Hononegah Kids Wrestling Club Collects Hardware at Recent Tournaments:
It has been quite a while since the last blog entry, and much has happened since. We have passed the halfway point of the season and the fruits of our hard work have definitely begun to pay off with many strong tournament performances at all levels over the past month.
As many of you know, in addition to individual awards many of the tournaments we compete in also have team competitions. These tournaments typically award trophies or plaques for the top 3 teams. The way these team competitions typically work is clubs are asked to designate a list of 10 – 12 wrestlers as team scorers prior to the start of the tournament. The wins and losses of these wrestlers are then tallied to give each team a point total that is used to determine placement in the team standings. This method removes the advantage that teams with a large number of wrestlers would otherwise have. Last year, we were able to realize team success in one tournament in capturing the team title at the Marengo Cabin Fever Open. This year, I am pleased to say that we have already far surpassed the success of last season in terms of # of team awards with the following accomplishments in the first half of the season alone:- Wolves Varsity Duals on December 20th: This was a dual meet tournament that we were invited to this year hosted by the Crystal Lake Wolves. There were a total of eight teams in this tournament. Each team wrestled 3 dual meets with 18 weight classes. We brought our best wrestlers across all 18 weight classes, as well as a handful of quality second string wrestlers to compete. We were seeded fourth in this tournament and brought home the 3rd Place Trophy. Due to our seed, we drew the #1 seeded team in the United Southern All Stars, an all-star team from southern Illinois loaded with numerous state qualifiers and place winners, in the semi-final dual. We wrestled very competitively and lost a tough match to this team. Along the way we defeated Richmond in the preliminary match and the Maine Eagles for 3rd place.
- Genoa-Kingston on December 20th: We sent a group of 22 wrestlers to this tournament made up of younger wrestlers and 2nd/3rd string wrestlers who did not join the dual meet team at Crystal Lake. This tournament showed the depth and young talent we have in our club as we took home the 2nd Place Plaque. Our 10 designated team scorers in this tournament won 26 of 29 matches earning 7 first place and 3 second place finishes. 22 of our 26 wins were by pin. The first place team, Dekalb Wrestling Club, also finished with 7 first place and 3 second place finishes. However, they won the first place plaque by virtue of having one more win on the day than we did winning 27 or 30 matches.
- Stillman Valley Holiday Tournament on December 21st: We had about 35 wresters compete in this tournament across all levels. There were two different team competitions at this tournament: one for tots, bantams and midgets and the other for Novice and Seniors. We designated groups of 10 wrestlers from each group as team scorers. This tournament was very challenging for our wrestlers. Many did not place as high as we expected. At the end of the day, we did not feel very confident of our chances in the team competition, so we left before the team scores were announced. Much to our surprise, we were notified the next day that we won the 3rd Place Trophies in both age groups.
- Wolves Interstate Battery Classic on January 4th: We brought 17 wrestlers to this very tough tournament that had a lot of tough competition that we don’t often see, such as Gomez Wrestling Academy, Lakeland Predators, Libertyville Wildcats, Mad Dog Wrestling and many other talented clubs from the Chicago suburbs. We designated 12 wrestlers as team scorers. This tournament proved to be extremely tough for us with only 2 of our 12 wrestlers taking first place (Nick Carter and Blake Zalapi). Once again, we left the tournament prior to team scores being announced, assuming that we were not close in the team competition. Once again, I received a pleasantly surprising phone call from the Wolves tournament director on Monday morning telling me that we won the 3rd Place Trophy, finishing behind the Lakeland Predators and Gomez Wrestling Academy.
- Mid-Season North Section Preview on January 11th: We brought 53 wrestlers to this tournament, our 2nd largest number of entries this season. This tournament is unique in that it contains 8 person brackets for Bantams and Tots and true state weight classes for Midgets, Novice and Seniors, resulting in brackets as large as 16. Team awards were given for the top 3 teams in each of four groups: Bantams/Tots, Midgets, Novice and Seniors. Unlike other tournaments, the results of all wrestlers were used to determine team points and final team standings. Our results for the tournament were as follows:
- Bantams/Tots: 2nd Place Trophy – Outstanding job by a group made up of many first and second year wrestlers.
- Midgets: 4th place – we fell just short of winning a trophy here. Great job by the 9 – 10 year old wrestlers, nonetheless. We have seen a lot of improvement from our 9 and 10 year olds.
- Novice: 2nd Place Trophy – Many wrestlers rose to the occasion to contribute here. We were missing perhaps our best Novice wrestler due to injury. Had he wrestled, we very well could have taken 1st in this age group.
- Seniors: 3rd Place Trophy – Our smallest group of wrestlers by far is our 13 and 14 year olds. We had 9 senior wrestlers wrestle hard and win some very tough matches to accumulate enough team points to outdistance many teams who brought more wrestlers. Great job, Seniors!
- Overall Team Standings: This tournament also awards a trophy for the Grand Champion across all divisions. We placed second in the overall team standings, falling just short of the Crystal Lake Wizards for the Grand Champion trophy. Wait ‘til next year!
Excellent showing by all wrestlers who have competed over the past few weeks! As much as I would like to call out all individual award winners in the above tournaments, there are far too many outstanding individual performances to keep track of and list. I will offer a blanket congratulations to all wrestlers who have tried their best and been rewarded for their efforts. You know who you are.
Upcoming Tournament Registration Deadlines:
Everybody should be aware of a number of registration deadlines for future tournaments in the upcoming days and weeks. Please review the details below and talk with a coach if you have any questions about a tournament you are considering for your son. (Please note the recommended levels)- Hononegah Beginners Tournament:
- The deadline for registration was 1/6, but we will continue to take signups until Friday, 1/16
- Date of Tournament: 1/24/2009
- Location: Hononegah Main Gym
- Level: All 1st and 2nd year wrestlers are expected to sign up and wrestle
- Polo Wrestling Tournament:
- Payment due by 1/12/2009
- Date of Tournament: 1/31/2009
- Location: Polo High School
- Level: Open to all levels; This tournament is very beginner friendly
- 3rd Annual Blake Barrone Memorial 4 Man Round Robin Tournament:
- Payment due by 1/13/2009
- Date of Tournament: 2/1/2009
- Location: Boylan High School
- Level: Great tournament for all levels. Last year, Hononegah had the most participants of any other club with 60+ kids wrestling (Let’s beat that number this year)
- All Illinois Bantam Championships:
- Payment due by 1/31/2009 (Make Checks payable to Vince Zalapi)
- Entry Fee: $18
- Date of Tournament: 2/14/2009
- Location: Bloom Trail High School, Chicago Heights, Illinois
- Level: 6-8 year old wrestlers who have solid winning records on the season
- Note: Weigh-ins will be at tournament site on 2/13/09 from 8 am – 12 pm. Please notify Coach Vince Zalapi (vmzalapi@yahoo.com) if you are considering signing your son up from this event. See following link for more information: http://www.crosstownwrestling.com/docs/Bantam%20Info%20Letter.doc
- DeKalb WC Kids Tournament:
- Payment due by 2/7/2009
- Date of Tournament: 2/15/2009
- Location: DeKalb High School
- Level: Open to all levels; This tournament is relatively beginner friendly
- Dundee Highlanders 52nd Anniversary Tournament:
- Payment due by 1/23/2009
- Date of Tournament: 2/22/2009
- Location: Dundee Crown High School
- Level: Open to all levels; There is no Tot Division (6 and under) at this tournament. This is one of only 5 tournaments in the state this weekend. As a result, participants from across the state often attend and; competition can be tough.
- IKWF Regionals:
- Payment due by 2/15/2009
- Date of Tournament: 2/28/2009
- Location: Stillman Valley High School
- Level: Open to all levels; This is the last tournament of the season for 8 and under wrestlers. All wrestlers 9 and over should attend regionals. Top 6 wresters in 9-10, Novice and Senior divisions advance to sectionals.
- Midget State Championships:
- Payment due date: TBA
- Entry Fee: TBA
- Date of Tournament: 3/21 – 3/22 (Weigh-ins on 3/20/09)
- Location: Palmer Arena, Danville, Illinois
- Level: Any 8-10 year old wrestler is eligible to enter; recommended for 9 and 10 year old wrestlers who have winning records or 8 year olds who have winning percentages of 80% or higher.
Thanks.
-Coach Vince (vmzalapi@yahoo.com) - Stillman Valley Holiday Tournament on December 21st: We had about 35 wresters compete in this tournament across all levels. There were two different team competitions at this tournament: one for tots, bantams and midgets and the other for Novice and Seniors. We designated groups of 10 wrestlers from each group as team scorers. This tournament was very challenging for our wrestlers. Many did not place as high as we expected. At the end of the day, we did not feel very confident of our chances in the team competition, so we left before the team scores were announced. Much to our surprise, we were notified the next day that we won the 3rd Place Trophies in both age groups.
