Wrestling: Sandburg Rallies to Win Class 3A State Championship

Cooking.

And whopping and hollering.

Oh, yes, that was the Sandburg wrestling team after a dramatic turnaround led to the Eagles capturing the Class 3A state championship on Saturday night at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington.

Mitch Cook-ing and Colin Holler-ing.

Cook and Holler scored pins in the final two matches of Sandburg’s 30-24 victory over Oak Park-River Forest in a tense dual that featured a couple of big swings.

The two pins capped a rally that saw fight back from 17-3 deficit after five matches as the Eagles captured their first state title since winning the Class AA state crown in 2007.

Cook pinned Oak Park’s Jake Omara in 5:24 to pull Sandburg into a 24-24 deadlock after the 138-pounders squared off in the center ring. Holler followed with a 2-minute 30-second pin over Oak Park’s Zach Pickering in the final match at 145.

Sandburg also picked up wins from Ricky Robertson (170), Bill Gore (220), Jim Pellegrino (106), Jim Panozzo (113), Sebastian Pique (120) and John Pellegrino (126) in a flurry that ended with the Eagles winning seven of the last nine matches.

Oak Park (20-4) advanced to the title dual by earlier scoring victories over Machesney Park Harlem (44-24) and Barrington (35-21). Sandburg topped Lockport (33-24) and defending Class 3A state champ Glenbard North (29-25).

The Eagles’ climb to No. 1 followed on the heels of a second-place finish in 2009-10 and a third-place finish in 2010-11 at the dual-team state finals. Glenbard North defeated Barrington 34-21 in the third-place matchup.