The Dave Osman most dedicated award went to Coach Jim Gussman, and Will Schmidt received the most valuable player at the lower level award.
Photo by Robin Harley and courtesy of The Elburn Herald
1995-6 season: 18-3 first in the Suburban Prairie Conference - White.
1996-7 strengths: Experience from last year's great season.
1996-7 Weaknesses: A lot of dependence on freshman.
Coach Ray Epperson (seventh year) says: "I think we're shooting at staying above .500, but you never know with the young kids. Throwing a freshman in on the varsity is always tough. We also have a stronger schedule with Coal City, Montini, DeKalb and Downers Grove South."
| KANELAND WRESTLING SCHEDULE | ||||||
| Day | Date | Vs | Time | Location | Results | |
| Tue | 11/26/96 | Elgin Larkin | 6:00 | Elgin | W | 40-25 |
| Sat | 11/30/96 | Dekalb, Downers Grove South, Belvidere |
1:00 | Dekalb | L vs Dekalb L vs DG S W vs Blvd |
21-42 27-39 48-24 |
| Tue | 12/03/96 | Burlington, Aurora Central Catholic |
5:30 | Maple Park | W vs ACC W vs Burl |
66-12 42-30 |
| Thur | 12/05/96 | Yorkville, Coal City | 5:30 | Yorkville | L | 12-58 |
| Sat | 12/07/96 | Coal City F/S Invitational | 9:00 | Coal City | L | 13-51 |
| Tue | 12/10/96 | Oregon | 6:00 | Oregon | L | 15-53 |
| Thur | 12/12/96 | Ridgewood | 5:30 | Norridge | W | 39-34 |
| Fri | 12/13/96 | Reaper Classic | 5:30 | Plano | 11th | 16Teams |
| Sat | 12/14/96 | Kaneland Frosh Invitational | 10:00 | Maple Park | 11th | . |
| Thur | 12/19/96 | Lemont | 5:30 | Maple Park | L | 15-50 |
| Fri | 12/20/96 | Batavia, Geneva | 5:30 | Batavia | W | 41-29 |
| Fri | 12/27/97 | Dwight JV Tourn | 9:30 | Dwight | L | 24-47 |
| Fri | 1/03/97 | Morris | 5:30 | Maple Park | L | 16-51 |
| Tue | 1/07/97 | Ashton | 5:30 | Maple Park | W | 41-26 |
| Thur | 1/09/97 | Westmont | 5:30 | Maple Park | W | 40-33 |
| Sat | 1/11/97 | Polo Invitational | 9:30 | Polo | 7th | . |
| Sat | 1/11/97 | Batavia JV Tourn | 9:30 | Batavia | . | . |
| Fri | 1/17/97 | Evergreen Park | 5:30 | Evergreen Park |
Cancel | . |
| Sat | 1/18/97 | Batavia Tourn | 9:00 | Batavia | . | . |
| Thur | 1/23/97 | Elmwood Park | 5:30 | Maple Park | W | 52-14 |
| Fri | 1/24/95 | Montini | 5:30 | Montine | L | 12-60 |
| Sat | 1/25/97 | SPC Conference JV/Soph | TBA | Westmont | . | . |
| Sat | 2/1/97 | SPC Conference Varsity | TBA | Ridgewood | . | . |
| Sat | 2/08/97 | IHSA Regional | TBA | Oregon | 2nd | below |
Kaneland edged Stillman Valley for second place in the Oregon Class A Regional meet 122-121. The Knights had championships from Chris Cornell (130), John Accardi (135) and Ryan West (160), a second place from Roy Gustafson (112) and third places from Manuel Guzman (152) and Jason Reyes (275).
Gustafson lost by only one point 6-5 to Tom Bottoms of Oregon in the championship match.
In addition, Conor Gibbons (103) lost in the third place match by a 9-3 decision, while Brian Melton (125) and Jason Harley (152) were pinned in third place matches.
Oregon won 10 of 13 weight classes in the Class A Dual Meet championship over Kaneland winning 53-11, to advance to the sectionals. Winners for the Knights were Chris Cornell with a 9-5 victory over Josh Flaherty at 130-pounds, John Accardi with an 18-7 victory over Rich Folk at 135 and Jason Reyes with a 12-2 victory over Nate Winters at 275.
Kaneland had two class A state grapplers, Roy Gustafson at 112 pounds and Ryan West at 160 pounds.
In the preliminary round Gustafson defeated Matt Hartman of Taylor Ridge 6-3, but then lost to 4-time state qualifier and now 2-time state champion Todd Combes of Coal City during the quarterfinals. This forced Gustafson to wrestlebacks and a second loss which eliminated him from further competition.
West in turn needed a pair of overtime victories to reach the semifinals. West defeated Lawrenceville's Nathan Hill 4-2 in his preliminary match, then edged Orion's Steve Burleson in the quarterfinals 3-1. West (9-2) earned the chance at the overtime victory when Burleson was penalized one point at the buzzer, creating a 1-1 tie. West then won the match with a quick takedown.
In the semifinals West lost to Adam Schaefe of Morrision 4-2 in his third straight overtime match. Then wrestling with an injury was eliminated in the wrestlebacks. However, West had secured the honor of being among the top six wrestlers in the state.
|
| Kneeling left to right: Roy Gustafson (co-captain, most valuable player
award and state qualifier), Chris Cornell, Conor Gibbons and Jason Reyes.
Standing left to right: Pete Bloome, Manuael Guzman, Jaason Accardi (most
improved award), Jeff Knoerzer, Josh Tapp and Ryan West (co-captain and state
qualifier). The Dave Osman most dedicated award went to Coach Jim Gussman, and Will Schmidt received the most valuable player at the lower level award. |
|
Photo by Robin Harley and courtesy of The Elburn Herald |
| 1996-7 Kaneland Wrestling Roster | ||
| Connor Gibbons | Freshman | 101 |
| Chad Porter | Freshman | 101 |
| Josh Rogers | Freshman | 101 |
| Ryan Kasper | Sphomore | 113 |
| Clint Kramer | Senior | 116 |
| Roy Gustafson | Senior | 121 |
| Mike Jaeger | Sophomore | 124 |
| Matt McGinnis | Freshman | 128 |
| Brian Melton | Sophomore | 128 |
| Mike Berringer | Sophomore | 130 |
| Chris Cornell | Freshman | 134 |
| Nick Poss | Freshman | 136 |
| Manuel Guzman | Sophomore | 138 |
| Jeff Knoerzer | Junior | 140 |
| Pete Bloome | Senior | 144 |
| Zach Augustine | Senior | 147 |
| Marty Keifer | Junior | 150 |
| Jason Harley | Sophomore | 153 |
| Mike Lemmer | Sophomore | 153 |
| Colin Nolan | Freshman | 153 |
| Will Schmidt | Freshman | 163 |
| Josh Tapp | Junior | 163 |
| Ryan West | Junior | 170 |
| Jesse Flanders | Sophomore | 174 |
| Dan DeLeon | Sophomore | 180 |
| Jason Reyes | Junior | 235 |
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