Lions' Bonus Points Bury York Wrestling

Some nights you've just got to tip your hat to your opponent, and that's what York wrestling coach Terry Clarke did after Lyons Township topped his Dukes 34-18 in Elmhurst.

The Lions and Oak Park and River Forest are now the lone unbeaten teams left in the formidable Silver Division of the West Suburban Conference.

"Don't take anything away from LT," Clarke said. "I'm disappointed in the loss but they came here and did a heck of a job tonight. It's the West Suburban Conference. It's dog-eat-dog."

Lions coach Griff Powell was proud of the way his wrestlers showed up and brought the heat on Friday. LT earned an 8-6 edge in matches won and didn't give up a single bonus point against the Dukes.

"I liked the way we kept going at them for the entire dual," Powell said. "We got majors at the ends of matches, a few pins, and we preach not giving up bonus points so it was great to see our guys that lost keep those matches to straight decisions."

LT got pins from AJ Villareal at 112 pounds and Matt Nora at 152, plus four major decision wins among their eight wins. Brian Pieroth (285), TJ McCabe (125), Drew Bates (130), and Luke Polka (145) all posted major decisions for the Lions.

Heavyweight Pieroth kept moving forward throughout his 9-1 win over York's Zach Smith, earning three stalling calls in the process. The senior also finished on a few nice shots at the edge in the win.

"I just keep going forward. That's what the coaches tell me to do," Pieroth said. "Keep the motor going and work for those takedowns."

York's Jim Nudera and LT's Joe Gonzalez tangled in a good one to start the night at 215, with a Nudera takedown late in the third period providing the difference in a 5-3 win.

York also got decision wins from Ryan Bowman (103), Denzel King (119), Troy Valdez (135), Sergio Lopez (160), and a 2-1 decision in four overtimes from RJ Kleinhans at 171 pounds, when he escaped from LT's Mike Rende in the final tiebreak period.

"RJ is a team captain and one of the greatest leaders we've ever had here," Clarke said. "Him and Jimmy (Nudera) just never quit."

Christian Rojas continues to be a bright spot for the Lions, and he won a 5-1 decision over a tough wrestler in the Dukes' Marcus Loffredo at 140 pounds.

It was Nora's pin in the eleventh match of the night that clinched the dual win for the Lions, giving them a 31-12 lead with three matches left to wrestle. Teammate Jaime Jones ended the night with a 6-1 decision win at 189 pounds.