Saints earn 7 medals at Berman Classic
This year's 26-team Berman Classic wrestling tournament at Palatine again met its annual standards.
"You'll see guys ranked in all weight classes at this tournament, and that's good. We need that," said St. Charles East coach Steve Smerz.
"We need to see where we're at right now, and where we need to go, because it's almost the halfway point of the season."
The Saints earned seven place medals at this year's Berman, led by a second-place finish from Brandon Rubino at 112 pounds.
Rubino (19-2) used two pins and a major decision to reach the title mat before losing by 5-1 decision to Mundelein's Eduardo Dominguez.
"It was a close match, but I was just kind of sloppy with my shots," Rubino said. "Nothing really happened on top or bottom. It was all on my feet."
"I plan to get better as the year goes on. Hopefully I'll see him again downstate."
The Saints finished in 11th place at the 26-team tournament, getting a pair of fifth-place finishes from Cody Crawford (130) and Daniel Mercadante (152). Nick Ruffino (125) placed sixth, Blake Griffiths (285) was seventh, and Smerz got a pair of eighth-place finishes from Joe Dede (119) and Carl Larson (215).
Lockport won this year's Berman, with Minooka second and Hinsdale Central placing third. "This was a good test, and that's why we're here," Smerz said.
DuPage County had two individual champions at the Berman, including Downers Grove North's Joe Foreman, who was named the tournament's outstanding wrestler. Foreman won his title in a loaded weight class at 152 pounds.
"Joe deserves everything that happens to him," said Downers Grove North coach Chris McGrath. "He's just a very, very tough kid."
Hinsdale South's Ryan Garringer won the title at 189 pounds, embracing an approach that's perfect for wrestling. Garringer posted three pins in the two day tournament.
"You just have to go out there wanting to beat kids up," Garringer said. "You have to have a little bit of a mean streak."
Quinn Francis placed second at 160 for the Red Devils, who has seven wrestlers win place medals. Glenbard East won five medals on the day, with Steve Hilliard (135) and Yousef Al-Ghoul (189) winning sixth-place medals.
Dalton Servatius (125) and Adam Zeh (160) finished seventh, and the Rams got an eighth from Ryan Pokrywka (130).