Bellino’s debut season with St. Charles East wrestling results in regional championship

ST. CHARLES – Teammate Nick Ruffino needed a few weeks away from the rigors of making weight earlier this winter, so Peter Bellino wrestled down a class.

Teammate Brad Kearbey missed a handful of meets with an illness, so Bellino moved up.

A warped order of chicken lo mein neutralized Bellino on Wednesday, so he tried to laugh the stomach flu away. One of the lone roadblocks in the junior 135-pounder’s otherwise solid varsity debut season at St. Charles East still won’t keep him from showing that you are who you beat.

“This year really has ended up turning out all right,” Bellino said. “It would have been hard to imagine some of this when we started out.”

Three fellow Saints will flank Bellino at this weekend’s IHSA Class 3A Downers Grove North Sectional – all calling him by his nickname, “Patches” – but Bellino is the only East wrestler to advance as a regional champ.

He improved to 27-10 with three victories at the Glenbard North Regional, including a 10-3 decision against Tom Collum of the host team to clinch the individual crown.

Classmate Nick Ruffino, the runner-up at 130, didn’t get to see much of Bellino’s regional run until the title match. He didn’t need to. His impressions of Bellino from several months of competing in the Saints’ wrestling room were enough.

“Just an unbelievable thing for him,” Ruffino said. “To only be wrestling for three or four years and to go out and win a regional, we’re really, really proud.”

Bellino accounts for lost time in the sport by tacking on to his regular training. Before school, after, in the summer – his work ethic knew no timetable after he completed his JV season as a sophomore.

He scored a fall in his first varsity match against his St. Charles North opponent in November, and continued to shine throughout the Saints’ bid for the inaugural Upstate Eight River Division title. A major-decision victory kept East close in an eventual home loss to Geneva, and his 12-10, overtime decision over Batavia’s Laren Eustace helped hand the Bulldogs their first league defeat.

With Kearbey out sick, Bellino moved up to 140, rallying to overcome a two-point deficit against Eustace entering the third period.

“He’s one of those guys that’ll do anything you ask,” Saints coach Steve Smerz said.

Ruffino and Smerz sometimes strain to remember Bellino’s given name. Friends dubbed him “Patches” sometime during sixth grade, a nod to the crusty Rip Torn character in the movie they watched one night, “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.”

Since the season started, Bellino seldom has needed to draw any inspiration from the real Patches’ teachings on toughness. Even when the wrestling room wasn’t thinned out, he served as a strong role model for younger Saints.

“If I’ve got to do something, I’ve got to do it,” Bellino said. “I’ll wrestle whatever style or work whatever move to win.”

Sectionals offer a handful of opportunities for Bellino to flip the script on recent history. One possible opponent, South Elgin’s Nick Citta, defeated him at the UEC meet last month.

Bellino has pledged to wrestle Citta more aggressively should the pair meet again. He also has sworn off Chinese food, at least until the season is over.

Almost there...
Here's a glance at Chronicle-area sectional qualifiers for this weekend's meets. In Class 3A, the top four finishers in each weight class clinch a berth in the IHSA State Meet in Champaign on Feb. 18-19. In Class 2A, the top three finishers advance.

Class 3A Downers
Grove North Sectional
ST. CHARLES EAST
Ryan Rubino, So., 103 pounds
Isaiah Vela, Fr., 119
Nick Ruffino, Jr., 130
Peter Bellino, Jr., 135
ST. CHARLES NORTH
Tim Noverini, Jr., 145
Sam Gustafson, Sr., 152
Vince Fricke, Sr., Heavyweight
BATAVIA
Joey Shump, So., 103
Augie Watson, Sr., 152
GENEVA
Brad Martens, So., 112
Nick Bradberry, Sr., 152
Derek Larsen, Sr., 160
Eric Timko, Sr., 171

Class 2A Rochelle Sectional
KANELAND
Stephen Gust, So., 103
Esai Ponce, So., 119
Sonny Horn, So., 125
Dan Goress, So., 130
Chris Sabal, Sr., 145
Kyle Davidson, Sr., 152
Cody McGinnis, Sr., 160
Nick Michels, Sr., 171
Keagan Mattes, Sr., 189
Ben Kovalick, Jr., 215
Jimmy Boyle, Sr., Hwt.
BURLINGTON CENTRAL
Brady Weinrich, So., 119
Johnny Major, Jr. 135
Buddy Toth, Jr., 152
Joe Gannon, Jr., 160
Jake Turk, So., 215

Class 2A Lincoln-Way West Sectional
MARMION
Johnny Jimenez, Fr., 103
Jered Cortez, Fr., 112
George Fisher, So., 119
Eddie Greco, Jr., 125
Ben Whitford, So., 130
Bryce Brill, Fr., 135
Angelo Silvestro, Jr., 140
Eddie Gonzalez, Fr., 145
Eddie Breen, Sr., 152
Dan Rowland, So., 160
Jon Wolfgram, Sr., 171
Alex Fritz, So., Hwt.