Boys wrestling: IC Catholic Prep takes second straight state championship
BLOOMINGTON — For the second year in a row, the IC Catholic Prep boys wrestling team won the Class 2A championship Saturday after beating Providence 39-25 in the championship match at Bloomington’s Grossinger Motors Arena.
The Knights advanced to the title match with a 60-12 win over Chatham Glenwood, while Providence beat Mahomet-Seymour 52-19 in the other semifinal.
Jasper Harper got the Celtics started off with an 11-3 major decision over Jacob Alvarez at 165 pounds before the Knights’ Brody Kelly scored a 22-6 technical fall over Brayden McKay at 175.
IC’s Foley Calcagno followed with a pin over Riley Tellers at 190 in 1:12 to put the Knights ahead 11-4. Ameer Khalil of Providence answered that pin at 215 with one of his own in 1:25 over Anthony Keating, making it 11-10.
After IC’s Anthony Sebastian pinned Ryan Lenahan in 3:07 at 285, the Knights’ Mike Bird scored a 9-5 win over Cole Lemburg to make the score 20-10.
Providence had state runner-up Christian Corcoran at 113, but IC sophomore Drew Murante rallied in the third period, scoring an 8-6 win after trailing 5-0 entering the third. That win gave the Knights a 23-10 lead and fired up the rest of the team.
“That was a huge win,” Murante said. “I lost to him earlier, so for me to take that match really got our side fired up. We feed off each other.
“Having so many good wrestlers in our room makes it hard to not get better. We all push each other and everyone wants to improve. We get to move up to Class 3A next year, and we are looking forward to it. We already wrestle a lot of 3A teams at different in-season tournaments, so now we will get to see where we stack up when it matters in the postseason.”
Following Murante’s win at 113, teammate Kannon Judyicki got a takedown in the third period to defeat Nate Ortiz and put the Knights ahead 26-10.
Providence’s Max Mandac won a 5-2 decision over Sammy Murante at 126, tightening the gap to 26-13.
IC’s Max Cumbee followed with a pin over Lucas Forsythe at 3:08 in the 132-pound match before Providence’s Tommy Banas beat Jack Hanrahan 10-4.
IC’s Frank Nitti secured the win for the Knights with an 8-3 win over Luke Banas at 144 before Aiden Arnett won a 13-1 major decision over Andrew Pellicci at 150. The Knights forfeited to Providence’s Justus Heeg at 157 to provide the final score.
“It was a little different this year,” IC coach Danny Alcocer said. “Last year, we weren’t favored and we snuck up and beat Montini to get here. This year, we had the target on our backs. We got a huge win from Drew Murante, and we had a couple of other guys that avenged earlier losses. Kannon Judyicki got a big win for us coming off an injury.
“I can’t say enough about our coaching staff. Tony Norton, Haley Augello, Dave Baysingar, Randy Spaulding. They have all been great and help out a lot. Going up to 3A next year is something we are looking forward to. We want to be the best, and that’s who we have to beat to get there.”
While it wasn’t how they wanted to end the season, the Celtics have a bright future ahead as only one senior was in the lineup in the state title match, 285-pounder Lenahan.
“I lost the state title last week,” said Harper, who was also a member of the Celtics’ state runner-up football team. “I knew I had to keep working and stay mentally right for the dual team tournament. I also know I have to work harder in the room during the season. There were some days this year that I slacked off a little bit, but I am not going to do that any more.”
While disappointed with the loss, Providence coach Donny Reynolds was happy to see his young team advance as far as it did.
“It’s always a good sign to have a lot of guys coming back,” he said. “But I also preach to the guys that this isn’t next year. We came up a little short and we have to get back to work, and that work starts tomorrow.
“Our goal is to have the program be one of the best year in and year out. We want to get the program back on track as one of the best in the state and expect to be here at the end of the year every year.”