Glenbard East wins two of three at York
Glenbard East 195-pounder Ben Pham did all he could at Saturday's wrestling quad at York, but his three pins couldn't prevent a one-point setback to Glenbrook South, one of the few things that didn't go the Rams' way in the meet.
Pham's three pins improved his season mark to 22-1 and increased his fall total to 12. The 12-2 Rams knocked off Wheaton Warrenville South 49-16 and York 39-32, but came up just short in a 36-35 loss to Glenbrook North.
"I feel like I'm wrestling the best I ever have in my life," said Pham, a senior. "I'm finally putting everything together. I started (wrestling) freshman year. Experience has been a gap for me so it's something I've been trying to get through. A lot of these guys have been doing this since they were young. I've been relying on my athleticism for a long time and now I'm wrestling."
Pham was one of five Rams to win all three bouts at Saturday's quad, with a quartet of lower weights combining to go 12-0 on the day. Emiliano Garcia (138) and Tyler Salvino (126) each picked up a pin while going 3-0, while 106-pounder Miguel Garcia had a major decision and a technical fall among his wins. Reese Martin, now 16-1 on the year, had a pin, a technical fall and a win by forfeit at York.
Rams coach Kevin Carlson, who had to tweak his lineup some in the one-point loss to Glenbrook North due to injury, would like to have gotten all three wins on the day, but had no beefs with his wrestlers' efforts.
"We came in and beat Wheaton South which I thought was going to be a test, but then we had a letdown (against Glenbrook North)," Carlson said. "We've got a bunch of young kids, but there's no excuses…I told them to step up to the plate."
On Saturday, a number of Rams stepped up quite well. "Some went out and got the pins we needed them to and some got their first varsity win," Carlson said. "So all in all it's a successful day."
The Dukes also had several highlights, including junior heavyweight Josh Mathiasen, who won three times by fall and is now 16-2 on the year with 11 falls. In York's final dual of the day, Mathiasen's rapid pin took just 40 seconds and closed the Duke's deficit to Glenbard East to 34-32 at the time.
"I've got to give it up for my team. They support me and hype me up before the matches," said Mathieson, who is looking to go one step further than last year, when he won a regional before coming up short at sectionals. "We put in the work in the wrestling room. My main focus is always staying calm in matches and doing what I can do."
York senior captain Antonio Gutierrez, like Mathieson, went 3-0 Saturday to improve to 16-2.
An injury-depleted Wheaton Warrenville South squad was led by Jon Gonzalez, whose three pins at the quad improved his record to 14-4. Dominic Duve also wrestled well at 126 for the Tigers, who went 1-2 and are now 8-10.
"I knew the team was a little banged up and that I needed to get some extra points," said Gonzalez, who successfully earned those extra points by fall. "I've already seen improvement compared to earlier in the year. Now I'm really into doing a lot better at this point in the season."