Huntley snares Hernandez title at Maine East
By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA
When asked if he was surprised at the exponential growth of girls wrestling in Illinois since it became an IHSA sport five years ago, Huntley coach Scott Horcher had a quick reply.
“No, I’m not surprised,” he said. “Girls run the world.”
Huntley’s girls certainly ran the world at Maine East’s 23-team Mehoe Hernandez Invitational on Saturday, winning 182.5-131.5 over second-place Lane.
West Chicago (111.5) finished third, followed by Evanston (104.5) and Conant (100) to round out the top-five varsity finishes.
Resilience isn’t just an aspirational goal in wrestling. With so many duals and tournaments coming one after the next, resilience is downright necessary.Huntley’s team title required some resilience on Saturday, coming as it did less than 24 hours after the Red Raiders had a tough night against a heated rival.
“We had a rough dual against Hampshire last night and today we bounced back,” Horcher said. “We just called out the girls and said, ‘hey, we’ve got to step up and start battling when we get out in these matches’. And they showed up today.“Our varsity girls showed up and some of our jayvee girls that hadn’t had any wins got a couple wins today. I was really proud of them. We’ve got a good bunch of girls that I’m hoping to build the program in the coming years.”
The Hernandez invitational features a varsity and a junior varsity competition. Huntley won the varsity tournament with three individual champions, two runners-up, and nine total girls placing in the top six of their weight classes.
Conant dominated the junior varsity portion of the tournament and had the highest combined score of the 23 teams present.
Huntley’s varsity titles came from Janiah Slaughter (100), Isabelle Singer (120) and a returning state runner-up in Aubrie Rohrbacher (130).
“Today was awesome,” Rohrbacher said. “We had some girls that haven’t really wrestled yet for the first time here today. And some girls had really hard cuts and worked their butts off, and they all did great.”
Huntley got second-place finishes from Donna Garcia (115) and Lilliana Castanon (145), a third from Grecia Garcia (135), fourths from Haelynn Lettieri (110) and Cordelia Adame (125), and a sixth from Alyssa Aguilar (170).
“I’m really pleased,” Horcher said. “I was really surprised with the effort that some of these girls put up there.”
Final varsity team scores:
Huntley 182.5, Lane 131.5, West Chicago 111.5, Evanston 104.5, Conant 100, Maine East 91, Addison Trail 86, Rickover Naval Academy 81, New Trier 76, Maine South 64, Elk Grove 62, Glenbrook North 49.5, Round Lake 49, Ridgewood 48, Loyola Academy 43.5, Highland Park 43, Maine West 37, Taft 36, Vernon Hills 13, Elgin 7, Niles West 3
Final junior varsity scores:
Conant 146, Maine East 142, Niles North 115.5, Vernon Hills 77, Addison Trail 71, West Chicago 71, Lane 70.5, Evanston 64, Rickover Naval Academy 62, Elgin 54, Highland Park 52.5, Round Lake 52, Taft 47, Ridgewood 46.5, Huntley 34, Waukegan 28, New Trier 26, Niles West 25.5, Glenbrook North 25, Maine South 25, Maine West 15
Individual Mejoe Hernandez Invitational champions (varsity):
100: Janiah Slaughter, Huntley
laughter kicked off the finals round in fine style for the Red Raiders, using a front headlock to turn Lane’s Sofia Guerrero and pin her at the 4:40 mark. Slaughter led 8-3 after two periods before posting her third fall of the tournament.
“Janiah, along with Aubrie (Rohrbacher) are our leaders on and off the mats,” Huntley coach Scott Horcher said. “Janiah was out last year due to injury so she has come back with a mission to be this year’s state champion. She’s one of those athletes that does her work when no one is looking, which is what top level athletes do. She is a fierce competitor and will always rise to the challenge at hand, win or lose. Girls like Janiah make it easy to be a good coach.”
Maine East’s Evelyn Torres pinned Rickover’s Dakota Perez for third place, and Addison Trail’s Melina Valdez won by medical forfeit on the fifth-place mat against West Chicago’s Allison Rocha.
105: Riley Kongkaeow, Round Lake
Three-time state qualifier Kongkaeow went 21-7 as a freshman and 33-5 as a sophomore. She broke through in a big way last year, going 45-5 and placing fourth in state as a junior at 100 pounds.
The awards stand at the state finals was nice, and the lesson Kongkaeow learned last year is driving her in her senior year.
“I think I just learned that I have to trust myself and not doubt myself,” she said. “And now I want more. Last year was pretty good but I think I can do better. I’m working on my neutral more this year just to get on my offense, and just really commit to my shots instead of hesitating a lot.”
That offense was on display Saturday. Kongkaeow used a fall and then two tech falls to snare the title at 105, capped by a tech fall in the finals against Glenbrook North’s Leah Stringfellow, who posted two falls to reach the title mat.
Kongkaeow is operating at a high level physically on the mat, and she continues to work on the most challenging part of the sport — the mental game.
“I work on it all the time,” she said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself so my coach has been working with me to, like, get my mental up and to stay confident throughout. It’s an ongoing process but my team helps a lot, too. Even though it’s just me on the mat, they’re so supportive, and I just want to win for them, too.”
Addison Trail’s Isabella Datil won a 3-0 decision for third place against New Trier’s Isabella Castro, and Maine West’s Lesly Zepeda pinned Lane’s Valeria Hernandez.
110: Valeria Pesantes, Elk Grove
A takedown in each period gave Pesantes a 9-0 lead in her title match against New Trier’s Sunny Aitzemkour and after each of those takedowns, Pesantes flatly refused to let a feisty Aitzemkour earn an escape point.
“I’m stubborn,” Pesantes said. “Whenever I train, whether it’s at school or outside of school, I have this mentality that I’m going to be stubborn and I’m not going to let you get out.”
Aitzemkour battled to a third-period escape before Pesantes posted a final takedown en route to a 12-1 major decision win for the title.
Pesantes went 23-4 as a junior state qualifier last season. She cited her faith as a driving influence in her life, and the strength she gets from that faith clearly informs her approach to wrestling.
“Win or lose, I’m going to learn something and I’m going to get better,” she said. “By the time I’m out there on the mat, I don’t care who’s in front of me. I don’t care if it’s a three-time state champion or somebody who started wrestling yesterday — I’m going to go out there, I’m going to be aggressive, and I’m going to do stuff that I know how to do.”
West Chicago’s Brissia Bucio won by fall over Huntley’s Haelynn Lettieri for third place, and Maine East’s Eliana Badeen pinned Rickover’s Litzy Estrada on the fifth-place match.
115: Giselle Varelas Gaytan, Conant
No one survived to wrestle a third period against Varelas Gaytan Saturday, as she posted pins at 0:48, 1:28, and then just 10 seconds into her title match against Huntley’s Donna Garcia.
“Giselle is a sophomore who only started wrestling thirteen months ago,” Conant coach Brad Bessemer said. “She is really explosive and gifted athletically, but more importantly she has an incredible appetite to learn and improve. She loves to wrestle and compete. I cannot keep her off the mats.”
Varelas Gaytan and Bilyal (155) gave Conant two champions on the day.
“I couldn’t be happier for Giselle and Susan,” Bessemer said. “Each put in significant off-season work to position themselves for success this high school season and they are beginning to find the success that they’ve earned.”
Varelas Gaytan pinned her way past Maine South’s Annika Lee in their semifinal match. Garcia had two wins by fall to reach the finals, including a fall in her semifinal against Evanston’s Kyra Rivera.
Maine South’s Lee won by fall for third place against Evanston’s Rivera, and Lane’s Lauren Guerrero placed fifth by fall over Elgin’s Valeria Guzman.
120: Isabelle Singer, Huntley
Singer used variety in winning her title, opening with a pair of pins before posting a tech fall in her semifinal match and then a 13-0 major decision for the title against West Chicago’s Mackensie Szajda.
Singer led 9-0 after two periods on a pair of takedowns and some near-fall points in the finals.
“I just wrestled really hard and I tried my best,” Singer said.
“I want to get up there, you know,” Singer said, gesturing to the top of the awards stand. “I’ve been practicing my tilts, and I want to stay in good position, so it was working today. Now I’m just trying to focus mentally on telling myself I can do it. That’s the hardest part. I’ve been wrestling for three years now, I joined a club this summer and I went to a bunch of international tournaments because I wanted to get more experience.”
Szajda won by fall in her semifinal match against Evanston’s Oyetola Jacobs, and Singer reached the final with a tech fall against Loyola’s Mia Pendic.
Pendic pinned Rickover’s Paige Finnegan for third place and Jacobs won a 6-2 decision for fifth place over Maine South’s Crystalia Psyhogios.
125: Ariela Dobin, Glenbrook North
Two-time state qualifier Dobin went 33-5 as a freshman and placed fourth at 120. She followed that up by going 45-2 last year and reached the state title mat before losing to Illinois’ first four-time state champion, Hononegah’s Angelina Cassioppi.
Then-sophomore Dobin battled senior Cassioppi into the third period before losing by fall, and she learned a valuable lesson in the process.
“Mentally, I was nervous before that match and I let those nerves overtake me,” Dobin said. “You have to be confident in yourself and don’t let nerves dictate the match.
“I also learned that there’s no point in the match where you can give up and that in the practice room you need to go through every position. You have to put yourself in those dangerous positions that you don’t even think you might end up in. So that’s what I’ve worked on.”
Dobin was dominant at Maine East, posting a fall and a tech fall before winning the title at 125 with a fall at 0:21 against Addison Trail’s Evolet Mata.
It was one quick early takedown, one turn, and one win by fall in aggressive style for Dobin.
“My goal every match is to be aggressive, get on the attack, and if I can dominate and win as fast as possible, then that’s what I’m going to do,” Dobin said. “I feel like my takedowns are a lot more versatile, you know. I can shoot to both sides of the body, I’m flowing more, I’m not so stiff. And my mentality is just score points and attack.”
Evanston’s Samantha Gipson won by fall for third against Huntley’s Cordelia Adame, and New Trier’s Molly Zeidler won by fall on the fifth-place mat against Taft’s Jennifer Arenas.
130: Aubrie Rohrbacher, Huntley
Three-time state qualifier Aubrie Rohrbacher has built quite a resume as a high school wrestler: she went 28-5 as a freshman at 125; 40-4 at 130 and placed third in Illinois as a sophomore; and went 45-10 and placed sixth at 130 last year.
She’s aiming for the highest spot on the downstate podium this year, armed with the seasoning of more than a hundred high school wins.
“It’s just about being smart,” she said. “It’s using my technique over my strength. I’ve learned that over the last year, that you can’t always use your strength and outpower everybody. Using technique is so important.”
Rohrbacher won a straight decision on the Maine East title mat against a feisty, tough wrestler in Ridgewood’s Gianna Mezzano.
After a scoreless first period, Mezzano chose down position and Rohrbacher turned her to take a 4-0 lead. A penalty point and escape point cut Rohrbacher’s lead to 4-2 in the third period, but she posted another takedown en route to a 7-3 decision win.
“I wish every match was like that one. I want to be challenged like that,” Rohrbacher said.
Extensive experience in the sport has given her a mature perspective.
“You have to learn that you can always put in a hundred percent and even if you don’t get the outcome you wanted, that doesn’t mean you’re not getting enough. You have to try to have fun and just do your best.”
Evanston’s Alena Oshana won by fall for third place over Highland Park’s Riley Moore, and New Trier’s Zmorah Izenstark won by fall for fifth against Evanston’s Aileen Trejo.
135: Zabby Badru, Lane
Badru was a 41-match winner and a state qualifier last year as a sophomore, and as a junior she’s off to a fast start. Badru opened with a fall and then a tech fall win before winning by fall at just 32 seconds into her title match Saturday against a returning two-time state qualifier in Conant senior Jasmine Zavaleta.
Zavaleta took a shot early in the match and Badru caught, turned, and pinned her for the win.
“Zabby is one of our captains and a light in our wrestling room,” Lane coach Liam Cummings said. “The progress she has made in the last two seasons is exponential and I get excited every time she steps on the mat. Saturday was another showing of her dominance. All twelve of her wins this season have come by win or tech fall. Her love for the sport, her teammates, and learning is what has taken her this far.”
Zavaleta opened with a pin and again won by fall in her semifinal match against Addison Trail’s Brittany Mondragon to reach the title mat. Badru won her semifinal by tech fall against Huntley’s Gracia Garcia.
Garcia went on to place third in a sudden victory win, 4-0 over Mondragon, while Vernon Hills’ Gianna Cerauli won by fall for fifth place over Taft’s Kylie Kowalisyn.
140: Rose McFadden, Ridgewood
McFadden had some wind in her sails after watching teammate Gianna Mezzano battle tooth-and-nail at 130 against a returning state runner-up in Aubrey Rohrbacher.
“If I see her have a good match, I have a good match,” McFadden said.
That she did. McFadden pinned West Chicago’s Alana Smith on the title mat
It was McFadden’s third pin of the day. She also won the title at 140 at last week’s Evanston tournament.
Not bad for a relative newcomer.
“I did okay last year but it was my first year wrestling,” McFadden said. “I loved it right away and I’ve been wrestling all summer at different training facilities and tournaments. I’ve gone to Notre Dame, and I went to the Northern Plains and broke my collarbone, so I was out for a while. But I got right back into it.”
McFadden has embraced the good, healthy dose of butterflies that can churn before a match.
“I can be as stressed as I want before I go out there,” she said, “but once I get out there, there’s no going back.”
Maine West’s Grace Graves won by fall for third place against Maine East’s Kamila Sosa, and Maine South’s Addison Barnes won by fall for fifth place against Elk Grove’s Otylia Moore.
145: Jocelyn Quillay, Rickover Naval Academy
Quillay wrestled all day like she had an appointment she needed to get to. The Rickover junior spent a grand total of 1:24 on the mat over the three matches she wrestled in winning her title at 145 pounds.
Quillay’s pins came at 0:25, 0:45 and finally 0:33 on the title mat against Huntley’s Lilliana Castanon.
Quillay received some familial advice on her approach to the sport.
“My mom kept on telling me, she’s like, if you’re going to do something, do it right,” Quillay said. “If you’re going to do it, do it. Keep your mind on it. And if you put your mind to it, you’re going to get it.
“It’s all about the mentality. If you feel like you got it, you got it. I went from literally almost losing all of my matches last season and, I mean, look at me now. It’s all about your mentality.”
Quillay won by fall in her semifinal against Evanston’s Isabella Vernon, while Castanon won by fall in her semifinal against Highland Park’s Dorothy Perez. Vernon wrestled back for third place, winning a 6-3 decision over Taft’s Evelyn Rodriguez. Perez won her fifth-place match by major decision against Elk Grove’s Priyanka Zala.
155: Susan Bilyal, Conant
Conant’s Susan Bilyal likes the direction her program is headed, and after winning the title at 155 she was clear on who is responsible.
“We have improved a lot and I think it’s because the coaches are strict, but they also understand that we’re young,” Bilyal said. “They understand we’re teenagers, and they don’t stop us from being teenagers. If you’re wrestling, you want it to be enjoyable, and they give us a lot of freedom to be who we are.”
Her coach sent some gratitude right back in Bilyal’s direction.
“She provides maturity and leadership to our group and has played an outsized role building the culture of our program,” Conant coach Brad Bessemer said. “I’m really happy that Susan is finding more and more success. She’s a great kid.”
Bilyal won by medical forfeit on the title mat against Loyola’s Mma Akela, joining teammate Giselle Varelas Gaytan as one of Conant’s two varsity champions on the day.
The tournament at Maine East included both varsity and junior varsity competitions, and while Huntley won the varsity team title, Conant scored the most combined team points between the two levels.
Bilyal enjoyed the strong showing by Conant’s junior varsity wrestlers.
“My freshman year towards the end of the season, there was probably only like seven girls competing, total,” she said. “And now we have like twenty or twenty-five girls, and we’re a lot of freshmen and sophomores. So the team has improved a lot and everyone has gotten better.”
Round Lake’s Myriah Jefferson placed third with a fall over Lane’s Layla Moreland, and Maine West’s Kaya Zajda placed fifth with a fall over West Chicago’s Alina Fernandez.
170: Lexi Rosenthal, Highland Park
Rosenthal and Addison Trail’s Sylvia Lupa locked horns in the wildest title match of the day, with Rosenthal winning by fall late in the second period.
Rosenthal led 7-4 after one period, Lupa escaped to start the second to make it 8-4, and then cut Rosenthal’s lead to 8-7 with a takedown late in the period.
With less than 15 seconds remaining in the period, Rosenthal reversed Lupa and stuck her at the 3:53 mark to win the title at 170.
“Usually I (stink) at getting off bottom, but today I pulled through,” Rosenthal said.
“This sport is so mental. It’s just hard. Wrestling definitely stresses me out but every day, as long as I know that I gave it my best, I know that’s a good day. You have to just be yourself and do your best in this sport, and your best is always going to be good enough.”
Her title match wasn’t Rosenthal’s only close match of the day. She opened the tournament with a win by fall and then won 18-11 in overtime of her semifinal match against Lane’s Kenaiece Barrett. Lupa won by decision and then by fall in her semifinal against Rickover’s Midna Lazoya.
Barrett went on to place third with a 5-0 decision against West Chicago’s Olivia Halminiak, and Lazoya placed fifth by fall against Huntley’s Alyssa Aguilar.
190: Akyah Thomas, Lane
In only her second year in the sport, Thomas has embraced the fight against one of wrestling’s biggest demons — the fear of losing.
“I just stopped running away from it,” Thomas said after winning the title at 190 pounds. “I’m starting to love it and accepting my wins and my losses. Because you’re going to be scared but you can’t get hesitant. When I first started I was so nervous, so scared. And it showed up on the mat.
“Now I feel like I’m just starting to get better and once you get better, it starts to be more fun.”
Thomas pinned her way to the title, capped by a fall at 0:36 in the finals against Elk Grove’s Ava Buchanan.
“I kind of just feel it out, see what they’re doing, try to catch on to their flaws as soon as possible and just take advantage of them,” Thomas said.
Thomas joined teammate Zabby Badru (135) in winning an individual Hernandez title for second-place Lane.
“Our team tripled this past year,” Thomas said. “We have like 4,000 kids, so I would hope we could get, like, thirty girls. And I feel like once we leave, our program is going to be well represented by them.”
Buchanan won by fall in her semifinal against Maine East’s Angie Wszolek, while Thomas pinned West Chicago’s Weni Koudi in their semifinal match.
Evanston’s Fatima Gomez won by fall for third place against New Trier’s Caroline Seidel, and Koudi won by medical forfeit for fifth place over Wszolek.
235: Sophia Fortis, Maine South
Fortis and Conant’s Ava AdorniAdomi tangled in one of only two title matches decided by simple decision, with Fortis winning a 5-2 decision built on a third-period takedown.
That pivotal takedown punctuated a focus for Fortis this season.
“I want to get better at my shots,” she said.
Fortis and Adorni were tied 2-2 when Fortis notched her takedown, en route to the 5-2 win. Fortis also placed third at this year’s 22-team Waukegan tournament.
She felt good after winning a hard-fought battle against a tough opponent in Adomi.
“She was a lot stronger than I was used to, at least this season,” Fortis said of Adomi. “I didn’t really get that perspective with a lot of my other matches, but with her, she was very strong.I feel like I wrestled well today. My (snap-downs) were working a lot and they were working well today.”
Fortis won by fall in her semifinal match against Rickover’s Julia Augello, while Adomi won her semifinal by fall against Maine East’s Lyric Walton.
Evanston’s Sophia Moreno placed third with a fall against Walton, and Augello won her fifth-place match by fall against West Chicago’s Jade Esquivel.