Wrestling: St. Charles East edges Marmion for first-ever IHSA team dual state title

BLOOMINGTON – The feeling of taking third in the 1997 IHSA Dual Team State Tournament has haunted Jason Potter ever since.

Potter was a sophomore wrestler for St. Charles High School on the 1997 team. Twenty-six years later, now the head coach of the Saints program he competed for, that feeling can be considered officially exorcized.

Tied 24-24 in the Class 3A championship match with Marmion on Feb. 25, St. Charles East’s fate rested on the shoulders of 120-pound senior AJ Marino in his match with Marmion junior Donny Pigoni.

Marino rose victorious to push the Saints ahead 28-24 and seal the St. Charles East program’s first-ever team dual state title.

“I can’t even tell you how much it means to me. The sacrifice my family made, the sacrifice my wife makes to let me pore myself into this the way that it takes to do something like this,” a tearful Potter said before taking a few moments to collect himself. “This isn’t a part-time job for me. This is 24-7, 365 days a year. Not only does my wife understand that, but she carts our kids, brings them and supports it. She loves every one of these guys like they’re in my family.

“This was a dream of mine when I was a sophomore in high school when I was 16. We thought we were the best team in the state. We fell short and I really think that’s one of the reasons I got into coaching. My dream was to come back here and win a state title for this team and be a part of this program.”

Marino, who took third at last week’s individual state tournament, listened to Britney Spears’ “Gimme More” in his AirPods mat side before the pressure-filled match.

Marino exploded to a 13-5 lead to close the second period and never looked back.

“I just left everything out there,” Marino said. “I couldn’t let my team down for a state championship.”

Saints junior and undefeated three-time state champion Ben Davino ripped off a 6-0 start for the Saints to open the dual with a fall over Ashton Hobson. The fall, which is six points, had one point docked for an unsportsmanlike call.

The Cadets countered with 126-pound state runner-up Jameson Garcia’s 11-6 decision over Ethan Penzato to make it 5-3.

The Saints got seven more points after two-time 145-pound state champion Jayden Colon and Tyler Guerra earned wins to make it 12-3.

Marmion’s Teagan Chumbley and Collin Carrigan notched decisions worth three points each to cut the Saints’ lead to 12-9.

St. Charles East’s Lane Robinson and Brody Murray produced victories for an 18-9 Saints lead.

Marmion’s Jack Lesher, the 182-pound state champion, countered with a major decision for four points. Teddy Perry followed with a technical fall over Christian Wilson for five points. Sean Scheck earned three points with a 6-1 decision over heavyweight Austin Barrett and the Cadets took a 21-18 lead.

Marmion chose to forfeit at the 106-pound spot and St. Charles East went ahead 24-21.

“We thought it was best for the team if we tried to forfeit 106 and win the next one,” Marmion coach Nathan Fitzenreider said. “A phenomenal dual top to bottom. Our guys wrestled really hard and made it exciting. That’s all we’ve ever asked from them the whole year. They continue to wrestle hard, remember great character and lay it all on the line.”

Cadets freshman Nicholas Garcia tied it up at 24-24 at 113 with a 6-0 decision over Wrigley Schroeder to set the stage for the winner-take-all Marino four-point win.

It also took a miraculous finish against defending champion Mount Carmel in the quarterfinals for the Saints to reach Saturday’s final. Barrett and 106-pound undefeated state champion Dom Munaretto had back-to-back falls in the last two matches to erase a 10-point deficit and beat Mount Carmel 32-30.

The Saints downed Yorkville 44-25 in the semifinals.

“Having that win [against Mount Carmel] and getting us to the semifinal rolling into the finals like we did this morning, that was a cherry on top for my wrestling career,” Barrett said. “This last match didn’t go as I wanted, but that’s life. I’m going to keep rolling with the punches and go play Big Ten football.

“Our team, let’s call a spade a spade, we’re a bunch of misfits. We’re some talented athletes who came to scrap with anybody and we want the reputation to be a powerhouse. All these guys, they might not have it all together, but when we come into that wrestling room and Potter gets us going, it’s just a family.”

Potter coached Leyden for seven years. Despite the positive situation, athletic department support and more, Potter said, “it wasn’t home.”

Potter began coaching at St. Charles East in 2012.

“When the opportunity opened up to come back here, at first, I didn’t think it would be financially possible,” Potter said.

His voice quivered before he finished his last 11 words.

“I remember my wife, she’s like, ‘It’s not about the money.’”