KCC All-Area Wrestling Team
By KEVIN DRULEY
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kdruley@kcchronicle.com
FIRST TEAM
103
Eddie Greco, Fr., Marmion
Greco dined on pizza after clinching a sectional berth but laid off the doughy stuff upon punching his ticket to state, where he took fifth en route to a 36-5 finish.
112
Brandon Rubino, Sr., St. Charles East
Rubino remained aggressive throughout a 34-5 campaign that ended in Champaign. He won his preliminary match at the state tournament before falling in the quarterfinals.
119 pounds
Logan Arlis, Jr., Batavia
Yeah, yeah, the Chronicle Wrestler of the Year was the state runner-up one weight class below. But remember, he enjoyed much of his success at 119 before moving down for the postseason.
125 pounds
Shane Burke, Jr., Burlington Central
Burke, who secured a second-team spot at 112 pounds a year ago, was one of nine Rockets who qualified for sectionals before he advanced to state. He finished 36-5.
130 pounds
Charlie Ryan, Sr., Batavia
Ryan capped his Batavia career with a 30-8 run that saw him join three teammates in the state tournament. In a season of record-setting performances for the school, he finished tied for the most falls all-time (52).
135 pounds
Collin Callahan, Sr., Geneva
Another practitioner of the postseason shuffle – he competed at 130 pounds in February – Callahan finished second at regionals to Ryan and was the lone Viking to make sectionals.
140 pounds
Pat Greco, Sr., Marmion
Officially the first Cadet in program history to make it downstate, Greco's 33-5 season ended in the preliminaries. Watching younger brother Eddie compete in Champaign, he vowed they'd be back.
145 pounds
Jay Levita, Sr., Kaneland
Leave it to the guy who only started wrestling two seasons ago and once poked fun at the sport to advance to state in his final high school season. Levita lost only once in regionals and sectionals and finished 31-12.
152
Daniel Mercadante, Sr., St. Charles East
Battling early-season confidence issues and an asthma attack during his quarterfinal match in Champaign, Mercadante outlasted it all to finish 44-4. Like Arlis and Callahan, he moved down a class late in the season.
160
Andrew Rudd, Sr., Batavia
Rudd said he felt little pressure entering regionals, and even less at the sectional tournament. By the time he wrestled back for sixth place at state, the 35-10 senior was "just having fun."
171
Danny Watson, Sr., Batavia
Watson tied Steve DuVall's 1980-81 single-season school wins record by going 43-2. Among his other accomplishments, he finished his Batavia career with 109 wins, becoming just the seventh "centurion" in Bulldogs history.
189
Mario Gonzalez, Sr., West Aurora
The fourth time was a charm for Gonzalez, who wrestled at state in each of his high school seasons and finally won the state title he craved. The 43-1 Illinois recruit controlled De La Salle's Clayton Kendall for a 7-2 win in the finals.
215
Kasey Ro, Sr., St. Charles North
Ro shined with a 24-8 season and sectional berth despite the North Stars' struggles as a team. He narrowly missed becoming a regional champion after dropping a 3-1 decision to Larkin's Cam Martin in the finals.
285
Jimmy Boyle, So., Kaneland
Knights coach Monty Jahns said Boyle "is going to be a man" on the mat in a couple of years. He got off on the right foot as a sophomore with a regional championship.
SECOND TEAM
103
Johnny Major, So., Burlington Central
112
Omar Awad, Fr., Burlington Central
119
Angelo Silvestro, Fr., Marmion
125
Nick Ruffino, Fr., St. Charles East
130
Cody Crawford, Sr., St. Charles East
135
Greg Jacquez, Fr., Aurora Central Catholic
140
Augie Watson, So., Batavia
145
Nick Bradberry, So., Geneva
152
Nick Scimeca, Jr., St. Charles East
160
Nico Jimenez, Jr., Marmion
171
Tim Maroder, So., Burlington Central
189
Luis Campos, Jr., Batavia
215
Tim Vincent, Jr., Burlington Central
285
Blake Griffiths, Sr., St. Charles East
Honorable mention
Tim Benoit, Sr., Marmion
Eddie Breen, So., Marmion
Nicholas Drendel, So., West Aurora
Kevin Gianaris, Jr., South Elgin
Dan Hoelting, Sr., South Elgin
Alex Maynard, Jr., St. Charles East
C.J. Miller, Jr., St. Charles North
Tim Noverini, Fr., St. Charles North
Tyler Patton, Jr., Batavia
Mike Schoening, Jr., South Elgin
Deven Scholl, Jr., Kaneland
Buddy Toth, Fr., Burlington Central
J.T. Webb, Jr., Kaneland
Josh Zinzer, Sr., West Aurora
