Wrestling: Perez, Kessler, Cohen pace Highland Park at CSL Meet

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Highland Park's Irvin Perez (top) works against Deerfield's Jordan Lieberman in the second round of the 106 bracket at Saturday's conference meet. Perez lost 3-2 but went on to take third place. | Rob Hart~Sun-Times Media

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Updated: February 27, 2012 8:45AM

This season’s Highland Park boys wrestling season has not produced many team victories, but it has featured many strong performances.

You could compare the situation to the movie, “The Fighter.”

Take Irvin Perez. The 106-pounder took up wrestling as a sophomore. This season, as a senior, he was injured early on and missed the first month of workouts. When he began competition, Perez was not in wrestling shape. In matches, he showed the traits of Mark Wahlberg’s character in the film — not thriving, but surviving.

“He had a week where his competition had a good month or more of readiness and preparation,” said Highland Park coach Chris Riley. “You would see he was gassed and didn’t have the energy system.”

Yet Perez was winning his matches. Entering last weekend’s Central Suburban League conference meet at Maine East, he was 10-4 overall. Perez won his first match, making it to the semifinals against Deerfield’s Jason Lieberman. Perez, who lost a 3-2 decision, was unable to convert on a few scoring chances. The match was a testament to Perez’s tenacity and will, a gutty performance the Giants hope to build upon as they prepare for the postseason.

Perez eventually battled to a third-place finish. First, he pinned Maine South Jomari Lanzi in 2:48. Then, he beat Maine West’s Tom Sunny in convincing fashion 12-5.

“His experience is not vast, but he’s a very quick learner and adapts,” said Riley. “I hope this will help him as we approach regionals.”

Recap: Perez wasn’t the only Fightin’ Giant at the conference tournament. 

The team set a goal to have all nine participants finish in the top six of their respective weight classes. Six of them hit the mark, including three top-three finishes. Overall, the Giants placed eighth (83 points). 

“By and large, we won the matches we were supposed to win,” Riley said. 

Nate Kessler (113 pounds) was one of the third-place finishers. He finished third by topping Niles West’s Steve Apple, to whom he’d lost the previous two times. Kessler leads the team with 25 wins.

The other third-place finisher was Danny Cohen (152), who lost to eventual champ Jack Connor of New Trier. Cohen has been battling injuries for much of this season, missing several meets. His 21-9 mark is second to Kessler’s.

“It wasn’t like we were losing to people we had no business losing to,” Riley said. “Where we lost, we were up against kids that may have been a little better than us. I felt good about how they responded.”

Other solid performers at the conference meet were Dom Ciancio (138), who placed fifth; John Ciancio, sixth at 120, and Andrew Freeman (132), who also finished sixth. 

All teams want to be peaking this time of year, and Riley believes his team is showing signs that the best is yet to come. 

“We want our kids to challenge themselves and prepare,” Riley said. “We want to have successes and see guys develop. At the end, we want our guys to be prepared and conditioned, and reach some lofty goals.”

On the schedule: Highland Park hosts Waukegan and Evanston Friday in a CSL crossover meet.