Kozyra advanced by easily winning his semifinal match en route to a 2nd place finish in the sectional. He has been dealing with a cut which required stitches above his right eye. This injury however did not deter Kozyra in his quest to be atop the podium in Champaign. With a tremendous amount of hard work (and some tape and a black mask) he finished off leg two of his race. Kozyra placed at regionals, now at sectionals, now on to state!
The two seniors at the sectional, Triggiano and Ikedionwu, were working to complete a very long journey to Champaign. Both of these two young men joined the Friar Wrestling Team their freshmen year, with no prior wrestling experience. Both experienced a great amount of "growing pains," as they cut their teeth against wrestlers with years of experience. Triggiano and Ikedionwu sought out as many matches as they could, wrestling up to the sophomore and JV level. Giving up years of experience and often age forced the two upstarts to earn their stripes the hard way.
These two have watched as the rest of their fellow wrestlers that joined along with them years before did what they thought was unthinkable: quit. Others found the pressure too much, the work too hard. Triggiano and Ikedionwu however met these challenges head on and persevered. The '12/'13 season saw the remaining members of their class quit. Others who had found the journey too hard left for experience in less demanding sports, or left for a season of fun and relaxation.
Their Jr. year, the two could no longer afford to wrestle on the lower levels and were thrust head first into varsity competition. What made this all the more difficult is that the two would have to compete at the same weight all season long. Each weekend, it seemed there was a back and forth between who would win their wrestle-off. When regionals approached, it was clear that one of them would go on while the other would have to watch.
Triggiano was the odd man out and had to watch on the side lines as his team wrestled on. Many others would have taken the opportunity to feel sorry for themselves. Tony however, was different. Coach Tony Poro held off season workouts for months and noted that Triggiano rarely missed a workout. Poro knew then that Triggiano and Ikedionwu were putting themselves in position to experience some magic.
In the '12/'13 season, the two seniors would compete at different weights. Throughout the year, the two continuously showed that they would only be satisfied with attaining their goal of becoming state qualifiers. With Triggiano at 152 and Ikedionwu at 170, the two entered sectionals. Triggiano and Ikedionwu won their qualifying matches this past Saturday at Antioch High School, and joined Kozyra for the trip down state. Their coaches, fellow wrestlers, and parents all knew how special it was for these two to not only qualify, but do so together.
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