2A team sectional recaps: St. Ignatius, Evergreen Park, Mahomet-Seymour

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

IWCOA rankings from Rob Sherrill’s Illinois Best Weekly

The dual team state finals will take place at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington on Feb. 27-28.

ST. IGNATIUS SECTIONAL

WHEELING 33, DEERFIELD 31

No. 12 Wheeling (12-4) dominated the upper weights and won three pivotal swing matches in edging No. 13 Deerfield (18-3) 33-31. In all, Wheeling won eight of the 14 individual matches.

Wheeling will take on No. 7 Mahomet-Seymour (21-4) in a state quarterfinal dual at 5 p.m. in Bloomington on Feb. 27.

Nobody stood taller after Wheeling’s win than David Perez, Nicholas Montesinos, and Eddie Juarez — Perez won a 7-5 decision at 120; Montesinos won 8-7 at 175, and Juarez won a 2-1 decision at 215 to set up a dual-clinching pin from Pablo Morales (285).

Wheeling coach Charlie Curran got a pair of pins from John Scanlon (157) and Pablo Morales (285), a tech fall from Astan Lokhov (190), a major decision from Damian Brito (165), and a straight decision win from Juan Escanuela (132).

Deerfield held a 3-2 advantage in falls behind pins from Danny Martinez (126), Adrian Cohen (144) and Alexander Shvartsman (150). Other Deerfield wins came from Jack Pechter (106), Jayme Cohen (113) and Ben Howard (138).

Wheeling will be making its third appearance in the state finals in program history and its first for Curran, having made it downstate under coach Neal Weiner in 2009 and 2017.

Deerfield was seeking its fifth trip downstate for coach Mark Pechter, who guided the program to the state finals in 2015, 2017, 2022 and 2023. The Warriors placed fourth in Illinois for Pechter in 2017 and second in state in 2022.

Dual results

106 – Jake Pechter (Deerfield) d. Tommy Katz (Wheeling) TF 16-1

113 – Jayme Cohen (Deerfield) d. Frankie Katz (Wheeling) D 11-6

120 – David Perez (Wheeling) d. Jorey Becker (Deerfield) D 7-5

126 – Danny Martinez (Deerfield) d. Christian Giron (Wheeling) F 1:36

132 – Juan Escanuela (Wheeling) d. Jack Jansen (Deerfield) D 10-4

138 – Ben Howard (Deerfield) d. Manny Lagunas (Wheeling) TF 15-0

144 – Adrian Cohen (Deerfield) d. Byron Arreola (Wheeling) F 1:25

150 – Alexander Shvartsman (Deerfield) d. Austin Berger (Wheeling) F 0:45

157 – John Scanlon (Wheeling) d. Angel Martinez (Deerfield) F 2:58

165 – Damian Brito (Wheeling) d. Caleb Padilla (Deerfield) MD 17-7

175 – Nicholas Montesinos (Wheeling) d. Jonathan Weissmueller (Deerfield) D 8-7

190 – Astan Lokhov (Wheeling) d. Walker Pesche (Deerfield) TF 15-0

215 – Eddie Juarez (Wheeling) d. Josh Dixon (Deerfield) D 2-1

285 – Pablo Morales (Wheeling) d. Daniel Cox (Deerfield) F 0:21

IC CATHOLIC PREP 60, ST. IGNATIUS 15

No. 1 IC Catholic Prep (16-2) won 11 of 14 matches to beat host St. Ignatius 60-15,  sending last year’s state champions back to Bloomington and the chance to repeat as the best team in Class 2A.
IC Prep and No. 4 Geneseo (14-6) square off in a state quarterfinal dual at 7 p.m. in Bloomington on Feb. 27.

IC Prep got falls from Drew Murante (113), Aiden Arnett (150), Joey Pontrelli (165), Brody Kelly (175) and Anthony Sebastian (285). The Knights also got tech fall wins from Kannon Judycki (120), Sam Murante (126), Dominic Pasquale (132), Frank Nitti (144), Jacob Alvarez (157) and Foley Calcagno (190).

IC Prep heads downstate for the fifth time in program history. The Knights also qualified in 2018, 2022 and 2023 in Class 1A.

St. Ignatius (11-5) got falls from Mike McMillan (106) and Melson Ngassa (215), and a straight decision win from Colton Huff (138). The Wolfpack was seeking its first trip to the team state finals for coach Ben Sanchez.

Dual results

106 – Mike McMillan (St. Ignatius) d. Ignacio Gildea (IC Catholic) F 2:42

113 – Drew Murante (IC Catholic) d. Eli Rodriguez (St. Ignatius) F 2:00

120 – Kannon Judycki (IC Catholic) d. Frank Valle (St. Ignatius) TF 19-3

126 – Sam Murante (IC Catholic) d. Alex Villanueva (St. Ignatius) TF 17-1

132 – Dominic Pasquale (IC Catholic) d. Pat Moroney (St. Ignatius) TF 17-2

138 – Colton Huff (St. Ignatius) d. Jack Hanrahan (IC Catholic) D 5-1

144 – Frank Nitti (IC Catholic) d. Luke Sanchez (St. Ignatius) TF 18-1

150 – Aiden Arnett (IC Catholic) d. Nino Capuano (St. Ignatius) F 2:26

157 – Jacob Alvarez (IC Catholic) d. Luca Capuano (St. Ignatius) TF 18-3

165 – Joey Pontrelli (IC Catholic) d. Gus Schaff (St. Ignatius) F 1:11

175 – Brody Kelly (IC Catholic) d. Ashok Chacko (St. Ignatius) F 1:23

190 – Foley Calcagno (IC Catholic) d. Colin Offen (St. Ignatius) TF 21-5

215 – Melson Ngassa (St. Ignatius) d. Anthony Keating (IC Catholic) F 1:20

285 – Anthony Sebastian (IC Catholic) d. Dave Reardon (St. Ignatius) F 1:40

MAHOMET-SEYMOUR SECTIONAL

MAHOMET-SEYMOUR 42, BLOOMINGTON 25

Host No. 7 Mahomet-Seymour (21-4) topped Bloomington (2-2) 42-25 behind a 9-3 edge in matches wrestled that included four falls, three major decisions and two straight decision wins.

The win sends coach Rob Ledin’s boys to a state quarterfinal dual against No. 12 Wheeling (12-4) at 5 p.m. in Bloomington, marking the program’s 23rd trip to the state finals.

Getting pins for Mahomet-Seymour were Myles Hertzler (106), Liam Noonan (138), Talon Dker (165) and Marco Casillas (190). Garrett Waisath (150), Weston Neutz (157) and Christopher Dill (175) earned majors while Gideon Hayter (132), Justus Vrona (144) won straight decisions. Mahomet-Seymour forfeited at 215 and 285 to end the dual.

Wins for Bloomington came from the lower-weight trio of Cooper Bye (113), Lincoln Steers (120) and Seville Dangerfield (126). Bye won by major decision, Steers won by fall, and Dangerfield won a straight decision. Preston Ifft (215) and Jaylen Raab (285) won by forfeit. Bloomington was seeking its fifth appearance at the state finals.

Ledin will lead Mahomet-Seymour to the state finals for the eighth time and fifth consecutive appearance. The Bulldogs have placed third and fourth downstate under Ledin.

Mahomet-Seymour also won four state trophies under coach Rob Porter, one under Tom Porter, and three under Bob Handlin. The Bulldogs won five state titles from 1983-89 under coach Marty Williams and won seven consecutive state trophies during that time.

Dual results

106 – Myles Hartzler (Mahomet-S) d. Angel Lopez (Bloomington) F 1:29

113 – Cooper Bye (Bloomington) d. Grant Morphew (Mahomet-S) MD 15-4

120 – Lincoln Steers (Bloomington) d. Alex Johnson (Mahomet-S) F 3:41

126 – Seville Dangerfield (Bloomington) d. Noah Meints (Mahomet-S) D 8-4

132 – Gideon Hayter (Mahomet-S) d. Jack Schweitzer (Bloomington) D 4-3

138 – Liam Noonan (Mahomet-S) d. Jose Agustin Castro (Bloomington) F 0:36

144 – Justus Vrona (Mahomet-S) d. Tyler Barlow (Bloomington) D 13-11

150 – Garrett Waisath (Mahomet-S) d. Brody Cabrera (Bloomington) MD 13-0

157 – Weston Neutz (Mahomet-S) d. Leighton Vandegraft (Bloomington) MD 14-1

165 – Talon Dker (Mahomet-S) d. Chris Rose (Bloomington) F 3:56

175 – Christopher Dill (Mahomet-S) d. Tyler Gardner (Bloomington) MD 11-3

190 – Marco Casillas (Mahomet-S) d. Zavian Turner (Bloomington) F 2:43

215 – Preston Ifft (Bloomington) d. Unknown (Unattached) Forf

285 – Jaylen Raab (Bloomington) d. Unknown (Unattached) Forf

GLENWOOD 41, MASCOUTAH 22

Posting an 8-5 edge in matches wrestled powered No. 3 Glenwood (21-7) to a 41-22 victory over No. 17 Mascoutah (12-2).

The win sends Glenwood to a state quarterfinal showdown against No. 9 Oak Forest (19-7) in Bloomington at 7 p.m. on Feb. 27. The state finals appearance will be the seventh in program history for Glenwood, and the first for first-year head coach Nick Anthony.

Titans coach Nick Anthony got pins from Cooper Clarke (106) and Cody Moss (285) in the win, plus tech falls from Pierce Bultmann (113) and Jaxon Ferguson (120), a major decision from Finnley Try (150), and straight decisions from Julian Rammelkamp (165) and Oluwafemi Balogun (190). Mascoutah forfeited at 132 to Glenwood’s AJ Williams.

Wins for Mascoutah coach Cole Witzig came by fall from Xavier Sonon-Hale (126), plus a tech fall from Brock Ross (157), major decisions from Macguire Leck (138) and Desi Wade (144) and a straight decision from Abel Faircloth (215).

Glenwood placed third in Illinois in 2024 and is making its third consecutive downstate appearance. Mascoutah was seeking its first state finals appearance.

Dual results

106 – Cooper Clarke (Glenwood) d. Braxton McCall (Mascoutah) F 2:00

113 – Pierce Bultmann (Glenwood) d. Jacob Martell (Mascoutah) TF 15-0

120 – Jaxon Ferguson (Glenwood) d. Logan Lott (Mascoutah) TF 15-0

126 – Xavier Sonon-Hale (Mascoutah) d. Jake Tuxhorn (Glenwood) F 1:38

132 – Aj Williams (Glenwood) d. Unknown (Unattached) Forf

138 – Macguire Leck (Mascoutah) d. Eli Britton (Glenwood) MD 14-6

144 – Desi Wade (Mascoutah) d. Braden Monahan (Glenwood) MD 12-1

150 – Finnley Try (Glenwood) d. Adrian Nastas (Mascoutah) MD 15-7

157 – Brock Ross (Mascoutah) d. Pierce Helm (Glenwood) TF 16-0

165 – Jullian Rammelkamp (Glenwood) d. Sean Murphy (Mascoutah) D 13-9

175 – Elijah Smith (Glenwood) d. Jordan Sonon-Hale (Mascoutah) SV-1 9-6

190 – Oluwafemi Balogun (Glenwood) d. Harrison Redenius (Mascoutah) D 5-2

215 – Abel Faircloth (Mascoutah) d. Mason Streb (Glenwood) D 5-0

285 – Cody Moss (Glenwood) d. Nygel Bowers (Mascoutah) F 1:55

EVERGREEN PARK SECTIONAL

OAK FOREST 57, RIVERSIDE-BROOKFIELD 11

Behind five falls and a 9-3 edge in matches wrestled, No. 9 Oak Forest (19-7) topped Riverside-Brookfield (10-9) 57-11 for coach Shawn Forst. The win sets up a state quarterfinal dual for Oak Forest against No. 3 Glenwood (21-7) at 7 p.m. in Bloomington on Feb. 27.

Oak Forest’s win featured falls from Roberto Rangel (113), Jacob Sebek (126), James Stadtler (144), Mike Rowe (157) and Ethan Copher (165); a tech fall from Austin Perez (150); a major decision from Shane Matthews (285), and straight decisions from Jason Schickel (106) and Nathan Izguerra (190).
R-B forfeited at 120 to Hunter Kroll and at 215 to Andrius Vasilevskas.

Oak Forest will be making its sixth appearance in the team state finals, and its fifth under the guidance of coach Shawn Forst.  Oak Forest made the trip downstate in 2009 under coach Bucky Randolph, and in 2014-15 and 2017-18 under Forst. Oak Forest placed third in state in 2014 and 2015.

Riverside-Brookfield got a tech fall win from Izaiah Gonzalez (132) and straight decision wins from Tony Lombardo (138) and Nick O’Connor (175) in the loss. The Bulldogs were seeking their fourth trip to the state finals for coach Nick Curby, who guided the program downstate in 2020, 2022 and 2024.

Dual results

106 – Jason Schickel (Oak Forest) d. Riley Cavaliere (R-B) D 8-5

113 – Roberto Rangel (Oak Forest) d. Miles Russell-Barnes (R-B) F 1:30

120 – Hunter Kroll (Oak Forest) d. Unknown (Unattached) Forf

126 – Jacob Sebek (Oak Forest) d. Jayden Tulian (R-B) F 1:42

132 – Izaiah Gonzalez (R-B) d. Josh Schickel (Oak Forest) TF 15-0

138 – Tony Lombardo (R-B) d. Dylan McBride (Oak Forest) D 5-2

144 – James Stadtler (Oak Forest) d. Kevin Callejas (R-B) F 3:52

150 – Austin Perez (Oak Forest) d. Aiden Veltman (R-B) TF 19-3

157 – Mike Rowe (Oak Forest) d. Elijah Rembis (R-B) F 2:51

165 – Ethan Copher (Oak Forest) d. Tony Salgado (R-B) F 0:56

175 – Nick O’Connor (R-B) d. Jason Janke (Oak Forest) D 5-4

190 – Nathan Izguerra (Oak Forest) d. Gerald Evans (R-B) D 8-1

215 – Andrius Vasilevskas (Oak Forest) d. Unknown (Unattached) Forf

285 – Shane Mathews (Oak Forest) d. Kevin Zuniga (R-B) MD 13-2

PROVIDENCE CATHOLIC 63, EVERGREEN PARK 14

No. 2 Providence Catholic (11-7) stormed to a 63-14 team victory over  No. 23 Evergreen Park (18-6), with the Celtics posting eight falls among an 11-3 edge in matches won. Providence also had three tech falls in the win.

The win puts Providence in a state quarterfinal dual against No. 5 Marian Central Catholic (9-7) at 5 p.m. in Bloomington on Feb. 27.

Providence falls against Evergreen Park came from Cole Lemberg (106), Christian Corcoran (113), Max Mandac (126), Luke Banas (144), Justus Heeg (157), Jasper Harper (165), Ameer Khalil (175) and Brayden McKay. Lucas Forsythe (132), Griffin Heeney (138) and Andrew Pellicci (150) all won by tech fall.

Evergreen Park got pins from Damian Perez (120) and Landon Robinson-Gwin (215), while Willie Johnson won by decision at 285. Coach Ron Zimmerman’s Mustangs were seeking the program’s second downstate berth.

Providence Catholic will make its 21st appearance at the team dual finals and its first for coach Donny Reynolds. The program has won 10 team state titles — six under coach Keith Healy, three under Tim Ruettiger, and one under Mike Polz. Providence returns to the finals for the first time since 2018.

Dual results

106 – Cole Lemberg (Providence) d. Brayden Mateja-Bates (Evergreen Park) F 5:21

113 – Christian Corcoran (Providence) d. Ethan Brantley (Evergreen Park) F 0:25

120 – Damian Perez (Evergreen Park) d. Nathan Ortiz (Providence) F 1:24

126 – Max Mandac (Providence) d. Jayden Cervantes (Evergreen Park) F 4:44

132 – Lucas Forsythe (Providence) d. Adrian Cervantes (Evergreen Park) TF 18-3

138 – Griffin Heeney (Providence) d. Michael Chatman (Evergreen Park) TF 21-6

144 – Luke Banas (Providence) d. Lucas Landry (Evergreen Park) F 3:00

150 – Andrew Pellicci (Providence) d. Jacob Rubalcava (Evergreen Park) TF 20-3

157 – Justus Heeg (Providence) d. Esau Rubalcava (Evergreen Park) F 0:22

165 – Jasper Harper (Providence) d. Owen Brady (Evergreen Park) F 2:58

175 – Ameer Khalil (Providence) d. Kyle Croft (Evergreen Park) F 1:10

190 – Brayden McKay (Providence) d. James Templin (Evergreen Park) F 3:54

215 – Landon Robinson-Gwin (Evergreen Park) d. Henry Kalis (Providence) F 0:29

285 – Willie Johnson (Evergreen Park) d. Ryan Lenahan (Providence) D 7-2