Marian Central splits early test against Marist, Niles Notre Dame

NILES – Winning back-to-back state championships was never going to be an easy thing for Marian Central to do. The Hurricanes got a nice reminder of that Thursday night.

The defending Class 1A dual team state champions tested themselves against two of the tougher teams in the state without some key wrestlers in their lineup. Marian dropped its opening dual to Marist 43-15, then came back to beat Niles Notre Dame 42-34.

Despite returning a majority of last season’s championship roster, the Hurricanes aren’t taking their returning talent for granted.

“I don’t take it for granted and I hope nobody else on our team does,” Marian sophomore Jimmy Mastny said. “We’re not the underdogs but we’re definitely not the favorites. Anybody can beat us on any given day if we’re not at our best.”

With a couple of injuries, including one to defending state champion senior Brayden Teunissen, the Hurricanes weren’t at their best. Some underclassmen have been forced to step up and Marian forfeited a couple weights Thursday.

Marist ran out to a 30-0 lead when sophomore Nic Astacio picked up the first win of the dual for Marian. He won at 175 pounds 11-5 before Mastny (190) held on to win 2-0 and junior Daniel French (215) won 11-7. Junior Austin Hagevold (120) won by fall.

The Hurricanes used that late momentum and brought it into their match against the Dons. With two forfeits in the final two weights, freshman Cam Spinolas (113) won by fall and Hagevold picked up his second pin of the night to secure the win for Marian.

Seniors Andrew Alvarado (138) and Vance Williams (150) each won by fall along with Astacio, Mastny and French to help the Hurricanes respond strongly after a tough opening loss.

“That’s everything,” Marian coach Jordan Blanton said. “That’s the challenge and our coaching staff was very upfront with them. It’s OK to lose, that’s gonna happen on this journey just given the resources that we have right now. But how we respond and wrestle a team that we knew we were capable of beating – we knew it would be a scrap.”

Thursday’s duals were a good experience for the Hurricanes if they plan on repeating as champions. Marian won last season’s state championship because it had a deep lineup.

“I don’t take it for granted and I hope nobody else on our team does. We’re not the underdogs but we’re definitely not the favorites. Anybody can beat us on any given day if we’re not at our best.”

—  Jimmy Mastny, Marian Central sophomore

Thursday was a good way for the Hurricanes’ depth to step up against some of the best.

“Everybody has to do their job,” Blanton said. “Sometimes your job [is to] go out there and win. Sometimes your job is just to go out there and fight and battle for your team. So we had a great mix of that tonight.”

Blanton seemed encouraged that some of his injured wrestlers would come back in Tuesday’s quad held at Marian. He expected Teunissen to make his season debut after having hand surgery in September.

While reinforcements are on the way, Thursday was a good reminder of what it will take to get that feeling of winning a championship once again.

“The guys that were here know what the feeling is, how winning is,” Mastny said. “I know I want to repeat again. I’m assuming all of them want to, too.”