CHAMPAIGN -- When West Aurora senior wrestler Mario Gonzalez wrestled on Saturday at the state meet in his freshman season, the question wasn't when he'd win a state title, but how many.
After finishing fourth as a sophomore and third as a junior, however, Gonzalez was down to his last shot Saturday.
And this time, Gonzalez went out on top.
He got a quick takedown in the first period against Clayton Kendall of De La Salle in the finals and never looked back. Kendall did tie the match at 2, but Gonzalez dominated the rest of the way, winning 7-2 and taking home the state title at 189 pounds with a 43-1 record.
"I was a lot more excited on the inside than I showed," Gonzalez said. "Definitely a lot of relief. I had to do it. This is unbelievable. It feels great."
Motivating him since the start of the season was his early-season loss to Matt Dwyer of Hononegah, who placed fifth at 171 on Saturday.
"One of my goals coming into my senior year was to go undefeated," Gonzalez said. "When I lost, it was devastating because I let myself down. I didn't want that to happen again. I didn't like that at all."
Batavia junior Logan Arlis entered the state meet unbeaten and the top seed at 112 pounds. He held serve until the finals, when he ran into highly touted Edwin Cooper of Providence. Cooper fell behind early, but wound up with two late takedowns to hand Arlis a 6-3 loss, his only one of the season, and capture the state title.
"I just wanted to wrestle my hardest, never quit out there," said Arlis, who finished the season 41-1. "I gained a lot of experience. I fell kind of short of my goals, but that makes me want it even more. I just have to keep working, building."
Batavia senior Danny Watson was hoping to cap his career with a state championship. He fell short of that goal, but his record-setting year still ended with a win, 5-4 over Sterling Hecox of Harlem in the third-place match at 171.
"Danny's just been an unbelievable kid to coach," Bulldogs coach Tom Arlis said. "What a great career and what a great finish and what a great time we had. We've had one of the most successful seasons we've ever had and he was a big part of it. There are a lot of guys that were getting a lot more press than he was out there."
Watson finished 43-2 and beat two wrestlers ranked ahead of him, Dwyer and Hecox, to cap his Bulldogs career.
"I've been ranked behind those kids all season and everybody thought they were better, so it was nice to prove everybody wrong," Watson said. "I knew I could do it. My coaches knew I could do it. It would have been nice to be in the finals, but finishing with a win in third place is great."
West Aurora senior Josh Zinzer walked away with his second career state medal, finishing sixth at 125. It was his postseason nemesis, Brian Bokoski of Minooka, who denied him fifth place with a 7-2 decision. Bokoski beat Zinzer (43-5) in each of the last three meets.
"It didn't end the way I wanted it to, but as my career ends, I don't have any regrets about anything," Zinzer said. "I'm really happy that I'm leaving my last year with a medal. I've had a long day, a lot of matches. I'm starting to feel it a lot. I've never been this sore in my life."
Marmion freshman Eddie Greco captured fifth place at 103 pounds and Batavia senior Andrew Rudd battled back for a sixth-place medal at 160 after drawing the No. 1 seed, Nick Proctor of Neuqua Valley, in the opening round. Class 3A Wrestling State Tournament
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