The results are the same, and the method hasn`t changed that much. Will Lepsi just gets to eat more now.
The Lyons Township senior has moved to heavyweight for his final season of wrestling after winning the Class AA state title at 189 pounds. The winning part hasn`t changed. He ran his record to 32-0 Saturday by pinning Oak Lawn`s Mike Klutcharch in 1:34 in the final of the Oak Park Invitational, leading his team to the title.
”It`s been a good move,” said Lepsi. ”It`s not that much harder. I had to add a few more moves, but I`m doing the same things. There have been a lot of guys bigger than me, but they haven`t been wrestling as long as I have. I started when I was in the 1st grade.”
The 6-foot-3-inch Lepsi, who will compete only in football at Illinois next year, is up to 225 pounds. He has been hitting the weights and the dinner table to become a real heavyweight, where the limit is 275. He feels he needs some bulk against wrestlers of 250 pounds or more.
Last season, Lepsi had to reduce to make 189, and that`s something he doesn`t miss. He was won the battle of the scales.
”I eat as much as I can,” he said. ”Coach (Mark) King wants me to stay low, but I like to eat. Not cutting weight has made wrestling a lot more enjoyable. We have a lot of guys on the team who have to cut, and watching them run makes me feel bad.”
Lepsi was one of seven champions for the Lions, who scored 263.5 points to 171.5 for Moline. Peter Jung (103), Pat Harders (119), Matt Zeman (135), Jason Beinarauskas (145), Max Daman (160) and Jay Nichols (171) also won titles.
Lyons put 10 wrestlers in the finals, with Todd Chesney (125), Bill Zeman (130) and David Alex (152) taking seconds. The Lions have won the West Suburban Conference Silver Division title, which is based on dual meets. They will take next weekend off to prepare for the state series, and the Oak Park Invitational bodes well for the rest of the season.
”This is kind of a rehearsal for the regional,” said King. ”We`re wrestling different people with different styles. It shows us the things we need to work on and what our limitations are. I`m real happy the way we wrestled. Some of the guys in the middle of the lineup are starting to wrestle aggressively.”
In two of the biggest matches, Beinarauskas (23-1-1) won 5-4 over Oak Park`s Joe Cartwright (27-4), and Nichols (31-1) prevailed 4-2 over Dan Walters of Oak Lawn.
Walters was the Class AA runner-up at 145 pounds last year but was ineligible the first semester. He wrestled his first match on Thursday and won his first five matches before the finals. Walters, who weighed 162 Saturday, isn`t sure if he`ll continue to cut to 160 or wrestle at 171.
Nichols, who gave up a first period takedown, scored two reversals and rode Walters out both times.
”I thought my size helped,” said Nichols. ”When I got on top, he couldn`t get out. He was quick. When he got that first takedown, he shocked me.”
Walters felt he hadn`t been getting enough competition at 160, so he moved up. He defeated Moline`s tough Sonny Dodds 5-1 in the semifinals but found conditioning a factor in the finals.
”It`s kind of tough getting into shape,” he said. ”It`s taking a little time.”
Lepsi didn`t have the fastest fall in the finals. Moline Augie Gonzales pinned Oak Lawn`s Ed Wodzniak in 54 seconds at 189. Bogan`s Carlton Brown raised his record to 22-3 with a pin of Chesney in 1:13 at 125.
Evanston`s Tavish Davis pinned Bogan`s Antonio Lewis in 2:23 at 140 and is 18-1. Harders pinned Oak Park`s Fred Bluhagen in 2:38.
