Posts by Mick Torres

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

Vandalia led the way at the IHSA Class 1A Individual State  Finals in Champaign with a school-record three champions, with two of them winning titles for the second time. Junior Max Philpot (132) repeated as a champion and junior Preston Waughtel (126) finished first for the second time in three years. Also, senior Dillon Hinton (157) captured his initial championship.

Chicago Hope Academy also turned in an historic performance as senior Chance Woods (138) and junior Arkail Griffin (175) became their school’s first state champions.

Also repeating as IHSA champions were Lena-Winslow/ Stockton co-op senior Eli Larson (190) and Althoff Catholic senior Pierre Walton (165), who won a Class 2A title at East St. Louis Senior last season.

Other champions who made history for the school by becoming their first title winners were Unity Christian/ Argenta-Oreana co-op senior Garrett VerHeecke (144), Freeburg junior Dane Olmstead (215) and Marquette Academy freshman Wesley Janick (120).

The additional four state champions were Canton senior Connor Williams (285), Sandwich junior Cooper Corder (150), Newman Central Catholic sophomore Landon Near (113) and Olympia freshman Connor Collins (106).

Coal City had three seniors who took second place, Aidan Kenney (157), Brock Finch (175) and Cade Poyner (215).

Chicago Hope Academy also had two individuals who finished second, senior Jeremiah Lawrence (132) and freshman Obadiah Willis (126).

Princeton got second-place finishes from seniors Augustus Swanson (113) and Casey Etheridge (165) and Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher co-op also had two individuals who took second place, sophomore Landen Lage (138) and freshman Bentley Fields (106).

Lena-Winslow/ Stockton co-op senior Jeremiah Luke (285) took second place for the second year in row. The other second-place finishers  were Unity Christian/ Argenta-Oreana co-op senior Clinton VerHeecke (150), Wilmington senior Logan VanDuyne (190), Dixon sophomore Charlie Connors (144) and Oakwood/ Salt Fork co-op sophomore Weston Frazier (120).

Riverdale senior Dean Wainwright (132), who won state championships in 2025 and 2023, wound up claiming sixth place. 

Coal City senior Brody Widlowski (150), who took second place in both 2025 and 2024, settled for third place. Another second-place finisher from last year who was unable to get back to the Grand March was Roxana senior Lyndon Thies (175), who also finished third.

Two second-place finishers from 2025 who fell short of winning a medal were Oakwood/ Salt Fork co-op junior Steven Uden (113) and Coal City junior Cooper Morris (132).

Additional seniors who took third place were Roxana’s Brandon Green, Jr. (144), Cumberland’s Owen McGinnis (157), PORTA/ A-C Central/ Greenview/ Havana co-op’s Justin Zimmerman (165), Vandalia’s Ross Miller (190) and Lena-Winslow/ Stockton co-op’s Oliver McPeek (215).  

Juniors who finished in third place were Coal City’s Owen Petersen (126), Althoff Catholic’s Dawson Hawthorne (132) and Erie/ Prophetstown co-op’s Caleb Reymer (285). 

Sophomores who placed third were Morrison’s Cael Wright (120) and Oakwood/ Salt Fork co-op’s Devin Ehler (138). And freshmen who claimed third place were Farmington/ Cuba co-op’s Isaac Showalter (100) and Murphysboro’s Drevan Bramlett (113). 

Coal City had the most medalists in 1A with seven while Chicago Hope Academy and Vandalia ranked second with five apiece. Althoff Catholic and Lena-Winslow/ Stockton co-op both had four medalists while Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher co-op, Murphysboro, Olympia, PORTA/ A-C Central/ Greenview/ Havana co-op and Roxana all finished with three medal winners.

Beside the emphasis on the champions and the second-place finishers, there were also plenty of great stories of those who finished from third- through sixth-place. Many of them also made history for their programs and just missed appearing on the championship mat. The author feels blessed to have had the great opportunity to report on and interview so many of these all-state athletes during the 2025-2026 season as well as throughout the careers of the senior qualifiers.  

Note: This story begins where the championship matches started, which was at 215. And the records that appear in this story do not include results from the Class 1A Dual Team Finals. 

Here are the champions and their weights from the 2026 IHSA Class 1A individual State Finals:

215 – Dane Olmstead, Freeburg

Dane Olmstead definitely turned in a memorable performance as he made history for Freeburg at the IHSA Class 1A Finals. Competing in the first title match of the Finals at 215, the junior got one takedown in the first period and two more in the second period over Coal City’s Cade Poyner to build a 10-2 advantage with just over one minute remaining. That’s when the Coalers senior received a point for a stalling penalty and followed that with a takedown and nearfall to tie things at 10-10 and that’s how it stayed as regulation time wound down. However, just before the buzzer sounded, Poyner could no longer sustain his nearfall and Olmstead got an escape with about one second left to wrap up a dramatic 11-10 decision to claim the 215 championship. 

In the process, Olmstead (39-4) became Freeburg’s first state champion and its second medalist and finalist, 10 years after Cooper Secker took second place at 126 in 1A. The Midgets’ program, coached by Dan Quartz, is only in its third season with its previous highlight of the season being the title of the small-school division of the Marion Dual Team Tournament. Olmstead, who plans to play football and be a punter at the University of Missouri, also won titles at the Vandalia Sectional, the East Alton-Wood River Regional and Carbondale, took second at Litchfield and was third at Mascoutah. He followed a 16-5 major decision over Richmond-Burton’s Shane Falasca with a pin in 3:04 over Heyworth’s Jarrod Fulcher before getting two takedowns to help him claim a 6-4 decision over Lena-Winslow/ Stockton co-op’s Oliver McPeek in the semifinals. He was joined by junior Jack Amann (285) as a qualifier. 

“It was fun,” Olmstead said. “He caught me off-guard with the cradle, for sure, but I wasn’t nervous because I knew it was only four points, so it was tied. And I felt his cradle wasn’t tight so I knew that I needed to get up and get out of here. I just trusted in myself and didn’t get scared and just went out there and wrestled. I grew up kicking, it’s my one true love. And I’ve also done this my whole life, so I’m excited to wrestle again next year. (Benefits of wrestling for a punter) I would say staying in shape all year, keeping the flexibility up and mental toughness that keeps building throughout the year. (The first state champion at Freeburg) I’m very happy with how it’s been going and we have some really good coaches. There’s a lot of heart on the wrestling team and I really wanted to do this and bring this title back home to Freeburg.” 

“Dane really locked in these last three weeks of the season,” Quartz said. “You could see it in the practice room that his work ethic really improved. He ended up first at regionals, first at sectionals and first at IHSA State. He ended his junior year season with a record of 39-4. During the State tournament he seemed to be on another level on his offensive. He seemed to be taking down kids with ease. We had game plans for the kids he was wrestling and he executed them perfectly. I told him in the tunnel before the Grand March, ‘hey bud it’s just another match’, and he responded ‘I’m good, coach’ without any hesitation. That’s when I knew he was ready. He got to start off the State Championship Finals since they started at 215 pounds and he really gave the crowd a match to watch. Dane is our first state qualifier for the boys since we started our program three years ago and not only did he qualify but he won the whole thing. He set the bar high and hopefully that gets contagious in our practice room.”

Poyner (46-4), a senior was one of three second-place finishers and seven medalists of the 14 qualifiers for the Coalers, who are coached by 2022 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Mark Masters. A three-time state qualifier who also took fifth place at 190 in 2025 and was a title winner at four tournaments this season, got falls in his other three matches, tying five others for third place, including two in 1A, who had three pins. He won in 0:35 over Warrensburg-Latham/ Maroa-Forsyth co-op’s Graham Blackwell, needed 49 seconds to get a win over Marquette Academy’s Alex Schaefer and then got a victory over Yorkville Christian’s Jackson Allen in 1:14 in the semifinals. One week later, he and his Coalers teammates were able to repeat as Class 1A champions and win their third state title in four seasons when they defeated Vandalia 43-23 in the title dual meet, the second year in a row that the two teams met for the championship.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Poyner said. “I was really trying to get that pin in the last 10 seconds, but it was a bad angle and it is what it is now. Without a doubt, our team’s going to roll to team state. We’re coming for that title, and we’re going to get it. (What’s special about Coal City’s team) We’re like brothers. We’ve got heart and we always work for each other, no matter what.”

For third place, Lena-Winslow/ Stockton co-op senior Oliver McPeek (48-3), a two-time qualifier who placed fourth at 190 last season, won a 13-1 major decision over Murphysboro junior Caybren Hubbard (47-10), who qualified for the first time. In the fifth-place match, Marquette Academy junior Alex Schaefer (35-5) won a 10-5 decision over Yorkville Christian senior Jackson Allen (46-10) in a meeting of two-time qualifiers who both won their first medals. Falling one victory shy of state medals were Mt. Zion senior Keller Stocks (46-4), a three-time qualifier who was fourth at 215 in 2025 and Richmond-Burton sophomore Shane Falasca (31-12). Others who lost in the quarterfinals and then fell in the wrestlebacks were Reed-Custer senior Dominic Alaimo (39-12) and Marengo senior Owen Bills (21-8).

“I had a fever this morning and I thought I was maybe going to forfeit out, but I powered through it and got third,” McPeek said. “We’re all like brothers and there’s such a great bond with everybody and it’s been a lot of fun.”

285 – Connor Williams, Canton

Connor Williams became the fourth individual from Canton to win an IHSA title and also the fourth to be a two-time state medalist after winning 2-1 on a tiebreaker over Lena-Winslow/ Stockton co-op’s Jeremiah Luke in the Class 1A 285 title match. The Little Giants senior joined Joseph Norton (2023), Zach Weideman (2010) and 2024 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Phil Johns (1987) as IHSA champions and also two-time medal winners. Williams took the early advantage with an escape to open the middle period and Luke answered with an escape early in the third period. Williams finally wrapped up the championship with one last escape with 24 seconds left in overtime to cap his career with a big celebration while Luke walked off dejected after falling just short to a once-beaten senior in a title match for the second-straight year.

Williams completed a 40-1 season where his lone loss was by a 3-2 score by ultimate tiebreaker against Murphysboro’s Julien Tanner at ABE’s Rumble to close out the 2025 portion of his schedule. He won five other championships, at Seneca, Palatine’s Berman and the Mid-Illini Conference and also the Camp Point Central Regional and the Olympia Sectional. He took fifth at 285 last season and also qualified for state in 2024. He was one of four qualifiers and two medalists for coach Zach Crawford’s Little Giants, with classmate Dyllan Steele finishing fourth at 120. Williams opened with a fall in 2:39 over Effingham’s Jeremiah Lorton. Then he captured back-to-back 4-1 decisions, defeating Dixon’s Dylan Bopes in the quarterfinals and avenging his only setback in the semifinals by advancing to the finals over Tanner, who took sixth place. 

“It’s amazing, of course,” Williams said. “It’s just surreal and it’s the best I’ve felt in my entire life. We have four state champions and two in three years, so it means a lot for the town and the sport. (Last year at state). I was still hungry, I wanted first, and I got it and I needed it. (The title match) It was tough and I gave it everything. It just means everything to me that I was able to compete, and also win.”

Luke (44-4) took second place for the second year in a row, with his 7-3 title match loss in 2025 coming against East Alton-Wood River senior Drake Champlin in the 215 finals, to conclude a 45-6 season. This was the first Illinois loss for the three-time state qualifier, who had two defeats to individuals from Wisconsin and one to an athlete from Iowa, with two of those being decisions settled by two points or less. He won all three of the Illinois tournaments that he competed in, at Erie/ Prophetstown, the Stillman Valley Regional and the Byron Sectional. One of seven qualifiers, four medalists and two finalists for the PantherHawks, who are coached by 2020 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Kevin Milder, he opened with a 13-1 major decision over Bishop McNamara’s Kian Bramer and followed with a fall in 4:58 over East Alton-Wood River’s Michael Soto before pulling out a 4-3 decision over Richmond-Burton’s Breckin Campbell in the semifinals. He and the PantherHawks qualified for the IHSA Dual Team Finals for the first time since 2023 and for the fifth time overall and they lost in the final match to suffer a 39-35 defeat to Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher co-op to just miss out on claiming a fifth state trophy. Comments from Luke about being a state runner-up will appear in the 1A Dual Team story.

In the third-place match between first-time state qualifiers, Erie/ Prophetstown co-op junior Caleb Reymer (42-9) captured an 11-0 major decision over Olympia senior Darian Holloway (45-7). Reymer and Deerfield’s Adrian Cohen were the only two individuals in the Finals who recorded four falls while Holloway tied five other individuals for third place, including two in 1A, who finished with three pins. And for fifth place, Richmond-Burton junior Breckin Campbell (34-11) won by fall in 4:33 over Murphysboro senior Julien Tanner (48-6) in a meeting between a pair of two-time qualifiers and first-time medalists. Falling one win shy of medals in their first trips to state were Dixon senior Dylan Bopes (33-8) and Effingham senior Jeremiah Lorton (40-10), with the latter just missing out on becoming his school’s initial IHSA medalist.   

“I have to practice every day, even though I’m sick or my body’s just not feeling the greatest and battling through injuries and making sure that I get my quality time with my coaches,” Reymer said. (Competing for a co-op team) It expands us more and fills out more zones of our team that would be empty if we weren’t a co-op. I’ve been here to watch before, but never competed. If you would have told me before the season that I’d be the state’s third-place finisher, I would not have believed you.”  

106 – Connor Collins, Olympia

Connor Collins followed in the footsteps of his father and coach, Josh Collins, by becoming an IHSA champion when the Olympia freshman won a 7-3 decision over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher co-op freshman Bentley Fields in the Class 1A 106 championship match. Connor became the first Spartan freshman to win an IHSA title and joins his dad, who took first in Class A at 112 in 2000 and in A at 125 in 2001 after taking second at 103 in 1999, as one of five to win titles, including the second to do so in the last three years, with Bentley Wise taking first at 150 in 2024. Connor’s ultimate goal is to not only join his father as the program’s lone two-time champions, but to surpass that achievement, which is recognized on the gym wall in Stanford. 

Collins (40-6), who only lost on one occasion by more than three points, won titles in three other tournaments, at Civic Memorial, Unity and the Deer Creek-Mackinaw Regional. He took second at his own sectional and was third at both Princeton’s Lyle King PIT and Reed-Custer. One of seven qualifiers and three medalists for Olympia, he was the lone finalist for a Spartans team that qualified for the IHSA Dual Team Finals for the second year in a row and the 11th time overall and fell 46-27 to eventual champion Coal City. Collins kicked off his run to a title by capturing an 11-3 major decision over Yorkville Christian’s Davin Torza and then won by fall in 2:33 over Benton’s Braxton Tittle. He earned his spot in the 106 title match by recording a fall in 1:11 over Winnebago’s Cam Whitehead in the semifinals. He moved in front for good in the title match with a takedown 24 seconds in and still only owned a 4-2 lead late in the third period before finally sealing the deal with another takedown, this one with 19 seconds remaining.

“It feels so amazing,” Connor Collins said. “I’ve worked so hard this year to get to this moment and to accomplish this goal in my freshman year, it means so much to me. (Competing for his dad) It’s so awesome. Having him in my corner and him being able to be there for practice and motivating me every day is awesome. I’m the first freshman champ at Olympia. My goal is to get more state titles than my dad had, so I’ve got to get at least three. I had goals at the beginning of the season to be this successful, and I knew it was possible from the beginning of the season. I wanted that state title so bad and it feels so incredible. There’s so much pressure relief. I’ve been thinking about it the last three days and how I’m going to be a state champ, and I finally got that goal.”

“It was an incredible honor to coach my son to a state championship in his very first high school season,” Josh Collins said. “Seeing him achieve that goal while wearing the same singlet I wore when I won in 2001 made the moment even more incredible. It’s a memory we’ll always share, and we’re excited to see what the future holds for him.”

Fields (41-11), one of nine qualifiers, three medalists and two second-place finishers for coach Josh Carter’s Falcons, won titles at Plano and the Ridgeview Regional this season. He won his initial match in Champaign with an 11-1 major decision over Coal City’s Jake Munsterman and followed with an 11-3 major decision over Dixon’s Riley Paredes before earning his spot on the 106 title mat by handing Farmington/ Cuba co-op freshman Isaac Showalter his first defeat in 43 matches when got an escape in the second period to account for the only scoring in a 1-0 decision in the semifinals, which avenged a 15-6 setback to Showalter in the semifinals of the Olympia Sectional, where he wound up finishing in fourth place. Fields and his Falcons also  participated in the IHSA Class 1A Dual Team Finals for the fourth time and first since 2015 and won in the final match to edge Lena-Winslow/ Stockton co-op 39-35 to claim their fourth trophy and after falling to 54-21 to Vandalia in the semifinals, they wound up finishing in third place after claiming a 63-16 victory over Dixon. His comments about being a runner-up and also a member of a third-place team will appear in the Class 1A Dual Team story. 

In the third-place match, Farmington/ Cuba co-op freshman Isaac Showalter capped his 44-1 freshman season by claiming a 2-1 decision over Winnebago sophomore Cam Whitehead (37-6). Showalter, a winner of five tournaments, won his first 43 matches before falling 1-0 to runner-up Bentley Fields in the semifinals. Whitehead, who also won five tournaments, made his initial state appearance. For fifth place, PORTA/ A-C Central/ Greenview/ Havana co-op sophomore Coyt Rademaker (43-9) won a 4-1 decision over Rockridge sophomore Nate Lower (42-6). It was the second trip to state and the first medal for Rademaker and the first appearance for Lower. Missing out on medals by one win in their initial trips to Champaign were Dixon junior Riley Paredes (38-4) and Coal City sophomore Jake Munsterman (46-5). 

“It’s a tough lesson,” Showalter said. “I’m pretty proud. So I’ll come back next year and see if I can win it. I learned a lot from my coaches, put in a lot of hard work and just tried my best.”

113 – Landon Near, Newman Central Catholic

Landon Near went 1-2 against Augustus Swanson prior to the two squaring off in the ultimate showdown, the IHSA Class 1A title match at 113. And when it mattered the most, the Newman Central Catholic sophomore used a takedown late in the opening period and then another takedown early in the final period to help him capture a 7-0 decision over the Princeton senior to wrap up a 44-3 season. He became the 27th state champion from the Sterling school and its first IHSA title winner since 2020, when Kyle Tunink claimed first place at 152 in 1A and then in 2021, Will Rude captured the 138 title at the IWCOA’s 1A Open State Championship. He’s also a two-time medalist in his first two seasons after also finishing in fourth place at 106 in 2025. 

Near won four other tournaments this season, at Sterling, Erie/ Prophetstown, the Riverdale Regional and the Byron Sectional while taking second at Princeton’s Lyle King PIT and third at Clinton, Iowa. He fell 7-5 to Swanson for the 113 title at the PIT and 4-1 in a dual meet and beat him 7-4 for the title at the Byron Sectional while his other defeat was 4-1 to an Iowan in the semifinals at Clinton, Iowa. He was one of four qualifiers, two medalists and the lone finalist for the Comets, who are coached by an alumni of the school, Brody Ivey, a three-time medalist and 1A champion at 152 in 2019. Near opened with a fall in 1:30 over Bishop McNamara’s Evan Johnson, then he won a 5-1 decision in the quarterfinals over Murphysboro’s Drevan Bramlett before earning his spot on the 113 title mat with a 7-4 decision over Olympia’s Brandon Gaither in the semifinals. All of the scoring in the quarterfinal win was in the second period on a reversal and takedown while yielding an escape. And in the semifinals, Near got a takedown in both the first and second periods to build a 6-0 lead and he held off Gaither following a takedown.

“It feels absolutely amazing,” Near said. “It’s everything that I’ve ever dreamed of. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime moment, especially for a lot of people and I want to keep Newman’s legacy going. I have a lot of great partners in the room and they’ve helped me and they’ve pushed me and I’ve pushed them. State can be anybody’s game and our sectional is definitely the hardest sectional in the state. Now I know what it feels like to get one, and I want to get another one.”

Swanson, who finished with a 47-3 record, also won titles at LeRoy/ Tri-Valley and his own regional and placed second at Clinton, Iowa, where he fell in the finals to an Iowan, and to Near for top honors at the Byron Sectional. The four-time IHSA qualifier also finished fifth at 106 in his sophomore season. He joined Casey Etheridge (165) as a runner-up and Kane Dauber (fourth at 138) as medalists for the Tigers, who are coached by 2020 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Steve Amy. He won a 10-1 major decision over Yorkville Christian’s Phoenix Senodenos in his opener and then followed that with two falls, winning in 1:38 over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher co-op’s Ian Rotramel in the quarterfinals and the second of those pins came in 0:42 over Mercer County’s Boston Morford in the semifinals. He joined Dauber and Etheridge as one of nine individuals from their school who’ve captured two or more medals in Champaign.  

For third place, Murphysboro freshman Drevan Bramlett (43-8) claimed a 14-10 decision over Althoff Catholic junior Jacobi Cobbs (42-4). Bramlett, who was the top finisher among three Red Devils medalists, avenged a 14-0 loss in the 113 title match at Carbondale’s Murdale to Cobbs, who earned his first medal in his second state appearance and was one of four who placed in the top-four for the Crusaders. And for fifth place, Olympia sophomore Brandon Gaither (39-10) captured a 14-4 major decision over Mercer County freshman Boston Morford (35-14). Gaither, who along with Cobbs both competed with their teams at the IHSA Dual Team Finals, made his second trip and earned his second medal, after placing sixth at 106 in 2025, to become one of eight from his school to win two or more medals. Oakwood/ Salt Fork co-op junior Steven Uden (41-8), a three-time qualifier who took second at 106 last season, fell one win shy of a medal, as did Reed-Custer sophomore Colton Drinkwine (35-6), who was at state for the second time.

“I’ve worked so hard this season,” Bramlett said. “And I even lost to him before, 14-0. (Coach Shea Baker) He’s amazing, he’s teached me a lot of things throughout the season.”

120 – Wesley Janick, Marquette Academy

Wesley Janick lost his first match at the Byron Sectional in the quarterfinals to Johnsburg’s Chase Vogel and had to win three-straight matches in the consolation bracket to qualify for state, needing to beat a senior who was 40-1 and a state medalist in 2025, Oregon’s Josiah Perez, in order to reach the third-place match, which he lost. But being able to advance to Champaign was the key for the Marquette Academy freshman who came very close to not even qualifying. One week later, he made the most of his opportunity with two one-point wins and a major decision to reach the Class 1A 120 title match, where he won a 10-0 major decision over Oakwood/ Salt Fork co-op sophomore Weston Frazier to capture the title and in the process, became the first individual from his school to be an IHSA champion and also was one his program’s initial two medalists. 

Janick (35-4) had second-place finishes at Plano and Reed-Custer before winning his first title at Orion in the final week of the regular season. He followed up on that by taking first place at the Princeton Regional before battling for fourth to qualify at the sectional. He opened with a 5-4 decision over Murphysboro’s Paxton Pyatt, followed with a 15-3 major decision over PORTA/ A-C Central/ Greenview/ Havana co-op’s Kainin Fillbright in the quarterfinals and then used a second-period takedown to help him capture a 4-3 decision in the semifinals over Chicago Hope Academy’s Nolan Callahan to become the first individual from his program to reach the Grand March. He moved in front for good at 4-0 with an escape and takedown in the middle period and wrapped up his title win with a takedown and nearfall in the third period. He was one of two qualifiers for coach Trent Lyons’ Crusaders, with junior Alex Schaefer securing his medal in Saturday’s wrestlebacks and finishing fifth at 215, The state championship and two medalists are a major milestone for the Ottawa school, which has had a program for only three seasons.

“We had two state placers and one of us won,” Janick said. “(Being a state champion) It’s huge. The program started three years back when (Alex) Schaefer was freshman, so having a state champ this early is pretty uncommon. I won one IK(WF) one, and I was a runner-up. This is a lot different. It was such an adrenaline rush like, ‘I did it’, and I really don’t know how to explain it. It feels good to know that I’m the one that’s setting the foundation kind of for winning for this program. With the support from my teammates and the support from my coaching staff and past teammates and past coaches, it helps a lot to know that you have a lot of people on your side. It was a big dream of mine, actually.”

Frazier (38-5), the lone finalist and one of two medal winners and six qualifiers for coach Mike Glosser’s Comets, turned in an impressive state debut by opening with a major decision and then he got wins by sudden victory in both the quarterfinals and semifinals to reach the 120 title match. After winning 10-1 over Morrison’s Cael Wright in his first match, he got a takedown in overtime to win 7-4 by sudden victory over Canton’s Dyllan Steele, who hadn’t lost before that, in the quarterfinals. Then he won 4-1 over Vogel in the semifinals, after also getting a takedown in overtime. Frazier won tournament titles at Cumberland and the Robinson Regional and took second place at Princeton’s Lyle King PIT and the Vandalia Sectional. Oakwood/ Salt Fork co-op has now advanced an individual to the state title match in each season since 2019.

In the third-place match, Morrison sophomore Cael Wright (47-9) won a 3-1 decision over Canton senior Dyllan Steele (32-2). Wright, making his second state appearance, lost his opener to Frazier and then won five-consecutive matches in the wrestlebacks, including a 4-3 decision over Vogel, to assure his first medal and he was also his team’s lone medalist. Steele, who won five tournaments and entered his third Finals with a 28-0 record, picked up his first medal and joined 285 champion Connor Williams as one of two medalists for the Little Giants. Chicago Hope Academy sophomore Nolan Callahan (23-7) received fifth place by medical forfeit over Johnsburg sophomore Chase Vogel (36-9). It was the first medal and second state trip for Callahan, who was one of five medalists for the Eagles, who lost 44-26 to eventual runner-up Vandalia in the IHSA 1A Dual Team Finals. Vogel also won his first medal in his second appearance and was of two medalists for his school. Falling one win shy of a first medal while competing in their second trips to state were Murphysboro junior Paxton Pyatt (49-6) and PORTA/ A-C Central/ Greenview/ Havana co-op sophomore Kainin Fillbright (40-11). Others who advanced to the quarterfinals and then lost in the consolation bracket were Dixon junior Jack Ragan (40-7) and Seneca junior Raiden Terry (39-5).

“I knew that I had to make up a lot of ground, especially to come back to get third,” Wright said. “I try to give all of it to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. (What he likes about Morrison) We have a lot of guys putting in offseason work and a lot of guys working hard during the season. And we have good coaching and parents and the community supporting us.”

126 – Preston Waughtel, Vandalia

Preston Waughtel beat Peoria Notre Dame’s Ian Akers 7-0 in the IHSA Class 1A 113 title match in 2024 to cap a perfect 50-0 season as a freshman competing for Carlyle. But he fell just short of repeating as a title winner in 2025 in his first season at Vandalia when he lost a 2-1 decision in the 120 title match to Marian Central Catholic’s Brayden Teunissen for his second loss in 53 matches. Entering the 2026 1A Finals in Champaign with a 25-0 record, the Vandals junior was determined to capture his second title, and that’s just what he achieved after using a victory by technical fall, a pin and two narrow decisions to take first place at 126 with a 7-4 decision over Chicago Hope Academy freshman Obadiah Willis in the title match. That moved him closer to also doing what his brother Tyson accomplished from 2021 to 2025, when he won two titles and placed second at Carlyle and capped his career with his third title in his only season at Vandalia.  

Waughtel (29-0) also played a key role in an historic day for Vandalia as he was joined as a champion by junior Max Philpot, who took first at 132 for his second championship in three trips to the title mat, and senior Dillon Hinton, who won a title at 157 to become a four-time medalist who finished fifth, second, third and first. They were three of the five medal winners for coach Patrick Myers’ Vandals, who had 10 qualifiers. Waughtel opened with a victory by technical fall in 2:12 over Oregon’s Isaiah Perez, got an escape in the third period to claim a 1-0 decision over Coal City’s Owen Petersen and then earned his third-consecutive trip to the Grand March with a fall in 5:24 over Lisle Senior’s Alexander Ferari in the semifinals. He got the first points in the title match with a takedown but Willis responded with a reversal to make it 3-2 after one period. He got an escape and takedown to go up 7-2 after two periods and Willis could only add single points for an escape and for stalling after that. He also won tournament titles at Civic Memorial, Princeton’s Lyle King PIT, the Auburn Regional and the Vandalia Sectional. Waughtel improved to 134-2 during his career and he and his teammates competed in the IHSA Class 1A Dual Team Finals for the second year in a row. After winning 44-26 over Chicago Hope Academy and 54-21 over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher co-op, Vandalia fell to Coal City 43-23 in the title dual meet, the second year in a row that it finished second to the Coalers. 

“Last year I thought I had what it takes, but I didn’t keep my composure and that’s what happens, it bites you in the butt some days,” Waughtel said. (What he likes about his team) “Yeah, we know what it takes to win, and Vandalia just helps build us all to be accountable to winning. (Coming to Vandalia) It taught me what I need to be, what I need to do to be a better person and put me around the right people. (Coach Patrick Myers) He wrestled at the DI level at SIU-E, so he knows what it takes to win and how to build his team the best. (Competing with two-time champion Max Philpot) We’re always fighting every day, being proud of each other, because we know what it takes to win, and we want to win. Sometimes I think he’s just bullying me around because he’s bigger, but it just helps me, and then when he’s down, I pick him up. We’re just perfect for each other. He knows what it takes to win.”

Willis (43-4) was one of five medalists, four finalists and two second-place finishers for the Eagles, who are coached by his father, Dan. Chicago Hope Academy got titles from Chance Woods (138) and Arkail Griffin (175) while Jeremiah Lawrence (132) joined him as a runner-up and Nolan Callahan (120) took fifth place. A winner of the other five tournaments that he was in, Willis recorded a win by technical fall in 2:11 over Olympia’s Tucker Garey in his state debut and then got another victory by technical fall in 3:23 over Richmond-Burton’s Lelan Nelson before winning a 10-2 major decision over Hoopeston Area/ Milford co-op’s Aiden Bell in the semifinals. He and his teammates competed in the IHSA Class 1A Dual Team Finals for the second-straight year and the fourth time overall and lost 44-26 to the eventual runner-up, Vandalia.

“It’s super exciting,” Willis said. “We work hard in the room every day, just growing better for this tournament. My dad’s the head coach and we’ve had five brothers go through this program. (Competing for his dad) I love it, it’s unreal. Yeah, he’s done a great job with me and all my teammates. (Likes about Chicago Hope Academy) It’s something I really love, it’s a Christian school. So not only are we working hard on the mat, but we’re also working hard off the mat, whether it’s our spiritual life or anything else. I love that Christian aspect there. I’m excited to come back the next three years and just raise the intensity every year.”

In the third-place match, Coal City junior Owen Petersen (45-6) won a 5-2 decision over Lisle Senior senior Alexander Ferari (34-5). Petersen won a state medal for the third time, adding to a sixth at 106 in 2024 and a fifth at 113 in 2025. He joined senior Brody Widlowski as one of the 11 Coalers who have won three or more state medals. Petersen also got to compete in his third IHSA Dual Team Finals and helped the Coalers to their third-straight trip to the title dual meet and won their second-straight championship with a 43-23 victory over Vandalia. Ferari, who won four tournament titles, claimed his first medal in his third state trip to become the Lions’ only top-six finisher. For fifth, Hoopeston Area/ Milford co-op senior Aiden Bell (41-3) won a 15-2 major decision over Oregon sophomore Isaiah Perez (39-12). Bell, who won five tournaments, earned a medal in his first appearance while Perez got his initial medal in his second state trip. Coming up one win shy of medals were Richmond-Burton sophomore Lelan Nelson (33-8), who placed fifth at 106 in his debut in 2025, and Morrison freshman Eli Modglin (45-5). Litchfield/ Mt. Olive co-op senior Vincent Moore (37-6), a four-time qualifier, also fell short of a first medal. Also reaching the quarterfinals but then falling in the wrestlebacks was Newman Central Catholic senior Zhyler Hansen (35-9).

“All I knew is I needed one takedown, one takedown to seal the match,” Petersen said. (Finishing third) It feels great. Last year I took fifth and I wasn’t really happy with that. (Losing to Max Philpot) It definitely gave me confidence. (Coal City’s success this season) I’m so excited and I’m happy for everybody.” 

132 – Max Philpot, Vandalia

Max Philpot got the opportunity to compete for a state title at 132 right after his teammate Preston Waughtel did so at 126 and both were attempting to capture a second championship in their third appearance on the title mat and had to go against opponents from the same school, Chicago Hope Academy. The similarities didn’t stop there as they both had close matches with Philpot claiming a 5-4 decision over senior Jeremiah Lawrence and Waughtel winning a 7-4 decision over freshman Obadiah Willis. The only difference between the two champions is that Philpot repeated after taking first place at 113 last season with a 10-3 decision over Marian Central Catholic’s Austin Hagevold and second at 106 as a freshman when he lost a 3-1 decision to Johnsburg’s Eric Bush while Waughtel took first at 113 as a freshman competing for Carlyle and lost 2-1 in the finals at 120 in his only season together with his senior brother Tyson with the Vandals, in which the latter finished his career with three titles in four trips to the state title mat. That’s an achievement that the two Vandals juniors hope to duplicate next season. As a bonus, Vandalia also got a championship from senior Dillon Hinton at 157, who placed all four years and won a title in his final attempt. This is the first time the program has had three champions at one Finals, after having two with Philpot and Tyson Waughtel last season. And Philpot also joins Hinton as two of the five Vandals who have won three or more state medals.

Philpot (36-2) was one of 10 qualifiers and five medalists for coach Patrick Myers’ Vandals. He opened with a victory by technical fall in 2:28 over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher co-op’s Camden Brucker and then got a pin in 5:27 over Richmond-Burton’s Wyatt Franckowiak. He advanced to the IHSA 1A title mat for the third time with a fall in 5:24 over Newman Central Catholic’s Landon Blanton in the semifinals. In the championship match, Philpot got a takedown in the first period to take a 3-1 lead. He went up 4-1 with an escape early in the second period but Lawrence got a takedown with time running down and Philpot used a late escape to make it 5-4 after two periods and Lawrence was unable to score any points after that. Philpot won three other titles this season, Princeton’s Lyle King PIT, the Auburn Regional and Vandalia Sectional and took third place in a tournament in Pennsylvania where he suffered one of his two defeats. He and his teammates concluded their season in the IHSA 1A Dual Team Finals, which they competed in for the third year in a row. They beat Chicago Hope Academy 44-26 and Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher co-op 54-21 before falling to Coal City 43-23 for the title, the second year in a row that two met for top honors and the Vandals again finished in second place. 

“I knew going up to 132 pounds was going to be a challenge, but that’s what I wanted,” Philpot said. “I knew that I could do it. I have confidence in my training, my coaches and myself and I got it done. (Support in Vandalia) I’m blessed and grateful that I have what I have. They’re everything that I need and I couldn’t do it without them. I couldn’t do it without my partners and my coaches, my support system, my mom and dad, everyone together. (Appearing on the video before the title matches) It was pretty cool and I thought it was pretty funny. I know one day it’s going to be over with and all said and done. I’m just grateful once again.”

Lawrence (30-3) was one of two second-place finishers, four finalists and five medalists for coach Dan Willis’ Eagles. He was making his fourth trip to state and won a medal for the third time after finishing third at 120 last season and third at 106 in 2024 while competing for De La Salle Institute. He won by fall in 2:27 over Rockridge’s Clayton Blumenstein in his opener and then claimed a 12-6 decision over Althoff Catholic’s Dawson Hawthorne. He advanced to the Grand March for the first time after getting a takedown with 24 seconds left to help him capture a 4-3 decision in the semifinals over Riverdale’s Dean Wainwright, an IHSA champion in 2025 and 2023 and third-place finisher in 2024 who was unable to compete again and wound up taking sixth. Lawrence also won tournament titles this season at Reed-Custer, the Chicagoland Christian Conference, the Sullivan Regional and the Coal City Sectional and was second at Rich Township. He and his teammates lost 44-26 to runner-up Vandalia in the IHSA 1A Dual Team Finals. His comments about taking second place will be in the 1A Dual Team story.

For third place, Althoff Catholic junior Dawson Hawthorne (42-3) won a 10-1 major decision over Richmond-Burton freshman Wyatt Franckowiak (42-12). Hawthorne, who won five tournaments and made his second trip to state, took sixth at 126 last year. Newman Central Catholic senior Landon Blanton (42-7) placed fifth by medical forfeit over Riverdale senior Dean Wainwright (46-4). Blanton, a three-time qualifier, was fifth at 132 last season. Wainwright was the IHSA champion at 132 over Unity Christian’s Garrett VerHeecke last year and at 106 over Illini Bluffs’ Hunter Robbins in 2023 and lost to Tyson Waughtel and then placed third at 120 in 2024. He finished with a 192-10 record, a win total that ranks in the top-10 in IHSA history, and he joins 2026 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Joel Stockwell and 2017 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Tyler Hurry as the lone four-time medalists at the Port Byron school. Falling one win shy of medals were Illini Bluffs sophomore Barret Speck (43-5), who took fifth at 120 in 2025, and Oakwood/ Salt Fork co-op sophomore Mason Swartz (41-8), who was fourth at 120 last year. Coal City junior Cooper Morris (43-6), who took second place at 126 last year and fifth at 113 in 2024, was unable to claim a third medal. Shelbyville senior Bodee Fathauer (24-9) also wasn’t able to get his first medal in his third state appearance.

“It just all starts in the room,” Hawthorne said. “We have four placers and one in the finals, that’s all that matters. We all compete with each other and don’t want anybody to do better than us.”

“I don’t think it’s fully quite set in yet, but this is my last high school tournament,” Wainwright said. “I know in a couple of years, I’m going to look back and hopefully be proud of what I’ve done. There’s no telling what might have happened, you know. Life comes at you and you’ve just kind of got to roll with the punches. I’m looking to get healed and keep training over the summer and hopefully get my college season off to a good start. I think I’ll look back in a couple of years or even when I’m older, and I’ll be pretty proud of my career.”

138 – Chance Woods, Chicago Hope Academy

Chance Woods qualified for the IHSA Finals in his first three seasons while competing for Evergreen Park, but he was unable to win a state medal there. So as a senior, he finished his career at Chicago Hope Academy and that move not only paid off for him making a fourth visit to Champaign but the senior finally was not only able to get on the awards stand but captured the Class 1A title at 138 in dramatic fashion by winning 5-3 on an overtime tiebreaker over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher co-op sophomore Landen Lage. He opened with two victories by technical fall, taking the first in 2:43 over Johnston City’s Jace Weaver and the second in 2:26 over Unity’s AJ Daly. He earned his spot in the Grand March when he got a takedown with 14 seconds left to win a 6-4 decision in the semifinals over Oakwood/ Salt Fork co-op’s Devin Ehler, who led 3-0 after one period and only was still up 4-3 going into the third period.  And then in the 138 title match, Woods got a takedown in the first period to go up 3-0 and stayed that way until Lage tied it with a takedown with seven seconds left in regulation. Woods was able to clinch his championship with a reversal with nine seconds remaining in the second overtime.

It was a special day for coach Dan Willis’ Eagles as Woods and senior Arkail Griffin (175) captured championships, senior Jeremiah Lawrence (132) and his freshman son Obadiah Willis (126) took second place and Nolan Callahan (120) finished fifth to give them a program-best five medals, which was four less than they had heading into the competition and it easily surpassed last year’s record of three medal winners, including Roy Phelps becoming their first finalist by taking second at 285 and Griffin placed fifth at 165. Woods won titles in the other five tournaments that he took part in, Rich Township, Reed-Custer, the Chicagoland Christian Conference, the Sullivan Regional and the Coal City Sectional. Chicago Hope Academy competed in the IHSA 1A Dual Team Finals for the second year in a row and fourth time overall and it lost 44-26 in the quarterfinals to Vandalia, who finished second to Coal City.

“Really, it gives me the opportunity to compete for God and the glory to God and that’s what we care about the most at Hope,” Woods said. “Even though we care about our wrestling and our academics, we care about God first and the most. Without my faith, I don’t think I would have won. There was a different type of room atmosphere. People are disciplined and cared about it more at Hope, so it made me care about it more. I think this is our best team to come to the state tournament. We might not be the best team dual-wise, but individual-wise, we had five guys in the semis and four guys in the finals, and not a lot of teams can say they did that. Years down the line, I’m not going to remember these matches as much. What I’m going to remember the most is just the feeling of winning the state championship.”

Lage (44-3), who finished fifth at 126 last season, joined freshman Bentley Fields (106) as second-place finishers and top medalists for coach Josh Carter’s Falcons, who had three individuals who placed in the top six. He opened with a win by technical fall in 5:32 over Lena-Winslow/ Stockton co-op’s Mauricio Glass and then won a 14-3 major decision over Vandalia’s Brody Matthews. Lage earned his spot in the 138 title match with a 7-0 decision over Coal City’s Luke Munsterman in the semifinals. The sophomore already joins eight other Falcons who have won two or more state medals. He won three tournament titles this season, Mahomet-Seymour, the Ridgeview Regional and the Olympia Sectional, took second at Lincoln and was third at Plano. He and his teammates concluded their seasons at the IHSA 1A Dual Team Finals, which the Falcons competed in for the first time since 2015 and they won their fourth trophy in their fourth appearance by winning the last match for a 39-35 victory over Lena-Winslow/ Stockton co-op, before falling 54-21 to Vandalia in the semifinals. They turned in their school’s second-best showing and best since finishing second in 2010 when they beat Dixon 63-16 to finish in third place. Lage’s comments about being a state runner-up and his team’s strong showing one week later will be included in the 1A Dual Team story. 

In the third-place match, Oakwood/ Salt Fork co-op sophomore Devin Ehler (46-2) captured a 7-1 decision over Princeton sophomore Kane Dauber (29-5). Ehler, who won five tournament titles this season and only had one loss entering the tournament, took fourth at 126 last year and as a sophomore joined Reef Pacot, Gage Reed and Joe Lashuay as the only Comets to claim two or more medals at a state tournament. Dauber also won a medal last season, taking fifth place at 132 in 2025 and joins teammates Augustus Swanson and Casey Etheridge as among the nine Tigers who’ve two or more medals at state. For fifth place, Oregon junior Nelson Benesh (45-6) won an 8-1 decision over Coal City senior Luke Munsterman (43-9). Benesh, who won four tournament titles, placed for the first time in three state appearances while Munsterman earned his first medal in his second trip to Champaign. Falling one win shy of a medal were Vandalia junior Brody Matthews (37-12), who also qualified in 2024, and Unity freshman AJ Daly (40-15).

“It’s been a long season and everyone started the same day, November 10, so it’s a grind,” Ehler said. “All you gotta do is have faith in God, and He’s going to get you through it. And you train as hard as you possibly can every single day. I’ve wrestled with Vince Chambliss since I was eight years old. Huge blessing in my life, and Michael Glosser. Both of those have been able to contrast my style and helped me to win some really big and important matches like this one right here. Everybody works their butt off and everything is earned on our team.”

144 – Garrett VerHeecke, Unity Christian/ Argenta-Oreana co-op

Garrett VerHeecke and his twin brother Clinton had the special goal of both being able to cap their careers at Unity Christian/ Argenta-Oreana co-op as unbeaten IHSA champions in their senior seasons. They got ever so close to being able to do just that when Garrett won the 144 championship by recording a fall in 5:09 over Dixon sophomore Charlie Connors to cap a 49-0 season. However, in the next title match at 150, Clinton’s hopes of doing the same thing got dashed in heartbreaking fashion when he lost a 10-9 decision to Sandwich junior Cooper Corder to finish with a 45-1 record. The pair helped to start the program at Lutheran School Association of Decatur, which was renamed as Unity Christian in 2023-2024 and they both won medals in each of their four years with the program that’s coached by Zach Whitsel. Garrett took sixth at 120 as a freshman, third at 126 in 2024 and second at 132 last season before completing his move up the award stand to the top this season. He’s the first champion from a school in Decatur since Stephen Decatur’s Mark Malley claimed titles at 145 in both 1968 and 1969. He was also the first champion from Macon County since 2001 and the 13th individual from that county to win a title. He finished with a 180-10 career record, going 43-7 as a freshman, 44-1 as a sophomore and 44-2 as a junior, losing just three matches in his final three seasons. 

Garrett opened with a fall in 0:41 over Lisle Senior’s Johnny Consuegra-Lopez and then won an 11-4 decision over Lena-Winslow/ Stockton co-op’s Arrison Bauer. He had a battle on his hands in the semifinals against Wheaton Academy’s Lincoln Hoger, grabbing a 4-2 lead in the first period and added an escape early in the third period before claiming a 5-3 decision. In the championship match, he got a takedown in the first period to take a 3-0 lead. He increased his lead to 5-0 late in the second period with a nearfall but Connors responded with a reversal and nearfall to take a 6-5 advantage into the third period. However, Garrett got a reversal and subsequent fall with 51 seconds remaining to cap his career as an unbeaten state champion, joining Preston Waughtel as the only ones in 1A to achieve that feat and St. Charles East’s Dom Munaretto, Belleville East’s Jonathan Rulo and Washington Community’s Wyatt Medlin as one of the unbeaten five title winners. He won six other tournaments this season, at Pontiac, Springfield, Prairie Central, Mahomet-Seymour, the PORTA Regional and the Olympia Sectional.

“I’m just grateful for the opportunity and grateful to be able to go out there and compete and wrestle at the highest level and I’m grateful for the coaches,” Garrett VerHeecke said. (Clinton) “He wrestled that kid earlier in the season and he beat him, but today just wasn’t his day but that’s okay. (Unity Christian) I’m grateful to them. I can’t wait to give back to the program and I want to see it continue to grow. It’s been awesome.”

“Some seasons are remembered for records, others are remembered for moments,” Whitsel said. “Clinton and Garrett’s season will be remembered for both, because what they accomplished went far beyond the mat and etched their names into the history of this program, this city, and this county. Garrett’s career and championship season told a powerful story, one of perseverance, growth and breaking barriers that had stood for generations. Garrett finished his high school career with a remarkable 180-10 record, wrestling in one of the toughest weight classes year after year. His steady climb at the state tournament reflected both resilience and belief. Freshman year, sixth place at state (43–7), sophomore year, third place at state (44–1); junior year, State runner-up (44–2); senior year, State Champion. That senior season didn’t just end with a title, it ended with history. Garrett became the first state champion from Decatur since the 1960s, the first state champion in Macon County since 2001 and the 13th overall state champion in county history. Those numbers represent decades of wrestlers who came close, carried the torch, and passed it on. Garrett was the one who finished the job. 

“Clinton’s career and final season were the definition of sustained excellence. A four-time state placer, Clinton finished his high school career with an incredible 178 wins and just seven losses, never dropping a match during the regular season across four years. His postseason résumé speaks for itself. Freshman year, third place at state (48–2); sophomore year, fifth place at state (42–2); junior year, fifth place at state (43–2); senior year, State finalist, runner-up finish (45–1). Clinton’s senior season also produced a moment that will live forever. At the state tournament, he recorded an Illinois High School Association record-setting pin in just 16 seconds, a blink-and-you-miss-it moment that stunned the arena and instantly became part of IHSA history. It wasn’t luck. It was preparation and meeting opportunity at the highest level. Clinton didn’t just compete, he set a standard for consistency, composure, and excellence over four years. As a coach, you hope to win championships, but what you really hope for is athletes who leave the program better than they found it. Clinton and Garrett did that and more. They showed up every day, pushed their teammates, held themselves to a higher standard, and represented this program with humility and class. One etched his name into the state record books in 16 seconds. The other rewrote history that had stood for over half a century. Their legacies aren’t just in banners or record boards, they live in the expectations they set for the next generation. This season will be remembered, but the standard they left behind will last even longer.”

Connors (44-5) was the lone finalist and joined Preston Richards (fourth at 150) as one of two medal winners for coach Micah Hey’s Dukes. This was his first medal in his second state appearance. He got a pin in 3:29 in his first match with Benton’s Kaden Blades and then won a 12-4 major decision over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher co-op’s Nolan Lowe. He was involved in a thriller in the semifinals, winning a 6-5 decision over Roxana’s Brandon Green, Jr., who got a takedown to claim a 3-1 lead after one period. Following a reversal by Green, Connors responded with an escape and takedown to tie it at 5-5 with one period left and he moved in front for good with an escape and held off Green, Jr. the rest of the way. He won four tournament titles this season, at Sterling, West Chicago, the Princeton Regional and Byron Sectional. He and his teammates concluded their seasons by competing in the IHSA Class 1A Dual Team Finals for for the first time since the program’s initial visit in 2017 and they won 44-27 over Althoff Catholic and fell 75-5 to eventual champion Coal City and also 63-16 to Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher co-op to take fourth place, which gave the Dukes their second trophy.

“It was definitely good getting to the finals,” Connors said. “I obviously didn’t get what I wanted, but I’m coming for it next year. The season’s not over yet, we’ve got Team State next week. The team’s really excited and I’m excited and hopefully we go down there and place as a team. I think really the team bonding that we had, it’s different than really any other team I’ve been on. I think we’ve just come together so good and that’s really what makes us as good as we are.”

For third place, Roxana senior Brandon Green, Jr. (32-2) captured a 4-1 decision over Wheaton Academy senior Lincoln Hoger (45-8). This was the third medal and fourth state trip for Green, Jr., who had only lost once prior to state. He also took third at 132 last season and was fifth at 132 in 2024 to join senior teammate Lyndon Thies (third at 175) and assistant coach Tommy Hill (2003-2006) as three-time medalists for Roxana. Hoger, who won five tournaments this season, also was a four-time qualifier and won a medal in 2024, when he took fifth at 126, as a result, he becomes the first two-time medalist for his school. For fifth place, Lena-Winslow/ Stockton co-op senior Arrison Bauer (48-6) won a 15-4 major decision over PORTA/ A-C Central/ Greenview/ Havana co-op senior Zach Bryant (43-10). Bauer was a three-time qualifier and he won his second medal after taking third at 144 in 2025. Bryant was also a three-time qualifier and two-time medalist, taking sixth at 132 last season and he and classmate Justin Zimmerman (third at 165) join five others who have won two or more medals for PORTA. Coming up one win short of claiming a first medal were Benton senior Kaden Blades (47-9), a two-time qualifier, and Oakwood/ Salt Fork co-op senior Tyler Huchel (38-8), a three-time qualifier. Advancing to the quarterfinals and then falling in his next match was Eureka sophomore Finn Hoffman (37-10). 

“A lot of memories,” Green, Jr. said. “I’ve had a lot of mean teammates that would beat me up, so that’s what made me tough. Out here, you have to be smart because if you make one mistake, you can lose a match. I am proud, but I am upset. (Semifinals match with Dixon’s Charlie Connors) I threw him with 11 seconds, if I’d thrown him with maybe 12, I could have had three and maybe been in the finals. But I lost 6-5, and that’s okay, I can come back at Fargo-time. (Competing for Roxana) I’ve grown up with all these people and I’ve been at Roxana since I’ve been in third grade, so it’s just like my habitat.” 

150 – Cooper Corder, Sandwich

Cooper Corder was able to reach the semifinals of the IHSA 1A Finals as both a freshman and a sophomore, but each time ran into the eventual champion in that match, falling to Benton’s Mason Tieffel at 138 in 2024 and to Richmond-Burton’s Emmett Nelson at 144 last year, settling for fourth place as a freshman and fifth place as a sophomore. So the Sandwich junior was determined to not only get past the semifinal match but also to capture a title in his third state appearance, but that was easier said than done. After reaching his first Grand March with a win in the semifinals by technical fall in 2:16 over Vandalia’s Dade Kleinik, he met Unity Christian/ Argenta-Oreana co-op senior Clinton VerHeecke, who was attempting to do what his twin brother Garrett had just achieved at 144, which was capping his career as a four-time medalist and an unbeaten champion. In the 150 title match, VerHeecke got a takedown and escape to counter a reversal to go up 4-2 after one period, but Corder responded with two takedowns in the middle period to even it at 8-8 and got a reversal with 29 seconds left and held off VerHeecke after an escape to win a 10-9 decision that wrapped up a 43-1 season and handed his opponent his first loss in 46 matches, and avenged his only defeat of the season, by fall in 5:09, for the title at the Prairie Central Invite.  

Corder, who was able to qualify for state as a freshman along with his brother Miles, who fell one victory shy of also getting a medal there, was the first champion for Sandwich since Alphonso Vruno won his second title in 2012, and is one of seven individuals who won three or medals for the program. He and sophomore Joshua Kotalik (sixth at 175), the lone qualifiers for their team, were both medal winners for the Indians, who are coached by Derek Jones. Corder began his run to the championship with a fall in 1:26 over Auburn’s Trey Boston and then won by medical forfeit over Chicago Hope Academy’s Santori Knight in the quarterfinals. He also won tournament titles at Plano, Reed-Custer, the Princeton Regional and the Byron Sectional.  

“Clinton’s tough and it was just a blessing for us to go there and compete,” Corder said. “I’m a real big fan of putting points on the board and just wrestling tough, and I know that he is, too. You could see in that score that there was a lot of back-and-forth. Just having such a match like that for everyone to watch was really fun. Obviously, I’ve been thinking about this since I was a freshman and it’s exciting. But this isn’t the goal, I want to get back to work. I’m just constantly trying to better myself and go to these hard tournaments. (His brother Miles) It was super fun to wrestle with him. He’s super unorthodox and fun to watch and I try and replicate some of the stuff, but I can’t do what he does.”

“Cooper is an excellent person, I think that showed at the end of his match,” Jones said. “The coaching staff at Sandwich is incredibly proud of what he has accomplished this season. He represents Sandwich High School and Sandwich Wrestling with honor. We are excited to see him continue his training into the offseason and keep this momentum going all the way through next year. Our message to him and the team is always the same. This is just a moment in time, a percentage of our journey. Cooper has loftier goals than a single State Championship. We will celebrate and enjoy his tournament, but we are ready to get back to work.”

Clinton VerHeecke (45-1) finished with a career record of 178-7 and never lost a match during the regular season. He placed third at 113 in 2023, fifth at 120 in 2024 and fifth at 138 last season. He and his brother Garrett were the first individuals from a Decatur school to be four-time all-staters in the sport, and no one had ever won more than two medals at state. He opened with two falls that totalled 40 seconds, with the first in 0:24 over Seneca’s Chase Rod and the second in a Class 1A tournament record 0:16 over Morrison’s Caleb Modglin in the quarterfinals. His fourth state semifinal match was a memorable one as he won a 2-0 decision over Coal City’s Brody Widlowski, a four-time medalist who finished second in both 2025 and 2024, in a rematch of their 2025 semifinal match at 138 when Widlowski won a 3-2 decision. In this meeting, all of the scoring was in the final period on an escape and a penalty. He won five tournaments, at Pontiac, Springfield, Prairie Central, the PORTA Regional and the Olympia Sectional. The brothers have the rare distinction of starting a new program and they were coached by Zach Whitsel and also by 2003 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Gary Cook since Unity Christian had a co-op arrangement with Argenta-Oreana, where Cook had coached.

“I’m grateful for all of it,” Clinton VerHeecke said. “These past four years have been absolutely amazing wrestling for Unity (Christian) and doing what I love every single day and representing the school, it means a lot, obviously. I didn’t accomplish what I wanted to accomplish. I fell short, but it happens. (Garrett winning the title) Being able to see that was awesome. (Both being all-staters all four years for their ) That’s just a testament to our school and the coaches that we have, the atmosphere that coach Whitsel has built is awesome.”

In the third-place match, Coal City senior Brody Widlowski (38-2) won a 10-2 major decision over Dixon sophomore Preston Richards (45-9). Widlowski, whose only regular season loss was to a 3A opponent at Downers Grove South’s Gassen Duals, won four tournaments. The four-time medalist finished second to Unity’s Taylor Finley at 138 last season and was also a runner-up to Auburn’s Joey Ruzic at 126 in 2024 after taking fourth place at 113 as a freshman. He became just the fifth Coaler to win four medals in Champaign while Richards earned a medal in his first state appearance. For fifth place, Roxana senior Logan Riggs (42-10) captured a win by technical fall in 5:04 over Vandalia junior Dade Kleinik (32-9). Riggs, a four-time qualifier, also took sixth at 144 last season while Kleinik claimed a medal in his first trip to state. Riggs finished with three victories by technical fall, which tied him with six others, including one in 1A, for third in that category. Widlowski, Richards and Kleinik all got the opportunity to conclude their seasons at the IHSA Dual Team Finals and all three were on teams that won trophies with Coal City claiming first, Vandalia placing second and Dixon finishing fourth. Coming up one victory short of medals were two juniors who were making their first state appearances, Olympia’s Austin Kisner (33-13) and Morrison’s Caleb Modglin (43-7). Also falling in the quarterfinals and in the wrestlebacks was Quincy Notre Dame junior Cale Hilbing (36-8).

“Obviously, I came here for first,” Widlowski “I lost in the semis, so I just wanted to work back and get back to the next thing. We’ve gone back-and-forth and he came out on top. I got third, which is the next best thing. (Coal City’s success) It definitely helps in the practice room when you have really good partners all around. And we’re all close, too. This is the first group we had when my dad started Lil Coalers. Without Lil Coalers, we wouldn’t be at where we are today.”

157 – Dillon Hinton, Vandalia

Dillon Hinton has been able to do a lot of special things during his first three seasons at Vandalia, which included winning a medal each year at the IHSA Individual Finals, being in the Grand Match in Champaign in 2024 and also getting to compete on two-straight top-four teams at the IHSA Dual Team Finals, taking fourth in 2024 and being a runner-up to Coal City a year ago. But something that had eluded the senior was being a state champion and in his fourth try, he finally achieved that goal when he won a 4-0 decision over Coal City senior Aidan Kenney in the 157 title match. As a result, he joined juniors Preston Waughtel (126) and Max Philpot (132) as champions for coach Patrick Myers’ Vandals, which marked the first time that the Vandalia had three title winners at one state finals. Beside becoming one of the eight individuals to win a title for the school, he also is its first four-time IHSA medalist and joins Jarek Wehrle as the only two individuals who have won medals all four years in state finals competition for their program.

Hinton (43-3) opened with a fall in 2:44 over Olympia’s Kaden Collins and then got victory by technical fall in 3:10 over St. Francis’ Chase Siguenza. He earned his second trip to a state title match when he got a nearfall in the second period to account for the only scoring in a 3-0 decision over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher co-op’s Hudson Babb in his fourth appearance in the state semifinals. Then in the title match, Hinton followed an escape with a takedown in the middle period to grab a 4-0 lead and Kenney was unable to close the gap. He took third at 150 last year, was the runner-up to Benton’s Mason Tieffel at 138 as a sophomore and placed fifth at 132 in 2023. He also won titles at the Auburn Regional and his own sectional after suffering his only losses in title matches at Civic Memorial, a tournament in Cresson, Pennsylvania and at Princeton’s Lyle King PIT. He closed out his career as his team made its third-straight trip to the IHSA 1A Dual Team Finals, where they defeated Chicago Hope Academy 44-26 and Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher co-op 54-21 before falling to Coal City in the title meet for the second year in a row, this time 43-23. He finished with a 198-18 career record to not only make him his school’s all-time wins leader but it also ranks him in the top-10 in IHSA history for victories.

“Like I’ve said so many times, it feels like a dream almost,” Hinton said. “It was incredible to be able to accomplish something that I put so many years into. And I’m glad that I could have everybody help me along the way, my parents, coaches, teammates. Just everybody supporting me, and I really appreciate it. Like I said, it’s just really amazing. I’ve been a four-time placer and I’m really glad to get it done my last year, I didn’t want to leave anything to chance. It’s really amazing just the amount of competition I get in the room, and it helps build us as teammates, not just in practice in competition getting better, but also becoming like brothers, it’s something to fight for. I’m really thankful to be a captain on this team, it’s something that’s truly special.”  

Kenney (47-2) joined Brock Finch (175) and Cade Poyner (215) as second-place finishers to lead the way for the eventual 1A champion Coalers, who are coached by 2022 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Mark Masters. Coal City had the most qualifiers of any school in any class with 14 and half of those claimed state medals. After kicking off his third visit to Champaign with a 10-0 major decision over Byron’s Dylan Dach, Kenney won a 4-1 decision over Cumberland’s Owen McGinnis and then captured an 11-5 decision over Althoff Catholic’s Landon Weidler in the semifinals to earn his spot in the Grand March for the first time. The senior captured his second medal after placing fourth at 144 last year. He won tournament titles at the Illinois Central Eight Conference and the Coal City Regional and Sectional and his lone defeat in the regular season was to Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher co-op’s Hudson Babb, who finished fifth at 157, by a 6-3 score in the title match at Princeton’s Lyle King PIT. He also got to compete in a state title dual meet for the fourth time and be on his third team title after Coal City capped a 42-0 season with a 43-23 victory over Vandalia, who they also beat in the 2025 title dual meet.

For third place, Cumberland senior Owen McGinnis (41-9) got a win by technical fall in 5:00 over Althoff Catholic sophomore Landon Weidler (39-5). McGinnis, who had lost to Weidler twice before the third-place match, bounced back from his close quarterfinal loss to Kenney by winning four in a row in the consolation bracket to earn his first state medal in his fourth visit to state while Weidler, who won five titles this season, was making his debut in the competition.

In the fifth-place match, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher co-op junior Hudson Babb (47-3) won a 15-8 decision over Warrensburg-Latham/ Maroa-Forsyth co-op senior Charlie Wittmer (45-8). Babb, who won six tournaments this season, only lost once prior to state, and that was to an individual from Missouri. This was his first medal in his second state appearance. Wittmer, who won four tournaments, also claimed his first medal in his second trip to state. West Carroll senior Connor Knop (31-2) was unbeaten and had won four tournaments before the weekend but lost his first and last matches to miss a medal in his first state appearance. The last of those losses was 5-4 to Wittmer and the first was to Chicago Hope Academy junior Dylan Galvez (39-10), who also fell one win shy of a first medal while making his second trip to state. Pontiac sophomore Brayden Quas (34-9) also reached the quarterfinals and then lost his next match. Weidler, Babb and Galvez all ended their seasons along with their teams at the Dual Team Finals with Babb the only one on a team that won a trophy as his Falcons took third place.

“I’m real proud,” McGinnis said. “We came up here for four years and I haven’t had any luck but this year, I tried to pull through. I lost in the quarters, but fought back from that. You’ve just got to keep moving. You can lose, but you’ve got to keep the same mentality. You’re going to go out there and destroy this kid and you just can’t get too down on yourself because you’ve still got a whole tournament to go. (About Cumberland) The coaches are there for you. You’re going to have hard practices, but when it comes to stuff like this and you’re in the third-place match and you go out and tech the kid, it’s all worth it. It feels great, it’s something I always wanted to do.” 

165 – Pierre Walton, Althoff Catholic

Pierre Walton definitely made a name for himself in last year’s IHSA Class 2A Finals, where he won the 165 title with a fall over Montini Catholic’s Santino Tenuta to cap a 42-4 season and in the process became East St. Louis Senior’s first champion since 1943, which ended one of the longest title droughts in state history. But as a senior, he looked to conclude his education and career in a different setting, at Althoff Catholic, and that move certainly paid off in a big way since he was not only able to repeat as a state champion, he he also got to compete in the IHSA Class 1A Dual Team Finals for the first time for coach Emanuel Brooks’ Crusaders. He won a 12-2 major decision over Princeton senior Casey Etheridge to capture the 165 title and following that victory, he owned a 44-1 record and was unbeaten against Illinois opponents. In his semifinal victory in 6:00 over Wheaton Academy’s Tyler Jones, he set a new IHSA record for the most wins by technical fall in a season with 40, which broke the old record of 39, which had been held by an Althoff Catholic alumni, Danny Braunagel, who also was a two-time IHSA 1A champion in 2017 and 2018. His first three victories in Champaign were by technical fall, which tied him with six other individuals, including one in 1A, for third place in that category.

Walton, the lone finalist and one of four top-four medalists for the Crusaders, got his initial win by technical fall in 4:08 over West Carroll’s Jonner Smith in his opening match of his second appearance at state, followed with a victory in 5:39 over Unity’s Abraham Davidson and earned his spot in the Grand March for the second year in a row with a triumph in 6:00 over Wheaton Academy’s Tyler Jones in the semifinals. He won titles at Parkway West, Missouri, Cumberland, Carbondale, Reed-Custer, the East Alton-Wood River Regional and the Vandalia Sectional and took second place in the Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day, MO tournament, where he suffered his lone defeat, a 4-1 decision in overtime to a Missourian. He and his Crusaders teammates participated in the IHSA 1A Dual Team Finals for the first time since 2018 and they suffered their initial defeat in 19 dual meets with a 44-27 setback to Dixon in the quarterfinals. 

“Being able to compete for coach Brooks has been a blessing,” Walton said. “He obviously reached out to a lot of coaches and made a lot of connections that I really needed to be able to wrestle and take my game to the next level. And he’s also taught me a lot of life lessons. We’ve got a lot of young guys who are clawing to make their way in the wrestling world. We brought five guys up here, and out of those five guys, we had four placers. This is an historic victory because I set the IHSA tech record this year, at 40 techs, and that beat out Danny Braunagel’s record, also at Althoff. That 40th tech fall happened in the semifinals and I grinded it out, it was a very hard win, but we got it done. It felt amazing knowing that I had coach E.J. Brooks in my corner. And my coach Corey Ford, who walked me out here, I’m very grateful to him, as well.”      

“Pierre has had an historic season,” Brooks said. “Pierre has been a great team leader, along with other all-state wrestlers, Dawson Hawthorne and Jacobi Cobbs, and senior captain Stephen Ache. Pierre helped lead our Crusaders wrestling team to back-to-back regional titles. While chasing his second consecutive Individual State title, Pierre broke the Illinois state single-season tech fall record. The record was formerly held by Althoff wrestling alum Danny Braunagel at 39. Pierre gained his 40th tech fall in the State semifinals. Pierre dominated his State Finals match to secure back-to- back Individual State championships.”

Etheridge (46-7) is a senior who joined classmate Augustus Swanson (113) as a runner-up and sophomore Kane Dauber (fourth at 138) as medalists for the Tigers, who are coached by 2020 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Steve Amy. He was a three-time qualifier who took fourth place at 165 last year and won three tournament titles at Central DeWitt, Iowa and LeRoy/ Tri-Valley and the Princeton Regional and took second place at his own Lyle King PIT and in the Byron Sectional. He got a victory by technical fall in 2:14 over Vandalia’s Zayne Zinkgraf in his opener, and then he got a takedown with 32 remaining to move in front for good in a 9-7 decision over PORTA/ A-C Central/ Greenview/ Havana co-op’s Justin Zimmerman in the quarterfinals to avenge two earlier defeats, including one in the PIT finals. Etheridge earned a spot in the Grand March for the first time with a 16-9 decision over Coal City’s Mason Garner in the semifinals. 

For third place, PORTA/ A-C Central/ Greenview/ Havana co-op senior Justin Zimmerman (40-3) was a winner by technical fall in 4:00 over Coal City senior Mason Garner (41-6). Zimmerman, a winner of five tournaments this season who also was the top finisher of three medalists for his team, also took fifth place at 157 when he made his state debut last year. He and classmate Zach Bryant (sixth at 144) joined five others who’ve won two or more medals for the Bluejays, who are coached by Jeff Hill, the IHSA’s all-time leader in dual meet wins and a 2025 recipient of a Lifetime Service Award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame – Illinois Chapter. Garner, one of seven medalists for the eventual 1A champion Coalers, earned his first medal in his third state trip. In the fifth-place match between two seniors who both claimed their first medals in their second trips to state, Wheaton Academy’s Tyler Jones (45-4), who won six tournaments, claimed a 4-2 decision over Unity’s Abram Davidson (47-10). Falling one win shy of earning a first state medal were Mercer County senior Eli Burns (46-8), a three-time qualifier, and Rochester junior James Escobar (40-7), who was making his initial state appearance.

“In wrestling there’s not many breaks and there’s never an easy practice and I love it that way,” Zimmerman said. “(Competing for PORTA) That’s why they produce champions. It is your choice if you want to expend all of your energy in practice and really absorb the experience. If you don’t take advantage of it, it’s on you. I just like that it’s your choice. It was amazing.”

175 – Arkail Griffin, Chicago Hope Academy 

Arkail Griffin capped an historic IHSA Class 1A Individual Finals for Chicago Hope Academy when the junior captured a 12-2 major decision over Coal City senior Brock Finch in the 175 title match to give coach Dan Willis’ Eagles not only their first title winner but two champions, with senior Chance Woods also taking first place at 138. And with senior Jeremiah Lawrence (132) and freshman Obadiah Willis (126) both finishing in second place, they had a record four finalists and sophomore Nolan Callahan claimed fifth place to give the program five medal winners for the first time, which was two more than it had last year and four less than it had in its history. Then one week later, the Eagles competed in the IHSA 1A Dual Team Finals for the second year in a row and fourth time in their history and put up a good fight in a 44-26 loss to eventual runner-up Vandalia. And to cap off the two weekends of history, Arkail’s cousin, freshman Demetria Griffin, not only became the program’s first medalist in the Girls Individual Finals, but also their initial champion when she capped a 23-0 season by winning the 115 title.

Griffin (46-1) claimed victories by technical fall in his first two matches, opening with a win in 4:49 over Lena-Winslow/ Stockton co-op’s John Mensendike and following that with a triumph in just 0:58 over Macomb’s Jeshua McPheeters, which was the quickest victory by technical fall of any competitor in Champaign. He earned his spot as the fourth Eagle to reach the Grand March when he claimed a 16-8 major decision over Byron’s Brody Stien in the semifinals.  In the title match against Coal City’s Brock Finch, he took control with a takedown in both the first and second periods to grab a 6-0 lead and then wrapped up his victory with two more takedowns in the third period. He also was a title winner at Rich Township, Reed-Custer, the Chicagoland Christian Conference, the Sullivan Regional and the Coal City Sectional. His lone defeat was against Finch by an 11-10 score and he also defeated the Coalers senior 15-4 in the Coal City Sectional finals. Griffin is a three-time qualifier who also finished in fifth place at 165 last season. 

“It feels good to go from three placers to five, and especially to have four in the finals,” Griffin said. “It feels good to be a part of this team and to help it grow and to set a foundation for the next people who are coming in. And to wrestle under God’s glory and to wrestle under Hope. This has always been at the top of my goals list. A long-term goal, especially since last year after my loss in the semis. I used that to push me when things got hard and I wanted to be the best guy in the state. I’d also like to thank my teammates Santori Knight and Chance Woods for pushing me in those hard moments.”       

Finch (39-3) joined Aidan Kenney (157) and Cade Poyner (215) as seniors who finished in second place for the Coalers, who also had seven medalists and a state-high 14 qualifiers. He also recorded victories by technical fall in his initial two matches, getting a win in 3:31 over Johnsburg’s Duke Mays and then needing 1:47 to defeat Beardstown’s Gunner Looker. He earned his spot in the championship match by capturing a 4-3 decision over Roxana’s Lyndon Thies in the semifinals, where he received a penalty point with 22 seconds left to secure the win, avenging an earlier 8-5 defeat and his other losses were to Griffin. Finch was a four-time qualifier who captured his first state medal. One week later, he got to compete in the IHSA 1A Dual Team Finals for the fourth time and the Coalers, coached by 2022 IWCOA Hall of Fame Mark Masters, were in the title dual meet for the fourth time and won their third title by beating Vandalia in the finals for the second year in a row, capping a 42-0 season with a 43-23 victory. His comments on being a runner-up and another team title will appear in the Dual Team story. 

For third place, Roxana senior Lyndon Thies (45-2) won by fall in 0:40 over Byron junior Brody Stien (47-3). Thies, who won five tournament titles this season, earned his third medal in three state appearances. He also was a runner-up at 165 to Tremont’s Bowden Delaney last season and took fourth at 157 in 2024. Thies joined senior teammate Brandon Green, Jr., who took third at 144, and assistant coach Tommy Hill, as the only Shells to be three-time medalists and earlier this season, he passed Hill to become Roxana’s all-time wins leader. Stein also made his third state trip and won his first medal. In the fifth-place match, Johnsburg junior Duke Mays (41-9) claimed a 1-0 decision over Sandwich sophomore Joshua Kotalik (46-9). Mays won a medal in his second state appearance while Kotalik competed at state for the first time. Falling one win shy of a medal were Pinckneyville/ Trico/ Elverado co-op senior Jonathan Ramaker (37-4) and Pontiac sophomore Lucas Maier (42-6). Ramaker made his initial state appearance while Maier took part in the competition for the second time. Heyworth sophomore Tristan Stamp (44-7) lost in the quarterfinals and then right after that in the consolation bracket. 

“For me, it really started my sixth-grade year when we had a wonderful junior high team,” Thies said. “That’s when the brotherhood really started for me with the wrestling team and everything. And then in eighth grade, especially with (Brandon) Jr. Green and Logan (Riggs), we’ve been real tight, especially around the sport of wrestling, and other sports, as well. One of our coaches, Tommy Hill, said that if he could trade in his individual medals for team state medal, he would. Back then, I thought that was dumb, but then when we did it sophomore year (Roxana placed third at state in 2024), I understood, because of the team’s camaraderie. I really am proud. I much rather would have come home with a state championship, but not everything’s going to happen the way it’s supposed to.”   

190 – Eli Larson, Lena-Winslow/ Stockton co-op

Eli Larson concluded the 2026 IHSA Class 1A Individual Finals in dramatic fashion by capturing an exciting 13-12 decision over Wilmington senior Logan VanDuyne in the 190 championship match. As a result, the senior joined Ty Harmston (2012 to 2014) as a two-time champion and a three-time finalist and Trey Griffin (2010 and 2011), Quincy Kalkbrenner (2013 and 2014) and Harmston (2013 and 2014) as individuals who won two IHSA titles for Lena-Winslow/ Stockton co-op, which is coached by 2020 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Kevin Milder. Last season in the 175 title match, Larson won a 14-7 decision over Richmond-Burton’s Blake Livdahl and in 2024, he lost a 7-2 decision to Manteno’s Carter Watkins in the 175 title match. In this year’s 190 championship match, the PantherHawks senior got a takedown in the first period and a reversal and escape to counter an escape and takedown by VanDuyne, who only trailed 6-4 going into the third period. In that final period, Larson got two reversals but VanDuyne used two takedowns and two escapes to move in front at 12-10 with 22 seconds remaining. However, Larson clinched his second-straight state championship with a takedown with 10 seconds left. 

Larson (49-1) led the way for the PantherHawks, who had four senior medal winners with Jeremiah Luke placing second at 285, Oliver McPeek was third at 215 and Arrison Bauer took fifth at 144. Larson opened with a win by technical fall in 2:24 over El Paso-Gridley’s Braden Gibson and then had his closest match prior to the finals, a 4-1 decision over Red Bud’s Daniel Jackson. He advanced to a state title match for the third time when he claimed a 10-1 major decision over Sacred Heart-Griffin’s Casen Lyons in the semifinals. Larson also won tournament titles at Erie/ Prophetstown, River Valley, Wisconsin, the Stillman Valley Regional and the Byron Sectional while suffering his lone loss, a 4-2 decision, to an Iowan at an invite in Clinton, Iowa. He and his teammates took part in the IHSA Dial Team Finals for the first time since 2023 but their quest for a fifth trophy were dashed when Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher co-op rallied and got a pin in the last match to claim a 39-35 win and wound up finishing in third place.

“It’s one of the best feelings ever,” Larson said of being a two-time state champion. “I give a lot of credit to Logan, who’s an incredible wrestler, for pushing me. I bumped up a weight class and it was something that I had to adjust to, but by the end of the season, I think that I really got there. Jeremiah Luke, Oliver McPeek and John Mensendike, I’m so blessed to have the room that I have. We’ve wrestled each other since we were six years old. We’ve all stuck around and I’m super thankful for the guys that I have. It was like a deja vu feeling. When we were little, going to the wrestling meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays was the best part of the week. And then having it come full swing, wrestling one of my last matches for the program, it’s been awesome wrestling under coach Milder, Jered Staver, Jared Hermann, Josh Oates and Seth Milks, a four-time state champ. Our coaching staff is unbelievable.”     

VanDuyne (41-4) was the lone qualifier for Wilmington, whose coach, Nick Dziuban, an athlete and 2007 graduate of the school, passed away at age 37 on February 2 following a battle with cancer. The senior opened with two narrow decisions, claiming a 4-2 win over Westville/ Georgetown-Ridge Farm co-op’s Ethan Miller when he got a takedown with 42 seconds left and then he rallied from a 4-0 deficit in the final period and got a takedown with 55 seconds left to claim a 5-4 victory over Byron’s Will Julian. In the semifinals, he needed to win in overtime to advance to the 190 title match by recording a fall in 6:30 over Vandalia’s Ross Miller. The match was tied at 1-1 heading into overtime and VanDuyne got a takedown with 11 seconds left and then a fall as the overtime ended. This was the first medal for the three-time qualifier. He won titles at Pontiac, the Illinois Central Eight Conference, the Coal City Regional and the Coal City Sectional and finished second at Reed-Custer and placed third at Princeton’s Lyle King PIT. 

In the third-place match, Vandalia senior Ross Miller (41-8) claimed a 7-0 decision over Byron junior Will Julian (41-9). Miller won his second medal after taking sixth at 175 last year in his first trip to state while Julian was making his state debut. Miller concluded his career with him and his teammates taking second place to Coal City for the second year in a row in the IHSA Dual Team Finals. For fifth place, Red Bud sophomore Daniel Jackson (44-4) won a 7-3 decision over Sacred Heart-Griffin junior Casen Lyons (42-5). Jackson, who won five tournament titles, also took third at 190 as a freshman and became his school’s first two-time medalist. Lyons claimed his first medal in his second state appearance and is his school’s second medalist. Coming up one victory shy of medals were Westville/ Georgetown-Ridge Farm senior Ethan Miller (38-8), who made his second trip to state, and Seneca senior Landen Venecia (36-10), who advanced to Champaign for the first time. Morrison sophomore Noah Stout (44-10) lost in the quarterfinals and then lost his next match in the wrestlebacks.

“My goal coming into the season was to be a state champ,” Miller said. “I lost to a kid that I beat earlier in the season, it hurt me a little bit, it hurt my pride, but that’s the past so there was nothing I could change about it. The only thing I could change was the future, so I just kept grinding. (Competing for Vandalia) Great coaches and great teammates. They all have the same mindset as me and they all want to get better every single day, continue to get better. So surrounding  myself with people like that makes you want to strive for your goals even more.”

IHSA Class 1A championship matches

215 – Dane Olmstead (Freeburg) 39-4, Jr. over Cade Poyner (Coal City) 46-4, Sr. (Dec 11-10)

285 – Connor Williams (Canton) 40-1, Sr. over Jeremiah Luke (Lena-Winslow/ Stockton) 44-4, Sr. (TB 2-1)

106 – Connor Collins (Olympia) 40-6, Fr. over Bentley Fields (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher) 41-11, Fr. (Dec 7-3)

113 – Landon Near (Newman Central Catholic) 44-3, So. over Augustus Swanson (Princeton) 47-3, Sr. (Dec 7-0)

120 – Wesley Janick (Marquette Academy) 35-4, Fr. over Weston Frazier (Oakwood/ Salt Fork) 38-5, So. (MD 10-0)

126 – Preston Waughtel (Vandalia) 29-0, Jr. over Obadiah Willis (Chicago Hope Academy) 43-4, Fr. (Dec 7-4)

132 – Max Philpot (Vandalia) 36-2, Jr. over Jeremiah Lawrence (Chicago Hope Academy) 30-3, Sr. (Dec 5-4)

138 – Chance Woods (Chicago Hope Academy) 46-2, Sr. over Landen Lage (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher) 44-3, So. (TB 5-3)

144 – Garrett VerHeecke (Unity Christian/ Argenta-Oreana) 49-0, Sr. over Charlie Connors (Dixon) 44-5, So. (Fall 5:09)

150 – Cooper Corder (Sandwich) 43-1, Jr. over Clinton VerHeecke (Unity Christian/ Argenta-Oreana) 45-1, Sr. (Dec 10-9)

157 – Dillon Hinton (Vandalia) 43-3, Sr. over Aidan Kenney (Coal City) 47-2, Sr. (Dec 4-0)

165 – Pierre Walton (Althoff Catholic) 44-1, Sr. over Casey Etheridge (Princeton) 46-7, Sr. (MD 12-2)

175 – Arkail Griffin (Chicago Hope Academy) 46-1, Jr. over Brock Finch (Coal City) 39-3, Sr. (MD 12-2)

190 – Eli Larson (Lena-Winslow/ Stockton) 49-1, Sr. over Logan VanDuyne (Wilmington) 41-4, Sr. (Dec 13-12)

IHSA Class 1A third-place matches

215 – Oliver McPeek (Lena-Winslow/ Stockton) 48-3, Sr. over Caybren Hubbard (Murphysboro) 47-10, Jr. (MD 13-1)

285 – Caleb Reymer (Erie/ Prophetstown) 42-9, Jr. over Darian Holloway (Olympia) 45-7, Sr. (MD 11-0)

106 – Isaac Showalter (Farmington/ Cuba) 44-1, Fr. over Cam Whitehead (Winnebago) 37-6, So. (Dec 2-1)

113 – Drevan Bramlett (Murphysboro) 43-8, Fr. over Jacobi Cobbs (Althoff Catholic) 42-4, Jr. (Dec 14-10)

120 – Cael Wright (Morrison) 47-9, So. over Dyllan Steele (Canton) 32-2, Sr. (Dec 3-1)

126 – Owen Petersen (Coal City) 45-6, Jr. over Alexander Ferari (Lisle Senior) 34-5, Sr. (Dec 5-2)

132 – Dawson Hawthorne (Althoff Catholic) 42-3, Jr. over Wyatt Franckowiak (Richmond-Burton) 42-12, Fr. (MD 10-1)

138 – Devin Ehler (Oakwood/ Salt Fork) 46-2, So. over Kane Dauber (Princeton) 29-5, So. (Dec 7-1)

144 – Brandon Green Jr. (Roxana) 32-2, Sr. over Lincoln Hoger (Wheaton Academy) 45-8, Sr. (Dec 4-1)

150 – Brody Widlowski (Coal City) 38-2, Sr. over Preston Richards (Dixon) 45-9, So. (MD 10-2)

157 – Owen McGinnis (Cumberland) 41-9, Sr. over Landon Weidler (Althoff Catholic) 39-5, So. (TF 5:00 18-3)

165 – Justin Zimmerman (PORTA/ A-C Central/ Greenview/ Havana) 40-3, Sr. over Mason Garner (Coal City) 41-6, Sr. (TF 4:00 21-5)

175 – Lyndon Thies (Roxana) 45-2, Sr. over Brody Stien (Byron) 47-3, Jr. (Fall 0:40)

190 – Ross Miller (Vandalia) 41-8, Sr. over Will Julian (Byron) 41-9, Jr. (Dec 7-0)

IHSA Class 1A fifth-place matches

215 – Alex Schaefer (Marquette Academy) 35-5, Jr. over Jackson Allen (Yorkville Christian) 46-10, Sr. (Dec 10-5)

285 – Breckin Campbell (Richmond-Burton) 34-11, Jr. over Julien Tanner (Murphysboro) 48-6, Sr. (Fall 4:33)

106 – Coyt Rademaker (PORTA/A-C Central/ Greenview/ Havana) 43-9, So. over Nate Lower (Rockridge) 42-6, So. (Dec 4-1)

113 – Brandon Gaither (Olympia) 39-10, So. over Boston Morford (Mercer County) 35-14, Fr. (MD 14-4)

120 – Nolan Callahan (Chicago Hope Academy) 23-7, So. over Chase Vogel (Johnsburg) 36-9, So. (M. For.)

126 – Aiden Bell (Hoopeston Area/ Milford) 41-3, Sr. over Isaiah Perez (Oregon) 39-12, So. (MD 15-2)

132 – Landon Blanton (Newman Central Catholic) 42-7, Sr. over Dean Wainwright (Riverdale) 46-4, Sr. (M. For.)

138 – Nelson Benesh (Oregon) 45-6, Jr. over Luke Munsterman (Coal City) 43-9, Sr. (Dec 8-1)

144 – Arrison Bauer (Lena-Winslow/ Stockton) 48-6, Sr. over Zach Bryant (PORTA/ A-C Central/ Greenview/ Havana) 43-10, Sr. (MD 15-4)

150 – Logan Riggs (Roxana) 42-10, Sr. over Dade Kleinik (Vandalia) 32-9, Jr. (TF 5:04 16-0)

157 – Hudson Babb (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher) 47-3, Jr. over Charlie Wittmer (Warrensburg-Latham/ Maroa-Forsyth) 45-8, Sr. (Dec 15-8)

165 – Tyler Jones (Wheaton Academy) 45-4, Sr. over Abram Davidson (Unity) 47-10, Sr. (Dec 4-2)

175 – Duke Mays (Johnsburg) 41-9, Jr. over Joshua Kotalik (Sandwich) 46-9, So. (Dec 1-0)

190 – Daniel Jackson (Red Bud) 44-4, So. over Casen Lyons (Sacred Heart-Griffin) 42-5, Jr. (Dec 7-3)

By Chris Walker for the IWCOA

Host Shepard is sending eight girls and seven boys to the IWCOA state finals at the Bank of Springfield Center in Springfield on March 14-15.

The Astros had the most qualifiers at Sunday’s Shepard sectional with 15.

Sandburg is sending 13 boys wrestlers to Springfield, including a pair of sectional champions.

Oak Lawn has 12 (eight girls and four boys), Oak Forest has 10 (five girls and five boys) and St. Laurence also has 10 (eight girls and two boys).

Marist had nine (two girls and seven boys) qualify, and Mt. Carmel, which had seven boys wrestlers in the finals and produced four champions, had eight boys qualify in total to state.

GIRLS

95 – Felix Morales, Oak Lawn

Morales won by fall over someone she knows quite well in her own room, as she defeated teammate Elizabeth Bisonaya in 34 seconds.

Noble ITW Speer’s Adali Cruz won by  6-4 decision over Oak Forest’s Alyssa Lewis for third place and Shepard’s Daniella Almazon won by fall over Oak Forest’s Samantha Lewis (2:12) to take fifth and advance to state as the top five placers in all weight classes moved on.

100 – Sofie Perez, Shepard

There were three wrestlers competing in the 100-pound weight class and Perez pinned the two others, St. Francis de Sales’ Elizabeth Avila (1:51) and Marist’s Claire Stokes (2:23)

Stokes placed second and Avila took third.

Fighting back tears on Sunday, Perez said she thought she had wrestled her last match during the IHSA post-season.

“I didn’t want to do it anymore, I gave up,” she said. “My mom pushed me to keep going and so did Coach Tyler, and here I am, and I took first. I wrestled great with two pins and I’m really hoping to place at IWCOA state. It was hard putting it past me, but you have got to learn to put things past you. I’m happy I made the decision to keep going.”

Finding her mom’s eyes in the stands after her sectional championship victory, Stokes saw they were wet.

“She was in tears, she’s very proud of me,” Perez said. “She said that she was very happy that I decided to keep wrestling.”

Perez has wrestled all four years at Shepard, getting introduced to the sport as a freshman who also had four years of experience in jujitsu. 

“I’ve really learned that we can bounce back after being put down,” she said. “I like not being able to be broken down by somebody else. I can get pinned or beaten pretty bad, but I can still get up and win my next match and finish strong every time. I think wrestling has taught me some very important lessons. If you get broken you can come back 10 times stronger.”

Professionally, Perez hopes to someday help others stay strong during tough times. Perhaps these experiences on the mat will help her make an impact in the community.

“I want to go into an EMT program,” she said. “My uncle used to be a firefighter. I for sure sure want to go into the medical field and just want to help people. This interests me a lot.”

105 – Sophia Orcasitas, Oak Forest

Orcasitas pinned her three opponents to capture the 105 title. After receiving a bye to begin, Orcasitas won by fall over De La Salle’s Destiny Hameed (0:35), Ag Science’s Rainie Mack (2:15) and then St. Ignatius’ Lila Vazquez (0:18) in her title match.

Mack rebounded to pin Kelly’s Destiny Hills (1:38) to claim third place and Shepard’s Ariel Sanchez punched her state ticket, winning fifth place after pinning Noble ITW Speer’s Imani Deyoung (1:32).

110 – Alyshae Martinez, Shepard

A year ago at this time, Martinez had never wrestled. 

That changed when the freshman entered the halls of Shepard last fall.

“My sister (who doesn’t wrestle) got me involved,” Martinez said,. “She’s a (born in) 2008 and I’m a 2009, but I have a late birthday. She told me I should join wrestling because I have a lot of upper body strength so figured I’d try it. I didn’t think I was going to like it because I’m not good at remembering things, so I didn’t think I’d remember the moves. So ended up really liking it and I think my first match was against Argo and I won. I’ve just been really focused on it ever since. I just really like wrestling a lot.”

She’s liking it so much that she’s not pursuing high school soccer this spring

“I would’ve never thought high school would end up like this,” she said. “I was going to do soccer because I do play soccer. That is the sport I usually go play, but I didn’t end up going to tryouts because I was so busy with wrestling so my main focus is now wrestling so I didn’t try out for soccer. I didn’t do flag football (in the fall). I couldn’t find the sign-ups, but in summer I did do flag football so next year going to try it for sure.”

Martinez pinned all three of her opponents, beginning with a fall at 1:49 over Oak Lawn’s Yanichel Lopez. She proceeded to win by ball in 29 seconds over St. Laurence’s Amelia Pazmino in the semifinal before taking down Oak Lawn’s Allison Nava at 4:57 in the third period in the final.

Practicing with senior Sofie Perez certainly has been a nice benefit for the newcomer.

“For our live matches in the wrestling room we practice a lot,” she said. “She goes hard on me and I go hard back on her. Everyday we go live against each other so she’s kind of my partner. And it’s gone good. I was getting first place in conference and I’ve just been really proud of my coaches. They are the ones who have been helping me in my first year wrestling. I get to prove to myself that I can do stuff by myself instead of going as a team or something. I just like winning.”

Lopez took third with a 4-2 win over St. Laurence’s Amelia Pazmino and Andrew’s Nora Guisinger took fifth after pinning Marist’s Katelyn Drzayich at 4:33.

115 – Piper Booe, Andrew

Booe dominated her four opponents, pinning them all, including the first three in less than a half minute each.

She pinned Solorio’s Nohemi Nuñez (0:24), Tinley Park’s Natalie Hammad (0:19) and Marist’s Meghan Ciukaj (0:29) to advance to the final where she registered a first round pin with 16 seconds to spare to defeat Noble Golder’s Tamya Gates. 

Ciukaj rebounded and pinned Hubbard’s Alianna Cobb (2:19) to place third and Westinghouse’s Tatiana Haggard won by fall over Evalin Campos-Cuellar (2:27) to take fifth.

120 – Victoria Serment, De La Salle

As one of four girls to compete from De La Salle, and its lone champion, Serment wore out her three opponents, registering pins in the second period in the quarterfinals over Shepard’s Alexa Valentin (2:32) and in the finals over Andrew’s Makayla Miller (3:30) and in the third period in her semifinal win by fall over Shepard’s Abril Catalan (4:44).

Valentin won by fall over South Shore’s Sydni Sargent (1:28) to take third and Shepard’s Martina Drab earned a 6-0 decision over fellow Astro, Catalan, to take fifth.

125 – Claire McKeon, St. Laurence

A multi-sport athlete, McKeon found herself with not many multiples in her weight class with only three wrestlers total on Sunday. Guaranteed a third-place finish, McKeon went out and won the whole thing, earning a 16-0 tech fall win over Noble ITW Speer’s Sherlin Aguilar and a 10-5 decision against Oak Lawn’s Sophia Goulos.

Goulos took second and Aguilar was third after Goulos pinned her at 4:39.

135 – Amelia Quinlan, Bremen

Quinlan was Bremen’s only wrestler in action and she most definitely represented her program well, winning the 135 title after pinning Tinley Park’s Abigail Harris (2:35) in the final.

Her road to the title match began with a bye. She took down St. Laurence’s Magdalena Roa by fall (1:41) in her quarterfinals match and then won by a 9-3 decision over Westinghouse’s Daniyah Rogers in the semis.

Roa beat Rogers, 8-3, to take third and Reavis’ Katherine Ramirez received a bye to take fifth.

140 – Marlen Morelos, Eisenhower

Morelos and Kelly’s Liliana Vinas had a unique version of one-on-one as the two were the lone wrestlers at 140 in the sectional.

Vinas was able to battle Morelos longer in the final, but the outcome was the same as their first meeting as Morelos pinned her twice. She too her down in 3:17 in what was the semifinal and 4:38 in the final.

145 – Rylee Hernandez, Tinley Park

Hernandez received byes in the opening championship round as well as the quarterfinal before pinning a pair of opponents to punch her ticket to state.

In the semis, Hernandez pinned Curie’s Joselyn Flores (2:59) before making quick work in the finals, winning by fall again over St. Laurence’s Jocelyn Gonzalez-Ruiz (0:33)

Ag Science’s Madison Cruz won by injury default over Noble ITW Speer’s Azucena Luz (1:25) to take third and Flores received a bye to take fifth.

155 – Nataly Romero, Oak Lawn

Romero was one of three champions from Oak Lawn and among eight from her school to advance to state.

Her longest match was in her opener as she pinned Morgan Park’s Ja`leyah Erving (3:23) a little more than midway through the second period. She proceeded to win in similar fashion over teammate Nathalia Vega (1:34) in the semis and over Shepard’s Jocelyn Gabriel-Velazquez (2:10) in the finals. There were four wrestlers competing in the 155 division so Romero pinned the other three.

Erving placed second, Vega was third and Gabriel-Velazquez was fourth.

170 – Phoebe Heyboer, Eisenhower

“I’ve been wrestling for three years now,” Heyboer explained. “I started off the year really strong and then there are tough opponents, and there are good opponents, and I am the team captain of my team and so it’s really nice seeing some of our girls come out and just like enjoy it.”

Heyboer dropped from 190 to 170 early on in the season.

“It was a big change in the middle of it,” she said. “But I think it was a little easier for me to start getting more wins and stuff after the change.”

After opening her day with a bye and then a pin in 47 seconds over St. Francis de Sales’ Annabella Alvarez in the quarterfinals, Heyboer pinned Ag Science’s Eleana Haugh (2:16) to advance to the finals where she earned a 17-5 major decision over St. Laurence’s Delia Humphrey.

“It’s really nice to just have another opportunity, especially because all the really, really good people are really good and  they all go to state and stuff so it’s really nice to have kind of a different level over here,” she said. “It’s still tough competition and stuff but it’s around the same level that you are, especially the people who are just trying out and having this opportunity to see what it’s all about and stuff.”

Heyboer role is a captain is like a dream come true, a second family, if you will.

“I think I got really lucky with my team,” she said. “We’re all really friendly people but when we’re on the mat we’re really tough but can also see that everyone is going for everyone’s neck half the time then afterwards it’s ok to be nice to each other, right? And I find it a lot nicer than just if someone like beats you and is all in your face, hahaha, I beat you, it’s nice winning against someone who said you did a great job.”

Swimming is Heyboer’s other sport at Eisenhower, but a post-season tournament after the IHSA series runs its course isn’t a part of the high school swimming schedule. With wrestling, the IWCOA offers something truly unique and special for these kids with the FroshSoph state tournament.

“I enjoy swimming, too, but we don’t have anything like this for our swim season,” she said. “It’s nice that we do it for wrestling so even if I don’t make it to state, I can try again the same year.”

Haugh won by medical forfeit over Noble Golder’s Jasleene Ramos to take third and Oak Forest’s Nihad Abushalbak won by fall over Alvarez (0:54) to take fifth.

190 – Bianca O’Campo, Oak Lawn

Oh what a day it was for O’Campo who pinned her three opponents to take the title at 190.

O’Campo beat Shepard’s Paulina Delgado (2:16), Noble Golder’s Yolianie Hernandez (3:51) and St. Laurence’s Ell Tagler (1:24).

Delgado won by fall over Oak Forest’s Melany Coria (2:11) to take third and Reavis’ Natalie Wilke won by medical forfeit over Hernandez to take fifth.

235 – Hailey Canvin, Reavis

Canvin, a sectional qualifier earlier this season during the IHSA state series, pinned St. Laurence’s Elise Brown (2:40) and dropped a 1-0 tiebreaker to Hope Academy’s Amariah Thomas, but still earned the 235 title amongst a field of just three wrestlers.

Brown won by a 7-4 decision to beat Thomas and place second. Thomas was awarded third place. All three wrestlers advanced to state.

BOYS

101 – Crue Hatchell, Marist

Before defeating fellow RedHawk Rocco Maheras, 6-0, in the final, Hatchell won by a 17-2 tech fall over Shepard’s Christopher Hernandez and a 7-1 decision over Mt. Carmel’s Fran Blake.

Blake won by fall over Juan Ospina (0:37) to take third and Shepard’s Clark Nordwall won by medical forfeit over Ag Science’s Jesse Green for fifth.

106 – Kevin Bisonaya, Mt. Carmel

Bisonaya won by a 17-2 tech fall over Sandburg’s Lucas Vajarsky in the 106 final. 

It was the third straight tech fall win for Bisonaya, who didn’t surrender a point in his victories over St. Laurence’s Armani Diaz (15-0) and Stagg’s Daniel Torres (17-0).

Diaz won in sudden victory, 4-1, over Richards’ Ethan Haro to to take third.

King’s Alpha Kamate won by fall over Torres (2:24) for fifth.

113 – Daniel Macatangay, Mt. Carmel

Macatangay won by fall over Brandon Kalman (2:06) to win at 113.

Macatangay also won by fall over Oak Forest’s Jacob Simon (2:17) and earned an 8-1 decision over St. Laurence’s Liam Kissane.

Kissane won by fall over Jacob Simon (2:59) to take third and Shepard’s Matt Ruiz won by fall over St. Rita’s Shamar Jones (1:44) for fifth.

120 – Leonardo Ortiz, Sandburg

Ortiz didn’t allow a point in a 13-0 major decision over Hope Academy’s Indigo Berg in the 120 final.

En rout to the final, Ortiz won by fall over St. Rita’s Brendan Foster (0:26) and Shepard’s Reginald McMillian (2:26).

Marist’s Aiden Weber won 3-0 over McMillian to place third, and St. Ignatius’ Frank Valle won 6-4 over St. Rita’s Zach Brost to take fifth.

126 – Robert Nickson, Leo

Leo’s lone wrestler at the sectional will continue his season at state next weekend after winning at 126.

Nickson followed a bye with a pin of Evergreen Park’s Papa Diallo (1:47) in the quarterfinals. He kept his momentum going with a 17-2 tech fall over Kelly’s Armando Rodriguez in the semis before he pinned Mt. Carmel’s Vincent Richko (2:44) in the final.

“I’m honestly very excited, the tournament was very great and I’m very happy, but I’m not satisfied just yet,” Nickson said. “The key to winning was just the mentality of not letting a single person take me down and having fun. I couldn’t have done it without my coaches (Malik Taylor and Mo).

Nickson expects success. He’s put in the work and believes he’s right smack dab in the middle of the proper path to continuing that success.

“I learned to have fun on the mat and just flow instead of stressing and overthinking on the mat,” he said. “Relaxing on the mat leads to success and that’s the path I want to take. I definitely expected myself to make it down state my first year.  I put in those hours of work and extra practice so my spot was well deserved to make it down state. Doesn’t end here though, there’s more to come.”

Sandburg’s Ameer Mohammed won by decision, outscoring Corliss’ Lorenzo Flowers, 12-9, for third, and Rodriguez took fifth with a pin of of Diallo (4:48).

132 – Luke Erwinski, Mt. Carmel

Back-to-back sudden victories in the semifinals and finals allowed Erwinski to become the sectional champ at 132 and earn a trip to state.

He finished with a 7-4 sudden victory win over Sandburg’s Jaylon Coleman. One of the 4-1 variety preceded it against Marist’s William Leen in the semifinals. Erwinski went the distance in all of three of his matches, opening with a 13-2 major decision over De La Salle’s Jayden Carrasco.

Leen won by a 12-3 major decision over Carrasco for third and Oak Forest’s Dion Moreno won by medical forfeit over Curie’s Leland Pulido for fifth.

138 – Vincent Miceli, Brother Rice

Miceli was one of four kids from Brother Rice to compete, and one of three champions. The other took third so they’ll all move on to state.

He pinned Oak Forest’s James Stadtler (4:43) and Oak Lawn’s Carter Shane (4:52) to advance to the title match where he earned an 18-1 tech fall over Chicago Christian’s Isaac Liu.

Stadtler won by 16-0 tech fall over Shane for third and St. Rita’s Joseph Franklin pinned Ag Science’s Jelani Wells (0:54) for fifth.

144 – Khalid Eid, Oak Lawn

One of four state qualifiers on the boys side from Oak Lawn, but the team’s only sectional champion, Eid earned an 18-2 tech fall over Mt. Carmel’s Jaxon Gineris to take the title at 144.

He had tech fall wins before the title match, beating Kenwood’s Dion Cashaw, 17-1, and Sandburg’s Joe Vela, 18-2.

Eid said he stayed in the face of his opponents throughout his matches on Sunday while pushing the pace. Last year he placed fifth while also fasting.

“I did it through the love of the game and through the support from my parents and Allah always,” he said. “They’ve always stood with me through the thick and thin and allowed me to shine to the best of my abilities.”

There were highs and lows throughout the regular season for Eid and they shared the commonality of being teachable moments, and ultimately drivers for the kind of success he’s seeing today through his continued hard work and dedication to the sport.

“The regular season was filled with ups and downs from upsets to injuries but I never let the adversity get to me, but I think coaches and teammates prepared me for the post-season,” he said. “I look at myself as a very humble person but I do think I worked harder then all my opponents this year from start to finish.”

He’s optimistic that he’ll finish strong at state.

“I can say that I am fully ready to shock the rankings,” he said. “And to put myself on the maps hopefully pin/teching my way through the bracket.”

St. Ignatius’ Lucas Sanchez won by a 9-5 decision over Shepard’s Aiden Garces for third and Vela won by fall over Cashaw (0:41) for fifth.

150 – Arturo Balderas, Brother Rice

Balderas won by fall over Argo’s Skylar Arellano-Phipps (2:23) in the title match at 150 after he opened with a pin of St. Ignatius’ Hudson Schupp (1:33) and a 7-2 decision over Shepard’s Brandon Leech. 

Leech won by an 18-2 tech fall over Sandburg’s Cruz Arroyo for third and Corliss’ Amaje Long won by fall over Noble UIC’s Kendrian Walker (1:39) for fifth.

Just a freshman, Leech spent the winter on the varsity squad and leaned heavily upon senior Aiden Hill for insight.

“Aiden Hill really helped me this year,” he said. “He taught me a lot of stuff and helped me develop. Overall, my freshman year, everything has been good. People have been nice. Seniors are good, everything is good. Wrestling is my whole thing. I have to go in full. You have to go in full if you want to be real good and to place at state or something. While some people are resting, others are training harder. Some are doing five practices a day. It’s crazy.”

Leech had beaten Arroyo earlier this season.

“Coming back in the third place match I wasn’t really worried about it because I beat the kid last week so it was no sweat,” he said. “I had a little knowledge of (this tournament). I had a really good season. I got all-conference, took second place and won a tournament.”

And now he’s off to state to finish off his freshman year.

“I listened to my coach and was doing clean moves,” he said. “I was not wrestling sloppy and that’s what helped me.”

157 – Jonathan Fields, Marist

Fields wasn’t on the mats for long on Sunday, rolling past his opponents in quick order to earn a trip to state at 157.

Curie’s Santiago Valadez (0:44), Corliss’ Damarion Ambrose (0:41) and Shepard’s John Leech (0:17) all dropped matches to Fields by fall in the opening minute of their respective matches.

Sandburg’s Shafik Yasin won 2-1 over Oak Forest’s Michael Rowe for third and Corliss’ Damarion Ambrose won by fall over Valadez (2:43) for fifth.

165 – Melsyon Vrapi, Sandburg

Wrestling isn’t Vrapi’s thing, but it’s one of many things he’s doing these days as he continues to evolve as a young athlete

“It has been me and my little brother’s dream to get in MMA and my older brother told me to get your name out so you need to do wrestling,” Vrapi, a sophomore, said. “So he forced me to do it so I could get my name out and ever since then I’ve been trying to get good at every marital art to get better and MMA so that’s been a push to get good.

“I’ll probably do MMA after wrestling. I already have had some jujitsu matches. I haven’t had a boxing match yet, because the guy I was supposed to fight dropped out. I’m pretty sure I’m going to want to get into UFC after college and stuff. Jujitsu people say jujitsu and wrestling are cousins, not exactly the same but if you’re decent at jujitsu you’ll be decent at wrestling.”

Last year, Vrapi also advanced to state, dropping his two matches.

“He is just a dog,” Sandburg teammate Ahmad Abdullah said. “He doesn’t give up. He’s only in his second year wrestling and he’ll fight until the end.”

Vrapi opened with a pair of byes before taking down Curie’s Andy Cuevas (1:30) by fall in the semifinals. In the final, Shepard’s Liam Thompson worked into the second period before Vrapi won in similar fashion at 2:28.

Marist’s Ethan Pettis won by fall over Cuevas (2:30) for third and Noble UIC’s Vince Chiorlu received a bye in the fifth-place match and advanced to state in the process.

175 – Mike Starzyk, Argo

Starzyk pinned Mt. Carmel’s Kellan Breen (4:38) early in the third period of the championship match at 175 to become a sectional champ.

After opening with a pin over Ag Science’s David Montes (2:04), Starzyk defeated Sandburg’s Andrew Gutierrez by an 11-3 major in the semifinal.

“I can say winning sectionals was a fun experience but I have my sights on winning state,” Starzyk said. “I did not compete last year, I went to a different tournament.”

Spending the high school regular season mostly battling against upperclassmen, helped prepare Starzyk for a deep run in the IWCOA FroshSoph tournament. 

“During my high school season I wrestled mostly with juniors and seniors,” he said. “”I feel like wrestling with older kids helped me get better then if I had wrestled JV. I feel wrestling with older kids helped me the most with this post-season tournament.”

Gutierrez won by fall over Payton/Jones’ Micah Ruiz (2:35) for third and Oak Forest’s Nicholas Pell won by fall over Payton/Jones’ Adam Pietraszek (3:18) for fifth.

190 – Brendan Kalchbrenner, Brother Rice

Pins over Sandburg’s Nimer Alamawi (1:51), Sandburg’s Zayd Hamideh (1:56) and Ag Science’s Sylvester Staples (2:21) pushed Kalchbrenner to the top of the podium as a sectional champion.

Hamideh rebounded to win by fall over Alamawi (1:46) to place third, and Evergreen Park’s Nathan Diaz won by a 9-0 major decision over Payton/Jones’ Hudson Latino for fifth.

215 – Aaron Gallacher, Tinley Park.

After battling into the second and third periods before pinning his opponents in the quarterfinal and semifinal, Gallacher took care of matters in just 41 seconds in the final, pinning Oak Lawn’s Nathan Hernandez (0:41) to win the 215 sectional crown.

Gallacher also won by fall over St. Francis de Sales’ Frank Villella (3:34) and Brother Rice’s Harold Pfeiffer (4:40).

Pfeiffer won by fall over Villella (0:56) to place third and Oak Lawn’s Fahd Lutfi won by a 9-2 decision over St. Rita’s Emilio Lara for fifth.

285 – Timothy Harrison, Mt. Carmel

The fourth and final sectional champion for Mt. Carmel is this freshman, multi-sport athlete, who will look to be an impact performer in football and wrestling for the next few years.

“Since November I’ve kept going to practice and staying consistent and applying pressure every single day no matter if it was stretching or even like taking the trash out,” Harrison said. “It’s about discipline everyday and today I realized what our team really stands for. We stand for supportive brotherhood of family and we go out and do our best in every single position.

Harrison won by fall over Noble UIC’s Isaiah Oviedo (1:40) in the quarterfinals, earned a 5-1 decision to get past Golden’s Zerik Hernandez in the semifinals and pinned Marist’s Luke Malburg (1:58) in the final.

“I was just staying focused and not letting my mind wander into any other nonsense because there is a lot in this world,” he said. “Just staying locked in. I beat (Malburg) in regionals for first place and I can say he’s a good wrestler.”

Rematches can devour an athlete who thinks repeat success comes naturally, especially when a fiery-eyed opponent is looking for redemption. While Harrison is a big kid, he’s still just a freshman, climbing the ranks as a high school athlete.

“That’s mistake a lot of people do after they beat some dude,” Harrison said. “I know a dude who did that. He was like into his own head and he lost to the same dude.” 

Like a lot of heavyweights, Harrison is a dual performer. Football is his favorite sport, but he’s digging his time on the mats, too. There’s no doubt, wrestling has improved his football playing abilities.

“This teaches me to use my hands better when I’m blocking or tackling,” he said. “And it makes me be comfortable and establishing dominance and getting into the back as fast as I possibly can.”

Solorio’s Angel Regalado won by fall over Tinley Park’s Alejandro Covarrubias (4:43) to place third and Sandburg’s Ahmad Abdullah won by a 7-1 decision over Hernandez to take fifth.

Abdullah was the 13th kid from Sandburg to advance to state. He needed to dig deep against Hernandez, who he had lost to early in the day. Last year an injury denied Abdullah from advancing.

“I just told myself I had to come back and I had to beat him,” he said. “I couldn’t lose to the same person two times in a row on the same day. I wasn’t going to let that happen. I worked so hard and made it happen to advance.”

The Eagles are a hardworking and successful program, finishing ranked no. 14 in the state.

“We’re always practicing, we’re one of the top programs and we just want to keep it that way,” Abdullah said. “We’re one of the top programs because of how we train and the coaches we have. We have a good structure around us and we’re all confident.

By Rob Sherrill

The final rankings, as is the case throughout the season, are based on strength of schedule, head to head and common opponent results where applicable, and quality wins. In some cases, the highest-placing wrestler may not be the highest-ranked wrestler.

2025-26 FINAL RANKINGS

Class 1A

• Individual
• Team

Class 2A

• Individual
• Team

Class 3A

• Individual
• Team

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

The following wrestlers will compete at the IWCOA state finals at the Bank of Springfield Center in Springfield on March 14-15

Results listed for 1st-, 3rd- and 5th-place matches

EVANSTON SECTIONAL

101

Jacob Macedo (OPRF) d. Andrew Gamba (Maine S) (D 6-2)

Santino Scardina (Fenwick) d. Lincoln Curley (Maine W) (D 7-0)

Grant Fisher (Leyden) d. Tyler Bevan (Evanston) (F 4:18)

106

Jake Pechter (Deerfield) d. Danny Huerta (Leyden) (MD 12-1)

Nicholas Karlesky (Maine S) d. Troy Rotter (Deerfield) (F 2:28)

Dreyton Pedregosa (Taft) d. Logan Ferguson (Addison Trail) (F 2:22)

113

Michael Anguiano (Glenbrook N) d. Maurizio campana (Fenwick) (F 0:47)

Patrick Hanley (Loyola) d. Zachary Goldman (Glenbrook N) (D 1-0)

Chase Pabst (St. Patrick) d. John Barkhoo (Niles W) (F 0:42)

120

Jacob Badal (Niles N) d. Luke Baum (Maine S) (D 11-4)

Michael Uhler (Glenbrook N) d. Ben Couri (Loyola) (TF 27-11)

Jeremy Stani (York) d. Thomas Ireland (OPRF) (TF 18-3)

126

Oliver Michie (Glenbrook N) d. Santiago Trejo (Addison Trail) (MD 11-3)

Donato coloia (Maine S) d. Lj Vazquez (Deerfield) (F 1:00)

Bairon Dejesus (Proviso W) d. Alex Martin (Evanston) (MD 19-11)

132

Benjamin Howard (Deerfield) d. Zander Spatafore (Elk Grove) (MFF)

Charles Brown (York) d. Urban Baum (Maine S) (F 1:39)

Ismail Mehmedovic (Niles W) d. Eli Brown (Glenbrook S) (Inj. 0:00)

138

Kevin Hamilton (Maine S) d. Landon cohen (OPRF) (F 2:46)

Zabiel Lagunas (Leyden) d. David cruz (Evanston) (TF 17-1)

Bryce Oerke (New Trier) d. constantino Palmisano (Ridgewood) (D 11-4)

144

Antonio Reyes ii (St. Patrick) d. Joshua Edelheit (Glenbrook S) (D 8-2)

Sean Smylie (Loyola) d. George Dilorenzo (Maine S) (F 3:29)

Sean campbell (York) d. Kevin Pedersen (Maine S) (D 9-5)

150

Mark Bilek (St. Patrick) d. Angel Martinez (Deerfield) (F 4:25)

Martin Lydon (Maine S) d. Cesar Albnoroz (Evanston) (F 4:09)

Alan Krupinski (Ridgewood) d. Nathan Miller (DePaul) (D 2-0)

157

Aiden Lacoste (Deerfield) d. Quinn Paris (Fenwick) (F 0:27)

Harrison Yankellow (Lane Tech) d. Nathaniel Olivares (St. Patrick) (F 2:42)

Jackson Drane (Loyola) d. Dijon Cotton (Proviso W) (F 3:56)

165

Bryce Kopinski (Glenbrook S) d. Ari Shyovitz (Ida crown) (F 0:36)

Conner O`neill (Leyden) d. Jerry Walsh (York) (D 10-6)

Kingston Upshaw (Intrinsic) d. Ilias Kellikidis (St. Patrick) (F 3:47)

175

Art Bytyqi (Evanston) d. Nicholas Marcus (Niles N) (F 4:44)

Noah Blust (York) d. Drew Sendre (DePaul) (F 1:50)

Julian Vargas (St. Patrick) d. Samuel Thillens (Maine S) (D 5-0)

190

Tommy Tures (New Trier) d. Joseph Valentino (St. Patrick) (TF 17-2)

Musa Amin (Evanston) d. Rafael Baez (St. Patrick) (F 0:49)

Capper Tyler (Proviso E) d. Sean O`Connor (DePaul) (F 0:31)

215

Brooks Tyler (Evanston) d. Josh Dixon (Deerfield) (D 9-2)

Nico Trautman (DePaul) d. Anthony Keating (IC Prep) (F 0:57)

Aaron Corral (Fenton) d. Darren Hayes (St. Patrick) (TF 15-0)

285

Andres Thomas (Evanston) d. Martavion Howard (Proviso E) (F 1:28)

Michael Maddex (Loyola) d. Jhulyan Carter (Notre Dame) (F 2:38)

George Dunn (DePaul) d. Constantine Martinez (Fenton) (F 1:59)

GRANITE CITY

101

Evan Gill (Edwardsville) d. Zander Johnson (Granite City) (D 5-0)

Eli Schaefer (Freeburg) d. William Vincent (Salem) (F 2:27)

Ryan Pelzek (Glenwood) d. Zaiden Turner (Jacksonville) (F 2:03)

106

Bo Allison (Jerseyville) d. Cameron Urbaniak (Herrin) (D 6-5)

Brendan Stewart (Effingham) d. Cooper Galloway (Vandalia) (F 2:09)

Brayden Jackson (Freeburg) d. Karson Fowler (Althoff Cath) (F 2:30)

113

Austin Jones (Alton) d. Jack Welch (camp Point c (MD 18-9)

Griffin Finch (Quincy) d. John Smith (Civic Memorial) (D 7-6)

Eli Quartz (Freeburg) d. Zack Bean (Piasa (Southwestern) (D 5-2)

120

Benjamin Rashman (Edwardsville) d. Charles St. Peters (Alton) (D 11-7)

Isaac Wood (Carterville) d. Aden Farley (Glenwood) (F 2:41)

Kaden Alldredge (Edwardsville) d. David Kinscherff (Troy Triad) (D 19-18)

126

Rylan Moore (Salem) d. Xavier Sonon-hale (Mascoutah) (MD 16-4)

Sean Monroe (Edwardsville) d. Kyler Reisner (Mt. Vernon) (D 2-1)

Cole Pilliard (Troy Triad) d. Cael Taylor (Williamsville) (MFF)

132

Ronin Schmidt (Troy Triad) d. Devon Jensen (Freeburg) (MD 25-16)

Bradley Odell (Carbondale) d. Brendon Jones (Benton) (F 2:59)

Caleb Taylor (Edwardsville) d. Austin Olps (camp Point c (F 2:20)

138

Lukas Quartz (Freeburg) d. Jacob Sutphin (Alton) (D 9-2)

Emmitt Cooley (Mt. Carmel) d. Jackson Parnell (Civic Memorial) (D 6-0)

Matthew Mcdowell (Vandalia) d. Dante Wade (Springfield (Southeast) (D 16-13)

144

Jase Holshouser (Anna-Jonesboro) d. Ethan Paul (Quincy) (F 1:21)

Elijah Thompson (Edwardsville) d. Micheal Goodwin (Mt. Vernon) (F 1:30)

Jaden White (Frankfort) d. Kenyon Matthews (Jacksonville) (F 0:52)

150

Jovonis Lunford (Springfield (Sacred Heart Griffin) d. Braxton Glodo (Sparta) (D 17-14)

Pierce Helm (Glenwood) d. Alonzo Lofton (Civic Memorial) (F 4:06)

Kade Orrell (Salem) d. Tahj Morens (Lanphier) (TF 25-8)

157

Tyler Nolan (Red Bud) d. Phoenix Hickam (Murphysboro) (D 5-0)

Isaiah Hall (Mt. Carmel) d. Elliot Imboden (Carbondale) (F 3:39)

John Marshall (Jacksonville ISV) d. Landyn Seal (Pittsfield) (F 3:26)

165

Roman Lilo (Quincy) d. Dexter Mcclendon (Granite City) (D 5-3)

Titus Dover (Anna-Jonesboro) d. Jeremy Judd (Sacred Heart Griffin) (F 4:53)

Colby Midiri (Pleasant Plains) d. Andrew Regalado (Edwardsville) (D 4-2)

175

Da`kevion Rose (Belleville (East) d. Cohen Albatt (Troy Triad) (Inj. 3:46)

Kenton Rule (Warr-Latham) d. Branson Burnett (Carmi-White Co) (F 4:04)

Owen Alderson (Williamsville) d. Phoenix Pilcher (Salem) (TF 18-2)

190

Ayden Williams (Auburn) d. Nate Page (Marion) (D 8-2)

Jahari Tucker (Cahokia) d. Austin Wilkinson (Althoff Cath) (SV-1 8-5)

Antonio Monroe (Sparta) d. John Haynes (Southwestern) (F 1:29)

215

Liam Heise (Jacksonville) d. Marc Leahy jr (Troy Triad) (D 4-1)

Donnovan Tinnin (Edwardsville) d. Tristin Vail (Marion) (D 3-0)

Jesse Williams (Benton) d. Logan Haverback (Beardstown) (F 0:53)

285

Darrell Bibbs (Belleville (East) d. over Donnie Olmstead (Freeburg) (TB-1 2-1)

Eli Zanger (Quincy) d. carter Pyatt (Mt. Carmel) (D 13-6)

Kevin Gaines (Springfield (Southeast) d. Kamen Anderson (Alton) (D 2-0)

HEYWORTH SECTIONAL

101

Dakota Harmon (Marquette) d. Colton Bevers (Normal Comm) (TF 17-0)

Gabriel Eads (Normal Comm) d. Mateo Anaya (Clinton) (F 2:07)

Levi Lee (St. Joseph Ogden) d. Evan Bierma (Morton) (DQ)

106

Bryce Kuhlman (Normal Comm) d. Connor Eggers (Marquette) (TF 16-1)

Maison Burgard (Washington) d. Julian Rodriguez (GCMS) (F 4:24)

Dylan Warner (Hoopeston) d. Andrew Patino (Prarie Central) (D 9-3)

113

Micah Jackson (Washington) d. creed Cole (Mattoon) (D 8-3)

Hayden Hazel (Olney) d. Ben Marshall (Deer Crk-Mackinaw) (D 8-5)

Sawyer Manning (Ridgeview) d. Mitchell Matigian (Mahomet-Sey) (MD 13-0)

120

Logan Huenefeld (Marquette) d. Liam MDor (Illini Bluffs) (F 2:25)

Gracen Elliott (Robinson) d. Kaden Huster (GCMS) (MFF)

Maxx Jager (Normal (West) d. Alex Reynolds (Mt. Zion) (D 11-7)

126

Isaac Rotramel (GCMS) d. Jack Voigts (Pontiac) (D 4-2)

Nicholas Weber (Tremont) d. Carson Yokel (Normal Comm) (D 15-8)

Zech Chasten (Morton) d. Maison Chandler (Mt. Zion) (MD 13-4)

132

Gavin Stoecker (Tremont) d. Landon Darst (Galesburg) (MD 17-3)

Jaxson Bagwell (Mattoon) d. Martavious Johnson (Eisenhower) (D 15-14)

Kole Vanmiddlesworth (canton) d. Holden Barr (Mattoon) (MFF)

138

Braden Opperman (Pontiac) d. Ogdan Parker (Illini Bluffs) (F 0:58)

Brenner Hayes (Mt. Zion) d. Connor Petrakis (Notre Dame) (F 3:26)

Draven Geltz (Tremont) d. Trevion Murphy (Eisenhower) (MFF)

144

Jshawn Wilson (Notre Dame) d. Johnathan Kirkbride (Shelbyville) (D 5-2)

Samuel Dial (Olney) d. Connor Misner (Mt. Zion) (MFF)

DJ Heatherly (Galesburg) d. Colton Johnson (GCMS) (D 11-8)

150

Jaymion Cunningham (Danville) d. David Wallinger (Illini Bluffs) (D 5-4)

Dorin Coss (Hoopeston) d. Nino Caballero (Mahomet-Sey) (D 12-10)

Keilen Mustread (Mahomet-Sey) d. Caleb Hippen (Metamora) (F 1:43)

157

Daniel Nichols (Cumberland) d. Hayden Smith (Unity) (F 4:53)

Lazzerick Zander (Champaign C) d. Zane Heubi (Washington) (D 5-2)

Cristian Ornelas (Ridgeview) d. Kaedyn McLeish (Richwoods) (F 4:07)

165

Logan Wagoner (Ridgeview) d. Collin Jones (Morton) (D 9-6)

Michael Young (Eisenhower) d. Camden Schoolcraft (Westville) (F 0:46)

Cohen Eubanks (Mt. Zion) d. Draidan Mayfield (Havana) (D 16-9)

175

Sean Martinez (Richwoods) d. Isaac Warnock (Olympia) (D 9-3)

Carter Ludwig (Ridgeview) d. Gaige Hunt (Tremont) (MD 19-8)

Ty Gardner (Bloomington) d. Jaylen Davis (Rantoul) (F 2:25)

190

Caleb Peters (Olympia) d. Ashton Helberg (Eureka) (TF 16-0)

Zavian Turner (Bloomington) d. Anderson Fisher (Shelbyville) (MFF)

Gabe Deltoro (East Peoria) d. Elijah Mowery (Prarie Central) (F 2:53)

215

Bradyn Haynes (Pekin) d. Jude Dausey (Lawrenceville) (F 2:11)

Jackson Ritch (LeRoy) d. Vince King (Bloomington) (F 2:25)

Jayden Williams (Bloomington) d. Amarii Ollie (Normal Comm) (MFF)

285

Reginald Luckett (Normal Comm) d. Landon Petty (Galesburg) (D 14-8)

Remington Bryant (Charleston) d. Kollin Nash (GCMS) (MFF)

Anthony Escobedo (Robinson) d. Jovante Fields (Eisenhower) (F 1:39)

LAKE ZURICH SECTIONAL

101

William Bousk (Fremd) d. Nolan Freely (Lake Zurich) (MD 11-3)

Tommy Katz (Wheeling) d. Sam Ejnik (Buffalo Grove) (D 12-10)

Cain Ramirez (Grant) d. Everett Jancich (Hersey) (D 5-0)

106

Travis Wilgosiewicz (Algonquin (Jacobs) d. Colton Swanson (Grant) (MD 15-6)

Kevin Rosa (Stevenson) d. Diego Ramirez (Barrington) (D 10-9)

Ashton Prather (Antioch) d. Abel Ephrem (Schaumburg) (F 3:27)

113

Carlo Difalco (Prospect) d. Cole Wojtalewicz (Lake Zurich) (UTB 4-4)

Diego Rea (Warren) d. Brian Hoffman (Conant) (D 6-3)

Gabriel Poyer (Zion-Benton) d. Tyson Rivard (McHenry) (D 11-7)

120

Liam Lovelace (Lake Park) d. John Diaz (Lake Zurich) (D 8-1)

Brayden Sroka (Zion-Benton) d. Joel Aragon (Palatine) (D 14-8)

Nathan Flores (St. Viator) d. Owen Thomas (Carmel) (F 3:45)

126

Rielen Hermsen (Carmel) d. Ryder Thompson (Lake Zurich) (F 2:53)

Dino Adamo (Rolling Meadows) d. Niko Marchenko (Stevenson) (D 10-4)

Andrew Stapleton (Prospect) d. Nathan Hunt (McHenry) (D 1-0)

132

Joey Romano (Wheeling) d. Chase Davis (Johnsburg) (TF 21-6)

Kentrell Golladay (Waukegan) d. Breiydyn Hoffman (Grant) (D 7-2)

Kyle Lochner (Hersey) d. MDd Ramadan (Prairie Ridge) (F 3:55)

138

Kiernan Delaney (Carmel) d. Elliott Hibbard (Libertyville) (MFF)

Gabriel Oliveira (Stevenson) d. Kingsley chen (Stevenson) (MFF)

Daniel Zuehlke (Crystal Lake C) d. Xavier Campos (Dundee-Crown) (F 3:27)

144

Mick Skrypek (Carmel) d. Luis Atilano (Stevenson) (D 8-7)

William Guziec (Stevenson) d. Joseph Minogue (Libertyville) (F 1:39)

Demetri Matsas (Fremd) d. Adam Piazza (Jacobs) (D 7-2)

150

Owen Floral (Grayslake C) d. Azam Nabizada (Fremd) (F 1:56)

Austin Slocum (Dundee-Crown) d. Evan Talbot (Hersey) (D 6-5)

Iaroslav Bitarov (Stevenson) d. Ryan Chartouni (Prospect) (F 0:38)

157

Danny Mandujano (Carmel) d. Dominic Sponsel (Fremd) (F 3:00)

Michael Weber (Schaumburg) d. Jordan Sylvanus (Johnsburg) (MFF)

Arthur Borzecki (Hoffman Est) d. Leo Malatos (Lake Zurich) (SV-1 9-6)

165

Joseph Cameron (Carmel) d. Logan Tibbs (Johnsburg) (MD 9-0)

Brendan Weber (Grant) d. Luke Maher (Fremd) (F 1:34)

Brock Bowden (Prairie Ridge) d. Jacob Meade (Prairie Ridge) (D 9-3)

175

Jaxon James (Stevenson) d. Patrick Zdanowski (Prospect) (SV-1 6-3)

Eduardo Albarran (Zion-Benton) d. Jayden Johnson (Bartlett) (F 2:20)

Anthony Castr (Wheeling) d. Franklin Yanes (Buffalo Grove) (MD 12-2)

190

Jackson Hjorth (Johnsburg) d. Phillip Pelts (Stevenson) (TF 16-1)

Alex Williams (Prospect) d. Joey Glass (Fremd) (TF 18-0)

Shaq Scotkelly (Buffalo Grove) d. Gabriel Giamouzis (Hersey) (F 2:43)

215

Pearce Estrada (Warren) d. Henry Mitchell (McHenry) (D 4-2)

Nathan O`Neill (Mundelein) d. Dominic Augustyniak (Schaumburg) (D 7-0)

Avant Cole (Round Lake) d. Kevin Baizabal (Lake Zurich) (D 6-1)

285

Marc Walsh (McHenry) d. Chase Paduch (Bartlett) (D 6-2)

Noah Breckenridge (Carmel) d. Hakeem Coleman (Fremd) (F 0:49)

Ivan Alejandre (Round Lake) d. Franek Lyzwa (Wheeling) (MFF)

NAPERVILLE CENTRAL SECTIONAL

101

Donovan Johnson (Aurora W) d. Dominic Macellaio (Wheaton N) (D 6-1)

Elliot Hardy (W Chicago (Wheaton Academy) d. Timothy Slade (Wheaton N) (TF 16-1)

Cameron Krueger (Naperville N) d. Anthony Aguirre (Yorkville) (F 0:57)

106

Nicholas Greenfield (Glenbard E) d. Caden Morrison (Marmion) (F 0:30)

Alexi Aguinaldo (Naperville C) d. Noah Gilbert (Glenbard N) (MD 18-6)

Bryce Erway (Hinsdale C) d. Leo Salas (S Elgin) (F 2:08)

113

Ben Sallas (Glenbard W) d. Zion Kaunley (Wheaton Academy) (D 5-0)

Joseph Calvillo (Batavia) d. Will DiFatta (St. Charles E) (D 9-4)

Jadiel Castillo (Glenbard N) d. Lucas Dobush (Oswego) (F 1:45)

120

Lukas Thompson (Glenbard N) d. Aidan Ambre (Aurora W) (F 4:00)

Myles Houser (Downers Grove S) d. Chris Jones (Wheaton Warrenville S) (MFF)

Jackson Baumrucker (Glenbard W) d. Hunter Dimailig (Naperville N) (D 10-5)

126

Rj Festerling (Yorkville Christian) d. Eric Castillo (Aurora W) (D 8-1)

Cade Vazquez (Lombard (Montini Catholic) d. Archer Biag (Naperville N) (D 2-1)

Alexander Andel (Yorkville) d. Luis Perez (Downers Grove S) (D 5-4)

132

Dylan Woolsey (Downers Grove S) d. Sebastian Nevarez (Oswego E) (D 7-3)

Mike Riggs (Wheaton Warrenville S) d. Joel Bryan Waggoner (Lombard (Montini Catholic) (D 6-4)

Jack Fitzgerald (Naperville C) d. Mason Seybold (Yorkville) (MD 9-1)

138

Nolan Chrisse (Yorkville) d. Landon Joseph Waggoner (Lombard (Montini Catholic) (TF 17-1)
Jaxson Kocur (Yorkville) d. Joshue Delgado (Aurora E) (MFF)

Langston Norlin (Oswego) d. Marwan Mohammad (Hinsdale S) (D 18-11)

144

Vincent Konecki (Yorkville) d. Myles Monis (Lombard (Montini Catholic) (MFF)

Xavier Morales (Glenbard N) d. Marcus Smith (Oswego E) (MFF)

Angel Garcia (Oswego) d. Amar Franklin (Aurora W) (MD 17-6)

150

Joey Guidi (W Chicago (Wheaton Academy) d. Alex Realmuto (Naperville N) (D 7-1)

Darek Speice (Oswego E) d. Jack Petrie (Wheaton Warrenville S) (F 2:18)

Cris Lopez (Waubonsie Valley) d. Jason Donna (Willowbrook) (FF)

157

Reid Balis (Naperville C) d. Kevin Sanchez (Aurora E) (Inj. 0:00)

Daniel Skura (Marmion) d. Cashton Monroe (Batavia) (TF 19-3)

Trevor Snyder (Wheaton Warrenville S) d. Ronald Lepic (Downers Grove S) (F 2:40)

165

Benjamin Guszkiewicz (St. Charles E) d. Myles-Avery Holland (Yorkville Christian) (MFF)

Benjamin Grunow (Hinsdale C) d. Kal Gonzales (Willowbrook) (F 1:58)

Elefterios Prevett (Downers Grove S) d. Julio Llanos (Aurora W) (D 8-1)

175

Asher Van Der Molen (St. Charles E) d. Erick Rivera (Yorkville) (MD 11-0)

Nicholas Wambangco (St. Charles E) d. Jack Williams (La Grange (Lyons Township) (MD 14-3)

Jake LaScala (Downers Grove N) d. Dominic Burton (Willowbrook) (F 0:44)

190

Jt Hill (Naperville N) d. Hazen Murray (St. Charles E) (TF 16-1)
Sam Freeman (Glenbard W) d. J. Frank Harvey (Naperville N) (D 3-2)

Lucas Maida (Glenbard E) d. Landree Dracousis (S Elgin) (MFF)

215

Andrew Munsen (Waubonsie Valley) d. Wilson Wunder (Lisle (Sr.) (F 2:46)

Jacob Lemire (Oswego) d. Damian Velasquez (Willowbrook) (D 4-1)

Estevan Ramirez (Aurora E) d. Jackson Meier (Yorkville) (MFF)

285

Michael Danial (Downers Grove S) d. Dean Woszczyna (Glenbard N) (F 3:54)

Holden Reible (Oswego) d. Luke Zajicek (Hinsdale C) (D 4-0)

Ricardo Alanis (Glenbard E) d. Joel Ramos (W Chicago) (MD 8-0)

STERLING SECTIONAL

101

Carter Paulson (Stillman Valley) d. Joe Morse (Newman CC) (D 4-1)

David Wesierski (Hampshire) d. Samuel Abotsi (United Twp) (D 11-6)

Brycen Fahnestock (Geneseo) d. Wyatt Crowe (Plano) (MD 13-0)

106

Matthew Frykman (DeKalb) d. Liam Parker (Harvard) (TF 15-0)

Aiden Salo (Byron) d. Coltin Hartman (Fulton) (F 4:28)

Bentley Ahlstrand (Rock Falls) d. Valentin elias Soriano (Central) (F 2:06)

113

Julian Hartwig (DeKalb) d. Matthew Hoss (Moline) (F 2:29)

Logan Harris (Hononegah) d. Tad Moore (Geneseo) (D 4-0)

Isaiah Carreno (Stillman Valley) d. Fabregas Rodriguez (Rock Island) (D 11-8)

120

Gabe Marella (N Boone) d. Griffin Kellett (LaSalle-Peru) (D 7-3)

Olin Wiedel (Woodstock N) d. Angelo Matute (Rock Island) (F 1:45)

Cole Malo (Woodstock (H.S.) d. Sam Howard (DeKalb) (F 1:56)

126

Tennyson Hampton (Alleman) d. Isaiah Martinez (Hononegah) (D 6-0)

Michael Benge (St. Bede) d. Kazmyn Barber (Dixon) (D 9-5)

Javen Reyes (Newman CC) d. Brennan Mccarter (DeKalb) (F 4:48)

132

Carson Benesh (Oregon) d. Henry Miller (Rock Island) (F 4:35)

Camden Spiniolas (Marian CC) d. Jaken Updike (Morrison) (F 2:23)

Max Moreno (St. Bede) d. Virshon Dotson (DeKalb) (TF 19-3)

138

Caleb Flint (United Twp) d. Lowson Jabbah (Rock Island) (TB-1 3-2)

Jack Snook (Geneseo) d. Elijah King (Rock Island) (F 2:38)

Hudson Cline (Sandwich) d. Mschach Bitangimana (Rock Island) (MD 13-3)

144

Zane Mochocki (Marian CC) d. James Brown (DeKalb) (F 1:24)

Rafael Perez (Rock Island) d. Ibrahim Mchimbwa (Rock Island) (D 8-7)

Henry Vanderbleek (DeKalb) d. Logan Funk (Rockford (East) (MD 11-3)

150

Blake Slusser (Freeport) d. Javelle Anderson (Rock Island) (D 2-1)

Jaxson Blanchard (Sandwich) d. Komen Denault (Mendota) (MD 15-4)

Mason Grismore (Morrison) d. Trenton Combs (Woodstock N) (D 9-4)

157

Noah Cerny (Marian CC) d. Josiah Lewis (Newman CC) (F 4:03)

Garrett Carter (Savanna (West Carroll) d. Eli Futrell (Sandwich) (F 0:13)

Elliot Yaklich (Rock Falls) d. Collin Rux  (MFF)

165

Gideon Heist (Sherrard) d. David Hendrickson (Belvidere) (D 7-1)

Hunter Wendt (Genoa-Kingston) d. Tyler Bell (Stillman Valley) (D 6-4)

Joseph Scott (Stillman Valley) d. Tim Plote (Newman CC) (F 3:41)

175

Travis Kinkead (United Twp) d. Elijah Boswell (Aledo Mercer County) (F 1:35)

Maxson Ohaver (Sterling) d. Jermaine Jones (Rock Island) (F 2:46)

Bradley Bankes (Stillman Valley) d. Cash Stott (Harvard) (F 1:35)

190

Brooks Auker (Byron) d. Ben Simosky (Geneseo) (F 2:39)

Zander Haskins (Hononegah) d. Brady Mccray (Sterling) (D 6-1)

Stanlee Golden (Moline) d. Levi Pretzsch (Dixon) (MD 14-1)

215

Jacksyn Windham (Oregon) d. Kamron Buehl (United Twp) (F 2:02)

Asher Acevedo (Lena-Winslow Stockton) d. Zach Walker (Rock Falls) (F 0:34)

Vann Olcott (United Monmouth) d. Sean Seibel (Dixon) (F 1:25)

285

Collin Hughes (Sycamore) d. Fernando Sandoval (LaSalle-Peru) (F 0:54)

Jayden Coleman (DeKalb) d. Jaiden Clayborn (Moline) (F 0:53)

Brock Almgren (Central) d. Kareem Odeh (Freeport) (MFF)

THORNTON SECTIONAL

101

Timothy Lorimer (LW (East) d. Julian Godina (Lockport) (MD 9-0)

Julian Paniagua (Bolingbrook) d. Kayden Miller (Thornton) (F 0:41)

Ryder Gill (Coal City) d. Collin Bryant (Reed-Custer) (TF 16-0)

106

Julian Medina (Bolingbrook) d. Michael Scott (LW (West) (F 4:36)

Dante Toures (LW (East) d. Sebastian Rys (LW (West) (F 1:43)

Jeremiah Cuevas (Bolingbrook) d. Eduardo Robles (Joliet C) (D 3-2)

113

Elijah Bell (LW (East) d. Everett Sievers (LW (East) (D 2-1)

Finn Fifer (LW Central) d. carter Kehr (Joliet West) (D 6-0)

John Liam O`Shea (Andrew) d. Joseph Dulce (Lockport) (F 1:37)

120

Noah Rauen (Plainfield N) d. Sullivan Lipscomb (Minooka) (MD 10-2)

Logan Viau (Andrew) d. Anthony Mendez (Providence) (D 9-6)

Nolan Dykshorn (LW (West) d. James Moulton (B-Bourbonnais) (D 8-3)

126

Lincoln Mack (Joliet Cath) d. Drew Ritchie (Plainfield S) (TF 18-2)

Oliver Blackburn (Minooka) d. Ryan Wicks (Lockport) (TF 19-1)

Cameron Hamill (LW (East) d. Joseph Borowski (Joliet C) (D 1-0)

132

Adonis Washington (Joliet Cath) d. Chase Valentine (Morris) (F 0:41)

Lucas Ankarlo (LW (East) d. Jace Vazquez (Lockport) (MD 15-2)

Brendan Bastida (Bloom Twp) d. Kurtz Yeboah (Plainfield N) (MD 10-2)

138

Caleb Rogers (LW Central) d. Evan Lamas (Plainfield N) (MD 14-5)

Jaxon Trofimchuck (Coal City) d. Rylan West (Reed-Custer) (MD 15-2)

Gavin Sonne (LW (West) d. Nathaniel Ruiz (Joliet West) (TF 18-2)

144

Ryker Long (Coal City) d. Aiden Wiggins (Providence) (D 4-0)

Bryce Neville (LW (West) d. Andrew Staab (Joliet Cath) (D 10-4)

Giovanni Baker (Joliet West) d. Zeke Kundinger (LW (West) (D 16-11)

150

Henry Maier (Homewood-Flossmoor) d. Sean O`Connor (LW (West) (D 9-7)
Jackson Trotter (LW (West) d. Rylan Benicky (Plainfield (East) (D 3-2)

Andrew Clark (Homewood-Flossmoor) d. Blake Bucon (Plainfield S) (D 8-6)

157

Naijier Morris (Homewood-Flossmoor) d. Jonathan Wilkey (LW (West) (MD 14-0)

Dandre Franco (Bolingbrook) d. Jimmy Medina (Plainfield S) (TF 20-4)

Amer Salah (LW (East) d. Xavier Feliciano (Homewood-Flossmoor) (D 8-4)
165

Emiliano Ramirez (Plainfield c d. Henry Bohms (LW (East) (SV-1 9-6)

Carter Cullen (LW Central) d. Maurice Burbridge (B-Bourbonnais) (F 2:41)

Michael Ryan (Andrew) d. Luis Rodriguez (Joliet C) (F 3:36)

175

Charlie Morzuch (LW (West) d. Colton Coughlen (Minooka) (F 3:43)

Colton Vaughn (Clifton Central) d. Shaheen Shalash (LW Central) (MFF)

Cullen Bramer (Kankakee (Bishop McNamara) d. Armane Hale (Thornton) (D 15-13)

190

Jonathan Rivera (Romeoville) d. Hunter Radtke (clifton Central) (MD 8-0)

Julius Pierscionek (Plainfield S) d. Cameron Moskos (LW (West) (D 4-2)

Jacob Wagner (LW (East) d. Tomas Taujanskas (Lemont) (SV-1 4-1)

215

Alex Krzeczkowski (LW (West) d. Noah Kirby (Plainfield N) (D 6-1)

Shaun chantome (Manteno) d. Darren Peterson (Plainfield c (F 1:37)

King Jones (Rich Twp) d. Javier Serrano (Joliet West) (D 5-0)

285

Anthony Samanich (Lockport) d. Taron Ramsey (Joliet C) (F 0:52)

Brayden Mrazek (Lockport) d. Elex Mitchell (Homewood-Flossmoor) (F 1:42)

Nate Zeffield (Bolingbrook) d. Giuliano Salazar (Romeoville) (F 2:40)

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

The following wrestlers will compete at the IWCOA state finals at the Bank of Springfield Center in Springfield on March 14-15

Results listed for 1st-, 3rd- and 5th-place matches

EVANSTON SECTIONAL

95

Evelyn Torres (Maine E) d. Melina Valdez (Addison Trail) (F 2:30)

Mia Moyano (Deerfield) d. Ava Miller (Rickover) (F 4:57)

Valeria Hernandez (Lane Tech) received a bye () (Bye)

100

Isabella Datil (Addison Trail) d. Sophia Almaraz (JS Morton) (F 2:55)

Paola Ocampo (Maine E) received a bye () (Bye)

105

Andie Brown (York) d. Karla Munoz (JS Morton) (F 2:04)

Jordan Rodriguez (JS Morton) received a bye () (Bye)

110

Katelyn Gallegos (Maine S) d. Alyssa Martel (Taft) (F 4:59)

Andrea Reyes (Maine E) d. Orly Brown (Niles N) (D 5-3)

Nayelli Nambo (JS Morton) d. Liza Sarkees (Maine E) (F 1:57)

115

Annika Lee (Maine S) d. Lauren Guerrero (Lane Tech) (F 2:10)

Elizabeth castrejon (Rickover) d. Regina Jones (Proviso E) (SV-1 14-11)

Evangeline Lopez (York) d. Kaden Juarez (Niles N) (F 1:31)

120

Hannah chong (crane Medical) d. Paige Finnegan (Rickover) (F 1:52)

Brianna Berrum (Addison Trail) d. crystalia Psyhogios (Maine S) (F 4:46)

Luissiana Guerrero (JS Morton) d. Yireth Sanchez (Fenton) (F 4:43)

125

Sabrina Bono (Leyden) d. Michelle Kpekpe (OPRF) (F 1:27)

Samantha Gipson (Evanston) d. Molly Zeidler (New Trier) (SV-1 8-7)

Zlata Rybak (Maine E) d. Maileina Reyes (Lane Tech) (D 2-1)

130

Giselle castillo (Fenton) d. Zmorah Izenstark (New Trier) (F 3:47)

Imyjah Jackson (Lane Tech) d. Sophia Kellikidis (Ridgewood) (MD 13-0)

Aileen Trejo (Evanston) d. Norma jean Willard (York) (MD 12-0)

135

Gianna Mezzano (Ridgewood) d. Zariyah Jones (Proviso W) (F 2:53)

Kylie Kowalisyn (Taft) d. Nicole Szafraniec (Glenbrook N) (F 4:17)

Rhysel Anum (JS Morton) d. Mesk Al shammari (Maine E) (D 6-1)

140

Rose Mcfadden (Ridgewood) d. Addison Barnes (Maine S) (F 1:58)

Gabrielle Toney (Niles N) d. Madeleine Mauer (Deerfield) (SV-1 9-6)

Kamila Sosa (Maine E) d. Nora Schinsky (York) (F 1:47)

145

Lexie Hoobler (Highland Park) d. Talifa Khamraeva (Niles (West) (F 2:58)

Madison Mauer (Deerfield) d. Nerissa Blue (OPRF) (F 1:37)

155

Kenaiece Barrett (Lane Tech) d. Liya Sandor (Niles N) (D 8-1)

Emma Dase (Maine S) d. Juliamay Teston (Intrinsic) (MD 11-1)

170

Sylvia Lupa (Addison Trail) d. Emma Wilson (Niles (West) (F 1:33)

Lexi Kirchen (Deerfield) received a bye () (Bye)

190

Ariana Solideo (Fenton) d. Gabriella Smith (Glenbrook N) (F 1:58)

Tiana Fraser (York) d. Elliana Martinez (OPRF) (F 1:29)

Akyah Thomas (Lane Tech) d. Angie Wszolek (Maine E) (F 0:38)

235

Lyirc Walton (Maine E) d. Julia Augello (Rickover) (F 0:33)

Jaezya Gators (Proviso W) received a bye () (Bye)

GRANITE CITY SECTIONAL

95

Allyah Lopez (Mascoutah) d. Hally Lopez (Mascoutah) (F 1:59)

100

Brielle Becker (Freeburg) d. Remi Taylor (Fairfield) (F 4:42)

Faith Huskey (Johnston City) d. Pakaporn Dunham (Mascoutah) (F 2:02)

Shayla Garner (Mascoutah) d. Kameron Dunn (Granite City) (F 1:51)

105

Aubrey Rutmanis (Freeburg) d. Prudence Snider (Althoff Cath) (F 2:09)

Klaramae Turpin (Mascoutah) BYE
Guaranteed Places

110 

Peyton Rutledge (Dupo) d. Leena cavender (Jacksonville) (F 4:38)

Hailey Buckingham (Edwardsville) d. Kenni Lafollette (Johnston City) (D 6-0)

Haydyn Williamson (Anna-Jonesboro) d. Haylee Hooks (Belleville (West) (F 1:51)

115

Jazelle Young (Collinsville) d. Brooklyn Alldredge (Edwardsville) (F 2:23)

Asher Ronan (Virden (N Mac) d. Olivia Jarrett (Glenwood) (F 3:57)

Taytum Cruz (Johnston City) d. Deja Porter (Cahokia) (F 2:18)

120

Lelynn Kelly (Granite City) d. Ruthie Orelly (Sparta) (F 3:00)

Ayda Brow (Waterloo) d. Sammi Suhre (Edwardsville) (F 3:48)

Scarlett Wegener (Waterloo) d. Chloe Simpson (Mascoutah) (F 1:00)

125

Lucy Baldwin (Waterloo) d. Isabella `izzy` Resendez (Glenwood) (D 10-9)

Joelene Nappier-feth (Marion) d. Alliyah Powell (Springfield (Lanphier) (F 4:12)

Dayza Phillips (Alton (Sr.) d. Akira Woods (O`Fon) (MD 14-6)

130

Aubree Murphy (Quincy (Sr.) d. Alana Finney (Salem) (F 1:29)

Chloe Rice (Bethalto (civic Memorial) d. Alexis Hunt (Edwardsville) (F 1:42)

Lauren Richards (Marshall) d. Aden Denoon (Mt. Vernon) (F 4:04)

135

Roxie Royster (Murphysboro) d. Makenna Steele (Troy Triad) (F 1:28)

Tala Asad (Springfield (HS) d. Marriah Jackson (Carbondale) (F 3:58)

Hayden Yelm (Dupo) d. Michaela Wentz (Belleville (West) (F 2:02)
140

Jariyah Powell (E St. Louis) d. Adrianna Lacefield (Granite City) (F 0:46)

Alyssa Hardt (Belleville (West) d. Gabriela Richards (Mascoutah) (F 1:27)

Rylei Whetstone (Freeburg) d. Kora Long (Troy Triad) (MD 19-8)

145
Kyla Ford (Carbondale) d. Elise Byman (Freeburg) (MD 9-0)

Patience Anderson (E St. Louis) d. Macy Mcculley (Fairfield) (F 0:34)

155

Kateryna Pirogova (Murphysboro) d. Bree Hosna (Dupo) (F 2:35)

Ineta Grubbs (Belleville (West) d. Abigail Hayes (Edwardsville) (D 10-5)

Skylee Howell (Jerseyville) d. Addison Mabrey (Benton) (F 4:52)

170
Geetanjali Janardhan (Edwardsville) d. Olivia Monroe (Jacksonville) (F 2:42)

Ella Black (Dupo) d. Abigail Kinison (Springfield (HS) (F 2:10)

190

Kamryn Brown (Cahokia) d. Lillian Browning (Frankfort) (F 1:44)

cori chamness (Mt. Vernon) d. Addison Wilson (Troy Triad) (D 3-0)
Ashlynn Blevins (Fairfield) received a bye () (Bye)

235

Andrea Kirkpatrick (Belleville (West) d. Beckah Burrelsman (Troy Triad) (F 2:05)

Emily Sanders (Jacksonville) d. Angie Nunez (Edwardsville) (MFF)

Nevaeh Hamer (Collinsville) d. Ava Seavers (Frankfort) (F 0:34)

HEYWORTH SECTIONAL

95

Sierra Tuttle (Mahomet-Sey) d. Dasia Mccracken (Robinson) (F 2:02)

Janelle Willoughby (Mattoon) d. Haley Richter (Heyworth) (F 2:09)

Isabel Gwaltney (Ottawa) BYE

100

Kaci Eller (Midwest C) d. Veronica Mendoza (Rantoul) (TF 16-1)

Charisma Badman (Eisenhower) d. Madison Siler (Robinson) (F 4:09)

Maddy Moore (Midwest C) d. Derricka Bramlett (Eisenhower) (F 1:33)

105

Jaylynn Elmore (Williamsfield) d. carley Gilliam (canton) (F 3:55)

Grace Aeschliman (Metamora) d. Mackenzie Gound (Rantoul) (TF 17-1)

Kaysie Welchel (Deer Crk-Mackinaw) d. Elaina Crowder (Normal Comm) (TF 20-2)

110

Madison Poll (St. Thomas More) d. Marissa Brown (Williamsfield) (MD 12-3)

Ciara Bolf (Ottawa (Marquette) d. Lilyan Daniels (Mahomet-Sey) (F 1:28)

Peace Creath (Richwoods) d. Kaydence Klein (Metamora) (F 3:38)

115

Kiley Knight (Westville) d. Kaia Hale (Limestone) (MD 18-8)

Madison Alsip (St. Joseph Ogden) d. Maribelle Uhe (Normal (West) (F 1:54)

120

Lilyana Malagon (Illinois Valley Central) d. Brynlee Hereford (Olympia) (F 1:45)

Ali Keigley (Mahomet-Sey) d. Lilly Cook (Urbana) (F 1:55)

125

Ainsley Freeman (St. Joseph Ogden) d. Londyn Grant (Champaign C) (F 2:15)

Makiya Baker (Prarie Central) d. Lorrane Tinkman (Knoxville) (F 0:33)

Alexis Inboden (Robinson) d. Leah Wausson (Richwoods) (F 4:17)

130

Rita Grant (Champaign C) d. TauHnisjha Hart (Urbana) (F 0:51)

Candice Wright (St. Joseph Ogden) d. Jaiyden Provance (Ottawa) (TF 15-0)

Olivia Loerger (Washington) d. Sophia Douglas (St. Joseph Ogden) (MD 13-4)

135

Olivia Curtis (Dunlap) d. Maggie Allen (Illini Bluffs) (F 2:29)

Samantha Baker (Notre Dame) d. Leonie Dubson (Mattoon) (MD 14-1)

Lucy Whitman (Dunlap) d. Tenley Wade (Normal Comm) (Inj. 0:00)

140

Leah Brammeier (Olympia) d. Kayla Berkel (East Peoria) (F 1:39)

Makenna Roedl (Westville) d. Alivia Stokes (ROWVA) (F 0:55)

Jocelyn Deedrick (Mahomet-Sey) d. Zaniah Manuel (Eisenhower) (MFF)

145

Cali Fulcher (Heyworth) d. Claire Simons (St. Thomas More) (F 5:00)

Diem Bryan (Mahomet-Sey) d. Adalyn Powell (Knoxville) (F 1:31)

Addisyn Honeyman (Knoxville) received a bye () (Bye)

155

Dezyrae Murray (East Peoria) d. Kaisley Shotkoski (Mahomet-Sey) (F 1:50)

Mallory Feldhaus (East Peoria) d. Alyssa Young (Dunlap) (D 7-3)

Reese Burford (Knoxville) d. Tyanin Patterson (Eisenhower) (D 12-8)

170

Jaycee Weitekamp (Mahomet-Sey) d. Kaleigh Mehrkens (Deer Crk-Mackinaw) (F 0:35)

Sydney Johnson (Richwoods) d. Atalyssa Craig (Dunlap) (F 2:19)

Piper Lambert (Pekin) BYE

190

Marley Clark (Richwoods) d. Madelyn Franklin (Urbana) (F 0:36)

Brooke Knee (East Peoria) d. Joceline Arreola (Urbana) (F 0:20)

235

Violet Porter (Urbana) d. Cailyn Jones (Mahomet-Sey) (F 1:42)

Arabella Spampanato (E Peoria) BYE

LAKE ZURICH SECTIONAL

95

Addison Sroka (Zion-Benton) d. Eleanor Ecklund (Carmel) (F 2:23)

Sabrina Sleiman (Antioch) d. Caitlin Kilroy (Stevenson) (TF 15-0)

100

Esther Migues-gaytan (Grayslake N) d. Reese Nicolas (Lake Park) (F 2:52)

Esme Grugel (Dundee-Crown) d. catherine Franco (Schaumburg) (D 8-4)

Natasha Flores (Warren) d. Brooklyn Giesel (Schaumburg) (FF)

105

Addison Perez (Dundee-Crown) d. Jazmine Medina (Zion-Benton) (D 9-3)

Adinai Muktarbekova (Hoffman Est) d. Roselyn cornier (Hoffman Est) (F 0:54)

Fiona Brown (Grayslake C) d. Noemi Escobar ayala (Mundelein) (F 0:53)

110

Sherlyn Garcia (Palatine) d. Justice Girod (Schaumburg) (F 2:04)

Evalyn Idzik (St. Viator) d. Nikita Variano (Hersey) (D 3-0)

April Stevens (Wauconda) d. Haelynn Lettieri (Huntley) (D 6-5)

115

Giselle Varelas (Conant) d. Emme Mastropaolo (Fremd) (F 2:44)

Marissa Mayfield (Round Lake) d. Dasia Dantzler (Rolling Meadows) (F 2:07)

Soha Faisal (Hersey) d. Aubree Campos (Schaumburg) (F 0:57)

120

Naleah Parham (Warren) d. Ruby Gavina (Dundee-Crown) (F 4:00)

Haley Ramos (Carmel) d. Brea Hoffman (Conant) (F 0:24)

Veronica Vera (Grant) d. Myla Reyes (Grant) (F 0:55)

125

Aryanna Geiger (Algonquin (Jacobs) d. Fiona Monaco (St. Viator) (F 2:02)

Isabelle Singer (Huntley) d. Jadzie Dominguez (Wauconda) (F 2:55)

Caroline Marogy (Buffalo Grove) d. Katherine Turcios (Waukegan) (F 1:49)

130

Annabelle Melton (Grant) d. Ava Hartman (Schaumburg) (D 9-3)

Delainey Washburn (Buffalo Grove) d. Luana Mafuiana (Antioch) (F 0:34)

Violet Wheatley (Dundee-Crown) d. Silvia Sayadian (Lake Park) (F 1:42)

135

Abby Quirk (Grant) d. Magdelyn Brough (Antioch) (F 2:48)

Kristyanna Apostol (Lake Zurich) d. Jatziry Godoy (Wauconda) (F 1:46)

Evelyn Arreola (Palatine) d. Emily Fowler (Schaumburg) (F 1:11)

140
Grace Ciszek (Warren) d. Meghan Barry (Palatine) (D 11-4)

Liliana Chavez (Bartlett) d. Kimberlyn Diaz (Mundelein) (F 3:46)

145

Janet Brindis (Rolling Meadows) d. Caitlin Ruley (Lake Zurich) (D 3-0)

Ellery Browne (Warren) d. Melanie Nava (Bartlett) (F 2:09)

Serah John (Carmel) d. Ava Tymchyshyn (Huntley) (F 3:45)

155

Myriah Jefferson (Round Lake) d. Susan Bilyal (Conant) (F 3:53)

Maryia Razhkova (Grayslake C) d. Tristine Briscoe (Grayslake C) (F 0:38)

Layla Mchenry (Schaumburg) d. Cynthia Curry (Lake Park) (F 0:26)

170

Claudia Weglarz (Conant) d. Alexis Zitsch (Fremd) (F 1:14)

Leilani Brindis (Rolling Meadows) d. Sonya Preuss (Round Lake) (MD 13-0)

Nastia Haines (Carmel) d. Kaylee Sanchez (Stevenson) (D 6-1)

190

Irma Villa (Palatine) d. Ava Adorni (Conant) (F 0:50)

Ameinah Hill (Lake Park) d. Arianna Dkmann (Johnsburg) (F 0:18)

Paige Washburn (Lake Park) received a bye () (Bye)

235

Tiara Saunders (Lake Zurich) d. Nala Hernandez (McHenry) (F 5:00)

Mackenzie Mansavage (Conant) d. Jacklyn Linares (Waukegan) (F 1:36)

Eleanor Mazzeratti (Vernon Hills) received a bye () (Bye)

NAPERVILLE CENTRAL SECTIONAL

95

Melissa Melgar (Aurora W) d. Carmen Garcia (Aurora E) (D 8-4)

Andrea Jaimes-Alvarez (Wheaton Warrenville S) d. Kathy Pallares (S Elgin) (F 1:35)

Daisy VillaGonzalez (Glenbard N) d. Hailey Autry (Aurora W) (F 4:29)
100

Ruby Bolanos (Aurora W) d. Sonya Blade Amin (Metea Valley) (F 1:36)

Gianna Storino (Hinsdale S) d. Susan Cruz (Larkin) (MD 12-0)

Ruby Zavala (Larkin) received a bye () (Bye)

105

Keyi Wang (Naperville N) d. Itzel Villa (Aurora E) (F 2:31)

Nayeli Salgado (Willowbrook) d. Leila Ruiz (S Elgin) (F 3:00)

Emily Beck (Yorkville) d. Bayaan Said (Glenbard S) (Inj. 4:13)

110

Joselyn Llanos (Aurora E) d. Vanessa Tesillos (Aurora E) (F 0:54)

Lashuna York (Glenbard S) d. Eliana Landgrebe (Batavia) (D 4-1)

Vanessa Lin (Glenbard E) d. Sophia Liu (Naperville C) (D 6-5)

115

Janiya Moore (Metea Valley) d. Sommer Kibbe (Wheaton Warrenville S) (D 7-2)

Valentina Solorzano (St. Charles E) d. Jelena Coyomani (Aurora E) (F 4:27)

Tessa Yannias (Glenbard E) d. Isa Santellanes (Glenbard N) (F 2:43)

120

Caitlin Miko (Glenbard W) d. Aleta Weigandt (Naperville (Neuqua Valley) (F 2:15)

Valentina Barboza (Aurora E) d. Ezri Incrocci (Glenbard N) (F 0:24)

Alyiana Ortiz (Aurora E) d. Stella Hank (Glenbard N) (F 0:39)

125

Sophie Crescenzo (Lisle (Sr.) d. Adeline Alonzo (Elgin (H.S.) (F 1:30)

Talia Kaiser (Glenbard S) d. Nabiha Khader (Glenbard S) (F 1:43)

Eniko Camberis (Glenbard N) d. Michelle Gallegos (W Chicago) (D 9-3)

130

Melva Gallego-Sugar (Naperville C) d. Isabel Velasco (Aurora E) (F 1:40)

Sophia Contreras (Waubonsie Valley) d. Isabella Smith (Naperville N) (F 1:26)

Belinda Rodriguez (Aurora E) d. Yliana Campos (Larkin) (F 1:32)

135
Evie DeSantis (Glenbard S) d. Joslynn Sheets (Oswego) (F 1:36)

Norah Stoodley (Batavia) d. Rylee Coy (Yorkville) (F 3:33)

Lupita Garcia (Aurora E) d. Ayelen Higuera (Aurora E) (F 2:59)

140

Jackie Martinez (S Elgin) d. Jordyn Slager (Metea Valley) (F 1:57)

Maren Minarcik (Aurora W) d. Nysa S Bilal (Waubonsie Valley) (F 1:20)

Gabriella Giunti (Glenbard N) received a bye () (Bye)

145

Giovanna Cozzani (Glenbard W) d. Caoimhe Mitchell (Batavia) (F 1:41)

Emily Anaya (Riverside Brookfield) d. Darianna Lee-Morales (Larkin) (F 0:39)

Stephanie Vieyra (Larkin) d. Amelia Buenafe (Glenbard S) (F 4:57)

155

Mariana Flores (Larkin) d. Natalia Myers (Downers Grove S) (D 3-0)

Arianna Rico (Naperville C) d. Gianna Edwards (Oswego E) (F 2:07)

Jawan Abumushref (S Elgin) received a bye () (Bye)

170

Makayla Hill (Oswego) d. Julissa Rendon (St. Charles N) (F 0:44)

AnnaLizette Gallegos (Larkin) d. Jazilah Gatlin (Willowbrook) (F 4:16)

Sumaya Wallace delrio (Downers Grove S) d. Melissa Nino (S Elgin) (F 1:27)

190

Jaylene Dealba (Aurora E) d. Jadelin Flores (Larkin) (D 7-3)

Jimena Saenz (Willowbrook) d. Gia Esposito (Riverside Brookfield) (F 3:26)

235

Lilliana Ortiz (Aurora E) d. Sabah Khalil (Glenbard N) (F 2:45)

Brianna McCormick (Lisle (Sr.) d. Jayda Chism (Aurora W) (F 1:08)

Marianna Mendoza (Glenbard E) d. Maryorith Huertas Duarte (Willowbrook) (F 1:29)

STERLING SECTIONAL

95

Melanie Granda (Burlington-Central) d. Lynorah Hansen (Newman CC) (MD 11-0)

Addison Hadsall (Geneseo) d. Lou lou Splendoria (Woodstock N) (F 2:38)

Taytum Jacobs (Erie) received a bye () (Bye)

100

Kalista Frost (LaSalle-Peru) d. Zoe Smith (Galena) (D 5-2)

Lucy Bawinkel (Polo) d. Amadahy Torres (Kaneland) (F 2:02)

Carly Salgado (Hampshire) d. Evangeline Arroyo (Belvidere N) (F 0:51)

105

Giana Wurslin (Geneseo) d. Nevaeh Delgado (Sterling) (F 2:20)

Jessica Rios (Sandwich) d. Olivia Agajanian (Sandwich) (D 6-0)

Taylor Nevel (Lena-Winslow Stockton) d. Lillian Davis (Belvidere) (F 2:17)

110

Karah Arnold (Lena-Winslow Stockton) d. Lily Olejniczak (Harlem) (F 4:38)

Brea Balles (Freeport) d. Nevada Wells (Erie) (F 3:00)

Lydia Cartwright (Sandwich) d. Kaylee Snow (Belvidere N) (F 4:30)

115

Tessa Fosdick (Fulton) d. Karlie Hardekopf (Sandwich) (F 0:54)

Alexa Herrera (Harvard) d. Adison Stephens (Erie) (F 4:09)

Gabby Mcdivitt (Durand) d. Alyssa Gilmore (Belvidere N) (F 1:33)

120

Kaiya Galindo (Freeport) d. Jadeyn Klingenberg (Princeton) (D 10-6)

Rowan Cello (Belvidere N) d. Tylee D`Agostin (Durand) (F 1:41)

Gabriella Mazzanti (Woodstock N) d. Avea Thompson (Durand) (F 2:21)

125

Breanne Warren (Richmond Burton) d. Clara Ward (Aledo Mercer County) (D 4-0)
Lauren Jalowiecki (Burlington-Central) d. Gianna Figueroa (Dakota) (F 2:09)
Emma Duncan (Galena) d. Robin Stephens (Erie) (F 1:48)

130

Kylie Mathis (Sherrard) d. Hannah Olsen (Woodstock (H.S.) (F 2:06)

Ayla Schultz (Geneseo) d. Brooklyn Peterie (Richmond Burton) (F 1:43)

Izabel Vega (Rock Island) d. Lyla Mckee (Genoa-Kingston) (F 4:10)

135

Madelyn Peterie (Richmond Burton) d. Aubrey Herdon (Polo) (D 5-2)

Winter Beard (Sycamore) d. Abigail Toxqui (Plano) (F 3:48)

Alexia Cather (Sandwich) d. Mila Masny (Woodstock (H.S.) (F 1:21)

140

Caitlyn Manier (Kaneland) d. Mariah Howard (Rock Island) (F 1:42)

Ava Kok (Woodstock (H.S.) d. Keegan Kruse (Woodstock (H.S.) (F 2:04)

Mira Roots (Sycamore) d. Alleah Pennington (Polo) (D 4-2)

145

Jazmin Rios (Sandwich) d. Vivianna Torrez (Sterling) (F 4:23)

Aja Smith (Moline) d. Madison Minson (Hampshire) (MFF)

155

Audriana Plut (LaSalle-Peru) d. Alexis Zahlit (Kaneland) (MD 8-0)

Brooklynn Konczal (Sandwich) d. Allison Sida (Harlem) (F 1:47)

170

Allison Schultz (Richmond Burton) d. Avalena Wunderlich (Princeton) (F 3:27)

Taliyah Shelton (Moline) received a bye () (Bye)

190

Lillian Tunk (Sterling) d. Sincerelyana Deemer (Rock Island) (F 0:34)

235

Allison Hill (Woodstock (H.S.) d. Jakeria Wilson (Moline) (F 2:18)

Aniya House (Rock Island) received a bye () (Bye)

THORNTON SECTIONAL

95

Lillian O`Brien (Bloom Twp) d. sharleen barrera (Bolingbrook) (F 4:56)

Julia Hernandez (Lockport (Twp.) d. Katrice Ralston (Thornton) (TF 17-1)

100

Ariana Baier (Lemont) d. Georgia Erhardt (LW Central) (D 10-7)

Gemma Breheny (Peotone) d. Amelia Galarza (LW Central) (F 3:32)

Tayonna Fyre (Thornton) BYE

105

Alisa Carter (Joliet C) d. Alaina churnovic (Lockport (Twp.) (F 0:55)

Zoe Zerial (LW Central) d. Rihanna Randall (B-Bourbonnais) (F 1:53)
Abbey Vignali (Morris) d. Dahlila Rodriguez (Joliet West) (F 1:33)

110

Bella Romando (Lockport (Twp.) d. Shaila Aguirre (Joliet C) (F 2:56)

Kamila Torres (Bolingbrook) d. Abigail Lizak (LW Central) (F 2:01)

camila Mendoza (Lockport (Twp.) d. Valerie Ruiz (Joliet C) (D 7-5)

115

Alejandra Flores (Bolingbrook) d. Madysen Meyer (Reed-Custer) (TF 16-1)

Sabryna Banda (Plainfield c d. Aubrie Norgaard (B-Bourbonnais) (D 8-4)

Chloe Perez (Kankakee) d. Alexia Kachiroubas (Plainfield S) (D 16-9)

120

Aubrey Barnes (LW Central) d. Kennedy Mort (Peotone) (F 3:20)

Taniyah Bradley (Homewood-Flossmoor) d. Bella Patino (Joliet C) (D 10-7)

Aubrie Porras (Morris) d. Liliana cordva (Lemont) (F 2:49)

125

London Gandy (Homewood-Flossmoor) d. Riley Kuder (Coal City) (D 4-3)

Anaya Campbell (Bolingbrook) d. Grace Hansen (LW Central) (TF 18-2)

Amirat Lawal (Homewood-Flossmoor) d. Marcella Malczewski (Lockport (Twp.) (F 0:45)

130

Amara Nwoye (Homewood-Flossmoor) d. Zara Lugo (Morris) (F 2:49)

Liv clumpner (LW Central) d. Anastasia Dewey (Minooka) (F 4:17)

Briahna Klobnak (Joliet West) d. Heidy castillo (Lockport (Twp.) (D 8-2)

135

Adilynn Avilez (Dwight) d. Aubrianna Rapier (B-Bourbonnais) (F 4:03)

Veronica Klobnak (Joliet West) d. Tamira Welch (Kankakee) (F 3:42)

Gianna Boudonck (Minooka) d. Maelyn chromcak (Bolingbrook) (F 0:55)

140

Madelynn Mcclements (Homewood-Flossmoor) d. Savannah Vignali (Morris) (F 0:46)

Ember McGarvey of B-Bourbonnais BYE
145

Kate Bohms (LW Central) d. Vanessa O`Connor (Joliet West) (D 7-0)

Savannah Burns (Bolingbrook) d. Alexandra Hardesty (Lockport (Twp.) (F 1:55)

Olivia Haywood (Homewood-Flossmoor) d. Gabriella Morris (B-Bourbonnais) (D 5-4)

155

Kaitlyn Bucholz (Plainfield (East) d. Na`imah LaMon (Homewood-Flossmoor) (F 1:43)

Avery Holeman (LW Central) d. Kylie Rapier (B-Bourbonnais) (F 0:45)

Jaylene Mack (Lockport (Twp.) d. Aryana Moran (LW Central) (F 3:33)

170

Mayra Vicencio (Lockport (Twp.) d. Jermia Moore (Thorton Fractional S) (F 3:00)

Alexis Mccullough (B-Bourbonnais) d. Addison Davis (Minooka) (F 2:38)
190
Jennifer Serna (Plainfield (East) d. Rachel Nugin (Homewood-Flossmoor) (F 5:56)

235
Kaylee Morris (B-Bourbonnais) d. Jalyssa Venegas (LW Central) (F 0:22)

By Mike Garofola for the IWCOA

Marmion Academy claimed its second consecutive class 3A state title after its 36-22 defeat of Montini Catholic in Bloomington at this year’s IHSA dual team state finals.

The win inside Grossinger Motors Arena on Feb. 28 also earned Marmion its seventh state trophy in program history.

“The goal for this group since the day we won our first title here a year ago was to repeat as state champions,” Cadets head coach, Anthony Cirrincione said.

“The guys wrestled the toughest schedule an Illinois team has ever faced, and I do not know if that’s even debatable. We snapped multi-year unbeaten streaks from the best team in Wisconsin (Kaukauna), Iowa’s best team (SE Polk) and battled perennial super teams St. Ed’s (Ohio) and Wyoming Seminary.”

The Cadets would win its own prestigious Cadet Classic at the start of the season, the Donnybrook, Jack Mendenhall in Iowa, and the CCL.

“This is the best team that I’ve ever been around, they are so close, and if you could have seen the celebration Saturday night after the finals, you would have seen the entire team sitting and eating at a table for eight,” Cirrincione said. “It epitomized our program – these young men are family, and truly a special group.”

3A QUARTERFINAL ROUND

Marmion 39, Joliet Catholic Academy 24

The knock-out phase of this year’s Elite Eight began in earnest on Friday with two of the four quarterfinals settled quite easily. The marquee match of this first session was easily Marmion versus Joliet Catholic Academy.

No. 1 against No. 2 at the time, this was a quarterfinal that could have been avoided if the IHSA were to seed the final eight, and not use the predetermined schematic that has coaches and fans alike left scratching their heads both at the individual and dual-team tournaments.

Nonetheless, the show must go on – and it did, between two high-powered clubs with too many stars to name. The Cadets have a veteran lineup that featured three state champions, seven others who claimed state medals, and six major team titles on the season.

In contrast, the Hilltoppers (15-2-0) are a much younger side, with just Jason Hampton and Nolan Vogel the lone two seniors.

As expected, this contest would be close through the early stages, although the Hilltoppers never held an advantage, and would be closest (11-9) when Vogel (165) and Vince Skedel (175) nearly erased the t-fall and pin from the Marmion’s opening duo of Zach Stewart (144) and Ashton Hobson at 150.

“We had a lot of respect for them so we all knew we had to be at our best, and do the job we came here for,” said Hobson, second a week ago at state to earn the third state medal of a terrific career.

Joseph Favia (285), Colton Wyller (106) and James Morrison (113) would fuel a 14-0 run by the Cadets to extend Marmion’s advantage to 31-17.

Finn McDermott (120) and Lucas Foster (126) would draw the Hilltoppers closer at 31-18 with a pair of decisions, but Marmion state champions and seniors Nicholas Garcia (138) and Demetrios Carrera (144) were on deck, and that’s where Marmion clinched the dual.

The Garcia-Carrera duo would add eight points on the scoreboard, with junior Adante Washington awarded a forfeit at 150 to end this contest at 39-24.

“It’s too bad we had to meet (Marmion) in the quarterfinals, and really tough to see a terrific season end so soon,” began Hilltoppers head coach, Ryan Cumbee.

“It was 8-6 and maybe there were 1-2 matches we could have won, but bonus points, as always, really came into play, and that’s where they had a decided edge tonight. But we had a wonderful season, met so many of our goals, and enjoyed some memorable individual and team results as well.

“We lost tonight to the better team, a team and program that has a lot of class and shows great sportsmanship.”

Hobson summed up his side in short order:

“Our lineup is built to win, and with each time we go out, we compete for each other, with the expectation to win,” he said.

Oak Park and River Forest 33, Barrington 31

No. 9 Oak Park-River Forest would enjoy a modicum of success during its weekend schedule on the season, saving its best result at its own regional where the Huskies lifted the championship trophy.

Later, the Huskies would thrash Conant to advance in the final weekend of the season for the 14th time in program history.

Awaiting the OPRF was MSL champion Barrington (16-9-0), which advanced downstate for the seventh time, and first since 2020 when the Broncos would finish third overall.

This 64-point thriller had a little bit of everything as its kept the fans on edge, with the lead changing hands on six occasions.

The dual was tied at 4-4, 10-10, and 13-13, before the Huskies would take a 18-13 lead following a tech-fall by Pierre Nelson at 285.

The two clubs would trade wins to make it a 30-22 game after OPRF state champion Jamiel Castleberry recorded a pin at 126-pounds.

However, a key major-decision (13-3) from Barrington’s Saul Ramirez (132) followed by a tech-fall by Ryan Dorn, who placed fifth at 138 in Champaign, allowed the Broncos to go into the final match of the contest with a slim 31-30 advantage.

Trailing 1-0 after the second period, and 2-0 in the waning moments, OPRF’s Zev Koransky would execute a take-down two seconds from time over Barrington’s Jimmy Whitaker.

The dramatic 3-2 triumph would guarantee the ninth team state trophy in OPRF program history in a 33-31 victory.

“It’s the first time in my career that I’ve beaten Whitaker, so this was a perfect time to win,” said an exhausted Koransky, who earlier lost to the Broncos senior, 16-6.

The dramatic ending would dash the hopes of a young Broncos club that sent six to the state tournament, and would return with three state medal winners: Kaleb Pratt (120), Dorn and Daniel Blanke (150) who will all return next season.

“It was an exciting, and great dual – it kind of played out the exact way that we mapped things out leading up to this evening,” began a heart-broken Broncos head coach Dan Keller.

“It was an amazing year for this team, which I hold in a special place because of the terrific group of seniors, and the dedication, commitment to each other, and the incredible work ethic they all had.”

St. Charles East 46, Hononegah 25

With No. 4 St. Charles East and No. 5 Hononegah on the evening schedule, there would be plenty of interest in this Friday quarterfinal.

Three state champions in Dom Munaretto (St. Charles East) and two from the Hononegah club in Rocco Cassioppi and Brody Sendele would ensure some high-scoring matches from this terrific trio.

However, after Munaretto drew the Saints back level at 25-25, teammates Declan Sons (126), Kaden Potter (132), Liam Aye (138) and Gavin Woodmancy (144) broke this match wide open with 21 unanswered points to inspire an eventual 46-25 victory.

“We were worried about what (Hononegah) had in its lineup – three big hammers with Rocco and Bruno (Cassioppi) and (Brody) Sendele,” Saints coach Jason Potter said. “But we managed that pretty well, and slowly got ourselves back into it, before that great finish from our last five guys.”

Aye, a DuKane Conference and regional champion this season, saw his side fight its way through some early adversity this year.

“Early on we lost some matches to Barrington, and Glenbard West, but there was never any panic in our room,” Aye said. “We just got back to working hard, kept our heads up, and knew it was a long season. We knew that we were capable of getting downstate and bringing home a team trophy.”

Hononegah returned to the team finals after placing second to Marmion one season ago.

“We lost a lot of state place winners from last years team, but I always felt that the core we had coming back, along with the rest of the guys in our lineup could make it back down here again, with the chance of getting another state trophy,” said Sendele, this year’s state champ at 175, who will be among 12 returnees to next year’s team.

“This team will be back next year, and I know the result will be much better.”

Sendele, along with the Cassioppi brothers were a combined 134-10, with Rocco Cassioppi (150) earning his second consecutive state title, and Bruno (165) grabbing second place.

Montini Catholic 59, Edwardsville 10

Montini Catholic overpowered No. 11 Edwardsville (12-3-0) 59-10 by scoring the last 31 points and recording seven pins during this quarterfinal

Edwardsville coach Eric Pretto’s club was here for the sixth time in program history, and second straight year, after going 16-3-0 a year ago and losing its quarterfinal dual to eventual fourth-place trophy winner Hersey.

“We beat a great Lincoln-Way West team to get here, and I told the guys before we came to the arena that I was proud of them,” Pretto said. “We continue to be so after we leave here.

“It’s been a great year for us, we qualified seven into the state tournament, came home with four place-winners, and we would finish fourth here in overall team points.

“It all starts with our kids club. All of the guys are on the same page, and we’re just one big family and again – I am so proud of all of these young men,” continued Pretto, now in his third year in charge.

The seven who advance into the state tournament: Michael McNamara (106, 32-7, third), Timothy Swaim (120), Bryson Nuttall (126), Ryan Ritchie (144, 32-9, sixth), Simon Schulte (190), Roman Janek (215, 27-5, third) and Braylon Hill-Lomax (285, 35-9, fifth) were a combined 17-13 on the weekend.

The Saturday morning semifinals would showcase the overall depth of talent on display that both Marmion Academy and Montini Catholic had in their arsenals.

The Cadets would easily go past St. Charles East, 52-18, winning 10 of 14 bouts, while the Broncos sent Oak Park-River Forest into the third place match after claiming 9 of 14 matches en route to a 42-24 win.

3A TEAM STATE TITLE DUAL: MARMION VS. MONTINI

Once on the main stage here in Bloomington, it would be the Broncos who would bust out on top with a major decision from Santino Tenuta (165) and tech-fall by AJ Tack (175) to take an early 9-0 lead over Marmion

Tenuta and Tack were upper weight staples for head coach Sal Annoreno, with a combined seven trips to Champaign, and three state medals.

“I am not at all surprised by the success we’ve had this year,” began Tenuta.

“Everyone on this team put the work in, had made a strong commitment to each other, and we are just a really close group. We’re always doing things together to form  a really tight bond among ourselves.”

Vincenzo Testa would swing the momentum in the favor of Marmion with his pin at 190, but Montini’s Sam Swais took it right back with a hard fought 12-6 decision to give the Broncos a 12-6 advantage.

Two-time state runner-up and CCL champion Joseph Favia recorded a 7-5 decision over Montini heavyweight Gavin Ericson, and combined with a forfeit at 106, Marmion would pull ahead for the first time at 15-12.

“We have a great lineup, where everyone pulls their weight, so I was always confident that we would stay with Montini before our hammers came through for us,” Favia said.

The Cadets’ big man would be right, but not before Montini’s Erik Klichurov (113), Allen Woo (120) and Bobby Ruscitti (126) would put a scare into the Marmion faithful when the trio packaged a pair of decisions, and a major decision win rom Ruscitti.

Klichurov and Woo were both state runners-up this year, and Woo is also a two-time state champion.

The 10 points earned gave the Broncos their last lead of the night at 22-15.

The tide would slowly turn for the eventual state champions, who would rule over their rivals in the final five matches, and break open this tightly-played final.

“We were up on our projection for the entire final, and we also knew we would finish with our three state champions, state runner-up, and a secret weapon in Logan Conover to finish out the final five matches – what a spot to be in,” said Cadets head coach Anthony Cirrincione.

Three-time state champion Nicholas Garcia won his 158th career victory with 5-1 decision over Mikey Malizzio at 132, and when 2026 state champion Demetrios Carrera claimed his 171st career victory with a t-fall at 138-pounds, it gave the Cadets a lead (23-22) they would never relinquish.

Logan Conover (144) followed with a 5-3 decision, two-time state champion Zach Stewart brought his career win total to 127 with a tech-fall at 150, before Ashton Hobson put the finishing touches on a 36-22 triumph with his 17-2 tech-fall victory.

“I was ready to go at 144 or 150, whatever the team needed, that’s the way it always is around our team,” said Stewart, who was unable to put into words just how much emotion he felt over the last two weekends of his prep career.

“It’s kind of surreal after winning a second state title last weekend, then another team title here tonight – knowing this is the last time this team will be together,” said Stewart, who will continue to wrestle next season at Purdue.

Montini coach Sal Annoreno enjoyed his first ride to the team state finals as head coach.

“Even with us falling short of a state title tonight, I can say this has been a terrific season for Montini Catholic wrestling, and I am very proud of all of our young men, who gave me my first year as head coach so many great memories,” Annoreno said.

“The guys put in the work this season, and competed with a lot of heart, determination, and grit. Marmion is a great program with a great coaching staff, and we’re not ashamed to lose to a classy program like them.”

The Broncos (20-4-0) will have most of their starting 14 back to give them a head start at having the pole position at the beginning of the 2026-2027 campaign.

The Cadets (16-3-0) on the other hand will say goodbye to what Cirrincione calls his ‘big six’.

“We went out to eat last August, and talked about the goals for the season, and asked each of them to share what they liked, and disliked from the previous season, and wanted their input on what they wanted for this season,” recounted Cirrincione.

“Garcia, Stewart, Carrera, Hobson, Testa and Favia, they are all superstars in my opinion, great leaders, and phenomenal young men, who, as a group, are irreplaceable. This group exceeded expectations coming in as freshmen, and those expectations were through the roof.

“The program is better for having them in it, and although they cannot be replaced, our future is bright with a group of younger guys ready to add to their legacy, and the legacy of Marmion wrestling, and with the absolute best coaching staff in the state, I feel like we’ll be capable of some terrific things next season as well.”

3A THIRD-PLACE DUAL: ST. CHARLES EAST VS. OPRF

It’s always said that nobody likes to play for third place, but if one could witness the excitement generated all throughout the St. Charles East-Oak Park-River Forest contest, it would dispel any doubt of why a third-place dual is wrestled.

Neither side was fully in control as the score went back-and-forth in dizzying fashion, until the Saints (19-6-0) appeared to take charge after a Kaden Potter tech-fall at 132, followed by a major decision victory from Liam Aye gave Jason Potters’ club a 31-21 lead with just three matches remaining.

“Even with our lead, it never feels like it’s over until it’s over,” said a relieved Potter, who lost his voice during a thrilling final match that would decide this contest.

Quarterfinals hero Zev Koransky, who scored a perfect 36 on the ACT and is headed to Johns Hopkins University in the fall, drew OPRF (11-4-0) back closer (31-25) with his 10-2 major decision.

Aiden Noyes would pull the OPRF faithful out of their seats when his tech-fall win at 150 made this a one-point (31-30) affair ahead of the 157-pound finale between the Saints Isaac Lenard and the Huskies Alex Albrecht.

With every match across all three classes completed, all eyes were on this last match of the season.

Albrecht would lead 3-0 after the first period, but Lenard would fight back to grab a 4-3 advantage heading into the third period.

Once there, each escape, take-down, and penalty point brought the decibel level higher and higher until Lenard claimed the final point of a 7-6 contest as time would ran out.

The Lenard victory would send the Saints bench into orbit.

“We were so hyped up about this match, we wanted to finish third so badly, and everyone was really into this dual – what a great way to go out for myself, and the rest of the team,” said Saints senior, Cooper Murray, who one week earlier was state runner-up at 215 pounds.

“Even though we did not have the super-star lineup we’ve had these past few seasons, I always thought this team was capable of getting downstate, and bringing home another team trophy,” added Dom Munaretto, who leaves with three state titles, and an astounding 209 career victories.

“What can I say, but I am so proud of these guys who fought hard to put themselves into position to advance into the second day to guarantee a state trophy,” said Potter.

Oak Park senior David Ogunsanya, who would finish up a remarkable career with a third place finish in Champaign, earned three wins here to push his record to 37-4, to go along with a sixth-place state medal in 2024.

“I’ll take a lot of great memories with me when I leave OPRF,” says Ogunsanya, who will wrestle next season at Cornell.

“I’ve always felt that it was important for me to be a great teammate, leader, and mentor to the rest of my teammates, especially the younger guys, and to be able to contribute during the competition to the best of my abilities I’ve been fortunate to be a part of a program that provides so much to all of us.”

The Huskies left Bloomington with their ninth team trophy in its storied history, and first for head coach Jason Renteria in his first year in charge.

By Mike Garofola for the IWCOA

It’s no surprise that the teams that fought for a dual-team state trophy in Bloomington also flooded the podium in Champaign at the individual state finals a week earlier.

State powers Marmion Academy, Joliet Catholic Academy, and Montini Catholic, the top three all season long in the 3A polls, would flex their collective muscle in accounting for 25 top six medal winners.

Marmion Academy brought ten to Champaign and all ten would go home with a state medal, including three state champions in Nicholas Garcia, Zach Stewart and Demetrios Carrera, who combined for a record of 115-10 this season,

The story of in Champaign was not only about the reigning class 3A state champion Cadets, but also the memorable and eye-catching efforts from a trio of programs who would each celebrate two of their men grabbing championship trophies.

Continuing the numbers game, Marmion Academy would advance eight into the semifinals, followed closely by Joliet Catholic (5), Montini Catholic (4), with Hononegah, Oak Park-River Forest, and Warren next up with three each.

There were 29 clubs that sent at least one of their men into the semifinals, again, underlining just how deep most of the weight divisions were.

This annual showcase of talent would not disappoint, particularly in the semifinals where 15 matches were decided by decision.

106- Niko Odiotti (Loyola Academy)

Just 12 minutes after his teammate Kai Calcutt won his second state title, Niko Odiotti (35-2) captured his first. In doing so, he instantly became part of Loyola Academy wrestling lore.

“It was disappointing coming so close last season, but it made me put in all the extra work to make sure if I reached the final once again, the result would be different,” said the super sophomore after his 10-3 decision over Colton Wyller (Marmion Academy, 36-10) to give the Ramblers program its fourth state title, and 10th state medal.

“Coach (Matt) Collum is a big reason for my success, and our team,” began Odiotti, who will add another championship bracket to the family trophy case to go along with the state title his older brother (Massey) captured in 2023.

“(Collum) finds a way to push all of us further than we feel we’re capable of, and he is always finding new ways for us to fine tune, and improve our game.”

Odiotti is also quick to throw praise towards his brother – who wrestles at Northwestern.

“He (Massey) has so much experience, so he’s been able to get me to be better prepared for each match and tournament, while helping me with a lot of the little things.”

The 2025 state runner-up would start slow, but would improve with each outing, including a workmanlike masterful effort that saw him increase his advantage to 7-2 near the edge at 4 1/2 minutes, before putting the finishing touches on his victory with his last take-down of the night six seconds from time.

Michael McNamara (Edwardsville, 35-7) whom Odiotti would defeat in his semifinal, came back to nab third place after a 4-1 decision over No. 6 Aidan Ortega (45-3) from Glenbard West.

Sebastian Gracia (Mt. Carmel, 28-11) was fifth, Kane Robles (Joliet Catholic Academy, 37-13) sixth.

113- Caleb Noble (Warren)

Caleb Noble will be the first to admit his game is about pins, tech falls and style, and the Warren junior has backed up his claims with some near perfect work on the mats during his first three years on the prep scene.

The No. 1 man at 113-pounds proved once again he is deserving of that honor after a superb three-day effort en route to a third consecutive state title.

“When I go out there I am always looking to wrestle more of a collegiate style, frustrate my opponents in as many ways possible – and go after as many pins, and tech-falls as I can,” said Noble following his 4-0 decision over a stubborn Erik Klichurov (37-3) from Montini Catholic

This would be the closest contest of the postseason for Noble (46-1) who in his nine matches over the last three weeks recorded five tech-falls, and a trio of pins.

While the 4-0 final did not give the Blue Devils yet another bonus point victory, it did not stop the Arizona State-bound Noble from treating the fans with an impressive flying forward flipping handspring, before sticking his landing to cap a memorable weekend.

Klichurov would stun No. 2 Michael Rundell (Oak Park-River Forest, 41-4) in his semifinal to advance, defeating the 2025 106-pound state champion, 4-0.

Rundell would later tech-fall Colton Schultz (Joliet Catholic Academy, 35-11), with Preston Morrison (Marmion Academy, 40-9) earning fifth place with a tech-fall victory over Jack Koenig (44-8) from St. Patrick.

Rundell, Klichurov, and Morrison are now two-time place winners.

120- Dom Munaretto (St. Charles East)

Dom Munaretto arrived in the St. Charles East room with about as much fanfare possible for a wrestler new to the prep scene, and would quickly live up to the hype.

He became the ultimate, first-class leadoff man for a potent Saints lineup that produced 17 state medals, and seven state champions during his first three seasons, plus a dual-team state title and third place team trophy as well.

Twice a world champion, and now a three-time state champion, Munaretto survived an intense, fierce final with two-time state champion Allen Woo (Montini Catholic, 41-9) whose coaching staff put together a superb tactical plan in an effort to slow the high-scoring star to a crawl.

“It’s tough to be the top dog each year, everyone is always looking to beat the No. 1 guy, but today, Dom stayed composed, and did what he had to do in order to win a well deserved third state title,” said a proud Saints head coach, Jason Potter.

“I’ve been fortunate to have a bunch of personal highlights: world champion twice, Ironman champion, three-time state champion, winning a team state title with my friends, but I will always remember having the best coaching staff in the state of Illinois right there for me,” said Munaretto.

“Coach Potter, and our staff have changed the culture, have brought the best out of each and everyone one of us, and made us believe in ourselves.

“It’s hard to believe my four years are just about over, but it has been just an amazing time for me.”

This season Munaretto would finish with a perfect 50-0 overall record, giving him a stunning 209-4 overall record for his career.

Of his 50 victories on the season, (45) would come via combined pins, and tech-falls. Munaretto will join former Saints teammate, and four-time state champion Ben Davino in the fall at Ohio State University.

No. 3 Kaleb Pratt (Barrington, 48-6) would earn his second state medal after his 7-1 defeat of 2025 (class 2A) Ray Long (45-7) from Notre Dame.

Pratt would defeat another former 2A star, No. 5 Danny Goodwin (St. Patrick, 43-4) a state runner-up a year ago with a 4-2 decision in quarterfinal play.

Marmion Academy freshman Brody Page (34-17) would pick up his first state medal following his 8-1 defeat of Jayce Glauser (Grant, 33-9) in the fifth place match.

Glauser would transfer from Richmond-Burton during the offseason, and quickly made his mark in the Bulldogs room as he earned a sixth place state medal.

126- Jamiel Castleberry (Oak Park and River Forest)

There were plenty of surprises in this weight class leading up the state final between No. 2 Oleksandr (Sasha) Havrylkiv (Hersey, 41-5) and No. 4 junior, Jamiel Castleberry (33-3) from Oak Park and River Forest.

No. 8 Lukas Foster (Joliet Catholic Academy) would bring the crowd to attention when the Hilltoppers junior bounced No. 1 Bobby Ruscitti (Montini Catholic) from the unbeaten ranks with an impressive 10-2 quarterfinal victory.

Later, Havrylkiv would finally find his form after struggling early on – sending Foster into wrestle-backs with a 11-2 win in his semifinal.

Further down the bracket, Castleberry would outlast No. 3 Chazz Robinson (Homewood-Flossmoor) 5-4 to advance into the final.

“(Sasha) wasn’t himself in his first two matches here, so the hope was he would get himself back, and ready for his semifinal, and when he did, we figured he was ready for his state final,” said Hersey’s interim head coach, Chris Riley.

Havrylikv may have been ready, but so was Castleberry.

“He (Havrylikiv) pinned me in our final the Washington tournament early in the season, so (coach Jason Renteria) and my brother and put together a plan, and I stuck with it – and to be honest, I feel like I really was able to frustrate him,” opined Castleberry.

The Huskies star kept the high octane attack of Havrylkiv under wraps – building a modest 4-0 advantage through two periods.

It was 4-1 when Havrylkiv was hit with a penalty point when he shoved Castleberry far off the edge 11 seconds from time – ending this contest at 5-1.

“This was my third state tournament, so to win a state championship means a lot to me, and our program,” said a proud Castleberry, who began his prep career at Proviso West.

Foster (42-7) would enjoy a wonderful tournament, coming back to claim third place over Robinson (35-6).

Ruscitti (47-2) earned his first state medal when he recorded a 4-0 decision over Aidan McClure (32-13) from Marmion Academy.

132- Nicholas Garcia (Marmion Academy)

In the rich wrestling history of Marmion Academy, there has been 24 state champions, led by four-time state champ Johnny Jimenez.

No others have come close to that brilliant four-year run by Jimenez, who would continue to wrestle on a collegiate level at Wisconsin.

Nicholas Garcia (50-2) would add his name to the Cadets record book when he claimed his third state title when the No. 1 man in the state beat No. 2 Jason Hampton (Joliet Catholic Academy, 43-4) for the third time this season, outlasting Hampton in overtime.

After Hampton drew level with the Cadets’ star (5-5) in the fifth minute – sending this contest into overtime – Garcia would execute a perfect take-down 30 seconds into extra time to secure his third consecutive title.

“Being on a big stage here in Champaign, the college that I’ll be wrestling at next year, and having a chance to win for a third time is something that I find almost impossible to find the words to describe how I feel,” opined Garcia, who was fourth at 106 in 2023.

“We have the best coaching staff in the state, and I put all of my trust in them. Along with my teammates, who are like family to me, it makes winning another title very special.”

The aforementioned Jason Hampton has enjoyed a marvelous career under Hilltoppers head coach Ryan Cumbee, who says it will impossible to replace his captain next season.

“Jason is a tremendous young man, student-athlete, and a great leader in, and away from our room.”

Hampton is a four-time state place winner, won five majors this season, including at the Dvorak, and is twice, a state runner-up, with nearly (165) career victories.

Another four-year star, Shawn Kogan (Stevenson, 38-7) fought back the tears after taking home his first state medal in three attempts following his hard fought 4-3 victory over Mikey Malizzio (38-13) from Montini Catholic.

“I am just overcome with emotion right now – it was my third, and last trip to state, and it could have never ended as amazing as it did today,” said Kogan, who gave Garcia a valiant effort in a 4-1 defeat in a quarterfinal affair.

“I’ve overcome a variety of injuries, and other setbacks during the last couple of years, but it’s like it never happened after my third place finish.”

No. 3 Ryan Dorn (Barrington, 41-7) claimed his first state medal, with Maddox Tindal (Minooka, 32-9) sixth overall.

138- Zach Stewart (Marmion Academy)

There were some championship dynamic duos in Champaign: Odiotti-Calcutt (Loyola Academy), Noble-Stewart (Warren) and Cassioppi-Sendele from Hononegah.

However, this talented bunch could not rival the lethal and powerhouse trio from Marmion Academy: Garcia, Stewart and Carrera —  who would give the Cadets three consecutive state titles at day’s end.

Zach Stewart (25-3) is right in the middle of this dangerous triple threat.

The Purdue-bound Stewart would defeat No. 2 Griff Powell (Lyons Township, 44-5) for the second consecutive week – using a late first period take-down near the edge – followed by another as the second period drew to close to secure a 7-3 victory.

“That first take-down really helped set the tone, and another late in the second period put a lot of pressure on Griff,” said Stewart, who was anointed as the No. 1 man at 138-pounds at the start of the season, and would never relinquish that spot.

Stewart, who won his first state crown two years ago at 138, was runner-up a year ago to Evan Gosz, now at the University of Michigan, will go into dual-team state play with 124 career victories.

“Since last year, I worked on ‘tweaking’ a few little things – grips, wrists, hands – while making sure that mentally I was ready for my last season at Marmion.

“One of the reasons that I would attend Marmion is that I like the small school environment, and always feeling like it’s family that I am around, plus, of course, the wrestling program, and unbelievable coaching staff that we have.” 

Powell, who will wrestle in Champaign for the University of Illinois next season, finished a marvelous career with two state medals, four major titles, and just five losses on the year, two of which were to Stewart, the other three to out-of-state opponents.

Adante Washington (Joliet Catholic Academy) a state qualifier in 2024, turned in a terrific junior season for the Hilltoppers, arriving here as the No. 3 rated man, and leaving with a third place medal after his 10-1 major decision victory over No. 4 Erik Rodriguez (Grant, 41-8) who is on his way to Central Michigan University with a pair of state medals on his resume.

Alejandro Aranda (Glenbard West, 38-13) claimed fifth place, and his first state medal of his career after Nadeem Haleem (24-4) from Andrew conceded to a medical forfeit.

144- Demetrios Carrera (Marmion Academy)

Demetrios Carrera made it three straight for Marmion Academy with a six minute stellar performance to defeat to Vince Jasinski (Grant, 45-6) who held the No. 1 spot all season long.

A first period take-down would be all Carrera (40-5) would need en route to a hard fought 3-1 decision to give the four-year veteran his first state title of his career, second state medal, and sixth major title of the season after securing his 90th victory with the Cadets.

“It seems like just yesterday that I was down here as a freshman at South Elgin – it’s kind of hard to believe this will be my last visit here,” admitted Carrera, who has amassed 171 victories, 81 coming from his first two seasons at South Elgin.

I wanted to keep the momentum going after Garcia and Stewart won their state titles – that’s the way its been all season long following both of those guys, and having Ashton (Hobson) doing an amazing job coming up after me at 150,” added Carerra, who is still sifting through his collegiate opportunities, knowing that wherever he lands, it will be a degree in sports marketing that he will pursue.

The aforementioned Jasinski would finish a brilliant career at Grant where he earned a spot in the state bracket as a sophomore at 113-pounds, fourth a year ago (126) before rising up to a second-place finish this season – delivering one victory after another, most with bonus point endings, while becoming a shining example of what a first class leader, and captain is all about.

“There is not enough words to describe just how much Vince has meant to our program, he, along with Erik (Rodriguez) have been the key figures in the rebirth of wrestling here at Grant, and it’s been their great work, and results on the mats, as well as the role of mentors, and leaders that has made a big difference in, and out of the room,” said Grant head coach Mark Jolcover.

Jasinski, who wrestle next season at Northern Iowa, takes with him 156 career victories.

Oliver Davis (Brother Rice, 38-8) would defeat Justin Williamson (Mt. Carmel, 23-10) for third place, giving him his second state medal, while Williamson leaves with three.

Zev Koransky (Oak Park-River Forest, 32-11) who will attend Johns Hopkins in the fall, earned his first state medal after his defeat of Ryan Ritchie (Edwardsville, 35-10) in the fifth place match.

150- Rocco Cassioppi (Hononegah)

Rocco Cassioppi is yet another who had a firm grip on the No. 1 spot in the polls from the very beginning of the year, and never let go.

The Hononegah junior proved to be in top form from his opening match here in Champaign, recording the first of two straight tech-falls.

Using his customary high work rate, and non-stop pace to throw his opponents off their game, Cassioppi followed up his first two victories with a well deserved 11-3 semifinal victory over No. 5 Cohen Weber (Joliet West) to advance into his second straight state final.

Once there, Cassioppi (46-2) would take a 4-0 second period lead with a near fall – then extend his advantage to 6-0 over No. 2 Ashton Hobson (Marmion Academy with just two minutes remaining.

Cassioppi would ride the talented Cadets senior hard until a stall warning forced a whistle with 30 seconds from time.

Cassioppi would finish off his 6-0 victory with more quality work on top.

“I felt like I could have opened things up a little more, and maybe should have done so with a turn or two in the third period but at that point, it was all about having control of the match, and not allowing (Hobson) anything in order to preserve the win,” said Cassioppi.

The Hononegah star won his first state crown a year ago at 132 with a record of 49-3, and was a key figure in the Indians best finish ever at the dual-team state tournament which resulted in a second place trophy.

“We lost a lot of guys from last year’s team, but I always felt like we had a good core coming back, and a bunch of other guys who were capable of helping us make another run at making it back to dual-team state,” said Cassioppi.

The Indians did indeed qualify after its dual-team sectional semifinal over Grant to book its ninth appearance in program history.

Hobson (28-3) would edge No. 3 Donovan Rosauer (Yorkville) in their Friday night semifinal, 1-0 with a second period escape.

Rosauer went home with his second state medal in as many years when he won his 50th of the season in a 7-1 decision over Weber in the third place match.

No. 6 Daniel Blanke (Barrington, 44-12) picked the perfect time to collect his 100th career victory when the Broncos junior recorded a pin of Tommy Fidler (40-13) of Marist to earn fifth place, and first state medal in two tries.

157- Ethan Sonne (Marist)

You would be hard pressed to find a more exciting final in class 3A than this 29-point thriller between Ethan Sonne and Justin Wardlow.

Wardlow ended his career for Lockport with three consecutive second-place finishes, his first in his rookie season particularly heart-breaking with Wardlow advancing to face Massey Odiotti (Loyola Academy) in the 120-pound final, but forced out of action due to an elbow injury suffered in his semifinal victory.

Fast forward three years and the Lockport star faced Sonne for the title, and when the dust cleared, it would be Sonne withstanding a wild final minute to claim a 15-14 triumph.

“That was a pretty crazy ending,” admitted a relieved Sonne.

The Marist (38-3) junior raced out to a surprising 7-0 advantage to bring the crowd up, and off of its seats just 45 seconds into the first period.

Wardlow (40-6) would find his form in the second period – drawing close (8-5)  – before he would concede a late take-down to send this contest in the third period in the favor of Sonne, 11-5.

“Obviously Justin is a great wrestler, and one that I had to always be aware of,” said Sonne.

The final sixty seconds would insure Marist fans of severe heart palpitations, while the Lockport faithful held the hope of a memorable finish.

When Wardlow drew level at 14-14 with 14 seconds remaining – Sonne found the match-winning escape as the clock would near triple zeroes.

“It was an amazing match – super fun but also a little scary towards the end, but that’s what what everyone wants,” Sonne would say with a wry smile.

No. 5 David Ogunsanya (OPRF, 34-4) has enjoyed another marvelous season for himself, a year in which he won four majors, and a third state medal following his pin of Nolan Vogel (Joliet Catholic Academy, 47-10) to claim third place.

The three-time state qualifier is now a two-time state medal winner (6th, 2024) who has been a key figure in back-to-back dual team state appearances, is approaching 125 career victories

Brady Ritter (Sandburg, 45-8) in his third visit to Champaign, takes home his first state medal after his t-fall victory over Will Konder (Montini Catholic, 34-23) in the fifth place match.

165- Liam Kelly (Mt. Carmel)

Most Illinois wrestling fans know of the court battle Liam Kelly would go through in order for the IHSA to allow the Mt. Carmel senior to compete, after being denied the opportunity to do so by regional tournament officials despite having in his possession a doctor’s note clearing him.

The non-contagious skin condition, known as ‘granuloma annulare’ found on his upper arms since his rookie season, nearly ended his season far too soon.

Once the courts delivered a temporary injunction, Kelly went to work, taking apart the competition at the Hinsdale Central sectional before dashing the hopes of four others here in Champaign, including those of No. 2 Bruno Cassioppi (Hononegah, 41-5) during his 8-1 victory in extra time, where a well-executed cradle with four seconds remaining put the Caravan star up for good.

“It was the kind of final that I expected. I could have opened things up a little more, but I did what I came here to do,” said Kelly after claiming his second straight state title, and the 45th in his program’s history, two of which belong to his older brother (Colin) who he will join here at Illinois in the fall.

“My faith has gotten stronger during these last couple of weeks, and it was very exciting to be here one more time, and to have that one last match for coach (Alex) Tsirtis, a guy I would do anything for,” said a gracious Kelly.

During the season, Kelly would defeat the top six medal winners here at least once.

Royce Lopez (Warren, 42-4) on his way to wrestle at Northwestern in the fall was third, Hersey senior Frank Tagoe (40-7) fourth, Max Herman (Lincoln-Way West, 38-11) and Santino Tenuta (Montini Catholic, 25-10) fifth and sixth respectively.

175- Brody Sendele (Hononegah)

It would be true grit, determination and desire that Brody Sendele used to  find a way to overcome ACL surgery a year ago to find his way back to earning a well deserved second place trophy at 165-pounds.

“Brody wasn’t anywhere near being a hundred percent after coming back from missing so much time last year but he’s the type of young man you can never count out, he just works, and works and last year, he never stopped,” began Hononegah head coach Tyler DeMoss.

“This year you can see what a healthy Brody Sendele looks like, and he is just about untouchable.”

“It feels good to be healthy this year,” said Sendele, who lost his 2025 final to Will Denny, now starring at North Carolina State.

After his dominating three-day performance where he delivered the type of attacking depth that few can match, Sendele would defeat No. 3 Dayne Serio (West Aurora, 42-4) who was using the second place finish by his brother (Dominic) here last year as inspiration.

Sendele now has a top three state medal in his first three seasons, and with his victory in the final, claimed his sixth major title of the season.

His only loss in the state came to two-time class 2A champion Brody Kelly (IC Catholic) with the other two from out-of-state opponents.

“For me, wrestling is a 365-day a year sport, and that’s how I manage my workouts, and training, and since last year, I really feel like my composure during the match has made a big difference in the way that I compete,” said Sendele.

Seniors would dominate the third through sixth place place winners, beginning with AJ Tack (Montini Catholic, 35-12) who claims his first state medal in three trips here.

The Broncos’ veteran, who lost to No. 4 Jalen Byrd (Lincoln-Way Central, 51-5) in quarterfinal action, came back to avenge that defeat with a 9-4 decision for third place.

Byrd, a two-sport star (football) takes home his first state medal after three visits to Champaign.

Ilya Dvoriannikov (Warren, 29-11) who hopes to one day be a pilot, captured his third state medal in a sensational career, which began at class 2A Vernon Hills, where he earned a second, and third place medal.

Van Grasser becomes only the third in program history to earn three state medals, tying former star, and 2022 graduate, Sean Conway.

Grasser, who will wrestle next fall at McKendree University, will take with him three-sixth place state medals.

190- Aaron Stewart (Warren)

By the time the postseason would roll around, we all learned it was already a fete accompli that Aaron Stewart, Kai Calcutt and Jonathan Rulo were as close to being named state champions than any other in their respective weight divisions.

And why not.

With all due respect to their rivals, this tremendous trio were anointed the top seeds from the very beginning – never falling below the top spot – nationally ranked all throughout the 2025-2026 season.

No. 11 in the nation, Stewart is a true two-sport star, who will play football, then wrestle at the University of Illinois.

Stewart (39-4) would be the first of three to flex his muscle by unleashing an attack that would demolish the field at 190-pounds on his way to a third consecutive state crown.

“I have some great memories wrestling for Warren – great teammates, and a great coaching staff, but it’s amazing that it’s coming to an end. It happened so fast,” said Stewart, who with Noble winning his third title gives the Blue Devils nine state champions, and 25 state medals.

Stewart ran wild on the football field during three varsity seasons, scoring 101 touchdowns and amassing over 7000 yards rushing.

Here in Champaign, Stewart recorded a pair of tech-falls, and one pin in a little over four minutes time, his last coming in the final against Wheaton North senior Ryan Rosch.

Rosch would finish with four major titles this year and was seeking Wheaton North’s first individual title since Jason Vincens won the crown at 189 in 2000.

“No doubt Ryan’s strong work ethic, toughness, commitment to improve, and his improved wrestling IQ, and ability to control his matches with his pace, strength, and pressure is a big reason for his success this year,” said a proud Wheaton North head coach, Tim Walker.

The next men in line in order of finish after Rosch: Lucas Nance (Fremd, 40-7), Vincenzo Testa (Marmion Academy, 26-6), Colton Zvonar (Lincoln-Way East, 39-8) and Joseph Fitak (Glenbard North, 28-18) are all first time place winners.

“Lucas is just an exceptional young man, a great leader, fabulous student, and someone we’ll miss dearly in the room,” said Fremd head coach of the University of Chicago-bound Nance.

Zvonar, an all-SWSC inside linebacker dropped a heart-breaking 11-8 loss in overtime to Nance in their quarterfinal.

215- Kai Calcutt (Loyola Academy)

Following his arrival in the Loyola Academy room, Kai Calcutt almost instantly transformed a program still looking to find its way from mid-table contention in the CCL to a regional champion for the first time in decades.

Calcutt, along with then-teammate Massey Odiotti, were instrumental in changing the culture and performance level under head coach Matt Callum, and on Saturday night here at State Farm Arena, Calcutt would win his second state title, to go along with a pair of second place state medals.

“There’s a lot of family history associated with me going to Loyola Academy, obviously a big reason why I chose to be a Rambler,” began Calcutt, who finishes with a 38-2 record this season, and 146-16 overall.

“To be honest, I could have easily chosen Loyola because of the great academic environment, football, and, of course, wrestling for an unbelievable coach like Matt Collum. He instills all the things that I like to follow, work ethic, hard work, dedication, and commitment to your teammates – everything that I believe in.”

Calcutt who would train at Izzy Style, and has since moved on to Relentless Training, led by Jordan Blanton, where he can train with two-time state champion Jaxon Penovich (St. Viator) has endured a couple of setbacks along the way during his prep career.

“I guess I was the favorite to win a state title last year, but I fell just short, just like I did my freshman year. Those were just life lessons to be learned,” admitted Calcutt, who was a key figure in the three state football championships won by the Ramblers.

“I had given some thought to playing football in college, but ultimately, wrestling is my No. 1, and I am looking forward to doing just that at North Carolina State.”

Calcutt, who had been nursing an injured shoulder sustained during the football season, would pop a bursa sac in his knee just before heading downstate, but still managed to roll over all four of his opponents here with four bonus point victories, including his 21-3 tech-fall (6:00) victory over No. 2 Cooper Murray from St. Charles East.

Murray, who has been a staple in the upper weights for the Saints, would continue to advance, albeit in dramatic style – using a 1-0 quarterfinal victory over Sam Swais (Montini Catholic) then an ultimate 3-2 triumph against No. 3 Roman Janek (Edwardsville) in a fierce semifinal.

Murray (43-8) was part of the Saints run to a third place team trophy in 2024, the same year his older brother (Brody) captured a third place trophy at 175-pounds with a 44-9 record.

Murray went over 100 career victories earlier in the season, and proved to be the second best at this weight with a sensational season which included three major titles, plus a third place finish at the Dvorak.

Brother Rice junior Dan Costello (26-8) was third, and sophomore Ryker Czubak (Joliet Catholic Academy, 29-15)

Thirty years ago, Chris Janek claimed his second state medal at Granite City: fast forward all those years and Roman Janek (30-5) would earn grabbed his second state medal after his hard fought 4-2 decision over senior Tavfik Ibragimov (38-3) from Naperville North.

285- Jonathan Rulo (Belleville East)

The sport of football has always been the main focus for Jonathan Rulo – and why not?

At 6-foot-1 and 305 pounds, the Belleville East senior has been a destroyer along the defensive line where he has recorded over 200 tackles in his career, nearly 90 solo, and an impressive 55 tackles for a loss.

Enter Rashad Riley.

The former Conant star, third at state in 2004, has been a mentor, friend, and coach to Rulo since he was six years old.

“It’s been a long journey for the both of us, he’s had just one wrestling coach in his life, and that’s me,” begins Riley. “Being able to see him rise from a kid to a man is something that I am very proud of.

“Wins and titles are great, but the journey, and bumps along the way is what holds special meaning to me, because I’ve been able to see him when things were not alway so great for him.”

Rulo is grateful for Riley’s presence.

“Coach (Riley) is a good man — he doesn’t sugar coat anything, but he’s an honest, hard working person, and someone who has always been there for me,” says Rulo.

The Belleville East big man collected his second straight state title after thrashing all four of his opponents with a variety of tech-falls, and major decision victories, including his 14-4 triumph over No. 2 Joseph Favia (41-6) from Marmion Academy.

“Coach and I work out and train every morning and afternoon for football, which is my first love,” Rulo said. “We lift, do speed work, technique, and work on wrestling so I can perform at the highest level possible.”

Rulo, who will play football in the fall at the University of Cincinnati, will leave with an astounding 134-3 overall record, and 21 pins in a season in which he finished at a perfect 29-0.

Two of the three losses in Rulo’s career came during his rookie season, the first to the-then No. 1 heavyweight in the country, Dillan Johnson (Joliet Catholic Academy) at the Geneseo Invite.

Weeks later, Rulo dropped a 5-2 decision in the state final against Ben Bielawski (Downers Grove North) and No. 3 during his sophomore season to three-time state place winner, Marko Ivanisevic (Hinsdale Central) in the state semifinals.

“That loss to Bielawski still bothers me,” admitted Rulo.

Rulo was 35-0 a year ago.

“I know a strong motivating factor for Jonathan is his cousin Rozell Baker, who I coached from his early days through high school, where he won a state title while at Cahokia in 2018 at 170-pounds.

“Jonathan has always wanted to win a second state title in order to have the bragging rights at the dinner table,” jokes Riley.

Aiden Hennings (Lincoln-Way Central, 49-6) would pin Gavin Ericson (Montini Catholic, 34-13) for third place, with Braylon Hill-Lomax (Edwardsville, 40-11) using a 7-2 decision over Hampshire sophomore, Knox Homola (39-7) for fifth.

By Chris Walker for the IWCOA

Rolling up mats on Sunday afternoon, Oswego East assistant boys wrestling coach Zack Clancy stopped for a moment and talked about the efforts of his staff and their friends and families to ensure the IWCOA’s Oswego East Frosh/Soph regional was a successful experience for the wrestlers, as well as those who took time to come out and root the kids on.

“It definitely takes a lot of effort,” Clancy said, “(Oswego East boys wrestling head coach) Paul (Coy) has got six kids and all six of his kids were here setting up, and my wife was here. It takes not only a family, but it’s a family effort, I mean, it’s a lot, but it’s worth it in the end to see all the smiles on the kids’ faces and things like that.”

While the IHSA state individual tournament was held two weeks ago in Champaign, the IWCOA FroshSoph 2026 State tournament began with regionals, such as Oswego East, while the IHSA team duals and girls individual tournament was completed in Bloomington.

“We want to keep it in the area,” Coy said. “Instead of having to travel all over the place.”

Oswego East hosted two tournaments during the girls regular season, including the inaugural Break the Silence tournament which had an impactful debut and will return next year raising awareness for another cause.

Naperville Central led the way at the Oswego East regional with four kids winning titles, including Alexi Aguinaldo (106), Jack Fitzgerald (132), James Ball (138) and Reid Balis (157).

Downers Grove South, Naperville North and Wheaton Academy produced a pair of champions each and Downers Grove North, Hinsdale Central, Oswego, Oswego East and Wheaton North had one.

101 – Dominic Macellaio, Wheaton North

Macellaio won by a 12-4 major decision over Wheaton Academy’s Elliot Hardy to capture the 101 title.

Earlier, Macellaio picked up tech falls wins over Willowbrook’s Siraj Dissi and Oswego’s Dominic Gerace. 

Wheaton North’s Timothy Slade won by fall over Naperville North’s Cameron Krueger for third.

106 – Alexi Aguinaldo, Naperville Central

After opening with a tech fall win over Oswego’s Patrick O’Grady, Aguinaldo pinned Lyons’ Declan Driscoll and earned an 11-1 major over Glenbard East’s Nicholas Greenfield to get to the finals. 

In his finals match, Aguinaldo survived Hinsdale Central’s Bryce Elway, 10-8.

Greenfield won by a 5-4 decision over Downers Grove North’s Elliot Grucella for third.

113 – Zion Kaunley, Wheaton Academy

Pins against Willowbrook’s Joseph Perez (4:19) and Lyons’ Patrick Raddatz (3:00) propelled Kaunley into the finals where he doubled up Oswego’s Lucas Bobush, 12-6.

Naperville Central’s Holden Greene won by a 14-5 major decision over Perez to take third.

120 – Myles Houser, Downers Grove South

After going 30-1 during his freshman season a year ago, Houser took his lumps as a sophomore competing for the varsity squad this winter.

“I didn’t have the best record, I think I was 12 and 20-something losses,” Houser said. “Not the best so I came in here not qualifying for sectionals last year and just came in here to win that.”

Houser pinned Wheaton North’s Gage Fitzenreider (0:53), earned a 10-5 decision over Lyons’ Jake Wolf and pinned Naperville North’s Hunter Dimailig (2:55) to get to the finals.

Houser blanked Lyons’ Matthew Becker, 5-0, in his championship.

“I didn’t make it to state or anything in my middle school years so it would be nice to do it now,” Houser said. “When I first came into high school I was very offensive based and realized that that type of stuff doesn’t work in high school so I worked a lot on the defense and well rounded myself out a little bit more to become a way better wrestler.”

Adjusting to the pace of varsity has taken some time.

“When you’re wrestling freshmen guys, they get tired fast, they’ll give up,” he said. “Varsity dudes, they’re going to the whistle and running, they’re going fast. The pace is a lot different. You got to really keep conditioning and work harder in the room to keep up with these guys.”

Houser will find himself as an upperclassmen when wrestling returns next winter and he’s excited about what’s brewing with the Mustangs.

“I’m liking all the middle school guys coming in, sad to see the seniors leave,” he said. “But we have a really young team and I see us growing a lot and think we’ll be a really dominant team next year.”

Naperville North’s Andrew Hernandez pinned Dimailig (3:36) to take third.

126 – Archer Biag, Naperville North

Biag’s path to the title match at 126 included a pin of Wheaton Academy’s Jasper Hardy (1:39), followed by a 6-3 win over Downers Grove South’s Luis Perez and a pin of Oswego East’s Austin Crawford (1:51). Biag’s dominance continued into the final where he recorded a 17-0 tech fall over Willowbrook’s Braden Byrne.

Crawford won in sudden victory, 8-5, over Perez for third.

132 – Jack Fitzgerald, Naperville Central

Fitzgerald was in a tech falling mood, taking down Lyons’ Ayden Gutierrez (18-0), Hinsdale Central’s Ali Memom (16-1) and Naperville Central’s Luke Moore (19-2), outscoring his foes (53-3).

Downers Grove South’s Dylan Woolsey wouldn’t suffer the same fate in the final, but would be held scoreless as Fitzgerald prevailed, 9-0.

Oswego East’s Sebastian Nevarez won by fall over Glenbard East’s Danny Delgado (4:24) to take third.

138 – James Ball, Naperville Central

Ball was having one on Saturday, pinning all three of his opponents to win the 138 title.

Ball took down Oswego’s Langston Norlin (3:34), Downers Grove South’s Logan Montano (1:43) and Hinsdale South’s Marwan Mohammad (1:45).

Norlin won by a 11-4 decision over Downers Grove South’s Logan Montano to take third.

144 – Marcus Smith, Oswego East

As a freshman this winter for the Wolves, Smith went 14-19, which included going 1-2 at the Class 3A Moline regional on the final day of January.

Since that time, Smith has been practicing a few times a week as well as lifting weights and working out at home.

“It felt good to be back, I had a break but not that big of a break,” he said. “After my first match I felt really good and I just did my own stuff. It’s mostly my confidence and my faith with God.”

Smith knew there would be an opportunity to compete in this tournament, one of the blessings of high school wrestling thanks to the IWCOA.

“This is all new to me, but I had an idea that this tournament was something I could look forward to,” he said. “I think I’ve made a lot of progress throughout the year and my teammates helped me at times. I didn’t think they’d be this friendly. This is probably my favorite team in all the years I’ve wrestled. My goal next year is to qualify for state and I’m definitely going to win it the next three years.”

Smith pinned Downers Grove South’s Bayron Garcia (3:54) in his title match.

Smith opened with a bye, won a 7-4 crosstown match over Oswego’s Angelo Rivera in the quarterfinal and then drew another Panther, scoring an 11-0 major against Oswego’s Angel Garcia in the semifinal.

Garcia earned an 8-1 decision to battle back at take third over Hinsdale Central’s Marco Guisto.

“It was pretty fun, I had a great time,” Garcia said. “I didn’t do my best, but last match I did pretty well. I should’ve did good in the semifinals like I did for third, but I’ll learn from it. I’ve got to keep grinding in the practice room and try to get better every day and try to get to my goal.”

Last year, Garcia placed sixth at 132 at the regional.

“I told myself I was not going to get sixth,” Garcia said. “I was going to get first or second or place or go to sectionals. That was my goal – going to sectional, going to state, going to push myself everyday in practice lift weights every day.”

150 – Joey Guidi, Wheaton Academy

Guidi opened with a 15-0 tech fall win over Hinsdale South’s Ardit Useini and finished with a similar 15-0 decision over Willowbrook’s Jason Donna in his final.

In between those bookends, Guidi pinned Oswego East’s Darek Speice (3:58) and earned a 9-4 decision over Oswego’s Andrew Griffin.

Naperville North’s Alex Realmuto won by a 7-5 decision over Speice to take third.

157 – Reid Balis, Naperville Central

Balis won by fall over Downers Grove South’s Ronald Lepic (1:42), earned a 14-2 major over Oswego’s Angelo Garcia, and then pinned Willowbrook’s Jeramiah Jepson (0:46) in his final match to take home the 157 title.

Lepic won by an 11-9 decision over Garcia to place third.

“I was struggling a lot today, it was not my best,” Garcia. “I was out for the past month with a knee problem and a kidney and back problem. I only had one time to practice and that was really yesterday so this was really really hard for me today.”

165 – Benjamin Grunow, Hinsdale Central

Grunow finished his day with a pin against Willowbrook’s Kal Gonzales (2:11) after opening win a pin over Lyons’ Arthur Schaffer (3:54) followed by a 16-3 major decision over Naperville North’s Faris Pesto in the semis.

Pesto rebounded to earn a 3-1 win in his third-place match versus Downers Grove South’s Elefterios Prevett.

175 – Jake LaScala, Downers Grove North

LaScala had a lighter day, getting a bye in the quarterfinals and only having to wrestle twice. He made it even quicker by pinning Oswego’s Sam Kajtsa (0:59) in the semis before getting to Lyons’ Jack Williams in the final with another pin (2:56).

Sam Kajtsa won by decision over Willbrook’s Dominic Burton, 7-2, to place third.

“This is one of my first meets back because I was out with an ankle injury and then with a skin problem for a while, so my first week back, I’ve only had two or three practices,” Kajtsa said. “It feels amazing. I get tired a lot easier because I haven’t been conditioned all year, but it felt amazing.”

He was able to get to his moves.

“I do a lot of tap and go, tap and go shooting so I’ll lock up and break away, lock up and break away and then fake a lock up and just shoot and that works pretty well,” Kajtsa said. “I’m pretty good at the sliding out or like sliding out in bottom position and then reversing from there, those are two main moves really good at those.”

190 – JT Hill, Naperville North

Hill picked up four victories, including a 7-2 decision over Glenbard East’s Lucas Maida in his 190 title match.

To get there, Hill won by a 21-5 tech fall over Oswego’s Xavier Pagan, pinned Willowbrook’s Max Salinas (0:50) and piled on the points in an 18-1 tech fall over Downers Grove South’s Porter Briggs.

Naperville North’s J. Frank Harvey won by medical forfeit over Downers Grove South’s Blake Gantner to take third.

215 – Jacob Lemire, Oswego 

Impetigo had sidelined Lemire, and while it plagued his efforts it didn’t keep him from walking away as a champion. 

“It was really hard because I had impetigo for a week, so only got one day of practice before coming in here,” he said. “But then when I woke up I was very sick so it made it even harder on me. It’s just a long process, very hard matches, but pulled through and was able to get it done.”

It’s not the first time Lemire has had to dig deep.

“I had another match, something similar to this where I had flu,” he said. “I went and wrestled and was out for like three days of  school and just put it all there, similar situation so I knew what to do. It’s just real tough but with my partner (Holden Reible) he’s really pushing me because he’s just way bigger and stronger and has helped me a lot.”

285 – Michael Danial, Downers Grove South

After placing fifth in the FroshSoph tournament a year ago, Danial is eyeing a title this year.

“Last year I won this and got to sectionals, which didn’t go my way,” he said. “I got fourth but did qualify for state and ended up losing in the state semis, 7-5 by two points, and fought back for fifth place.”

As a young heavyweight, Danial has battled mostly upperclassmen the past two seasons.

“It’s a great opportunity because, for example, me as a heavyweight as a  sophomore, I’m wrestling a lot of juniors and seniors and it’s tougher to punch my ticket to the IHSA tournament,” he said. “So this is another chance to keep me going.”

Danial pinned Hinsdale South’s Kalon Kirkendall (1:34) in the quarterfinals and received a victory just 41 seconds into his semifinal match against Glenbard East’s Teague Maloney who was injured. 

In the final, Danial denied Oswego’s Holden Reible, 6-4.

“The key today was just wrestle, have fun and that’s all I did out there, try to do things that I’ve been working on,” Danial said. “I do a lot of offseason, in-season work. My biggest fear is that if I’m not working someone else is going to pass me because I only started wrestling in sixth grade, I’m already behind so I just want to keep succeeding and going higher and higher.”

Reible hadn’t wrestled in a while, during a season that was delayed at the start since he was helping Oswego take second the state in Class 8A football

“It’s been a while since I’ve actually wrestled since I took a significant break before this,” he said. “I’ve been weightlifting in between so it’s been getting into the weight room, now getting into the wrestling room. I started the season off with being three weeks late because I was on the football team for varsity and coming in three weeks late I went 3-0 for that first tournament and after that tournament it really locked into my head that I was able to completely just go through this season like I was 100% me that I could 100% do this. So that experience with football and having no break that actually kept my mentality locked in throughout the season.”

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

Regionals feeding the IWCOA Sterling and Lake Zurich Sectionals on March 8

Qualifiers listed by first- and third-place matches

STERLING SECTIONAL

DeKalb/Huntley Regionals

101

Carter Paulson (Stillman Valley) d. David Wesierski (Hampshire) (D 3-1)

Wyatt Crowe (Plano) d. Chase Cook (Sycamore) (F 2:08)

106

Liam Parker (Harvard) d. Matthew Frykman (DeKalb) (D 4-3)

Aiden Salo (Byron) d. Valentin Elias Soriano (Burlington-Central) (D 8-6)

113

Julian Hartwig (DeKalb) d. Isaiahs Carreno (Stillman Valley) (F 2:53)

Noah Simonson (DeKalb) d. Logan Dailing (Machesney Park (Harlem)) (F 1:36)

120

Gabe Marella (North Boone) d. Sam Howard (DeKalb) (SV-1 8-5)

Olin Wiedel (Woodstock (North)) d. Cole Malo (Woodstock) (MD 12-0)

126

Brennan McCarter (DeKalb) d. Jacob Martin (DeKalb) (F 4:13)

Dominick Urbanski (Sandwich) d. Logan Torrance (Sandwich) (F 0:09)

132

Carson Benesh (Oregon) d. Virshon Dotson (DeKalb) (F 2:31)

Jordan Bradley (Woodstock (North)) d. Eric Juchimowicz (Belvidere North) (TF 22-3)

138

Hunter Heath (Belvidere) d. Hayes Halstead (DeKalb) (F 1:37)

Isaac Brunoehler (Sandwich) d. Hudson Cline (Sandwich) (F 0:08)

144

James Brown (DeKalb) d. Henry Vanderbleek (DeKalb) (D 5-1)

Logan Funk (Rockford (East)) d. Jason Pierce (Rockford (East)) (F 0:09)

150

Jaxson Blanchard (Sandwich) d. Trenton Combs (Woodstock (North)) (F 2:35)

Jonathan Holder (Machesney Park (Harlem)) d. Ben Schmerse (Durand) (F 1:53)

157

Collin Rux (Machesney Park (Harlem)) d. Mason Meinert (Durand) (F 0:52)

Eli Futrell (Sandwich) d. Liam O`Connor (Woodstock) (F 2:24)

165

Tyler Bell (Stillman Valley) d. David Hendrickson (Belvidere) (F 2:58)

Hunter Wendt (Genoa-Kingston) d. Joseph Scott (Stillman Valley) (TF 19-3)

175

Cash Stott (Harvard) d. Bradley Bankes (Stillman Valley) (MD 14-3)

Xander Luangphakdy (Rockford (East)) d. Griffin Wandtke (Belvidere North) (F 0:58)

190

Brooks Auker (Byron) d. Daniel Arriola (Sandwich) (F 3:29)

Kendrick Thomas (Woodstock) d. Justin Cheeseman (Stillman Valley) (MD 9-0)

215

Jacksyn Windham (Oregon) d. Darius Russell (DeKalb) (FF)

Ej Kennedy (Genoa-Kingston) d. Ayden Rosado (Burlington-Central) (F 4:15)

285

Collin Hughes (Sycamore) d. Benjamin Prochnicki (Belvidere) (F 0:33)

Jayden Coleman (DeKalb) d. Brock Almgren (Burlington-Central) (F 2:26)

Morrison Regional

101

Joe Morse (Sterling (Newman Central Catholic)) d. Samuel Abotsi (East Moline (United Township)) (D 6-2)

Cameron Geigle (Riverdale) d. Ryan Conway (Kewanee) (F 2:27)

106

Coltin Hartman (Fulton) d. Bentley Ahlstrand (Rock Fs) (MD 14-2)

Chase Coyle (Sterling) d. Vance Arling (Galena) (F 2:26)

113

Matthew Hoss (Moline) d. Fabregas Rodriguez (Rock Island) (D 6-0)

Aidan Eads (Sherrard) d. Logan Henson (East Moline (United Township)) (D 9-4)

120

Griffin Kellett (LaSalle-Peru) d. Angelo Matute (Rock Island) (TF 20-4)

Tavian Straus (Sherrard) d. Aiden Foley (West Carroll) (F 1:38)

126

Tennyson Hampton (Rock Island (Alleman)) d. Michael Benge (St. Bede) (MD 11-0)

Javen Reyes (Sterling (Newman Central Catholic)) d. Connor Higgins (Galena) (D 9-3)

132

Henry Miller (Rock Island) d. Jaken Updike (Morrison) (F 4:08)

Max Moreno (St. Bede) d. Corbin Brown (Princeton) (F 3:55)

138

Elijah King (Rock Island) d. Lowson Jabbah (Rock Island) (F 1:00)

Caleb Flint (East Moline (United Township)) d. Mschach Bitangimana (Rock Island) (D 5-3)

144

Rafael Perez (Rock Island) d. Ibrahim Mchimbwa (Rock Island) (F 0:21)

Jayson Fry (Rock Island) d. Noah Fassler (Sterling) (F 0:51)

150

Blake Slusser (Freeport) d. Javelle Anderson (Rock Island) (D 7-3)

Mason Grismore (Morrison) d. Komen Denault (Mendota) (Inj. 0:00)

157

Elliot Yaklich (Rock Fs) d. Garrett Carter (Savanna) (D 10-6)

Josiah Lewis (Sterling (Newman Central Catholic)) d. Collin Handel (West Carroll) (MD 14-4)

165

Tim Plote (Sterling (Newman Central Catholic)) d. Gideon Heist (Sherrard) (D 5-3)

Koa Thew (Galena) d. Nicholas Del Pilar (St. Bede) (F 0:17)

175

Travis Kinkead (East Moline (United Township)) d. Elijah Boswell (Aledo Mercer County) (F 1:27)

Maxson Ohaver (Sterling) d. Jermaine Jones (Rock Island) (F 1:26)

190

Stanlee Golden (Moline) d. Brady McCray (Sterling) (UTB 2-2)

Ehlyeuss Tamez (Moline) d. Elijah Hare (East Moline (United Township)) (MD 12-1)

215

Zach Walker (Rock Fs) d. Vann Olcott (United Monmouth) (TF 15-0)

Kamron Buehl (East Moline (United Township)) d. Gillermo Guzman (Rock Island) (TF 17-1)

285

Kareem Odeh (Freeport) d. Henry Schradeya (Riverdale) (D 7-3)

Fernando Sandoval (LaSalle-Peru) d. Jaiden Clayborn (Moline) (D 4-2)

LAKE ZURICH SECTIONAL

Lake Zurich Regional

101

William Bousk (Fremd) d. Nolan Freely (Lake Zurich) (TF 18-2)

Everett Jancich (Hersey) d. Akdanni Marsel (Hoffman Estates (Conant)) (F 2:01)

106

Travis Wilgosiewicz (Algonquin (Jacobs)) d. Jj Loizzi (Lake Zurich) (MFF)

Abel Ephrem (Schaumburg) d. Colin Booth (Lake Park) (F 0:56)

113

Cole Wojtalewicz (Lake Zurich) d. Carlo Difalco (Prospect) (D 7-2)

Brian Hoffman (Hoffman Estates (Conant)) d. Tyson Rivard (McHenry) (MD 10-2)

120

John Diaz (Lake Zurich) d. Joel Aragon (Palatine) (D 7-0)

Nathan Flores (St. Viator) d. Liam Lovelace (Lake Park) (D 9-5)

126

Ryder Thompson (Lake Zurich) d. Nathan Hunt (McHenry) (D 4-0)

Andrew Stapleton (Prospect) d. Cruz Votruba (Lake Park) (D 1-0)

132

Kyle Lochner (Hersey) d. Sebastian Londono (Lake Zurich) (TF 19-2)

Luis Mercado (Prospect) d. MDd Ramadan (Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge) (F 4:00)

138

Daniel Zuehlke (Crystal Lake Central) d. Xavier Campos (Dundee-Crown) (MD 11-0)

Everett Georgacakis (Hersey) d. Sonny Franciose (Bartlett) (TF 15-0)

144

Jeremy Ryba (Huntley) d. Demetri Matsas (Fremd) (D 9-5)

Adam Piazza (Algonquin (Jacobs)) d. Ali Mohammadi (Prospect) (F 1:43)

150

Azam Nabizada (Fremd) d. Austin Slocum (Dundee-Crown) (F 1:28)

Ryan Chartouni (Prospect) d. Evan Talbot (Hersey) (D 10-4)

157

Dominic Sponsel (Fremd) d. Michael Weber (Schaumburg) (F 2:58)
Leo Malatos (Lake Zurich) d. Arthur Borzecki (Hoffman Estates) (MD 17-5)

165

Luke Maher (Fremd) d. Jacob Meade (Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge) (TF 19-3)

Brock Bowden (Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge) d. Jack Brogan (Prospect) (TF 17-0)

175

Patrick Zdanowski (Prospect) d. Jesus Reyes Jr. (Algonquin (Jacobs)) (F 4:39)

Jayden Johnson (Bartlett) d. Nicholas Wasniowski (Fremd) (F 2:05)

190

Gabriel Giamouzis (Hersey) d. Joey Glass (Fremd) (F 1:17)

Alex Williams (Prospect) d. Julian Segarra (Crystal Lake Central) (MD 11-1)

215

Henry Mitchell (McHenry) d. Dominic Augustyniak (Schaumburg) (F 3:24)

Kevin Baizabal (Lake Zurich) d. Ashton Frieders (Fremd) (D 5-1)

285

Chase Paduch (Bartlett) d. Marc Walsh (McHenry) (F 1:00)

Jackson Copelin (Crystal Lake Central) won by forfeit over Hakeem Coleman (Fremd) (FF)

Lakes Regional

101

Sam Ejnik (Buffalo Grove) d. Cain Ramirez (Grant) (D 11-5)

Temuujin Uuganbaatar (Stevenson) d. Noe Figueroa (Zion-Benton) (MD 20-7)

106

Colton Swanson (Grant) d. Kevin Rosa (Stevenson) (D 6-2)

Ashton Prather (Antioch) d. Adrian Stolper (Stevenson) (D 11-7)

113

Diego Rea (Gurnee (Warren)) d. Gabriel Poyer (Zion-Benton) (F 2:14)

Andrew Goldstein (Stevenson) d. Bryan Morales (Rolling Meadows) (D 13-8)

120

Brayden Sroka (Zion-Benton) d. Liam Perkins (Carmel Catholic) (MFF)

Owen Thomas (Carmel Catholic) d. Jakobe Williams (Stevenson) (F 0:57)

126

Rielen Hermsen (Carmel Catholic) d. Rudy Garcia (Carmel Catholic) (TF 16-1)

Dino Adamo (Rolling Meadows) d. Niko Marchenko (Stevenson) (D 1-0)

132

Breiydyn Hoffman (Grant) d. Chase Davis (Johnsburg) (F 2:05)

Jaiden Lopez (Grant) d. Kentrell Golladay (Waukegan) (D 5-1)

138

Kiernan Delaney (Carmel Catholic) d. Elliott Hibbard (Libertyville) (TF 18-0)

Gabriel Oliveira (Stevenson) won by forfeit over Kingsley Chen (Stevenson) (FF)

144

Mick Skrypek (Carmel Catholic) d. William Guziec (Stevenson) (D 8-6)

Joseph Minogue (Libertyville) d. Luis Atilano (Stevenson) (F 4:21)

150

Owen Floral (Grayslake Central) d. Iaroslav Bitarov (Stevenson) (F 2:19)

Jesiah Hatch (Zion-Benton) d. Brendan Dodd (Buffalo Grove) (F 0:35)

157

Danny Mandujano (Carmel Catholic) d. Noah Green (Grayslake North) (F 2:37)

Jordan Sylvanus (Johnsburg) d. Christopher Zander (Grant) (D 5-4)

165

Joseph Cameron (Carmel Catholic) d. Aldo Salgado-Benitez (Buffalo Grove) (F 3:20)

Brendan Weber (Grant) d. Logan Tibbs (Johnsburg) (D 2-0)

175

Jaxon James (Stevenson) d. Franklin Yanes (Buffalo Grove) (MD 15-4)

Eduardo Albarran (Zion-Benton) d. Gavin VanDyck (Johnsburg) (D 8-2)

190

Jackson Hjorth (Johnsburg) d. Phillip Pelts (Stevenson) (F 2:48)

Shaq Scott-kelly (Buffalo Grove) d. Jonathan Yilmaz (Zion-Benton) (MD 10-2)

215

Nathan O`Neill (Mundelein) d. Caleb Gregg (Gurnee (Warren)) (F 2:20)

Pearce Estrada (Gurnee (Warren)) d. Avant Cole (Round Lake) (F 2:54)

285

Nolan Lopez (Gurnee (Warren)) d. Allen Lopez (Wauconda) (MD 17-5)

Noah Breckenridge (Carmel Catholic) d. Ivan Alejandre (Round Lake) (D 5-0)

Regionals feeding the IWCOA Thornton and Shepard Sectionals on March 8

Qualifiers listed by first- and third-place match results

THORNTON SECTIONAL

Hillcrest Regional

101

Timothy Lorimer (Lincoln-Way (East)) d. Paxton De La Vega (Tinley Park (Andrew)) (F 0:31)

Jimmy O’Connor (Peotone) d. Kayden Miller (Thornton) (F 2:49)

106

Dante Toures (Lincoln-Way (East)) d. Michael Scott (Lincoln-Way (West)) (D 7-4)

Eduardo Robles (Joliet (Central)) d. Sebastian Rys (Lincoln-Way (West)) (F 1:29)

113

Elijah Bell (Lincoln-Way (East)) d. Everett Sievers (Lincoln-Way (East)) (MD 13-2)

John Liam O`Shea (Tinley Park (Andrew)) d. Carter Webber (Manteno) (F 2:23)

120

Logan Viau (Tinley Park (Andrew)) d. Nolan Dykshorn (Lincoln-Way (West)) (MD 17-7)

Charlie Tustin (Lincoln-Way (West)) d. James Moulton (Bradley-Bourbonnais) (F 0:28)

126

Cameron Hamill (Lincoln-Way (East)) d. Joseph Borowski (Joliet (Central)) (MD 9-1)

Jayce Marcano (Homewood-Flossmoor) d. Jesus Novas (Thornton) (TF 21-5)

132

Lucas Ankarlo (Lincoln-Way (East)) d. Brendan Bastida (Bloom Township) (TF 16-0)

Cooper Cox (Lincoln-Way (West)) d. Ethan Punzalan (Manteno) (D 6-5)

138

Gavin Sonne (Lincoln-Way (West)) d. Alex Uloswceh (Tinley Park (Andrew)) (F 1:00)

Chase LaGesse (Bradley-Bourbonnais) d. Cody Truong (Tinley Park (Andrew)) (F 1:27)

144

Bryce Neville (Lincoln-Way (West)) d. Zeke Kundinger (Lincoln-Way (West)) (D 9-3)

Coldyn Holba (Lincoln-Way (West)) d. Anthony Holder (Lincoln-Way (East)) (F 3:31)

150

Henry Maier (Homewood-Flossmoor) d. Sean O`Connor (Lincoln-Way (West)) (F 4:17)

Andrew Clark (Homewood-Flossmoor) d. Jackson Trotter (Lincoln-Way (West)) (MD 19-6)

157

Naijier Morris (Homewood-Flossmoor) d. Jonathan Wilkey (Lincoln-Way (West)) (MD 11-3)

Amer Salah (Lincoln-Way (East)) d. Xavier Feliciano (Homewood-Flossmoor) (D 6-5)

165

Henry Bohms (Lincoln-Way (East)) d. Maurice Burbridge (Bradley-Bourbonnais) (F 2:59)

Luis Rodriguez (Joliet (Central)) d. Michael Ryan (Tinley Park (Andrew)) (F 4:54)

175

Charlie Morzuch (Lincoln-Way (West)) d. Cullen Bramer (Kankakee (Bishop McNamara)) (TF 16-1)

Armane Hale (Thornton) d. Zach Chenoweth (Peotone) (F 1:48)

190

Cameron Moskos (Lincoln-Way (West)) d. Jacob Wagner (Lincoln-Way (East)) (D 5-1)

Harrison Joiner (Kankakee) d. David Day (Kankakee) (TF 21-5)

215

Kendrick Crite (Kankakee) d. Alex Krzeczkowski (Lincoln-Way (West)) (F 3:24)

King Jones (Rich Township) d. Shaun Chantome (Manteno) (D 9-4)

285

Taron Ramsey (Joliet (Central)) d. Elex Mitchell (Homewood-Flossmoor) (F 0:14)

James Price (Tinley Park (Andrew)) d. Brayden Shaub (Lincoln-Way (West)) (MD 10-2)

Joliet West Regional

101

Julian Paniagua (Bolingbrook) d. Collin Bryant (Reed-Custer) (TF 16-1)

Julian Godina (Lockport (Twp.)) d. Evan Jacobsen (Lemont) (F 1:41)

106

Logan Hileman (Plainfield (North)) d. Julian Medina (Bolingbrook) (FF)

Jeremiah Cuevas (Bolingbrook) d. Brayden Hunt (Morris) (TF 18-0)

113

Finn Fifer (Lincoln-Way Central) d. Rick Berger (Plainfield (Central)) (F 0:56)

Carter Kehr (Joliet West) d. Joseph Dulce (Lockport (Twp.)) (F 4:25)

120

Sullivan Lipscomb (Minooka) d. Najeeb Ejaidi (Lincoln-Way Central) (MD 10-0)

Noah Rauen (Plainfield (North)) d. Dylan Tobin (Lemont) (F 1:10)

126

Ryan Wicks (Lockport (Twp.)) d. Oliver Blackburn (Minooka) (MD 10-2)

Nathan Kuntz (Reed-Custer) d. Drew Ritchie (Plainfield (South)) (D 18-15)

132

Chase Valentine (Morris) d. Samuel Sabo (Plainfield (North)) (F 4:10)

Jace Vazquez (Lockport (Twp.)) d. Kurtz Yeboah (Plainfield (North)) (TF 17-2)

138

Caleb Rogers (Lincoln-Way Central) d. Evan Lamas (Plainfield (North)) (TF 15-0)

Rylan West (Reed-Custer) d. Nathaniel Ruiz (Joliet West) (TF 16-0)

144

Giovanni Baker (Joliet West) d. Griffin Elder (Lockport (Twp.)) (F 1:51)

Aaron Pulido (Joliet West) d. Colin Boyer (Lincoln-Way Central) (D 7-3)

150

Rylan Benicky (Plainfield (East)) d. Blake Bucon (Plainfield (South)) (MD 14-0)

Connor McKinney (Lockport (Twp.)) d. Jordyn Ervins (Plainfield (North)) (D 10-4)

157

Dandre Franco (Bolingbrook) d. Jimmy Medina (Plainfield (South)) (F 1:39)

Ernesto Diaz (Bolingbrook) d. Kase Ludwig (Lincoln-Way Central) (F 3:46)

165

Emiliano Ramirez (Plainfield (Central)) d. Calvin Huizinga (Lincoln-Way Central) (FF)

Carter Cullen (Lincoln-Way Central) d. Kymari Mansheck (Plainfield (South)) (F 1:48)

175

Colton Coughlen (Minooka) d. Colton Vaughn (Clifton Central) (F 0:46)

Shaheen Shalash (Lincoln-Way Central) d. Anthony Aparicio (Bolingbrook) (TF 22-2)

190

Jonathan Rivera (Romeoville) d. Hunter Radtke (Clifton Central) (D 7-6)

Julius Pierscionek (Plainfield (South)) d. Tomas Taujanskas (Lemont) (TF 20-5)

215

Noah Kirby (Plainfield (North)) d. Romeo Ruiz (Joliet West) (F 2:57)

Darren Peterson (Plainfield (Central)) d. Javier Serrano (Joliet West) (D 7-1)

285

Anthony Samanich (Lockport (Twp.)) d. Brayden Mrazek (Lockport (Twp.)) (F 3:47)

Giuliano Salazar (Romeoville) d. Nate Zeffield (Bolingbrook) (F 1:56)


SHEPARD SECTIONAL

Oak Lawn Regional

101

Crue Hatchell (Marist) d. Rocco Maheras (Marist) (F 2:21)

Fran Blake (Chicago (Mt. Carmel)) d. Clark Nordwall (Shepard) (F 0:38)

106

Kevin Bisonaya (Chicago (Mt. Carmel)) d. Lucas Vajarsky (Orland Park (Sandburg)) (TF 15-0)

Daniel Torres (Palos Hills (Stagg)) d. Ethan Haro (Richards) (D 3-0)

113

Daniel Macatangay (Chicago (Mt. Carmel)) d. Matt Ruiz (Shepard) (TF 18-0)

Liam Kissane (St. Laurence) d. Brandon Kalman (Orland Park (Sandburg)) (SV-1 4-1)

120

Leonardo Ortiz (Orland Park (Sandburg)) d. Aiden Weber (Marist) (D 7-2)

Reginald McMillian (Shepard) d. Jaden Floyd (Shepard) (TF 17-1)

126

Ameer Mohammed (Orland Park (Sandburg)) d. Christian Flores (Orland Park (Sandburg)) (D 4-0)

Vincent Richko (Chicago (Mt. Carmel)) d. Papa Diallo (Evergreen Park) (F 0:37)

132

William Leen (Marist) d. Jaylon Coleman (Orland Park (Sandburg)) (TB-1 6-1)

Luke Erwinski (Chicago (Mt. Carmel)) d. Zain Falhi (Oak Lawn) (F 0:33)

138

Vincent Miceli (Brother Rice) d. Isaac Liu (Palos Heights (Chicago Christian)) (F 2:44)

Carter Shane (Oak Lawn) d. Daniel Ramirez (Oak Lawn) (MD 10-2)

144

Jaxon Gineris (Chicago (Mt. Carmel)) d. Khalid Eid (Oak Lawn) (D 6-5)

Aiden Garces (Shepard) d. Joe Vela (Orland Park (Sandburg)) (F 3:26)

150

Arturo Balderas (Brother Rice) d. Skylar Arellano-Phipps (Argo) (F 1:38)

Brandon Leech (Shepard) d. Cruz Arroyo (Orland Park (Sandburg)) (MD 13-3)

157

Shafik Yasin (Orland Park (Sandburg)) d. Jonathan Fields (Marist) (Inj. 0:00)

John Leech (Shepard) d. Beckam Smith (Tinley Park (HS)) (F 4:42)

165

Liam Thompson (Shepard) d. Melsyon Vrapi (Orland Park (Sandburg)) (F 2:36)

Ben Adcock (Richards) d. Ethan Pettis (Marist) (F 4:32)

175

Michael Starzyk (Argo) d. Kellan Breen (Chicago (Mt. Carmel)) (F 4:42)

Andrew Gutierrez (Orland Park (Sandburg)) d. Ernesto Castaneda (Shepard) (F 1:30)

190

Brendan Kalchbrenner (Brother Rice) d. Nathan Diaz (Evergreen Park) (F 1:36)

Zayd Hamideh (Orland Park (Sandburg)) d. Zaid Said (Oak Lawn) (F 0:40)

215

Nathan Hernandez (Oak Lawn) d. Harold Pfeiffer (Brother Rice) (F 2:48)

Fahd Lutfi (Oak Lawn) d. Aaron Gallacher (Tinley Park (HS)) (F 2:01)

285

Timothy Harrison (Chicago (Mt. Carmel)) d. Luke Malburg (Marist) (F 2:43)

Ahmad Abdullah (Orland Park (Sandburg)) d. Alejandro Covarrubias (Tinley Park (HS)) (F 4:22)

Sarah Goode Regional

101

Jesse Green (Ag Science) d. Juan Ospina (Solorio) (MD 22-9)

106

Alpha Kamate (King) d. Zachary Thomas (Ag Science) (TF 18-0)

Zachary Thomas (Ag Science) d. Jayden Robles (Kelly) (D 13-10)

113

Shamar Jones (St. Rita) d. Eduardo Garcia (Sarah Goode) (D 11-8)

Alonso Gomez (Payton/Jones) d. Fabian Munoz (Hubbard) (F 1:29)

120

Frank Valle (St. Ignatius) d. Zach Brost (St. Rita) (D 6-5)
Alexandar Tovar (St. Rita) d. Brendan Foster (St. Rita) (F 1:56)

126

Robert Nickson (Leo Catholic) d. Mateo Villanueva (De La Salle) (TF 25-9)

Armando Rodriguez (Kelly) d. Lorenzo Flowers (Corliss) (MD 14-6)

132

Leland Pulido (Curie) d. Jayden Carrasco (De La Salle) (D 15-11)

Francisco Ambriz (Hancock) d. Marco Del Toro (St. Francis de Sales) (D 12-7)

138

Joseph Franklin (St. Rita) d. Bryce Moore (Ag Science) (MD 14-2)

Deontae Anderson (King) d. Jelani Wells (Ag Science) (D 10-6)

144

Lorenzo Harris (Marshall) d. Lucas Sanchez (St. Ignatius) (D 6-5)

Dion Cashaw (Kenwood) d. Mark Styles (Payton/Jones) (D 9-3)

150

AMDe Long (Corliss) d. Kendrian Walker (Noble UIC) (F 3:57)

Ayende Franklin (Kenwood) d. Hudson Schupp (St. Ignatius) (F 0:55)

157

Damarion Ambrose (Corliss) d. Deonte Thomas (Noble UIC) (D 3-2)

Charlie Perek (St. Rita) d. Santiago Valadez (Curie) (F 2:59)

165

Andy Cuevas (Curie) d. Vince Chiorlu (Noble UIC) (F 4:45)

Adrian Gutierrez (De La Salle) d. Dennis Divinity (Ag Science) (F 1:33)

175

Micah Ruiz (Payton/Jones) d. Ethan Jones (King) (F 0:26)

Adam Pietraszek (Payton/Jones) d. David Montes (Ag Science) (F 2:34)

190

Sylvester Staples (Ag Science) d. Michael Carillo (St. Francis de Sales) (F 0:19)

Hudson Latino (Payton/Jones) d. Daniel Kenerson (Ag Science) (F 1:29)

215

Martayvion Wilson (Curie) d. Frank Villella (St. Francis de Sales) (F 1:40)

Emilio Lara (St. Rita) received a bye () (Bye)

285

Angel Regalado (Solorio) d. Zerik Hernandez (Golder) (F 2:48)

Joel Delgado (Solorio) d. Isaiah Oviedo (Noble UIC) (F 2:35)

Regional feeding the IWCOA Granite City and Heyworth Sectionals on March 8

Qualifiers listed by first- and third-place match results


GRANITE CITY SECTIONAL

Belleville West Regional

101

Zander Johnson (Granite City) d. Curtis Johnson (Cahokia) (F 2:24)

Eli Schaefer (Freeburg) d. William Vincent (Salem) (MFF)

106

Brendan Stewart (Effingham) d. Bo Allison (Jersey) (D 6-3)

Cameron Urbaniak (Herrin) d. Brayden Jackson (Freeburg) (TF 18-0)

113

Austin Jones (Alton (Sr.)) d. Logan Lott (Mascoutah) (TF 17-0)

John Smith (Bethalto (Civic Memorial)) d. Eli Quartz (Freeburg) (D 11-9)

120

Charles St. Peters (Alton (Sr.)) d. Isaac Wood (Carterville) (F 0:36)

Dominic Goodman (Waterloo) d. David Kinscherff (Troy Triad) (TF 17-1)

126

Xavier Sonon-Hale (Mascoutah) d. Rylan Moore (Salem) (MD 16-8)

Kyler Reisner (Mt. Vernon) d. Cole Pilliard (Troy Triad) (MD 13-0)

132

Bradley Odell (Carbondale) d. Brendon Jones (Benton) (TF 17-0)

Ronin Schmidt (Troy Triad) d. Devon Jensen (Freeburg) (MD 21-11)

138

Lukas Quartz (Freeburg) d. Jacob Sutphin (Alton (Sr.)) (MD 15-4)

Jackson Parnell (Bethalto (Civic Memorial)) d. Emmitt Cooley (Mt. Carmel) (D 9-3)

144

Jase Holshouser (Anna-Jonesboro) d. Gavin Phillips (Salem) (F 0:40)

Jaden White (Frankfort) d. Micheal Goodwin (Mt. Vernon) (F 2:03)

150

Braxton Glodo (Sparta) d. Alonzo Lofton (Bethalto (Civic Memorial)) (F 1:59)

Kade Orrell (Salem) d. Dominic Miller (Johnston City) (F 2:14)

157

Tyler Nolan (Red Bud) d. Elliot Imboden (Carbondale) (TF 19-3)

Isaiah Hall (Mt. Carmel) d. Phoenix Hickam (Murphysboro) (D 7-5)

165

Dexter McClendon (Granite City) d. Titus Dover (Anna-Jonesboro) (F 1:50)

Cole Evans (Carmi-White County) d. Bryson Aaron (Frankfort) (D 4-3)

175

Cohen Albatt (Troy Triad) d. Phoenix Pilcher (Salem) (TF 19-3)

Branson Burnett (Carmi-White County) d. Da`Kevion Rose (Belleville (East)) (F 0:27)

190

Jahari Tucker (Cahokia) d. Paul-Ray Garrett (Mt. Carmel) (F 3:32)

Nate Page (Marion) d. Antonio Monroe (Sparta) (TF 19-2)

215

Marc Leahy Jr (Troy Triad) d. Mlyk Berry (Cahokia) (D 7-4)

Jesse Williams (Benton) d. Tristin Vail (Marion) (F 2:09)

285

Darrell Bibbs (Belleville (East)) d. Donnie Olmstead (Freeburg) (F 0:22)

Carter Pyatt (Mt. Carmel) d. Kamen Anderson (Alton (Sr.)) (F 4:27)

Springfield Regional

101

Jordan Friday (Camp Point (Central)) d. Jacob Borchers (Beardstown) (TF 16-1)

Zaiden Turner (Jacksonville) d. Braycen Douglas (Pittsfield) (F 0:18)

106

Braylon Maggio (Williamsville) d. D`andre English (Springfield (Lanphier)) (F 3:32)

Tilman O`Connell (Springfield (H.S.)) d. Noah Barnes (Taylorville) (F 1:40)

113

Jack Welch (Camp Point (Central)) d. Zack Bean (Piasa (Southwestern)) (MD 13-3)

Griffin Finch (Quincy (Sr.)) d. Austin Barr (Rochester) (D 6-1)

120

Greyson Steele (Camp Point (Central)) d. Jude Hoehn (Marshall) (F 0:53)

Alex Woudenberg (Springfield (H.S.)) received a bye () (Bye)

126

Cael Taylor (Williamsville) d. Sebastian Adams (Rochester) (MD 13-1)

Elijah Harris (Springfield (H.S.)) d. Gary Fitzjarrell (Springfield (Sacred Heart Griffin)) (TF 20-4)

132

Austin Olps (Camp Point (Central)) d. Logan Borrowman (Pittsfield) (TF 17-0)

Ariel Lopez Banderas (Warrensburg-Latham) d. Kaden Presnell (Taylorville) (F 2:41)

138

Hector Vasquez Morales (Jacksonville) d. Dante Wade (Springfield (Southeast)) (D 9-2)

Lucas Coggins (Piasa (Southwestern)) d. Nolan Komnick (Auburn) (D 9-3)

144

Jace Bodine (Petersburg PORTA) d. Zyan Stoeff (Springfield (Southeast)) (D 2-0)

Ethan Paul (Quincy (Sr.)) d. Kenyon Matthews (Jacksonville) (F 0:14)

150

Jovonis Lunford (Springfield (Sacred Heart Griffin)) d. Wes Ortiz (Jacksonville) (F 4:05)

Kendall Boward (Petersburg PORTA) d. Tahj Morens (Springfield (Lanphier)) (D 10-7)

157

John Marshall (Illinois United) d. Lucas Frieden (Pittsfield) (F 0:30)

Vincent Edmondson (Quincy (Notre Dame)) d. Landyn Seal (Pittsfield) (F 4:31)

165

Roman Lilo (Quincy (Sr.)) d. Colby Midiri (Pleasant Plains) (F 1:56)

Jeremy Judd (Springfield (Sacred Heart Griffin)) d. Lukus Barnes (Springfield (Southeast)) (MD 10-0)

175

Rocco Giannavola (Marshall) d. Owen Alderson (Williamsville) (D 8-4)
Kenton Rule (Warrensburg-Latham) d. Hayden Greenia (Jacksonville) (F 2:58)

190

Ayden Williams (Auburn) d. Thomas Stafford (Marshall) (F 2:13)

John Haynes (Piasa (Southwestern)) d. Aiden Wallis (Springfield (Southeast)) (F 1:38)

215
Logan Haverback (Beardstown) d. Dylan Leonard (Pittsfield) (F 0:56)

Liam Heise (Jacksonville) d. Jeffery Orrill (Quincy (Sr.)) (SV-1 4-1)

285

Eli Zanger (Quincy (Sr.)) d. Kevin Gaines (Springfield (Southeast)) (F 1:59)

Liam Davis (Taylorville) d. Arion Sneed (Springfield (H.S.)) (F 5:49)

HEYWORTH SECTIONAL

Clinton Regional

101

Levi Lee (St. Joseph Ogden) d. Ashtyn Copley (Colfax (Ridgeview)) (F 2:42)

Noah Cothern (Clinton) d. Mateo Anaya (Clinton) (MD 12-1)

106

Dylan Warner (Hoopeston) d. Andrew Patino (Prarie Central) (D 7-0)

Treyton Zimmerman (Prarie Central) d. Kason Cramer (Westville) (F 3:42)

113

Hayden Hazel (Olney) d. Sawyer Manning (Colfax (Ridgeview)) (MD 10-1)

Creed Cole (Mattoon) d. Jake Baughman (LeRoy) (F 3:40)

120

Gracen Elliott (Robinson) d. Clayton Fisher (Mt. Zion) (F 1:45)

Austin Pacha (LeRoy) d. Alex Reynolds (Mt. Zion) (D 10-7)

126

Jack Voigts (Pontiac) d. Maison Chandler (Mt. Zion) (MD 11-0)

Aiden Komnick (Monticello) d. Jamir Woods (St. Thomas More) (F 1:54)

132

Martavious Johnson (Datur (Eisenhower)) d. Holden Barr (Mattoon) (D 13-10)

Jaxson Bagwell (Mattoon) d. Edwin Rutledge (Heyworth) (F 4:40)

138

Braden Opperman (Pontiac) d. Ty Lytle (Mattoon) (F 1:56)

Trevion Murphy (Datur (Eisenhower)) d. Brenner Hayes (Mt. Zion) (D 10-7)

144

Johnathan Kirkbride (Shelbyville) d. Samuel Dial (Olney) (D 4-3)

Connor Misner (Mt. Zion) d. Elijah Rockey (Mt. Zion) (MD 16-4)

150

Jaymion Cunningham (Danville) d. Dorin Coss (Hoopeston) (D 7-3)

Deven Tutwiler (Westville) d. Keagan Reed (St. Joseph Ogden) (F 4:07)

157

Daniel Nichols (Cumberland) d. Hayden Smith (Tolono (Unity)) (F 1:45)

Cristian Ornelas (Colfax (Ridgeview)) d. Lazzerick Zander (Champaign (Centennial)) (MD 18-6)

165

Camden Schoolcraft (Westville) d. Cohen Eubanks (Mt. Zion) (D 11-10)

Logan Wagoner (Colfax (Ridgeview)) d. Michael Young (Datur (Eisenhower)) (D 10-3)

175

Carter Ludwig (Colfax (Ridgeview)) d. Tucker Hoyt (Shelbyville) (F 2:03)

Jaylen Davis (Rantoul) d. Roland Chambers (Westville) (D 12-5)

190

Anderson Fisher (Shelbyville) d. Elijah Mowery (Prarie Central) (F 0:14)

Mathias Araya-Romero (Urbana) d. Alex Mager (Rantoul) (D 6-2)

215

Tucker Hill (Robinson) d. Connor Stockton (Shelbyville) (F 0:53)

Jude Dausey (Lawrenceville) d. Jackson Ritch (LeRoy) (D 8-4)

285

Remington Bryant (Charleston) d. Ethan Sexton (Heyworth) (F 0:55)

Anthony Escobedo (Robinson) d. Jovante Fields (Datur (Eisenhower)) (F 2:05)

Normal Community Regional

101

Dakota Harmon (Ottawa (Marquette)) d. Colton Bevers (Normal (Community)) (F 0:59)

Gabriel Eads (Normal (Community)) d. Evan Bierma (Morton) (TF 17-1)

106

Bryce Kuhlman (Normal (Community)) d. Connor Eggers (Ottawa (Marquette)) (F 2:04)

Maison Burgard (Washington) d. Dawson Ohl (Deer Creek Mackinaw) (TF 17-0)

113

Micah Jackson (Washington) d. Jesus De La Cruz (Peoria (Notre Dame)) (TF 16-0)

Ben Marshall (Deer Creek Mackinaw) d. Braxton Shemansky (Pekin) (F 1:20)

120

Logan Huenefeld (Ottawa (Marquette)) d. Liam Major (Illini Bluffs) (Maj 12-0)
Elliot Grove (Metamora) d. Maxx Jager (Normal (West)) (TF 17-1)

126

Nicholas Weber (Tremont) d. Carson Yokel (Normal (Community)) (TF 18-2)

Logan Keller (Limestone) d. Zech Chasten (Morton) (F 2:55)

132

Gavin Stoecker (Tremont) d. Landon Darst (Galesburg) (F 0:29)

Kole Vanmiddlesworth (Canton) d. Braden Hartnett (Washington) (Maj 13-5)

138

Draven Geltz (Tremont) d. Connor Petrakis (Peoria (Notre Dame)) (MFF)

Ogdan Parker (Illini Bluffs) d. Joseph Nelson (Richwoods) (F 2:08)

144

Jshawn Wilson (Peoria (Notre Dame)) d. Lucas Darmer (Knoxville) (TF 30-15)

Cayden Park (Washington) d. Dj Heatherly (Galesburg) (F 4:22)

150

David Wallinger (Illini Bluffs) d. Caleb Hippen (Metamora) (D 11-5)

Ray Carey (Bloomington) d. Dylan Allen (Galesburg) (F 0:29)

157

Zane Heubi (Washington) d. Dayson Williams (Normal (West)) (F 3:14)

Kaedyn McLeish (Richwoods) d. Corbin Holzhauer (Normal (West)) (F 2:51)

165

Collin Jones (Morton) d. Jayden Hermacinski (Richwoods) (F 4:06)

Levi Pearson (Knoxville) d. Draidan Mayfield (Havana) (TF 15-0)

175

Sean Martinez (Richwoods) d. Gaige Hunt (Tremont) (Maj 13-5)

Ty Gardner (Bloomington) d. Owen Weiss (Tremont) (F 3:47)

190

Gabe Deltoro (East Peoria) d. Ashton Helberg (Eureka) (TB-1 2-1)

Tucker Mosbach (Normal (West)) d. Zavian Turner (Bloomington) (D 7-1)

215

Bradyn Haynes (Pekin) d. Jayden Williams (Bloomington) (F 2:37)

Vince King (Bloomington) d. Amarii Ollie (Normal (Community)) (F 2:14)

285

Reginald Luckett (Normal (Community)) d. Landon Petty (Galesburg) (F 4:13)

Peyton Henderson (Eureka) d. Andrew Abernathie (Morton) (F 0:21)

Regionals feeding the IWCOA Naperville Central and Evanston Sectionals on March 8

Qualifiers listed by first- and third-place match results

NAPERVILLE CENTRAL SECTIONAL

Glenbard South Regional

101

Donovan Johnson (Aurora (West)) d. Anthony Aguirre (Yorkville) (F 1:49)

Jose Garcia (Aurora (Metea Valley)) d. Leo Raitano (Glenbard West) (TF 19-4)

106

Leo Salas (South Elgin) d. Leo Richmond (Yorkville) (F 0:40)

Noah Gilbert (Glenbard North) d. Oliver Ponce Gomez (Glenbard West) (D 7-3)

113

Ben Sallas (Glenbard West) d. Joseph Calvillo (Batavia) (D 6-2)

Jadiel Castillo (Glenbard North) d. Devin DiSilvestro (Geneva) (Inj. 0:00)

120

Aidan Ambre (Aurora (West)) d. Lukas Thompson (Glenbard North) (SV-1 10-7)

Jackson Baumrucker (Glenbard West) d. Chris Jones (Wheaton Warrenville South) (SV-1 10-7)

126

Rj Festerling (Yorkville Christian) d. Eric Castillo (Aurora (West)) (D 4-2)

Alexander Andel (Yorkville) d. Baiel Taalaibekov (Wheaton Warrenville South) (F 4:14)

132

Mike Riggs (Wheaton Warrenville South) d. Jace Serpa (West Chicago) (Inj. 0:00)

Zaid Lupian (Aurora (East)) d. Mason Seybold (Yorkville) (D 11-7)

138

Nolan Chrisse (Yorkville) d. Jaxson Kocur (Yorkville) (TF 15-0)

Joshue Delgado (Aurora (East)) d. Connor Ignacio (South Elgin) (D 6-2)

144

Vincent Konecki (Yorkville) d. Amar Franklin (Aurora (West)) (F 3:49)

Xavier Morales (Glenbard North) d. Logan Kremitzki (Aurora (Waubonsie Valley)) (F 0:34)

150

Doug Mejdrich (St. Charles (North)) d. Martese Owens (Glenbard South) (F 2:30)

Cris Lopez (Aurora (Waubonsie Valley)) d. Jack Petrie (Wheaton Warrenville South) (F 0:55)

157

Kevin Sanchez (Aurora (East)) d. Cashton Monroe (Batavia) (D 6-5)

Trevor Snyder (Wheaton Warrenville South) d. Aidan Delahanty (Glenbard West) (F 2:55)

165

Myles-Avery Holland (Yorkville Christian) d. Navruz Allasov (Aurora (West)) (TF 22-7)

Lucas Ouimet (Glenbard North) d. Julio Llanos (Aurora (West)) (D 9-6)

175

Erick Rivera (Yorkville) d. Kevin Grigler (Aurora (Metea Valley)) (F 1:44)

Dallin Ames (Glenbard South) d. Diego Mondragon (Aurora (East)) (F 0:19)

190

Landree Dracousis (South Elgin) d. Sam Freeman (Glenbard West) (SV-1 14-7)

Darius Lee Morales (Larkin) d. Daniel Thawng (Glenbard North) (F 1:46)

215

Andrew Munsen (Aurora (Waubonsie Valley)) d. Nathan Hurtado (Aurora (Waubonsie Valley)) (D 5-2)

Estevan Ramirez (Aurora (East)) d. Jackson Meier (Yorkville) (F 2:40)

285

Dean Woszczyna (Glenbard North) d. Joel Ramos (West Chicago) (F 1:18)

Adam Mokelke (Yorkville) d. Angel Ruiz (Glenbard North) (F 2:46)

EVANSTON SECTIONAL

Glenbrook South Regional

101

Lincoln Curley (Maine West) d. Andrew Gamba (Maine South) (D 10-5)

Nurmukhamet Taiirov (Maine East) d. Tyler Bevan (Evanston) (MD 8-0)

106

Jake Pechter (Deerfield) d. Troy Rotter (Deerfield) (TF 20-3)

Nicholas Karlesky (Maine South) d. Nicholas Farrell (Glenbrook South) (TF 17-1)

113

Michael Anguiano (Glenbrook North) d. Zachary Goldman (Glenbrook North) (MD 9-1)

Jairo Kish (Maine East) d. Patrick Hanley (Loyola Academy) (F 0:56)

120

Luke Baum (Maine South) d. Jacob Badal (Niles (North)) (TB-1 2-1)

Michael Uhler (Glenbrook North) d. Ben Couri (Loyola Academy) (D 8-2)

126

Oliver Michie (Glenbrook North) d. Sonor Munkhbat (Glenbrook South) (F 4:12)

Lj Vazquez (Deerfield) d. Donato Coloia (Maine South) (F 4:44)

132

Benjamin Howard (Deerfield) d. Urban Baum (Maine South) (F 3:39)

Roman Ocampo (Glenbrook South) d. Eli Brown (Glenbrook South) (FF)

138

Kevin Hamilton (Maine South) d. David Cruz (Evanston) (F 4:17)

Bryce Oerke (New Trier) d. Jovan Nozinic (Maine South) (D 5-3)

144

Joshua Edelheit (Glenbrook South) d. Sean Smylie (Loyola Academy) (MD 11-2)

George Dilorenzo (Maine South) d. Kevin Pedersen (Maine South) (F 3:24)

150

Angel Martinez (Deerfield) d. Martin Lydon (Maine South) (D 13-7)

Cesar Albnoroz (Evanston) d. Nathan Miller (DePaul (F 0:56)

157

Harrison Yankellow (Lane Tech) d. Jackson Drane (Loyola Academy) (D 11-7)
Aiden Lacoste (Deerfield) d. Eitan Spolter (Ida Crown) (F 1:55)

165

Bryce Kopinski (Glenbrook South) d. Logan Stave (New Trier) (FF)

Ari Shyovitz (Ida Crown) received a bye () (Bye)

175

Art Bytqui (Evanston) d. Nicholas Marcus (Niles (North)) (F 2:43)

Drew Sendre (DePaul d. Samuel Thillens (Maine South) (F 1:46)

190

Tommy Tures (New Trier) d. Logan Nesbitt (Deerfield) (TF 21-5)

Musa Amin (Evanston) d. Sean O`Connor (DePaul (F 2:08)

215

Brooks Tyler (Evanston) d. Josh Dixon (Deerfield) (D 9-5)

Nico Trautman (DePaul d. Gregory Hudgins (Maine South) (F 0:58)

285

Andres Thomas (Evanston) d. George Dunn (DePaul (F 0:26)

Michael Maddex (Loyola Academy) d. Jonathan Shimota (New Trier) (F 2:46)

Notre Dame College Prep Regional

101

Grant Fisher (Leyden) d. Angelo Alcantar (Berwyn Cicero (Morton)) (F 3:00)
Santino Scardina (Fenwick) d. Alex Barkhoo (Niles (West)) (TF 16-0)

106

Danny Huerta (Leyden) d. Daniel Barganski (Niles (Notre Dame) (TF 22-4)

Logan Ferguson (Addison Trail) d. Dreyton Pedregosa (Taft) (D 12-8)

113

Maurizio Campana (Fenwick) d. Chase Pabst (Chicago (St. Patrick)) (D 9-3)

John Barkhoo (Niles (West)) d. Braulio Ortega (Addison Trail) (D 8-7)

120

Alezander Bautista (Addison Trail) d. Micah Machin (Clemente) (TF 16-0)

Leonardo Rodriguez (Taft) d. Jeremy Stani (Elmhurst (York)) (D 6-2)

126

Santiago Trejo (Addison Trail) d. Bairon Dejesus (Provise (West)) (F 3:46)

Lucas Goldman (Niles (Notre Dame) d. Joseph Villazana (Elmhurst (York)) (F 0:54)

132

Zander Spatafore (Elk Grove) d. Ismail Mehmedovic (Niles (West)) (D 7-1)

Charles Brown (Elmhurst (York)) d. Gabriel Shamie (Chicago (St. Patrick)) (D 5-0)

138

Zabiel Lagunas (Leyden) d. Constantino Palmisano (Ridgewood) (MD 8-0)

Benjamin Skinkys (Elmhurst (York)) d. Connor Mullins (Elk Grove) (F 0:49)

144

Antonio Reyes ii (Chicago (St. Patrick)) d. Sean Campbell (Elmhurst (York)) (F 1:23)

Evan Umana (Fenton) d. Stephen Gryglas (Elmhurst (York)) (F 2:28)

150

Mark Bilek (Chicago (St. Patrick)) d. Alan Krupinski (Ridgewood) (MD 15-4)

Cole Jenkinson (Niles (Notre Dame) d. Kiernan Mccann (Chicago (St. Patrick)) (F 2:37)

157

Quinn Paris (Fenwick) d. Dijon Cotton (Provise (West)) (D 4-3)

Nathaniel Olivares (Chicago (St. Patrick)) d. Derion Davis (Proviso East) (F 0:29)

165

Conner O`neill (Leyden) d. Kingston Upshaw (Intrinsic Downtown Charter) (D 4-0)

Jerry Walsh (Elmhurst (York)) d. Damian Alonso (Fenton) (F 3:33)

175

Noah Blust (Elmhurst (York)) d. Julian Vargas (Chicago (St. Patrick)) (TF 20-3)
Joe Hanley (Chicago (St. Patrick)) d. Cash Gunn (Niles (Notre Dame) (F 1:00)

190

Joseph Valentino (Chicago (St. Patrick)) d. Nathan Chalabi (Niles (West)) (F 1:37)

Rafael Baez (Chicago (St. Patrick)) d. Capper Tyler (Proviso East) (F 2:45)

215

Aaron Corral (Fenton) d. Xavier Velazquez (Berwyn Cicero (Morton)) (F 1:49)

Isaiah Alfaro (Berwyn Cicero (Morton)) d. Darren Hayes (Chicago (St. Patrick)) (MD 21-11)

285

Martavion Howard (Proviso East) d. Constantine Martinez (Fenton) (F 2:35)

Jhulyan Carter (Niles (Notre Dame) d. Jayden Gomez (Berwyn Cicero (Morton)) (F 2:21)

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

The IHSA will hold its fifth Girls Individual State Finals this Friday and Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.

Friday’s session begins with round 1 at 9 a.m. with round 1, while the quarterfinals and round 1 wrestlebacks start at 11 a.m. and the round 2 wrestlebacks are set for 1:30 p.m.

Saturday’s session features the semifinals and round 3 wrestlebacks at 9 a.m. and the  consolation semifinals are scheduled for 11:30 a.m. The placement matches are at 12:15 p.m. with the Grand March at 1:45 p.m. and the championship matches, beginning at 190, are set ti begin at 2 p.m.

A total of 224 girls representing 145 teams will be on hand for the two-day competition and those who finish in the top-six at their weight classes receive all-state honors. 

The top-scoring team wins the IHSA championship and the second- and third-place teams also get trophies.

Three-time medalists in the field include Lockport Township senior Claudia Heeney, a champion at 135 last season and at 130 in 2024 after taking second at 125 in 2023.

Other three-time medalists are Mt. Zion’s Sydney Cannon (2nd at 115 in 2025, 4th at 115 in 2024, 3rd at 110 in 2023), Batavia’s Lily Enos (5th at 100 in 2025, 3rd at 100 in 2024, 5th at 100 in 2023), Wheeling’s Jasmine Rene (4th at 190 in 2025, 3rd at 190 in 2024, 4th at 190 in 2023) and Glenbard East’s Nadiia Shymkiv (2nd at 105 in 2025, 3rd at 105 in 2024, 4th at 105 in 2023). 

Kaneland’s Angelina Gochis is another two-time defending champion, placing first at 110 last and first at 105 in 2024. Cumberland’s Natalie Beaumont took first at 145 last season and was second at 135 in 2024. 

Heeney and Gochis look to become three-time IHSA champions and join Hononegah’s Angelina Cassioppi (2022 to 2025, 4 titles), Freeport’s Cadence Diduch (2022 to 2024, 3 titles), Glenbard North’s Gabby Gomez (2022 to 2024, 3 titles) and Batavia’s Sydney Perry (2022 to 2024, 3 titles) as the only individuals who have won three or more state championships.

Other defending state champions are Hinsdale South’s Callie Carr (155), Rockford East’s Saya Hongmoungkhoune (100) and Roxana’s Chloe Skiles (105).

Additional two-time medalists are Lincoln-Way co-op’s Zoe Dempsey, Glenbrook North co-op’s Ariella Dobin, DeKalb’s Alex Gregorio-Perez, Unity’s Phoenix Molina, Huntley’s Janiah Slaughter and Ottawa Township’s Juliana Thrush and Litchfield/ Mt. Olive co-op’s Rilynn Younker.

Lincoln-Way co-op (Lincoln-Way Central/ Lincoln-Way East/ Lincoln-Way West) has the most qualifiers with seven while Edwardsville ranks second with six qualifiers. 

Five other teams advanced four individuals to state, Collinsville, DeKalb, Hampshire, Lane Tech and Schaumburg.

District 230 co-op (Andrew/ Carl Sandburg/ Stagg) won last year’s IHSA title with 66 points while Hampshire took second with 51 points and Kaneland was third with 45.5 points.

Here’s a look at the 14 weight classes at the 2026 IHSA Girls Individual State Finals:

190 

Returning medalists (from 2025): Samantha Diehl, Hampshire (36-3) 3rd at 190; Nadia Razzak, Schaumburg (42-2) 5th at 190 

Sectional champions: Victoria White, Edwardsville (32-0); Courtney Walls, Rock Island (29-0); Valiere Franco, Fenwick (20-4); and Samantha Diehl

Others: Brooke Stellhorn, Belleville West (22-2); Anjanne Haywood, Guilford (18-4); Kimyra Patrick, Plainfield South (43-5); Addison Briggs, Westville/ Georgetown-Ridge Farm co-op (25-5), Izabell McBride, Waterloo (21-6); Joslyn Coon, Lakes Community (17-6); Lucia Terrazas, Thornton Fractional South (30-9); Sadie Kinsella, Kaneland (28-9); Sophie Kelner, Lockport Township (40-10); Karsyn Robinson, Normal Community West (30-11); Kendra Hayden, Homewood-Flossmoor (31-13)

235 

Returning medalists: Phoenix Molina, Unity (34-0) 3rd at 235; Jasmine Rene, Wheeling (34-1) 4th at 190; Lilly Disanto, Urbana (40-7) 4th at 235; Juliana Thrush, Ottawa Township (28-4) 6th at 235

Sectional champions: Sophia Fortis, Maine South (23-2); Rebekah Ramirez, Lockport Township (39-5); Phoenix Molina and Juliana Thrush

Others: Esmeralda Bustamante, Noble/ ITW Speer (40-2), Henessis Villagrana, Romeoville (38-4); Karrine Jenkins, Shepard (37-5); Jasmine Enriquez, Sycamore (31-5); Madeleine Cooley, Jacksonville (14-7); Asreilla Wallace, Glenbard North (40-8); Aarianna Bloyd, DeKalb (32-8); Olivia Rosine, Charleston (24-8); Omowonoula Fajimolu, Evanston Township (23-9); Savannah Trevino, Belvidere (24-10)

100

Returning medalists: Riley Kongkaeow, Round Lake (19-3) 4th at 100; Lily Enos, Batavia (37-3) 5th at 100; Alex Gregorio-Perez, DeKalb (36-3) 6th at 105

Sectional champions: Alexandra Sebek, Oak Forest (30-0); Janiah Slaughter, Huntley (33-2); Madelyn Murphy, Roxana (22-5); Alex Gregorio-Perez

Others: Andaira Marron, J Sterling Morton (35-2); Kendra Ege, Oregon (12-2); Kali Declercq, Hononegah (28-4); Sofia Guerrero, Lane Tech (43-5); Abella Brown, Canton (31-5); Chloe Collins, Olympia (29-5); Eva Hermansson, Woodstock co-op (39-7); Kadi Wilbern, Glenwood (30-8); McKenzie Steinke, Lincoln-Way co-op (40-9); Jhayla Lawson, Mascoutah (20-11)

105 

Returning medalists: Saya Hongmoungkhoune, Rockford East (24-1) 1st at 100; Nadiia Shymkiv, Glenbard East (35-3) 2nd at 105; Emma Rogers, Edwardsville (31-6) 6th at 100

Sectional champions: Giselle Arambula, Curie (30-1); Charlotte Nold, Saint Viator (17-1); Saya Hongmoungkhoune; Emma Rogers

Others: Tessa Donaldson, Pekin (27-2); Lily Deibel, Marquette Academy (23-4); J Colbert, Lake View (21-4); Annabelle Mueller, Hampshire (37-5); Larisza Gomez Guevara, DeKalb (38-6); Phoenix Criss, Springfield co-op (27-8); Karsynn Vogel, Quincy Senior (24-8); Dakodia Kelly, Thornton Fractional South (41-9); Emmy Hoselton, Lincoln-Way co-op (40-9); Alexia Glover, PORTA/ A-C Central/ Greenview/ Havana co-op (27-9); Tatum De La Vega, District 230 co-op (29-10)

110

Returning medalists: Chloe Skiles, Roxana (25-1) 1st  at 105; Jade Hardee, District 230 co-op (41-6) 3rd at 100; Zoey Dodgers, Leyden (29-0) 5th at 105

Sectional champions: Blair Grennan, Newman Central Catholic (32-2); Chloe Skiles; Jade Hardee; Zoey Dodgers

Others: Carmen Jackson, Chicago Agricultural Sciences (25-2); Valeria Pesantes, Elk Grove (23-3); Sunny Aitzemkour, New Trier (33-5); Annalee Haschmeyer, Canton (31-5); Ariel Woodfin, Thornton Township co-op (26-5); Rozlyn Mosher, Erie/ Prophetstown co-op (34-5); Adleigh DeWerff, Edwardsville (31-5); Lily Gwaltney, Ottawa Township (34-6); Angelina Nettey, Plainfield East (20-7), Norah Cwik, Bartlett (35-10); Ivana Torres, Collinsville (35-11); Riley Weems, Belleville West (29-11) 

115

Returning medalists: Annalee Aarseth, Crystal Lake South (26-3) 2nd at 110; Zoe Dempsey, Lincoln-Way co-op (45-2) 3rd at 110; Rilynn Younker, Litchfield/ Mt. Olive co-op (35-11) 5th at 110

Sectional champions: Demertria Griffin, Chicago Hope Academy (19-0); Chloe Hedges, Canton (33-3); Zoe Dempsey; Rilynn Younker

Others: Stella Piazza, Hampshire (25-1); Athena Zappas, Stevenson (36-2); Laila Vaughn, Streator Township/ Woodland co-op (41-3), Genevieve Dykstra, Edwardsville (31-3); Baileigh Self, Althoff Catholic (33-4); Angelina Manlapaz, Willowbrook (17-4); Yazmine Garcia, Kelly (28-6); Lyndzey Brewer, Farmington/ Cuba co-op (16-6); Autumn Starr, Bloomington (25-8); Kate Wochner, Oakwood/ Salt Fork co-op (22-10); Aaliyah Vazquez, Warren Township (37-11)

120 

Returning medalists: Angelina Gochis, Kaneland (27-2) 1st at 110; Amelia Nidelea-Polanin, Hampshire (22-0) 3rd at 115; Lydia King, Geneseo (42-6) 4th at 120

Sectional champions: Nina Nesci, St. Laurence (36-1); Alauni Muex, Marion (44-2); Angelina Gochis; Amelia Nidelea-Polanin

Others: Ashley Basmajian, Metea Valley (8-1); Karolina Konopka, Glenbard West (41-3); Aiyanah Sylvester, West Aurora (31-4); Natasia Kobets, Stevenson (16-4); Ava Mayer, Pekin (26-6); Allie Chong, Edwardsville (24-6); Delaney Ledbetter, Lawrence County co-op (14-6); Ava Enright, Marist (37-7); Catelyn Reese, Frankfort Community/ Christopher co-op (25-9); Amyah Pruitt, Galesburg (21-12); Brynnley Krauchun, District 230 co-op (28-16) 

125

Returning medalists: Ariella Dobin, Glenbrook North co-op (35-1) 2nd at 120; Kiely Domyancich, LaSalle-Peru (33-3) 5th at 115; Mary Minogue, Libertyville (12-2) 6th at 120

Sectional champions: Yariah Shaw, Danville (15-0); Rain Scott, Oak Forest (18-1); Charlie Dolan, York (30-2); Samantha Greisen, Seneca (41-4) 

Others: Londyn Long, Collinsville (46-5); Isabella Rivas, Schaumburg (40-5); Grace Eiland, Chicago Hope Academy (18-6); Calliope Willman, Metamora (45-8); Olive Linhorst, Edwardsville (23-8), Molly O’Connor, Lemont (41-9), Ryleigh Eriks, Rock Falls (42-9); Aryanna Jones, Alton Senior (21-9); Caleigh Nicholson, Lincoln-Way co-op (37-12)

130 

Returning medalists: Sydney Cannon, Mt. Zion (37-0) 2nd at 115; Gianna Arzer, Grayslake Central (12-0) 3rd at 125

Sectional champions: Kerby Germann, Fulton (38-1); Lilly White, Bartlett (36-3); Sydney Cannon; Gianna Arzer

Others: Te’Aja Young, Cahokia (25-3); Keagan Edwards, Glenbard North (47-4); Catherine Diehl, Wheaton Academy (36-4); Alena Oshana, Maine East (45-6); Journey Jackson, Oak Lawn (28-6); Dai Driana Wilford, Galesburg (27-6); Jasmine Zavaleta, Conant (37-7); Sabina Charlebois, Minooka (36-7); Ava Beldo, Unity (34-7); Lamia Irby, Belleville East (21-7); Madison Heneks, Harlem (30-8); Mila Rocush, Shepard (34-11)

135

Returning medalists: Claudia Heeney, Lockport Township (38-3) 1st at 135; Avery Crouch, Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington co-op (29-1) 4th at 135; Bella Castelli, Hononegah (24-2) 5th at 135; Michelle Naftzger, Erie/ Prophetstown co-op (31-4) 5th at 130

Sectional champions: Zabby Badru, Lane Tech (46-1); Jacee Mardirosian, Carterville (35-3); Claudia Heeney; Michelle Naftzger

Others: Karina Lojowski, Stevenson (34-3); Izabel Barrera, Joliet Central (34-4); Mercedes Carrassoco, De La Salle Institute (29-4); Sharon Olorunfemi, Schaumburg (38-6); Jane Kelly, Warren Township (35-11); Kara Zimmerman, DeKalb (31-11); Grecia Garcia, Huntley (36-12); Tamya Terry, Urbana (26-12); Madelyn Edler, Waterloo (33-13); Addyson Bailey, Collinsville (33-14)

140

Returning medalist: Ema Durst, Sycamore (31-1) 4th at 140

Sectional champions: Ricky Ivy, Urbana (44-1); Tyanna Jackson, Warren Township (41-2); Ezra Rodriguez, Minooka (39-4); Nicole Dziura, Barrington (32-4)

Others: Maria Green, Glenbard East (42-2); Audrey Barnes, Granite City (31-2); America Cabrera, Phoenix Military Academy (25-3); Isabella Miller, Oak Park and River Forest (24-4); Alketa Picari, Metea Valley (47-5); Zoe Bloyd, Quincy Senior (28-7); Sophia Domont, Bradley-Bourbonnais (18-7); Abby Kunz, Lincoln-Way co-op (41-8); Sasha Johnson, Antioch (40-9); Annibelle Juarez, Geneseo (36-9); Kimoreyee Ballard, Springfield co-op (25-10)

145

Returning medalist: Natalie Beaumont, Cumberland (20-1) 1st at 145

Sectional champions: Natalie Corona, McHenry (35-0); Giancarla Garduno, Saint Ignatius College Prep (26-2); Emily Taylor, Belvidere (27-5); Natalie Beaumont

Others: Iyobosa Odiase, Oak Forest (35-3); Aaliyah Swearingen, Kewanee (21-4); Leann Cory, Collinsville (42-5); Eila Barbour, Lane Tech (32-5); Miranda Tellez, Grayslake Central (28-6); McKenzie Miller, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher co-op (27-6); Ella Giertuga, Lincoln-Way co-op (36-7); Louisa Enslen, Wheaton Warrenville South (31-7); Macee Hammond, Robinson (23-7); Taylor Sutton, East Peoria (25-8); Ella Cooper, Oswego East (31-9); Paytyn Dykes, Washington Community (25-10)

155

Returning medalists:  Callie Carr, Hinsdale South (35-1) 1st at 155; Allison Garbacz, South Elgin (38-0) 4th at 145

Sectional champions: Taylor Owens, Oakwood/ Salt Fork co-op (17-5); Arian Sabu, Normal Community West (34-8); Layla Moreland, Lane Tech (38-9); Allison Garbacz

Others: Grace Stratton, Freeburg (37-1); Maddie Wells, St. Joseph-Ogden (26-3); Lily Fish, Reavis (32-4); Cait Jones, Crystal Lake Central (20-4); Alyssa Artman, Pekin (28-7); Kaitlin Wood, Triad (27-7); Ariyah Bradford, Thornton Fractional North (20-8); Suzanne Stalley, Glenbard North (40-9); Lauryn Trotter, Yorkville (38-9); NaJeyah Wallace, Freeport (31-9); Melissa Nance, Hillcrest (25-10)

170 

Returning medalists: Payton Temple, Clifton Central/ Iroquois West co-op (34-0) 2nd at 190; Sara Martinez Lopera, Kelly (31-4) 4th at 170

Sectional champions: Layla Spann, Plainfield South (44-0); Demi Barnes, Granite City (29-2); Caliyah Campbell, Oak Park and River Forest (23-6); Payton Temple

Others: Kira Thompson, O’Fallon (11-2); Anali Wilson, J. Sterling Morton (39-3); Kylie Eilken, Jefferson (27-3); Iy`Jah Grant, Champaign Central (18-3); Grace Mordhorst, Washington Community (29-5); Janylah Holman, Cahokia (28-6); Riley DePolo, Lincoln-Way co-op (37-7); Frankie McMurtry, Sycamore (31-9); Brianna Crown, Woodstock co-op (40-10); Sarah Parker, Marist (37-13); Maja Brzosko, Schaumburg (36-14)