Boys recap: Elgin Larkin, West Chicago, Rich Township

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

Larkin’s Royal Throne Invitational

Burlington Central snared the team crown at this year’s 12-team Larkin Royal Throne Invitational, scoring 168 points to edge two teams that tied for second with 145.5 points — Prairie Ridge and Leyden.

Central coach Andrew Brown’s boys led all teams with four individual champions on the day and the Rockets had nine wrestlers finish in the top six of their weight classes.

“Today was us accomplishing a goal we set Thursday night,” Brown said. “We didn’t have our best night (a dual loss to McHenry) and knew there was more in the tank and the goal was to compete hard enough to give ourselves a shot to win the whole thing.”

1st- Central (168)

The Rockets got four individual titles to lead all teams, from Eduardo Vences (120), Ronald Perez (157), Samvir Devineni (165) and Michael Junitz (215). Brown also got a second from David Wyruchowski (126), thirds from Daniel O’Connor (113), Berry Yildirim (150) and Benjamin Hultgren (285), and a sixth from Chase Studt (175).

“It’s the result of what hard work and a little confidence can do,” Central coach Andrew Brown said. “We had guys step up throughout the lineup from top to bottom. Guys like Samvir Devineni stepped up when it mattered most and had a huge tournament, not to take away from the others in our lineup that got us there, along with Eduardo Vences, Michael Junitz and RJ Perez continuing to wrestle really well and lead by example.”

2nd- Prairie Ridge (145.5)

A trio of Wolves won titles for coach Ross Ryan, in Tymen Robinson (106), Andrew Cioper (150) and Aiden Rodriguez (175). Nolan Terhaar (157) placed second, and thirds came from Matt Moritz (157) and Frank Matviychuk (190). Lorenzo Massart (132) and Jacob Meade (165) placed fourth, Majd Ramadan (132) was fifth, and Maximo Martinez (190) placed sixth.

2nd-Leyden (145.5)

Leyden coach John Kading got individual titles from Danny Huerta (113) and Erick Worwa (190) to lead the way, seconds from Zabiel Lagunas (138), Dominic Ganir (175) and Alexander Aguinaga (285), a third from Jason Castro (165), a fifth from Zachary Jaffray (215), and a sixth from Francis Buttita (132)

Additional individual champions
126 Sal Garcia (Larkin), 132 Brennan O’Donnell (Harvest Christian), 138 Zaid Lupian (East Aurora), 144 Max Mulhearn (Harvest Christian), 285 Chase Paduch (Bartlett)

Additional runners-up
106 James Kowalski (Bartlett), 113 Jayden Sam (Elmwood Park), 120 Keegan Hammett (Cary-Grove), 132 Joseph Caputo (Bartlett), 144 Gus Saletta (Bartlett), 150 Lev Svoboda (St. Francis), 165 Aiden Bierbower (Cary-Grove), 190 Emmanuel Diaz (East Aurora), 215 Alexander Puente (Bartlett)

Statistics
East Aurora’s 12 pins in 36:54 were the most pins in the least time of any team in the tournament, followed by Central’s 11 pins in 20:42. Bartlett posted the most tech falls in the least time, with 6 techs in 21:02, and Bartlett scored the most total match points with 208, followed by Cary-Grove with 205 total match points.

Individually, Central’s Benjamin Hultgren had the most pins in the least time, posting three falls in 5:08, followed by Prairie Ridge’s Frank Matviychuk, who had three falls in 6:34. Cary-Grove’s Jacob Turner had the most tech falls in the least time, with two in 3:48. Turner and Central’s David Wyruchowski tied for the fastest pin, at 25 seconds. Harvest Christian’s Brennan O’Donnell was second with two tech falls in 4:27.

O’Donnell also posted the fastest tech fall at 1:49, followed by Central’s Michael Junitz at 1:50.
Prairie Ridge’s Tymen Robinson scored the most team points with 27.5 and Cary-Grove’s Ignacio Santander had the most total match points with 55.

Final team scores:
Central 168, Prairie Ridge 145.5, Leyden 145.5, Bartlett 144, Cary-Grove 127, East Aurora 115, Larkin 79, Solorio 53.5, Harvest Christian 49, Elmwood Park 40, St. Francis 34, Morgan Park 7

Championship match results
106-Tymen Robinson (Prairie Ridge) F 2:57 James Kowalski (Bartlett)
113-Danny Huerta (Leyden) F 2:54 Jayden Sam (Elmwood Park)
120-Eduardo Vences (Central) TF 4:22 Keegan Hammett (Cary-Grove)
126-Sal Garcia (Larkin) F 0:32 David Wyruchowski (Central)
132-Brennan O’Donnell (Harvest Christian) F 2:38 Joseph Caputo (Bartlett)
138-Zaid Lupian (East Aurora) F 3:40 Zabiel Lagunas (Leyden)
144-Max Mulhearn (Harvest Christian) D 14-8 Gus Saletta (Bartlett)
150-Andrew Cioper (Prairie Ridge) MD 12-1 Lev Svoboda (St. Francis)
157-Ronald Perez (Central) F 1:12 Nolan Terhaar (Prairie Ridge)
165-Samvir Devineni (Central) D 6-3 Aiden Bierbower (Cary-Grove)
175-Aiden Rodriguez (Prairie Ridge) TF 2:48 Dominic Ganir (Leyden)
190-Eric Worwa (Leyden) F 0:59 Emmanuel Diaz (East Aurora)
215-Michael Junitz (Central) F 4:59 Alexander Puente (Bartlett)
285-Chase Paduch (Bartlett) F 3:36 Alexander Aguinaga (Leyden)

Third-place match results
106-Benjamin Hinton (East Aurora) F 3:24 Angeluis Vicarte (Solorio)
113-Daniel O’Connor (Central) F 1:42 Alejandro Camarillo (East Aurora)
120-Josiah Acevedo (Larkin) BYE
126-Geovany Casas (Elmwood Park) D 7-0 Ivan Salgado (Solorio)
132-Henry Kos (Cary-Grove) MD 10-1 Lorenzo Massart (Prairie Ridge)
138-Jacob Turner (Cary-Grove) F 0:25 Sonny Franciose (Bartlett)
144-Ignacio Santander (Cary-Grove) F 2:42 Nico Castillo (Larkin)
150-Berry Yildirim (Central) fft. Willie Long (Morgan Park)
157-Matt Moritz (Prairie Ridge) D 5-2 Jorge Farias (East Aurora)
165-Jason Castro (Leyden) TF 4:00 Jacob Meade (Prairie Ridge)
175-Anthony Basso (Cary-Grove) D 16-10 Kevin Sanchez (East Aurora)
190-Frank Matviychuk (Prairie Ridge) F 1:55 Jerome Childs (Bartlett)
215-Jimmy Siragusa (Cary-Grove) F 3:35 Amar Dzananovic (Bartlett)
285-Benjamin Hultgren (Central) F 1:49 Juan Zavala (Solorio)

West Chicago’s Bob Hein Wrestling Invitational

Naperville North snared the team title at this year’s seven-team Bob Hein Invite, just edging out second-place Yorkville Christian, 178-173.5.

As happy as he was with his boys’ performance, Naperville North coach Tom Champion was equally happy about the nature of West Chicago’s tournament.

“I think it’s great that West Chicago is holding a small tournament. I think small tournaments are a call back to the old days,” Champion said.

“Small tournaments give kids two to three matches in a tournament format so they get the excitement of a semifinal and a finals match, unlike what you get in a quad with just as many teams, or a super quad. We were fortunate that (West Chicago) invited us to wrestle there and they were great hosts.”

Rock Island (164.5) placed third, followed by Dixon (146), West Chicago (143.5), Addison Trail (113.5) and Elk Grove (23).

1st- Naperville North (178)

Coach Tom Champion got individual titles from Michael Arrendondo (132), Tim Garmon (157) and Tavfiq Ibragimov (215) to lead the way. The Huskies also got second-place finishes from Adam Beedon (113) and David Hurrl (175), thirds from Adrien Flores (138), Kai Balice (150) and Jaden Milner (165), fourths from Ryan Beedon (120), Archer Biag (126) and Lucas Byron (190), and fifths from Cam Krueger (106) and Max Venecia (144).
Titlists Garmon (11-0) and Ibragimov (17-0) remained unbeaten on the year, and Arrendondo improved to 15-2 with hit title-mat win.
“(Garmon) put on an amazing show and he has really matured,” Champion said. (Ibragimov) is wrestling and scoring points from all positions…Michael Arrendondo is one of the strongest wrestlers we’ve ever had on our squad.

“Yorkville Christian’s got some tough guys. Dixon also has some guys and these are schools we don’t see very often. It’s fun to see teams that we don’t see for the rest of the year.”
 
2nd-Yorkville Christian (173.5)

Individual champions Phoenix Senodenos (113) and Tyler Gleason (175) led the way for coach Mike Vester’s Mustangs among seven wrestlers reaching the title mat. Placing second were Ryan Festerling (126), Adrian Wadas-Luis (144), Dominic Loomis (190), Jackson Allen (215) and Hayden Wheeler (285). Thirds came from Davin Torza (106) and Kenny Fox (190), Henry Fox (165) placed fourth, while fifths came from Nathan Schlottman (132), Austin Wadas-Luis (144) and Myles Holland (157).

3rd- Rock Island (164.5)

Coach Joel Stockwell got a pair of individual title from Maricio Parker (138) and Emilio Guzman (285), seconds from Angelo Parker (106), Henry Miller (132) and Javelle Anderson (157), thirds from Parker Stannke (144), Dominic Eyagabroad (157) and Emarion Harris (175), fourths from Ian McGowan (150) and Rowan Stockwell (215), a fifth from Fab Rodriguez (113), and sixths from Jimy Obedi (126) and Kylan Mitchell (190).

Additional individual champions
106 Riley Paredes (Dixon), 120 Nikolas Duarte (Addison Trail), 126 Emanual Rangel (West Chicago), 144 Charlie Connors (Dixon), 150 Leo Rosas (West Chicago), 165 Alen Bautista (Addison Trail), 190 Set Shaffer (Dixon)

Additional runners-up
120 Jack Ragan (Dixon), 138 Jimmy Jacinto (Addison Trail), 150 Preston Richards (Dixon), 165 Landon Rodriguez (West Chicago)

The unbeatens
Remaining unbeaten on the season were Dixon’s Riley Paredes (19-0 at 106), Addison Trail’s Nikolas Duarte (12-0 at 120), and Naperville North’s Tim Garmon (11-0 at 157) and Tavfiq Ibragimov (17-0 at 215).

Close calls
The closest title match of the day came when Yorkville Christian’s Phoenix Senodenos topped Naperville Norths Adam Beedon by 1-0 decision in the finals at 113 pounds.

Statistics
Rock Island finished with the most pins in the least time, with 11 falls coming in 36:15, while Naperville North’s 4 tech falls in 16:03 also led the tournament. Naperville North also scored the most total match points with 236, followed by Rock Island with 222.
Individually, Naperville North’s Ibragimov had the most pins in the least time, with three in 8:41, and Ibragimov also scored the most team points with 26. The fastest fall came from Addison Trail’s Duarte, at 0:17 and Duarte also led the field with two tech falls in 5:07 for the most techs in the least time. Naperville North’s Garmon, Adam Beedon, and Dixon’s Connors tied for the most single match points with 20, and North’s Arrendondo had the most total match points with 45.

Championship match results
106-Riley Paredes (Dixon) D 10-6 Angelo Parker (Rock Island)
113-Phoenix Senodenos (Yorkville Ch) D 1-0 Adam Beedon (Naperville N)
120-Nikolas Duarte (Addison Trail) TF 5:07 Jack Ragan (Dixon)
126-Emanuel Rangel (West Chicago) D 7-4 Ryan Festerling (Yorkville Ch)
132-Michael Arrendondo (Naperville N) MD 16-5 Henry Miller Rock Island)
138-Maricio Parker (Rock Island) TF 3:19 Jimmy Jacinto (Addison Trail)
144-Charlie Connors (Dixon) TF 3:55 Adrian Wadas-Luis (Yorkville Ch)
150-Leo Rosas (West Chicago) TF 5:48 Preston Richards (Dixon)
157-Tim Garmon (Naperville N) F 3:46 Javelle Anderson (Rock Island)
165-Alen Bautista (Addison Trail) TF 1:54 Landon Rodriguez (West Chicago)
175-Tyler Gleason (Yorkville Ch) D 11-7 David Hurrl (Naperville N)
190-Seth Shaffer (Dixon) F 5:17 Dominic Loomis (Yorkville Ch)
215-Tavfiq Ibragimov (Naperville N) F 3:15 Jackson Allen (Yorkville Ch)
285-Emilio Guzman (Rock Island) F 3:48 Hayden Wheeler (Yorkville Ch)

Third-place match results

106-Davin Torza (Yorkville Christian) F 0:46 Logan Ferguson (Addison Trail)
113-Ulises Vega (West Chicago) F 2:54 William Gray (Addison Trail)
120-Jace Serpa (West Chicago) D 12-6 Ryan Beedon (Naperville N)
126-Doolan Long (Dixon) D 4-1 Archer Biag (Naperville N)
132-Brian Correa (West Chicago) MD 10-1 Zander Spatafore (Elk Grove)
138-Adrien Flores (Naperville N) F 4:17 Alan Anicua (West Chicago)
144-Parker Stannke (Rock Island) F 4:38 John Benitez (West Chicago)
150-Kai Balice (Naperville N) F 2:44 Ian McGowan (Rock Island)
157-Dominic Eyagabroad (Rock Island) D 12-8 Cesar Munoz (West Chicago)
165-Jaden Milner (Naperville N) D 4-3 Henry Fox (Yorkville Ch)
175-Emarion Harris (Rock Island) D 8-4 Blake Dingley (Dixon)
190-Kenny Fox (Yorkville Ch) D 6-3 Lucas Byron (Naperville N)
215-Dawson Kemp (Dixon) F 4:15 Rowan Stockwell (Rock Island)
285-Elliot Ibarra (Addison Trail) F 1:18 Joseph Mercadante (West Chicago)

Rich Township’s Raptor Invite

The team from Merrillville, Indiana won the crown at this year’s 16-team Raptor Invite, cruising to a 253.5-153 edge over second-place JS Morton. St. Ignatius (139) was third, followed by Hope Academy (137) and Oak Lawn (125) to round out the top five team finishes.

1st-Merrillville, IN (253.5)
Merrillville had 12 wrestlers finish among the top six of their weight classes, led among scoring wrestlers by individual champions Rashaad Nelson (106), Ethan Alvarez (120), Warren Brown III (132), Marquell Shelton (150), Anthony Bustamante (157) and Bryce Montgomery (190).

2nd-JS Morton (153)
Coach James Hensley’s Mustangs were led by third-place finishes from Angelo Alcantar (106), Tristan Rodriguez (113), Nicolas Jaramillo (126), Santiago Moya (175) and Isaiah Lara (190). Jose Berrios (120) finished fourth, while Daniel Malvaez (132), Ethan Martinez (144) and Jaden Rodriguez (150) finished sixth.

3rd-St. Ignatius (139)
Wolfpack coach Ben Sanchez got an individual title from Colton Huff (138), a second from Melson Ngassa (215), thirds from Alex Villanueva (120) and Colin McCann (132), fourths from Julian Lopez (106) and Nino Capuano (144), and a fifth from Frank Valle (113).

Additional individual champions
126 Obadiah Willis (Hope Academy), 144 Chance Woods (Hope Academy), 165 Tyler Lewis (Romeoville), 175 Arkail Griffin (Hope Academy), 215 Sebastian Sanderson (Tinley Park), 285 Dominic Jackson (Crete-Monee)

The unbeatens (10-match minimum)
Wrestlers remaining unbeaten were Hope Academy’s Chance Woods (18-0 at 144) and Arkail Griffin (18-0 at 175), and Merrilville’s Anthony Bustamante (15-0 at 157).

Close calls
The closest title match finish came at 138 when St. Ignatius’ Colton Huff won an 8-6 decision over Hope Academy’s Jeremiah Lawrence.

Statistics
Merrillville’s 23 pins in 66:56 were the most pins posted in the least time of any team in the field, while Morton led the tournament with 10 tech falls in 30:16. Morton also had the most total match points with 393, followed by St. Ignatius with 361.
Individually, Tinley Park’s Sebastian Sanderson finished with the most pins in the least time, with four falls in 5:37, while Hope Academy’s Jeremiah Lawrence had the most tech falls in the least time, with three at 11:22. Romeoville’s Emmanuel Ramirez had the fastest fall at 0:14, while St. Ignatius’ Nino Capuano and Morton’s Daniel Malvaez tied for the fastest tech fall, at 1:20.
Tinley Park’s Sanderson finished with the most team points with 30, Bloom Township’s Brandon Bastida had the most single-match points with 25, and Perspectives/Leadership’s Donald Bunton scored the most total match points with 75. The largest seed-place difference came from Morton’s 16th-seeded Isaiah Lara, who placed third at 190 pounds.

Team scores
Merrillville 253.5, JS Morton 153, St. Ignatius 139, Hope Academy 137, Oak Lawn 125, Evergreen Park 124, Thornton Fractional North 97.5, Romeoville 97.5, Crete-Monee 86, Rich Township 73, Tinley Park 53.5, Hillcrest 46.5, Eisenhower 44, Thornton Fractional South 42.5, Bloom Township 34, Perspectives/Leadership 22

Championship match results

106-Rashaad Nelson (Merrillville) F 3:26 Brayden Mateja-Bates (Evergreen Park)
113-James Mobley (Merrillville) D 14-9 Caleeb Jones (Rich Township)
120-Ethan Alvarez (Merrillville) F 3:04 Damien Perez (Evergreen Park)
126-Obadiah Willis (Hope) F 2:36 Kyrin King (Rich Township)
132-Warren Brown III (Merrillville) TF 3:49 Deshawn Jones (TF North)
138-Colton Huff (St. Ignatius) D 8-6 Jeremiah Lawrence (Hope)
144-Chance Woods (Hope) MD 14-3 Khalid Eid (Oak Lawn)
150-Marquell Shelton (Merrillville) TF 3:51 Faris Elayyan (Oak Lawn)
157-Anthony Bustamante (Merrillville) D 12-5 Trevon Williams (Crete-Monee)
165-Tyler Lewis (Romeoville) TF 3:39 Oscar Lopez (Eisenhower)
175-Arkail Griffin (Hope) TF 1:56 Kameron Washington (TF North)
190-Bryce Montgomery (Merrillville) F 3:29 Reggie Miller (TF South)
215-Sebastian Sanderson (Tinley Park) F 1:41 Melson Ngassa (St. Ignatius)
285-Dominic Jackson (Crete-Monee) F 3:19 Emmanuel Ramirez (Romeoville)

Third-place match results

106-Angelo Alcantar (Morton) F 6:00 Julian Lopez (St. Ignatius)
113-Tristan Rodriguez (Morton) F 1:41 Maurice Walker (TF North)
120-Alex Villanueva (St. Ignatius) D 15-8 Jose Berrios (Morton)
126-Nicolas Jaramillo (Morton) F 3:18 Marion McClain (Merrillville)
132-Colin McCann (St. Ignatius) F 2:46 Sean Johnson (Rich Township)
138-Jacian Quezada (Merrillville) F 5:52 Kevin Vargas (Tinley Park)
144-Lucas Landry (Evergreen Park) TF 4:36 Nino Capuano (St. Ignatius)
150-Jacob Ruvalcava (Evergreen Park) TF 2:00 Gerard Fleming (Crete-Monee)
157-Charles Shane (Oak Lawn) F 2:22 Owen Brady (Evergreen Park)
165-Larry Watson (Hillcrest) D 4-1 Derrick Sparkman (TF North)
175-Santiago Moya (Morton) TF 6:00 Hector Villagrana (Romeoville)
190-Isaiah Lara (Morton) D 10-7 Ismael Martinez (Hope)
215-David Warren (Merrillville) F 5:47 David Reardon (St. Ignatius)
285-Austen Vander Woude (Merrilville) F 5:18 Willie Johnson (Evergreen Park)