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NEWS - February 28
Oak Park-River Forest defeated Naperville Central, Edwardsville, and Minooka to capture the Class 3A dual team championship.
History in Bloomington!  OPRF wins its first ever team state wrestling championship!  The Huskies clobbered both Naperville Central and Edwardsville to set up a highly anticipated match with Minooka.  Minooka came in as the #2 ranked team in state.  OPRF was ranked #1.  From the get-go, this match was a seesaw affair of wits, wills, and wear.  Sitting in Minooka's section (for the pictures, I swear!), I heard one fan predict, "The dual will be seven matches for us, seven for them, and bonus points will decide it."  His crystal ball proved true as the matchups were tight and highly contested.  Beginning at 189 pounds, "Blazin'" Benny Brooks came out on fire in a dominating technical fall victory over Tim Meyer.  Matt Monson continued the scoring with an 11-5 decision victory over Brandon Haase.  At 285, LaQuan Hightower was overmatched by Cody Jones.  After three bouts, OPRF led 8-3.  Leo Ruettiger outlasted Joey Brown 4-2, and Bobby Zabel found Kendall Hutchinson's back.  After the 112 pound match, Minooka took its first lead at 12-8.  At 119, Minooka won its fourth straight match with a Joeie Ruettiger major win over Jake Venerable.  Chris Dardanes and Brian Bokoski next engaged in a bout that many will never forget.  A week ago, Chris defeated Bokoski at individual state in a close match.  This time, Bokoski came out with a vengeance and maintained a lead for most of the match.  Chris persisted, attacked Bokoski, and shocked the Indian faithful with a pin victory.  The Huskie crowd erupted at the reversal of fortunes.  At 130, Nick Dardanes majored Blake Montella.  OPRF regained the lead at 16-14.  Ellis Coleman dated a tech fall but married a pin in a victory over Sean Kenny.  At 140, Marcus Rangel outlasted Aaron Minnis for a 10-1 victory.  Dan Martin stole back the momentum with a decision victory over Kalvin Hill.  With three bouts to go, OPRF led 27-20.  Ryan Warczynski scored a major decision over Brock Friesen.  OPRF now led 27-24.  A victory by Sammy Brooks (any victory -- since OPRF held the dual meet tiebreaker) would seal the deal.  Amongst cheers of "Sammy," the freshman wasted little time in gluing Mitch Brozovich's back to the mat.  The title would be finding a home in Oak Park!  In the last bout of the dual meet, Brandon Collofello took a forfeit victory at 171 pounds.  The final score was 33-30.  OPRF finished the season with a perfect record of 24-0.

NEWS - February 24
Oak Park-River Forest defeated Carl Sandburg 35-26 to advance to team dual state for the first time since 2006.
At 6 PM, the dual meet began in the 189-pound weight class.  Benny Brooks scored a decision victory over state place-winner Joe Schneider.  Matt Monson scored a pinfall victory at 215 pounds, and LaQuan Hightower gave up 50 pounds but nothing more in his 2-0 triumph.  When Joey Brown majored his 103 pound opponent, OPRF led 16-0.  Sandburg countered OPRF's four victories with four of its own.  Nick Fishback muscled an 8-0 major victory at 112, OPRF's Frankie Picchiotti made his Varsity return with a hard-fought decision loss at 119, Jake Venerable couldn't quite overtake the Eagles' Manny Ozoa, and Jon Morrison (state runner-up at 125 pounds) scored a tech fall victory over OPRF's Charlie Johnson.  The score was now OPRF 16, Sandburg 14 (the Eagles lost a team point for wrestler misconduct).  The Huskies scored consecutive tech fall victories at 135 and 140 (Chris and Nick Dardanes), and Ellis Coleman scored his team-leading 32nd fall at 145 pounds.  Dan Martin sealed the victory with a 6-4 decision over Jake Fishback at 152 pounds.  Sandburg ended the dual meet with falls from Juan Soliz and Chris Frostman.  OPRF competitors not mentioned above include Kendall Hutchinson, Brock Friesen, and Chris Wilson.  OPRF will now face Naperville Central in the first round of the tournament this Saturday.  Other teams competing are Grant, Minooka, Glenbard North, Wheeling, Mt. Carmel, and Edwardsville.

News Archive

NEWS - February 21
Oak Park-River Forest finished with 4 place-winners including its first state champion (Nick Dardanes @ 130) since 1994.
What a tournament.  Drama was at the max down in Champaign.  When the dust settled, OPRF had one 1st place wrestler (Nick Dardanes, 130), one 2nd place wrestler (Dan Martin, 145), one 3rd place wrestler (Ellis Coleman, 135), and one 4th place wrestler (Chris Dardanes, 125).  Nick Dardanes defeated Highland Park's Danny Fisher (previously undefeated) in the finals for OPRF's first state title since Mike Powell.  The Dan Martin train steadily finished off three opponents before falling to Marian's Elias Larson in the championship.  Dan finished his season with only three losses.  Ellis Coleman experienced his first loss of the year but took 3rd for the second straight year.  In the process, he set a record for most victories by pin in the individual state tournament.  Chris Dardanes won three matches out of five -- including a 13-12 barnburner over West Aurora's Josh Zinzer -- en route to his second state medal.  OPRF also won the unofficial state championship.  Official team scores are not kept at individual sectionals or at individual state, but OPRF unofficially won individual state by scoring 83.5 points.

NEWS - February 14
12 wrestlers compete in the De La Salle Individual Sectional, and Oak Park-River Forest advanced 7 wrestlers to individual state.
OPRF advanced 2 first-place wrestlers, 1 second-place wrestler, 3 third-place wrestlers, and 1 fourth-place wrestler to the individual state finals in Champaign, Illinois, that will take place on Friday and Saturday, February 20-21.  This year, the first four place-winners would advance to Champaign.  Taking first were Nick Dardanes (130) and Ellis Coleman (135).  Taking second was Chris Dardanes (125).  Taking third were Dan Martin (145), Sammy Brooks (152) and Benny Brooks (189).  Taking fourth was LaQuan Hightower (215).  Giving their all but bowing out of the individual tourney were Joey Brown (103), Kendall Hutchinson (112), Brock Friesen (160), John Wilson (171), and Matt Monson (215).

NEWS - February 7
Oak Park-River Forest wins the 10-team Morton Regional.  OPRF scored 233 team points and advanced 12 wrestlers to individual sectionals.
OPRF made amends for its lackluster home tournament showing by dominating competition from start to finish.  OPRF scored 78 points higher than the 2nd place team (Lyons Township had 155 points).  Of the advancing 12 wrestlers, the Huskies boasted 6 champions: Chris Dardanes (125), Nick Dardanes (130), Ellis Coleman (135), Dan Martin (145), Benny Brooks (189), and Matt Monson (215).  The other wrestlers advanced with a 2nd or 3rd place position: Joey Brown (103; 2nd), Kendall Hutchinson (112; 3rd), Sammy Brooks (152; 3rd), Brock Friesen (160; 3rd), John Wilson (171; 3rd), and LaQuan Hightower (215; 2nd).  Liam Pegg (119; 4th) and Aaron Minnis (140) did not advance.  All advancing wrestlers will wrestle at the De La Salle individual sectional this coming Friday and Saturday (February 13-14).  OPRF's team victory means that the Huskies will enter the 16-team dual team state tournament.  OPRF's dual team tournament will begin on Tuesday, February 14, at Marist High School in Chicago.  OPRF will face Carl Sandburg.

NEWS - February 7
An OPRF Wrestling Family candlelight bowl is scheduled for March 7 at Circle Bowl in Forest Park.  Festivities are set to begin at 7:30.  Donation is $50.
This event is a great way to support the OPRF Wrestling program.  This is an adult only event.  Circle Bowl is located at 7244 Circle Ave in Forest Park.  Food will be served in addition to exaggerated stories by head coach Mike Powell.  Mark your calendars now! 

NEWS - January 24
Oak Park-River Forest places third in its OPRF Huskie Invitational.  OPRF scored 165.5 team points.
The tournament did not have the same fuel of fire as the big win over LT had the night before.  OPRF finished 7 points behind Arrowhead and 0.5 points behind Lyons Township.  Four OPRF starters did not compete in the tournament, and a few of the OPRF behemoths fell.  Three did not fall, however: Kendall Hutchinson (112), Ellis Coleman (140), and Ben Brooks (189).  In the finals, Hutchinson defeated Matt Hoffman of Arrowhead, Coleman defeated Drake Houdashelt of Fort Zumwalt West, and Brooks defeated Anthony Solis of Morton.  Full results are (in order of weight): Forfeit, Kendall Hutchinson (1st), Liam Pegg (6th), Jake Venerable (5th), Charlie Johnson (3rd), Nick Dardanes (3rd), Ellis Coleman (1st), Aaron Minnis (3rd), Danny Martin (2nd), Sammy Brooks (2nd), John Wilson (5th), Benny Brooks (1st), Eddie Guen-Murray, and Isaac Chadri.

NEWS - January 23
Oak Park-River Forest defeats Lyons Township 37-28 and wins conference with a perfect 6-0 record.
The Huskies were up to the challenge on this conference night, just as they were in the five previous.  Despite a few starters out, OPRF persevered.  OPRF had 8 victories (3 pins, 1 tech fall, 2 majors, and 2 decisions) and LT had 6 victories (3 pins, 1 major, and 2 decisions).  OPRF wins attributed to Frankie Picchiotti, Nick Dardanes, Ellis Coleman, Dan Martin, Sam Brooks, John Wilson, Ben Brooks, and Kendall Hutchinson.  The conference title was OPRF's 2nd in two years and only 5th in school history.

NEWS - January 17
Oak Park-River Forest sweeps the Dundee-Crown quad.  OPRF defeats Dundee-Crown 36-26, Boylan 62-9, and Lane 47-9.
The Dundee-Crown dual was the most competitive.  Several Huskies had big days while feasting on today's competition.  One match of note was a match that didn't even happen in a dual.  In an exhibition match, Ellis Coleman (#1 at 135 pounds) and Prospect's Matt Boggess (#1 at 140 pounds) decided to wrestle.  In this battle of giants, it was not even a contest.  Ellis Coleman dominated in a 16-6 victory.  The team turns its attention to the Lyons Township Lions and a conference championship.  OPRF visits LT this Friday night.

NEWS - January 16
Oak Park-River Forest defeats Proviso West 57-9.
The Huskies welcomed the Proviso West Panthers to OPRF High School for the last home dual of the season.  (There is an upcoming OPRF tournament on Saturday, January 24.  This will be the last home event of the season.)  OPRF improved to a conference record of 5-0.  Proviso West fell to a conference record of 1-4.  The Huskie Highlight goes to Chris Wilson.  Trailing near the end of the third period, Wilson scored to push the match into overtime.  He won the match in the 2nd overtime.  Way to go, Chris!

NEWS - January 15
Oak Park-River Forest defeats Hinsdale Central 46-12.
Both teams came into the matchup with a spotless 3-0 conference record.  OPRF won 11 of 14 bouts in this premier West Suburban (Silver) conference showdown.  Starting at 112 pounds, the Huskies won the first 8 contests to surge to a 36-0 lead.  Hinsdale Central only won 3 weights: 160, 171, and 285.  A match of note was Dan Martin's 3-1 victory over Tim Knowles.  Dan Martin is ranked #2 at 145 pounds.  Tim Knowles is ranked #7 at 140 pounds.

NEWS - January 10
Oak Park-River Forest sweeps its second home quad of the season, defeating Wheaton North 47-17, Libertyville 46-22, and St. Rita 50-20.
The Huskies continued their heavy-handed, hard-nosed wrestling on Saturday.  Wheaton North came in as an Honorable Mention (top 25+), and Libertyville came in as the #10 ranked team in Illinois (Class 3A).  Undefeated OPRF Varsity wrestlers from the quad include Joey Brown (3-0, 103), Charlie Johnson (1-0, 130), Chris Dardanes (2-0, 130), Aaron Minnis (1-0, 135), Nick Dardanes (2-0, 135), Ellis Coleman (3-0, 140), Danny Martin (3-0, 145), Sammy Brooks (3-0, 152), Benny Brooks (3-0, 189), and Matt Monson (3-0, 215).

NEWS - January 9
Oak Park-River Forest defeats Grant 52-15.
Grant traveled 50 miles through wind and snow, and all the Huskies did for them was hand them a 37 point loss.  The Huskies won 11 of 14 bouts, losing only the 119, 160, and 171 pound matches.  Grant had four wrestlers ranked in the top 12 in state.  Half of these wrestlers won.  OPRF had seven wrestlers ranked in the top 12 in state.  All of these wrestlers won.  As a whole, Grant was ranked #15 in Class 3A.  It was great having Grant come to visit Oak Park this year.  We'll see how we like the trip the next time around.

NEWS - January 3
Oak Park-River Forest finishes 1st at the Granite City Holiday Tournament.  OPRF scored 265.5 team points.
Once again, the Huskies improved on its finish from a year ago.  Last year, OPRF finished 4th out of 20 teams.  OPRF crowned six champions: Chris Dardanes (125), Nick Dardanes (130), Ellis Coleman (140), Dan Martin (145), Sammy Brooks (152), and Matt Monson (215).  OPRF had 4 other place-winners: Joey Brown (2nd @ 103), Aaron Minnis (3rd @ 135), John Wilson (6th @ 171), and LaQuan Hightower (5th @ 285).  Prior to this year, the previous six team titles went to Oak Park (MO).  As a product of Oak Park (IL), I sure am glad to take the "Oak Park" title back where it belongs.

NEWS - December 20
Oak Park-River Forest finishes 8th at the Toshiba Midwest Classic (Kansas City, MO).  OPRF scored 255 team points.
OPRF vastly improved on its finish from last year.  A year ago, OPRF finished in 17th place out of 24 teams.  This year, OPRF finished in 8th place out of 32 teams.  Even with two starters out, the Huskies finished in the top quarter of the standings.  Individually, OPRF had two champions and 6 place-winners overall.  Nick Dardanes (130) and Ellis Coleman (135) each defeated an Oak Park, Missouri wrestler to win the tournament.  Other placers: Matt Monson (4th @ 215), Benny Brooks (6th @ 189), Chris Dardanes (7th @ 125), and Sammy Brooks (7th @ 152).  The Huskies will travel next to Granite City, IL for another exciting tournament.  Look for OPRF to be in the hunt for the team title.

NEWS - December 13
Oak Park-River Forest sweeps the Glenbard North quad.  OPRF defeated West Aurora 46-19, Glenbard North 37-27, and Neuqua Valley 38-21.
OPRF flexed its muscle in this all-star quad.  All four teams are ranked in the top 10 by Illinois Matmen.  If you're still looking for a reason to leave your home and come out to Huskie events this year -- home or away -- this has to be it.  OPRF solidified its ranking as #1.  Wrestlers to go 3-0 in the quad were Nick Dardanes (135/140), Ellis Coleman (145), Danny Martin (152), Sammy Brooks (160/171), Benny Brooks (189), Matt Monson (215), and LaQuan Hightower (285).

NEWS - December 12
Oak Park-River Forest defeats Downers Grove North 46-15.
OPRF improved to 3-0 in the West Suburban (Silver).  No surprises here except for the starting lineup.  OPRF played a miniature game of "Tinker with the Lineup" and even fooled yours truly.  Two non-regulars started, and a regular bumped up a weight class.  The Huskie Highlight goes to that regular, Liam Pegg.  In defeat, Liam put up an impressive showing against Jimmy Nehls, a state qualifier from last year.  The score was tight for nearly the whole match, and Liam refused to be turned for any back points.  One wrestler of note that did not wrestle for Downers North was Joe Foreman.  Last year, Danny Martin defeated Joe Foreman in a tough match at sectionals.  These two may tangle again in the future.

NEWS - December 11
Oak Park-River Forest defeats Glenbard West 59-9.
OPRF Wrestling opened the doors on the 1 West Gym for the first time this season.  The Huskies won 11 matches: 5 falls, 3 tech falls, 2 majors, and 1 forfeit.  Chris Dardanes returned from injury with a technical fall.  Matt Monson increased his team-leading victory total to 11 (forfeit at 215).  OPRF's only match losses came from Jon Wilson (Dave Weaver, dec. 2-1), Kendall Hutchinson (Sam Littlehale, dec. 9-6), and Jake Venerable (Michael Letmanski, dec. 5-2).

NEWS - December 6
Oak Park-River Forest sweeps its first quad of the season, defeating Notre Dame 60-3, Conant 62-6, and Addison Trail 54-10.
If you came out to see OPRF's "might" as I suggested, you were not sorely disappointed.  OPRF won 38 of 42 matches.  Once again, OPRF won 38 of 42 matches.  Today's Huskie Highlight was Benny Brooks.  He defeated three formidable opponents including Arber Bebo (Addison Trail) and Joe Patricelli (Conant).  Thank you to all of you who came out to OPRF High School to support the Huskies.

NEWS - December 5
Oak Park-River Forest defeats York 33-25.
Some will say that the result was tighter than it should be, but I'm not concerned.  OPRF was without two key starters, and York came to wrestle tough.  The OPRF-York rivalry has been a little cool in recent years.  Could it be heating up once again?

NEWS - December 3
IHSA has released the postseason assignments for all 3 wrestling classes.  OPRF will attend the Morton Regional, De La Salle Individual Sectional, and Marist Team Sectional.
OPRF will combat against 9 other teams at the Morton Regional: Morton, Reavis, Farragut, Prosser, Lyons Township, Proviso East, Oak Lawn, Fenwick, and Argo.  If OPRF places 1st at Regionals, then OPRF would likely wrestle Carl Sandburg for the right to go to the Dual Meet State Tournament (Bloomington, IL).  Link: IHSA Boys Wrestling Menu

NEWS - November 29
Oak Park-River Forest wins the 19 team Feutz Cougar Classic hosted by Conant.
OPRF surged to the team lead after the semifinals.  It was a nail biter until the second half of the medal round when OPRF reeled off eight straight victories to cement the title.  The match of the night went to Nick Dardanes.  Nick defeated a reigning undefeated state champion, Jimmy Chase, by a score of 8-5.  Nick was also named Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament, as voted by the coaches.  OPRF results by place: 1st - N. Dardanes, E. Coleman, D. Martin, S. Brooks; 2nd - C. Dardanes; 3rd - B. Brooks, M. Monson; 4th - K. Hutchinson, J. Venerable; 7th - J. Wilson, L. Hightower; DNP - L. Pegg, A. Minnis.  OPRF's 103 pound weight class was forfeited.

NEWS - November 26
Oak Park-River Forest defeats the St. Patrick Shamrocks by a score of 51-12.
After losing the first two matches, OPRF ran off eight straight victories.  Included in this string was four consecutive pins for the Huskies.  OPRF match winners were (in order): Matt Monson, Kendall Hutchinson, Liam Pegg, Jake Venerable, Chris Dardanes, Nick Dardanes, Ellis Coleman, Aaron Minnis, Dan Martin, Jon Wilson, and Ben Brooks.  LaQuan Hightower lost a heartbreaker in triple overtime to kick off the season.  Sam Brooks wrestled the match of the night, narrowly losing to the #5 wrestler in the state.  OPRF forfeited the 103 pound weight class.  Thank you to all that came out.  Next up: OPRF is at the Conant tournament on Friday and Saturday (Nov. 28 and 29).

NEWS - November 10
Oak Park-River Forest's wrestling season officially begins with the first day of practice on Monday, November 10.
As we all know, "Practice makes perfect."  I've said it before; I'll say it again: this will be a season to remember.  And I'm tickled orange and blue -- er, pink.

NEWS - November 1
6 Huskies compete -- 3 Huskies place -- in the Super 32 Preseason Challenge on November 1.  The Super 32 took place in Greensboro, NC.
Ellis Coleman placed 3rd at 135 lb, Nick Dardanes placed 7th at 130 lb, and Ben Brooks placed 7th at 189 lb.  Chris Dardanes (130 lb), Sam Brooks (152 lb), and Danny Martin (152 lb) also competed.  As a unit, the team wrestled to a 26-10 record in its first Super 32 appearance.  OPRF sent the most entries out of any Illinois wrestling program.  It's great to see so much success at perhaps the most premier national preseason tournament in the country.  For more details, go to the homepage.

NEWS - October 28
Oak Park-River Forest is ranked 38th nationally in the 2008-2009 Top 40 National High School Team Pre-Season Rankings by Amateur Wrestling News.
This is exciting news!  OPRF was not ranked last year.  Also from Illinois are Montini Catholic (#10) and Providence Catholic (#22).  Providence is the one to watch since OPRF will challenge them in IHSA Class AAA.  Montini is in IHSA Class AA.  At the end of last year's rankings, Montini finished at #7 and Providence finished at #21.  Two Illinois schools falling off the list from the end of last year are Glenbard North (#12) and Neuqua Valley (#23).  OPRF is slated to wrestle both Glenbard North and Neuqua Valley this season on December 13.  Link: Amateur Wrestling News

NEWS - October 11
OPRF will send 6 wrestlers to Greensboro, NC to compete in the Super 32 Challenge on November 1, 2008.
It's great to see so many Huskies compete in this national pre-season event.  Those attending will be Ben Brooks (Jr.), Sam Brooks (Fr.), Ellis Coleman (Sr.), Chris Dardanes (Jr.), Nick Dardanes (Jr.), and Danny Martin (Sr.).  Each one of these Huskies is preparing for a banner season.  Link: Super 32 Challenge

NEWS - July 14
The season opener will take place at OPRF in the Field House on Wednesday, November 26.  OPRF will wrestle St. Patrick.  All levels will participate, and Varsity is slated to begin at 6:00 PM.
Last year, OPRF had to win the last match of the dual meet in order to pull out a squeaker over St. Patrick, 30-29.  OPRF has many outstanding wrestlers to watch this year including state medal-winners Ellis Coleman (Sr.), Chris Dardanes (Jr.), Nick Dardanes (Jr.), state qualifier Dan Martin (Sr.), and sectionals qualifier Ben Brooks (Jr.).  Other returning wrestlers from the postseason lineup include Kendall Hutchinson (Sr.), Chris Hampton (Sr.), Aaron Minnis (Sr.), and LaQuan Hightower (Jr.).  Aside from the Dardanes brothers, another newcomer to watch is freshman Sam Brooks, reigning 2x state champion in the IKWF (Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation).

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