Posts by Mick Torres

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

Coal City has enjoyed a great deal of success during the past 10 seasons under coach Mark Masters and it hopes to add to that legacy this weekend when it competes in the IHSA Class 1A Dual Team Finals, which runs Friday and Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.

The Coalers earned their eighth trip to the Dual Team Finals since 2015 and look to clinch their eighth trophy during that span after they qualified for the 14th time in school history when they defeated King College Prep 80-0 on Tuesday at the Class 1A Coal City Dual Team Sectional.

Coal City hopes to capture its second state championship in three seasons after falling a bit short last year when it lost 34-27 to Marian Central Catholic in the 1A championship meet. In its last seven trips to dual team state, it has claimed the 2023 1A title as well four second-place finishes and two thirds under Masters, a 2022 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee who on January 31 joined an elite group of coaches who’ve won 500 dual meets during their careers.

The last few weeks have been memorable for the Coalers since they had a Class 1A-best 13 qualifiers for the IHSA Class 1A Individual State Tournament in Champaign and then they established a new school record by having seven of the 13 qualifiers earn all-state honors.

“I think like any other program, it’s always a battle against yourself,” Masters said. “Some of the goals that we have are unwritten. But that’s always on peoples’ minds, how are we going to be better than we were last year. It’s just a collective effort, from club coaches, our middle school coaches, the high school coaches and all of the stuff we do in the offseason together, there’s a lot of people. 

“We set a school record with seven place winners and I’m extremely proud of our guys’ accomplishments. They have such high expectations of themselves and when they don’t reach their goals, they are disappointed. Life is a lot more like the backside of the bracket than the championship side. Hopefully we can recover and have a great dual team state series.”

Also excited about making a trip to the state finals is Chicago Hope Academy, who defeated Northridge Prep 62-10 in the other dual meet in the sectional. Coach Dan Willis’ Eagles will be making their third appearance at dual team state and this will be their first trip there since it qualified for the competition in both 2017 and 2018.

Chicago Hope Academy also has enjoyed a lot of success this season, as it established program-bests for nine individual qualifiers from the Coal City Sectional and it also had three state medalists, which was one more than it had in 2024, 2019 and 2017. In addition, the school had its first state finalist, senior Roy Phelps, who is also its second two-time medal winner.

“These guys have worked hard all season and they knew this was possible and these guys have walked through the open door,” Willis said. “It’s made an interesting dynamic to have crews around. But the guys have done really well of keeping their focus, and at times, I think it has actually helped them to dial in. These guys have overcome a lot. And Hope has become a very special thing to these guys, our team is like a family to them. 

“It’s a school record for us (three state placewinners) and we view it as a door being opened up for the years to come. Over half of our lineup is underclassmen so we have a lot of guys that are chomping at the bit now. These guys have been committed and that says a lot for these City kids. They’ve been committed and they’ve been faithful and it’s been fun to see. I pray to the Lord to give them some reward for the faithfulness and hard work that they go through because they don’t have a lot of the community support that a lot of the 1A schools have.”  

Coal City meets Olympia in Friday’s quarterfinals at 5 p.m. while Chicago Hope Academy faces Vandalia at 7 p.m. The Coalers could meet up with the defending state champion Hurricanes in Saturday’s 9 a.m. semifinals and the state championship dual meet is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Top performers for the Coalers in Champaign were second-place finishers Cooper Morris (41-6 at 126) and Brody Widlowski (28-1 at 138). 

Morris lost by technical fall to Vandalia senior Tyson Waughtel (54-0) in the 126 title match. Waughtel won his third title after taking second last season and he’s the all-time leader in wins in the sport and owns a 206-2 career record. Widlowski finished second for the second year in a row after losing 8-4 to Unity sophomore Taylor Finley in the 138 title match.

Aidan Kenney (40-12 at 144) claimed fourth place while Owen Petersen (45-4 at 113), Landin Benson (43-4 at 175), Cade Poyner (38-9 at 190) and John Keigher (36-3 at 215) all took fifth. Benson won the Class 1A title at 165 in 2024 but lost in the quarterfinals to Richmond-Burton’s Blake Livdahl. He was one of four defending champions who suffered defeats in that round.

The Coalers’ other state qualifiers were Jason Piatak (34-19 at 106), Culan Lindemuth (34-13 at 120), Luke Munsterman (39-14 at 132), Noah Houston (31-15 at 150), Mason Garner (33-8 at 157) and Brock Finch (32-10 at 165).

All but Garner claimed victories against King College Prep with Morris, Luke Munsterman, Kenney, Houston, Keigher, Petersen and Jake Munsterman recording pins, Piatak was a winner by technical fall, Alec Waliczek won a 4-2 decision and Lindemuth, Widlowski, Finch, Benson and Poyner all received forfeit wins.

The Coalers competed against top-ranked Vandalia on two occasions, in a dual meet at ABE’s Rumble in Springfield and in a tournament, the Lyle King Princeton Invitational Tournament. 

Coal City fell to the Vandals 30-28 in the semifinals at ABE’s Rumble after coach Jason Clay’s team jumped out to a 21-0 start and the Coalers rallied to go up 28-27 with one match left, which Vandalia won in a 4-1 and then it beat Marian Central Catholic 35-27 for top honors.

At the PIT, Vandalia edged the Coalers 279.5-272 for first place but not all of both teams’ state qualifiers were on hand for that competition.

Beside the success that it has enjoyed this season, Chicago Hope Academy has had a film crew documenting its story in recent weeks. The cameras and special equipment which surrounded it in Champaign rivaled the media coverage from central Illinois news stations.

Top performers for the Eagles at the state finals were Roy Phelps (48-6 at 285), who lost a 7-1 decision to De La Salle Institute’s David McCarthy in the 285 finals. Other medalists were Josiah Willis (44-11 at 132), who placed fourth, and Arkail Griffin (49-6 at 165), who took fifth.

The team’s other state qualifiers were Indigo Berg (39-14 at 106), Nolan Callahan (39-11 at 113), Dylan Galvez (36-16 at 144), Santori Knight (36-19 at 150), Tony Jones-Blakely (28-17 at 157) and Ismael Martinez (19-9 at 175).

“I love all of my teammates,” said Josiah Willis, whose father is the head coach. “It’s been a lot of fun to see some success this year and I’m proud of each one of them, especially Roy and Arkail and Roy is the highest Chicago Hope Academy state placer. 

“What I love about this team is that we all have each others’ back and that we love each other. And we’re from Chicago, and a lot of people are down on Chicago.”

Their opponent in the dual meet also recently made history. Northridge Prep, which has only been competing during the past few years, got its first state medalist, senior Adam Haddad, and it also won the first regional championship for coach Joseph Rhee’s Knights. 

“I’m pretty happy with what I’m seeing from the program,” Haddad said. “It doesn’t look like much, but we’ve really come a long way in six years. I’m just trying to get all of these guys to work harder and hopefully they suck it up and work as hard as they can for as long as they’re in the program. I want these guys to work as hard as they can and achieve a lot of good things.

“I’m going to remember my coaches most and everything that they’ve done. Just being in the practice room with them every day and coming off of tough losses and coming off big wins.”  

Beside Haddad (41-3 at 165), who won four in a row in the wrestlebacks to claim third place, the team’s other qualifiers were Joe Kopecky (28-8 at 126) and Javi Rodriguez (23-14 at 144).

In the sectional dual meet, the Eagles received falls from Willis, Galvez, Martinez, Ismael Montero, Phelps and Berg while Jones-Blakely got a victory by technical fall, Knight won a 6-4 decision and Mike Garcia, Mastewal Evely and ReSean Fenner received forfeit wins while the Knights received wins by technical fall from Haddad and Kopecky.

“We started this program up about six years ago and COVID really wiped us out,” Rhee said. “So we started rebuilding about four years ago with our senior captain Adam. Actually, coming into this season, we only had two seniors on the team and three more joined us as first-year wrestlers. We’re just trying to build a culture of wrestling in the school.

“I think we had a good run this season and the boys had a good attitude. Building the program is not just coaching and student effort. It’s a family effort, it’s a whole school effort. We’ve received a lot of support from our athletic department and we’re just trying to keep the boys motivated and wrestling in the offseason. We’re a sixth-through-12th-grade school, so we started a middle school program this year, and that’s a first step. We’re hoping to continue to develop over the years and keep the boys engaged and interested.”

IHSA Class 1A Coal City Dual Team Sectional Meet results

Coal City 80, King College Prep 0

126 Culan Lindemuth (Coal City) over Unknown (Unattached), Forf

132 Cooper Morris (Coal City) over Moses Pittman (King College Prep), Fall 1:46

138 Luke Munsterman (Coal City) over Derek Slater (King College Prep), Fall 1:11

144 Brody Widlowski (Coal City) over Unknown (Unattached), Forf

150 Aidan Kenney (Coal City) over Jacob Jackson (King College Prep), Fall 3:51

157 Noah Houston (Coal City) over Keon Anderson (King College Prep), Fall 1:06

165 Brock Finch (Coal City) over Unknown (Unattached), Forf

175 Landin Benson (Coal City) over Unknown (Unattached), Forf

190 Cade Poyner (Coal City) over Unknown (Unattached), Forf

215 John Keigher (Coal City) over Alexander Robinson (King College Prep), Fall 5:05

285 Alec Waliczek (Coal City) over Devin Fields (King College Prep), Dec 4-2

106 Jake Munsterman (Coal City) over Alpha Kamate (King College Prep), Fall 1:49

113 Jason Piatak (Coal City) over Damarcus Washington (King College Prep), TF 18-1

120 Owen Petersen (Coal City) over Mohammed Mohammed-Gazal (King College Prep), Fall 1:29

Chicago Hope Academy 62, Northridge Prep 10

126 Joe Kopecky (Northridge Prep) over Hudson Ringle (Chicago Hope Academy) TF 2-20

132 Mike Garcia (Chicago Hope Academy) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

138 Josiah Willis (Chicago Hope Academy) over Noah Echavez (Northridge Prep) Fall 1:31

144 Dylan Galvez (Chicago Hope Academy) over Javier Rodriguez (Northridge Prep) Fall 4:46

150 Santori Knight (Chicago Hope Academy) over George McShane (Northridge Prep) Dec 6-4

157 Tony Jones-Blakely (Chicago Hope Academy) over Noah Gomez (Northridge Prep) TF 21-2

165 Adam Haddad (Northridge Prep) over Andrew Payne (Chicago Hope Academy) TF 17-2

175 Ismael Martinez (Chicago Hope Academy) over Mason Wagner (Northridge Prep) Fall 1:49

190 Ismael Montero (Chicago Hope Academy) over Nick Belcore (Northridge Prep) Fall 2:00

215 Mastewal Evely (Chicago Hope Academy) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

285 Roy Phelps (Chicago Hope Academy) over Thomas Suter (Northridge Prep) Fall 1:22

106 Unknown (Unattached) vs Unknown (Unattached)

113 Indigo Berg (Chicago Hope Academy) over Patrick Manio (Northridge Prep) Fall 1:37

120 RaSean Fenner (Chicago Hope Academy) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

Chris Walker For The IWCOA

Marmion 38, Carl Sandburg 36

Marmion has never won a team state title, although the Cadets took second place in 2022.

The Cadets believe this is a year they can do it, so they took the next step toward attaining that goal, overwhelming Carl Sandburg, 38-36, at the 3A Yorkville Team Dual Sectional.

The final score is a misleading one as Marmion led 38-18 with three bouts remaining, which they opted to forfeit since the victory was already a lock. As a result, Ahmad Alomari (175), Chris Davis (190) and Malic Breish (215) were awarded forfeit victories for the Eagles. Almori and Breish had previously lost matches against the Cadets when the teams were in the individual competition at the Class 3A Hinsdale Central sectional.

Oscar Kalman (126) and Ryan Hinger (150) also received forfeit victories for Sandburg.

When the teams were competing at the aforementioned Hinsdale Central individual sectional their wrestlers’ paths crossed on five occasions with Sandburg senior Rocco Hayes defeating Aidan McClure at 113, accounting for the lone victory for the Eagles.  Colton Wyller beat Oscar Kalman at 120 by decision, Zach Stewart pinned Hinger at 144, Vinnie Testa earned a tech fall against Alomari at 175 and Joe Favia earned an 8-1 decision over Breish in the semifinals.

Marmion sent 11 wrestlers to state out of Hinsdale while Sandburg sent four.

Marmion’s Nicholas Garcia (126) proceeded to lead the trek down to Champaign, winning a state title last weekend, while Zach Stewart (144) took second, Preston Morrison (106), Demetrios Carrera (132), Ashton Hobson (150) and Mateusz Nycz (285) took third and Aidan McClure (113) took fifth as the Cadets had a state-best seven wrestlers place in this year’s IHSA state individual finals.

Hayes (113) and Hinger (144) both placed third to lead the Eagles at state.

Nycz (285), Wyller (106), Garcia (132) and Stewart (144) all had pins against Sandburg to lead the Cadets toward the sectional dual win.

Taking advantage of the rare opportunity to get the Cadets rolling since the dual began at 285, Nycz pinned Omar Alhmoud in 39 seconds.

“I was really excited, you know it’s not often that the heavyweight starts a dual,” Nycz said. “And with my high pace and being third in the state or second in the state, whatever, just being out there and setting the tone for the team was really satisfying.”

Preston Morrison (113) and Ashton Hobson (157) won by tech fall for the Cadets. 

“The dual went really good and the team did amazing today and everyone was on top of it,” Morrison said. “I’m really excited for this weekend for team state because we have a chance to win our first team state title if we all wrestle at our best so I’m looking forward to it.”

Carrera (138) earned an 18-5 major over Madden Parker.

“We were ready today and we showed it on the mat,” Carrera said. “I’m grateful to be a part of this team with a bunch of talented kids. We all feel we are ready. We have worked very hard and we are confident that we can bring home a team state championship this weekend.”

Marmion will wrestle Schaumburg at 7 p.m. on Friday in a Class 3A state quarterfinal at the Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.

Mount Carmel, 35, Marist 34

Despite having won two state titles in the past three years, Mount Carmel found itself playing the underdog during Tuesday’s showdownl against top-ranked Marist

The underdogs are also the ones returning to state after they denied the RedHawks 35-34 in a match that was tied 34-34, but an unsportsmanlike conduct point against Marist proved to be the heartbreaking tiebreaker that ended its season and pushed the Caravan onward to Bloomington this weekend.

“We knew what their lineup was, we knew where they could bump to kind of make points in their lineup,” Mount Carmel coach Alex Tsirtsis said. “So we figured that we had to have Seth (Mendoza) wrestle Donavon Allen, and he did a good job in that match (at 150). And George Hollendoner at 144, he hasn’t wrestled the last couple weeks, (Jaxon) Jorgensen won that spot for individual state, but both did their job.”

Hollendoner earned an 11-1 major over Jonathan Fields at 144. Jorgensen fell short in his bout at 138, but he limited the damage against George Marinopoulos, who had just taken second in the state at 132. While Jorgensen dropped the 12-6 decision, it only cost the Caravan three points.

“It felt good just doing my job,” Hollendoner said. “Everybody else on the team did theirs too. I’m just glad we got it done and we’re going to state. It was tough, but I’m just happy we’re moving on. We’re going to be state champs.”

Mount Carmel is the defending state champion, after all. The Caravan also won a title in 2022. They are now pursuing the sixth state title in program history. 

Mendoza, who became the 15th four-time individual state champion in the state on Saturday, was ecstatic with how his team stuck with it, transitioning from the emotions of having four guys place at state on Saturday to redirecting their attention to getting the team to state against a team that beat them, 43-26, on Jan. 10.

“Well, first of all, I’m super proud of my team,” Mendoza said. “Since Saturday night after we got done wrestling, we had a team meeting and coach basically told us we can beat Marist, all we have to do is stay super disciplined and that’s what we did. We stayed super disciplined. We kind of just, after individual state, just chilled out, hung out, nothing crazy and got right back to work at practice on Sunday, focused on things we needed to work on and it really paid off today.”

Marist was able to pick up victories in the final four bouts of the match, beginning with Ethan Sonne’s 12-3 major over Kevin Kalchbrenner.

Will Denny, who won the state title at 165 last weekend, and at 157 last season, wrestled at 175, earning a tech fall over Sergio Calleros, Denny most definitely wanted the pin and the RedHawks needed it. He appeared close to doing so at least twice but left the mat frustrated.

Marist was still alive though, and Kevin Tomkins really got them fired up after pinning Kenneth Segerson with eight seconds remaining in their match at 190.

That left it up to Ricky Ericksen, who just won the Class 3A 190-pound title over the weekend, to finish the match at 215. If the Marist senior could pin Leonard Siegal, the RedHawks would be able to overcome a 34-14 deficit and keep their season alive.

Siegal avoided getting pinned. While Ericksen was able to beat him with the tech fall just before time expired, it still wasn’t a big enough win. The Red Hawks needed all six pin points to prevail.

“We all focused on every little detail, and they threw some tricks at us that we didn’t expect, such as that last match with Ricky going up to 215,” Mendoza said. “But mistakes happen, like our 190 match, but you learn from it. I think overall we all did really well.”

Beginning the match at 285, Marist got a strong start with Jack Watson pinning Landin Carter in 2:20, but Mount Carmel would prevail in seven of the next nine matches.

Sebastian Gracia, who took fifth in the state at 106, picked up Marist’s first win with a 7-5 decision over Elio Gil. The RedHawks’ two other winners during that stretch were Michael Esteban and George Marinopoulos, both who just took second in the state’s individual finals.

Wrestling at 126 again, Esteban pinned Francis Burke in 1:19. Marinopoulos, who was bumped up from 132 to 138, followed with a victory, but fewer points with the 12-6 decision over Jorgensen. 

William Grafton-Hodgetts received a forfeit win at 113 for the Caravan and Ravel Moore followed with a late pin over Joseph Bronske at 5:31, which was huge for team points.

Justin Williamson, who returned from Champaign after taking fifth place at 132, pinned Eddie Astorga in 3:33.

“I wish I would’ve placed higher at state, but I lost to George (Marinopoulos) off of 10 seconds which defeated my confidence,” Williamson said. “But I built it right back up. I thought I was going to face George again here, but never did, but I was hoping.”

Williamson humbly attributed his success to preparation and those who have coached him.

“I think the main reason we won was how we train,” he said. “We went out and trained right after state. Coach told us to stay focused, don’t do anything after state, don’t have fun, just come over here and practice and let’s go down to state. I think the biggest part was coach thinking this was possible. I’m surprised how we made it here. We just have a great coach who helps us out in every way possible. He encourages us and everything. I’m really at a loss of words myself. I feel we have a strong mental mindset and coach pushing us through practice and everything.”

Just last month, Williamson broke his foot. 

“He broke his foot in mid-January and he had been wrestling really well this year,” Tsirtsis said. “He was chomping at the bit (to get back). I think two weeks into a broken foot, and he could barely walk on it, and he wanted to practice. So it was us holding him back and then when he got back to the sectional he was a bit rusty, but he had a great state tournament last week in a deep weight class.”

In a pairing of a four-time state champion and a fourth-place finisher, Mendoza moved up from the 138 pounds in which he won state on Saturday to wrestle Allen at 150. Allen also bumped up after taking fourth in the state at 144.

Mount Carmel’s other state champion, Liam Kelly at 157, followed Mendoza with a 17-1 tech fall over Tommy Fidler, which would prove to be the team’s final victory.

“We had a good discussion Saturday night after we got done with the finals on how to be responsible and we had practice the next day and we really got every guy on the team physically, and mentally ready and we were prepared,” Tsirtsis said. “They bought in. It would’ve been really easy for them to be like it’s Saturday night, we have (two) state champions, let’s hang loose. They were dialed in Saturday night and continued Sunday, Monday and they were ready today.”

Mount Carmel will wrestle Hononegah at 5 p.m. on Friday in a Class 3A state quarterfinal at the Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.

Joliet Catholic Academy 43, Yorkville 27

Joliet Catholic Academy was without its head coach Ryan Cumbee, a recent inductee into the Class of 2025 IWCOA Hall of Fame.

With Cumbee tied up with a work commitment, assistant coach Luke Pascale and the rest of the staff watched the Hillmen seize control early against Yorkville and never let up with a 43-27 victory.

JCA had beaten Yorkville, 44-27, at the Flavin on Dec. 28.

Leading 43-9 with just three bouts remaining, the Hillmen conceded at 175, 190 and 215 with their berth into the Class 3A state finals already a done deal.

What a night for the Hillmen. 

Sophomore Lukas Foster wrestled for the first time in 81 days and won via pin.

Foster, who broke his wrist at the Donnybrook the first weekend in December, pinned Yorkville sophomore Landon Jenkins in 1:25. It was a huge early win in the dual for the Hillmen, especially after Yorkville’s Ramsey Barton pinned Jon Higueros in 2:21.

“During our first tournament, my second match back, I broke my wrist on Dec. 6,” Foster said. “I broke it earlier in the summer so I’m going to assume that had something to do with that. It’s great to be back. We did great. It seemed some of my teammates stepped up who maybe lost to these kids in the past and won big, majors and bonus points and pins. We were just getting it done out there.”

Junior Jason Hampton, who took third in state at 126 over the weekend, bumped up to 138 and earned a tech fall over Dominic Recchia. 

“The team needed me to bump up to 138 and I ended up tech-ing the kid, and not many people expected a tech,” he said. “But I showed up and showed out. It’s easy to show up and wrestle good when you’ve got teammates winning back-to-back-to-back. It’s an adrenalin thing.”

In a match-up pairing state placers, JCA junior Nolan Vogel doubled up Yorkville’s Van Rosauer, 4-2. Rosauer had just taken fourth at state at 150 while Vogel took fifth.

“Vogel was a huge win,” Pascale said. “We knew it was a swing match and when you’re wrestling a tough team like Yorkville, you gotta win those. He’s become a guy we rely on.”

Sophomore Derrick Pomatto went from 215 to 285 for the Hillmen and gave them an early boost since the dual began at 285. Pomatto earned a 4-0 decision against Xavion Ulloa.

“We were talking about it all week,” Pomatto said. “And it came down and we started at 285 and coach wanted to throw me out there and I’m up for anything for the team. It was a pretty cool atmosphere before the match hearing everyone go crazy. It was really cool and coming out with the win is even better.”

Pomatto said goals are attained with a team-first attitude — big goals, like getting to state out of the toughest sectional in the state. Among the six teams competing at Yorkville, 120 pounds and 215 pounds were the only weight classes without a top sixth state placer competition. If you also include the fourth dual of the sectional, only 120 pounds wasn’t represented with a state placer

“At practice all we preach is team, team team,” Pomatto said. “And last week it was individuals but Coach (Ryan) Cumbee and Coach (Ben) Gerdes are on us about everything. I live for these guys. These guys are my best friends.”

Junior Luke Hamiti, who took third in the state at 165 pounds, won by tech fall over Yorkville junior Caleb Viscogliosi in that same weight class. He was the Hillmen’s ninth and final winner in the dual before they conceded the final three bouts.

‘We had a few setbacks at the beginning of the year like Luke (Foster) being injured and all that,” Hamiti said. “And then this dual we came together and just dominated, becoming a family.  Our tradition is great. It’s awesome, I mean, we have won a state championship and want to get another and build on our tradition. It’s fun.”

Yorkville’s Jack Ferguson joined Barton as the Foxes only other non-forfeit winner after earning a 13-10 decision over Vince Tindal at 157. It was Ferguson’s 52nd win of the season which established a single-season record for wins at Yorkville.

“Going into it we felt it was going to be a really close match, maybe 7-7 and come down to bonus points,” Yorkville coach Jake Oster said. “We thought we were going to have an edge there. They stepped up and won the matches we thought we were going to win and some of those they got pins and it snowballed from there.”

Yorkville seniors Luke Zook (175) and Ryder Janeczko (190) didn’t get a chance to wrestle one final time in a high school match, receiving forfeit victories after JCA had already secured the win.

“(JCA) wrestled really well and we didn’t wrestle as well as we’re capable of and that’s what happens,” Oster said. “It’s hard to end it like that, but it is what it is. But it’s been a good year regardless.”

JCA will wrestle Oak Park and River Forest  at 5 p.m. on Friday in a Class 3A state quarterfinal at the Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.

Edwardsville 35, Lincoln-Way East 30

Edwardsville’s Blake Mink pinned Lincoln-Way East’s Connor Schultz in the second period to win their 150-pound match in the fourth and final Class 3A Yorkville team dual sectional, which was held at Lincoln High School.

The Tigers were trailing 30-29 after Lincoln-Way East’s Kaidreaus Richardson picked up a tech fall against Edwardsville’s Logan Hiller at 144 to put the Griffins ahead by one heading into the final bout to decide the match.

Mink’s victory gave the Tigers the 35-30 win and a spot at state.

Michael McNamara (106), Bryson Nuttall (113), Levi Wilkinson (126), Ryan Richie (138), Simon Schulte (190), Roman Janek (215), and Rile Steinkuehler (285) also won for the Tigers with Nuttall and Janek getting pins.

Noah Ciolkosz (120), Tyson Zvonar (132), Alex Lizak (157), Christian Darnell (165) and Jackson Zaeske (175) joined Richardson in winning for the Griffins.

Edwardsville will wrestle Hersey at 7 p.m. on Friday in a Class 3A state quarterfinal at the Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.

The Tigers are making their first state appearance since 2019.

By Mike Garofola for the IWCOA

By the size and sound of a raucous audience at host Schaumburg on Tuesday night, it was clear there was plenty at stake, and the fan bases for all four teams were ready to let their heroes know who they were cheering for.

For the hometown Saxons, the chance to see their men advance to the program’s first-ever 3A dual-team state finals was enough to pack their side of the gym in anticipation of advancing to the Grossinger Motors Center in Bloomington.

The lead was more of a hot potato between the Saxons (22-4-0) and their opponent, CPL (Chicago Public League) champion Lane Tech. It changed hands twice before Mike Levantis’ club took the lead for good at 24-18 en route to a 42-27 victory.

“(Lane) was a very good team, so we knew we had to be at our best, getting bonus points whenever we could, while not giving away too many on our side of things,” began Levanti, whose club will face Marmion Academy this Friday at 7:00 in its dual-team state quarterfinal.

“On a night when we needed a few of our guys to come through when we needed it most, it would be, in addition to Brady (Phelps, 120, 43-5) and Cal (Kirchner, 46-9), three guys who have we’ve counted on all season did the job for us.”

Levanti would give high praise to AJ Quevedo (126), Brody Hinkle (138) and Justin Cortes-Apolinar for their efforts when called upon to send the Saxons on a 18-0 late run to close out Lane Tech.

“AJ, Brody and Justin were great tonight, it was a real team effort, and for me, not only is this a great way to end my high school career, it’s a great night for (Levanti) who is an unbelievable coach, and someone who really deserves this night and what it means to our program,” said Phelps, second last weekend at state, giving the Saxons star four state medals during a brilliant career.

The visitors fell behind early (9-8) but found a way back with a tech-fall win from Joaqin Gigante (215) and a major decision victory by heavyweight Adrian Meza to give Matt Yans’ club a 12-9 lead.

“(Meza) was more consistent this year, making it to sectionals, and finishing third in the city, he’s at about (210) but has wrestled at 285 for most of the year, but he had a nice win for us tonight,” said Lane head coach Matt Yan.

Austin Phelps (106) and Jose Curiel at 113 would trade victories, leading to the 18-point explosion by the Saxons.

Kirchner would put the finishing touches on this big night with a pin just 20 seconds into his contest at 150.

Nasser Hammouche ended things with a pin at 155 for Lane.

“This has been one of the toughest months for us, we had three starters out for regionals, and still managed to win it one week after the sudden death of a teammate,” begins Yan. “The guys really came together in a full team effort, and everyone scored points.”

“We had a banner season, winning the CPS dual championship, and going 21-7-0 overall. I was pleased with our freshman at 190, Xavier Johnson, Jose Curiel had a tough season, but pulled out a big win tonight at 113, and our two freshmen, Adgate VanderBrug (28-9) and Eyob Abebe (34-13) had great seasons.”

Yan will need to replace his four-time CPL champion, and two-time state qualifier Alex Valentin, who finished his superb career with a 43-9 record, and 144 victories, one behind Max Schneider, who was a two-time state (2010, 2012) champion.

“We had a couple of injuries after regionals that took two more of our starters out for tonight, but hats off to coach (Mike) Levanti and his squad. They wrestled a great dual,” said a gracious Yan.

“Perhaps later tonight, or even tomorrow, this win, and terrific team effort that sent us into the state tournament will sink in,” began Levanti.

“It’s always hard to choose one team over another, but I can honestly say this is the best group that I’ve had, and right now I am extremely proud of all of these guys, and what they have been able to accomplish.”

OAK PARK-RIVER FOREST 36, ST. CHARLES 33.

The decibel level produced by the Schaumburg and Lane Tech fans was impressive throughout their match, however, on the other side of the gymnasium, it was an emotionally charged, intense, constant roar of a contest between Oak Park-River Forest and St. Charles East.

As this hard fought match went deep into the individual weights, the noise level would increase two-fold with each referee decision, missed opportunity, point scored, and especially a pin, or decision.

This would be a take-no-prisoners affair, fueled by a rabid crowd that would voice its displeasure when they felt their men were unjustly ruled against, making for an atmosphere that produced a thrilling two hours of wrestling.

As expected, neither side was ever leading by more than six points, aside from the 10-0 advantage the Saints built after Anthony Gutierrez (165, 46-8) and teammate Abraham Leidig at 175 opened the festivities with victories.

Several lead changes, controversial calls, and non-calls, dominating efforts from state champions: MJ Rundell (106, OPRF, 42-2) and Saints junior Dom Munaretto (52-1)

would bring this dual down to one important match.

After a Munaretto pin at 120 gave the Saints its last lead of the night (27-12), a key 7-5 decision by OPRF’s Zev Koransky (27-10) at 132, followed by a major decision from senior Joe Knackstedt (36-5) at 138 pulled the Huskies back level at 27-27 after it conceded a one point unsportsmanlike conduct call.

That’s when OPRF junior AJ NOyes (12-7) won perhaps the biggest match of his prep career when his hard-fought 4-0 win at 144 pounds over Logan Tatar put the Huskies in front for good.

“I knew what I had to do in my match, but I was really nervous before we started,” Noyes said. “He was a really tough opponent, but I was so happy to get the win to help our team.”

Junior David Ogunsanya sent the Huskies’ faithful into orbit with his pin at 1:49 to ensure a 36-33 victory, and a place in the 3A dual-team quarterfinals this Friday where they will meet Joliet Catholic Academy at 5 p.m.

“Tonight was a full program win, we had guys make sacrifices with their weight and their egos, with everyone placing the program and the dual meet first,” said a proud Huskies head coach Paul Collins.

“All of the coaches and wrestlers came together for one common goal, and we trusted each other every step along the way.”

This will be the 13th state appearance in program history for the Huskies, and the sixth for Collins who in 2019 led his men to a second place state finish.

“It was a great night for OPRF wrestling, we’re a family, and tonight we all came together to get the job done,” added sophomore Luke Albrecht who earned the first points on the night for the Huskies with his 32-second pin at 190.

“We knew this was going to be a very difficult dual tonight,” St. Charles East coach Jason Potter said. “It was a real dog fight with bonus points allowed and conceded changing the course of this thing, but we just didn’t get the results we needed and wanted, while they did.”

St. Charles East was aiming for a third straight state finals appearance. The Saints defeated Mt. Carmel, Yorkville and then Marmion Academy to win their first state title in 2023, then finished third overall a year ago.

Heavyweight Matt Medina gave the Saints a seven point advantage (16-9) after recording a pin at 3:36, but the freshman Rundell erased those six points with a pin of his own at 106.

Jamiel Castleberry (32-7) a state qualifier at 120 last weekend, cut weight in order to compete at 113, and the results were magnificent.

“My teammate came over to support me while I was cutting down to wrestle at (113), so credit them for their support,” said Castleberry after his pin at 3:01 gave the Huskies a 

21-16 lead.

Declan Sons followed with a tech fall to draw the Saints back even at 21-21, and Munaretto’s pin followed.

“This is just a great team win,” began Ogunsanya. “(Things) did not go well for me last weekend in Champaign, I went down there to win a medal but came away empty.

“(But) this night was so important for all of us, and getting downstate with this family of mine feels so good right now, and we’re going to go there looking to bring home a state trophy for our program.”

“I am extremely proud of the wrestlers and coaches for their preparation leading up to this dual, and their focus throughout the evening,” said Collins.

The Saints, who will graduate four from the ten state qualifiers, including two-time state medal winner Anthony Gutierrez, will look to build from a strong lower-weight core next season.

“This loss hurts a little bit right now, we felt we had a good chance to advance if a few of the matches went our way, but credit Paul and his guys, they wrestled hard, and got the wins they needed to,” said Potter.

“We lost an incredible group of talent from last year, but even in what you can describe as a rebuilding season, I felt our guys competed, and showed that we were still relevant, despite all of our losses from last year.”

Schaumburg 42; Chicago Lane 26

165 Daniel Duran (Schaumburg (H.S.)) over Gabe Peto (Chicago (Lane)) Dec 10-4
175 Eyob Abebe (Chicago (Lane)) over Sean Christoffel (Schaumburg (H.S.)) Dec 10-8
190 Josh Benson (Schaumburg (H.S.)) over Xavier Johnson (Chicago (Lane)) Fall 1:49
215 Joaqin Gigante (Chicago (Lane)) over Matt Carver (Schaumburg (H.S.)) TF 20-2
285 Adrian Meza (Chicago (Lane)) over Chris Arciniega-Sanchez (Schaumburg (H.S.)) Maj 20-9
106 Austin Phelps (Schaumburg (H.S.)) over Jeremiah Arroyo-McMullan (Chicago (Lane)) Dec 8-6
113 Jose Curiel (Chicago (Lane)) over Brian Carmona (Schaumburg (H.S.)) Fall 5:04
120 Brady Phelps (Schaumburg (H.S.)) over Joaquin Salameda (Chicago (Lane)) Fall 2:19
126 AJ Quevedo (Schaumburg (H.S.)) over Marcos Perez (Chicago (Lane)) Fall 2:25
132 Alex Valentin (Chicago (Lane)) over Aiden Quevedo (Schaumburg (H.S.)) SV-1 7-4
138 Brody HInkle (Schaumburg (H.S.)) over Miguel Quiahua (Chicago (Lane)) Fall 1:43
144 Justin Cortes-Apolinar (Schaumburg (H.S.)) over Ian Main-Duplechin (Chicago (Lane)) Fall 1:15
150 Callen Kirchner (Schaumburg (H.S.)) over Cole Calace (Chicago (Lane)) Fall 0:28
157 Nasser Hammouche (Chicago (Lane)) over Helder Macedo (Schaumburg (H.S.)) Fall 1:55

OPRF 36; St. Charles East 33

165 Anthony Gutierrez (St. Charles (East)) over Zach Michaud (Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest)) Fall 3:47
175 Abraham Leidig (St. Charles (East)) over Hugh Vanek (Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest)) Maj 9-1
190 Lucas Albrecht (Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest)) over Rocco Lobrillo (St. Charles (East)) Fall 0:32
215 Eric Harris (Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest)) over Cooper Murray (St. Charles (East)) Dec 9-2
285 Matt Medina (St. Charles (East)) over Terrence Garner (Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest)) Fall 3:36
106 MJ Rundell (Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest)) over Kaden Potter (St. Charles (East)) Fall 0:52
113 Jamiel Castleberry (Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest)) over Nate Butcher (St. Charles (East)) Fall 3:01
120 Declan Sons (St. Charles (East)) over Gabe Rojas (Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest)) TF 15-0
126 Dom Munaretto (St. Charles (East)) over Alex Cohen (Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest)) Fall 1:38
132 Zev Koransky (Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest)) over Liam Aye (St. Charles (East)) Dec 7-5
138 Joseph Knackstedt (Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest)) over Gavin Woodmancy (St. Charles (East)) Maj 12-4
144 AJ Noyes (Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest)) over Logan Tatar (St. Charles (East)) Dec 4-0
150 David Ogunsanya (Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest)) over Isaac Lenard (St. Charles (East)) Fall 1:49
157 Ryan McGovern (St. Charles (East)) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

One program chasing its first dual team state trophy and another chasing its sixth emerged from this year’s 2A Wheeling Dual Team Sectional on Tuesday.

Crystal Lake Central coach Justen Lehr has already guided his program to five top-four state finishes, including back-to-back second-place trophies in 2010 and 2011. Tuesday’s 43-20 win over host Wheeling gave Crystal Lake Central another team sectional title and a date in a state quarterfinal match against Mahomet-Seymour on Friday in Bloomington.

IC Catholic Prep, on the other hand, is a team on a mission to snare its first state trophy. The Knights won 49-27 over Notre Dame Tuesday night, earning a state quarterfinal matchup against Geneseo on Friday at Grossinger Motors Arena.

IC Catholic coach Danny Alcocer and his program will head downstate for the fourth time since 2018. Kevin Silva coached IC Prep to its first state finals berth in 2018; Jason Renteria took the Knights downstate in 2022; and Alcocer’s team advanced to the state finals in 2023.

A win on Friday would send Crystal Lake Central to a state semifinal Saturday against the winner between Brother Rice and Washington, while IC Prep would take on the winner between Glenwood and Montini.

IC Catholic Prep 49, Notre Dame 27

There’s a goal that’s chiseled in stone for every wrestler at the start of every year: to be wrestling your best when it counts the most at season’s end.

With a group of 10 state medalists that includes three state champions from Saturday’s individual state finals in Champaign, IC Catholic Prep has been a bona fide meteor at exactly the right time of year.

Knights junior Brody Kelly won a state title at 175 on Saturday, then watched the large stable of his highly-decorated teammates win a team sectional title three days later.

“We did well individually but it’s about the team now,” Kelly said. “We want to win it. We want to win the whole thing and we don’t want to come up short.”

The Knights came up just short one year ago, losing to eventual state runner-up Montini at the team sectional.

“That was a tough loss to Montini so we’re excited to finally get down as a team this year,” Alcocer said. “Hopefully we can take care of business. I’m real proud of their performance tonight, but we have to replicate it Friday and Saturday.

“I think we’ve got another level to get to. We have a very young lineup with a lot of freshmen and sophomore’s competing and they’re getting better every time they step out on the mat.”

Six forfeits took place between IC Catholic and Notre Dame, with IC Catholic earning a 6-2 edge in matches wrestled.

The teams took turns forfeiting at 126 and 132 to start the night before IC Catholic reeled off three straight wins: state champion Deven Casey (138) won by fall; Joey Pontrelli (144) won by decision; and Aidan Arnett (150) won by tech fall, giving IC a 20-6 lead.

Notre Dame’s Joseph McCarthy (157) stopped the bleeding with a decision win but IC followed with two pins, a tech fall win, and a forfeit win to take an unreachable 43-6 lead with four matches left to wrestle.

Nate Brown (165) and Kelly (175) won by fall and Isaac Barrientos (190) won by tech fall to effectively clinch the dual. Notre Dame’s Sean Cook (285) won by fall before the final three matches were forfeited.

Alcocer believes his boys went into Tuesday’s sectional riding high from the individual state finals. Max Cumbee (132) also won a state title in Champaign, and the Knights got a second from Arnett (144), thirds from Sam Murante (113) and Foley Calcagno (215), fourths from Dominic Pasquale (106) and Anthony Sebastian (285), a fifth from Isaac Barrientos (190), and a sixth from Kannon Judycki (120).

“Momentum is real and it carried over from that individual state tournament,” Alcocer said. “We want all our guys to be state champions and that’s a big motivator. We had twelve guys go down state and we had three champs. So the goal for the other guys is to get on top of that podium and follow our leaders like Brody Kelly and Deven Casey. And Max Cumbee coming into his own this past weekend. So everybody tries to measure up to that standard.”

Notre Dame ended a fine season in 2025. The Dons won a regional title and Ray Long (106) became Notre Dame’s first state champion since Mike Rosengrant won the state title at 130 in 1994.

Crystal Lake Central 43, Wheeling 20

The Tigers have perennially been one of Illinois’ top programs under coach Justen Lehr, and Crystal Lake Central ended a recent drought on Tuesday by earning their first downstate berth since 2017.

“The expectation in the program is to compete at the highest level,” Tigers senior Dom Vitale said.  “In my four years, this is my first time making it down there. But in three of those years, we did win the regional and got to this point. It’s nice to get down there and now we want to convert on it.”

The Tigers finished with a 9-5 edge in matches won against Wheeling and earned bonus points in eight of those nine wins. Crystal Lake Central got pins from Vitale (157) and Cayden Parks (190), and tech falls from Dylan Ramsey (126), Nick Zuehlke (150), Jackson Marlett (113) and Payton Ramsey (120).

Lehr also got major decision wins from Tyler Porter (175) and Tommy McNeill (215) and a straight decision from Brandon Carbone (138).

“They’re obviously a good team and they’re tough,” Lehr said of Wheeling. “I just think we’re a bad matchup for them. Where their big kids are good at 190 and 215, we’ve got hammers.”

Like IC Prep coach Danny Alcocer, Lehr believes his side has more to give.

“Honestly, I didn’t think we wrestled well in some matches and we probably should’ve won by more,” he said. “But it’s such a weird turnaround to have kids wrestling downstate and three days later wrestling again in a sectional.

“I think some of our kids were nervous. Because we’re not out of shape, so if we look out of shape, we know what that is. It’s nerves.”

Dylan Ramsey’s tech at 126 opened the dual, and Wheeling answered with a straight decision win at 132 from Max Katz. It was 8-3 after Carbone’s win at 138 when Wheeling won its lone tech fall of the night, from Austin Berger (144), to tie the dual at 8-8.

Zuehlke’s tech fall and Vitale’s pin made it 19-8. Wheeling’s Nick Montesino by decision at 165 to make it 19-11, but Crystal Lake Central ticked off three wins in a row from Porter, Parks and McNeill to take a 33-11 lead with four matches left to wrestle.

Wheeling’s Pablo Morales won by decision at 285 and teammate Franklin Katz won by fall at 106, cutting the Tigers’ lead to 33-20 before tech falls from Jackson Marlett and Payton Ramsey completed the win for Crystal Lake Central.

“126 was a big momentum booster for us,” Lehr said. “We won that match at sectionals but I thought it could’ve gone the other way because that kid is solid, but Dylan (Ramsey) came out and did his job.

“Momentum is as big in wrestling as it is in any other sport. When you watch your buddies either win or lose, it affects you. So that was a great start for us.”

Wheeling had an excellent season under coach Charlie Curran, who led his program to its first team regional title since 2017 this year. His squad went 12-2 in dual meets in 2025.

Crystal Lake Central 43, Wheeling 20

126 – Dylan Ramsey (CL Central) over Joey Romano (Wheeling) TF 19-4

132 – Max Katz (Wheeling) over Daniel Snow (CL Central) Dec 7-4

138 – Brandon Carbone (CL Central) over Manny Lagunas (Wheeling) Dec 7-1

144 – Austin Berger (Wheeling) over Abraham Palomino (CL Central) TF 16-1

150 – Nicholas Zuehlke (CL Central) over Byron Arreola (Wheeling) TF 17-2

157 – Dominic Vitale (CL Central) over John Scanlon (Wheeling) Fall 1:13

165 – Nicholas Montesinos (Wheeling) over Tommy Tomasello (CL Central) Dec 15-9

175 – Tyler Porter (CL Central) over Jonathan Martinez (Wheeling) Maj 13-3

190 – Cayden Parks (CL Central) over Jonny Dominguez (Wheeling) Fall 1:37

215 – Tommy McNeil (CL Central) over Eddie Juarez (Wheeling) Maj 13-2

285 – Pablo Morales (Wheeling) over Logan Gough (CL Central) Dec 10-3

106 – Franklin Katz (Wheeling) over Colton Legan (CL Central) Fall 0:24

113 – Jackson Marlett (CL Central) over David Perez (Wheeling) TF 22-5

120 – Payton Ramsey (CL Central) over Miguel Lopez (Wheeling) TF 17-2

IC Catholic 49, Notre Dame) 27

126 – John Sheehy (Notre Dame) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

132 – Max Cumbee (IC Catholic) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

138 – Deven Casey (IC Catholic) over Brady Krueger (Notre Dame) Fall 2:34

144 – Joey Pontrelli (IC Catholic) over John Carr (Notre Dame) Dec 9-4

150 – Aidan Arnett (IC Catholic) over Jake Luczak (Notre Dame) TF 16-1

157 – Joseph McCarthy (Notre Dame) over Ben Czarnowski (IC Catholic) SV-1 16-13

165 – Nate Brown (IC Catholic) over Dean Lazaris (Notre Dame) Fall 0:53

175 – Brody Kelly (IC Catholic) over Peter Escamilla (Notre Dame) Fall 1:27

190 – Isaac Barrientos (IC Catholic) over Michael Keany (Notre Dame) TF 17-2

215 – John Goggin (IC Catholic) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

285 – Sean Cook (Notre Dame) over James Alexander (IC Catholic) Fall 3:49

106 – Drew Murante (IC Catholic) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

113 – Ray Long (Notre Dame) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

120 – Marty Towey (Notre Dame) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

Marian Central Catholic, the defending IHSA Class 1A champion, led the way with eight state qualifiers and four champions at the Class 1A Oregon Sectional, which was held at the Blackhawk Center in Oregon on Friday and Saturday.

Richmond-Burton had six qualifiers, Lena-Winslow/ Stockton and Princeton both qualified five individuals while Johnsburg, Newman Central Catholic, Oregon and Wheaton Academy all advanced three individuals to this weekend’s IHSA Individual State Tournament in Champaign. 

Lena-Winslow/ Stockton and Richmond-Burton also both also had two title winners.

The Hurricanes, who are co-coached by Ryan Prater and Jordan Blanton, were led by title winners junior Austin Hagevold (113), senior Brayden Teunissen (120), senior Vance Williams (150) and sophomore Jimmy Mastny (190). 

“In my opinion, it’s definitely the toughest sectional in the state,” Prater said. “I think in a couple of the brackets, you had four or five guys in the top 10. It’s definitely loaded. And I like the atmosphere that Oregon does with the lights off and they pack them all in here, it’s an awesome place to wrestle. If you get out of here, you’re probably on the podium downstate. 

“It’s just about staying loose, having fun and scoring points. I think we preach extending leads and if we look at that last round, we started off with a tech in the finals and then we had a pin and another pin over here and we had four pins and a tech in placing rounds and finals. It’s just separating yourself and scoring points. 

“We’re riding high right now and a lot of our guys are kind of peaking so we will wrestle very well in these next coming weeks. We’re prepared and it’s kind of an unspoken thing, these guys want to win another state title and that’s what we’re here to do.”

Richmond-Burton got titles from seniors Clayton Madula (126) and Emmett Nelson (144) while Lena-Winslow/ Stockton received firsts from juniors Eli Larson (175) and Jeremiah Luke (215).

The other sectional champions were Morrison freshman Cael Wright (106), Riverdale junior Dean Wainwright (132), Rockridge senior Jude Finch (138), Newman Central Catholic senior Briar Ivey (157), Byron sophomore Brody Stien (165) and St. Francis junior Jaylen Torres (285).

Johnsburg had three second-place finishers, freshman Chase Vogel (113), senior Landon Johnson (138) and sophomore Duke Mays (175). Lena-Winslow/ Stockton had two who placed second, juniors Arrison Bauer (144) and Oliver McPeek (190). And Wheaton Academy also had two second-place finishers, juniors Lincoln Hoger (132) and Tyler Jones (165).

Others who placed second were Newman Central Catholic freshman Landon Near (106), Richmond-Burton freshman Adam Glauser (120), North Boone senior Gavin Ekberg (126), Stillman Valley senior Henry Hildreth (150), Riverdale senior Blake Smith (157), Marquette Academy sophomore Alex Schaefer (215) and Dakota junior Randy McPeek (285)..

Third-place finishers from the Oregon Sectional were Princeton junior Augustus Swanson (120), freshman Kane Dauber (132) and senior Ace Christiansen (144), Richmond-Burton freshman Lelan Nelson (106) and sophomore Blake Livdahl (175), Marian Central Catholic senior Andrew Alvarado (138) and junior Dan French (215), Dakota junior Brandon White (113), Lisle junior Alexander Ferari (126), Kewanee senior Ben Taylor (150), Erie/ Prophetstown senior Wyatt Goossens (157), Newman Central Catholic senior Danel Kelly (165), Orion senior Maddux Anderson (190) and Byron senior Jared Claunch (285).

And claiming fourth-place finishes at the Oregon Sectional were Oregon junior Josiah Perez (113), freshman Isaiah Perez (120) and sophomore Nelson Benesh (132), Marian Central Catholic freshman Camden Spiniolas (106) and sophomore Nick Marchese (126), Sandwich sophomore Cooper Corder (144) and senior Devon Blanchard (215), Princeton junior Casey Etheridge (165) and senior Cade Odell (285), Lena-Winslow/ Stockton junior Mauricio Glass (138), Amboy/ Ashton-Franklin Center/ LaMoille/ Ohio sophomore Jose Lopez (150), Wheaton Academy senior Chasen Kazmierczak (157), Fulton senior Skylier Crooks (175) and Richmond-Burton sophomore Breckin Campbell (190).

Here’s a look at the IHSA Class 1A Oregon Sectional champions and their weight classes along with state qualifiers:

106 – Cael Wright, Morrison

Cael Wright was in unusual company among the 14 champions at the rugged IHSA Class 1A Oregon Sectional since unlike so many others who won titles and were thrilled about that achievement, the Morrison freshman wasn’t all that excited after capturing the championship of the first finals match at 106, despite winning against an individual who had beaten him 14-0 and who entered ranked second while Wright was ninth, behind three others in the sectional.

Wright (41-2), the lone qualifier of the four individuals who competed in the sectional for coach Tom Drosopoulos’ Mustangs, captured a 10-8 decision in the 106 title match over Newman Central Catholic freshman Landon Near (39-4), who just missed winning by a technical fall as he handed Wright his first defeat when the two met on December 21 in the semifinals of the Erie/Prophetstown Holiday Tournament. After opening with a win by technical fall, Wright won a decision in the quarterfinals and then earned his spot on the title mat when he recorded a fall in 3:18 over Stillman Valley senior Michael Pannarale. The title match was one of three decisions for championships and it tied the 165 title match, which also was a 10-8 outcome.

“It’s just what I’ve been working for,” Wright said. “It’s just another wrestling season. I work as hard as I can to try to get my goals. It’s what I’ve been working for all year, so I expect nothing else.”

Near (39-4) was one of two finalists and three state qualifiers for coach Brian Bahrs’ Comets. He followed a fall in his opener with a 7-0 decision in the semifinals over Richmond-Burton freshman Lelan Nelson (41-4), one of six state qualifiers for his team who bounced back from the semifinal loss to claim third place by prevailing 1-0 over Marian Central Catholic freshman Camden Spiniolas (26-20) in the third-place match. Spiniolas became the most unlikely of the Hurricanes’ eight state qualifiers after he lost 6-3 by sudden victory to Rockridge freshman Nate Lower in the first round before claiming three-straight wins, with the last of those being 12-9 in sudden victory over Pannarale (35-8), who fell a bit short of earning a trip to state in his final match. Lower (37-11) also fell one win shy of a trip to state.

113 – Austin Hagevold, Marian Central Catholic

Austin Hagevold enjoyed a memorable sophomore season in 2023-2024 when he finished in fourth place at 106 in the IHSA Class 1A Finals and then helped Marian Central Catholic to capture the IHSA Class 1A Dual Team championship, the school’s first state title in the sport. Beside trying to help the Hurricanes to capture another dual team title next weekend in Bloomington, Hagevold would like to accomplish what teammates Brayden Teunissen and Jimmy Mastny achieved last season, which was winning their initial IHSA championships.

Hagevold (39-7) definitely heads into this weekend’s Individual Finals on a high note after capturing the 113 title with a win by technical fall in 4:10 over Johnsburg freshman Chase Vogel to be the first of four champions and one of eight state qualifiers for the Hurricanes, who are co-coached by Ryan Prater and Jordan Blanton. The junior, who was ranked second behind Vandalia’s Max Philpot, opened with a pair of first-period falls and needed just 21 seconds to get a pin in the semifinals over Dakota junior Brandon White to earn his spot in the 113 finals.

“I wrestled that kid in the regional finals (Vogel) and I teched him,” Hagevold said. “So coming in here it’s not like I thought the bracket would play out. I thought I’d have somebody else and I was looking forward to that match. It’s sectionals, upsets happen.. No matter what, I had a game plan to win. That’s what we want to do, we want to be back-to-back state champ, that’s what we work for every day. It’s fun, we team-bond, we practice seven days a week together. We do everything together, so we’re just like one big family.”

Vogel (34-7), one of three second-place finishers and state qualifiers for coach James Sylvanus’ Skyhawks, won his first two matches by technical fall before the unranked freshman captured a 14-8 decision in the semifinals over Oregon junior Josiah Perez to earn his spot on the title mat. In the third-place match, sixth-ranked White (33-10) claimed a 23-9 major decision over tenth-ranked Perez (39-7), as White will be making his second-straight trip to state as one of two qualifiers for his team, while Perez is going to state for the second time in three years and will be one of three Hawks who all took fourth to advance. Kewanee senior Tyson Currie (31-10) and St. Bede Academy freshman Michael Benge (30-17) both lost in the consolation semifinals. 

120 – Brayden Teunissen, Marian Central Catholic

Brayden Teunissen qualified for the IHSA Finals for the fourth time and became one of four champions and eight state qualifiers for Marian Central Catholic after wrapping things up in the 120 bracket with a fall in 1:43 over Richmond-Burton freshman Adam Glauser in the title match to cap a three-pin effort as the top-ranked individual at his weight kept alive his quest to get to a state championship match for the third year in a row and also to capture his second-straight title.

Teunissen (31-5) captured the IHSA Class 1A title at 120 last season with a 7-5 win by sudden victory over Carlyle’s Tyson Waughtel to deny him of a third straight-championship after he took second in 3A at 106 in 2023 with a loss to St. Charles East’s Dom Munaretto. He hopes to join teammate Jimmy Mastny as a two-time state champ for Marian Central Catholic, a feat that’s only been accomplished by two others at the school, Dylan Connell, who won three titles, and Rich Powers, who captured two. Teunissen, who opened with a first-period pin and moved on to the finals with a fall in 2:52 over Oregon freshman Isaiah Perez, hopes to follow up on a second individual title by helping the Hurricanes to repeat as Class 1A Dual Team champions.

“This is a really tough sectional, so it’s good that we have eight guys going,” Teunissen said. “It was really good because a lot of our young guys did really good, especially 106 pounder in his match to make it to state, he was down 7-0 going into the third and got three or four takedowns. Stuff happens during the season where we lost as a team. But when it comes to team state, no one’s going to beat us, our team’s the best. We’re all really close and we mess with each other in the room. But when it comes time to compete, we’re all there. We hype each other up and we get really hyped before all of the matches and the energy is just crazy.”

Glauser (41-9) was one of two freshmen and two sophomores who were joined by two seniors as state qualifiers for coach Tony Nelson’s Rockets, who capped a special performance with the second-highest number of qualifiers with six, ranking behind Marian Central Catholic, who had eight. Glauser, who is ranked fourth, followed an opening pin with two victories by technical fall, with the second one coming in the semifinals in 2:00 over Princeton junior Augustus Swanson (28-8), a three-time state qualifier who took fifth place at 106 last season and was ranked tenth. Swanson, one of five state qualifiers for coach Steve Amy’s Tigers, claimed third place with a 13-5 major decision over Perez (37-9), one of three qualifiers for coach Justin Lahman’s Hawks. `Byron senior Jackson Norris (34-5) and North Boone freshman Gabe Marella (34-16) both fell one win shy of advancing to state.

126 – Clayton Madula, Richmond-Burton

Clayton Madula qualified for the IHSA Class 1A Finals in 2022 but had been unable to make a return to state since then. But in his last opportunity to make a return to Champaign the Richmond-Burton senior not only qualified from the Class 1A Oregon Sectional, he won the title at 126 when he overcame a deficit against North Boone senior Gavin Ekberg by recording a fall in 5:10 to join teammate Emmett Nelson as a title winner and he is one of six members of coach Tony Nelson’s Rockets who will be competing at the State Farm Center this weekend.

Madula (42-10), who was ranked seventh, opened with a first-period fall and then won a 10-7 decision over Oregon’s Preston LaBay in the quarterfinals. He earned his spot on the 126 title mat by capturing an 11-0 major decision in the semifinals over Marian Central Catholic sophomore Nick Marchese, who was ranked ninth. 

“It’s definitely been fun this year,” Madula said. “We have a whole bunch of new freshmen and they’ve been kicking it and the whole team has been doing great. We’ve been going out and winning big tournaments and beating some bigger schools. We’re right there, just behind Marian, but there’s nothing we can do about it. This is super exciting to be able to show all of the hard work that we’ve put in, and it paid off. I actually was feeling real confident going into the state series. I was able to come in here and beat some guys I lost to previously in the year. It’s just a real good confidence booster.”

Ekberg (37-6), who took sixth place at 126 in last year’s IHSA Finals and was ranked fifth, was the lone qualifier out of three individuals who advanced to the Oregon Sectional for coach Jason Mamer-Cox’s Vikings. After winning his opener by fall, he had his hands full in the semifinals, and claimed a 4-3 decision over Lisle junior Alexander Ferari (35-6), who bounced back from that tough defeat to claim third place with a fall in 3:29 over Marchese (25-14). Newman Central Catholic junior Zhyler Hansen (41-9), who was ranked sixth, and Rockridge junior Clayton Blumenstein (33-11) both fell in the consolation semifinals.

132 – Dean Wainwright, Riverdale

Dean Wainwright had a great debut season in 2022-2023 when he beat Illini Bluffs’ Hunter Robbins to win the IHSA Class 1A title at 106 and finished with a 50-1 record and was an all-stater along with seniors Collin Altensey, Brock Smith and Alex Watson for Riverdale while competing in the final season for a popular and longtime coach at the school in Port Byron, the late Myron Keppy. His 2023-2024 season was very impressive, too, as he bounced back from a quarterfinal loss to three-time finalist and eventual runner-up at 120, Tyson Waughtel, and settled for third place with a 47-3 record, with teammate Blake Smith also placing third at 150.

Wainwright continues his run of success in his junior season as he improved to 43-2 and is now 140-6 during his career after taking first at 132 at the Oregon Sectional when he captured a 10-2 major decision over Wheaton Academy junior Lincoln Hoger, who placed fifth in Class 1A at 126 last season. Ranked third at 132 behind Roxana’s Brandon Green, Jr,. and Unity Christian’s Garrett VerHeecke, Wainwright and Smith were finalists and state qualifiers once again for coach Aron Kindelsperger’s Rams. After opening with a fall, he earned his spot in the 132 finals with a wild 20-15 decision in the semifinals over Princeton freshman Kane Dauber. 

“I love competing and it’s always fun being in the March,” Wainwright said. “But every match is the same match, whether it’s the state finals or it’s a consolation side first-round, I try to look at it like that. Wrestling is so mental, it’s such a mental sport. It’s very hard on your body and that plays a toll on your mind, too. So it’s always those guys in the postseason and the end of the year that have the strongest mental game that seem to come through. Sometimes I think I get a little caught up in focusing on the result, so a thing that has really helped me is focusing on the work that I put in. The results will come as a byproduct, I just have to focus on what I do during the match. I love competing, and any chance I get. This was a tough tournament here and I hope to continue that momentum and bring it to the state finals.”

Hoger (43-7) joined teammate Tyler Jones as a finalist and also Chasen Kazmierczak as one of three state qualifiers for coach Steve Aiello’s Warriors. Hoger was a winner by technical fall in the quarterfinals and then claimed a 7-5 decision over Oregon sophomore Nelson Benesh to set up the clash between returning state medalists for the 132 title. In the third-place match, Dauber (46-3) won by fall in 4:46 over Benesh (40-8). Dauber was one of five qualifiers for coach Steve Amy’s Tigers while Benesh was one of three state qualifiers for coach Justin Lahman’s Hawks. Newman Central Catholic junior Landon Blanton (39-10), a two-time state qualifier, and Sandwich sophomore Colten Stone (25-19) both lost in the consolation semifinals. 

138 – Jude Finch, Rockridge

Jude Finch is putting the finishing touches on one of the top careers of any competitor at Rockridge as he looks to become just the fourth individual from his school to win three or more state medals and join just one other, Steve Amy, who won more than one title at the school in Taylor Ridge. He fell one victory shy of a medal as a freshman at 126 then took third at that weight in 2023 and won the 1A title at 132 last year to cap a 43-6 season. He’s 38-0 and is top-ranked at 138 heading into the IHSA Class 1A Finals after winning the 138 championship at the Oregon Sectional with a win by medical forfeit over Johnsburg senior Landon Johnson.

Finch was the lone state qualifier for coach Lucas Smith’s Rockets, who had three others, Nate Lower (106), Clayton Blumenstein (126) and Thomas Sowards (144) all fall one win shy of state trips after losing in the consolation semifinals. Finch won by fall in 1:04 over Lena-Winslow/ Stockton junior Mauricio Glass in the quarterfinals and earned his spot on the 138 title mat with a victory by technical fall over Marian Central Catholic senior Andrew Alvarado in 2:19.

Johnson (35-5), who’s ranked eighth and is a first-time IHSA qualifier, was one of three qualifiers who all took second place for coach James Sylvanus’ Skyhawks. He was tested right away, needing an 8-5 win in sudden victory in his opener with Kewanee’s Lain Taylor before getting a fall in the quarterfinals and then claiming a 10-2 major decision in the semifinals over Rock Falls senior Logan Williamson. For third place, Alvarado (22-10) won by fall in 4:15 over Glass (41-11). Alvarado, who’s ranked sixth and placed fifth at 113 in 2023, qualified for state for the fourth time while Glass will be making his first trip to Champaign. Williamson (31-18), a senior, lost in both the semifinals and consolation semifinals, where Marquette Academy sophomore Beau Thompson also fell one win shy of a state trip.

144 – Emmett Nelson, Richmond-Burton

Emmett Nelson is hoping that the fourth time’s the charm for him as the Richmond-Burton senior completes an excellent career in which he’s participated in the Grand March twice and claimed three IHSA medals while posting a 176-11 record. After coming up a bit short to Auburn’s unbeaten Joey Ruzic in the 113 finals in 2022 and falling to Dakota’s TJ Silva in the 126 finals in 2023, Nelson got bumped into the consolation bracket a year ago at 144 after losing in the quarterfinals to the eventual runner-up, Unity’s Kaden Inman, then won twice to assure himself of a third medal before taking two medical forfeits to place sixth and finish with a 48-3 record.

Nelson is feeling good about his chances of finally winning a state title and comes into the the IHSA Class 1A Finals with a 41-1 record and a 30-match winning streak since suffering his lone loss to Antioch’s Chase Nobiling by an 8-4 score in the 144 finals of Glenbrook South’s Rus Erb on December 21. Nelson heads into his fourth state appearance ranked second behind Inman. He claimed top honors at 144 at the Oregon Sectional with a win by technical fall in 2:15 over Lena-Winslow/ Stockton junior Arrison Bauer. He opened with a fall in 2:22 over West Carroll’s Connor Kemp and then earned his spot in the finals with a 15-3 major decision over Princeton senior Ace Christiansen in the semifinals. He was one of two champions, three finalists and six state qualifiers for coach Tony Nelson’s Rockets, with one of those who’ll be joining him in his final appearance in Champaign being his freshman brother Lelan (41-4), who took third at 106.    

“It’s cool, we have six state qualifiers,” Nelson said. “I’ve never been to state with even close to that many teammates, so I’m really looking forward to it. Being a part of this team has just been so much fun. We were winning, which was cool, but we get along so well and everybody on the team is so close. We’re always together all of the time. I’ve really been chasing it down (going for a state title). I wanted it more to give a good example for my little brother to show him what it takes. (Being on the team with his brother) It’s been different for me because it’s usually that he’s just my little brother, but now, he’s my little brother and my teammate. I liked being with my friends and my teammates as much as I could. We were really fortunate since we didn’t have a whole lot of injuries or sickness, everybody’s been pretty healthy, for the most part. It’s just been so cool to see everyone around me have success, as well, instead of just winning by myself.”

Bauer (42-6), who was a state qualifier last year and is ranked ninth, was one of four finalists and five state qualifiers for coach Kevin Milder’s PantherHawks. He opened with a victory by technical fall before winning a thriller in the semifinals when he got an escape to capture a 3-2 win by ultimate tiebreaker over Sandwich sophomore Cooper Corder, who placed fourth at 138 last season and is ranked third. Christiansen (43-5), who’s ranked fourth and is making his third trip to state, where he placed third at 138 a year ago, claimed third place at 144 when Corder took a medical forfeit. Christiansen was one one of five qualifiers for the Tigers while Corder (34-5) was one of two qualifiers for Sandwich. Two sophomores lost in the consolation semifinals, Morrison’s Caleb Modglin (42-9) and Rockridge’s Thomas Sowards (34-10).

150 – Vance Williams, Marian Central Catholic

Vance Williams has already etched his name among the all-time best at Marian Central Catholic regardless of how he fares in his fourth appearance at the IHSA Class 1A Finals in Champaign. He’s one of five three-time medalists and joined Dylan Connell as only the second individual in the program to compete in two or more state title matches and he also can also point to helping the Hurricanes win their first IHSA Dual Team title last season. But there’s one big achievement that has eluded the senior, and that is winning an IHSA individual state title and although the 150 weight class includes three other four-time qualifiers, two others who’ve won two state medals and a returning state champion, Williams believes he has what it takes to win the title.

Williams improved to 37-5 after winning the 150 title at the Oregon Sectional by recording a fall in 3:06 over Stillman Valley senior Henry Hildreth to become one of four champions and eight qualifiers for the Hurricanes, who are co-coached by Ryan Prater and Jordan Blanton. He won by technical fall in his opener and then recorded a pin in 1:07 in the semifinals over Kewanee senior Ben Taylor. Ranked second behind Illini Bluffs’ Jackson Carroll, who won the 144 title last season, Williams placed second to Rockridge’s Jude Finch at 132 in 2024 and finished with a 48-9 record. He also took second to Dakota’s Phoenix Blakely at 132 as a sophomore in 2023 after finishing fourth at that same weight class in 2022 in his debut season with the Hurricanes. 

“(Eight state qualifiers) It’s impressive, but each of our guys have earned it, those guys that are going down have been working the hardest,” Williams said. “Definitely, the team wants to return and be two-time state champs and then move up to 2A next year. So that’s definitely the goal and that’s what everyone has in mind. At the end of the day, winners win and we’re creating winners every day.”

Hildreth (38-5), the lone state qualifier for coach Jamie McCarty’s Cardinals, advanced to state for the first time after winning his opener by technical fall and then recording a pin in 2:40 in the semifinals over Amboy/ Ashton-Franklin Center/ LaMoille/ Ohio co-op sophomore Jose Lopez. In the third-place match, Taylor (34-4) captured a 10-0 major decision over Lopez (28-15) as both individuals were the lone state qualifiers for their schools. Richmond-Burton senior Dalton Youngs (28-19) and Erie/ Prophetstown sophomore Tristan Hovey lost in the consolation semifinals to fall one win shy of advancing to Champaign.

157 – Briar Ivey, Newman Central Catholic

Briar Ivey qualified for the IHSA Finals as a freshman in 2022 and won his initial match there before losing his next two. He looked like he might get back to state last season but fell one win shy at the Byron Sectional in a 39-6 season. The Newman Central Catholic senior is finally making his return to the State Farm Center in Champaign and he’s doing it with a whole lot of momentum after second-ranked Ivey defeated the top-ranked individual at 157, Riverdale’s Blake Smith, by taking control in the final period to capture a 9-4 decision for the 157 championshi[, handing Smith his first setback in 33 matches. It also avenged a Smith fall in 3:05 in the title match at the Riverdale Regional as well as a 7-0 Smith decision in the finals of Princeton’s Lyle King PIT.

Ivey (44-3) was the lone champion and one of two finalists and three state qualifiers for coach Brian Bahr’s Comets. He had to compete in four matches and only the first one wasn’t close as he captured a 16-2 major decision. He needed to prevail 4-1 in sudden victory over Wheaton Academy’s Chasen Kazmierczak, who’s ranked sixth, before capturing a 2-1 decision in the semifinals over Erie/ Prophetstown’s Wyatt Goossens, who’s ranked third, in order to get a rematch with Smith. The 157 bracket was most likely the toughest of any in the Class 1A sectionals since it featured the first four and five of the top-six at that weight class, which was unfortunate for Byron’s Will Julian, who was ranked fourth but fell a win shy on two occasions.

“You just have to grit them out,” Ivey said, “Coming in here, every match, everyone’s coming to wrestle me, so I just wrestled six full minutes and wrestled the whole match and wrestle hard. It just goes back to practice and working hard every day and putting myself in these spots in my head and I came out with a win. I’ve been working hard every day and putting the rest up to God and see how it turns out. We’re just a really tight-knit group and we all know how to work hard and we’re going to push each other to work hard every day.”

Smith (32-1), who placed third at 150 last year at state, opened with a win by technical fall in just 58 seconds in the quarterfinals before capturing a 10-4 decision over Julian (39-5) in the semifinals. In the third-place match featuring two seniors, Goossens (41-8) won by fall in 1:32 over Kazmierczak (43-7). Goosens, who also is making his first state trip since 2022, was the lone state qualifier for his team while Kazmierczak, who qualified for state last year, joins two other Warriors in Champaign this weekend. Sophomore Julian saw his state hopes dashed in both the semifinals and consolation semifinals, with the latter being the final match for Oregon senior Ethan Mowry (30-14), who was hoping to make his first trip to the IHSA finals.

165 – Brody Stien, Byron

Brody Stien was one of two champions at the Oregon Sectional that went the full six minutes in all of his matches, with Briar Ivey right before him taking first at 157 as the other. But the Byron sophomore was the only one to prevail by two points in each of his wins. Stein’s clutch performance resulted in a 12-10 decision over Marian Central Catholic’s Nic Astacio (14-5) in the quarterfinals, followed by an 8-6 win over the top-ranked individual at the weight, Newman Central Catholic senior Daniel Kelly, and was capped by a 10-8 win in an unexpected 165 title match between 10th-ranked Stien and an unranked junior, Wheaton Academy’s Tyler Jones.

Stien (42-5) also qualified for state last year as a freshman and lost both of his matches there to conclude a successful 33-16 debut season. And as was the case a year ago, he will be joined in Champaign by teammate Jared Claunch, a senior, who also went 0-2 in Champaign in 2024. They are the lone qualifiers for the Tigers and their matches will be the final time that Mike Elsbury will be in the corner for Byron, since he’s stepping down as the program’s head coach after being in that role since 2007. Needless to say, Stien and Claunch hope to extend their coach’s stay until Saturday so they can give him a nice sendoff with two more state medalists. 

“It’s great,” Stien said of competing for Byron. “Our coaches are great and they’re top in the state, they’re just excellent. It’s a tough tournament. Everybody that comes out of here, there’s lots of good kids, but some kids don’t make it. I started out the season a little messed up and I lost a couple of matches that I shouldn’t have. But then I started coming back and believing in all my coaches and my teammates have helped me get better every single day.”

Jones (37-5) won one match at last year’s Byron Sectional and finished with a 31-15 record. He’s one of two finalists and three state qualifiers for coach Steve Aiello’s Warriors. Like Stien, Jones was also involved in three close decisions, getting a 4-1 victory in the quarterfinals over Morrison’s Brady Anderson (39-11) before prevailing 5-4 over Princeton junior Casey Etheridge, who is ranked fourth, in the semifinals. For third place, Kelly (37-3), who took fifth place at 157 last season at state, captured a 7-2 decision over Etheridge (44-4), who also qualified for state in 2024. Marquette Academy sophomore Reily Leifheit (38-7) and Morrison’s Anderson both saw their seasons conclude in the consolation semifinals.

175 – Eli Larson, Lena-Winslow/ Stockton

Eli Larson took second place at 175 in last year’s IHSA Class 1A Finals when he dropped a 7-2 decision to Manteno senior Carter Watkins to conclude a 44-6 sophomore season in his initial visit to Champaign. Now the Lena-Winslow/ Stockton junior is hopeful that he can not only get back to the Grand March but also add his name to the long list of PantherHawks who have won IHSA championships. He improved to 45-2 after capturing the 175 title at the Oregon Sectional by recording a victory by technical fall in 2:37 over Johnsburg sophomore Duke Mays.

Larson, who’s ranked second at his weight to Coal City’s Landin Benson, who won the Class 1A title at 165 last season, was one of two champions, four finalists and five state qualifiers for coach Kevin Milder’s PantherHawks. He opened with a fall in 1:26 over Morrison’s Noah Stout and followed that up with a 4-2 decision over Richmond-Burton’s Blake Livdahl in the semifinals.

“This sectional definitely prepares kids the best in 1A for the state tournament,” Larson said. It’s a good environment (Lena-Winslow / Stockton). You grow up, and you wrestle and you go to the duals and you watch it, it’s something that’s installed in you throughout life basically. Being able to watch the ‘17 and ‘19 teams winning state, it was definitely a cool experience to grow up with. Coach Milder, he hammers us all season and he’s definitely getting us ready and he knows what he’s doing. And he’s at 599 wins right now so we’re going to try to get him to 700. I’ve really stopped thinking about how last year went. But definitely it’s some motivation.”

Mays (27-9), one of three state qualifiers who all finished in second place for coach James Sylvanus’ Skyhawks, is making his first trip to state after coming up one win shy of qualifying in 2024 at the Byron Sectional where he closed out his freshman season with a 33-10 record. Mays had to compete in four matches, and two of his victories were by technical fall, including his opener. After winning a 16-4 decision over Sandwich’s Kai Kern in the quarterfinals, he earned his spot in the 175 finals with a win by technical fall in 3:50 over Fulton senior Skylier Crooks. In the third-place match, sophomore Livdahl (41-5) also won by technical fall over Crooks (39-12), needing just 1:51 to close out his win. Livdahl was one of six qualifiers for Richmond-Burton while Crooks was the lone state qualifier for the Steamers. Oregon senior Andrew Young (28-8) and Morrison sophomore Noah Stout (33-9) fell one win shy of state trips.

190 – Jimmy Mastny, Marian Central Catholic

Jimmy Mastny certainly had an impressive debut season in 2023-2024, only losing once in 33 matches and he capped things with a win by fall in 3:23 over Oakwood/ Salt Fork’s Bryson Capansky in the IHSA Class 1A Finals at 157 in Champaign before he closed out his team’s season by helping Marian Central Catholic to claim its first-ever state title in the IHSA Class 1A Dual Team Finals with a 34-27 victory over defending champion Coal City in Bloomington.

Mastny, top-ranked and unbeaten in Illinois, has only suffered one loss, to Ponderosa, CO’s De’Alcapon Veazy, at the Ironman in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio in early December. He improved to 49-1 after capturing the 190 championship at the Class 1A Oregon Sectional with a win by fall in 0:59 over Lena-Winslow/ Stockton junior Oliver McPeek. He opened with a pin in 2:21 over Oregon’s Seth Rote and then recorded another fall, this one in 3:50 over Orion’s Maddux Anderson in the semifinals. He was one of four champions and eight state qualifiers for the Hurricanes, who are co-coached by Jordan Blanton and Ryan Prater. And once this weekend is over, Marian Central Catholic looks to repeat as 1A champions at the IHSA Dual Team Finals.

“We had eight qualifiers and I wish we could have gotten a couple more, but that’s what it is,” Mastny said. “Getting bonus points when we can is a big deal. (Camden) Spiniolas, especially, had a great comeback win in the blood round, and (Dan) French, too.”

McPeek (42-5), one of four finalists and five state qualifiers for the PantherHawks, is ranked sixth and is making his first trip to the state finals. He got a pin in his opener and then got another fall, in 3:11, over Richmond-Burton sophomore Breckin Campbell in the semifinals. In the third-place, Orion senior Maddux Anderson (48-3) won by fall in 1:37 over Campbell (36-13). Anderson, a three-time qualifier who placed third at 190 last season, is Orion’s lone qualifier while Campbell is one of six state qualifiers for Richmond-Burton. Alden-Hebron senior Logan Crowell (25-8) and Fulton junior Mason Kuebel (34-10) both lost in the consolation semifinals. 

215 – Jeremiah Luke, Lena-Winslow/ Stockton

Jeremiah Luke assured Lena-Winslow/ Stockton of a second title in three finals matches and also made his team one of three who had more than one sectional champion when he claimed first place at 215 in the Class 1A Oregon Sectional. Luke captured a 16-7 major decision over Marquette Academy’s Alex Schaefer to add to a title that Eli Larson collected at 175. The PantherHawks had two other finalists, but Arrison Bauer (144) and Oliver McPeek (190) both took second as their team was represented by an individual in four of the final eight title matches. With Mauricio Glass (138) also claiming fourth place, it was a good tournament with five qualifiers for 2020 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Kevin Milder, who now has 599 dual meet wins in his career. 

Luke (42-5), a junior who’s ranked second behind East Alton-Wood River’s Drake Champlin, opened with a win by technical fall in the quarterfinals over Sandwich senior Devon Blanchard and then earned his spot on the 215 title mat with a 10-2 major decision over Marian Central Catholic junior Dan French, who’s ranked fifth, in the semifinals. Luke made his first state trip in 2024 and he went 1-2 to conclude a successful 43-8 sophomore season. Now he’s hoping to do what Larson did last year, which was not only earning a medal but advancing to a title match.

“A lot of good things are happening in our room,” Luke said. “It just really shows our work ethic in the room and we’ve just got a lot of great guys going in to get some work in every day. We lost a couple of guys in the consolations, but it was nice to see Mauricio Glass make it out of the blood rounds and place. It should seed me pretty well, but I just have to keep going back every day in the week and just work as hard as I can to get the results. The thing I like the most about this team is just our tough mentality. Everybody is willing to come into the room and work to the maximum every single day. It’s just a great work ethic all around.”

Schaefer (34-9), who’s a sophomore that is unranked, hopes to make history by becoming the first medal winner for Marquette Academy, which is in Ottawa. He opened with a fall over Wheaton Academy’s Jeremy Johanik (38-11) and then surprised a returning medalist in the semifinals, Kewanee senior Alejandro Duarte by claiming a 16-12 decision to advance to the finals. For third place, French (33-14) recorded a fall in 4:38 over Blanchard (42-10), who was one of two state qualifiers for Sandwich. Duarte (35-5), who took fifth at state at 215 in 2024 and was ranked fifth, lost in both the semifinals and consolation semifinals, and Richmond-Burton freshman Shane Falasca (39-13) also fell one win shy of a trip to state.

285 – Jaylen Torres, St. Francis

Jaylen Torres lost a 2-1 decision to Althoff Catholic’s Jason Dowell in last year’s IHSA Class 1A championship at 285 and no doubt wants to get back to the Grand March and accomplish some feats that either haven’t been done by an individual from St. Francis yet or it’s been an awful long time since it’s happened. If the Spartans junior wins any medal at the state finals, he’ll be the first from the Wheaton school to be a two-time all-stater. Since there’s only been two finalists in the school’s history, if he gets back to the title mat at State Farm Center, that will also be a first. The elusive goal is one established, coincidentally, by another heavyweight, Bob Hudetz, who won the Class A championship in 1980 for the school’s lone state title. After being the first medal winner from the school in 40 years in 2024, he can rewrite the records this weekend.

Torres, a three-time state qualifier who went 19-2 last season, improved to 28-2 after winning the 285 title at the Oregon Sectional by technical fall in 5:55 over Dakota junior Randy McPeek. Third-ranked at his weight behind Dowell and De La Salle Institute’s David McCarthy, he opened with a fall in 3:23 over Byron senior Jared Claunch and then earned his spot on the title mat by capturing a 7-1 decision in the semifinals over Princeton senior Cade Odell, who is ranked fifth. 

McPeek (36-7), a junior who is ranked tenth, earned his first trip to state and was one of two qualifiers and the lone finalist for coach Matt Jacobs’ Indians. His closest match came in his first one where he won 3-1 on a tiebreaker over Richmond-Burton senior Colin Kraus (38-10) in the quarterfinals and then held off a good challenge from Wheaton Academy junior Hezekiah Garcia (30-21) in the semifinals to reach the finals. In the third place match between two seniors, Claunch (38-8), a three-time qualifier who was unranked, edged Odell (31-3), who placed fourth at 285 last season. Claunch was one of two qualifiers for Byron while Odell will join four others from Princeton at state. Two individuals who McPeek beat, Kraus and Garcia, both fell one win shy of advancing to Champaign after falling in the consolation semifinals.

IHSA Class 1A Oregon Sectional Place Matches

106

1st Place Match

Cael Wright (Morrison) 41-2, Fr. over Landon Near (Newman Central Catholic) 39-4, Fr. (Dec 10-8)

3rd Place Match

Lelan Nelson (Richmond-Burton) 41-4, Fr. over Camden Spiniolas (Marian Central Catholic) 26-20, Fr. (Dec 1-0)

113

1st Place Match

Austin Hagevold (Marian Central Catholic) 39-7, Jr. over Chase Vogel (Johnsburg) 34-7, Fr. (TF-1.5 4:10 (18-3))

3rd Place Match

Brandon White (Dakota) 33-10, Jr. over Josiah Perez (Oregon) 39-7, Jr. (MD 23-9)

120

1st Place Match

Brayden Teunissen (Marian Central Catholic) 31-5, Sr. over Adam Glauser (Richmond-Burton) 41-9, Fr. (Fall 1:43)

3rd Place Match

Augustus Swanson (Princeton) 28-8, Jr. over Isaiah Perez (Oregon) 37-9, Fr. (MD 13-5)

126

1st Place Match

Clayton Madula (Richmond-Burton) 42-10, Sr. over Gavin Ekberg (North Boone) 37-6, Sr. (Fall 5:10)

3rd Place Match

Alexander Ferari (Lisle) 35-6, Jr. over Nick Marchese (Marian Central Catholic) 25-14, So. (Fall 3:29)

132

1st Place Match

Dean Wainwright (Riverdale) 43-2, Jr. over Lincoln Hoger (Wheaton Academy) 43-7, Jr. (MD 10-2)

3rd Place Match

Kane Dauber (Princeton) 46-3, Fr. over Nelson Benesh (Oregon) 40-8, So. (Fall 4:46)

138

1st Place Match

Jude Finch (Rockridge) 38-0, Sr. over Landon Johnson (Johnsburg) 35-5, Sr. (M. For.)

3rd Place Match

Andrew Alvarado (Marian Central Catholic) 22-10, Sr. over Mauricio Glass (Lena-Winslow/ Stockton) 41-11, Jr. (Fall 4:15)

144

1st Place Match

Emmett Nelson (Richmond-Burton) 41-1, Sr. over Arrison Bauer (Lena-Winslow/ Stockton) 42-6, Jr. (TF-1.5 2:15 (22-5))

3rd Place Match

Ace Christiansen (Princeton) 43-5, Sr. over Cooper Corder (Sandwich) 34-5, So. (M. For.)

150

1st Place Match

Vance Williams (Marian Central Catholic) 37-5, Sr. over Henry Hildreth (Stillman Valley) 38-5, Sr. (Fall 3:06)

3rd Place Match

Ben Taylor (Kewanee) 34-4, Sr. over Jose Lopez (Amboy/ Ashton-Franklin Center/ LaMoille/ Ohio) 28-15, So. (MD 10-0)

157

1st Place Match

Briar Ivey (Newman Central Catholic) 44-3, Sr. over Blake Smith (Riverdale) 32-1, Sr. (Dec 9-4)

3rd Place Match

Wyatt Goossens (Erie/ Prophetstown) 41-8, Sr. over Chasen Kazmierczak (Wheaton Academy) 43-7, Sr. (Fall 1:32)

165

1st Place Match

Brody Stien (Byron) 42-5, So. over Tyler Jones (Wheaton Academy) 37-5, Jr. (Dec 10-8)

3rd Place Match

Daniel Kelly (Newman Central Catholic) 37-3, Sr. over Casey Etheridge (Princeton) 44-4, Jr. (Dec 7-2)

175

1st Place Match

Eli Larson (Lena-Winslow/ Stockton) 45-2, Jr. over Duke Mays (Johnsburg) 27-9, So. (TF-1.5 2:37 (17-0))

3rd Place Match

Blake Livdahl (Richmond-Burton) 41-5, So. over Skylier Crooks (Fulton) 39-12, Sr. (TF-1.5 1:51 (18-3))

190

1st Place Match

Jimmy Mastny (Marian Central Catholic) 49-1, So. over Oliver McPeek (Lena-Winslow/ Stockton) 42-5, Jr. (Fall 0:59)

3rd Place Match

Maddux Anderson (Orion) 48-3, Sr. over Breckin Campbell (Richmond-Burton) 36-13, So. (Fall 1:37)

215

1st Place Match

Jeremiah Luke (Lena-Winslow/ Stockton) 42-5, Jr. over Alex Schaefer (Marquette Academy) 34-9, So. (MD 16-7)

3rd Place Match

Dan French (Marian Central Catholic) 33-14, Jr. over Devon Blanchard (Sandwich) 42-10, Sr. (Fall 4:38)

285

1st Place Match

Jaylen Torres (St. Francis) 28-2, Jr. over Randy McPeek (Dakota) 36-7, Jr. (TF-1.5 5:55 (15-0))

3rd Place Match

Jared Claunch (Byron) 38-8, Sr. over Cade Odell (Princeton) 31-3, Sr. (Dec 4-3)

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

Unity gets seven qualifiers at Clinton Sectional

Unity had three champions and four other medalists to give it a tournament-best seven state qualifiers at the IHSA Class 1A Clinton Sectional. Coach Logan Patton’s qualified for the IHSA 1A Dual Team Finals and hope that they can make a return trip to Bloomington this season. Canton, Olympia and PORTA are the other teams at the Clinton Sectional who will compete in the Unity Dual Team in Tolono next Tuesday to see which two of them go to dual team state. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher, LeRoy/ Tri-Valley, Olympia and PORTA all had four qualifiers.

Winning sectional titles for Unity were Kaden Inman (45-5 at 144), Abram Davidson (45-5 at 165) and Hunter Eastin (48-2 at 190). Finishing in second place were Hunter Shike (30-10 at 132) and Ryan Rink (40-9 at 175) and finishing in third place were Taylor Finley (47-5 at 138) and Holden Brazelton (45-7 at 150).

Other sectional champions were LeRoy/ Tri-Valley’s Brady Mouser (39-3 at 120), Brock Owens (43-8 at 157) and Tate Sigler (44-5 at 285), Hoopeston Area/ Milford’s Charlie Flores (47-3 at 106) and Angel Zamora (48-1 at 175), Unity Christian’s Garrett VerHeecke (41-1 at 132)  and Clinton VerHeecke (40-0 at 138), Olympia’s Dylan Eimer (40-4 at 113), Peoria Notre Dame’s Ian Akers (45-3 at 126), Illini Bluffs’ Jackson Carroll (49-0 at 150)  and El Paso-Gridley’s Ryden Barker (44-3 at 215).

Also finishing in second place were Canton’s Jaxsun Owens (28-10 at 106) and Connor Williams (34-0 at 285), Clinton’s Briley Carter (36-10 at 113), Warrensburg-Latham/ Maroa-Forsyth’s Logan Roberts (39-3 at 120), University High’s Ruben Rivera (37-9 at 126), Olympia’s Cooper Phillips (34-10 at 138), Farmington/ Cuba’s Bradlee Ellis (41-4 at 144), LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s Kobe Brent (43-7 at 150), Pontiac’s Lucas Maier (34-12 at 157), Tremont’s Bowden Delaney (47-3 at 165), Mercer County’s Bodie Salmon (26-7 at 190) and Quincy Notre Dame’s Ryan Darnell (43-7 at 215).

The closest title matches were Owens edging Maier 5-4 at 157, Eastin getting past Salmon 5-4 at 190, Mouser beating Roberts 7-5 at 120 and Davidson prevailing over Delaney 7-5 at 165.

Additional third-place finishers were PORTA’s Zach Bryant (42-11 at 132) and Justin Zimmerman (41-9 at 157), Olympia’s Brandon Gaither (40-9 at 106), El Paso-Gridley’s Tom Erwin (43-6 at 113), Illini Bluffs’ Barret Speck (43-6 at 120), Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher’s Landen Lage (39-4 at 126), Warrensburg-Latham/ Maroa-Forsyth’s Charlie Wittmer (43-8 at 144), Mercer County’s Eli Burns (20-4 at 165), Illini West’s Shawn Watkins (36-5 at 175),  Clinton’s Kristan Hibbard (35-9 at 190), Peoria Notre Dame’s Joe Culp (40-10 at 215) and

Beardstown’s Chunk Dailey (48-6 at 285).

Fourth-place finishes were also turned in by Canton’s  Jacob Hardesty (33-8 at 120), Dyllan Steele (31-4 at 126), Alex Carrier (29-13 at 144) and Gus Lidwell (14-11 at 175), Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher’s Nolan Lowe (31-10 at 132), Hunter Brandon (14-6 at 138) and Hudson Babb (36-11 at 150), PORTA’s Coyt Rademaker (35-16 at 106) and Kainin Fillbright (38-12 at 113), Olympia’s Kelton Graden (21-7 at 157), Hoopeston Area/ Milford’s Ayden Larkin (37-8 at 165), Knoxville’s Brydon Walters (29-8 at 190), Monmouth-Roseville’s Alex Gandarilla (33-10 at 215) and Peoria Notre Dame’s Brady Mullens (32-16 at 285). 

Returning state medalists who competed in the sectional (with their finishes from last year) were: State champions: Illini Bluffs’ Jackson Carroll (144) and Unity’s Hunter Eastin (190); Second place: Peoria Notre Dame’s Ian Akers (113), Unity’s Kaden Inman (144) and Tremont’s Bowden Delaney (165); Third place: Unity Christian’s Garrett VerHeecke (126); Fourth place: Olympia’s Dylan Eimer (113) and Hoopeston Area/ Milford’s Angel Zamora (175); Fifth place: Unity Christian’s Clinton VerHeecke (120) and Unity’s Ryan Rink (165);  Sixth place: Warrensburg-Latham/ Maroa-Forsyth’s Logan Roberts (120) and Hoopeston Area/ Milford’s Ayden Larkin (157).

Multiple state medal winners who took part in the sectional included Ian Akers, Holden Brazelton, Dylan Eimer, Clinton VerHeecke and Garrett VerHeecke. Four-time state qualifiers who competed in the sectional included Ian Akers, Holden Brazelton, Jackson Carroll, Bowden Delaney, Kaden Inman and Brady Mouser. 

IHSA Class 1A Clinton Sectional Place Matches

106

1st Place Match

Charlie Flores (Hoopeston Area/ Milford) 47-3, Jr. over Jaxsun Owens (Canton) 28-10, So. (Fall 0:54)

3rd Place Match

Brandon Gaither (Olympia) 40-9, Fr. over Coyt Rademaker (PORTA) 35-16, Fr. (MD 14-3)

113

1st Place Match

Dylan Eimer (Olympia) 40-4, Sr. over Briley Carter (Clinton) 36-10, So. (TF-1.5 4:31 (18-3))

3rd Place Match

Tom Erwin (El Paso-Gridley) 43-6, Fr. over Kainin Fillbright (PORTA) 38-12, Fr. (Dec 10-6)

120

1st Place Match

Brady Mouser (LeRoy/ Tri-Valley) 39-3, Sr. over Logan Roberts (Warrensburg-Latham/ Maroa-Forsyth) 39-3, Sr. (Dec 7-5)

3rd Place Match

Barret Speck (Illini Bluffs) 43-6, Fr. over Jacob Hardesty (Canton) 33-8, So. (MD 9-0)

126

1st Place Match

Ian Akers (Peoria Notre Dame) 45-3, Sr. over Ruben Rivera (University High) 37-9, Jr. (TF-1.5 3:22 (19-2))

3rd Place Match

Landen Lage (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher) 39-4, Fr. over Dyllan Steele (Canton) 31-4, Jr. (MD 10-0)

132

1st Place Match

Garrett VerHeecke (Unity Christian) 41-1, Jr. over Hunter Shike (Unity) 30-10, Jr. (Dec 4-0)

3rd Place Match

Zach Bryant (PORTA) 42-11, Jr. over Nolan Lowe (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher) 31-10, So. (MD 11-3)

138

1st Place Match

Clinton VerHeecke (Unity Christian) 40-0, Jr. over Cooper Phillips (Olympia) 34-10, Sr. (Fall 0:13)

3rd Place Match

Taylor Finley (Unity) 47-5, So. over Hunter Brandon (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher) 14-6, Fr. (Fall 4:47)

144

1st Place Match

Kaden Inman (Unity) 45-5, Sr. over Bradlee Ellis (Farmington/ Cuba) 41-4, Jr. (TF-1.5 4:18 (21-5))

3rd Place Match

Charlie Wittmer (Warrensburg-Latham/ Maroa-Forsyth) 43-8, Jr. over Alex Carrier (Canton) 29-13, So. (Dec 10-4)

150

1st Place Match

Jackson Carroll (Illini Bluffs) 49-0, Sr. over Kobe Brent (LeRoy/ Tri-Valley) 43-7, Sr. (Dec 7-3)

3rd Place Match

Holden Brazelton (Unity) 45-7, Sr. over Hudson Babb (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher) 36-11, So. (Fall 0:53)

157

1st Place Match

Brock Owens (LeRoy/ Tri-Valley) 43-8, Sr. over Lucas Maier (Pontiac) 34-12, Fr. (Dec 5-4)

3rd Place Match150

Justin Zimmerman (PORTA) 41-9, Jr. over Kelton Graden (Olympia) 21-7, Sr. (MD 16-6)

165

1st Place Match

Abram Davidson (Unity) 45-5, Jr. over Bowden Delaney (Tremont) 47-3, Sr. (Dec 7-5)

3rd Place Match

Eli Burns (Mercer County) 20-4, Jr. over Ayden Larkin (Hoopeston Area/ Milford) 37-8, Sr. (MD 16-2)

175

1st Place Match

Angel Zamora (Hoopeston Area/ Milford) 48-1, Sr. over Ryan Rink (Unity) 40-9, Sr. (Fall 5:14)

3rd Place Match

Shawn Watkins (Illini West) 36-5, Sr. over Gus Lidwell (Canton) 14-11, Sr. (MD 14-2)

190

1st Place Match

Hunter Eastin (Unity) 48-2, Sr. over Bodie Salmon (Mercer County) 26-7, Sr. (Dec 5-4)

3rd Place Match

Kristan Hibbard (Clinton) 35-9, Sr. over Brydon Walters (Knoxville) 29-8, Jr. (Fall 1:29)

215

1st Place Match

Ryden Barker (El Paso-Gridley) 44-3, Sr. over Ryan Darnell (Quincy Notre Dame) 43-7, Sr. (Fall 5:49)

3rd Place Match

Joe Culp (Peoria Notre Dame) 40-10, Sr. over Alex Gandarilla (Monmouth-Roseville) 33-10, Jr. (Dec 15-12)

285

1st Place Match

Tate Sigler (LeRoy/ Tri-Valley) 44-5, Sr. over Connor Williams (Canton) 34-0, Jr. (M. For.)

3rd Place Match

Chunk Dailey (Beardstown) 48-6, Sr. over Brady Mullens (Peoria Notre Dame) 32-16, Jr. (TF-1.5 3:43 (19-3))

Vandalia qualifies 13 at Carterville Sectional, Waughtel makes IHSA history

Vandalia heads to this weekend’s IHSA Class 1A Individual Finals in Champaign with a lot of momentum after it won six titles and had five other individuals qualify from the Carterville Sectional. 

Coach Jason Clay’s Vandals, who are top-ranked in Class 1A and finished fourth in the IHSA Dual Team Finals last season, are hoping to cap off a great season in individual competition where they won invites at Civic Memorial, Princeton and Litchfield and the Litchfield Regional.

Vandalia has had four individual state champions in its history with Jarek Wehrle winning the 2021 IWCOA Open Finals and Jo-E Smith the last to take first place at an IHSA Finals in 2007. Considering that four of their sectional champions have won IHSA titles or finished second there, the Vandals have a good opportunity to finish with multiple state champions for the first time.

One of Vandalia’s sectional champions, senior Tyson Waughtel, made IHSA history by becoming Illinois’ all-time winningest wrestler and he now owns a 202-2 record. He collected his 200th triumph in the 126 quarterfinals against Roxana’s Lleyton Cobine, his 201st victory in the semifinals against Oakwood/ Salt Fork’s Devin Ehler and his historic 202nd win in the title match against Anna-Jonesboro’s Drew Sadler.

That moves him past the rest of the top five in wins, according to the IHSA. They are: Montini Catholic’s Garrett Goebel, 2004-08 (201); Niles West and Montini Catholic’s Stephen Robertson, 2008-11 (201); St. Rita’s Albert White, 2003-07 (200); and Montini Catholic’s Mike Benefiel, 2003-07 (200).

Winning sectional titles for Vandalia were Aiden Evans (39-9 at 106), Max Philpot (43-0 at 113), Preston Waughtel (48-1 at 120), Tyson Waughtel (50-0 at 126), Dillon Hinton (48-2 at 150) and Ross Miller (40-10 at 175). Finishing in second place were Cole Yarbrough (36-10 at 138) and Dominic Swyers (34-16 at 285) while Artan Mustafa (39-12 at 165) and Kaden Tidwell (46-3 at 215) placed third and Parker Ray (40-9 at 157) finished fourth.

“Super proud of the fight our guys showed especially on Saturday,” said Clay, who will be honored on Friday as one of this year’s inductees into the IWCOA Hall of Fame. “Eleven state qualifiers and six sectional champions are both amazing numbers. We came very close to getting all 13 guys through losing two tough matches in the blood round. We are so excited to get to Champaign Thursday. These next two weeks is what we have been working months for. Excited to watch our guys make the push for their goals and plan to enjoy every minute of it.”

Oakwood/ Salt Fork qualified six individuals while Althoff Catholic, Benton/ Sesser-Valier, Murphysboro and Waterloo all had four individuals who are moving on to Champaign.

Other sectional champions were Roxana’s Brandon Green, Jr. (37-0 at 132) and Lyndon Thies (42-2 at 165), Oakwood/ Salt Fork’s Pedro Rangel (41-7 at 138), Murphysboro’s Bryce Edwards (39-4 at 144), Richland County’s Carson Bissey (17-1 at 157), Red Bud/ Valmeyer’s Danny Jackson (41-5 at 190), East Alton-Wood River’s Drake Champlin (39-1 at 215)  and Althoff Catholic’s Jason Dowell (30-0 at 285). 

Also finishing in second place were Althoff Catholic’s Jacobi Cobbs (30-6 at 106) and Brenden Rayl (34-1 at 132), Mt. Zion’s Carson Thornton (31-8 at 175) and Keller Stocks (42-7 at 215), Benton/ Sesser-Valier’s Cohen Sweely (42-4 at 113), Oakwood/ Salt Fork’s Mason Swartz (41-5 at 120), Anna-Jonesboro’s Drew Sadler (43-8 at 126), Roxana’s Logan Riggs (35-12 at 144), 

Salem’s Keyton King (43-2 at 150), Cumberland’s Owen McGinnis (37-5 at 157), Shelbyville’s Ryne Peavler (35-6 at 165) and Sacred Heart-Griffin’s Casen Lyons (38-11 at 190).

Close title matches included Rangel getting past Yarbrough 9-6 at 138, Evans beating Cobbs 7-3 at 106, Philpot prevailing over Sweely 6-2 at 113 and Bissey defeating McGinnis 4-0 at 157.

Other third-place finishers were Oakwood/ Salt Fork’s Steven Uden (40-5 at 106) and Devin Ehler (9-1 at 126), Murphysboro’s Paxton Pyatt (47-5 at 113) and Julien Tanner (30-4 at 285), Litchfield/ Mt. Olive’s Vincent Moore (43-8 at 120) and Braxton Kieffer (35-11 at 157), Westville/ Georgetown-Ridge Farm’s Gabriel Kiddoo (39-8 at 150) and Ethan Miller (42-7 at 190), Shelbyville’s  Bodee Fathauer (31-8 at 132), Robinson’s Broady Kelly (30-5 at 138), Lawrence County’s Hudson Meek (36-10 at 144) and Trico/ Elverado’s Colin Hughey (37-5 at 175).

Additional fourth-place finishes were turned in by Benton/ Sesser-Valier’s Braxton Tittle (47-7 at 106), Kaden Blades (22-7 at 138) and Tiffin Kouzoukas (40-8 at 150), Oakwood/ Salt Fork’s Tyler Huchel (39-9 at 130) and Carter Chambliss (28-20 at 144), Mt. Zion’s Vincent Baker (36-15 at 113), Effingham’s Kaiden Stewart (36-13 at 120), Althoff Catholic’s Dawson Hawthorne (28-2 at 126), Murphysboro’s Maxon Stearns (37-12 at 165), Fairfield’s Talan Keoughan (35-7 at 175), Pittsfield’s Tucker Cook (39-10 at 190), Litchfield/ Mt. Olive’s Tristan Staggs (38-11 at 215) and Shelbyville’s Andre Townsend (40-8 at 285). 

Twelve of the state qualifiers from the Carterville Sectional were IHSA medalists last season. They were (with finishes from 2024): State champions: Vandalia’s Preston Waughtel (113) and Althoff Catholic’s Jason Dowell (285); Second place: Vandalia’s Max Philpot (106), Tyson Waughtel (120) and Dillon Hinton (138) and East Alton-Wood River’s Drake Champlin (215); Fourth place: Richland County’s Carson Bissey (132), Murphysboro’s Bryce Edwards (144), Roxana’s Lyndon Thies (157) and Vandalia’s Kaden Tidwell (190); Fifth place: Roxana’s Brandon Green, Jr. (132); and Sixth place: Benton/ Sesser-Valier’s Cohen Sweely (113).

The only three-time medalist from the sectional is Tyson Waughtel while two-time medal winners include Carson Bissey, Jason Dowell, Dillon Hinton and Drew Sadler. Four-time IHSA qualifiers who were in the Carterville Sectional include Drake Champlin, Pedro Rangel, Drew Sadler and Tyson Waughtel.

IHSA Class 1A Carterville Sectional place matches

106

1st Place Match

Aiden Evans (Vandalia) 39-9, Fr. over Jacobi Cobbs (Althoff Catholic) 30-6, So. (Dec 7-3)

3rd Place Match

Steven Uden (Oakwood/ Salt Fork) 40-5, So. over Braxton Tittle (Benton/ Sesser-Valier) 47-7, So. (TF-1.5 0:00 (18-3))

113

1st Place Match

Max Philpot (Vandalia) 43-0, So. over Cohen Sweely (Benton/ Sesser-Valier) 42-4, So. (Dec 6-2)

3rd Place Match

Paxton Pyatt (Murphysboro) 47-5, So. over Vincent Baker (Mt. Zion) 36-15, Jr. (TF-1.5 0:00 (17-0))

120

1st Place Match

Preston Waughtel (Vandalia) 48-1, So. over Mason Swartz (Oakwood/ Salt Fork) 41-5, Fr. (TF-1.5 0:00 (19-3))

3rd Place Match

Vincent Moore (Litchfield/ Mt. Olive) 43-8, Jr. over Kaiden Stewart (Effingham) 36-13, Sr. (TF-1.5 0:00 (19-3))

126

1st Place Match

Tyson Waughtel (Vandalia) 50-0, Sr. over Drew Sadler (Anna-Jonesboro) 43-8, Sr. (Fall 2:35)

3rd Place Match

Devin Ehler (Oakwood/ Salt Fork) 9-1, Fr. over Dawson Hawthorne (Althoff Catholic) 28-2, So. (MD 14-6)

132

1st Place Match

Brandon Green, Jr. (Roxana) 37-0, Jr. over Brenden Rayl (Althoff Catholic) 34-1, Sr. (M. For.)

3rd Place Match

Bodee Fathauer (Shelbyville) 31-8, Jr. over Tyler Huchel (Oakwood/ Salt Fork) 39-9, Sr. (Dec 9-3)

138

1st Place Match

Pedro Rangel (Oakwood/ Salt Fork) 41-7, Sr. over Cole Yarbrough (Vandalia) 36-10, So. (Dec 9-6)

3rd Place Match

Broady Kelly (Robinson) 30-5, Jr. over Kaden Blades (Benton/ Sesser-Valier) 22-7, Jr. (Fall 0:36)

144

1st Place Match

Bryce Edwards (Murphysboro) 39-4, Sr. over Logan Riggs (Roxana) 35-12, Jr. (MD 12-4)

3rd Place Match

Hudson Meek (Lawrence County) 36-10, So. over Carter Chambliss (Oakwood/ Salt Fork) 28-20, Sr. (Dec 9-2)

150

1st Place Match

Dillon Hinton (Vandalia) 48-2, Jr. over Keyton King (Salem) 43-2, Sr. (M. For.)

3rd Place Match

Gabriel Kiddoo (Westville/ Georgetown-Ridge Farm) 39-8, Sr. over Tiffin Kouzoukas (Benton/ Sesser-Valier) 40-8, Sr. (MD 9-1)

157

1st Place Match

Carson Bissey (Richland County) 17-1, Sr. over Owen McGinnis (Cumberland) 37-5, Jr. (Dec 4-0)

3rd Place Match

Braxton Kieffer (Litchfield/ Mt. Olive) 35-11, Jr. over Parker Ray (Vandalia) 40-9, Sr. (MD 26-13)

165

1st Place Match

Lyndon Thies (Roxana) 42-2, Jr. over Ryne Peavler (Shelbyville) 35-6, Jr. (M. For.)

3rd Place Match

Artan Mustafa (Vandalia) 39-12, Sr. over Maxon Stearns (Murphysboro) 37-12, So. (Fall 7:12)

175

1st Place Match

Ross Miller (Vandalia) 40-10, Jr. over Carson Thornton (Mt. Zion) 31-8, Jr. (MD 13-3)

3rd Place Match

Colin Hughey (Trico/ Elverado) 37-5, Sr. over Talan Keoughan (Fairfield) 35-7, Sr. (M. For.)

190

1st Place Match

Danny Jackson (Red Bud/ Valmeyer) 41-5, Fr. over Casen Lyons (Sacred Heart-Griffin) 38-11, So. (TF-1.5 0:00 (19-4))

3rd Place Match

Ethan Miller (Westville/ Georgetown-Ridge Farm) 42-7, Jr. over Tucker Cook (Pittsfield) 39-10, Sr. (Fall 7:37)

215

1st Place Match

Drake Champlin (East Alton-Wood River) 39-1, Sr. over Keller Stocks (Mt. Zion) 42-7, Jr. (TF-1.5 0:00 (18-0))

3rd Place Match

Kaden Tidwell (Vandalia) 46-3, Sr. over Tristan Staggs (Litchfield/ Mt. Olive) 38-11, Jr. (TF-1.5 0:00 (18-0))

285

1st Place Match

Jason Dowell (Althoff Catholic) 30-0, Sr. over Dominic Swyers (Vandalia) 34-16, So. (Fall 1:45)

3rd Place Match

Julien Tanner (Murphysboro) 30-4, Jr. over Andre Townsend (Shelbyville) 40-8, Sr. (Fall 1:42)

Coal City has seven champs, qualifies 13 at own sectional

Last year’s IHSA Class 1A runner-up and the 2023 IHSA Class 1A state champion Coal City will be well-represented at this weekend’s IHSA Class 1A Individual State Finals at the State Farm Center in Champaign with seven champions and six other qualifiers from its own Coal City Sectional. Also, Chicago Hope Academy set a new school record after qualifying nine individuals.

De La Salle Institute and Reed-Custer both qualified five individuals while Clifton Central/ Iroquois West advanced four individuals to state. On Tuesday, the Coalers will host a dual team sectional featuring them, Chicago Hope Academy, King College Prep and Northridge Prep with the two winners advancing to next weekend’s Class 1A Dual Team Finals in Bloomington.

Leading the way for coach Mark Masters’ Coalers were title winners Owen Petersen (40-2 at 113), Cooper Morris (37-5 at 126), Brody Widlowski (24-0 at 138), Aidan Kenney (36-10 at 144), Mason Garner (32-6 at 157), Landin Benson (38-2 at 175) and John Keigher (32-1 at 215),

Finishing in second place for the Coalers were Culan Lindemuth (33-11 at 120) and Brock Finch (29-8 at 165). Taking third place were Luke Munsterman (37-12 at 132), Noah Houston (29-13 at 150) and Cade Poyner (33-7 at 190) while Jason Piatak (33-17 at 106) claimed fourth place.

De La Salle Institute had three champions, Jeremiah Lawrence (15-1 at 120), Terrelle Jackson (24-10 at 190) and David McCarthy (28-2 at 285). The other Coal City Sectional title winners were Reed-Custer’s Colton Drinkwine (44-5 at 106), Chicago Hope Academy’s Josiah Willis (40-9 at 132), Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington’s Dylan Crouch (45-3 at 150) and Northridge Prep’s Adam Haddad (36-2 at 165).

Chicago Hope Academy received second-place finishes from Indigo Berg (37-12 at 106), Nolan Callahan (39-9 at 113) and Tony Jones-Blakely (27-15 at 157). Also finishing in second place were Reed-Custer’s Jeremy Eggleston (44-3 at 138) and Dominic Alaimo (42-6 at 215), Clifton Central/ Iroquois West’s Evan Cox (42-10 at 144) and Gianni Panozzo (44-6 at 150), Northridge Prep’s Joe Kopecky (28-6 at 126), Rickover Naval Academy’s Justin Hernandez (31-5 at 132), De La Salle Institute’s Marquis Mays (22-6 at 175), Horizon Science Academy Southwest Chicago’s Sami Marrero (31-0 at 190) and Seneca’s Jeremy Gagnon (46-2 at 285).

Some of the closest title matches included Widlowski edging Eggleston 4-1 at 138, Crouch getting past Panozzo 8-4 at 150 and McCarthy prevailing over Gagnon 7-1 at 285.

There were four third-place finishers for Chicago Hope Academy, Dylan Galvez (34-14 at 144), Arkail Griffin (46-4 at 165), Ismael Martinez (18-7 at 175) and Roy Phelps (44-5 at 285). Others who placed third were Seneca’s Raiden Terry (47-2 at 106), De La Salle Institute’s Justin Forbes (33-9 at 113), Reed-Custer’s Kaaden Wood (37-11 at 120), Westmont’s Christian Rosa (35-10 at 126), Bishop McNamara’s Alex Kostecka (32-18 at 138), Clifton Central/ Iroquois West’s Giona Panozzo (37-13 at 157) and Phoenix Military Academy’s Kaleb Abney (27-4 at 215).

Additional fourth-place finishers were Perspectives Technology and Leadership Academy’s Donald Bunton Jr. (29-7 at 120) and Nicario Bella (31-8 at 138), Reed-Custer’s Cole Harris (34-14 at 113), Nazareth Academy’s Alek Ramos (20-9 at 126), Bishop McNamara’s Blake Arseneau (25-14 at 132), Northridge Prep’s Javi Rodriguez (23-12 at 144), Chicago Hope Academy’s Santori Knight (35-17 at 150), Westmont’s Sean Patterson (29-20 at 157), Seneca’s

Nick Grant (38-15 at 165), Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington’s Gavin Bafia (26-20 at 175), Wilmington’s Logan Van Duyne (38-6 at 190), Clifton Central/ Iroquois West’s Brody O`Connor (32-15 at 215) and Leo’s Nicholas Armour (31-7 at 285).

Returning state medal winners who competed in the sectional (with their finishes from 2024) were: State champion: Coal City’s Landin Benson (165); Second place: Coal City’s Brody Widlowski (126); Third place: De La Salle Institute’s Jeremiah Lawrence (106); Fifth place: Coal City’s Cooper Morris (113), Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington’s Dylan Crouch (138) and De La Salle Institute’s David McCarthy (285); Sixth place: Coal City’s Owen Petersen (106) and Chicago Hope Academy’s Roy Phelps (285). 

The lone two-time IHSA medalist in the Coal City Sectional was Brody Widlowski. Four-time IHSA qualifiers who competed in the sectional were Dylan Crouch and Culan Lindemuth.

IHSA Class 1A Coal City Sectional place matches

106

1st Place Match

Colton Drinkwine (Reed-Custer) 44-5, Fr. over Indigo Berg (Chicago Hope Academy) 37-12, Fr. (Fall 2:59)

3rd Place Match

Raiden Terry (Seneca) 47-2, So. over Jason Piatak (Coal City) 33-17, Fr. (Fall 3:55)

113

1st Place Match

Owen Petersen (Coal City) 40-2, So. over Nolan Callahan (Chicago Hope Academy) 39-9, Fr. (MD 15-2)

3rd Place Match

Justin Forbes (De La Salle Institute) 33-9, Fr. over Cole Harris (Reed-Custer) 34-14, Fr. (TF-1.5 2:13 (19-4))

120

1st Place Match

Jeremiah Lawrence (De La Salle Institute) 15-1, Jr. over Culan Lindemuth (Coal City) 33-11, Sr. (MD 20-11)

3rd Place Match

Kaaden Wood (Reed-Custer) 37-11, So. over Donald Bunton Jr (Perspectives Technology and Leadership Academy) 29-7, Jr. (Dec 11-8)

126

1st Place Match

Cooper Morris (Coal City) 37-5, So. over Joe Kopecky (Northridge Prep) 28-6, Fr. (Fall 3:11)

3rd Place Match

Christian Rosa (Westmont) 35-10, Sr. over Alek Ramos (Nazareth Academy) 20-9, So. (Dec 4-2)

132

1st Place Match

Josiah Willis (Chicago Hope Academy) 40-9, So. over Justin Hernandez (Rickover Naval Academy) 31-5, Sr. (TF-1.5 5:51 (19-3))

3rd Place Match

Luke Munsterman (Coal City) 37-12, Jr. over Blake Arseneau (Bishop McNamara) 25-14, Jr. (Dec 3-0)

138

1st Place Match

Brody Widlowski (Coal City) 24-0, Jr. over Jeremy Eggleston (Reed-Custer) 44-3, Sr. (Dec 4-1)

3rd Place Match

Alex Kostecka (Bishop McNamara) 32-18, Jr. over Nicario Bella (Perspectives Technology and Leadership Academy) 31-8, Sr. (Fall 1:40)

144

1st Place Match

Aidan Kenney (Coal City) 36-10, Jr. over Evan Cox (Clifton Central/ Iroquois West) 42-10, Jr. (Fall 4:59)

3rd Place Match

Dylan Galvez (Chicago Hope Academy) 34-14, So. over Javi Rodriguez (Northridge Prep) 23-12, Jr. (TF-1.5 4:27 (18-3))

150

1st Place Match

Dylan Crouch (Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington) 45-3, Sr. over Gianni Panozzo (Clifton Central/ Iroquois West) 44-6, Sr. (Dec 8-4)

3rd Place Match

Noah Houston (Coal City) 29-13, Jr. over Santori Knight (Chicago Hope Academy) 35-17, Jr. (Dec 4-2)

157

1st Place Match

Mason Garner (Coal City) 32-6, Jr. over Tony Jones-Blakely (Chicago Hope Academy) 27-15, Sr. (Fall 1:33)

3rd Place Match

Giona Panozzo (Clifton Central/ Iroquois West) 37-13, Jr. over Sean Patterson (Westmont) 29-20, Sr. (MD 11-1)

165

1st Place Match

Adam Haddad (Northridge Prep) 36-2, Sr. over Brock Finch (Coal City) 29-8, Jr. (MD 10-0)

3rd Place Match

Arkail Griffin (Chicago Hope Academy) 46-4, So. over Nick Grant (Seneca) 38-15, Sr. (TF-1.5 5:47 (19-3))

175

1st Place Match

Landin Benson (Coal City) 38-2, Sr. over Marquis Mays (Chicago (De La Salle Institute) 22-6, Sr. (Fall 2:51)

3rd Place Match

Ismael Martinez (Chicago Hope Academy) 18-7, Jr. over Gavin Bafia (Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington) 26-20, Jr. (Fall 2:28)

190

1st Place Match

Terrelle Jackson (De La Salle Institute) 24-10, Sr. over Sami Marrero (Horizon Science Academy Southwest Chicago) 31-0, Jr. (M. For.)

3rd Place Match

Cade Poyner (Coal City) 33-7, Jr. over Logan Van Duyne (Wilmington) 38-6, Jr. (Dec 4-2)

215

1st Place Match

John Keigher (Coal City) 32-1, Sr. over Dominic Alaimo (Reed-Custer) 42-6, Jr. (Fall 3:49)

3rd Place Match

Kaleb Abney (Phoenix Military Academy) 27-4, Sr. over Brody O`Connor (Clifton Central/ Iroquois West) 32-15, Jr. (Fall 1:13)

285

1st Place Match

David McCarthy (De La Salle Institute) 28-2, Sr. over Jeremy Gagnon (Seneca) 46-2, Sr. (Dec 7-1)

3rd Place Match

Roy Phelps (Chicago Hope Academy) 44-5, Sr. over Nicholas Armour (Leo) 31-7, Sr. (Fall 2:32)

By Mike Garofola for the IWCOA

With a long list of top 20-ranked teams at the 2A Crystal Lake Central Sectional, the promise of thrilling, edge-of-the-seat action for two days came through with a terrific final session on Saturday afternoon.

It would be No. 3 IC Prep who left the historic Central gym with six individual championship brackets, while sending 12 downstate.

Antioch was next with six state qualifiers, followed closely by Deerfield and St. Patrick with five, while host Central and Fenwick booked four of their men to Champaign.

There were an astounding 65 state-ranked competitors here, 43 of whom were in the top 10 and four of whom were ranked No. 1 in their respective weight divisions.

Regional champions Crystal Lake Central, IC Prep, Notre Dame and Wheeling

earned 19 state qualifiers, eight of whom are sectional champions.

CRYSTAL LAKE CENTRAL SECTIONAL CHAMPIONS

106- Ray Long (Notre Dame)

Six of the 18 in this terrific weight class were state-ranked in advance of the opening whistle, including No. 1 Vince DeMarco (Grayslake Central) and No. 3 Ray Long (Notre Dame) who were on a semifinal collision course early Saturday morning in Crystal Lake.

With all eyes directed on mat No. 1, Long would give the fans a treat when he opened with the wind in his sails and built a 7-0 second-period lead. Long conceded four points to DeMarco (44-2) before extending his advantage to 11-4, before recording a pin at 5:11 to the delight of Notre Dame fans.

“I just came out aggressive, looking to use my high singles, angle shots, quickness and constant pace to keep Vince on the defensive right from the very start of the match,” said Long, now 42-4, with 23 pins, and eight tech-falls on the season.

Long completed his sectional title journey with a fall at 5:11 in the finals against IC Prep’s Dominic Pasquale.

Dons coach Anthony Genovesi sees great things ahead for his sophomore.

“Ray is extremely athletic and he’s just starting to scratch the surface of just how good he can become,” Genovesi said. “(DeMarco) is an extremely talented wrestler and they could see each other again this weekend, in what would be another very tough match.

“There are still many things Ray needs to do wrestling-wise, but he wrestles a lot throughout the year, which has helped him grow and get better.”

DeMarco, fourth a year ago at state, would go on to defeat St. Patrick sophomore Jack Koenig (42-8) for third place.

113- Sam Murante (IC Prep)

Last year at this time, IC Prep junior Sam Murante had just suffered a blood-round defeat at the Hinsdale Central sectional to end his sophomore season with a 21-5 overall record at 113 pounds.

Murante (6-0) won the first of two regional titles as a freshman at Hinsdale Central, going 17-9 at 113 pounds.

Murante, who made his season debut last weekend when he tech-falled his way to a regional title at DePaul Prep, continued his climb up the charts when he stunned No. 2 Daniel Goodwin (42-4) with a 3-1 decision.

“Danny and (Murante) were well aware of each other because they both train at Izzy (Style), so (Danny) knew what was coming,” St. Patrick coach Dominic Angelo said. “But today Danny wrestled an uncharacteristically ‘off’ match, which will happen from time-to-time to the best of them.”

No. 3 Jackson Marlett (Crystal Lake Central, 41-6) came back from his semi-final defeat to Murante to defeat CJ Brown (Fenwick) for third place.

120- Kannon Judycki (IC Prep)

No. 7 Kannon Judycki (27-17) made it two straight championship trophies for IC Catholic when the sophomore recorded a pin at 2:27 over No. 10 Jake Lowitzki (37-4) from Prairie Ridge.

Judycki, who last season was a state qualifier with a record of 25-18, booked his spot in the 120-pound final after he pinned No. 10 Hunter Lenz (Cary-Grove), who was also a 2024 state qualifier.

On the opposite end of this high-profile bracket, Lowitzki needed extra time to defeat No. 5 and two-time state runner-up Gavin Rockey (41-9) to stay alive.

“We’ve always felt that Jake was capable of getting a result like this to defeat a great wrestler like (Rockey),” Prairie Ridge coach Ross Ryan said. “When he chose top in overtime, we all knew he was quite capable of riding out Rockey for the win.”

Ryan would move over from Crystal Lake South this season after he would enjoy a memorable career at South that would include leading: Eric Barone (2015), Christian Olsen (2019) and Shane Moran (2022) to state titles, in addition to several state place winners as well.

Judycki, who was second at the CCL conference tournament recently, pinned his way to the DePaul Prep regional crown last weekend.

Calvin Stahl (St. Patrick) would grab third place honors after his victory over Rockey to earn his second straight trip downstate.

126- Max Cumbee (IC Prep)

IC Prep sophomore Max Cumbee would finish atop this star-studded field when he beat No. 9, and now four-time state qualifier, Gavin Hanrahan, 7-2 to claim his second straight major title.

The No. 5 man in the state cruised into the final after an impressive 15-7 major decision over No. 2 John Sheehy (Notre Dame, 41-7) who would go on to defeat No. 10 Adrian Cohen (Deerfield, 40-10) in the third place match.

“I am feeling really good right now, having a partner in the room like Deven Casey pushing me each and every day. That has helped me go hard for six minutes whenever I need to,” said Cumbee, who was fifth a year ago while at Joliet Catholic Academy.

“I worked harder than I ever have during the offseason. I was actually was up to close to 150 pounds but after slowly taking the weight off, I feel just great, and I’m looking forward to this weekend in Champaign.”

Sheehy is now a three-time state qualifier, and fourth place medal winner last season, with Hanrahan arriving in Champaign with a 2024 third place medal already in his possession.

132- Deven Casey (IC Prep)

It’s no coincidence the move to IC Prep by both Deven Casey and Brody Kelly has provided the two key figures in the Knights’ lineup to make them the 2A state power they have become.

Casey (43-6) brought with him a pair of third-place state medals from his stay at Aurora Christian, then became a state champion a year ago at 120 pounds. Kelly came over from 3A state power Marmion Academy to become an instant star, and leader in the Knights room along with Casey.

“Our room is second to none,” Casey said. “The coaching staff is amazing, my teammates are committed to doing all of the right things every day, which makes coming to school and practice really fantastic.

“Right now for me it’s all about fine tuning things, staying healthy, eating smart, and just getting myself ready for the state tournament this weekend.

The No. 1 man in the state would deal No. 6 Nathan Randle (Crystal Lake South, 41-1) his first loss of the season with his 19-4 tech-fall semifinal victory to advance against No. 5 Jackson Palzet (45-2) who is having a marvelous senior year at Deerfield.

Palzet, who recently earned his 100th career win, while at the same time breaking the season tech-fall program record, gave Casey a battle, before conceding a 9-6 decision.

Randle would go on to defeat Nabiel Rosario (DePaul Prep) for third place.

138-  Jordan Rasof (Deerfield)

After two previous trips to Champaign that would end with a pair of state medals, the Deerfield senior Jordan Rasof has the look of a state champion in his eyes.

“Jordan is the ultimate leader, he commands respect with the way he carries himself, in and out of the room, and right now, he is all business with his focus on winning a state title,” says Deerfield head coach Marc Pechter, who later watched his four-year veteran register a 10-2 major decision victory in the finals over Patrick Hulne (38-12), the talented sophomore from St. Patrick.

Hulne, second on the club in take-downs, is in just his second year in the sport.

“He’s a terrific young man, and we are fortunate to have him in our room,” Pechter said of Rasof.

“(Coach) Pechter has been the best thing to happen to me, he’s obviously a great head coach, but an even better person because he treats us all as young men. He’s always there for us regardless of the situation,” said Rasof.

With his sectional final victory, Rasof is now 47-2, pushing his career win total of 159 close to the program record of 164.

IC Prep freshman Jacob Alvarez (31-17) finished third ahead of Colton Huff (St. Ignatius, 15-4).

144- Aidan Arnett (IC Prep)

IC Prep has received outstanding work from a trio of freshmen this season to enrich an already terrific lineup that appears ready to challenge for a 2A dual-team state title in a couple of weeks.

There’s no doubt that Aidan Arnett is the Knights top rookie, while also one of the best men at 144 pounds.

Arnett would tech-fall his way into the finals where he would meet No. 8 Chase Nobiling (Antioch, 40-8) who came away with a well deserved 7-2 victory over senior Max Rosen (30-9) of DePaul Prep.

Arnett would defeat Nobiling for the second time this season, this time in a 7-5 decision, to earn one of the top four seeds in his first trip downstate.

“I’m a 24-7 wrestling guy, who never takes a day off,” Arnett said. “I get three to four hours of time on the mats, and I really enjoy being part of a room that is so disciplined, both with wrestling and academics.

“My day begins at 3:45 in the morning, then I am off to school to begin a long day that I’ve really enjoyed,” said Arnett, who if he stayed close to home would have attended Providence Catholic.

The aforementioned Nobiling, who is making his first trip downstate, would defeat Emmett Nelson (Richmond-Burton, 41-1) in the Glen Erb final at Glenbrook South, who at the time was No. 1 in 1A.

Rosen would come back to defeat Alexander Shvartsman (Deerfield, 37-16) for third place.

Shvartsman’s older brother (Ben) was a 2022 state champion for Deerfield, and is now wrestling at Cornell.

150- David Farjado (Carmel Catholic)

After two years away from the sport of wrestling, senior David Fajardo (20-1) had enjoyed the type of season that inspires stories that will go on forever inside the Carmel Catholic room.

The Corsairs senior continues his memorable postseason run following his terrific three-match success that led him to the 150-pound title, and his first ever spot in the 16-man state field next weekend.

Farjado won Saturday’s title by fall against Notre Dame’s Joseph McCarthy.

“It’s always been boxing for me, and after my hip injury ended my freshman season, I finally got myself healthy and went all in on boxing until I decided to give wrestling one last try, and get myself downstate,” said Fajardo after he won at the Deerfield regional a week ago.

“Boxing is what his family is all about,” begins assistant Riley Palm, who was a two-time state champion for the Corsairs.

“(Boxing) is a sport that has enhanced David’s abilities in wrestling as it combines great fitness, footwork, dedication, commitment and that tough, hard-nosed personality that it takes to succeed in this sport,” Palm said. “And nobody works as hard as him. It’s a blessing to have someone like him in our room.”

Fajardo would miss the first month of the season, but has now won three consecutive major titles, beginning with his Lake County Invite crown.

Dominic Garcia (Antioch) won by tech fall over Joey Pontarelli (IC Prep) on the third-place mat at 150.

157- Nate Sanchez (St. Ignatius)

Everything would play out according to plan at 157 pounds.

No. 7 Nate Sanchez (35-4) was on the opposite side of the bracket of No. 8 Aiden Burns (41-4) from Fenwick, with the two seniors on a collision course to meet in the final Saturday afternoon.

Sanchez, a two-time state qualifier looking to make it three straight, cruised into the final after a 14-6 major decision victory, followed by a pin at 2:31 over eventual fourth place Charlie Cross (39-11) from perennial wrestling power Deerfield.

On the opposite side was Burns, a state qualifier at 152 two seasons ago with a 20-11 overall record.

Burns, runner-up recently at the Chicago Catholic League (CCL) tournament, would tech-fall his way into his final with Sanchez, who pinned the Fenwick star earlier this season.

Once there, the two CCL rivals went to work with Sanchez claiming his first sectional title in thrilling fashion with an 8-7 decision.

Sanchez, who was a blood-round victim a year ago at the Grayslake Central sectional, is the all-time match winner in program history with 132 on January 10 of this year.

The senior will attend the University of Chicago in the fall where he will continue to wrestle, and play baseball as well.

Warren Nash (30-15) from Grayslake North came back through wrestle-backs to defeat Cross in their third place contest by major decision.

165- Van Grasser (St. Patrick)

The 165-pound bracket was perfectly set up for a potential final between No. 2 Ilia Dvoryannikov (Vernon Hills, 39-5) and No. 3 Van Grasser (St. Patrick, 33-9). Grasser lost to the Vernon Hills star by 2-1 decision in the final of the Rex Lewis Invite this year at Buffalo Grove.

Both would waste little time in reaching the final, with Dvoryannikov having a more difficult route as he faced No. 6 Noah Pechotta (Cary-Grove, 37-3) who was a 2024 state qualifier.

Dvoryannikov won 8-0 over Pechotta to reach the finals. Grasser won a 10-0 major decision victory over No. 8 Marcus Macias (Antioch), and then dashed the hopes of Nate Brown (IC Prep) with yet another major decision triumph in their semifinal match.

Grasser avenged his loss to Dvoryannikov with a hard fought 5-3 decision in an intense six-minute contest.

“Our state qualifiers are all self motivated young men, and the type of kids who have the type of work ethic and drive to succeed,” Shamrocks coach Dominic Angelo said.

“This was a great win for Van. His focus on an all-out hustle and fight has shown that good things will happen to those who work hard.”

Grasser, sixth a year ago at 157 pounds, recently won the 175-pound ESCC title, as did Dvoryannikov at the CSL tournament.

2024 state runner-up Dvoriannikov competed at 175 pounds during the regular season for head coach Jesse Wolter at Vernon Hills.

Crystal Lake Central senior Tommy Tomasello won his third place match by fall against Antioch’s Macias.

175- Brody Kelly (IC Prep)

Brody Kelly has helped take the lead in an IC Prep room that is loaded with underclassmen, making the junior one of the old men on the Knights’ roster.

“It’s just a great room to have at IC,” begins Kelly, now 42-5 after his 22-6 tech-fall at 5:20 over Dominic Esposito (38-12) from Fenwick, whom Kelly pinned in his CCL semi-final.

“I was a little too defensive last season, so a lot of my training was focused on being more aggressive, and getting to my offense more in order to dictate how the match should go,” added Kelly, who recently commited to wrestle in the fall of 2016 at North Carolina.

“After the Doc Buchanan in California, the coaching staff at North Carolina contacted me about a visit, and when I did it was clear from the start the facilities, coaching staff, team, and of course the university and its academics were the perfect fit for me.”

Once in Chapel Hill, the No. 1 man at 175 will see a few familiar faces from the area with Colin Carrigan (Marmion Academy, Glenbard West) and assistant head coach Tony Ramos, the former star at Glenbard North and later Iowa.

No. 6 Ben Vazquez (Antioch, 37-7) is on his way to his third appearance at state with a third place medal in his possession after a defeat over league rival Christian Cendajez from Wauconda.

190- Cayden Parks (Crystal Lake Central)

Host Central will send four downstate this weekend, with its top man, No. 1 Cayden Parks heading there with a near perfect 41-1 overall record after the Tigers senior beat No. 7 Mike Merevick (40-9) from Wauconda with a hard fought major decision victory.

Parks, second a year ago at state with a 41-7 record at 190, and fourth in 2023 at 170 finds himself on the top of the 16-man state bracket, opposite of No. 2 Judah Heeg (37-3), the junior from Lemont.

Parks, who two weeks ago won his fourth regional crown to help the Tigers claim a 2A dual-team sectional spot in two weeks after lifting the regional team title at Antioch.

The No. 1 man at 190, who was runner-up at the prestigious Dvorak back in late December, took a 13-3 advantage into the second period against Merevick, thanks to plenty of physical play and hand fighting en route to his 15-7 triumph, his second major over Merevick, who will be a dangerous foe for many in Champaign.

Parks would defeat No. 6 Jack Paris (Fenwick, 40-11) in a semifinal contest, with Paris later falling to No. 10 Isaac Barrientos (IC Prep, 31-15) in their third place match.

215- Owen Shea (Antioch)

Owen Shea, despite competing in a big mans’ weight class, has proven to be a giant killer of sorts this season.

After the Wauconda junior stunned-then No. 1 Ashton Sheldon of Batavia in the final of the 59th Rus Erb at Glenbrook South with a first period pin, it was another Shea stunner when he beat No. 3 Foley Calcagno (IC Prep) in the 215-pound final.

Perhaps unfairly cast as the No. 7 man in his weight class, Shea, now 40-8, pinned his way into the final against the two-time state medal winner, where he recorded a hard fought 7-5 victory.

Shea, now with 31 pins on the season, earns his second appearance downstate in as many seasons.

“Owen will continue to do what he does, and that’s beating individuals that he is not expected to beat,” says Antioch head coach Wilbur Borrero. “But in doing so, it will mean nothing to him without getting on the podium next weekend in Champaign.

“He has the drive and expectation of himself not to lose, and the experience he gained from making it to state last year will help him prepare for what is ahead.”

Calcagno (36-13) was victorious in a splendid semifinal with No. 4 Tommy McNeil (39-6) that went extra long before the IC Prep junior recorded a 3-2 ultimate tie-breaker triumph to advance.

“I beat McNeil (11-8) earlier, but today I should have opened things up a little more, because he’s a big, strong wrestler, and someone I needed to score on to keep the pressure on him,” admitted Calcagno.

McNeil would defeat Melson Nagassa from St. Ignatius, 10-3 in the third place match.

285- Lucas Burton (Cary-Grove)

Cary-Grove senior Lucas Burton was part of a 2023 football team that won the 6A state title, and last year lost in the semifinals to eventual state runner-up Geneva.

Can the Trojans star find a way into the spotlight of the 2A state championship match this weekend in State Farm Arena?

“Lucas had a late start due to football, but he came back really strong and with so much more confidence than a year ago,” Cary-Grove coach Will Peterson said. “I really believe that blood round loss at state showed he has what it takes to compete with the best in the state. Now he just has to go out and get the job done in Champaign.”

After Burton recorded his No’s. 16 and 17 pins on the season, he won the sectional title when the two-time state qualifier from Fenton, Thomas Klos (32-4) took an injury default at 1:28.

“I’m a football player first, but I realized from last year that if I wanted to have the chance to win a state wrestling title, it would be important for me to improve my fitness and conditioning, which is way different from football,” said Burton, No. 2 in the state behind Joel Del Toro (45-2) from East Peoria.

Burton, who is still sorting out his collegiate plans for next fall, plays lacrosse, and also throws shot put for the Trojans track team.

DePaul Prep sophomore Hunter Wahtola would pin Anthony Sebastian (IC Prep) for third place.

By Chris Walker for the IWCOA

3A SECTIONALS OVERVIEW

Eight state champions are back again looking to repeat in 2025, and all won sectional titles throughout the state on Saturday: Warren’s Caleb Noble (106 last year/113 this season) and Aaron Stewart (157/175), Marmion’s Nicholas Garcia (113/126) and Zach Stewart (138/144), Mt. Carmel’s Seth Mendoza (126/138), Marist’s Will Denny (150/165) and Loyola’s Kai Calcutt (215/215).

Rockton Hononegah is returning four wrestlers who placed a year ago: Rocco Cassioppi (106) and Thomas Silva ( 132) took second in the state last February. Bruno Cassioppi (113) and Brody Sendele  (157) placed third. All won sectional titles on Saturday. 

There are seven wrestlers returning to Champaign after seeing their dreams of state titles fall short during title bouts a season ago.

Marist’s Michael Esteban (126), Fremd’s Evan Gosz (144) and Marmion’s Joe Favia (215) are among them and the three who are back at the same weight class. The others include St. Charles East’s Dom Munaretto (113 last year/120 now), JCA’s Jason Hampton (120/126), Lockport’s Justin Wardlow (138/150) and Marist’s Ricky Ericksen (175/190).

Orland Park’s Rocco Hayes (113) took third place at 105 last year. Belleville East’s Jonathan Rulo (285) took third in the state at 285 last year. Both won sectional titles on Saturday.

3A CONANT SECTIONAL

St. Charles East had a productive Saturday up and down its lineup, sending eight wrestlers into the finals of the Class 3A Conant sectional.

The Saints, who won five of their eight championship matches, also had two other wrestlers qualify, giving them 10 overall.

Wrestlers from Oak-Park and River Forest won four of their five sectional title bouts during a big day for the Huskies. They qualified seven wrestlers in total.

Glenbard North joined St. Charles East and OPRF with multiple sectional champions with a pair. The Panthers saw five of their wrestlers earn the opportunity to compete later this week at state in Champaign.

Wheaton North didn’t win any titles but four of its wrestlers qualified for state, the fourth most among the teams with wrestlers in action.

Declan Sons (24-14 at 113), Dom Munaretto (47-1 at 120), Ryan McGovern (40-10 at 157), Anthony Gutierrez (42-6 at 165) and Cooper Murray (36-13 at 215) won sectional titles to lead St. Charles East. 

Rocco Lobrillo (26-17 at 190), Gavin Woodmancy (38-12 at 138) and Liam Aye (32-17 at 126) took second for the Saints and Abraham Leidig (32-16 at 175) and Kaden Potter (15-4 at 106) placed third. 

The winners from OPRF included: MJ Rundell (37-2 at 106), Zev Koransky (25-8 at 132), Joseph Knackstedt (32-3 at 138) and David Ogunsanya (25-6 at 150). Jamiel Castleberry (27-5 at 120) took second, Eric Harris (26-11 at 215) was third and AJ Noyes (11-5 at 144) placed fourth.

Glenbard North’s Kalani Khiev (42-3 at 126) and Julian Holland (36-11 at 190) won sectionals to lead the Panthers. Trey Thompson (34-14 at 132) and Joseph Fitak (25-19 at 175) took second and Vannak Khiev (39-6 at 106) was fourth.

Wheaton North’s Ryan Rosch (32-6 at 150), Julian Flores (34-10 at 165) and Carlo Saenz (31-16 at 190) took third place and Rocco Macellaio (28-16 at 120) placed fourth. 

Lake Park, South Elgin and York also had three state qualifiers, with York’s Frank Nitti (144) winning a sectional title.

Maine South’s Tyler Fortis (285) and Elgin’s Fabian Ramirez (175) won the other two weight divisions to secure sectional championships for their respective teams. 

Maine South, Schaumburg, Taft, Lane, Addison Trail and West Chicago had two individual wrestlers qualify to state while Streamwood, Hoffman Estates, Proviso West, Geneva, Evanston, Elk Grove Village, Maine West and DeKalb had one.

STATE QUALIFIERS FROM THE CONANT SECTIONAL

106
1st  – MJ Rundell of Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest)
2nd – Nikolas Duarte of Addison (A. Trail)
3rd – Kaden Potter of St. Charles (East)
4th – Vannak Khiev of Carol Stream (Glenbard North)

113

1st – Declan Sons of St. Charles (East)

2nd – Nicholas Dilallo of South Elgin

3rd – Bernardo Roque of Chicago (Taft)

4th – Bryce Mensik of Roselle (Lake Park)

120

1st – Dom Munaretto of St. Charles (East)

2nd – Jamiel Castleberry of Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest)

3rd – Brady Phelps of Schaumburg (H.S.)

4th – Rocco Macellaio of Wheaton (North)

126

1st – Kalani Khiev of Carol Stream (Glenbard North)

2nd – Liam Aye of St. Charles (East)

3rd – Mondo Martinelli of Elmhurst (York)

4th – Ryan Alvarado of West Chicago (H.S.)

132

1st – Zev Koransky of Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest)

2nd – Trey Thompson of Carol Stream (Glenbard North)

3rd – Alex Valentin of Chicago (Lane)

4th – Sergio Hernandez of Roselle (Lake Park)

138

1st – Joseph Knackstedt of Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest)

2nd – Gavin Woodmancy of St. Charles (East)

3rd – Nick Merola of Roselle (Lake Park)

4th – Aamir Nieves Allen of South Elgin

144

1st – Frank Nitti of Elmhurst (York)

2nd – Jake Colleran of Park Ridge (Maine South)

3rd – Matthias Hautzinger of Addison (A. Trail)

4th – AJ Noyes of Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest)

150

1st – David Ogunsanya of Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest)

2nd – Callen Kirchner of Schaumburg (H.S.)

3rd – Ryan Rosch of Wheaton (North)

4th – Leo Rosas of West Chicago (H.S.)

157

1st – Ryan McGovern of St. Charles (East)

2nd – Marquis Deloach of Hillside (Proviso West)

3rd  – Nasser Hammouche of Chicago (Lane)

4th – Dmytro Patykovskyi of Hoffman Estates (H.S.)

165

1st – Anthony Gutierrez of St. Charles (East)

2nd – Sean Kolkebeck of DeKalb

3rd – Julian Flores of Wheaton (North)

4th – Peter Greco of Des Plaines (Maine West)

175

1st Place – Fabian Ramirez of Elgin (H.S.)

2nd Place – Joseph Fitak of Carol Stream (Glenbard North)

3rd Place – Abraham Leidig of St. Charles (East)

4th Place – Gabe Inorio of Streamwood

190

1st – Julian Holland of Carol Stream (Glenbard North)

2nd – Rocco Lobrillo of St. Charles (East)

3rd – Carlo Saenz of Wheaton (North)

4th – Karl Pretzer of South Elgin

215

1st – Cooper Murray of St. Charles (East)

2nd – Evan Jocic of Chicago (Taft)

3rd – Eric Harris of Oak Park (O.P.-River Forest)

4th – Mikey Grazzini of Elmhurst (York)

285

1st – Tyler Fortis of Park Ridge (Maine South)

2nd – Mikey Milovich of Elk Grove Village (E.G.)

3rd – Joseph Pettit of Geneva

4th – Jeremy Marshall of Evanston (Twp.)

3A JOLIET CENTRAL SECTIONAL

Joliet Catholic put up a nine on the competition on Saturday less than four miles from home at the Class 3A Joliet Central sectional.

Luke Hamiti (22-7 at 165) and Nico Ronchetti (35-6 at 190) won titles for the Hilltoppers. 

Elias Gonzalez (30-18 at 144) took second, Jason Hampton (37-11 at 126) and Maddux Tindal (34-9 at 120) placed third and Dawson Mack (26-17 at 138), Issac Clauson (24-19 at 175) and Vince Tindal (24-12 at 157) and Nolan Vogel (30-11 at 150) were fourth.

Lincoln-Way East and Lockport each had six wrestlers advance.

For the LW East, Kaidge Richardson (33-11 at 144) brought their lone sectional title back to Frankfort. Tyson Zvonar (39-7 at 132), Brayden Mortell (30-11 at 138) and Jackson Zaeske (40-9 at 175) placed third and Gage LaDere (21-4 at 285) and Colton Zvonar (31-8 at 190) were fourth.

Isaac Zimmerman (35-12 at 126), Liam Zimmerman (39-7 at 132) and Justin Wardlow (42-3 at 150) won titles for Lockport. 

Champions were spread amongst the competitive field with the three being the most by a single team. JCA and Homewood-Flossmoor would produce a pair with single champions from seven schools.

Also for Lockport, Anthony Sutton (35-13 at 113) took second, Jaedon Calderon (32-13 at 157) was third and Chris Miller (35-16 at 165) placed fourth.

Chazz Robinson (37-5 at 120) and RJ Robinson (37-6 at 175) won sectional titles for Homewood-Flossmoor. Jovan Vukajlovic (27-6 at 157) took second and Davion Henry (32-8 at 106) and Ethan Hamilton (27-12 at 113) were fourth.

Yorkville’s Jack Ferguson (47-2 at 157) won a title to lead the Foxes. Also qualifying for the Foxes were second-place Luke Zook (45-3 at 175) and Ryder Janeczko (34-6 at 190), third-place Van Rosauer (42-8 at 150) and fourth-place Luke Chrisse (40-10 at 215).

STATE QUALIFIERS FROM THE JOLIET CENTRAL SECTIONAL

106
1st – Maddox Garbis of Plainfield (North)
2nd – Jackson Soney of Normal (Community)
3rd – Michael McNamara of Edwardsville (H.S.)
4th – Davion Henry of Flossmoor (Homewood-F.)

113

1st – Caden Correll of Normal (Community)

2nd – Anthony Sutton of Lockport (Twp.)

3rd – Brady Glynn of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way West)

4th – Ethan Hamilton of Flossmoor (Homewood-F.)

120

1st – Chazz Robinson of Flossmoor (Homewood-F.)

2nd – Nadeem Haleem of Tinley Park (Andrew)

3rd – Maddux Tindal of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

4th – Max Munn of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way West)

126

1st – Isaac Zimmerman of Lockport (Twp.)

2nd – Aidan Durell of Plainfield (North)

3rd – Jason Hampton of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

4th – Cole Gentsch of Normal (Community)

132

1st – Liam Zimmerman of Lockport (Twp.)

2nd – Brayden Manning of Normal (Community)

3rd – Tyson Zvonar of Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

4th – Adrian Hernandez of Joliet (West)

138

1st – Ryan Richie of Edwardsville (H.S.)

2nd – Jadon Zimmer of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way Central)

3rd – Brayden Mortell of Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

4th – Dawson Mack of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

144

1st – Kaidge Richardson of Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

2nd – Elias Gonzalez of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

3rd – Brayden Swanson of Oswego (H.S.)

4th – Jack Strezo of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way West)

150

1st – Justin Wardlow of Lockport (Twp.)

2nd – Carson Weber of Joliet (West)

3rd – Van Rosauer of Yorkville (H.S.)

4th – Nolan Vogel of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

157

1st – Jack Ferguson of Yorkville (H.S.)

2nd – Jovan Vukajlovic of Flossmoor (Homewood-F.)

3rd – Jaedon Calderon of Lockport (Twp.)

4th – Vince Tindal of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

165

1st – Luke Hamiti of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

2nd – Jalen Byrd of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way Central)

3rd – Terence Willis of Belleville (East)

4th – Chris Miller of Lockport (Twp.)

175

1st – RJ Robinson of Flossmoor (Homewood-F.)

2nd – Luke Zook of Yorkville (H.S.)

3rd – Jackson Zaeske of Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

4th – Issac Clauson of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

190

1st – Nico Ronchetti of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

2nd – Ryder Janeczko of Yorkville (H.S.)

3rd – Simon Schulte of Edwardsville (H.S.)

4th – Colton Zvonar of Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

215

1st – Charles Walker of Joliet (Central)

2nd – Roman Janek of Edwardsville (H.S.)

3rd – Nate Elstner of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way West)

4th – Luke Chrisse of Yorkville (H.S.)

285

1st – Jonathan Rulo of Belleville (East)

2nd – Robbie Murphy of Minooka

3rd – Gage LaDere of Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

4th – Brandon Bavirsha of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way West)

3A BARRINGTON SECTIONAL

At least one wrestler from 19 schools advanced to state on Saturday out of the Class 3A Barrington sectional, which included Buffalo Grove, Glenbrook North, Libertyville, McHenry, Niles North, Prospect, Rockford Guilford, Rolling Meadows and Round Lake.

What a cool honor for those kids and a reminder to all athletes that they are among many talented high school wrestlers there are throughout the state.

Rockton Hononegah, which won its own regional last Saturday, dominated the top of the award stand with five wrestlers earning sectional championships. Rockton Hononegah qualified four other wrestlers for nine total, tops amongst the sectional field.

Rocco Cassioppi (43-2) at 132), Thomas Silva (38-3 at 138), Bruno Cassioppi (9-0 at 150), Brody Sendele (15-1 at 165) and Kurt Smith (43-4 ay 190) won sectional titles for Hononegah.

Also qualifying for state for the Indians were second-place finishers Kristian DeClercq (35-11 at 106) and Connor Diemel (40-6 at 175), Max Haskins (43-10 at 157), who took third, and fourth-place Jackson Olson (41-9 at 120).

Hersey didn’t have a champion but the Huskies had a big day with seven kids extending their season. Anthony Orozco (22-12 at 120), Rodrigo Arceo (31-14 at 150), Frankie Tagoe (29-15 at 157) and Jonathan Slump (21-20 at 190) took second. Riddick Variano (34-15 at 126), Elijah Garza (38-9 at 132) and Maksim Mukhamedaliyev (41-7 at 144) placed third.

Warren’s Caleb Noble (40-2 at 113) and Aaron Stewart (39-2 at 175) won titles to lead the Warriors, who are sending six to state overall. Royce Lopez (28-6) and Anthony Soto (42-6 at 285) took second, Jonathon Marquez (34-10 at 120) placed third and Justice Humphreys (23-7 at 157) placed fourth.

Ryan Dorn (37-7 at 120) was Barrington’s lone champion. The Broncos’ Kaleb Pratt (21-4 at 113) and Saul Ramirez (23-19 at 126) placed second and Daniel Blanke (29-10 at 150) and Clarence Jackson (37-8 at 215) took third.

Grant’s Vince Jasinski (43-6 at 126) won his school’s only sectional title, but he’ll have good company at state. Teammates Erik Rodriguez (45-6 at 138), Christian Wittkamp (19-4 at 175) and Casey Gipson won third and Adrian Khi (25-24 at 144) took fourth.

Shawn Kogan (39-5 at 132) took second to lead Stevenson’s four state qualifiers as Daniel Berdich (35-15 at 106), Marcelo Cantu (28-12 at 126) and Mikey Polyakov (37-13 at 138) took fourth.

Evan Gosz (43-2 at 144) won a title for Fremd. Drew Fifield (33-4 at 138) took second and Lucas Nance (37-8 at 165) and Owen Jakubczak (32-7 at 285) were third.

Radic Dvorak (42-3 at 157) was a big winner for Huntley. Also qualifying for the Red Raiders were Wyatt Theobald (33-17 at 215) and Colin Abordo (38-11 at 113). Both placed fourth. 

Niko Odiotti (27-2 at 106) and Kai Calcutt (34-0 at 215) won titles for Loyola Academy, joining Warren as the only school to produce two or more champions in addition to Rockton Hononegah’s five. Calcutt is looking to defend his state title at 215 and remains unbeaten.

STATE QUALIFIERS FROM THE BARRINGTON SECTIONAL

106
1st – Niko Odiotti of Wilmette (Loyola Academy)
2nd – Kristian DeClercq of Rockton (Hononegah)
3rd – Dominic Angileri of Rockford (Guilford)
4th – Daniel Berdich of Lincolnshire (Stevenson)

113

1st – Caleb Noble of Gurnee (Warren)

2nd – Kaleb Pratt of Barrington

3rd – Oleksandr Havrylkiv of Buffalo Grove

4th – Colin Abordo of Huntley

120

1st – Ryan Dorn of Barrington

2nd – Anthony Orozco of Arlington Heights (Hersey)

3rd – Jonathon Marquez of Gurnee (Warren)

4th – Jackson Olson of Rockton (Hononegah)

126

1st – Vince Jasinski of Fox Lake (Grant)

2nd – Saul Ramirez of Barrington

3rd – Riddick Variano of Arlington Heights (Hersey)

4th – Marcelo Cantu of Lincolnshire (Stevenson)

132

1st – Rocco Cassioppi of Rockton (Hononegah)

2nd – Shawn Kogan of Lincolnshire (Stevenson)

3rd – Elijah Garza of Arlington Heights (Hersey)

4th – Ryan Hanson of McHenry

138

1st – Thomas Silva of Rockton (Hononegah)

2nd – Drew Fifield of Palatine (Fremd)

3rd – Erik Rodriguez of Fox Lake (Grant)

4th – Mikey Polyakov of Lincolnshire (Stevenson)

144

1st – Evan Gosz of Palatine (Fremd)

2nd –  Ethan Banda of Mundelein (H.S.)

3rd – Maksim Mukhamedaliyev of Arlington Heights (Hersey)

4th – Adrian Khi of Fox Lake (Grant)

150

1st – Bruno Cassioppi of Rockton (Hononegah)

2nd – Rodrigo Arceo of Arlington Heights (Hersey)

3rd – Daniel Blanke of Barrington

4th – Oliver Quiros of Skokie (Niles North)

157

1st – Radic Dvorak of Huntley

2nd – Frankie Tagoe of Arlington Heights (Hersey)

3rd – Max Haskins of Rockton (Hononegah)

4th – Justice Humphreys of Gurnee (Warren)

165

1st – Brody Sendele of Rockton (Hononegah)

2nd – Royce Lopez of Gurnee (Warren)

3rd – Lucas Nance of Palatine (Fremd)

4th – Joseph Quirk of Mt. Prospect (Prospect)

175

1st – Aaron Stewart of Gurnee (Warren)

2nd – Connor Diemel of Rockton (Hononegah)

3rd – Christian Wittkamp of Fox Lake (Grant)

4th – Shane Onixt of Northbrook (Glenbrook North)

190

1st – Kurt Smith of Rockton (Hononegah)

2nd – Jonathan Slump of Arlington Heights (Hersey)

3rd – Casey Gipson of Fox Lake (Grant)

4th – John Rappa of Rolling Meadows

215

1st – Kai Calcutt of Wilmette (Loyola Academy)

2nd – Caleb Baczek of Libertyville

3rd – Clarence Jackson of Barrington

4th – Wyatt Theobald of Huntley

285

1st – William Cole of Round Lake

2nd – Anthony Soto of Gurnee (Warren)

3rd – Owen Jakubczak of Palatine (Fremd)

4th – Abisai Hernandez of Mundelein (H.S.)

By Chris Walker – for The IWCOA

Marmion Academy’s James Morrison (106), Nicholas Garcia (126), Zach Stewart (144), Ashton Hobson (150) and Joseph Favia (215) were crowned sectional champions early Saturday evening at the IHSA Class 3A Hinsdale Central Individual Sectional.

The Cadets dominated a strong, competitive field, which included familiar foes such as Marist and Mount Carmel, as they had four second-place finishes along with a third place and a fourth-place finish and will send 11 individuals to the IHSA Individual Finals, which begins on Thursday at the State Farm Center in Champaign.

Morrison (33-11) had a win by technical fall over Glenbard East’s Lorenz Rios Loud in the quarterfinals, followed by a pin of Marist’s Elio Gil (26-13) in 5:57 in the semifinal and another win by technical fall in 5:26 in the 106 championship over Glenbard West’s Aidan Ortega (36-6).

Garcia (21-1), who won a Class 3A title at 113 pounds last year, got a quick pin in the quarterfinals against Mount Carmel’s Francis Burke and a 9-3 decision over Glenbard West’s Carson Prunty (32-7) in the semifinals before defeating Marist’s Michael Esteban (32-7) in the 126 final on a tiebreaker, 2-1.

Stewart (30-2), who won the Class 3A title at 138 in 2024, got a win by technical fall win over Downers Grove North’s Aidan Cummings in the quarterfinals before surviving Marist’s Donavon Allen (27-6) on an ultimate tie breaker, 3-2, to advance in the finals. Stewart pinned Carl Sandburg’s Ryan Hinger (40-4), who took fourth in the state at 138 last year, in 1:27.

“(On Friday) I wrestled (Aidan) Cummings, a tough kid and then I wrestled Donavon Allen and he’s a really tough kid and I’m bumping up some weight,” Stewart said. “I think he’s ranked 23rd in the country and he’s got that style where he’s going to be tough to score on, so it’s kind of like I know it’s going to be tough and you got to go out there and win so that’s what I did against Allen. I found something in me to get that win, bigger, stronger, faster. And then in the finals there, (Hinger) got me into his positions but I kind of ended it pretty quick.”

Going head-to-head against fellow studs like Allen as well as seeing other high-caliber matches continues to drive Stewart’s love of the sport.

“I love the tournaments,” he said. “Tournaments are my favorite. I love practices, but tournaments, just the feeling with everybody, and I see everybody, like (Mount Carmel’s) Seth (Mendoza). I practice with him in the offseason so I get to see what’s up with him. I just love being here. Yeah, you could be somewhere else on a Saturday night, but instead you’re here wrestling with some of your best friends.”

It certainly helps when some of those best friends are your teammates and they’re finding great success, too.

“Honestly, the work we’ve put in, especially the past few weeks leading up to this and getting healthy helped us get 11 guys in,” Stewart said. “It’s nice to finally be back to full health so it’s really fun to see what these guys can do because we haven’t seen much of it all. Nobody has been wrestling the whole year. A lot of the guys are back now. There are mental blocks, but physically we’re all kind of back into wrestling. Mentally we’re all there, but there are just a few things, you know, we need to get past to get into that groove that we have. Minor little adjustments to specific kids, but other than that, we’re wrestling really solid, but when we get to that team state like we’ll have a plan.”

Hobson (25-5), who placed sixth in the state at 144 last season, pinned Argo’s Skylar Arellano-Phipps in under a minute during the quarterfinals and earned a 6-3 decision against Naperville North’s Tyler Sternstein (34-9) in the semifinals. Mount Carmel’s Jairo Acuna (17-7) was his final roadblock in pursuit of the sectional title at 150 and Hobson controlled the match, earning a 7-0 win.

Hobson and Acuna know each other well. They met in the blood round at state last year with Hobson prevailing, 9-3, in Champaign.

“It gets hard wrestling guys two or three times a year,” Hobson said. “The guy I had in the final I had last year in the blood round so it’s a familiar foe.”

With his teammates also rolling, Hobson is thrilled to be along for the ride while doing his part to help them drive downstate.

“It’s awesome seeing your friends win and it just motivates you to work harder,” he said. “We’re right there. We’re ready to show the state what we could do.”

After taking second in the state at 215 last year to Loyola Academy’s Kai Calcutt, there’s no doubt that Favia wants a chance to compete for a state title again. 

“Our team looks really good,” he said. “We’ve been putting in all the work, you know, pushing the pace these last couple weeks when people are toning it down we’re turning into machines. We’re not men anymore, we’re machines. The team is looking good and is ready to push, even after individual state.”

Favia got another step closer to returning to the state final match after outlasting Batavia’s Asher Sheldon (30-5) with a 1-0 decision for the 215 sectional title.

“Asher is a great wrestler, good kid, I talk to him quite a bit,” Favia said. “He’s a great athlete. We wrestled two times prior. He’s a hell of an athlete. I just got to get to my offense more and the coaches are already talking to me so I know what I got to work on so we’ll be ready.”

Favia pinned Downers Grove North’s Nate Olona to get started before earning an 8-1 decision over Carl Sandburg’s Malic Breish (31-18) to get into the finals.

“All of our guys are kind of peaking at the right moment so it’s looking really good,” Favia said. “Obviously there are some things that everybody has to touch up, but I mean, we’re all on the right pace to do some big things. I’m really excited for our team. We’ve never won a team state title in Marmion history so we’re coming for that.”

Falling in their respective title matches were Aidan McClure (26-8 at 113), Demetrios Carrera (41-6 at 132), Vincenzo Testa (10-5 at 175) and Mateusz Nycz (40-5 at 285).

Also advancing for the Cadets were Colton Wyller (41-8 at 120), who earned a 10-1 major decision against Downers Grove North’s Tyler Tiancgo (40-12) to take third, and Luke Boersma (36-17 at 190), who dropped a 6-4 decision to Glenbard East’s Orlando Hoye (33-12), to place fourth.

All told, Marmion qualified 11 individuals to state. When you’re reaching double digits in a sectional, you’re doing something really special.

“I really truly believe we have the best coaching staff in the country,” Favia said. “They’re always there for us. Win or lose, those guys love us and put in so much time so that really does it for the mindset. Just knowing you have a group of teammates and coaches that win or lose you’re loved and that’s the school that we have, that’s the brotherhood that we have, and it’s something special we have, you won’t find it anywhere else.”

Mount Carmel and Marist didn’t get as many wrestlers into sectional championship matches as the Cadets, but both programs had strong performances and each qualified nine individuals for state after sending four apiece into sectional title bouts.

Marist’s George Marinopoulos (36-6) got wins by technical fall over Waubonsie Valley’s Nathan Duffield and Carl Sandburg’s Madden Parker (35-10) to set the stage for the 132 final against Marmion’s Carrera, where Marinopoulos pulled away in the final for a 13-6 decision.

“I had a good opponent (in the final) who I’ve wrestled twice earlier in the year and wanted to get that one back,” Marinopoulos said. “I was just ready. I’ve been kind of looking forward to this one for a couple weeks now. I’ve been wanting to wrestle him again so I was just ready for that one.”

Last year Marinopoulos took third place at 120 pounds at the Hinsdale Central sectional to qualify for state where he split his four matches and did not place.

“I’m super excited,” he said. “I’m feeling more confident than ever and just trying to get that championship.”

Over the summer, Marinpoulous committed himself to returning to state and also to the award stand.

“Summer wrestling and getting in the room is a key factor to how we’ll perform later on,” he said. “A big shoutout to coach Ryan Egan and teammates Will Denny, Michael Esteban and Tommy Fidler. We were in the room every day with each other having fun with it, not just wrestling. Sometimes we’d play around and do some MMA stuff. It’s just having fun in the room. We’re just a brotherhood. We all love each other and push each other every day.”

Denny (38-1) is pursuing his second-straight state title for Marist after winning at 150 pounds last season. Denny took down all three of his opponents at 165 via technical fall, earning victories over Carl Sandburg’s Wyatt Hochgraber and Mount Carmel’s Daniel Lynch (16-13) before he handed West Aurora’s Dayne Serio (45-2) just his second loss of the season with a win by technical fall in 1:24.

The RedHawks’ third sectional champion, Ricky Ericksen at 190, has been shooting for a return to state after placing second to Mount Carmel’s Colin Kelly at 175 a year ago.

“I don’t know, it’s kind of hard to explain, but the feeling I felt after the state finals match even though going into it (I knew) this kid has beaten me a couple times already, it was not the performance I wanted to have in the state finals,” Ericksen said. “So it really fueled my fire in the off-season and over the summer. I took a break from football and came back and was still dialed in like I never left.”

Ericksen pinned Carl Sandburg’s Chris Davis to begin his sectional title run. Ericksen won by technical fall over Glenbard East’s Orlando Hoye (33-12) before making quick work of Hinsdale Central’s Zachary Kruse, getting a fall in 0:56 in the 190 title bout.

“The goal next week is to dominate,” he said. “Just go out there and dominate. Not really focusing on getting that state championship because we know that will come. Just putting on a show for the fans.”

There’s no doubt Ericksen finds joy when he wrestles. For as little time a wrestler spends actually wrestling over the course of a two-day tournament, like this sectional, finding a way to stay occupied, focused and have fun isn’t necessarily easy. Ericksen is flourishing throughout. The Ohio- recruit even sent a wink in teammate Ethan Sonne’s direction after he cruised to a quick Kruse pin in the final.

“(Sonne) was looking at me and kind of laughing and we made eye contact,” Eriksen said. “I decided to throw him a wink. We share a special bond as a team. We are such a tight-knit group of kids who all love each other to death. These are special moments and being my last year I’m making memories.”

Esteban, who took second in the state at 126 last February, took second place after a tough loss to Marmion’s Nicholas Garcia. He’ll be joining his three sectional champion teammates at state along with Donavon Allen (27-6 at 144), Tommy Fidler (22-10 at 150) and Ethan Sonne (33-10 at 157), who all won third-place matches, and Elio Gil (26-13 at 106) and Joe Bronske (21-10 at 113), who took fourth.

Mount Carmel’s Seth Mendoza (32-1), who is wrestling at 138 after winning the 126-pound state title last year, pinned West Aurora’s Evan Matkovich in 1:21 to capture the sectional crown. 

Also winning for the Caravan was Kavel Moore (25-11), who pinned Glenbard East’s Ismael Chaidez (42-3)in 2:34 for the title at 120.

Moore scored a major decision over Downers Grove North’s Tyler Tiancgo and a win by technical fall over Marmion’s Wyller to earn his shot against Chaidez.

Mendoza, who will be trying to make history by becoming a four-time IHSA champion this weekend, got started with a first-period win by technical fall win over Lyons Township’s Jack Kutchek before pinning Sandburg’s Brady Ritter (35-11) in 2:18 during the semifinals.

“I didn’t change anything going into this tournament,” Mendoza said. “It’s the same as any other tournament. The same mindset, the same goal. But, I mean, I think no matter what tournament it is,  the first dual meet of the year or a big national tournament, I’m going in there with the same mindset. Just trying to dominate, win the positions I’m in and I think that just has always worked for me and will always work for me.”

Watching Moore dominate provided outstanding theater for Mendoza.

“He’s having a little more fun with it and not worrying about wins and losses, but just worrying about having fun and focusing, and that gets the job done,” Mendoza said. “That’s what I did and I think it works out pretty well.”

Having already won state titles at 106, 113 and 126, Mendoza is shooting for his fourth state title this season.

“These four years, everyone has been telling me, especially my parents, that it’s going to go quick,” he said. “I didn’t really believe them and now that it’s almost over it’s like ‘Wow, I remember being in this building three years ago and it didn’t feel like three years ago.’ I’m just trying to enjoy every moment of it, every practice. We’re close with a lot of these teams, Marist and Marmion and it’s good seeing them here. They have top-level guys just like us and are battling it out. It’s always fun to watch. It never gets old watching us compete.”

The Caravan also received second-place finishes from Jairo Acuna (17-7 at 150) and Liam Kelly (30-5 at 157) while Sebastian Gracia (25-11 at 106) and Leonard Siegal (21-14 at 215) took third place and Justin Williamson (15-7 at 132), Daniel Lynch (16-13 at 165) and Kevin Kalchbrenner (24-10 at 175) placed fourth to all advance to state.

West Aurora matched the Caravan and RedHawks with four individuals who also were in the finals. The RedHawks produced three champions while the Caravan and Blackhawks each had a pair of title winners.

Dominic Serio started out in fine fashion for West Aurora, pinning Lyons Township’s Mickey Ahrens in 1:30 in the 157 quarterfinals. Serio won by technical tech fall in his seminal match against Glenbard West’s Brandon Watson (33-15) before earning a 7-3 decision over Mount Carmel’s Kelly for the title.

Serio took fourth in the state at 150 last year.

“It feels pretty good, but I’m still not done yet, so I’m not satisfied,” Serio said. “I’ve got to win the state title at the end of the season. Honestly, I feel like all this stuff before state is just practice to help you get ready for the state tournament. And I’ll be ready.”

His teammate, Alfonso Aguilar, was certainly ready on Saturday afternoon.

Wrestling in the 285 final as the sectional was coming to an end, Aguilar (37-11) pinned Marmion’s Mateusz Nycz (40-5) in 1:52. The two just squared off in the Class 3A Marmion Regional title match a week earlier with Nycz disposing of Aguilar in the opening 30 seconds in Aurora. 

“It was on my mind,” Aguilar explained. I was nervous. He pinned me in like the first 15 seconds (officially 21 seconds). I was just nervous, scared.”

What a turnaround.

“Honestly it’s just practice and getting after it every day and coach pushing me and getting me to be my best,” Aguilar said. “That’s the mindset you have to have in order to win. There’s no backing down. Honestly, I was excited. I was confident about my wrestling and I think honestly that’s what got me the win.”

It was a solid day for the Blackhawks as Serio and Aguilar were just two of the five wrestlers to advance to state from West Aurora. Dayne Serio (45-2 at 165) and Evan Matkovich (41-6 at 138) took second and Marcus Quintana (40-8 at 144) took fourth to also qualify for state.

“It’s honestly like a family here,” Dominic Serio said. “I mean, we all work as hard as we can be and I love those guys. We all get along great and we all train hard together. It’s seeing each other work really hard that really just boosts everybody up and we all get better together.”

And they’re enjoying the journey toward this weekend’s final destination for 2025.

“I feel like better than ever this season,” Dominic Serio said. “A lot of it is mental, too. I used to be my own worst critic. Now I’m in my last year and not worried about it and having fun. Doing the work in the offseason and stuff and getting extra workouts in have really helped.”

No other programs other than Marmion, Marist, Mount Carmel and West Aurora had multiple champions. Carl Sandburg’s Rocco Hayes (113) and Naperville Central’s Henry Rydwelski (175) won sectional titles for their respective schools to account for the remaining championships.

Hayes (42-1), who took third at state at 106 in 2024, earned a 6-4 decision over Marmion’s McClure in his title match. Hayes pinned West Aurora’s Jeremiah Hayes and Batavia’s Kai Enos enroute there.

Ryan Hinger (40-4 at 144), who took fourth in the state at 138 last year, was second and Brady Ritter (35-11 at 138) and Malic Breish (31-18 at 215) were fourth to join Hayes in qualifying for state.

Henry Rydwelski (43-3) punched his ticket to state in his final attempt after beating Downers Grove South’s Noah Greene (31-8), 7-2, in his semifinals match. Rydwelski fell short of qualifying for state out of the Hinsdale Central Sectional a year ago. 

Saturday’s success undoubtedly was the direct result of the senior’s unwavering commitment to getting better in order to make the dream of getting to state a reality. Inspiring.

“Going in the mornings and after school every day in the offseason, and in the summer, and everyday in the winter and Sundays,” Rydwelski said. “Everything just seems to be paying off now and it’s just the best feeling in the world, really.”

Rydwelski defeated Marmion’s Vincenzo Testa in a down-to-the-wire championship match as the two were knotted at 1-1 late until Rydwelski pulled out the win, 4-1.

“I knew if I just pushed the pace the whole match and once he took that injury timeout I was (feeling) like he (was) getting tired,” he said. “If I just keep pushing the pace eventually something is going to open up and it did so.”

Knowing he had already earned his trip this weekend to state eased the stress of wrestling for a sectional title. What an emotional rollercoaster.

“I found it a little easier, I was worrying a lot and was nervous in my semifinal bout,” he said. “Once I made it to the finals I was like I might as well go and win the whole thing now, know what I’m saying? I already have a spot in state, so I’m just going to let it fly.”

Just a few years ago, Rydwelski was a freshman and setting goals. Getting to state was the big one. 

“Freshman year I was like, ‘This is my goal, I want to win a state medal and I’m going to do everything in my power to make that happen.’ Seeing it pay off is the best feeling in the world.”

William Erbeck (38-3 at 285) and Jacob Cochran (38-11 at 126) both took fourth place and will join Rydwelski in Champaign representing Naperville Central.

It’s a return trip for Erbeck and the first for Cochran.

“I’ve drilled with Erbeck before, but not as much lately since he’s heavyweight,” Rydwelski said. “Seeing him go to state a second year in a row is amazing. And then Jacob Cochran. He is like one of the hardest workers in the room. He consistently shows up to every event in the offseason and goes to club. He’s definitely one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen, so seeing that pay off is so nice.”

Glenbard West’s Aidan Ortega (36-6 at 106) took second, Carson Prunty (32-7 at 126) was third and Vince Tortoriello (36-11 at 150) and Brandon Watson (33-15 at 157) were fourth for the Hilltoppers and all qualified to state.

Glenbard East’s Ismael Chaidez (42-3 at 120) and Orland Hoye (33-12 at 190) took second and third, respectively, to qualify to state for the Rams.

Batavia’s Asher Sheldon (30-5 at 215) took second and Kai Enos (37-8 at 113) placed third to lead the Bulldogs and extend their seasons.

Lyons Township received third-place finishes from Griff Powell (33-4 at 132) and Jack Kutchek (27-14 at 138) to also advance to state.

Downers Grove South’s Noah Greene (31-8 at 175) and Jack=obi Spraggins (28-5 at 285) also both took third place to earn state berths.

Hinsdale Central’s Zachary Kruse (40-5 at 190) claimed second place, Bolingbrook’s Tommy McDermott (35-7 at 165) placed third and Downers Grove North’s Tyler Tinacgo (40-12 at 106) took fourth as all three earned the opportunity to represent their school at state.

Class 3A Hinsdale Sectional Place Matches

106

1st Place Match

James Morrison (Marmion Academy) 33-11, So. over Aidan Ortega (Glenbard West) 36-6, So. (TF-1.5 5:26 (16-0))

3rd Place Match

Sebastian Gracia (Mount Carmel) 25-11, Fr. over Elio Gil (Marist) 26-13, So. (Dec 4-1)

113

1st Place Match

Rocco Hayes (Carl Sandburg) 42-1, Sr. over Aidan McClure (Marmion Academy) 26-8, Fr. (Dec 6-4)

3rd Place Match

Kai Enos (Batavia) 37-8, Fr. over Joe Bronske (Marist) 21-20, Jr. (Fall 5:52)

120

1st Place Match

Kavel Moore (Mount Carmel) 25-11, Sr. over Ismael Chaidez (Glenbard East) 42-3, Jr. (Fall 2:34)

3rd Place Match

Colton Wyller (Marmion Academy) 41-8, So. over Tyler Tiancgo (Downers Grove North) 40-12, Sr. (MD 10-1)

126

1st Place Match

Nicholas Garcia (Marmion Academy) 21-1, Jr. over Michael Esteban (Marist) 32-7, Sr. (TB-1 2-1)

3rd Place Match

Carson Prunty (Glenbard West) 32-7, Sr. over Jacob Cochran (Naperville Central) 38-11, Jr. (Dec 4-3)

132

1st Place Match

George Marinopoulos (Marist) 36-6, Sr. over Demetrios Carrera (Marmion Academy) 41-6, Jr. (Dec 13-6)

3rd Place Match

Griff Powell (Lyons Township) 33-4, Jr. over Justin Williamson (Mount Carmel) 15-7, So. (Dec 3-0)

138

1st Place Match

Seth Mendoza (Mount Carmel) 32-1, Sr. over Evan Matkovich (West Aurora) 41-6, Jr. (Fall 1:21)

3rd Place Match

Jack Kutchek (Lyons Township) 27-14, Sr. over Brady Ritter (Carl Sandburg) 35-11, So. (Dec 6-2)

144

1st Place Match

Zach Stewart (Marmion Academy) 30-2, Jr. over Ryan Hinger (Carl Sandburg) 40-4, Sr. (Fall 1:27)

3rd Place Match

Donavon Allen (Marist) 27-6, Sr. over Marcus Quintana (West Aurora) 40-8, So. (TF-1.5 3:18 (20-5))

150

1st Place Match

Ashton Hobson (Marmion Academy) 25-5, Jr. over Jairo Acuna (Mount Carmel) 17-7, Sr. (Dec 7-0)

3rd Place Match

Tommy Fidler (Marist) 22-10, Jr. over Vince Tortoriello (Glenbard West) 36-11, Jr. (MD 11-2)

157

1st Place Match

Dominic Serio (West Aurora) 33-4, Sr. over Liam Kelly (Mount Carmel) 30-5, Jr. (Dec 7-3)

3rd Place Match

Ethan Sonne (Marist) 33-10, So. over Brandon Watson (Glenbard West) 33-15, Sr. (TF-1.5 3:46 (20-3))

165

1st Place Match

Will Denny (Marist) 38-1, Sr. over Dayne Serio (West Aurora) 45-2, Jr. (TF-1.5 1:24 (21-6))

3rd Place Match

Tommy McDermott (Bolingbrook) 35-7, Jr. over Daniel Lynch (Mount Carmel) 16-13, Sr. (TF-1.5 3:03 (15-0))

175

1st Place Match

Henry Rydwelski (Naperville Central) 43-3, Sr. over Vincenzo Testa (Marmion Academy) 10-5, Jr. (Dec 4-1)

3rd Place Match

Noah Greene (Downers Grove South) 31-8, So. over Kevin Kalchbrenner (Mount Carmel) 24-10, Sr. (Dec 19-18)

190

1st Place Match

Ricky Ericksen (Marist) 33-7, Sr. over Zachary Kruse (Hinsdale Central) 40-5, Sr. (Fall 0:56)

3rd Place Match

Orlando Hoye (Glenbard East) 33-12, Jr. over Luke Boersma (Marmion Academy) 36-17, So. (Dec 6-4)

215

1st Place Match

Joseph Favia (Marmion Academy) 18-6, Jr. over Asher Sheldon (Batavia) 30-5, Jr. (Dec 1-0)

3rd Place Match

Leonard Siegal (Mount Carmel) 21-14, Sr. over Malic Breish (Carl Sandburg) 31-18, Sr. (Dec 3-2)

285

1st Place Match

Alfonso Aguilar (West Aurora) 37-11, Jr. over Mateusz Nycz (Marmion Academy) 40-5, Sr. (Fall 1:52)

3rd Place Match

Jacobi Spraggins (Downers Grove South) 28-5, Sr. over William Erbeck (Naperville Central) 38-3, Sr. (Dec 9-2)

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

How brutal was the gauntlet of this year’s Schaumburg girls’ sectional? Look no further than the four wrestlers who reached the semifinals at 105 pounds.

Heading into Schaumburg, those four girls had a combined record of 126-6. The group included two unbeaten semifinalists squaring off in Glenbard East’s Nadiia Shymkiv and Leyden’s Zoey Dodgers, plus two wrestlers with identical 36-3 records in the other semifinal, in Dundee-Crown’s Diamond Rodriguez and West Aurora’s Kameyah Young.

“It’s crazy. There’s no easy way out of here. You have to go earn it,” Schaumburg coach Matt Gruszka said.“These teams are just beating up on one another.” 

At day’s end, it was Gruszka’s girls who earned a team sectional trophy in a tight race all day, 96.5-85 over second-place Lockport. Hoffman Estates (74.5), Glenbard West (72.5) and Hampshire (71.5) finished in that order in a tight battle for third.

Lockport got individual sectional titles from returning state champion Claudia Heeney (135) and Rebekah Ramirez (235), Hoffman Estates got a title from Sophia Ball (130), Glenbard West’s Khloe Perez (110) won a title, and Hampshire had two individual champs in Amelia Nidelea-Polanin (115) and Annaliese Tavira (170).

Schaumburg led all teams with four state qualifiers in sectional champion Nadia Razzak (190), runner-up Hope Zerafa-Lazarevic (145), and third-place winners Madyson Meyer (115) and Sharon Olorunfemi (135).

Razzak won a 14-7 decision over Streamwood’s Jasmine Rene on the title mat at 190, then raved about her Saxons.

“My team is amazing and I don’t know what I’d do without them. They support me so much,” Razzak said. “I don’t even get excited about winning my matches until I turn and see my team cheering for me. That just really makes it worth it for me, to be able to support my team and see that support come right back.”

“Overall, it was hard-nosed,” Gruszka said. “Nadia winning against Jasmine was great to see, and Hope wrestled a really tough kid (South Elgin’s Allison Garbacz). Maddy wrestled smart at 115 and my sophomore (Olorunfemi) didn’t even know what wrestling was last year, so she’s been fun to watch.

“Hoffman Estates, Lockport, Glenbard West — you look at the wins in these brackets and you just shake your head.”

INDIVIDUAL SECTIONAL CHAMPIONS

100 – Katelyn Bell, Montini

Seniors with a sense of urgency during the final chapter of their high school careers often also possess a perspective that only comes with maturity.

“I practice with intention, I know the things I need to work on and I have a goal in my head,” Montini senior Katelyn Bell said. “So even if I’m having a bad day, I try to leave it all on the mat. And the pressure is what makes it fun.”

Bell (36-5) met the pressure of a sectional title mat Saturday. The four-time state qualifier won by fall at 1:48 over Batavia’s Lily Enos (41-5) to win the first sectional crown of her career. And where pressure is concerned, Bell largely leaves all that to a higher power.

“My dad tells me to surrender the outcome,” Bell said. “We’re very religious, so leave the outcome to God and just leave everything you have on the mat.”

Regional champion Bell posted a pair of tech falls to reach the finals, while Enos used a fall and a major decision to get there. Bell shot a low double and scored to make it 3-0 early on, and got two more takedowns before getting the fall.

Bell placed sixth downstate last year but had to sit out the fifth-place match due to a concussion. She’s ready to make another run at the podium in her final high school season.

“Coach (Mike Bukovsky) tells me ‘you’ve done all the work all year, now this is the time to get it done’,” Bell said. “Be in a good mindset, be ready for everything, and just wrestle to the best of your ability. I know how to wrestle my match and know how to control where it goes.”

Romeoville’s Daniela Santander (34-6) won by fall over West Aurora’s Ruby Bolanos-Carbajal (26-13) on the third-place mat.

105 – West Aurora’s Kameyah Young

After placing second in state last year at 100 pounds, West Aurora’s Kameyah Young has been dominant all season, and she beat two regional champions on her way to beating a third for a sectional title.

In arguably the toughest bracket in arguably the toughest sectional in Illinois, Young (38-3) rose to the challenge. The Blackhawks’ senior won her last three matches of the day over regional champs Ashley Hammond (30-14) of Larkin, Diamond Rodriguez (37-5) of Dundee-Crown, and previously unbeaten sophomore Zoey Dodgers (23-1) of Leyden.

Young placed second to Glenbard East’s Nadiia Shymkiv (32-1) on a regional title mat a week earlier. Shymkiv placed third in Illinois at 105 last year but in a sectional semifinal battle of unbeatens, Dodgers won by major decision over Shymkiv to eliminate the chance at a Shymkiv-Young rematch.

Young’s four takedowns against Dodgers sent her along the path to a 13-1 major decision win and a sectional title. Shymkiv and Rodriguez both advanced downstate, with Shymkiv winning a 9-0 major decision over Rodriguez for third place.

110 – Khloe Perez, Glenbard West

For Glenbard West regional champion Khloe Perez (36-0), a trio of pins earned the freshman her first sectional title, capped by a pin at 1:50 on the title mat at 110 against Crystal Lake South’s Annalee Aarseth (14-2).

Aarseth also won a regional title one week prior and the sophomore used a pair of major decisions to reach the finals. Aarseth shot two first-period singles that Perez fought off before taking Aarseth down for the late first-period pin.

No one made it to the third period against Perez in Schaumburg. She opened with a quarterfinal fall at 2:39 against Harvard’s Alexa Herrera, then a fall at :29 in her semifinal against Woodstock’s Eva Hermansson, before knocking off Aarseth.

Perez’s sister Alycia went 35-0 as a state champion senior at 100 pounds last year, so she’s aiming to match her sister’s unbeaten championship season.

In the third-place match at 110, Elk Grove Village’s Valeria Pesantes (23-4) won by fall at 1:01 over Lisle’s Cadence Dubois (17-6).

115 – Amelia Nidelea-Polanin, Hampshire

Hampshire sophomore Amelia Nidelea-Polanin improved to 33-2 with here title-mat pin at 2:53 against Bolingbrook’s Alejandra Flores (30-4), winning her first sectional title one week after winning her first regional title.

Nidelea-Polanin used two tech fall wins to reach the title mat, where she led 3-1 midway through the second period when she took Flores to her back and finished the match.

A year ago, Nidelea-Polanin was sitting at home.

“I didn’t wrestle last year. I was worn out and I didn’t feel confident,” Nidelea-Polanin said. “Now, I feel good. I just pushed through it and pushed through practices because I know what I want to get, which is a state title.”

Schaumburg’s Madyson Meyer (44-3) finished third by medical forfeit against Metea Valley’s Ashley Basmajian (11-2).

120 – Emma Engels, Bartlett

A four-time state qualifier in Bartlett senior Emma Engels (40-3) followed last week’s regional title with the second sectional crown of her career. Engels won a state title at 100 pounds as a sophomore and the Oshkosh-bound wrestler is aiming to return to the highest step on the podium at this year’s state finals.

“I’m definitely more confident than I’ve ever been,” Engels said. “Training over the summer definitely helped. I’m doing anything all that differently than last year, I’m just more confident.

“I’ve wrestled most of the top girls so now it’s about making adjustments since the last time I wrestled them. I’ll keep training hard, working on what I’m doing, and making those adjustments.”

Engels led Leyden sophomore Sabrina Bono (27-5) 16-6 on the title mat Saturday, when she pinned her at the 5:24 mark.

Glenbard West senior Karolina Konopka (38-8) won by fall at 2:21 over Oswego senior Aaliyah Roldan (36-14) on the third-place mat.

125 – Elise Burkut, Wheeling

Wheeling junior Elise Burkut (35-3) trailed Bartlett junior Lilly White (38-4) 3-1 on the title mat at 125 when she made a decision.

“I guess I decided to just take a risk, since I was already down by a good few points,” Burkut said. “I don’t know how to say this without being family-friendly — but I just decided ‘F-it, we’re hip-tossing’. I knew I could lug her over because I’ve got pretty good torque. I think that was a pretty good match for me. Normally matches are a blur for me and when I tap myself on the headgear a couple times, that’s when it all clicks in.”

Burkut’s hip-toss paid off when she took White to the mat and pinned her at 3:16. 

Burkut was a state qualifier last year and hopes to make more noise in Bloomington this year after going 0-2 there as a sophomore. She entered her junior year with a one-for-all approach.

“I knew I’d be doing this for my coaches, both in and out of the school,” Burkut said. “I knew I’d be doing it for my family, for my brother, and for my friends as well. It’s my love for the sport that helped me get through it.”

Regional champion Burkut put the feather of a sectional title in her cap, using a pair of falls to reach the finals in Schaumburg. White also earned two falls to reach the title mat.

Naperville Central sophomore Dezi Azar (36-6) placed third at 125 by medical forfeit over Lemont junior Molly O’Connor (41-6).

130 – Sophia Ball, Hoffman Estates

Hoffman Estates senior Sophia Ball placed second in state at 120 last year, giving Hononegah’s three-time state champion Angelina Cassioppi all she could handle before losing a 4-3 decision in the state championship match.

Ball only began wrestling as a freshman, so the distance she has traveled over four years has been remarkable, and fueled by incrementally larger expectations.

“Honestly, I never even thought I’d get that far,” Ball said. “But over time, my goal kept getting higher and higher. My goal in getting to state every year has been to get at least one place higher, so now my only place to go is first.”

Ball (39-1) placed fifth downstate at 120 as a sophomore and was also a state qualifier as a freshman. She won the third sectional title of her career up at 130 Saturday, winning by fall at 2:28 against Huntley junior Aubrie Rohrbacher (43-8).

Ball has watched girls wrestling in Illinois evolve and grow by leaps and bounds in four seasons, and she loves what she’s seeing.

“It’s so exciting to me,” Ball said. “I love watching my teammates, I love having hard matches and I love the challenge of wrestling. Girls have been putting the work in the off-seasons and it’s all on them. It’s their internal motivation.”

Conant junior Jasmine Zavaleta (36-11) placed third via an 8-5 sudden victory win against Fenton senior Yannel Perez (28-4).

135 – Claudia Heeney, Lockport

Lockport junior Claudia Heeney was a state champion last year at 130 pounds, a reality that didn’t quite sink in right away.

“I would say last year after state, I didn’t really take it in fully,” Heeney said. “It’s insane. Obviously it’s a huge deal and I can’t even believe I did that last year. I’ve just been working on keeping it going — working on my determination and keep going no matter what.”

The returning state champ won her third sectional title Saturday, and Prospects Viola Pianetto made her work for it, as Heeney (42-2) and previously-unbeaten Pianetto (36-1) locked horns in a doozy. A scoreless first period of hand-fighting gave way to a late-second period escape by Heeney for a 1-0 lead.

Pianetto started down in the third period and Heeney was a hammer on top, eventually turning Pianetto and winning by fall at the 5:00 mark.

Heeney hasn’t battled self-doubt this season but she has focused on keeping a positive mindset. Before her finals match, she told her father she was ready to go.

“He said ‘I know’,” Heeney said, “but sometimes I think you have to speak it into existence. I knew (Pianetto) was unbeaten so I knew she must be good, and I needed to get in the right mindset for it.”

Heeney used a pair of pins to reach the finals, while Pianetto had a pin and a 7-1 semifinal decision to get to Heeney.

Schaumburg sophomore Sharon Olorunfemi (41-9) won by fall at :54 on the third-place mat against Glenbard East sophomore Maria Green (35-6).

140 – Quinn Janssens, Oswego East

Sophomore regional champion Quinn Janssens had three pins in 4:20 to win a sectional title and improve to 47-3 on the year. Janssens won by fall in the finals at 2:29 over a state medal winner in Hoffman Estates senior Abigail Ji (37-6).

“She was really good and a lot stronger than I expected her to be,” Janssens said of Ji. “And she had good defense, so I couldn’t throw her like I like to do.”

Janssens finally solved Ji to cap a three-pin sectional performance that gave the sophomore her first sectional title, one week after she won the first regional title of her young career. She has been wrestling since middle school.

And as it is for all young wrestlers, the next step for Janssens will be a big one.

“Placing somewhere (downstate) would be nice,” Janssens said. “I’ll lay low as much as I can until then and it’s important to have some rest days, but I’ll also make sure I’m training hard and staying in shape, so it’s a mix of both.”

Ji’s path to the finals was a rugged one; she opened with a 7-6 tie-break win in her quarterfinal match against Richmond-Burton’s Madelyn Peterie, then won 3-2 in a semifinal match over Fremd’s Lloyd Kowalczyk.

McHenry junior Natalie Corona (35-5) wrestled back to place third by medical forfeit over Kowalczyk (24-12).

145 – Allison Garbacz, South Elgin

A top-flight wrestler doesn’t fly under the radar for very long in Illinois, and South Elgin freshman Allison Garbacz is definitely one of those.

Garbacz stayed unbeaten at 30-0 with her 5-1 title-match decision win over a two-time state medal winner and one of the best around at 145, in Schaumburg senior Hope Zerafa-Lazarevic (44-2).

Garbacz certainly doesn’t wrestle like a green freshman. Because she’s not.

“I’ve been wrestling since I was like four,” she said. “But even though I knew I was good, I didn’t think I’d be able to do this.

“I wrestled (Zerafa-Lazarevic) in the regional finals and I pinned her, but I knew she was going to come at me harder this time. She definitely did, but I just stuck to what I knew and worked hard.”

Garbacz wrestled most of the season at 155 pounds, where she won roughly 20 of her 30 wins this season. She has battled older girls all year but hasn’t flinched.

“Throughout regionals and sectionals I’ve mostly been wrestling juniors and seniors,” Garbacz said. 

“I started the season at 155 and even though I haven’t lost yet, I wasn’t ranked for the longest time. They might have had a little strength on me at 155, but I know what I’m doing. The next goal is to place at state and I want to win it one day.”

Garbacz used two pins to get to the title rematch against Zerafa-Lazarevic, who had a tech fall win and two pins to reach the finals.

Wheeling sophomore Krystal Diaz (35-9) placed third with a 5-4 ultimate tie-break decision win over Batavia junior Anabelle Guthke (35-11).

155 – Callie Carr, Hinsdale South

Hinsdale South’s Callie Carr placed second at last year’s sectional meet, and third the year before that. But the unbeaten senior can now call herself a sectional champion.

Carr has been on an unbeaten rampage all season, improving to 35-0 via tech fall in her sectional final against Oswego senior Kiyah Chavez (38-9).

Carr hasn’t yet medaled in the top six downstate and she’s aiming to rectify that situation with the mentality that all the best wrestlers embrace.

“I can get in my head a lot but you go out there and put your foot on the line, and the other person is putting her foot on the line and she thinks she can beat me,” Carr said. “But I’m not going to let her beat me. I could have gotten in on more of my shots today but I’m happy with the outcome and it’s up from here. This is my year and I’ve worked really hard for this moment.

“Going freestyle, I really evolved on my feet. My neutral position was not good last year but now I’ve grown in the aspects I needed to grow and that has really helped me. I worked really hard and I think I’ve evolved in my neutral position.”

Regional champion Carr used two pins to reach the finals, while Chavez opened with a  fall and then won an 8-0 quarterfinal decision over Dundee-Crown’s Mackenzie Lessner. She then won by fall against Wheeling’s Nikol Orendarchuk to clinch a trip downstate.

Sophomore Orendarchuk (26-5) wrestled back to win a 6-5 decision on the third-place mat against the senior Lessner (31-9).

170 – Anneliese Tavira, Hampshire

Hampshire senior Anneliese Tavira (34-4) knocked off a pair of regional champions on her way to the title mat at 170, where a recently familiar foe was waiting for her.

One week prior, Tavira lost a 12-5 decision in a regional final at 170 to Maine West senior Lillian Garrett (30-5). After winning by fall in her quarterfinal match over Oswego East’s Jessica Stover, Tavira posted a tech fall win in her semifinal match against Hoffman Estates’ Isabella Chiovari.

Both Stover and Chiovari won regional titles a week earlier.

Garrett used two quick pins to reach a finals rematch against Tavira. After a scoreless first period, Tavira chose down to start the second and escaped for a 1-0 lead. A Tavira takedown made it 4-0 and a Garrett escape made it 4-1 heading into the third period.

Tavira earned another takedown on the way to a 7-2 decision win and the first sectional title of her career.

Hoffman Estates senior Isabella Chiovari (24-7) won a 9-1 major decision on the third-place mat against Huntley senior Natalie Aguirre (38-14).

190 – Natalie Razzak, Schaumburg

Streamwood junior Jasmine Rene is having a whale of a season, with a 21-2 record at 190 pounds. And her two losses have come on regional and sectional title mats in each of the last two weekends, to the same opponent.

Schaumburg junior Natalie Razzak.

A week after winning on a regional title mat against Rene, Razzak won Schaumburg’s lone sectional title in a 14-7 decision against her on Saturday.

When the season started, did Razzak envision a sectional title in her future?

“Actually, yeah I did,” Razzak said. “I’ve been working so hard to get here, doing freestyle in the off-season, working after practice, and I really wanted this so bad. Next, I want to take state.”

Razzak (44-3) led 6-1 after a period and 9-1 in the second when Rene took her to her back near the edge. Razzak fought off her back to avoid disaster.

“That move happened to me before against Jasmine, I think at regionals last year,” Razzak said. “I just thought ‘no, this is not going to happen again’ and I pulled my arm through. I knew I had to be in control of the match to win it.”

With a two-week wait before the state finals in Bloomington, state qualifiers across Illinois on the girls’ side will negotiate the balance between hard training and rest. 

Razzak also plans to sneak in a little free time for mental health.

“Training, eating good, and I’ll try to do something fun on the weekend to get my mind off of things,” Razzak said. “So I might go shopping.”

Razzak used a pair of falls to reach the finals, while Rene mixed things up some; she won by fall, tech fall, and major decision to get there.

Hampshire freshman Samantha Diehl (27-5) won by fall at 3:14 on the third-place mat against Lockport junior Sophie Kelner (41-12).

235 – Rebekah Ramirez, Lockport

Lockport’s Rebekah Ramirez was a freshman last year who went 36-14, placed second at the sectional meet, and was one of only two freshmen in the 16-girl state finals bracket at 235 in Bloomington.

Success might breed greater expectation, but Ramirez (42-9) was still pleasantly surprised to win Saturday’s sectional title, joining fellow sectional champ and teammate Claudia Heeney (135).

“I got second place last year so this was on the radar, but I didn’t expect to get the championship,” Ramirez said. “There were a lot of good schools and a lot of good girls here. I just felt good. I trusted my training. After getting a regional title I was hungry for this.

“I’ve gotten better as a whole. I have great coaches that teach me everything I could possibly need. Last year I was just starting out and I didn’t know many of the tips or tricks. This year I feel like I’ve got it down completely and it has changed my performance.”

Regional champ Ramirez pinned her way to the title, capped by a fall at 1:30 against Fenton sophomore Ariana Solideo (31-7) in the finals. Solideo knocked off a pair of regional champs along her path to the title match, 5-2 over Maine South’s Sophia Fortis and 7-4 over Romeoville’s Henessis Villagrana.

Fremd senior Jasmin Ocampo (26-5) won a 1-0 decision for third place against Romeoville’s Villagrana (22-8).

STATE QUALIFIERS FROM THE SCHAUMBURG SECTIONAL

100

1st – Katelyn Bell of Lombard (Montini)

2nd – Lily Enos of Batavia

3rd – Daniela Santander of Romeoville 

4th – Ruby Bolanos-Carbajal of Aurora (West Aurora)

105

1st – Kameyah Young of Aurora (West Aurora)

2nd – Zoey Dodgers of Franklin Park-Northlake (Leyden)

3rd – Nadiia Shymkiv of Lombard (Glenbard East)

4th – Diamond Rodriguez of Carpentersville (Dundee-Crown)

110

1st – Khloe Perez of Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West)

2nd – Annalee Aarseth of Crystal Lake (South)

3rd – Valeria Pesantes of Elk Grove Village (E.G.)

4th – Cadence DuBois of Lisle (Sr.)

115

1st – Amelia Nidelea-Polanin of Hampshire

2nd – Alejandra Flores of Bolingbrook

3rd – Madyson Meyer of Schaumburg 

4th – Ashley Basmajian of Aurora (Metea Valley)

120

1st – Emma Engels of Bartlett

2nd – Sabrina Bono of Franklin Park-Northlake (Leyden)

3rd – Karolina Konopka of Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West)

4th – Aaliyah Roldan of Oswego 

125

1st – Elise Burkut of Wheeling

2nd – Lilly White of Bartlett

3rd – Dezi Azar of Naperville (Central)

4th – Molly O`Connor of Lemont 

130

1st – Sophia Ball of Hoffman Estates 

2nd – Aubrie Rohrbacher of Huntley

3rd – Jasmine Zavaleta of Hoffman Estates (Conant)

4th – Yannel Perez of Bensenville (Fenton)

135

1st – Claudia Heeney of Lockport (Twp.)

2nd – Viola Pianetto of Mt. Prospect (Prospect)

3rd – Sharon Olorunfemi of Schaumburg 

4th – Maria Green of Lombard (Glenbard East)

140

1st – Quinn Janssens of Oswego (East)

2nd – Abigail Ji of Hoffman Estates 

3rd – Natalie Corona of McHenry

4th – Lloyd Kowalczyk of Palatine (Fremd)

145

1st – Allison Garbacz of South Elgin

2nd – Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic of Schaumburg 

3rd – Krystal Diaz of Wheeling

4th – Anabelle Guthke of Batavia
155

1st – Callie Carr of Darien (Hinsdale South)

2nd – Kiyah Chavez of Oswego 

3rd – Nikol Orendarchuk of Wheeling

4th – Mackenzie Lessner of Carpentersville (Dundee-Crown)

170

1st – Anneliese Tavira of Hampshire

2nd – Lillian Garrett of Des Plaines (Maine West)

3rd – Isabella Chiovari of Hoffman Estates 

4th – Natalie Aguirre of Huntley

190

1st – Nadia Razzak of Schaumburg 

2nd – Jasmine Rene of Streamwood

3rd – Samantha Diehl of Hampshire

4th – Sophie Kelner of Lockport (Twp.)

235

1st – Rebekah Ramirez of Lockport (Twp.)

2nd – Ariana Solideo of Bensenville (Fenton)

3rd – Jasmin Ocampo of Palatine (Fremd)

4th – Henessis Villagrana of Romeoville