Six Guerin wrestlers advance to sectional meet at Plano

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Updated: March 10, 2012 8:31AM

Guerin’s wrestlers went into Saturday night’s Walther Lutheran regional with some big goals, and they were able to put up a great performance with a fourth-place team finish and came away with six wrestlers advancing to next week’s sectional meet in Plano.

Senior Alex Sullivan recovered from his only loss on the season to win the 182-pound division with three other Gators finishing in second. Another Gator took third while a fourth-place finisher found out he will be going to the sectional because of a withdrawal.

Guerin scored 87 points with Ida Crown winning the regional with 196 points. Gordon Tech was second with 191.5 points, while host Walther Lutheran was a close third with 191 points.

“It was a record-breaking postseason performance,” said Guerin head coach Earl Danan. “We placed a solid fourth out of nine teams on the day.”

Sullivan (30-1) won both of his matches by way of pin. He knocked off a previously unbeaten wrestler in the semifinals 26 seconds into the second period before earning the top spot with a third-period pin in the championship bout to win his first ever regional championship and get past 100 wins in the process now with 102 victories in his Guerin wrestling career.

David Connelly, Hugo D’Acensio, and Jaime Santana each earned finals appearances and took second place in their respective weight classes. Connelly (22-10) returns to the sectional round in his senior season with a 6-2 win in the semifinal before a close 5-3 loss in the final at 220 pounds. D’Acensio proved ready in his first postseason appearance as the senior returned from a shoulder injury in time to post a second-place finish at 195 pounds thanks to a 9-3 win in the semifinal bout. Santana earned a second straight sectional appearance with a pin in the third period of his semifinal bout for his 11th win of the season.

“Sullivan took care of business in the semis,” Danan said. “Connelly, in his first regional title match faced the first seed, and they were tied 3-3 well into the third period of the match until (Gordon Tech’s Mark) Mic used Connelly’s momentum and was able to snap and spin behind. Santana was technically sound throughout the semifinal match with his powerful wing series demonstration.”

Freshman Juan Reyes joined some good company as he became only the second Guerin freshman to qualify for the sectionals with his third-place finish on Saturday. The other to do so was Sullivan back in 2009. “Tito” lost the semifinal bout 5-2 on a late reversal, but he recovered with a 9-2 win in the 113-pound consolation final to book his ticket to Plano.

Alex Acosta had an interesting ride for his first postseason experience. He came in as a sixth seed and wound up fourth, but due to a withdrawal from the sectional, he will be representing the Gators at 160 pounds on Friday. After dropping his opening match, Acosta had to win to stay alive in the hunt for a sectional berth. He worked quickly with a freight-train double move and converted that into a pin in just 79 seconds. He then lost a close 6-5 decision in the consolation final thanks to a controversial takedown nearly out of bounds that turned a one-point lead into a one-point loss.