Bartlett's Annoreno state champ
CHAMPAIGN — Look past the numbers, as amazing as they have been, and ponder how fast Sal Annoreno evolved into a stunning figure at 138 pounds ever since his Upstate Eight title back in late January.
In his encounters with Zak Hassan (Glenbard West), Johnny Gosinski (twice), Ronnie Hauser (Fremd) and Robbie Mikenis (Lincoln-Way Central), the Bartlett junior has conceded just 19 points to this illustrious group.
Saturday night under the bright lights and big crowd inside Assembly Hall Annoreno (39-3) was at it again, only this time, against Cullen Cummings of Downers Grove North, whom he defeated for the sectional championship a week ago today. Annoreno won again, this time sending him to the top of the 132-pound wrestling world in Illinois and the podium in this old building to lift the state championship trophy for the first time in program history.
No player's stock has risen so quickly as Annoreno, who has been near flawless on the mats, particularly this weekend where he opened with three straight major decisions to book his spot in the final, before a no- nonsense 5-2 victory over Cummings
“I am just on top of the world right now,” said Annoreno after accepting congratulations from coach Karl Bratland, who has been perhaps the biggest influence on his best man ever since stepping into the room from North Central College.
“Coach has been the difference maker for me,” began the state champ. “He's instilled the confidence in me that I've been missing before he got here, and he's never stopped building me up, and being there for me — he's the reason for my success.”
“Sal makes all of us look great,” said Bratland, who had some serious lift in him after the final whistle. “I've been telling him from the beginning of camp that he could win a state title, and I am not sure if he believed me from the first time I told him, but he's worked so hard, and he's such a great kid, and right now, I couldn't be more proud of him”
Driven to succeed and get a taste of the championship cup, Annoreno opened brightly out of the blocks with a takedown, then spent most of the first period locking down Cummings (20-3), who would cut into the lead with an escape.
Annoreno was hit with a stall to allow his opponent to draw even, and after surviving a nervy second period, he struck with a beautifully timed takedown, near the edge, as the clock ran out.
“That gave me the confidence for the rest of the way,” offered Annoreno, who showed stealth-like quickness in an important sequence of scrambles halfway through the third period to all but deflate the chances for Cummings, who gave a brave effort down the stretch to make something happen.
“It really is hard to believe all of this right now, but being the state champion feels great.”
South Elgin senior Cody Pych, feeling well for the first time since before the Glenbard North sectional, looked unstoppable in the final 3 matches of his career for coach Mark Cameron and the Storm, who advanced to the dual-team sectional for the first time in program history.
“Cody told me yesterday that he finally felt like himself again, and I can tell you, when he is right, and 100 percent, I really feel he can beat anybody in this 170-pound down here,” said Cameron.
Pych (38-4) beat the state-ranked trio of Joe Caprio of Rolling Meadows, Alex Benoit from Marist, then Josh Dowdy (Granite City) all on Saturday to lift the 3rd-place trophy, his first, as well as South Elgin's.
“I just haven't been feeling well, and it's been frustrating dealing with that but today is what I've been working for during my four years with coach Cameron, and that's all that matters right now,” said Pych, who was superb in his final tournament appearance of his career.
The Fox Valley enjoyed a historic day. In addition to Annoreno's top prize, Huntley celebrated its first state medal in program history behind senior Josh Symbal's 5th place finish at 182 and Burlington Central's collected two top-6 finishes, highlighted by Omar Awad's 4th-place medal at 170, to go along with Johnny Major (31-8) and his 6th-place finish at 145 pounds, his first in three trips downstate.
“It feels real good right now to finally get that medal after missing out in my first two visits and I am feeling really good for him (coach Tony Rigitano) right now as well,” said an exhausted Major.
“He's been with me for my four years at Central, and he's such a great coach and person, and the reason for my and the team's success.”
“That late takedown did it for Johnny (against Xavier Montalvo, Montini) in his medal qualifying match, and I am so proud of him and Omar for what they have done this weekend for themselves,” said Rigitano, who could hardly contain himself, as he continued to give Major an extra pat on the back, and bear hug after his captain sealed his place in BC wrestling history.
Awad (38-5) was on fire from the get-go on Thursday, beginning with his dominating performance against 3-time state qualifier Alex Bee of Glenwood and ending in his 3rd-place bout against Jake Tindle of Troy Triad.
For Symbal (41-4) his pin over Michael Paloian of Loyola in his 5th-place bout was icing on the cake for the 3-year star, and 2-time state qualifier, who had been talking about bringing home the Red Raiders' first medal long before the state tournament began.
“This is what it was all about, and after I knew I wasn't able to compete in the final after my loss in the quarters, and later when I advanced into the medal round through wrestle-backs, the rest was just a bonus, and I am thrilled to have finally earned my first medal, as well as the school's,” said Symbal.
“It's funny, at the start of the year I asked all of our guys to write down their goals for the season, and Josh said qualify into the state tournament for a second straight time. I made him rip that up and write ‘and medal' and he did, and we're going to really miss him,” said head coach BJ Bertelsman.
It was some good news and not so good news for the Gators at Crystal Lake South.
Senior Tom Gerszewski ended his brilliant career with a much deserved 4th-place finish at 152 pounds following a loss to Davonte Mahomes of Oak Park. Teammates Nick Gil (126) and Mike Romanelli (220) would bow out one victory away from a top 6 finish to end their seasons quicker than both had planned.
Mike Cullen of Cary-Grove got the match he wanted, and the opponent, only at the wrong time of the tournament.
The freshman met another pretournament favorite, Brian Rossi of Lockport, and outlasted the sophomore 3-2 to win his first state medal in the third-place match.
“At the very start of this tournament, I thought I might be seeing (Rossi) in the final, unfortunately, it didn't work out for either one of us,” said Cullen, whose superb rookie campaign ended at 45-3, making him one of the top returning lower weight wrestlers next season.