CHAMPAIGN — Marmion’s AJ Jaffe joked about his reaction to winning a Class 3A state title on Saturday.
“I thought you were supposed to smile after a state title,” Jaffe said. “But so far all I’ve been doing is crying. This goes way beyond what I expected it to feel like.”
Jaffe had just finished hugging his family after stepping off the awards stand after winning his first state title, at 138 pounds.
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Ranked second by IllinoisMatmen.com, Jaffe (43-6) earned a 4-2 win over top-ranked Jaime Hernandez of Oak Park-River Forest. Jaffe scored the first takedown of the match early and then fought off a late takedown attempt from Hernandez, clinging to a leg for the final 30 seconds of the match.
“I went into defensive mode and I should have kept attacking,” Jaffe said. “I had two things in mind: ‘I’m not letting go of this leg and I have to get as high up as possible to get in better position.’ I was holding on to that thing for dear life.”
With a 9-3 decision over Sandburg’s Patrick Brucki, Marmion’s Nathan Traxler (46-2) won his second consecutive state title at 182 pounds. State-title celebrations can sometimes get excessive but the even-keeled Traxler simply clapped his hands a few times, shook Brucki’s hand and walked off the mat.
“I think it’s just my personality. I don’t like someone who shows off too much,” Traxler said. “You have to show off a little bit to celebrate your victories, but I don’t want to be someone who rubs it in. I expected to win.”
The top-ranked Traxler’s dominance in Champaign also featured two pins and a major decision.
“Even before the regional I had the same confidence and I just wanted to continue it throughout,” Traxler said. “With every match I got more confident and believed in my abilities, and that helped me even more going into the next match.”
Three area wrestlers placed second: Kaneland’s Austin Kedzie (106) in 2A, and Marmion’s Trace Carello (152) and Metea Valley’s Dylan Ervin (195) in 3A.
Kedzie (38-8) buzz-sawed his way to the 2A title mat with a pin, a major decision and a tech fall before losing by fall to unbeaten Travis Ford-Melton of Marian Catholic.
“I’ll use this to start working hard again on Monday, training for next year,” Kedzie said. “Next year I’ll come back stronger. I need to get more technical on my feet and get in on more shots.”
Carello (38-7) lost by fall to Hononegah’s Fernie Silva (40-2) in the finals and Ervin (41-4) lost by fall to Dundee-Crown’s Christian Brunner (48-0).
Ervin is the first Metea Valley wrestler to compete for a state championship.
“I appreciate how far I’ve come. I came a long way from my freshman year and not even winning a match at the regional,” Ervin said. “To wrestle for a state title is the best feeling.”
Marmion also got a third-place finish in 3A from Nate Jimenez (160), a fourth from Anthony Cheloni (132) and a sixth from Brad Gross (145).
Bryce Shewan (182) placed fifth for Yorkville in 3A, while Kaneland’s George Strang (152) was sixth in 2A. In Class 1A, Plano got a third from Nico Nunez (113), a fifth from Tommy Brown (285) and a sixth from Zach Tomac (160).
Gary Larsen is a freelance writer