Rubino, Drendel on collision course
CHAMPAIGN - Nicholas Drendel and Brandon Rubino may have an opportunity to break their season deadlock with much on the line.
The 112-pound wrestlers from West Aurora and St. Charles East, respectively, were the only local athletes to advance to the championship round of the large-school state tournament at the University of Illinois' Assembly Hall on Friday morning.
Rubino, with the two up a weight at 119 pounds, best Drendel in the teams' dual meet, only to have Drendel return the favor at the Glenbard North sectional.
"Part of (my motivation) is one loss and you're done," Drendel said after victories over Minooka junior Leo Reuttiger and Warren senior Robby Schultheis. "I don't want my season to be over with."
"(Drendel) has unlimited belief and he never stops moving," West Aurora coach Mike DiNovo said.
But it was Rubino who completely altered the division; the senior defeated top-ranked Derek Elmore of Machesney Park Harlem 3-2 after a first-round fall.
"When (Rubino) turned (Elmore) for two (in the second period) that was the turning point of the match," St. Charles coach Steve Smerz said. "He went out there and wrestled smart."
Rubino has Bolingbrook junior Frankie Campos, whom Drendel defeated for both the regional and sectional championship, in his semifinal; Drendel drew Dundee-Crown senior Miko Villanueva.
Logan Arlis' dream of a state championship evaporated in the quarterfinals at 119 pounds.
The Batavia senior and defending state runner-up lost to Eddie Klimara, the Providence sophomore who won state last year as a 103-pounder.
Klimara opened the scoring with a takedown and 2-point near fall as the foundation of his 6-4 win.
"It was heartbreaking," Batavia coach Tom Arlis said. "(Logan) is not in a talkative mood. In a big match like that 4 points is pretty tough to make up."
Arlis did emerge triumphant in his consolation night match to stay alive for medal contention.
The Bulldogs' Joey Shump (103 pounds) and Tyler Patton (135) were eliminated from competition.
The same fate also befell St. Charles East 119-pound junior Joe Dede.
The Saints' Alex Maynard is the fourth and final wrestler still competing in the large-school division.
The senior came back from a quarterfinal loss at 135 pounds to upend Moline junior Chris Ledbetter in the wrestle-backs.
West Aurora junior Miguel Venecia had his season end after back-to-back losses in the quarterfinals and consolation round.
The 119-pounder was leading Marist senior Sean Raddatz when he was reversed and ultimately pinned.
Raddatz earned another rematch against Arlis, who defeated him in the schools' dual meet, in the third-place quarterfinals.
The state tournament is presumably double elimination-with a significant twist, however.
Wrestlers who lose in the first round are only able to compete in the consolation bracket if the person to whom they lost wins their next match.
As a result, it was one-and-done for St. Charles North sophomore Tim Noverini, Geneva 189-pound sectional champion Ryan Ward and West Aurora sophomore Nathan Pealstrom.
"He did not go into the night easily," DiNovo said after his surprise sectional champion dropped a back-and-forth 14-13 decision.
In the Class 2A tournament, Marmion has unquestionably proclaimed its breakthrough.
The Cadets had five sectional champions, and Eddie Greco, who earned the first medal in program history last year, was not even one of the Cadets' nine state qualifiers.
The Cadets' five sectional champions proved their inclusion was well-justified as Ben Whitford (119 pounds), George Fisher (125), Angelo Silvestro (130), Pat Greco (145) and Nico Jimenez (171) earned advancement to the semifinals this morning.
Whitford continued his quest for perfection; the freshman wunderkind extended his season-long unbeaten streak to 40 matches with a 13-8 victory.
"I thought Ben looked a little tight at times," Marmion coach Dean Branstetter said.
Fisher made it consecutive triumphs by a ninth-grader when he advanced in the following weight class.
Silvestro was never challenged in delivering a 11-5 win in his quarterfinal.
"It felt good to have a long break, but I wanted to get on the mat and get it over with," Silvestro said. "I felt like I was controlling the match."
Greco had takedowns in the final 20 seconds to cement his 14-8 triumph.
It was Jimenez, however, who had the statement-making win for the program.
Pitted against league rival Jared Koch of Marian Central, whom he lost to in the Suburban Christian Conference tournament, Jimenez stunned his foe with a fall after heading into the third period trailing 1-0.
"I underestimated Jared (at conference), even though I knew he was a very good wrestler," Jimenez said. "The mindset is key to everything down here. I caught him with an armbar; that's my go-to move."