Boys wrestling: Marmion sending 10 wrestlers to state from Hinsdale Central sectional
Demetrios Carrera was looking for anything to give him an edge.
With the clock winding down and Carrera trailing by a point to Mt. Carmel’s Justin Williamson in the 144-pound Class 3A Hinsdale Central sectional title match, the Marmion senior was rolling around trying to find any way to secure three points to take a lead.
And with 15 seconds left and the two wrestlers fully intertwined, things weren’t looking the best for Carrera.
But he never thought of quitting.
“I’ve been trying to work on my mindset where even when you think you’re on the verge of quitting and you think that’s all you have left in the tank, there’s always a little bit left,” Carrera said. “Anytime I’m getting tired in a match, I push through the adversity and get the job done.”
With seven seconds left, he got the job done.
Carrera secured a takedown to get the victory and the individual sectional title, one of seven Marmion championships while also sending a meet-high 10 wrestlers to the state meet in Champaign.
“One of the reasons we wrestle as tough of a schedule as we do is so that we’re never in a position to where we can’t get the job done,” Marmion coach Anthony Cirrincione said. “A lot of kids would panic in that situation, but he was cool, calm and collected and just tried to finish the score.”
Of the Cadets’ seven sectional champions, six of them came from their seniors, with Nick Garcia (132 pounds), Zach Stewart (138), Ashton Hobson (150), Vincenzo Testa (190) and Joey Favia (285) joining Carrera atop the podium.
“It just shows the great leadership out of them and they all wrestled hard the whole time and scored a lot of bonus points,” Cirrincione said. “I just have a lot of joy in wrestling when you have guys like that in the room.”
Junior Colton Wyller also won a sectional title in the 106-pound bracket. After not wrestling in the dual team sectionals match the week before due to illness, he was more than happy to see the time off work out.
“I’m feeling really good with my legs and body feeling refreshed,” Wyller said. “I just wanted to score the first point and not rush anything in my match. Wish I could’ve gotten a few more take downs, but I wanted to focus on getting first and getting better seeding.”
Also qualifying for the Cadets were Brody Page (120) and Aiden McClure (126), who each took second in their weight class. Preston Morrison rounded out the qualifiers with a third-place finish at 113.
Not far behind the Cadets was Montini, which finished the meet with nine wrestlers securing a trip to the state meet, which included having seven wrestlers making it into the title bout.
“I think it’s just a testament to our schedule and how battle-tested we’ve been through the season,” Montini coach Sal Annoreno said. “I told our guys they’ve been in harder tournaments this year, even though it is a very tough bout here, and they were just ready to go.”
The Broncos had three straight wrestlers win sectional titles. Erik Klichurov won the 113-pound bout by fall, while both Allen Woo (120) and Bobby Ruscitti (126) each won their title matches via decision.
“It’s definitely a good accomplishment to win the title here,” Klichurov said. “It’s a place where I can test my ability and my motors so that I can sharpen it up for state and get ready to get in the mindset to win it all.”
Also making it to the title match was Mikey Malizzio (132), Santiago Tenuta (165), AJ Tack (175) and Gavin Ericson (285), who each took second. Sam Swias took third in the 215 bracket, and Will Konder (157) took fourth to round out the qualifiers.
“We’re very proud of our nine guys that made it to state,” Annoreno said. “Even though we had two guys not make it, they’re still in it on the team aspect. We’re happy to punch our ticket to Champaign and make some good things happen.”
West Aurora had five state qualifiers. Dayne Serio was the lone sectional champion for the Blackhawks, getting an 11-0 major decision to win the 175-pound bracket.
“I just felt like it was expected of me,” said Serio, who also celebrated his 150th varsity victory at the meet. “I just feel confident this year and a lot better. I’ve been showing it in my matches and I personally expected to win, so glad to pull it out.”
Along with Serio, Gabe Richmond finished in second at 113, Malan Hatfield (157) and Marcus Quintana (165) each took third and Evan Matkovich took fourth at 150 to round out the qualifiers for the Blackhawks.
“It’s awesome to have five going down there again,” Serio said. “We bring the whole team and it’s just a great big support group which makes a small group all in all going downstate feel like a whole family.”
Naperville North’s Taufik Ibragimov also won a sectional title, getting an 11-0 major decision victory in the 215-pound bracket.
Downers Grove North had all four of its state qualifiers survive the blood rounds to secure a trip to state. Caden Chiarelli (150) and Colin Murphy (285) each finished third, while Damian Garcia (120) and Nate Olona (215) both took fourth.
Downers Grove South will have three wrestlers head down to state. Daniel Mensah took second in the 190-pound bracket, while Jadon Dinwiddie (130) and Noah Greene (175) each finished in fourth.
Also securing a spot to the state meet was Glenbard East’s Ismael Chaidez (fourth in 126) and Orlando Hoye (fourth in 190), Willowbrook’s Aris Neal (third in 120), Lyons’ Griff Powell (third in 138), Morton’s Santiago Moya (third in 175) and Naperville Central’s Paul Peradotti (third in 190).