Dual Team Tournament Roundup – Unity Christian and Sandwich

By Curt Herron – For The IWCOA

Mattoon wins inaugural Unity Christian Christmas Duals

Mattoon went 7-0 to capture top honors at the inaugural Unity Christian Christmas Duals, which was a two-day round-robin competition featuring eight teams. Coach Brett Porter’s Greenwave captured a 48-30 in the final round over Clinton, which took second place with a 6-1 record.

The event was hosted by Unity Christian School in Decatur. Prior to its renaming, the school was known as Lutheran School Association. The young program has more individuals to work with now that they are in a co-op arrangement with a nearby school, Argenta-Oreana.

University High posted a 5-2 record to claim third place, Pittsfield went 4-3 to finish fourth, the host Lions took fifth place, Illinois Valley Central was sixth, Ridgeview/Lexington finished seventh and Rantoul placed eighth.

The champion Greenwave defeated both University High and Pittsfield by 57-18 scores, claimed a 60-18 win over Unity Christian, captured a 57-12 victory over IVC, beat Ridgeview/Lexington 61-6 and won 71-0 over Rantoul. 

Leading the way for Mattoon with 7-0 records were Ben Capitosti (138), who was named as the lower weight outstanding wrestler, Aidan Blackburn (150), who was named as the upper weight outstanding wrestler, Korbin Bateman (144) and Mitchell Clapp (215). 

Also for the Greenwave, Ean Freeman (165) went 5-0 while Miles Clapp (157), Blaine Howell (190) and JD Sullivan (285) all had 6-1 records and Janelle Willoughby (113/120), Vincent Gibson (126) and Brody Goonan (132) went 5-2.

Coach Matt Cooper’s runner-up Maroons went 6-1. They beat University High 51-21, Pittsfield 65-12, Unity Christian 66-16. Illinois Valley Central 63-12, Ridgeview/Lexington 65-6 and Rantoul 58-12 before falling 48-30 to Mattoon in their final dual meet.

Clinton was led by Logan Thoms (157), who went 7-0, Briley Carter (106) and Kristan Hibbard (175), who were 6-0, Dawson Thayer (285), who went 5-0 and Isreal Ramirez (190/215), who went 3-0. Going 5-1 were Ariana Humes (113/120), Cayden Poole (138) and Kael Morlock (215) while Justin Droke (144) went 5-2.

In the championship dual, the Greenwave received pins from Tristan Porter (120), Korbin Bateman (144), Aidan Blackburn (150), Ean Freeman (165) and Blaine Howell (190) while Brody Goonan (132) got a victory by technical fall, Mitchell Clapp (215) won a 12-4 major decision and Vincent Gibson (126) received a forfeit win. The closest match in the title dual saw Ben Capitosti capture a 9-6 decision over Cayden Poole at 138. 

Meanwhile, the Maroons got falls from Ariana Humes (113), Logan Thoms (157), Kristan Hibbard (175) and Dawson Thayer (285) while Briley Carter (106) got a forfeit win.

Leading coach Caleb Phillips’ third-place Pioneers were Ethan Lowe (144), who finished 5-1, and Joshua Butler (120) and Grayson Moody (165), who both went 4-1. Charles Karun (175) and Aidan Hager (190) both had 3-1 records and Joshua Caraballo (150/157) went 4-2.

Coach Johnathon Peterson’s fourth-place Saukees, received a 7-0 effort from Tucker Cook (190/215) while Waylon White (165) went 6-1 and Jake Oitker (157) and Bodine Marable (175) both finished 5-2.

Top performers for coach Zach Whitsel’s host Lions were brothers Clinton VerHeecke (120) and Garrett VerHeecke (126/132), who both posted 7-0 records.

Illinois Valley Central’s  Lilyana Malagon (120/126) turned in a 6-0 effort, Hunter Toliver (132) finished 4-0 and Maison Toliver (157) went 4-2. 

Ridgeview/Lexington was led by Danny Tay (126/132), who went 4-1, Payton Campbell (150), who finished 5-2 and Judson Stover (138), who went 4-2. And Darius Williams (150) went 4-2 to be the top performer for Rantoul.

Mattoon’s Korbin Bateman recorded seven falls in 8:30, which were two more pins than any other competitor. He tied Clinton’s Logan Thoms and Unity Christian’s Garrett VerHeecke for the most team points with 42 while Clinton VerHeecke had 41, Pittsfield’s Tucker Cook scored 40 and Mattoon’s Aidan Blackburn (38) and Ben Capitosti (37) were next in line in team points.

University High’s Joshua Caraballo had the most match points with 57, which was 19 more than his teammate Joshua Butler had to rank second-best in points. Mattoon (411) and Clinton (398) easily led in team points and also had a big edge in falls with Mattoon at 38 and Clinton at 33.

Unity Christian Christmas Duals Final Standings

1st – Mattoon, 2nd – Clinton, 3rd – University High, 4th – Pittsfield, 5th – Unity Christian, 6th – Illinois Valley Central, 7th – Ridgeview/Lexington, 8th – Rantoul

Unity Christian Christmas Duals Championship meet – Mattoon 48, Clinton 30

106 – Briley Carter (Clinton) FFT

113 – Ariana Humes (Clinton) F 0:43 Janelle Willoughby (Mattoon)

120 – Tristan Porter (Mattoon) F 1:46 Carter Bostic (Clinton)

126 – Vincent Gibson (Mattoon) FFT

132 – Brody Goonan (Mattoon) TF 17-1 Gabe Walker (Clinton)

138 – Ben Capitosti (Mattoon) D 9-6 Cayden Poole (Clinton)

144 – Korbin Bateman (Mattoon) F 1:41 Justin Droke (Clinton)

150 – Aidan Blackburn (Mattoon) F 1:09 Kayleb Kent (Clinton)

157 – Logan Thoms (Clinton) F 1:37 Miles Clapp (Mattoon)

165 – Ean Freeman (Mattoon) F 0:10 RJ Stamp (Clinton)

175 – Kristan Hibbard (Clinton) F 0:44 Brock Taylor (Mattoon)

190 – Blaine Howell (Mattoon) F 3:24 Bryan Alejandro (Clinton)

215 – Mitchell Clapp (Mattoon) MD 12-4 Kael Morlock (Clinton)

285 – Dawson Thayer (Clinton) F 3:31 JD Sullivan (Mattoon)

Rockford East claims first place at Sandwich Duals

Rockford East defeated host Sandwich 45-33 in the championship dual meet at the 10-team Sandwich Dual Team Tournament to cap a 5-0 performance. 

Plainfield Central claimed a 38-30 victory over Peotone to take third place, Rock Falls won 48-36 over Saint Viator for fifth place, St. Bede Academy defeated Genoa-Kingston 42-30 for seventh place and Durand/Pecatonica won 36-24 over Mendota for ninth place.

Coach Gene Lee’s champion E-Rabs defeated Genoa-Kingston 48-36, Durand/Pecatonica 78-6 and Saint Viator 60-21 before claiming a 39-33 victory over Plainfield Central.

Top records for Rockford East were Ty Smart (5-0 at 157/165), Lee Smith (4-0 at 285) and Jospeh Young (3-0 at 132), Donald Cannon (3-0 at 138) and  Christian Cossia (3-0 at 138/144). 

Other top E-Rabs were Ryan Muraski (5-1 at 175/190/215), Rafael Esquer Sanana (4-1 at 126/132), Austin Nelson (4-1 at 150/157),  Hayden Roach (3-1 at 106), Dana Wickson (3-1 at 144/150) and Orion Losiniecki (3-1 at 215).

Coach Derek Jones’ runner-up Indians beat Peotone 45-34, St. Bede Academy 46-27 and Mendota 36-24 before capturing a 45-29 victory over Rock Falls.

Leading the way for Sandwich were Laiken Ervin (5-0 at 113), Tristen King (4-0 at 190/215), Norah Vick (3-0 at 106), Colten Stone (3-0 at 113/120),  Sy Smith (3-0 at 157/165), Eddie Hernandez (3-0 at 285) and Jacob Cassie (4-1 at 138).

In the title dual meet, the E-Rabs got falls from Jospeh Young (132), Donald Cannon (138) and Orion Losiniecki (215), forfeit wins from Lee Smith (285), Austin Nelson (150), Ty Smart (157) and Ryan Muraski (175) and Rafael Esquer Sanana won 7-6 over Jakob Gruca at 126.

The host Indians received falls from Jacob Ross (106), Colten Stone (113) and Sy Smith (165) while Laiken Ervin (120) and Tristen King (190) won by forfeit and Miles Corder won a 4-3 decision over Dana Wickson at 144.

Coach Terry Kubski’s third-place Wildcats beat Durand/Pecatonica 66-9, Saint Viator 49-13 and Genoa-Kingston 66-18 before getting edged 39-33 by the eventual champion E-Rabs and then bouncing back to beat Peotone for third.

Posting the best records for Plainfield Central were Jayden Mizelle (5-0 at 113), Brody Rangel (5-0 at 126), Anthony Minnito (5-0 at 215), Liam Thompson (4-1 at 120), Gavin Enders (4-1 at 138/144), Matthias Hautzinger (4-1 at 150) and Antonio Montoya (4-1 at 285).

Peotone turned in a 3-2 record to place fourth. Top Blue Devils performers were Micah Spinazzola (5-0 at 144), Santino Izzi (5-0 at 157), Kurt Wagner (5-0 at 165/175), Ian Kreske (5-0 at 165/175), Connor Pasch (4-0 at 150) and Mohammed Abunijmeh (3-0 at 150/190).

Leading the way for Rock Falls were Josiah Tarbill (5-0 at 120/126), Logan Thome (5-0 at 126/132), Jacob Hosler (4-0 at 285), Scottie Hampton (4-1 at 106), Adan Oquendo (4-1 at 132/138), Logan Williamson (4-1 at 138/144) and  Preston Armstrong (3-1 at 120).

Saint Viator was led by Phu Truong (5-0 at 190), Devin Adams (4-0 at 165) and Elliot Heckard (4-1 at 113). St. Bede Academy’s top performers were Hunter Savage (4-1 at 132), Logan Pineda (4-1 at 150/157) and Garrett Connelly (4-1 at 175/190).

Recording top records for Genoa-Kingston were Kaleb Lancaste (5-0 at 106), Brady Brewick (5-0 at 165) and Xander Gleissner (4-0 at 175). And leading the way for Durand/Pecatonica was Ethan Foster (5-0 at 120).

Rock Falls’ Logan Thome recorded five falls in 11:03 and no one else had more than three pins. St. Bede Academy’s Garrett Connelly led those who had three falls with an elapsed time of 2:19. Rock Falls also had the leader in total match points with 40, Adan Oquendo, and Peotone’s Ian Kreske was next-best with 37 match points.

Nine individuals had 30 team points. They were Rockford East’s Ryan Muraski and Ty Smart, Peotone’s Ian Kreske and Kurt Wagner, Genoa-Kingston’s Brady Brewick and Kaleb Lancaste, Sandwich’s Laiken Ervin, Plainfield Central’s Jayden Mizelle and Rock Falls’  Logan Thome.

Rockford East had the most team points with 270 while Plainfield Central ranked second with 252 team points. Plainfield Central had the most match points with 208 while Peotone was second in match points with 192.

Sandwich Dual Team Tournament Final Standings

1st – Rockford East, 2nd – Sandwich, 3rd – Plainfield Central, 4th – Peotone, 5th – Rock Falls, 6th – Saint Viator, 7th – St. Bede Academy, 8th – Genoa-Kingston, 9th – Durand/Pecatonica, 10th – Mendota

Sandwich Dual Team Tournament Final Results

1st – Rockford East 45, Sandwich 33

3rd – Plainfield Central 38, Peotone 30

5th – Rock Falls 48, Saint Viator 36

7th – St. Bede Academy 42, Genoa-Kingston 30

9th – Durand/Pecatonica 36, Mendota 24

Sandwich Dual Team Tournament Championship – Rockford East 45, Sandwich 33

285 – Lee Smith (Rockford East) FFT

106 – Jacob Ross (Sandwich) F 0:22 Hayden Roach (Rockford East)

113 – Colten Stone (Sandwich) F 0:47 Tyler Gentry (Rockford East)

120 – Laiken Ervin (Sandwich) FFT

126 – Rafael Esquer Sanana (Rockford East) D 7-6 Jakob Gruca (Sandwich)

132 – Jospeh Young (Rockford East) F 0:19 Wyatt Gregory (Sandwich)

138 – Donald Cannon (Rockford East) F 0:51 Jacob Cassie (Sandwich)

144 – Miles Corder (Sandwich) D 4-3 Dana Wickson (Rockford East)

150 – Austin Nelson (Rockford East) FFT

157 – Ty Smart (Rockford East) FFT

165 – Sy Smith (Sandwich) F 0:44 Eh Kaw (Rockford East)

175 – Ryan Muraski (Rockford East) FFT

190 – Tristen King (Sandwich) FFT

215 – Orion Losiniecki (Rockford East) F 1:17 Brandon Moore (Sandwich)