WC_012419

30 | January 24, 2019 | The winnetka Current SPORTS
winnetkacurrent.com
McKenna, Miralles lead Trevians at CSL meet
Gary Larsen
Freelance Reporter
Nothing tosses a shovelful
of coal into the blast furnace
of a wrestler’s motivation
quite like a loss, and
the loss that New Trier’s
Matt McKenna took on the
title mat at this year’s CSL
tournament Saturday, Jan.
19, in Winnetka, should
provide him with a lot of
internal heat.
McKenna led 5-0 after
two periods against
Deerfield’s Josh Avenaim
in their title match at 145
pounds before Avenaim
battled back to tie it in the
third period and then won
it 7-5 over McKenna with a
takedown in overtime.
“We have regionals in
two weeks so I’ll be going
in there even hungrier,”
McKenna said. “In overtime
I felt a little gassed
but I thought I was in good
position. (Avenaim) is a
strong opponent but I beat
him 5-2 earlier this year.”
A short memory is required
in wrestling and
New Trier coach Marc
Tadelman isn’t worried
about McKenna with the
postseason looming.
“He’s a tough kid and
he’ll bounce back,” Tadelman
said. “Matt wrestled
good all day.
“He wrestled well in
the first and second period
of the title match and
we thought he had the win
locked up, but (Avenaim)
kind of caught him on his
back. But those things happen
and I’m super proud of
him, even though it doesn’t
sit well with him right
now.”
McKenna won by fall
in his first match and then
won by first-period fall in
his semifinal match against
Maine East’s Angel Villegas.
McKenna placed fifth
as a freshman and third as
a sophomore at the CSL
meet, so his appearance on
the title mat as a junior this
year marked another incremental
step forward.
“I’ve gotten a lot better
on my feet,” McKenna
said. “I was terrible on my
feet, freshman and sophomore
year, and I’d rely on
turning kids and pinning
them on top. But I’m a lot
more aggressive on my feet
now. I know you have to
have a good mindset, work
New Trier’s Michael Miralles wrestles in the 120-pound
weight class at the Central Suburban League meet
Saturday, Jan. 19, in Winnetka. Gary Larsen/22nd
Century Media
on your skills, and be good
in all phases.”
The Trevians placed 10th
overall, also getting a third
from Michael Miralles
(120) and a fourth from
Jake Cummings (160).
Miralles reached the semifinals
before losing 5-2 to
eventual champion Zack
Chrisovitsiotis, and then
won by tech fall in his final
match of the day against
Maine East’s Jeffrey Beccera.
Cummings won two
matches in the consolation
round to reach the thirdplace
mat before losing to
Maine South’s Ryan Pena.
You won’t find Glenbrook
South freshman Will
Collins listed on either of
Illinois’ top rankings lists
— at Illinois Matmen or Illinois
Best Weekly — but
odds are Collins won’t be a
secret for much longer.
Collins improved to 32-1
and dominated the CSL
field at 138, posting three
pins on his way to winning
his first conference
title. No wrestler made it
into the third period with
the freshman, who pinned
Deerfield’s Troy Mock in
55 seconds on the title mat.
Afterwards, Titans coach
Pat Castillo spoke to Collins’
competitive nature.
“With some of these guys
it doesn’t matter if they’re
playing video games, tictac-toe,
or checkers,” Castillo
said, “if they lose at
anything, it burns.”
“Will’s a competitor. He
doesn’t want to lose, no
matter what we’re doing.
Whether it’s an assistant
coach or I’m going with
him (in practice), he wants
to wrestle a hundred percent
and not hold back.”
Collins’ three pins were
no accident.
“I told (Castillo) I wanted
three pins and I was able
to get them,” Collins said.
“All I want to do is win
— football, wrestling, anything.
That mostly comes
from my dad encouraging
me to go after it, every
single day, and from my
coaches.”
The Titans got a second
memorable performance
from junior KP Santos
(26-10), who provided the
high-drama moment of the
tournament. Trailing Niles
West’s Omar Abbas by a
point on the title mat at
106, Santos earned a takedown
with less than a second
remaining in the match
to win an 8-7 decision.
Trailing by a point with
10 seconds remaining is no
place a wrestler wants to be
but Santos stayed calm and
did what he’s been taught.
“Stick to the basics. We
work on them every day,”
Santos said. “Thank god
we do that because if I
didn’t stick to my basics in
that situation, I don’t know
what would have happened
in that last ten seconds.”
It was the first CSL title
of the junior’s career and
the accomplishment wasn’t
lost on him. Glenbrook
South recently posted a
wrestling record board in
the school that lists accomplishments
of past wrestlers,
and Santos’ name will
now be added.
“I was really working towards
that,” Santos said. “I
really wanted my name on
the board. I look up there
every day and see all those
names of people who’ve
done amazing things for the
program.”
The Titans placed fourth
in the tournament.
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