Marmion Academy Super QuadBefore the 2002-03 school year, Marmion Athletic Director Joe Chivari called up Dean Branstetter and asked the veteran high school wrestling coach of 15 years to leave Mona Shores High in Muskegon, MI, to start a wrestling team at the all-male Catholic prep school 38 miles west of Chicago.
At 36 years of age, the former University of Indianapolis All-American came in and built the program up slowly. He scheduled small school competition at first, teaching and allowing kids to accumulate wins and confidence. In 2006, the program achieved their first regional individual champion, and took five kids to sectionals.
That success led St. Charles-natives Pat Greco (Northwestern) and Nico Jimenez (Illinois) to commit to Marmion, eventually becoming the program's first Division I recruits. And slowly but surely, success begat success.
"We had to win some matches, make sure kids could be competitive," Branstetter says. "As we improved every year, then we scheduled bigger schools and better competition. We had to keep kids interested in the sport, and we had to get good so good kids will come here. When [the good kids] were successful, that just opened the door [and] it snowballed from there."
Oh, has it ever snowballed. The Cadets are ranked third in state in Class 2A, and 13th in the country, (according to InterMat). They currently boast 11 state-ranked wrestlers in the top 10 of their respective weight classes, seven of whom are either first or second in state, according to Illinois Matmen (www.illinoismatmen.com). In addition, Branstetter estimates that five or six of his wrestlers will eventually end up competing collegiately at the Division I level.
"Obviously, we're very pleased with the job he's done," Chivari said. "He's taken a program from totally non-existent to a position where we are recognized and building the program to something that we're looking to sustain for years to come."
Ben Whitford (Photo/Bob Tuneberg, BuckeyeWrestling.com)He fell into Marmion's lap by pure chance. A native of St. John's, Michigan, Whitford moved to Chicago before his freshman year, when his father, Pat, got a job in the Chicagoland area. Marmion was the first school the Whitfords considered, and the school's academics, as well as its proximity to the highly regarded Overtime School of Wrestling (where Ben and 14 of his teammates train) were big selling points.
"We're extremely happy, all-around," Pat Whitford says. "We always knew wrestling was going to take him somewhere, but [Marmion's] academics opens up different doors. Also, you knew the guys that were coming, that (135-pound freshman stud) Bryce [Brill] and the workout partners around him were going to be a big sell too."
Marmion Academy Merchandise"The coaches want to do this for us, get us out against all these good ranked teams," 103-pounder Johnny Jimenez (ranked No. 16 nationally by InterMat) says. "We're going to grow as a wrestling team as a result of this."
Though people took notice of the program last season, this year has put Marmion on the mat. They won the tough Dvorak tournament with three individual champions (two freshmen and a sophomore), finished fourth at Ironman and seventh at Cheesehead. The ultimate goal, however, is a state championship. To do that, they'll have to get by longtime state power Montini in regionals. At the Jan. 15 quad, Montini got up big early, and then hung on for a 31-30 dual win. Should Marmion do that, they will likely find No. 24 Crystal Lake Central (which features three nationally-ranked wrestlers of their own) in between them and a Class 2A state title.
Dean BranstetterBranstetter has heard the gossip, and he maintains that Marmion's academic excellence sells itself. In the beginning, word of mouth helped, as positive experiences led other kids from local wrestling clubs like St. Charles North to consider attending Marmion. Through it all, Branstetter has vehemently denied any unethical practices.
"It's a little frustrating because there are a lot of people who pass judgment on the program, and they've never seen what these kids go through academically, they've never been to practice," Branstetter says. "It's kind of sad that you want to put down a 15-16 year old kid who wants a great education. I don't know if the boys read that stuff, but I don't read the websites anymore. The AD isn't going to let me do things the wrong way, and I'm not going to put Marmion in that position. We're trying to do things the right way, and that's all I can do."
With the program quickly establishing itself as a state powerhouse, don't be surprised to see a steady trickle of stud kids and transfers head to Aurora to get a quality education, wrestle a tough national schedule, and try to compete for state titles.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now