By Billy Reardon ‘23

Congratulations to the Brother Rice wrestling team on a great season culminating with another IHSA Individual State Champion and back-to-back IHSA Dual Team State appearances! This past Tuesday the Crusaders beat Lemont 38-29 in the Class 2A dual-team sectionals. The Crusaders are heading to team state for the second year in a row. John Vega, Bobby Conway, James Bennett, Colin Goggin, Jimmy Crane, Chuck Connolly, Gambino Perez, and James Bowes were winners in the sectional meet.

Students and faculty gathered to give the wrestlers a proper send-off last week as the mat men departed to Bloomington to compete in the IHSA 2A Dual Team State Quarterfinals.

Sophomore Bobby Conway is an IHSA State Champion during a huge back-and-forth match. The wrestling team has had a very successful season. Unfortunately, the Crusaders lost in the quarterfinals on Friday.

The seniors were honored during senior night. Congratulations to Chuck Connolly, Ben McMurray, John Fitzpatrick, Antonio Franco, Jack Brouder, and Thomas Rich for their outstanding achievements throughout their four years of wrestling.

Senior Chuck Connolly said, “I think we achieved a lot and had a good season. I’m excited to see how the team will improve in the future because these guys have so much potential.”