Lane’s Max Schneider may be the Chicago Public League’s state champion, but he wasn’t the city’s only winner Saturday at the individual state wrestling tournament.
Bowen senior
Dequence Goodman
outlasted Montini’s
Edgar Ruano
3-2 in the Class 2A third-place match at 220, making him the school’s first double medalist since 1939.
“I didn’t win it. I could have gone a little harder, done a little better,” Goodman said. “I give credit to our coaches who have installed a ‘never die’ attitude I try to use. It shows we’re getting a little better each and every year. It shows we work hard and we’re not going to lay down for nobody.”
Classmate
Ronzel Darling
(26-3) defeated Morris’
Kenny Baldridge
8-5 at 113 to take home a fifth-place medal, while junior
Rudolph Johnson
finished sixth at 126.
“It feels great, coming down here and accomplishing something even though it wasn’t my ultimate goal,” Darling said. “At least I’m taking a medal home with me. It shows hard work does pay off.”
After dropping his opening match Thursday, Gage Park’s
Chris Ballard
stormed his way to a third-place finish to earn the school’s first wrestling medal when he pinned Carmel’s
Jake Cochrane
at 285.
The team to beat?:
The dual team state tournament is still a week away, but looking at the numbers from this weekend’s individual meet, one team stands above the rest.
No. 1 Montini had 13 wrestlers advance to the individual state tournament, and in one of the more dominating performances in state history, nine wrestlers headed home with medals. It also proved to be a strong tournament for 2A rival Lemont, which sent seven wrestlers home with medals.
“We work hard. We go hard all the time. We work for every ounce of it,” said Montini’s
Jordan Laster
, who topped Sycamore’s
Kyle Akins
to finish third at 113. “We want the medals. We want what people don’t think we can get. We just hold ourselves to a higher standard.”
Despite the impressive finish, the Broncos needed a last-minute takedown from
Tommy Pawelski
at 106 to avoid being shut out in individual titles for the first time since 2000.
In 3A, Marist sent six wrestlers home with hardware, followed by Glenbard North with five and Sandburg, Lockport and Oak Park with four each.
Marmion makes statement:
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This season started rough for Marmion, with several state champions leaving the program, including
Jered Cortez
(Glenbard North transfer),
Ben Whitford
(moved out of state) and
Bryce Brill
(Mount Carmel transfer). But three Cadets picked up where they left off at the state tournament with senior
Angelo Silvestro
(41-4, 138), junior
George Fisher
(36-6, 126) and sophomore
Johnny Jimenez
(22-1, 113) advancing to 2A state title matches.
“This was huge. Me and George are like brothers. We’ve known each other since we were 5,” said Jimenez, who took home the 106-pound title last season. “Both of us have worked so hard to get to the finals and earn a shot at defending our titles. Some other guys left, but we’re Marmion. We stayed to show that we were still going to get here.”
Jimenez scored a final-seconds takedown of Rock Island’s
Barlow McGhee
for a thrilling 4-2 win at 113. Silvestro topped Crystal Lake Central’s
Clayton Lutzow
7-3 for the 138-pound title. Fisher fell to Civic Memorial’s
David Pearce
in the 126-pound championship match.
Four-time Eddie:
The Grand March is the signature moment of the state tournament. Saturday marked the fourth consecutive appearance for Providence’s
Eddie Klimara
.
“It’s always an exciting thing,” Klimara said. “The first couple of times are nerve wracking. By the fourth time, it’s relaxing. It’s a great feeling, just awesome.”
After winning the 103-pound title as a freshman, Klimara lost back-to-back one-point state final matches to Stevenson’s
Danny Sabatello
. Saturday he best Plainfield Central’s
Nate Davis
6-0 for the 3A 126-pound crown.
“The last two years I fell short to the same kid. It’s fine. I was mad,” Klimara said. “But I came out knowing this was my last year, my last six minutes wrestling so I might as well give it all. The last six minutes are important to me. It’s a great feeling to take it your senior year.”