Postseason wrestling meets rarely come down to one match, but senior Justin Akers had the fate of the Crown Point Regional in his hands Saturday.
“I just wanted to do it for my team,” Akers said. “We’ve won this meet for so many years. My coach told me that they needed me to go out there and win.”
Akers did just that, pinning Chesterton sophomore Eli Pokorney in the second period of their 220-pound championship match to clinch Crown Point’s 10th straight regional title.
“It came down to that match,” Bulldogs coach Branden Lorek said. “It’s nice when you can put it on your senior captain and have him take care of business.”
Akers’ win avenged a loss to Pokorney at January’s Duneland Athletic Conference Meet. Akers attributed Saturday’s victory to improved stamina, considering he’s had more time to recover from a shoulder injury from earlier in the season.
“After losing at conference, I knew what I had to work on,” Akers said. “My cardio wasn’t there, and it’s always been a big part of my wrestling. I had to work on my breathing so that I’m not huffing and puffing during a match.”
Crown Point finished with 181.5 points to top Chesterton’s 171. Three other Bulldogs won regional titles, led by sophomore Jacob Burford at 138, junior Mario Traficanti at 145 and junior Noah LaMore at 152.
Chesterton had five individual champions in juniors Diego Lemley (160), Cade Girgenti (170) and Lucas Davison (182) and Michigan-bound senior Andrew Davison (195). Those four, along with Pokorney, are daily practice partners at Chesterton.
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“It’s never easy going in there,” Lucas Davison said. “(Chesterton coach Chris) Joll makes it hard on us. Having those tough drill partners makes you focus on your technique more.”
And if that wasn’t enough already, sometimes assistant coach Keith Davison — Lucas and Andrew’s father and a two-time All-American at Wisconsin — will jump into the mix.
“I’ve had some of my toughest matches in practices this year,” Andrew Davison said. “Those are some of the toughest guys in the state that we have in our room. I’m so lucky to have those types of resources at my fingertips.”
Senior Jack Tolin, a Northwestern commit, was the fifth Trojan to win a regional title with his 5-0 victory at 132.
Lowell freshman Shawn Hollis (106), Wheeler junior Jose Diaz (113), Hanover Central junior Alex Bautista (120), Lowell senior Colton Cummings (126) and Kankakee Valley senior Aron Ceglarek (285) also won regional titles.
Dave Melton is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.