Five Titans wrestlers excited home fans by advancing out the Glenbrook South Regional

BY MICHAEL WOJTYCHIW                                                                         February 4, 2012

Contributor

Going out in front of the home crowd gives every athlete a special feeling, one that makes it easier to try harder and not disappoint the fans that have come to cheer on the protection the home turf.

For some athletes, this equals an extreme amount of pressure. But not for Glenbrook South’s Jreis Sweilem.

“Wrestling in front of our fans actually pumps you up more than anything,” said Sweilem, who finished second in the 285-pound weight class at Saturday’s Glenbrook South Regional. “To hear the people behind you chanting your name, giving you advice, wanting you to win, that’s something that makes you excited because you know they’re proud of you no matter what.’’

It was a better weekend at the regional than his stint at the Central Suburban championships. Sweilem finished a lack-luster third in a meet he knew he had the potential of winning.

“It was disappointing, but that was in the past,” said Sweilem. “I knew I couldn’t dwell on my mistakes in the past and all that mattered was the opponent in front of me.”

And that opponent, Wheeling’s Igor Romonoswski, was one that looked quite familiar. Sweilem, who lost the regional title match 2-1, fell to Romonoswski by the same score earlier in the season. The only difference was that the first match had gone into triple overtime.

“It was a tough match,” said Sweilem. “The one thing it tells me is that I can wrestle with the best of them since Igor is ranked pretty high in the state. It’s a great feeling knowing that I always have a chance going into any match.’’

The Titans put a nice showing in front of the home crowd, as four other wrestlers finished in the top three of their weight classes. Diego Galvez took third at 106 pounds, Jimmy Binder finished second at 113 pounds, Amara Otgonbaatar came in third at 120 pounds and JJ BaMaung placed third at 195 pounds.

“Our showing here just shows us how far our program has come,” said Sweilem. “Our coaches have put some much time and effort into making us better and more competitive so we can wrestle up to some of the competition and teams we see here and in other tournaments.

“As long as these guys are around with our program — and I hope they are — this program is only going to go up and up. We can be pretty good and I think it shows by our results.”

Sweilem hopes that those results will lead to two things: a sectional title and Glenbrook South’s next trip downstate.