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Marmion rolls into sectional

Marmion was in a different league than the rest of the wrestling field at the Class 3A Naperville North regional on Saturday afternoon.

The Cadets had an unblemished run of eight consecutive champions between 126 and 182 pounds to run away with their fourth straight team title.

Nathan Calloway and Weston Kramer had bookend titles for the Cadets at 106 and heavyweight to complete their 12-for-12 final round and 247-point day in Naperville.

"I told the guys that it was step one of the process," Marmion coach Donny Reynolds said. "We had 10 guys who took care of business."

Naperville North, which matched the six qualifiers Metea Valley delivered, had less than twice as many points to finish second.

The 42 total qualifiers advanced to the Batavia sectional for a berth to the individual state tournament in Champaign.

Marmion (24-5) will have to get past nationally ranked Sandburg in 10 days for another berth in the team state finals the following weekend in Bloomington. Jake Polka, Anthony Cheloni, AJ Jaffe, Brad Gross, Trace Carello, Nate Jimenez, Matt Ferraro and defending state champion Nathan Traxler framed the Cadets' run at 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170 and 182 pounds, respectively.

"The whole year we have been working on perfecting our moves and doing the little things right," Jimenez said. "As a team, as a whole, we want that state championship really bad. Individually, we're definitely looking to accomplish all of our goals."

Calloway, Polka, Cheloni and Ferraro all had falls in their championship matches; Jaffe had a technical fall.

"I have always had some tricks," said Elburn native Ferraro, who had a slow start to the year due to a hamstring injury. "I came through with this one. It worked out perfectly (today)."

Trevor Chumbly (113 pounds) and Jeremy Daum (220) were the Cadets' final qualifiers with their third-place triumphs.

Batavia was third behind unstoppable 220-pounder Dylan Uzumecki.

The senior had three first-period falls to improve to 37-2 on the season.

"It was a good day," Uzumecki said. "I have been working on the little things in practice, (such as) staying in position. I was capitalizing on (my opponents) when they were out of position."

West Aurora junior Carlos Jacquez became a three-time regional champion with the most improbable of comebacks against Naperville Central junior Jake Keating.

Trailing 5-0 midway through the final period, Jacquez had an escape, takedown and 3-point near-fall to score the final 6 points in the 120-pound final.

"(Keating) is a really good kid," the Blackhawks' returning all-stater said. "He knew what my weaknesses were. I'm happy that I won, but at the same time I made a lot of mistakes."

One week after the epic collision between 195-pound combatants Dylan Ervin and Max Ihry at the DuPage Valley Conference final, the two found themselves in overtime once again.

But the verdict was reversed as Ervin, a Metea Valley senior, had a takedown against Ihry with four seconds to go to hand the Waubonsie Valley senior his second loss on the season.

"Max is an excellent wrestler," Ervin said. "I knew things weren't going my way (last week) and lost my focus. The main thing I had to do was go in the practice room and pick up my pace. I saw an opportunity (in overtime), got the leg and wouldn't let go."

Ihry scored the first 3 points of the match, but Ervin had two escapes; the match became a sudden-death affair when Ihry was cited for stalling at the buzzer.

"Honestly, I didn't think it was (stalling)," Ihry said. "I wanted to build a lead, and I knew (Ervin) was a dangerous wrestler. I could have been better in OT. Hopefully, I can rebound and see him again at the sectional."

"I have seen a lot worse (stalling calls) that have not been called," Waubonsie Valley coach Brad Caldwell said.

Wheaton Warrenville South junior Andrew Leonard has been the odd man out in recent weeks at 195 pounds.

The Tigers' standout is a few notches behind Ervin and Ihry in the state rankings, but he had to settle for third again.

Leonard has yet to beat either Ihry or Ervin this season.

"I think my biggest problem (against them) is not moving my feet in the neutral position," Leonard said.

Lucas Van Poucke delivered the sole championship for the other local teams.

Metea Valley DVC champion Phillip Sims had Van Poucke on the ropes early in the 113-pound final, but the Huskies' sophomore had a lightning-fast reversal and pin in the second minute of the first period.

"After a while I knew (Sims) was going to go after my legs," Van Poucke said. "I just caught him. I knew I had plenty of time. It was our third time seeing each other (this season)."

"Freshman mistake," Metea Valley coach Claudio Torres said. "He will learn from it."

Ten area athletes lost championship matches.

Naperville Central was befuddled all day in the finals.

DVC champion Jake Keating had West Aurora all-state returnee Isaac Jacquez in a huge hole, only to fall victim to a takedown and near fall in the last 20 seconds in the 120-pound championship.

The Redhawks' Luc Jandt and Cam Hayes fell to Marmion wrestlers at 126 and 160.

Christian Nussbaum was the Redhawks' final qualifier despite dropping the 220-pound final.

Metea Valley leaders Jake Toepfer, David Veitch and Bobby Pariernik were all derailed by the Marmion express at 138, 145 and heavyweight.

Aaron Kruk and Stevie Schmult were finalists for Naperville North, and Waubonsie Valley conference champion Mason Kroening lost to defending Marmion state champion Nathan Traxler for the second time this year at 182 pounds.

Kroening has lost to no else this season.

  West Aurora's Isaac Jacques, left, defeats Naperville Central's Jake Keating 6-5, right, in the 120 pound class of the Naperville North individual wrestling regional. Daniel White/dwhite@dailyherald.com
  West Aurora's Isaac Jacques, left, works to defeat Naperville Central's Jake Keating 6-5 in the 120 pound class of the Naperville North individual wrestling regional. Daniel White/dwhite@dailyherald.com
  Marmion's Anthony Cheloni holds up Naperville North's Aaron Kruk in the 132 pound class of the Naperville North individual wrestling regional. Cheloni pinned Kruk late in the third period. Daniel White/dwhite@dailyherald.com
  Marmion's AJ Jaffe, right, defeats Metea Valley's Jake Toepfer, left, on a technical fall in the 138 pound class of the Naperville North individual wrestling regional. Daniel White/dwhite@dailyherald.com
  Marmion's AJ Jaffe, right, defeats Metea Valley's Jake Toepfer, left, on a technical fall in the 138 pound class of the Naperville North individual wrestling regional. Daniel White/dwhite@dailyherald.com
  Metea Valley's Dylan Ervin, right, congratulates Waubonsie Valley's Max Ihry in the 195 pound class of the Naperville North individual wrestling regional. Ervin defeated Ihry in overtime. Daniel White/dwhite@dailyherald.com
  Marmion's Brad Gross, right, defeats Metea Valley's David Veitch, left, 8-4 in the 145 pound class of the Naperville North individual wrestling regional. Daniel White/dwhite@dailyherald.com
  Marmion's Nathan Traxler, left, works to defeat Waubonsie Valley's Mason Kroening in the 182 pound class of the Naperville North individual wrestling regional. Daniel White/dwhite@dailyherald.com
  Marmion's Nathan Traxler, right, works to defeat Waubonsie Valley's Mason Kroening in the 182 pound class of the Naperville North individual wrestling regional. Daniel White/dwhite@dailyherald.com
  Metea Valley's Dylan Ervin, top, works for an overtime win over Waubonsie Valley's Max Ihry in the 195 pound class of the Naperville North individual wrestling regional. Daniel White/dwhite@dailyherald.com
  Batavia's Dylan Uzumecki, top, pins Naperville Central's Christian Nussbaum in the 220 pound class of the Naperville North individual wrestling regional. Daniel White/dwhite@dailyherald.com
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