Montini holds off late Marmion charge

Updated: March 23, 2011 9:46AM

In most sports, margin of victory means nothing. In wrestling, it means

everything.

That explains why Montini's Mike Maduko couldn't stop smiling after an 11-1

loss to Marmion's Eddie Breen on Saturday. By fighting off his back twice,

Maduko denied Marmion the bonus points it needed to complete an epic

comeback.

Instead, No. 7 Montini held on for a 31-30 win over host and No. 1 Marmion

in a quad meet that also included two of the nation's top 10 teams: No. 5

St. Edward (Ohio) and No. 9 Iowa City West.

"I'm so happy even though I lost," said Maduko, a freshman 152-pounder. "I

did it for my teammates."

"He stepped it up for us as a freshman, not getting pinned. He did what he

had to do," said Montini 145-pounder Frank Baer, who won a 13-3 major

decision.

Montini (17-4) jumped ahead 21-0 and 27-3 in the match, which began at 160

pounds. The Broncos had a pin from KeVon Powell (112), a default win by

Stephen Robertson (160) and a forfeit victory by Edgar Ruano (215) in

addition to decisions by Anthony Ferraro (171), Dimitri Willis (189) and

Ross Ferraro (285).

But Marmion (11-4) won five straight matches to pull within 27-26. The

highlight was Ben Whitford's 4:37 pin of Michael Sepke at 130. Whitford is

ranked No. 1 in Class 2A by Illinois Best Weekly at 130, while Sepke is

top-ranked in 2A at 125.

Jered Cortez (119) had a technical fall for the Cadets, while Eddie Greco

(125), Bryce Brill (135) and Angelo Silvestro (140) earned major decisions.

Then Baer gave the Broncos a little breathing room and Maduko limited the

damage enough for the three-time defending state champs to prevail.

"Marmion does a great job," Montini coach Israel Martinez said. "One thing

they've got to do is beat us before they become champs. A lot of people are

crowning them [2A] champs, [but] they haven't beat us yet."

"Everybody this time of year gets a little beat up," Marmion coach Dean

Branstetter said. "It's not an excuse. We had a chance to win and that's all

we wanted, a chance to win."

Montini lost 40-19 to Iowa City West and 48-12 to St. Edward, while Marmion

fell 46-19 to Iowa City and 49-21 to St. Edward.

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