Lakes' Holmes a beast at Berman
The 53rd annual Berman Holiday Wrestling Classic turned out to be another great tournament for Lakes junior Matt Holmes on Friday afternoon at Palatine.
While Holmes was cruising to the championship at 125 pounds, Clovis of California easily held off runner-up Leyden 287½ to 206 to claim the team crown in the 25-team meet.
Among Lake County teams, Warren placed 13th with 91.5 points, followed by Mundelein (74) in 16th, Lakes (51) in 18th, and Antioch (45) in 19th.
After rolling into the semifinals Friday, Holmes (18-2) won his semifinal match with a 6-0 decision over Minooka's Marcus Rangel.
That advanced Holmes to the championship match against Clovis sophomore Alec Dieter.
Holmes built a 2-0 lead over Dieter after one period, led 4-0 after two periods, and captured the title with a 4-1 decision.
"Winning a tournament always feels good because the hard work I do in practice is worth it to win these big tournaments," said Holmes, who also placed first in the Barrington tourney earlier this season. "The finals match shows me that on my feet I'm wrestling smart and I'm definitely looking for state qualifying and placing."
Holmes did not reach state as a sophomore, and his only 2 losses this winter are to elite individuals.
Today (Holmes) wrestled really tough and he took it to the kids in both matches even though he was a little tired," said Lakes coach Curt Onstad. "For the rest of the season we've got to get him to keep pushing forward because the big tournaments are at the end of the season."
Warren junior Connor Drew (16-2) reached the finals with a 13-5 major decision over Mundelein's Eduardo Dominguez, but Leyden senior Isaiah Recinos (20-2) recorded a pin over Drew for the crown.
"I just wanted to go in and take my time (against Dominguez) and it all worked out for me," Drew said. "I was just expecting to finish the match (against Recinos) and not get pinned, but for my first time wrestling here second place is not too bad."
Dominguez had won the only previous meeting against Drew last season. Dominguez placed fourth Friday.
"Connor has really worked hard, he's driven, and he never gives up," said Warren coach Mark Tiffany. "You can see why (Recinos) has pinned his way through the tournament, but it's only half way through the season and we still have a long way to go if they meet again."
Antioch 160-pounder Tom Gerstner (20-4) dropped a tough 4-3 decision to eventual champ Josh Esparza of Clovis in the semifinals, but Gerstner bounced back with a pin to take home third place.
"Going into the finals I was scared going against the school from California, but if I had a rematch I think I could beat him," Gerstner said. "My main goal is to place at state and I've just got to clean up my mistakes and not wrestle as sloppy as I do."
The Sequoits also had a fifth-place finish from 145-pounder Bobby Wiatr, who pinned his opponent in 2:37.
"He (Gerstner) made two mistakes against the kid from Clovis, but he's right there if he keeps a positive attitude," said Antioch coach Wilbur Borrero. "He's making some mistakes that hopefully he won't make later on and it's the same with Bobby (Wiatr)."
Besides Dominguez, teammates Tanis Arcos (125), and Adam Avalos (189) had fourth-place finishes for the Mustangs.
Arcos lost a gut-wrenching 2-1 overtime decision in his third-place match while Avalos lost a 4-2 decision.
Warren teammates Justin Santiago (145) and Tyreese Woodard (189) both placed eighth.
Clovis captured five individual titles while Glenbard East 215-pounder Pat Walker was named outstanding wrestler of the tourney for the second straight year.