BARRINGTON, Ill. -- No. 19 Marmion Academy, Ill., used an 8-0 record in contested medal matches in order to eke out an 8-1/2 point victory over Libertyville, Ill., 241.5 to 233, in the two-day Moore/Prettyman Invitational that came to a conclusion on Saturday at Barrington High School outside of Chicago. Five Cadet wrestlers won championships, including a pair that came against Libertyville opposition. Those wins by A.J. Jaffe, 4-1 over Junior freestyle All-American Steve Polakowski at 120; and Trace Carello (152), 3-1 in overtime over Cadet Greco-Roman runner-up Joey Gunther at 152 were each crucial eight-point swings.
The other three titles for Marmion Academy came from Anthony Bosco (113), No. 10 Johnny Jimenez (126), and Michael Callahan (132). Bosco had arguably the most impressive performance from any wrestler in the Moore-Prettyman Invitational. In the semifinal, he avenged a consolation final loss from last year’s state tournament – loss by fall in the tiebreaker – with a 4-3 overtime victory over Travis Piotrowski (Prairie Ridge, Ill.). Then, in the final Bosco upset Junior freestyle All-American Michael Cullen (Cary Grove, Ill.), who is ranked No. 11 nationally, by 5-3 decision in overtime.
Jimenez was a dominant champion with a pair of major decisions and pair of pins on the way to a title at 126 pounds. The sophomore Callahan, who was not a varsity starter last year, came up with a crucial finals win over Brandon Peshek (Johnsburg, Ill.). Not only did he win, in the tiebreaker, but he got a pin at the 7:52 mark.
Additional Cadets’ wrestlers to win their medal matches were Nick Ferraro (170) and Nathan Traxler (182), who each finished in third place, and the fifth place finish from Josh Meyers (195). Two other Cadets’ wrestlers placed in sixth, but each injury defaulted multiple matches on Saturday. Cadet freestyle All-American Riley DeMoss advanced to the 160 pound semis on Friday, but then did not wrestle at all on Saturday; while sophomore sensation Lucas Warren was upset by Matt Allen (Hinsdale Central, Ill.) 8-3 in the semifinals at 220 pounds, and then defaulted out of both consolation matches.
Libertyville actually had more placers than Marmion Academy, as the Wildcats had eleven placers compared to the Cadets ten. However, they only had two champions: Kayne McCallum (170) and Kevin Barbian (220). Libertyville had three wrestlers finish second and fourth respectively. Runners-up for the Wildcats were Polakoswki, Gunther, and Chris McDermand (285); while Tyler Brooks (138), Austin Koziol (182), and Tim Grote (195) earned fourth place finishes. Additional Libertyville medalists were Joey Locasio (106) in fifth place, Nick Andrews (145) in sixth, and Colton Bast (160) in seventh.
Two other squads came home with a pair of titlists respectively at the Moore-Prettyman Invitational: Hinsdale Central, Ill. and Crystal Lake South, Ill. Juwan Esmond (145) and No. 4 Brian Allen (285) won the titles for Hinsdale Central, while Nick Gil (138) and Brian Pence (195) were on top of the podium for Crystal Lake South. Rounding out the weight class champions were Darrell Flagg (Joliet West, Ill.) at 106 pounds, A.J. Villarreal (Lyons Township, Ill.) at 160, and Connor Swier (Neuqua Valley, Ill.) at 182.
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