By Mike Clark
Two years ago, Alex Valentin knew he was going to make history.
The Lane senior breezed to the 132-pound title at the Public League boys individual tournament last Sunday at De La Salle, winning two matches by pin and two more by technical fall.
That made Valentin (35-6) the first Lane wrestler to win four city titles.
Champions coach Matt Yan believes Valentin is just the third Public League wrestler to be a four-time champ, though definitive records are hard to come by.
In any case, Valentin has completed the quest he began in 2022.
“When I first won city my freshman year, I did think there’s a chance that I could win it four times,” he said. “But I wasn’t certain until my sophomore year, after I won it for the second time. I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna win four city titles.'”
To be the first to accomplish that at Lane is a point of pride. The Champions have long been a dominant program in the city, winning the last four Public League titles and 25 overall. They’ve also had some elite individuals, including Max Schneider — the first Public Leaguer in more than 60 years to win two IHSA state titles.
But no other Lane wrestler has been perfect in city competition over four years.
“(It’s) very meaningful,” Valentin said. “My legacy will be cemented in Lane Tech history with all the other great wrestlers there have been before me.”
Valentin was one of five champs and 11 placers for Lane, which had a dominant run to the dual-team title a week before at Curie. Also winning were junior 106-pounder Jeremiah Arroyo-McMullan (24-6) at 106, senior Abbas Abdulamir (28-12) at 138, senior Nasser Hammouche (34-8) at 157 and junior Vernon Cole (14-0) at 165.
Abdulamir gutted out a 12-3 major decision over previously unbeaten Schurz sophomore Randy Lazaro (16-1) in the 138 final.
“I have a torn meniscus — I tore it earlier this summer,” Abdulamir said. “And I’m almost 1,000% sure I just re-tore it in that match.”
He spent the whole season being careful not to hurt his knee any more than it already was.
“I practice every day, (but) I can’t take shots, I can’t do anything on my knee,” Abdulamir said. “And on days (there are) tournaments, I take a bunch of painkillers and let it rip.”
When he reaggravated the injury in the title match, “I looked at the clock and I just knew I couldn’t stop. I knew I’d put in too much time and effort, and it was my senior year. I wasn’t going to let anything physically stop me.”
Abdulamir got a piggyback ride from Yan to the awards stand, but he had no regrets.
“The pain was terrible,” Abdulamir said. “But no amount of pain could have compared to how (good) I feel right now winning this title.”
At 157, Hammouche won a tech fall in the final against Curie senior Mylan Williams (25-4), who won the 165 title last season.
“I was really excited to get my first city title, especially being out last year,” Hammouche said.
At practice the night before the 2024 Public League finals, Hammouche suffered an ankle injury that left him unable to walk all weekend.
“So I felt really grateful to be here and be able to showcase my skills in front of everybody,” Hammouche said. “Especially my friends and family and all my coaches and (practice) partners who I’ve had throughout the years.”
Taft, which finished runner-up to Lane in the dual-meet finals, had two champs and eight placers.
The Eagles’ winners were junior Bernardo Roque (34-2), who repeated as 113 champ, and senior Evan Jocic (30-2), who won a 15-1 major decision against defending champ Kaleb Abney (18-3) of Phoenix in the 215 final.
Roque was happy to win again, but has goals beyond city.
“After the state series last year, I really learned how to work on my mental game and my approach going into matches,” he said. “I just kept it rolling since then.”
Kennedy senior Victor Alvarado (32-3) lost to Valentin in the semifinals two years ago and in the finals last season. This year, Alvarado beat defending champ Donald Bunton Jr, (26-5) of Perspectives-Leadership by tech fall in the 120 title bout.
“It was never my goal to win city,” Alvarado said. “I just wanted to wrestle and get better and then I just kept on getting beat here. But I won it my final year, so I’m happy about that.”
Goode senior Xavier Woods (36-2) won by tech fall in the 150 final, and also passed 100 career wins over the weekend — after going 6-13 as a freshman.
“I never thought about quitting,” Woods said. “I got better sophomore year and it just kept going up.”
Horizon-Southwest junior Sami Marrero (20-0), who moved to Chicago from Cuba in the fall of 2023, became the first city champ in program history when he won the 190 title with a tech fall.
“To be able to bring titles to the school that’s given me so much means a lot,” Marrero said through an interpreter.
Little Village junior Jovani Harris (27-6) won by pin in the 126 final after escaping with a 10-9 decision in the round of 16 and a 17-13 win in the semifinals.
“There’s a lot of wrestlers that come out here and try their hardest,” Harris said. “And that’s what it’s about: who wants it more. At the end of the (day), I wanted it more.”
Hubbard senior Fabian Salazar (36-1) won at 144 after pinning Simeon’s Davian Hall in the quarterfinals. That avenged a 17-9 loss to Hall in last year’s 138 final.
“That really motivated me in the summer to work hard,” Salazar said of the 2024 title bout. “I’m glad it paid off.”
Hancock sophomore Malakai Davis (15-0) stayed unbeaten by winning the 175 title.
“I’ve been training for this, practicing for this — it feels like my whole life,” Davis said. “I’ve done as much as I could, and this is the result.”
The closest title bout was the last one: Kenwood senior Dameon Norman (13-3) won a 2-1 overtime tiebreaker against Lindblom’s Josue Olivo (24-6) in the 285 final.
Photos by Ashley Harris/OSA
