The Saint Patrick Shamrocks defeated Notre Dame, Maine South and Evergreen Park to get their record to 3-3 on the young season.

On December 1, the Shamrocks squared off against New Trier and Notre Dame in a triangular meet. The Shamrocks fell to New Trier 42-25, but rallied to defeat Notre Dame by a score of 45-23. Against New Trier, the Shamrocks fell behind by a 24-6 margin after six matches with Brian Rategan’s pin at 171 lbs accounting for their points. The Shamrocks fought back on the backs of their lighter wrestlers. Pins by Trent Koenig at 103 lbs and Tony Okal at 119 lbs, combined with a 10-1 decision for Jimmy DiNino at 112 lbs made it 24-22 Trevians with five matches to go. The Trevians won four of those matches to win 42-25. In the nightcap the Shamrocks took on Notre Dame. Senior Nick Luburich set the tone in the first match, earning a technical fall with a 17-2vmargin despite being severely cut in the first period. Notre Dame took a 7-5 lead with a pair of wins, and then the Shamrocks took over. Pins by Joe Fagiano (215 lbs) and George Vitzileos (275 lbs), coupled with a forfeit at 103 lbs gave the Shamrocks a 23-7 edge that they would never lose. Matt Ortega scored a pin at 145 lbs, while Brian Ridley scored a major decision at 130 lbs. Steve DiNino (140 lbs) and Mario Dato (145 lbs) scored wins by decision as the Shamrocks cruised to a 45-23 victory.

Over the weekend the Shamrocks took on Maine South, Saint Rita and Evergreen Park in Park Ridge. The Shamrocks beat Maine South and Evergreen Park, but couldn’t handle the 4th ranked team in the state in Saint Rita. The Shamrocks jumped all over Maine South, after dropping the first match at 152 lbs, the Shamrocks won the next seven weight classes, including pins by Wellington Adams-Johnson, Rategan, Vitzileos and Koenig, to build a 35-6 lead. Saint Patrick hung on for a 42-30 win.

The Shamrocks followed a similar pattern against Evergreen Park, dropping the first match, and then scoring five pins and two forfeits in the next eight weight classes to build up a 42-15 advantage. Rategan, Fagiano, Vitzileos, Jimmy Dinino, and Ridley scored pins for Saint Patrick. The Shamrocks were no match for one of the best teams in the state, falling 61-6 to Saint Rita. Koenig earned three points for the Shamrocks with an 8-0 decision at 103 lbs, but the best individual match pitted Fagiano, ranked 4th in the state at 215 lbs against Jerome Ward, the 4th ranked wrestler in the state at 189 lbs. Fagiano got out to an early 7-2 lead, but Ward fought back to tie the match at 11. Fagiano was able to win the match 13-11 by scoring a takedown with only two seconds remaining.