Northern Illinois Invites roundup Dec. 25-31

By Curt Herron for the IWCOA

Bolingbrook captures title at J. Sterling Morton’s Steve Eckert Holiday Classic

Bolingbrook captured six championships and had three fourth-place finishers to help it claim top honors at J. Sterling Morton’s 16-team Steve Eckert Holiday Classic in Cicero.

Coach AJ Knoll’s Raiders scored 224 points while Riverside-Brookfield was second with 193 points. This is Knoll’s first year at Bolingbrook. The new head coach was a 2009 Lincoln-Way East graduate who capped his career with a fourth-place finish at 145 in Class 3A. Knoll is assisted by Joe Mahy and Bolingbrook alumni Xevion Rolle and Christian Craig.

Stagg took third place with 166 points while the host Mustangs were fourth with 146 points. Fenwick edged Gary Comer College Prep 125-124 for fifth while St. Laurence (116) and Phoenix Military Academy (98.5) rounded the top half of the field.

Leading the way for the first-place Raiders were champions Angel Godinez (106), Isaac Harris (113), Aaron Camacho (126), Tom McDermott (138), Marcus Poe (145) and Dom Hargrove (195). Placing fourth were Jared Craig (120), Mikhail Bolden (132) and Tristan Galvez (152) while Emilio Gil-Lane (170) and Josh Shanahan (182) both finished sixth.

“I’m a young coach, we’re a young team and we have something to prove,” said Knoll, who has five freshmen and four sophomores who are starters in the Raiders’ lineup.

Top performers for coach Nicholas Curby’s runner-up Bulldogs were champions Joe Midona (220) and Devontae Givens (285) and runners-up Chase Murrell (106), Quintavius Murrell (120), Cade Tomkins (152) and Matt Elzy (182). Taking third was Jacob Noe (145), finishing 

fourth was Bill Martin (170) and placing fifth was Max Strong (160).

Pacing coach Brian Jackson’s third-place Chargers were Jamie Corral (113), Anas Ahmed (120), Cian Moran (138), Christian Ibarra (182) and Terrell Williams (285), who all claimed third-place finishes. Placing fourth was Ibrahim Hamideh (160) while Konrad Poradowski (132), Owen Lalley (170), Roman Delgado (195) and Salmeen Algahami (220) all took fifth.

Also winning titles were Fenwick’s Vincent Fioravanti (160), Finn McGee (170) and Jack Paris (182), J. Sterling Morton’s Anthony Lopez (120), Saint Ignatius College Prep’s Nate Sanchez (132) and St. Laurence’s Henry Coughlin (152).

Other second-place finishers were Phoenix Military Academy’s Jose Lua (126) and Vin Moreno (138), J. Sterling Morton’s Noe Cintora (132) and Edwin Rangel (160), Gary Comer College 

Prep’s Lamzell McNeal (170) and Malik Tate (220), St. Laurence’s Zavier Bitner (195) and Jaylen Ray (285), Argo Community’s Juan Villa (113) and Riverside-Brookfield J-V’s Josh Gonzalez (145).

Some of the closest title matches included Godinez 6-2 over Chase Murrell (106), Sanchez 8-4 over Cintora (132) and Fioravanti 6-2 over Rangel (160).

Among the leaders in top records (minimum eight matches) of finalists were Lopez (15-0, 1.000), Coughlin (8-0, 1.000), Lua (18-3, .857), Moreno (18-3, .857), Villa (12-3, .800), Bitner (12-3, .800) and Midona (12-3, .800).

Additional third-place finishes were turned in by Phoenix Military Academy’s Jimmy Lua (160) and Kaleb Abney (195), Fenwick’s Aiden Burns (152) and Conor Stetz (220), Gary Comer College Prep’s Jadden Scott (106), J. Sterling Morton’s Aaron Rojas (126), Maine East’s Dulguun Nysmdavaa (132) and Shepard’s Ayman Huisen (170).

Also finishing in fourth place were St. Laurence’s Henry Manning (106), Nathan Martinez (113) and Joseph Barnett (145), J. Sterling Morton’s Rafael Lopez (138) and Miguel Rojas (285), Ridgewood’s Donovan Depakakibo (126), Gary Comer College Prep’s Kenneth Barrett (182), Argo Community’s Marcin Hodorowicz (195) and Evanston Township’s Chris Fargo (220).

Additional fifth-place finishers were Gary Comer College Prep’s O’Ryan Sandifer (120), Malik Wynn (138), Faizol Salam (152) and Joshua Pombo (285), Ridgewood’s Mohamad Khater (106) and Islam Khater (113), Saint Ignatius College Prep’s SD Nimeri (126), Maine East’s Munkthulga Tsendayush (145) and Shepard’s Yazen Ashkar (182).

Others who finished sixth were J. Sterling Morton’s David Roldan (106) and Christian Carranza (195), Phoenix Military Academy’s Adan Bucio (120) and Jules Rodriguez (152), Maine East’s 

Nathan Kleiber (126) and Luis Mendoza (138), Shepard’s Tavaris Howard (145) and EJ Hernandez (220), Gary Comer College Prep’s Isaac Banks (113), Evanston Township’s 

Manny Holloway (132), Argo Community’s Cornelius Vigousky (160) and Saint Ignatius College Prep’s Chris Morris (285).

Summary of title matches at the J. Sterling Morton Steve Eckert Holiday Classic

106 – Angel Godinez (Bolingbrook) D 6-2 Chase Murrell (Riverside-Brookfield)

113 – Isaac Harris (Bolingbrook) F 4:43 Juan Villa (Argo Community)

120 – Anthony Lopez (J. Sterling Morton) F 4:51 Quintavius Murrell (Riverside-Brookfield)

126 – Aaron Camacho (Bolingbrook) MD 11-1 Jose Lua (Phoenix Military Academy)

132 – Nate Sanchez (Saint Ignatius College Prep) D 8-4 Noa Cintora (J. Sterling Morton)

138 – Tom McDermott (Bolingbrook) F 2:42 Vin Moreno (Phoenix Military Academy)

145 – Marcus Poe (Bolingbrook) MD 16-4 Josh Gonzalez (Riverside-Brookfield J-V)

152 – Henry Coughlin (St. Laurence) F 3:13 Cade Tomkins (Riverside-Brookfield)

160 – Vincent Fioravanti (Fenwick) D 6-2 Edwin Rangel (J. Sterling Morton)

170 – Finn McGee (Fenwick) MD 9-0 Lamzell McNeal (Gary Comer College Prep)

182 – Jack Paris (Fenwick) F 5:18 Matt Elzy (Riverside-Brookfield)

195 – Dom Hargrove (Bolingbrook) F 0:41 Xavier Bitner (St. Laurence)

220 – Joe Midona (Riverside-Brookfield) F 1:19 Malik Tate (Gary Comer College Prep)

285 – Devontae Givens (Riverside-Brookfield) F 1:40 Jaylen Ray (St. Laurence)

Lincoln-Way East rolls to title at Wheaton Warrenville South’s Ed Ewoldt Invitational

Lincoln-Way East had seven champions and five others who finished fourth or better to claim top honors at Wheaton Warrenville South’s Ed Ewoldt Invitational in Wheaton.

Coach Kevin Rockett’s Griffins finished with 288.5 points to defeat runner-up Lyons Township by 78 points for the championship of the 16-team competition named for the 1975 IWCOA Hall of Fame Inductee who was the sport’s state historian in addition to being a successful Tigers coach who had a long career of promoting the qualities of excellence of wrestling in Illinois.

This is the third championship of the season for Lincoln-Way East, which also took first place at dual team tournaments hosted by Plainfield North and Downers Grove South. The Griffins, who are ranked 10th in Class 3A with a 16-0 record, also won the Ed Ewoldt Invite title last season.

The host Tigers claimed third place with 165 points while Downers Grove North (158.5), Dixon (114), West Chicago (106), Wheeling (84), Waubonsie Valley (77) and Homewood-Flossmoor (77) were next in line in the tournament.

Winning championship for the Griffins were Noah Ciolkosz (113), Kaidge Richardson (120), Tyson Zvonar (126), Brayden Mortell (132), Connor Koehler (145), Zach LaMonto (160) and Ari Zaeske (170). Caden O’Rourke (195) and David Wuske (220) were second while Domanic Abeja (152) and Jack Mularz (182) took third and Kevin Byrne (138) finished fourth. After recording three-straight falls, Zaeske was the recipient of the Outstanding Wrestler Award.

“The team had a goal of bringing the team title home and eight individual champs,” said Rockett, who is assisted by Josh Ruettiger, Kyle Ruettiger and Brett Geijer. “We had nine finalists but fell just short with seven champs.”

Leading the way for coach Griff Powell’s runner-up Lions were title winners Griff Powell (106), Cooper King (195) and Sam Costello (220), runners-up Calum Rogers (145) and Gunnar Garelli (152) and fourth-place finisher Claudio Rodriguez (132). Taking fifth were Jack Kutchek (120), Mark Calzada (170) and Julian Cervantes (182) while Roger Martinez (113), George Govea (126) and Logan Hiatt (285) placed sixth.

Top performers for coach Matt Janosek’s third-place Tigers were runners-up Aarav Ledvora 

(106), Jaidyn Buziecki (138), Zean Al Obaidi (160) and Sedeeq Al Obaidi (170) and third-place finisher Nik Tabuku (120). Finishing fourth were Corey Gul (182), Ashton Kibbe (220) and Hunter Hecklinger (285) while Charlie Gross (145) and Tim Francisco (152) placed sixth.

Pacing coach Chris McGrath’s fourth-place Trojans were champion Ben Bielawski (285) and third-place finishers Tyler Tiangco (106) and Cael Brezina (220). Taking fourth was Caden Chiarell (120) while Cory Mongello (113), Aiden Cummings (126), Owen Kelly (132), Donovan Barry (145), Josh Miller (160) and Griff Keown (195) all finished fifth.

Other champions were Wheeling’s Patrick Tinsley (138), West Chicago Community’s Nolan Allen (152) and Oak Lawn Community’s Hani Odeh (182) while also finishing second were West Chicago Community’s Ryan Alvarado (113) and Alexis Correa (285), Plainfield East’s Aidan Villar (120), Evanston Township’s Jason McDermott (126), Waubonsie Valley’s Elias Gonzalez (132) and Dixon’s Owen Brooks (182).

Some of the closest championship matches included King 8-6 in overtime over O’Rourke at 195, Mortell 4-3 over Gonzalez at 132, LaMonto 4-3 over Zean Al Obaidi at 160, Costello 5-4 over Wuske at 220 and Odeh 5-3 over Brooks at 182.

Champions and runners-up with the best records following the tournament are Allen (15-0, 1.000), Zaeske (22-1, .957), King (21-1, .955), Bielawski (21-1, .955), Odeh (15-1, .938), LaMonto (21-2, .913), Richardson (20-3, .870), Sedeeq Al Obaidi (20-3, .870), Zvonar (18-3, .857), Ledvora (17-3, .850), Koehler (17-3, .850), Zean Al Obaidi (17-3, .850), Powell (20-4, .833), Villar (16-4, .800) and Buziecki (16-4, .800).

Additional third-place finishers were West Chicago Community’s Connor Zentner (126) and Donovan Avila (132), Dixon’s Steven Kitzman (170) and Shaun DeVries (285), Elgin’s Julius Avendano (113), Homewood-Flossmoor’s Jaylen Augustave (138), Waubonsie Valley’s Ethan Wojtowich (145), Plainfield East’s Jerry Nino (160) and Hoffman Estates’ Josh Ellery (195).

Also finishing fourth were Evanston Township’s Declan Glascott (145) and Darion Coleman (170), Hoffman Estates’s Julian Bonilla (152) and William Ball (160), Wheeling’s Miguel Lopez (106), Dixon’s Ayden Rowley (113), Thornton Fractional South’s Trayvonne Roberts (126) and Larkin’s Hector Flores (195), 

Others placing fifth were Dixon’s Jacob Renkes (106) and Cane Hey (138), Homewood-Flossmoor’s Jeremy Thomas (152), Wheeling’s Marco Mercado (220) and Thornton Fractional South’s Cortez Jones (285). Also taking sixth were Waubonsie Valley’s Jakob McBride (182) and Dom Guzman (220), Elgin’s Ruben Campuzano (106), Homewood-Flossmoor’s Kourtney Smith (120), Dixon’s Jayden Weidman (132), Evanston Township’s Eren Atac (138), Oak Lawn Community’s Isaac Barba (160), Wheeling’s Jonny Dominguez (170) and Plainfield East’s Roderick Burnett (195).

Summary of title matches at the Wheaton Warrenville South Ed Ewoldt Invitational

106 – Griff Powell (Lyons Township) D 14-10 Aarav Ledvora (Wheaton Warrenville South)

113 – Noah Ciolkosz (Lincoln-Way East) F 2:25 Ryan Alvarado (West Chicago Community)

120 – Kaidge Richardson (Lincoln-Way East) D 9-2 Aidan Villar (Plainfield East)

126 – Tyson Zvonar (Lincoln-Way East) F 3:50 Jason McDermott (Evanston Township)

132 – Brayden Mortell (Lincoln-Way East) D 4-3 Elias Gonzalez (Waubonsie Valley)

138 – Patrick Tinsley (Wheeling) F 1:33 Jaidyn Buziecki (Wheaton Warrenville South)

145 – Connor Koehler (Lincoln-Way East) F 3:19 Calum Rogers (Lyons Township)

152 – Nolan Allen (West Chicago Community) D 7-3 Gunnar Garelli (Lyons Township)

160 – Zach LaMonto (Lincoln-Way East) D 4-3 Zean Al Obaidi (Wheaton Warrenville South)

170 – Ari Zaeske (Lincoln-Way East) F 5:09 Sedeeq Al Obaidi (Wheaton Warrenville South)

182 – Hani Odeh (Oak Lawn Community) D 5-3 Owen Brooks (Dixon)

195 – Cooper King (Lyons Township) D 8-6 OT Caden O’Rourke (Lincoln-Way East)

220 – Sam Costello (Lyons Township) D 5-4 David Wuske (Lincoln-Way East)

285 – Ben Bielawski (Downers Grove North) F 1:21 Alexis Correa (West Chicago Community)

Lincoln-Way West wins Harlem Invitational championship

Lincoln-Way West had four champions and placed 11 of its 14 individuals among the top-three finishers at their weights to help it capture top honors at the eight-team Harlem Invitational in Machesney Park with 226 points. Naperville North edged Deerfield by a 187-183.5 margin to claim second place while Prairie Ridge beat out the host Huskies 128-125.5 to finish fourth. This was the first tournament title of the season for the Warriors, who are ranked 15th in Class 3A.

Leading the way for coach Brian Glynn’s champion Warriors were first-place finishers Jase Salin (126), Karter Guzman (132), Nate Elstner (182) and Anthony Sherman (195) while Tyler Mansker (145) and Jimmy Talley (170) took second. Placing third were Carter Dibenedetto (106), Haden Anderson (113), Luke Siwinski (138), Nick Kavaroos (220) and Connor Ryan (285) while Vinnie Pinto (152) and Jimmy Slowik (160) took fifth and Jakob Siwinski (120) was sixth.

“The team competed very well at the Harlem Invite,” said Glynn, who is assisted by Justin Farmer, Matt Ryan, Amier Khamis, Nick Shaub, Ricky Olszta, Mark Ruettiger and Mike 

Migawa. “It was nice to see some guys have some success and seeing the hard work in the practice room paying off in competition. It’s a great group of guys and I’m excited to see where we end up at the end of the year.” 

Top performers for coach Tom Champion’s runner-up Huskies were champions Ben Messier (113), Grant Gentile (145), Kai Goodrick (160) and Alex Kushenbach (220) and second-place finishers Tyler Sternstein (126) and Kyle Gatlin (182). Taking third were Nick O’blazney (170) and Steve Harvey (195) while Jayden Depotter (285) was fourth and Aiden Hinkle (120) and Clayton Champion (138) finished fifth.

Pacing coach Marc Pechter’s third-place Warriors were title winners Renzo Morgan (138) and Aiden Cohen (170), runners-up Vincent Serwan (106), Jordan Rasof (132) and Will Holtz (152). Finishing third were Jackson Palzet (120), Luke Reddy (126), Charlie Cross (145) and Chris Mauer (182) while Grant Goldsmith (160) and Jordan Meyers (220) were fourth and Garvin Crews (195) finished fifth.

Coach Justin Peete’s Prairie Ridge Wolves also had three champions, Jake Lowitzki (106), Tyler Evans (120) and Xander York (152) while Rockford East’s Lee Smith, Jr. (285) was the other title winner. Also taking second place were Harlem’s Aiden Zacharuk (138), Ben Larsen (160) and Caleb Eklund (195), Rockford East’s Joseph Young (113) and Peter Young (120), Prairie Ridge’s John Fallaw (220) and Auburn’s Joseph Rodriguez (285). Title matches decided by one point featured Messier over Joseph Young 6-5 at 113, Guzman over Rasof 4-3 at 132 and Gentile over Mansker 5-4 at 145.

The top team points scorer was Kuschenbach (220) with 26 while Cohen (170) was second with 25 points. Elstner (182), Evans (120), Salin (126), Sherman (195) and York (152) were next with 24 points while Lowitzki (106), Morgan (138) and Smith, Jr. (285) scored 23.5 points. 

Finalists with the best winning percentages include Smith, Jr. (20-1, .952), Cohen (18-1, .947), Morgan (12-1, .923), Evans (23-3, .885), Joseph Young (21-3, .875), Salin (19-4, .826), Peter Young (13-3, .813), Sternstein (17-4, .810), Rasof (17-4, .810) and Messier (12-3, .800).

Also finishing in third place were Kaneland’s Caden Grabowski (132) and Christian Duffing (152) and Rockford East’s Malachi Cannon (160). Others who placed fourth were Harlem’s Dylan Goodall (113), Owen Recoy (145) and Wyatt Hoffman (152), Kaneland’s Kamron Scholl (120), Alex Gochis (126) and Max Pietak (195), Prairie Ridge’s Mikey Meade (132) and Frank Canania (170), Rockford East’s Dana Wickson (138) and Orion Losiniecki (182) and Auburn’s Pacifique Ntahuyaman (106).

Summary of title matches at the Harlem Invitational

106 – Jake Lowitzki (Prairie Ridge) F 2:58 Vincent Serwan (Deerfield)

113 – Ben Messier (Naperville North) D 6-5 Joseph Young (Rockford East)

120 – Tyler Evans (Prairie Ridge) INJ 2:21 Peter Young (Rockford East)

126 – Jase Salin (Lincoln-Way West) F 1:20 Tyler Sternstein (Naperville North)

132 – Karter Guzman (Lincoln-Way West) D 4-3 Jordan Rasof (Deerfield)

138 – Renzo Morgan (Deerfield) TF 5:02 Aiden Zacharuk (Harlem)

145 – Grant Gentile (Naperville North) D 5-4 Tyler Mansker (Lincoln-Way West)

152 – Xander York (Prairie Ridge) D 9-2 Will Holtz (Deerfield)

160 – Kai Goodrick (Naperville North) D 8-4 Ben Larsen (Harlem)

170 – Aiden Cohen (Deerfield) MD 16-4 Jimmy Talley (Lincoln-Way West)

182 – Nate Elstner (Lincoln-Way West) F 5:26 Kyle Gatlin (Naperville North)

195 – Anthony Sherman (Lincoln-Way West) F 1:01 Caleb Eklund (Harlem)

220 – Alex Kushenbach (Naperville North) F 0:47 John Fallaw (Prairie Ridge)

285 – Lee Smith, Jr. (Rockford East) TF 4:35 Joseph Rodriguez (Auburn)

Sandwich captures title in own dual team tournament

Sandwich went 4-0 and defeated Plainfield Central 39-30 in its final dual meet to capture top honors at its own eight-team tournament in Sandwich. Rockford East joined Plainfield Central with a 3-1 showing after capturing a 45-30 victory over Rock Falls to finish in third place.

Top performers for coach Derek Jones’ champion Indians, who claimed wins of 47-15 over Saint Viator, 45-30 over Durand/Pecatonica and 45-30 over Rockford East in their pool, were Jack Forth (4-0 at 113), Kaden Clevenger (4-0 at 170/182), Kadin Kern (3-0 at 132), Cesar Garcia (3-0 at 195) and Josh Lehman (3-1 at 152/160).

Coach Terry Kubski’s runner-up Wildcats advanced to their title matchup with Sandwich after claiming wins of 53-6 over Mendota, 47-12 over St. Bede Academy and 38-30 over Rock Falls. Top performers for Plainfield Central were Brody Rangel (4-0 at 106/113), Gavin Enders (4-0 at 138), Max Bowen (4-0 at 182/195), Jack Bowen (3-0 at 145), Aiden Rudman (3-1 at 132), Matthias Hautzinger (3-1) at 152) and Anthony Minnito (3-1 at 182/195).

Leading coach Gene Lee’s third-place E-Rabs were Joseph Young (4-0 at 120), Peter Young (4-0 at 126), Dana Wickson (4-0 at 138/145), Saidi Ishmail (4-0 at 195), Lee Smith, Jr. (4-0 at 285), Jaxson Weisser (3-1 at 152), Malachi Cannon (3-1 at 160) and Orion Losiniecki (3-1 at 182). Rockford East also won 54-12 over Durand/Pecatonica and 58-12 over Saint Viator.

Top performers for coach Chad Williamson’s fourth-place Rockets were Emmanuel Johnson (4-0 at 170), Josiah Tarbill (3-1 at 106), Logan Williamson (3-1 at 132), Ryan McCord (3-1 at 160) and Alex Deshane (3-1 at 220). Rock Falls beat St. Bede Academy 48-30 and Mendota 78-6.

Fifth-place St. Bede Academy, which claimed wins of 42-27 over Durand/Pecatonica for fifth and 54-12 over Mendota, was paced by Gavin Hahn (4-0 at 220), Jake Migliorini (3-1 at 182), Ryan Migliorini (3-1 at 195) and Mike Shaw (3-1 at 285). Leading the way for Durand/Pecatonica were Sam Walden (4-0 at 145), Ethan Foster (3-1 at 120/126) and Eric Kormoczy (3-1 at 220/285). Saint Viator was led by Devin Adams (3-0 at 160/170), Elliot Heckard (3-1 at 106/113) and John Whelan (3-1 at 160/170).

Sandwich Dual Team Tournament championship – Sandwich 39, Plainfield Central 30

195 – Cesar Gomez (Sandwich) F 1:03 Anthony Minnito (Plainfield Central), S 6-0

220 – Double FFT, 6-0

285 – Double FFT, 6-0

106 – Brody Rangel (Plainfield Central) F 3:04 Shane McGuane (Sandwich), P 6-6

113 – Jack Forth (Sandwich) FFT, S 12-6

120 – AJ Parkison (Sandwich) FFT, S 18-6

126 – Nate Hill (Sandwich) FFT, S 24-6

132 – Kadin Kern (Sandwich) D 4-3 Aiden Rudman (Plainfield Central), S 27-6

138 – Gavin Enders (Plainfield Central) F 4:41 Jacob Cassie (Sandwich), P 12-27
145 – Jack Bowen (Plainfield Central) FFT, P 18-27

152 – Josh Lehman (Sandwich) F 3:58 Matthias Hautzinger (Plainfield Central), S 33-18

160 – Jake Meskauskas (Plainfield Central) FFT, P 24-33 

170 – Kaden Clevenger (Sandwich) FFT, S 39-24

182 – Max Bowen (Plainfield Central) F 1:13 Bryce Decker (Sandwich), P 30-39