Wrestling: Plainfield Central pins down win over Joliet West
By Logan Malloy For Sun-Times Media November 20, 2012 11:08PM
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Updated: December 22, 2012 6:38AM
Plainfield Central’s Ryan Holzrichter said he had some opening day jitters.
Fortunately for the senior, he knows how to keep them in check.
Holzrichter had one of three Central pins as the Wildcats downed host Joliet West 37-29 Tuesday in a dual match to start the season.
“There’s always some cobwebs but you’ve got to shake them out and get ready for midseason when it starts getting intense with Cheesehead, Dvorak and national tournaments,” Holzrichter said.
Holzrichter, a returning regional champion, pinned Terrele Mitchem at 145 pounds with 1:10 remaining in the third period for an 18-16 advantage and Central’s first lead of the match.
“It was my first time certifying at 138,” Holzrichter said. “Then I bumped up to 145, so it was my first time wrestling someone that big. He was good. I thought it was a fun match.”
Joliet West kept Plainfield Central off the board in the first three matches, the highlight a Cory Winehell pin over John Nudera with 38 seconds remaining in the second period.
Central cut West’s lead in half in the fourth match as Clayton Ledbetter notched a pin with 1:22 to go in the second period after a crowd-pleasing hip toss.
Central then garnered consecutive third-period falls as state medalist Nick Nasenbenny defeated Matt Robinson at 138 pounds and Holzrichter followed with his pin of Mitchem.
Jesse Venegas (195 pounds) brought West to within six when he pinned Michael Wheeler with 1:16 left in the second period, but Central won the final two matches.
“Joliet West is a physical team,” Central coach Jon Kappas said. “They really tested our guys in a lot of different ways.”
Before the match, Joliet West recognized former wrestlers from the teams that set a state record with four consecutive undefeated seasons spanning 1977 to 1980. Former state champions Dwayne McCallum, Greg McCallum and Todd Sterr were in attendance.
