Only a handful of matches removed from making his high school debut, Brendan Nardin stepped in at Thursday’s Class 2A Sycamore Dual Team Sectional with a chance to send Marian Central back to state.

Fully recovered from a torn ACL that sidelined him for most of his freshman season, Nardin showed explosiveness and agility during his 150-pound bout against Washington’s Grey Slatten. Pulling off a huge throw and snatching a second takedown on an ankle pick, Nardin pinned Slatten in the first period of the penultimate bout.

Nardin’s pin clinched the dual victory for Marian, which forfeited the final bout to lock in a 37-33 win over the Panthers. The Hurricanes (11-9), who’ve earned dual state trophies in 1A each of the past two seasons including a state championship in 2024, will return to Bloomington’s Grossinger Motors Arena for a third consecutive year. The IHSA dual team state tournament will be held Feb. 27-28.

“I’m just grateful for another opportunity to come out here and wrestle,” Nardin said. “It’s what I love to do, and I want to make the most out of it. It really puts into perspective what competing is and how grateful you have to be, because it can be taken away.”

Marian, which edged out Washington 36-31 in a dual just a few weeks ago, won eight bouts and picked up bonus points during multiple bouts Thursday. Nic Astacio, who bumped from 165 to 175, wrangled up four takedowns to earn a 13-4 major decision over Wyatt Leman. Cam Spiniolas delivered a pair of third-period takedowns in a 12-4 major decision over Micah Jackson at 126.

“We’ve been here, and we’ve been in these situations multiple times,” Astacio said. “We just go out there and wrestle no matter what weight it is. What was working well in that match is what we’ve been doing all season, which is wearing them out until the third period. The first period is always won by the best technician.”

Dan French, a senior, gave the Hurricanes their first lead of the dual. With Marian Central down 6-4, French secured a second-period pin against Zane Heubi at 190 to earn the 100th win of his career. Jimmy Mastny followed with a tech fall at 215, notching six takedowns in an 18-3 win over returning state champ Josh Hoffer.

“To have the whole fan base and the whole team behind me while I got that achievement, it was a great feeling,” French said. “I feel like we were the better-conditioned team. We knew they were going to stall the matches out and they were overmatched. It was about the guys who were 50-50 with their guys. Those were the biggest matches of the week, and when we got those, that’s how we won.”

Washington (16-9), the No. 4-ranked team in the IWCOA 2A state rankings, took an 18-15 lead after Sean Thornton pinned Owen Neuzil at 285 and Symon Woods won by forfeit at 106. Bumping up to 113, Diego Martinez secured a crucial victory for the Hurricanes, finding a late takedown to earn a 7-3 decision over Sage Davis.

Spiniolas’ win, which followed a forfeit for Hogan Rice at 120, put Marian ahead 28-18. The Panthers quickly responded, with Lucas Bach pinning Gio Ferrioli at 132 before Logan Makiney rode Zane Mochocki out for a full period in a win by 4-3 decision at 138.

Clinging to a one-point lead, Marian sent out senior Austin Hagevold, a returning 1A state runner-up, to face Cayden Park at 144. Using a first-period takedown and a key reversal early in the third period, Hagevold held off a resilient Park for a 5-2 decision.

“We have really good coaches who know how to build kids up,” Hagevold said. “I think it was smart to wrestle them earlier and get to know who they are. ... We slowed them down in the first period. We like to say that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. We like to wrestle the full match, keep our composure and put guys on their hands.”

In Thursday’s other dual, Geneseo cruised over Batavia 55-16. Colin Peyton (165) and Kai Enos (120) each recorded tech falls, while Colin Johansen (126) earned the lone pin for the Bulldogs.

“They’re a team that’s in this dual a lot of years, and it was our first time in 20,” Batavia coach Seth Winkle said. “We prepared as best as we could, we came out hard, and we made some moves. I don’t regret them, but things just didn’t go our way tonight. They were really well-prepared, really well-coached and really aggressive.”