Rossi beats Silva for 3A championship

CHAMPAIGN – After losing back-to-back heartbreakers in the last two semifinals, Lockport’s Brian Rossi was focused on winning a state title in his final high school match.

After a loss in last year’s state finals, Plainfield South’s Miguel Silva had the same determination to capture the last match of his prep career.

But only one set of wills could prevail when the two met up for the Class 3A championship at 113 pounds Saturday night at the University of Illinois’ State Farm Center.

Rossi (48-1) jumped out to an early lead and gradually built on it as he went on to capture a 7-0 victory over Plainfield Sout’s Silva (45-4) to claim top honors in what many regarded as the state’s toughest weight bracket.

“All of the hard work finally paid off,” Rossi said. “Everything that I did through the season to prepare me for this moment just made me focus for this tournament and I was able to dominate in every match.

“I really perfected all of my technique coming into this tournament and was able to shut almost everyone out. Honestly, it’s hard to put it into words. I just want to thank my coaches, my family and all of my teammates for supporting me because without them I wouldn’t have been able to go through this bracket.”

Despite coming up short in the finals for the second year in a row, Silva was proud of his accomplishment and the high bar that he’s set for future Cougars.

“This is not exactly what I wanted but at the same time it was a good wrap up for my high school career,” Silva said. “Last year was a bit easier at 106 and this year was more of a challenge since the bracket was stacked, especially on my side. I think that was another accomplishment in itself that I earned my way to the state finals.”

Two other individuals from local schools pulled out close wins to capture championships while four other competitors came up a bit short of capturing the top prize.

Coal City’s Cody Minnick took top honors at 113 in Class 1A while Morris’ Kenny Baldridge won the Class 2A title at 132.

Also in Class 3A, Lockport’s Tyler Johnson suffered his first loss of the season in the 195 finals while Lincoln-Way Central’s Joey Nelson took a four-time champion, Glenbard North’s Jered Cortez, to the limit before falling in overtime at 132.

The Coalers had two other finalists in Class 1A. For the second year in a row, Corey Jurzak (126) and Casey Brown (132) both settled for second-place showings.

As the same time as Rossi was winning his title, Coaler junior Minnick (46-1) edged North Boone’s Brandon Briggs 3-2 to capture the 113 championship.

“Words can’t explain this,” Minnick said. “All of the hard work and everything that I did every day in the offseason paid off. Last year motivated me to work as hard as possible and to bust my butt every single day. The three of us have a special bond that can’t be broken in and out of the wrestling room.”

Baldridge (41-1), who placed at state for the third time, avenged a sectional loss to Butler when he recorded a fall in 6:27 to win the Class 2A title at 132.

He’s Morris’ first champion since John Dergo in 2006.

“This feels really good,” Baldridge said. “I’ve been working hard since I was 7 years old and had my butt kicked through IKWF. Once I got to high school I started to get better and better and finally this year I finally made it to the finals and won it.”

Johnson was hoping to pick up his 52nd straight victory to capture the 195 title but Lake Forest’s Regis Durbin capped a 41-0 season by getting an escape in the ultimate tiebreaker to pull out a 3-2 victory.

“I feel that I wrestled too cautiously,” Johnson said. “It hurts, but there’s always next year. I was hoping to be a two-timer but I’ll get one next year.”

Nelson (43-6) gave Cortez a run for his money before the latter got a takedown in the overtime tiebreaker to claim a 3-1 victory in the 132 championship.

The Knights senior qualified for state as a freshman but then hadn’t able to return until this season.

“I’m happy to have reached the state finals,” Nelson said. “It was awesome to be my coach’s first state finalist. I wish I would have got a takedown. I knew that Jered was a three-time champion and he pinned me earlier this season. I knew that would have to come in heavy and do anything to defend his shots.”

Jurzak (33-4) fell 9-6 to Rockford Lutheran’s Caleb Micho in the 126 finals while Brown (43-4) lost 16-5 in the 132 finals to another four-time state champ, Dakota’s Josh Alber.