Greco brothers punch ticket to state

Marmion's Eddie Greco (right) battles Naperville North's Frank McKeown in the 103-pound bracket of the Class 3A Leyden Sectional on Saturday.
Terence Guider-Shaw / For The Beacon News

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FRANKLIN PARK -- It was a tough week of practice for brothers Eddie and Pat Greco.

The Marmion wrestlers trained extra hard to prepare for Saturday's Class 3A Leyden sectional.

In the end, the brothers made history by becoming the first wrestlers in the program's seven years to qualify for the state championships, which will be Friday and Saturday at Assembly Hall on University of Illinois campus in Champaign.

"We were so excited for this week," said Eddie Greco, who is a freshman. "We trained double sets every day to get ready for this. It means a lot to know that me and my brother are the only two guys in Marmion's history to ever make it to state."

Eddie Greco defeated Naperville North's Frank McKeown for a third time this season to capture third place in the 103-pound weight class, while older brother Pat Greco took second at 140 pounds.

Pat Greco was seconds away from a sectional title before Willowbrook's Steve Congenie scored an escape to send their championship match into overtime, where Congenie eventually scored a takedown for a 10-8 victory.

"I might have relaxed for a second and that is all it takes," said Pat Greco, a junior, about losing his advantage in regulation. "I'm glad I took second and made it down state. Who knows what will happen? Maybe I'll get on a roll and place. I can promise that I'm going to go back and work my butt off this week for state. That is what I'm here for. That is what I worked hard all summer for."

The Greco brothers weren't the only ones making history, however. Batavia wrestlers tied a school record by qualifying four wrestlers to next weekend's state championships.

Junior Logan Arlis (112 pounds) and senior Danny Watson (171) led the way for the Bulldogs by capturing sectional championships. Seniors Andrew Rudd (160) and Charlie Ryan (130) also finished in the top three of their respective weight divisions, which qualified them for state.

"How about that for leadership by example? All four of my captains made it to state," Batavia coach Tom Arlis said.

Logan Arlis (39-0) displayed dominance during his 7-0 victory against St. Charles East's Brandon Rubino.

"I would probably say that is the best I've seen Logan," Tom Arlis said. "I love to see him end the tournament with that quality of a match against a quality opponent. Taking nothing away from (Rubino), Logan pretty much dominated from the first whistle to the last whistle. I'm really excited about Logan's opportunities next week going down with an undefeated record."

Watson scored an escape in the early moments of the third period to secure a 3-2 win against Glenbard North's Charleston Soko in their championship match.

"I wrestled as hard I could," Watson said. "I did not want to put myself in jeopardy of being tossed because at tournaments like this you always see people who are favored to win going down because they try to do too much. I kept it simple and it worked."

The Bulldogs would have qualified all five wrestlers who advanced to sectionals, but Danny Watson's younger brother Augie came one win short of qualifying at 140 pounds.

"It would have been nice if Augie could have made it, but he's got a bright future ahead of him," Tom Arlis said.

Wrestling: Class 3A Leyden Sectional