Glenbard North's Murphy set for much-anticipated final
CHAMPAIGN — Tensions will be high and hearts will be pulsating quicker than normal Saturday night when Glenbard North's Brian Murphy walks onto centerstage at the Class 3A wrestling tournament.
Murphy will face Max Schneider of Lane Tech for the 152-pound championship in what might be the most highly anticipated match of the final day of this three-day tournament.
Murphy guaranteed his second consecutive walk in the Grand March following an edgy 1-0 victory over a defensive-minded Devonte Mahomes of Oak Park. He will be joined by teammate Jared Cortez, who will face Sandburg's Sebastian Pique in the 120-pound final.
Montini's Tommy Pawleski, KeVon Powell and Chris Garcia broke free of the competion at Class 2A to book their place in the finals. Lake Park's Farai Sewera continues his improbable run to glory after he defeated Hersey star Hunter Rollins to cruise into the 160-pound final against top seed and pre-tournament favorite, Shaun'Qae McMurtry of Lockport.
Championship matches at the 75th state tournament series will begin immediately following the famed Grand March at 7 p.m., with wrestleback matches starting the final day of competition at 9 a.m. Saturday.
No matter how much Mahomes tried to frustrate the offensive-minded Murphy (30-0), the Panthers senior stayed cool and calm for six minutes before having his hand raised so he could turn his attention to the match he's wanted ever since last seasons loss in the finals to Luke Smith of Wheeling.
“That's been my focus — returning to the final this year — and even though (Mahomes) didn't want to wrestle and stayed (away) from me, I kept pushing the pace, and working hard — and it's all good stuff for me right now,” said Murphy, who surely gave the Schneider camp some hope knowing their guy beat Mahomes via a technical fall in the sectional final last weekend at DeLaSalle.
Cortez earned cheers from his fans and a few boos from the fans of Larry Early after the sophomore punished the rookie from OPRF before ending his match at 4:56 leading 18-2. Next up is another one for the Assembly Hall fans to embrace, as Cortez takes on Pique.
Pawleski (42-5), Powell (29-3) and Garcia (38-6) continued their mastery over their respective opponents at 106 pounds, 120 and 132 on Friday afternoon, leaving a trio of victims in their collective wake en route to the championship match this evening.
Pawleski got the better of 2A rival Anthony Bosco of Marmion in a 6-2 decision and will not face Nkosi Moody (33-1) who has quietly come through the bottom half of the bracket.
Powell will look to lift his second big trophy of his career after making quick work of Rock Island's Ignace Hakiziama in the semifinal with a techical fall at 5:38.
“It was close and only 2-0 after the first period, but then (he) left an opening and I took advantage of it and never let up after that,” said Powell, who pinned highly regarded Cameron Kennedy of Richmond-Burton in the quarters.
No story is better than that of Sewera (40-1), who came from this country four short years ago from Zimbabwe. He qualified into the state tournament last season, before sweeping every postseason tournament and finally reaching the final at 160 pounds after his hard-fought 3-2 victory over Rollins (39-3) in his Friday evening semifinal.
Rollins had not lost a match since pinned by Sewera in the finals of the Berman Holiday Classic in December.
“It's hard to explain exactly how I feel right now, but I can tell you it is a tremendous feeling to be in the final, because it's something that I've wanted ever since I began wrestling here as a freshmen,” said Sewera, who defeated another state ranked opponent, Granite City's Justin Valencia.
Wheaton North senior Mike Swider (44-0) spent just more than three minutes on the mats before recording a pin in his semifinal with David Denne of Mt. Carmel, and then he quickly turned his attention to Josh Marchok's semifinal. The two giants at 220 pounds are on a collision course for a second consecutive weekend.
“We respect each other, we're both good wrestlers, and I really believe it's going to be another great match between us in the final,” said Swider, who has been superb in his three matches here thus far.
Glenbard West senior Rodrick Smith was on the cusp of a major upset during the quarterfinals, taking one of the tournament favorites, Plainfield Central's Nick Nasenberry to his limit before the 2011 state medalist found a way to spin free to score the winning takedown with two seconds remaining in regulation to record a 4-2 victory.
Smith remains alive for a top-six finish after a victory during the early afternoon of the consolation rounds, and will face Harlem's Zac Denny this morning when the quarterfinal wrestlebacks open the final day of competition at 9 a.m.