Brian Krasowski and Sandburg know life isn’t fair, and neither are the state’s dual team wrestling pairings.
That much was evident Tuesday night at the Class 3A Argo Sectional, where Marmion defeated Sandburg 29-26 in a bout featuring two of the best teams in the nation.
Marmion came in ranked No. 16 and Sandburg No. 17, according to InterMat.
“If we weren’t going to see them here, we’d see them down at state,” said Krasowski, a three-time state medalist. “Yeah, it would’ve been nice to see them at state, but, hey, you gotta beat the best to be the best. That’s the bottom line.”
Sandburg and Marmion won seven matches apiece, but Marmion ended up ahead in bonus points, 8-5.
“Bonus points and the coin-flip matches,” Krasowski said. “And we lost both.”
Kevin Stearns gave Sandburg a 14-12 lead with a come-from-behind victory against state qualifier Jake Polka at 126 pounds. Stearns, third in state at 120, trailed 4-1 before rallying for a 6-5 victory.
More Top Picks Xyz Printing Da Vinci 1 0 Pro
Three-time state champion Rudy Yates followed with a 7-2 victory over Marmion’s Anthony Cheloni, a fourth-place finisher in the 132-pound class.
“I found out an hour before I left school I was going to wrestle,” said Yates, who sustained a shoulder injury in the individual state semifinals. “I knew we had a small chance to win this dual, and if I didn’t wrestle, that chance would have been even smaller.”
Yates’ victory gave Sandburg a 17-12 lead, but Marmion regrouped with four straights wins, capped by a swing match pitting Air Force recruit Trace Carello of Marmion against state medalist Ben Schneider. Carello won 2-1 with an escape in overtime.
Krasowski, a Pennsylvania recruit, followed with a win by decision and his teammate, state finalist Patrick Brucki, recorded a forfeit. It wasn’t enough.
“I’ve made some of the best friends I’ve ever had,” Krasowski said. “Grinding all day with my buddies. Every single year I’ve been treated like family.”
Cole Bateman (195), state champion Louie Hayes (113) and Patrick Nolan (120) also had victories for Sandburg.
“We knew this was going to be a tough dual, but we came in expecting to win,” said Marmion’s Nathan Traxler, a two-time state champion.
The Stanford-bound Traxler jumped two weight classes and picked up a pin at 220. Harvard recruit AJ Jaffe, Marmion’s state champion at 145, added a tech fall.
In the other sectional match, Montini defeated Brother Rice 42-21. It was the Crusaders’ first trip to the team sectionals in school history.
“Montini had better ranked guys, but we fought our hearts out,” said senior Dominick Capron, a winner at 170.
Jake Hutchinson (182), Christian Acevedo (195), Scott Sierzega (220) and heavyweight Mark Green added victories for Brother Rice.
“My favorite part of this season was the brotherhood between wrestlers,” Acevedo said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been on another team that was this close.”
Logan Malloy is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown.