Yorkville Christian back on top at Plano Reaper Classic
By Chris Walker – For The IWCOA
The 41st annual Plano Reaper Classic was truly a classic in 2024.
A two-time defending champion lost in his bid for a third title in his junior year.
There were a pair of state qualifiers who won titles in this tournament last year, but fell short.
A couple of freshmen made hour-plus bus drives to shine in their Plano Reaper Classic debuts, taking home titles.
Also a sophomore had a much shorter trip down Route 34 to make his classic debut. While he didn’t compete in it last year, his brother did and also won it. They’ve been the lone champions from their school for the past two years.
There was a high-level athlete who hadn’t wrestled yet this high school season prior to the tournament, but walked away as champion.
Another individual who won his 100th match the previous Saturday and finished his week with a championship.
There were six competitors who placed last year who climbed to the top of the podium to be crowned champions.
And a heavyweight who was taken down hard on the mat that left him nearly motionless for a few minutes. He not only got back up, but knocked out another wrestler’s bid for a third-straight title at 285.
Also, the lone wrestler from his school to win a title, who went 0-2 last year at this tournament. On Saturday, he led his team to the championship, pinning his three opponents as Yorkville Christian won the title with 233 points, the runner-up host Reapers had 159 while Princeton was third with 131 points.
This was the third time in four years that coach Mike Vester’s Mustangs won the Reaper title. They took first place in 2021 and 2022 before finishing second to Dixon last season.
The battle for fourth place was a good one between Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher (125.5), Hoopeston Area/Milford (124.5) and Sandwich (124).
Without a doubt, there was a lot of exciting action and interesting results at this year’s tournament.
“The old saying was if you placed at the Reaper Classic you were going to place downstate,” Plano coach Dwayne Love said. “It was tough and you did see a lot of tough competition. And there was a lot of good wrestling here today. Some state place finishers got beat here today and we had teams from all over and up to Chicago to up north to Glenbard South. We like to get more teams in here because we like that high level of competition for our kids.”
Yorkville Christian won its second-straight tournament. After going to Joliet to win the McLaughlin Classic at Joliet Central on December 7, the Mustangs took the much shorter trip to Plano on Friday and Saturday to win there.
Mustangs junior Jackson Allen had a dominant performance, finishing with a pin in 4:42 against De La Salle Institute senior Terrelle Jackson in the 190-pound final.
While he was the only champion from his school, the Mustangs were solid collectively throughout the tournament despite going 1-3 in championship matches and splitting their six matches for third place.
Aiden Larsen (120), Nico Harris (132) and Robby Nelson (157) took second, Ryan Alaimo (126), Tyler Gleason (175) and Garrett Tunnell (285) won third-place matches, Davin Torza (106), Christian Sandoval (113) and Isaac Gray (165) took fourth and Adrian Wadas-Luis (138) placed sixth. Alaimo had the most pins in the least amount of time in the tourney with four in 6:35.
“We had some guys who did well and had some other matches where we expected more championships,” Vester said. “So we got some things we’ve got to work on, but it was a great team effort again and that’s the running theme all year – team – team – team – but we’ve got some things we’ve got to clean up.”
There were nine schools who walked out of Plano’s gym with a champion. It’s the same gym that Love competed in himself during the inaugural Plano Reaper Classic over 40 years ago. But no school had more champions than the Reapers, which is big news for the program, but not totally surprising either.
Plano had three champions, De La Salle Institute, Princeton and Hoopeston Area/Milford each had two and Dixon, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher, Kaneland, Sandwich and Yorkville Christian had one apiece.
“This is a group that works hard,” Love said. “They hold each accountable for everything they do and they are a fun group. They’ve been working together for the last four years to get to this point, wrestling in summer, off-season wrestling, doing everything together.”
Plano senior Richie Amakiri won a 23-12 major decision in the 215 finals over Ottawa Marquette sophomore Alex Schaefer. Last year, Amakiri took second place.
“We decided to put in the work and we worked in the summer doing off-season and doing preseason work and it brought us up to this point,” Amakiri said. “It means a lot because when we started out no one knew who Plano was.”
While the match had more of a football-score feel to it, there was also a reason for those eye-popping digits.
“Before the match, coach was telling me to score points, score points, score points and not worry about anything else,” Amakiri said. “So that was what I did, score points. And then when I started losing my confidence, my coach talked to me after the second period and said don’t let the throw discourage you and I got into my head and kept on wrestling my match.”
Plano senior Caidan Ronning defended his title at the Reaper, pinning Yorkville Christian senior Robby Nelson in 2:56 in the 157 title match.. Last year, Ronning became Plano’s first champion since 2016. This year, he had a mark on his back after that big win the previous December. Nelson had won at 157 at Plano a year ago.
“It’s a lot more nerve-wracking (after winning last year), because I feel I had a lot more to lose,” Ronning said. “But I just think I used that to motivate me. I’ve gotten a lot better at not letting the stress take over. I think the mental game was not there for me last year, especially at state I got in my head and let the long waits get to me and didn’t perform like I wanted to, so in the offseason I put in a lot of work.”
Antoine Gilford took fourth place at 138 last year at the Reaper. Wrestling at 150 this weekend, the senior was destined for a great final tournament at home and he won an 8-4 decision over Glenbard South junior Jin Tai in the title match
“Coming into this year I just knew that I had to do something important,” Gilford said. “I knew I had the potential and the strength and I worked hard enough to be able to get somewhere in this tournament. Freshman year and sophomore year didn’t go my way, I didn’t place. But junior year I came home with fourth place and knew this year with the work I put in during the offseason I should be able to take it home.”
Recognizing Tai’s strength, Gilford knew he had to get in his shots.
“I knew when I got into my ties he was a strong person,” Gilford said. “I knew his defense was going to be there so getting to my shots was really important. Being able to control him with my ties and everything, getting those important takedowns is what I think I needed, especially going into the third period, I knew I had to control the match from there on.”
The Reapers were well represented at the end of Saturday with seven wrestlers involved in place matches. Shane Downs (113) took second place while Trevion Gilford (144), Luis Ballesteros (175) and Tyler Mast (285) each took fourth place.
“We have 10 to 12 seniors this year, I think, and we’ve all been putting in the work since freshman year,” Ronning said. “We realize if we put in the work, we can get it and we’re showing these freshmen that how hard we work is how hard we want them to work. We’re 8-1 in duals and our only loss was to Richmond-Burton and we only lost by two points. We’re all out there working hard every day and just want to keep winning and want to go down to team state.”
These Reapers are invested in each other and it’s provided a great start to the season.
“There’s that trust between each and every teammate here,” Antoine Gilford said. “You know the person next to you is going to be able to encourage you and pick you up and it’s a good feeling.”
This weekend marked the return of De La Salle Institute junior Jeremiah Lawrence.
“I’m just coming back from a little injury I had and the coaches wanted me to sit out and make sure I was ready to go,” Lawrence said. “Last year, and the year before that, I got third freshman year and second last year so I came back here with a chip on my shoulder and wanted to bring that championship home.”
Lawrence fell behind Larsen in the 120 championship match, jumped ahead 3-1 and held on for the 3-2 victory. He was named lower weight outstanding wrestler of the tournament and was one of two champions for the Meteors, who are coached by Jason Davidson.
“I knew I had to go score if I wanted to win so I couldn’t hold,” Lawrence said. “So when he shot in I had to get to my attack. He tried to stalemate it out, but I didn’t want that. I wanted the win.”
Sidelined to open the season, Lawrence worked to ensure he didn’t lose his focus while patiently waiting to return.
“You just got to work hard during that time you’re out and I had to think, and I wanted to win,” he said. “That’s all I want to do is just win. So when I came back that’s why there are no excuses. If I’ve been out for a month I’ve got to go out and win.”
Gripping a stocking cap while speaking after his final victory, Lawrence acknowledged that losing friend and classmate Delilah Lincoln hurts, but competing for her has helped him persevere through such a tragedy. Lincoln died after suffering a severe asthma attack in her sleep in October 2023.
“She was a classmate and friend of mine who played softball,” he said. “I have people in my life like Delilah, who this hat is for, who I win for, like my family. Wrestling is something I’ve been doing for a long time and I enjoy it, and not just only the wrestling aspect but through the people around me – my team, my family, my coaches.”
Kaneland senior Alex Gochis was another impressive wrestler who had quite the finish to a memorable week. He recorded four straight technical fall victories for the 138 title, defeating East Aurora’s Joshue Delgado in the finals, after picking up his 100th career win the previous Saturday. He went 43-7 last year.
His brother Apollo, a junior, also reached the title mat at 175, where he lost to Hoopeston Area/Milford’s Angel Zamora. Their sister, Angelina, a sophomore, won the IHSA at 105 last season and recently received the Outstanding Wrestling Award when she was the lone Illinois competitor to win a title at the Girls Dan Gable Donnybrook in Iowa.
While it wasn’t the first time competing for Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Landen Lage (126) and Princeton’s Kane Dauber (132), the two are just freshmen and still getting accustomed to being a part of a high school team. They showed that they should be key contributors for the next few years as both earned titles.
Lage improved to 11-0 with a 4-0 decision over Hoopeston Area/Milford junior Aiden Bell in the 126 title match.
“As a freshman a lot of people are not expecting me to kind of come out there and kind of bring it,” Lage said. “But I think my tech and my pace and me being very technical with my moves, being very strategic, helps me win because high school guys are a whole lot stronger and faster than me.”
While Lage is coming off a championship season as an eighth grader, having won the 112-pound championship in the IESA Class A state championship, he’s only been back wrestling for the past few years. After getting introduced to wrestling at the age of four, Lage caught on quickly,
“But then I kind of pushed myself too hard so then I quit,” he said. “I got back into it in my sixth grade year and just been training ever since. It’s a lifestyle.”
He went 45-0 last year in IESA competition. He’s pushing for similar success this year and throughout his high school years.
A significant injury a few years ago humbled the teen.
“I broke my leg in about two different places in the tibia alone and I got really chunky,” he said. “I wasn’t being made fun of at school, but I wasn’t the old person everyone knew me for. I wasn’t the wrestler any more. I wanted to play another sport and wanted to get into something I could love and have a passion for and finally I was like ‘Dad, let’s do this one more time,’ and I’ve just been going for it ever since.”
During his time away from wrestling, Lage found success playing football, but it didn’t feel right.
“Football coaches were pretty mad when I quit, but I didn’t have a passion for football anymore,” he said. “Wrestling is my thing. I love it with my heart. If there is anything I want to do in this world, it’s wrestling. You only live once, so after you find your purpose you’ve got to go for it,” he said. “You got to make your impact on the world. Everybody is here for reason.”
Lage opened with a win by fall over and followed with a hard-fought 4-2 decision over Yorkville Christian’s Alaimo before a victory by tech fall over Sandwich’s Jakob Gruca in the semis.
Dauber, one of two title winners and three finalists for third-place Princeton, which is coached by 2020 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Steve Amy, won by fall in less than a minute in his first two matches. He earned a win by technical fall over Ottawa Marquette’s Beau Thompson in the semifinal before winning a 13-3 major decision against Yorkville Christian’ Harris.
“My practice partners and everybody got me to this level over the two months that we’ve wrestled,” Dauber said. They just got me to where I’m at and I’m thankful for that and my coach has been putting in a lot of time in the summer and the pre-season to be there for me.”
Dauber likes to keep things simple while making shared time on the mat anything but that for his opponents.
“I just go out there and wrestle and what I get out is what I get,” he said. “I go out and wrestle my best and have two good guys in my corner supporting me at all times and my family, and that really helps you through the finals.”
Casey Etheridge (165) also won a title for Princeton. The junior had a pair of pins and a major decision before winning 2-1 in a tiebreaker against Ottawa Marquette’s Reily Leifheit
“It’s just an all-around great team with great coaches,” Dauber said. “Everybody is putting in the time and effort at practice and everyone is doing their part for the Princeton wrestling team.”
Hoopeston Area/Milford co-op, which is coached by Chris Kelnhofer, had two champions, Charlie Flores (106) and Angel Zamora (175), and they remain undefeated on the season, improving to 9-0 each en route to their titles.
Zamora defended his title, needing just eight seconds to pin Kaneland’s Apollo Gochis. Last year, Zamora’s opponent went down with an injury and couldn’t wrestle. So in about the time it takes to tie your shoes, he’s won two titles.
“The offseason has paid off for all of us,” Zamora said. “We came into our wrestling room for work when we didn’t have to and some of us were doing offseason training with Patton Trained Wrestling.”
Flores was extra motivated after placing fourth last year at Plano. He earned a 11-4 decision against Dixon’s Riley Paredes to become a champion.
“It pushed me to go harder and I’ve always wanted to win a bracket from here,” Flores said. “First period, I knew I had to take him down and put him to his back. There was a tough third period. I was up, got put on my back but scrambled out of it and came out on top.”
Sandwich sophomore Cooper Corder didn’t compete in the Reaper Classic as a freshman. In his only other tournament appearance this season, Corder took fourth place at 138 at the 33rd Moore-Prettyman Wrestling Invitational on Nov. 30.
“There were a lot of super kids at Barrington that opened my eyes and got me ready for this season,” Corder said. “They showed me I’ve got a lot of work to do if I want to get to the top of the podium this year.”
Corder found a familiar face in the finals in Princeton’s Ace Christiansen, beating the senior 10-4, to win the 144 title.
Corder beat Christiansen 7-6, in the Class 1A Sandwich Regional final last year and beat him again 5-2, at the Class 1A Byron Sectional. Christiansen avenged those losses, though, in the Class 1A third place match, winning 5-4 on an ultimate tiebreaker.
“He’s really good and shows me what I need to work on,” Corder said. “And then today I knew he had (won) the last one so I know in his head he’s thinking ‘I’m there,’ but really I thought there was no chance that I was going to lose today so I went out there and do what I do best and came out and did it. I think it was a good match.”
Corder committed his summer to training so that he would see such success.
“I went to a lot of big tournaments, went to Fargo and all those high-end tournaments,” he said. “I’m just continuing to get better, hoping to get on the podium. I just did a lot of work and even (on Saturday) I was seeing my shots connecting and getting better through movement and my defense is a lot better. I think a big side of it is my mental (frame of mind). Last year as a freshman I had nothing to lose going out there and wrestling seniors. Now as a sophomore with more seasoning I’m not nervous in these tournaments. I’m happy to compete.”
Those that left before the final weight classes were decided missed out on De La Salle senior David McCarthy’s stunning victory over St. Francis junior Jayden Torres at 285.
Torres was looking to win his third straight title while McCarthy was looking down at the mat early after getting slammed down hard in the first period. He remained down for a few minutes but simply would not give up as he finally got back on his feet.
“I was down and it really hurt at the time, but I couldn’t give up on coach again like I did last year in state,” McCarthy said. “That really hurt,. So I got back up and I’m going to go ice it when I get back home. I’m going to keep pushing, Coaches push me every day to get faster, to lose more weight. They’re pushing me to be better and if I could get in my best condition I could win a state title.”
Dixon’s Jack Ragan (113) kept the Reapers from having a fourth champion. Ragan, who finished third at 106 last year, lost 4-1 in the semifinals to Lawrence from De La Salle.
After opening with two byes, Ragan pinned Sandwich’s Dom Urbanski in the semifinal before outscoring Plano’s Downs 8-6 on the title mat.
Zamora led all champions with the most team points with 29.5 while Dauber ranked second with 28.5 and Allen, Gochis and Ronning tied for third place with 28 points. Etheridge collected 27, Flores and Lawrence had 26 each, Lage scored 25.5 points and Amakiri and Corder had 25 team points. Yorkville Christian’s Alaimo had the most pins in the least amount of time in the tourney with four in 6:35 and Alex Gochis collected the most total match points with 77.
Plano Reaper Classic place matches
106
1st Place Match
Charlie Flores (Hoopeston Area/Milford co-op) 9-0, Jr. over Riley Paredes (Dixon) 9-2, So. (Dec 11-4)
3rd Place Match
Aden Spinelli (Amboy/Ashton-Franklin Center/Lamoille/Ohio co-op) 5-1, Fr. over Davin Torza (Yorkville Christian) 4-2, Fr. (Fall 1:50)
5th Place Match
Christian Sebastian (East Aurora) 6-4, Fr. over Brayden Bickett (Princeton) 4-5, Fr. (Fall 3:29)
113
1st Place Match
Jack Ragan (Dixon) 13-1, So. over Shane Downs (Plano) 7-4, Jr. (Dec 8-6)
3rd Place Match
Justin Forbes (De La Salle Institute) 3-1, Fr. over Christian Sandoval (Yorkville Christian) 6-7, Jr. (Dec 22-17)
5th Place Match
Dom Urbanski (Sandwich) 6-9, Fr. over Shea Conner (Ottawa Marquette) 1-3, So. (Fall 1:06)
120
1st Place Match
Jeremiah Lawrence (De La Salle Institute) 3-0, Jr. over Aiden Larsen (Yorkville Christian) 12-3, Sr. (Dec 3-2)
3rd Place Match
Koby Clark (Ottawa Marquette) 6-1, So. over Doolan Long (Dixon) 11-3, Fr. (Dec 8-5)
5th Place Match
Ty Florschuetz (Amboy) 5-3, So. over Gavin Stevenson (Mendota) 8-7, So. (Fall 4:55)
126
1st Place Match
Landen Lage (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher co-op) 11-0, Fr. over Aiden Bell (Hoopeston Area/Milford) 9-1, Jr. (Dec 4-0)
3rd Place Match
Ryan Alaimo (Yorkville Christian) 14-5, So. over Kaydin Gibson (Princeton) 5-2, Sr. (TF-1.5 3:48 (20-2))
5th Place Match
Chace Tankson (Marian Catholic) 5-4 over Jakob Gruca (Sandwich) 12-9, Sr. (TF-1.5 3:07 (21-5))
132
1st Place Match
Kane Dauber (Princeton) 8-0, Fr. over Nico Harris (Yorkville Christian) 11-5, Sr. (MD 13-3)
3rd Place Match
Beau Thompson (Ottawa Marquette) 7-1, So. over Colten Stone (Sandwich) 6-6, So. (Fall 2:50)
5th Place Match
Chase Montavon (Amboy co-op) 4-2, Jr. over Melvin Cannon (De La Salle Institute) 3-3, Sr. (Fall 3:25)
138
1st Place Match
Alex Gochis (Kaneland) 4-0, Sr. over Joshue Delgado (East Aurora) 4-5, Fr. (TF-1.5 2:55 (20-4))
3rd Place Match
Nolan Lowe (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher) 10-1, So. over Diego Myers (Glenbard South) 5-6, Sr. (Fall 3:08)
5th Place Match
Jaxson Blanchard (Sandwich) 15-4, Fr. over Adrian Wadas-Luis (Yorkville Christian) 11-4, Jr. (Dec 15-10)
144
1st Place Match
Cooper Corder (Sandwich) 16-2, So. over Ace Christiansen (Princeton) 6-1, Sr. (Dec 10-4)
3rd Place Match
Caiden Heath (Amboy co-op) 7-1, So. over Trevion Gilford (Plano) 10-3, Sr. (MD 16-5)
5th Place Match
Preston Richards (Dixon) 12-3, Fr. over Ethan Lowe (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher) 7-3, Jr. (Fall 4:44)
150
1st Place Match
Antoine Gilford (Plano) 12-0, Sr. over Jin Tai (Glenbard South) 7-2, Jr. (Dec 8-4)
3rd Place Match
Hudson Babb (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher) 10-2, So. over Chase Siguenza (St. Francis) 8-4, So. (TF-1.5 4:09 (20-4))
5th Place Match
Jack Gruber (Kaneland) 3-2, Jr. over Brysen Manley (Ottawa Marquette) 4-5, So. (Dec 15-9)
157
1st Place Match
Caidan Ronning (Plano) 11-0, Sr. over Robby Nelson (Yorkville Christian) 13-3, Sr. (Fall 2:56)
3rd Place Match
Jayden Weidman (Dixon) 14-2, Sr. over Corbin Ragle (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher) 6-3, Sr. (TF-1.5 2:00 (15-0))
5th Place Match
Joshua Kotalik (Sandwich) 11-10, Fr. over Lucas Marcoux (Metea Valley) 3-3, So. (Dec 7-1)
165
1st Place Match
Casey Etheridge (Princeton) 8-0, Jr. over Reily Leifheit (Ottawa Marquette) 6-1, So. (TB-1 2-1)
3rd Place Match
Joey Baranski (Marian Catholic) 10-2, Sr. over Isaac Gray (Yorkville Christian) 14-5, Sr. (Dec 7-5)
5th Place Match
Ayden Larkin (Hoopeston Area/Milford) 9-2, Sr. over Cooper Miller (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher) 8-4, So. (Fall 0:47)
175
1st Place Match
Angel Zamora (Hoopeston Area/Milford) 9-0, Sr. over Apollo Gochis (Kaneland) 3-1, Jr. (Fall 0:08)
3rd Place Match
Tyler Gleason (Yorkville Christian) 14-5, Jr. over Luis Ballesteros (Plano) 11-2, Sr. (Dec 8-3)
5th Place Match
Marquis Mays (De La Salle Institute) 4-2, Sr. over Reid Sebahar (Glenbard South) 8-6, Sr. (Fall 1:49)
190
1st Place Match
Jackson Allen (Yorkville Christian) 14-2, Jr. over Terrelle Jackson (De La Salle Institute) 2-1, Sr. (Fall 4:42)
3rd Place Match
Jaxon Wright (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher) 11-1, Jr. over Kaden Clevenger (Sandwich) 14-6, Jr. (Fall 4:30)
5th Place Match
Earl Kelnhofer (Hoopeston Area/Milford) 7-3, So. over Seth Shaffer (Dixon) 8-10, So. (Fall 3:31)
215
1st Place Match
Richie Amakiri (Plano) 11-0, Sr. over Alex Schaefer (Ottawa Marquette) 6-1, So. (MD 23-12)
3rd Place Match
Devon Blanchard (Sandwich) 15-4, Sr. over Ian Morris (Princeton) 4-2, Sr. (Fall 1:20)
5th Place Match
Evan Flanagan (Amboy co-op) 5-2, So. over Danny Langner (Glenbard South) 7-4, Jr. (Fall 4:45)
285
1st Place Match
David McCarthy (De La Salle Institute) 3-0, Sr. over Jaylen Torres (St. Francis) 6-1, Jr. (Dec 6-1)
3rd Place Match
Garrett Tunnell (Yorkville Christian) 14-3, Sr. over Tyler Mast (Plano) 4-2, Sr. (Fall 4:21)
5th Place Match
Dylan Bopes (Dixon) 8-5, Jr. over Angil Serrano (Mendota) 2-3, Sr. (Dec 8-4)
Team scores
1. Yorkville Christian 233, 2. Plano 159, 3. Princeton 131, 4. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher 125.5, 5. Hoopeston Area/Milford 124.5, 6. Sandwich 124, 7. Dixon 116.5, 8. De La Salle Institute 115, 9. Ottawa Marquette 106.5, 10. Amboy/Ashton-Franklin Center/LaMoille/Ohio 97.5, 11. Glenbard South 83.5, 12. Kaneland 74, 13. East Aurora 65.5, 14. St. Francis 43.5, 15. Marian Catholic 37, 16. Mendota 36, 17. Metea Valley 25.5, 18. Marmion Academy 11, 19. Saint Viator 6, 20. St. Edward 3.