Schools
Bolingbrook's Campos Wins Title at Stagg Invite
Langenderfer leads Lincoln-Way East to second-place finish; Romeoville's Hardy rules at 112, while Andrew picks up championships from Ferguson and Chojnowski.
A year ago, Frankie Campos used a championship in the Stagg Invite to help him kick off a season in which he finished sixth at the IHSA state wrestling finals.
Following Saturday's competition in the same tournament, the Bolingbrook senior wrestler hopes that a second title will translate into even more success.
Campos followed up on his title at 112 from a year ago by taking top honors at 119 to help the Raiders to a third-place showing with 144.5 points.
In the championship match at 119, Campos defeated Bradley-Bourbonnais' Jacob Iguartua with a technical fall by a 20-5 score.
"Coming into the tournament, I was a little nervous about wrestling at 119 against some kids who are bigger than me," Campos said. "But when I saw they weren't as strong as I thought, I knew I could do better against them.
"I'd like to place higher than sixth at state, hopefully in the top four at 119. If I can do that, it will be a great accomplishment for me as a senior. Winning the Stagg tournament is a good start."
The Raiders had one other individual in a title match, Jordan Laster, who dropped a 5-3 decision to Crown Point's Josh Fuqua in the 103-pound finals.
Claiming third place finishes for Bolingbrook were Alfredo Najera (130), Lazarick Mahomes (135) and Bryant Etherton (189).
Indiana power Crown Point scored 242.5 points to capture another team title in the event, while Lincoln-Way East finished second with 203 points.
Leading the way for the Griffins was Kyle Langenderfer, who took first place at 145 with an 11-1 victory over Crown Point's Josh Flamme.
"I was hoping to go to 140, but my buddy is there and they want to keep him there, so they moved me to 145," Langenderfer said. "I had a few obstacles today with my hand cast, but I just went out and did the best I could.
"I had a little setback with the football injury, but I'm coming along well. Getting to state as a freshman last year was a big thing and I think I can finish a little higher on the awards stand than sixth place this year."
East also had a second-place finisher, Chris Graf, who got pinned in the 189 title match in 5:27 by Andrew's Jake Ferguson.
Claiming third place efforts for the Griffins were Brendan Gaynor (103), Wally Piech (140), Joe Allegretti (215) and Nick Allegretti (285).
Andrew had another champion, Cory Chojnowski (285), who won 7-0 over Waubonsie Valley's Adam Szott. Doug Platt (171) placed third to help the T-Bolts claim fifth place with 109 points.
"I wouldn't have gotten here without my practice partners and my coaches," Ferguson said. "It was a great feeling to go out there and win this tournament, so I could start the season well and hopefully it gets me noticed."
Romeoville's Darshawn Hardy beat Crown Point's Colton Saroff 4-0 in the 112 finals and Caleb Ramos finished third at 125 for the Spartans, who placed eighth with 85 points.
"I've been coming here for three years and always wanted to win this because it's a tough tournament," Hardy said. "Winning this title today makes me feel like I can have a great season as long as I work hard every day."
Stagg finished 10th with 77 points, while Shepard was 11th with 71 points. Kevin Moylan (140) and Steve Monaco (215) both finished second for the Chargers.
In the 140 finals, Crown Point's Jason Tsirtsis, the tournament MVP, beat Moylan 19-3 by technical fall, while at 215, Monaco fell 12-2 to Crown Point's Tyler Kral.
