Feb 24, 2010
Lemont defeats Chicago Bowen, will return to IHSA Wrestling Team State Finals

Just days after having two of its wrestlers earn individual state championships, Lemont High Schools wrestling program has earned another chance to nab its first-ever team state title. The host Indians defeated Chicago Bowen in an IHSA Sectional match to gain their second berth to the state finals in as many seasons. Lemont will compete in the 2010 IHSA Class 2A Wrestling Team State Finals on Saturday, February 27, at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington, Ill.

Head coach John St. Clairs Indians, winners of the South Suburban Conference title earlier this season, topped Bowen by a 57-16 count. The victory earned Lemont a rematch with Triad High School in the IHSA Class 2A State Quarterfinal at 9 a.m. on Saturday. The winner of the quarterfinal match will face the victor of the Washington-Sycamore match at 2 p.m.; the third-place and championship matches will take place at 6 p.m. Triad squeaked by Lemont, 30-25, in the quarterfinal round a year ago, as the Indians made their debut in the team state finals.

As they did the whole season, Lemonts two individual state champions
- seniors Angel Cabral and Matt Leibforth - set the tone for the Indians in their victory over Bowen, with each winning by fall. Cabral pinned his opponent in the 285-pound match, and Leibforth did the same at 140.
Other Lemont wrestlers winning by fall included seniors Cody Kamberos
(160) and Connor Nagel (189), juniors Marty Bruckner (135) and Derek Nagel (171), and sophomore Mark Kirkman (152). Sophomore Jake Latanski
(103) won by technical fall, while fellow sophomores Bobby Bromberek (119), Eric Kirkman (145) and Glenn Malecki (125) also posted victories.

On February 20, Cabral and Leibforth became the first teammates in school history to earn individual state titles in the same season; Cabral repeated as the Class 2A 285-pound champion, and Leibforth made his third state finals appearance pay off, continuing an undefeated season on his way to the title in the 135-pound class.

Lemont won the Evergreen Park Regional on February 6 to earn its team sectional berth, and also advanced 12 wrestlers as individuals to the sectional round. From there, six wrestlers earned trips to compete at the IHSA Wrestling Class 2A Individual State Finals. Cabral, Leibforth and Latanski (4th, 103) earned medalist finishes in the individual state competition last week, while Kamberos and Connor and Derek Nagel also qualified to compete in the state finals.