East runner-up to Neuqua Valley

Published in the Kane County Chronicle on
January 20th, 2008

East runner-up to Neuqua Valley
By KEVIN JENISON - editorial@kcchronicle.com
Comments (No comments posted.)-->STREAMWOOD – The frigid weather might have kept some from doing what they wanted this weekend, but it didn’t stop St. Charles East from putting the heat on the rest of the competition at the Upstate Eight Wrestling Tournament on Saturday inside Streamwood High School.The Saints finished second with 217 points, 47.5 points behind champion Neuqua Valley (264.5). St. Charles North (116) finished fifth, and South Elgin (46) was 10th in the 11-team event.It was a day to remember for East, which sent six wrestlers to the finals, with four coming away with titles. North sent three to the finals.Alex Maynard of East dominated Joe Rovituso of Lake Park in the 103-pound finals, winning, 9-0, to claim first place in his first year wrestling varsity.“I do what I can for the team,” Maynard said. “I wrestled most of these kids before, so I knew what to expect.”Saints wrestler Cody Crawford got some payback in his 7-1 win against Kevin Roth of Waubonsie Valley in the 125 finals.“Last year I lost to [Roth],” Crawford said. “I knew I had to go out there and battle to get first.”Daniel Mercadante of East took home the 130 title, beating Adam Stine of Neuqua Valley, 6-4, in overtime. Mercadante was down 4-2 before coming back to tie in regulation and gaining the winning points in overtime.Adam Schaefer of East found himself in a difficult match with Jeremiah Myers of Waubonsie Valley for the 189 title, but Schaefer won in overtime, 8-6.“That was a great battle because [Myers] is a tough kid and never gave up,” Saints coach Steve Smerz said. “Adam came back tough after giving up those four points, got that escape to tie it up and won it in overtime.”North’s Eric Justice defeated Nick Proctor of Neuqua Valley, 5-1, for the 145 title.“This feels pretty good. It’s my second conference title,” Justice said. “I feel I improved a little bit from last year.”In the 215 title match, Dan McSweeney of North pinned Steve Schenck of East.“I’ve been working on my technique a lot and some hard practice,” said McSweeney, who earned his first conference title. “It’s amazing. It’s all my dreams come true.”