CHAMPAIGN — Batavia’s Kai Enos felt strangely comfortable in the vast, wide-open space.
The sophomore 120-pounder looked around him and then looked up, surrounded by all of the pomp and circumstance. He could have blinked at the slightly surreal nature of the situation.
Instead, it provided a calm before his storm.
“I didn’t really have a lot of nerves before the match,” Enos said afterward. “It was just pretty crazy being in that moment. I looked up at the stadium and saw all of the people watching me.”
Enos was definitely a sight to see Saturday night, securing a 4-2 decision over Morris’ Paxton Valentine in the Class 2A state championship match at the State Farm Center.
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, Enos’ teammate and a senior 132-pounder, marveled at that relaxed approach.“What made Kai special was his personality,” Pasco said. “No matter what, he was always just having fun, keeping it light. It was something that really brought us together through the season.
“He was just joking around, having fun, and it took the pressure off the competition.”
Familiarity unlocked the title pursuit for Enos, who wrestled against Valentine for a third straight week. Enos lost an overtime match in the regional final, then won 5-1 in the sectional.
“My coaches and the entire team really helped me out a lot,” he said. “They kept me locked the entire time.”
St. Charles East senior Dom Munaretto captured his third state title with a 4-3 win at 120 in Class 3A over Montini’s Allen Woo. Munaretto defeated Enos twice during the regular season.
Last winter, Enos qualified for state as a freshman in Class 3A.
“I think realistically the goal was to finish in the top three in 3A,” he said. “Once we moved down to 2A, I pushed that goal up to first.”
Enos also earned the top spot in the family for state achievements.
His older sister, Lily, a senior, is a two-time state medalist who finished third last season at 100 pounds at the girls state meet. A sectional runner-up this winter, Lily will compete at the girls state meet starting Friday at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.
“She has been really influential on the girls side,” Kai said of his sister. “I started wrestling when I was about 4 and she began right after. We like to support each other more than compete.
“I think with me winning now, that has really set the expectations higher for her.”
West Aurora senior Dayne Serio matched the accomplishment of older brother Dominic by finishing as the state runner-up at 175. Last season, Dominic took second at 157.
Dayne Serio (42-4) will join his brother by wrestling in college at Ohio.
Marmion produced three state runners-up in junior Colton Wyller (36-10 at 106) and seniors Ashton Hobson (28-3 at 150) and Joey Favia (41-6 at heavyweight).
St. Charles East senior Cooper Murray (43-8) ended up second at 215. Yorkville senior Donovan Rosauer (50-3) took third at 150.
After spending a season in Class 2A, Yorkville Christian advanced to the dual team sectional and then touted eight state qualifiers.
Senior 215-pounder Jackson Allen reached the semifinals before taking sixth.
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Sandwich’s Cooper Corder, meanwhile, earned the ultimate revenge for his only loss of the season.
“I was winning 2-1 with about 30 seconds left,” said Corder, who’s a junior. “There was a scramble and I got stuck. So, it was great to go out there and battle (Saturday night).”
Corder posted a reversal with 46 seconds left to pull out the dramatic 10-9 victory over Unity Christian’s Clinton VerHeecke at 150 pounds in the Class 1A state championship match.
Punctuating a dream season with the comeback victory, Corder (43-1) used two dramatic reversals at the beginning and end of the match.
He became the 15th individual state champion in program history and the first since Alphonso Vruno won the Class 1A state title at 138 in 2012.
Corder’s dominant state performance featured a fall, a medical forfeit and a technical fall.
“I really worked hard every day just to replicate what a state championship would look like,” he said “I played every scenario in my head of what this would look like.
“The most important thing was just having fun out there and continuing to score. You need points to win a match.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.