For Marian Central’s Jimmy Mastny, it was business as usual.
Competing in Class 2A for the first time and wrestling at a third weight class in three years, the result was the same. Mastny, a junior and two-time 1A champion, successfully three-peated at Saturday’s IHSA individual state boys wrestling finals at the State Farm Center in Champaign.
Mastny finished with a 53-1 record.
“It feels great that I could show all of my hard work, especially for my coaches,” Mastny said. “It definitely shows that wrestling a national schedule helps. Classes don’t really matter when we’ve wrestling all of the best people. I knew I could get to my attacks.”
Mastny, who also went 53-1 when he won the 1A 190-pound state title last season, stormed through the winner’s side of his bracket. The Iowa State recruit pinned his first two opponents and scored tech falls in his final two bouts. Facing defending 2A 215-pound champion Josh Hoffer of Washington, Mastny wrangled up three takedowns and two near falls to win the title via 17-1 tech fall.
“I just had to execute,” Mastny said. “It felt like all of the other matches. I was working well on top and my offense on my feet was also working well. It’s cool to represent the school in a big way.”
McHenry County schools had three wrestlers competing in the final round Saturday evening. Crystal Lake South’s Nathan Randle (138) and Crystal Lake Central’s Nicholas Marchese (144) each medaled in second place. Randle (39-4) went 3-1 over four state matches, falling by 7-4 decision to Providence’s Tommy Banas in the finals.
“It meant a lot,” said Randle, a senior who earned his first medal since taking second as a freshman. “It means a lot to be here, especially after not placing for two years straight. I kept my feet moving, got to my offense and didn’t let anyone get to theirs.”
Marchese, who also went 3-1 in the tournament, battled with IC Catholic Prep’s Frank Nitti and fell just short of victory, losing by 4-2 decision. It’s the first IHSA state medal for Marchese (41-5), a junior who wrestled at Marian Central during his sophomore year.
“It’s a reflection of all the work my teammates and I put in during the season,” Marchese said. “I’m really appreciative of them. ... My coaches have changed my mindset from not placing last year to getting second in the state finals. I’m very thankful for them.”
Mastny was one of six Marian Central wrestlers competing in the state tournament. The Hurricanes landed four medalists including freshman Hogan Rice (113), who placed third at his weight class. Brendan Nardin (150) and Dan French (190) both medaled in fifth.
“It means a lot, but I’m also not satisfied,” said Rice (40-14), who defeated IC Catholic Prep’s Drew Murante for third place. “I want to be the state champ, so I’m going to keep going. I know I can compete with the best. ... Faking, pulling, getting to my attacks, getting to my angles and listening to my coaches helped me a lot.”
Crystal Lake Central, which had three wrestlers in the field, ended up with two state medalists. Jackson Marlett (120), who finished in sixth last season, moved up the podium with a third-place medal finish this time around. Marlett (28-6) recorded five victories, with four coming by technical fall, en route to his third-place finish.
“I’ve been working hard in the room a lot,” Marlett said. “Nick Marchese, my partner, made the finals and my other partner, Dylan Ramsey, made it to state. I owe a big thanks to them. ... I’ve been working my two-on-ones a lot and I worked my two-on-ones to a sweep. It’s a confidence builder, but I’m hungry for a state title.”
Prairie Ridge’s Aiden Rodriguez (175) rounded out the area’s 2A state medalists this season. Rodriguez (43-6), a sophomore, took sixth after wrestling six matches and winning three. Of his three victories, two came by major decision and one came by tech fall.
Richmond-Burton led the area’s 1A teams at state, qualifying four wrestlers and posting two medalists. Wyatt Franckowiak (132), an unranked freshman, rallied off three straight wins in wrestlebacks to clinch a top-four finish. Franckowiak (42-12) went 4-2 over six bouts, recording two decisions and winning one match in overtime.
“It feels great,” Franckowiak said. “I was an honorable mention coming into this tournament, so it feels amazing. I stayed on my feet and I got to my offense. … My pull-push single and scrambles really helped me a lot. I have a little big of a target on my back now, but it feels great coming out with 40-plus wins.”
Breckin Campbell (285) medaled in fifth for the Rockets, who had Lelan Nelson (126) and Shane Falasca (215) representing R-B in the 1A competition. Campbell (34-11) was nearly pinned in the third period, but a reversal enabled him to gain position and pin Murphysboro’s Julien Tanner to earn a fifth-place medal.
Johnsburg landed a pair of state medalists in the 1A competition. Duke Mays (175) finished fifth, while Chase Vogel (120) placed sixth for the Skyhawks, who had three wrestlers scrapping in Champaign. Mays (41-9) escaped in the second period for a 1-0 decision over Sandwich’s Josh Kotalik in the fifth-place match.
“I worked all offseason for this,” Mays said. “Podium, podium, podium is what we say in our group chat. We send snaps in the group chat with podium as the caption. … I wanted to be higher, but to be on the podium is super special and I’m stoked. I was going to the legs and my pressure in neutral was awesome.”
In 3A, Hampshire’s Knox Homola (285) won a key wrestleback on Saturday to clinch his first state medal. Homola (39-7), the only area wrestler in 3A to finish on the podium this year, placed sixth after an 18-5 major decision over Oak Park-River Forest’s Pierre Nelson in the quarterfinal wrestlebacks secured his medalist spot.
“I think it shows my improvement throughout the year and it shows that I’m going to keep getting better over the next two years,” Homola said. “I used a lot of singles and my speed helped a ton, but more strength is going to help me next year. I wrestled like I knew I could and I wanted to show everyone what I could do.”