Lake Forest High School’s John Frauenheim (left) goes up against Loyola Academy’s Tom Lyons during 170-pound action. Frauenheim won the match to improve his record to 16-1. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
A chiseled John Frauenheim just about jumped out of his singlet the other day during a wrestling meet at Loyola Academy.
The Lake Forest High School, a cut 170-pounder, was pumped to the hilt. His adrenaline was flowin’.
There wasn’t anything really on the line. But that didn’t keep Frauenheim from bringin’ the heat. He took down and pinned a lesser opponent in a mere 86 seconds.
“Usually, I’m not like that,” Frauenheim said, a few days later. “I might have been a little too aggressive.”
Nope.
No way.
Keep it up.
“He’s got a real nice mindset right now,” said Lake Forest head coach Matt Fiordirosa.
Meet the new John Frauenheim. The attacker. The aggressor.
“I’ve seen a change in him,” Fiordirosa said. “He’s attacking. He’s breaking down kids. He’s imposing his will.
“Two weeks ago, he was keeping things close. Winning by four or five points was good enough for him,” the coach added.
Now … he’s taken things to another level.
Frauenheim’s overall record climbed to 16-1 with a pair of wins in a double dual at LA on Jan. 2. He topped Glenbrook North’s Quinton Bobort in a 15-0 technical fall in 1:50. He followed that up with a pin against LA’s Tom Lyons. He was a takedown machine in both matches.
“Be on the offensive. Push the pace,” Frauenheim said. “That’s what Coach is teaching me.”
Frauenheim is not against pins.
“Pins are a great way to get team points,” he said.
But, if he had his druthers, he’d rather come up with drubbings.
“Technical falls are the way to go,” said Frauenheim, who has a brother, Greg, who plays tennis at DePauw University. “I love to put as many points on the board as possible.”
“I’m pretty good on my feet,” he added. “But I’m not so good at riding guys out on top. It’s something that I’m working on.”
He might get an argument from GBN’s Bobort. Frauenheim had things working — especially the riding out part — in that match. He was a pinball wizard. He used the tilt move over and over again to rack up back points.
He was equally impressive in a New Year’s Eve meet at Lakes, when Frauenheim came up with a 1:00 pin, a 16-1 technical fall and a 14-6 major decision.
Frauenheim, who now has three falls, four technical falls and three major decisions, has become a takedown artist this season. He’s put his favorite move — double-leg takedown — to good use. He leads the Scouts with 56 TDs.
He might be a long shot to surpass the school’s all-time single-season takedown record (220), which was set by Roger Smith-Bergsrud in 1995.
But, OshKosh B’gosh, Frauenheim would love to outdo his good buddy — 2015 graduate Corey Knudsen, a state qualifier who is now wrestling at Wisconsin-Oshkosh — in this category.
“I’m a pretty competitive guy,” said Frauenheim. “Corey got 92 last year. I want to smash that. Corey would be happy for me … I think.”
Knudsen is one of Frauenheim’s mentors along with former LFHS great Regis Durbin, who is now wrestling at Northwestern University after claiming a Class 3A state title at 195 pounds during the 2013-14 campaign.
“Watching Corey make it to state last year is one of my greatest wrestling memories,” said Frauenheim. “And with Regis, who was a great leader by example, I able to watch a state champion for the entire season.”
“He saw those two guys put in the time,” Fiordirosa said. “I think watching them has helped him.”
Frauenheim is a matman on a mission. He’s coming off a decent junior season (23-10). But he would admit that it could have gone even better. He placed sixth (160 pounds) and missed a medal by one spot at the North Suburban Conference meet. And he was unable to secure a top-three showing in last year’s regional meet.
“He’s bought into what we’re trying do here,” said Fiordirosa. “You can see it in his results. He’s had some big wins. He’s beaten some really good opponents.”
Frauenheim, who has received an honorable mention ranking from Illinois Matmen.com, took top honors at the Harvard Invite on Dec. 19, beating Woodstock North’s Randy Kline 9-4 in the 170-pound title match.
His lone loss came in the season opener against Lincoln-Way East’s Brian Burns, a returning state qualifier at 182 pounds.
So far, some of Frauenheim’s toughest matches have come in the LF wrestling room — when he goes one on one against 30-year-old Matt Fiordirosa, a runner-up finisher at 135 pounds for Grant High School at the 2001-02 IHSA state tournament.
“I hop in there against him,” said the LF coach, who also is known for his Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighting. “Keep him on his toes.”
Interactive coaching at its best.
“We get after it,” Fiordirosa added. “Sometimes, we’ll have 10-minute matches.”
“Yeah, those (10-minute matches),” said Frauenheim. “Those are horrible. We just did one last week. He’s so good. He hands it to me.”
“But sometimes, I need that. There’s no better way to learn,” the wrestler added. “He knows how to push me. If I’m not doing something right, he’ll attack it. He shows me what I need to do to fix it.”
At the same time, Fiordirosa gets an up close and personal look at one of his prized performers.
“John is very strong, very athletic, very explosive,” said the LF coach.
And now, you can add: very intense.
Notable: Like John Frauenheim, the Scouts currently are on a roll. They’ve won six duals in a row and currently stand 7-5. LF coach Matt Fiordirosa believes the all-time school record — 15 wins — is in reach. The program definitely is on the rise. Last year, the Scouts ended up 11-11 in duals. “That was a pretty big deal for us,” said Fiordirosa. LF is cutting down on the forfeits. LF’s lineup currently fills 13 of the 14 weight classes. … In a quad meet at Lakes on Dec. 31, LF claimed wins over Richmond-Burton 60-24, Bremen 63-6, Grayslake Central 46-27 and the host Eagles 46-21. … Besides Frauenheim, the other Scouts with winning records include Gage Griffin (15-3 at 126), Cory Barth (15-4 at 195), Caleb Durbin (14-5 at 138), Devin Reich (8-1 at 182), Quinn Dailey (11-4 at 113), Marty Kalebic (11-8 at 160), Marko Tupanjac (11-7 at 152) and Andrew Tuttle (4-3 at 132). Durbin leads the team in falls with seven. Tupanjac has recorded six pins.
John Frauenheim (right) wrestles Loyola’s Tom Lyons. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
The winner is … John Frauenheim. He is now 16-1 on the season. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER