Perfect endings for Smith, Marchok
CHAMPAIGN — There was no shortage of talent at the 2011 state wrestling tournament.
One of the most lasting performances by one of the biggest and brightest stars of the tournament, Luke Smith, proved to be one of the highights of the evening.
The Wheeling senior would capture the 140-pound state championship late Saturday evening in Champaign, and together with fellow Mid-Suburban League star Josh Marchok of Schaumburg, the two would finish the season a sparkling 82-0 combined to give the league bragging rights among area wrestling conferences.
Wheeling senior Chris Johnson’s captivating ride into the championship match at 189 pounds would end when No. 1 Brad Johnson (Lockport) would defeat the two-time state medalist 9-2 in his final, while Jeff Koepke (Hersey), Joe LaManna and Pat Felde of Schaumburg would all bring home medals in their respective weight divisions.
Smith overcame a tough semifinal match against Dan Argueta (Sandburg, 41-9) to advance into the final against Brian Murphy (42-3, Glenbard North). He put together a textbook 6-0 effort against the sophomore sensation, who wasn’t able to muster much against the three-time state medalist, to earn his long-awaited prize.
“Once I went up 3-0 (midway) through the third period (he) had to open things up and (he) left himself open just long enough for me to get that (3-point) near fall to all but put away the match,” said Smith, who pointed toward the Wheeling faithful, and most of his family in the stands just above the championship mat — before racing to meet head coach Neal Weiner and his assistant J.P. Akouri for a monster bear-hug from the happy coaching duo.
“(Luke’s) last couple of opponents here have been a really good job of trying to deny him that low ankle pick and takedown, but when he landed (one) near the edge in the third period, and (then) rode him hard, I knew it was all over for good,” said Weiner.
With the extra weight of last season’s 1-point loss to Chris Dardanes (Oak Park-River Forest) still on his shoulders, Smith would start fast this season, and never let up until he reached the finish line Saturday night. It culminated a brilliant senior season, which saw him break several records his brother Jamie had set, while adding one scalp after another to his trophy case en route to this title.
“I had accomplished just about everything else you could in high school, except for winning an individual title, and tonight, I finally succeeded in doing so,” offered Smith, who edged Argueta in his Saturday morning semifinal, a match in which the Sandburg coaching staff nearly was able to pull off a stunning victory with its well-conceived plan.
“They knew (Luke) will go after an ankle, he’s the best at shooting in the state, but they blocked that area so well, and made it nearly impossible for him to get in on him,” said Akouri.
“Yeah, it was a good piece of coaching on their part, and I told them (so) afterwards. But I was never worried when it was 4-3, because I figured I could induce a penalty point for stalling and (at) least send it into overtime.”
It would never get to that — as Smith reversed Argueta to go up for good at 5-4 with 10 seconds remaining, before finishing off the upset-minded senior with a deuce at the buzzer, to set up his dominating performance in the finals.
Marchok had a hair-raising experience in his semifinal, and the brilliant cheetah-like attacking machine may have used one of his 9 lives to stay alive against Shaquille McMurtry in order to advance into the finals. He made quick work of Lyons senior Joe Gonzalez (40-6) to give Schaumburg its first wrestling state champion.
The Assembly Hall crowd, and Lockport faithful and its coaching staff, would howl for minutes on end after the Saxons’ junior collected a match-winning takedown with no time left on the clock to stun McMurtry 7-5 Saturday morning.
“I couldn’t tell you how much time was left on the clock, for all I know there was 30 minutes, because I was fighting and trying to do whatever I could in those final moments to win that match and get into the final,” said Marchok, who had all he could handle from McMurtry, who gave the top seed his toughest match of the season, and nearly his first and what would have been most devastating loss of the year.
McMurty took a big step forward with a takedown near the edge with 30 seconds remaining to go up 5-3, but a point for stalling and escape pulled Marchok even to set-up a frenzied finish, when most matside thought the clock had run out with the score 5-5.
“I never thought there was anyone in the state who could beat Josh this season, and even though things got a little scary today, he still proved to be the best 215-pounder around this year,” said Schaumburg coach Matt Gruszka.
The aforementioned Johnson from Wheeling completed a terrific two-year run with his second-place finish at 189 pounds to Brad Johnson, which came one match after the Wildcats big man defeated Jim Nudera of York to advance into the finals.
“I guess I never imagined seeing myself in a state final after starting to wrestle only in middle school, but this is what all of us work and wait for, so when the opportunity is there, and in my senior year of high school, you’ve just got to go for it all,” said Chris Johnson, who was thrown at the onset in his bout with Nudera, but fought his way back to draw even at 3-3 before taking down his opponent 16 seconds into the first overtime period.
Koepke (47-4), a Hersey senior favored by some to win it all at 160, could not stop an athletic and quick Kalvin Hill of Minooka in the semifinals, who later emerged as the division champion.
Koepke, who never looked unnerved by the hard-charging Hill, made a game of it. But Hill, but by a pair third-period takedowns, built a lead in which the Hersey senior was unable to overcome, and he would eventually finish fifth overall.
LaManna (41-4) was simply brilliant, unleashing a furious attack on an unsuspecting Brad Johnson (Lockport), who many anointed the No. 1 at 215 prior to the tournament. Johnson would have no absolutely no answer for LaManna in the first three minutes of their semifinal.
LaManna was cruising along with a 11-4 lead when Johnson would pry open his opponent — and eventually find another hole or two in his wall of defense, until it came crumbling down for good with a late pin.
A distraught LaManna, just moments away from joining his friend and teammate, Marchok in the finals, could hardly find the strength to get up off the floor and back into the stadium seats with him mates and Saxons coaching staff, and would later finish sixth overall.
Saxons senior Pat Felde (38-9) ended his career on a high note with a fifth-place medal at 171 to culminate at wonderful final three weeks of the season. Barrington senior Aaron Castagna (41-6) will also enjoy a well-deserved fifth-place finish at 285, which gives both he and Felde all-state honors.