Fast start for CLC, Harrah

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GRAYSLAKE – Crystal Lake Central’s Gage Harrah wrestled for 20 seconds Friday at the Fox Valley Conference Tournament, and his coach couldn’t have been happier.

The sophomore 215-pound wrestler made quick work of Ricky Haller of Johnsburg, getting a takedown seconds after the starting whistle and then earning a fall to advance to today’s semifinals at Grayslake Central.

Harrah was one of nine Tigers to advance to the semifinals. Teammates Clayton Lutzow (119 pounds), Trevor Jauch (125), Jason Fugiel (130), Christian Malouf (135), Nick Cliff (140), Trevor Servant (145), Joey Kielbasa (152) and Austin Mardsen (189) also are in the running for FVC championships, and as a team, the Tigers look to be the group to beat today.

“Coming into the season, we knew we had a pretty solid lineup,” Harrah said. “We’re really comfortable right now, and we have some wrestlers stepping up.”

Being a No. 1 seed, Harrah received a first-round bye, so his pin in the quarterfinals counts for double in team points. The Tigers earned extra team points at seven other weight classes, getting quarterfinal pins from Jauch, Malouf, Kielbasa and Mardsen.

“Any time you have a chance to pin and get off the mat, that’s what you do,” Central coach Justen Lehr said. “It saves energy for later in the tournament. We use technological advances in technique.”

Fugiel and Mardsen contributed technical falls in the quarterfinals, and Servant added a major decision, all after first-round byes.

Crystal Lake South is looking to earn more than this season’s FVC Valley Division title with eight wrestlers advancing to the semifinals: Nick Fontanetta (103), Nick Peters (112), Mark Mohler (140), Anthony Woods (145), Jason Liuzzi (152), Kean Loupee (160), Tyler Simmons (171) and Mike Romanelli (215).

McHenry and Dundee-Crown each had six wrestlers advance, and Prairie Ridge and Cary-Grove each advanced four. Missing from Prairie Ridge’s lineup was Matt Shaver (145), Randy DeBruyne (189), David Vinton (215) and Tim Zegers (285). Wolves coach Joe Terhaar declined comment on his scratched wrestlers.

The Tigers have won the FVC the past two seasons, and Harrah said a three-peat was the first goal the team had this season, hopefully setting up bigger achievements.

“We’re working really hard,” Harrah said. “If we keep training hard, we’re hoping to have a good run at state.”