Tournament roundup for Glenbrook South, West Chicago and Rich Township
by Mike Garofola – for the IWCOA
59th Glenbrook South Rus Erb Tournament
Glenbrook South’s 59th Rus Erb Tournament was full of surprises Saturday at the Titans Dome in Glenview. That’s where two high-profile men suffered their first losses in the final round.
Richmond-Burton’s Emmett Nelson (11-1), a three-time IHSA medalist and two-time runner-up who took sixth at 144 last season, suffered his first defeat of the year in the 144 final against Antioch’s Chase Nobiling (20-3).
Batavia’s Asher Sheldon (13-1) saw his win streak end after Antioch senior Owen Shea (18-4) pinned him at 1:22, which dashed his hopes for a third-straight title.
Richmond-Burton won the title with 177.5 points while Sycamore took second with 171 points. Grant edged Antioch 168-165 to claim third place while Deerfield was fifth with 156 points. Batavia was looking to claim its third straight team title but took seventh place with 127 points.
The top five teams could all be found in the top 20 of the most recent state polls, with tourney champion Richmond-Burton the highest at seventh in Class 1A. Three teams were ranked in 2A, Deerfield (11th), Sycamore (12th) and Antioch (14th) while Grant was 22nd in Class 3A.
“We were out three starters and freshman Liam Paulley is filling in at 132,” Richmond-Burton coach Tony Nelson said. “Lelan Nelson with the big win over a kid who pinned him last year in the semifinals of IKWF State.
“This has turned into a real tough tournament with some very good teams, and a bunch of terrific wrestlers on an individual level,” said Deerfield coach Marc Pechter, who has led the Warriors to a trio of dual-team tournament appearances, which includes a fourth in 2017.
1st place – Richmond-Burton
Coach Tony Nelson’s Rockets had one champion, Lelan Nelson (14-1), who took first at 106. The freshman pinned his way into his final, where he won a 9-5 decision over Sycamore’s Carson West (14-1). He received plenty of help from his teammates with his brother Emmett Nelson (144) and Blake Livdahl (175) both being runners-up.
Emmett Nelson’s first win on Saturday gave him 150 for his career and moved him closer to the school record of 162 set by Garrett Sutton, who was a two-time state champion who went on to star at the University of Michigan.
Adam Glauser (120), and Shane Falasca (215) took third place while Clayton Madula (126), Breckin Campbell (190) and Colin Kraus (285) all finished in fourth place.
2nd place – Sycamore
The runner-up Spartans, who are coached by Randy Culton, were led by runner-up Carson West, who lost in the 106 finals to Richmond-Burton’s Lelan Nelson.
They had four third-place finishers, Sawyer Davis (113), Tyler Lockhart (126), Cooper Bode (175) and Collin Hughes (285) while Clyde Nott (215) added a fourth place medal.
3rd place – Grant
Junior Vince Jasinski, a 2024 state qualifier, won in impressive fashion when he pinned his way into his 126 final with Deerfield’s Adrian Cohen, where he won a 22-6 tech fall at 5:36. Jasinski shared a tourney-high 29.5 team points with Richards’ Mike Taheny and Antioch’s Owen Shea.
Erik Rodriguez (138) and Casey Gipson (190) both claimed third place while Larry Quirk (113), Adrian Khi (144) and Nathan Flores (150) finished in fourth place for coach Mark Jolcover’s third-place Bulldogs.
Antioch had a tournament-high four title winners, Chase Nobiling (144, 20-3), Dominic Garcia (150, 9-1), Ben Vazquez (175, 19-3) and Owen Shea (215, 18-4). Deerfield had three champs, Jackson Palzet (132, 19-1), Jordan Rasof (138, 19-2) and Charlie Cross (157, 14-7).
Other Erb title winners were Lake Park’s Bryce Mensik (113, 11-0), Riverside-Brookfield’s Edgar Mosquera (120, 13-0), Northridge Prep’s Adam Haddad (165, 8-2), Richards’ Mike Taheny (190, 13-1) and Evanston Township’s Jeremy Marshall (285).
Rasof is a two-time state medal winner who took fifth at 138 in 2A last season while Mosquera and Vazquez are both two-time state qualifiers.
There were several individual and team statistics to take note of. Antioch’s Nathan Gorski recorded the most pins over the two days with five while Glenbrook South’s Mike Tsendayush claimed the fastest pin of the weekend at just 13 seconds. And Burlington Central’s Michael Junitz led everyone with 80 match points.
Among the champions, Cross was fourth in team points with 28.5, Garcia, Mosquera and Nelson tied with 27, Vazquez collected 27.5 points and Palzet scored 27 team points.
59th Glenbrook South Rus Erb Tournament place matches
106
1st Place Match
Lelan Nelson (Richmond-Burton) 14-1, Fr. over Carson West (Sycamore) 14-1, Fr. (Dec 9-5)
3rd Place Match
Jorey Becker (Deerfield) 15-9, So. over Liam Lovelace (Lake Park) 13-4, Fr. (Dec 7-6)
5th Place Match
Stone McKone (Buffalo Grove) 9-4, So. over Sergio Jaimes (Glenbrook South) 8-9, Jr. (TF-1.5 3:19 (15-0))
113
1st Place Match
Bryce Mensik (Lake Park) 11-0, Sr. over Eduardo Vences (Burlington Central) 2-1, So. (Fall 4:38)
3rd Place Match
Sawyer Davis (Sycamore) 13-3, Fr. over Larry Quirk (Grant) 3-6, Jr. (Dec 3-0)
5th Place Match
Diego Bueno (Palatine) 2-2, Sr. over Noah Kwasiborski (Antioch) 5-15, Sr. (Fall 3:23)
120
1st Place Match
Edgar Mosquera (Riverside-Brookfield) 13-0, Sr. over Kai Enos (Batavia) 12-3, Fr. (Fall 3:25)
3rd Place Match
Adam Glauser (Richmond-Burton) 16-3, Fr. over Mykola Shamray (Buffalo Grove) 15-4, Fr. (Dec 4-1)
5th Place Match
Ermuun Urtanasan (Glenbrook South) 14-3, Jr. over Michael Olson (Sycamore) 13-5, Jr. (Dec 9-7)
126
1st Place Match
Vince Jasinski (Grant) 19-2, Jr. over Adrian Cohen (Deerfield) 16-6, So. (TF-1.5 5:36 (22-6))
3rd Place Match
Tyler Lockhart (Sycamore) 16-2, Jr. over Clayton Madula (Richmond-Burton)) 16-4, Sr. (MD 18-6)
5th Place Match
Chace Tankson (Marian Catholic) 9-5, Sr. over Kyle Pasco (Batavia) 8-8, Jr. (For.)
132
1st Place Match
Jackson Palzet (Deerfield) 19-1, Sr. over Jack Duraski (Batavia) 12-2, Sr. (Fall 3:05)
3rd Place Match
Sergio Hernandez (Lake Park) 17-3, Sr. over Jacob Godoy (Riverside-Brookfield) 8-5, Sr. (Dec 6-1)
5th Place Match
Ben Ramos (Grant) 4-2, Sr. over Thomas Lind (Sycamore) 10-8, Sr. (Dec 7-1)
138
Guaranteed Places
1st Place Match
Jordan Rasof (Deerfield) 19-2, Sr. over Nick Merola (Lake Park) 12-5, Jr. (Dec 5-0)
3rd Place Match
Erik Rodriguez (Grant) 20-2, Jr. over Matthew Lucansky (Carmel) 13-3, Sr. (TF-1.5 4:43 (21-4))
5th Place Match
Jayden Dohogne (Sycamore) 15-3, So. over Jack Burton (Glenbrook South) 9-8, Jr. (MD 14-5)
144
1st Place Match
Chase Nobiling (Antioch) 20-3, Jr. over Emmett Nelson (Richmond-Burton) 11-1, Sr. (Dec 8-4)
3rd Place Match
Ricky Blanco (Riverside-Brookfield) 12-5, Sr. over Adrian Khi (Grant) 11-11, Sr. (TF-1.5 5:41 (18-1))
5th Place Match
Alexander Shvartsman (Deerfield) 16-8, So. over Kale Schrauth (Glenbrook South) 14-7, Jr. (MD 12-3)
150
1st Place Match
Dominic Garcia (Antioch) 9-1, So. over Ollie Quiros (Niles North) 16-4, Sr. (MD 16-8)
3rd Place Match
Tony Klinkas (Buffalo Grove) 14-6, So. over Nathan Flores (Grant) 10-8, Sr. (Dec 9-3)
5th Place Match
George McShane (Northridge Prep) 7-4, Jr. over Aidan Minihane (Glenbrook South) 14-6, Jr. (Fall 2:22)
157
1st Place Match
Charlie Cross (Deerfield) 14-7, Sr. over Ethan Rivas (Riverside-Brookfield) 8-5, Sr. (Fall 4:58)
3rd Place Match
Nathan Gorski (Antioch) 14-9, Sr. over Dom Marino (Glenbrook South) 16-3, Jr. (Fall 5:16)
5th Place Match
Zahid Haque (Glenbrook South) 3-2, Sr. over Art Bytyqi (Evanston Township) 9-7, Fr. (Fall 1:01)
165
1st Place Match
Adam Haddad (Northridge Prep) 8-2, Sr. over Chris Chi (Buffalo Grove) 11-3, Sr. (TB-1 19-6)
3rd Place Match
Colin Peyton (Batavia) 13-4, Jr. over Henry Downing (Glenbrook South) 14-4, Sr. (Dec 13-10)
5th Place Match
Joey Baranski (Marian Catholic) 15-4, Sr. over Marcus Macias (Antioch) 14-7, Jr. (M. For.)
175
1st Place Match
Ben Vazquez (Antioch) 19-3, Sr. over Blake Livdahl (Richmond-Burton) 14-2, So. (Dec 7-2)
3rd Place Match
Cooper Bode (Sycamore) 11-6, Jr. over Trey Widlowski (Palatine) 4-2, Sr. (MD 15-3)
5th Place Match
Adrian Esparza (Marian Catholic) 4-4, Jr. over Josh Rappa (Rolling Meadows) 11-5, Jr. (Inj. 2:18)
190
1st Place Match
Mike Taheny (Richards) 13-1, Sr. over John Rappa (Rolling Meadows) 15-2, Jr. (TF-1.5 6:00 (18-1))
3rd Place Match
Casey Gipson (Grant) 19-5, Jr. over Breckin Campbell (Richmond-Burton) 14-6, So. (Fall 4:22)
5th Place Match
Michael Junitz (Burlington Central) 6-2, Jr. over Julian Ramos (Lakes Community) 3-3, Sr. (MD 14-5)
215
1st Place Match
Owen Shea (Antioch) 18-4, Jr. over Asher Sheldon (Batavia) 13-1, Sr. (Fall 1:22)
3rd Place Match
Shane Falasca (Richmond-Burton) 16-5, Fr. over Clyde Nott (Sycamore) 11-6, Fr. (Fall 1:33)
5th Place Match
Tyler Zdon (Grant) 4-2, Jr. over Sain Uranbold (Glenbrook South) 13-6, Jr. (Dec 14-11)
285
1st Place Match
Jeremy Marshall (Evanston Township) 3-0, Jr. over Ian Sims (Evanston Township) 3-1, Jr. (Fall 4:57)
3rd Place Match
Collin Hughes (Sycamore) 13-3, Fr. over Colin Kraus (Richmond-Burton) 9-5, Sr. (Fall 0:58)
5th Place Match
Hunter Johnson (Glenbrook South) 14-6, Jr. over Joey Alberts (Riverside-Brookfield) 7-7, Jr. (Fall 3:04)
Team scores
1. Richmond-Burton 177.5, 2. Sycamore 171, 3. Grant 168, 4. Antioch 165.5, 5. Deerfield 156, 6. Riverside-Brookfield 133.5, 7. Batavia 127, 8. Glenbrook South 116, 9. Lake Park 103, 10. Buffalo Grove 88.5, 11. Evanston Township 63.5, 12. Burlington Central 54, 12. Marian Catholic 54, 14. Palatine 53, 15. Rolling Meadows 46.5, 16. Northridge Prep 42.5, 17. Niles North 37.5, 18. Richards 31.5, 19. Carmel 26, 20. Lakes Community 21.5.
West Chicago Bob Hein Invite
The first annual Bob Hein Invite at West Chicago had plenty of quality within its eight-team field with close to 20 state-ranked men, including six who were in the top 10 of the state polls.
The depth of Naperville North was enough to overcome four individual championships for Class 2A power Yorkville Christian with the Huskies coming out on top with 206.5 points, which was 17 ahead of the Mustangs, who finished with 189.5 points. Maine South (168), West Chicago (118.5) and Dixon (115) were next on the team table.
“It was a great tournament run by West Chicago,” Naperville North coach Tom Champion said.
Robert ‘Bob’ Hein was a beloved educator and wrestling coach at West Chicago after moving his family from Iowa, where he taught and coached at Dewitt and Davenport West before moving to Illinois in 1978. He retired in 2002 and passed away in 2018 at age 78 in Ames, Iowa.
1st place – Naperville North
Senior Ben Messier (138, 14-1) and junior Tavkif Ibragimov (215,13-3) claimed individual titles for coach Tom Champion’s first-place Huskies, however it was the strength and talent all throughout their lineup that ultimately led to its eventual team title.
The Huskies had seven individuals who finished in second place. They were Adam Beedon (113), Ryan Beedon (120), Connor McDonald (126), Tyler Sternstein (144), Zachary Mally (150), Timothy Garmon (157), JT Hill (165) and Brady Valle (190) while Hudson Champion (157) added a fourth place finish.
Of this aforementioned group, Sternstein was the lone state qualifier from a year ago at 132 pounds with a 35-6 record. Ibragimov recorded three pins on the day, tying Maine South’s Evan Rioch for the tourney lead and the pair also collected the most team points with 26.
2nd place – Yorkville Christian
The Mustangs, who were ranked seventh in the state in Class 2A, celebrated a tourney-high four individual champions, which included Aiden Larsen (120, 14-3), who looks to add a fourth trip downstate to an already impressive resume, which includes winning three state medals.
Isaac Gray (157, 16-5), Robby Nelson (165, 15-3) and Tyler Gleason (175, 17-5) would also climb atop the podium at the end of the day for coach Mike Vester’s second-place team.
Third place honors would go to Adrian Wadas-Luis (138), Hayden Wheeler (190), Xavier Oliver (215) and Garrett Tunnell (285). Davin Torza (106), Jackson Witt (132) and Kenny Fox (175) added to the Mustangs point total with fourth place medals.
3rd place – Maine South
Tyler Fortis (285, 16-0) led a trio of Hawks who claimed first place awards that included Jack Handley (132, 13-3) and Evan Rioch (190, 6-6).
Fortis went 45-6 and took fifth at 285 in 3A a year ago and was a key member of the Hawks team title at regionals while Rioch went from the No. 7 seed to champion in his weight class.
Caden Ljubenko (138) and Marty Greif (175) took second place while Brett Harman (126), Emmett Mazukelli (132), Jake Colleran (144) and Gavin Hoerr (150) added third place medals for coach Kevin Hansen’s third-place Hawks. Daniel Egan (165) and Rayyan Salameh (215) finished fourth. Hoerr was a state qualifier last season.
The host Wildcats had two champions, Ryan Alvarado (126, 14-1) and Leo Rosas (150, 13-3). Other Hein Invite champions were Addison Trail’s Nikolas Duarte (106, 13-3), Dixon’s Jack Ragan (17-0, 113) and Rock Island’s Antonio Parker (144, 11-1).
Nikolas Durate recorded the fastest technical fall on the day in his 106 semifinal at 50 seconds while Yorkville Christian’s Ryan Alaimo (126) would score a tourney-high 46 total match points.
Alvarado and Gleason tied for third in team points with 24.5 while Fortis, Gray, Larsen and Messier all scored 24 points and Duarte, Parker and Ragan all finished with 23 team points.
West Chicago Bob Hein Invite place matches
106
1st Place Match
Nikolas Duarte (Addison Trail) 13-3, Fr. over Riley Paredes (Dixon) 12-3 (TF-1.5 2:11 (16-1))
3rd Place Match
Angelo Parker (Rock Island) 9-3, Fr. over Davin Torza (Yorkville Christian) 6-4, Fr. (Fall 2:32)
5th Place Match
Erle Rosete (Maine South) 13-7, So. over Santino Pignatelli (West Chicago) 2-5, Fr. (TF-1.5 3:48 (20-4))
113
1st Place Match
Jack Ragan (Dixon) 17-0 over Adam Beedon (Naperville North) 14-1, Jr. (Dec 8-7)
3rd Place Match
Zander Spatafore (Elk Grove) 13-5, Fr. over Santiago Trejo-Huerigo (Addison Trail) 12-4, Fr. (Dec 5-4)
5th Place Match
Emanuel Rangel (West Chicago) 8-3, So. over Jimmy Obedi (Rock Island) 2-7, Fr. (Fall 3:18)
7th Place Match
Tyquez Hudson (Rock Island (H.S.) 4-6, So. (Bye)
120
1st Place Match
Aiden Larsen (Yorkville Christian) 14-3, Sr. over Ryan Beedon (Naperville North) 11-5, Jr. (Inj. 0:00)
3rd Place Match
Doolan Long (Dixon) 14-4 over Zion Martinez (Addison Trail) 7-12, Jr. (Dec 7-0)
5th Place Match
Adrian Ramos Perez (West Chicago) 5-7, Jr. over Jonathan Antonio (West Chicago) 1-2, Sr. (MD 16-8)
126
1st Place Match
Ryan Alvarado (West Chicago) 14-1, Sr. over Connor McDonald (Naperville North) 14-2, Sr. (TF-1.5 3:42 (17-0))
3rd Place Match
Brett Harman (Maine South) 16-3, Jr. over Merrick Stockwell (Rock Island) 7-4, Sr. (TF-1.5 3:28 (17-1))
5th Place Match
Ryan Alaimo (Yorkville Christian) 16-6, So. over Michael Arrendondo (Naperville North) 3-4, Jr. (TF-1.5 4:00 (19-3))
7th Place Match
Maricio Parker (Rock Island) 4-5, So. over Alex Brennan (Elk Grove) 1-8, So. (Fall 2:21)
132
1st Place Match
Jack Handley (Maine South) 13-3, Sr. over Brian Correa (West Chicago) 8-5, So. (Dec 4-1)
3rd Place Match
Emmett Mazukelli (Maine South) 9-3, Jr. over Jackson Witt (Yorkville Christian) 3-2, So. (Dec 8-4)
5th Place Match
Kai Balice (Naperville North) 7-6, Fr. over Miguel Gonzalez (Elk Grove) 2-8, So. (Fall 3:39)
7th Place Match
Elijah Venegas (Rock Island) 2-3, Sr. over Gahel Lezama Martinez (Addison Trail) 3-7, So. (Fall 1:42)
138
1st Place Match
Ben Messier (Naperville North) 14-1, Sr. over Caden Ljubenko (Maine South) 16-4, Jr. (Fall 0:48)
3rd Place Match
Adrian Wadas-Luis (Yorkville Christian) 12-5, Jr. over Elijah King (Rock Island) 1-2, Fr. (Fall 1:50)
5th Place Match
John Benitez (West Chicago) 0-3, Sr. over (Bye)
144
1st Place Match
Antonio Parker (Rock Island) 11-1, Sr. over Tyler Sternstein (Naperville North) 13-3, Sr. (Dec 10-9)
3rd Place Match
Jake Colleran (Maine South) 17-4, Jr. over Preston Richards (Dixon) 13-5 (SV-1 4-1)
5th Place Match
Matthias Hautzinger (Addison Trail) 11-4, Sr. over Austin Wadas-Luis (Yorkville Christian) 10-9, Jr. (Fall 1:44)
7th Place Match
Donavan Avila (West Chicago) 6-6, Sr. over Yahia Soliman (Elk Grove) 2-10, So. (Fall 1:58)
150
1st Place Match
Leo Rosas (West Chicago) 13-3, Jr. over Zachary Mally (Naperville North) 12-4, Sr. (MD 11-2)
3rd Place Match
Gavin Hoerr (Maine South) 5-1, Jr. over Jayden Weidman (Dixon) 16-4 (Dec 4-1)
5th Place Match
George Tate (Rock Island) 6-6, Jr. over Tiras Lombardo (Yorkville Christian) 12-8, Sr. (Inj. 5:23)
7th Place Match
Matt DiMaria (Elk Grove) 3-8, So. over Bryan Borrego (Addison Trail) 4-7, So. (TF-1.5 4:35 (19-3))
157
1st Place Match
Isaac Gray (Yorkville Christian) 16-5, Sr. over Timothy Garmon (Naperville North) 6-5, So. (Fall 3:13)
3rd Place Match
Ian McGowan (Rock Island) 4-3, Jr. over Hudson Champion (Naperville North) 1-2, So. (TF-1.5 4:16 (19-2))
5th Place Match
Adam Staples (Dixon) 6-10 over Andrew Somenek (Elk Grove) 5-10, So. (Dec 11-8)
165
1st Place Match
Robby Nelson (Yorkville Christian) 15-3, Sr. over JT Hill (Naperville North) 7-4, Fr. (MD 14-0)
3rd Place Match
Alen Bautista (Addison Trail) 7-8, So. over Daniel Egan (Maine South) 4-5, Jr. (Fall 1:36)
5th Place Match
Pierson Foos (West Chicago) 0-8, Sr. (Bye)
175
1st Place Match
Tyler Gleason (Yorkville Christian) 17-5, Jr. over Marty Greif (Maine South) 11-7, Jr. (TF-1.5 4:13 (16-1))
3rd Place Match
Daniel Fordham (Dixon) 10-9 over Kenny Fox (Yorkville Christian) 1-2, So. (MD 11-3)
5th Place Match
Julian Mayres (Rock Island) 5-5, Jr. over David Hurrle (Naperville North) 4-8, Jr. (Dec 6-1)
7th Place Match
Emerson Stewart (Maine South) 2-3, Sr. (Bye)
190
1st Place Match
Evan Rioch (Maine South) 6-6, Sr. over Brady Valle (Naperville North) 5-10, Sr. (Fall 0:50)
3rd Place Match
Hayden Wheeler (Yorkville Christian) 4-1, So. over Landon Rodriguez (West Chicago) 6-9, Jr. (Fall 1:59)
5th Place Match
Emmanuel Leal (Addison Trail) 11-8, Sr. over Seth Shaeffer (Dixon) 9-14 (Fall 3:31)
7th Place Match
Tommy Whalen (Elk Grove) 1-10, Sr. over Adrian Venegas (Rock Island) 0-3, Jr. (Dec 10-7)
215
1st Place Match
Tavkif Ibragimov (Naperville North) 13-3, Jr. over Will Howell (Dixon) 11-4 (Fall 1:05)
3rd Place Match
Xander Oliver (Yorkville Christian) 11-8, Sr. over Rayyan Salameh (Maine South) 1-6, Sr. (Fall 3:11)
5th Place Match
Rowan Stockwell (Rock Island) 6-3, So. over Angelo Jimenez (West Chicago) 4-9, Sr. (Dec 5-2)
7th Place Match
David Weber (West Chicago) 0-5, So. (Bye)
285
1st Place Match
Tyler Fortis (Maine South) 16-0, Sr. over Mikey Milovich (Elk Grove) 14-4, Sr. (Dec 2-0)
3rd Place Match
Garrett Tunnell (Yorkville Christian) 16-4, Sr. over Emilio Guzman (Rock Island) 7-5, Sr. (Fall 3:45)
5th Place Match
Omar Sarmiento (West Chicago) 8-6, Sr. over Tommy Leach (Maine South) 3-5, Jr. (Fall 1:11)
7th Place Match
Elliott Ibarra (Addison Trail) 6-10, So. over Dylan Bopes (Dixon) 9-9 (Inj. 0:00)
Team scores
1. Naperville North 206.5, 2. Yorkville Christian 189.5, 3. Maine South 168, 4. West Chicago 118.5, 5. Rock Island 115.5, 6. Dixon 115, 7. Addison Trail 86, 8. Elk Grove 48.
Rich Township Varsity Raptor Invite
Merrillville, Indiana won the Rich Township Raptor Varsity Invite for the second consecutive time, this year almost matching last year’s point total while surpassing its margin of victory.
The Pirates won by nearly 100 points over runner-up Evergreen Park 281.0-183.5 in 2023. On Saturday in Richton Park, coach David Maldonado’s club amassed 273.5 overall points while Romeoville placed second with 164.5 points. Evergreen Park (148), J, Sterling Morton (130.5) and Thornton Fractional North (115) rounding out the top five in this 16-team field.
1st place – Merrillville, IN
Merrillville flexed its collective muscle with six individual champions. Winning titles were Matthew Maldonado (126, 14-1), Warren Brown (132, 12-4), Marlone Kirksy (144, 15-1), Marquell Shelton (150, 6-2), Adrian Pellot (165, 15-0) and Tyler Knight (175, 8-5). Both Kirksy and Pellot won here a year ago. Pellot was an Indiana State runner-up last year at 157 with a dazzling 40-2 overall record.
The Pirates also had seven top four medalists. Rashad Nelson (106), Donald Hoffman (113), Jacian Quezada (138) and Bryce Montgomery (190) all claimed second place finishes while Anthony Bustamante (157) was third and James Mobley (106) and Oluwapelumo Ojo (285) took fourth place.
2nd place – Romeoville
Coach James Nagel’s runner-up Spartans received championship efforts from Pedro Hernandez (106, 15-5) and Jamir Thomas (285, 15-1), who most recently claimed the top prize at Buffalo Grove’s Rex Lewis Invite.
Thomas would pin his way to his title in just over seven minutes combined in three matches, while providing a team-high 28 team points, which tied for fourth among all competitors.
Three Spartans took third place, Saul Razo (144), Tyler Lewis (165) and Isiah Escobar (190). Taejon White (126), Hector Villagrana (175) and Mohamad Almadami (215) placed fourth..
3rd place – Evergreen Park
The third-place Mustangs celebrated two champions: Jayden Cervantes (120, 16-1) and Chance Woods (138, 14-1). Woods is a two-time state qualifier who went 40-5 last season.
Adrian Cervantes (126) and Genesis Ward (215) finished second while Lucas Landry (132) claimed third place for coach Ron Zimmerman’s third-place team.
Four other teams had one champion. They were J. Sterling Morton’s David Roldan (106, 15-5), Saint Ignatius College Prep’s Nate Sanchez (157, 15-1), Perspectives Leadership’s Mivontae Russell (190), and Tinley Park’s Sebastian Sanderson (215, 16-1).
Nine individuals would finish the day with four pins with Sanderson doing so in the least amount of time, in 3:16. Hillcrest’s Kiaven Sullivan was the leader in total match points with 78.
Sanderson and Shelton led all competitors with the most team points with 30 and Russell was third with 29.5 points. Thomas and Kirksy tied for fourth with 28 team points and Brown, Knight, Pellot and Sanchez all recorded 27.5 points.
Rich Township Raptor Invite place matches
106
1st Place Match
Pedro Hernandez (Romeoville) 15-5, Fr. over Rashad Nelson (Merrillville, IN) 10-5, Jr. (MD 10-2)
3rd Place Match
Indigo Berg (Hope Academy) 16-3, Fr. over James Mobley (Merrillville, IN) 2-2 (Dec 9-6)
5th Place Match
Angel Jacobo (J. Sterling Morton) 12-8, So. over Kenye Flanagan (Perspectives Leadership) 1-3, Sr. (Fall 1:39)
113
1st Place Match
David Roldan (J. Sterling Morton) 13-6, Sr. over Donald Hoffman (Merrillville, IN) 7-7, Jr. (Dec 6-1)
3rd Place Match
Edwin Gomez (Thornton Fractional North) 8-8 over Logan Esparza (Eisenhower) 6-6, Fr. (Dec 6-4)
5th Place Match
Daveon Farmer (Perspectives Leadership) 1-2, Jr. over RaSean Fenner (Chicago Hope Academy) 9-10, So. (Fall 3:06)
120
1st Place Match
Jayden Cervantes (Evergreen Park) 16-1, Jr. over Kyrin King (Rich Township) 17-6, So. (Dec 11-4)
3rd Place Match
Donald Bunton Jr (Perspectives Leadership) 4-1, Jr. over Ryan Bisoyana (Oak Lawn) 6-6, Jr. (TF-1.5 2:46 (18-0))
5th Place Match
Nolan Callahan (Chicago Hope Academy) 14-5, Fr. over Amari Brown (Hillcrest) 9-7 (TF-1.5 1:20 (21-4))
126
1st Place Match
Matthew Maldonado (Merrillville, IN) 14-1, Sr. over Adrian Cervantes (Evergreen Park) 12-1, Jr. (Fall 3:52)
3rd Place Match
Colin McCann (Saint Ignatius College Prep) 11-5, Jr. over Taejon White (Romeoville) 7-4, Sr. (Dec 14-9)
5th Place Match
Jose Berrios (J. Sterling Morton) 10-12, Jr. over LeKeith Rogers (Hillcrest) 9-6, Sr. (Fall 1:03)
132
1st Place Match
Warren Brown (Merrillville, IN) 12-4, Jr. over Josiah Willis (Chicago Hope Academy) 15-3, So. (Dec 8-7)
3rd Place Match
Lucas Landry (Evergreen Park) 12-2, Fr. over Nicario Bella (Perspectives Leadership) 3-2, Sr. (TF-1.5 3:21 (17-0))
5th Place Match
Deshawn Jones (Thornton Fractional North) 10-7 over Brandon Bastida (Bloom Township) 3-3, Fr. (Fall 1:38)
138
1st Place Match
Chance Woods (Evergreen Park) 14-1, Jr. over Jacian Quezada (Merrillville, IN) 3-1 (Fall 1:41)
3rd Place Match
Melik Robinson (Thornton Fractional North) 11-2 over Derrione Collier (Hillcrest) 5-4, Sr. (Fall 0:43)
5th Place Match
Kamrin Hilson (Merrillville, IN) 9-5, So. over John Diaz (Oak Lawn) 7-6, So. (Fall 2:22)
144
1st Place Match
Marlone Kirksy (Merrillville, IN) 15-1, Sr. over Tristin King (Rich Township) 12-6, Jr. (Fall 1:07)
3rd Place Match
Saul Razo (Romeoville) 14-6, Sr. over Giancarlo Garcia (J. Sterling Morton) 11-11, Sr. (Fall 5:07)
5th Place Match
Faris Elayyan (Oak Lawn) 11-6, Jr. over Miguelangel Mercado (Eisenhower) 8-7, Jr. (Fall 1:35)
150
1st Place Match
Marquell Shelton (Merrillville, IN) 6-2, Jr. over David Albright (Tinley Park) 9-8, Jr. (Fall 0:55)
3rd Place Match
Kiaven Sullivan (Hillcrest) 11-2, Sr. over Santori Knight (Chicago Hope Academy) 12-7, Jr. (Fall 1:44)
5th Place Match
Luka Capuano (Saint Ignatius College Prep) 4-2, So. over Patrick Starling (Thornton Fractional North) 4-11 (Fall 1:47)
157
1st Place Match
Nate Sanchez (Saint Ignatius College Prep) 15-1, Sr. over Joseph Merritt (Thornton Fractional North) 13-3 (Fall 2:40)
3rd Place Match
Anthony Bustamante (Merrillville, IN) 12-4, Jr. over Jonathan Ivy (Bloom Township) 3-2, Jr. (Fall 1:36)
5th Place Match
Charles Shane (Oak Lawn) 3-2, Jr. over Khalid Watson (Eisenhower) 9-6, Jr. (Fall 1:03)
165
1st Place Match
Adrian Pellot (Merrillville, IN) 15-0, Sr. over Arkail Griffin (Chicago Hope Academy) 13-1, So. (TF-1.5 6:00 (19-2))
3rd Place Match
Tyler Lewis (Romeoville) 9-5, Jr. over Jadin Billingsley (Rich Township) 13-9, Sr. (Fall 5:27)
5th Place Match
Ashton Gray (Evergreen Park) 12-4, Sr. over Juan Caudillo (Oak Lawn) 3-8, Sr. (Fall 1:02)
175
1st Place Match
Tyler Knight (Merrillville, IN) 8-5, Sr. over Santiago Moya (J. Sterling Morton) 10-4, So. (Dec 11-7)
3rd Place Match
Titus Woodring (Thornton Fractional South) 16-3, Jr. over Hector Villagrana (Romeoville) 10-7, Jr. (TF-1.5 4:33 (17-2))
5th Place Match
Raymond Thompson (Merrillville, IN) 4-2 over Jeremy Burnett (Bloom Township) 7-6, Sr. (DQ)
190
1st Place Match
Mivontae Russell (Perspectives Leadership) 4-0, Sr. over Bryce Montgomery (Merrillville, IN) 8-5, So. (Fall 1:55)
3rd Place Match
Isiah Escobar (Romeoville) 15-2, Sr. over D`Andre Cotton (Bloom Township) 3-2, Jr. (Fall 1:19)
5th Place Match
Joshua Burns (Merrillville, IN) 4-2 over Andres Flores-Roman (Evergreen Park) 12-6, Sr. (Fall 0:50)
215
1st Place Match
Sebastian Sanderson (Tinley Park) 16-1, Jr. over Genesis Ward (Evergreen Park) 8-2, Sr. (Fall 0:31)
3rd Place Match
Melson Ngassa (Saint Ignatius College Prep) 11-2, Jr. over Mohamad Almadami (Romeoville) 4-2 (Fall 1:15)
5th Place Match
Mastewal Evely (Chicago Hope Academy) 15-4, Jr. over Carlos Arriaza (J. Sterling Morton) 11-10, Sr. (Fall 1:03)
285
1st Place Match
Jamir Thomas (Romeoville) 15-1, Sr. over George Range (Bloom Township) 10-3, Sr. (Fall 3:35)
3rd Place Match
Jorge Zavala (Thornton Fractional North) 6-1 over Oluwapelumo Ojo (Merrillville, IN) 3-2 (Fall 5:14)
5th Place Match
Daniel Lopez (J. Sterling Morton) 8-10, Sr. over Andres Espinoza (Eisenhower) 6-5 (Fall 2:53)
Team scores
1. Merrillville, IN 273.5, 2. Romeoville 164.5, 3. Evergreen Park 148, 4. J. Sterling Morton 130.5, 5. Thornton Fractional North 115, 6. Chicago Hope Academy 113, 7. Saint Ignatius College Prep 97, 8. Bloom Township 87.5, 9. Perspectives Leadership 81.5, 10. Oak Lawn 76.5, 11. Rich Township 67.5, 12. Hillcrest 60.5, 13. Tinley Park 59.5, 14. Eisenhower 50.5, 15. Thornton Fractional South 25.5.