Jack Tangen of the Trevians (right) locks up Evanston’s Dylan Kull in the 126-pound title match at the CSL Tourney. Tangen won the match with a pin. PHOTOGRAPHY BY PHOTOGRAPHY BY JUDY FIDKOWSKI
Jack Tangen missed a wrestling meet earlier this winter.
His coach at New Trier, Marc Tadelman, wasn’t exactly thrilled about the 126-pound junior’s absence — until he went online upon learning of Tangen’s whereabouts that day.
Tangen plays the trumpet.
Tangen honored a commitment to music on a day when his teammates grappled.
“I watched a video of Jack performing,” Tadelman said at the Central Suburban League Tournament at Maine South on Jan. 21. “Then I thought, ‘OK, he’s good, very good.’
“Jack,” the coached added, “can play the trumpet.”
Jack Tangen — a member of the jazz band, the concert band and the orchestra at New Trier — ended on quite a high note at the tourney last weekend, pinning Evanston sophomore Dylan Kull at 2:35 in the championship bout at 126 pounds.
The two had squared off in a dual meet on Jan. 6, with Tangen emerging victorious via another pin, this one occurring with 30 seconds left in the third period.
“You have to keep your motor going when you wrestle,” Tangen said after improving to 30-5 this winter. “That’s what my dad [Phil] tells me. Never stop working when you’re out there.”
Phil Tangen was a high school state champion wrestler [112 pounds] in Minnesota before wrestling for a couple of seasons at Minnesota State University in Mankato, his son noted before receiving his CSL medal in Park Ridge.
“My dad got me interested in the sport, and now my main goal is to wrestle for a Division I program,” Tangen said.
“I realize that’s going to be hard to do.”
Tangen received a first-round bye last weekend and then pinned Highland Park senior Ryan Muslah at 1:48 in a quarterfinal. Next up was Deerfield senior Aaron Brailov, who had entered the weekend with an 18-5 record and an honorable mention state ranking.
Tangen was unranked.
But Tangen solved Brailov rather handily, earning a finals berth with a 14-2 major decision. Tangen’s relentless attack mode paved the way to the convincing result.
“I’m super proud of him,” Tadelman said. “Jack wrestled quite well today. He was very physical and very aggressive. He’s been working hard all season.
“Super nice,” the coach continued. “Good kid, good citizen.”
Tangen’s family lived in Huntley before moving to Wilmette when Jack was a sixth-grader. Tangen, at the urging of his father, competed for a wrestling club for several years while living in the far northwest suburb.
Tangen’s wrestling season this winter did not start out auspiciously. He lost a couple of close bouts early, each by one point. After bowing 5-1 to the top-seeded wrestler in his bracket at the end of the first day of a two-day tournament in Wisconsin, he won all of his matches on Day 2, swelling his tourney record to 6-1.
Tangen collected a third-place medal.
The tenor of the trumpeter’s wrestling season changed in The Badger State.
For the better.
As he and his teammates headed south for home on that weekend, Tangen’s confidence headed due north.
One of his teammates and good friends is senior Austin Miranda, the Trevians’ representative in the 145-pound division at last weekend’s CSL Tournament. All he did was take runner-up honors — as a first-year varsity mat man.
You have the right to explain your success, Mr. Miranda.
“I thought I’d be really bad on varsity,” Miranda admitted after his 6-4 title-round loss to Niles West senior Neil O’Shaughnessy (28-5). “I didn’t think I’d win two matches all season.”
Miranda won two matches in one day last weekend, improving his record to 20-14. He downed Maine East freshman Baltazar Cabrales 10-3 in a bracket quarterfinal before doubling up Niles North senior David Montes 8-4 in a semifinal.
“I’m wrestling my heart out,” said Miranda, who is pinning his hopes on becoming a financial analyst someday.
His assessment of Tangen?
“Good guy, funny kid,” Miranda said. “He’s like my little brother.”
New Trier — the CSL South champion and CSL Tournament runner-up (201.5 points to champ Deerfield’s 310.5 points) — also received championship efforts last weekend from junior Patrick Ryan (138 pounds) and senior Jake Lowell (195). Ryan’s overall record stands at 34-5, and Lowell’s is at 14-3.
Trevians freshman Michael Miralles silvered at 106 pounds, while teammates Jimmy McDermed (220), Nick Elias (132) and Bayne Kiser (152) each finished fourth in their respective weight classes.
NT’s other top-six placers: junior Joey Klinger (fifth place, 160 pounds); junior Russell Sanchez (fifth, 170); senior William Gao (sixth, 285); and freshman Matthew McKenna (sixth, 120).
Notable: New Trier’s wrestling team has been assigned to vie for Class 3A sectional berths at the Wheeling Regional on Feb. 3-4. Other schools in the field, including the host Wildcats: Glenbrook North, Loyola Academy, Glenbrook South, Buffalo Grove, Hersey, Palatine and Fremd.
Austin Miranda of Trevians (right) battles Neil O’Shaughnessy in the 145-pound final. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JUDY FIDKOWSKI