By Mike Clark
The best match of the first standalone Public League girls wrestling tournament Saturday at Curie was the last one.
No surprise there: it matched a pair of unbeaten returning state placers in Curie senior Aaliyah Grandberry and Rickover junior Jasmine Mejia.
The drama ratcheted up as the bout progressed. Grandberry escaped in the second period for a 1-0 lead. Mejia had an escape in the third period and each wrestler received a penalty point for a 2-2 deadlock after regulation. Another escape in the second overtime period was enough for an epic 3-2 win for Grandberry, who is 13-0 and No. 2 in the Illinois Matwomen rankings.
It was the first overtime match for each wrestler and about the only time they’ve been seriously tested this season. With the state series starting this weekend, both appreciated some serious competition for a change.
“I was expecting it,” Grandberry said, recalling a similar matchup in last year’s Public League final. “It’s been a while since I had a really good match.”
Grandberry, a two-time state runner-up at 235, may be a little too good for her own good.
“Girls have been kind of avoiding me this year,” she said. “I’m not feeling it too much. But I guess that’s what comes with being one of the better wrestlers.”
Still, she’s been pushing to improve as she chases a state title. A former swimmer who has dealt with asthma, Grandberry said she’s better conditioned than in past seasons.
“Even when it’s (in) overtime, I wasn’t as tired as I usually would be going into the third period,” she said.
Mejia is 20-1 and honorable mention in the Illinois Matwomen rankings after finishing fifth at state last season. She also was glad to have a tough match.
“It’s good to know what to do when you’re wrestling someone at a higher level,” Mejia said. “I’ve never been into overtime before so that’s a different experience. And it’s always good to have new, interesting experiences, even if they’re hard.”
The meet itself fell into the category of new experiences.
The first official girls Public League tournament was held in conjunction with the boys event last season, with four title bouts — two boys and two girls — going on simultaneously. This year, the girls had the stage all to themselves with just one title bout going on at a time.
“This year was really nice because … it’s focused on girls,” Mejia said. “And I feel like this year, the level of competition has gotten a lot higher.”
The numbers are definitely up, from 98 girls in last year’s tournament to 157 from 31 schools this year. Phoenix won the team title, 226-170.5 over defending champ Rickover with Kelly (132), Back of the Yards (131) and Curie (100) rounding out the top five.
The Firebirds had three champs: Diana Lopez (18-2) at 110, Ariel Foreman (7-1) at 135 and AJ Grant (23-1) at 145.
“The first day of practice I told these girls we’re going to win city,” Phoenix coach Dan Curran said. “We’ve had this date circled on our calendar.”
Curran noted that while this is just the second CPS-sanctioned girls tournament, it was preceded by other unofficial city tourneys that were combined with other events. To see a separate Public League event, he said, “it’s really a great thing for these girls.
“And you see what’s going on in the country, you’ve got Big Ten teams with women’s wrestling. The sport’s exploding.”
The only teams besides Phoenix with multiple champs Kelly and Lane. Kelly’s winners were Jacqueline Dimas (16-2) at 115 and Sara Martinez Lopera (17-2) at 155, while Lane’s were Nyah Lovis (25-2) at 120 and Lily Cohen (8-6) at 170.
Also taking first were Rickover’s Mia Vazquez (26-3) at 100, Ag. Science’s Carmen Jackson (20-0) at 105, Chicago Military’s Tyeshia Goss (11-1) at 125, Back of the Yards’ Yesenia DePaz (13-3) at 130, King’s Leylani Puckett (9-4) at 140 and South Shore’s Nadia Johnson (17-1) at 190.
Vazquez, a junior who’s ranked No. 5 by Illinois Matwomen, already has college offers. She’s hoping to boost her profile by finishing in the top eight at nationals this year. She came to wrestling at the suggestion of a coach familiar with her background in jiu-jitsu.
Lovis is the other highly ranked Public League wrestler at No. 7. She had a tough match in the semifinals, beating Little Village’s Raynisha Sims 8-7 in overtime. Lovis won the final 7-0 over Phoenix’s Marisol Castro, who received honorable mention in the state rankings.
“Going against really tough opponents, it was eye-opening to lots of things that I need to work on,” Lovis said.
