Jeremy Marshall faced the toughest path to a medal in the toughest weight class at the Illinois High School Association individual wrestling state tournament held at the University of Illinois in downstate Champaign.
That’s one reason the Evanston junior made a quick exit from the state tournament, dropping his only two matches at 285 pounds and finishing a remarkable 36-10 on the season.
Marshall lost to the eventual unbeaten Class 3A state champion, Jonathan Rulo of Belleville West, via pin in 2 minutes, 7 seconds in the first round on Thursday, then was eliminated with a 1-0 loss to Fremd’s Owen Jakubczak in the consolation bracket on Friday. Jakubczak went on to place fifth in the tournament.
Rulo was the Evanston standout’s teammate this past summer for Team Illinois in a national tournament and put Marshall on his back early in the second period.
Jakubczak earned his victory with a second period escape. Both Rulo and Jakubczak are juniors and half of the loaded heavyweight bracket could return next year. How loaded was the bracket? Only three competitors in the 16-man bracket finished the current season with fewer than 30 victories.
“I thought both of Jeremy’s matches were winnable matches,” said Wildkit head coach Rudy Salinas. “The Fremd kid got away from his for an escape and then Jeremy chose the down position. I thought OK, let’s get your 1 point [for an escape] and go from there. You can win it on your feet [neutral position]. But he never got the escape.
“It was devastating for him to lose a close match like that,” Salinas said. “It was tough. But if you looked up and down the bracket [including rival Tyler Fortis of Maine South, who finished fourth] Jeremy is right up there with all of the placers. Finishing in the top 16 in the State [a rare accomplishment for an Evanston junior] is nothing to sneeze at. But in this sport, you have to have a good day every day [of the tournament] to be on the [awards] podium.
“Now we have to set new goals for next year and hold him to the highest expectations. There’s an opportunity now for him to reset and to get even better.”
ETHS boys wrestling: Tough draw leads to early exit for Marshall is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston's most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.