Worth the wait for Smith, Marchok

CHAMPAIGN — Luke Smith’s much-anticipated state title wasn’t just for his performance Saturday night, but more for his entire four-year career at Wheeling, where he smashed most of the records in the book while showing a flair and passion for the sport of wrestling.

When the senior defeated Brian Murphy of Glenbard North and immediately turned and raised his hand to acknowledge his title, he also was saying how much he appreciated the support through this championship run. At times, this moment seemed like it would never arrive, especially after a disappointing finish last season when he lost 4-3 to Chris Dardanes (Oak Park-River Forest) in the finals at 135 pounds.

“You know you never get any do-overs, but if I did, I would have never come out so flat against Dardanes,” said Smith, who admits he might have come into that match perhaps a little too confident in the final match of a 42-2 season. “(That) match made me work harder than ever during the off-season, because for me winning a state title was the only thing left for me to do in high school.”

Smith laughs when he begins to tell the story of how his wrestling career began at age 3 in a family which saw his father (Mark) earn a fourth-place medal in 1974 at Waukegan, the same year in which the highly respected coach from Libertyville, Dale Eggert, finished second overall at 126.

The third youngest brother in the Smith household took his lumps at home, as in most households with two older siblings, both wrestlers (Matt and Jamie) used those workouts in the basements to improve.

“Matt and Jamie have been such a big influence on me, and they’ve been right there for me all along, just as I was there for them when Matt qualified three times downstate, same as Jamie, and suffered right along with him when he finished second in 2005 to Nick Bertucci of Fenwick,” said Luke Smith. “That 1-0 loss (of Jamie’s) really hit me hard, I was crying and yelling because I was so upset for my brother, who came so close.”

A recent phone call from his brother made a tremendous impact on this three-time state medalist.

“Jamie called me the other day from California and told me how he didn’t leave it all out there on that night against (Bertucci), and in order to be true to myself, I had to go out there in my final with Murphy and give it my all, and not hold back for anything.

“It really meant a lot to me to get that call, and I can honestly tell Jamie that I did exactly what he told me to do.”

With his treasured state championship plaque firmly in hand, Smith can now turn his focus to securing a new mailing address next fall, with Northwestern still in the hunt, as well as Nebraska, Old Dominion and Illinois.

“I wasn’t in a rush to meet the early signing period this month, because I wanted to concentrate solely on the task at hand, and that was finally winning a state championship,” said Smith. “I really love this sport, and enjoy coaching the little guys as often as I can, including my youngest brother (John), who will be the best of all of us in a couple of years when he comes to Wheeling.”

Schaumburg junior Josh Marchok would join his MSL colleague on champions row after recording his 31st pin in 38 matches over Joe Gonzalez (Lyons).

“You would have been hard pressed to find an opponent who was good enough to beat Josh this season,” said Saxons coach Matt Gruszka, who if not for his other state medalist, Joe LaManna at 189 pounds, would have been Marchok’s partner every day in the room. “Joe and Josh are great for each other, and they’ve pushed each other to newer heights. I am thrilled to not have to go against him for awhile, because I’ve been taking a beating all season long.”

So have his opponents, a fact wasted on the easygoing Marchok. He’s all business on the mats and in the classroom, but he’s prankster in the Saxons’ room.

“Josh is a tremendous student-athlete, and in fact, Stanford University recently inquired about him, but he also has a wacky personality and a sense of humor that helps keep everything light in the room” said Gruszka.

Marchok still felt the weight of being the top-rated man in the state from the very beginning of this season, something he obviously held onto into and through the final week of the season.

“It’s hard sometimes, having really high expectations place upon you through state polls and rankings and even from your friends in school who come up to you in the hallway and say something about me being rated No. 1, and who I will pin during the weekend,” said Marchok.

Last season’s heartbreaking 7-6 loss in the semifinals to eventual state champ Matt Dwyer (Hononegah) stayed with Marchok longer than he might have thought, but the last 20 seconds of that match may provided the inspiration needed for him to move to the head of his wrestling class this year.

“You go over in your mind a lot of what-ifs — and if I had pushed the pace and sent the match into OT, what would have happened,” Marchok said. “But all I know is everything was going right for me this season, and I got myself into an incredible rhythm which never seemed to go away all year.”