Brody Kelly’s big redemption leads IC Catholic Prep’s three state titles; Montini wins two

CHAMPAIGN – Brody Kelly was the first wrestler up.

The return to the center stage at State Farm Arena was a year in the making for the IC Catholic Prep junior.

“Last year I lost by one point, and I’ve thought about that every single day,” he said.

The blind draw meant the state championship bouts started with Kelly’s 175-pound match against Kye Weinzieri of Geneseo.

Kelly posted seven takedowns for the 21-6 technical fall in the Class 2A state championship match Saturday at the University of Illinois.

Kelly (46-5) emphatically erased the bittersweet experience of his narrow 3-2 defeat in the 150-pound championship against Montini’s David Mayora last year.

“I learned from that day about the pain and disappointment, and it made me want to go to practice more, every day, two times a day,” Kelly said.

“It pushed me to go harder in practice.”

Kelly dictated the tempo with three takedowns in each of the first two periods.

“I wasn’t as nervous because it was my second time here,” he said. “I knew I was going to go out and dominate.

“You have to go out right away. You can’t be hesitant, and wait for them to do something. You have to go out and do it yourself.”

Kelly was one of four Knights to reach the championship match.

IC Catholic finished with a staggering nine state medalists with three champions and a runner-up.

Senior Deven Casey captured his second consecutive state championship with the 10-1 major decision over Civic Memorial’s Bradley Ruckman in the 132-pound title match.

Casey (47-6) won the 120-pound state title last year.

“There’s a lot of pressure, it’s the state finals, and I really wanted to dominate the match,” Casey said.

“You feel the weight off your shoulders. This is what I worked for, and what I wanted before I got into high school.”

In the 126-pound title match, newcomer Max Cumbee, a transfer from Joliet Catholic, won the dramatic 1-0 victory over Rochelle’s Xavier Villalobos.

The Knights’ top Class 2A rival Montini finished with two state champions and seven state medalists.

At 113 pounds, sophomore Allen Woo secured his consecutive state championship with the 4-1 overtime victory over St. Patrick Daniel Goodwin.

Woo (49-5) fought off the defensive maneuvers of Goodwin with the takedown early in the overtime.

”Pressure is a privilege, and I am just grateful for all the opportunities that I get,” Woo said.

“I was a little frustrated because I felt like it shouldn’t have been that close, and I worked too hard. I knew nobody worked like I did, and I could finish the match.”

Montini junior Kam Luif cruised to the 138-pound title with a major decision over Rockford East’s Donald Cannon.

Luif (50-4) had a dominant state finals run with three victories by technical fall leading into the state championship match.

“Scoring points and having fun is the most important thing to me,” he said. “That’s how I do it.

“I knew I had trust in my training, and trust in my coaches and my teammates, and I could beat anybody out there.”

Like Brody Kelly, Lemont junior Judah Heeg had his own homecoming.

After living in the suburbs of Minneapolis the last four years, his returned to the south suburbs.

Judah Heeg pulled off the stunning upset of heavily favored Cayden Parks of Crystal Lake Central 4-1 in overtime in the Class 2A 190-pound championship match.

“As soon as we got to Minnesota, I always thought about coming back,” he said.

His younger brother, Providence freshman Justus Heeg, won the 150-pound state championship with the technical fall over Mascoutah’s Brock Ross.

Judah Heeg (41-3) enjoyed his own moment when he caught Parks on the takedown on the edge of the mat.

“I had no doubt in my mind I was going to get that takedown,” Judah Heeg said.

“It didn’t matter what he did, I just knew that I was going to get it. I knew I was close to that edge, but I didn’t panic, and I just went right back to work.”