Matt Allen’s older brothers know what it’s like to lose in a state wrestling championship match, but it was the advice of an assistant coach that meant the most to Hinsdale Central’s junior heavyweight.
Allen fell 1-0 to Marist senior Jake Ford in the Class 3A 285-pound championship Saturday at the State Farm Center in Champaign. It was his second loss of the season to Ford (45-2), who beat Allen (41-3) 2-1 in the title match Jan. 17 at the Lincoln-Way East Invitational.
Ford scored the lone point In the final when Allen allowed him to escape to begin the second period.
In their first meeting, the decisive point came when Allen was penalized.
In the state semifinals, Allen defeated Lincoln-Way Central junior Bryan Ditchman 3-2. Ditchman handed Allen his first loss of the season, 7-4, on Nov. 29 at Barrington’s Moore-Prettyman Invitational.
Allen came one win away from becoming the third member of his family to win a state heavyweight championship, following his older brother Jack in 2011 and Brian in 2013.
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Last year, Matt Allen went 2-2 at state at 220, while Brian Allen lost to Moline’s Adarios Jones by a 3-2 tiebreaker in the 285 final.
After this year’s state meet, Hinsdale Central assistant coach Pat Quirk shared his previous experiences as a state runner-up with Matt Allen.
Quirk wrestled for Hinsdale Central in 1995, when he placed second in Class AA at 160 and was runner-up again in 1996 at 171. He never won a state championship.
“He said, ‘I know exactly how you feel,” Matt Allen said. “I know it (stinks). Remember this for next year.’ “
Jack Allen and Brian Allen are the only champions in Hinsdale Central history and both also took second at state.
Jack Allen registered runner-up state finishes in 2009 and 2010 before winning as a senior. Brian Allen was third in 2011 and 2012, won in 2013 and lost in the final his senior year.
Both Jack and Brian Allen attended all three days of the state finals while taking a break from classes at Michigan State. Both are offensive linemen for the Spartans, which extended a scholarship offer to Matt Allen earlier this month.
“Jack gave me a lot of advice (at state),” Matt Allen said. “Jack likes to talk to me before a match. Brian likes to talk to me after. He likes to review what I’ve been doing wrong.”
In the coming months, Matt Allen will compete with Team Illinois for the third consecutive year in dual meets at Wabash College and in Virginia Beach, Va. For the first time, he is planning on attending a camp for heavyweights after devoting his previous summers to football.
Uncle Jack helps out
While the Allen brothers and father John watched the state final from the stands, mother Leslie and uncle Jim Zajicek sat just a few feet away. Leslie photographed the match from the sideline and Zajicek was in Matt Allen’s corner as Hinsdale Central’s assistant coach.
Zajicek, Hinsdale Central’s former head coach, was a Red Devils wrestler who graduated in 1989. He also coached his nephews during their state meet appearances.
With no other wrestler matching Matt Allen’s size, Zajicek is often his workout partner in practice.
“It’s nice to see this come to a close with Matt as a junior,” Zajicek said. “Jack started all of this almost 10 years ago. Jack has been to the finals three times and Brian went two times. Now Matt is getting to see the progression all the kids (his brothers) have made.”
Bragging rights
Matt Allen owns one championship his brothers will never attain.
In eighth grade, he was an Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation state champion.
Chasing history
With Marist’s Ford off to play football for South Dakota State, Matt Allen is the early favorite to win state next season.
If he can capture a championship, he and his brothers will be at least the third set of three siblings to each win a title.
The Williams brothers of Mount Carmel — Joe, Steve and T.J. — won 10 state titles from 1990-95. Lockport’s Shayne Oster won Saturday at 138 to join older brothers Jake and Jameson on the top step of the awards stand.
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