WHEATON, Ill. (Feb. 14, 2009) - Claiming seven of the 10 individual championships at stake, the North Central College wrestling team took home the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Championship for the second straight season on Saturday, turning in a thoroughly dominant performance at King Arena.
The sixth-ranked Cardinals totaled 98.5 points to finish atop the four-team field, outdistancing 13th-ranked Elmhurst College's total of 85. Augustana College placed third with 48.5 points, and Wheaton rounded out the field with 33.5.
North Central head coach Kevin Bratland was voted the CCIW's Coach of the Year, while 125-pound champion Jake Oster of Elmhurst was voted the Most Outstanding Wrestler.
The Cardinals' Gabe Youel (Jr., Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake Central) earned his third consecutive conference title at 184 pounds, improving to 35-1 this season. Seeded second, Youel blanked Brian Kerr of Augustana, 11-0, before meeting up with top-seeded Toby Boltz of Wheaton, who had handed Youel is only loss of the season just eight days before. Youel proved ready to exact retribution for the defeat, outpointing Boltz, 4-1, in the championship match.
Vinny Sapienza (Jr., Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) claimed the 197-pound championship for the second straight year, posting a 16-5 major-decision win over Augustana's Matt Nykaza in the final, and Ben Youel (Sr., Crystal Lake, lll./Crystal Lake Central) added the 165-pound crown to the one he claimed in 2007. Youel beat Kris Kovach of Augustana, 2-0, before prevailing over Elmhurst's Greg Horn, 8-3, in the final.
Jamie Devine (So., Quincy, Ill./Quincy) won the first conference title for the Cardinals on Saturday, claiming victory at 141 pounds. He picked up a 2-0 decision over Alberto Quiros of Augustana, then topped Rob Lejman of Elmhurst, 5-2. Jason Fitzenreider (Jr., West Chicago, Ill./Wheaton North) followed with a first-place finish at 149, recording a 24-8 technical fall over Wheaton's Matt Cordell before a 3-2 defeat of Elmhurst's Charlie Curran. Cowan Brown (Jr., Richton Park, Ill./Rich Central) made it three titles in a row for the Cardinals, earning a 6-4 decision victory over Nick Parrish of Elmhurst to win the 157-pound division.
Greg Schroeder (Jr., Batavia, Ill./Batavia) needed just 54 seconds to pin Augustana's Gabe Gardner in the semifinals, then beat Wheaton's Justin Tomal, 8-4, to finish first at 174 pounds.
Billy Malone (Jr., Aurora, Ill./Aurora West) placed second at 285 pounds for North Central, while Joe Norton (Jr., Carol Stream, Ill./Montini Catholic) and Sean Tomac (Fr., Kalamazoo, Mich./Mattawan) placed third at 125 and 133, respectively.
The CCIW Championship is the fifth in the history of the North Central wrestling program.
The Cardinals travel to Mequon, Wis., on Saturday, Feb. 21, for the Great Lakes Regional Championships, hosted by Concordia University.
