Boys wrestling: Marmion nabs Moore-Prettyman championship

After losing all of the 2020-2021 wrestling season to the pandemic, Marmion Academy proved it's ready to make a statement to the Class 3A competition with an impressive two-day performance at the 30th annual Moore-Prettyman Memorial Invitational.

Coach Nathan Fitzenreider's club stayed within shouting distance of its high profile opponents Libertyville, Stevenson, Aurora Christian and Fremd, before finally taking control just after the noon hour, then never looked back at the 32-team field to raise the championship trophy Saturday afternoon in Barrington.

The Cadets would claim three individual titles, and 215.50 overall points to outscore second-place Libertyville (193.5), Stevenson (159.50), Aurora Christian (159) and Fremd (146.50), who would round out the top five.

"Most of the guys have not wrestled for nearly two years so to come out over these two days against some great competition and make a statement that Cadets wrestling is back says a lot about the hard work and dedication this team has put forth in order to compete, in order to win a tournament that is always filled with great talent," said a proud Fitzenreider.

The Cadets were in fourth place just before the noon hour, then jumped up and over Libertyville (176.5-173.5) for good when the tournament broke for lunch,

Afterward, the Cadets' trio of Tyler Perry (160), Jack Lesher (182), and Jerred Durian (285) won their head-to-head bouts against opponents from Libertyville to dash the hopes of the Wildcats' faithful for good.

The dynamic duo of Lorenzo Frezza (126) and Cole Rhemrev (138) from Stevenson dominated their weight divisions to help the Patriots edge 1A state power Aurora Christian, who claimed a tourney-high four individual titles.

"This team is built to succeed in tournaments, and today you saw how good we can be as long as we all continue to work hard," said the two-time state qualifier Rhemrev, who came in as the No. 3 rated 138-pounder in the state.

Aurora Christian, whose roster was given a boost with a handful of transfers from Montini Catholic, proved its new found depth and talent will make the Eagles one of the favorites to win the 1A state title in late February.

"As captain of the team, I've made sure that everyone on this team understands that even with several of us coming over from Montini that we have to set to the bar (high) and to continue to work hard to keep it that high," said Indiana University-bound Nate Wemstrom, who won it all at 182, and was joined by teammates Deven Casey (106), Taythan Silva (145) and Braden Stauffenberg (152) atop the podium.

Freshman Evan Gosz (Fremd, 113) won his first major title of his young career, while Prospect star Will Baysingar claimed not only the top prize at 132, but also Outstanding Wrestler honors.

Plainfield South senior John Pacevic was unstoppable on his way to the 220-pound championship, and Yorkville, which finished in sixth overall with 136 overall points, was led by junior Hunter Janeczko, and his second-place finish to Wemstrom.