Kane County Chronicle Athlete of the Week: AJ Marino, St. Charles East, wrestling, senior

Name: AJ Marino

School: St. Charles East, senior

Sport: Wrestling

Why he was selected: St. Charles East senior AJ Marino, who won the final match at the Class 3A team state dual tournament Feb. 25 to vault the Saints to the first team title in program history, is the Kane County Chronicle Athlete of the Week. Here is his Q&A with Jacob Bartelson.

Bartelson: Did you see how the night was going and it might come down to you?

Marino: As soon as our heavyweight [Austin Barrett] lost, I knew [Marmion] was going to bump [forfeit 106] because of Dom [Munaretto]. I knew it was going to come down to me the last match, so I needed to put in the work and wrestle. [Just] move my feet, gets my shots going, just keep going.

Bartelson: This exact moment was what you wanted in the lead-up to the tournament, right?

Marino: Yeah.

Bartelson: What was it like waiting for that match? What was going through your mind?

Marino: I was like, ‘Oh, no, it’s all up to me.’ I was nervous and everything was running through my head, but once I got the music going, I just listened to that. All the thoughts started coming, I felt it, and I got this. I’m not going to lose.

Bartelson: And now it leads to a first title in program history. What does that mean to you?

Marino: It feels so good. I was nervous going into it, but once I got the first takedown, I was like, ‘I’ve got to keep my pace going and I’ll be good the rest of the match,’ so it’s all I did.

Bartelson: You were listening to your AirPods mat-side and going back and forth. What were you listening to?

Marino: A bunch of different rap music and Katy Perry. [The last song I heard] was “Gimme More” by Britney Spears. That pumps me up a lot more than other types of music.