J. Sterling Morton School District 201

During his 17 years with the Morton wrestling program and 11 seasons as head varsity coach, Steve Eckert has never had an individual place at the state tournament.

But with the Mustangs sending three qualifiers to Champaign this weekend, Eckert is hoping that this drought will be worth the wait.

"As usual, it's going to be a tough field down there," Eckert said of the state meet. "We're aiming for a great showing."

Three-time regional champion Manny Macedo (31-3) won his first sectional title in the Class 3A event at De La Salle last Saturday. The senior became a two-time state qualifier with a 12-8 decision over Hinsdale Central freshman Ernest Battaglia (37-9) at 119 pounds.

Jose Torres earned his first trip to the state tournament. Torres is Macedo's wrestling partner in practice and began competing in the sport as a freshman after being cut from the freshmen boys basketball team.

In last Saturday's semifinals at 112, the senior had what Eckert described as the match of his life. Down three points with one minute to go, Torres (30-12) executed a move on his opponent that earned him five points and a berth in the championship match.

"I never gave up wrestling all six minutes," Torres said. "I'm proud of what I was able to do."

Torres went on to lose a 12-2 decision to sophomore Johnny Anderson (24-10) of St. Rita in the title bout. He credits Macedo for helping him make it to state.

"If it wasn't for Manny (Macedo), I wouldn't be where I'm at as a wrestler," Torres said. "He's done a great job of preparing me throughout my career. This weekend, I'm trying to win that first match and see what happens from there."

Joining Torres and Macedo will be first-time state qualifier David Chittick, who began wrestling for the first time as a sophomore a season ago. The junior made it to the championship match at 145 and lost to last year's state runner-up Max Schnieder (36-0) of Lane Tech. Prior to falling to the undefeated sophomore, Chittick (31-9) was either trailing or tied with a minute to go in every match and still managed to win.

"He won those rounds because he was in better shape and had the bigger heart at the end of those matches," Eckert said.

Chittick attributes much of last Saturday's success to Morton's offseason program.

"I'm still learning and improving," he said. "It's going to be full speed ahead the rest of the way."

Chepe Mariscal (31-6) posted a fifth-place finish at De La Salle but has a chance to make an appearance in the state meet at 135. The junior is waiting to see if Mt. Carmel's Tyler Argue, who came in fourth place at De La Salle, will be held out of the competition due to injury. If the junior is out, then Mariscal is in.