It wasn’t a very fruitful night on the wrestling mats for Carmel, host of the East Suburban Catholic Conference tournament Friday. The Corsairs finished seventh of eight teams and were long out of contention before Marist edged Marian Catholic by a point for the championship.
However, the seventh-place showing was pushed to the background on a still-memorable night for the Corsairs, who celebrated Bob Kuykendall and his 30-plus years of coaching.
Kuykendall was named an Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association hall-of-famer in December and will be officially inducted into the IWCOA Hall of Fame on April 22.
“I’m going to try to pull myself together to give you a minute. All of this is so overwhelming,” Kuykendall said to a reporter amid countless family members, friends and former and current wrestlers Friday night in Mundelein.
“While it’s true we didn’t wrestle very well tonight, the bottom line is this: In 10 years, nobody will remember who was first or fourth, but instead, everyone will remember the friendships and relationships you develop in four years. For me, you get to see former student-athletes who have become valuable people in their communities.”
The post-meet crowd at Carmel included Kuykendall’s wife, two daughters and granddaughter, as well as several of his teammates from his days competing at Maine West in the mid-1970s.
He is just an incredible man and person,” said John Halloran, who led the Carmel girls soccer team to the Class 2A state title in 2015 and spent six years as an assistant coach on Kuykendall’s staff.
Five Carmel wrestlers won medals at the ESCC meet. John Ivan (195 pounds), Yovaniel Garcia (138), Will Martin (182) and Anthony Schaer finished in third place, and Alex Perez (113) came in fourth.
Michael Garofola is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press