Senior Chris Zhang, 220-pounds, gained control with a single thud. As his opponent fell to the mat, Zhang immediately transitioned into his next move. He quickly turned the Wheaton North Falcon with a cradle.

Before the first period buzzer could ring, the referee called the pin. Under the spotlight, he raised Zhang’s hand in victory.

“I tried to go out there aggressive because I wanted to pin the guy,” Zhang said. “The team wasn’t doing so well at the time so I wanted to try and turn things around.”

Despite Zhang’s pin, the Huskies lost to Wheaton North High School (WNHS) on Friday, Jan. 16. WNHS defeated Naperville North’s varsity team (16-7) and the junior varsity team (17-2). According to Zhang, the loss showed the team how they can improve.

“We are going to try and fix the small things,” Zhang said. “During a lot of the matches, we only lost by the small things like technical points. We’ll come back.”

Freshman Lucas Van Pouke, 106-pounds, also won a decisive victory. He locked his opponent in a cradle to win the match 9-4. Van Pouke said that his experience on the varsity squad prepared him for the meet.

“It’s really fun,” Van Pouke said. “You get to know the older guys, and they’re great. They’re showing me the way and paving the way for me.”

Head coach Thomas Champion also expressed his appreciation to the team’s senior leadership. In honor of senior night, the team celebrated the contributions made by its graduating members.

“I have a very good group of seniors,” Champion said. “I told the kids tonight that you will never hear me say a bad word about them. I have coaches all the time that tell me how they can’t wait for their seniors to graduate. But I wish I had these kids for another year.”

Champion looks to his senior captains to help him prepare the team for future meets and the DuPage Valley Conference. He plans to incorporate additional wrestle-offs during practices to keep the wrestlers motivated and strong.

“We are going to mix it up a little bit by making kids wrestle out of their comfort zones,” Champion said. “We have to find a way to work these kids so they are forced to get better.”

As the season progresses, Van Pouke looks forward to the upcoming practices and meets.

“Glenbard North should be a good match next Friday,” Van Pouke said. “They have a really tough team. I want to see how I level against the top guys in the state.”