This article was co-written by juniors Will Davis and John Torosian.

Last season was a very successful year for the Lake Forest High School boys wrestling team. The varsity squad tied the record for dual meet wins in a season and the Scouts had two juniors make the North Suburban Conference All-Conference team. That being said, they also lost a couple of very talented wrestlers in Marko Tupanjac, Cory Barth, Alexander Svigos, and Andrew Tuttle, all of which played a huge role in the success the high school wrestling team has had in the past two seasons. With lots of returning seniors, the Scouts are riding high on confidence and have high expectations for the upcoming season. The Scouts have been preparing for their season with lots of open mat practices in the past couple of weeks and are poised to officially begin practice. As the fall sports season wraps up, the wrestling team is beginning to get ready for what looks to be a another very strong season in 2017-18. According to Coach Fiordirosa, the Scouts, “have put in a lot of offseason work including camps and national tournaments to help prepare for this season.”

The Scouts beat very quality opponents in Carmel, St. Patrick, Waukegan, and Richmond-Burton a season ago and are looking to redouble their efforts this season. Not only do they look to continue their success against those aforementioned teams, but the Scouts also hope to take down Marian Central Catholic and West Chicago, both of whom the Scouts lost to last year. However, according to senior Ryan Durburg, “Our toughest competitors this year will be Lake Zurich or Warren.” The wrestling team will undoubtedly look to their veterans, like Durburg, a senior, for support in these match-ups. Even so, it’s clear that many of the incoming freshmen will make a major impact this year.

Head Coach Matt Fiordirosa told the Forest Scout, “There is a nice group of freshman coming in that have been putting in some solid pre-season work.”  This new class of talent includes Bennett Duggan, Frank Pasquesi, Tom Nugent, and Truman Thuente. In addition to this talented roster of underclassmen, Fiordirosa is expecting big things from some of the juniors new to the varsity scene. These prospective varsity wrestlers include juniors Luca Pasinato, Adam Khater, and TJ Cottam. All three had very successful results in their sophomore seasons last year on JV and are excited for the opportunity to go up against some of the better wrestlers in the NSC this time around. Luca Pasinato, when asked about his feelings towards wrestling varsity or JV said, “I’m willing to do whatever they need me to do. Yes, it’s a huge transition, especially considering my sophomore season was my first, but I’m just really excited for the opportunity to have a shot to contribute to LFHS history.” Obviously, things are looking up for the Scouts this year and the competitors in each weight class can feel the opportunity to achieve greatness.

Although newcomers to the team–whether freshmen or juniors new to varsity–each are sure to contribute quite a bit, but the eight seniors will be making the biggest impact. According to Junior Luca Pasinato, “I’m confident that Quinn Dailey as well as many others can make it to state.” Dailey was an All-NSC wrestler last year and also qualified for sectionals in the state tournament. He was also a captain and should be one of the senior leaders this year. Next to Dailey will be one of the the other returning seniors and fellow captain, Caleb Durbin. Durbin was also an All-NSC selection a season ago and had a very successful season wrestling at a very competitive weight class at 152 lbs. Durbin, a three-sport varsity athlete at LFHS, is touted as one of the schools most versatile and competitive athletes. With Durbin and Dailey expected to spearhead the Scouts’ run for conference, a new dual meets win record could be in reach.

On November 22, Lake Forest will take on Grayslake North as well as Hinsdale South in a dual meet at 10 am at East Campus. Following this, the Scouts will be pitted against Carmel in back-to-back match-ups on November 24 and 25. The biggest matches this season include the Warren Township meet on the first day of December and the Lake Zurich match-up on December 15. Both of these will be happening in the Lake Forest High School fieldhouse on a brand new competition mat, so make sure to stop by and watch history being made with the boys wrestling team. Other key opponents that the wrestling team will face off against at home include Mundelein and Stevenson. Both of these meets will be in January, but luckily neither will be happening during finals.

Make sure to come out and the support the Scouts wrestling team as they make a push for the dual meet wins record this year.