Boys wrestling: Rappa brothers shine for Rolling Meadows at 70th Berman Classic

Three-sport stars — twin brothers Josh and John Rappa — were too much for the competition Monday afternoon at the 70th Berman Holiday Classic at Palatine High School.

Josh Rappa (11-1) was dominate at 175, winning here for the second consecutive year following his tech-fall victory over Dominic Ganir (Leyden, 13-3) while John Rappa moved his record to a perfect 13-0 after his 16-2 major decision victory over Eduardo Albarran from Zion-Benton.

The dynamic duo gave Rolling Meadows plenty of points on the day, but it would be Class 1A power Canton who led from start to finish with 179.5 points.

The host Pirates, with individual titles from freshman Dunamis Philip (10-2, 113) and senior Karl Bep (13-3) at 165, claimed second place with 167.5 points.

Lake Zurich (145) was third, Stevenson (138.5) fourth and Zion-Benton (136) rounded out the top five at this longest running tournament in Illinois, named after Al and Sally Berman, names synonymous with Palatine wrestling which began in 1969 when Al Berman began his coaching career.

The tournament was renamed the Berman Holiday Classic in 1993 in honor of the contributions to Pirates wrestling provided by the Bermans.

The Rappa boys are now two-time Berman champions, something each is quite proud of — with both hoping this will be the springboard to bigger and better things come the postseason.

"Getting downstate last year was a great experience and a real eye opener for me, but the obvious goal is to get back (there) and get on the podium," said John Rappa, who recorded the fastest tech-fall (64 seconds) on the day.

"John and I are best friends. We train together in all three sports that we play (football, baseball) and we have put in some much extra time and work to reach our goal of getting downstate, and coming home with a medal," added Josh Rappa.

The aforementioned Philip-Bep champions from Palatine would draw plenty of praise from coach Tulga Zuunbayan, who said Philip is a consummate hard worker, while Bep, “is a terrific team leader, and terrific athletic, who makes up for his lack of time in the sport with hard work, and great instincts."

Super soph Mykola Shamray (Buffalo Grove) is now 13-1 to further validate his No. 8 spot in the state at 120 pounds following his 6-0 decision over No. 3 Maddux Steele (15-1) from Canton.

"I've been getting better at my (tilts) this season, and was close on a couple in my final, but I know I can be better with (that) and the rest of my game," said Shamray, seventh last weekend at the prestigious two-day Dvorak Invite.

Lake Zurich senior Rocco DiCanio (22-3) would finish of a marvelous day with a pin (2:20) of Ilya Pilschchikov (Palatine, 10-3) to capture the 215-pound crown.

"(He) was super tall, so I defended well, and attacked his legs, and that's what led to my pin," said DiCanio.

"Rocco is a terrific student-athlete — takes all AP classes — and is just a terrific young man to have in our room," said Bears coach Michael Buhr.

Stevenson, who had most of its starting lineup out of action due to illness and a variety of minor injuries, was able to celebrate its lone individual championship from William Guziec who outlasted top seed Noah Snow (12-2, Oswego East) in the 150-pound final, 4-3.

"I'm in a great room, with great partners, and in my final, I really feel like my fitness is what would be the difference," said Guziec, whose late escape in the third period proved to be the difference.

Grayslake North heavyweight, senior David Williams (22-6), dropped a hard-fought 4-2 decision in his final against No. 2 Conor Williams (Canton), who is now 16-0.

Dylan Solesky (138, 13-3) and teammate Anthony Malone (157) gave Zion-Benton a pair of individual champions.