Grecos help put Marmion on the map

Twentieth-century athletic history at Marmion will be barren for future chroniclers of its wrestling program. But that all changed last February on a blustery afternoon at Leyden High School in Franklin Park.

The senior Pat and sophomore Eddie Greco made history for the Cadets' emerging program for the new millennium. The St. Charles residents became the first state qualifiers in Marmion history, advancing to the Class 3A finals at Champaign.

The milestone achievement brought Dean Branstetter, who began the program at the beginning of the decade, the ever-elusive sense of legitimacy he had been craving. Pat Greco would have his downstate dreams vanish, but Eddie more than compensated by ascending the podium to accept his fifth-place medal at 103 pounds.

"My goal was to place (at state)," Pat Greco said. "I had the jitters a little bit. I'm going to try and not let that happen against this year."

Still, there was something missing for the younger Greco.

"It was only me and my brother," Eddie Greco said. "It was a different kind of team - it was family."

When the state tournament returns next year, the Grecos' aspirations include a much greater inclusion of teammates. The season has barely started, and Marmion is already garnering attention typically reserved for programs with a much greater historic pedigree. The media have collectively anointed the program as one to watch this winter, and the Grecos are at the epicenter of its newfound elite status.

Marmion had never won a significant invitational in its brief history, but that all changed last weekend when the Cadets dominated the field at the powerhouse Conant tournament. In dispatching the likes of defending Class 3A state champion Oak Park-River Forest, Providence and Glenbard North, Marmion in general and the Grecos in particular have served notice the hype is justified.

Pat Greco committed to Northwestern during the preseason, and his championship run to the Conant title at 145 pounds improved his program-setting career mark to 105-16.

"When I first got here to what it is now, it's like night and day," the senior said. "The team (title at Conant) makes it so much better than (the individual crown)."

It was the ninth career tournament title for the elder Greco, who chose Northwestern over Illinois, Brown and Penn. Eddie Greco is at the top of the state rankings at 112 pounds, moving up one class from his distinguished freshman season. The lower weights at the state level have an understandably underclass feel to them; athletes excel in a sport where their promotion to varsity level in other disciplines is almost inconceivable. But there was no denying the younger Greco last year at the University of Illinois' Assembly Hall.

"Once (Pat) got beat it game me extra inspiration to win my place match," Eddie said.

Eddie Greco was runner-up at Conant in his first foray at 112 pounds.

"Physically, I got a lot stronger over the summer," Eddie Greco said.

The Marmion dominance at Conant was not entirely engineered by the Grecos, nor, according to Eddie Greco, was it an aberration.

"We're going to make some noise," Eddie Greco said.

"There has been excitement all summer and fall," Branstetter said of the increased expectations.

The Grecos' ascendancy on the state radar and the Cadets' overall projections have been furthered with the continued development of its returnees and a gifted freshman class. Senior Nico Jimenez and sophomore Angelo Silvestro were on the cusp of matching the Grecos' sectional achievements last winter. Branstetter also welcomes back sound veterans in junior Eddie Breen (135 pounds), senior Connor English (215), senior David Niels (189) and senior Mike York (140).

The Cadets' program has also benefited immensely with the arrival of Ben Whitford, who made his debut in stunning fashion by defeating Providence sophomore Eddie Klimara - the defending Class 3A 103-pound state champion - for the 119-pound crown at Conant.

"I'm not going to put any extra pressure on (Whitford). We have a good freshman class coming in," said Branstetter, who will count on the underclass contributions of Jake Field, Ryan Riggs and George Fisher.

"I think (the underclassmen) are going to keep running with it," Pat Greco said of the Cadets' future.

Wrestling can be a cruel sport; its athletes have to adhere to strict training and dietary regimens to meet their weight standards. But as the Grecos were preparing for the Conant tournament, even the one holiday where gluttony receives a one-day amnesty did their discipline waver.

"Not a very good Thanksgiving dinner," said Eddie Greco.

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