Hononegah’s 135-pounder Fenicle latest NIC-9 wrestling freshman phenom
By MATT TROWBRIDGE, Rockford Register Star
ROCKTON — John Fenicle saw an ad for a kids wrestling club in Rockton. He showed it to his only son.
Cool, thought 6-year-old Rob Fenicle.
“I was thinking it would be like a WWF thing, “Rob Fenicle recalled.
He soon found out differently.
Even more cool.
“After I got to know it, I looked down on the WWF as not being as tough of a sport, “Rob Fenicle said. “It’s fake.”
There’s nothing fake about Fenicle, the latest star freshman wrestler in the NIC-9.
The Rockton Hononegah 135-pounder is 26-1 and has a chance to be the fourth freshman in conference history to place at state. And the fourth in the last eight years.
“Right now, I just want to get to state. And maybe beat a record or two up on the wall, “Fenicle said, pointing to a row of team records painted on the top of the walls of Hononegah’s wrestling room.
Fenicle stepped into a pressure situation at Hononegah. The Indians (15-3, 4-0 NIC-9) have been one of the top two teams in the NIC-9 for a decade, but start five freshmen this year. Their previous high in the last 15 years was three.
But youth didn’t change Hononegah’s outlook.
“You are expected to win here, “Fenicle said.
Especially Fenicle, who was an Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation state champ as an eighth-grader.
“I knew he was talented, “coach Marty Kaiser said. “I’ve known his family for a long time. They are the backbone of our kids program.”
He knew Fenicle was good. But not this good.
“Rob was kids club state champ last year, but when I watched him wrestle, at times he would make mistakes and get in bad positions, “Kaiser said. That’s the key this year. He doesn’t get in bad positions. He has a nice sense of the mat and where he’s at.”
Cutting down on mistakes has made Fenicle better than he expected himself.
“I thought I might be OK, but I didn’t expect to do this good, “he said.
Why should he? He was never an immediate star before. Yes, he grew up in the sport; his dad wrestled for Rockford Guilford and now runs Hononegah’s kids club. But Rob didn’t dominate when he first began.
“I won maybe five or six matches and lost 15 my first year, “Fenicle said. “I didn’t know much. I was just learning the basics.”
He got better not by learning more moves, but by simply “getting better at the ones I did know.”
That’s still his strategy. His favorite move is the double leg takedown, the wrestling equivalent of a basketball layup. The first move taught to any wrestler. He’s not fancy or flashy. He’s fundamental. Careful. And calculated.
A counter mover.
“I like to wait until they make mistakes. Then I go after them. I use speed, “Fenicle said.
That’s not the typical Hononegah way. The Indians have always been known as an aggressive, attacking team.
But then, Fenicle is still learning.
“That will come with time, “Kaiser said. “I’m big in liking to move forward and attack. He will get established in my philosophy.”
That’s part of being young. And fundamental. As good as Fenicle is, he’s not yet good enough to aggressively attack other state-caliber wrestlers with confidence. He’s better, at least for now, being deliberate.
“He’s not real quick. He’s just a gamer, “Kaiser said. “He just goes and goes and goes. He will wear you out. If you don’t make mistakes and are in great shape, you can take advantage of people when they get tired.
“He also does a great job of changing directions. He can be in on a shot and the next thing you know, he’s working the other way. A lot of wrestlers, especially when they are young, they will make one move and if it freezes up, they will stay on it. He doesn’t. He switches up right away when he’s stuck.
“You’ve got to be able to chain wrestle and put things together. It takes time. Kids with more experience are able to switch off more when they are stuck. Rob already does that. He changes up well and creates angles.”
That’s a formula that could take Fenicle to state. Even as he continues to learn. His hardest lesson came Saturday, when he suffered his only loss, 14-4 to No. 2-rated Matt Cusick of Orland Park Sandburg. “The kid took him down six times and never shot once, “Kaiser said. “Rob saw what physical wrestling is all about.”
That’s OK. Even in defeat, that’s what Fenicle, who also played fullback and linebacker on Hononegah’s freshman football team, loves about wrestling. Being physical. Being real. Being a team unto himself.
“I’m more attached to wrestling than to football, “Fenicle said. “Instead of having a team to back you up, it’s just yourself and another guy. I love the feeling of just you on the mat. And it’s a physical sport, too. I like that.
“I liked wrestling from the start. And the more I did it, the more I liked it.”
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