Laskowske, Mitchell win out
At a glance, the 103-pound class at the 54th Berman Holiday Wrestling Classic hosted by Palatine appeared to be a group of granite with the likes of Jake Schramm (Hinsdale South) and Anthony Sciaccota (St. Patrick) residing among many other highly thought of competitors.
Tom Laskowske of Palatine, rated No. 6 going into the tournament, found himself with an opportunity to make a giant step forward in the polls when day No. 2 opened Tuesday on his home mats when he stood opposite No. 4 Sciaccota in the morning semifinals.
Laskowske (22-3) not only pinned the previously unbeaten senior from Notre Dame but also finished the job one match later by defeating Robby Schultheis (19-1) of Warren to capture the big prize and perhaps jump-start what could be a terrific second half of the season for him.
Ahead 4-1 after a takedown in the second period, Laskowske earned his first-place medal after Schultheis sustained an injury to his left knee following the takedown and was unable to return.
Laskowske and Hersey junior Demetrios Mitchell were the brightest stars for the MSL. Mitchell (30-2) outlasted RJ Dilcher of Lyons 7-4 in the 145 pound final.
Lockport gained the team title after the Porters outscored runner-up Minooka 247.50 - 213.00, with Hinsdale Central, Lyons and Lincoln-Way Central rounding out the top five. Hersey completed a strong tournament with a sixth-place finish.
"Earlier this season (Schultheis) would beat me bad, just scoring at will each time with a fireman's move," said Laskowske.
The Warren junior had stunned the Schramm (5-3) in his semifinal.
"We knew (Schramm) would come at me again the same way," said Laskowske, "so we prepared for it by watching a lot of film, and I prepared myself mentally and physically for the match with a great warm-up and I really believe that was the difference in my match."
"It was tough seeing that kid (Schultheis) go out with an injury, but the way Tommy started showed me he would have won that match regardless of the injury," said Palatine coach Dan Collins.
It was all Laskowske in his semifinal with Sciaccotta (27-2). Laskowske won by pin at 3:39 as the Palatine faithful roared their approval.
"I wasn't going to let up when I was getting close to pinning him because (you) don't want to give a wrestler that good a chance to stay in the match," Laskowske said. "After watching Dale Jarosz and Ross Grande stand on top of the winners podium (here) in the Palatine gym, it is very exciting for me to be able to finally join both of those great Palatine wrestlers."
Three seasons ago, Hersey would have both Charlie Curran and Matt Maloney in championship bouts, but while both fell just short, Mitchell di not.
In the impressive run to his final with Dilcher, Mitchell recorded a pair of falls and a major decision victory in his semifinal with Jack Denchow of Richmond-Burton before putting away a determined challenger with a late 3-point push to break a 4-4 draw.
"Was I worried when he tied it up? Yes," said Mitchell. "But all I thought about was getting up and out to gain my (one) point and to go after him."
"I am so proud of Demetrios," said Hersey coach Jim Wormsley. "Sometimes you will see guys try to 'stall' out a win, but he didn't. He stayed aggressive and went after him which led to a big 2 points in the closing moments to seal his victory."
Mitchell's teammate Jeff Koepke (25-7) fell to Leyden senior Adam Schammert in the third-place match at 160 pounds.
"My expectations were much higher for this weekend," said Schammert. "I could use the excuse that I've been sick and have missed the last 2 weeks of training, but in reality I could have wrestled harder and better than I did."
After competing the entire season at 171, Schammert dropped down to 160 this week, and despite his recent bout with strep and a nasty gash over his eye, Schammert pinned Koepke in his final match of the tournament to run his record to 16-4 overall.