The buzz around Providence's gym on that brutally cold day was that the overall talent level was possibly a bit down from past Catholic League meets ... but as the matches unfolded, there weren't too many people complaining about not getting their money's worth ...

A different -- and fairer -- way of putting it was that this tournament was a preview of coming attractions ... while upperclassmen have taken center stage more often in previous Catholic League tournaments, this was more a chance for the kids to show what they had ...

And when it was all over, there was no denying the conference's young talent has a tremendous up side ... you can start with St. Rita freshman Jawon Akui, who came in with a 10-1 record and went home with the 152 title and the meet's Outstanding Wrestler award ... moving up a spot to fill in for Class AA top-ranked Steve Zimmerman (out with an injury), Akui beat three seniors en route to the title and put himself in the conversation for the postseason ...

The other freshman champ was Providence 103-pounder Edwin Cooper, who says he feels no pressure whatsoever about being unbeaten (33-0) ... from the poise he shows on the mat, it certainly looks like he's telling the truth ...

In all, there were seven freshmen, 13 sophomores (including champs Nick and Chris Dardanes of Fenwick) and 11 juniors placing in the top four ... so there should be a lot of familiar faces on the awards stand at next year's Catholic League meet and the one after that ...

The other noteworthy development was the return of Mount Carmel, which won its first conference title in 10 years ... not to say the Caravan ever really went away, because it was always a state power, but Carmel had seen its star decline in recent years as Providence and St. Rita took center stage in the league and -- until Sandburg's current three-year title run -- in Class AA as well ...

But now under alum and second-year coach Jason Erwinski, the Caravan has demonstrated that you better talk about the big three and not just the big two when it comes to Catholic League wrestling ...

Erwinski is an easy-going guy off the mat, but don't let that calm exterior fool you ... he's definitely got the fire inside ...

There are a couple of vignettes that may shed some light on the Carmel renaissance he's engineered ...

Last season, the Caravan returned to state for the first time since 2002 and, as luck would have it, drew Sandburg in the quarterfinals ... the Eagles won easily over a young Caravan squad, to no one's surprise, 43-25 ... but even though his team was done and a storm was bearing down on DeKalb, Erwinski had no intention of heading home after the loss ... he wanted his wrestlers to soak up the atmosphere of the state tournament, to see the prize that was out there waiting for them and to make them hungry enough to work hard enough to make the leap from good to great ...

The second moment came after Saturday's meet, when I suggested to Erwinski that it was a good thing he was a wrestling coach and not a football coach, which would have won him a Gatorade shower after the win ... his response was to the effect that his wrestlers better not think of trying something like that ... it showed there should be no doubt who's in charge of this program ... while some young coaches struggle to get respect from athletes just a few years younger than them, Erwinski commands it now ... and that will only grow as his resume becomes more impressive ...