Host Sycamore snares team title at its own 50th Invite

By Chris Walker for the IWCOA

It’s been a long time coming.

Sycamore won the 50th Sycamore Wrestling Invitational on Sat., Jan. 10, 2026, keeping the title at home for the first time in 33 years.

The Spartans enjoyed a three-peat from 1991-1993 but hadn’t won since, and this was their fourth championship overall.

It was all about the points and the Spartans scored a lot of them. They also came from everyone in the lineup.

The Spartans won three titles, their first at their home invite since 2023, while having seven wrestlers place in fourth or better, outdistancing themselves from runner-up Rock Island, 457.5 to 427.

Not only did the 27-team field prove highly competitive, but ultimately well-matched as little separated the teams near the top of the standings, with Oak Forest (420.5), Wheaton North (412) and Hampshire (385.5) rounding out the Top 5 squads.

The Whip-Purs just got past Mahomet-Seymour (384.5) which was sixth, outscoring Lyons (361), Normal Community (343.5), Quincy (340) and Glenbrook South (333.5) in the Top 10.

The other teams included Rochelle (318), Bloomington (307), Mundelein (293), Unity (290), York (266.5), Sterling (243), Triad (225.5), Rockford East (218), Marengo (212), Willowbrook (207.5), McHenry (188.5), Belvidere North (186), Portage, Wisc. (164.5), Grayslake North (121), Nazareth (88.5), Belvidere (59.5) and St. Charles North (50.5).

Sycamore coach Randy Culton and Sycamore athletic director Chauncey Carrick were unsure of the last time the Spartans won the tournament. Carrick, who also served as head coach of the Spartans for 13 years and as an assistant coach for the four years prior to that, mustered an educated guess immediately afterward.

The IWCOA Hall of Famer suggested it probably was 30 years ago.

“If I had to guess,” Carrick said. “I’d say 1996.”

Carrick was close. The Spartans finished in second place behind York in 1996. Jake Valdez (103), Eddie Valdez (112), Ryan Mason (119) and Shane Susina (190) won titles 30 years ago, but the Dukes took home the team title.

Carrick reported on the following Monday that he researched the matter and verified it was 1993 and not 1996.

On Saturday, Sycamore’s Liam Schroeder (113) won a title in his first appearance in this tournament while teammate Michael Olson (120) won it during his fourth and final try. Joining them as champions was Collin Hughes (285) who took ninth here last January. Hughes scored 57.5 points, tops for the winners. Jayden Dohogne (144) took second as the Spartans had four wrestlers in the finals, the most among the field. Oak Forest and Mahomet-Seymour each had three.

“I’m going to be honest, I didn’t even know (we won), everyone was telling me we won it, but I literally don’t keep track during the day,” Culton said. “I just keep track of the individual matches and how we’re doing, and then I go to the next and that’s what we do. And if we keep to one match at a time and then go to the next, win or lose, we brush it off and if we go onto the finals, stay calm and collected.”

Tyler Lockhart (126) and Cooper Bode (165) took third and Adam Carrick (215) placed fourth for the Spartans.

The additional point scorers for the Spartans included Charlie Olson (132, 28 points), Jack Nordstrom (175, 16.5 points), Douglas Gemberling (157, 15 points), Sawyer Davis  (138, 12 points), Peter Gehrig (190, 11 points) and Paxton Runkle (150, 7.5 points).

“I’m basically looking for improvement because this isn’t the end-all,” Culton said. “There are no college scouts in the stands or anything. We’re looking for these guys to get to the state tournament and be on the medal podium. This is just stacking those wins and this is just a step. This is where the basement is and we’re going to the first floor and then the second floor, one step at a time.”

Some call it collecting data.

“I don’t know if I like that word,” Culton said. “It’s experience. That’s what we’re accumulating, good and bad. You need both good experiences and bad experiences. That’s how you grow mentally and physically.”

Rock Island’s Angelo Parker (106) and Maricio Parker (138) led the way for the runner-up Rocks, but fell short in their respective title matches. Rowan Stockwell (215) took third, Henry Miller (132) and Emilio Guzman (285) placed fifth and Emarion Harris (175) was sixth.

Oak Forest’s trek to third place included a couple of individual championships as Austin Perez (150) and Jason Janke (175) won titles. Neither wrestled at Sycamore last year when Oak Forest took 14th place. 

Other key contributors for the Bengals included Andrius Vasilevskas (215), who took second, Jacob Sebek (126) and Nathan Izguerra (190), who were fourth, and Jason Schickel (106), who placed sixth.

Sycamore had five champions when it previously won the invitational in 1993 under coach Mark Hattendorf. 

Jack West (119), Dan Larson (135) Brett Gautcher (145), Dan Johnson (152) and Jeff Johnson (160) won individual titles to lead the Spartans to the title in 1993.

Sycamore’s 1990-1991 team was the first in program history to win the tournament. Chad Gautcher (160) won his second straight title, defeating East Troy, Wisconsin’s Lance Wall on a late reversal to lead the Spartans. Brian Jensen (152) beat York’s Chris Valente and Brian Mannis (145) pinned Savannah’s Brandon Knop to join him on the top of the award podium.

Savannah won the 1st Sycamore Wrestling Invitational in 1976 while Sycamore took second place. Jim Humes (120), Doug Towne (138) and Mike McMillan (145) won titles for the Spartans during the inaugural tournament 50 years ago.

McMillan was inducted into Sycamore’s Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame in 2016. Today, McMillan is a best selling author and motivational speaker. 

106 – Jackson Soney, Normal Community

Soney won by fall over Rock Island’s Angelo Parker at 1:04 to capture the 106 title. 

In addition, Soney, ranked no. 5 at his weight class in 3A, also took home honors for most pins in the least amount of time with five pins in 4:48.

Soney’s other wins by fall were over Glenbrook South’s Anand Tuvshintur (1:26), Unity’s Vincent Abon (0:18), Willowbrook’s Julian De La Torre Nigro (1:20) and Quincy’s Griffin Finch (0:40).

Finch earned a 2-0 decision over Hampshire’s Luthor Rajcevich to take third place and Mahomet-Seymour’s Grant Morphew won by fall over Oak Forest’s Jason Schickel (2:34) to take fifth.

113 – Liam Schroeder, Sycamore

Schroeder (30-0) remained unbeaten in high school with a 15-0 tech fall win over fellow freshman Cooper Bye from Bloomington in the final at 113. He was named co-Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament with Rockford East’s Ty Smart (157).

“Before my matches it was just knowing that I can just go out there and let it fly,” Schroeder said. “I have nothing to lose, I have nothing to prove for anybody else other than myself so I just go out there and wrestle.”

Ranked fifth in the state at 113 in Class 2A, Schroeder pinned Belvidere North’s Landon Chambers (1:24) and Nazareth’s Emilio Fortiz (1:20) to advance to the semifinals where he earned a 21-4 tech fall over Normal Community’s Elijah Conda.

“I was excited this whole week to wrestle in this tournament,” Schroeder said. “And I wanted to place as high as I could and I obviously ended up placing first. This is definitely a lot cooler obviously than regular club stuff. It’s great to be a part of a team and you know it’s high school, it’s a little bit more known so it’s kind of like I’m going out there to win and it’s just a lot more exciting I’d say.”

Coaches from Sycamore acknowledged they were unaware of the last time a Sycamore freshman won a title at the invite, but said it’s safe to say it’s been a significant number of years.

Rockford East’s Sebastian Abwe earned a 23-12 major over Conda to take third and McHenry’s Tyson Rivard scored a 9-4 decision over Quincy’s Clayton McClelland to take fifth.

120 – Michael Olson, Sycamore

About four years ago – Jan. 7, 2023 to be exact – Olson was just a freshman and competing in the 47th Sycamore Wrestling Invitational. He took 11th place at 106.

The following year, Olson fared far better at 113, taking fourth place after losing his third-place match to Bloomington’s Tyler Barlow.

Last year, Olson climbed into the finals at 120, but lost a tough 6-3 decision to Wheaton North’s Rocco Macellaio.

On Saturday, Olson became a champion in his final attempt at the school’s longtime tournament, shutting out Willowbrook’s Aris Neal, 7-0, in his title match. Olson had just gotten past Rochelle’s Freddie Hernandez, 9-6, in the semifinals.

“I mean, I was just happy,” he said. “I’m glad. I haven’t won a tournament in a while so it feels good. I feel like this tournament, like my coach always says, it’s a good representation of state because most people here that placed and do good at this tournament make it to state or do decent in state, but it shows a lot.”

What doesn’t show a lot is the Spartans 2-4 record at the Don Flavin Invitational at the end of 2025.

“Half of our team was out for the Flavin so it really didn’t show much for us because we were losing to the teams that we know we could beat,” Olson said. “But coming back to this, we had got most of our guys back. We’re still missing a couple. We come back to this with basically a full lineup and we win it. I feel like that kind of shows because you know this tournament is hard, obviously.”

Hernandez bounced back from his defeat to Olson to take third, earning an 11-5 decision over Quincy’s Wyatt Boeing. Wheaton North’s Luke Edwards won by fall at 4:32 to take fifth place against Hampshire’s Andrew Salmieri.

126 – Aidan Lopez, Rochelle

After a pair of tech fall wins along with a 16-4 major decision over Nazareth’s Aleksander Ramos in the 126 quarterfinals, Lopez landed a 6-3 win against Oak Forest’s Jacob Sebek to advance to the finals where he got past Glenbrook South senior Ermuun Urtnasan, 6-5.

“It’s nice right now, but the postseason is really what I’m looking forward to,” Lopez said. “Hopefully I’ll qualify and maybe push my way through. It’s really coming quick and I think the work we’ve put in has really helped me throughout the season.”

Lopez feels mentally strong and well- prepared for a strong finish.

“It was really just my mindset this year and the work I’ve put in,” he said. “A lot of the work I’ve put in during this off-season has helped me push through.”

Sycamore’s Tyler Lockhart certainly helped the Spartans win the tournament with his strong effort. His day concluded with a 6-1 decision over Oak Forest’s Jacob Sebek for third place. On the fifth-place mat, Ramos defeated Sterling’s Cael Lyons, 11-7.

132 – Will Kelly, Triad

Kelly was coming off a tough 1-0 loss in the finals at 132 in Granite City’s 64th annual William “Red” Schmitt Holiday tournament just before the New Year.

“This was pretty good for me, actually,” he said. “Last weekend I had a tough tournament at the Granite City tournament. I lost to the number one seed and he was really high ranked up in Missouri so coming back and winning this one was pretty nice.”

Lafayette, Missouri’s Riley Sumner slipped past Kelly, 1-0, in the aforementioned championship match after Kelly had earned four tech fall wins and a major decision en route to his title match.

On Saturday in Sycamore, Kelly earned four more tech fall wins, including one with an 18-2 lead at 2:48 to defeat Mahomet-Seymour’s Gideon Hayter. 

His biggest challenge came from Quincy’s Derik Lohmeyer in the semifinals, who took him the distance in a 16-10 decision.

“I try to have a positive mindset going into every match,” Kelly said. “It’s hard to stay positive sometimes, but you just got to keep pushing through it.”

Kelly was able to do what he wanted against his five opponents for the majority of his matches.

“Really just heavy hands and moving around and getting to my shots early,” he said. “I was taking them down, letting them up and putting the pressure on everyone.”

Without a doubt, tournaments mimic state competitions, affording wrestlers the opportunity to continue to develop as they gear up for the post-season next month.

“These tournaments are always a staple and I’m always looking forward to every single tournament,” Kelly said. “Looking for harder competition and looking to keep pushing as hard as I can.”

Triad didn’t have a wrestler at a few weight classes. As a team, Triad placed 17th.

“We’re down right now, we don’t have a 106 or 113 or 285,” Kelly said. “But our team always pushes through and is working really hard. Our coach Lucas Bernal is always pushing us as hard as we can, and if we are not at the top of the game then he’s just pushing us. It’s good.”

Belvidere North’s Bryson Teunissen won by fall at 3:04 to take down Lohmeyer for third place, and Rock Island’s Henry Miller took fifth with a tech fall win over Bloomington’s Jack Schweitzer. 

138 – Mitchell Aukes, Marengo

Tech falls over McHenry’s Connor McAuliffe, Rochelle’s Deegan Schabacker and Wheaton North’s Evan Madiol, along with a win by fall in 1:16 against Mundelein’s Maximus Cordova propelled Aukes, a freshman, into the finals at 138.

Rock Island’s Maricio Parker went the distance against Aukes in the final, but Aukes was stingy, denying Parker throughout to earn the 6-0 victory. He was the lone Marengo champion on the day, although his teammate, Frankie Solis, placed second at 190.

Lyons junior Daniel Koziol received a medical forfeit victory in his third-place match versus Madiol, while Schabacker pinned Unity’s AJ Daly at 1:31 for fifth.

144 – Justus Vrona, Mahomet-Seymour

The saying goes that the third time’s a charm.

For Vrona, it was the fourth.

“So I made it to the finals in Wisconsin and Mascoutah and Libertyville, but this was the first one I’ve been able to get it done,” Vrona said. “My mind was just different. I was walking up there and wasn’t thinking about anything, I was totally ready. I wasn’t scared. I was confident. I just felt different.”

Vrona rolled his way into the finals after four straight pins over Normal Community’s Caven Lankford (0:53), Sterling’s JJ Podalski (1:14), McHenry’s Ryan Johnston (1:51) and Triad’s Brody Smith (1:02). 

While he didn’t pin Sycamore’s Jayden Dohogne, he blanked him 18-0 via tech fall. Based on rankings, it was an upset with No. 10 beating No. 7 in Class 2A.

“I pinned my way through the tournament except for the last one and my goal is to get the most pins on the team award,” he said. “So I’ve been trying to rack up pins. And I‘ve been really working on my mindset. I think that’s the thing that holds me back mostly. I know I can win, it just hadn’t happened until now, so I was pleased with the outcome. I just wrestled. Before I was worrying too much about winning and losing. I was just going to give my best effort.”

150 – Austin Perez, Oak Forest

Perez played heartbreaker, denying Rockford East’s Dana Wickson in the final at 150 with the 14-11 sudden victory.

“Looking at my finals match against Wickson, I was super hungry for it,” Perez said. “During the summer, I wrestled him at a freestyle tournament in Georgia. I had the lead but then made a mistake that put me to my back and got me pinned.”

He wasn’t going to let it happen again.

“Remembering that match, I used it to fuel me and knew it was time to get that match back that I lost,” he said. “During the match, I kept my composure and stayed in good position looking for my opportunities to score. I was also coming off a back injury and missed some time on the mat so I wasn’t in the best shape I knew I could be in, but I didn’t let this stop me. I knew I was the better wrestler and could pull the win off.”

After opening with a 15-0 tech fall win over York’s Lee Resendez, Perez pinned St. Charles North’s Hudson VonQualen (2:52) to get to the quarterfinals where he recorded a 12-2 tech fall victory over Hampshire’s Aric Abbott. That set the stage for his 15-2 major of Rochelle’s Brenden Voight in the semis.

“Going into sudden victory, we were both very gassed,” Perez said. “I’ve been in this position before though and was ready to get the final takedown. Due to being tired I didn’t want to make a bad mistake that would cost me the match so I decided to stay in good position and wait for him to take a bad shot, which is what he did, then I threw his arm by and secured the final takedown for the win.”

Perez, who took third in the state at 144 in 2A last year, is now ranked no. 2 at 150 as a senior.

“As one of the top-ranked 150s in the state I do tend to feel some pressure sometimes, but I like to build off this pressure and use it in my matches to fuel me and keep me hungry for the win,” he said. “When you are at the top of the rankings everyone below you is on a hunt for you and trying to knock you off of the top. This can definitely add some pressure to your matches sometimes. But I know what I have to do, to stay calm and focused. The two ways I stay focused before my matches is by saying my prayers before my matches and listening to music that I know gets me locked in. When I combine these two I feel unstoppable and ready to go.”

Originally, Perez was going to continue wrestling at 144.

“At the start of the season I was planning on making 144 but wasn’t able to do it and decided to stick to 150, which I think has been a great fit for me,” he said. “The weight cut is pretty smooth and I feel pretty dominant at this weight.”

A back injury at the Downers Grove Invite on Dec. 13 sidelined Perez for a couple weeks but he was able to get back into the room within the last two weeks to prepare for Sycamore.

He’s fired up for his finish, especially since he doesn’t intend on wrestling in college.

“I made this decision recently and it is something that I think I am going to stick with,” he said. “But I am not 100% sure on this decision yet.” 

Voight put the loss behind him, bouncing back with a quick pin against Quincy’s 

Brody Baker (0:47) to take third, and Abbott also responded in fine fashion after 

dropping a match to Perez as he pinned Wheaton North’s Jay Doherty (0:35) 

for fifth.

157 – Ty Smart, Rockford East

Smart shared Most Outstanding Wrestler honors with Sycamore’s Liam Schroeder (113). 

“I would say this was probably the best I’ve been all season, I’d like to say,” Smart said. “I have been tech falling everyone, but I just felt like it’s been a lot more fast-paced and not slowing down during the wrestling, both on and off the mat. Instead of taking the time to get to the third or second period, I’m getting it done in the first which is a lot better.”

Smart had five tech falls in 9:18. He was the lone wrestler to have five tech falls. Triad’s Will Kelly had four.

“I’m taking little steps first and not thinking about the big things right now,” he said. “We got regional and conference coming up soon so hopefully I’ll become conference champ and regional champ and then sectional and then hopefully state. So little steps now, one at a time, and not thinking about the big goal, thinking about the small goal.”

Ever the good teammate, Smart gave a shout-out to Dana Wickson (150).

“He took second, which was very impressive,” Smart said. “He didn’t get the outcome he wanted in the final, but he wrestled his butt off so real proud of him.”

165 – Jackson Hanselman, York

The senior Hanselman, ranked 9th in Class 3A at 165,  had another fine day to improve to 29-2 on the year.

Hanselman pinned Rock Island’s Adrian Venegas (1:32), Triad’s Saxton Jenkins (1:18) and Normal Community’s Carter Mayes (0:49) as he wasted little time advancing into the semifinals.

Impressively, Hanselman took out Sycamore’s Cooper Bode, ranked 5th at 165 in Class 2A, by tech fall, accumulating a 15-0 lead before moving onward to the finals. There, Unity’s Abram Davidson took him the distance, but he also couldn’t produce a single point in Hanselman’s 7-0 championship win.

Bode responded positively from his defeat, taking down Mahomet-Seymour’s Talon Decker by fall at 4:00 to take third, and Lyons senior Cornell Fennessee earned a 13-1 major decision over Belvidere North’s Andrew Bucci for fifth.

175 – Jason Janke, Oak Forest

Janke couldn’t compete at Sycamore last year as he missed a considerable chunk of his junior season due to an injury.

When he competed here as a sophomore in 2023, he lost three straight matches, closing with his only victory – a medical forfeit.

On Saturday, he was crowned the 175-pound champion. 

Janke won by fall over Rockford East’s Xander Luangphakdy (3:01), earned a 12-0 major over Bloomington’s Tyler Gardner, scored a 15-2 major over Rock Island’s Emarion Harris and then piled on the points before coming away with a 17-2 tech fall win over Lyons’ Anthony Johnson in the semifinals.

Wheaton North’s Julian Flores battled Janke in the final, but Janke doubled him up, 4-2.

“In the final match I feel that my aggressiveness was the determining factor that helped me win,” Janke said. “At the tournament I felt that I was able to score points and work through positions.”

A healthy Janke, ranked 4th in 2A at 175, is a real dangerous opponent.

“I’m very lucky to be free from injury at this point in the season and I am feeling good,” he said. “The last part of the season will be a grind mentally and physically and I’m  looking forward to it.”

In the third-place match, Mundelein’s Daniel Hernandez prevailed after Johnson got injured 50 seconds into the action, and Quincy’s Jayden Wilson scored a 10-5 win over Harris for fifth.

190 – Marco Casillas, Mahomet-Seymour

Casillas showed why he’s ranked no. 4 at 190 in Class 2A despite being an underclassmen. The sophomore wiped out the competition with five straight pins to win the title.

Casillas pinned Unity’s Will Mullins (1:27), Hampshire’s Giovanni Marino (1:35), Normal Community’s Daniel Bourbalas (3:02), Sterling’s Colt Buntjer (0:50) and finally Marengo’s Frankie Solis (1:52)

Buntjer won by fall over Oak Forest’s Nathan Izguerra (1:40) to take third, and Bourbalas did the same to take fifth over Glenbrook South’s Jacob Shamoon (1:08).

215 – Carter Hintz, Hampshire

Hintz doesn’t really concern himself with rankings, but as a 3A honorable mention in the rankings, he went out and pinned the fourth-ranked wrestler in 2A to win at 215. 

What made it even more impressive was that Hintz was just returning.

“It was good,” he said. “It was just my first tournament back since the beginning of the season. I took some time off with a dislocated knee (at Barrington tournament). It’s nice getting back out there, happy with the result.”

Hintz got to his opponents by fall and tech fall. He tech’d Normal Community’s Adrian Ramirez and Rock Island’s Rowan Stockwell. He pinned Bloomington’’s Preston Ifft (1:26), Rockford East’s Etungano Kakozi (0:40) and finished by pinning Oak Forest’s Andrius Vasilevskas (1:33) in the title match.

“Honestly, I didn’t look too much into it, I don’t like, really scout my guys,” Hintz said. “I just check their profile real quick, going to go out there and wrestle and get it done.

“There was kind of not much going on in neutral and then once I got him down I just went for a bar and kept cranking it,” he said. “And then he turned over eventually.”

After transitioning from playing football to the ankle injury to now, Hintz is ready to get back at it.

“It’s going to be a little bit of a grind to get back at it and ready for regionals and sectionals and stuff,” he said. “I got to get my conditioning back. It’s not where it needs to be at, where it was.”

285 – Collin Hughes, Sycamore

Hughes was a man on a mission, fueled by a previous battle.

“I had a lot of pent up emotion about that guy, the Hampshire kid, he injured me a few months prior and I just had to do what I had to do,” Hughes said. “He was in my way.”

Hughes won by fall over Rockford East’s Gabe Underhill (0:15) and Sterling’s Sergio Vargas Garcia (1:16) to begin the tournament. After a 17-1 tech fall win over Mundelein’s Antonio Salazar in the quarterfinal, he got another pin against Normal Community’s Mason Caraway (1:30).

That matched him against Hampshire’s Knox Homola, a fellow sophomore. Hughes pinned him 1:36 into the action, but he began winning that match well before he took the mat.

“Ever since I got my injury I’ve taken a step back from all the physical aspects and mental aspects and had to take a look at my life and I’m like ‘Let’s get this in order,’” he said. “So I started getting my life in order, eating healthy, lifting more, working out more, started reading the Bible and following Christ and he really helped me through these matches.”

Hughes is believer, in himself and God.

“Everything is possible through Christ,” he said. “There’s always that one piece that’s missing and it’s Christ. Everyone has him, but not everyone has found him yet, but you’ll eventually find him.”

While the Spartans had plenty of reason to celebrate, they’re committed to more.

“Just because we won this doesn’t mean we have to slow down, we have to speed this up,” he said. “Just because you win doesn’t mean that it’s over.”