Boys wrestling: Jacob Luce finishes Flavin 6-0 for DeKalb

DeKALB – Heading into its final match of the Don Flavin Invitational on Saturday, DeKalb had a chance to win the Silver Pool if it could hold on against Lincoln-Way West.

The Warriors already lost to Hersey, while the Barbs were just coming off a 34-33 nailbiter against the Huskies.

But the Warriors rolled to a 47-24 win to knock off the Barbs and win the pool, comprised of teams that took third in Friday’s bracket play. DeKalb ended up third. The Barbs opened Saturday with a 56-10 win against York.

“I think the day went well,” said Jacob Luce, who went 6-0 for the tournament and was named the team’s MVP. “Coaches talk about performance as not really winning or losing but effort. That’s what we care about most. So we’re excited for the effort for the first two duals. Last one, coach was a little upset. We could have done better. But it’s all right, we’re getting better every day. It’s fun.”

Sycamore’s Tyler Lockhart also went 6-0 between the two days. Sycamore took third place in Pool D, made up of Friday’s eighth-place finishers from bracket play.

St. Charles East ended up winning the Champions’ Pool ahead of Joliet Catholic, Marist and Marmion.

DeKalb coach Sam Hiatt said he was impressed with the tournament Luce had, which included the 165-pounder moving up to 175 against Marist to face Ricky Ericksen, one of the best in the state so far this season. Luce won that match 3-2.

Against Hersey, Luce had a major decision in a stretch of five of seven wins for the Barbs to close out the match to secure the win. Sean Kolkebeck also had a pin in that stretch to help secure the win. Luce had two tech falls and a major decision on Saturday.

“He just got better as the tournament went on,” coach Sam Hiatt said. “He’s wrestling with a lot of confidence right now, getting bonus points in all of his matches. ... He’s wrestling well, competing well, believing in himself more and getting better.”

Mekhi Cave and Hudson Ikens were also 3-0 for the Barbs on Saturday. Lamar Bradley went 3-0 as well and finished 6-0 for the tournament.

Even though Hiatt said the last match wasn’t the Barbs’ best, he was more than pleased with how the tournament went.

“We had a great tournament,” Hiatt said. “We really did. That last match was disappointing. After a huge win like that [against Hersey], I challenged our guys to stay focused and finish. But the effort was not where we needed it to be in the last dual meet. I’m not even worried about the win and the loss. Obviously it sucks not to win but we have to learn how to finish. But this was six tough duals in two days.”

The Spartans lost their first two matches on Saturday in their pool, made up of the four eighth-place finishers from Friday’s bracket play. But they rolled in the final round to a 54-27 win over Hinsdale Central after a 39-36 loss to Pewaukee (Wisconsin) and a 48-27 loss to Lemont.

Coach Randy Culton said he liked how his team improved from Friday to Saturday.

“We’re trying to get everyone at the same table,” Culton said. “We have to come together as a unit. We’re still trying to find that. It’s coming. It’s getting there. These duals right here are good for us.”

For Sycamore, freshman Charlie Olson was coming off a first-place finish in a JV tournament on Thursday but went 1-2 on Friday. He followed that up with a 3-0 showing on Saturday.

He was trailing 5-1 against Pewaukee’s Julian McClanahan, but a third-period reversal after starting on the bottom gave him the two-point win.

Against Lemont’s Matteo Vitro, he started the third period on the bottom and after 1:06 got the match’s first points, a reversal. With 0:16 left, Vitro got a reversal to tie it at 2-2 but Olson escaped with 0:04 seconds left for the win.

“It feels good knowing that this tournament is a hard tournament,” Olson said. I knew I was going to have some tough matches but I was prepared. ... I really like wrestling tough wrestlers, some of the top kids. It helps me improve and coach will let me know what I have to improve on at practice as well.”