Marmion tops Sandburg to qualify for state finals
The Marmion wrestling team had to bring its best to oust five-time state champion Sandburg at the Class 3A Argo team sectional on Tuesday night.
The teams had two state champions and four all-state performers each last weekend in Champaign.
But unheralded Marmion freshman Peter Ferraro had a third-period fall at 138 pounds to give Marmion the lead for good.
A.J. Jaffe, Mikey Callahan and Trace Carello all followed with wins between 145 and 160 pounds to make the Eagles' last two wins insignificant in the Cadets' 29-26 victory in Summit.
The Cadets (25-5) advanced to the Elite Eight for the fourth consecutive year. Marmion will face Catholic League rival Montini, which blitzed Brother Rice, in the third quarterfinal on Saturday morning in Bloomington.
Marmion defeated Montini (15-3) decisively in the schools' regular-season dual meet.
"There has to be a better way of getting the eight best teams to the state tournament," Marmion coach Donny Reynolds said of two nationally-ranked teams meeting in a sectional final. "(This match) should have been happening in Bloomington. (The Ferraro pin) was a huge momentum swing."
Ferraro was unavailable for comment as he was taken to a hospital after suffering an asthma attack.
"He'll be fine," his senior brother, Matt, said.
A.J. Jaffe, an individual state champion, provided Marmion with a 23-16 lead by following the Ferraro pin with a technical fall.
Callahan, who missed the individual state series with a concussion, then pulled off a major upset with a simple decision for the Cadets over all-stater Christian Robertson.
"I knew I would be back for team state," Callahan said. "I knew how much everybody wants (a team title)."
The Carello victory at 160 pounds meant Sandburg (20-3) needed pins from all-staters Brian Krasowski and Pat Brucki in the final two weight classes to send the match into criteria.
Marmion sophomore Nate Jimenez lost his match to Krasowski, but the simple decision made Reynolds' decision to forfeit the final class academic.
The Cadets were headed back to the state quarterfinals.
Nathan Traxler bumped up two weights classes, but it mattered little for the two-time state champion headed to Stanford.
Traxler pinned his foe at 220 pounds as part of a 12-point Marmion run to negate the Eagles' winning the opening class at 195 pounds.
"We came in here expecting to win," Traxler said. "There were a lot of tough matches. I had to just keep wrestling my style (in adjusting to 220)."
Trevor Chumbly and Wes Kramer had wins for Marmion at the bookend weights of 106 and 285 pounds.