Wait's over for B-C's Burke, on to state finals
The wait is over for Burlington Central junior Shane Burke.
Burke is one of 8 area individuals who will compete in the IHSA state wrestling finals this weekend at Assembly Hall on the campus of the University of Illinois in Champaign.
Burke and freshman teammate Johnny Major will wrestle in the Class 2A bracket.
"I've been waiting for this all the years that I've wrestled," said Burke. "I'm ready for this."
Burke will bring a 34-5 mark into his 125-pound preliminary round match against Illiana Christian's Albert Dekker (34-4,). The winner advances to face unbeaten Champaign Central senior Aryn Gilenson (37-0).
"I'm excited," said Burke. "I'm going to go at it and take in the experience and do well and wrestle my best. I'm really confident."
Major is 20-4 this season at 103 pounds. He will face Troy Triad freshman Kyle Graumenz in opening-round action. The winner faces Bethalto Civic Memorial freshman David Pearce (35-5) in the quarterfinals.
"I've got a better work ethic now," said Major. "I've always been positive and confident, but I'm more driven now. It's an honor to be able to represent the team at state as a freshman. I know I have to pick it up."
Major wants to leave nothing behind on the mat this weekend.
"I have to stay confident and wrestle like there is no tomorrow because there is no tomorrow," said Major. "This is the biggest tournament of the year. Everybody has been waiting for it."
The Class 2A brackets feature 12 wrestlers in each division.
Dundee-Crown qualified an area-best 4 wrestlers for the Class 3A finals, including senior Jack Lewis who will bring a 38-5 mark into his first-round match against Granite City senior Tyler Carney (40-6). The winner faces the survivor of the Bobby Barnhisel (Fenwick, 38-2)-Adam Gebner (Naperville Central, 35-8) match.
The Class 3A brackets feature 16 wrestlers in each division with no byes being given to sectional champions.
"I just have to go out there and think about wrestling and not think about where I'm at," said Lewis, making his first state finals appearance. "I have to think about what I've been doing all year."
Lewis isn't paying close attention to bracketing.
"I haven't really looked at the bracket. I don't think it's really relevant," said Lewis. "Upsets at state happen all the time. I'm just going to take it one match at a time."
Lewis can't wait to hit the mat in Champaign.
"When you wrestle in a tournament that big, it's not nervousness, it's being excited," said Lewis. "I've been excited all week. I've been waiting for this to get here. There's nothing to really be nervous about. I've prepared all year for this."
In addition to Lewis, D-C qualified junior Miko Villanueva at 103 along with the brother tandem of Jeremy (119) and Jermaine Lee (125).
Villanueva (33-6) will face Chicago Marist sophomore Dominic Olivieri (28-10) in the first round with the winner facing either Jake Schramm (Hinsdale South; 40-1) or Leo Ruettiger (Minooka, 32-7) in the quarterfinals.
Jeremy Lee (37-7) will face Lockport sophomore Jameson Oster (37-6) in the first round. The winner gets either Emmanuel Macedo (Morton; 32-4) or Joey Gosinski (Glenbard North, 35-10) in the quarterfinals.
Jermaine Lee (33-12) faces Mt. Carmel senior Mike Maggi (34-9) in an opening-round match at 125. The winner faces either Tony Ramos (Glenbard North, 44-2) or Lee Wise (O'Fallon, 42-12) in the quarterfinals.
D-C's quartet of state-qualifiers will signify the end of the legendary coaching career of Al Zinke, who is retiring at season's end. Zinke, one of the area's all-time greatest youth coaches and a champion of the student-athlete, retires with over 500 career dual wins and a pair of state fourth-place finishes to his credit (9 regional titles and 2 sectional titles). Zinke has coached 2 individual state champions (Larry Kaifesh and Mike Lukowski) and 8 state medalists heading into this year's finals.
Cary-Grove junior Josh Nelson (140) and Larkin senior Tony Feliciano (130) round out the list of area state qualifiers. Nelson (35-2) faces Romeoville's Donny Simpson (33-3) in the first round. The winner meets either Marian Catholic's Mark Marianovich (38-0) or Naperville North's Adam Hankin (32-13) in the quarterfinals.
Feliciano (area-best win-total, 41-5) faces Wheeling sophomore Mike Smith (36-7) in the opening round. The winner meets either Jacob Wojcik (Providence Catholic, 40-3) or Drew Bates (Lyons Township, 33-8) in the quarterfinals.
"I'm hoping to make the best of it," said Feliciano. "I have to focus on getting the job done. I can't let the crowd overwhelm me. Not a lot of guys from Larkin have made it. This means a lot to me and to everybody at Larkin."