It took the top-ranked 160-pound wrestler in the country to keep Lyons junior Johnny Mologousis from winning a state title this season.
Mologousis reached the title mat of the Class 3A state tournament on Saturday, Feb. 20, with 42 wins under his belt and a trio of fine performances in Champaign.
But after posting a 9-1 major decision win in his semifinal match, Mologousis had two-time state champion Isaiah White of Oak Park-River Forest waiting for him on the title mat.
White, ranked No. 1 at 160 in InterMat’s national high school system, beat Mologousis by an 11-3 decision for the title.
“He’s a great wrestler, and he’s ranked No. 1 in the country for a reason,” Mologousis said. “He stays in good position, and it’s hard to get your shots going when someone always stays in that good position. He’s just a great wrestler.”
At last year’s state tournament, Mologousis finished one win away from a guaranteed place medal at 145. Lyons coach Griff Powell didn’t see that happening again this year.
“We knew he was capable of getting to this point, but he had to put the tournament together and beat some good guys,” Powell said. “He has worked hard for this for a long time. He’s attacking more this year, more confident, and he’s scoring more points on his feet. He’s learning that he can score points on anybody.”
Mologousis left Champaign happy with the season he had.
“I would have liked to end it on a better note, but I can’t be too mad after going 42-3,” Mologousis said. “I only lost to two guys all year, and my confidence was sky-high.”
Lyons also got sixths from junior Tyler Zeman (132) and senior Frank Walsh (220). Zeman (38-11) became the fifth Zeman to medal in Champaign, a family history dating back to the 1960s.
“My grandpa, my father, my uncle — I basically grew up around wrestling,” Zeman said. “I’m happy to be on the stand, but I wish I could have done more and gotten higher on it. I have to work on my short offense a lot more for next year.”
Walsh (36-12) found extra motivation in his senior year.
“The first day of practice after football season I was upset because we lost to New Trier in the first round,” Walsh said. “So I wanted to rebuild myself and try to get a state medal. It took constant drilling, sticking to your technique, and I had to dominate on top, which I think really helped get me here.”
Junior Elias Garcia (120) and senior Ezra Avery (182) also competed for Lyons.
Elmwood Park duo falls short of medals
In Class 2A, Elmwood Park’s Marco Padilla (113) and Olsi Rama (182) competed but did not medal. Padilla went 36-2 in his senior season, while Rama, a sophomore, finished 33-8.
“Marco has been an outstanding leader for our program,” Elmwood Park coach Neil Posmer said. “I think guys who have goals of getting to the next level were able to look at him and see the work he put in.
“Olsi is really at the start of his career. It was good for him to get down and experience the tournament. We were able to take away some things that he can work on during the spring time to get better. It is fitting that both were able to qualify together since they are the two kids who really put in a lot of extra work on their own this year.”
Leyden’s Alabed pinned
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Eagles senior Wesam Alabed lost his first and only match at 126 pounds at the Class 3A state tournament. He was pinned by Lincoln-Way Central’s Vinnie Piunti, the fourth seed, at the 3:10 mark.
Alabed, the 13th seed, finished the season 36-8.
Gary Larsen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press