A crowd of green, blue, and gold piled into Sullivan Gymnasium on Thursday evening, as the Saint Ignatius wrestling team hosted the St. Edward Eagles.
The perennial state champion Eagles defeated the Wildcats, but the Mat Cats battled fiercely and honorably at home in Sullivan Gym.
The match started off with back-to-back pins for the Eagles. Johnny Novak and Matthew Whipkey, at 106 and 113 pounds, respectively, battled hard in the second periods, but Angelo Rini and Scott Richter won in the end. Patrick McGraw fought all the way to the end at 120 pounds, giving his opponent, Bryce Hepner, all he could handle deep into the third period.
Matt French battled hard at 126 pounds, coming back hard after an injury timeout, but was pinned in the second period. The Eagles also notched pins at 132 and 138 pounds.
The Wildcats got on the board following the 145 pound bout. Quade Rasmussen performed expertly against his opponent, and won by tech fall, 16-1. Rasmussen’s big victory narrowed the deficit to 34-5 Eagles.
Zach Tomford fought hard at 152 pounds, but lost after three grind-it-out periods, 8-4. Speaking of heart and determination, Logan Toth showed impressive perserverance at 160 pounds. Fighting through a bloody nose and other afflictions, Toth took his foe all the way to the horn in the third period like a warrior on the mat.
The 170-pound match also featured a pair of intense competitors, but this time, a Wildcat emerged victorious. Cal Miller defeated Vittorio Santillo, 14-10, using a third period takedown to secure the win.
The early matchups set the stage for the highlight of the night – the 182-pound matchup between Saint Ignatius’ Kaden Russell and St. Edward’s Tyler Stepic.
Russell, the defending state champ, attacked early with two takedowns, building a 6-3 lead after the first. But Stepic started to come back at the end of the second, before Russell responded with a big burst to head into the third period with a 10-7 lead.
With the crowd as excited as ever, Russell overpowered Stepic in the final minute to earn the 16-12 win. Russell’s victory brought the Wildcats’ faithful to its feet, and slimmed the margin to 40-11.
Following Eagles’ pins at 195 and 220 pounds, Tony Engel and Luca Santillo faced off at 285 pounds. Engel came out quickly, showing determination and intense focus. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the match ended in a medical default due to an injury Engel suffered in a collision with Santillo.
The Eagles walked away with a 58-11 win, following a night filled with grit and determination on both sides of the mat.
The Mat Cats return to action next Thursday, as the Wildcats will take part in the Brecksville Holiday Tournament.