Montini rallies to advance to state
It was looking pretty grim for the Montini wrestling team midway through its Class 3A dual team sectional match against Catholic League rival Mt. Carmel.
The Broncos trailed by 16 points at one juncture.
But Montini hit Mt. Carmel with a haymaker, outscoring the Caravan 32-6, including the final 20 points in succession, for a 38-28 victory Tuesday night at the Class 3A Hinsdale Central sectional.
The Broncos (17-2) advanced to Bloomington for the 11th consecutive year but will have to knock off three-time defending state champion Oak Park-River Forest in a Saturday-morning quarterfinal to earn yet another state trophy.
Fidel Mayora, the Broncos' 132-pound all-stater, gave Montini the lead for good at 29-28 with a second-period fall.
"I realized I needed to do whatever I could to get our team to state," Mayora said. "That was my motivation. Once I saw my opportunity, that's when I went for it."
Real Woods, one of three Montini state champions, set the stage for Mayora with a technical fall at 126 pounds.
Montini trailed Mt. Carmel (20-3) by 10 points when Woods took the mat.
"We just work the hardest in the room," Woods said. "I just thought that it showed tonight."
After the Mayora triumph Jake Stiles stunned Kendall Coleman, whom Glenbard North senior Austin Gomez vanquished for his third state title last Saturday.
"Getting a takedown right off the bat and forcing him to work (was the key)," Stiles said. "I wanted to get him back (from the Downers North sectional semifinals)."
State champion Will Lewan and Matt Ortiz closed out the Caravan with decisions at 145 and 152 pounds.
Mt. Carmel state champion David Riojas' fall at 182 pounds staked his squad to a 13-0 lead.
Peter Christiensen softened the blow for Montini with a pin at 195 pounds, but Mt. Carmel won the next two matches in convincing fashion to take a 22-6 lead.
But Montini state runner-up Dylan Ragusin needed only 25 seconds to terminate his match at 106 pounds.
The Broncos' last state champion, 113-pounder Joey Melendez, also needed less than a period to secure another pin.
The Caravan's Rehan Uribe returned the Mt. Carmel cushion to double figures at 28-18 with a fall at 120 pounds, but Montini ran the table in the last five weight classes to turn a 10-point deficit into a victory by the same margin.
"Bonus points and losing close matches (were the difference)," Mt. Carmel coach Alex Tsirtsis said. "We were giving up bonus points. That was huge. You can't give up bonus points in a dual meet."