PALATINE, Ill. – Coming off an eighth place finish at NJCAA Nationals, the Harper College wrestling team recognized members of a squad that qualified all ten wrestlers from the Midwest District meet and had three athletes earn All-America honors at the Winter Sports Banquet last week.
 
Curtis Blaydes (Chicago, Ill., De La Salle), Chris Gonzalez (Chicago Heights, Ill., Bloom Trail) and Charles Argue (Chicago, Ill., Mount Carmel) all were named All-Americans by virtue of finishing in the top eight at nationals on Feb. 24 in Rochester, Minn.
 
“We were right there,” said head coach Dan Loprieno of his squad's performance at nationals.  “On Friday night, we had a rough last round.  We had seven guys going in and only had three guys come out of it.  We had a lot of points but that last round just came back to bite us.  As it turns out, eight of our guys had to wrestle an eventual national champion on Friday morning.  They don't seed our tournament.  It's all random draws.  Almost the entire team was put into the wrestle-backs, and its just a long weekend when that happens.  Fortunately we have a lot of guys coming back.  The future looks bright.”
 
A second-year athlete, Blaydes lost only one match after being inserted into the lineup on his way to a national championship in the heavyweight division.  Head coach Dan Loprieno talked about how relentless Blaydes was and his ability to wear opponents down.  In his quarterfinal match at nationals, Blaydes trailed 4-1 in the second period but kept attacking, finally forcing his opponent to quit.  For his efforts, Blaydes was also named the team's Most Valuable Player.
 
“He dominated everyone,” Loprieno said.  “We couldn't have asked for anything more.  He came out and showed everyone that he had the desire and had all the tools.  Couldn't have asked for any more on the mat than what he gave me.  It's a huge accomplishment and I'm really proud of him for finishing what he set out to do.”
 
Gonzalez took second at regionals at 157 pounds and also had an unfortunate draw at the national meet, wrestling the eventual national champion in the second round on Friday morning.  But the Northern Illinois transfer worked his way back through the loser's bracket, winning his next three matches.  Loprieno isn't sure whether Gonzalez will be back next season or take his talents to a four-year school, but Loprieno is sure Gonzalez will have success wherever he goes.
 
“He has the talent to do a lot more than eighth, but we've talked about that,” Loprieno said.  “I'm expecting that, no matter where he ends up, or he finds a home somewhere else, that this will be a nice push to get him over that edge.  Wherever he ends up, he will do well.”
 
Another Northern Illinois transfer, Argue, rounds out the Hawks' trio of All-Americans at 197 pounds.  Argue dropped his first match at nationals but recovered nicely by winning his next four in the wrestle-backs.  The first-year athlete took second at regionals.  Loprieno is anticipating even greater contributions next year from Argue.
 
“He's a talented kid,” Loprieno said.  “We're expecting huge things from him next year.  He's going to do some damage.  If they were five minute matches, he probably would have been a national champion, but unfortunately they are seven minute matches.  We're proud of him, but we have a lot of work to do.”
 
At the regional meet, the Hawks defeated Lincoln, who wound up taking third at the national meet.
 
Other national qualifiers included Zach Hummel (Johnsburg, Ill., Johnsburg), Conor Infelise (McHenry, Ill., McHenry), Josh Tardy (Naperville, Ill., Naperville Central), Donnie Simpson (Romeoville, Ill., Romeoville), Nicholas Finkenbinder (Belvidere, Ill., Belvidere), Khari Washington (Broadview, Ill., Proviso West) and Brandon Dillenbeck (Goshen, Ind., Goshen).  The team also recognized Louis De la Cruz (Addison, Ill., Addison Trail), Anthony Mangino (Morton Grove, Ill., Niles North), Ahmad Khalid (Gary, Ind., Griffith), Vince Gottardo (Elk Grove, Ill., Conant), Steve Dewitt (Sterling, Ill., Sterling) and Alex Maynard (Saint Charles, Ill., Saint Charles East) for their contributions to the program this season.
 
“This was supposed to be a rebuilding year,” Loprieno said.  “We lost a lot of guys from last year to graduation.  This was a pretty decent rebuilding year.  We have a lot of guys back so I'm really looking forward to next year.  We had some success this year, but we didn't reach the top so that really works well for us.”