Marmion punches its ticket to state finals

Anthony Cheloni gave eventual state champion Austin Gomez fits in their Class 3A quarterfinal last Friday in Champaign.

The Marmion 138-pounder has not lost since his one-point defeat to the Glenbard North three-time state champion.

Tuesday night at the Hinsdale Central dual-meet team sectional, Cheloni mathematically eliminated Sandburg with his technical fall with two matches remaining.

The Eagles scored the final 9 points in their rematch with the Cadets from a year ago at Argo, but Marmion advanced to the state quarterfinals for a fifth straight year with its 34-27 victory.

The Cadets (19-2) will face undefeated and top-ranked Lockport Saturday morning at the US Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington.

Sandburg had its season close at 17-3.

Marmion lost the championship match to three-time defending state champion Oak Park-River Forest last year.

"It's why I want to be out here: for my team, for my school," Cheloni said of the opportunity to clinch the match. "This is my final year. We did a good deal of sealing the deal at the beginning."

The Cadets' Austin Esposito and all-stater Peter Ferraro had back-to-back technical falls at 160 and 170 pounds to stake Marmion to a quick 10-0 lead.

"It feels really good to get it," said Esposito. "But I thought I was slacking, should probably have got the pin."

"It's always good, especially in a dual-meet setting," Marmion coach Donny Reynolds said after state runner-up Nate Jimenez (160 pounds) staked the Cadets to a 14-0 lead with a simple decision at 182 pounds.

"We have been preaching that there could be a lot of matches where we could get bonus points. We also needed to minimize their opportunities to get bonus points."

But Sandburg would come back with an 18-6 run to reduce its deficit to 20-18.

One-hundred and ninety-five-pound state champion Pat Brucki began the uprising with a quick fall.

"It's detrimental, not only on the scoreboard but also mentally," Brucki said of the Eagles' slow start. "You needed someone to reverse the swing."

But Trevor Chumbley gave Marmion important breathing space with a fall two seconds before the second-period buzzer to extend the Cadets' lead to 8 points.

Sean McKenna restored the Cadets' double-digit advantage in the following match at 132 pounds to set the stage for Cheloni to clinch the night.

"It's just tough wrestling," Reynolds said of the matches after Sandburg considerably tightened the match. "It's finding ways to win close matches."

After Sandburg responded with a 12-point run of its own to reverse the Marmion 14-point burst to start the night, the Cadets' Michael Jaffe - one of eight Marmion state qualifiers - had a third-period fall for a 20-12 Marmion lead.