Marmion holds off Washington for team title in jam-packed Clint Arlis Invite

BATAVIA — Senior Mateusz Nycz didn’t have any idea how close Marmion was to a team title when he took to the mat for the final time Saturday.

After losing the lead to Washington following the championship bout for the 215-pound weight class, the Cadets unknowingly needed to have one of their wrestlers step up to help retake the lead.

And there couldn’t have been a better person to come to the mat than Nycz, who was staring down Washington’s Sean Thorton for the 285 title. Even without knowing the circumstances, he knew he needed to put the team first.

“A big thing for me is having that team-first mentality and just getting it done,” the Dartmouth football commit said. “The team has relied on me a lot this year, and hopefully I’ve been doing well on that.”

Nycz’s takedown victory in the third period ended up being the catalyst that they needed, as the Cadets would add two more individual titles on the night to finish with 222 points and beat Washington’s 208.5 to take the team title at the Clint Arlis Invite.

“If I could pick one guy to put the team on his shoulders, it would be him,” Marmion coach Nathan Fitzenreider said. “He’s been that guy for us. We know what we’re going to get from him every single time, and this was a really good tournament for him.”

Besides Nycz, Colton Wyller (106), Demetrios Carrera (132), Purdue commit Zach Stewart (138) and Ashton Hobson (150) all their weights. Of the 14 weight classes, the Cadets had wrestlers finish on the podium in 10 of them.

“We have a room full of guys that just love wrestling and they all work their tails off,” Fitzenreider said. “And we have some extra guys that are good, too. Even the guys that didn’t win performed really well out there, so it’s really fun to coach a group that’s going to give it their all throughout the lineup.”

Behind the two programs was Hononegah, which took third with 172 points, and Downers Grove North, which despite not having any wrestlers make it to the championship match, had 10 of their 17 wrestlers find the podium to help the Trojans take fourth with 159 points.

“Our kids have worked their butts off,” Trojans coach Chris McGrath said. “We’ve got a nice team where everyone has bought into what we’re doing. We just don’t have any superstars. But it’s a tough tournament, and I’m grateful for what we got.”

Host Batavia finished in sixth in the team scores with 144 points, just 8.5 points behind Wisconsin’s Iowa-Grant/Highland. The Bulldogs had six wrestlers walk away from the home tournament with medals.

Batavia coach Tom Arlis, who was the father of the late Clint Arlis, said that it was great to see the improvement that the team has taken, especially against a field filled with wrestlers being recognized by the state.

“Some of our wrestlers who came in at around a .500 record were beating kids who had 20-plus wins,” Arlis said. “That just shows how tough our schedule is, and it showed in this tournament that it’s paying off – and hopefully it continues to pay off.”

Freshman Kai Enos was the only Bulldog to walk away with a win on the day, getting a 12-0 major decision victory over Marmion’s Preston Morrison in the 113 championship bout.

“We knew he was going to be good, but he’s really surprised a lot of people and is extremely good,” Arlis said. “In my mind, he has what it takes to get to the podium at state. I don’t want to put any more pressure on him, but he works so hard and he’s really hard to beat.”