The last chance for Sandburg’s Malic Breish to get to state came down to one pressure-packed match.
After losing Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the Class 3A Hinsdale Central Sectional, the senior 215-pounder went into the blood round for a do-or-die bout that determined whether or not he would become a first-time state qualifier.
“It was insane,” Breish said afterward. “I was like, ‘This is my last year. I’m putting everything on the line. There’s no reason to hold anything back.’”
Breish came through, edging Marist’s Tommy O’Brien 2-1 to punch his ticket to state. He went on to finish fourth in the sectional.
Breish will join Sandburg teammates Rocco Hayes (113), Brady Ritter (138) and Ryan Hinger (144) at the individual state meet, which begins Thursday at the State Farm Center in Champaign.
“It feels awesome,” Breish said. “I worked so hard to get here. Going to state, it’s amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.”
To get there, Breish (31-18) had to overcome a nemesis in O’Brien, who had his number in their previous encounters.
“I lost to that kid two times last year,” Breish said. “One of them, I was winning and I got nervous, and he got on my legs and it was over.
“I was hoping to face him again. I was keeping tabs on him. In the round before, I was like, ‘Win this match and we’re going.’”
An escape in the second period put Breish ahead for good in the low-scoring match and he was able to hold off O’Brien in the third.
“I feel like he was so confident that it kind of bugged me,” Breish said. “Right when we started the match, I saw his face changing. He realized, ‘This is not the same kid I wrestled last year.’
“That motivated me. I feel like I’m way better than I was last year.”
Sandburg coach Clinton Polz agreed with that assessment. He has seen Breish become a more confident and resilient wrestler.
“I saw him kind of make that switch this year,” Polz said. “Around midway through the season, we went to the DeKalb Tournament and I saw him wrestle through some tough situations that he might not have gotten through in the past.
“It was like a light switch went off in his head and he was like, ‘If I can wrestle through those things, good things can happen.’”
The most stressful round in the sport brought mixed results for Sandburg as Breish and Ritter prevailed in the blood round but Ahmad Alomari (175) and Madden Parker (132) fell short.
“It’s the highest highs and the lowest lows,” Polz said. “As high as we are for Malic, we’re just as low for the ones who didn’t get it done. That’s the sport.”
Hayes, who was Sandburg’s lone sectional champion, was thrilled to see Breish come through in the biggest moment.
“He’s a great kid,” Hayes said. “I’ve known him since middle school and he was a guy who at first didn’t really know what he was doing, but he put in the work and that’s what happens when you put in the work.
“I’m so happy for the kid.”
Breish’s parents pushed him to get into wrestling when he was 6 years old.
“I have three sisters, so my parents wanted me to be tough for them,” Breish said. “They shoved me into the toughest sport they could find and they were right to do that. It’s the best sport, too.
“I loved it from the second I stepped onto the mats.”
As a junior in his first varsity season, Breish advanced to the sectional but went 0-2.
This winter, he believes the key has been fearlessness.
“In the past, I was nervous,” he said. “I was a bit more intimidated by other wrestlers. Now, it’s just like, ‘This is my turn.’ Let me do what I have to do on the mat and that’s all that matters.”
