York takes crown at 68th annual Berman Classic
On the strength of five individual champions, the York Dukes stormed past the field at the 68th annual Berman Holiday Classic Thursday afternoon at host Palatine High School.
The Dukes quintet of Mondo Martinelli (126, 16-4), Zach Parisi (132, 25-0), Frank Nitti (138, 21-3), Danny Decrisotoro (175, 23-2) and Austin Bagdasavian (24-4) at 215 pounds helped their club amass 233 points, 60 more than runner-up Mundelein who outscored third-place Maine South (164.5) which fell short in its bid to claim a second straight title.
Richmond-Burton and South Elgin rounded out the top five.
"We lost two great state qualifiers from a year ago in Sean Berger and Sean VanSleet. But we have some terrific young guys who have come into the room and helped make up for Berger and VanSleet heading off to college," said Parisi, who came into this tournament as the No. 5 man in the state at 132.
Parisi, who praised varsity newcomers Martinelli, Nitti and Jackson Hanselman (144) as key figures in the Dukes’ success thus far, was a state qualifier last season with a 43-6 record, as was teammate Danny Decrisotoro who finished at 42-9 a year ago.
Parisi has committed to wrestle next year at the University of Chicago.
"This year's team is so much more rounded than last year. We have more guys making bigger contributions already this season," said Decrisotoro.
Second-place Mundelein used first-place trophies from Ethan Thomas (13-4) at 152 and Macson Rastrelli (160, 17-6) — both of whom recorded pins in their respective finals.
Top-rated Teddy Flores remained perfect on the season after his magnificent effort at 120 pounds which ended when the Maine South senior beat No. 10 Demetrios Carrera (22-2) of South Elgin 5-1 in a hard-fought contest.
"Being No. 1 in the state is just a number. I feel like I'm the best at my weight, but I also know I have to continue to work hard each and every day in order to go out and prove that I'm the No. 1 guy," said Flores, who was third a year ago at state.
The Hawks would go three-for-three in the final round of play with Brett Harmon (113) and heavyweight Tyler Fortis (24-1) joining Flores atop the podium.
Palatine fans have waited a long time to watch one of its own to claim the top prize. So when junior Trey Widlowski (20-3) used an escape just 4.2 seconds from time to beat Stevenson senior Richie Gueorguiev, one can imagine the cheer that went up inside the Pirates gym.
"It feels great to win here at home, but to be honest, I'm really having fun this year, and feel truly blessed for the season thus far," said Widlowski, who conceded a take-down with 10 seconds remaining to level the match at 4-4 before his escape gave him a 5-4 victory.
By all accounts, the last time a Pirate claimed a Berman Holiday Classic title was in 2007 when two-time state qualifier Dale Jarosch carried off the top prize weeks ahead of finishing fourth at state at 112 pounds.
The aforementioned Carrera, a state qualifier last year as a freshman with a program record 38-2, was one of three from South Elgin who would compete in the finals.
Senior Julius Avendano (18-2), who transferred in from nearby Elgin, opened the championship round with a 12-7 decision over Geneva junior Sammy Sikorski (22-7) to win the 106-pound crown.
Leo Rosas, No. 10 at 150, impressed during his final with Kevin Hernandez (Mundelein, 21-4) which ended with a fall for the South Elgin sophomore at 5:17.
"To be honest, I really didn't expect to come into the season ranked in the top 10 of the state. But for me, it's all about staying within myself, and really working hard with my fitness so that I can keep the pace up for six minutes," said Rosas, now a sparkling 23-2.