It’s been quite a comeback for Mount Carmel’s Justin Williamson.
Williamson suffered a broken foot in January. After missing the last few weeks of the regular season, he returned for the postseason.
The sophomore finished fifth in Class 3A at 132 pounds at Saturday’s individual state meet and then came through with a huge pin in Tuesday night’s Class 3A Yorkville Dual Team Sectional.
“I was wrestling with a broken foot still when I got back out there,” Williamson said. “It was tough.
“I was able to fight through the pain with adrenaline and keeping my mindset focused on winning state or getting down there and placing and helping my team, too.”
The Caravan needed every one of Williamson’s bonus points to take down Marist in stunning fashion. The teams tied 34-34, but Mount Carmel was awarded a tiebreaker point for the victory.
The first tiebreaker criteria is unsportsmanlike conduct points and Marist received one during the dual.
Kavel Moore also had a pin for Mount Carmel, which advanced to take on Rockton Hononegah at 5 p.m. Friday in a state quarterfinal at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.
Missouri recruit Seth Mendoza, Sebastian Garcia, William Grafton-Hodgetts, George Hollendoner and Liam Kelly also had wins for the Caravan, who are ranked No. 2 in 3A by Illinois Matmen.
Jack Watson, Michael Esteban and Kevin Tomkins had pins to lead Marist, Illinois Matmen’s top-ranked team. The RedHawks also got wins from Illinois recruit George Marinopoulos, North Carolina State commit Will Denny, Ohio recruit Ricky Ericksen and Ethan Sonne.
Williamson (19-9) pinned Marist’s Eddie Astorga in the second period to give the Caravan a 21-12 lead after six matches.
Mount Carmel coach Alex Tsirtsis is impressed with how Williamson battled back from the injury. In fact, Williamson was eager to return even quicker but was held off the mat by his coaches.
“He had been wrestling really well all year and he was champing at the bit,” Tsirtsis said. “I think two weeks after he broke his foot, he could barely walk, but he wanted to practice.
“It was us having to hold him back. When he did get back, he was still a bit rusty, but he had a great state weekend at a really tough weight class and he followed that up (Tuesday).”
Williamson moved up one spot on the podium at the individual state meet after a sixth-place finish last season. He dropped a 6-3 overtime heartbreaker to Marinopoulos in the semifinals but battled back to take fifth.
“I looked at it as an accomplishment,” Williamson said. “I wish I would have won my semifinal, but I still took it as an accomplishment. I placed higher than last year, so I’ll take it.”
Mount Carmel avenged a 43-26 loss to Marist on Jan. 10, largely due to some unexpected heroes.
Hollendoner, a junior 144-pounder, had wrestled in the varsity lineup for much of the season but lost his spot before the individual state series began.
In his first match in nearly a month, he earned an 11-1 major decision over Jonathan Fields.
“Staying healthy, eating right, just staying ready for this,” Hollendoner said. “I had to stay focused, stay confident, keep my head clear and just do my thing.
“It felt good just doing my job. Everyone else on the team did their jobs, too. I’m just glad we’re going to state. We’re going to be state champs.”
If the Caravan do accomplish that, senior 215-pounder Leonard Siegal will be a big reason why.
Siegal lost the final match of the night via a 20-4 technical fall, but he avoided being pinned by Ericksen, a state champion who needed a pin to win it for Marist.
And now, Mount Carmel is headed back to state.
“It feels great,” Williamson said. “It’s a surprise that we took them out and that we won. I’m at a loss of words.”
