Third motivates Gonzalez for more

CHAMPAIGN -- It wasn't what he came for, so he wasn't the least bit satisfied with his third-place finish at 189 pounds at this year's Class AA individual state wrestling tournament.

And West Aurora junior Mario Gonzalez was clear on his goal for next season.

"Next year, I want to go the whole season and dominate everybody. I don't want there to be any doubt," Gonzalez said.

One bad match can kill your chances for a state title in Champaign's Assembly Hall, and Gonzalez had one of those in his semifinal against Dundee-Crown's Mike Lukowski.

After dominating his way through a tough three-match draw on Friday, Gonzalez took on a defensive bull of a wrestler in Lukowski in his semifinal match Saturday, losing by 5-4 decision in four overtimes.

Lukowski went on to win the title by 10-3 decision, after riding Gonzalez out in the final overtime.

"He's athletic, and I didn't want to let him use that athleticism to beat me," Lukowski said.

"That wasn't one of my better matches," Gonzalez said. "The first takedown was on my mistake. We were at the edge, I thought we were out, and I stopped wrestling. It wasn't a good match for me, but he's strong and hard to get in on."

A semifinal loss can easily demoralize a wrestler in Champaign, and West Aurora coach Mike DiNovo knew his junior had to quickly put the past behind him.

"After the loss, we went back to the hotel and talked about it," DiNovo said. "We wanted to wrestle that negative feeling away, and not think about it.

"Mario did exactly what he needed to do."

Gonzalez fed directly into the third-place bracket, and he brought the heat against Marist's Arthur Smith.

Gonzalez built a big lead on Smith before pinning him midway through the second period to finish third, one season after placing fourth at 171 pounds.

"Mario's got great technique, great conditioning, his hips are strong, and he has tremendous poise," DiNovo said.

"If you saw him wrestle as a seventh-grader, a beginner, you'd say that kid's a beginner? Really?'. He was very instinctual, right away."

Batavia's Rocco Wade (130) ended his season on Saturday with a record of 32-11, and teammate Danny Watson (160) finished with a record of 37-8. West Aurora's Dan Carey (215) ended his stay in Champaign with a record of 34-9.

"I'm really, really proud of Dan Carey," DiNovo said. "He made his senior year count."