Rochelle Hubs wrestlers stay 'hungry' as they make statement(s) right out of the gates
The Rochelle Hubs wrestling team has been building momentum for the past several years, but the time to really gel may have arrived, if they are to be judged by their early season exploits so far this year.
"It is early, and it's too early for people to be talking about special things to come, and state championships this, state championships that," Rochelle's fifth-year head coach Alphonso Vruno said. "But this is a very good team, and they are off to a very good start. You can't look past that... I keep telling them, you just have to stay hungry."
The Hubs finished 19-7 last year, and have averaged 20 wins a year for the past three years. But they haven't quite gotten over the hump. They have yet to qualify for the team state tournament as a program.
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This could be the time.
They are now off to an impressive 8-0 start, and they appear to only be picking up speed.
"We just have a different kind of confidence to us this year," said Xavier Villalobos, whose already 12-0 on the season, with six pins and two major decisions. "It's not cocky, but it's confident. And we've all got it, and it's already showing... We want a lot this year."
Villalobos soared to a 45-6 record last year and steamrolled his way all the way to the state finals before taking second at 113 pounds as a freshman. Now he is back, hungry for more, and surrounded by talent, young and old, big and small.
Villalobos and Grant Gensler were the first freshmen in program history to qualify for state, and juniors Brock Metzger and Tommy Tourdot notched 27 and 26 wins, respectively, last season, while sophomores Joseph Nadig (34-15) and Kaiden Morris (40-8) had even better numbers. Throw in the fact that senior Jaden Cook is already off to a strong start at 285 this season, and the Hubs are striking fear into their opponents — already.
"This is the kind of team that can make a good run this year, and we know it," said Metzger, who had two pins on Thursday night as his record rose to 10-3. He's won six of his last seven. "We're just going hard and doing it the right way, and things are coming to us. We're not messing around at practice, and when it's time to go, we're going after it."
The Hubs have done that since the first day of the season, too.
Rochelle knocked off a pair of ranked teams in early duals by beating Dixon and then edging last year's top-ranked Class 1A wrestling program Lena-Winslow/Stockton on criteria, tying 31-all before winning by a 3-2 margin in falls recorded. Then, led by Villalobos' tourney championship, the Hubs won last weekend's East Giardini Invitational for the first time. They even opened the season in style, over-powering Rock Falls to the tune of 10 falls, including eight in a row at one point, to roll to an 84-0 victory.
"It's just about everyone pushing everyone else," Villalobos said. "No one wants to let the other one down."
The Hubs will take on LaSalle-Peru and Kaneland next Wednesday in Maple Park as they look to stay hot headed into the holiday break. There is a long way to go until the Feb. 4 regionals, but this is a team that is showing early on that it could have what it takes to make this an extra long season.
"We believe in ourselves," Villalobos said. "And we do, we believe we're in for a long one this year."
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a wide variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears to youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star, and for over 30 years all together.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rochelle wrestlers stay 'hungry' as they make early statement(s)
