Defending 1A champ Marian Central routs Sandwich at Oregon Sectional

OREGON – Returning 1A state dual champion Marian Central Catholic left no doubt in a dominant win over Sandwich during the IHSA Class 1A Dual Sectional at Oregon on Tuesday.

Boasting a lineup that features eight individual state qualifiers, five state medalists and two state champions, the Hurricanes scored 43 consecutive points and won nine straight bouts to open their sectional dual against the Indians.

The Hurricanes, who conceded only one match in the dual, will return to the IHSA 1A Dual State Championship at the Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington, where they will seek to defend their title after a 66-6 victory over Sandwich.

“It’d be really exciting,” said senior Brayden Teunissen, who brought home his second individual state championship for the Hurricanes last weekend. “It’s been our goal that we’ve been working for the entire year. As a team, we’ve had our eyes on this. Everyone’s been working really hard and everyone has the right mindset. We all want the same thing and that’s to win dual state.”

Marian Central (16-5) saw its state qualifiers set the tone early as Camden Spiniolas scored a 9-3 decision against Lydia Cartwright at 113 pounds before state runner-up Austin Hagevold recorded the first of four Hurricane pins to beat Leo Harbacek at 120 pounds. Teunissen and Nick Marchese secured technical falls to extend the Hurricane lead, with Teunissen beating Jakob Gruca 19-1 at 126 pounds and Marchese topping Colten Stone 17-2 at 132 pounds.

“We have a strong bond and as a team, we all connect really well,” Teunissen said. “We’re really close and we’re all there to push each other and cheer each other on. We just have to keep wrestling how we have been and cheering for each other so we can keep the energy up.”

Andrew Alvarado’s 14-5 major decision against Jaxson Blanchard at 138 pounds gave Marian Central, which won the Chicagoland Christian Conference Tournament earlier this season, a comfortable 23-0 lead over the Indians (25-13). Sandwich recorded its lone win of the dual at 175 pounds where Kai Kern needed only 35 seconds to pin Marian Central’s Luca Colatori.

After picking up a forfeit at 144 pounds, Marian Central rolled through the middle weights, with state runner-up Vance Williams notching a 20-2 technical fall over Joshua Kotalik at 150 pounds and Connor Cassels erasing an early deficit to earn a 13-7 decision over Josh Lehman at 157 pounds. Nic Astacio’s fall over Alton Spears at 165 pounds put the Hurricanes ahead 43-0.

State qualifiers continued putting in work for Marian Central late in the dual, as Dan French and two-time state champion Jimmy Mastny secured second-period pins to win at 190 pounds and 215 pounds. French defeated Kaden Clevenger before Mastny, who bumped up a weight class like most of the other Hurricane wrestlers on Tuesday, took down Sandwich’s Devon Blanchard.

“It’d be great to send our seniors off with one last hoorah,” Mastny said. “Our strengths are our hand fighting and our ability to get guys underneath us. We wear people out and we’re able to score bonus points off of that. It’s really fun to have all of these guys on the team and it’s a great environment. ... We need to score bonuses in big matches and not give up bonuses in others.”

Marian Central capped off its dual victory with a win at 106 pounds, where Diego Martinez found multiple takedowns during his 22-5 technical fall over Hunter Whitecotton.