Downstate tournament roundup from Marion, Riverdale, PORTA and Pontiac
By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA
Marion Duals Tournament
Freeburg hasn’t been competing in wrestling for very long, but those who were on hand for the Marion Duals Tournament may not have realized the brief history of the Midgets’ program after coach Dan Quartz’ team captured top honors in the 17-team small school division in Marion.
Despite having a fairly young team that was missing a few starters for the competition, Freeburg rallied to beat Benton 40-33 in the championship dual to cap a tournament where it also had to get a victory in the final match against Caldwell County, Kentucky to win its pool before claiming a 62-18 win in the semifinals over Herrin, who had pulled off several upsets to capture its pool.
Coach Aaron Robinson’s Rangers built a 33-18 lead with four matches left in the finals but the Midgets responded with a major decision from Colt Hess at 175, a pin from Kaylin Riley at 190 and a win by fall from Jacob Miller-Green at 215 to put Freeburg up 34-33 for its first lead since early in the dual. Jack Amann, who fell one win shy of qualifying for the IHSA 1A Finals from the Carterville Sectional last season, recorded a quick fall at 285 to assure his team of the title.
“Freeburg High School is exceptionally proud of their wrestling team for, after just three seasons, taking first place in the small division of the Marion Tournament,” Dan Quartz said. “Freeburg was missing three of their starters for the tournament as well. The team showed amazing teamwork and rallied around each other to beat the odds and clinch the first place title.
“I am unbelievably proud of the team, especially considering the ages of the kids. Their ability to step up to the task is unmatched and evident both on and off the mat. They are a team through and through.”
Turning in 6-0 efforts for Freeburg were juniors Jack Amann and Colt Hess, sophomores Jacob Miller-Green and Lukas Quartz and freshman Nate Raban. Going 5-1 on the day for the Midgets were senior Kaylin Riley, junior Brock Becker and freshmen Eli Quartz and Eli Schaefer.
The Midgets got off to a 17-4 start and three of their losses are to 1A teams ranked by Illinois Best Weekly, No. 2 Vandalia, No. 11 PORTA and No. 22 Princeton as well as 2A Waterloo. They figure to really be tested over the next few weeks since they are scheduled to compete in Mascoutah’s Dale Breckel Invite this weekend and at Carbondale’s Murdale in early January.
For Benton, Derek Wilkey (150) and Braxton Tittle (106) both moved to 15-0 after going 5-0 in the Marion Duals and Zane Stanley (120), who is now 14-1, also turned in a 5-0 day. Peyton Robinson (157), Kobe Cali (175), Zayden Butcher (120) and Tyson Wilson (285) all went 4-1.
The Rangers will take part in dual meets on Friday and an invitational on Saturday at Unity before heading back to central Illinois on December 28 and 29 to compete in ABE’s Rumble.
“I thought we competed well most of the day,” said Robinson, whose team won their other four duals, which included a semifinal win over Effingham. “Freeburg matched up well with our better kids and made for some exciting matches. We’re a few weeks away from getting to our full potential in our lineup so I’m excited that we’ve been in a position to compete in all of our duals.”
Effingham finished 4-1 after sweeping its pool and then defeating Herrin 54-27 in its final dual to claim third place. Top performers for coach Jeremy Patnaude’s third-place Flaming Hearts were Jeremiah Lorton (285), who went 5-0, Jonah LeDuc (106), who went 4-1 and Cole Henderson (132) and Gabe Raddatz (150), who both went 3-2.
The Flaming Hearts return to tournament competition on Saturday with a trip to Cumberland where they’ll take part in the Skull & Crossbones Invite.
In the six-team large school division, Paducah Tilghman, Kentucky won the title, Floyd Central, Indiana finished second and Marion took third place after beating Waterloo, McCracken County, Kentucky and Carbondale. Coach Darren Lindsey’s Wildcats, who took second one week earlier to Benton at the Rangers’ Neal Wilson Invite, will also compete at Mascoutah this weekend.
In the large school title dual meet, Floyd Central built up a 30-10 lead before Tilghman staged a big comeback that was capped by it recording a pin in the final match to give it a 38-35 victory that allowed the Blue Tornado to repeat as a champion team at the Marion Duals Tournament.
Riverdale’s Jim Boyd Invite
Rock Island was originally scheduled to participate in a super duals event at Bloomington but inclement weather throughout central Illinois forced it to try to make a change of plans and that ended up working out really well for coach Joel Stockwell’s Rocks.
Riverdale was holding its annual Jim Boyd Invite, named after the 2020 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee who coached Stockwell while he was a four-time Class A medalist at Riverdale from 1989-1993 and a state champion in 1992, so he asked if his team could be included.
Rock Island not only showed up at the unanticipated invite in Port Byron, it was able to capture top honors in the 16-team invite with 235 points, which was well ahead of runner-up Seneca, who scored 186.5 points. United Township edged Sherrard 141.5-138.5 for third place while the host Rams and Dubuque Senior, Iowa tied for fifth place with 133.5 points. Rock Falls and Sterling tied for seventh with 116.5 points while Byron was just behind with 115 points.
The Rocks kicked off their tournament schedule one week earlier with a fifth-place finish at the Washington Invitational. The team will be busy throughout the rest of 2025 as they compete in West Chicago’s Bob Hein Invite on Saturday and then takes part in one of their largest events of the season, Lincoln’s Floyd Bee Memorial Holiday Tournament, on December 29 and 30.
“We are thankful to the team hosts Guy Dierikx (athletic director) and Aron Kindelsperger (head coach) for allowing us to enter the tournament on short notice,” Stockwell said. “We had originally had duals scheduled in Bloomington, but because of the weather they were forced to cancel. I am proud of our mostly inexperienced team for adapting to the situation and competing each round and giving a consistent effort most of the day. We have a lot of room to grow and hopefully we can keep the ship going in the right direction.
“A special shout out to our tournament champs, Angelo Parker, Rowan Stockwell and Emilio Guzman. Finally, grinder of the day goes to freshman Javelle Anderson. He bumped up a weight class to fill in for an injured senior wrestler. He wrestled his first varsity matches and went 4-2 on the day to place 4th. One of the matches was a final tiebreaker overtime victory.”
1st: Rock Island (235)
The champion Rocks got titles from Angelo Parker (106), Rowan Stockwell (215) and Emilio Guzman (285) while Fabregas Rodriguez (113), Maricio Parker (138), Parker Stannke (144) and Emarion Harris (175) all claimed second place.
Finishing in fourth place for Rock Island were Jimy Obedi (126), Ian McGowan (150) and Javelle Anderson (157) while Josias Bolinger (120) took sixth.
2nd: Seneca (186.5)
Coach Todd Yegge’s runner-up Fighting Irish, who also took second to champion Canton at their own invite one week earlier, were led by champions Chris Thompson (113), Raiden Terry (120) and Gunner Varland (157) while Ethan Othon (132) and Landon Venecia (190) placed second.
Avery Phillips (144) took third place, Chase Rod (150) finished fifth and Devon Daemicke (138) placed sixth.
3rd: United Township (141.5)
Leading the way for coach Lambros Fotos’ third-place Panthers was champion Xavier Marolf (144), third-place finishers Caleb Flint (138) and Riley King (285) and also Travis Kinkead (175), who took fourth place.
United Township also had four fifth-place finishers, Logan Henson (106), Samuel Abotsi (113), Adam Potter (126) and Daniel Marquez (132) while Josias Pokambire (215) was sixth.
Additional champions and second-place finishers:
The host Rams had one champion, Dean Wainwright (138), who hopes to join 2017 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Tyler Hurry (1991-1995) and Stockwell (1989-1993) as the program’s only four-time IHSA medalists and Hurry as the only three-time champions for Riverdale. Wainwright defeated Unity Christian’s Garrett VerHeecke for the Class 1A title at 132 last season, took third place at 120 in 2024 and beat Illini Bluffs’ Hunter Robbins for the 1A title at 106 in 2023.
Byron also had two champions, Will Julian (175) and Brody Stien (190), while the other Boyd Invite title winners were Rock Falls’ Logan Thome (126), Sterling’s Cael Lyons (132), Mercer County’s Eli Burns (165) and Dubuque Senior, IA’s Beckett Brock (150).
Also claiming second place were Morrison’s Cael Wright (120) and Waylon Phelps (126), Byron’s Aiden Salo (106), Sterling’s Emmanuel Arreola (150), Mercer County’s Eli Boswell (157), Geneseo JV’s Dawson Hull (165), Sherrard’s Jonathan Weakley (215) and Pleasant Valley, IA’s Austin Schulte (285).
Julian, Lyons and Wainwright tied for the most team points with 30 while Brock, Burns and Thome were right behind with 29.5 points. Varland scored 29 points, Stien had 28.5 points and Guzman, Marolf and Terry all tied with 28 team points.
In two of the closest title matches, Thompson beat Rodriguez with a 7-3 decision at 113 and Guzman claimed a 6-1 decision over Schulte at 285.
Champions who were unbeaten following the invite are Thompson (14-0 at 113), Wainwright (14-0 at 138), Julian (11-0 at 175) and Stein (11-0 at 190) while the title winners with just one loss after the competition are Parker (6-1 at 106), Terry (12-1 at 120), Varland (14-1 at 157), Burns (13-1 at 165) and Stockwell (7-1 at 215).
Statistics of note:
Rock Island’s Parker Stannke had the most total match points with 61 while United Township’s Adam Potter ranked second with 59 points. Sherrard’s Cooper Thomas was the only individual in the invite to record five pins. Byron’s Brody Stien was the only competitor to finish with three wins by technical fall. And Rock Island’s Emilio Guzman had the largest seed-place difference, improving 10 positions from his 11th-seed to capture the championship at 285.
The champion Rocks easily had the most total match points with 431 while United Township was a distant second with 320 match points. Riverdale edged Sherrard 19-18 for the most pins and Seneca had the most wins by technical fall with seven while Rock Island had six.
Final team standings:
Rock Island 235, Seneca 186.5, United Township 141.5, Sherrard 138.5, Riverdale 133.5, Dubuque Senior, IA 133.5, Rock Falls 116.5, Sterling 116.5, Byron 115, Morrison 93, Mercer County 86, Pleasant Valley, IA 66, Geneseo JV 43, Polo/ Eastland/ Forreston/ Milledgeville 42, ROWVA/ Williamsfield 31.5, Putnam County/ Hall Township 4
Championship matches:
106 – Angelo Parker (Rock Island) over Aiden Salo (Byron), MD 15-6
113 – Chris Thompson (Seneca) over Fabregas Rodriguez (Rock Island), D 7-3
120 – Raiden Terry (Seneca) over Cael Wright (Morrison), MD 13-3
126 – Logan Thome (Rock Falls) over Waylon Phelps (Morrison), F 0:49
132 – Cael Lyons (Sterling) over Ethan Othon (Seneca), F 2:59
138 – Dean Wainwright (Riverdale) over Maricio Parker (Rock Island), F 1:26
144 – Xavier Marolf (United Township) over Parker Stannke (Rock Island), D 14-8
150 – Beckett Brock (Dubuque Senior) over Emmanuel Arreola (Sterling), F 3:53
157 – Gunner Varland (Seneca) over Eli Boswell (Mercer County), TF 4:37
165 – Eli Burns (Mercer County over Dawson Hull (Geneseo JV), F 2:30
175 – Will Julian (Byron) over Emarion Harris (Rock Island), F 1:51
190 – Brody Stien (Byron) over Landen Venecia (Seneca), TF 2:39
215 – Rowan Stockwell (Rock Island) over Jonathan Weakley (Sherrard), F 4:20
285 – Emilio Guzman (Rock Island) over Austin Schulte (Pleasant Valley), D 6-1
Third-place matches:
106 – Cole Smith (Riverdale) over Chase Coyle (Sterling), F 0:43
113 – Scottie Hampton (Rock Falls) over Henry Pence (Pleasant Valley), F 4:28
120 – Ben Porter (Riverdale) over Noah Christensen (Dubuque Senior), F 1:37
126 – Gabe Morris (Polo/ Eastland/ Forreston/ Milledgeville) over Jimy Obedi (Rock Island), F 2:58
132 – Jaken Updike (Morrison) over Adan Oquendo (Rock Falls), F 1:57
138 – Caleb Flint (United Township) over Zion Deah (Dubuque Senior), D 8-6
144 – Avery Phillips (Seneca) over Josiah Tarbill (Rock Falls), D 12-10
150 – Andrew Knox (Sherrard) over Ian McGowan (Rock Island), MD 13-5
157 – Oliver Parker (Dubuque Senior) over Javelle Anderson (Rock Island), F 1:46
165 – Kaden Dutton (Sherrard) over Dylan Dach (Byron), F 1:14
175 – Cam Dukes (Dubuque Senior) over Travis Kinkead (United Township), D 9-4
190 – Cooper Thomas (Sherrard) over Micah Stringini (Polo/ Eastland/ Forreston/ Milledgeville), F 1:01
215 – Calvin McAvan (Dubuque Senior) over Jake Schradeya (Riverdale), D 4-1
285 – Riley King (United Township) over Sergio Vargas (Sterling), F 3:18
PORTA’s Rex Avery Invite
PORTA’s Rex Avery Invite definitely had a much different look as inclement weather in central Illinois prevented many of the teams in the field from being able to make the trip to Petersburg.
However, that did not mean that the competition wasn’t up to its usual quality standards as three ranked Class 1A teams and an honorable mention team led the way in the 17-team competition with the host Bluejays taking top honors with 233 points while Lawrence County edged Mt. Zion 174-168 for second and Kewanee edged Robinson 156.5-156 for fifth. Cumberland (120.5), Warrensburg-Latham/ Maroa-Forsyth (118) and LeRoy/ Tri-Valley (116.5) were next in line.
PORTA coach Jeff Hill, the state’s all-time leader in dual meet wins who was honored in October when he received a Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame – Illinois Chapter, was pleased to not only be able to get the invite in but also by how well his four champions performed. And he’s also looking forward to hosting the 60-team ABE’s Rumble, which takes place on December 29 and 30 at the Bank of Springfield Center.
1st: PORTA (233)
The Bluejays, ranked 11th in 1A by Illinois Best Weekly and competing in their first tournament of the season, had an invitational-high four champions, Kainin Fillbright (120), Zach Bryant (144), Logan Baker (165) and Justin Zimmerman (175) while Coyt Rademaker (106) and Jaxen Feagans (138) settled for second place.
Other top-six finishers for PORTA, who also co-ops with A-C Central, Greenview and Havana, were Ryan McCoy (4th at 132), Hunter King (4th at 150), Jamarion Thomas (4th at 157), Dylan Yocum (6th at 190) and Jaydin Minor (6th at 285).
“We were excited just to get the wrestling tournament in with the weather forecast and 10 teams deciding not to make the trip,” Hill said. “I was pleased with the way the champions dominated in the finals and kept wrestling to the last whistle. We are looking to hosting ABE’s Rumble in a couple of weeks and seeing the majority of the dual teams in the state.”
2nd: Lawrence County (174)
Coach Cody Bobe’s Lawrence County co-op team, which features athletes from Lawrenceville and Red Hill, got second-place finishes from Drew Seitzinger (126), Cale Seitzinger (150) and Nick Morehead (175) while Grayson Allender (113), Kyler Guercio (120) and Daniel Kiser (157) took third place. Dalton Baker (106) placed fourth while Hudson Meek (144) and Malikye Williams (190) finished fifth for Lawrence County, which was ranked 25th in Class 1A.
3rd: Mt. Zion (168)
Third-place Mt. Zion is also led by an individual who received a Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame – Illinois Chapter in 2012, Dave Klemm.
Leading the way his third-place Braves were champion Keller Stocks (215) and runner-up Sammy Toth (132). Mt. Zion also got third-place efforts from Vincent Baker (138), Travon Street (144) and Carson Thornton (175) while Alex Reynolds (126) and Rylyn Owens (165) finished fourth, Connor Misner (150) placed fifth and Braylon Damery (120) claimed sixth place.
Other champions and second-place finishers
Additional Rex Avery Invite title winners were Farmington/ Cuba’s Isaac Showalter (106), LeRoy/ Tri-Valley’s Jake Baughman (113), Kewanee’s Kingston Peterson (126), Riverton’s Harrison Lott (132), Robinson’s Broady Kelly (138), Auburn/ Pawnee’s Trey Boston (150), Warrensburg-Latham/ Maroa-Forsyth’s Charlie Wittmer (157), Sacred Heart-Griffin’s Casen Lyons (190) and Deer Creek-Mackinaw’s Joey Humphries (285).
Also finishing in second place were Auburn/ Pawnee’s Eli Hill (113), Robinson’s Gracen Elliott (120), Farmington/ Cuba’s Bradlee Ellis (144), Cumberland’s Owen McGinnis (157), Kewanee’s Ace Lafollette (165), Deer Creek-Mackinaw’s Ryker Gemberling (190), LeRoy/ Tri-Valley’s Jackson Ritch (215) and Warrensburg-Latham/ Maroa-Forsyth’s Jack Kerley (285).
Boston led all champions with 28.5 team points while Stocks was second with 28 points and Baker and Lyons tied for third with 27.5 team points. There was a tie for fifth place with 27 team points between Bryant, Humphries and Peterson, and there was also a tie for eight place with 26.5 team points between Baughman, Filllbright, Showalter and Zimmerman.
The closest championship match was at 138 where Kelly prevailed with an 11-10 decision over Feagans. In other tight finals, Showalter captured a 5-1 decision over Rademaker at 106 and Wittmer recorded a 7-3 decision over McGinnis at 157.
Champions who left the invite with perfect records were Showalter (10-0 at 106), Fillbright (12-0 at 120), Kelly (10-0 at 138), Wittmer (16-0 at 157) and Stocks (8-0 at 215). Title winners with just one loss are Baughman (12-1 at 113), Zimmerman (13-1 at 175), Lyons (14-1 at 190) and Humphries (8-1 at 285).
Statistics of note:
Tremont’s Nicky Weber collected the most total match points with 65 while Mt. Zion’s Vincent Baker had 61 and PORTA’s Justin Zimmerman collected 60. There were four individuals who had four pins, Lawrence County’s Daniel Kiser, Knoxville’s James Long, Mt. Zion’s Carson Thornton and Tremont’s Weber. Baker and Zimmerman were the only two in the field to claim three wins by technical fall. Mt. Zion also had the two individuals with the largest-seed-place difference, Rylyn Owens and Thornton, who both improved nine positions from their seeds.
PORTA edged Cumberland 21-20 for the most falls, Mt. Zion and PORTA led the way in wins by technical fall with six apiece and PORTA collected 393 total match points while Kewanee was second with 355 match points.
Final team standings:
PORTA 233, Lawrence County 174, Mt. Zion 168, Kewanee 156.5, Robinson 156, Cumberland 120.5, Warrensburg-Latham/ Maroa-Forsyth 118, LeRoy/ Tri-Valley 116.5, Auburn/ Pawnee 97.5, Deer Creek-Mackinaw 97, Knoxville 63, Sacred Heart-Griffin 62, Farmington/ Cuba 61, Tremont 57, Riverton 36.5, Havana/ PORTA 36, Carlinville 30.5
Championship matches:
106 – Isaac Showalter (Farmington/ Cuba) over Coyt Rademaker (PORTA), D 5-1
113 – Jake Baughman (LeRoy/ Tri-Valley) over Eli Hill (Auburn/ Pawnee), TF 4:29
120 – Kainin Fillbright (PORTA) over Gracen Elliott (Robinson), TF 4:59
126 – Kingston Peterson (Kewanee) over Drew Seitzinger (Lawrence County), F 5:11
132 – Harrison Lott (Riverton) over Sammy Toth (Mt. Zion), MD 8-0
138 – Broady Kelly (Robinson) over Jaxen Feagans (PORTA), D 11-10
144 – Zach Bryant (PORTA) over Bradlee Ellis (Farmington/ Cuba), MD 16-6
150 – Trey Boston (Auburn/ Pawnee) over Cale Seitzinger (Lawrence County), F 2:57
157 – Charlie Wittmer (Warrensburg-Latham/ Maroa-Forsyth) over Owen McGinnis (Cumberland), D 7-3
165 – Logan Baker (PORTA) over Ace Lafollette (Kewanee), TF 4:11
175 – Justin Zimmerman (PORTA) over Nick Morehead (Lawrence County), TF 1:53
190 – Casen Lyons (Sacred Heart-Griffin) over Ryker Gemberling (Deer Creek-Mackinaw), F 3:12
215 – Keller Stocks (Mt. Zion) over Jackson Ritch (LeRoy/ Tri-Valley), F 1:01
285 – Joey Humphries (Deer Creek-Mackinaw) over Jack Kerley (Warrensburg-Latham/ Maroa-Forsyth), MD 13-5
Third-place matches:
106 – Peyton Groves (Cumberland) over Dalton Becker (Lawrence County), F 1:38
113 – Grayson Allender (Lawrence County) over Ben Marshall (Deer Creek-Mackinaw), D 5-0
120 – Kyler Guercio (Lawrence County) over Evan King (Deer Creek-Mackinaw), F 4:30
126 – Logan Thompson (LeRoy/ Tri-Valley) over Alex Reynolds (Mt. Zion), MD 8-0
132 – Sawyer Welbaum (Cumberland) over Ryan McCoy (PORTA), D 9-6
138 – Vincent Baker (Mt. Zion) over Hunter Vancil (Kewanee), TF 4:14
144 – Travon Street (Mt. Zion) over Lain Taylor (Kewanee), D 10-5
150 – Connor Schrader (Robinson) over Hunter King (PORTA), F 4:58
157 – Daniel Kiser (Lawrence County) over Jamarion Thomas (PORTA), M For
165 – Jayden Brown (Auburn/ Pawnee) over Rylyn Owens (Mt. Zion), F 5:49
175 – Carson Thornton (Mt. Zion) over Caleb Cass (Havana/ PORTA), F 0:20
190 – James Long (Knoxville) over Max Strader (Cumberland), F 0:40
215 – Graham Blackwell (Warrensburg-Latham/ Maroa-Forsyth) over Landon Wier (Kewanee), MD 10-0
285 – Juan Zepeda (Kewanee) over Jessiah Lee (Robinson), F 2:00
Pontiac’s Boys Munch Invitational
Plainfield North and Pontiac went at it for top honors at Pontiac’s Boys Munch Invitational and when it finally came down to the place matches, the Tigers went 10-1 and that helped them to beat out the hosts by a 191.5-181 margin for the championship of the 13-team competition. Herscher edged Macomb 116-115 for third place, Unity Christian scored 104 points to take fifth,
Wilmington (92) claimed sixth and Eureka (80.5) finished in seventh place.
Coach Michael Parton’s champion Tigers, who got title wins from Andrew Stahl (113), Sam Sabo (138), Cole Svara (157) and Luke Grindstaff (165) recorded 19 pins, which was eight more than Pontiac and Wilmington, who ranked second in falls. They also scored 244 total match points compared to 201 for the host Indians, who won six of nine matches in the medal round.
“We have been pushing a philosophy in the program that we need to go out, focus on the six minutes we are wrestling and make sure we wrestle hard through those six minutes,” Parton said. “The boys definitely embodied that philosophy today.
“We didn’t have our full lineup, but the boys also saw today how important bonus points are in a tournament, it’s definitely what made the difference for us. Overall, I’m just happy for each of those guys that competed today because it’s setting a good tone for our season moving forward.”
1st: Plainfield North (191.5)
Plainfield North came in having faced plenty of good competition in two previous tournaments, Marmion Academy’s Cadet Classic to open the season and then taking ninth place in its own 16-team dual team tournament one week earlier.
Beside their four champions, the Tigers received third-place finishes from Jacob Syfert (126), Gavin Gunderson (144), Reid Pakla (150) and Jake Ellingson (190) while Gabe Franco (165) and Raphael Torres (175) finished in fifth place and Kabir Khanna (215) placed sixth.
2nd: Pontiac (181)
Leading the way for coach Stephen Richardson’s runner-up Indians were champions Jack Voigts (126), Kooper Wiles (132), Lucus Maier (175) and Hunter McCullough (285) while Noah Davis (150) and Brayden Quas (165) placed second.
Braden Opperman (138) and Hunter Christenson (157) took third place and Blaze Quas (144) finished sixth for Pontiac, who finished in fourth place last week in the Seneca Invite.
3rd: Herscher (116)
Top performers for coach Austin Headrick’s third place Tigers were second-place finishers Kaden Shroyer (120), Ryder Travelstead (126), Jonah Langlois (132) and also two individuals who claimed third place, Zachary Maglione (113) and Colton Carson (215).
Also for Herscher, Everett Osenga (138) and Alexander Mendez (144) finished fifth while Owen Bollino (150) and Kaden Schlutt (285) took sixth place.
Additional champions and second-place finishers:
Unity Christian, which co-ops with Argenta-Oreana, got titles from its two three-time IHSA medalists, Garrett and Clinton VerHeecke, who took firsts at 144 and 150, respectively. Garrett was sixth in 2023, third in 2024 and a runner-up to Riverdale’s Dean Wainwright at 132 in the 2025 1A Finals while Clinton finished third in 2023 and then fifth in the last two years.
Also winning Munch Invite titles were Prairie Central’s Treyton Zimmerman (106), Macomb’s Ethan Hoyt (120), Kankakee’s Jacob Vinardi (190) and Wilmington’s Logan VanDuyne (215).
Others who claimed second-place finishes were Macomb’s Jonathon Bullock (106), Kyler Miller (138) and Jeshua McPheeters (190), Prairie Central’s Andrew Patino (113), Eureka’s Finn Hoffman (144), Unity Christian’s Caleb Berg (157), Illinois Valley Central’s Owen Moser (175), Kankakee’s Kendrick Crite (215) and Wilmington’s Will Wilson (285).
Clinton VerHeecke led all champions in team points with 28 while Garrett VerHeecke, Grindstaff and Vinardi tied for second with 27.5 points. VanDuyne scored 27 points, Maier, McCullough and Svara tied for sixth with 26 points, Hoyt scored 24 points and Voigts had 23.5 team points.
The closest title match was at 285 where McCullough captured a 9-3 decision over Wilson.
Champions who are unbeaten following the event are Hoyt (8-0 at 120), Garrett VerHeecke (12-0 at 144), Clinton VerHeecke (12-0 at 150), Maier (9-0 at 175) and Vinardi (11-0 at 190) while Voigts (9-1 at 126) and Wiles (8-1 at 132) have only lost one match.
Statistics of note:
Rantoul’s Nicholas Dunner and Wilmington’s Oakley Rivera tied for the most total match points with 44. Herscher’s Alexander Mendez, as well as Dunner and Rivera were the only individuals with two wins by technical fall. Prairie Central’s Elijah Mowery was the lone competitor to get four pins. And Eureka’s Sam Hoffman had the largest seed-place difference with nine positions.
The only two teams in the field who had wins by technical fall were Herscher and Pontiac.
Final team standings:
Plainfield North 191.5, Pontiac 181, Herscher 116, Macomb 115, Unity Christian/ Argenta-Oreana 104, Wilmington 92, Eureka 80.5, Kankakee 63, Illinois Valley Central 58, Prairie Central 46, Rantoul 45.5, Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington 26, Southeast 26
Championship matches:
106 – Treyton Zimmerman (Prairie Central) over Jonathon Bullock (Macomb), F 0:19
113 – Andrew Stahl (Plainfield North) over Andrew Patino (Prairie Central), TF 4:00 round robin
120 – Ethan Hoyt (Macomb) over Kaden Shroyer (Herscher), F 1:49
126 – Jack Voigts (Pontiac) over Ryder Travelstead (Herscher), TF 3:52
132 – Kooper Wiles (Pontiac) over Jonah Langlois (Herscher), F 2:44
138 – Sam Sabo (Plainfield North) over Kyler Miller (Macomb), F 2:59
144 – Garrett VerHeecke (Unity Christian/ Argenta-Oreana) over Finn Hoffman (Eureka), TF 2:15
150 – Clinton VerHeecke (Unity Christian/ Argenta-Oreana) over Noah Davis (Pontiac), F 1:31
157 – Cole Svara (Plainfield North) over Caleb Burg (Unity Christian/ Argenta-Oreana), F 3:39
165 – Luke Grindstaff (Plainfield North) over Brayden Quas (Pontiac), TF 3:20
175 – Lucus Maier (Pontiac) over Owen Moser (Illinois Valley Central), MD 15-3
190 – Jacob Vinardi (Kankakee) over Jeshua McPheeters (Macomb), F 1:22
215 – Logan VanDuyne (Wilmington) over Kendrick Crite (Kankakee), MD 14-5
285 – Hunter McCullough (Pontiac) over Will Wilson (Wilmington), D 9-3
Third-place matches:
120 – Dalton Delong (Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington) over Nicholas Malagon (Illinois Valley Central), F 3:10
126 – Jacob Syfert (Plainfield North) over Bradley Allen (Illinois Valley Central), F 1:53
132 – Henry Watson (Eureka) over Deonte Theus (Kankakee), F 1:21
138 – Braden Opperman (Pontiac) over Noah Zientara (Unity Christian/ Argenta-Oreana), F 1:10
144 – Gavin Gunderson (Plainfield North) over Jacksyn Holderfield (Macomb), F 1:34
150 – Reid Pakla (Plainfield North) over Sam Hoffman (Eureka), D 8-6
157 – Hunter Christenson (Pontiac) over Eli Nichols (Rantoul), F 1:47
165 – Brandon Almanza (Rantoul) over Johnny Powell (Macomb), TF 3:16
175 – Gavin Bafia (Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington) over Jackson Pettyjohn (Unity Christian/ Argenta-Oreana), D 10-3
190 – Jake Ellingson (Plainfield North) over Malikai Bremer (Illinois Valley Central), F 1:02
215 – Colton Carson (Herscher) over AJ Moon (Macomb), M For
285 – Vinny Gonzalez (Plainfield North) over Riley James (Macomb), F 0:33