Boys’ tournament recaps: Chappell, Conrad, Tuomi

By Mike Garofola for the IWCOA

All IWCOA rankings from Rob Sherrill’s Illinois Best Weekly

GLENBARD WEST’S CHRIS CHAPPELL INVITE

The 43rd Chris Chappell Invitational on the campus of Glenbard West High School gave wrestling fans all they could watch as the host Hilltoppers and Lincoln-Way Central battled to the very end in Glen Ellyn inside Biester Gymnasium.

The Hilltoppers did all they could to stay within striking distance of the Knights, using five individual champions to keep pace all throughout the day; however, 13 top five medals, and four individual champions from Lincoln-Way Central dashed the hopes of the home side.

The Knights would record a tourney-best 27 pins to help them amass 272.0 points, 16 more than the Hilltoppers (257.0), who finished ahead of third-place Carmel Catholic, which finished with a respectable 172.5 points.

South Elgin was fourth with 149.0, and the Glenbard West JV (112.0) would round out the top five on the leaderboard.

The home side led the 14-team field with 353 total match points, followed by the Knights (275) and Carmel Catholic with 272.

South Elgin junior Tommy Visvardis recorded the fastest pin (16 seconds) of the tournament during his second consolation match 

1st: Lincoln-Way Central (272.0)

Sophomore Brooks McKay would get the Knights off and running after his 120-pound title – followed by the upper weight success of No. 5 Jalen Byrd (170, 32-3), Justin Langford (190, 23-12) and No. 4 Aiden Hennings (285, 33-3), who together, as a trio, recorded seven pins and one tech-fall to claim top honors in their weight divisions.

Byrd, a two-time state qualifier, was fourth recently at the Dvorak, where Hennings was third.

Connor Richardson (126), Caleb Rogers (132), Evan Vogt (175) and Logan Wooten (215) would all finish second, while Bannon Valent (106), Eric Hoselton (138) and Dylan Wrobel (144) all brought home third place medals.

Teammates Gaetano Baser was fourth at 165, with Finn Fifer (113) and Alex Kedzior (126) both fifth overall.

The Knights are on the road at crosstown rival Lincoln-Way on Wednesday, before hosting its two-day Illini Classic, which begins on Friday afternoon.

“We are proud that 16 of our 17 entries placed in the top six,” began Knights head coach, Tyrone Byrd. “We were excited to get to compete against a top 10 in (Glenbard West) – they have a quality team, with little to no holes in its lineup.

“(For) us, a big part of our success was bonus points, we picked up (27) falls, with Carmel Catholic next with 17. Brooks (McCay) picked up his first varsity tournament championship today, and Jalen Byrd and Justin Langford won their respective brackets in dominant fashion.

“Jalen had two falls, and a tech-fall, Justin three falls. Last, but not least, Aiden Jennings won convincingly against a state ranked opponent at 285. We are proud of our team’s effort, we scored a lot of match and team points to put us over the top.”

2nd: Glenbard West (257.0)

The Hilltoppers would generate plenty of bonus points, thanks in part to the lethal finishing work from their five individual champions: No. 6 Aidan Ortega (106, 27-1), Brennan Myra (144, 21-9), No. 8 Vince Tortoriello (150, 24-3), Tallis Taylor (165, 18-9) and No. 10 Phin Codinha (215, 13-5) ,who combined for 132.5 team points, and just under 200 total match points.

With his title at 106, Ortega now has three majors on the season, as does Tortoriello.

Alejandro Aranda (138), Jondelle Murray (157), and Marc Tchapda (285) all would finish second, with Cristian Lopez (113) third overall.

BK Sepulveda (120) and Manny Rodriguez (126) helped the cause with their fourth place medals.

3rd: Carmel Catholic (172.5)

The Corsairs would celebrate the second major title of the season by senior and No. 7 (class 2A) Anthony Hinojosa (19-2) who pinned his way into the final where he registered a superb six minute effort en route to a 16-5 major decision victory.

Owen Thomas (120), Danny Mandujano (165) and Gabe Flowers (190) were all second, with Noah Breckenridge third at 285.

Nasir Spivy (132) was fourth, and Joey Cameron (175) fifth.

The Corsairs were second to the eventual champs with 17 pins on the day.

Additional individual champions:

Ben Sallas (113, Glenbard West JV), Kyrin King (126, Rich Township), Zander Spatafore (132, Elk Grove), Colton Huff (144, St. Ignatius).

Additional runners-up:

Leo Salas (106, South Elgin), Caleeb Jones (Rich Township), Gus Saletta (144, Bartlett), Cameron Engels (150, Bartlett).

FINAL TEAM SCORES:

Lincoln-Way Central 272.0, Glenbard West 257.0. Carmel Catholic 172.5, South Elgin 149.0, Glenbard West JV 112.5, Rich Township 106.5, Bartlett 86.5, Elk Grove 68.0, Glenbard South/ St. Ignatius 59.5 each, Thornton 51.0, Proviso East 45.5, Larkin 42.0, Waukegan 10.0.

Championship match results:

106- Aidan Ortega (Glenbard West) d. Leo Salas (South Elgin) (TF 1:06, 17-2).

113- Ben Sallas (Glenbard West) d. Caleeb Jones (Rich Township) (D 9-7).

120- Brooks McKay (Lincoln-Way Central) d. Owen Thomas (Carmel Catholic) (F 0:47).

126- Kyrie King (Rich Township) d. Connor Richardson (Lincoln-Way Central) (F 1:17).

132- Zander Spatafore (Elk Grove) d. Caleb Rogers (Lincoln-Way Central) (D 3-1).

138- Colton Huff (St. Ignatius) d. Alejandro Aranda (Glenbard West) (MD 10-2).

144- Brennen Myra (Glenbard West) d. Gus Saletta (Bartlett) (TF 4:13, 17-0).

150- Vince Tortoriello (Glenbard West) d. Cameron Engels (Bartlett) (TF 2:31, 17-2).

157- Antonio Hinojosa (Carmel Catholic) d. Jondelle Murray (Glenbard West) (MD 16-5).

165- Tallis Taylor (Glenbard West) d. Danny Mandujano (Carmel Catholic) (MD 1-0).

175- Jalen Byrd (Lincoln-Way Central) d. Evan Vogt (Lincoln-Way Central) (F 1:17).

190- Justin Langford (Lincoln-Way Central) d. Gabe Flowers (Carmel Catholic) (F 1:57).

215- Phin Codinha (Glenbard West) d. Logan Wooten (Lincoln-Way Central) (F 0:57).

285- Aiden Hennings (Lincoln-Way Central) d. Marc Tchapda (Glenbard West) (D 8-2).

Third place match results:

106- Bannon Valent (Lincoln-Way Central) d. Maurizio Castro (Elk Grove) (F 3:17).

113- Adrian Valadez (Thornton) d. Cristian Lopez (Glenbard West) (MD 19-6).

120- Evan Hamilton (South Elgin) d. BK Sepulveda (Glenbard West) (F 2:43).

126- Sal Garcia (Larkin) d. Manny Rodriguez (Glenbard West) (D 5-2).

132- Joseph Caputo (Bartlett) d. Nasir Spivy (Carmel Catholic) (F 2:17).

138- Eric Hoselton (Lincoln-Way Central) d. Justin Bayna (South Elgin) (F 2:27).

144- Dylan Wrobel (Lincoln-Way Central) d. Connor Ignacio (South Elgin) (D 4-1).

150- Logan Dilallo (South Elgin) d. Tristin King (Rich Township) (TF 3:19, 17-1).

157- Charles Barry (Proviso East) d. Ruben Kasman (Glenbard South) (TF 5:32, 15-0).

165- Dane Henson (South Elgin) d. Gaetano Baser (Lincoln-Way Central) (F 5:15).

175- Dallin Ames (Glenbard South) d. Mark Bew (Thornton) (M.FFT).

190- Andrew Somenek (Elk Grove) d. Landree Dracousis (South Elgin) (F 3:03).

215- Amar Dzananovic (Bartlett) d. Devin White (Glenbard West JV) (FFT).

285- Noah Breckenridge (Carmel Catholic) d. Martaevion Howard (Proviso East) (F 1:06).

RANDY CONRAD INVITE

The historic Farina Field House, named after long-time head coach Chuck Farina, who during the glory days at Leyden wrestling would lead the Eagles to several top 10 team trophies, plus a pair of state titles (1960) with his 1978 championship club finishing with a perfect 20-0-0 overall record in duals.

From 1970-1979, Mr. Farina’s teams won 162 of 164 dual meets, including a stunning (88) in a row, and when he retired, he was the all-time winningest high school coach in the country.

Randy Conrad would wrestle under Mr. Farina, and would become one of four individual state champions on that 1978 state championship club.

Conrad would later become the athletic director at his alma mater, and would retire in 2018, and later see this long-time tournament named in his honor one year later.

Since the tournament name change in 2019, it has been a fight to the finish between Stevenson and Conant, and long-time best friends in Stevenson coach Shane Cook and former Conant coach Chad Hay.

“I miss the Chad Hay era when he was at Conant, and those great battles for the team championship here at Leyden,” admits Cook.”But this tournament is still a positive experience for us, so we always look forward to coming back here.”

Hay is now the girls head coach at Lake Zurich.

The Patriots would lift the big trophy for the sixth consecutive season after outscoring Notre Dame for the second straight season.

Prior to that, the Patriots would go past aforementioned Conant (2019-2023) with its 2023 title run just a seven point (184.0-177.0) advantage for the men in green and gold singlets.

The eventual champs would lead the field with 25 pins and seven tech-falls.

1st: Stevenson (274.5)

The Patriots would advance eight into the finals, successfully sending five to the top of the podium.

Each individual champion would either win their weight class with a tech-fall or pin.

Stefan Vihrov (106, 20-5), Daniel Berdich (113), Shawn Kogan (132), Val Vihrov (144, 22-3) and Philip Boyko (17-5) at 175 all would collect first place trophies.

For No. 6 Berdich (17-1) this is the second major title of the season for the returning state qualifier, while No. 5 Shawn Kogan (18-2), twice a state qualifier, his first major of the campaign.

“Berdich invested a lot of time wrestling during the offseason, and he has made some huge jumps, and is wrestling at a high level right now,” begins Cook.

“We are excited to see what he is capable of when the state series begins. As far as Shawn (Kogan) he is one of the most dynamic wrestlers we’ve ever had – he does things naturally that are not taught.

“He is fun to watch, and as a two-time state qualifier, he is highly capable of making noise come February.”

“Having the Vihrov brothers in our varsity lineup has been a super fun experience. They both work very hard, are extremely coachable, and are driven to achieve. They challenge each other but at the same time they are 100% in support of one another.”

Cook says Philip Boyko is arguably the nicest man on the team.

“Off the mat, Boyko is the nicest guy we have, but when the whistle blows, he is mean and tough,” Cook said. He has been quietly racking up up wins this season, and always has a learning attitude.”

Evan Mishels (120), Kingsley Chen (150) and Kosuke Hirata (165) were second, while Marcelo Cantu earned a third place medal at 126 pounds.

William Guziec (157) was fourth, while upper weight teammates Arthur Grechanyuk (190), Jaxon James (215) and Aaron Von Heimburg (285) collected fifth place medals.

Next up for the Patriots will be a visit to the two-day Illini Classic, which begins this Friday in New Lenox at host Lincoln-Way Central.

2nd: Notre Dame (203.0)

Runner-up Notre Dame has one of the best in the business at 120 pounds in reigning class 2A state champion Ray Long (30-2) who is No. 5 in the state in the most current polls.

The junior, who was third at the Dvorak, left little doubt as to who was the best here in his weight class, moving his sparkling record to 30-2.

Long would be joined atop the podium by: Tommy Fitzsimmons (150, 25-8) and No. 10 Sean Cook (26-5) at 285 pounds. Cook was named all-ESCC this past fall for his efforts with the Dons football team.

Brady Krueger (144), Jack Luck (157) and Jeremy Hamm (190) all were second overall, with Michael Centracchio (165) fourth; Jarrett Mahurin (132), John Cana (138) and Peter Escamilla (175) were fifth.

Mahurin was a tourney-best four pins on the day, with Krueger recording the fastest (1:43) tech-fall also.

The Dons earned the most total match points with 340.

3rd: Conant (167.0)

Third place Conant claimed a tourney-high eight tech-falls, one recorded by its lone individual champion Emmett Arens (19-4) in his 138-pound opener.

The trio of Ryu Yamazaki (106), Damian Ramos (126) and Jackson Spizziri (175) were second overall, with teammates Vehbi Unal (144) and Shaba Kokumbaev (157) finishing third.

Mikey Goolish (132) was fourth, Brian Hoffman (113) fifth.

Additional individual champions:

Ben Arbotante (126, Jacobs), Andrew Garcia (157, Maine East), Jacob Becker (165, Vernon Hills), Erick Worwa (190, Leyden), Michael Junitz (215, Burlington Central).

Additional runners-up:

Danny Huerta (113, Leyden), Amir Akilani (132, Richards), Donald Hataway (138, Harlem), Chandler Jack (215, Harlem), Benjamin Hultgren (285, Burlington Central).

FINAL TEAM SCORES:

Stevenson 274.5, Notre Dame 203.0, Conant 167.0, Harlem  120.0, Leyden 111.5, Jacobs 106.0, Maine East 73.5, Burlington Central 66.5, Highland Park 63.5, Vernon Hills 62.5, Harvard 53.0, Lakes Community 36.5, Richards 34.5, De La Salle/Kelly 16.5, Leyden JV 2.0

Championship match results:

106- Stefan Vihrov (Stevenson) d. Ryu Yamazaki (Conant) (TF 4:14, 15-0).

113- Daniel Berdich (Stevenson) d. Danny Huerta (Leyden) (F 1:46).

120- Ray Long (Notre Dame) d. Evan Mishels (Stevenson) (D 19-13).

126-Ben Arbotante (Jacobs) d. Damian Ramos (Conant) (D 5-3).

132- Shawn Kogan (Stevenson) d. Amir Akilani (Richards) (TF 2:53, 18-3).

138- Emmett Arens (Conant) d. Donald Hataway (Harlem) (MD 10-2).

144- Valentin Vihrov (Stevenson) d. Brady Krueger (Notre Dame) (F 1:10).

150- Tommy Fitzsimmons (Notre Dame) d. Kingsley Chen (Stevenson) (F 3:17).

157- Andrew Garcia (Maine East) d. Jake Luczak (Notre Dame) (D 9-5).

165- Jacob Becker (Vernon Hills) d. Kosuke Hirata (Stevenson) (MD 14-4).

175- Philip Boyko (Stevenson) d. Jackson Spizziri (Conant) (F 0:48).

190- Erick Worwa (Leyden) d. Jeramy Hamm (Notre Dame) (D 12-5).

215- Michael Junitz (Burlington Central) d. Chandler Jack (Harlem) (MD 14-6).

285- Sean Cook (Notre Dame) d. Benjamin Hultgren (Burlington Central) (F 1:57).

Third place match results:

106- Travis Wilgosiewicz (Jacobs) d. Liam Parker (Harvard) (TF 3:45, 25-5).

113- Jairo Kish (Maine East) d. Ibrahim Mahmadov (Richards) (F 0:44).

120- Justin Forbes (De La Salle) d. Alex Gudgeon (Highland Park) (Inn. 2:08).

126- Marcelo Cantu (Stevenson) d. Robert Cory (Harlem) (F 1:02).

132- Cole Teran (Harlem) d. Mikey Goolish (Conant) (MF 15-6).

138- Izayah Olejniczak (Harlem) d. Ethan Sandał (Vernon Hills) (F 1:13).

144- Vehbi Unal (Conant) d. Carson Alper (Vernon Hills) (F 1:06).

150- Jaxin Golliher (Harvard) d. Jayden Corchado (Highland Park) (F 1:58).

157- Shaba Kokumbaev (Conant) d. William Guziec (Stevenson) (D 13-10).

165- Jason Castro (Leyden) d. Michael Centracchio (Notre Dame) (D 16-14).

175- Dominic Ganir (Leyden) d. Charles Faulkner (Harlem) (D 9-7).

190- Daniel Derbedyenyev (Highland Park) d. Islam Mavlatov (Maine East) (FFT)

215- Lucas Retzler (Jacobs) d. Timur Arzumanov (Vernon Hills) (F 2:48).

285- Kennedi Marx (Harlem) d. Javier Ramirez (Jacobs) (F 0:27).

WALTHER CHRISTIAN’S BRUCE G. TUOMI DUALS

The Eureka Hornets made their nearly three hour trip to Melrose Park a successful one as Kenny Robertsons’ club swept all five duals en route to claiming the top prize at the Bruce G. Tuomi Duals at host Walther Christian High School.

The Hornets would lead the six-team field with 23 pins, while outscoring its rivals 306-57 during the course of the day.

The Hornets, of course, were a perfect 5-0 on the day, while second place Hammond Baptist, from Schereville, Indiana was second with an overall record of 4-1.

Eureka would defeat the Swordsmen 53-27 in the final contest of the day.

Final Results:

1st- Eureka 53, Hammond Baptist 27.

3rd- Westmont 33-23, Ridgewood 23.

5th- Walther Christian 30, Elgin St. Edward 12.

Championship dual results:

175- Isaac Vargas (Hammond Baptist) d. Gavin Alliss (Eureka) (F 0:57).

190- Ashton Helberg (Eureka) d. Adam Velasquez (Hammond Baptist) (F 1:30).

215- Bryson Singer (Eureka) won by FFT.

285- Landon Hughes (Eureka) d. Raphael Johnson (Hammond Baptist) (F 0:33).

106- Jude Roman (Hammond Baptist) won by FFT.

113- Cullan Hoekstra (Eureka) d. Tim Harrell (Hammond Baptist) (F 3:23).

120- Brady Richards (Hammond Baptist) d. Connor Knapp (Eureka) (F 1:36).

126- Mike Swain (Hammond Baptist) won by FFT.

132- Henry Watson (Eureka) d. Joaquin Abila (Hammond Baptist) (F 1:13).

138- Hudson Leman (Eureka) d. Jace Chavez (Hammond Baptist) (F 0:34).

144- Finn Hoffman (Eureka) d. Carmine Rivera (Hammond Baptist) (TF 16-0).

150- Mark Merhalski (Hammond Baptist) d. Same Hoffman (Eureka) (D 9-8).

157- Jaxon Klaus (Eureka) d. Eric Mitchell (Hammond Baptist) (F 0:45).

165- Jackson Sides (Eureka) won by FFT.

Statistics:

The Hornets trio of Ashton Helberg (190), Hudson Leman (138) and Henry Watson (132) all recorded four pins on the day, while teammate Finn Hoffman (144) claimed a pair of tech-falls.

Alan Krupinski from Ridgewood recorded the fastest tech-fall (1:49) and Danny Eupierre (Westmont) the quickest pin at just nine seconds, one of 15 during the competition for he and his teammates.

Walther Christian junior Steven Rodriguez earned the highest number of match points with 43.

Nine men would share the title of most team points claimed with 30, with the aforementioned Finn Hoffman (Eureka) and Mark Merhalski (Hammond Baptist) each collecting 20 single match points.

Eureka would show its collective strength by earning a tourney-high 307 total team points, and  163 total match points.

The Hornets willl compete at the Kewanee Invitational this Saturday.