Montini keeps going with win vs. Mt. Carmel
Mike McNicholas was determined for two reasons at the Class 3A Downers Grove South team dual wrestling Tuesday evening.
The Montini heavyweight was still stinging from a first-round loss at the individual state tournament last Thursday in Champaign.
"I definitely didn't do my best," McNicholas said of his stay at the University of Illinois. "That heavyweight (Jeremy Cooper) from Mt. Carmel pinned me this year (at the Catholic League Tournament), so I wanted to get back at him."
McNicholas needed little more half the first period to secure a fall against Cooper as the Broncos - with four individual state champions, three runners-up and three major-consolation champions last weekend - defeated the Caravan 45-15.
The reigning state runner-up Broncos (21-1), the consensus top-ranked team in Class 3A, will face another conference opponent in Marmion on Saturday in Bloomington. Marmion (16-11) handled Sandburg 42-24 in the other sectional in Downers Grove.
Third-ranked Mt. Carmel suffered both of its losses to Montini in finishing at 14-2. Three-time state champion Real Woods' first-period fall at 138 pounds for Montini was the 42nd on the season against a lone loss for the Stanford-bound senior.
Fellow state champion Matt Ortiz also bumped up a weight - to 170 pounds - to record a fall for the Broncos.
"We always have one goal in mind, and that is the same: to dominate," Ortiz said.
Peter Christensen continued his winning ways since dropping his only postseason match to Downers South 195-pounder Sergio Villalobos in the regional final.
The Broncos' 195-pounder also had a fall for Montini in its second one-sided win over the Caravan this season.
But the tables were turned for the Broncos' Will Lewan and Jake Stiles.
Lewan dropped a hard-fought 2-0 match in the state finals over the weekend, but the junior also had a fall one weight class up against the Caravan.
But in their sixth meeting this year, Mt. Carmel senior Kendall Coleman defeated Stiles 3-2 in a rematch of state championship that the Montini junior captured in equally razor-thin fashion.
"He beat me when it really mattered," the Purdue-bound Coleman said. "I was just going to do what my team needed."
Anthony Geraci provided Montini with bonus points via his technical fall at 182 pounds. Fidel Mayora moved up to 145 from his runner-up 138 slot to record an 11-5 win for Montini. Dylan Ragusin, another runner-up for Montini, won at 120 pounds.