St. Charles East senior Dom Munaretto had a funny feeling in his stomach heading into the Class 3A 120-pound final Saturday.

Maybe it was the nerves of getting a third state title, or the nerves of his 97-match win streak being on the line. Or maybe it was the sickness that caused him to weigh in four pounds under.

Whatever it was, he was definitely feeling them when he found himself stomach up on top of Montini’s Allen Woo with just 15 seconds left and holding a two-point lead.

But even in that position, the Ohio State commit only had one thought with everything on the line.

“Get tough,” Munaretto said. “It’s not always going to be pretty, I just had to find a way to get it done.”

That toughness proved to be the difference for him.

Munaretto avoided the takedown, allowing just a single point for stalling to hold on for a 4-3 victory to clinch his third individual state title at the IHSA Boys Wrestling State Finals at State Farm Center in Champaign.

Munaretto ended up getting the jump in the contest, getting a takedown in the first minute of the contest. But after the first three points, the senior said the fatigue started to settle in.

“I was really focused on scoring at the beginning, but in the second and third period I got too defensive for my liking and it wasn’t pretty,” Munaretto said. “But it’s not always going to be pretty, even though I want it to be. I beat myself up a lot, but I got the job done.”

With the win, Munaretto joined former teammates Ben Davino and Jayden Colon as the only Saints to ever win three state titles.

“It feels amazing to have that accolade to my name,” Munaretto said. “It feels great to bring that into college career, along with my 206 career wins, and now I’m just climbing up.”

Munaretto wasn’t the only wrestler that struggled to secure his third state title. Marmion senior Nicholas Garcia saw his 132-pound title match against Joliet Catholic’s Jason Hampton head into overtime tied at 5-5.

But just 30 seconds into the extra period, the Illinois commit made a dive towards Hampton’s feet, pulling him for a take down and securing an 8-5 victory to win his third consecutive state title.

“I knew that his double move was coming,” Garcia said. “He never showed it to me and he did it to everyone else. That was one thing I knew I hadn’t seen and I was ready for it.

“I just knew that my preparation was incomparable, and I just had so much confidence in myself.”

Garcia became just the second Cadets wrestler to win three titles, joining Johnny Jiminez with the honor. But with the individual title put to rest, his eyes are now focused on the team title, which would be his fifth title at Marmion, which starts with a likely rematch against Hampton in the quarterfinals.

“He’s going to be trying to get his licks back in that quarterfinal for sure,” Garcia said. “But I show up more for my team, that means a little more for me.”

Garcia’s title started a streak of three straight championships for Marmion wrestlers, with senior teammates Zach Stewart and Demetrios Carrera winning the 138 and 144 titles, respectively.

Stewart’s victory was the least dramatic of the night among the Kane County champions, securing a 7-1 victory over Lyons’s Griff Powell for the title. His win was a rematch from a Hinsdale Central sectional semifinal, where he won 4-2.

“I just didn’t want to tire myself out, because last week I did that and it did not go the way that I wanted,” Stewart said. “I just wanted to get a take down a period, wrestle smart and take control of the match.”

The win was Stewart’s second state title, adding to his 138-pound championship as a sophomore. And after missing out on a title at 144 last season, he was more than happy to be back atop the podium.

“Kind of just climbed the mountain once again,” Stewart said. “Did it as a sophomore, did it last year but fell just short, and now it’s just right back to the top. So I’m feeling extremely good.”

Carrera’s win was much more of a long-standing burn for his first title. After taking down Grant’s Vince Jasinski just 45 seconds into the match, the senior rode out the clock to get a 3-1 victory for his first state title.

“It was all about just staying in position there,” Carrera said. “I think I had trouble there early on in the season where I kept getting out of my stance. I just kept pressing him forward, and when he forced a shot I got a nice reattack and took him down.”

It was a stark comparison from the two wrestlers’ match in the regular season, where Carrera lost by tech fall. But this time around, he knew he had to rely on his defense.

“I learned that every time I was taking some bad shots and forcing them, I wasn’t really good defensively,” Carrera said. “So that made a big difference of me being able to stay in good position and being a defensive position I need to be to attack again.”

Also securing his first state title was Batavia sophomore Kai Enos, who secured the 120-pound title in Class 2A with a 4-2 decision victory, joining Mikey Caliendo, who won the 160-pound title in 3A back in 2021, as the only Bulldogs to win an individual boys wrestling title.

“I just wanted to go in there and have fun with it,” Enos said. “The title doesn’t define who I am, but at the end of the day I just wanted to let it fly and trust in my training.”

Enos faced off against Morris’ Paxton Valentine in the final, an opponent he lost to in the Morris regional final but defeated in the Geneseo sectional final. And after sultry starts in the first two matchups, Enos got the takedown that would eventually win him the title with just three seconds left in the first period.

“I really didn’t even see the opening coming, he just made a mistake and I took my opportunity,” Enos said. “I took my opportunity and went for it, and it came to help me out.”

The sophomore ended up relying on his defense for the final two minutes, allowing just an escape and a point for stalling, before celebrating with a dance that he said earned him $5.

“I didn’t want to wrestle that defensively, but he put on the pressure and I really didn’t see any openings,” Enos said. “But in the end, it got me the title.”

St. Charles East senior Cooper Murray made an appearance in the Class 3A 215-pound to open up the championship round. Taking on Loyola’s Kai Calcutt, the senior ended up taking a loss by technical fall to place second.

But for Murray, who missed out on the podium entirely in his last trip to state, he was more than proud to make it all the way to the finals.

“I worked my butt off in the offseason because I knew what I was capable of,” Murray said. “I was a little disappointed with how last year ended. And it was just an all-around effort. I’ve been here before and knew that I could get it done if I worked really hard towards it.”

The Cadets also had three more wrestlers make it to the finals but fail to secure the title. One of those was Joey Favia, who fell to defending 285-pound champion Jonathan Rulo by a 14-4 major decision.

But after not making it past the blood rounds just a season ago, the senior was happy to match his second-place finish from his sophomore season.

“I just had a lot of dedication and work with my coaches to get me back here,” Favia said. “Obviously this one stings, but it is what it is. I’m proud of my guys for sticking by me through the wins and losses, and it’s great to be a part of such a great program, and I’m ready to go to the two-peat at state next weekend.”

Also placing second in their first state final was junior Colton Wyller and senior Ashton Hobson. Wyller fell to Loyola’s Niko Odiotti by a 10-3 decision in the Class 3A 106-pound title match, while Hobson fell to Hononegah’s Rocco Cassioppi by a 6-0 decision.