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    Josh Lowe •

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    No. 2 OPRF handles No. 17 Marist

    WASHINGTON, Ill. -- Even with both teams missing key pieces, and other parts having limited practice, the early season showdown between No. 2 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. and No. 17 Marist, Ill. served to be rather entertaining and a barometer of where both teams stood on this early December afternoon in Washington, Ill.

    Without the starting 195-pound wrestler available for Marist, and Oak Park River Forest not having the services of returning state qualifier Allen Stallings at 182, the opening match at 182 would be a telltale. Junior Ben Bergen, normally a backup, stepped up for the Huskies getting a fall against the bumped up Louie DePasquale. Then, it was returning state qualifier Andre Lee coming up with a 5-2 decision victory against two-time state placer Alex Benoit to extend the OPRF lead to 9-0.

    In the next match, the fact both teams had backup wrestlers did not change the likely outcome at 220 pounds. OPRF got a pin out of senior Malik Brumant against Pat O'Connor. Marist finally got on the board with a pin at 285 pounds from Jake Ford against Cadet National double All-American Adam Lemke-Bell.

    It was a 15-6 lead for OPRF at the turn, where No. 12 Jason Renteria got a forfeit victory, as the Marist starter for the day did not make weight. The next match featured a mild upset, with Nick Lukanich of Marist upended returning state qualifier Roberto Campos by 7-2 decision at 113 pounds.

    Marist would win the second of three in a row at 120 pounds when Andy O'Brien came through with a 6-3 decision against Huskies' backup Alex Madrigal, as Cadet National double All-American Gabe Townsell was out of the OPRF lineup. The Red Hawks further shrunk the dual deficit lead to 21-18 with a pin from two-time state finalist Mark Duda at 126 pounds against freshman Jamie Hernandez.

    Without their normal 145-pound starter in returning state qualifier Nick Gasbarro, Marist bumped their projected 132-pound starter -- two-time state placer Drew Kasper -- out of this spot. Junior Savonne Bennette ended the Red Hawks' three match winning streak with a 3-1 decision over Ameen Hamdan. No. 5 Isaiah White then came up with another 3-1 decision at 138 pounds against two-time state qualifier Mario Levielle. A third successive Huskies victory came from No. 11 Larry Early, with a pin against the aforementioned Kasper. A team point deduction against Marist made it a 33-17 lead for OPRF.

    The three match win streak came to an end, as state qualifier Jakada Hull of Marist earned a pin over 2012 state runner-up Matt Rundell in a battle of juniors at 152 pounds. Rundell got the first takedown, but Hull countered a Rundell cradle attempt into a pin. Sophomore Kamal Bey sealed the deal mathematically for OPRF with a 10-2 upset major decision victory against No. 14 Peter Andreotti. A final forfeit victory came for OPRF from No. 8 Davonte Mahomes at 170 pounds to make the score 43-23 for the Huskies.
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