Marmion stands out at Stevenson

One day after surviving the likes of state powers Montini Catholic and Washington plus a national heavyweight Clovis, Calif., Marmion Academy showed its mettle against a trio of star-studded closer-to-home opponents by sweeping all three wrestling matches Saturday afternoon at Stevenson.

The No. 4-rated Cadets (14-6) showed few effects from its 1-2 effort in Friday's duals at Montini by defeating three top teams (Deerfield, Huntley and the host Patriots) to finish its weekend on the upswing, much to the delight of coach Ryan Cumbee.

"It's been quite a physical and mental strain on the guys, and for many, who come here this morning to compete against a fine cast of opponents (with) just 4-5 hours of sleep, the effort was just terrific," said Cumbee. "And it certainly showed the character this team has.

"I think they earned the day off tomorrow," added Cumbee with a wry smile.

The Cadets opened up the Montini quad with a hard-fought 33-32 win (on 8th criteria over 2A standout Washington) before falling to the nation's No. 4-rated team, Clovis. Marmion finished Friday on the short end 33-27 against the defending 2A champions from Montini.

"It was a tough two days for all of us, but I thought we came out ready to go right from the start against Deerfield," said Marmion junior Nathan Traxler, who in his key matchup Friday topped Montini's Xavier Montalvo in an ultimate tie-breaker thriller 7-6. "But it will be nice to get a day or two of rest after today.

"Xavier is a great wrestler, and I feel like I am on that level also. So to compete against the best 2A guy and beat him means a lot to me, and will give the me the confidence needed from here on out."

The Cadets had their way with Deerfield (23-4-0), which on Friday clinched its seventh straight Central Suburban League North title after topping Maine West on Friday. The surprise during this 39-24 final was the stunning 7-2 win by Marmion sophomore Anthony Cheloni over potential state finalist Andrew Mehrholz (32-2).

"I never really thought much about who I was wrestling, but instead about keeping the match close and not allowing him to get the advantage or a big early lead," said Cheloni, who'd earlier in the season lost 7-5 in OT to another high-profile foe, Shayne Oster of Lockport.

After falling behind 2-0, Cheloni drew even, then took the lead for good (4-2) after the second period.

Cheloni's escape to start the third period and deuce with 20 seconds left in regulation ended the chance of a late comeback.

Michael Callahan (152), Tyler Demoss (170) and Traxler (who each went 3-0 for the day) helped the Cadets open a big lead before forfeits at 106 and 113 and victories from the Warriors at 120 and 126 brought the CSL champs a little closer.

"What made the day even better was how hard all the guys worked to help us overcome those 6-point forfeits, which quality teams like these three can easily take advantage of if you don't pick up the slack along the way," said Cumbee.

The Cadets' coach was quick to compliment Shane Cook's team from Stevenson, which on Friday won its first-ever dual against perennial North Suburban Conference power Libertyville and in doing so clinched at least a tie for a Lake Division title.

"Stevenson gave us everything it could," said Cumbee of the last dual of the day.

After dispatching a shorthanded Huntley team in its first dual of the day (39-24), Stevenson set its sights on Deerfield.

"We circled this date a long time ago, knowing that Deerfield will be a strong opponent in our regional and that Marmion, with all of their state-ranked guys, would be the challenge we need to meet in additon to a few of our guys matching up some of their top-rated people," said Cook, whose team now sports a 16-4 dual record.

Against Deerfield, the Patriots built a 27-4 lead, thanks in part to Juwon Anderson (170), Michael Kordek (182), Tyler Harrington (195, 26-2), Zach Horwitz (bumped to 220), and heavyweight Nick Grujanac.

After Grujanac (19-5) unloaded on his counterpart with a pin, the Warriors' strength at the lower weights slowly brought Marc Pechter's team back into the picture.

Four straight victories between 106 and 126 made it a 27-19 contest, but Nathan Reinsdorf turned the momentum back in Stevenson's favor with his well-timed 11-2 major at 132. One match later, the Pats' Corey Weil closed out the Warriors with a hard-fought 10-6 triumph in a 34-25 Stevenson win.

Against Marmion, it was tied 21-21 after Joe Antonelli's 2-0 victory for the Cadets at 120. From then on, it was all Marmion.

Jake Polka, AJ Jaffe, Cheloni and Eli Baltazar reeled off four straight wins before Callahan ended things with a fall to give the Cadets a 39-21 decision.

"Both Juwon and Tyler wrestled (Tyler) Demoss and Traxler very well, and showed they're not that far off from two of the best in the state," said Cook. "We've got to work on some things, and perhaps we'll see them later on."

In Huntley's 45-23 loss to Deerfield the one-two punch of Zach Spencer and Josh Stenger were impressive. Spencer, a freshman, defeated Dylan Utterback 9-7 in OT, while Stenger (29-5), a sophomore, outlasted Kyle Clough 5-4 at 113.

"We have a very strong and competitive schedule this year, and although we've had our struggles from time to time, I know this level of competition will help all of us, and especially our young guys, who are the future of this program," said Huntley senior Brandon Meyer, who leads the team with 31 victories and is a strong candidate to make his first trip downstate late next month.

"Brandon's match with Callahan from Marmion was a good test for him, and although he lost (7-2) there were some things I saw that I liked," said Huntley coach BJ Bertelsman.

Huntley senior Mike Walker went 2-0 for the day, raising his record to 17-9 on the season.

"This has been a very difficult week for us," said Bertelsman. "We lost to both Jacobs and McHenry, we're without two of our best in Ricky Vigil (25-2) and Chris Gamboa (23-6). But more importantly, one of our young wrestlers lost his mother this week, so we're all struggling a little bit with real-life issues."

The Raiders (9-9) will look to get themselves back on track against visiting Crystal Lake South on Thursday before competing in the Dundee-Crown mega duals next Saturday.