Wrestling: Lake Forest’s Shea qualifies for sectionals

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Lake Forest's Regis Durbin (left) tries to fight off Barrington's Michael Lurz during the 160-pound third-place match. Lurz came away with a major decision. | Brian O'Mahoney~for Sun-Times Media

Updated: March 10, 2012 8:25AM

Sometimes you can win by losing, and that’s one way to approach Lake Forest High School’s 2011-12 wrestling season. 

Last season, the Scouts didn’t have a single wrestler make it to the regional’s final rounds.

“We were home in time for lunch,” said coach Matt Fiordirosa. 

Not this season. The Scouts had to bring their meals with them for Saturday’s Stevenson Regional. Lake Forest may have lost more matches than they won, going 5-6 in all, but that was insignificant. What mattered was the fact that four wrestlers competed in 11 matches in the most important tournament of the year. 

Just being in the arena is a major step for a program getting its sea legs.

“I think, in the past, everyone has looked for ways to duck out,” Fiordirosa said. “But these kids are focused and seeing some success. It’s keeping them in the room.”

One wrestler who stuck around the entire day was Regis Durbin. A 160-pound sophomore, Durbin is what you would describe as a pre-match loner. Not one for idle chit-chat, Durbin prefers to find an empty bench or corner of the gym to visualize his battles before taking the mat.

What’s on his mind? 

“I like to focus on what I’m going to do — just put myself in a certain place,” said the determined, soft-spoken Durbin. 

By going undefeated at the JV level, Durbin put himself in a place to wrestle in the conference tournament. And after winning his first two matches in the wrestlebacks, Durbin put himself in place to qualify for sectionals. He lost to Barrington’s Michael Lurz in the third-place match by a major decison (24-10), but not before gaining experience he could never duplicate elsewhere.

“We’ve been working on finishing a lot of our shots,” Fiordirosa said. “A big part of that came into play in a match (against Deerfield’s Colton Emmerich), where he actually worked on one of the things we’ve been working on in practice, and he ended up scoring and won the match.”

Added Durbin: “Its great to build off of. The more matches you wrestle, the better you are going to get.”

It was another example of a Scouts season that could be interpreted as a losing one. Another interpretation is more revealing: competing. That’s what Lake Forest is doing, and expects to continue doing, for years to come. 

Recap: The Scouts finished the regional in ninth place (24 points). Durbin made the podium at 160 in fourth place.

One Scout is moving on to sectionals: Chance Shea (30-6) at 170.

The senior defeated Cary-Grove’s Patrick O’Malley 8-6 in the third-place match. Shea pinned Stevenson’s Ian Burns to earn a spot in the medal round. 

“He’s focused. Even the match he lost, he wrestled well,” Fiordirosa said. “It speaks volumes to what’s been going on in the practice room.”

Shea now has the opportunity to make it Downstate. It’s also another step for the program, as these youthful Scouts get exposure to another level of competition. 

“People see (Shea), and guys will be talking about it for the next couple of days,” Fiordirosa said.

On the schedule: Shea will compete at the Barrington Sectional on Saturday.

Down on the farm: At the recent NSC JV tournament, which was held at Lake Forest High School, the Scouts came away with four place-winners.

Richard Daniels (182 pounds) and Ryan Wang (126) placed third, while Erik Wasser (132) and George Karkazis (138) finished fifth.

Karazis went 4-1, while Daniels, Wang and Wasser had 3-1 records.

Matt Harmon, Peter Glyman and Mike McKendry also competed. They each finished with 2-2 records.

McKendry, in his first season of wrestling, earned a 2-2 mark in the highly competitive 152-pound bracket.