By Mike Miazga
MOTO JOHNSON PHOTO Elmhurst Independent
The IC Catholic Prep wrestling team proudly displays its newly won Illinois High School Association (IHSA) team state title on Saturday night. In the 42-year history of the state wrestling meet, this is the first state title for ICCP in the sport of wrestling. The IHSA’s three-class, two-day state team championships were held at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 28 and March 1. The Knights won the Class 2A state championship.
The success of the IC Catholic Prep wrestling team didn’t stop at the Class 2A individual state finals meet in Champaign. The Knights followed up that rousing parade of state medalists—10 of the team’s 12 state entrants finished in sixth place or higher, including three wrestlers securing state titles—by winning the Class 2A dual team state championship at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington on Saturday, March 1. It was ICCP’s first dual team state title in its third trip to the event. The 2023 and 2018 teams advanced to the Class 1A state tournament but lost both times in the quarterfinals.
The Knights opened state finals action with a 47-22 quarterfinal win against Geneseo from northwest Illinois on Friday, Feb. 28. Freshman Jacob Alvarez started the meet at 138 pounds and scored a 20-4 technical-fall victory. Freshman Aiden Arnett was a 19-4 technical-fall winner at 150. Junior Brody Kelly scored a 14-6 major decision at 175 pounds.
Freshman Isaac Barrientos won via fall in 1:01 at 190 pounds. Freshman Mike Bird was a 21-6 technical-fall winner at 106 pounds. Sophomore Dominic Pasquale was a 19-4 technical-fall winner at 113. Junior Sam Murante was a 15-0 technical-fall victor at 120 pounds. Sophomore Kannon Judycki won via fall in 1:12 at 126 pounds and senior Deven Casey won via fall in 1:00 at 132 pounds. All nine of ICCP’s victories against Geneseo occurred via major decision, technical fall and pinfall, resulting in a total of 20 bonus team points.
ICCP then downed neighbor Montini Catholic 29-27 in Saturday’s thriller in the state semifinals, where the Knights came back from a late 10-point deficit to win. Arnett won via major decision (15-3) at 150 pounds to cut Montini’s early lead to 5-4. Montini then took a 14-4 lead after wins at 157 and 165. Kelly won via fall in 39 seconds at 175 to bring the Knights to within 14-10.
Junior Foley Calcagno’s 14-3 major decision at 190 and Barrientos’ 7-4 win in overtime (sudden victory period) at 215 gave the Knights a 17-14 lead. Montini then rolled off consecutive wins at 285, 106, 113 and 120 to move back ahead 27-17 before ICCP mounted a final comeback. Sophomore Max Cumbee was an 11-6 winner at 126 points, Casey won via fall in 56 seconds (6 points) and Alvarez took a 4-0 win at 138 pounds to conclude the 12-point ICCP run that earned it a 29-27 victory and a spot in the state-championship dual meet.
In Saturday’s state final against downstate Washington, ICCP found itself down 14-0 early after Washington came out of the gate with wins at 150, 157 and 165, all via major decision or technical fall. Kelly won his match at 175 via disqualification, which earned six team points. Barrientos won 17-5 on a major decision at 190 to bring the Knights within 14-10. Washington won the 215-pound bout via decision to go up 17-10 before the Knights turned the lights out by winning the final eight matches on the card.
Sophomore Anthony Sebastian was a 4-1 winner at 285 in the sudden victory period of overtime, while Pasquale won 7-3 at 106 pounds. Murante won his match at 113 pounds via fall in 36 seconds that put ICCP up for good. Judycki was a 13-4 major-decision winner at 120, while Cumbee won 2-1 in overtime (tiebreaker) at 126 points. Casey won his match by pinfall in 1:45 for six more points. Alvarez won via technical fall (19-3) at 138 pounds and Arnett ended the match with another six-point victory, via fall in 43 seconds.
ICCP reached the state quarterfinals after defeating Niles Notre Dame 49-27 in one semifinal of the Class 2A Wheeling dual team sectional. The winners of each sectional semifinal throughout the state earned a spot in the state finals tournament in Bloomington. The Knights trailed 6-0 early against Notre Dame before Cumbee took a forfeit win at 132 to tie it at 6-6. Casey was a winner via fall in 2:34 at 138 to put the Knights up 12-6. Sophomore Joey Pontrelli was a 9-4 winner at 144 and Arnett won 16-1 (technical fall) at 150 to put the Knights up 20-6.
Notre Dame won the 157-pound match in sudden victory period overtime before ICCP rattled off four wins that racked up 23 more points. Nate Brown, one of only three seniors on the ICCP dual meet state roster, won via fall in 53 seconds at 165. Barrientos was a 17-2 technical-fall winner at 190, while senior John Goggin took a forfeit win at 215 pounds. Murante also won via forfeit at 106 pounds to round out the ICCP scoring. The match featured six forfeits in the 14 scheduled bouts.
Casey, an individual state champion, finished the season 51-6. Kelly also won an individual state title and finished 50-5. Calcagno, who took third in the state, went 42-15. Arnett, a state runner-up, ended at 41-11. Barrientos, fifth in the state, finished 37-7. Alvarez went 35-19, while Sebastian, fourth in the state, finished 32-17. Judycki, a sixth-place state finisher, had a 31-21 record this season. Pasquale, who finished fourth in the state, finished 23-10. Cumbee, also a state champion, finished 23-5, while Murante, third in the state individually, was 12-2. Bird finished the year 24-18, while Brown was 19-12 and Pontrelli was 25-25.
