Gomez delivers in final
CHAMPAIGN - Austin Gomez had roughly a dozen seconds to literally reverse his fortunes Saturday night in the penultimate Class 3A individual wrestling state-championship match.
The Glenbard North sophomore delivered.
Trailing Oak Park-River Forest 113-pounder Jason Reneria - who handed Gomez his only loss of the season at the Panthers' sectional last week - 3-2, Gomez had a dramatic takedown on the left edge of the circle to deliver a shocking 4-3 triumph.
It was the 21st individual state championship in Glenbard North program history.
"I don't care about last week," Gomez said. "I care about right now. I knew (Renteria) was going to back up. I'm really good in that position. I don't stop wrestling."
The Gomez triumph was one of two state-championship victories among the six local finalists in the largest-enrollment class.
Josh King, a Hinsdale South junior, captured the Hornets' first state championship since 2011 with his 220-pound triumph over Plainfield South junior Eric Johnson.
"At the state tournament no match is easy," said King, one of the top-rated football prospects in the state. "You have to take every match as if it is your last."
Unfortunately for the other four local Class 3A finals matches, heartache abounded.
Willowbrook teammates Matt Rowland and Jack Jessen combined for 96 wins this season.
But Rowland, a junior 152-pounder, could never figure out Oak Park-River Forest defending state champion Isaiah White.
The Huskies' top-ranked wrestler in the nation defeated Rowland for the third time in as many postseason finals to complete an undefeated season.
The three straight defeats were the only blemishes Rowland had this season.
"I didn't wrestle my best tonight," Rowland said of his 9-3 loss. "He attacked me early, and I couldn't get to my offense."
"(Rowland) is really tough," White said.
Hinsdale Central heavyweight Matt Allen was unable to duplicate the state-championship achievements of older siblings Jack and Brian, failing to score against Marist senior Jake Ford.
The 195-pound class proved to be a personal benchmark for the Upstate Eight Conference after Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley had place-winners with Max Ihry and D.J. Warkenthein.
The trend continued in the championship as East Aurora senior Tim Young had all the offensive points in his 7-2 win over Glenbard North senior Luke Greenberg.
Ihry handed Young his only loss this year at the conference tournament.
"(Ihry) was better than me that day," Young said. "He can say he beat a state champ."
In the Class 2A finals Montini continued to add to its assault on the state record books.
Already the all-time leader in team state titles, the Broncos had six of their seven finalists claim state titles.
The six additional championships give Montini an even 51 in its program history, 15 more than both Proviso East and Waukegan.
Dylan Duncan, Vince Turk and Xavier Montalvo each defended their championships for Montini.
"I knew I had to wrestle smart," said the Illinois-bound Montalvo, who ended his individual senior season with three straight titles between 160 and 182 pounds. "Truth be told, my bracket wasn't very strong. I knew the points would come."
Montalvo had his third consecutive technical fall in the title match.
Duncan also ended his match prematurely at 132 pounds.
"It got pretty close at the end," the Iowa-bound Duncan said of ending the match in regulation. "You just have to trust your training."
Turk allowed Ottawa senior Daniel Close a 4-point run late in the third period to tie the match at 145 pounds, but the senior had a takedown in the waning seconds to solidify his 12-8 win.
"The whole match, I was so sloppy out there," Turk said. "I knew (Close) was going to be overextended (at the end of the match)."
Luke Fortuna and Michael Johnson had a composite score of 7-1 in their state titles for Montini at 152 pounds and heavyweight.
Freshman Real Woods' technical fall at 106 pounds was the Broncos' final triumph.
Junior James Pawelski, a 126-pounder, was the only finalist not to win for Montini.