Latest news with #SouthSuburbanConferenceTournament
Chicago Tribune
30-01-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
After winning conference title, Charvelle McLain wants to make state history for Oak Lawn. ‘She's like a sponge.'
After toying with the idea of becoming a wrestler her freshman and sophomore years, Oak Lawn's Charvelle McLain decided as a junior last season to become a manager for the boys team instead. That didn't last long. McLain quickly chose to get off the bench and start competing. 'Not even a week into the season, I came back home with a singlet,' McLain said. 'I would do weightlifting with them and they'd tell me, 'You'd be good at this.' By the third match, they were like, 'You sure you don't want to join?' 'I was like 'You know what? I guess I will.'' It's all worked out quite well. After qualifying for state last season as a first-year wrestler, McLain — now a senior — won the 155-pound title at Saturday's South Suburban Conference Tournament in Palos Heights. Oak Forest (153 1/2 points) earned the team championship ahead of the Shepard (109 1/2). The Bengals got titles from Marjorie Rodriguez (115), Iyobosa Odiase (145) and Isabel Peralta (190), while Sofia Perez (105), Mila Rocush (130) and Kassandra Lee (179) took titles for Shepard. Other champions were T.F. South's Dakodia Kelly (110), Abibatu Mogaji (120) and Quincy Onyiaorah (135), Lemont's Molly O'Connor (125) and Rowyn Page (235), Oak Lawn's Felix Morales (100) and Hillcrest's Christiara Finley (140). McLain won both her matches with pins in the first period, finishing off Oak Forest's Adri Bille in 1:11 in the finals. Although she's new to competing in the sport, McLain said she brought in a bit of a background in wrestling before high school. 'I grew up with a lot of boy cousins who wrestled their whole lives,' she said. 'We always wrestled around without the rules. I got into it last year and the only thing I had to learn was the rules, but they're pretty simple and I'm a fast learner.' Oak Lawn coach Matt Arthur can certainly attest to that. 'She's like a sponge,' Arthur said of McLain. 'She always wants to be the practice dummy when I show moves. She's basically become a coach. She's like our team mom. 'She's always been a leader by example. She's a phenomenal student. She's an even better friend and an even better athlete. I'm lucky to have coached her.' Last season, McLain was one of a group of five who became the Spartans' first girls wrestlers. The team started this winter with 18 girls. 'Last year, no one else wanted to join with us,' she said. 'This year, we got a few soccer players, a couple gymnasts and a couple kids who just needed to find a home and a place to stay out of trouble. 'We've got a mixture of everyone and we all get along.' McLain also is on the softball team at Oak Lawn and feels like she played the right position to be prepared for wrestling. 'I'm a catcher so I build a lot of leg strength, and even though softball is not supposed to be physical, when you're a catcher, it gets physical,' she said. 'When you're standing behind home plate and a girl runs into you and knocks you back three feet, you might as well just wrestle.' McLain went 1-2 at state last season. She hopes to make the podium this year — and make more Oak Lawn history in the process. 'We have all the record boards up in our gym for all-conference, regional champs, state qualifiers, and I'm the only girl name on all of them,' she said. 'It's nice because when a girl who might want to join sees it, she thinks, 'Oh, this can't be that hard.' 'I hope to be the first girl state placer for Oak Lawn. Nobody could ever take that away from me.'
Chicago Tribune
27-01-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Never fear, Oak Forest's Jason Janke rolls to conference championship in wrestling return. ‘I was still motivated.'
After eight long weeks on the sidelines, Oak Forest's Jason Janke made sure his return was a triumphant one. Janke had been out since suffering an injury Nov. 26 in the Bengals' first quadrangular. But as he prepared to make his comeback Saturday, he fully believed he could still be a conference champ. 'I was still confident I'd win this,' Janke said. 'The toughest thing is being mentally tough because my stamina isn't the best right now, but I felt pretty good. I was ready to go.' Janke, a junior, showed no signs of rust. In fact, he made it look easy as he dominated his way to the 175-pound title at the South Suburban Conference Tournament at Shepard in Palos Heights. Janke was one of five champions for the Bengals (213 points), who won the team championship over Evergreen Park (174.5). Jason Schickel (106), Jacob Sebek (113), Austin Perez (144) and Blake Bussie (165) also won titles for Oak Forest. Jayden Cervantes (120), Adrian Cervantes (126), Chance Woods (138) and David Johnson (150) were champions from Evergreen Park. Other champs included Lemont's Cory Zator (132), Reavis' William Swierczynski (157), Richards' Mike Taheny (190), Tinley Park's Sebastian Sanderson (215) and Bremen's Marco Olvera (285). Janke (6-0), meanwhile, won one match by technical fall and had two pins, including one in the finals against Shepard's Aiden Hill. It was a fine return after he sat out for eight weeks with a strained trapezius muscle, which extends from the upper back to the back of the neck. 'I went 3-0 in our first meet, then I woke up the next morning and it was all messed up,' Janke said. 'It was really bad being out. The toughest part was just watching wrestling when you can't wrestle.' Oak Forest coach Shawn Forst was impressed with how determined Janke was to get back for the end of the season. 'It took a little while to get diagnosed,' Forst said of the injury. 'It was kind of a bit of puzzle for us to figure out. He did a good job doing things we asked him to do off the mat to stay in shape and stay strong. 'I'm really proud of him for staying focused. It would have been easy to say, 'This year's over.'' Janke also had a standout season as a running back in football for the Bengals, who won a playoff game for the first time since 2016. Janke said he has been competing in both sports his 'whole life' but sticking on the mats took some convincing from his dad, Jason, who wrestled at Bremen. 'At first I didn't like wrestling, but as I kept doing it, I started liking it more and more,' Janke said. I like being able to know that people can't kick my butt. 'I love doing both football and wrestling. Football helps with agility and my footwork on the mat and wrestling helps me with tackling and with breaking tackles.' While Janke showed he's back, Taheny also made a statement and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler. Ranked No. 4 in Class 2A at 190 by Illinois Matmen, Taheny (29-1) avenged his only loss of the season, edging No. 2 Judah Heeg of Lemont 4-1 in overtime in the finals. 'He beat me 14-0 earlier in the year,' Taheny said. 'This whole match I was like, 'I want to show everybody that I'm a better wrestler than that.' 'It was for me and my family, coaches and teammates. It was for my people.' While Taheny is undoubtedly a state champion contender, Janke goes into the postseason with a point to prove. He fell one win short of making it to state last season. 'That hurt really bad,' Janke said. 'It motivated me all offseason, and even now, I'm still motivated by it now. I'm hungry to become a state qualifier.'
