Montini No. 1 start to finish
MOLINE -- The grin on Montini senior Dan Stelter's face was a mile wide on Saturday night.
"This is awesome. It's what we've been working for, for three years," Stelter said. "We were ranked No. 1 all year, and we wanted it to end that way.
"We came here and did what we needed to do."
When the Broncos' Alex Saunders pinned Providence Catholic's Jeremy Crnich at 145 pounds, five-time Class A title-winning Montini clinched its first Class AA team wrestling title in program history inside Wharton Field House.
The Broncos' 37-25 win capped a 34-1 season in which they were tagged as the state's top-ranked team from wire-to-wire, one season after reaching an AA title mat only to lose to Sandburg.
"That left a horrible taste, and we worked hard every day to get back here," said Montini senior Dan Grimes. "It feels great. I can't describe it."
Broncos senior heavyweight Garrett Goebel ended a historic career, completing a 57-1 senior year by setting a new career record for wins in Illinois with 201. Goebel also set an IHSA record with 129 career pins.
The final high school match of Goebel's career lasted 37 seconds, ending with a pin of the Celtics' Steve Laski. Goebel will give up wrestling for football at Ohio State next year.
"I'll miss it. I guess I don't how I'm going to take my anger out next year," Goebel joked.
"You just take him for granted," said Montini coach Mike Bukovsky. "He gets up to warm up and right away you just add 6 (team points) in your head. He's a great kid, and we'll miss him."
Montini's first obstacle on Saturday was a major one -- second-ranked Glenbard North (25-5). The Broncos and Panthers split 7-7 in matches won, but Montini's 8-6 edge in bonus points added up to a 29-27 quarterfinal victory.
"You've got to hand it to them," Goebel said. "It's just too bad we matched up in the first round."
"That match was one for the ages," Bukovsky said. "Glenbard North set the bar in DuPage County, and we've been focused on them all year. But all week long we also said we're coming down here to win three duals."
Montini next beat Libertyville (22-4) 39-15 in a semifinal dual, setting up a title appearance against Illinois' third-ranked team in Providence (24-2).
The Broncos got a technical fall from Carl Foreside (171 pounds), pins from Saunders, Grimes (189) and Garrett Goebel, a technical fall from Jake Gregerson at 125, and decisions from Colton Rasche (112), Benny Marti (119) and Grant Goebel (215).
Grant Goebel has been one of Montini's unsung heroes all year, as a 175-pound junior wrestling at 215 most of the year. Goebel went 36-9 this year and posted three wins Saturday, including a pin against Glenbard North and a takedown for a win with seconds remaining in his match against Providence.
"I don't how he does it," Bukovsky said. "He's got an attitude, and that's what we had this year.
"We didn't have a lot of superstars this year, but we had a lot of guys that just really wanted to do the job."