IC Catholic Prep edges Marmion Academy for Chicago Catholic League title
By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA
After Mount Carmel turned in one of the most dominating performances to capture the Chicago Catholic League Championship by a 321.5-211.5 margin over runner-up Montini Catholic in 2024, this year’s CCL Championship at Montini Catholic in Lombard was the exact opposite, as IC Catholic Prep and Marmion Academy went back-and-forth during the late stages in a battle for top honors in the CCL that wound up being among the closest ones in the last 50 years.
With IC Catholic Prep leading 239.5-235 heading into the 14 title matches, both teams won three championships but Marmion Academy was only able to close the gap by 1.5 points to deny it of a second title in three years while the Knights captured their first CCL championship, prevailing for first place by a 253.5-250.5 margin over the Cadets in the 16-team competition.
The only time since 1974 that there was a closer margin for first place was in 2019 when host Mount Carmel and Montini Catholic tied for the title with 276.5 points while Marmion Academy took third place with 270 points. The 1980 CCL Championships were also determined by three points as St. Laurence prevailed by a 139-136 margin for top honors over Mount Carmel.
Montini Catholic took third place with 223.5 points while Mount Carmel finished fourth with 190 points. The remainder of the field featured Brother Rice (144.5), Providence Catholic (132), DePaul College Prep (99.5), Fenwick (83.5), Loyola Academy (82.5), St. Rita of Cascia (68), St. Laurence (66), St. Francis (42.5), De La Salle Institute (30), Saint Ignatius College Prep (28), Leo (10) and Aurora Central Catholic (0).
Leading the way for coach Danny Alcocer’s champion Knights were title winners Deven Casey (132), Brody Kelly (175) and Isaac Barrientos (190) while Kannon Judycki (120), Max Cumbee (128), Aidan Arnett (144) and Nate Brown (165) finished second. Foley Calcagno (215) took third, Jacob Alvarez (138), Joey Pontrelli (150) and Anthony Sebastian (285) were fourth, Mike Bird (106) took sixth and Ben Czarnowski (157) also got points. Casey also won a title in 2024 and Kelly was a champion as a freshman in 2023.
“It was a team effort,” Alcocer said. “We knew that it was going to be tight between us, Marmion and Montini and every point was going to count and a lot of our guys got bonus points. We got seven in the finals and three champs and they got the job done. We preach every day in our room that if you get beat, you’ve got to pick your head up and come back and get the next best thing. If there’s no title, don’t feel sorry for yourself, you come back and get third, and that’s what a bunch of our guys did, and we’re proud of them. We needed every single point today.
“We have a couple of guys who are still out but you have to battle through the injuries and keep your guys healthy. I think that we’re coming together at the right time. All of the guys are working hard every single day, putting in the time and the effort, and they’re going to reap the rewards. They’ve got to stay after it these next three weeks and we’ll see where we’re at. I like our tenacity and the guys’ willingness to work hard every day. The time, energy and effort they put in daily on the mat, it shows, and our coaches are putting in the time. In the third period and overtime, our guys are in prime condition to capitalize on some of our opponents’ mistakes.”
Top performers for the runner-up Cadets, whose co-coaches are Nathan Fitzenreider and Anthony Cirrincione, were champions Nicholas Garcia (126), Zach Stewart (144) and Mateusz Nycz (285) while Aidan McClure (113), Demetrios Carrera (132), Ashton Hobson (150) and Joseph Favia (215) took second place. James Morrison (106), Colton Wyller (120) and Anthony Haddad (165) finished fifth while Grayson Garcia (138), Andrew Haritos (157) and Luke Boersma (190) placed sixth. Nicholas Garcia also won a CCL title in 2024 while Hobson was the lone defending champion that took second and Favia won a title in 2023 as a freshman.
“It’s been a really good season so far and CCLs was a good tournament,” Fitzenreider said. “The boys are wrestling hard and we are proud of them. CCL was a good test for a lot of them. We got to wrestle some really good competition and evaluate where we are at heading into the end of the year. Nicolas had a hard-fought win in the finals which is great to see. Sometimes you just have to find a way and that’s what he did. Zach looked outstanding all tournament. His pace is hard to keep up with. Nycz is a lot to handle for everyone. He has had a phenomenal season and is the leader of our team. It shows when he wrestles. He puts up big points and gets pins. Excited to see our guys compete in the state series.
“All around we were very impressed by the CCL tournament and the other teams. ICCP, Montini, Mount Carmel, and Providence battled hard and their guys were fun to wrestle and compete against. And some of the other schools were also impressive. Brother Rice and St. Rita stuck out to me as other ones whose kids wrestle hard.”
Leading the way for the third-place host Broncos, who are coached by 2020 IWCOA Lifetime Service Award recipient Mike Bukovsky, were title winners Allen Woo (113), Mikey Malizzio (120) and Santino Tenuta (165) and second-place finishers Erik Klichurov (106) and Kam Luif (138). Taking third were Bobby Ruscitti (126) and AJ Tack (175), while Jaxon Lane (190) finished fourth while Isaac Mayora (132) and Gavin Ericson (285) took fifth place.
“I think it’s as balanced as it’s been in the Catholic League,” said Bukovsky, a 2023 Lifetime Service Award inductee of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame – Illinois Chapter. “Last year, Mount Carmel was clearly above everybody and the rest of us were battling for second and third. I thought that three teams could win and it came down to that last match, and IC did a good job and they converted. Everybody was going to be tested here. All up and down the lineup, we saw some really good things. But we’ve got to get back to the drawing board and get back to the grindstone and make those little adjustments and get ready for the postseason.”
Mount Carmel and Loyola Academy both had two champions. The Caravan’s Seth Mendoza (138), a three-time IHSA Class 3A champion, won his fourth CCL title while Liam Kelly (157) also took first place. The Ramblers also had two title winners, Niko Odiotti (106) and Kai Calcutt (215), who also won a CCL title in 2024, as did Casey and Garcia. Mendoza was the recipient of the Lawless Award while Calcutt was selected as the Most Outstanding Tournament Wrestler.
The other CCL champion was Providence Catholic’s Justus Heeg (150), who was one of three freshmen who took first place with Barrientos and Odiotti the others. Heeg’s coach, Donaldl Reynolds, received the Lawless Award for a coach, making him and his coach, Keith Healy, two of the few that been honored with the Lawless Awards as both a wrestler and as a coach.
Others who claimed second-place finishes were Brother Rice’s Dan Costello (175) and James Crane (190), Fenwick’s Aiden Burns (157) and De La Salle Institute’s David McCarthy (285).
In the dramatic finals, which were all title matches on adjacent mats, Woo edged McClure 4-2 at 113 and Malizzio got past Judycki by the same score before the first of three head-to-head clashes between the top two came at 126 where Nicholas Garcia got an escape and then rode out Cumbee to win 2-1 on a tiebreaker. Casey won a close one in the next head-to-head at 132, prevailing 7-4 over Carrera, to keep ICCP up 243.5-239 heading into the final eight weights.
Stewart put the Cadets in front by one point when he won by technical fall in 4:54 over Arnett at 144 and after Hobson fell to Heeg at 150 and Brown lost to Tenuta at 165, the Knights moved back in front for good after Kelly pinned Costello in 3:35 at 175 and Barrientos prevailed 4-1 by sudden victory over Crane at 190 to put their team up by nine points and after Favia got pinned by Calcutt at 215, the Cadets could only get to within three points when Nycz won by fall at 285.
Three individuals tied for the lead in team points with 30, Calcutt, Kelly and Nycz while Menoza was right behind with 29.5 and Tenuta ranked fifth with 29 team points. Kelly and Stewart scored 28.5 points, Casey and Heeg got 28 and Garcia and Woo tied for tenth with 27.5 team points.
Mount Carmel had five individuals who claimed third-place finishes, Sebastian Gracia (106), William Grafton-Hodgetts (113), Kavel Moore (120), Jaxon Jorgensen (144) and Kevin Kalchbrenner (165). Others who finished in third place were Brother Rice’s Oliver Davis (138) and Jack O’Connor (150), St. Laurence’s Khalid Eid (132), Saint Ignatius College Prep’s Nate Sanchez (157), Fenwick’s Jack Paris (190) and St. Francis’ Jaylen Torres (285).
Mount Carmel’s Moore easily had the most match points with 82 while Marmion Academy’s Stewart was nex-best with 64. Montini Catholic’s Lane was the lone competitor to record four falls and Stewart was the only to claim three victories by technical fall. Lane was also one of three individuals who placed seven spots better than were seeded, with Marmion Academy’s Grayson Garcia and Haddad being the others.
Here are the title winners of the Chicago Catholic League Championships and their weight classes:
106 – Niko Odiotti, Loyola Academy
Niko Odiotti opened his freshman season in impressive fashion by winning a championship at Barrington’s Moore-Prettyman-Dunn Invitational and after capturing another big title win at Geneseo earlier this month, he picked up his third major championship of his debut season by being one of three freshmen and two Loyola Academy athletes who claimed titles at the Chicago Catholic League Championships when he captured a 7-2 decision over Montini Catholic freshman Erik Klichurov in the 106 finals.
Odiotti (22-2), whose brother Massey competes for Northwestern University and became the Ramblers’ first IHSA champion when he took top honors at 120 in Class 3A in 2023, joined Providence Catholic’s Justus Heeg (150) and IC Catholic Prep’s Isaac Barrientos (195) as freshmen CCL title winners. He also was one of two champions for coach Matt Cullom’s Ramblers, joining junior Kai Calcutt, the defending IHSA Class 3A 215 champion, who took first place at 215. Odiotti won all of his three matches with decisions, winning 9-2 in the semifinals over Providence Catholic freshman Christian Corcoran.
“It feels good,” Odiotti said. “The ultimate goal is to be a state champ and this is a stepping stone. I need to stay the course, keep getting better and be ready for February, that’s when I want to peak. I think I wrestled pretty well, in some matches I’ve got to score more points. It’s obviously a tough tournament and all three matches were pretty tough, but I just wrestled tough and found a way to win.”
Klichurov (39-4), one of five finalists for coach Mike Bukovsky’s third-place Broncos, got a win by technical fall in the quarterfinals before earning his spot on the 106 title mat with a 13-5 major decision over Marmion Academy sophomore James Morrison. This was the second finals appearance for the Broncos freshman, who won a title at Niles West. The third place match featured another matchup of freshmen as Mount Carmel’s Sebastian Gracia (21-10) captured a 10-0 major decision over Corcoran (32-13). And for fifth place, Morrison (30-11) won a 5-1 decision over IC Catholic Prep freshman Mike Bird (22-18).
113 – Allen Woo, Montini Catholic
Allen Woo made an impressive debut last season when he won the IHSA Class 2A title at 106 and then helped Montini Catholic to a second place finish in the Class 2A Dual Team Finals as he finished with a 25-3 record. The sophomore is top-ranked at 113 in Class 2A and owns a 38-5 record after becoming the first of three CCL champions for the host Broncos when he captured a 4-2 decision over Marmion Academy freshman Aidan McClure in the 113 finals.
Woo, who also won a title at Niles West and took second place at the Dvorak, followed a first-period fall in his opening match with a victory by technical fall in 2:16 over Fenwick senior CJ Brown in the semifinals to become one of five finalists for coach Mike Bukovsky’s third-place Broncos. He finished with 27.5 team points, which tied him for tenth place in that statistic.
“This is good because the CCL is one of the best conferences,” Woo said. “It’s good to get some tough competition in before state. What I like about the Broncos is we’re more than just a team, we’re a family. We’re there for each other and we work hard daily to get better. As you know, coach Bu is a legend, he’s coached softball, football, wrestling and won state championships in each. I love him, he brings great energy every day. He’s coached for a long time so he knows exactly what to do. For example, he makes us get here two, three, four hours before we even wrestle just in case someone is overweight. We hate it, but it makes us who we are.”
McClure (22-7), one of seven finalists for the runner-up Cadets, whose co-coaches are Nathan Fitzenreider and Anthony Cirrincione, opened with a major decision before getting a pin in 1:35 in the semifinals over Providence Catholic freshman Nate Ortiz. For third place, Mount Carmel freshman William Grafton-Hodgetts (18-10) won a 10-4 decision over Ortiz (23-9). For fifth place, DePaul College Prep senior Dimitri Dobre (23-10) won by fall in 5:51 over Brown (26-9).
120 – Mikey Malizzio, Montini Catholic
Mikey Malizzio joined 113 title winner Allen Woo as a CCL champion and was also one of the five finalists for the host Broncos, who later got a championship from Santino Tenuto at 165 to give them three first-place finishers, which is also how many IC Catholic Prep and Marmion Academy had. Malizzio, a sophomore, was involved in a second-straight 4-2 decision on the title mat when he took first at 120 by that score over IC Catholic Prep sophomore Kannon Judycki.
Malizzio (34-8), who placed third at 113 in Class 2A last season and also helped the Broncos to a second-place finish in the IHSA Dual Team Finals, added to a runner-up finish at Niles West and a third at the Dvorak by capturing his first title. He claimed two wins by technical fall to reach the finals, beating Marmion Academy sophomore Colton Wyller in 2:51 in the semifinals.
“It’s the Chicago Catholic League, with a bunch of the best teams in Illinois all competing in one tournament,” Malizzio said. “Mount Carmel, IC, Marmion, us and some pretty solid teams. In my finals match I probably should have done a little better, but I was a little hesitant and I probably should have gotten my offense going a little more. The season is going good and we’ve just got to do our jobs. The state series is coming up and then after that is team state. But I think you have to focus on one thing to the next, so next up is regionals.”
Judycki (22-16) made his fourth finals appearance this season, with the others being a title at Washington and second-place finishes at Antioch and Geneseo. After winning a 4-2 decision over Mount Carmel senior Kavel Moore in the quarterfinals, the 2024 state qualifier for the Knights won a 10-1 major decision in the semifinals over St. Rita junior Jack Hogan, a defending CCL champion who placed third at 106 in Class 2A last season. In the third-place match, Moore (20-11) won by fall in 2:58 over Providence Catholic freshman Max Mandac. Moore scored a tournament-high 82 match points, which was 18 more than Marmion Academy’s Zach Stewart collected for second place. For fifth place, Wyller (39-6) won an 11-10 decision over Hogan (30-9).
126 – Nicholas Garcia, Marmion Academy
Nicholas Garcia provided Marmion Academy with its first title in the CCL Finals, but it didn’t come easily as IC Catholic sophomore Max Cumbee forced overtime before Garcia got an escape and then rode out Cumbee for a 2-1 win by overtime tiebreaker to repeat as a CCL champion. It was a key head-to-head win for the Cadets since they were in a tight battle for first with the Knights. The Cadets junior, who won the IHSA 3A title at 113 last season after finishing fourth at 106 in 2023, joined Zach Stewart (144) and Mateusz Nycz (285) as champions for Marmion Academy, who hoped to win the CCL team title for the second time in three years but IC Catholic Prep had other ideas and wound up prevailing by a 253.5-250.5 margin for the title.
Garcia (17-1), who’s top-ranked in Class 3A, opened with a win by technical fall before getting a pin in 38 seconds over St. Rita freshman Cleto Protti in the semifinals to become one of the seven finalists for the Cadets, whose co-coaches are Anthony Cirrincioe and Nathan Fitzenreider. Garcia ended up with the second-highest total of match points with 64 and he also tied for tenth place with Montini Catholic’s Allen Woo for the most team points with 27.5.
Cumbee (10-5), who placed fifth at 113 in Class 3A last season while competing for Joliet Catholic Academy, was one of seven finalists for coach Danny Alcocer’s CCL champion Knights. Cumbee, who also had a second-place finish at Geneseo, got a victory by technical fall in his opener before claiming a 6-0 decision in the semifinals over Montini Catholic sophomore Bobby Ruscitti (35-3), who went on to claim third place with a victory by technical fall in 2:48 over Brother Rice sophomore James Lotito (21-13). And for fifth place, Protti (21-9) was a winner by fall in 1:54 over Fenwick junior Solanus Daley.
132 – Deven Casey, IC Catholic Prep
Deven Casey helped to get the momentum going in IC Catholic Prep’s favor in its battle with Marmion Academy for the CCL championship. In the second head-to-head title matchup between the top teams in points, the Knights senior captured a 7-4 decision over Cadets junior Demetrios Carrera in the 132 championship match. He was the first of three title winners, with Brody Kelly (175) and Isaac Barrientos (190) the others, for coach Danny Alcocer’s CCL champion Knights, who held a slim 239.5-235 advantage over the Cadets heading into the title matches.
Casey (37-6), a three-time IHSA medalist who captured the Class 2A title at 120 last season with the Knights after taking third place in Class 2A at 113 in 2023 and third at 106 in 2022 while at Aurora Christian, is top-ranked at 132 in Class 2A. He repeated as a CCL champion and this was his fourth tournament title of the season, adding to firsts at Antioch, Washington and the Dvorak. He kicked things off with a first-period fall before becoming one of his team’s seven finalists when he got a pin in 3:05 over St. Laurence freshman Khalid Eid in the semifinals. He ended up tied for eighth with Providence Catholic’s Justus Heeg for most team points with 28.
“I knew coming here that I had a great chance of winning, but that wasn’t the goal, obviously, it was to win as a team,” Casey said. “We won the Dvorak, which was alright, but now we beat the best 3A team in the state. It was good to make a statement so it’s huge that we won it. Everybody just had to do their role, and step one was to win your matches, but winning your matches by bonus is huge. I haven’t really changed much over the four years of high school. This year, it’s just focusing on the team and being selfless by learning to help others to fix their mistakes, so I get better as a wrestler and as a person.”
Carrera (39-5), who is top-ranked in Class 3A, competed in his fourth finals but was unable to add to title wins at Marmion Academy and Batavia. He got wins by technical fall in his first two matches, defeating Montini Catholic sophomore Isaac Mayora in the semifinals. A two-time state qualifier, Carrera hopes to claim his first medal this season. In the third-place match, Eid (25-5) won a 3-2 decision over DePaul College Prep senior Nabiel Rosario (28-8). And for fifth place, Mayora (24-12) won by technical fall in 4:35 over St. Rita junior Luke Pappalas (14-13).
138 – Seth Mendoza, Mount Carmel
Seth Mendoza added another chapter to what has already been one of the most successful careers in IHSA history when he joined an elite group of individuals who have won four Chicago Catholic League Championships. The Mount Carmel senior captured the 138 title with a victory by technical fall in 3:03 over Montini Catholic junior Kam Luif to improve to 28-1 on the season. He also beat Luif to capture his 2023 CCL championship. Mendoza opened his fourth title run with a quick fall and advanced to the finals when IC Catholic Prep freshman Jacob Alvarez took a medical forfeit. The top-ranked individual in 3A at 138 was fourth in team points with 29.5.
Mendoza, the IHSA Class 3A champion at 126 a year ago, at 113 in 2023 and at 106 in 2022, added to a tournament title win at Crown Point, Indiana’s Carnahan and his lone defeat came in the finals of the Ironman in Ohio. He was the latest recipient of the CCL’s Lawless Award winner after receiving the Outstanding Tournament Wrestler award last season. Mendoza was joined as champion by his teammate, junior Liam Kelly, who took first place at 157, as they led the way for coach Alex Tsirtsis’ Caravan, the defending CCL champions who finished in fourth place.
“It’s amazing,” Mendoza said of being a four-time CCL champion. “It’s a lot different for some public schools where they don’t really get to experience having this competition because all of these schools are really competitive. So for four years in a row, getting to experience the same thing every year is something special and something I always looked forward to. I just stay consistent the whole time pretty much. Every time I’m at practice I’m looking to get better and trying to better my teammates so they stay focused on the same goal. For me, just staying consistent is the goal because if I do that, I know that the results will take care of themselves.”
Luif (39-4), one of five finalists for coach Mike Bukovsky’s third-place Broncos, won his first match by technical before recording a fall in 4:29 over Brother Rice junior Oliver Davis in the semifinals. This was his third tournament finals appearance this season with the others being a title at Niles West and a second at the Dvorak. This was also the third time that he got to the title mat at the CCL. Top-ranked in 2A, he looks to make his third trip to the IHSA 2A Finals and add to medals for taking third place at 132 in 2024 and claiming sixth place at 120 in 2023. In the third-place match, Davis (31-4) won a 13-2 major decision over Alvarez (24-16). For fifth place, DePaul College Prep senior Johnny Cunningham (27-10) claimed an 8-4 decision over Marmion Academy sophomore Grayson Garcia (22-18).
144 – Zach Stewart, Marmion Academy
Zach Stewart did just what he needed to do as the battle for the team championship between his Marmion Academy Cadets and IC Catholic Prep came down to the outcomes of each of the last seven title matches. With his team trailing 243.5 to 239, the Cadets junior put his team up by one point after he got a win by technical fall in 4:54 over IC Catholic Prep freshman Aidan Arnett in the 144 finals. With both teams having three finalists left, the Knights went 2-1 with wins at 175 from Brody Kelly and at 190 from Isaac Barrientos while the Cadets went 1-2 and won the last of their matches, with Mateusz Nycz first at 285 to conclude things with Marmion Academy down by three points, depriving it of a second CCL title in the last three years.
Stewart (26-2), last year’s IHSA Class 3A champion at 138 to cap a 30-8 season, claimed his fourth title of the season, adding to firsts at his school’s invite, Antioch and Batavia. He also got wins by technical fall in his first two matches, including in 2:48 in the semifinals over Mount Carmel sophomore Jaxon Jorgensen to become one of the seven finalists and three champs for the Cadets. He was the lone individual to have three wins by technical fall and got those wins in 9:18. He had the second-most match points with 64 and tied for sixth in team points with 28.5.
“We have a lot of newer kids, so it was a new team and no one really knew how they’d fit in but they actually fit in really well,” Stewart said. “They like the idea of us scoring a lot of points and trying to dominate rather than just winning by one or two points. They listen really well, and we’ve tried to listen a lot better this year, and it’s been going pretty well and obviously the results are showing that. This year our team has been improving and we have a shot to win it and we’re favored to win but Marist looks really good and Hononegah looks really good, and IC and Montini are really good, but they’re in 2A.”
Arnett (28-10), who was one of seven finalists for coach Danny Alcocer’s champion Knights, recorded pins in his first two matches, including one fall in 2:58 over DePaul College Prep senior Max Rosen in the semifinals. Jorgensen (4-1) claimed third place after prevailing over Rosen (27-7) with a 16-12 decision. In the fifth-place match, Loyola Academy junior Daniel Malan (23-5) was a winner by fall in 5:53 over Fenwick senior Eiam Staple (25-13).
150 – Justus Heeg, Providence Catholic
Justus Heeg won his fourth title, advanced to his fifth tournament finals and the Providence Catholic freshman improved to 39-3 after claiming a 14-2 major decision over Marmion Academy junior Ashton Hobson in the 150 title match at the Chicago Catholic League Championships. He added to titles at Barrington, the Dvorak and the Illini Classic and a second at the Cheesehead. He won a Minnesota state title for Simley as an eighth grader in 2024.
Heeg, the lone champion and finalist for coach Donald Reynolds’ sixth-place Celtics, got wins by technical fall in his first two matches, needing just 0:35 in his opener and earning his spot on the 150 title mat with a victory in 5:27 over Brother Rice senior Jack O’Connor in the semifinals. He ranked third in total match points with 53 and tied for eighth place in team points with 28.
“Justus is obviously a great wrestler, but also a great kid of high character and a great student,” said Celtics coach Donald Reynolds, a 2022 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee. “He is always looking to find ways to get better, from watching film, playing with some technique in practice, getting extra lifts or workouts in to focus on some small details etc. The scary part is he just keeps getting better and gaining more confidence, and those two things feed each other.
“Our team is young but hungry to compete. We make some mistakes ,and will continue to do so, and it will cost us some matches but we are trying to put ourselves in highly competitive situations as a young team so we can learn how to compete for when it matters in the postseason and years to come. We are in a good spot moving forward, we just have to continue to focus on improving on a daily basis, and the wins will follow. We have a great group of kids, and a great group of parents and I am excited to see where this group goes.”
Hobson (22-5), a junior who placed sixth at 144 in Class 3A and also was a CCL champion in 2024, was one of seven finalists for Nathan Fitzenreider and Anthony Cirrincione’s second-place Cadets. He advanced to the finals following a pair of wins by technical fall, with the second of those coming in 2:33 over IC Catholic Prep sophomore Joey Pontrelli in the. This was Hobson’s third tournament finals, with the other being titles at his invite and at Batavia. In the third-place match, O’Connor (26-11) won a 13-9 decision over Pontrelli (19-16). St. Francis sophomore Chase Siguenza took fifth place by medical forfeit over St. Rita senior Nolan Keenan (26-11).
157 – Liam Kelly, Mount Carmel
Liam Kelly won his first tournament title of the season and his initial Chicago Catholic League Championship and joined four-time CCL title winner Seth Mendoza as first-place finishers for coach Alex Tsirtsis’ fourth-place Mount Carmel Caravan after capturing a 22-10 major decision over Fenwick senior Aiden Burns in the 157 finals.
Kelly (26-3), a junior who is a two-time state qualifier and was a member of Mount Carmel’s Class 3A Dual Team champions last season, received a medical forfeit in his first match and then became one of his team’s two finalists when got a victory by technical fall in 1:45 over Providence Catholic freshman Jasper Harper in the semifinals. He tied Marmion Academy’s Zach Stewart for sixth place in team points with 28.5.
“I got tossed on my back but just have to find a way to get through that,” Kelly said. “Seth is a beast. It’s been great since we work together every single day in practice, he’s the best partner that I could have. Colin competed here and he’s at the U of I now, and I train with him when I can. And coach Alex is the best coach that I could ask for, I’ve been with him since I was a little kid. The practice partners, the coaches and just the people there (at Mount Carmel) are great.”
Burns (38-3), who advanced to his fourth tournament finals, which featured title wins at Hinsdale South and J. Sterling Morton and a runner-up finish at Barrington, was the lone finalist for coach Seth Gamino’s Friars. He won 8-5 by sudden victory over Brother Rice sophomore Frank Meceli in the quarterfinals before winning a 12-7 decision over Saint Ignatius College Prep senior Nate Sanchez in the semifinals. The Fenwick senior hopes to earn his first trip to the IHSA Finals. For third place, Sanchez (28-3) captured a 10-0 major decision over Harper (32-12). And for fifth place, Mecelli (31-7) got a fall in 3:41 over Marmion Academy senior Andrew Haritos (22-18).
165 – Santino Tenuta, Montini Catholic
Santino Tenuta and his Montini Catholic teammates would have likely preferred that they had been in the chase for the CCL Champion that was taking place between IC Catholic Prep and Marmion Academy during the title matches in their own gym, but that certainly didn’t prevent them from frustrating the Knights and Cadets who were both trying to get key championship wins. Tenuta became the third Bronco to claim a first-place finish at the expense of the top two front-runners when the junior joined Allen Woo and Mikey Malizzio as a CCL title winner with his 13-2 major decision over IC Catholic Prep senior Nate Brown in the 165 finals.
Tenuta (30-7), a two-time IHSA qualifier who added to a title at Niles West and a second at the Dvorak, was the fifth and final individual that competed on the title mats for coach Mike Bukovsky’s third-place Broncos. He got to the 165 championship match after recording a pair of first-period falls, securing his semifinal win over St. Laurence senior Jack Claussen with a pin in 1:56. He had the highest finish for most team points of any of the Broncos, taking fifth with 29 points. Tenuta hopes that the third time’s the charm for him in Champaign so he can do what fellow CCL champs Woo and Malizzio, runner-up Kam Luif and also Josh Vazquez, who didn’t compete Saturday, did a year ago, which was get to the awards stand at the State Farm Center.
“With all of these banners, you want to be able to put one of these up one of these days,” Tenuta said. “The standard here is very high so we just want to reach that level. There’s very good teams here and the Catholic League is one of the best in the country, so it’s really good to win here. In my freshman year I took second and last year I didn’t get to wrestle in this tournament, so now I feel good that I got one under my belt. We took second last year and we thought we had it, so it was a tough loss. We have like a family here. We all love one another and we all make each other better.”
Brown (15-8), one of seven finalists for coach Danny Alcocer’s champion Knights, did his part by getting to the title mat at 165 and scoring bonus points along the way as the 2024 state qualifier turned in his best finish of the season by collecting two falls in the opening period, which included a pin in 1:25 in the semifinals over Mount Carmel senior Kevin Kalchbrenner (22-8), who went on to claim third place by getting a pin in 2:00 over Claussen (23-10). In the fifth-place match, Marmion Academy senior Anthony Haddad (17-14) was a winner by fall in 1:25 over Brother Rice senior Johnny Vega (11-7).
175 – Brody Kelly, IC Catholic Prep
Brody Kelly had a pretty clear mission as he stepped onto the 175 title mat against Brother Rice’s Dan Costello, and that was to try to get a pin in order to help his IC Catholic Prep team hold off of Marmion Academy in their quest to capture their first Chicago Catholic League Championship, and that’s just what the junior did. Kelly’s fall in 3:35 at about the same time that freshman teammate Isaac Barrientos was in the process of claiming a dramatic 4-1 win by sudden victory over another Crusader finalist, James Crane, in the 190 finals, assured coach Danny Alcocer’s Knights of the title, as they ultimately edged the Cadets 253.5-250.5 for first.
Kelly (36-5), who joined Deven Casey (132) and Barrientos (190) as CCL champions and was joined on the title mats by runners-up Kannon Judycki (120), Max Cumbee (126), Aidan Arnett (144) and Nate Brown (165), was one of the four Knights who used the same formula to get to the finals, advancing with two pins, with the second of those coming in the semifinals, where he won by fall in 2:32 over Fenwick senior Dominic Esposito. Kelly, who’s top-ranked in Class 2A, won his third title and reached his fourth finals match, adding to firsts at Antioch and Washington and a second at the Dvorak. The 2024 IHSA Class 2A runner-up at 150, who fell 3-2 to Montini Catholic’s David Mayora, tied Loyola Academy’s Kai Calcutt and Marmion Academy’s Mateusz Nycz for first in team points with 30 and tied five others for second for the most pins with three.
“We did really good just making sure that we were working really hard as a team and trying to get bonus as much as we could,” Kelly said. “It only came down to three points, so that’s a couple of places. It feels good, but we just have to keep going forward. Our goal is to team state and this is very good because we just came into CCL like two years ago. So it’s good winning it to show where we are as a team right now. We had a little bit of injuries at the beginning of the year but now we have a pretty solid lineup and we’re looking strong out there.”
Costello (20-9), a sophomore who placed sixth in Class 2A at 175 in 2024 and also took second place at Geneva and at Archbishop Rummel in Metairie, Louisiana and finished third at Hinsdale Central this season, was one of two finalists for coach Jan Murzyn’s Crusaders. He opened with a fall before earning his spot in the 175 finals by winning a 15-12 decision in the semifinals over Montini Catholic junior AJ Tack (33-11), who took third place by medical forfeit over Mount Carmel sophomore Daniel Lynch (12-10). In the fifth-place match, Providence Catholic junior Declan Dircks (4-2) won by fall in 3:18 over Esposito (33-9).
190 – Isaac Barrientos, IC Catholic Prep
Issac Barrientos faced one of the biggest challenges that any freshman may encounter and that is winning a championship in the state’s toughest conference while denying a senior of capturing his first title in the competition, but that’s just what he faced when he met Brother Rice’s James Crane in the Chicago Catholic League Championships title match at 190. With his Broncos owning a small edge over Marmion Academy, Barrientos needed a win to offset a possible, and as it turns out, a win by fall by Mateusz Nycz in the 285 finals. The freshman got the job done, capturing a wild 4-1 win in sudden victory over Crane, who was a state qualifier a year ago. That win helped IC Catholic Prep finish ahead of the Cadets 253.5-250.5 to win its first CCL title.
Barrientos (25-14), one of seven finalists for coach Danny Alcocer’s champion Knights, joined Deven Casey (132) and Brody Kelly (175) as title winners. Kelly’s fall at 175 over a teammate of Crane’s, Dan Costello, provided a boost for Barrientos, who also was one of three freshman champions, with Loyola Academy’s Niko Odiotti (106) and Providence Catholic’s Justus Heeg (150) being the others and their titles weren’t that surprising since they both were ranked highly in the state and have achieved great success in other settings. Barrientos opened with a fall and then earned his spot in the 190 finals with a 5-1 decision in the semifinals over another ranked senior, Fenwick’s Jack Paris, a two-time state qualifier. This was the first time that Barrientos advanced to the semifinals in a tournament and his best finish had been a third at Geneseo.
“I had good matches and I beat kids that the tournament had me seeded behind and I thought I should have beaten and I came back to win,” Barrientos said. “Especially as a freshman, to win the CCL is a great feeling. (Winning the team title) That was the goal, our goal is always to win. The goal is not achieved yet because team state is what we’re really working for, but it’s great being able to win one of the hardest conferences, if not the hardest conference in Illinois. We all push each other a lot in practice and we all work hard and everyone is there for each other.”
Crane (30-5), one of two finalists for the Crusaders, advanced to the 190 finals with two falls, with the second of those coming in 3:27 over Marmion Academy sophomore Luke Boersma in the semifinals. This was the third finals that Crane competed in with the others a title at Geneva and a second-place showing at a tournament in Louisiana. In the third-place match, Paris (35-8) won 2-1 on an ultimate tiebreaker over Montini Catholic senior Jaxon Lane (29-16), who led all competitors in the tournament with four falls. And for fifth place, DePaul College Prep senior Alex Drees (18-16) won by medical forfeit over Boersma (30-15).
215 – Kai Calcutt, Loyola Academy
Kai Calcutt got off to a slow start in his junior season, a situation that a lot of defending state champions might not like. But when the tradeoff is being able to be a member of Loyola Academy’s football team that won the Class 8A championship, then it’s alright to get back to the mats a bit later. The two-time IHSA finalist who won the 3A title at 215 last season after placing second at 220 in his freshman season, was the starting nose guard on a team that capped a 12-2 season with a 35-14 victory over York in the Class 8A title game. As a sophomore he was a member of a 14-0 Ramblers team that beat Lincoln-Way East for the Class 8A championship. Calcutt was joined by Niko Odiotti (106) as champions for coach Matt Collum’s Ramblers after he won by fall in 1:54 over Marmion Academy junior Joseph Favia in the 215 title match. It was a rematch of last year’s IHSA Class 3A Finals at 215 where Calcutt won 3-1 by sudden victory.
Calcutt (28-0), who’s top-ranked at 215 in Class 3A in 3A, got a first-period pin in his opener and then recorded a fall in 3:08 over Brother Rice junior Colin Goggin in the semifinals. He tied IC Catholic Prep’s Brody Kelly and Marmion Academy’s Mateuz Nycz for the most team points with 30. This was his third tournament title, with the others coming at the Dvorak and Geneseo.
“It was awesome,” Calcutt said of winning the football title. “Yeah, it goes into wrestling a little, but I was playing with my brothers and I’ve been playing with them all throughout summer and all the 14 weeks. There’s little bumps in the road, but in the end, it all works out. I started football in my freshman year and the environment that I was brought into is awesome. (Matt Collum) He’s an awesome coach. He’s always calm, has good technique and knows how to teach.”
Favia (15-6) was one of seven finalists for the runner-up Cadets. He opened with a pin and then won a 1-0 decision over IC Catholic Prep senior Foley Calcagno in the semifinals to assure himself of his second finals this season, with the other at Batavia, where he also was second. Calcagno (32-11), who took third at 190 in Class 2A in 2024 after placing sixth at 182 in 1A in 2023, won by fall in 2:59 over Mount Carmel senior Leonard Siegal (16-13) in the third place match. For fifth, St. Laurence junior Xavier Bitner (18-7) got a pin in 4:36 over Goggin (26-11).
285 – Mateusz Nycz, Marmion Academy
Mateusz Nycz did his part to try to help Marmion Academy win its second CCL championship in the past three seasons by collecting falls in all three of his matches to tie him with Loyola Academy’s Kai Calcutt and IC Catholic Prep’s Brody Kelly as the leaders in team points with 30. But by the time the the Cadets senior recorded his last pin in 1:22 in the 285 title match over De La Salle Institute senior David McCarthy, IC Catholic Prep already was assured of winning its first CCL title and ultimately it prevailed by a 253.5-250.5 margin to capture top honors.
Nycz (39-4), one of three champions and seven finalists for the runner-up Cadets, whose co-coaches are Nathan Fitzenreider and Anthony Cirrincione, earned his spot on the 285 title mat with his quickest pin, in 1:01, over Leo senior Nicholas Armour in the semifinals. An IHSA qualifier for the first time in 2024, he’s also captured tournament titles this season at his own invite, Antioch and Batavia and took second place at the Dan Gable Donnybrook in Iowa.
McCarthy (21-2), the lone medalist for coach Jason Davidson’s Meteors, is a two-time state qualifier who took fifth at 285 in Class 1A in 2024. This was his fourth finals appearance this season with the others being firsts at Conant, Plano and Leyden. After opening with a pin in the first minute of his initial match, he had a battle on his hands in the semifinals, pulling out a 3-2 decision over St. Francis junior Jaylen Torres, who lost 2-1 to Althoff Catholic’s Jason Dowell in the IHSA Class 1A Finals at 285 last season. In the third-place match, Torres (21-2) won by fall in 0:30 over IC Catholic Prep sophomore Anthony Sebastian (23-11). And for fifth place, Montini Catholic sophomore Gavin Ericson (27-18) captured a 10-7 decision over Armour (24-5).
Chicago Catholic League Championships
Team scores
1. IC Catholic Prep 253.5, 2. Marmion Academy 250.5, 3. Montini Catholic 223.5, 4. Mount Carmel 190, 5. Brother Rice 144.5, 6. Providence Catholic 132, 7. DePaul College Prep 99.5, 8. Fenwick 83.5, 9. Loyola Academy 82.5, 10. St. Rita of Cascia 68, 11. St. Laurence 66, 12. St. Francis 42.5, 13. De La Salle Institute 30, 14. Saint Ignatius College Prep 28, 15. Leo 10, 16. Aurora Central Catholic 0.
Place matches
106
1st Place Match
Niko Odiotti (Loyola Academy) 22-2, Fr. over Erik Klichurov (Montini Catholic) 39-4, Fr. (Dec 7-2)
3rd Place Match
Sebastian Gracia (Mount Carmel) 21-10, Fr. over Christian Corcoran (Providence Catholic) 32-13, Fr. (MD 10-0)
5th Place Match
James Morrison (Marmion Academy) 30-11, So. over Mike Bird (IC Catholic Prep) 22-18, Fr. (Dec 5-1)
113
1st Place Match
Allen Woo (Montini Catholic) 38-5, So. over Aidan McClure (Marmion Academy) 22-7, Fr. (Dec 4-2)
3rd Place Match
William Grafton-Hodgetts (Mount Carmel) 18-10, Fr. over Nate Ortiz (Providence Catholic) 23-9, Fr. (Dec 10-4)
5th Place Match
Dimitri Dobre (DePaul College Prep) 23-10, Sr. over CJ Brown (Fenwick) 26-9, Sr. (Fall 5:51)
120
1st Place Match
Mikey Malizzio (Montini Catholic) 34-8, So. over Kannon Judycki (IC Catholic Prep) 22-16, So. (Dec 4-2)
3rd Place Match
Kavel Moore ((Chicago) Mt Carmel) 20-11, Sr. over Max Mandac (Providence Catholic) 12-19, Fr. (Fall 2:58)
5th Place Match
Colton Wyller (Marmion Academy) 39-6, So. over Jack Hogan (St. Rita of Cascia) 30-9, Jr. (Dec 11-10)
126
1st Place Match
Nicholas Garcia (Marmion Academy) 17-1, Jr. over Max Cumbee (IC Catholic Prep) 10-5, So. (TB-1 2-1)
3rd Place Match
Bobby Ruscitti (Montini Catholic) 35-3, So. over James Lotito (Brother Rice) 21-13, So. (TF-1.5 2:48 (17-2))
5th Place Match
Cleto Protti (St. Rita of Cascia) 21-9, Fr. over Solanus Daley (Fenwick) 22-22, Jr. (Fall 1:54)
132
1st Place Match
Deven Casey (IC Catholic Prep) 37-6, Sr. over Demetrios Carrera (Marmion Academy) 39-5, Jr. (Dec 7-4)
3rd Place Match
Khalid Eid (St. Laurence) 25-5, Fr. over Nabiel Rosario (DePaul College Prep) 28-8, Sr. (Dec 3-2)
5th Place Match
Isaac Mayora (Montini Catholic) 24-12, So. over Luke Pappalas (St. Rita of Cascia) 14-13, Jr. (TF-1.5 4:35 (21-5))
138
1st Place Match
Seth Mendoza (Mount Carmel) 28-1, Sr. over Kam Luif (Montini Catholic) 39-4, So. (TF-1.5 3:03 (23-7))
3rd Place Match
Oliver Davis (Brother Rice) 31-4, Jr. over Jacob Alvarez (IC Catholic Prep) 24-16, Fr. (MD 13-2)
5th Place Match
Johnny Cunningham (DePaul College Prep) 27-10, Sr. over Grayson Garcia (Marmion Academy) 22-18, So. (Dec 8-4)
144
1st Place Match
Zach Stewart (Marmion Academy) 26-2, Jr. over Aidan Arnett (IC Catholic Prep) 28-10, Fr. (TF-1.5 4:54 (22-6))
3rd Place Match
Jaxon Jorgensen (Mount Carmel) 4-1, So. over Max Rosen (DePaul College Prep) 27-7, Sr. (Dec 16-12)
5th Place Match
Daniel Malan (Loyola Academy) 23-5, Jr. over Eiam Staple (Fenwick) 25-13, Sr. (Fall 5:53)
150
1st Place Match
Justus Heeg (Providence Catholic) 39-3, Fr. over Ashton Hobson (Marmion Academy) 22-5, Jr. (MD 14-2)
3rd Place Match
Jack O`Connor (Brother Rice) 26-11, Sr. over Joey Pontrelli (IC Catholic) 19-16, So. (Dec 13-9)
5th Place Match
Chase Siguenza (St. Francis) 4-2, So. over Nolan Keenan (St. Rita of Cascia) 26-11, Sr. (M. For.)
157
1st Place Match
Liam Kelly (Mount Carmel) 26-3, Jr. over Aiden Burns (Fenwick) 38-3, Sr. (MD 22-10)
3rd Place Match
NATE SANCHEZ (Saint Ignatius College Prep) 28-3, Sr. over Jasper Harper (Providence Catholic) 32-12, Fr. (MD 10-0)
5th Place Match
Frank Mecelli (Brother Rice) 31-7, So. over Andrew Haritos (Marmion Academy) 22-18, Sr. (Fall 3:41)
165
1st Place Match
Santino Tenuta (Montini Catholic) 30-7, Jr. over Nate Brown (IC Catholic Prep) 15-8, Sr. (MD 13-2)
3rd Place Match
Kevin Kalchbrenner (Mount Carmel) 22-8, Sr. over Jack Claussen (St. Laurence) 23-10, Sr. (Fall 2:00)
5th Place Match
Anthony Haddad (Marmion Academy) 17-14, Sr. over Johnny Vega (Brother Rice) 11-7, Sr. (Fall 1:25)
175
1st Place Match
Brody Kelly (IC Catholic Prep) 36-5, Sr. over Dan Costello (Brother Rice) 20-9, So. (Fall 3:35)
3rd Place Match
AJ Tack (Montini Catholic) 33-11, Jr. over Daniel Lynch (Mount Carmel) 12-10, So. (M. For.)
5th Place Match
Declan Dircks (Providence Catholic) 4-2, Jr. over Dominic Esposito (Fenwick) 33-9, Sr. (Fall 3:18)
190
1st Place Match
Isaac Barrientos (IC Catholic Prep) 25-14, Fr. over James Crane (Brother Rice) 30-5, Sr. (SV-1 4-1)
3rd Place Match
Jack Paris (Fenwick) 35-8, Sr. over Jaxon Lane (Montini Catholic) 29-16, Sr. (TB-1 2-1)
5th Place Match
Alex Drees (DePaul College Prep) 18-16, Sr. over Luke Boersma (Marmion Academy) 30-15, So. (M. For.)
215
1st Place Match
Kai Calcutt (Loyola Academy) 28-0, Jr. over Joseph Favia (Marmion Academy) 15-6, Jr. (Fall 1:54)
3rd Place Match
Foley Calcagno (IC Catholic Prep) 32-11, Sr. over Leonard Siegal (Mount Carmel) 16-13, Sr. (Fall 2:59)
5th Place Match
Xavier Bitner (St. Laurence) 18-7, Jr. over Colin Goggin (Brother Rice) 26-11, Jr. (Fall 4:36)
285
1st Place Match
Mateusz Nycz (Marmion Academy) 39-4, Sr. over David McCarthy (De La Salle Institute) 21-2, Sr. (Fall 1:22)
3rd Place Match
Jaylen Torres (St. Francis) 21-2, Jr. over Anthony Sebastian (IC Catholic Prep) 23-11, So. (Fall 0:30)
5th Place Match
Gavin Ericson (Montini Catholic) 27-18, So. over Nicholas Armour (Leo) 24-5, Sr. (Dec 10-7)