Gunnar Hjorth rattles off wins for Yorkville at Minooka Duals

Yorkville continues to bolster its early-season résumé.

Prompted by three victories from returning state qualifier Gunnar Hjorth, the Foxes finished 3-0 Saturday at the Minooka Duals to up their record to 9-1 on the season.

Yorkville topped Providence 67-9, picked up a notable win over Homewood-Flossmoor 51-21 and closed things out with a 47-21 victory over Leyden.

“This is probably the most talent we’ve had in our (wrestling) room in a long time,” Yorkville coach Joe Fornell said.

A big piece to the puzzle has been Hjorth (9-1), who went from 113 pounds as a junior to 152 this season. Hjorth secured two pins and a major decision Saturday.

“Lots of eating. It was fun,” said Hjorth, who noted working in the offseason with wrestlers at North Central College. “I was hesitant (last year). Now I’m focusing on technique, chain wrestling and going from one move to another.”

Tyler Burlington (113), CJ Milliron (126), Brody Sharp (138), Tyler Wilkinson (160) and Ethan Root (182) joined Hjorth in picking up three wins.

“We’re young, but we’re getting a lot of experience,” Fornell said. “We’re excited about the future. But we keep reminding these guys that at this point in the season, we haven’t won anything yet.”

That might be selling the team a little short.

Yorkville holds noteworthy wins over Lincoln-Way West and Joliet West, two of the better teams from the Joliet area. Its lone loss came to state power Marmion, the Class 3A runnerup a year ago.

The Foxes move to Class 3A this season after competing in 2A last year. For Hjorth, there hasn’t been much of a change.

“We’ve always had a 3A schedule,” Hjorth said. “We’re working hard and looking to take it to that next level.”