Leyden junior Dan Kiebler arrived at last weekend's Class 3A state wrestling tournament in Champaign hoping to accomplish something that hadn't been done at his school in 30 years.
Instead, he achieved something that hadn't happened in 11 years.
Seeking a state title, Kiebler (32-4) finished fourth at 215 pounds, becoming the Eagles' first state place-winner since 1998. Jim Farina was Leyden's last state champion in 1979.
"We're excited for Dan," Leyden wrestling coach Jason Potter said. "He's a talented wrestler who has worked hard in his three years here. If things went a little differently, he would have returned a state champion. He will be back next year."
Kiebler lost his third-place bout 10-4 to Marist's Arthur Smith Saturday after beating Lake Zurich's Wade Self in the consolation bracket. Kiebler opened the tourney by dominating St. Rita's Erick Nolan by technical fall in 4 minutes, 9 seconds. He then topped Conant's Joe Patricelli 3-1, before losing a hard-fought 6-4 decision to eventual champion Zach Smith (41-3) of Rockford Boylan in the semifinals.
"(The semifinal) was a tough match and I started to tire out when (Smith) got the lead," Kiebler said. "When I arrived (at state), I knew what I was getting into. I had every intention of winning. I just went up against a better opponent."
Kiebler was making his first state trip after reaching sectionals last year.
"The effort was there," Potter said. "He was in it all the way. But when you get to this level, the talent gets even and anything can happen."
Kiebler said he never trained so hard for one event.
"The coaching staff had me prepared," Kiebler said. "I stepped up and was in peak condition."
Kiebler started wrestling as a freshman. Potter said when he saw the 6-foot-4 kid in school, he wondered if Kiebler was a basketball player.
"He was muscular with raw athletic ability," Potter said. "He's an aggressive athlete and he took to the sport quickly. I'm glad he doesn't play basketball."
Leyden's 160-pound senior Adam Schammert (35-7) lost 8-3 in his only state match to Rockton's Ryan Guffey.
Team duals
With a trip to the state quarterfinals in Bloomington on the line, Leyden fell to Naperville Central 35-27 Tuesday in the Class 3A Willowbrook Dual Team Sectional Tuesday.
After Dan Kiebler earned a 11-0 win at 215 to cut the Eagles' deficit to 29-27 heading into the final match, Joe Widman's pin in 2:45 at 285 pounds sealed the win for the Redhawks.
"As disappointed as I am right now, I have to remember what the kids did all year," Leyden coach Jason Potter said. "I'm not happy with the way we finished. There were a couple of matches that I thought would go a different way. However, we continue to take steps in the right direction and that's what is important."
Leyden got wins from Jake McCabe (103), Jessie McCabe (119), Kevin Lewis (135), Brian Andronic (145), and Adam Schammert (171).
February 19, 2009By MATT HARNESS
No wrestler is guaranteed or even promised to ever reach Champaign.
But Adam Schammert deserves to step onto the Assembly Hall mats as much as anybody.
A four-year starter for Leyden, the 160-pound senior secured his first trip to state by winning a sectional championship at home Saturday. He narrowly missed out qualifying the past two seasons, coming closest as a sophomore when he fell one spot shy at sectionals.
"He's been a tremendous leader for us, a staple for four years," Leyden coach Jason Potter said. "He's been there to help us turn it around. It's exciting and rewarding for him to finally hit this level of success."
Teammate Dan Kiebler also will be making his first appearance at the University of Illinois campus, where Potter once roamed. Kiebler (29-2) and Schammert (35-6) will get to practice and compete in the same venues as former state champion and 2004 college graduate Potter did.
"I don't think they will be overwhelmed at all," said Potter, whose team had 11 wrestlers at the sectional. "They both are wrestling their best right now. We are going to look at it like any other tournament. I don't foresee them going down there and being nervous. They've trained all year for this."
Schammert earned two overtime wins in his title march. He opened with a 3-2 overtime victory over York's Dale Lewis before beating Wheaton North's Dominick Schmit 11-4. He then beat St. Patrick's Alex Ortiz 3-1 in OT to finish first.
"He's kind of overlooked in the wrestling community," Potter said. "But he beat three really good guys and put on a great performance. It's something we expect from him."
Kiebler won 8-0 and by pin before losing to Hinsdale Central's Jack Allen 7-5 in the title match.
"He's kind of flying under the radar," Potter said of the junior, who still was ranked No. 8 by Illinois Matmen before the sectional. "But people knew he'd be a guy to reckon with at the tournament."
Schammert opens state against Rockton's Ryan Guffey (33-15). A win sets up a potential second-round match against St. Rita's Jahwon Akui, Illinois Matmen's top 160-pounder.
Kiebler goes against St. Rita's Eric Nolen (19-6) in the opener.
As for the Eagles' other sectional qualifiers, junior Kevin Lewis (33-11 at 135) and senior Brian Andronic (32-9 at 145) finished 2-2, missing state berths for top-four finishes by one win. In the consolation semifinals, Lewis lost to Naperville Central's Andrew Kovalsky 13-11 and Andronic fell to Hinsdale Central's Tom Jung 11-3.
Leyden freshman Jake McCabe (26-13 at 103) went 1-1, freshman Jesse McCabe (33-10 at 112), sophomore Andy Nguyen (16-21 at 125), Dan Cocozza (11-22 at 152), sophomore Tramon Thomas (12-15 at 189) and junior Max Schammert (17-19 at 285) were 0-1. Junior Hector Garcia (20-17 at 130) did not compete.
February 19, 2009By CHUCK FIELDMAN cfieldman@pioneerlocal.com
The beginning of the end for the McCabe family with Leyden wrestling certainly is off to a good start.
Freshmen twins Jake (103 pounds) and Jesse (112) both competed at Saturday's Class 3A Leyden Sectional following strong showings at the Mather Regional Feb. 7. Jake managed a runner-up regional finish and finished 1-1 at the sectional Friday, and Jesse placed third at regionals before dropping a 12-8 decision in his only sectional bout.
Jake and Jesse are the youngest of five McCabe brothers, all of whom were successful wrestlers at Leyden. Justin (a 1999 grad), Jared (2001) and Jordan (2005) all were state qualifiers while competing for the Eagles. Justin currently is a teacher/assistant football coach at Leyden, and Jared is the varsity wrestling coach at Ridgewood High School in Norridge.
The twins watched their older brothers compete in wrestling for as long as they can remember. And both Jake and Jesse became involved in a youth wrestling program when they were 7 years old.
"They've been around the sport so long for two guys coming in as freshmen," Leyden coach Jason Potter said. "They've seen (wrestling) moves, but they also have seen their older brothers compete and how hard they had to work to be successful.
"I think that's one of the biggest advantages they have, and they are two of the hardest-working kids we have. Freshmen usually don't understand the work that's needed in wrestling to do well, but Jake and Jesse do."
Probably the biggest disadvantage the McCabe twins have faced while competing as freshmen at the varsity level is a relative lack of physical strength.
"No matter how skilled you are as freshmen, it's hard to match the strength of older kids," Potter said. "But that will come as they get older."
Both Jake and Jesse said watching their older brothers compete in wrestling is what sparked their interest to pursue the sport. And both brothers have lofty goals they hope to accomplish before graduating from East Leyden in 2012.
"I want to make it to State this year," Jake said. "I think it would be great to have that experience as a freshman." Jesse agreed.
Both of the twins are well aware that Leyden hasn't had a state champion in wrestling since 1979 when Jim Farina won the 145-pound division.
"I want to be the next one," Jake said. "I know it's going to take a lot of hard practice."
Jesse added, "I'd like to (win state) my junior or senior year. It would be really great if we both could win it."
There's visiting Assembly Hall as a spectator, and then there's competing on the floor as a participant.
Leyden's Adam Schammert will be wearing a singlet in Champaign this year.
It's real exciting, especially senior year. I knew I had one last chance, and I got it done, Schammert said. It's hard for me to sleep now, so I can't even imagine what it will be like down there.
Schammert improved to 35-6 and won a sectional title at 160 pounds on Saturday, thanks to a 3-1 overtime win against St. Patrick's Alex Ortiz in their third meeting of the season.
To get to the title mat, Schammert had to wade through arguably the deepest pool of solid talent present in any weight class at Leyden.
There was a pair of wrestlers ranked in Illinois' top six in Batavia's Andrew Rudd and Wheaton North's Dominick Schmit, and an assortment of wrestlers with 30-plus wins in Ortiz, York's Dale Lewis, Glenbard East's Adam Zeh, and Willowbrook's Grant Millette.
On Friday, Schammert topped York's Lewis (39-6) via 3-2 overtime decision in a quarterfinal match, before guaranteeing himself a trip downstate with Saturday's 11-4 decision win in the semifinals against Wheaton North's Schmit (34-7).
Schammert was a sectional qualifier last year at 145 pounds, but didn't advance downstate. Even though he wrestled at 171 to start this season, he never had any intention of staying there.
When I was at 171, all the kids were coming down and they were stronger than me, Schammert said. I knew I had to get out of there.
He still managed a second-place finish at 171 at the Conant tournament to start the year. After that, Schammert shed weight naturally as the season rolled out, and then illness intervened on his behalf.
I caught strep throat, and that helped me cut down to 160, Schammert said. Only in a hard sport like wrestling could an athlete find a way to use strep throat to his advantage.
Schammert's first test at 160 came at this year's Berman tournament, hosted by Palatine at the end of December, where he placed third. His lone loss of the tournament came in a 6-4 semifinal decision to Ortiz, who won the tournament title.
Nine weeks later, Schammert and Ortiz squared off with a regional title on the line, with Schammert pulling off a 3-2 decision win to become a regional champion.
Heading into the sectional title match on Saturday, Schammert knew that winning a third meeting with Ortiz would be like pulling teeth.
He's such a tough kid, Schammert said of Ortiz. I knew that would be another good match. He's really strong, and I had be able to get my hips back and get his head down. That's what I focused a lot on.
I'm a lot more confident on my feet now, and I've gotten better on top, which has always been my best position. If I need to, I know I can ride people out.
Lewis also had a whale of a tournament at Leyden. After losing to Schammert, the Dukes' senior beat both Schmit and Rudd (33-7) in placing third and earning his first trip to Champaign.
Ortiz used a 5-3 overtime decision win over Rudd in the semifinals to earn his downstate berth, and Rudd beat Zeh (32-10) in the consolation semi's to punch his ticket.
Schammert opens the state tournament on Friday with a match against Rockton-Hononegah's Ryan Guffey (33-15). A win there would put him in a quarterfinal match against the winner between Hersey's Jeff Koepke (38-13) and St. Rita's Jahwon Akui (34-2).
Leyden's Cocozza lives up to coach's praises
February 12, 2009By MATT HARNESS mharness@pioneerlocal.com
When the coaches got together to seed the wrestlers for the Class 3A Mather Regional, Leyden coach Jason Potter stated his case for Dan Cocozza.
Despite the junior's 8-21 record, Potter believed Cocozza deserved one of the top spots in the 152-pound bracket.
"That was kind of a hard sale," laughed the coach. "But he wrestled up at the beginning of the year and also lost to a lot of good kids."
Cocozza showed everybody Saturday at Mather that records don't always represent the wrestler, especially this time of the year. He pinned Lane Tech's Nader Ihmoud in 1 minute, 2 seconds to finish 3-0 at the tournament and earn himself a regional championship.
"He's definitely peaking at the right time," Potter said. "We saw glimpses throughout the year. Week by week, he was getting dramatically better. It's exciting."
Cocozza was one of four winners for the Eagles, who sent 13 wrestlers to the finals and qualified 11 for this weekend's Leyden Sectional with top-three regional finishes. Leyden (209.5 points) captured the title of the nine-team regional over runner-up St. Patrick (175) to advance to the Willowbrook Dual Team Sectional Feb. 24.
Leyden's Brian Andronic (31-7) won at 145, Adam Schammert (32-6) won at 160 and Dan Kiebler (27-1) won at 215. Jake McCabe (103) and Andy Nguyen (125) both placed second.
Much like Cocozza, Nguyen and heavyweight Max Schammert came into the postseason without sparkling records. But they both wrestled one of their best tournaments Saturday to extend their seasons another weekend with third-place finishes. Nguyen goes into the sectional 16-20, while Schammert stands 17-18.
"The cool thing about this time is that it doesn't matter who you are or what your record is," Potter said. "You can pull off some crazy stuff."
Also finishing third for the Eagles were freshman Jesse McCabe (112), junior Hector Garcia (130), junior Kevin Lewis (135) and sophomore Tramon Thomas (189). Pat Foley (145) and Dan Hartney (171) were the tough-luck losers Saturday, both finishing fourth and missing out on the sectional round.
Schammert, whose older brother Adam is ranked No. 12 at 160 by Illinois Matmen, returned to wrestling after taking last season off to concentrate on his other extracurricular activities. Potter's glad the junior is back on the mats.
"I think he missed it, and I'm glad he made that choice," Potter said. "It's great to see him have some success."
Consistency marks career of Leyden senior Schammert
February 5, 2009By DAN CURRIER dcurrier@pioneerlocal.com
The road is nearing the end for the high school career of Adam Schammert . The Leyden senior enters Saturday's Class 3A Mather Regional with a 28-6 record at 160 pounds.
Schammert has put together a career mark of 120 victories as a four-year starter for the Eagles. He no doubt will be regarded as one of the best wrestlers ever to wear the blue and gold.
"Adam is the most consistent wrestler I've had here in my years at Leyden," Leyden coach Jason Potter said. "He's been very successful because he has a strong work ethic and he's constantly working hard to improve every day."
Schammert has competed in a variety of weight classes, from 145 pounds to 171. According to Potter, Schammert is solid on his feet and is good at overmatching his opponents.
"He's a bear of a kid when he gets on top," Potter said. "He beats his opponent everywhere on the mat."
Schammert is a three-time winner at the Leyden Tournament and placed second at the always-competitive Conant Invitational earlier this season. The Eagles recently finished their regular season 15-7 and placed second to Hinsdale South in the West Suburban Conference Gold Division at 4-1.
The Eagles compiled a 22-2 mark in 2007-08 and captured the conference title. Leyden made it to the sectional finals before being knocked out by state-champion Montini.
Heading into the regional, Potter says his team is out to prove that it hasn't slipped much from the 2007-08 season and he's looking at several of his top wrestlers to have solid matches.
Joining Schammert as top competitors for the Eagles in the postseason will be senior Brian Andronic at 145 pounds (29-7) and junior Dan Kiebler at 215 (24-1).
Plus, the Eagles are exceptionally gifted at the lightweight class, with brothers Jake and Jesse McCabe . Both have impressed Potter as freshmen, enabling the Eagles to be strong up and down the lineup. Jake is 24-11 at 103 pounds and Jesse is 30-8 at 112.
Other teams competing in the Mather Regional are Lane Tech, Northside Prep, Schurz, St. Patrick, Taft, Von Steuben, Maine South, Niles West and host Mather.
Leyden will host the individual sectional Feb. 14.
215 Dan Kiebler of Leyden
By Mike Garofola
Dan Kiebler burst onto the scene last year using superb athletic and natural skills to surprise many an unsuspecting victim, as the then-sophomore would capture a regional championship in his first season with the big club at Leyden.
After missing the better part of two weeks, Leyden head coach Jason Potter is hoping many of Kiebler's soon-to-be opponents might have forgotten him while he was gone, making the 215-pound goliath more dangerous a foe than ever.
Kiebler (15-1) crushed the competition, including a very good Jake Prestia (Conant) in the final to win his first title at home after a runner-up medal one year ago.
"I think Dan has come back from being out with a real chip on his shoulder and something to prove," said Potter.
"Our job as a coaching staff is to channel (all) of that and use it in a positive way to get him ready for the last half of the season.
With a strike-force of weapons, readied to unleash on his opponent, Kiebler, who took up the sport when he entered high school, can strike fear in most with his v-shaped body and stealth-like take-down and pin skills that almost come naturally.
"Dan never really competed in sports until coming to Leyden," says Potter. "Now he is a 2-sport star (football also) yet a kid who is still a little rough around the edges because of his lack of wrestling experience."
"My obvious goal is to smash dudes each time out from here on out to qualify for state," Kiebler said softly.
"But I am not going to get ahead of myself, because I have a coaching staff that will not let me, and a coaching staff that cares a lot about me and will continue to work with me and teach me everything I need in order to become a more complete wrestler."
Prestia (10-4) one of the 'dudes' Kiebler would smash, is a terrific story himself for first-year head coach Pena.
"When he was a freshmen, I had to limit him to just two questions per training session, because he would ask so many questions about wrestling," joked Pena.
"But now, look at him."
"He is tough as nails, and he works so hard and he has become a very intelligent wrestler who has made himself into a strong, highly competitive athlete."
Prestia, who flirted with the .500 mark off and on all last season, and would manage to grab a 6th place medal at the MSL tournament behind the likes of Peter Zintak, Danny Vargas, Thomas Davidson and others, enjoyed what Pena would share about his first season at Conant.
"Yeah, I guess I kind of asked a lot of questions, but I just didn't know enough about the sport, and let's remember, I was the 4th guy of 4 guys at my weight, so I had to try to learn as much as I could then."
In perhaps the most exciting semifinal of the tournament, Prestia would defeat No. 2 seed Steve Bora (17-4) of New Trier 13-9 in OT after letting a 9-4 lead slip away in the final minute of regulation.
Bora's near fall with 12 seconds left set this match to an extra period, where Prestia would use a lateral drop to bump the New Trier senior off.
"Give Steve a lot of credit for getting back into the match," Prestia would say afterwards.
"Typical Jake," said Pena.
"A lot of guys would have given up after seeing a big lead vanish. He didn't. And he battled back and won it in a big way to get himself into the final and help his team out as well."
FINAL RESULTS: Kiebler, Prestia, Bora, Rory Klema (Vernon Hills, 21-12), Andy Crivalone (Richards, 9-11) and Josh Meyers (Maine East, 3-2)
160: Adam Schammert of Leyden
By Mike Garofola
In the second of three head-to-head bouts in the finals between the two clubs chasing the team trophy, it was Leyden senior Adam Schammert (21-5) who would prevail 6-2 over Conant's Sean Smith.
The championship belt was Schammert's third consecutive here after winning it all last season, when he beat Stevenson's Taras Martyniouk by fall (3:37), and two years ago as a sophomore at 135 pounds, when he defeated Rob Frias of Richards 12-6.
"Seems like it was just yesterday that I won my first title here," smiled the affable Schammert.
"It always feels great to win a tournament, especially on your home mats, and to be able to help contribute to your team winning the overall title for the second straight year as well."
Schammert didn't feel so great just after Christmas when a bout with the flu knocked him down for the ten-count just prior to the Berman Holiday Classic.
Still not 100% on the eve on the tournament, Schammert, who had moved down from 171 to what will likely be his 'playing' weight (160) managed to come away with a 3rd-place medal after defeating Hersey sophomore Jeff Koepke 4-2.
Earlier in the tournament, Schammert would send Koepke into the back-draw after a 6-3 decision in the quarter-finals.
"While it's true I still wasn't feeling as well as I could, there was no way I was going to use me being sick as an excuse for my performance at the Berman."
"I really could have wrestled harder that weekend."
Schammert methodically put away Smith in the final, adding a point here and there to the eventual final score midway through the third period.
"Adam has learned to do all the right things (needed) to win matches," offered Leyden head coach Jason Potter.
"I am sure at this point he didn't think he would have 5 losses on the season, but he also knows it doesn't matter a thing about losses (right) now.. just about where he is at the end of the season."
The end of the season is likely what Schammert is pointed towards after seeing himself get so close to Champaign as a sophomore when he dropped a 5-1 decision to Jon Schiewe of St. Patrick in a state qualifying bout at the Leyden sectional.
Last season, Schammert (35-8) would advance into the sectionals after earning a second-place medal in regional play, only to fall way short one week later.
"I realize this is my last chance to accomplish my goal of getting downstate, and I really believe that my physical and mental approach has matured to the point that I reach that goal this season," Schammert said.
"Right now I am at the point where I know that I can go hard for six minutes in each and every match and that I am capable of grinding those tough matches out when I really need to."
103: Jake McCabe of Leyden
Leyden freshmen Jake McCabe gave his club its second straight championship here at 103 pounds when he recorded a technical fall at 3:17 to defeat Vernon Hills freshmen Dan Peterson.
McCabe, whose brother Jesse fell short in the 112 pound final, matched 2008 state qualifier Bhavik Patel who would roll through the competition one year ago here and jumpstart his run to his first trip ever downstate.
"Jake, and for that matter Jesse, are both tough as nails as freshmen, and it kind of seems they are each taking turns having a strong tournament weekend so far this year," said Leyden head coach Jason Potter.
"I've been working on my singles and take-downs ever since the Berman, and I feel like that was a big reason that I was successful (today) especially in my final when I took him down so early," said McCabe, who was out of the medal hunt at the 2-day Berman at Palatine.
McCabe register a take-down just 30 seconds into the final, and would eventually build his lead to 10-0 with a near-fall towards the end of the first period.
Prior to the final, McCabe, now 18-9, defeated Zach Ciszek (Conant) and Joey Smith of Highland Park by a fall.
Peterson (12-4) knocked off No. 2 seed Emanuel Torres in the semifinals to book his place opposite McCabe.
FINAL RESULTS: 1. McCabe (18-9) 2. Peterson (12-4) 3. Smith (5-3) 4. Torres (3-3) 5. Coby Stopyak (Oak Forest, 7-8) 6. Ciszek (5-11)
By Mike Garofola
Leyden has been a storming success since former St. Charles East star and 2-time state champion Jason Potter took over 5 years ago, and Saturday evening his club helped validate his leadership once again.
The Eagles' blew open a tight team race with Conant of the MSL by placing 8 in the finals to the Cougars 4, then finished with 3 champions and 13 medal winners overall to capture the team trophy at the 33rd annual Leyden Invitational.
Freshmen Jake McCabe (103) and junior Jeff Kiebler (215) joined teammate Adam Schammert (160) who would win his third straight championship here to help the home team total 253 points overall, and nearly 40 more than Conant, which finished with 212.50 to easily earn the runners-up trophy.
New Trier (158), Stevenson (146) and Lakes with senior Matt Holmes and junior Phil Cappitelli (171) each grabbing the gold medal, helped their club round out the top 5 with 132 points.
"We had a good week of practice, and was nice to finally get our full lineup together to see what they could do as a group," said Potter, who won it all in 1998 and 1999 at 171 pounds.
"We would have liked to get a couple of more individual titles here and there on the day, but overall, we wrestled well as a team and we will use this tournament championship to help build the confidence we will need in the next couple of weeks."
First-year head coach David Pena of Conant liked what he saw from his club which gave the former long-time Cougars assistant his first top 2 finish of his career after its 5th-place trophy earned at Lake Park in late December.
"We had some kids step-up to give us outstanding efforts (today) including Vince Gottardo who won it all in a very competitive 112 pound weight class," said Pena, who himself, finished 5th at 112 pounds in 1992 in Champaign.
Stevenson's Nick Pagano (140), Nathan Millman (145) and heavyweight Turron Washington, would give coach Shane Cook a trio of champions, while NSC rival Vernon Hills and former Leyden alum Jerry Micelli cheered senior Edgar Cuevas' title at 130.
The Highland Park duo of Joe Schwartz (119) and senior Danny Fisher (125) capped a terrific 2-days of wrestling with individual championships, one day after stunning CLS favorite, and long-time rival Deerfield on the road before a packed house.
Fisher, rated No. 4 by Illinois Best Weekly, now has 3 tournament crowns in his trophy case after his previous success at both Barrington and recently Lyons.
Oak Forest senior Lenny Kuspa garnered the lone championship outside of the area after a well wrestled 11-6 decision over Nick Bonnett (Conant) at 152 pounds.
PremiumPreps photo by Gary Larsen
Alex Ortiz of St. Patrick won a Berman title at 160 pounds on TuesdayIn what was a wide-open race for top honors at 160 pounds, St. Patrick junior Alex Ortiz found a way to come out ahead of all others competing for the big prize.
Ortiz (26-3) defeated Quinn Francis of Hinsdale Central with a fall at 2:58 after escaping from Leyden senior Adam Schammert (16-4) 6-4 in his Tuesday morning semifinal bout to guarantee his place opposite Francis.
The 2008 state qualifier came into the tournament as the No. 2 seed behind Lincoln-Way Central's Kevin Ryan, who would be sent into the backdraw in his tournament opener by Lockport's Matt Andre who would pin Ryan at 5:38.
Andre would later snag a 6th place medal, while Ryan fell out of medal contention following a 3-2 loss to Adam Zeh of Glenbard East.
"That match with Adam was by far the most difficult and important (win) for me here this weekend," admitted Ortiz, who dropped his lone match in Champaign last February to Scott Carlson of Wauconda at 145 pounds.
"Adam is a tough wrestler and the guy that I eliminated at the Fenton sectional last year and help me stay alive in the back-draw," continued Ortiz.
Coincidentally, Ortiz would later defeat Joe Foreman of Downers Grove North in the state qualifying match (2-1), who following the Berman tournament, was named MVP for his work over the 2 days on his way to a second-straight title here.
"We weren't really sure what we were going to get out of Alex during this tournament," said St. Patrick head coach Pat Duggan.
"He had been pretty sick and actually missed practice (last) Saturday, but he got off to a good start (yesterday) and continued on through to the title."
"We told Alex, and for that matter, Matt Ortega (189) that each of them have to get their offense up and running early on in order to build some momentum and get the pace in their advantage."
"Alex did that pretty well today, and it showed."
Schammert, himself just out of his sick bed following nearly two weeks missed to various illness, managed to come back to beat Jeff Koepke (25-7) of Hersey for the second time in 2 days. His pin at 5:36 marked his first medal at 160 pounds after beginning the season at 171.
"I'd like to use all that time off with being sick as an excuse for me not making it into the final, but it wouldn't be right to say that," said Schammert.
"I could have wrestled better than I did, but today was a good starting point and it's always a good thing to finish a long tournament with a victory instead of a loss."
After the top 4, the final standings went: Jon DiBuono (Oswego), Andre, Zeh and Tim Miller of Hinsdale South.
Leyden's Lewis stuns Lakes' Holmes
By Mike Garofola
Kevin Lewis orchestrated one of the biggest upsets of the night during day No. 1 of the 54th annual Berman Holiday Wrestling Classic at Palatine High School.
The Leyden junior stunned previously undefeated and class AA No. 2 rated Matt Holmes 14-12 in a quarterfinal bout at 140 pounds to easily qualify as one of the highlights of Monday's action.
Lewis earned the praise of head coach Jason Potter, who sported a wide grin after watching the action matside.
"To be truthful, I can say we felt Kevin was capable of beating Holmes (beforehand) only because he has wrestling extremely well of late, and he's the type of athletic wrestler who can match (up) against a power guy like Holmes and give him trouble."
Both Potter and Lewis agreed that despite earning a pin in his opening match of the tournament, the effort was far from what either expected.
"Kind of a rough start to the tournament," said Lewis, who last year would compete with the big club on a limited basis, but would still manage to grab an 8th place medal here.
Lewis would book his spot in today's 11:00 a.m. semifinals (against) Adam Heimer (Lincoln-Way Central) by attacking the powerhouse Holmes of Lakes who appeared unsettled when Lewis spun out of trouble near the edge at the end of the first period to take a 3-2 lead, one he would never relinquish.
"I remember thinking, 'oh no' when I saw the bracket(s) and knowing I could meet Holmes in the quarters, but after getting the lead and beginning to push the pace, I noticed as the match went on that he might have tired and I would be able to add points to my lead if I stayed patient," said Lewis, who might have sent out an early warning signal to opponents of his arrival after a 5th-place finish at Conant and a 3rd-place medal last weekend at Lyons.
The 2-time Berman champ had no answer for Lewis' second period explosion which saw him bump his lead to 10-4 after a near-fall.
"I wanted to go for (the) pin when the opportunity was there, but I thought it might have been a little safer to hold back and go for more points."
Lewis (18-3) would see his lead shortened when Holmes (17-1) pulled within 10-8, then 11-10 in a frenzied final 30 seconds, until holding on for the big win.
"Kevin is kind of learning on the job, so we have to live with some of his mistakes due to inexperience along the way while watching a work in progress do something terrific like he managed against Holmes today," offered Potter.
"You cannot teach the type of natural ability and athletism, that Kevin has, but it has been thus far to watch him grow as a wrestler on many levels since the beginning of the year."
For Holmes, who last season would capture NSC, regional and sectional championships en route to his first trip downstate, it is time to regroup, according to his head coach Curt Onstad.
"I know (Matt) said he wasn't feeling very good after the match, but that's no excuse. He flat-out got beat. I told him know is the time to have a match like this (one) tonight, and that he should use it as a wake-up call to step things up and get yourself straight for the rest of the regular season and beyond."
Daily Herald Staff Report
Published: 12/5/2008 12:01 AM
WSC GOLD
Leyden
Coach: Jason Potter (fourth year)
Last season: 20-3-0 overall; WSC Gold and regional champion
Graduation losses: Bhavik Patel (Elmhurst College, state qualifier, 103, 34 wins), Matt Soch (Elmhurst College, state qualifer, 152, 33 wins), Mike Cocozza (Elmhurst College, sectional qualifier, 130, 30 wins), Nick Cassano (state qualifier, 171, 34 wins), Mike Feldmann (sectional qualifier, 160, 31 wins), John Burke (Triton College, sectional qualifier, 285, 33 wins.)
Top returnees: Seniors Adam Schammert (171, 160, sectional qualifier, 38 wins), Brian Andronic (135, sectional qualifier, 25 wins); juniors Jose Menesses (119), Jose Flores (125), Hector Garcia (130), Kevin Lewis (140), Dan Kiebler (215, sectional qualifier, 21 wins)
New faces to watch: Junior Dan Cocozza (152); freshmen Jake McCabe (103), Jesse McCabe (112)
Outlook on the mat: Eagles have been flying high ever since Potter took over, culminating in a memorable 2008 season which included a third straight division title and regional championship over mighty Oak Park-River Forest on its home mats. "We lost a large group of senior starters, but they all left their mark on a young bunch of kids who may lack varsity experience, but will make up for it with their toughness," says Potter. Three-year starter Schammert is one to watch, as is Kiebler, who came on during the second half of the season to surprise many an unsuspecting opponent. Terrific weekend schedule (Conant, Palatine and Lyons) will toughen youngsters as they ready themselves for what appears to be a strong wrestling conference from top-to-bottom.
By David Just | Daily Herald Correspondent
Contact writer 11/29/2008
Day two of the C.O. Feutz Classic wrestling tournament at Conant High School ended in much the way it started - with Oak Park in first place.
The Huskies claimed the title with 245 total points, followed next by Providence (229 1/2), Crystal Lake Central (213 1/2) and Glenbard North (177 1/2) to round out the top four.
Oak Park claimed the top spot in four weight classes and had nine wrestlers finish in the top four.
Glenbard North had only one first-place wrestler, senior Tony Ramos, who has won the championship at the C.O. Feutz Classic now four years in a row. He took a 6-2 lead late in the first period by taking down Chris Dardanes of OPRF. Dardanes hurt his left ankle on the takedown but remained in the match only to withdraw 10 seconds into the second period because of the pain.
"It's too bad that he couldn't finish the match," said Ramos, a defending state champ. "This year I wanted to dominate everyone. I want majors, tech falls and wins. I don't want to be close to anyone. I feel that I'm on another level this year."
His win in the 130-pound weight class was followed by a second-place finish in the 135-pound class for senior Jimmy Chase, another defending state champ hailing from Glenbard North.
Chase was ahead after the first period, but lost control of the match and slowly let the lead slip away to OPRF's Nick Dardanes, who won by an 8-5 decision.
"I had a strategy to control the offense, and I was doing that at the beginning," Chase said. "I just haven't been working hard enough. He got the better of me; he wanted it more."
Defending Mid-Suburban League and regional champ Joe Patricelli of Conant finished second behind DeLaSalle's Clayton Kendall in the 189-pound weight class. Patricelli lost by major decision, 13-3, but was very cognizant of his mistakes in the match.
"I felt like I was chasing around the mat too match and was trying to keep up with him instead of me setting the pace," Patricelli said. "But I'd rather make my mistake now than later down the road in regionals and sectionals when it really matters. I'm going to take this match and use it to motivate me in practice every day."
Leyden's lone champion, junior Dan Kiebler, secured a third-period pin on Gage Harrah of Crystal Lake Central in the 215-pound class.
The two were engaged in a scoreless stalemate through the first two periods, but Kiebler went on the attack in the third to earn his first tournament title as an Eagle.
"I just stepped up on offense," Kiebler said. "I had to stop playing defense and get in there and make my move."
Leyden finished in sixth place (146 1/2), ahead of Schaumburg (131 1/2) in seventh. Rolling Meadows (95) finished 10th and Conant (92) finished in 11th.
By Mike Garofola | Daily Herald Correspondent
Contact writer 11/27/2008
There is plenty more on the wrestling buffet for fans hungry for high-level competition when the 2008-2009 season begins in earnest Friday at Barrington and Conant.
The 18th Moore-Prettyman Memorial at Barrington the C.O. Feutz Classic at Conant, long considered two of the premier tournaments, open what promises to be another exciting season of wrestling.
Thirty-four teams will descend on Barrington on Friday to begin action at 10 a.m. and go through the quarterfinals in the evening.
On Saturday, wrestling kicks off at 10 a.m. again, with tournament officials pointing toward an 11:30 a.m. start for semi-finals. Tournament champions will be crowned at 4 p.m.
Over at Conant, the first session begins at 11 a.m. Friday, with quarterfinals scheduled for 4 p.m. On Saturday, the semifinals go at 10 a.m., setting up a 4 p.m. championship round which includes first- through seventh-place matches.
Here's a quick look at both venues which are sure to be jam-packed all weekend:
At Barrington: St. Rita ended Neuqua Valley's three-year title run last year by 7 points.
Wrestlers to watch include Matt Boggess (Prospect), Lee Munster (Grant), Matt Holmes (Lakes), Matt Bystol (Libertyville), Luke Smith (Wheeling), Nick Proctor (Neuqua Valley), Bobby Barnheisel (Fenwick), Joe Schwartz (Highland Park), Chris Narel (Lincoln-Way East), AJ Smith (Marist) and Jahwon Akai (St. Rita).
Schwartz (112), Holmes (130), Boggess (135) and Narel (285) are returning champions.
At Conant: Providence Catholic edged Glenbard North by 3 points for last year's title. Providence and Oak Park-River Forest are 3A title contenders and Crystal Lake Central should challenge Montini in 2A.
Glenbard North seniors Tony Ramos and Jimmy Chase are defending state champions and Providence sophomore Ed Cooper took second last year.
Other wrestlers to watch include Thomas Davidson (Rolling Meadows), Joe Patricelli (Conant), Evan Hafner (Schaumburg), Adam Schammert (Leyden), Trevor Parlberg (Crystal Lake Central), Joey Kielbasa (Crystal Lake Central), Joe Gosinski (Glenbard North), Jacob Wojcik (Providence), Nick and Chris Dandanes, Ellis Coleman, Ben Brooks (Oak Park) and Clayton Kendall (DeLaSalle).