Crystal Lake Central’s Cayden Parks, Cary-Grove’s Lucas Burton win IHSA sectional titles

CRYSTAL LAKE – Cayden Parks let himself enjoy the moment Saturday afternoon.

As the final whistle blew in his 190-pound championship match at the Class 2A Crystal Lake Central Sectional, Parks knelt up, put his arms up in the air and motioned with his hands for the fans to continue cheering. He looked around the Central gym and pointed to different fans as spectators around the gym rained cheers down on him.

Sure, that moment was just a part of what Parks hopes is a state championship season. But the Central senior wanted to take in the moment of winning his first sectional title in his final match inside the Tigers’ home gym.

“You’ve got to appreciate the moment if you want to achieve big goals, big dreams like that,” Parks said. “You have to take time to appreciate the smaller goals that helped build up to that.”

Parks took in the moment after qualifying for his third individual state tournament. He led a group of seven McHenry County-area wrestlers who qualified from Saturday’s sectional for the state tournament set to start Thursday at the State Farm Center on the campus of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

The sectional title didn’t come easy for Parks, who’s ranked the No. 1 wrestler in his weight class according to Illinois Matmen and finished runner-up at last season’s state tournament. After winning his first match by fall, Parks won his quarterfinal match by technical fall and then his semifinal by a 9-2 decision.

Parks built a 3-0 lead after the first period and carried a 13-3 lead into the third after winning mostly through hand fighting. Wauconda’s Mike Merevick battled back to make it 15-7 but Parks held on to capture his first sectional title.

“I’m pumped,” Parks said. “It’s just a step in the process, but at the same time, I’m gonna want to take a little bit of time after this to be happy, celebrate.”

Three other Tigers wrestlers will join Parks in Champaign. Sophomore Jackson Marlett (113) and seniors Tommy Tomasello (165) and Tommy McNeil (215) each finished third in their respective weights. McNeil returns to state for the second time while Marlett and Tomasello will both make their debuts.

Tomasello’s trip to state wasn’t always guaranteed. He lost his first match in the sectional tournament and then figured he had nothing left to lose. Tomasello carried that mentality with him in the consolation semifinals when he came back in a match he had trailed in for most of it.

He won by fall in the second period.

“It means a lot to me because I put in hundreds of hours in the offseason,” Tomasello said. “It really means a lot to be able to go from being at the bottom to being one of the big fish in the little pond. It feels really good.”

Cary-Grove senior Lucas Burton felt like he missed an opportunity last season. After losing in a close match in the sectional semifinals, Burton had to watch as he took third while Fenton’s Thomas Klos dominated to a sectional crown.

Burton, ranked No. 1 at 285, made the most of his chance this time around. He won his first two contested matches by fall in the first period and ran out to a quick 10-0 lead against Klos in the title match.

Klos suffered an injury in the title match, which forced him to forfeit.

Although Burton would’ve liked to have won without Klos suffering an injury, he was proud of how he handled the matchup to reach state for a second time.

“You never know how some kids are going to turn out,” Burton said. “And then you go out there and pin them in the first period.”

Both Prairie Ridge senior Jake Lowitzki and Crystal Lake South junior Nathan Randle qualified for their third trip to state. Lowitzki finished runner-up at 120 at Saturday’s sectional while Randle took third at 132.

Each has enjoyed success in Champaign. Randle finished runner-up during his freshman season with Wauconda while Lowitzki has won matches in previous trips down.

The two said they’ll draw upon their previous experiences to prepare for a one-of-a-kind atmosphere.

“Most matches are pretty tight So it’s awesome to be down there,” Randle said. “Just the competition, everything.”