By Mike Miazga
Correspondent
IC Catholic Prep senior Joey Bianchini defended his crown.
Bianchini defeated four wrestlers to win the Class 1A 138-pound state title at the recent state finals tournament held in Champaign at the University of Illinois.
Bianchini also won the state title last year as a junior and finished second in 2016.
He finished the individual season with a 40-3 record.
In winning his second state title, Bianchini is the first high school wrestler in the city to do so. York has three individual state wrestling champions.
Bianchini opened the tournament with a technical-fall win in 4:40 over Beardstown junior Lalo Munoz (38-6 final record). Bianchini was winning 16-1 when the match was stopped.
He then recorded a 16-6 major-decision win against Rockridge sophomore Nolan Thorne (45-6 final record).
In the semifinals, Bianchini won 5-1 over Lena-Winslow senior Hunter Luke (43-5 final record) before downing Chicago Leo senior James Foy (34-7 final record) 6-3 for his second title in a row.
Luke was ranked No. 2 in the state in Class 1A by Illinois Matmen, while Thorne was ranked No. 6 in the state. Bianchini came into the tournament ranked No. 1 in the state at 138 in Class 1A.
Bianchini was not the only IC Catholic Prep wrestler to medal at state. Junior David Vargas took fifth at 285 pounds.
Vargas, who finished the individual portion of the season with a 25-7 mark, won his first match via fall in 5:57 against Nathan Thumma of Kewanee. He then defeated Lawrenceville’s Nolan Tewell via fall in 5:55.
In the semifinals, Vargas lost via fall in 1:59 to Lena-Winslow junior Ian Kuehl who went on to win the state title with a 47-1 record.
In the consolation bracket, Vargas lost to Fulton’s Taylor Fleetwood and then downed Lawrenceville’s Tewell via pin in 3:46 in the fifth-place match.
Michael Johnson, who finished the individual season 15-13, lost both his matches in the Class 1A 220-pound bracket. Johnson opened with a 6-2 loss to Princeton’s Chase Tatum and then lost 5-2 to Deer Creek-Mackinaw’s Joey Regnier.
Senior Victor Vargas lost both his bouts in the 195-pound division. He opened the tournament with a 10-6 loss to Fulton’s Eli Pannell and then lost 5-2 to Petersburg PORTA’s Will Heikes.
IC Catholic Prep freshman Kyle Franklin lost in 2:44 to Mason Ajster of Fithian Oakwood in the 160-pound division at state. Franklin, who finished 23-12 during the individual season, did not qualify for a consolation match.
IC Catholic Prep wrestled earlier this week at its own Class 1A IC Catholic Prep dual-team sectional. If the Knights won both their matches in the sectional they will compete in the Class 1A dual-team state finals meet in Bloomington this weekend.
