Wrestling: Marmion captures Batavia's Arlis invite title
Top-rated Marmion Academy lifted the championship trophy at the Clint Arlis Invite Saturday - but it was Batavia star Kaden Fetterolf who would shine on the center stage in front of his home fans.
The Bulldogs senior would thrill a big crowd with his hard fought 6-4 decision over Collin Carrigan (Marmion Academy, 17-2) to capture the title in a wickedly good 152-pound weight class in the final contest of the day.
Fetterolf (36-0), who began the day as the No. 5 rated man in the state, will surely inch his way towards the top after his memorable six-minute effort over No. 1 (Carrigan) who earlier defeated No. 3 Harrison Konder (Downers Grove North, 25-2) in the semifinals.
"What an amazing feeling to win (this) tournament at home over a quality opponent like Carrigan," beamed Fetterolf, who was a state runner-up a year ago at 138 pounds.
"I lost here in the final a year ago to (Konder). So to come back and win it all this year as a senior means a lot to me," added Fetterolf.
The Cadets led from start to finish ending with 208.5 overall points, 38.5 more than 2A state power Washington (170.0) and the host Bulldogs, which collected 157.5 points on the day.
"We have a great mix of young and veteran guys on this team, which makes for a great room to go into everyday with an amazing coaching staff leading the way," said Cadets junior Jack Lesher (21-5) who solidified his spot at No. 1 at 182 after his pin over Buffalo Grove senior Vlad Fedorchenko (19-6) in his final.
Freshman teammate Joey Favia (16-5) would edge Cameron Lattimore (Grant, 22-10) to win at 195.
No. 4 James Wright (Jacobs, 25-3) continues to impress with his third major title of the year at 132, while Downers Grove senior Ben Bielawski (28-1) claimed top honors at 285 in resounding fashion with his third pin on the day.
"Physically and mentally I am much stronger than a year ago, and a big reason for the success I've had thus far," said Bielawski, No. 7 in the state polls, after his win over No. 6 Sean Scheck (21-6) from Marmion Academy.
Both Wright and Bielawski are three-time state qualifiers.
No. 1 Marko Ivansevic (Hinsdale Central) suffered his first defeat of the season following his 5-2 loss to Justin Hoffer (25-1) of Washington.
Ivansevic (31-1) had pinned his way into the final.
At Dundee-Crown:
No. 4 Prospect ran its record to 23-3-0 overall after sweeping all four of his contests on Saturday in Carpentersville at the Dundee-Crown mega-duals.
The Knights, who earlier in the week lost to MSL East rival Hersey to give the Huskies the division title, went past Lane Tech, Geneva, Kaneland and the host Chargers, who were 2-2 on the day.
"We have a young team, which is getting better, and should be in good shape for the next couple of years," said Chargers senior Porter Leith, who went 4-0 to raise his record to 28-1.
"That loss in sectionals in the blood round really stayed with me, and helped motivate me to work even harder during the offseason, especially in my attack and overall offense," admitted Leith, who was a regional champion last season, and finished at 34-5 overall.
The Kaneland dynamic state ranked duo of Caden Grabowski and Kamron Scholl will look to follow in the footsteps of former teammate Cameron Phillips, who brought home a fourth place state medal in 2022 at 106 pounds.
"Watching Cameron at state last year provided great motivation for me to work hard during the offseason with the goal of getting downstate in my final year here at Kaneland," said Grabowski (26-4) who was 33-5 last season, and is headed to Purdue University in the fall where he will major in chemical engineering.
Scholl (23-6) came this close to joining Phillips at state if not for a heartbreaking loss in his state qualifying match at sectionals.
"It really was tough seeing guys at state (who) I had beat earlier in the season, but watching them and Cameron (for us) really made me put the extra work after the season was over," said Scholl, who was 31-8 last year.
Illini Classic:
No. 2 St. Charles East ran away from the 24-team field at the Illini Classic Saturday at host Lincoln-Way West by outscoring runner-up Yorkville (318.5-243.5), Lincoln-Way West (196.0) and Hersey (182.0).
Top-rated Dom Munaretto (106) and Ben Davino (126) remain perfect at 36-0 after each claimed top honors, while teammates AJ Marino (25-7), Tyler Guerra (33-5), Jayden Colon (29-5) and Brody Murray (23-4) would join their teammates atop the podium.
Brady Phelps and Caden Kircher (152, 28-2) were near perfect on their way to titles, with the No. 4 rated Phelps, now 29-0, turning in another marvelous performance at 113 pounds for Schaumburg.
Crystal Lake heavyweight Andy Burburijia (22-1) dropped his first of the season in the title match against No. 1 Karl Schmalz (22-0) from Notre Dame in a 2-1 thriller.