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St. Charles East junior Dom Munaretto still thinks a lot about his trip to Champaign from a year ago.
With a chance to win his second state championship in a row the then-sophomore fell just short of his goal, losing by a 4-2 decision to Marmion’s Nicholas Garcia in the 113-pound championship match.
Yet one year later, Munaretto wouldn’t change the outcome of that match with Garcia.
Instead, he thanks it for being motivation all season long.
“That loss has made me into the wrestler that I am today,” Munaretto said. “Adversity the key for wrestlers, especially in this hard of a sport. You have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, so pushing through those uncomfortable situations and can only help in the long run.”
Now, Munaretto is one of the Saints' 10 state qualifiers for this weekend’s Class 3A individual state tournament in Champaign that starts Thursday and concludes Saturday.
And he’s coming back with a vengeance, as he sits at 47-1 on the season and is ranked the top wrestler in the 120-pound weight class by Illinois Matmen.
Not to mention, he also won a U17 freestyle world championship in the 51 kg weight class back in August in Amman, Jordan.
“Those setbacks that we’ve had, it’s an immediate change in behavior or movement to get rid of those mistakes,” St. Charles East coach Jason Potter said. “If you’re not doing that, then you aren’t getting better, but just standing still. And that’s something that he isn’t doing. The things that struggled with last year are not the same things he struggle with now. He’s a different wrestler than he was a year ago.”
Munaretto has already gotten to avenge his loss from last season with his previous opponent, as he defeated Garcia in overtime in a dual back on Jan. 11. He’s also made easy work of his competition heading into state, winning both a regional title at home and a sectional title at Conant.
With another chance to add to his 106-pound state championship that he won his freshman season, Munaretto is looking at the meet as just another opportunity to show off his skills and prove how he’s changed as a wrestler.
It’s a part of maturing that both he and Potter have taken note of.
“People overlook the fact that what he was doing as a freshman and sophomore, he was just 15 or 16 years-old,” Potter said. “He gets looked at like he’s been a senior this entire time. But the reason why people are seeing him at a different level now is because he’s brought a different level of maturity and poise and experience. and the struggles he’s had in his high school career lit a fire for him to be that extra tough.”
Munaretto enters as one of three Saints wrestlers to return to state from last season’s Class 3A third-place team, with the others being junior Cooper Murray and senior Anthony Gutierrez, who took fourth-place in the 165-pound class last season.
But despite the amount of new wrestlers the Saints have coming to state, they fill up a majority of the team that has the second-most wrestlers competing in Champaign, with Marmion (11) being the only team with more.
“A lot of people were overlooking us and overlooking a lot of our guys saying that they were underdeveloped and they hadn’t been on varsity,” Munaretto said. “But the only reason they weren’t on varsity is because we had a lot of superstars. Now these guys are getting their time to shine. They’re making it they’re making it count. They’re proving that they’re capable. And they’ve been developing very well.”
Munaretto will start his quest for a second state title when he faces Lincoln-Way West’s Max Munn in the first round of the bracket. If he wins, he’ll either face No. 8 Jonathan Marquez of Warren or No. 9 Ismael Chaidez of Glenbard East.
And no matter who he faces in the bracket, Munaretto’s goal will be the same — win until he has another state title.
“The goal this year is going to be to push through and get what I’ve been training for,” Munaretto said. “But I also want to look good out there, wrestle my best and show everyone I’m capable of.”