Wrestling: Lincoln-Way West falls to Montini

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Updated: March 23, 2012 8:26AM

Lincoln-Way West coach Brian Glynn recognized the uphill battle his team faced to advance out of the dual sectional round.

After winning its own regional, West earned a meeting with powerhouse Montini. The two had faced off at the Lemont Sectional, and West sent a respectable three wrestlers to the state meet. Montini countered with 13.

Montini edged the Warriors 44-17 Tuesday night, earning the Fenton Sectional title and a trip to Bloomington for dual-team quarterfinals.

“When the bracket came out, we knew it was going to be a tough test. Unfortunately, it’s the second time in a row we’ve lost to them at this part of the tournament, even though we were ranked pretty high in the (2A) state. But it happens to everyone,” Glynn said.

The Warriors won five matches, highlighted by 195-pounder Colin Mulroe’s 8-4 decision over Anthony Ferraro, the individual Lemont Sectional champion.

It was a fitting end for Mulroe after failing to qualify for the individual state meet.

“Everything comes to an end,” Mulroe said. “I’m just happy to have turned in a good performance in my final match.”

Other winners for West included Kyle Rodriguez (126), who outpointed Vince Turk 12-11. Rodriguez secured a two-point takedown with under 10 seconds in the match.

Luke Keefe scored a technical fall over Montini’s Joe Gonzalez. Keefe was up 16-1 with 1:03 left in the third period when the match was stopped by points.

State qualifier Jake Bohne (160) continued to wrestle strong, taking down Montini’s Matt Diedrick 8-2.

Freshman Larry Cozzo (106) beat George Bernes by an 8-5 decision.

“I was very happy overall with how we came out. We showed some pride out there,” Glynn said.