Marmion storms to title at Newbill Invitational

Marmion is no longer a secret in high school wrestling circles.

The Cadets' program, not even a decade old, made inroads last year when brothers Pat and Eddie Greco became the first individual state qualifiers in their history.

But the Grecos and Co. are looking to forge a much more storied chapter this year.

The Cadets were in a league of their own Saturday at the 19-team Newbil Invitation at Geneva, crowning five champions and placing in all but one of the 14 weight classes en route to a 90-point victory over Brother Rice with 228 points.

"I was very concerned about (the Cadets' long layoff over the holidays)," Marmion coach Dean Branstetter said. "We didn't start off very well. We wrestled much better as the rounds went on."

Geneva had two champions to flavor its fourth-place finish; Burlington Central had no champions but 10 place-winners to finish fifth, and Hinsdale Central was sixth behind heavyweight champion Jack Allen.

Carmel had three runners-up to place seventh, while Fenton edged Larkin for 10th.

Lake Zurich, West Chicago and St. Edward rounded out the final three teams in the Daily Herald coverage area.

Marmion had a flawless day in the championship bracket.

Eddie Greco, coming off a hip injury that sidelined him for three weeks, began the Cadets' parade to the top of the podium by eking out a 3-2 decision at 112 pounds.

"I wasn't ready for the grind," Greco said of returning to the mats. "Once I got the first out of the way, I felt really good."

Ben Whitford authored a national reputation before even arriving at Marmion, and the Michigan transplant continues to impress with his extraordinary ability at such a young age.

The freshman sensation had three pins, including a first-period fall in the championship 119-pound match over reigning Class A state champion Nick Harrison of Stillman Valley, to extend his season-opening winning streak to 18 matches.

"I am doing really well for my first year of high school wrestling," Whitford said. "I thought I would have some really close matches today. We're just going to keep moving forward (as a team)."

Two divisions later, at 130 pounds, Angelo Silvestro, yet another talented underclassmen for Marmion, continued the Cadets' run to the top with five takedowns in his 11-3 verdict over Carmel senior J. P. Hough.

Pat Greco, the Cadets' unquestioned senior leader, then showcased his Northwestern- bound talents in cruising to his third career title at Geneva. The 145-pounder capped his fourth one-sided victory of the day with a second-period fall.

In running his record to 15-2, the elder Greco had a technical fall, fall and major decision in succession to reach the championship match.

"That's what I want to do when I come to tournaments," Greco said of his dominant run.

The camaraderie among the Marmion wrestlers is easily identified, and Pat Greco said individual pursuits are meaningless compared to the sense of accomplishment surrounding the team.

"There's nothing better," Greco said. "I can't wait for the team state series."

Marmion senior Nico Jimenez was in danger early against Burlington Central senior Taylor Schuck in the 171-pound finals.

But Jimenez had the comeback of the championship round, forcing overtime with 14 seconds remaining and completing his 5-3 victory with another takedown at the buzzer of the extra session.

"That situation itself (down late), it has come across quite often during my career," Jimenez said. "I knew not to panic and knew what to do."

"I don't think I wrestled well," said Schuck. "I didn't do what I had to do to stop it."

Geneva freshman Brad Martens was awarded the 103-pound title when Oswego East sophomore Rueben Reyes was unable to answer the bell.

"Kind of disappointing," Martens said of Reyes' injury. "He beat me over the summer, and I wanted to revenge my loss."

The Vikings' Ryan Ward had the lone point, a second-period escape, in his showdown with Evergreen Park senior Mike Lewis.

"In my mind I thought it would play out differently," Ward said of his 1-0 championship decision at 189 pounds. "I wanted to go in there and dominate early."

In addition to Schuck at 171 pounds, Central also had a finalist in Johnny Major; however, Stillman Valley junior J.J. Whaley was ever-elusive in posting a 13-2 major decision for the 125-pound title.

"I wrestled pretty hard, but in the finals I just got outwrestled," said Major. "I stayed tight all the way."

Larkin had four place-winners on the afternoon as senior Cam Martin suffered a 6-4 loss to Oswego East senior Chris Fagan in the 215-pound title match.

Martin reached the finals with back-to-back first-period pins, only to suffer his third loss against 22 wins in the finals.

"I got too high and ended up getting flipped," Martin said of the decisive takedown. "I did pretty well but I wanted to win."

It was a disappointing day for heavyweight Shane Finnane.

The St. Edward senior was knocked out in the semifinals and dropped his third-place match as well.

"I haven't been feeling well all day," Finnane said. "No heavyweight has ever tripped me before (like Hinsdale Central eventual champion Jack Allen)."

Allen was the lone champion for Hinsdale Central, which had eight wrestlers place in its sixth-place showing.

It was a disappointing day for Fenton, which received fourth-place finishes from Esteban Vazquez (125 pounds) and Chris Butz (152).

"There were some good matches and not so good matches," Fenton coach Brian Hastings said.

Robert Svestka and Jon White paced West Chicago with third-place consolation titles at 103 and 189 pounds, respectively.

White had two falls on the day to improve to 22-2.

"I wrestled a little sloppy today," White said.

Shane Siefert and Steven Lester also reached the championship finals for Carmel, only to have their matches end on the wrong side.

"(The defeats) show what you have to do before the regional," said Carmel coach Bob Kuykendall. "I knew it was going to be a tough day. We didn't come in with a full complement of starters. We're missing four starters right now."

Lake Zurich had Zach Ullman for its championship hopes, but the 140-pounder fell 4-2 in the finals against Brother Rice sophomore Luke Nelson.

"I should have done a little better in my final match," Ullman said.