Will Marian Central wrestler’s and coach’s suspensions be reinstated? Closing arguments filed in court

Attorneys on both sides of an effort to ban a teen from wrestling for Marian Central Catholic High School and suspend his coach for one year have filed closing arguments in McHenry County court in the trial over whether the student-athlete was inappropriately recruited.

Arguments filed by Kenneth Vanko on behalf of the IHSA, which governs Illinois high school sports, reaffirmed the association’s belief that the “offer of residence and guardianship to an incoming wrestler from the head wrestling coach’s mother was an impermissible special inducement. ... Any student athlete to receive or be offered any remunerations of any kind or to receive or be offered any special inducement of any kind which is not made available to all applicants who enroll in the school or apply to the school” would be in violation of the bylaws, the argument said.

At the center of the issue is Marian Central sophomore Jimmy Mastny, a 16-year-old wrestler, and wrestling co-coach Jordan Blanton. Before Mastny’s freshman year, Blanton’s mother Stacey Blanton, a longtime friend of Mastny’s mother, Renee, took Mastny into her Woodstock home and legally took over guardianship of Jimmy so he could attend Marian Central. Renee Mastny has said she made this decision because Marian Central could provide her son with a better education than what is offered in their hometown of Oregon, in Ogle County.

But the IHSA determined the “housing arrangement with [the coach’s mother], which allowed Jimmy to wrestle at Marian Central, was a recruiting infraction,” Vanko wrote in his argument.

Argued at a bench trial last week before Judge David Gervais is whether Stacey Blanton is considered a person “connected” to the school because she is the mother of an employee. If so, then Blanton taking Jimmy Mastny into her home, and the high school allowing him to wrestle, would be seen as a “special inducement” and considered a violation of IHSA bylaws regarding recruitment.

Attorney Timothy Brandner, representing Mastny and Blanton, wrote in his closing arguments: “The family members of school personnel hold no connection or association with that school. No portion of the [IHSA’s] By-Laws define a person connected or associated with the school to include family members of school personnel, whether implicitly or explicitly.”

Brandner continued: “No reasonable or rational interpretation of the IHSA By-Laws supports a claim that a family member is considered as associated or connected with the school. The IHSA’s determination to the contrary – that Stacey Blanton is associated with and connected with the school – merely based upon her familial relationship with Jordan Blanton is arbitrary, capricious, and constitute a failure to apply its By-Laws in a reasonable, consistent, and fair manner.”

In December, prior to the 2023-24 wrestling season – which Jimmy Mastny finished as state champ in his weight class – IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson wrote a letter to the school with his findings that Jordan Blanton and the Woodstock school violated IHSA bylaws “through Coach Blanton’s family’s offer and acceptance of lodging and guardianship of Jimmy Mastny for school attendance and participation in wrestling.”

Anderson’s investigation involved three other students who also are wrestlers who transferred to Marian. The others were cleared, but the “lengthy investigation” into Mastny found the way he joined the team went against IHSA rules that prohibit recruiting. IHSA then suspended Blanton for the season and banned Mastny from ever wrestling at Marian.

Brandner wrote in his closing argument that the bylaws are too vague and do not specifically define family members of employees as connected to the school.

Mastny and Blanton have denied violating any rules. Mastny said in December he chose Marian Central for the academics and the teachers he met during a tour the previous spring, not necessarily to be on the wrestling team. Mastny, who had been homeschooled, participated in a wrestling camp at Marian in 2020 with a former coach. But, it wasn’t until after touring the school that he told his mom he wanted to enroll.

After the IHSA’s ruling in December, Blanton and Renee Mastny filed a motion seeking a temporary restraining order to lifting the suspension, which Gervais granted. This allowed Blanton to coach and Mastny to wrestle for the season while the question of his eligibility was pending, with the judge at the time questioning why Mastny should be punished under the circumstances. Gervais also said in December he did not find that recruitment took place in this situation. Gervais – the same judge who oversaw the transfer of Mastny’s guardianship to the coach’s mother – also said IHSA didn’t provide a clear explanation of how to apply its rules.

Mastny went on to have one of McHenry County’s most dominant seasons. He won the Class 1A 157-pound state title and helped the Hurricanes win their first IHSA dual team state title.

A court date in the case is scheduled for Friday, at which Gervais could render his ruling.