Boys wrestling: Sean Kolkebeck sets tempo in key Flavin win for DeKalb

DeKALB – DeKalb was coming off a loss to Marist, but Sean Kolkebeck needed only 17 seconds to start the team’s next match against Lockport right.

Kolkebeck got an early pin, Cam Matthews clinched the team victory with a bounce-back victory at 157 pounds, and the Barbs beat Lockport 37-25 at the Don Flavin Invitational on Friday.

“It’s just going out there and setting a tempo for the team, being a leader,” Kolkebeck said. “Just go out there and wrestle the best you can, all you can ask for.”

The Barbs won six of the first seven matches against the Porters, securing DeKalb’s spot in the silver pool on Saturday against the other three third-place teams from bracket play on Friday. They’ll open against York, then battle Hersey and close the day against Lincoln-Way West.

Sycamore lost its three bracket meets and will compete in Pool D on Saturday morning. They’ll open against Pewaukee (Wisconsin), then face Lemont and Hinsdale Central.

For the Barbs, they secured a spot in one of the top four pools with a 49-17 win over Prospect in the opener. They followed with a 41-21 loss, but bounced back with the win over the Porters.

“I think it’s good to have short-term memory,” Kolkebeck said. “Marist is a good team, and we bounced back against a good team in Lockport and beat them. It means a lot to us.”

Joining Kolkebeck with 3-0 records for DeKalb were Jacob Luce, Lamar Bradley and Mekhi Cave.

Matthews’ lone loss was 10-7 to Marist’s Kevin Bartoloatta. Matthews us up 4-1 after the second and led 7-5 in the final 15 seconds but was taken down and gave up three back points in the loss.

Matthews followed that loss up with a win over Lockport’s Drew Sizler, in which he got a takedown with 45 seconds left, gave up the escape with 20 left, but then held on for the 5-3 win.

“That was clutch,” DeKalb coach Sam Hiatt said. “He’s only a sophomore, and he’s had some huge wins for us. And the way he responded after he lost against the Marist kid. ... He kind of gave that one away. And to be in the same exact situation against another good kid in the next match, he learned from it and bounced back.”

For the Spartans, their day started with a 53-16 loss to Yorkville and a 46-23 loss to Glenbard West. In their last match against Glenbard East, they had comebacks in individual matches that led to a team comeback.

Down 29-15, Sycamore won four straight matches to take a six-point lead into the final match. But Glenbard East got the pin to end regulation in a 35-35 tie.

Earlier in the match, the Sycamore coaching staff got a one-point unsportsmanlike penalty that ended up not only being the difference in the team score, but was the tiebreaker on which the Spartans lost.

Culton declined to comment on the foul.

Tyler Lockhart was the lone Spartan to go 3-0 on the day, including a pin against Glenbard West’s Carson Prunty.

“I knew it was going to be harder competition. I just had to wrestle my matches,” Lockhart said. “I feel pretty good [going into Saturday]. I won a good one in my second match. He [Prunty] was ranked pretty high. That helped push me.”

He also had a pin against Glenbard East. The Spartans started their comeback when Jayden Dohogne trailed in the second period after giving up a reversal, but ended up with a pin.

Cole Kleiser followed falling down 6-1, but took an 8-6 lead eight in the third. He ended up holding on or the win, but it was in that match the Sycamore staff was assessed the misconduct.

Doug Gremberling was up next for the Spartans, fell down 7-2, but ended up with a pin despite still trailing 7-6. But Aaron Dotson pinned Adam Carrick in the final match, and Glenbard East won on the tiebreak.

Culton said the youth of his team showed Friday and expects to clean up the sloppiness heading into Saturday.

“When you start five freshmen, four sophomores, that’s what happens,” Culton said. ”We just make too many mistakes. ... We’re going to continue and push forward.”