Finishing strong

Dundee-Crown's Miko Villanueva reacts after winning a 103-pound match Friday at the State Finals in Champaign. Villanueva placed third. michael r. schmidt | Sun-times news group

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CHAMPAIGN -- Being a senior that had never before advanced to the spectacle that is the IHSA State Wrestling Finals can be a daunting task.

But St. Charles East senior Daniel Mercadante was not fazed by the big stage at the Assembly Hall at the University of Illinois one bit.

Mercadante capped a brilliant career for the Saints with a third-place finish at 145 pounds in Class 3A, leaving him with a 44-4 record, just two shy of the school record for wins in a season.

"He's a great kid, hard worker," East coach Steve Smerz said. "I never count him out of a match. He's got a lot of pride, a lot of heart. He didn't come in 100 percent to the tournament, being a little sick, but he doesn't let anything stop him. To finish third at state is outstanding. He's worked too hard to let anything stop him."

Mercadante held a 3-0 lead through two periods of his third-place match against AJ Knoll of Lincoln-Way East and allowed only two escape points in the third to hang on for a 3-2 win.

"My goal was to place," Mercadante said. "To place in the top three is awesome. I came in here and knew what I needed to do. I wanted to take first, but that goal got cut short, so I had to change my goals."

Mercadante fell to Elias Larson of Marian Catholic, 10-3, in the semifinals to kick him into the consolation bracket. He battled back to reach the third-place match with a 4-2 win over Demetrios Mitchell of Hersey. Mercadante was ahead against Larson, 3-2, before feeling the effects of his asthma and falling behind.

Dundee-Crown junior Miko Villanueva also capped off his season with a third-place finish, his coming at 103 pounds in Class 3A. He captured third without having to wrestle a third-place match by virtue of an earlier victory over Jake Schramm of Hinsdale South.

"I did a lot better than I thought I was going to do, Villanueva said. "I just wanted to place. Once I got to the semis, I was kind of greedy."

Villanueva finishes the season 37-6 in what appears to be legendary coach Al Zinke's final season as the Chargers head coach.

"He's worked hard all year," Zinke said. "I'm really pleased for him. He said if he makes the Grand March next year, he wants me to walk with him. This will be the first of many defining moments of his life. If he can use this to build on for the rest of his life, he'll be great."

• St. Charles East junior Brandon Rubino finished one win shy of winning a state medal in his first-ever state appearance. He finished the season with a 35-6 record.

"That shows that he's right there," Smerz said. "He was right there in a lot of close matches. It's great experience feeding into his senior year."

• East 152-pound junior Nick Scimeca (31-11) fell to Lyons' Mike Ryan in the first round on Friday. Saints freshman Nick Ruffino fell in his first-round match as well.

The Chargers' Jeremy Lee (37-9 at 119) lost in the first round and a wrestleback match, while Jermaine Lee (33-13 at 125) and Jack Lewis (38-6 at 152) each lost in their respective first-round bouts for D-C.

• Larkin's Tony Feliciano fell 5-4 at 130 pounds to Wheeling's Mike Smith. The Upstate Eight Conference champion ends his senior season with a 41-6 record.

• In Class 2A action, Burlington Central's Johnny Major (20-5) lost his first-round match. Junior Shane Burke (35-6 at 125) beat Oak Forest's Ryan Burton 12-8 in the first round, before falling in his second match.