Marmion knows the ropes of the state’s unseeded dual team tournament. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
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The Cadets put together a terrific season behind individual state champions Riley DeMoss (170 pounds) and Nathan Traxler (182) but received no favors in drawing Oak Park-River Forest — the nation’s consensus No. 1 team — in the Class 3A state quarterfinals.
“We were going to have to wrestle them eventually, so if we wrestled them in the finals or first, it doesn’t make that much of a difference,” DeMoss said. “We didn’t want to go home with a third or fourth.”
The Cadets secured victories in five of the 14 weight classes but still fell 46-18 to the returning state champions on Saturday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.
It would be no surprise if Marmion (18-8) made its way back next season. The Cadets, Oak Park-River Forest and Lincoln-Way Central are the only 3A schools in the midst of three consecutive state quarterfinal appearances. Marmion finished third last season and second in 2013.
“We just want to win a state title next year as a team, that’s more important than anything individual,” DeMoss said.
Oak Park-River Forest (26-0) jumped to a 14-0 advantage three bouts in before DeMoss (41-5) moved up to 182 and defeated Maxwell Metzgar 9-6. Traxler (42-2) followed with a forfeit victory at 195.
The Huskies answered with six wins in a row until third-place medalist AJ Jaffe (132) and state runner-up Anthony Cheloni (138) secured back-to-back one-point victories. Jaffe defeated Jaime Hernandez 5-4 and Cheloni beat Savonne Bennette 1-0.
Eli Baltazar ended the dual with a 7-6 victory over Bryce Scott at 145.
Third-place medalist Trace Carello dropped a 5-0 decision to state champion Matthew Rundell, a North Carolina recruit, in one of the dual’s more competitive matches at 160.
Despite the loss, Jaffe noted the Cadets are already looking forward to next season — and for good reason. Marmion is slated to bring back five state medalists and all six of their state qualifiers.
“We’re excited,” Jaffe said. “The way Eli Baltazar finished that last match, that’s how we have to be wrestling all the time. That’s a great start for next year and I know a lot of us are motivated.
“I know our state champs want another state title, all the placers want a title and we want a team title. We’re going to be in relentless pursuit of our goals.”
Logan Malloy is a freelance writer.