After Lyons Township High School senior Gunnar Garelli finished seventh at the 2022 Rex Whitlatch Invitational, he couldn’t have felt much lower.
“I know for the first few days I was really down on myself but once I got back into practice, it’s motivating,” Garelli said.
“Big losses, at first, make you down. You want to question a lot of things but then you start racking up a few more wins and you get rolling again.”
This time, Garelli left the Whitlatch Invitational Saturday at Hinsdale Central undefeated and again proving himself as one of the state’s top wrestlers.
The 2023 individual all-stater, two-time state qualifier and Virginia Tech recruit completed a weekend of domination with a 6-4 victory over DeKalb senior Jacob Luce in the championship match at 165 pounds.
Garelli (18-0) had two pins and a major decision in his previous victories Friday and Saturday.
“It’s good to get back here and kind of right that wrong and come out on top. A lot of momentum on my side right now so that’s always good,” Garelli said.
“I feel good, getting some good wins over ranked guys, a lot of pins, a lot of takedowns, out there attacking both sides of the body and always being offensive, never being defensive.”
Garelli led Luce (14-2) after two periods 4-2 with two takedowns and two allowed escapes. Garelli escaped 20 seconds into the third period before a Luce takedown and allowed escape with 48 seconds left for the final points. Garelli was not threatened the rest of the way.
This made Garelli 3-0 against Luce all-time. Last year, Garelli was an all-state fourth at 160 and Luce was an all-state sixth at 152.
“He’s a good wrestler but he’s a little more defensive,” Garelli said. “He knows my stuff. I know his stuff but I got the job done.”
“(Garelli) dominated his way (to the title). He was challenged in that last match but you could tell he was in control,” LTHS coach Griff Powell said.
“He’s really starting to distance himself from the competition, which is what you want to see. He’s being aggressive, getting a lot of points, not challenged at this point. His goal is to win a state championship and he’s doing everything right to do that.”
Nearing 100 career wins, Garelli currently is on pace to challenge single-season program records of 50 victories and 230 takedowns.
In the semifinals, Garelli had an extremely satisfying 11-2 victory over Warren sophomore Royce Lopez (12-4), a 2023 state qualifier at 160 who came one victory from all-state honors.
“He’s ranked pretty highly so I was just happy to put up a lot of points and get that major decision,” Garelli said. “That’s my favorite win (this season) up to this point.”
Garelli was the lone finalist for the Lions (21st, 53.5 points), who entered nine of the 14 weight classes. Junior Mickey Ahrens (157) and seniors Matt Turek (190) and Sam Costello (285) each won two matches. Juniors Will Pleviak (175) and Nick Arquilla (215) won once.
“Various reasons, sickness, injuries, you name it. It’s kind of been a rough week for us,” Powell said.
“Some of the guys are inexperienced. They’re learning and this is a tough tournament to learn at.”
Like Garelli in 2022, Costello (13-5) hopes to bounce back from his Whitlatch disappointment.
His biggest highlight this season has been fourth at the Barrington Invite. He’s wrestling at 215 pounds in the heavyweight division, which goes up to 285 pounds.
“I know I can do better. I’m going to do way better,” Costello said.
“The significant weight advantage is tough. I prefer to go to setups so the guy just does not spill on me and just circle around.”
