St. Rita ends a surprisingly good season for Antioch
BLOOMINGTON - Antioch saw its chance for a state medal dashed when St. Rita made a late charge to win the wrestling teams' Class 2A quarterfinal match Saturday morning.
The 37-33 defeat sent Antioch home, ending a season that longtime coach Wilbur Borrero never saw coming when things got under way in November.
"When you lose two guys from your starting lineup at the start, and you have such a young and inexperienced roster as it is, who knows what type of season you'll eventually have?" Borrero said. " But in the end, we had a very good one."
Antioch (21-8) got off to a flying start against the Mustangs (15-9-0), who were led by first-year coach Mike Boyd. St. Rita had suffered all but one of its nine defeats to Class 3A opponents.
Elijah Reyes and RJ Vazquez opened with back-to-back pins to get the Sequoits out in front. After a pin from state qualifier Jake Viloria (42-16) at 145, Antioch extended its advantage to 21-9 through 182 pounds.
Niall Schoenfelder (152), Michael Volkmar (160) and Russell Goodman (182) all recorded decisions for the Sequoits.
It was then the Mustangs going on a 22-0 run, fueled by three consecutive pins that sent the Sequoits reeling for good as they were now chasing the lead for the first time.
"We knew our Achilles' heel was the upper weights, and that big 18-point swing in Rita's favor was the one that ultimately did us in," Borrero said. "We never recovered from it."
It was the fifth time since 2010 - the last coming in 2016 - that Antioch advanced to state as a team. The Sequoits' 21-win season helped Borrero surpass 300 victories for his career, which has included stops at Waukegan and Evanston.
With just three seniors on the roster and seven with 30 wins or more this year, Antioch appears to have a bright future. Sophomores Alex Bararise (42-9) and Danny McPherson (42-18) both qualified for state this season.
"We told the guys, despite the loss, it was a wonderful season, but now it's up to all of those coming back in order to make it back next year," Borrero said. "To have an opportunity to bring home a state trophy, each and every one of them must make a commitment to the off-season in order to achieve our goals."