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Chicago Tribune
26-02-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
In return from foot injury, Justin Williamson helps Mount Carmel get leg up on Marist in sectional. ‘Just doing my job.'
It's been quite a comeback for Mount Carmel's Justin Williamson. Williamson suffered a broken foot in January. After missing the last few weeks of the regular season, he returned for the postseason. The sophomore finished fifth in Class 3A at 132 pounds at Saturday's individual state meet and then came through with a huge pin in Tuesday night's Class 3A Yorkville Dual Team Sectional. 'I was wrestling with a broken foot still when I got back out there,' Williamson said. 'It was tough. 'I was able to fight through the pain with adrenaline and keeping my mindset focused on winning state or getting down there and placing and helping my team, too.' The Caravan needed every one of Williamson's bonus points to take down Marist in stunning fashion. The teams tied 34-34, but Mount Carmel was awarded a tiebreaker point for the victory. The first tiebreaker criteria is unsportsmanlike conduct points and Marist received one during the dual. Kavel Moore also had a pin for Mount Carmel, which advanced to take on Rockton Hononegah at 5 p.m. Friday in a state quarterfinal at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington. Missouri recruit Seth Mendoza, Sebastian Garcia, William Grafton-Hodgetts, George Hollendoner and Liam Kelly also had wins for the Caravan, who are ranked No. 2 in 3A by Illinois Matmen. Jack Watson, Michael Esteban and Kevin Tomkins had pins to lead Marist, Illinois Matmen's top-ranked team. The RedHawks also got wins from Illinois recruit George Marinopoulos, North Carolina State commit Will Denny, Ohio recruit Ricky Ericksen and Ethan Sonne. Williamson (19-9) pinned Marist's Eddie Astorga in the second period to give the Caravan a 21-12 lead after six matches. Mount Carmel coach Alex Tsirtsis is impressed with how Williamson battled back from the injury. In fact, Williamson was eager to return even quicker but was held off the mat by his coaches. 'He had been wrestling really well all year and he was champing at the bit,' Tsirtsis said. 'I think two weeks after he broke his foot, he could barely walk, but he wanted to practice. 'It was us having to hold him back. When he did get back, he was still a bit rusty, but he had a great state weekend at a really tough weight class and he followed that up (Tuesday).' Williamson moved up one spot on the podium at the individual state meet after a sixth-place finish last season. He dropped a 6-3 overtime heartbreaker to Marinopoulos in the semifinals but battled back to take fifth. 'I looked at it as an accomplishment,' Williamson said. 'I wish I would have won my semifinal, but I still took it as an accomplishment. I placed higher than last year, so I'll take it.' Mount Carmel avenged a 43-26 loss to Marist on Jan. 10, largely due to some unexpected heroes. Hollendoner, a junior 144-pounder, had wrestled in the varsity lineup for much of the season but lost his spot before the individual state series began. In his first match in nearly a month, he earned an 11-1 major decision over Jonathan Fields. 'Staying healthy, eating right, just staying ready for this,' Hollendoner said. 'I had to stay focused, stay confident, keep my head clear and just do my thing. 'It felt good just doing my job. Everyone else on the team did their jobs, too. I'm just glad we're going to state. We're going to be state champs.' If the Caravan do accomplish that, senior 215-pounder Leonard Siegal will be a big reason why. Siegal lost the final match of the night via a 20-4 technical fall, but he avoided being pinned by Ericksen, a state champion who needed a pin to win it for Marist. And now, Mount Carmel is headed back to state. 'It feels great,' Williamson said. 'It's a surprise that we took them out and that we won. I'm at a loss of words.'
Chicago Tribune
24-02-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Mount Carmel's Seth Mendoza makes prediction come true as four-time state champion. ‘It means a lot.'
CHAMPAIGN — A friend and fellow journalist recently reminded me about a conversation we had nearly 3 1/2 years ago. We had both heard good things about a freshman wrestler at Mount Carmel named Seth Mendoza, and I had just seen him compete for the first time. My colleague asked for my thoughts. 'He's going to be a four-time state champion,' I replied. I'm no genius, and this was no bold prediction. When it comes to the greatest of the great high school wrestlers, you just know. And everyone pretty much knew where things were going with Mendoza. The Missouri recruit completed the journey Saturday night, needing just one period to finish off Rockton Hononegah's Thomas Silva with a 17-1 technical fall in the Class 3A 138-pound state championship match at the State Farm Center. Mendoza (36-1) was one of the most dominant performers in the history of the state finals. In 16 matches over four years at the event, he won 15 by technical fall. 'I don't want to say I have trouble pinning people because I don't, but there's more fun and more enjoyment when you have a technical fall,' Mendoza said. Mendoza is the 16th four-time Illinois High School Association wrestling champion and first since St. Rita's Austin O'Connor, who won his fourth in 2017. Let's not exclude some recent wrestlers who also won four state titles, but not all in the IHSA. Sergio Lemley, Mendoza's former teammate, won three titles for Mount Carmel and one in Indiana. Nasir Bailey won four times over stints at T.F. North, Rich Township and a school in Texas. Joliet Catholic's Dillan Johnson also won four championships, and that included an Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association title in the 2020-21 season, when the IHSA tournament was canceled during the pandemic. But any way you slice it, it's a rare feat. And Mendoza certainly knows the history. 'It means a lot,' he said. 'It's something that since I was younger, I was looking up to those people. I remember seeing Austin O'Connor win his fourth here and (St. Charles East's) Ben Davino. In the ring of honor at Mount Carmel, seeing T.J. and Joe Williams up there. 'Being in that group, it's awesome.' Back to my prediction from 2021. The only thing I felt could derail Mendoza was the weight of expectations. Not everyone can handle being ordained as the next four-time champ when they are a freshman. But that's before I got to know Seth. This is one kid who does not get rattled. 'There's pressure, but I just try not think of it like pressure,' Mendoza said. 'I try to think of it as an opportunity. Everyone is expecting this from me, why not try to fulfill it?' Mendoza will wrestle at least one more time for Mount Carmel, which takes on Marist in Tuesday night's Yorkville Dual Team Sectional. And as a Mizzou alum, I can't wait to see Mendoza do even bigger things with the Tigers. Drought breakers With a fourth-place finish in Class 2A at 215 pounds, senior Genesis Ward became Evergreen Park's first boys wrestling state medalist since 1996. Richards senior Mike Taheny snapped an even longer streak, winning the program's first medal since 1992. Taheny took third in 2A at 190. After losing in the second round to Crystal Lake Central's Cayden Parks, the top seed who ended up placing second, Taheny battled back to win three straight matches. 'I came here to win the thing and it's hard to come back from losing, especially on the first day,' Taheny said. 'But I did it, and that's what I'm most proud of. Wrestlebacks are tough, but I did it, man.' Podium pride Joining Taheny as third-place finishers from the Southland were Sandburg's Rocco Hayes (113) and Ryan Hinger (144), Homewood-Flossmoor's Chazz Robinson (120), Joliet Catholic's Jason Hampton (126) and Luke Hamiti (165) and Lincoln-Way West's Nate Elstner (215) in 3A, plus Oak Forest's Austin Perez (144) in 2A and De La Salle's Jeremiah Lawrence (120) in 1A. Taking fourth along with Ward were Marist's Donavon Allen (144) in 3A, and Oak Forest's Jacob Sebek (113), Providence's Jasper Harper (157) and Brother Rice's Dan Costello (175) in 2A. Fifth-place finishers included Mount Carmel's Sebastian Garcia (106) and Justin Williamson (132), Joliet Catholic's Nolan Vogel (150) and Lockport's Jaedon Calderon (157) in 3A, along with Providence's Christian Corcoran (106) and Tommy Banas (132) and Brother Rice's Oliver Davis (138) in 2A. Placing sixth were Andrew's Nadeem Haleem (120) and H-F's Jovan Vukajlovic (157) in 3A, plus Brother Rice's Bobby Conway (132) and Frank Miceli (157) and St. Laurence's Xavier Bitner (215) in 2A. As usual, the area represented well.
