Boys wrestling: Marmion, Montini advance to state
It was a bittersweet night for Vincenzo Testa and the Marmion seniors.
On one hand, it was the chance to send the Cadets back downstate for a chance to defend their team title. On the other, it marked the last time wrestling in their home gym.
But when Testa made his way onto the mat after seeing his teammate lose via fall in the first period in the 190-pound match before him, he knew he had to show out.
“I know that we work really hard as a team and that we all believe in each other,” Testa said. “I just went into my match knowing I could do it and my teammates would have my back.”
Testa’s victory was one of eight bonus-point victories the Cadets had, and one of nine the team had in general to secure a 46-23 victory over Mount Carmel to make it to the dual state quarterfinals.
“It was just a really big effort by those guys,” Cadets coach Anthony Cirrincione said. “We had a couple of guys out with the flu, so some kids went up in weight and still wrestled hard. And we got to keep some of our guys rested, so it was all good.”
Of the six seniors that wrestled for the Cadets, all six of them secured bonus-point wins while wrestling up a weight class. Testa and Ashton Hobson (165) each got tech fall victories, Nick Garcia (138), Demetrios Carrera (144) and Joey Favia (285) won by fall and Zach Stewart (150) had a 12-4 major decision over Justin Williamson (ranked third in 144).
“When they came here as freshmen we knew this was going to be a group that did really well,” Cirrincione said. “We took second when they were freshmen, and won it all last year, and they plan to do it again.”
James Morrison (113) added to the tally with a win by fall, Aidan McClue (132) put up a tech fall victory and Daniel Skura (175) toughed out a 9-3 decision to round out the wins for Marmion.
The Cadets will have a tall task in its quarterfinal matchup, facing Joliet Catholic, the only team from Illinois to beat them this season by a 42-24 score. The Hilltoppers defeated Yorkville 63-5 in their sectional matchup.
“We’re ready to dominate,” Testa said. “We weren’t fully healthy last time and I didn’t wrestle personally. But we want to show everyone that we can beat them badly.”
Meanwhile, on the mat right next to the Cadets, Montini found itself in an early hole against Marist.
After Kam Luif (144) secured the first points of the match with an 8-5 decision, the Broncos proceeded to drop the next three matches, with one being by fall and two being via tech fall, to fall into an early 16-3 deficit.
That hole didn’t last for too long.
Montini went on to win each of the last eight matches wrestled while also forfeiting two matches to turn it around and secure a 35-28 victory.
“Beating Marist is always going to be a tough duel, with each match having to mentally prepare for six hard minutes,” Broncos coach Sal Annoreno said. “We always have faith in our lower guys but our upper guys came up big too. We always have faith in our guys to pull out a win, because that’s how we train in the room.”
Annoreno said that the big turning point in the match came in the 215-pound match, when Sam Swais came back from trailing 4-0 in the first period to securing six points with a win by fall over Tommy O’Brien in 3:32.
“I saw the bench, saw that we were still down a bit and needed a turn of events,” said Swais, who transferred in from Nazareth prior to the season. “I haven’t wrestled all year, so this was pretty big for me. I’ve been with them for four months but it really feels like I have been with them for four years.”
Swais’s victory was the Broncos’ only win by fall on the night. Allen Woo (120) and Bobby Ruscitti (126) each had wins by tech fall, while Santino Tetuna (175) won in a 15-2 major decision to close out the bonus-point wins. Erik Klichurov (113), Mikey Malizzio (132), AJ Tack (190) and Gavin Ericson (285) all also won their matches.
“Even when we were losing matches and minimizing points in our losses, our team was rallying behind our guys, and that’s a big part of why we had success,” Annoreno said. “Our team was in it and engaged the whole time. We never had a doubt and just stayed true.”
Montini will face off against Edwardsville in its state quarterfinal, with the Tigers beating Lincoln-Way West 36-28 to advance. And even while the jump from 2A to 3A has been a bit worrisome, the expectation is the same.
“We just want to get down to state individually and maximize what we do down there,” Annoreno said. “We expect to have up to five individual champions, but we’re really shooting for a team title. They have the talent, they’re working the right way, and we definitely can do it.”