New Trier nabs regular-season league crown

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Winnetka- John Benson of New Trier is in control of Kevin Collins of Maine South at 220.New Trier vs Maine South boys wrestling. | Joe Cyganowski ~ For Sun Times Media

Updated: February 20, 2012 8:37AM

Marc Tadelman’s vision for New Trier’s wrestling program is coming into focus.

One of the season’s highlights was last week’s 50-19 win over Maine South. The victory gave New Trier a 5-0 record in the CSL South and the regular-season conference championship. Maine South had won five league titles in a row, after New Trier had back-to-back crowns in 2004-05 and 2005-06.

“I don’t know if I am surprised, but we are doing a little better than I expected,” Tadelman said. “The guys are wrestling well, and we expected to have success. I’m happy with our progress.”

New Trier absolutely rolled through league dual meets this season. The Trevians beat Waukegan 77-0 on Friday to close out the conference slate. They scored at least 47 points in all five of those meets.

“We set a lot of goals this year, and that, obviously, was one of them,” Tadelman said of capturing the conference title. “But they want to keep this going. It was easy to be excited after last week, but it’s my job to bring them back to reality. We can’t get complacent.”

New Trier ended the stretch on Saturday, beating Hoffman Estates and Hononegah, and losing to Minooka. The Trevians entered the week 17-2 overall in dual meets, a big improvement over last season’s 11-11 mark.

“I would have liked to competed a little more against Minooka,” Tadelman said regarding a 46-16 loss. “That was kind of a wake-up call for us.”

But the Trevians won 10 of the 14 matches against the Hawks, including six by falls and two by major decisions.

Colin Kenyon (103), MJ Pritchard (113), Alec McKenna (132), Jack Conner (152), Luke Hidder (170) and John Benson (220) all won by pin. Scott Schwartz (182) and Arash Ghafouri (126) earned victories by major decision.

New Trier competes in the CSL tournament at Maine East Friday and Saturday. The Trevians were placed in the Glenbrook South Regional on Feb. 4.

“I don’t mean to rain on our parade, but we have to stay focused and keep plugging away,” Tadelman said. “The season isn’t over, and we can’t relax now.”