Killian, Wheeling steal the MSL East show

The spotlight has been intensely on Prospect's wrestling team in recent years, the result of five consecutive Mid-Suburban East championships.

On Friday, it shifted decisively toward Wheeling - but not before plenty of high drama.

The Wildcats gave a big home crowd plenty to cheer about. A virtuoso performance from rookie heavyweight Matt Killian, was a key. His pin at 2:48 not only gave Wheeling a thrilling 39-29 victory, but also provided the Wildcats their first divisional title since 2008.

Coach Neal Weiner's team first withstood a ferocious comeback by the Knights, who were down by as many as 14 points. And then Wheeling went ahead in the late stages before Killian had his big moment.

"What a night," said a relieved Weiner, a long-time friend and mentor of Knights coach Tom Whalen, and one of four others in the MSL East who have watched Prospect enjoy a stranglehold on the division for quite some time. "Tom and his staff do a great job, and his guys tonight wrestled really well (and) looked to be in good shape there at the end - until Matt came along to be my hero."

The fact that Killian, who entered the evening with a 0-2 record, would be called on to make his mark on this night made this dual even more exciting. And that was a credit to the visiting Knights (8-8-0, 3-1-0) who started well before tailing off.

"We knew a couple of things had to go our way in order to come out of here with a win," said Whalen. "113, 145 and 152 were key matches to our success, and when (Andres) Baysinger started with a win in OT at 113, followed up by Anthony Silva's pin, things were looking up for us."

Unfortunately for Prospect, it was all Wheeling after Silva put his club ahead at 9-0.

Brian Madrigal, Mason Skloot, JP Smith and Tristian Guaman were a powerhouse at the next four weights, recording three falls and a tech-fall (from Smith) to put Wheeling in front 23-9.

"We got some important wins when we needed them, wrestled smart yet cautious, and finally won a division title after going without one for so long," said Guaman, a senior who is now 18-6.

After the teams traded major decisions, one in favor of Prospect's Vince Lobono and the other for Wheeling's Carlos Montiel (152), the Knights went on on a four-match romp which saw them erase a 27-13 advantage.

"Ryan Vedner (170) and Joe Kaiser at 195 each won gritty, hard-fought matches, and a major from Alex (Koczwara, 182) and (Matt Wroblewski's) tech-fall to put us in front (29-27) and looking good," Whalen said.

When senior heavyweight Alex Palczewski's big throw and take-down off the opening whistle stunned Wheeling, it looked as thought the senior would make quick work of his inexperienced opponent, Killien - until the Wildcats' big man put his rival on his back second later.

A wild first period ended at 7-7, and after an early escape put Palczewski in front, it Killian's turn to shine.

The pin gave the Cats a 33-29 lead, which became 39-29 after the Knights forfeited at 106.

"For a guy competing in just his third varsity match, he sure came through when we needed him to," said Weiner. "It was a great night of wrestling to watch, and for us to finally beat Tom's guys feels really good right now. But in a couple of weeks, it will be the conference tournament, and you know Tom will have his guys ready to go."

Wheeling will host Crystal Lake South, Glenbrook South and Loyola on Saturday, while the Knights compete in a quad at Niles North.