Wrestling: Merrillville wins eighth straight sectional

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Updated: March 1, 2012 8:33AM

GARY — Before the start of the final matches at the Calumet Sectional on Saturday, bouncy wrestlers lined up facing their competition. Just from introductions and the sight of all that purple, one could predict that Merrillville had No. 8 in the bag.

The Pirates advanced 12 individuals to the final round out of the possible 14 weight classes. Eleven Pirates left the mats as champions and, of course, the team earned the sectional title — their eighth consecutive.

“I don’t even think we focus on that,” Merrillville head coach David Maldonado said. “We’re not even worried about winning sectionals. We just worry about fighting through matches and the score will take care of itself.”

After the dominating team performance, the Pirates will next compete in the Portage team regional on Wednesday. Last season, Merrillville lost to Crown Point in the regional.

“We just have to wrestle well,” Maldonaldo said. “It’s one of those things when everything has to fall into place.”

Patience may be a virtue, but not for undefeated Merrillville senior Kourtney Berry, who prefers to get his matches done in a hurry. On Saturday, Berry (20-0) made short work of his opponents — pinning Michael Rosario (River Forest) in 1:26, then taking down Orlando Salas (Lake Station) in just 55 seconds for the 195-pound championship.

“My philosophy is try to get on and off the mat as soon as possible,” said Berry, who has 19 first-period pins this season.

Merrillville qualified a dozen to the finals, but came away with 11 championships because Hobart senior Patrick Manning spoiled the clean sweep. Manning got revenge on Merrillville senior Al Padilla in the 132-pound finals, winning by decision 5-3. Last year, Padilla defeated Manning in the sectional and later in the regional.

“It feels really great,” Manning said about his win. “It’s almost unbelievable.”

The top four finishers in each weight class advanced to the Calumet Regional on Feb. 4. And so, senior Donisha West earned the distinction as the first female Roosevelt wrestler to advance out of sectionals.

West, a cheerleader-turned-113-pound wrestler, pinned Justin Halcomb (River Forest) in her first match and although she lost her next two, it was enough to make school history. West will also be the only Roosevelt wrestler at the regional.