Marist takes ESCC crown
After watching Marian Central Catholic take away the trophy it had held for eight consecutive years Marist roared back to claim the East Suburban Catholic Conference wrestling championship Friday night in Arlington Heights.
The Redhawks never allowed the reigning champs to get any closer than 22 points in the final three sessions, finally closing out the Hurricanes and the rest of the league to claim their 25th conference title in program history.
No. 3 rated Jacob Dado (37-4, 138) was one of four from Marist to win an individual championship to help the Redhawks outscore Marian Central Catholic 169-147, and third place Nazareth Academy (126).
Notre Dame (123.5) and Joilet Catholic Academy (103.5) would round out the top five.
While Dado and his teammates were the big story on the team side, it was the 126-pound final between the No. 1 rated wrestler in Class 3A, Travis Ford-Melton, (24-4) and DJ Hamiti (Joilet Catholic Academy, 33-4), No. 2 in Class 2A that kept the eyes of the big crowd on mat No. 1.
Ford-Melton, a three-time state medal winner won the close encounter 4-3 when he took the lead leg of Hamiti and finished his shot with an inside trip to take a 4-2 lead with two seconds remaining in the second period.
"I wanted to use my quickness to score early, then keep the pace up, and not allow (Hamiti) to do any damage near the edge," said Ford-Molton, who will wrestle at Purdue University next fall.
Hamiti, the 2A state champ at 106 pounds last season, is one of several prized wrestlers that former Marmion Academy coach Ryan Cumby has used to turn a struggling program around in a short period of time.
Last year at this tournament, JCA finished dead last with just 43 overall points - Friday night at host St. Viator, the Hilltoppers were fifth with 103.6 points.
Carmel Catholic, with 2018 state champion Riley Palm out of the lineup, along with Christian Valadez, a returning state qualifier, still was able to get an individual title from Yovaniel Garcia (21-6) at 170 pounds.
I had a real slow start in my semifinal (which) turned out to be the wake-up call I needed for my final," admitted Garcia, who underwent offseason surgery after finishing seventh at frosh-soph state.
Garcia left little in doubt in his final with Elijah Pesek (26-6) of Nazareth, taking a 5-0 lead just 30 seconds in before recording a pin at 1:14.
Corsairs star Tommy Hoy (30-1), ranked fifth at 160 in 2A, met No. 2 Dylan Connell (Marian Central Catholic, 37-2) in their final, and the Hurricanes state champ would deal Hoy his first loss of the season at 8-0.
Hoy could have a chance to avenge the defeat at the Antioch sectional next month.
Host St. Viator enjoyed fourth-place medals from Console Gaetano (132, 21-12) and Ryan McGuire (17-10) at 220.
The Lions' duo came through when the pressure was on earning key victories to stay alive in order to compete for a top-four finish.
"Knowing a loss in my consolation match would end my tournament, and a chance to medal here at home," admitted Console.
The 132-pounder fought back from a 5-2 deficit against Tom McAuliffe to get back even at 5-5, then 6-6 before a pin at 5:22 sent him into the third-place match.
McGuire, who has battled injuries all season long, was in the same situation as his teammate, but the junior advanced with less stress over Dan Alvarez (St. Patrick) - before dropping his third-place bout later on.
"I wanted to compete for a medal at home also, but I figured all I could do was just go out and wrestle my match, and give it my best - that's all I could do," said McGuire, who won 27 a year ago.
Carmel Catholic and St. Viator will now begin to prepare for the Lakes regional next Saturday in Lake Villa.