Out of state roundup for 1-10
By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA
Montini Catholic claims third place at The Cheesehead Invitational in Kaukauna, Wisconsin
Montini Catholic led Illinois teams at the 46-team Cheesehead Invitational in Kaukauna, Wisconsin with 438.5 points, which was 30 behind champion Hickman, Missouri and 13 behind runner-up Southeast Polk, Iowa. Other Illinois teams in the competition were Joliet Catholic Academy (sixth, 378), St. Charles East (ninth, 304), Providence Catholic (11th, 301.5), Lockport Township (19th, 200), Grant (20th, 196.5), Edwardsville (21st, 189), Barrington (22nd, 177), Warren Township (27th, 166), Yorkville (30th, 140), Marian Central Catholic (33rd, 116), Plainfield North (39th, 61.5), DeKalb (43rd, 31.5) and Neuqua Valley (45th, 13).
Seven individuals from Illinois won titles and two others finished in second place. Warren Township had two champions, Caleb Noble (113) and Royce Lopez (165), and one runner-up, Aaron Stewart (190). For Montini Catholic, Bobby Ruscitti (126) took first place and Eric Klichurov (113) finished second. And for Providence Catholic, Justus Heeg (157) won a title while Jasper Harper (165) was a runner-up.
The other champions from Illinois were St. Charles East’s Dom Munaretto (120), Joliet Catholic Academy’s Jason Hampton (132) and Marian Central Catholic’s Jimmy Mastny (215). The other individual from Illinois who claimed second place was Yorkville’s Van Rosauer (150).
There were two all-Illinois title matches and they both were major decisions. Noble won 12-4 over Klichurov at 113 and Lopez claimed an 18-10 victory over Harper at 165.
The two closest championship matches involving Illinois athletes were at 157, where Heeg won 2-1 on a tiebreaker over Jefferson, GA’s Dallas Russell and at 126, where Ruscitti claimed a 2-1 decision over Southeast Polk, IA’s Eddie Woody, Jr.
In other title matches, Munaretto won by fall in 3:44 over Coweta, OK’s Aiden Jalajel at 120 and Mastny recorded a pin in 4:48 over Lake Gibson, FL’s Jeremiah Chavis at 215. Hampton captured a 10-1 major decision over East Troy, WI’s Brady Collins at 132 and Oconomowoc, WI’s Kellen Wolbert won by technical fall in 5:00 over Rosauer at 150.
Coach Sal Annoreno’s third-place Broncos also received fourth-place finishes from Mikey Malizzio (132), Santino Tenuta (165) and Gavin Ericson (285) while Allen Woo (120) took fifth and AJ Tack (175) claimed sixth place. Woo, Tack and Malizzio also all recently captured their 100th career victories.
Claiming third place were Joliet Catholic Academy’s Lukas Foster (126), Providence Catholic’s Tommy Banas (138), Grant’s Vince Jasinski (144) and Lockport Township’s Justin Wardlow (157). Also finishing in fourth place were Edwardsville’s Michael McNamara (106) and Barrington’s Daniel Blanke (150).
Others who took fifth place were Barrington’s Ryan Dorn (132) and Joliet Catholic Academy’s Nolan Vogel (157). St. Charles East’s Kaden Potter (126) and Cooper Murray (215) also claimed sixth place.
Lockport Township’s Isaac Zimmerman (132) and Edwardsville’s Braylon Hill-Lomax (285) placed seventh. Grant’s Adam Glauser (120), Providence Catholic’s Luke Banas (144),
Yorkville’s Max Delgado (165) and Warren Township’s Ilia Dvoriannikov (175) took eighth.
Lockport Township’s Noe Hernandez (106) and Chris Miller (175), St. Charles East’s Gavin Woodmancy (150) and Matt Medina (285), Providence Catholic’s Christian Corcoran (113) and Joliet Catholic Academy’s Adante Washington (138) finished in ninth place.
Tying for second place for most pins with four were Zimmerman, Noble, Mastny and Blanke. There was a three-way tie for third in most wins by technical fall with four between Ruscitti, Munaretto and Miller. Montini Catholic led all teams with 19 wins by technical fall while Providence Catholic was second with 15.
Championship matches at the Cheesehead Invitational (Illinois individuals)
113 – Caleb Noble (Warren Township) over Erik Klichurov (Montini Catholic), MD 12-4
120 – Dom Munaretto (St. Charles East) over Aiden Jalajel (Coweta, OK), F 3:44
126 – Bobby Ruscitti (Montini Catholic) over Eddie Woody, Jr. (Southeast Polk, IA), D 2-1
132 – Jason Hampton (Joliet Catholic Academy) over Brady Collins (East Troy, WI), MD 10-1
150 – Kellen Wolbert (Oconomowoc, WI) over Van Rosauer (Yorkville), TF 5:00
157 – Justus Heeg (Providence Catholic) over Dallas Russell (Jefferson, GA), TB 2-1
165 – Royce Lopez (Warren Township) over Jasper Harper (Providence Catholic), MD 18-10
215 – Jimmy Mastny (Marian Central Catholic) over Jeremiah Chavis (Lake Gibson, FL), F 4:48
Six from Illinois place at the Doc Buchanan Invitational in Clovis, California
Three athletes from IC Catholic Prep and one each from Lyons Township, Oak Park and River Forest and Saint Viator finished in the top eight at their weights in the Doc Buchanan Invitational, which took place in Clovis, California and featured 503 athletes from 123 schools.
IC Catholic Prep took 13th place with 62.5 points.
Claiming fifth-place finishes were Oak Park and River Forest’s Michael Rundell (116), IC Catholic Prep’s Brody Kelly (178) and Saint Viator’s Jaxon Penovich (193).
IC Catholic Prep’s Aiden Arnett (160) took sixth place, IC Catholic Prep’s Max Cumbee (135) finished seventh and Lyons Township’s Griff Powell (141) claimed eighth place.
Illinois individuals who lost in the round of 16 were IC Catholic Prep’s Drew Murante (116) and Foley Calcagno (218), West Aurora’s Marcus Quintana (168) and Dayne Serio (178), Addison Trail’s Nikolas Duarte (123) and Oak Park and River Forest’s Jamiel Castleberry (129).
All of the medalists lost in the quarterfinals, other than Powell, who fell in the round of 16. IC Catholic Prep’s Anthony Sebastian also lost in the quarterfinals and did not place.
Downers Grove North wins Mid-States Wrestling Classic in Whitewater, Wisconsin
Downers Grove North, Downers Grove, Mahomet-Seymour and Wauconda went down to the wire for top honors at the 43-team Mid-States Wrestling Classic in Whitewater, Wisconsin and when all was said and done, Downers Grove North edged rival Downers Grove South 170-163.5 for first place while Mahomet-Seymour edged Wauconda 161-160 for third place.
Grayslake Central (125) was seventh, Morton (118.5) took eighth and Bradley-Bourbonnais (112.5) placed tenth. Other Illinois teams who took part were New Trier (67.5), Dundee-Crown (61), McHenry (54), Round Lake (30), Harvard (27) and Lakes Community (10).
Champions from Illinois were Grayslake Central’s Dominick DeMarco (106), Downers Grove South’s Tanner Stone (120), Morton’s Noah Harris (126), Mahomet-Seymour’s Talon Decker (165) and Dundee-Crown’s Teigen Moreno (215).
Taking second were Downers Grove North’s Damian Garcia (126) and Colin Murphy (285), Mahomet-Seymour’s Justus Vrona (144) and Marco Casillas (190), Dundee-Crown’s Aiden Healey (106), Grayslake Central’s Vince DeMarco (113) and Wauconda’s Brian Hart (157).
There were two all-Illinois title matches with Dominick DeMarco winning by technical fall in 2:29 over Healey at 106 and Harris recording a pin in 3:56 over Garcia at 126.
In other title matches won by Illinois athletes, Stone captured a 7-0 decision over Sussex Hamilton, WI’s Reece Moore at 120, Decker was a winner by technical fall in 4:52 over Waukesha North, WI’s Mitchell Stigler at 165 and Moreno claimed a 4-0 decision over Sussex Hamilton, WI’s Weston Hackbarth at 215.
In other championship matches where Illinois athletes took second place, Union Grove, WI’s Camden Rugg claimed an 11-0 major decision over Vince DeMarco at 113, Pardeeville, WI’s Karrsen Bussan won by technical fall in 3:09 over Vrona at 144, Weyauwega-Fremont, WI’s Collin Hamm got a win by technical fall in 5:10 over Hart at 157, Lake Mills, WI’s Owen Burling won a 7-3 decision over Casillas at 190 and Monona Grove/ McFarland, WI’s Deangelo Clay got a pin in 1:01 over Murphy at 285.
1st – Downers Grove North, 170
Leading the way for coach Chris McGrath’s champions Trojans were second-place finishers Damian Garcia (126) and Colin Murphy (285) while Alex Hengles (144) was fourth and Caden Chiarelli (150) and Nate Olona (215) finished fifth.
“The team is really turning a corner,” McGrath said “After our football team advanced to the final four, it took a while for our football players to get healthy, but our lineup is finally set for the season. If we continue to get better each week, we will have several wrestlers making noise at the end of the season.”
2nd – Downers Grove South, 163.5
The top performer for coach Zach Holtzman’s runner-up Mustangs was champion Tanner Stone (120) while Nick Spirek (157) placed fourth, Michael Danial (285) took fifth place and Jadon Dinwiddie (132) and Daniel Mensah (190) finished sixth.
3rd – Mahomet-Seymour, 161
The third-place Bulldogs, coached by Rob Ledin, a 2025 Lifetime Service Award Recipient from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame – Illinois Chapter, were led by champion Talon Decker (165) and second-place finishers Justus Vrona (144) and Marco Casillas (190). Taking fifth were Noah Meints (120) and Gideon Hayter (132) while Myles Hartzler (106) and Weston Neutz (157) both claimed sixth place.
4th – Wauconda, 160
The best finishers for coach Landen Pfeiffer’s fourth-place Bulldogs were runner-up Brian Hart (157) and third-place finisher Wyatt Roland (150). Taking fourth were Madden Gunn (113) and Nicholas Ruiz (120), finishing in fifth place were Mason Porten (126), Liam Harris (138) and Brody McKenna (175) while Kason Buse (165) took sixth.
Additional third-place finishers were Bradley-Bourbonnais’ Cullen Parks (106) and Zach Hoffner (120), Grayslake Central’s Krish Sahu (126), Morton’s Harrison Dea (132) and McHenry’s Ryan Johnston (144) while Bradley-Bourbonnais’ Kayden Roach (175) and New Trier’s Cooper Kemnitz (285) finished fourth and Morton’s Trygg Herron (106) took fifth. Claiming sixth-place finishers were McHenry’s Tyson Rivard (113) and Grayslake Central’s Warren Nash (150).
Downers Grove North’s Nate Olona and Morton’s Colton McKee were the only two individuals in the competition to record five falls. And Grayslake Central’s Dominick DeMarco was the only one in the Classic to claim five wins by technical fall, with no one else having more than three.
Downers Grove North had the most pins with 22 while Morton was second with 20 and Bradley-Bourbonnais third with 19. Grayslake Central had the most wins by technical fall with 14, which was six more than three teams ranked second, one of which was Mahomet-Seymour.
Championship matches at the Mid-States Wrestling Classic (Illinois individuals)
106 – Dominick DeMarco (Grayslake Central) over Aiden Healey (Dundee-Crown), TF 2:29
113 – Camden Rugg (Union Grove, WI) over Vince DeMarco (Grayslake Central), MD 11-0
120 – Tanner Stone (Downers Grove South) over Reece Moore (Sussex Hamilton, WI), D 7-0
126 – Noah Harris (Morton) over Damian Garcia (Downers Grove North), F 3:56
144 – Karrsen Bussan (Pardeeville, WI) over Justus Vrona (Mahomet-Seymour), TF 3:09
157 – Collin Hamm (Weyauwega-Fremont, WI) over Brian Hart (Wauconda), TF 5:10
165 – Talon Decker (Mahomet-Seymour) over Mitchell Stigler (Waukesha North, WI), TF 4:52
190 – Owen Burling (Lake Mills, WI) over Marco Casillas (Mahomet-Seymour), D 7-3
215 – Teigen Moreno (Dundee-Crown) over Weston Hackbarth (Sussex Hamilton, WI), D 4-0
285 – Deangelo Clay (Monona Grove/ McFarland, WI) over Colin Murphy (Downers Grove North), F 1:01
Gochis, Piazza, Skiles capture titles at the Wonder Women in Columbia, Missouri
Roxana’s Chloe Skiles, Hampshire’s Stella Piazza and Kaneland’s Angelina Gochis all won titles at the Wonder Women in Columbia, Missouri, which featured girls from 12 Illinois schools and individuals from 87 schools in a field of 628 competitors. Hampshire scored 101 points to finish in 11th place.
Skiles (14-1) claimed a 7-0 decision over Jackson, MO’s Kayleigh Milam in the 110 title match. Piazza (18-0) was a winner by fall in 4:35 over Clarksville, TN’s Tatiana Pena-Corona in the 115 finals. And Gochis captured a victory by technical fall in 5:02 over Odessa, MO’s Aalyiah Sanders in the 120 title match.
Collinsville’s Leann Cory (26-4) settled for second place at 145 when she lost by fall in 1:27 to Broken Arrow, OK’s Emily Beckley, whose team won the championship by 101.5 points.
Hampshire’s Samantha Diehl (21-2) took third place at 190 with a fall in 0:23 over Willard, MO’s Harmony Moore. DeKalb’s Alex Gregorio-Perez (20-3) settled for fourth place at 100 when she was edged 7-6 by Blair Oaks, MO’s’ Macie Kempker.
Finishing in fifth place were Collinsville’s Londyn Long (26-4 at 125) and Hampshire’s Annabelle Mueller (25-4 at 105) while Kelly’s Sara Martinez Lopera (170) claimed sixth place.
Piazza ranked fifth in most team points with 35 while Gochis and Skiles tied for eighth place in most team points with 33.5. Mueller tied one other individual for second place for the most wins by technical fall with three and also ranked fifth for most total match points with 77. Hampshire had the most wins by technical fall of any team in the competition with six.
Championship matches at The Wonder Women (Illinois individuals)
110 – Chloe Skiles (Roxana) over Kayleigh Milam (Jackson, MO), D 7-0
115 – Stella Piazza (Hampshire) over Tatiana Pena-Corona (Clarksville, TN), F 4:35
120 – Angelina Gochis (Kaneland) over Aalyiah Sanders (Odessa, MO), TF 5:02
145 – Emily Beckley (Broken Arrow, OK) over Leann Cory (Collinsville), F 1:27
Washington Community places sixth at The Clash XXIII Duals in La Crosse, Wisconsin
Washington Community led the way for four teams from Illinois that competed in The Clash XXIII Duals, which were held in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Coach Nick Miller’s Panthers took second place in the 2nd Bracket, with each bracket having four places. Hononegah took first in the 5th Bracket and in the 6th Bracket, Unity took second and Marian Central Catholic was third.
Washington Community won its first two duals and went 2-1 in Bracket B and won its final two meets in the 2nd Bracket to go 4-2. Top performers for the Panthers were Wyatt Medlin (6-0 at 160/172), Josh Hoffer (5-1 at 215/285), Cruise Brolley (4-1 at 160/172), Sean Thornton (4-1 at 285), Wyatt Leman (3-1 at 172/189) and Symon Woods (4-2 at 107).
Hononegah lost its opener in Bracket C but then won its next four duals to go 4-1 and take first in the 5th Bracket. Leading the way for the Indians were Bruno Cassioppi (5-0 at 160), Rocco Cassioppi (5-0 at 152), Logan Harris (5-0 at 114), Brody Sendele (5-0 at 172), Harrison Kinney (4-1 at 215) and Jackson Olson (3-1 at 121/127).
Unity bounced back from going 0-2 in Bracket A to win two of its three duals in the 6th Bracket, which included a 40-29 victory over Marian Central Catholic to finish 2-3. The Rockets were led by AJ Daly (5-0 at 139), Abram Davidson (4-0 at 160), Ben Mullins (4-0 at 152), Hayden Smith (4-1 at 145) and Chason Daly (3-1 at 215).
Marian Central Catholic lost both of its duals in Bracket D and went 1-2 in the 6th Bracket, which included its 40-29 loss to Unity in its first meet of that division. The Hurricanes were led by Jimmy Mastny (5-0 at 189/215) and Hogan Rice (5-0 at 114).