Conant's Alexander bounces back, grabs third
CHAMPAIGN - Bobby Alexander and his coaches at Conant had it all planned out in their atttempt at a 138-pound wrestling state championship.
But Anthony Cheloni of Marmion Academy had a similar plan, and it turned out his carried the day.
On Friday night, the talented sophomore dashed Alexander's title dream with a hard-fought 3-0 victory in the semifinals, sending the Cougars standout into wrestlebacks.
Alexander certainly made the best of things. On Saturday afternoon, he led six Mid-Suburban League medalists by claiming a third-place finish to cap a sensational four-year career.
"Obviously this wasn't the match I was expecting to be in, but this is the state tournament, where anything can happen - and last night, it did," said Alexander, who said he needed about an hour to get over the semifinal loss before turning his attention toward a potential third-place medal.
"It's really tough coming back today and having to win your first match right off the bat," said Alexander. "But this is what you train for, and I am still happy with getting my third state medal in three tries."
"It was a tough night for everyone," said Conant coach Chad Hay. "But we got through it, and today is a new day - and one that went pretty well for a couple of our guys."
A confident Alexander (46-1), on the eve of the tournament, declared that if he had the lead, nobody would beat him. And during his first two bouts down, that form held. But Cheloni made Alexander pay dearly for not gaining the upper hand when the chance was there, making for a heartbreaking six-outcome.
"If I had it to do over, I would have come out more aggressive from the start," the Conant senior said. "Neither one of us even tried to shoot in that first period. But you don't get do-overs."
Alexander began his brilliant high school career with the first of four MSL titles. In that season, he and his senior brother, Mitch, both were conference champs.
"That was my biggest and best memory in high school," Alexander said.
From there, he went on to win the first of a program-record three state medals - the first at 106 pounds, followed by another last year, leading up to this nearly flawless final year. Alexander had a 41-match unbeaten streak heading into his bout with Cheloni.
"I have been very fortunate to be in a program led by coach (Hay) and to be around such a great bunch of teammates, who all have been a great source of inspiration and support for myself, and each other," Alexander said.
With his four wins this weekend, Alexander increased his record-setting program mark to 144, while joining two others - Matt Goldstein and Peter Marx - as the only three-time state medalists in program history.
The medal collection continued for the Cougars, as Dan Andress (160) garnered third place overall at 160.
Schaumburg junior Hazen Rice (106, 44-7) earned his first state medal.
"The 106-pound weight class was a very competitive one, so for Hazen to come out of this group with a medal says a lot for him," said Saxons coach Mike Levanti, whose top man finished fifth after defeating FVC champ Ian Mullen for the second time at the tournament.
Andress had a hard time staying composed after putting an exclamation point on his first state medal with a pin in his medal-qualifying bout.
"It's kind of hard to believe nine years of wrestling comes down to just that one six-minute match where it's win or go home," said the relieved and emotionally spent Cougars senior, who finished a superb final season under Hay with a dazzling 45-5 record.
MSL East champion Prospect went into the day with three competitors still alive, but only one, sophomore Matt Wroblewski (170, 41-6), earned a climb upon the podium after collecting his fourth-place award.
"You always want to come down here and win it all, but with two more years left, there's no reason why I can't get back down here and win it all by the time I am done wrestling," said Wroblewski.
Prospect's Alex Preissing (120) fell one victory short of joining the celebration, finishing up with a terrific 41-10 overall record - not bad for the junior, who won just 13 matches a year ago.
Tyler Cooke (Hersey, 39-12) saw his run toward a medal fall one match short when D'Andre Johnson (Glenbard East) pinned the two-time state qualifier Saturday afternoon.
The careers of Julius Smith (Barrington) and James Ford (Prospect) both two-time state qualifiers, ended one match too soon for the liking of the sensational seniors, who bowed after sustained and impressive stints.
Maine West senior Joey Vogeney capped a brilliant career for the Warriors and coach Lance Weber by garnering his first state medal when he collected sixth place at 182 pounds.
"This makes it all worthwhile," said Weber. "Joey has put so much into his career, and especially the last couple of weeks when he began to put all of his attention to getting back downstate and winning a state title. He fell a little short, but he has a lot to be proud of and to remember for years to come."
"Right now I am about as tired as I can be, but it feels good to finally get that state medal to bring home," said Vogeney, who finished with a remarkable 50-6 overall record this season to give him 126 wins in his career.
Sophomore James Valentino (32-14) came up just short in his bid to earn the first state medal for St. Viator since 2009 (Danny Sabatello, 4th place) when he was elminated by eventual sixth-place medalist Frank Tomaskovic of St. Laurence.
"We had a very good idea of what to do with (Tomaskovic) but things are never what they seem in the heavyweight class, and we couldn't come out of that state qualifying match with a win," said St. Viator coach Jason Churak. "James has made great strides this season, and with the experience he's gained both here and in the last few weeks, we fully expect him to return next year and come back with a medal."