Concussion Robs Fontanetta Chance at State Title

Nick Fontanetta had much grander designs last weekend at the individual state wrestling tournament.

The junior and top seed in the Class 3A 112-pound weight class entered the tournament with a spotless 39-0 record.

Fontanetta advanced to the Saturday morning semifinals with a third-period fall in the opening round and a quarterfinal simple decision.

But disaster struck the Gators’ junior in his Saturday morning match against Joliet Central Trayvon Zabala.

The Steelmen sophomore caught Fontanetta in a vulnerable position, and his violent takedown sent the Gators’ standout to a local hospital.

“He suffered a concussion,” South coach Ross Ryan said after Fontanetta had to forfeit the remainder of his matches in settling for sixth place.

After extending his season-opening winning streak to 41 matches, Fontanetta ended his junior campaign with a 41-3 mark.

The Gators had two other wrestlers make the state grade.

Kean Loupee advanced to the quarterfinals Friday morning with a first-round fall at 160 pounds, but the senior dropped a 9-2 decision to once-beaten Brother Rice senior Malik Taylor.

Dispatched to the third-place consolation bracket, Loupee struck back with a first-period fall in the quarterfinals.

But Loupee bowed out with a 38-7 record on the season when he dropped a heartbreaker to Loves Park Harlem senior Josh Anthony.

Tom Gerszewski found out the hard way the state tournament does not have a true double-elimination format.

Wrestlers who drop first-round matches are only ensured a second match if the person who defeated them wins in the quarterfinals. The junior had his campaign end at 38-8 with his first-round loss at 140 pounds.

senior Brian Cullen, the lone qualifier for the Wolves, had his career close with a 39-6 mark after dropping consecutive matches at 119 pounds.

With four state champions in Class 2A, turns its attention to the LaSalle-Peru team sectional on Tuesday night.

“I don’t want us to look past Rock Island,” Central coach Justen Lehr said. “They have some very good athletes.”

Five other Central wrestlers competed at individual state in addition to its quartet of state champions.

The Tigers’ bid to match the Marmion Academy tally of five titlists fell short when junior Jason Fugiel was shut out in the 145-pound finals against Montini senior Frank Baer.

Clayton Lutzow earned a sixth medal for the Tigers at 140 pounds. The junior was denied in both the semifinals and third-place match in settling for a fourth-place result and record of 40-7.

Frank Abitua enters team state with a 33-10 record at 160 pounds after failing to place in Champaign.

Underclassmen Kyle Fugiel (103 pounds) and Michael Belasco (112 pounds) met the same fate in their weight classes.

There is a singular focus for the Tigers this week.

“We’re going to need the guys (who did not place or make it to state) step up for us,” Lehr said. “We just can’t rely on our (state champions).”