Wrestling: Evanston qualifies quartet for Glenbard North Sectional
BY DAN SHALIN Contributor February 7, 2012 7:54PM
2/4/12 Skokie-Evanstons Ki Drozd wrestles Niles Norths Eric Berkovich. Stacia Timonere/for Sun Times Media
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Updated: March 11, 2012 8:19AM
Evanston wrestling coach Rudy Salinas said the four Wildkits who qualified for the Glenbard North Sectional will compete with little pressure — but plenty of urgency.
The quartet — Kurtis Henry (132 pounds), Gabriel Brieva (152), David DuBose (160) and Kai Drozd (182) — are seniors. None will be among the favorites to move on to the IHSA Class 3A state tournament. But each wrestler is talented and capable of making a run toward a top-four spot — and qualification.
“You have to wrestle to win, rather than not to lose. I think they get the message,” Salinas said. “There are a couple more things they need to work on in order to swing for the fences. It’s a tough sectional and we’ll be considered underdogs. But it’s carefree wrestling. When you have nothing to lose, you’re dangerous.”
Brieva (30-11) is the most experienced wrestler of the bunch. He reached sectionals but narrowly missed qualifying for state as a junior. He earned his spot in this year’s sectional with a second-place finish in Saturday’s Niles West Regional. After pinning Elk Grove’s Tom Jensen in the semifinals, he was pinned by Maine West’s Jordan Pessah in the title match.
Brieva, who entered the final with a sectional berth wrapped up, said there were a few factors that contributed to his loss to Pessah, who previously beat the Evanston wrestler 8-5 in the CSL meet.
“I tend to psych myself out by thinking too much about what I need to do,” Brieva said. “Maybe I also thought that since I already (made) sectionals, that I didn’t have to try as hard. But I did still try my best in that match.”
After the regional, Brieva said he knew what to work on in practice.
“I’ll fix the things I messed up (at regionals), and I hope to move on to state,” he said. “I need to fix my set-ups and work on getting out on bottom more, and just being the hammer on top.”
DuBose also finished second at the regional, getting pinned by Maine West’s Ben Kindle in the championship match.
Salinas said DuBose still is “putting things together.” But the 160-pounder’s 22-10 record shows he’s had plenty of success.
Henry and Drozd, meanwhile, qualified for sectionals by finishing third in their respective weight classes. Henry (20-8) defeated Niles West’s Isaac Reinemann 14-9 in the third-place match, while Drozd (4-3) beat Niles North’s Eric Berkovich 4-3 in the third-place match.
Salinas said he likes Henry’s big-move capabilities.
“(Henry) has one big move every match,” the coach said. “He has to stay disciplined and be in good position. He’s got a big move in him every six minutes.”
Evanston also had two fourth-place finishers at the regional. That means senior Jack Fuller (195) and junior Simon Gratch (138) will attend the sectional, but only be called into action if someone who finished ahead of them in the regional fails to make weight.
Evanston (81 points) finished sixth overall.
“There were a couple other juniors I thought were going to make it through (to sectionals),” Salinas said about his team’s overall performance. “It was an average showing. I thought we were a little better. Still, good effort. (The performance) reflects our season.”
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