Another Montini wrestling milestone with 2A title victory
BLOOMINGTON - With seven state wrestling championships in the first decade of the new millenium, it was only appropriate that Montini would want to start off the first year of the new decade with another Class 2A team title Saturday night at the 27th Annual Elite Eight dual-team tournament.
And the Broncos are starting to look like a dynasty that will never die as they rolled into the championship match Saturday with a 44-15 victory over rival Marmion Academy in the quarterfinals before adding a 55-15 drubbing of Champaign Central semifinals.
Everybody expected that top-ranked Montini was on a collision course with Crystal Lake Central, and that is exactly what happened as the Broncos built a commanding 36-13 lead on 130-pound state champion Colton Rasche's technical fall with four matches left before hammering the Tigers 47-19 for three straight state crowns.
"We just wrestled like we've been wrestling all year, we knew we could beat every team here, and we came out with another state title," said Rasche, who closed out his senior campaign with a 49-4 record. "All three of them were good teams, but we're just on another level."
It was the eighth state crown for Montini coach Mike Bukovsky's squad since 2000. Bukovsky has compiled a stellar 460-39 career record in 16 seasons at the helm.
"Our upper weight guys had a real good tournament and they just kept fighting and gave us a little momentum, especially where all of these matches started," said Bukovsky. "This has been a fun team to coach since day one and our seniors have just provided a great attitude all year, so I was very pleased."
The Cadets (18-2) were making the first Elite Eight appearance in school history at U.S. Cellular Coliseum, but they could not make many inroads against powerhouse Montini (32-2) as four state champions and a lot of depth were too much for Marmion to overcome. Both of the Cadets' losses this season came at the hands of the Broncos.
Montini may have expected a tougher challenge from Marmion heading into the tournament, but that was not the case as the Broncos easily handled the Cadets in the first round of the tourney. Montini state-runner up Eric Powell's 6-1 decision at 135 and a technical fall by Robertson at 140 closed out the dual meet against the Cadets in style.
With state champions Rasche, KeVon Powell (103), Steve Robertson (140), and Brandon McBride (152) setting the tone, Marmion could never really get close to the Broncos.
"We had to get wins at 145 and 189 and we would have had a better showing in my mind," said Marmion coach Dean Branstetter, whose team trailed 27-9 after nine bouts. "They (Montini) tend to wear us down as the dual meet goes on and they tend to dictate the action."
Marmion 119-pound state champion Ben Whitford (44-0) won his bout Saturday with a pin and state champ teammate Nico Jimenez (41-4) added a decision for the Cadets at 171. But state medalist teammate Pat Greco dropped a hard-fought 4-3 decision to Montini state-runner up Frank Baer in a showdown of elite wrestlers at 145.
Fellow first-time Elite Eight qualifier Antioch (11-21) also struggled Saturday in its first trip to the Elite Eight in school history as the Sequiots fell behind Champaign Central 32-7 after eight matches en route to a 41-22 defeat at the hands of the Maroons.
State qualifiers Al Arden (145), Zach Epker (160), and George Gonzalez (140) all picked up victories for Antioch, but the Sequiots were never able to rebound from their huge early deficit.
"I thought we matched up against (Champaign Central) pretty well, but we got pinned four times today and that has been a problem all year," said Antioch coach Wilbur Borrero, following his 18th season finale. "Our team is very young and they got a taste of some success this season. So I'm hoping in their minds they are thinking about what things they need to do to get better down the road."
Lemont held off Champaign Central 37-26 to take third place in the Class 2A tournament while Porta captured the Class 1A state championship with a 33-27 victory over Gibson City.