By Bobby Narang
The Marmion Academy high school boys wrestling team made a big statement at the Class 3A Glenbard West Regional.
The Cadets opened up the Saturday, Feb. 3 championship round with a flurry of victories, putting on a dominating show in the lower weights to cruise to the regional championship with 212 points. In total, the Cadets won six weight classes to beat out host Glenbard West (156 points), Batavia (126) and Downers Grove North (122).
The Cadets, based in Aurora, rode victories from Logan Conover (106), Nicholas Garcia (113), Donny Pigoni (126), Zach Stewart (138), Joseph Favia (215) and Mateusz Nycz (285) to the regional championship. The top four placers from each weight class advanced to the weekend Hinsdale Central Sectional.
In addition, the Cadets collected second-place finishes from Ashton Hobson (144), Christian Favia (157) and Vincenzo Testa (175).
Glenbard West claimed championships from Tony Shadid (157) and Elliot Torres (150).
“Both are seniors,” Glenbard West coach Pat McCluskey said. “Both of them have worked hard in the room this year. For them to come out here today in their home gym is fantastic. They both gave a great effort and we expect them to keep working hard next week. They have both settled in nicely this year. This was a tough regional. The team did outstanding. We knew it was going to be tough to beat Marmion. We have nice guys going to sectionals, which is outstanding. We’ve kept building depth in our program and are building every week to be better.”
Batavia finished with four regional champions, led by Imo Garcia (120), Jack Duraski (132), Aidan Huck (144) and Ben Brown (190) all won regional titles.
“The guys wrestled great and prepared for it, and we put six in the finals to have a chance to put somebody through to sectionals in the third-place match, so we feel pretty good about how we did in this tough regional,” Batavia head coach Ryan Farwell said. “We had six guys in the finals. Imo Garcia capped off a strong day. Jack Duraski wrestled tough and Aidan Huck came back strong. It was a good match for Aidan. He deserved that win. It’s exciting to move into next week. We always try and push more through, but we’re happy with this. I’m really grateful for the coaching staff that I have. They are pushing these guys and are a great group.”
Marmion sophomore Nicholas Garcia is set to build off his fourth-place State showing at 106 pounds last season,
That’s because Garcia made a big showing as a freshman, riding a strong regular season to a Class 3A fourth place state showing at 106 pounds.
“I feel much better this year,” Garcia said. “I think I got a lot better in the Summer. My pace is better and my attacks are better. Last year I was thinking about State. This year I’m thinking nationally wise. Fourth at State last year wasn’t even what I wanted. I was looking to make the finals. This year I’m looking to go all the way. I’ve had some nagging injuries in my shoulders and chest, but other than that, I’ve been pretty healthy.”
At 126, Marmion senior Donny Pigoni (26-11) easily won his weight class.
“I just wanted to work on some stuff, like outside carry a lot,” Pigoni said of his finals strategy. “I just tried to get to my offense as fast as possible. “I’m really motivated after losing in the (state) blood rounds both times at State. I don’t want to let that happen again. One of the big things for me is I was too closed off in my (State) matches, so I just have to open up.
In the 138-pound class, Marmion’s Zach Stewart won his title match via tech fall.
“Last year I learned not to cut as much weight as I did,” Stewart said. “That put me at risk for injuries. Confidence is a not a problem for me. I have to keep doing what I’m doing, and it will work and pay off.”