Marmion earns another downstate voyage

Mt. Carmel wrestling coach John Kading knew the odds were not in favor of the Caravan in its Class 3A sectional dual against Marmion on Tuesday night at Marist.

"We were hoping to win the coin toss, which we did," Kading said.

Not much else went right for Mt. Carmel the rest of the night in Chicago.

Marmion won 10 of the 12 contested matches and cruised into the Elite Eight for the third time in the last five years with a 44-18 victory.

The Cadets (13-3), the defending state runners-up, will face Plainfield Central, which turned back Moline at LaSalle-Peru, Saturday morning in Bloomington.

Mt. Carmel had its season end at 19-6.

The draw came at 106 pounds, and Marmion has not been able to field a combatant at the lightest weight all season.

But Anthony Bosco, A.J. Jaffke, Anthony Chelino and four-time individual state champion Johnny Jimenez soon authored defining victories for the Cadets.

Bosco and Jaffke had back-to-back major decisions at 113 and 120 pounds to give Marmion the lead for good as Chelino and Jimenez had consecutive falls at 126 and 132 pounds for a 20-point unanswered Marmion blitz.

"(The coaches) wanted me to get some more bonus points," Jimenez said of the decision to have him wrestle a weight up at 132 pounds.

"A four-time state champion deserves to eat a little," Marmion coach Ryan Cumbee. "He could have wrestled (at his customary 126 pounds). We were going to wrestle him at 32 regardless."

Dual meets are often illuminated by matchups, close matches and bonus points.

Marmion held the edge in all three criteria in gaining its second straight state berth.

Michael Callahan and Nick Ferraro won tight matches for Marmion at 138 and 170 pounds.

Josh Myers and Lucas Warren turned narrow margins into 6-point maximum wins for the Cadets with third-period falls at 195 and 220 pounds.

Myers has been the symbolic figure of the program in the postseason as the all-stater wrestles at least 20 pounds lighter than the norm.

"Usually, (I eat) at least three pounds," Myers said of his pre-match routine.

"I was able to push (my opponent) down, turn him and stuck him," Myers said of his fall at 5:25.

Warren needed only 14 seconds of the third period to record his fall.

"I think that has a lot to do with our conditioning," Cumbee said of the late pins and close wins.

Mt. Carmel was only able to win simple decisions at 145 pounds and heavyweight.

Bryce Brill, one of five Class 2A state champions for Marmion three years ago, ended his undefeated senior season at Mt. Carmel with a forfeit win at 152 pounds.

"Marmion is a great team," Kading said. "We knew we were going to be in a battle."

Jimenez has one final day at Marmion.

"It's kind of sad that it's coming to an end," the Wisconsin-bound Jimenez said. "I want to go out with a bang."