Six Lemont HS Wrestlers Headed to State Finals

Led by head coach John St. Clair, Lemont High School’s wrestling program has brought home at least one state finals medalist finish in eight of the last 10 years. Several of his wrestlers earned the chance to add their names to that list thanks to their performance at the IHSA De La Salle Sectional on February 14. Six Lemont wrestlers—seniors Jimmy Brennan, Dimitri Giatras, Ryan Glynn and John Polk and sophomores Egan Berta and Jake Kirkman —will compete at the 2015 IHSA Class 2A Wrestling Individual State Finals, which will be contested from Thursday, February 19, through Saturday, February 21, at Assembly Hall on the campus of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Brennan (31-5) pinned Riverside-Brookfield’s Jonathan Szdlo at the 3:24 mark to win his second straight IHSA Sectional title at 145 pounds. He also earned his second straight South Suburban Conference and IHSA Regional crowns in 2015. Brennan will make his third IHSA State Finals appearance; he qualified for the state finals at 145 pounds as a freshman in 2012, and split four matches at 145 pounds as a junior in 2014.

Berta (40-8) triumphed in the third-place match at 138 pounds, defeating Kennedy’s Thomas Morales by technical fall at the 3:17 mark. Berta – who a week earlier won his first IHSA Regional title – will be making his second IHSA State Finals appearance in as many years. He won one of three state finals matches at 126 pounds after capturing an IHSA Sectional crown as a freshman in 2014.

Kirkman (35-9) earned his second straight IHSA State Finals berth by pinning Hillcrest’s Paul Sewell at the 2:49 mark in the third-place match at 152 pounds. Kirkman, who captured his first IHSA Regional crown this season, advanced to the IHSA State Finals at 138 pounds as a freshman in 2014.

Giatras, Glynn and Polk each won IHSA Regional crowns, and all will make their first appearances at the IHSA State Finals. Polk (31-13) earned a third-place finish at 170 pounds after pinning Marian Catholic’s at 1:35, while Glynn (24-14) – an SSC champion earlier this year – and Giatras (28-20) finished fourth at 126 pounds and 160 pounds, respectively.

Lemont won the IHSA St. Laurence Regional on February 7, advancing 11 wrestlers to sectional competition. In addition to the six IHSA State Finals qualifiers, sophomore Jake Leffler (106 pounds) and freshman Gabe Berta (120 pounds) also won IHSA Regional crowns in their weight classes.

The IHSA Class 2A State Finals begin with first-round matches at 3 p.m. on February 19. Preliminary round winners advance to compete in the quarterfinal round, which begins at 11 a.m. on February 20. First-round wrestlebacks follow the quarterfinal round, and championship semifinals will take place at 7 p.m. The final day of competition on February 21 will include quarterfinal and semifinal wrestlebacks beginning at 9 a.m., and 3rd- and 5th-place matches at 1 p.m. The final session commences with the Grand March at 5:30 p.m., which will be followed by championship matches.

Tickets for the IHSA Class 2A State Finals are $8 or $10 per session; all-session passes are available for $40 or $50. Tickets may be purchased at Assembly Hall.

Lemont’s state medalists have included Paul Burke (4th, 119-1984), Angel Cabral (1st, 285-2009; 1st, 285-2010), Brian Diaz (3rd, 167-1984), Marvin Drummond (4th, 132-1975), Dave Festin (2nd, 132-1974), Mike Freemantle (4th, 140-1990), Chris Giatras (5th, 182-2012; 3rd, 182-2013), Jamal Hamdan (4th, Hwt.-1986), Jehad Hamdan (2nd, 167-1988), Ryan Hennebry (5th, 125-2000), Jake Kaminsky (2nd, 152-2012), Eric Kirkman (2nd, 170-2012), Mark Kirkman (4th, 160-2012), Gordon Kickels (4th, 189-2007; 5th, 189-2008), Jake Latanski (4th, 103-2010; 5th, 126-2012), Matt Leibforth (3rd, 135-2009; 1st, 135-2010), Joe Long (6th, 215-2005), Andrew Mason (4th, 103-2009), Glenn Malecki (4th, 132-2012), Derek Nagel (2nd, 160-2011) and John Tomala (3rd, 195-2012).

Wrestling is the seventh Lemont High School sport to be represented in IHSA State Finals competition this year. The cheerleading squad was fourth at the IHSA Medium Division State Finals; the girls’ cross country team was fourth at the IHSA Class 2A State Finals; the football team was the IHSA Class 6A State Runner-Up; the boys’ golf team tied for ninth at the IHSA Class 2A State Finals; freshman Alex Knutte competed at the IHSA Girls’ Swimming State Finals; and senior Kyra Udziela will compete in the IHSA Girls’ Bowling State Finals this weekend.