Time is of the essence, and it’s essential, for Lincoln-Way Central senior Gracie Guarino.

Guarino, the only female out of 223 wrestlers Saturday in the McLaughlin Classic at Joliet Central, understands there are a ton of things that can go on in three periods of action.

“Life doesn’t matter who you go against,” she said. “Anything can happen in less than two minutes. There is always a spot where somebody can make a mistake and you can flip the outcome.”

St. Rita sophomore Luke Pappalas discovered that first hand in his 120-pound match with Guarino. He scored first on a takedown, but Guarino deftly maneuvered her body to catch him on his back for the fall at 1:09.

She finished 3-2 at the tournament, posting three falls.

“Gracie is very stingy,” Lincoln-Way Central coach Tyrone Byrd said. “Even when she goes up against somebody who beats her, they have to earn it.

“A lot of times when guys wrestle against her, they come away frustrated because it doesn’t go the way they planned.”

Guarino is one of the best female wrestlers in the state.

She finished second at 110 pounds last season in the state meet, a still raw memory that elicits tears when recounting her 2-0 overtime defeat.

Guarino is toggling between worlds. On Nov. 25, she captured the 120-pound championship of the Sandy Gussarson Invitational at Lakes.

As she maps out a planning schedule of girls invitationals, Guarino has her eyes on a larger prize. She takes a special satisfaction going up against her male counterparts.

“It definitely means more to beat a guy,” she said. “Some of them get nervous, and I just go out even harder because they don’t want to lose to a girl.

“It’s embarrassing for them. They tried to hurt me half the time, and they beat themselves up if I win.”

Guarino is a trend setter.

At the time she joined the wrestling program as a freshman, Skylar Novak had been the only female in the sport at Lincoln-Way Central. Novak graduated the year before Guarino arrived.

“We only had one female wrestler, and now Gracie has transformed the program,” Byrd said. “We have 15 girls, doubling pretty much every year that Gracie has been here.”

In retrospect, the amazing part is Guarino had just picked up the sport the year before she entered high school. Her older brother, Evan, wrestled for the Knights.

“In eighth grade, I did jujitsu, softball and cross country, and my dad wanted me to do another sport,” she said. “I tried tennis and track, and I just hated it. My older brother wrestled and I wanted to try it.

“My dad didn’t think I’d be good at it, but I just picked it up really quickly.”

Guarino has competed in boys duals and tournaments since her freshman year.

“She won 20 matches her sophomore season,” Byrd said.

Guarino does not fill a void in the Knights’ lineup. She defeated male wrestlers who were vying for the same spot at her designated weight.

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According to Ameer Alamawi, who finished second Saturday at 144, it’s not a surprise.

“What makes Gracie special is her ability to compete,” Alamawi said. “From day one, I’ve been in the varsity room with her and watched her get after it, whether it’s practice or a competition.

“She is always battling, looking to push her limits and get better.”

A competitor, tough and relentless, Guarino never changes that part of the equation.

“I am very stubborn,” she said. “I always fight until the last minute. My coaches or even random people come up and say they wished guys would fight as hard.

“I never want to let my team down since I am the only girl.”

Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.