BC's Schuck takes second, D-C's Villanueva 3rd

CHAMPAIGN - Taylor Schuck's dream of winning his own postseason triple crown was dashed late Saturday night when the talented senior from Burlington Central fell in overtime 3-1 to Nico Jimenez of Marmion Academy in the 171-pound championship bout of the Class 2A state championship wrestling tournament at Assembly Hall.

After dominating the field in regional and sectional play, Schuck (31-3) was unable to make it three straight in the state series when Schuck, who had lost earlier in the season to Jimenez 5-3, was unable to solve his opponent during regulation- before a takedown in the first extra period did him in.

"I just couldn't get my combinations going, and after pushing the pace in that first period, I was unable to keep the pressure on," said Schuck, who became the first ever in school history to medal with his second place finish.

"We knew what Jimenez would try to do against Taylor tonight, and we really felt he was ready for whatever came his way in his match, but it just didn't come together for us in the end," said BC head coach Tony Rigitano.

Schuck booked his place in the finals after coming from behind against Brandon Ward (Champaign Centennial) in his Friday night semifinal to gain an 8-6 decision in OT, after trailing 4-1 after one period.

"He had a superb season, and amazing career for us, and in our eyes, he's a champion," Rigitano said.

The news was mixed on other fronts, with Miko Villanueva (Dundee-Crown) and Nick Fontanetta (Crystal Lake South) earning third-place belts, while Bartlett senior Eric Moreno (38-5) completed his wonderful career with a fifth-place medal at 160 pounds to join two others (Mark Lukazewski and Chris Paladino) in school history with state hardware.

"I had high hopes for finishing a little higher this weekend, but there's still a lot to be proud of when its all said and done," said Moreno, who missed on his chance to advance into the final after a 12-4 loss to eventual state champ Sam Brooks (Oak Parfk-River Forest) before dropping a 6-2 decision to Libertyville senior Josh Ronne (44-9) in his lone consolation match of the tournament.

Moreno would finish just ahead of Hersey's Jeff Koepke in the final standings after a previous decision in the championship round on Friday over the junior.

Villanueva (41-6) fought the temptation to stay off the mats for good, until teammate Frank Abitua's father talked the senior into closing out his career on the mats - and not in stands.

"I went to my coaches and told them I was done wrestling for the weekend," said Villanueva, who was knocked into wrestlebacks after a stunning 10-4 loss to Nicholas Drendel of West Aurora in the semifinals.

"But Mr. Abitua said I should get out there and wrestle, and his advice paid off when I beat the former No. 1 (Derek Elmore, Machnesney Park) in my wrestleback and got the third place trophy from my earlier win over AJ Juarez (Joilet)," said the two-time state medalist, who was proud of his victories here over Elmore and No. 2 Juarez.

The sophomore Fontanetta (42-1) bravely fought back after a heartbreaking first day to win 3 in the back draw, including a third straight on the season over Barrington sophomore Adrian Gonzalez (41-5) to snag his first state medal.

"My tournament really began pretty bad (Friday) but I was able to get myself together, and bounce back to finish strong and at least meet one of my goals of the season, a state medal," said the Gators' young star.