Wrestling: Montini leads after Day 1

Updated: December 27, 2011 4:13PM

MACHESNEY PARK — Barrington has one state wrestling trophy in school history and has never finished higher than sixth in the Dvorak, but sits four points behind Montini after the first day of the 24th annual Dvorak Memorial Tournament.

“I knew this was going to happen since I was a freshman,” Barrington’s Jared Parvinmehr, the No. 1 seed at 113 pounds, said. “I saw how good we were. All we needed was a couple of years to mature, and here we are now, in second at the Dvorak.”

Parvinmehr, a defending champ, is in what has been hailed as the tourney’s toughest weight class. He won 5-2 in the quarters.

“That makes it more fun,” Parvinmehr said. “I hate winning tournaments where you wrestle nobody and the final is a lopsided match.”

Montini has 121 points to 117 for Barrington and 115.5 for Iowa City West. Montini won eight of its nine quarterfinal matches, but coach Israel Martinez was more concerned about getting pinned in the Broncos’ final wrestle-back.

“We’ve got young kids who need to learn their lesson, and this is where you learn your lesson,” Martinez said. “If our school let us, we’d be 3A. We’re here to compete and go hard.”

Three-time champ Eddie Klimara of Providence has a chance to join former teammate Edwin Cooper as the only four-time Dvorak winner.

“It would be a special moment,” Klimara said. “I’ve wrestled so long with Coop.”

To join Cooper, Klimara will probably have to beat Iowa state champ Philip Laux in the 126-pound finals. “If I beat him, then I know I am the best around,” Klimara said.

Marist, never higher than seventh at the Dvorak, sits fifth with 99 points and three semifinalists: Peter Andreotti (152), Ethan Benoit (182) and Tom Howell (220). Howell, last year’s champ at 285, got two takedowns in the final 45 seconds to edge Barrington’s Daniel Davidson 5-2 in the quarterfinals.

“It’s a lot different than heavyweight,” Howell said. “There is a lot more offense on your feet and a lot less pins. Usually, I’m not so great from my feet, so being tied 1-1 late wasn’t great. I’d rather have the lead, but it’s better than losing, so I’ll have to deal with it.”

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