Montini, Marmion to meet early this year
There will not be a repeat between Montini and Marmion at the Class 2A team wrestling tournament this year.
One year after knocking off Marmion in the state quarterfinals, the two Suburban Christian Conference heavyweights were assigned to the same individual regional at Yorkville.
The regional team champion will advance to the Sandwich sectional.
Montini has won eight state championships since the 2000 season, including the last Class AA crown in the two-class format and first two in the middle tier of the three-class arrangement.
But the Broncos have appeared mortal this year, suffering their first two dual-meet losses (Glenbard North and Sandburg) to in-state teams since dropping the 2007 state final against Sandburg.
Marmion bettered Montini in all three of their mutual December tournaments, but the Broncos withstood a furious rally to win the teams’ dual meet by a point in mid-January.
The stakes could not be any higher on Saturday in Yorkville.
“Bonus points are going to be the difference,” said first-year Montini coach Israel Martinez. “We need guys to score bonus points, no matter if it is the first round or the championship round.”
“This is the best Class 2A has been since class expansion,” said Geneva coach Tom Chernich.
Montini handled the upstart Cadets easily in their two meetings last year.
But Marmion — which has a strong local presence with Naperville residents Ben Whitford, Bryce Brill, Jered Cortez and Jon Wolfgram along with Dan Rowland, who lives in Lombard — has made tremendous gains.
The Cadets closed the last calendar year by claiming the prestigious Dvorak Tournament and are bolstered by an enviable combination of youth and talent.
“I cannot see how (the team title) is not going to be close,” Marmion coach Dean Branstetter said. “I don’t think (Montini) ever had their full lineup at any of those (December) tournaments. We didn’t go into those tournaments trying to beat Montini. We wanted to see how good we were. We just happened to beat them.”
The heart and soul of the Montini lineup is between 145 and 160 pounds.
Two-time defending state champion Steve Robertson, a Penn recruit, anchors the triumvirate at 152 with bookend savvy state veterans Frank Baer and Dimitri Willis at 145 and 160, respectively.
Kevon Powell is the returning state champion at 103 pounds; the junior will compete at 112 in the state series this year.
Michael Sepke, the second-rated 125-pounder, will bump up to 130; Whitford, the Cadets’ two-time national champion and defending state champion at 119, will be a formidable barrier for the Broncos’ gritty sophomore.
Glenbard South is the other local program in the field, which also includes traditional powers Morris and the host Foxes, who have five returning state qualifiers at their disposal.
Hanging tough in the Silver:
Glenbard West dropped all six of its West Suburban Silver dual meets this season, but it hardly affected the Hilltoppers’ standing in the rugged league.
Coach Nick Posegay directed the squad to a virtual reversal from last season.
“We were 16-11 (in dual meets) after going 5-22 a year ago,” said Posegay, whose squad will be at the Class 3A Glenbard North regional on Saturday. “It was a nice turnaround for us.”
The host Panthers, with their six DuPage Valley Conference individual champions, headline a talented field that also includes Glenbard East, the two Wheaton high schools, the two St. Charles high schools and Geneva.
“There’s a lot of talented kids there,” Posegay said. “We will just go in there with our heads high, ready to fight and see who comes out of there. In some respects the (Downers Grove North) sectional is even easier because there’s more spots available (to go downstate).”
Three competitors in each weight class advance out of the regional; four advance to the state tournament in Champaign from the sectional.
The Hilltoppers are led by seniors Will Stano (29-10 at 152 pounds) and Mike Summerville (28-10, 189); sophomores Zak Hassar (125) and C.J. Sojka (103) are the team leaders in wins with 33 and 30, respectively.
Neuqua looks to rebound:
Neuqua Valley had an opportunity to win the Upstate Eight Conference River Division outright with a regular-season finale win over South Elgin.
“Not a good night,” Wildcats coach Mick Ruettiger said of their 39-34 loss. “We had some kids out of the lineup. We still had a chance to win the meet. We had a couple of opportunities to do so but didn’t.”
The Storm victory created a three-way tie in the division the two combatants and Lake Park.
Neuqua Valley will be the lone area representative at Bolingbrook on Saturday.
“We can’t have any inconsistency,” Ruettiger said of the Wildcats, who have three conference champions in Luke Piggott (152 pounds), Casey Greenberg (189) and heavyweight Andrew Geers.
“Pigott has put himself in position to do well. We’re very encouraged with how he is wrestling. I think Bolingbrook is the team to beat. It’s going to be a dogfight.”
The Wildcats enter the first state preliminary after missing three days of practice due to the blizzard.
“We just have to make do with what we have as far as practice time (is concerned),” Ruettiger said.
Small school, big hopes:
As the lone Class 1A program in the area, Lisle will take part in the Reed-Custer regional on Saturday as part of the Plano sectional complex.
John Davis’ squad is led by Brandon Wolak, a 152-pound senior who has tasted defeat only once in 26 matches.
Brian Czyl is a promising underclassmen for the Lions with his 24-7 mark at 130, while Brad Blechschmidt and Ryan Kilroy enter the Braidwood preliminary with 25 wins each at 125 and 112.
“You always hope to get a (sectional) qualifier,” Davis said of his expectations. “Six of the 12 teams (in the field) are (Interstate Eight) Conference schools. So we’re right back at it.”
The Lions finished fourth in their league during the regular season.
The Trojans’ horse:
Downers Grove North senior Jimmy Nehls looks to become the first athlete in program history to become a four-time state qualifier.
The Trojans’ leader is ranked third at 135 pounds, and his only two defeats have come at the hands of Lyons Twp.’s Drew Bates and Naperville North junior Max O’Breicht.
Nehls may have a rematch with the Huskies’ standout because both Downers North and Naperville North are in the field at Naperville Central this weekend.
Downers Grove South and the two Hinsdale high schools are also in the regional mix, which also features Aurora sister schools Metea Valley and Waubonsie Valley as well as East and West Aurora.
Waubonsie Valley coach Brad Caldwell anointed Hinsdale Central and West Aurora as the favorites, but Naperville North leapfrogged the Blackhawks for second last week at the DuPage Valley Conference tournament.