Suchyta, St. Viator bounce back
Fresh off his individual championship last weekend at the wrestling invitational hosted by Guerin, senior Brandon Suchyta led a late St. Viator charge to defeat Loyola Academy and give the Lions a clean sweep of two other foes Tuesday night in Arlington Heights.
Suchyta's pin at 2:22 in the final bout of the evening gave the hosts a 42-37 win over the Ramblers to even the Lions' record at 3-3-0. That helped ease the sting of a tough start for Jason Churak's team, which travels to South Elgin this weekend for its biggest test to date.
"We got thumped in our first week against Jacobs, and I think it taught the guys a valuable lesson about preparation and training for tougher opponents," said Churak, who in his first season as head coach last winter led the Lions to a program record (12) dual-meet wins. "Since then we've picked it up each time out, including last weekend when we grabbed a third-place tournament finish and tonight with our three victories.
"Patience is something all of us must preach, especially with such a young team, so sometime you take a few steps backward before going forward."
The Lions were aggressive from the start inside Pat Cahill Gymnasium, blasting DePaul College Prep 72-6 in its opener, then handling Guerin Prep 63-9, using 5 pins plus a technical fall from Suchyta at 138 to start the proceedings against the Gators.
"After getting downstate last year, I got a taste of what it's like being down there, and what the level of talent is - so I know what I want, and what I have to do to get back there, and it began right from the start of this season," said Suchyta, who is certified at 132 this year after winning 23 times a year ago.
James Valentino, who is a perfect 10-0 thus far, appears to be on track to reach Champaign after falling one victory short of joining Suchyta last February in a campaign that featured 30 wins at 220 pounds.
"My only focus is to get downstate, and win it all," said the big sophomore, who is looking to add some weight to his 233-pound frame to take on some of the behemoths he will face during the postseason. "That's the mind-set you have to have in order to reach the goals you set, and that's where I want to be later on this season."
Valentino won the heavyweight division at the Guerin Invite, while senior Shamon Johnson was third overall at 170 pounds, and Michael Baxendale earned runner-up honors at 195.
Johnson was 3-0 on Tuesday, each win by virtue of a fall, including his third and final one of the night against Loyola's Andrew Gonzales at 1:26 to bring the Lions back even at 12-12.
Returning state qualifier and regional champ Ryan Wosick, who won 41 bouts last season, fueled a Loyola fightback to put the visitors in charge at 19-12 following his major decision triumph at 182.
Two bouts later, consecutive forfeits to Shaun Falbo (220) and Valentino gave the hosts a 24-19 advantage before a stubborn Ramblers team jumped back ahead by 25-24 with a forfeit at 106.
Forfeits at 113 and 120 got the Lions back in the lead 36-25 before Sean Cloherty (126) recorded a pin, followed by another from David Gorostiaga to set up Suchyta's heroics.
With St. Viator trailing 37-36, Suchyta scored early and often against Nick Troiano, building a 13-4 advantage after one period with 5 takedowns and a near-fall before closing his opponent out just 22 seconds into the new period.
"This program has been down long before I got here, but I really feel we're on the upswing right now, and everyone in the room is working hard, including the coaching staff to help turn things around," said Valentino.