Crystal Lake Central fights back to capture IHSA regional title

ANTIOCH – Jackson Marlett stood on the red championship match mat inside Antioch’s gym Saturday afternoon ready to go.

Marlett slapped both of his legs as he walked toward the mat’s inner circle as if he was getting ready to start his match. But once he met Antioch’s Noah Kwasiborski in the middle, Marlett shook his hand, an official raised Martlett’s arm and he sprinted to his Crystal Lake Central teammates to celebrate.

[ Photos: IHSA 2A Antioch Regional ]

“I was trying to keep on the energy for the rest of the team,” Marlett, a sophomore, said. “Keep the energy up.”

He provided the spark for a dominant performance for the Tigers at the Class 2A Antioch Regional. Marlett’s win at 113 pounds was the first of 12 wins for Central Saturday as the program won its third regional title over the past four seasons.

Central won the regional with 207 points, 19 points ahead of Antioch. Grayslake Central (122) took third, Cary-Grove (110) placed fourth and Prairie Ridge (92.5) finished fifth. Grayslake North (78), Crystal Lake South (60) and Lakes (46) rounded out the scoring, respectively.

The top three finishers from each weight advanced to Friday’s Class 2A Crystal Lake Central Sectional.

Marlett wanted to provide a boost for both himself and his team when he won his title match by fall midway through the second period. He missed most of his freshman season with Burlington Central and came back for regionals where it finished runner-up.

With a gritty performance, Marlett gave the Tigers exactly what they needed.

“I don’t know what I’m going to get out of him, but I love him,” Central coach Justen Lehr said of Marlett. “He’s a raccoon in the trashcan.”

Marlett was one of three regional winners for the Tigers. Senior Cayden Parks took the 190 crown by winning all three of his matches by fall while senior Tommy McNeil won the 215 title in both of his matches with a pin. Junior Logan Gough finished second at 215.

Central’s run to the regional title took place on the third-place mat. The Tigers won all eight of their third-place matches to not only qualify 12 wrestlers for sectionals but also build enough points to get the regional crown.

Senior Payton Ramsey (120), junior Dylan Ramsey (126), sophomore Daniel Snow (132), junior Brandon Carbone (138), sophomore Nicholas Zuehlke (150), senior Dominic Vitale (157), senior Tommy Tomasello (165) and junior Tyler Porter (175) each won their third-place matches to secure Central a championship.

“They knew how much they mattered,” Parks said. “They knew it was bigger than themselves. They knew they wanted to get that done for the team. It means the world to me. I know it means the world to those guys. Regional title is something that we strive for every year.”

Antioch made it a battle for the crown until the final matches. The Sequoits won four regional titles, the most of any team, and had 12 wrestlers competing in both the championship and third-place matches.

Seniors Gavin Hanrahan (126) and Ben Vazquez (175), junior Chase Nobiling (144) and sophomore Dominic Garcia (150) each won regional titles while senior Noah Kwasiborsk (113) and junior Marcus Macias (165) each finished runner-up. Juniors Haydren Gomez (106) and Owen Shea (215) each took third.

Saturday’s win was a key milestone in Hanrahan‘s comeback. He broke his thumb near the start of the season and didn’t come back until around Christmas. His overtime comeback to take the 126 title came after a tough week of preparation.

“I was training hard all this week,” Hanrahan said. “I knew what that guy was going to do. He wasn’t really gonna attempt anything and he was starting to look for upper body. So I came prepared well.”

The Trojans matched the Tigers with the second-most regional champions after four appeared in title matches. Junior Hunter Lenz (120) and seniors Noah Pechotta (165) and Lucas Burton (285) each won their regionals while sophomore Jacob Turner (138) finished runner-up.

Like Hanrahan, Lenz had to fight a tough final in order to reach a major milestone after missing some time this season. Lenz dislocated his thumb and missed most of the first half of the season of it.

He took a 7-2 lead in his championship match and held on to win 7-4 despite a comeback effort from PR senior Jake Lowitzki.

“It was tough,” Lenz said of his recovery. “But I’m glad to be back.”

Grayslake Central junior Aidan Eisenberg (138) won his regional, senior Liam Halloran (132) and junior Warren Nash (157) finished runner-up and sophomore Trevor Hengl (144) took third. The Wolves' seniors Lowitzki, Mikey Meade (126) and freshman Aiden Rodriguez (175) earned runner-up finished and sophomore Frank Matviychuk (190) placed third.

Grayslake North senior Jacob Ronsman (157) won his title, senior Owen Anderson (150) and David Williams (215) placed second and Robert White (285) took third. South junior Nathan Randle (132) won his title by technical fall while sophomores Christopher Talbert (106) and Aiden Marrello (144) took second.

Saturday felt like a moment that wouldn’t happen for Randle almost a year ago. After wrestling up a weight with Wauconda last season and dealing with some personal things. Randle wasn’t sure he wanted to wrestle again.

But once he transferred to South this year, he built strong relationships at the school and the Gators program. A year later, he’s grateful to earn another week of wrestling.

“It’s always great first step,” Randle said. “There’s two more weeks of the season and it’s always a good first step just to get over the hump.”

Class 2A Antioch Regional Placers (Top-three advance to sectional tournament)