Feb. 26--Being one of the best wrestling teams in the country isn't enough to guarantee a state trophy.
Credit that partly to Illinois' deep talent pool, and partly to the IHSA's blind-draw format for team playoffs.
It's not popular with some coaches and wrestlers, especially now that only two of the state's top three Class 3A teams are heading to Bloomington for Saturday's team state tournament.
Marmion, ranked 16th nationally by InterMat, met No. 17 Sandburg at Tuesday's Class 3A Argo Sectional and pulled out a 29-26 win. That ended Sandburg's season and kept alive Marmion's chances of a showdown with eighth-ranked and two-time defending state champ Oak Park-River Forest in the 3A final.
If it were up to Marmion coach Don Reynolds and Cadets 152-pounder Michael Callahan though, there would be room for all the national powers in Bloomington.
"I think we both (Marmion and Sandburg) deserved a shot to place at state," Callahan said.
"When we first looked at the bracket, we knew it was unfortunate," Reynolds said. "I do think there's got to be a better way to do it, to get the eight best teams down to the state tournament.
"This (Marmion vs. Sandburg) was a very exciting dual and it should have been happening down in Bloomington."
If Oak Park and Marmion do meet in the final, it'll be a rematch of the teams' Jan. 1 meeting at The Clash in Rochester, Minn. Oak Park won that one 27-22.
"Obviously, they're in the back of our mind," Marmion 182-pounder Nathan Traxler said of the Huskies. "But we've got to take it one match at a time."
Marmion's quarterfinal opponent is Montini, which has won state eight straight years (the last Class AA championship in the two-class system in 2008 and all seven 2A titles). On the other side of the 3A bracket is Oak Park, chasing its fourth title in eight seasons.
"We're already working toward that right now," Huskies 160-pounder Isaiah White said after winning his third 3A individual title on Saturday. "We've got to get ready for the team playoffs. That's big for us."
Two more national top 20 teams could meet in the 2A semis: No. 14 Mount Carmel and No. 20 downstate Washington. Waiting on the other side of the bracket for the survivor could be Marian Catholic.
mclark@tribpub.com
Dual team state tournament
When: Saturday
Where: U.S. Cellular Coliseum, Bloomington
Quarterfinal pairings, 9 a.m. (Semifinals 2 p.m., championships 6 p.m.)
Class 3A
Lockport (22-4) vs. Prospect (20-6)
Oak Park-River Forest (25-3) vs. Rockton Hononegah (22-3)
Grant (19-3) vs. Providence (14-6)
Marmion (25-5) vs. Montini (15-3)
Class 2A
Washington, Ill. (22-6) vs. Cahokia (18-2)
Antioch (16-11) vs. Mount Carmel (19-0)
Crystal Lake Central (20-6) vs. Sterling (12-8)
Marian Catholic (16-4) vs. Springfield (20-5)
Class 1A
Dakota (21-4) vs. Stanford Olympia (28-1)
Clifton Central (24-6) vs. Vandalia (28-6)
Coal City (29-2) vs. Walther (21-1)
Murphysboro (26-4) vs. Sherrard (21-9)
