THREE THINGS WE KNOW
No. 1: Few things annoy coaches and wrestlers more than tournaments that drag on and on. So expect a positive response to Palatine’s move to eight mats on Friday’s first day of the 59th annual Berman Holiday Classic. Deerfield, Hinsdale Central, Lincoln-Way West and Lincoln-Way East are among the best of the 31-team field. Finals are set for 3 p.m. Saturday.
No. 2: Long regarded as the state’s best in-season event, the Dvorak tournament at Harlem should live up to its billing again. Two of the defending team champs (2A Montini and 1A Dakota) will be on hand, along with 3A runner-up Marmion and Mount Carmel among many others. The tournament opens Friday and finishes Saturday.
No. 3: If Hinsdale Central’s Brian Allen goes unbeaten for the second consecutive year at 285, he will have earned it in a loaded weight class. Last week, he beat Moline’s Adarios Jones to win the Rex Whitlatch Invite. This week, Allen could meet Lincoln-Way East’s Nick Allegretti at Palatine. Both are Big Ten football recruits: Allen to Michigan State, Allegretti to Illinois.
Mike Clark
