CHAMPAIGN — Marist senior Ricky Ericksen knew it was his night, his chance to cap off a redemption tour that began in the same place a year ago.
Ericksen, an Ohio recruit, made it to a state championship match last season but was dominated by Mount Carmel’s Colin Kelly, who won with a 16-1 technical fall.
Ericksen has been on a mission ever since.
“That night, I felt terrible,” he said. “I never wanted to feel that feeling again. Even though I knew going into the match I was wrestling a really tough kid and it might not be my night, that performance when I was so close to accomplishing my goal, not reaching a lifelong dream, it sucked.”
The dream was delayed, but not denied. Ericksen topped Joliet Catholic’s Nico Ronchetti 4-1 in the Class 3A 190-pound state championship match Saturday night at the State Farm Center.
North Carolina State recruit Will Denny, Ericksen’s teammate, also won his second straight state championship with a victory at 165.
Mount Carmel’s Seth Mendoza, a Missouri recruit, became a four-time state champion by winning at 138, while teammate Liam Kelly — Colin’s younger brother — prevailed at 157 for his first title.
Marist’s Michael Esteban (126) and George Marinopoulos (132), Lockport’s Justin Wardlow (150) and Homewood-Flossmoor’s RJ Robinson (175) joined Ronchetti as runners-up.
Ericksen (37-7) trailed 1-0 entering the third period before scoring on an escape and a takedown to become a state champion.
“I was comfortable,” Ericksen said. “I was waiting. In the first match against him, he didn’t take me down at all and I took him down twice, so that was probably his game plan to stall a bit.
“There’s nothing better than this. Words really can’t explain it. It’s just the best feeling ever to be a state champion. It’s insane.”
Ericksen, Denny, Esteban and Marinopoulos are seniors who have all grown together. Having the entire quartet wrestling in the finals was special for Ericksen.
“We’re so positive,” Ericksen said. “We feed off each other and we keep each other up. The four of us in the finals, we all came here as freshmen, we’ve all been state qualifiers every single year and we’ve all been working toward the goal of being a state champion.
“We just love each other so much. We’ve got a great bond.”
Denny was thrilled to see Ericksen reach the top of the podium with him.
“That’s awesome,” Denny said. “That kid works his tail off and deserves every minute of that.”
Denny (42-1) was the only wrestler in the group who had already felt the thrill of being a state champion, although, maybe the thrill was missing a bit.
Not this year, after he won all four of his state matches by technical fall, capped off with a 20-5 victory over Rockton Hononegah’s Brody Sendele in the finals.
“This one feels a lot better,” Denny said. “It’s a true moment that I’ll never forget. I took this moment in and enjoyed it. I think I sort of overlooked it last year. I looked at it as a stepping stone to what I really want to do.
“But I really kind of dove into my thoughts and realized how big of an accomplishment this is.”
Liam Kelly, meanwhile, went only 1-2 at state last season. But on Saturday, the junior made the podium for the first time — and took it all the way to the top step.
Kelly edged West Aurora’s Dominic Serio 4-3 in the finals, avenging a sectional loss a week earlier to Serio.
“That was eating me up all week,” Kelly said. “I wanted a rematch and I knew I was going to get it, but it was just anticipation.”
Liam joins his brother, Colin, as a state champion. But Colin, who’s now wrestling at Illinois, won two.
“I’ll get him next year,” Liam said. “We’ll be tied. It’s big motivation. (Colin) is the best. He helps me every day. I feed off him and he makes me better.”