Wrestling: H-F edges host Hinsdale South for tourney title

Updated: December 3, 2011 5:52PM

It was nip-and-tuck to the final round of wrestling on Saturday but in the end Homewood-Flossmoor walked off with the team title at this year’s 12-team Hinsdale South Invite.

Which was news to Vikings’ coach Brett Geijer.

“The whole day I didn’t really pay any attention to the team scores. I just wanted to see how we’d respond after a tough dual loss to Joliet West last night,” Geijer said. “They really wrestled well today. They worked.”

Homewood-Flossmoor posted 201 team points to Hinsdale South’s 197.5 in Darien, getting individual titles from Mike Burke (106), Cameron Beale (160), and Donnie Bell (195) and a pair of seconds from Connor Bandy (138) and Faraan Brantley (182).

“Rule number one is don’t get pinned, and come out and wrestle the full six minutes,” Beale said. “As long as we can do that, winning won’t be a problem for us.”

Second-place Hinsdale South led the field in sending 11 wrestlers to the medal stand, led by a trio of second-placers in Marc Kosiek (126), Joel Lawrence (132), and Justin Maslow (145).

“We came back after a hard loss (to Downers South) on Friday and I thought we wrestled pretty good,” Maslow said. “A lot of people got better from last year and people stepped up today.”

Third-place Plainfield North led all teams with four individual titlists in Justin Smiley (132), Steve Myers (145), Nick DiNardo (152), and Nick Wolf (285).

The tournament’s lone returning state champion captured the crown at 120 when Fenwick senior Matt Garelli topped Rich East’s Scottie Bonds by major decision. Garelli won his state crown at 103 last season.

“I’m still struggling between 120 and 113, and I’m thinking 125 for college next year,” Garelli said. “I want to focus on my technique and have a good year from that aspect.”

West Chicago’s Svestka brothers nearly won three of the 14 championships for the fourth-place Wildcats, with titles won by Tyler (113) and Robert (126) and a runner-up finish for brother Tommy Svestka (106).

Other individual champions were Downers Grove North’s Nick Bonomo (138), Dundee-Crown’s Ray Griggle (220), and Proviso West’s Kennard Washington (170) and Jameer Thurman (182).

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