The Saint Patrick wrestlers finished third in the East Suburban Catholic Conference Championships, which were hosted by Saint Patrick High School on January 26. Marist captured their 27th consecutive E.S.C.C. title with a total of 207.5 points and six individual champions. Carmel finished second with a total of 188 points, and Saint Patrick scored 130.5 points to place third.

Two Shamrocks were able to capture individual conference championships. Jon Schiewe rolled through the 135 lb bracket, pinning Will Robinson of Carmel at 2:38 in the semi-final, before knocking off top-seeded Peter Straka of Saint Viator in the championship match. Schiewe beat Straka by fall at 2:52. Joe Rau won the conference championship at 140 pounds with a thrilling 1-0 decision over Ron Galason of Marist. After riding Galason for the entire second period, preventing him from escaping, Rau started the third period in the down position and was able to escape for the lone point of the match. Rau pinned Armando Lopez of Marian Catholic in the semi-finals.

Two Shamrocks lost in the championship match, settling for second place. Defending state champion, Joe Fagiano dropped an 11-9 decision to John Schoen of Marist in the championship match of the 215 lb weight class. It was the second time that Schoen has defeated Fagiano a week, having snapped Fagiano’s 52-match winning streak with a 4-3 decision in a dual meet the previous Friday. Joe Romano finished second at 145 lbs, scoring a major decision over Notre Dame’s Peter Fudalej in the semi-final before losing to Ryan Unrein of Carmel in the championship match.

Saint Patrick had five other placewinners as Anthony Sciaccotta (103 lbs), Jimmy DiNino (130 lbs) and Brian Ridley (125 lbs) all took third place. Matt Ortega and George Vitzileos rounded out the Shamrock scoring as Ortega placed fourth at 152 lbs, and Vitzileos finished fourth at 285 lbs.

The Shamrock wrestlers will compete in the Illinois High School Association’s Oak Park (Fenwick) Regional this Saturday at Fenwick High School. There the Shamrocks will take on Oak Park-River Forest, Leyden, Fenwick, and Proviso East for the Regional Championship. Session I begins at 9:00am, and Session II starts at 1:30pm.