ROCKTON — They’re baaaaaaack.
And this new Hononegah wrestling squad, led by three freshmen who just steamrolled their way to conference titles in their first try, looked a lot like the old ones as it rolled to the NIC-10 wrestling championship in record-setting fashion on Saturday.
Hononegah won six straight NIC-10 championships, and 11 of 14, up until 2019 but had been in rebuilding mode ever since. The program leapt right back to the top of the league this season, as proved by Saturday’s performance. Hononegah tied the conference record with 12 finalists and finished with eight NIC-10 champs while rolling to 261 team points, easily outdistancing second-place East (176) and third-place-tying Freeport and Harlem, who were knotted at 125. Belvidere, the two-time defending NIC-10 champs, placed a close fifth at 122.5.
NIC-10 wrestling:Sparked by trio of star freshmen, Hononegah wrestling is on the rise again
“I’ve been watching the conference tournament since I was like 8 years old, so to go out and win it in my first try, it just felt great,” said Bruno Cassioppi, who along with his twin Rocco and Brody Sendele won NIC-10 titles as freshmen on Saturday. “And this team just showed what we can do. And we could’ve even been better. But to tie that record, and come so close to breaking it, it’s a pretty good showing.”