Host Marmion wins loaded Cadet Classic
By Chris Walker for the IWCOA
AURORA — Fresh off winning the first dual team state title in program history while returning the majority of its top wrestlers, Marmion Academy won the 2nd annual Marmion Cadet Classic on Wednesday, earning six individual titles along the way.
The Cadets finished with 566 points, easily outdistancing themselves from runner-up Marist’s 354 and third-place Warren’s 300. Lincoln-Way West was fourth with 295.5 and Oak Park and River Forest took fifth with 284.5 to round out the top five.
“We lost three seniors (Mateusz Nycz, Anthony Haddad and Andrew Haritos) that were in the lineup last year,” Marmion coach Anthony Cirrincione said. “Obviously, good kids, and we love those kids, and two of them were here helping today, and the whole team is back and that’s a pretty special group.”
For Marmion, it’s starting over but not starting from scratch for 2025-2026. The Cadets also won the inaugural Cadet Classic last winter.
“They are definitely building off of last year,” Cirrincione said. “We lost a coach that kind of ran our room in Nate Fitzenreider. It’s a big loss a loss that you can’t always make up for, but the coaches have all come together and are doing a great job and we’re all kind of talking through things and coming up with plans and just putting our best foot forward. It’s been a great start to the year.”
Opponents do not need to magnify their target when they see Marmion.
“We’re the hunted, no question about it, but our kids, we don’t look at the sport like everyone else,” Cirrincione said. “I think that’s what makes Marmion special is we look at this as a vessel to get into a college we couldn’t get into without it and set our lives up. So when it comes to pressure and expectations and all those things, we have all that, but we know ultimately this is a sport. You put your all into academics and athletics and you set yourself up for life for the work you do here.”
Working up an appetite and getting to eat their fill on Thanksgiving was the reason Marmion debuted this tournament for its wrestlers and many others around the state a year ago.
“The no. 1 reason this was created was to give the kids Thanksgiving day, that’s the number one reason,” Cirrincione said. “The second (reason) was get a bunch of matches, and a bunch of data to see if what you’re working on is being implemented and what better way than to have five good matches to see this is something we as a group need to improve on, this is something we need to think about as coaches that we’re not seeing or, hey, we’re doing the right stuff (but) we’re just making these little mistakes and now we need to make adjustments.”
Kids lose out on a lot as wrestlers, so this tournament has found a way for the kids to collect data the day before collecting calories, without having to count them.
“Giving the kids Thanksgiving back is super important to us because you take away Thanksgiving and Christmas for a lot of these kids,” Cirrincione said. “And most of the time these kids are sitting at Thanksgiving dinner nibbling while everyone else is having their meal and they’re miserable and can’t understand why they’re not happy and we wanted to have that back and they got that back.”
And for the Marmion kids in particular, they got to enjoy the comforts of home.
“Last year it was still a pretty good tournament, but we just like doubled, tripled the amount of competition from last year,” Marmion senior 144-pounder Demetrios Carrera said. “I think it’s great to give all these kids around the state an opportunity to come and compete against some of the top kids in the state, and I just love it because we are with all the guys and we get to can be in our home environment and have a really good tournament. I think it really helps us being able to compete at our fullest and have each other’s backs and stuff.
“At Marmion we’re always hanging around each other in and outside of school and having fun. I think what’s most important is being able to still work hard when it’s time to get better but at the same time outside of the room we’re still staying close as a family and have a close bond and have fun. That’s good.”
Final team scores: Marmion (566), Marist (364), Warren Township (300), Lincoln-Way West (295.5), Oak Park and River Forest (284.5), Mount Carmel (281), Hononegah (270.5), Portage IN (255), Glenwood (250.5), Civic Memorial (248), West Aurora (210), Antioch (205), Mahomet-Seymour (197), Oakwood (194), Naperville Central (192.5), Washington (185), Marian Central Catholic (184), St. Patrick (178), Lockport Township (169), Huntley (168.5), Plainfield North (157), Fremd (144.5), Notre Dame (139.5), Quincy (118.5), West Chicago (104), Evergreen Park (78.5), Crown Point IN (70), Kaneland (33), DuSable (-1).
Cadet Classic champions:
106 – Colton Wyller, Marmion
Wyller got the Cadets rolling as the first of their six championship winners. The junior scored a 14-3 major decision against Marist’s Elio Gil to get the Cadets on the board.
A first-minute pin, tech fall victory and another major decision served as the pathway toward’s Wyller’s title. He also won at 106 in last year’s inaugural Cadet Classic.
Mount Carmel’s Sebastian Gracia took third with a 17-1 tech fall win over Washington’s Symon Woods. Glenwood’s Cooper Clark placed fifth via 19-7 major decision over Warren’s Diego Rea.
113 – Caleb Noble, Warren
Warren junior Caleb Noble (Arizona State) began his quest for a third state title with a 7-1 victory over Oak Park and River Forest’s MJ Rundell at 113 pounds. The clash between state champions (Noble at 113 last year and at 106 in 2024) and Rundell (106 last year) was decided by a couple of takedowns from Noble.
“I’ve made adjustments in the room going (up against) big people,” Noble said. “I’ve been wrestling with Aaron Stewart (175 pounds) and he’s made an impact on my wrestling for the better. I’m used to bigger people so when I came out here it’s just a mindset thing. I know I’ve been through a lot more than these kids and I think that’s what separates me. I want to say I’ve changed the way I’ve not necessarily moved, but my rhythms have. I think I’ve changed my rhythms and I think that’s important for a wrestler. If somebody is predictable then they’re just going to be beatable at that point. You can’t telegraph anything.”
His dad also continues to inspire and push.
“My dad is always in my ear 24/7,” he said. “He was a great wrestler. He kind of like stays on me all the time and I know it’s from love and he might yell at me sometimes, but he tells me not to take it personally. When we get in the car and we have a hard day at practice and he apologizes, it’s just wrestling.”
His dad helps him with his moves, which often turn into a show; hence, he’s “Showtime” when he hits the mat.
“My dad will tell me the moves I need to work on,” he said. “Before, when I was little, he used to badger me about it, but now he gives me the moves and knows that I’m mature enough to execute those moves and if I have it wrong a little bit he might try to critique it, but ultimately he shows a move and I usually I try to change the move to fitting my wrestling style. And he has no shame behind that. He lets me wrestle freely and what he says, what I do out there is what Showtime does, you’re on his time.”
Marmion’s Preston Morrison won by medical forfeit for third against Notre Dame’s Ray Long, and St. Patrick’s Jack Koenig took fifth with a 15-5 major decision over Oakwood’s Steven Uden.
120 – Danny Goodwin, St. Patrick
Goodwin, who was last year’s Class 2A runner-up at 113 pounds, scored a 4-0 win against Portage’s (Indiana) Zavier Acuna to win the title for his squad’s lone championship.
After opening the tournament with a 11-1 win over Notre Dame’s Lucas Goldman, Goodwin earned tech fall wins over Lincoln-Way West’s Charlie Tustin and Quincy’s Wyatt Boeing.
Marmion’s Brody Page won 11-4 for third against Quincy’s Wyatt Boeing, and Oakwood’s Weston Frazier on 8-3 over Washington’s Lucas Bach on the fifth-place mat.
126 – Jamiel Castleberry, Oak Park and River Forest
Well, it certainly did not take long for a couple of standouts from 120 to meet again at 126 just a year later.
Castleberry, who took fifth in the state at 120 in Class 3A, had to get past Hononegah senior Jackson Olson, who placed fourth a season ago.
“That was pretty good, Castleberry said. “I would love to get to my offense more, but I think I wrestled solid for the first time.”
Consistency is something Castleberry is striving for every practice, every match.
“Last year there were a bunch of ups and downs, so this year I just want to win,” he said. “Last year I was winning matches and then losing to kids I wasn’t supposed to be losing to. Working hard and always getting extra reps after practice. My coach Jason Renteria, he’s big about getting extra reps. We have accountability partners and mine is MJ Rundell. He holds me accountable a lot.”
Battling through such a tough tournament to kick off the season wasn’t necessarily what Castleberry expected. While he impressed with his wrestling, he was impressed by his fellow competitors.
“It’s tough competition, and I didn’t think it would be this tough, he said. “We usually go to West Aurora first to start the year, but we both kind of came here. Our team, I feel could be pretty special. We’ve got some seniors leaving which will be sad. They’re a key part of the team but I feel we could do good and get a team trophy if everybody works hard and puts effort into it. I want to win it all this year and put up bonus points in every dual, all pins.”
Marian Central Catholic’s Austin Hagevold placed third with a 6-3 win over Marmion’s Aidan McClure, and Plainfield North’s Aidan Durell won by fall on the fifth-place mat against Mahoment-Seymour’s Gideon Hayter.
132 – Nicholas Garcia, Marmion
Illinois recruit Nicholas Garcia hopes to head to Champaign as a three-time state champion in three weight classes. Garcia was a state champ at 113 in 2024 and at 126 last season.
He picked up his first big tournament win of the year with a 19-4 tech fall win over Oakwood’s Mason Swartz to capture the title.
Garcia pinned his first two opponents in the tournament and recorded a 20-4 tech fall win against Lockport’s Isaac Zimmerman in the semifinal. Garcia was injured at the start of last season and did not compete in the inaugural tournament a season ago.
Lockport Township’s Isaac Zimmerman won by fall over Marist’s Jon Beals for third place, and Lincoln-Way West’s Brady Glynn placed fifth with a 10-2 decision over Portage’s Ayden Campbell.
138 – Zach Stewart, Marmion
Top-ranked Stewart is realizing that he’ll be in the Purdue black and gold before he knows it. He’s looking to add to a resume which includes a state title at 138 during his sophomore season and a second place finish at 144 as a junior last year.
“It all went by fast and everybody was like it goes so fast but you know the days go slow, the weeks go fast, the months go fast,” he said. “And I’m going to miss it because I’ve really enjoyed my time here.”
Stewart won by tech fall over Marist’s Axel Rodriguez, 21-5 at 4:21, to capture the 138 title. Stewart was one of three Cadets to also win titles in this tournament in its first two seasons, joining Colton Wyller and Demetrios Carrera.
“This is super cool because it’s a nice start-up, warm-up tournament and then this year you come here and you’ve got all these tough matches,” Stewart said. “You’ve got (Jimmy) Mastny vs. (Aaron) Stewart, you’ve got (Wyatt) Medlin vs. (Justin) Wardlow going on right now, It’s really cool to see how it’s expanded already so fast. I really like it here.”
As far as self analysis goes, Stewart liked the way he got around the mat.
“I liked my movement,” he said. “I really liked how I was able to attack both sides of the body because I’ve been struggling with that recently so I really liked that… it was kind of go-with-the-flow wrestling which is what I’ve struggled with but I was very happy with how I wrestled today.”
He’s particularly fond of his crew.
“Our team obviously has the same goal to win team state, but we all decided as a team that we should all get closer together because last year we were all close but we do more things as a team now,” he said,. “We all go out to eat more, we all do extra work after practice together, we all go do bike sprints and stuff. It’s really kind of creating that bond of we’re all struggling together so we’re all kind of growing and learning from what we’ve been up to.”
Lincoln-Way West’s Shane Stream won a 4-1 decision on the third-place mat against St. Patrick’s Patrick Hulne, and Oakwood’s Devin Ehler took fifth with a fall against Fremd’s Drew Fifield.
144 – Demetrios Carrera, Marmion
It didn’t take long for a big rematch to occur this season as Carrera and Mount Carmel’s Justin Williamson met for the title after the two battled in the state consolation semifinals at 132 last year.
In February, Carrera edged Williamson, 6-5, and proceeded to place third in the state while Williamson rebounded to take fifth.
Saturday proved to be another fantastic battle between the two, with Carrera earning his second straight win over Williamson with a takedown for sudden victory in overtime, 9-6.
“It was a good match,” Carrera said. “I think he wrestled well. I think that I could’ve gotten into my offense more. I think I was a little sloppy on some of my finishes and attack, but overall I think even through all the hiccups and stuff, I got the job done and I guess what matters is we can go back in the room and make some tweaks and adjustments of what I need to do to make sure I can clean up the sloppiness and do better in the future.”
One area where Carrera continues to grow is toward sharpening his mental edge.
“My mindset has kind of tweaked a little bit,” he said. “Obviously, I think I’ve grown in my technique and cleaned up a lot of things from last season and stuff, and keep improving, but my mindset was one of the biggest things. Being able to go out there and even push at that point where you’re tired and just keeping the pace going even when you are tired. I think that was the biggest thing for me, not feeling sorry for yourself and just keep pushing through even when you feel tired because you know you are both tired out there. I think that was the biggest change for me.”
The tougher the competition, the less that separates the greats.
“It’s about those little adjustments that you make and just little tweaks of getting one percent better each day and continuing to move forward,” Carrera said. “Even on your bad days you are going in there and putting in the work and learning. I think that’s the biggest thing.”
Naperville Central’s Jacob Cochran won the third-place match 7-0 over Oak Park and River Forest’s Zev Koransky, while Oakwood’s Tyler Huchel placed fifth via a 6-3 decision over Civic Memorial’s Greg Harkey.
150 – Rocco Cassioppi, Hononegah
The junior enters his upperclassmen years having already committed to the University of Wisconsin after taking second place in the state at 106 in Class 3A as a freshman, and winning a state title at 132 a season ago.
At 150 in this tournament, Cassioppi earned a 17-2 tech fall victory over Marist’s Tommy Fidler.
It was two days of tech fall wins for Cassioppi who won all four of his bouts that way, outscoring opponents, 72-10. Dominant, no doubt, and it matches the 72-10 record the Bulls had during the 1995-1996 season when they won 72 regular season games and only lost 10 times.
It looks like Rockton has plenty more winning to come from Cassioppi this year and next before he heads off to Madison.
Marist’s Tommy Fidler placed third by medical forfeit over Marmion’s Ashton Hobson, and West Chicago’s Leo Rosas took fifth with a 4-2 decision over OPRF’s AJ Noyes.
157 – Wyatt Medlin, Washington
Wyatt Medlin has spent his life around the Washington wrestling program, but his talents on the mat have taken him all over the world, including multiple trips to Russia as well as his soon-to-be new home in Champaign at the University of Illinois.
“For me, I’ve been around the Washington program since I was a toddler,” he said. “My dad was coach there and now finally it’s my last year and I’m a senior in high school. It’s kind of surreal. Last year they made me a team captain. We didn’t have a ton of seniors so I was a junior team captain, but we put an asterisk next to that because there were still seniors above you who kind of called the shots. The year being the captain it feels nice. I feel like I have a sense of responsibility of keeping my guys accountable, and we have a tough team.”
Medlin had one of the toughest championship bouts in Aurora, meeting Lockport’s Justin Wardlow in the final. Top-ranked in 3A, Wardlow is a three-time state runner-up while Medlin is a returning two-time state champ in 2A placed third in Champaign as a freshman.
“This tournament is spectacular,” Medlin said. “Second annual and it’s tougher than ninety percent of state brackets. Wardlow in the final, that’s the no. 1 ranked guy in 3A. Fargo champ in my bracket, bunch of state placers in my bracket, this is good stuff. Down in 2A Washington does a good job of getting good tournaments and good competition but state-wide 2A isn’t as deep as 3A so it’s nice getting that 3A competition early on in the season. I couldn’t ask for a better tournament. I’m grateful for it.”
As one would expect, Medlin’s life revolves around wrestling. It’s his life.
“I wrestled all off-season,” he said. “Spent a month training in Russia. The hospitality and training was great over there. This was like my fifth time there. I took a few of the U of I guys down there and I’ve been training a lot at U of I, close to home and yeah wrestled in Fargo, double-finalist in Greco.”
In the third-place match, Marist’s Ethan Sonne won a 14-2 major decision over OPRF’s David Ogunsanya, and Antioch’s Dominic Garcia played fifth via 8-2 decision over Portage’s Lincoln Underwood.
165 – Liam Kelly, Mount Carmel
Kelly’s used to winning so capturing a championship in the first tournament of the season isn’t the hugest deal, but then again…
“I loved it,” he said. “I thought this tournament was great even though it was a little long. I loved the competition. I thought it was a good test for the first week of the season.”
He was happy to get a 16-4 win against Warren standout Royce Lopez.
“I felt good about getting to my read attacks clean,” he said. “My hand fighting felt good. I felt great.”
After helping the Caravan win the Class 3A team dual state title in 2024, Kelly won the individual title last year at 157.
“After winning state last year I trained all off-season with coach Alex Tsirtsis,” he said. “He helped me all summer get better, and I trained up at U of I a lot with those guys. They all helped me get a lot better.”
Kelly expects big things from his fellow wrestlers this winter.
“I think we’ll be good,” he said. “We could win state this year. We’ve got young kids, a bunch of freshmen who are good and can help us out a lot, and a heavyweight playing football right now. The football team is always winning so they are always ending their season at Thanksgiving every year so team is looking great.”
As for passing down words of advice to his teammates, Kelly said he’s simply sharing what’s been taught to him.
“I just kind of get my two cents in to these guys,” he said. “I usually look up to coach (Tsirtsis) and have got a lot of good advice from him and try to pass it on to the younger guys.”
Hononegah’s Bruno Cassioppi took third with a 7-0 decision over Lincoln-Way West’s Max Herman, and Civic Memorial’s James Wojcikiewicz placed fifth via technical fall over West Aurora’s Marcus Quintana.
175 – Brody Sendele, Rockton (Hononegah)
A host of ranked 175-pounders got an early-season look at each other in Aurora.
University of Wisconsin recruit Sendele took down Warren’s Ilia Dvoriannikov in 1:39 to capture the 175 title. The match featured the top two-ranked 175-pounders in Illinois per Rob Sherrill’s rankings.
The junior Sendele is ranked No. 1 in 3A after placing third at 157 in Champaign as a freshman and second last year at 165 pounds. No. 2 senior Dvoryannikov placed second at 165 as a sophomore and third as a junior.
Sendele also earned a 10-3 decision against St. Patrick’s Van Grasser, pinned Plainfield North’s Raphael Tovar in 1:49 and collected a 17-1 tech fall win over Mt. Carmel’s Brandon Beavers.
West Aurora’s No. 3 Dayne Serio placed sixth at 165 as last season. He lost by fall to Dvoriannikov in Saturday’s semifinals, then beat another ranked wrestler by 3-0 sudden victory decision for third place, in St. Patrick’s Van Grasser. Grasser is ranked among the honorable mentions at 175 and is a two-time state medal winner.
Glenwood’s Elijah Smith won a 4-3 decision for fifth place against Mount Carmel’s Danny Lynch. Smith is No. 9 in 2A to start the season.
190 – Jimmy Mastny, Marian Central Catholic
The Most Outstanding Wrestler among a field that included 13 nationally-ranked athletes and 83 wrestlers ranked in Illinois, Mastny pinned Fremd’s Lucas Nance in 1:37 for the 190 title.
Ranked No. 1 in 2A, Mastny had two pins leading up to his semifinal match. His toughest test against Warren’s Aaron Stewart occurred during the semifinals and was one of the premier matchups during the tournament. Two-time state champion Stewart is top-ranked at 190 pounds in 3A.
Stewart is also among the most elite all-around athletes in the state. Stewart is looking to be a rare two-sport athlete at the Division 1 level, as he is committed to wrestle and play football at the University of Illinois.
Mastny is also a two-time state champ, having won the Illinois crown at 157 as a freshman and 190 as a sophomore. Mastny took Stewart down with 16 seconds remaining in the second period and the three-point takedown propelled him to the 4-1 victory.
“Everyone knows Aaron Stewart – he’s won everything he could win,” Mastny said. “Holding him down for a while and just getting to my attack in the second was a big deal. I’m just trying to get better every day, learning new stuff, critiquing stuff from matches. For me personally, it’s just about learning more and probably trying to start in college as a freshman.”
Ranked No. 4 in 2A, Mahomet-Seymour’s Marco Casillas won a 7-5 decision for third place over Fremd’s Nance, who is ranked No. 4 in 3A. Naperville Central’s Paul Peradotti took fifth with a 7-2 decision over Mount Carmel’s Kenneth Seggerson.
215 – Luke Boersma, Marmion
Junior Luke Boersma would likely dominate sophomore Luke Boersma.
“I definitely feel stronger,” he said. “I mean, I tried to get stronger last offseason, but I feel this year I got even better and I plan to keep on improving to achieve my goals.”
Boersma pinned Marian’s Dan French late in the third period while ahead 11-7 to take home the title. He also earned a first period pin against Warren’s Pearce Estrada and a couple early second period pins against Marist’s Tom O’Brien and Civic Memorial Bethalto’s Kevahn Flanagan before he got to French.
“In the best way possible, he’s gotten a lot denser,” Cadets coach Anthony Cirrincione said. “He’s thick and he’s stronger and you couple it with the kind of positions he likes to wrestle in that maybe other people don’t like to wrestle in and he’s going to be in the advantage a lot of the times. It’s been really good to see.”
Boersma recognized that improved strength could pay off drastically so put in the work during the off-season and has already received dividends. Last year he helped the team win a state dual title. Now he’s winning individual titles. During last year’s Cadet Classic he placed fifth at 190.
He’s certainly hanging with great company with his siblings. His older brother Ryan (University of Illinois/Mount Carmel) and sister Abbey (University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point/Minooka) continue to share his love and success of the sport.
“I have been working on technique with both of them for a long time,” he said. “I’ve been going down to U of I to get extra work in with Ryan this preseason and that has definitely helped me a lot with my technique.”
When asked if he’s the best wrestler in the family now, Boersma paused for a couple seconds before responding. Boersma smirked at the tough question.
“I don’t know,” he said. “It’s a tall task to achieve.”
Warren’s Caleb Vanleer won by fall for third place against Marist’s Tom O’Brien, and Lincoln-Way West’s Jimmy Talley won by fall for fifth place against Mahomet-Seymour’s Phil Daniels.
285 – Joey Favia, Marmion
The senior Favia pinned Glenwood’s Cody Moss in 1:46 to finish the tournament. Two-time state qualifier and state runner-up two years ago at 215, Favia is currently ranked No. 3 in Illinois.
Returning state champion Moss is top-ranked in 2A after winning the heavyweight state crown last season.
Favia rolled through the competition impressively on Saturday, earning pins in each of his matches leading up to the final against Evergreen Park’s Willie Johnson, Washington’s Sean Thornton and Marist’s Jack Watson.
Antioch’s Owen Shea placed third by fall over Marist’s Jack Watson, and West Aurora’s Alfonso Aguilar won by 5-3 decision on the fifth-place mat against Washington’s Sean Thornton.