Wrestling: Huskies win dual match over Red Devils
By Mike Clark mclark@suntimes.com February 21, 2012 10:52PM
Oak Park-River Forest's Matthew Rundell wraps up Hinsdale Central's Marco Del Rosario Rivera in the 106-pound weight class. | Rob Hart~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 24, 2012 8:55AM
Just in time for the team state wrestling tournament, Oak Park-River Forest picked up a reinforcement.
Darius Henry, a sectional champ last year who had left the team more than a month ago, returned for the Huskies and gutted out a 5-3 decision over Hinsdale Central’s George Tolbert in Tuesday’s Class 3A sectional match at Oak Park-River Forest.
The points weren’t needed this time, as the Huskies cruised to a 47-19 win over their West Suburban Silver rival. But Henry’s presence could loom large on Saturday when the Huskies head to Bloomington for the state meet.
One of the teams OPRF could wrestle there is Sandburg, which had 11 pins en route to a 66-14 win over Mount Carmel in Tuesday’s other sectional match.
“I went through some mental breakdowns,” Henry said. “My head wasn’t really in it. I was having trouble at home, trouble at school … I just wasn’t thinking the right way. I was being selfish. I wasn’t thinking about my team.”
But after some soul-searching, he was ready to help the Huskies go after their second state title in four seasons.
OPRF had falls from Andre Lee (182), Sam Brooks (195), Matt Rundell (106), Larry Early (120) and Zach Pickering (152).
Sandburg, meanwhile, pulled away from a 12-9 lead with six consecutive pins by Jim Pellegrino (106), Jim Panozzo (113), Sebastian Pique (120), Jake Vales (126), John Pellegrino (132) and Dan Garcia (138).
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