Marian Central Catholic wins ESCC crown
Marian Central Catholic of Woodstock fought off a late challenge Friday night from tournament host Joliet Catholic Academy to claim the East Suburban Catholic Conference wrestling championship trophy for the second time in program history.
The No. 1 ranked team in Class 2A came into Joliet as the strong favorite to win it all for the second time in the last three seasons, but four individual titles from JCA, two of which came over MCC, kept the final point total close.
The Hurricanes outscored the Hilltoppers 176.5 to 159.5 and third place Marist, which garnered 151 overall points.
"Three years ago the program here was down and out so I am obviously very proud of how far we've come in such a short time," said JCA head coach Ryan Cumby, who came over from Marmion Academy to build a first-rate Hilltoppers program, led by two-time state champion DJ Hamiti (36-0), who tore through the 152-pound division to win one of four individual trophies for the home side.
MCC junior and the top-ranked wrestler in 2A at 170, Dylan Connell (35-0), was just as impressive as Hamit, as he led the league champions, who also would win four titles on the day.
Injury-plagued Carmel Catholic was sixth overall with 41 points, with St. Viator eighth, finishing with 23 points.
Coach Bob Kuykendall's Carmel Catholic club came away with a pair of top-three medals on Friday, the best coming from Isaiah Lopez (126) with his second-place finish at 126, followed closely by Jonathan Lopez (220, 19-6), who came back from a tough 3-0 loss in his semifinal to earn third-place honors.
"It's been one of those years when we just cannot stay healthy, so the hope is to get as many guys back for regionals and see what happens then," said Kuykendall, who lost Vince Swindell (23-11) to an injury during his semifinal loss at 145 pounds.
St. Viator's Gaetano Console (152) would rebound from his semifinal loss to Johan Braden (MCC) to claim third place, one spot higher than a year ago, while teammate Nick Demunno earned the first ESCC medal of his career with a fourth-place finish at 182.
"It was disappointing to lose in my semifinal. I got a little sloppy and it cost me so I have to be cleaner from here on out in order to continue to advance from regionals to sectionals and hopefully state," said Demunno, now 30-10 overall, after going 19-12 a year ago.
Demunno and his teammates head to the Class 2A Notre Dame regional next weekend, while Carmel Catholic travels to Grayslake Central, where No. 4 Antioch is expected to win.