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Metea Valley's Ervin takes 195-pound Berman title

After an off-season which included a long heart-to-heart with coach Claudio Torres and a 13-hour car ride on the way to the Super 32's on the East coast, Dylan Ervin felt the wheels were put in motion for what he hopes to be a highly successful wrestling campaign in his final season at Metea Valley.

Ervin lifted his third championship trophy of the year, this one coming at the 61st Berman Holiday Classic at Palatine, after a strong effort during his 7-4 victory over Cole Bateman from Carl Sandburg in the 195-pound final on Wednesday.

In the team race, it once again was the Rudy Yates show, as the two-time state champion and No. 3 nationally ranked 132-pounder set the table for Sandburg. The Eagles dominated the proceedings to the tune of a near 120-point advantage over second-place Lyons Township.

Sandburg collected 313 points, earning six first-place medals. LT (194), Lincoln-Way West (171), Deerfield (145) and fifth-place Barrington (132), fueled by a marvelous performance from Markus Hartman, rounded out the top five.

Kaneland and Metea Valley finished at 106.5 to tie for seventh overall, with Wheeling (105) ninth and Oswego tenth (99.5).

"Without having a father around, coach Torres has become that important figure in my life and he's always there for me to talk to about wrestling, and life in general," said Ervin. "So when we sat down to talk about my final year, I knew from the very beginning he had my best interests at heart."

Ervin, adding to the title belts he'd already won at the Hruska Invitational (at Conant) and the Erb Invitational (at Glenbrook South), improved to 21-1 while solidifying his No. 4 state ranking.

"There was a lot of discussion about what weight he would compete at this season," said Torres. "182, 195, 220 ... with all of that talk and more done with his mother on hand. So when all was decided on that subject, and others, he and I knew both of us were all-in on the plan, and I'm so proud of him as a person and wrestler."

The senior was one of three who defeated an opponent from Sandburg in the finals on Wednesday, the others coming at 145 and at 160, where Lyons senior Johnny Mologousis (21-1) shut out Ben Schneider 7-0.

Kaneland junior Riley Vanik came close to topping a Sandburg foe when he took No. 5 Brian Krasowski (20-1) to the brink before dropping a heartbreaking 3-2 decision in the 170-pound final.

"This weekend showed me that I can compete with the big boys," said Vanik (17-1), who stunned top seed Sage Heller (29-3) in the semifinals to earn his spot in the final session.

Vanik was superb against Heller, a tough opponent because of his speed, length and especially unorthodox style, which can get even the most experienced and talented opponent out of synch.

"We both have a certain kind of funkiness to our game, but I had seen it before from him when we've wrestled during the off-season," said Vanik, who won 13-6. "So it was important to stay composed, because I was ready for it."

In the final, Vanik drew even at 1-1 early in the third period, only to concede a takedown, which proved the winner.

"I got in on him during that first period - didn't finish, but I should have taken more shots. But I still feel real good about today, and my weekend."

"It was a very good weekend for Kaneland," said Knights coach Joe Orosco. "This is a first-class tournament, and it's important for our guys, a few who are freshmen, to face this type of competition, and under these conditions.

"We got a little sloppy here and there and gave up some points we shouldn't have, but the effort was very good, and to finish in tied for seventh with a quality program like Metea, and at this tournament, says a lot about all of the guys."

Junior Austin Kedzie (17-2) had eventual 106-pound champion Alex Mitchell of Libertyville on the ropes in the semis, but a nice comeback led to a third-place medal in the end.

Kaneland's Colin Gussman (18-1) bounced back from a tough loss in his semifinal against 182-pound champion Patrick Brucki (22-0) to get himself a third-place trophy.

Barrington's Hartman topped the field at 126 pounds with a brilliant performance which ended with the sophomore recording a technical fall over Jason Stokes (21-2) of Lincoln-Way East.

Hartman (22-3) jump-started his championship form with a gritty 1-0 win over the No. 2 seed, Gehrig Simon (Lincoln-Way West) during a semifinal round which saw a handful of top seeds sent packing. But the Broncos star saved his best for last to impress even his coach, Dave Udchik.

"What an incredible match for Markus in that final today," said Udchik. "Everyone knows he's terrific on top, (but) he came out attacking right from the start, and even used his newly invented half-Nelson cradle effectively."

"I remembered last year winning at the Moore-Prettyman, then the Mudge, before coming here and losing in the final to Michael McGee (Plainfield East)," said Hartman. "So I made up my mind to come out hard and attack, and not let up until the end."

The highlight of the evening was the heavyweight final between good friends and close neighbors - the Michigan State-bound duo of Matt Allen of Hinsdale Central and Josh King of Hinsdale South.

The two football standouts are also reigning state wrestling champions, with Allen currently sitting atop the polls.

King, recently back in wrestling action after finding his form following an injury, had attended just three training sessions before the weekend. Yet he prevailed in a wild overtime bout 7-2.

"Josh was so disappointed with his performance and result in the semifinals, so I had to remind him he's not in wrestling shape yet, and his conditioning for this sport isn't near 100 percent," said Hinsdale South coach Kevin Formanski, "But he is so competitive, and he expects so much more of himself."

"It's tough wrestling a good friend in a final like this, especially with just a few days in the room under my belt, and although there's a long way to go, and I've got a lot of work ahead of me, it still felt good to get that win out there tonight," said King, who will be on his way to the AlamoDome next week in San Antonio to compete in the annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Lake Park senior Jackson Schoen (25-1) saw his perfect record erased in the semifinals against eventual runner-up Christian Robertson of Sandburg. But Schoen, wh ohopes to break the program record of 44 wins in a season, rebounded to earn a third-place finish at 145 pounds.

  Libertyville's Alex Mitchell, right, defeats Glenbard East's Nick Donovan in the 106-pound final of the Berman Classic at Palatine on Wednesday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Alec Riportella of Mundelein, top, competes with Kevin Stearns of Carl Sandburg in the 120-pound final of the Berman Classic at Palatine on Wednesday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Hinsdale Central's Ameen Hamdan, left, goes head-to-head with Carl Sandburg's John Prieto in the 152-pound final of the Berman Classic at Palatine on Wednesday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Kaneland's Riley Vanik, right, competes with Carl Sandburg's Brian Krasowski in the 170-pound final of the Berman Classic at Palatine on Wednesday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Dylan Ervin of Metea Valley defeats Cole Bateman of Carl Sandburg in the 195-pound final of the Berman Classic at Palatine on Wednesday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
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