Vance Williams helps Marian Central lock up wins against Mount Carmel, Joliet Catholic

WOODSTOCK – Marian Central senior Vance Williams found himself in unfamiliar territory.

Williams couldn’t remember a time before Saturday when he was in the unique position to lock down a team win in the closing match of a dual.

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Marian Central's Vance Williams tries to get out of the grasp of Joliet Catholic's Nolan Vogel in their 150-pound match during a triangle wrestling meet on Saturday Jan. 11, 2025, between Marian Central, Joliet Catholic, and Mt. Carmel at Marian Central HighSchool in Woodstock. (Gregory Shaver/Gregory Shaver )

His teammates certainly were happy to have Williams shoulder the load late.

“He’s the perfect guy for that kind of situation,” said senior Brayden Teunissen, the defending state champion at 120 pounds in Class 1A. “He likes to get freaky, crazy stuff that they don’t see coming.”

Williams, with Marian needing five points to win, delivered a sensational reversal after getting slammed to the mat moments earlier and pinned Mount Carmel’s Jairo Acuna to eke out a 40-38 team victory.

Then, against Joliet Catholic, the Hurricanes resolute senior picked up the clinching win again. This time, he earned a major decision against Nolan Vogel in the second-to-last match en route to a 39-32 victory for Marian and a triangular sweep at Landers Pavilion.

“I knew what I had to do in my head,” said Williams, who competed at 150 pounds. “Getting them uncomfortable so they’re going to panic, that’s my mindset. That is where I can catch them.

“As a leader, I felt like I was good there. I trained for that.”

Both Mount Carmel and JCA are ranked in the top three in Class 3A, while defending state champion Marian is top three in 1A.

The Hurricanes felt very much on the same level as the Caravan, last year’s 3A state champ, and the Hilltoppers.

And coach Jordan Blanton felt like the outcome was in good hands with Williams, a recent University of Chicago commit.

“There’s nobody better you want with a dual coming down to the line,” said Blanton, whose Hurricanes took two forfeits against Mount Carmel. “He knows what to do in those situations, just wrestle hard and things can happen.

“Today was an unbelievable day. We feel like if we have our full lineup and everybody wrestles like you saw today, then it doesn’t matter. They can bring King Kong and it doesn’t matter.”

Joliet Catholic dropped both of its duals, falling to Mount Carmel 35-31 in the opener. Although the Hilltoppers were missing a few key wrestlers, coach Ryan Cumbee didn’t use that as an excuse.

“It’s keeping these guys together and believing we can win despite that,” Cumbee said. “Unfortunately, our guys weren’t mature enough to pass that in their head. It’s not that their technique was better today.

“Today, the biggest difference is they just wanted it more than we did – both teams. And that’s unacceptable.”

Joliet Catholic’s Elias Gonzalez (144) and Nico Ronchetti (190/215) both finished 2-0, with Gonzalez getting two pins. Recording single wins were Kane Robles (106), Maddux Tindal (120), Matthew Laird (126/132), Jason Hampton (126/132), Vogel (150), Vinny Tindal (157) and Isaac Clauson (175/190).

“Elias Gonzalez, he showed up today and beat a former teammate [George Hollendoner] at Mount Carmel,” Cumbee said. “He did his job today. And I thought Matthew Laird wrestled tough and stepped in for an injured starter, so I was really proud of his effort.”

Teunissen went 2-0, with a pin in the 120-pound match against Mount Carmel’s Kavel Moore giving him 150 career wins. He added his 151st against JCA’s Hampton at 126 with a 4-2 decision.

“It’s really exciting,” said Teunissen, who is returning from hand surgery. “There’s definitely more wins that are coming, but it’s exciting.”

Marian sophomore Jimmy Mastny (190 pounds), who won the 157-pound state title last year and whom Blanton called the best wrestler to come out of McHenry County, went 2-0 with pins over Mount Carmel’s Kenny Segerson and JCA’s Clausen.

Also finishing 2-0 for Marian were Austin Hagevold (113/120), Nicholas Marchese (126/132) and Kaleb Eckman (285). Josh Gawronski (165) and Dan French (215) both went 1-1.

Williams said some people may overlook the Hurricanes because they’re a 1A team.

Saturday’s wins should open some eyes.

“I think today shows that Marian Central is here to wrestle and we’re going to be here for a while,” Williams said.