Story posted Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Only Marist Ahead Of ND At ESCC Finals
Notre Dame wrestlers used a remarkably deep team effort to rack up 11 medals, including one conference championship, and take second place at the East Suburban Catholic Conference championships Saturday at Joliet Catholic Academy.
The Dons racked up 166 points for the second place effort, falling only to Marist with 191. St. Viator came in at sixth with an even 70.00.
Brian Ridge became a conference champion at 215, dominating Marist's Josh Hickey with a 12-2 major decision in the championship bout. Ridge pinned his first opponent in just 1:09 and advanced to the finals on a default. He brings his record to 26-12 on the year.
ND teammates Jim Wallenburg (145) and Quinn Machain (285) also advanced to the championship bouts of their bracket but settled for second place finishes in the ESCC.
The Dons proved particularly good at bouncing back from semi-final losses, racking up five third place finishes. Matt Sommers (103), Sean Hennghan (112), Scott Smith (119), Jim Biancofiori (125) and Matt McNulty (140) all fell in tough semi-final matches but responded with nice runs to win third place medals.
Dylan Steigerwald (135), Nick Bascom (160) and Colton Kelly (189) added fourth place finishes to round out the Don scoring.
St. Viator also had a conference champion as William Rittmeyer took the 189 crown with a 4-1 decision over St. Joseph's Will Milleville. Rittmeyer, a senior, advanced to the title match with hard-fought 9-6 and 4-2 decision. He brought his season record to 23-10.
Matt Izzy (135) and TJ Hohenadel (160) added strong third place finishes for the Lions while Joe Lamantia (145) and Eric Abrahamian (152) finished with fourth place medals.
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