Maine South’s Mike Milito wrestled at 182 pounds last year, but has spent most of this season wrestling at 195. The jump up in weight has been no problem for the Hawks’ senior captain.
“I wrestle him all the time (in practice) and he’s freakishly strong,” Hawks coach Kevin Hansen said. “He’s a goer, he never stops, and he’s hard to score on. He’s a real pain in my old rear.”
Milito has been a pain for almost everyone he has wrestled this season. He went 27-12 at 182 pounds last year and improved to 21-2 at 195 this season with a pin against Niles North senior Elmir Nikezic in the host Hawks’ 67-9 dual meet win on Friday.
Pinning has been a recurring theme over Milito’s past two seasons.
Both of Milito’s losses came in close matches to Oak Forest senior Eric Brenner at this year’s 32-team Berman tournament at Palatine. Milito lost first by 8-6 decision in overtime, and then by 3-1 decision during the wrestleback round.
He learned from both losses.
“I needed to commit to my shots more,” Milito said. “I had a couple of situations where I had (Brenner’s) leg, and didn’t go into the shot with enough power. I hesitated a little, and that’s not something you want to do out there.”
Milito finished fifth at the Berman, but showcased what he does best, earning the award for the most pins in the shortest amount of time of any wrestler present. Milito had four pins — three in the first period and one in the second.
“He’s a pinner,” Hansen said. “Sometimes it’s a mentality and sometimes it’s a technique thing, but (Milito) just wants it. He gets after it and gets a lot of bonus points for us.”
Milito struggled on varsity as a sophomore two years ago, but that’s when he learned that he had a knack for pinning.
“I didn’t do well in my longer matches and in matches I did win, it was usually by first-period pins,” Milito said. “That’s when I began to get more confident. Now that I’m older I can win those close matches but it’s nice to be able to get a pin when we need one.”
Last season didn’t end the way Milito wanted it to. He got through the Class 3A Maine East Regional, but failed to advance beyond the sectional at Conant.
He knows what went wrong.
“I lost a couple matches I shouldn’t have, and I missed out on qualifying downstate,” Milito said. “I was too stubborn in my matches. I didn’t want to get out of my comfort zone.”
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There’s still a chance that Milito will drop down to 182 for the postseason, and that’s a decision that will be made before regional tournaments begin in roughly three weeks.
Whichever weight Milito settles on, Hansen thinks he’s ready.
“He’s more aggressive and dynamic, and more assertive in his matches this year,” Hansen said. “He committed himself in the spring and summer, put the work in, and now it’s paying off.”
Gary Larsen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press