Day Two of the Catholic Invitational Tournament is off to a great start for the Saint Ignatius wrestling team.
Three wrestlers – Matthew Whipkey, Najee Lockett, and Michael Drobnick – will represent Saint Ignatius in the championships later Sunday afternoon starting at 2:30. Three more Mat Cats – Johnny Novak, Patrick McGraw, and Logan Toth – will wrestle for third place later today.
The day began with a premier bout at 106 pounds. Sophomore Johnny Novak matched up with Michael Petrella of Bishop Hartley.
The entire match was a close one, with the two exchanging takedowns, escapes, and reversals before entering a stalemate in the third. At the end of regulation, the competitors stood stuck at 6-6. The match required overtime. The first overtime ended uneventfully, with neither competitor notching a point. Finally, in the second overtime, Petrella made a move and secured an 8-6 victory, sending Novak to the consolation semifinals at 106.
Novak rolled into the third place match with a big victory in the semifinals. Wrestling JT Furko IV of St. John’s Jesuit, Novak used a smart approach to steadily build an advantage. By the end of the second, Novak held an 8-3 lead, using the upper position to subdue Furko IV. Novak tabbed a takedown at the start of the third to extend the lead to 10-3, effectively placing it out of reach. Novak completed the victory with a couple more takedowns, ending with a 14-5 major decision. Novak will wrestle Lake Catholic’s Nick Coreno for third place on Sunday afternoon.
The Wildcats notched a win in the next match championship semifinal at 120. Matthew Whipkey earned a big win over Chase Henderson of Walsh Jesuit. Whipkey controlled the pace of the match, using superior positioning to build a lead too high to overcome for Henderson. The Warrior did notch a late takedown, but Whipkey finished with an 11-6 decision to advance to the title bout to face Lake Catholic’s Hunter Ryan.
A defeat then followed at 132. Patrick McGraw ran into top-seeded Jordan Ward of Archbishop Moeller. Ward proved to be a tough foe for McGraw to conquer, as Ward held McGraw at bay in a 7-1 decision. McGraw dropped to the consolation semifinals against Derek Berdysz of Benedictine.
McGraw came out aggressively in his match, firing to a 2-1 lead. Berdysz notched a couple points at the end of the first, however, to enter the second with a 3-2 advantage. Novak entered with third with a 6-5 lead after using some nice moves to record points. An escape early in the third added to his lead, and a takedown further helped. McGraw kept the heat on Berdysz and finished strong to clinch a 12-6 decision and a spot in the third place bout.
In the Wildcats’ next championship semifinal, Lockett took the mat at 160 vs. Matthew Valentino of Lake Catholic. In his typical fashion, Lockett wasted little time in recording points. Lockett tabbed a couple takedowns to take control early on. His opponent managed to keep Lockett at bay for a bit, but Lockett took control with a pair of second period takedowns. Lockett remained patient and avoided mistakes in the third, finishing with a 13-3 major decision to advance to the championship vs. Elder’s Austin Murphy.
The Wildcats’ final championship semifinal resulted in a thrilling victory. Michael Drobnick found himself pitted against Jackson Gear from Archbishop McNicholas, who entered the tournament with a 110-36 record. Drobnick and Gear wrestled to a stalemate in the first before Drobnick brilliantly maneuvered Gear onto his side midway through the second. Drobnick finished the pin with a flair, pointing to his bicep before the referee raised his arm to send Drobnick to a championship match with Jake Thompson of Archbishop Moeller.
In the consolation quarterfinals, Logan Toth earned a victory at 170. The senior wrestled hard with his opponent, nearly securing a pin on the edge of the mat. However, the referee blowed his whistle and disqualified Toth’s opponent, causing Toth’s foe to throw his headgear and exit the gym. Toth advanced to the consolation semifinals via DQ to face Blake Coy of Dayton Carroll.
Toth then advanced to the third place match with an impressive triumph. Toth pinned his foe from Dayton Carroll at the 2:23 mark of the match, a large win for the senior. Toth will wrestle for third against Walsh Jesuit’s Dominic DiPetro.
At 182, Tommy Gill suffered a difficult narrow defeat. Thomas McGee of Benedictine gave Gill a difficult match, using his power to fend off Gill’s attacks. McGee found himself down by one point in the third, but used a nice move to pick up two points. Trailing by one late, Gill fired forward but could not score anything, and was eliminated with a 3-2 loss.
After a short break and a coaches’ meeting at 2 pm, the first place, third place, and fifth place matches will commence. Awards will be presented after the 285 pound matches by the coach of the champion.
Entering the break, the Wildcats stand in third place as a team with 152.5 points. Elder holds first place with 238 points and Lake Catholic holds third with 184.5 points. Dayon Chaminade Julienne, Padua, Moeller, Walsh Jesuit, Dayton Carroll, Toledo Central Catholic, and St. John’s Jesuit round out the top ten.