches gave us an improbable 11-0 lead.  We knew we had wins coming at 165, 175, and 190.  But we needed some other wins along the way.  Tyler Wuh beat a sectional qualifier at 113, 7-2.  Luke Berktold had a 12-1 win at 120.  Orion Moran was down 6-1 at the end of the first period but came up with a pin.  With the wins coming at the upper weights, this essentially locked up the meet.  We got another win by Will Carney at 144.  He got taken down with :15 left to fall behind 6-5.  But he manuevered into a reversal with 5 seconds to go for the 7-6 win.  Oak Park got wins at 150 and 157 to get close to us, 27-24.  We wrapped up the meet with a Charlie Clark first period pin at 165, a :20 pin by Matt Kubas at 175, and a first period pin by Caleb Baczek at 190.

Dual Team Sectionals Recap

  On Tuesday, February 20 the Libertyville wrestlers defeated Prospect 45-19 to earn a spot in the Dual Team State Tournament on Friday, February 23.  

   6 pins led the way against Prospect including Matt Kubas (170), Owen McGrory (215), Jake Shafer (106), Tyler Wuh (113), Luke Berktold (126), and Antonio Kelly (138).  But the top match was at 157 where freshman James Scanio beat a sectional blood round loser 7-4.  Also winning decisions were Caleb Baczek (215) and Owen McGrory (285).

 

State Recap - 3 LHS All-Staters

   All 3 of our LHS state qualifiers finished in the top 6 at their weights in the state tournament to earn All-State honors.  Luke Berktold finished 6th at 120.  Matt Kubas finished 4th at 175.  Owen McGrory finished 4th at 215.  Kubas pinned his first round opponent which gave him 79 pins for his career breaking the LHS Wrestling career pin record of 78 set by Mark Friend (2001-2004).

 

Sectionals Recap - 3 LHS wrestlers to state

   Matt Kubas, Owen McGrory, and Luke Berktold finished in the top 4 in the Friday/Saturday Sectionals to qualify for the state tournament this Thursday/Friday/Saturday at the University of Illinois.  Kubas won the 175 title with a pin, a 4-2 semifinals win, and an 11-2 win in the finals.  In pinned his first round opponent Matt tied the LHS Wrestling Career Pin record of 78 set by Mark Friend (2001-2004).  McGrory pinned his first two opponents before losing in the finals to finish 2nd.  Berktold had two decisions over returning state qualifiers before having to default in the finals.  

   Caleb Baczek finished one spot out of the top four, getting two pins along the way.  Jake Shafer had two wins including an 11-9 prelim win where he came back from a 7-0 deficit with a minute left to go.  He also had a technical fall.  Orion Moran and Will Carney each had a pin

Regional Champions - 10 LHS wrestlers to Sectionals

   The varsity wrestlers held off Warren to win the 8 team Regional title, 200-186.  10 Libertyville wrestlers qualify for the Sectionals.  We were led by 5 champions; Luke Berktold (120), Will Carney (144), Matt Kubas (175), Caleb Baczek (190), and Owen McGrory (215).  Second place finishers were Jake Shafer (106), James Liu (126), Orion Moran (132), Antonio Kelly (138).  Charlie Clark (165) was our final sectional qualifier finishing 3rd.

Week 8 Recap

   The varsity wrestlers wrapped up the 2024 North Suburban Conference Championship on Friday night at the North Suburban Conference Duals at Stevenson.  We beat Zion-Benton in the first round, 75-6. In the second round we beat Stevenson, 40-26.  We were down 19-6 after 5 matches, but won the next 6 matches to take a commanding lead. The winners were James Scanio (157), Charlie Clark (165), Matt Kubas (175), Erich Walldorf (190), Caleb Baczek (215), and Owen McGrory who went up to 285 to wrestle an opponent who outweighed him by 75 pounds, beating him 7-1.  Luke Berktold (120) wrapped up the meet with a pin in the last match.

   The JV's competed in the JV Conference and finished 3rd with 233 points, behind champion Mundelein (241) and Stevenson (238).  We were led by 4 champions, Anthony Kelly (138), Jack Treutelaar (175), Erich Walldorf (190), and Gabe Turchinsky (285).  2nd place finishers were Brayden Liu (120), Ruben Quintero (144), and Ethan Trowbridge (165).  3rd place finishers were Chase Burchfield (106), Callum O'Connell (144) and Pierce Adams (157). 4th place finishers were Thomas Wiesneth (150) and Aleks Nikolich (215).  Ryan Sherman (113) finished 5th.  Others winning matches were Liam Huizenga (106), Mason Roe (150), Jon Garrison (157), Luis Martinez (165), and Eddie Brown (190).

Week 7 Recap

   The varsity wrestlers beat Mundelein 45-21 to raise our conference record to 5-0.  On Saturday we competed in the Lake County Invitational and finished second behind Warren,196-193.5.  Two LHS wrestlers won individual titles, Caleb Baczek (190) and Owen McGrory (215).  Luke Berktold (120) and Matt Kubas (175) finished 2nd.  Orion Moran and James Scanio (157) took 3rds.  Tyler Wuh (113) took 4th.  Will Carney (144) and Charlie Clark (165) took 5ths.

Week 6 Recap

   Our competitions the weekend from January 12/13 were cancelled due to snow and cold weather.  Friday the 12th was to be our conference dual with Mundelein.  That will be made up Friday, January 19 in LHS's west gym.  It is our senior's night.  Saturday the 13th was supposed to be the Conant Quad with DeKalb and Grant.  This meet will not be made up.

Week 5 Recap

   The Varsity beat Lake Zurich 76-0 on Thursday, moving our conference record to 4-0.  On Saturday we won the team title in the Glenbard West 13 team invitational, 269 to second place Fremd's 210.  We were led by 7 individual champions, Jake Shafer (106), Luke Berktold (120), Orion Moran (132), Antonio Kelly (138), Matt Kubas (175 ), Caleb Baczek (190), and Owen McGrory (215).

Winter Break Recap

   The Varsity competed in the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for a 71 team invitational Friday and Saturday, December 29/30.  LHS finished 2nd (267) behind champion Hortonville (287), ahead of third place Hartford (226).  Matt Kubas won the 170 pound championship with 4 pins and a 10-2 decision in the finals.  Owen McGrory (215) finished 2nd with 3 pins.  Caleb Baczek (190) finished 4th with 3 pins.  Luke Berktold (120) finished 6th with 3 pins.  Charlie Clark (165) finished 7th with 5 pins.  Tyler Wuh (113) finished 10th.  Orion Moran (132) finished 12th.  Others winning matches were Jake Shafer (106), James Liu (126) with 4 pins, Antonio Kelly (138), Will Carney (144), James Scanio (157), and Rhett VanBoening (285).

Week 4 Recap

   We beat conference opponent Waukegan 72-9 on Friday night.  On Saturday we competed in the 37 team Harlem Invite, finishing 9th.  Matt Kubas finished 2nd, beating the Yorkville wrestler that beat him the 3rd place match at state last season.  Owen McGrory finished 3rd, beating the Yorkville defending state champion at his weight class, 3-2, in the consolation semifinals.  Caleb Baczek finished 5th beating two state qualifiers in the process.  Luke Berktold and Orion Moran finished 6th.  Charlie Clark finished 8th.

   The freshmen won the team title in the Antioch Dual Team Tournament, beating Glenbrook North 48-22, Lakes 48-22, and Niles West in the finals 57-18.

Week 3 Recap

   We beat Lake Forest Friday night, 75-6.  On Saturday we competed in the 16 team Prospect Invitational, winning the team championship, 199 to 169 for second place Naperville Central.  We were led by three individual champions; Luke Berktold (120), Matt Kubas (175), and Owen McGrory (215).  Kubas was named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler.  Second place finishers were Orion Moran (132) and Caleb Baczek (190).  James Liu finished 4th at 126.  Jake Shafer (106), Charlie Clark (165), and Erich Walldorf (190) finished 5th.  Jacob Whisenand (150) finished 6th.  Hunter Hill (138) and Rhett VanBoening (285) finished in 7th.

   The Freshmen finished 2nd in the Grayslake Central 12 team invitational.  4 LHS frosh won individual titles, Joe Gawronski (90), Braydan Liu (120), Jon Garrison (157), and Aleks Nikolich (215).  Chase Burchfield (106) and Karim Alaoui (175) finished in second.  Ryan Sherman (113) and Ruben Quintero (144) finished in 3rd.  Liam Huizenga (98) and Mason Roe (144) finished in 4th.  Deniz Korkut (150) finished 5th.

  

 

Week 2 Recap

   We won a big one on Friday night against Warren in our first conference meet.  With a starting weigh of 106 Warren jumped out to a 10-0 lead.  We won the next five with 4 pins to go ahead 27-10.  Warren wonthenext three to pull within 3.  But our upper weight stars had a pin, a tech fall, and a 5-0 win over their returning state qualifier to put the meet out of reach.  Warren pinned at 285 to make the final score 41-30.

   Saturday we competed in a mega dual at St. Charles East.  We beat Oswego East (62-9) and Oswego (48-27), losing to St. Charles East, the #1 ranked team in the state, 46-21.  Three match winners were Luke Berktold, Matt Kubas, Caleb Baczek, and Owen McGrory.  Top wins were by Matt Kubas, a 6-3 win over a returning All-Stater, and Owen McGrory, a pin over a returning state qualifier.  James Liu had two pins, one over a returning sectional qualifier.

 

Week 1 Recap

   The Libertyville varsity wrestlers opened the season with victories over Antioch (42-33) and McHenry (55-24).  On Friday/Saturday, they competed in the 32 team Barrington Invitational, finishing 3rd.  Placewinners were Luke Berktold (120 champion), Owen McGrory (215 champion), Matt Kubas (2nd at 175), Orion Moran (3rd at 132), Caleb Baczek (3rd at 190), Will Carney (6th at 144), James Liu (8th at 126), Jake Shafer (9th at 106), and James Scanio (10 at 157).  Others winning matches were Hunter Hill (138), Jacob Whisenand (150), Ethan Trowbridge (165), Erich Walldorf (190), Gabe Turchinsky (285), and Rhett VanBoening (285).

   The JVs competed in the 12 team Glenbard North JV Invitational, finishing in a tie for 2nd.  They were led for 4 champions; Antonio Kelly (138), Anthony Kelly (144), Jacob Whisenand (150), and Ethan Trowbridge (165).  Second place finishers were Brayden Liu (120) and Jack Treutelaar (175).  Thomas Wiesneth (157) took 5th.

   The Freshmen competed in duals against Antioch, McHenry, Carmel, Highland Park, and Cary-Grove.  Going 3-0 for the weekend were Jon Garrison (left), Ruben Quintero (middle), and Liam Huizenga (right).

   2 match winners were Lola Gonzalez, Breckin Hanahan-McKenzie, and Denis Korkut.

2023 Results

 

Cole Matulenko wins the 2023 195 State Championship

   Cole Matulenko began his state tournament with a first period pin over Joliet West.  He scored a technical fall (17-2) in the quarterfinals over Mt. Carmel.  In the semifinals he beat Belleville East 6-2.  In the finals the #1 state ranked Marist wrestler, also #23 in the nation, Cole got the first takedown sending his opponent to his back, getting the pin in 31 seconds, a new 195 state finals fastest pin record.  

  Matt Kubas went 4-2 to finish 4th at 170, scoring a pin over York, a 12-2 win over Lincoln-Way Central, a 13-6 win over Wheaton Warrenville South, and a 3-1 win over St. Charles East in the consolation semifinals.  

   Luke Berktold and Owen McGrory both went 2-2, losing in the blood round, the consolation quarterfinals, one spot shy of an All-State finish.  Luke beat Belleville East (8-4) and Hersey (5-0).  Owen pinned Geneva and beat Elk Grove (12-0).  Caleb Baczek also competed but lost to Marmion and Quincy.

   5 Libertyville wrestlers finished in the top four at their weights in the Sectional Tournament (February 10/11) to qualify for the State Tournament (February 16-18).  Cole Matulenko won the 195 title.  2nd place finishers were Matt Kubas (170) and Owen McGrory (220).  4th place finishers were Luke Berktold (120) and Caleb Baczek (182).

 

 The Libertyville varsity wrestlers competed in the Regionals at Grant Saturday, February 4.  Despite qualifying 10 wrestlers for the Sectional Tournament, we finished behind Warren in the team standings, 195-178.  Both teams had 10 Sectional Qualifiers.  McHenry finished in third (162, 8 qualifiers), Mundelein was fourth (131, 5 qualifiers), Grant was 5th (113, 6 qualifiers), Round Lake was 6th (84, 3 qualifiers), Waukegan (16) and Zion-Benton (10) did not get any qualifiers.  Our Sectional Qualifiers were Luke Berktold (3rd at 120), Orion Moran (3rd at 126), Hunter Hill (3rd at 132), Will Carney (3rd at 152), Charlie Clark (2nd at 160), Matt Kubas (2nd at 170), Caleb Baczek (1st at 182), Cole Matulenko (1st at 195), Owen McGrory (1st at 220), and Caleb Christensen (3rd at 285).  

   The Libertyville wrestlers defeated Zion-Benton (66-4) and Stevenson (37-28) in the final two meets of the conference race to finish atop the conference standings with a 7-0 record, 17-4 overall.  Winners against Stevenson were Hunter Hill (pin at 132), Anthony Kelly (pin at 145), Will Carney (7-3 at 152), Matt Kubas (15-7 major at 170), Cole Matulenko (pin at 195), Owen McGrory (pin at 220), and Luke Berktold (pin at 120).  Here are the conference champions .  .  .

   In last weekend's Lake County Invitational, Libertyville finished in second behind Warren (212-204).  Stevenson was in third with 175.  We were led by two individual champions, Matt Kubas (170) and Owen McGrory (220).  2nd place finishers were Luke Berktold (120), Caleb Baczek (182), and Cole Matulenko (195).  Caleb Christensen (285) finished 3rd.  Orion Moran (126) and Hunter Hill (132) took 4ths.  Will Carney (152) finished 5th, Charlie Clark (160) finished 6th.  Our two Lake County champions (Owen on left, Matt on right) .  .  .

   The Libertyville wrestlers moved their conference record to 5-0 with a 55-24 win over Mundelein on January 13.  Competing in the Lyons Quad on Saturday, the Libertyville wrestlers went 2-1 with wins over Conant (46-23) and Lyons (53-21), losing to DeKalb (43-35).

   The Libertyville wrestlers moved their conference record to 4-0 on January 6 with a 61-12 win over Lake Zurich.  On Saturday, the wrestlers won the team title in the Glenbard West 12 team invite, 227 to 174 for second place Fremd.  6 Libertyville wrestlers won individual championships: Hunter Hill (132), Matt Kubas (170), Austin Gomez (182), Cole Matulenko (195), Owen McGrory (220), and Caleb Christensen (285).  Orion Moran (126) finished 2nd.  Luke Berktold (120), Antonio Kelly (138), and Anthony Kelly (145) finished 3rd.  Charlie Clark (160) finished 5th.  Below are the Glenbard West Invitational team champions .  .  .

   The Libertyville wrestlers competed in the DeKalb 32 Dual Team Invitational on December 29/30.  We finished the competition with a 4-2 record and in 21st place.  We lost to West Aurora in the first round 43-36 which put us in the consolation bracket.  We beat Hillgrove (GA) 57-15 in the second round.  We lost to Hinsdale Central 37-35 in the final meet of the first day to finish 6th in our pool.  That put in a 4 team round robin the second day with the other 6th place pool finishers where we would finish 21st through 24th.  We won all three meets the next day, Oswego (48-31), Pewaukee (WI, 54-28), and Belvidere (48-31).  Austin Gomez won his 6 matches, all by first period pin.  Matt Kubas won 6 with four pins.  Cole Matulenko went 6-0 with 5 pins.  Luke Berktold and Caleb Christensen had 5-1 records with 5 pins.  Owen McGrory went 4-2, both of his losses coming to returning All-Staters.  Others winning matches were Brian Furlong, Orion Moran, Hunter Hill, and Antonio Kelly. 

 The Libertyville wrestlers moved to 3-0 in the conference with a 72-3 win over Waukegan on December 15.  Vernon Hills was also competing with us that day and we won 54-15.  Over the weekend we competed in the Harlem (Dvorak) 39 team invitational.  We had three placewinners, Cole Matulenko (3rd at 195), Matt Kubas (5th at 170), and Owen McGrory (5th at 220).  Luke Berktold (120), Charlie Clark (160), Austin Gomez (182), and Caleb Christensen (285) also had wins.  We finished 19th as a team.  Placewinners below are Matt Kubas, Cole Matulenko, and Owen McGrory.

   The Libertyville wrestlers moved to 2-0 in the conference with a 57-9 win over Lake Forest on December 9.  The next day they competed in the Prospect 16 team invite and finished 3rd behind champion Prospect and runner up Joliet Catholic.  Austin Gomez (182) and Owen McGrory (220) won championships.  Matt Kubas (170) finished 2nd.  Cole Matulenko (195) and Caleb Christensen (285) finished 3rd.  Antonio Kelly (138) and Caleb Baczek (182) finished 4th.  Luke Berktold (120) finished 5th.  Others winning matches were Orion Moran (126), Hunter Hill (132), and Max Butler (160).

   The Libertyville wrestlers won a hard fought 41-30 win over conference title contender Warren on December 2.  Warren jumped out to a 12-0 lead before Libertyville won the next 6 matches including an upset 15-12 win by Charlie Clark at 160.  Cole Matulenko and Owen McGrory knocked off returning sectional qualifiers.  A Warren pin at 106 made the score 27-18 lead.  We got another upset win at 113 with freshman Jack Gershtenson winning his first high school match, 11-7 with a great comeback effort.  Luke Berktold (120) and Hunter Hill (132) had pins to wrap up the win.

   On Saturday, December 3 the Libertyville wrestlers competed in a mega dual at West Aurora.  We went 2-1 with wins over Wheaton Warrenville South (45-30) and Oswego (55-24), losing to St. Charles East (54-21).  

    The Libertyville wrestlers began the season with a triangular with McHenry and Antioch on Wednesday, November 23.  Libertyville won both meets, 52-24 over Antioch, 45-27 over McHenry.  On Friday and Saturday the Libertyville wrestlers competed in the Barrington 31 team Invitational and placed 2nd behind champion Hersey.  Our place winners were Matt Kubas (1st at 170), Hunter Hill (2nd at 132), Austin Gomez (2nd at 182), Cole Matulenko (2nd at 195), Owen McGrory (3rd at 220), Luke Berktold (4th at 120), Caleb Christensen (4th at 285), Charlie Clark (9th at 160), and Caleb Baczek (10th at 182).

Coach Seeger is named to the IWCOA Hall of Fame

   On Sunday, November 27, the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association selected Coach Roy Seeger to their 2023 Hall of Fame class.  Coach Seeger is in his 37th year in coaching.  He began at Lake Forest High School as an assistant for 6 years.  He came to Libertyville for his first of four stints as an assistant in 1992 and 1993.  Lake Forest asked him back as their head coach for the 1994 season.  He spent 5 years as Lake Forest's head coach.  Lake Forest hadn't been a top division for nearly two decades when Roy took over.  He got them to second in the conference within two years.  Same with the Regionals, 2nd in two years.  Before Roy got there, Lake Forest had never had an All-State wrestler.  During his five years Lake Forest had 4 All-State wrestlers.

   Due to his job responsibilities at a family business in Arlington Heights, and the addition of two children to his family, Roy had to give up his Lake Forest head coaching position.  He came back to Libertyville as an assistant coach the next three years, 1999-2001.  After three successful season at Libertyville, Mundelein asked Roy to be their new head coach.  Very similar to his time at Lake Forest, Roy took Mundelein to the upper division of the conference and regionals.  Before the 2005 season, the new Mundelein superintendent said any head coach had to be a teacher at the school.  So Roy was out.  He came back to Libertyville as an assistant coach.  He spent 8 years here (2005-2012), some of our best years.  

   Roy went back to Mundelein for the 2013 season as his former Lake Forest assistant coach, current LHS assistant coach, Vinny Jiuditta, took over the Mundelein head coach and asked Roy to be his technique coordinator.  He stayed at Mundelein for several years but came back to Libertyville's coaching staff in 2021 after a Mundelein head coaching change, his fourth stint on our staff, his 16th overall.

   Coach Seeger was inducted into the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Hall of Fame Sunday, April 16, 2023.