Fremd's Jacobs second at 220 pounds downstate
CHAMPAIGN - The book of wrestling is brief.
And on Saturday night, under the big dome at State Farm Center, the final chapter did not have the happy ending Alex Jacobs and the Fremd coaching staff had hoped to write.
The Vikings senior standout fell short in his bid to bring home the sixth state title in program history when Oak Park-River Forest senior Allen Stallings (32-3) prevailed 7-3 win in a battle for the 220-pound Class 3A championship.
"It was tough having to stand on the podium on the second step, and having our pictures taken for such an eternity, but that's what happens when you're beaten by a better opponent, who with his effort deserved the state championship tonight," said Jacobs, who Saturday finally attracted the attention afforded to someone who'd punished his rivals throughout the season.
For emphasis, Jacobs produced three nearly flawless downstate performances leading up to the final session of this 79th state series.
"You can't hang on a guy like Stallings, because when you do and you begin to chase the lead, an opponent like him who is so big and strong is going to make it difficult for you to get anything going in order to cut into that lead," said Vikings coach Dan Ruettiger. "It's a tough loss to take right now. But what Alex has accomplished this season and in his career is amazing, and his career cannot be measured on just this one match. He's done so much more than that, and for our program as well."
It has indeed been an impressive performance arc for Jacobs, who wrapped up the season at 38-2.
The beginnings of his prep career were much more modest.
"I came into the Fremd program as not much of anything," he said, "and through a lot of hard work, extra time during the off-season, and with plenty of help from coach Ruettiger and our coaching staff, I was able to get to a state championship match."
The Vikings state runner-up was one of several from the Mid-Suburban League to climb the awards podium.
Schaumburg coach Mike Levanti had said throughout the postseason, even after watching Tony Vezzetti drop three straight to Matt Wroblewski of Prospect, that the Saxons standout could still come away from Champaign with an award. And he was right.
Vezzetti said he always appreciated Levanti's confidence. And then Vezzetti confirmed it, but grabbing a fourth-place medal.
"When I got here, I had lost three straight to Matt in the MSL, regional and sectional finals," said Vezzetti. "But coach never lost faith in me, and although it was an incredible weight class, to come out of it with a medal is just an amazing thing."
Vezzetti finished 34-8 after dropping his third-place bout with Jack Jessen of Willowbrook.
The 182-pound division in which both Vezzetti and Wroblewski found themselves was exceptionally tough, filled with state and nationally ranked opponents, provided fans the opportunity to watch one of the deepest and most talented groups here.
"You come in here with the mindset that it's an unbelievable weight class, but that anything can happen down here, so you have to make your own good luck right from the start and try to keep it going from there if you want to have a chance in the end," said Vezzetti.
Three of the top four in the state - Nathan Traxler (Marmion Academy), Jessen (Willowbrook) and Patrick Brucki (Sandburg) were all present in the semifinals. Traxler bounced Vezzetti into wrestlebacks, and Brucki did likewise with Jessen. The Stanford-bound Traxler later captured his second consecutive state title.
"After that loss, I looked at my bracket and it looked like it would be Wroblewski for the fourth time in a row if he won his quarterfinal," said Vezzetti. "Although I really wanted the chance to finally beat him, I figured (Bryce) Sherwin (Yorkville) could beat him. Even though that happened, it's almost hard to believe Matt is coming out of here without a state medal. He had such a great year. But it shows how tough it is down here, and what type of weight this was."
Schaumburg four-year star Logan Gruszka pinned his last opponent of the tournament - and his career - to capture a hard-fought fifth-place medal at 170 pounds.
"It was fitting for Logan to end things with a pin, it's something he's done so well, and so often, especially this year," said Levanti. "We knew this would be a difficult group to come out of, and it didn't begin well with an opening match against the eventual state champ, Matt Rowland (Willowbrook). But he also stayed the course and did what he had to in order to medal."
Gruszka went 41-4 this season to finish with 127 career wins.
Wroblewski (40-2) fell short in his bid for a second straight state medal, while teammate Bobby Jarosz (160, 29-12) dropped out of the competition following a 5-1 loss in his state meal qualifier. The Knights senior won over 80 matches in his career for coach Tom Whalen and will look to add to that total on Tuesday when the Knights take on Notre Dame in their dual-team sectional at host Larkin.
It was a heart-wrenching day for Chad Hay and his staff at Conant, who watched their trio of standouts get close to going three-for-three in the medal hunt - with only Danny Madonia (38-3) able to collect at 132 pounds.
"It was a lot easier handling losses when I myself wrestled, but with these three guys, who I have so much respect for in so many ways, and who I've been so close to since they came to Conant, it was very difficult for me to see Kyle (Peisker, 138) and 'Cat' (Nick Catalano) just not able to get over the hump to join Danny in the end with a state medal," said Hay.
Madonia, a top-five wrestler all year, overcame a controversial ending Friday night in his 3-1 quarterfinal loss to Anthony Cheloni (Marmion Academy) by firing back to win two straight wrestleback matches to secure his first state medal.
"We all come down here with the goal of winning it all, it's the only way to be," said Madonia, who's had some interest from Northern Illinois and SIU-Edwardsville and will begin to sort his offers out in the coming weeks. "But I am still very proud and thrilled to finish fifth overall, to make this season my best ever."
Peisker, who may be on the move to either Chicago or Illinois next fall, didn't have enough to get past Zach Krause (Plainfield East, 42-3).
"It's tough chasing a quality opponent like (Krause) at 4-0, but Kyle put it all out there on the mat today, and this weekend, and he had just an amazing senior year for us and himself," said Hay of his four-year veteran, who made the trip to Champaign twice, finishing his last year at Conant with a dazzling 39-3 overall record.
One could only wonder where Catalano (39-5) would be if not for an immovable force named Jackson Schoen of Lake Park. Last year, Schoen defeated the high-scoring Catalano in his state qualifier at sectionals. Schoen won against Catalano three more times this season, including his match Saturday afternoon with a fall at 5:05.
"Cat is a guy who lets it all out there, and he went for it against Schoen," said Hay. "And when you do that with little time remaining, sometimes it goes against you. But he's always in his matches because of that style."
Schoen (41-5) later captured a third-place trophy.
After his freshman season was cut short in 2015 with an injury just before the MSL tournament, Barrington's Markus Hartman (42-8) came back with style and purpose this year, ending with a fifth-place medal at 126 pounds.
"You could see just how far Markus had come in the last half of the season just from the way he competed in each and every match of his down here," said Barrington coach Dave Udchik after Hartman avenged two previous losses to Christian Kanzler of Grant on Saturday afternoon.
"I feel like I've come a long way," said Hartman, "and it's part of the way our program trains, to be peaking at the right time of the year, and that's the way I felt coming into the state tourney."
Barrington's Jake Meyer (34-16) proved to be yet another success story for the MSL, after just missing a state medal in his first trip to Champaign.
"Jake may have come of age during his two days here," said Udchik. "He showed he can go with the big guys, and it's his work rate, and great conditioning that will always keep him in a match."
The brightest spot of Meyer's effort was a pin of state-ranked Josh Barzowski from regional champion Notre Dame in a wrestleback opener on Friday.
There were plenty of highlights to enjoy on championship night, including the title at 285 pounds by Matt Allen of Hinsdale Central, who after winning the heavyweight crown joined his older brothers Jack and Brian as state champs.
Allen is headed Matt to Michigan State next fall to play football, following in the footsteps of his two brothers.
Northern-Iowa bound Rudy Yates won his third state title in as many years, as did St. Rita junior Austin O'Connor.
Oak Park-River Forest's Isaiah White, on his way to Ohio State next fall, wrapped up his third title in a row to enhance his status at the top 160-pounder in the nation.
Good friends Nathan Traxler (Marmion Academy) and Christian Brunner were state champs at 182 and 195 respectively, Traxler for the second time in as many years.
The Purdue-bound Brunner (48-0) becomes the 15th wrestler in Dundee-Crown history to win a medal. He's the Chargers' third champion, with the last coming from Mike Lukowski in 2007.
Brunner was state runner-up in 2014 and third last year before winning the title under first-year coach Tim Hayes.