Posts by Mick Torres

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 

By Mike Garofola for the IWCOA

HINSDALE SOUTH SECTIONAL

One week ago, No. 1 Montini Catholic (19-3-0) used eight individual titles to help send the Broncos past No. 5 Providence at Richards to collect the regional championship.

On Saturday in Darien at the Hinsdale South sectional, it once again was the lower weight strength and depth of the Broncos that would help Mike Bukovsky’s club claim seven individual titles and advance ten state qualifiers.

“Our seven champions wrestled very strong, defeating several highly-ranked kids along their championship paths,” Bukovsky said. “Our other three guys did a great job and won some matches that they were not favored to win.

“Our tough schedule during the season helped prepare us for the competition we see throughout the IHSA state series, and the guys know that they have worked hard, and put in the necessary time to compete for state titles and medals this weekend in Champaign.”

Erik Klichurov (106, 44-4), No. 1 Allen Woo (113, 45-5), Mikey Malizzio (120, 37-8) and Bobby Ruscitti (126, 40-3) gave the Broncos four consecutive sectional titles after earning regional success as well, as did No. 1 Kam Luif (46-4) and teammate, No. 4 Santino Tenuta (37-7) at 165.

Woo is after a second straight state championship while Luif is in pursuit of his first title after finishing third a year ago, and sixth overall in 2023.

Not to be forgotten is the seventh Broncos champion Gavin Ericson (32-18) who held off St. Rita senior Pat Conneely (17-11) in his heavyweight final with a 1-0 decision.

The superb Heeg brothers, Justus (41-3) and Judah (37-3), continue to navigate their way through their weight divisions at supersonic speed, although at different high school programs.

No. 2 Justus Heeg would squeeze a 75-second pin in between a pair of tech-falls on his way to an impressive victory at 150, and a sixth major title of the season for the Providence Catholic freshman.

His older brother Judah at Lemont was just as dominant at 190 pounds. Judah Heeg remained hot on the heels of No. 1 Cayden Parks (Crystal Lake Central) as the No. 2-ranked 190-pounder in Illinois.

The junior Heeg went easily into the final where he met No. 4 Mike Taheny (Richards, 38-2), with Heeg earning a hard fought 8-5 victory.

STATE QUALIFIERS FROM THE HINSDALE SOUTH SECTIONAL

106

1st – Erik Klichurov of Lombard (Montini)

2nd – Christian Corcoran of New Lenox (Providence Catholic)

3rd – Liam Kissane of Burbank (St. Laurence)

4th – Jason Schickel of Oak Forest

113

1st – Allen Woo of Lombard (Montini)

2nd – Jacob Sebek of Oak Forest

3rd – Elijah Sawyers of Chicago (Agricultural Science)

4th – Nathan Ortiz of New Lenox (Providence Catholic)

120

1st – Mikey Malizzio of Lombard (Montini)

2nd – Edgar Mosquera of Riverside (R.-Brookfield)

3rd – Jack Hogan of Chicago (St. Rita)

4th – Victor Alvarado of Chicago (Kennedy)

126

1st – Bob Ruscitti of Lombard (Montini)

2nd – Adrian Cervantes of Evergreen Park

3rd – Cleto Protti of Chicago (St. Rita)

4th – Lucas Forsythe of New Lenox (Providence Catholic)

132

1st – Tommy Banas of New Lenox (Providence Catholic)

2nd – Bobby Conway of Chicago (Brother Rice)

3rd – Cory Zator of Lemont 

4th – Isaac Mayora of Lombard (Montini)

138

1st – Kam Luif of Lombard (Montini)

2nd – Chance Woods of Evergreen Park

3rd – Oliver Davis of Chicago (Brother Rice)

4th – Luke Banas of New Lenox (Providence Catholic)

144

1st – Austin Perez of Oak Forest

2nd – Jonathan Harris of Chicago (Brother Rice)

3rd – Jin Tai of Glen Ellyn (Glenbard South)

4th – Enzo Canali of Chicago (St. Rita)

150

1st – Justus Heeg of New Lenox (Providence Catholic)

2nd – Jack O`Connor of Chicago (Brother Rice)

3rd – Xavier Woods of Chicago (Goode STEM Academy)

4th – David Johnson of Evergreen Park

157

1st – Frank Miceli of Chicago (Brother Rice)

2nd – Joseph Merritt of Calumet City (Thornton Fractional North)

3rd – Jasper Harper of New Lenox (Providence Catholic)

4th – Andrew Lehman of Chicago (St. Rita)

165

1st – Santino Tenuta of Lombard (Montini)

2nd – Micah Spinazzola of Chicago (St. Rita)

3rd – Joey Baranski of Chicago Heights (Marian)

4th – Jaylene Johnson of Crete (C.-Monee)

175

1st – Dan Costello of Chicago (Brother Rice)

2nd – AJ Tack of Lombard (Montini)

3rd – Declan Dircks of New Lenox (Providence Catholic)

4th – Jason Janke of Oak Forest

190

1st – Judah Heeg of Lemont 

2nd – Mike Taheny of Oak Lawn (Richards)

3rd – Jaxon Lane of Lombard (Montini)

4th – James Crane of Chicago (Brother Rice)

215

1st – Genesis Ward of Evergreen Park

2nd – Xavier Bitner of Burbank (St. Laurence)

3rd – Colin Goggin of Chicago (Brother Rice)

4th – Andrius Vasilevskas of Oak Forest

285

1st – Gavin Ericson of Lombard (Montini)

2nd – Pat Conneely of Chicago (St. Rita)

3rd – Marco Olvera of Midlothian (Bremen)

4th – Mike Sisk of New Lenox (Providence Catholic)

LINCOLN SECTIONAL

How’s this for everyone getting a piece of the State Farm Center pie?

Of the 31 teams at Lincoln in the Neil Alexander Gymnasium, 23 teams will send at least one wrestler downstate, including Mahomet-Seymour, which led the way with one half-dozen — one more than Civic Memorial, Glenwood, and Mascoutah’s five apiece.

No. 13 Glenwood takes on Marion in a dual-team sectional contest at Lincoln in two weeks, while the tourney host meets Mahomet-Seymour in the other dual-team sectional.

Last season, Glenwood went on to finish third at the 2A dual-team state tournament, with Mahomet-Seymour advancing into the final eight only to fall to eventual fourth place Brother Rice in its state quarterfinal.

Glenwood edged Civic Memorial two weeks ago during a fierce battle for top honors at the Civic Memorial regional, with heavyweight Cody Moss recording a pin in the last match of the day to give Glenwood the team title by a scant 2.5 points (199.5-197.0).

Moss (35-5) was one of three Titans to win individual sectional titles, along with Avery Jaime (126, 36-10) and teammate Tyler Clarke (120, 38-9), who is now a two-time sectional champion.

Nearly all of the state-ranked men across the weight divisions would earn sectional titles, including No. 1 Tyson Rakers (Highland, 157, 43-2) and No. 3 Bradley Ruckman (Civic Memorial, 132, 40-3) who is after his third state medal in four trips.

Marco Casillas (47-3) won at 175 to continue his marvelous rookie season, however at both 165 and 190, the final order was tossed up for grabs before all was said and done.

At 165, No. 7 James Wojcikiewicz (38-11) fought his way nicely after a second round defeat sent the Civic Memorial sophomore into wrestle-backs where he avenged a regional final loss to earn an eventual third place finish and a second straight trip downstate.

The Honorable Mention duo of Pierre Walton (East St. Louis, 38-4) and AJ Demos (Mahomet-Seymour, 37-11) would have their way at 165 to finish one-two.

Over at 190, Ashton Zobrist (Highland, 42-5) who recently stood as the No. 6 man at 215 pounds, dropped down to win easily to claim his second consecutive trip downstate where he looks to improve on his sixth place stare finish from a year ago.

STATE QUALIFIERS FROM THE LINCOLN SECTIONAL

106

1st – Pierce Bultmann of Rochester

2nd – Cooper Clarke of Chatham (Glenwood)

3rd – Xavier Sonon Hale of Mascoutah

4th – Maddox Williams of Jerseyville (Jersey)

113

1st – Dylan McGrew of Normal (Community West)

2nd – Jaxon Ferguson of Chatham (Glenwood)

3rd – Gideon Hayter of Mahomet (M.-Seymour)

4th – Conner Carroll of Rochester

120

1st – Tyler Clarke of Chatham (Glenwood)

2nd – Will Kelly of Troy (Triad)

3rd – Kayson Duffney of Decatur (Eisenhower)

4th – Trotter Titus of Charleston

126

1st – Avery Jaime of Bethalto (Civic Memorial)

2nd – Talin Baker of Champaign (Central)

3rd – Aj Williams of Chatham (Glenwood)

4th – Tristan Porter of Mattoon

132

1st – Bradley Ruckman of Bethalto (Civic Memorial)

2nd – Jordan Kholian of Jacksonville 

3rd – Konnor Stephens of Waterloo 

4th – Emiliano Bedolla of Urbana 

138

1st – Ronald Baker III of Champaign (Central)

2nd – Justus Vrona of Mahomet (M.-Seymour)

3rd – Braden Rowe of Troy (Triad)

4th – Desi Wade of Mascoutah

144

1st – Dillon White of Mt. Vernon 

2nd – Ben Capitosti of Mattoon

3rd – Brody Smith of Troy (Triad)

4th – Nathen Herrin of Bethalto (Civic Memorial)

150

1st – Knox Verbais of Bethalto (Civic Memorial)

2nd – Talon Decker of Mahomet (M.-Seymour)

3rd – Brock Ross of Mascoutah

4th – Bryce Bryant of Springfield 

157

1st – Tyson Rakers of Highland

2nd – Joe Reif of Jacksonville 

3rd – Jordan Sonon-Hale of Mascoutah

4th – Nicholas Hartley of Jerseyville (Jersey)

165

1st – Pierre Walton of East St. Louis (Sr.)

2nd – AJ Demos of Mahomet (M.-Seymour)

3rd – James Wojcikiewicz of Bethalto (Civic Memorial)

4th – Sean Murphy of Mascoutah

175

1st – Marco Casillas of Mahomet (M.-Seymour)

2nd – Dawson McConnell of Lincoln

3rd – Elijah Smith of Chatham (Glenwood)

4th – Corey Robinson of East St. Louis (Sr.)

190

1st – Ashton Zobrist of Highland

2nd – Jackson Deutch of Waterloo 

3rd – Brock VanDeveer of Mahomet (M.-Seymour)

4th – Chris Hull of Springfield (Southeast)

215

1st – Jaxson Mathenia of Waterloo 

2nd – Kenner Bye of Bloomington 

3rd – Mitchell Clapp of Mattoon

4th – Noah Daniels of Mahomet (M.-Seymour)

285

1st – Cody Moss of Chatham (Glenwood)

2nd – Drew Glowacki of Waterloo 

3rd – Aiden Surratt of Jacksonville 

4th – David Williams of Bloomington 

WASHINGTON SECTIONAL

Reigning 2A state champion Washington would celebrate another outstanding two days of play from its sensational trio of top-ranked guys.

Peyton Cox (144, 36-4), Wyatt Medlin (157, 44-3) and Josh Hoffer (215, 45-3)  would further validate their No. 1 statuses in the state, however it would be No. 4 Geneseo who would steal the show on the Panthers’ home gym.

One week after lifting the championship trophy at the Dixon regional, and sending ten into sectionals, the Maple Leafs would make history when they would equal a program-best eight state qualifiers, including sectional titles from No. 1 Zachary Montez (40-0) at 165 and teammate Kyle Weinzieri (41-2) at 175.

This high-profile sectional venue played out in 62-year old Torry Gymnasium and featured no less than seven top-20 clubs in the state and 39 top 10-ranked wrestlers, five of which are No. 1 in their weight class.

The aforementioned Cox, Medlin and Hoffer sailed past their rivals, as did Montez and No. 1 Jose Del Toro (East Peoria, 45-2) at 285.

Del Toro was fourth a year ago at state.

Cox, thrice a state runner-up, appears ready to be on course to end that streak, while Illinois-bound Wyatt Medlin is looking to repeat his state title at 138.

No. 1 Noah Woods (41-2) would edge No. 2 Aiden Larsen (Yorkville Christian, 39-4) with a thrilling 2-1 decision in the 120-pound final.

Despite the presence of Washington and Geneseo, seven others would ‘wrestle’ away sectional crowns from the field, including Xavier Villalobos (126, 39-5) from Rochelle who is now a two-time sectional champion.

Donald Cannon (138, 29-4) and teammate Dana Wickson (150, 32-5) from Rockford East, who were both third a year ago, would reach the summit on Saturday in their weight divisions.

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE WASHINGTON SECTIONAL

106
1st – Carson West of Sycamore 

2nd – Symon Woods of Washington

3rd – Treyden Diduch of Freeport 

4th – Ryan Festerling, jr. of Yorkville (Y. Christian)

113

1st – Paxton Valentine of Morris

2nd – Noah Harris of Morton

3rd – Jack Ragan of Dixon 

4th – Eduardo Vences of Burlington (Central)

120

1st – Noah Woods of Washington

2nd – Aiden Larsen of Yorkville (Y. Christian)

3rd – Landen Vincent of Geneseo

4th – Michael Olson of Sycamore 

126

1st – Xavier Villalobos of Rochelle

2nd – Harrison Dea of Morton

3rd – Tim Sebastian of Geneseo

132

1st – Zyan Westbrook of Sterling 

2nd – Devan Hornback of Geneseo

3rd – Austin Lee of Burlington (Central)

4th – Cooper Chester of East Peoria

138

1st – Donald Cannon of Rockford (East)

2nd – Alex Gochis of Maple Park (Kaneland)

3rd – Charlie Connors of Dixon 

4th – Jayden Dohogne of Sycamore 

144

1st – Peyton Cox of Washington

2nd – Izaac Gaines of Geneseo

3rd – Carter Skoff of Morris

4th – Landon VanAcker of Belvidere 

150

1st – Dana Wickson of Rockford (East)

2nd – Grady Neal of Metamora

3rd – Malaki Jackson of Geneseo

4th – Josiah Carter of Galesburg 

157

1st – Wyatt Medlin of Washington

2nd – Grady Hull of Geneseo

3rd – Caidan Ronning of Plano

4th – Ty Smart of Rockford (East)

165

1st – Zachary Montez of Geneseo

2nd – Grant Gensler of Rochelle

3rd – John `isaac` Gray of Yorkville (Y. Christian)

4th – Anthony Makwala of Galesburg 

175

1st – Kye Weinzierl of Geneseo

2nd – Cooper Bode of Sycamore 

3rd – Gage Tate of Sterling 

4th – Luis Ballesteros of Plano

190

1st – Prince Amakiri of Plano

2nd – Jackson Allen of Yorkville (Y. Christian)

3rd – Dalton Oakman of East Peoria

4th – Roman Villalobos of Rochelle

215

1st – Josh Hoffer of Washington

2nd – Kaiden Morris of Rochelle

3rd – Alec Del Toro of East Peoria

4th – Benjamin Chaffer of Morton

285

1st – Jose Del Toro of East Peoria

2nd – Collin Hughes of Sycamore 

3rd – Sean Thornton of Washington

4th – Larry Randolph of Galesburg 

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

GIRLS SECTIONALS OVERVIEW

Among girls’ sectional champions across Illinois on Saturday, there were five returning state champions who won sectional titles: Kaneland’s Angelina Gochis (110), Hononegah’s Angelina Cassioppi (120), Vandalia’s Sophie Bowers (125), Lockport’s Claudia Heeney (135), and Prairie Central’s Chloe Hoselton (235).

Bartlett’s Emma Engels (120) was a state champion in 2023 at 110.

Another seven girls who place second downstate last year won sectional titles Saturday, in West Aurora’s Kameyah Young (105), Loyola’s Harlee Hiller (115), Hoffman Estates’ Sophia Ball (130), Canton’s Kinnley Smith (130), Collinsville’s Taylor Dawson (140), Plainfield Central’s Alicia Tucker (170), and Lakes’ Josie Larson (190).

Other sectional champs from Saturday who are now aiming to repeat as state medal winners were Montini’s Katelyn Bell (100), DeKalb’s Alex Gregorio-Perez (105), Litchfield’s Rilynn Younker (110), Mt. Zion’s Sydney Cannon (115), Burlington Central’s Tori Macias (115), Glenbrook North’s Ariella Dobin (120), Edwardsville’s Holly Zugmaier (135), Glenwood’s Jenna Tuxhorn (145), Zion-Benton’s Naomi Foote (145), Clifton Central’s Payton Temple (190), Highland’s August Rottmann (170), and Ottawa’s Juliana Thrush (235).

NEW TRIER SECTIONAL

The District 230 team made up of girls from Carl Sandburg, Andrew, and Stagg led the 50-team field with seven state qualifiers at this year’s New Trier Sectional.

District 230 was led by a pair of sectional champions in Jade Hardee (33-4 at 100) and Alyssa Keane (37-3 at 135). Coach Elizabeth Short’s squad out-pointed second-place Marist 147-80, with JS Morton (76) placing third. Marist advanced three girls downstate and Morton advanced two in sectional champions Hope Donnamario (29-7 at 105) and Violet Mayo (37-9 at 155).

Also winning individual sectional titles were Agricultural Science’s Carmen Jackson (36-3 at 110), Loyola’s Harlee Hiller (23-1 at 115), Glenbrook North’s Ariella Dobin (42-1 at 120), Grayslake Central’s Gianna Arzer (42-4 at 125), Lane’s Nyah Lovis (42-5 at 130), Hillcrest’s Christiara Finley (28-0 at 140), Zion-Benton’s Naomi Foote (37-1 at 145), Kelly’s Sara Martinez Lopera (28-0 at 170), Lakes Josie Larson (25-0 at 190) and Rickover Naval Academy’s Jasmine Mejia (35-2 at 235).

Hillcrest’s Finley (28-0), Kelly’s Martinez Lopera (28-0), and Lakes’ Larson (25-0) are all undefeated heading into the state finals, while Loyola’s Hiller (23-1), Glenbrook North’s Dobin (42-1), and Zion-Benton’s Foote (37-1) only have a single loss on their season records.

Among New Trier Sectional champions, Loyola’s Hiller (115) and Lakes’ Larson (190) were both state runners-up last year, while Glenbrook North’s Dobin (4th at 120) and Zion-Benton’s Foote (6th at 145) were also state medalists.

The day’s closest sectional title match at New Trier came at 130, with Lane’s Lovis (42-5) winning a 2-1 decision over Zion-Benton’s Emily Ortiz (35-6).

The sectional also featured two girls ranked nationally by Flowrestling. Lakes’ Larson is ranked No. 2 in the country at 190, while Glenbrook North’s Dobin is ranked No. 30 in the nation at 120.

STATE QUALIFIERS FROM THE NEW TRIER SECTIONAL

100

1st – Jade Hardee (District 230)

2nd – Riley Kongkaeow (Round Lake)

3rd – Ariel Woodfin (Thornton)

4th – Sunny Aitzemkour (New Trier)

105

1st – Hope Donnamario (Morton)

2nd – Tatum De La Vega (District 230)

3rd – Sofia Guerrero (Lane)

4th – Sofia Perez (Shepard)

110
1st – Carmen Jackson (Agricultural Science)

2nd – London Gandy (Homewood-F.)

3rd – Giselle Arambula (Curie)

4th – Dakodia Kelly (Thornton Fractional South)

115

1st – Harlee Hiller (Loyola Academy)

2nd – Ireland McCain (Round Lake)

3rd – Nina Hamm (Homewood-F.)

4th – Sophia Figueroa (District 230)

120

1st – Ariella Dobin (Glenbrook North)

2nd – Mary Minogue (Libertyville)

3rd – Illiana Heredia (De La Salle)

4th – Saja Bader (District 230)

125

1st – Gianna Arzer (Grayslake C)

2nd – Karina Lojowski (Stevenson)

3rd – Nakya Scott (Lindblom)

4th – Raynisha Sims (Lake View)

130

1st – Nyah Lovis (Lane)

2nd – Emily Ortiz (Z.-Benton)

3rd – Jalah Wilson (Thornton)

4th – Mila Rocush (Shepard)

135

1st – Alyssa Keane (District 230)

2nd – Izzy Locascio (Marist)

3rd – Quincy Onyiaorah (Thornton Fractional South)

4th – Zabby Badru (Lane)

140

1st – Christiara Finley (Hillcrest)

2nd – Maggie Zuber (Mother McAuley)

3rd – Jillian Giller (New Trier)

4th – America Cabrera (Phoenix Military Academy)

145

1st – Naomi Foote (Z.-Benton)

2nd – Kennedy Murray of Evanston (Twp.)

3rd – AJ Grant (Phoenix Military Academy)

4th – Iyobosa Odiase (Oak Forest)

155

1st – Violet Mayo (Morton)

2nd – Dana Holt (Highland Park)

3rd – Nola Oben (District 230)

4th – Charvelle Mclain (Community)

170

1st – Sara Martinez Lopera (Kelly)

2nd – Adrianna Vela (District 230)

3rd – Erin Bush of Gurnee (Warren)

4th – Elena Haugh (Agricultural Science)

190
1st – Josephine Larson (Lakes)

2nd – Isabel Peralta (Oak Forest)

3rd – N`Dyia Mahon-Godfrey (Kelly)

4th – Sam Fontaine (Marist)

235

1st – Jasmine Mejia (Rickover Naval Academy)

2nd – Esmeralda Bustamante (Noble/ITW Speer)

3rd – Abby Parker (Marist)

4th – Allison Poole of Grayslake (North)

GENESEO SECTIONAL

Host Geneseo won the team sectional title in the 57-team field, 117-98 over second-place Kaneland, with Lincoln-Way’s co-op team (93.5) a close third.

Geneseo coach Carley Rusk will bring five girls to the state finals in Bloomington, led by a trio of sectional runners-up in Molly Snyder (100), Annibelle Juarez (135) and Mady Mooney (145), plus third-place sectional winners Lydia King (120) and Sophie Bellagamba (155).

Kaneland advanced four girls downstate, led by sectional champions Angelina Gochis (32-0 at 110) and Brooklyn Sheaffer (41-2 at 125). Lincoln-Way advanced four girls to this year’s state finals, led by sectional second-placers Zoe Dempsey (110) and Sadie Sparks (120).

Also winning individual sectional titles at Geneseo were Rockford East’s Saya Hongmoundkhoune (24-0 at 100), DeKalb’s Alex Gregorio-Perez (46-3 at 105), Burlington Central’s Tori Macias (31-6 at 115), Hononegah’s Angelina Cassioppi (28-0 at 120), Canton’s Kinnley Smith (40-3 at 130), Hononegah’s Bella Castelli (23-4 at 135), Morton’s Karen Conchola (26-2 at 140), Rochelle’s Dempsey Atkinson (21-0 at 145), Plainfield South’s Teagan Aurich (36-0 at 155), Plainfield Central’s Alicia Tucker (25-1 at 170), Morris’ Morgan Congo (31-6 at 190) and Ottawa’s Juliana Thrush (33-4 at 235).

Heading into this year’s state finals with unbeaten records are Rockford East’s Hongmoungkhoune (24-0), Kaneland’s Gochis (32-0), Hononegah’s Cassioppi (28-0), Rochelle’s Atkinson (21-0), and Plainfield South’s Aurich (36-0). Plainfield Central’s Tucker (25-1) has only lost once all season.

Among Geneseo Sectional champions, Kaneland’s Gochis and Hononegah’s Cassioppi were state champions last year, while Plainfield Central’s Tucker and Canton’s Smith placed second in Illinois. DeKalb’s Gregorio-Perez (6th at 105), Burlington Central’s Macias (5th at 115), Rochelle’s Atkinson (5th at 145), and Ottawa’s Thrush (6th at 235) were all state medalists last season.

The Geneseo Sectional featured two girls nationally-ranked by Flowrestling in Hononegah’s Cassioppi (No. 8 at 120) and Ottawa’s Thrush (No. 24 at 235). Cassioppi is striving to become the first four-time individual state champion in Illinois girls wrestling history.

The Geneseo field at 170 was stacked. Three girls who won state place-medals last year in Plainfield Central’s Alicia Tucker (2nd), Peoria Notre Dame’s Autumne Williams (3rd) and Burlington Central’s Ryann Miller (5th).

Tucker (25-1) won a 5-3 decision over Williams (14-3) to win Saturday’s Geneseo sectional crown at 170, while Miller (37-2) placed third.

The day’s tightest finish on the title mat came when Kaneland’s Brooklyn Sheaffer won a 1-0 decision over Jacksonville’s Alexis Seymour.

STATE QUALIFIERS FROM THE GENESEO SECTIONAL

100

1st – Saya Hongmoungkhoune of Rockford (East)

2nd – Molly Snyder of Geneseo

3rd – Jade Weiss of DeKalb

4th – Abella Brown of Canton

105

1st – Alex Gregorio-Perez of DeKalb

2nd – Blair Grennan of Sterling (Newman Central Catholic)

3rd – Alisa Carter of Joliet (Central)

4th – Chloe Wong of Joliet (West)

110

1st – Angelina Gochis of Maple Park (Kaneland)

2nd – Zoe Dempsey of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way Central)

3rd – Lily Gwaltney of Streator (Twp.)

4th – Tessa Donaldson of Pekin

115

1st – Victoria Macias of Burlington (Central)

2nd – Chloe Hedges of Canton

3rd – Kiely Domyancich of LaSalle (L.-Peru)

4th – Eliana Juarez of Galesburg (H.S.)

120

1st – Gina Cassioppi of Rockton (Hononegah)

2nd – Sadie Sparks of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way Central)

3rd – Lydia King of Geneseo

4th – Daisy Gil of Beardstown

125

1st – Brooklyn Sheaffer of Maple Park (Kaneland)

2nd – Alexis Seymour of Jacksonville (H.S.)

3rd – Isabella Mottler of Peoria (Richwoods)

4th – Riley Cooney of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way Central)

130

1st – Kinnley Smith of Canton

2nd – Grace Laird of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

3rd – Catalina Pacheco of Seneca

4th – Michelle Naftzger of Erie

135

1st – Bella Castelli of Rockton (Hononegah)

2nd – Annibelle Juarez of Geneseo

3rd – Sammie Greisen of Seneca

4th – Nadia Anderson of Sherrard

140

1st – Karen Canchola of Morton

2nd – Ema Durst of Sycamore (H.S.)

3rd – Kelly Ladd of Macomb

4th – Ella Giertuga of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way Central)

145

1st – Dempsey Atkinson of Rochelle

2nd – Mady Mooney of Geneseo

3rd – Mikaela Mwangong of Macomb

4th – Katelyn Marvel of Canton

155

1st – Teagan Aurich of Plainfield (South)

2nd – Akira Schick of Rock Falls

3rd – Sophie Bellagamba of Geneseo

4th – Caitlyn Manier of Maple Park (Kaneland)

170

1st – Alicia Tucker of Plainfield (Central)

2nd – Autumne Williams of Peoria (Notre Dame)

3rd – Ryann Miller of Burlington (Central)

4th – Layla Spann of Plainfield (South)

190

1st – Morgan Congo of Morris

2nd – Sadie Kinsella of Maple Park (Kaneland)

3rd – Anjanne Haywood of Rockford (Guilford)

4th – Kylie Eilken of Rockford (Jefferson)

235

1st – Juliana Thrush of Ottawa (Twp.)

2nd – Kirsten Kpoto of Moline (H.S.)

3rd – Aarianna Bloyd of DeKalb

4th – Jasmine Enriquez of Sycamore (H.S.)

HIGHLAND SECTIONAL

Edwardsville snared the team sectional crown, 152-105 over second-place Collinsville, with Glenwood (63) placing third. Tigers coach Jon Wagner saw six of his girls advance downstate, led by individual sectional champions Emma Rogers (38-4 at 100) and Holly Zugmaier (38-5 at 135).

Collinsville advanced four girls downstate and had a trio of sectional champions in Londyn Long (35-5 at 120), Addyson Bailey (30-10 at 130) and Taylor Dawson (32-3 at 140). Glenwood advanced two girls, led by sectional champion Jenna Tuxhorn (31-2 at 145).

Also leaving Highland as sectional champions were Roxana’s Chloe Skiles (38-5 at 105), Litchfield’s Rilynn Younker (39-10 at 110), Mt. Zion’s Sydney Cannon (10-0 at 115), Vandalia’s Sophie Bowers (38-0 at 125), Unity’s Anna Vasey (32-4 at 155), Highland’s August Rottmann (32-1 at 170), Clifton Central’s Payton Temple (24-1 at 190) and Prairie Central’s Chloe Hoselton (23-0 at 235).

Highland Sectional champs who won state place-medals last year were a pair of state champions in Vandalia’s Bowers (125) and Plainfield Centrals’ Hoselton (235), and a state runner-up in Collinsville’s Dawson (130). Other sectional champs also placing downstate last year were Litchfield’s Younker (4th at 110), Mt. Zion’s Cannon (4th at 115), Glenwood’s Tuxhorn (4th at 135), Edwardsville’s Zugmaier (6th at 125), Highland’s Rottman (6th at 170), and Clifton Central’s Temple (5th at 155).

Cannon (10-0), Bowers (38-0), and Hoselton (23-0) are all unbeaten heading into this year’s state finals. Bowers and Hoselton were state champions last year while Cannon placed fourth in Illinois at 115.

Highland’s field led all sectionals in nationally-ranked wrestlers per Flowrestling’s rankings in Skiles (10th at 105), Dawson (17th at 140), Rottmann (13th at 170), Hoselton (5th at 235) and Unity’s Phoenix Molina (25th at 235).

Hoselton and Molina were at it again on a Highland Sectional title mat this year, one year after squaring off in last year’s state title match at 235, when Hoselton won a 4-3 ultimate tie-break decision for the title. The two nationally-ranked wrestlers gave the crowd their money’s worth at Highland, as Hoselton (23-0) won another ultimate tie-break against Molina (28-5), this time in a 3-2 decision.

Highland’s other nail-biter on the sectional title mat came when Glenwood’s Tuxhorn (31-2) won a 2-1 ultimate tie-break decision at 145 against Cumberland’s Natalie Beaumont (26-3).

STATE QUALIFIERS FROM THE HIGHLAND SECTIONAL

100

1st – Emma Rogers of Edwardsville (H.S.)

2nd – Madelyn Murphy of Roxana

3rd – Claire Crouch of Troy (Triad)

4th – Nikolette Ronketto of West Frankfort (Frankfort)

105

1st – Chloe Skiles of Roxana

2nd – Zoee Sadler of Anna (A.-Jonesboro)

3rd – Kadi Wilbern of Chatham (Glenwood)

4th – Phoenix Criss of Springfield [Coop]

110

1st – Rilynn Younker of Litchfield

2nd – Jala Singleton of Belleville (West)

3rd – Genevieve Dykstra of Edwardsville (H.S.)

4th – Carlly Ho of Rochester

115

1st – Sydney Cannon of Mt. Zion

2nd – Delaney Measimer of Carbondale (H.S.)

3rd – Delaney Ledbetter of Lawrenceville

4th – Kendall Moss-Smith of Bethalto (Civic Memorial)

120

1st – Londyn Long of Collinsville

2nd – Allie Chong of Edwardsville (H.S.)

3rd – Sophia Bechelli of West Frankfort (Frankfort)

4th – Yurithdzy Vilchis of Fairbury (Prairie Central)

125

1st – Sophie Bowers of Vandalia

2nd – Jocelyn Cobix of Pontiac

3rd – Leonie Dubson of Mattoon

4th – Brooklyn Alldredge of Edwardsville (H.S.)

130

1st – Addyson Bailey of Collinsville

2nd – Ava Beldo of Champaign (Centennial)

3rd – Te`Aja Young of Cahokia (H.S.)

4th – Alicia Dominguez of Bethalto (Civic Memorial)

135

1st – Holly Zugmaier of Edwardsville (H.S.)

2nd – Audrey Barnes of Granite City

3rd – Avery Crouch of Dwight

4th – Scarlett Gentille of O`Fallon (H.S.)

140

1st – Taylor Dawson of Collinsville

2nd – Rickasia Ivy of Urbana (H.S.)

3rd – Maddie Wells of St. Joseph (S.J.-Ogden)

4th – Lillien Roughton of Decatur (Unity Christian)

145

1st – Jenna Tuxhorn of Chatham (Glenwood)

2nd – Natalie Beaumont of Toledo (Cumberland)

3rd – Tashieya Taylor of Collinsville

4th – Avery Schlickman of Gibson City (G.C.-Melvin-Sibley)

155

1st – Anna Vasey of Tolono (Unity)

2nd – Kira Thompson of O`Fallon (H.S.)

3rd – Grace Stratton of Freeburg

4th – Alix Robinson of Pontiac

170

1st – August Rottmann of Highland

2nd – Demi Barnes of Granite City

3rd – Janylah Holman of Cahokia (H.S.)

4th – Summer Nichols of Toledo (Cumberland)

190

1st – Payton Temple of Clifton (Central)

2nd – Vickie White of Edwardsville (H.S.)

3rd – Krista McBride of Goreville

4th – Jaycee Weitekamp of Mahomet (M.-Seymour)

235

1st – Chloe Hoselton of Fairbury (Prairie Central)

2nd – Phoenix Molina of Tolono (Unity)

3rd – Cadence Duvall of Normal (Community West)

4th – Lillian Disanto of Urbana (H.S.)

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

When your program was a state champion two years ago and just missed winning another title last season, you usually don’t require any boosts right as the postseason starts to let everyone know that you are well-positioned to be back in the mix for top honors on the final day of competition.

Still, Coal City entered the IHSA Class 1A Herscher Regional ready to show what it’s made of as it kicked off a postseason run that it hopes results in the program’s eighth state trophy since 2015 and its second state championship for 2022 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee coach Mark Masters, who recently joined an exclusive club of coaches who’ve won 500 dual meets.. 

And the Coalers’ first result of the IHSA state series was a complete and dominating success as it finished with 10 champions, 12 finalists and qualified all 14 who took part for the individual sectional that they are hosting this weekend. Only one other team in Class 1A qualified all 14 of its individuals for a sectional, Chicago Hope Academy, which is also at the Coal City Sectional.

Coal City finished with 313.5 points, which was 164 ahead of runner-up Reed-Custer, who scored 149.5 points. Seneca (137) took third and Clifton Central/ Iroquois West co-op (130.5) was fourth while Bishop McNamara (92.5), Wilmington (74.5), Herscher (59), Peotone (45), Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington co-op (34) and Manteno (30) were next in line.

While the Coalers enter the postseason ranked third behind top-ranked Vandalia, who took fourth place last year, and defending Class 1A champion Marian Central Catholic, they’ve right there on two occasions with the Vandals, falling in the final match in the semifinals at ABE’s Rumble and were not far behind them while claiming second place at the Lyle King Princeton Invitational Tournament. 

Beside the fact that all but two of their 11 state qualifiers from a year ago are back, and four of those won medals in Champaign including a champion and runner-up, the team’s bond is very strong since most have been together since starting their careers in the Lil’ Coalers Wrestling Club. 

And the team is proud that its lineup is one of the strongest in Class 1A with a 414-92 (.818 percent) overall record for its regional entrants while facing one of the toughest schedules of any small school in the state. And the team likes the fact that everyone not only has good practice partners, but others also get into the mix, which gives each individual a variety of styles that they can see on a consistent basis.

Add to that a large and veteran coaching staff that most Class 3A and 2A programs would be proud of, and you’ve got a real formidable opponent that is very motivated to capture its second IHSA Class 1A Dual Team title in three years.

Champions for the Coalers were Owen Petersen (37-2 at 113), Culan Lindemuth (31-10 at 120), Cooper Morris (34-5 at 126), Luke Munsterman (34-11 at 132), Brody Widlowski (21-0 at 138), Aidan Kenney (33-10 at 144), Mason Garner (29-6 at 157), Brock Finch (27-7 at 165), Landin Benson (35-2 at 175) and John Keigher (29-1 at 215). Taking second were Cade Poyner (29-6 at 190) and Alec Waliczek (20-5 at 285) while Jason Piatak (30-15 at 106) and Noah Houston (25-12 at 150) were third. 

After taking third place in their first match of the finals, the Coalers won the next six titles before claiming their other third-place finish. Then it was three consecutive championships before going 1-2 in the final three matches on the title mat.

Beside hosting the individual sectional this weekend, Coal City is also the host for the Class 1A Dual Team Sectional on February 25, with the other three teams on hand being Chicago Hope Academy, King College Prep and Northridge Prep.

“They’re having a lot of fun in the practice room,” Masters said. “I know that sounds really cliched, but after practice is over, you can hear the guys chirping at one another about, ‘Hey, I gave you the beating today’, so it’s very competitive. These guys have been together for quite some time and our J-V team is really solid, and  I bet we had seven or eight kids that could have qualified today. Everybody is fighting to get into that lineup, but some guys are sophomores or juniors and they just have to wait their turn. So it’s highly-competitive in the practice room.

“If things go according to plans, we get a chance to wrestle Marian in the semis if we’re able to continue to win, and you get a chance to win that one back, and if we get past those guys, then you get a chance at Vandalia. But you’ve got to stay healthy and you’ve got to be lucky. There’s so many things that have to go your way. We have a handful of guys that can get on the awards stand and everybody wants to be on the top of it. 

“We won my 500th dual, and I’ve been blessed. I’ve had talent, I’ve had great parents, great families and great support at the administration level. The program is only as good as the kids that are in it. You just have to be able to guide the ship and hopefully the kids follow in that direction.”

Seneca coach Todd Yegge recently recorded his 400th dual meet victory and he had two title winners, Raiden Terry (44-1 at 106) and Jeremy Gagnon (44-1 at 285), who both have only lost one match this season. The other regional champion was Wilmington’s Logan Van Duyne (36-4 at 190).

Runner-up Reed-Custer settled for six second-place finishes and had eight sectional qualifiers while Seneca qualified six, Clifton Central co-op advanced five and Bishop McNamara had four sectional qualifiers. Herscher and Wilmington each had two advance and Dwight co-op is sending one individual to Coal City. 

Herscher coach Austin Headrick was a two-time IHSA medalist at Wilmington for IWCOA Hall of Fame coach Rob Murphy. He and his staff along with Tigers athletic director Joel Huizenga and the administration at the school deserve recognition for doing a fine job in hosting the regional.

Here are the champions of the IHSA Class 1A Herscher Regional and their weight classes:

106 – Raiden Terry, Seneca

Raiden Terry heads into the IHSA Class 1A Coal City Sectional feeling very good about his prospects of making a return trip to state and getting his first medal in Champaign after the Seneca sophomore captured the 106 title at the Herscher Regional with a victory by technical fall in 5:43 over Reed-Custer freshman Colton Drinkwine to improve to 44-1. Top-ranked at 106, he hasn’t lost in 2025 and his lone defeat came to Benton’s Cohen Sweely at ABE’s Rumble.

Terry was one of two champions and three finalists for the Fighting Irish, whose coach Todd Yegge recently got his 400th dual meet victory at Seneca. In his only other match, he also won by technical fall, prevailing in 2:34 over Manteno freshman Carter Webber in the semifinals.He was one of two individuals who claimed two wins by technical fall and did so the quickest.

“I’ve just been getting my weight down and keeping that under control,” Terry said. “Really my mindset is I don’t know how I’m going to lose when I go out there. It’s really fun being out there and I’d like to give all the glory to God. I pray before all of my matches. I always have a ton of confidence in myself when I go out there. Last year I went 1-2 (at state), but I was a freshman and a little under-sized last year. But I’m a lot bigger and I’m coming for gold.”

Drinkwine (40-5), who’s fifth-ranked and was one of six finalists who all took second place for coach Yale Davis’ Comets, won an 8-2 decision over Coal City freshman Jason Piatak in the semifinals. In the third-place match, Piatak became one of the 14 sectional qualifiers for coach Mark Masters’ Coalers when he recorded a fall in 3:45 over Webber (19-17).

113 – Owen Petersen, Coal City

Owen Petersen became the first of Coal City’s 10 champions when the sophomore claimed the title at 113 by recording a fall in 1:12 over Reed-Custer freshman Cole Harris. Petersen (37-2), who took sixth place at 106 in the IHSA 1A Finals in 2024, is ranked fifth and has only lost to two of the top three at his weight class, Vandalia’s Max Philpot and Olympia’s Dylan Eimer. 

Petersen was one of 12 finalists for the Coalers, who won the team championship with 313.5 points, which was 164 points ahead of runner-up Reed-Custer. His only other match was in the semifinals, where he got a fall in 22 seconds over Bishop McNamara freshman Landon Benoit. He was one of four Coalers who tied with two others for fourth place for the most team points with 24.

“We’ve had a couple of injuries, so I’m happy to see them back and giving their all,” Petersen said. “Practices are tough and we work on everything the coaches see and what we need to improve on. And good practice partners are definitely the first step, you have to have someone to push you. I’ve been with them my whole life, so I know a lot about everybody and I know what they like and what they don’t like.”

Harris (31-12), one of the six-second-place finishers for the runner-up Comets, also only had to compete in the semifinals prior to the title match and he won that with a pin in 1:39 over Seneca freshman Chris Thompson (33-12), who advanced with a fall in 2:33 over Benoit for third place.

120 – Culan Lindemuth, Coal City

Culan Lindemuth was the second of six-straight Coalers who won titles at the 1A Herscher Regional when the senior collected a win by technical fall in 4:11 over Reed-Custer sophomore Kaaden Wood in the 120 championship match. Coal City ended up with 10 title winners, 12 finalists and 14 qualifiers for the sectional that it will be hosting this weekend.

Lindemuth (31-10), a three-time state qualifier who hopes to make a fourth trip to Champaign and claim his initial medal at the IHSA Finals, only had to wrestle in the semifinals to reach the title mat and won there when he got a pin in 2:36 over Peotone sophomore Blake Anderson.

“We’re all friends, we bond together, we’re good together and we have good practice partners,” Lindemuth said. “This year, we’ll make another run at it. We still have Marian to handle and still have Vandalia, and they’re two tough teams but I think we can get it done. These past two years I’ve been practice partners with Cooper Morris, he placed last year and I unfortunately, didn’t. But we make each other better and we find ways to win. He’s a great practice partner and he has a great attitude and he’s very aggressive.”

Wood (32-10), one of six second-placed finishers as well as eight qualifiers for the Coal City Sectional for the runner-up Comets, won his only other match when he captured an 11-3 major decision in the semifinals over Herscher sophomore Owen Bollino (30-9), who went on to claim third place with a fall in 3:34 over Anderson (28-17). Bollino and Seneca’s Raiden Terry were the only individuals to get two wins by technical fall and he ranked second in match points with 45.

126 – Cooper Morris, Coal City 

Cooper Morris joined Owen Petersen with quality freshmen seasons at Coal City as the both placed at state with Morris finishing fifth at 113 in the IHSA Finals in 2024. He was one of its 14 sectional qualifiers and became the third of 10 champions at the Class 1A Herscher Regional when he won by fall in 1:47 in the 126 title match over Reed-Custer junior Jayden Sanchez.

Morris (34-5), who’s ranked third at 126 behind Vandalia’s Tyson Waughtel and Althoff Catholic’s Dawson Hawthorne, became one of the 12 Coalers to reach the title mat when he got a pin in 1:05 over Clifton Central/ Iroquois West freshman Owen Robinson in the semifinals. He tied for fourth place with 24 team points, making him one of eight Coalers who ranked in the top 10 in that category. 

“We’re just as good as last year,” Morris said. “And I think even better than last year since we only had one senior in the lineup and we filled that spot. We’re solid 106 to heavyweight so I think this is our year. We have great practice partners and we’re always pushing each other, it’s just a great room. And we have a lot of great coaches. We’re family and we’ve been wrestling together since we were four and five. We started in Lil’ Coalers and have just been a team ever since. There’s great team bonding and we play other sports together.”

Sanchez (35-10), the fourth of six Comets who claimed second-place finishes and one of their eight qualifier for the Coal City Sectional, opened with a first-minute pin before claiming a victory by technical fall in 4:46 in the semifinals over Herscher sophomore Everett Osenga (19-7), who bounced back from that defeat to finish third after getting a pin in 3:04 over Robinson (23-23).

132 – Luke Munsterman, Coal City

Luke Munsterman was the only one of Coal City’s 10 champions at the Class 1A Herscher Regional who had the go the whole six minutes in his title match and he did that after needing less than a minute in each of his first two matches. The Coalers junior captured a 6-5 decision over Bishop McNamara junior Blake Arseneau in the 132 title match to be part of a run of six-straight championship wins from 113 to 144.

Munsterman (34-11), who’s ranked tenth and hopes to qualify for the IHSA Finals for the first time this year, got a pin in 0:48 in his opener and needed 0:43 to win by fall in the semifinals over Clifton Central co-op sophomore Everett Bailey to become one of the Coalers’ 12 finalists.

“Two years ago, we won state and the team performed really well,” Munsterman said. “And last year, we lost by one match, so this year, we’re hoping to get another one. We only lost two seniors from last year. We all love the sport, and if you love the sport, then you’ll succeed.”

Arseneau (22-12), the lone finalist and one of four qualifiers for coach Jacob Kimberlin’s Fightin’ Irish, won his opener by technical fall and then recorded a pin in 3:29 over Seneca’s Ryker Terry in the semifinals. For third place, Bailey (7-2) won by fall in 5:51 over Wilmington sophomore Oakley Rivera (22-13) to become one of the five sectional qualifiers for Clifton Central co-op.

138 – Brody Widlowski, Coal City

Brody Widlowski found himself in a unique spot at the end of the IHSA Class 1A Herscher Regional as he was the lone unbeaten champion when the Coal City junior improved to 21-0 after handing Reed-Custer senior Jeremy Eggleston just his second loss in 43 matches with a win by technical fall in 5:58 in the 138 finals to become one of his team’s 10 title winners.

Widlowski is ranked second to Rockridge’s Jude Finch, who is 35-0 and won the IHSA 1A title at 132 last season and is a two-time state medalist. The Coaler junior took second place at 126 last season after placing fourth at 113 in 2023.  After opening with a pin in 55 seconds, he got another fall in 1:36 in the semifinals over Bishop McNamara junior Alex Kostecka. He ranked third in team points with 27.5, 0.5 points behind teammates Landin Benson and John Keigher.

“We’re trying to get better and get that title this year,” Widlowski said. “We all try to put work in to make everyone better every day, and we have a good, solid lineup. We have like seven coaches and a lot of them focus on J-V, too, so if there’s a gap in there, someone steps right up and is ready to go. We’re all a family, we’ve all been in the same program from Lil’ Coalers to high school, so we’ve all been buddies and we all hang out, outside of wrestling, too, so we do it for each other more than anything.”

Eggleston (41-2), a senior who is ranked fifth and was one of six second-place finishers and eight sectional qualifiers for coach Yale Davis’ runner-up Comets, hopes to get back to state, which he qualified for in 2023, and also win his first medal in Champaign. He followed a pin in the first minute with a fall in 1:54 in the semifinals over Seneca junior Avery Phillips. In the third-place match, Kostecka (28-17) captured a 12-4 major decision over Phillips (37-11).

144 – Aidan Kenney, Coal City

Aidan Kenney capped a run of six-straight championships for Coal City from 113 to 144 at the Class 1A Herscher Regional and eventually he was one of 10 title winners, 12 finalists and 14 qualifiers for coach Mark Masters’ Coalers for the sectional that they will host this weekend. He claimed top honors at 144 when he recorded a fall in 3:08 over Clifton Central/ Iroquois West junior Evan Cox.

Kenney, a 2023 state qualifier who is ranked eighth, hopes to get back to Champaign this year and also to win a medal for the first time. He recorded a first-minute pin in his opener and followed that up with a 12-0 major decision over Herscher’s Alex Mendez in the semifinals.

“It starts in the wrestling room with our coaches,” Kenney said. “They really push us and all of our practice partners are also great, so we can switch around and get different styles of wrestling. We have a bunch of coaches and they’re really good at multiple things so we get a mix of knowledge. We’re all friends so we can push each other in the wrestling room and that really helps us.”

Cox (39-9) one of three finalists and five sectional qualifiers for Clifton Central co-op, got a pin in 56 seconds in his first match and then earned his spot in the 144 finals with another fall, this one in 4:44 over Peotone senior Dalton Sala in the semifinals. Bishop McNamara junior Cole Kimberlin (18-11) got pinned by Sala in the quarterfinals but then won three-straight matches to claim third place, avenging his defeat earlier in the day by capturing a 17-7 major decision over Sala.

150 – Dylan Crouch, Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington

Dylan Crouch claimed fifth at 138 in the IHSA Class 1A Finals last season to give him his first medal in three state appearances. Now the senior for the Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington co-op team hopes to finish higher on the awards stand in Champaign and join Anthony Bauer, who won medals in 2013 and 2014, as the only two-time all-staters in the Trojans’ history. He made some history on Saturday by winning his fourth-straight regional championship when he claimed a 7-2 decision over Clifton Central/ Iroquois West senior Gianni Panozzo in the 150 title match.

Crouch (42-3), who’s ranked fourth, hopes to become his program’s all-time leader in victories this weekend at the Coal City Sectional. He was the lone finalist and sectional qualifier for coach Jim Gussman’s Trojans. He opened with a first-period fall before winning another close match in the semifinals, rallying from an early deficit to capture a 9-7 decision over Peotone senior Connor Pasch.

“In my semifinal match I was down 6-2 and that hasn’t happened much to me this year,” Crouch said. “I wanted it more than that kid, that’s all that it comes down to. There have been quite a few records I’ve broken this year and I’m still chasing one. I think I’m three wins away from the all-time school win record. I grind it out in the practice room every single day. I go in there with the mindset that I want to get better and I just work on stuff that I need to work on. Coming from Dwight, we don’t have a very big room now so you’ve got to make do with what you’ve got.”

Panozzo (41-5), who is ranked sixth and is a two-time state qualifier, hopes to get his first state medal this year. Only nine Comets have ever reached the awards stand in Champaign and the last one to do that was Thomas Konetski in 2019. He claimed a victory by technical fall in his first match and then won a 13-5 decision in the semifinals over Coal City junior Noah Houston (25-12), who won by fall in 5:28 over Pasch (29-11) to become one of the Coalers’ two third-place finishers.

157 – Mason Garner, Coal City

Mason Garner started a run of three-straight titles for Coal City at the Herscher Regional after his teammates had earlier won six championships in a row when he captured top honors at 157 with a fall in 1:29 over Clifton Central/ Iroquois West junior Giona Panozzo. The Coalers junior qualified for the IHSA Finals last season and hopes to make a return trip to Champaign and pick up his first medal there.

Garner (29-6), who’s ranked fifth, was one of 10 champions, 12 finalists and 14 qualifiers for the sectional that coach Mark Masters’ Coalers are hosting this weekend. He only had to compete in the semifinals and he wasn’t on the mat for long since he needed 24 seconds to record a fall over Manteno freshman Lucas Hetman.

“We’ve been putting  in a lot of work in the wrestling room,” Garner said. “We’ve got depth at every weight, including our J-V guys. (The coaches) They’re really good in the practice room for us. We’ve been together since Lil’ Coalers wrestling, we’ve been all together the whole time. It’s definitely the goal to get back in the team state finals and individual state finals, too. I like the hard work and dedication in our practice room.”

Panozzo (33-12), who also qualified for state last season, opened with a first-minute fall and he assured that Clifton Central co-op would have three-straight matches on the title mat when he won by fall in 2:57 over Seneca’s Ryan Flynn in the semifinals. In the third-place match, Reed-Custer freshman Reed Newbrough (26-16) claimed a 6-3 decision over Hetman (14-14), avenging a 9-5 quarterfinal loss, in what proved to be Manteno’s best hope to get a sectional qualifier. 

165 – Brock Finch, Coal City

Brock Finch hopes that the third time’s the charm this season as the Coal City junior seeks a third state trip but also an initial medal there. He became the Coalers’ eighth champion at the Herscher Regional when he won the 165 title with a fall in 2:57 over Seneca senior Nick Grant.

Finch (27-7), who’s ranked fifth, got his first match in the semifinals and only needed 0:51 to pin Herscher sophomore Brayden Crews. He was one of the 10 champions and 14 Coalers who advanced to their own sectional, which includes individuals from the Chicago Hope Academy, Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville and the Walther Christian Academy regionals.

“It really helps with the momentum coming from everyone winning,” Finch said. “We’ve been going through a lot of hard work at practice to prepare us for team state and normal state. We definitely are a lot better because we’ve been working way harder lately and just been putting in the work. Our team, we really don’t have any holes at all, so we come in prepared and think that we’re going to win at every single weight and every dual. Our whole group has been together since Lil’ Coalers, the wrestling club we have, and we’ve been good ever since then.”

Grant (34-13), one of three finalists and six sectional qualifiers for coach Todd Yegge’s Fighting Irish, was a winner by technical fall in his opening match and then he earned his spot on the 165 title mat by claiming a 5-1 decision over Reed-Custer junior Aiden Schultz, who bounced back from that setback to claim third place and qualify by recording a fall in 5:23 over Crews (20-14).

175 – Landin Benson, Coal City

Landin Benson is a man on a mission and he needs to be considering that he was the IHSA champion at 165 in 2024 and is top-ranked at 175 in a bracket that features two 2024 state finalists, Lena-Winslow/ Stockton’s Eli Larson and Tremont’s Bowden Delaney, as well as a fourth-place medalist from a year ago, Hoopeston Area/ Milford’s Angel Zamora. The Coalers senior became his team’s ninth champion at the Herscher Regional when he won the title at 175 with a fall in 1:22 over Wilmington sophomore Will Wilson.

Benson (35-2), who hopes that a third state appearance is as productive as his second one was, needed 44 seconds to get a pin in the quarterfinals and then only required 28 seconds to wrap up his semifinal victory over Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington junior Gavin Bafia. Nine individuals recorded three falls and he only used 2:34, which was about half of the time that it took the next-best in the most pins in the least time category. He also tied teammate John Keigher, who took first at 215 to become the Coalers’ tenth champ, for the most team points with 28.

“We have a great team and we’ve been working hard all year, and we have the coaches in the room and we have the talent,” Benson said. “So we just needed some hard work and it’s paying off right now and we’re just hoping that we will carry that on to team sectionals and team state. It’s all coming together right now so we’ll see how it turns out. We’ve got Joey Breneman in the room and he was on the state championship team, so he’s coaching now and he’s been working us. You want to win both team state and individual and when you win both, it’s kind of motivational to keep going and want more.”

Wilson (24-9), who was the first of two finalists and also one of two sectional qualifiers for coach Nick Dziuban’s Wildcats, won his opener with a first-minute fall and then earned his spot on the 175 title mat against Benson with a pin in 5:24 over Reed-Custer’s Nathan Vogler in the semifinals. Seneca sophomore Alex Gagnon (26-11) dropped a 12-10 decision in the quarterfinals to Bafia (24-20), but he responded with two falls and then won 15-6 over Bafia to claim third place.

190 – Logan Van Duyne, Wilmington

Logan Van Duyne already has experienced one of the joys of high school sports, and that’s being a member of a state championship team and that’s what the Wilmington junior was able to be a part of in 2023 when the Wildcats lost to Seneca in their first game and then won 13 in a row, capped by a 28-3 victory over Athens in the IHSA Class 2A championship game. Now the defensive lineman this past fall on another successful team for longtime coach Jeff Reents hopes to experience a higher level of individual success as he not only looks to get back to the state finals but he’d like to make it to the awards stand in a second trip to Champaign.

Van Duyne (36-4), who’s ranked seventh, won the 190 championship at the Herscher Regional with a fall in 5:43 over Coal City junior Cade Poyner, who had beaten Van Duyne twice this season. One of two finalists and sectional qualifiers for coach Nick Dziuban’s Wildcats. He also won his other two matches with pins, needing 1:06 in his opener before he got a victory in the semifinals by recording a fall in 4:47 over Bishop McNamara senior Ethan Pfeiffer. He finished in a six-way tie for fourth place in most team points with 24.

“Some of our coaches are from that group, the golden era of Wilmington, and I’m just grateful to have them in there,” Van Duyne said. “It was definitely something special there with them. I love wearing Wilmington on my chest, it’s something to try to live up to that legacy that they set. People definitely think of Wilmington as a football town but wrestling is not too far from it. There’s definitely a strong sense of community and we have some of our club here watching us wrestle and it’s fun to put on a show for them. I definitely hit the offseason hard, going to Joliet and wrestling there and in club. Doing Freestyle has definitely been pretty cool and I qualified for Fargo. There was a lot of social networking and I met a lot of good people.”

Poyner (29-6), a first-time state qualifier in 2024 who was ranked fifth, was one of 12 finalists and 14 sectional qualifiers for the champion Coalers. He followed a first-minute pin with a win by technical fall in 2:42 in the semifinals over Seneca junior Landen Venecia (32-9), who bounced back from that loss to claim third place after winning a 13-4 major decision over Pfeiffer (23-13).

 215 – John Keigher, Coal City

John Keigher is ranked ninth at 215 but one reason for that may be that everyone above him has competed in the IHSA Finals while he has not. The Coal City senior hopes to cap a great final season by joining several of his teammates with an initial state trip and maybe even claim a medal in Champaign. He improved to 29-1 and became the Coalers’ tenth champion at the Herscher Regional when he won by fall in 5:50 over Reed-Custer junior Dominic Alaimo in the 215 finals.

Keigher, unbeaten since falling in the semifinals at Princeton’s Lyle King PIT to Mt. Zion’s Keller Stocks, who’s ranked third, the senior made quick work of his first two opponents, getting a pin in 0:38 in his opener and then needing just 0:42 to wrap up his semifinal match against Seneca’s Colton Angeloff and make him one of 12 finalists for the champion Coalers. He and teammate Landin Benson led everyone in the regional with the most team points with 28.

“We definitely expected this,” Keigher said. “I’d say It’s because of the partners that we have in the room. Everyone is just super hard-working. We lost a few people from last year, including our two seniors who qualified for state. But everyone just works so hard, so it’s easier to replace some guys. When you have good kids on the team, it just makes higher expectations for kids that might not be in the same spot as them, forcing them to work harder to build for these tournaments.”

Alaimo (39-5), who’s ranked fourth and made his first trip downstate last season, was one of six Comets who reached the title mat and took second place. He followed a quick fall in his opener with a pin in 5:24 in the semifinals over Clifton Central/ Iroquois West junior Brody O’Connor (29-13), who took third place after getting a pin in 5:33 over Wilmington junior Memphis Iwen (11-11).  

285 – Jeremy Gagnon, Seneca

Jeremy Gagnon is quick to point out that even though he’s won every match this season but one, part of his success is due to him competing in an unlikely sport for a heavyweight where he regularly was near the back of the pack. The Seneca senior improved to 44-1 after getting a fall in 3:35 over Coal City senior Alec Waliczek in the 285 finals. He ran cross country in the fall so that he could help with his endurance, and based on how he’s been doing, that seems to have been a good game plan.

Gagnon, who’s unranked and whose lone defeat came against Chicago Hope Academy’s Roy Phelps in the semifinals of Reed-Custer’s Comet Classic, joined 106-pounder Raiden Terry as a regional champion for Seneca, whose coach, Todd Yegge, recently collected his 400th career victory. Gagnon needed 0:21 to get a pin in his opener and won by fall in 1:10 in the semifinals over Clifton Central/ Iroquois West sophomore Josh McCurry to become one of three finalists for the Fighting Irish.

“On senior night, our coach got his 400th win, we have a great coaching staff,” Gagnon said. “There’s a great culture there, everyone’s like ‘go sports, go sports, go sports’. I did cross country this year and I finished last every time but it definitely helped. I’ve always said, they remember the first and the last place, and I was the last place. I remember running along the I & M Canal with my team and they always were a mile ahead of me. I look forward to the sectional in Coal City.”

Waliczek (20-5) was one of 12 finalists and 14 qualifiers for the Coalers, who hope that being at their school pays off with numerous individuals earning trips to the IHSA 1A Finals. The Coal City senior opened with a fall and won a 9-1 major decision in the semifinals over Bishop McNamara junior Kian Bramer (25-14), who became one of four qualifiers for his school after he won by fall in 2:32 over McCurry (23-23). 

Coal City Sectional qualifiers from the Herscher Regional

106

1st Place – Raiden Terry of Seneca

2nd Place – Colton Drinkwine of Reed-Custer

3rd Place – Jason Piatak of Coal City

113

1st Place – Owen Petersen of Coal City

2nd Place – Cole Harris of Reed-Custer

3rd Place – Chris Thompson of Seneca

120

1st Place – Culan Lindemuth of Coal City

2nd Place – Kaaden Wood of Reed-Custer

3rd Place – Owen Bollino of Herscher

126

1st Place – Cooper Morris of Coal City

2nd Place – Jayden Sanchez of Reed-Custer

3rd Place – Everett Osenga of Herscher

132

1st Place – Luke Munsterman of Coal City

2nd Place – Blake Arseneau of Bishop McNamara

3rd Place – Everett Bailey of Clifton Central/ Iroquois West

138

1st Place – Brody Widlowski of Coal City

2nd Place – Jeremy Eggleston of Reed-Custer

3rd Place – Alex Kostecka of Bishop McNamara

144

1st Place – Aidan Kenney of Coal City

2nd Place – Evan Cox of Clifton Central

3rd Place – Cole Kimberlin of Bishop McNamara

4th Place – Dalton Sala of Peotone

150

1st Place – Dylan Crouch of Dwight/ Gsardner-South Wilmington

2nd Place – Gianni Panozzo of Clifton Central

3rd Place – Noah Houston of Coal City

157

1st Place – Mason Garner of Coal City

2nd Place – Giona Panozzo of Clifton Central

3rd Place – Reed Newbrough of Reed-Custer

165

1st Place – Brock Finch of Coal City

2nd Place – Nick Grant of Seneca

3rd Place – Aiden Shultz of Reed-Custer

175

1st Place – Landin Benson of Coal City

2nd Place – Will Wilson of Wilmington

3rd Place – Alex Gagnon of Seneca

190

1st Place – Logan Van Duyne of Wilmington

2nd Place – Cade Poyner of Coal City

3rd Place – Landen Venecia of Seneca

215

1st Place – John Keigher of Coal City

2nd Place – Dominic Alaimo of Reed-Custer

3rd Place – Brody O`Connor of Clifton Central

285

1st Place – Jeremy Gagnon of Seneca

2nd Place – Alec Waliczek of Coal City

3rd Place – Kian Bramer of Bishop McNamara

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

Roundups of the regionals that feed into the Oregon Individual Sectional

Oregon qualifies 12 in regional title triumph at Byron

Oregon heads into this weekend’s sectional tournament that it hosts featuring 11 of the state’s top 25 teams in Class 1A on a huge high as it qualified a sectional-best 12 individuals after scoring 251 points, placing it well ahead of runner-up Lena-Winslow/ Stockton (210.5) while host Byron (179) claimed third place, with both of those teams sending eight to the sectional.

Top performers for coach Justin Lahman’s first-place Hawks were champions Isaiah Perez (35-7 at 120), Preston LaBay (27-5 at 126), Nelson Benesh (38-6 at 132) and Levi Benton (19-4 at 138) while Josiah Perez (113), Andrew Young (175) and Seth Rote (190) claimed second place. Turning in third-place finishes were Jordan Lowe (106), Jackson Messenger (144), Jayden Berry (150), Ethan Mowry (157) and Briggs Sellers (285) while Landen Elder (215) was fourth. According to IHSA records, Oregon hasn’t won a regional title since 2008, which was the same year that it also made its last appearance in the IHSA Dual Team Finals, when it placed third in Class A.

“We had a great day of wrestling.” Lahman said. “The focus was on getting the bonus points and for every wrestler to just go out and do their job. We knew it was going to be a battle and it was fun to watch the team rise to the occasion. This is a great first step but we have more goals to accomplish in the coming weeks.”

Runner-up Lena-Winslow/ Stockton joined Oregon with four title winners. The PantherHawks’ champions were Arrison Bauer (40-5 at 144), Eli Larson (42-2 at 175), Oliver McPeek (40-4 at 190) and Jeremiah Luke (39-5 at 215).

The other champions came from three schools, Byron, Dakota/ Orangeville and Stillman Valley. Stillman Valley’s champions were Michael Pannarale (34-6 at 106) and Henry Hildreth (36-4 at at 150), Dakota co-op’s title winners were Brandon White (30-9 at 113) and Randy McPeek (34-6 at 285) and Byron got firsts from Will Julian (38-3 at 157) and Brody Stien (39-5 at 165).

Oregon Sectional qualifiers from the Byron Regional

106

1st Place – Michael Pannarale of Stillman Valley

2nd Place – Cam Whitehead of Winnebago

3rd Place – Jordan Lowe of Oregon

113

1st Place – Brandon White of Dakota/ Orangeville

2nd Place – Josiah Perez of Oregon

3rd Place – Noah Rannow of West Carroll

120

1st Place – Isaiah Perez of Oregon

2nd Place – Jackson Norris of Byron

3rd Place – Jack McIntyre of West Carroll

126

1st Place – Preston LaBay of Oregon

2nd Place – Chase Whitehead of Winnebago

3rd Place – Damien Palacios of Byron

132

1st Place – Nelson Benesh of Oregon

2nd Place – Sam Sikora of Lena-Winslow/ Stockton

3rd Place – Hunter King of Byron

138

1st Place – Levi Benton of Oregon

2nd Place – Mauricio Glass of Lena-Winslow/ Stockton

3rd Place – Dylan Dach of Byron

144

1st Place – Arrison Bauer of Lena-Winslow/ Stockton

2nd Place – Connor Knop of West Carroll

3rd Place – Jackson Messenger of Oregon

150

1st Place – Henry Hildreth of Stillman Valley

2nd Place – Jonner Smith of West Carroll

3rd Place – Jayden Berry of Oregon

157

1st Place – Will Julian of Byron

2nd Place – Mark Detwiler of Lena-Winslow/ Stockton

3rd Place – Ethan Mowry of Oregon

165

1st Place – Brody Stien of Byron

2nd Place – John Mensendike of Lena-Winslow/ Stockton

3rd Place – Ethan Waugh of Stillman Valley

175

1st Place – Eli Larson of Lena-Winslow/ Stockton

2nd Place – Andrew Young of Oregon

3rd Place – Dameon Polton of Galena

190

1st Place – Oliver McPeek of Lena-Winslow/ Stockton

2nd Place – Seth Rote of Oregon

3rd Place – Ryon Bland of Dakota

215

1st Place – Jeremiah Luke of Lena-Winslow/ Stockton

2nd Place – Jarett Ross of Byron

3rd Place – Avery Bowers of Dakota

285 

1st Place – Randy McPeek of Dakota

2nd Place – Jared Claunch of Byron

3rd Place – Briggs Sellers of Oregon

Sandwich takes top honors at St. Bede Academy Regional

Sandwich had four champions, nine finalists and 11 sectional qualifiers at the Class 1A St. Bede Academy Regional in Peru and that helped it to claim top honors by a 209.5-176.5 margin over Princeton while Marquette Academy claimed third place with 134.5 points. The 11 qualifiers tied Marian Central Catholic for second-most in the sectional with the host school leading with 12.

Top performers for coach Derek Jones’ first-place Indians were title winners Jaxson Blanchard (27-13 at 138), Cooper Corder (32-4 at 144), Josh Lehman (29-11 at 157) and Kai Kern (18-8 at 175). Finishing in second place were Dom Urbanski (113), Colten Stone (132), Joshua Kotalik (150), Kaden Clevenger (190) and Devon Blanchard (215) and capturing third place were Hunter Whitecotton (106) and Jakob Gruca (126). Sandwich repeated as a regional champion.

“Sandwich won the St. Bede 1A Regional with a strong showing,” Jones said. “We have 13 wrestlers and 11 qualifiers. We had two kids take third and the other nine were in the Regional Finals. I thought we wrestled at or above expectation at all of our weights. We barely wrestled as a full varsity team throughout the season due to illness, injury, or other reasons. However, today they were able to pull together and wrestle as a team all day and get the job done.” 

Runner-up Princeton also had four champions and six sectional qualifiers. Winning titles for the Tigers were Augustus Swanson (25-7 at 120), Kane Dauber (43-2 at 132), Casey Etheridge (42-2 at 165) and Cade Odell (29-1 at 285). 

Other St. Bede Academy Regional champions were Marquette Academy’s Brysen Manly (31-14 at 150) and Alex Schaefer (32-8 at 215), St. Bede Academy’s Michael Benge (28-15 at 113) and Garrett Connelly (22-16 at 190), Lisle’s Alexander Ferari (32-5 at 126) and Amboy/ Ashton-Franklin Center/ LaMoille/ Ohio’s Aden Spinelli (30-7 at 106). Beside its two title winners, Marquette Academy qualified five other individuals to the Oregon Sectional.

Oregon Sectional qualifiers from the St. Bede Academy Regional

106

1st Place – Aden Spinelli of Amboy/ Ashton-Franklin Center/ LaMoille/ Ohio

2nd Place – Sebastian Lara of Lisle

3rd Place – Hunter Whitecotton of Sandwich

113

1st Place – Michael Benge of St. Bede Academy

2nd Place – Dom Urbanski of Sandwich

3rd Place – Jacob Paull of Princeton

120

1st Place – Augustus Swanson of Princeton

2nd Place – Koby Clark of Marquette Academy

3rd Place – Vince Hefke of Aurora Central Catholic

126

1st Place – Alexander Ferari of Lisle

2nd Place – Max Moreno of St. Bede Academy

3rd Place – Jakob Gruca of Sandwich

132

1st Place – Kane Dauber of Princeton

2nd Place – Colten Stone of Sandwich

3rd Place – Komen Denault of Mendota

138

1st Place – Jaxson Blanchard of Sandwich

2nd Place – Beau Thompson of Marquette Academy

3rd Place – Joshua McKendry of Amboy co-op

144

1st Place – Cooper Corder of Sandwich

2nd Place – Ace Christiansen of Princeton

3rd Place – Caiden Heath of Amboy co-op

150

1st Place – Brysen Manly of Marquette Academy

2nd Place – Joshua Kotalik of Sandwich

3rd Place – Jose Lopez of Amboy co-op

157

1st Place – Josh Lehman of Sandwich

2nd Place – Andre Pineda of St. Bede Academy

3rd Place – Gavin Evans of Mendota

165

1st Place – Casey Etheridge of Princeton

2nd Place – Reily Leifheit of Marquette Academy

3rd Place – Jordan Coventry of St. Bede Academy

175

1st Place – Kai Kern of Sandwich

2nd Place – Landyn Mcemery of Marquette Academy

3rd Place – Corbin Furar of Mendota

190

1st Place – Garrett Connelly of St. Bede Academy

2nd Place – Kaden Clevenger of Sandwich

3rd Place – Alex Tucker of Putnam County/ Hall

215

1st Place – Alex Schaefer of Marquette Academy

2nd Place – Devon Blanchard of Sandwich

3rd Place – Evan Flanagan of Amboy co-op

285

1st Place – Cade Odell of Princeton

2nd Place – Angil Serrano of Mendota

3rd Place – Adrian Schaefer of Marquette Academy

Marian Central Catholic qualifies 11, wins Marengo Regional

Defending IHSA Class 1A champion Marian Central Catholic claimed top honors at the Marengo Regional with 239.5 points while Richmond-Burton took second with 186.5 points, Wheaton Academy was third with 135.5 points and Johnsburg finished fourth with 126 points. The second-ranked Hurricanes had 11 qualifiers for the Oregon Sectional, which ties it with Sandwich for second in the sectional, with only the hosts having more qualifiers with 12.

The champion Hurricanes, who are coached by Ryan Prater and Jordan Blanton, were led by first-place finishers Austin Hagevold (36-7 at 113), Brayden Teunissen (28-5 at 120), Andrew Alvarado (19-9 at 138), Vance Williams (34-5 at 150), Jimmy Mastny (46-1 at 190) and Dan French (30-13 at 215). Taking second place were Camden Spiniolas (106), Nick Marchese (126) and Nic Astacio (165) and finishing third were Connor Cassels (157) and Josh Gawronski (175). It was the Marian Central Catholic’s third-straight regional championship.

Runner-up Richmond-Burton had 10 sectional qualifiers, which is the fourth-best total in the Oregon Sectional. Champions for the Rockets were Lelan Nelson (38-3 at 106), Emmett Nelson (38-1 at 144) and Blake Livdahl (38-4 at 175).

Wheaton Academy also had three regional champions, Lincoln Hoger (41-6 at 132), Chasen Kazmierczak (40-5 at 157) and Tyler Jones (35-4 at 165) in addition to three other qualifiers. 

The other two Marengo Regional title winners were North Boone’s Gavin Ekberg (35-5 at 126) and St. Francis’ Jaylen Torres (25-2 at 285). Johnsburg had six qualifiers but no champions.

Oregon Sectional qualifiers from the Marengo Regional

106

1st Place – Lelan Nelson of Richmond-Burton

2nd Place – Camden Spiniolas of Marian Central Catholic

3rd Place – Kai Surdick of Johnsburg

113

1st Place – Austin Hagevold of Marian Central Catholic

2nd Place – Chase Vogel of Johnsburg

3rd Place – Drew Patel of North Boone

120

1st Place – Brayden Teunissen of Marian Central Catholic

2nd Place – Adam Glauser of Richmond-Burton

3rd Place – Gabe Marella of North Boone

126

1st Place – Gavin Ekberg of North Boone

2nd Place – Nick Marchese of Marian Central Catholic

3rd Place – Clayton Madula of Richmond-Burton

132

1st Place – Lincoln Hoger of Wheaton Academy

2nd Place – Hayden Beebe of Marengo

3rd Place – Micah Klos of Johnsburg

138

1st Place – Andrew Alvarado of Marian Central Catholic

2nd Place – Landon Johnson of Johnsburg

3rd Place – Joey Guidi of Wheaton Academy

144

1st Place – Emmett Nelson of Richmond-Burton

2nd Place – Max Mulhearn of Harvest Christian Academy

3rd Place – Paul Coco of St. Francis

150

1st Place – Vance Williams of Marian Central Catholic

2nd Place – Chase Siguenza of St. Francis

3rd Place – Dalton Youngs of Richmond-Burton

157

1st Place – Chasen Kazmierczak of Wheaton Academy

2nd Place – Maxwell Martin of Richmond-Burton

3rd Place – Connor Cassels of Marian Central Catholic

165

1st Place – Tyler Jones of Wheaton Academy

2nd Place – Nic Astacio of Marian Central Catholic

3rd Place – Jackson Hjorth of Johnsburg

175

1st Place – Blake Livdahl of Richmond-Burton

2nd Place – Duke Mays of Johnsburg

3rd Place – Josh Gawronski of Marian Central Catholic

190

1st Place – Jimmy Mastny of Marian Central Catholic

2nd Place – Breckin Campbell of Richmond-Burton

3rd Place – Logan Crowell of Alden-Hebron

215

1st Place – Dan French of Marian Central Catholic

2nd Place – Shane Falasca of Richmond-Burton

3rd Place – Jeremy Johanik of Wheaton Academy

285

1st Place – Jaylen Torres of St. Francis

2nd Place – Hezekiah Garcia of Wheaton Academy

3rd Place – Colin Kraus of Richmond-Burton

Newman Central Catholic captures title at Riverdale Regional

Newman Central Catholic turned in a strong performance to claim the title at the Class 1A Riverdale Regional in Port Byron when it finished with 197 points, which was 27.5 points better than runner-up Kewanee (169.5) while host Riverdale (146) took third. The champion Comets qualified seven individuals while the runner-up Boilermakers will have six in the sectional.

Coach Brian Bahrs’ first-place Comets had seven finalists with four of them capturing titles. Taking first place for Newman Central Catholic were Landon Near (37-3 at 106), Javen Reyes (27-13 at 113), Zhyler Hansen (39-7 at 126) and Daniel Kelly (34-2 at 165) while Landon Blanton (132), Briar Ivey (157) and Jacob Newberry (190) all finished in second place. It was the program’s first regional title since 2022.

Regional host and third-place finisher Riverdale had three champions, Dean Wainwright (40-2 at 132), Kolton Kruse (42-4 at 150) and Blake Smith (30-0 at 157) and runner-up Kewanee had two title winners, Kingston Peterson (20-7 at 120) and Alejandro Duarte (34-3 at 215).

Other first-place finishers in the Riverdale Regional were Fulton’s Skylier Crooks (37-10 at 175) and Daniel Holman (35-12 at 285), Rockridge’s Jude Finch (35-0 at 138), Morrison’s Caleb Modglin (40-7 at 144) and Orion’s Maddux Anderson (45-2 at 190).

Oregon Sectional qualifiers from the Riverdale Regional

106

1st Place – Landon Near of Newman Central Catholic

2nd Place – Cael Wright of Morrison

3rd Place – Nate Lower of Rockridge

113

1st Place – Javen Reyes of Newman Central Catholic

2nd Place – Tyson Currie of Kewanee

3rd Place – Tennyson Hampton of Alleman

120

1st Place – Kingston Peterson of Kewanee

2nd Place – Tyler Olson of Orion

3rd Place – Triton Pulfrey of Riverdale

126

1st Place – Zhyler Hansen of Newman Central Catholic

2nd Place – Adan Oquendo of Rock Falls

3rd Place – Clayton Blumenstein of Rockridge

132

1st Place – Dean Wainwright of Riverdale

2nd Place – Landon Blanton of Newman Central Catholic

3rd Place – Logan Thome of Rock Falls

138

1st Place – Jude Finch of Rockridge

2nd Place – Logan Williamson of Rock Falls

3rd Place – Lain Taylor of Kewanee

144

1st Place – Caleb Modglin of Morrison

2nd Place – Aidan Jepson of Erie/ Prophetstown

3rd Place – Thomas Sowards of Rockridge

150

1st Place – Kolton Kruse of Riverdale

2nd Place – Ben Taylor of Kewanee

3rd Place – Tristan Hovey of Erie/ Prophetstown

157

1st Place – Blake Smith of Riverdale

2nd Place – Briar Ivey of Newman Central Catholic

3rd Place – Wyatt Goossens of Erie/ Prophetstown

165

1st Place – Daniel Kelly of Newman Central Catholic

2nd Place – Brady Anderson of Morrison

3rd Place – Joey McGuire of Kewanee

175

1st Place – Skylier Crooks of Fulton

2nd Place – Noah Stout of Morrison

3rd Place – Jordae Crow of Erie/ Prophetstown

190

1st Place – Maddux Anderson of Orion

2nd Place – Jacob Newberry of Newman Central Catholic

3rd Place – Mason Kuebel of Fulton

215

1st Place – Alejandro Duarte of Kewanee

2nd Place – Aiden Fisher of Orion

3rd Place – Tanner McKeag of Rockridge

285

1st Place – Daniel Holman of Fulton

2nd Place – Caleb Reymer of Erie/ Prophetstown

3rd Place – Jake Baustian of Riverdale

Regionals that feed into the Coal City Individual Sectional

Northridge Prep wins first regional title at Walther Christian Academy

The 2024-2025 sports season will certainly go down as an historic one for Northridge Prep, which is in Niles. Beginning with the all-boys school’s first-ever IHSA championship in the Class 1A Cross Country Finals in Peoria and then later in November it advanced to the final eight in soccer to capture its first sectional title in that sport. And this past Saturday, the Knights made more history as their six-year old wrestling program won its first regional title when it scored 200.5 points to easily claim top honors at the Class 1A Walther Christian Academy Regional in Melrose Park. Westmont (142) took second and Rickover Naval Academy (105.5) was third.

Coach Joseph Rhee’s champion Knights qualified all 11 individuals they brought to the regional for this weekend’s Coal City Sectional. Winning championships were Joe Kopecky (26-5 at 126), George McShane (22-6 at 150), Adam Haddad (33-2 at 165) and Mason Wagner (21-12 at 175) while Javi Rodriguez (144) and Thomas Suter (285) finished second. Taking third place were  Patrick Manio (113), Noah Echavez (138), Mikey Carney (157), Nick Belcore (190) and Lev Reszczynski (215). The 11 sectional qualifiers ranks Northridge Prep third behind Coal City and Chicago Hope Academy, who both advanced 14 individuals to the sectional.

“The Knights, in just their sixth season of wrestling as an IHSA team, took home the regional title, the first in program history,” Rhee said. “The Knights filled 11 of the 14 weight classes, with all 11 wrestlers finishing in the top three of their brackets and moving on to sectionals.”

Westmont had eight sectional qualifiers, which was second-highest in the regional and tied King College Prep and Reed-Custer for the fourth-best total in the entire sectional and it also had four champions. Claiming first-place finishes for the runner-up Sentinels were Ardan Baglaev (31-9 at 120), Sean Patterson (26-18 at 157), Vincent Willkommen (11-7 at 190) and Rafael Castrejon-Tello of (29-9 at 285).

Other Walther Christian Regional champions were Nazareth Academy’s Emilio Fortiz (8-4 at 113), James Furlong (6-4 at 138) and Sam Swais (20-5 at 215), Rickover Naval Academy’s Justin Chogllo (13-5 at 106) and Justin Hernandez (29-4 at 132) and Walther Christian Academy’s Caleb Peterson (30-10 at 144).

Coal City Sectional qualifiers from the Walther Christian Academy Regional

106

1st Place – Justin Chogllo of Rickover Naval Academy

2nd Place – Mason Ponce of Westmont

3rd Place – Izat Yousef of Universal

113

1st Place – Emilio Fortiz of Nazareth Academy

2nd Place – Luke Jimenea of Westmont

3rd Place – Patrick Manio of Northridge Prep

120

1st Place – Ardan Baglaev of Westmont

2nd Place – Aiden Butler of Rickover Naval Academy

3rd Place – Rich Gulli of Nazareth Academy

126

1st Place – Joe Kopecky of Northridge Prep

2nd Place – Alek Ramos of Nazareth Academy

3rd Place – Christian Rosa of Westmont

132

1st Place – Justin Hernandez of Rickover Naval Academy

2nd Place – Ismail Ayash of Universal

3rd Place – Lawrence Walker of Westmont

138

1st Place – James Furlong of Nazareth Academy

2nd Place – Avi Chen of Ida Crown Jewish Academy

3rd Place – Noah Echavez of Northridge Prep

144

1st Place – Caleb Peterson of Walther Christian Academy

2nd Place – Javi Rodriguez of Northridge Prep

3rd Place – Aidan Zukerman of Ida Crown Jewish Academy

150

1st Place – George McShane of Northridge Prep

2nd Place – Adam Farsi of Universal

3rd Place – Antonio Gonzalez of Walther Christian Academy

157

1st Place – Sean Patterson of Westmont

2nd Place – Kevin Gomez of Walther Christian Academy

3rd Place – Mikey Carney of Northridge Prep

165

1st Place – Adam Haddad of Northridge Prep

2nd Place – Moshe Tarshish of Ida Crown Jewish Academy

3rd Place – Steven Rodriguez of Walther Christian Academy

175

1st Place – Mason Wagner of Northridge Prep

2nd Place – Terrel Washington of Foreman

3rd Place – Tyler Schoessow of Walther Christian Academy

190

1st Place – Vincent Willkommen of Westmont

2nd Place – Mustafa Hanash of Chicago Academy

3rd Place – Nick Belcore of Northridge Prep

215

1st Place – Sam Swais of Nazareth Academy

2nd Place – Ayden Starck of Ida Crown Jewish Academy

3rd Place – Lev Reszczynski of Northridge Prep

285

1st Place – Rafael Castrejon-Tello of Westmont

2nd Place – Thomas Suter of Northridge Prep

3rd Place – Waleed Fuqaha of Universal

Chicago Hope Academy wins own regional tournament

Only two teams in Class 1A were able to advance 14 individuals to a sectional and both of them will be at this weekend’s Coal City Sectional with one of those teams being the host Coalers and the other one being Chicago Hope Academy, which won its seventh regional title in the last 10 seasons and this championship was not only won at their school but it was also achieved in impressive fashion as the Eagles scored 272 points while De La Salle Institute claimed second place with 167.5 points and Noble Golder College Prep took third place with 115.5 points. 

Seven Eagles won championships for coach Dan Willis’ team title winners. Claiming first-place finishes were Indigo Berg (35-11 at 106), Nolan Callahan (37-8 at 113), Josiah Willis (37-9 at 132), Dylan Galvez (31-13 at 144), Santori Knight (32-15 at 150), Tony Jones-Blakely (25-14 at 157) and Arkail Griffin (43-3 at 165). Taking second place for Chicago Hope Academy were Jonny Amador (126), Ismael Martinez (175), Mastewal Evely (215) and Roy Phelps (285) while Josef Rios (120), Anthony Oyola (138) and Ismael Montero (190) finished third.

“Seven champs, 14 sectional qualifiers, over 100 points more than second place,” Willis said. “It was a complete unit effort. Even our tough losses left us inspiration to chase those guys down next week and the next week.”

Other Chicago Hope Academy Regional champions were De La Salle Institute’s Jeremiah Lawrence (12-1 at 120), Vincent Arvetis (22-9 at 126), Marquis Mays (20-5 at 175) and David McCarthy (25-2 at 285), Noble Golder College Prep’s Liam Drysch (20-3 at 138), Horizon Science Academy Southwest Chicago’s Sami Marrero (29-0 at 190) and Phoenix Military Academy’s Kaleb Abney (23-3 at 215).

Coal City Sectional qualifiers from the Chicago Hope Academy Regional

106

1st Place – Indigo Berg of Chicago Hope Academy

2nd Place – Mohammed Zia Nadre of Sullivan

3rd Place – Cristian Tirado of Phoenix Military Academy

113

1st Place – Nolan Callahan of Chicago Hope Academy

2nd Place – justin forbes of De La Salle Institute

3rd Place – Samuel Cruz of Clemente

120

1st Place – Jeremiah Lawrence of De La Salle Institute

2nd Place – Moneeb Alsakka of Sullivan

3rd Place – Josef Rios of Chicago Hope Academy

126

1st Place – Vincent Arvetis of De La Salle Institute

2nd Place – Jonny Amador of Chicago Hope Academy

3rd Place – Elijah Torres of Phoenix Military Academy

132

1st Place – Josiah Willis of Chicago Hope Academy

2nd Place – Damian Gomez of De La Salle Institute

3rd Place – Alejandro Salas of Noble Golder College Prep

138

1st Place – Liam Drysch of Noble Golder College Prep

2nd Place – Mohsen Maliky of Sullivan

3rd Place – Anthony Oyola of Chicago Hope Academy

144

1st Place – Dylan Galvez of Chicago Hope Academy

2nd Place – Lorenzo Harris of Marshall

3rd Place – Alexander Vazquez of Phoenix Military Academy

150

1st Place – Santori Knight of Chicago Hope Academy

2nd Place – Jose Cristian Lagunas of Phoenix Military Academy

3rd Place – Noah Fields of Intrinsic Charter-Downtown Campus

157

1st Place – Tony Jones-Blakely of Chicago Hope Academy

2nd Place – Abobaker Stanikzai of Sullivan

3rd Place – Amir Carruthers of Horizon Science Academy Southwest Chicago

165

1st Place – Arkail Griffin of Chicago Hope Academy

2nd Place – Jose Puga of Noble Golder College Prep

3rd Place – Noah Sherrod of Intrinsic Charter-Downtown Campus

175

1st Place – Marquis Mays of De La Salle Institute

2nd Place – Ismael Martinez of Chicago Hope Academy

3rd Place – Aldo De Paz of Noble Golder College Prep

190

1st Place – Sami Marrero of Horizon Science Academy Southwest Chicago

2nd Place – Terrelle Jackson of De La Salle Institute

3rd Place – Ismael Montero of Chicago Hope Academy

215

1st Place – Kaleb Abney of Phoenix Military Academy

2nd Place – Mastewal Evely of Chicago Hope Academy

3rd Place – Marcell Trice of Bogan

285

1st Place – David McCarthy of De La Salle Institute

2nd Place – Roy Phelps of Chicago Hope Academy

3rd Place – Anthony Spivey of Michele Clark Academic Prep

King College Prep edges Corliss to win CMA-Bronzeville Regional

King College Prep captured its first regional title since 2012 when it edged Corliss Early College STEM 114-111 for top honors while Perspectives Charter Schools took third place with 102.5 points at the IHSA Class 1A Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville Regional in Chicago. The first-place Jaguars only had one title winner but five individuals claimed second and two others finished in third place to give them eight qualifiers for this weekend’s Coal City Sectional.

Leading the way for coach Anthony Burton’s first-place Jaguars was champion Alexander Robinson (20-3 at 215) while Alpha Kamate (106), Damarcus Washington (113), Mohammed Mohammed-Gazal (120), Moses Pittman (132) and Jacob Jackson (150) all finished second and 

Brandon Chamas (165) and Devin Fields (285) claimed third-place finishes.

“The KCP Jaguars team victory at regionals was a true testament to our collective effort, with every wrestler giving their best both on and off the mat,” Burton said. “From training sessions to unwavering support for one another, it was the unity and determination of the entire team that led us to this championship win. We’re looking forward to continued success from this young group and excited to bring that same energy and teamwork to our upcoming competition.” 

Top performers for coach Stacy Douglas’ runner-up Trojans were title winners Deangelo Willis (7-4 at 144), Laquaris Moore (15-6 at 157) and Grant Smith (20-3 at 165) and second-place finishers Lorenzo Flower (126), Nakia Smith (138) and Christopher Russel (175). Six of the team’s seven individuals who competed in the regional got to the title mat and advanced to the Coal City Sectional. Champions for Perspectives Charter Schools were Kenye Flanagan (25-7 at 106), Donald Bunton, Jr (27-5 at 120) and Nicario Bella (28-6 at 138).

Other Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville Regional champions were Wendell Phillips’ Andrew Price (22-7 at 126) and James Hill (27-4 at 132), Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville’s Ryan Singleton (26-2 at 150) and Caleb Gordon (23-2 at 175), Hyde Park Academy’s Amari Frankiln (13-3 at 113), South Shore International College Prep’s Christopher Simmons (25-4 at 190) and Leo’s Nicholas Armour (28-5 at 285).

Coal City Sectional qualifiers from the CMA-Bronzeville Regional

106

1st Place – Kenye Flanagan of Perspectives Charter Schools

2nd Place – Alpha Kamate of King College Prep

3rd Place – Demond Smith of Fenger

113

1st Place – Amari Frankiln of Hyde Park Academy

2nd Place – Damarcus Washington of King College Prep

3rd Place – Daveon Farmer of Perspectives

120

1st Place – Donald Bunton, Jr of Perspectives

2nd Place – Mohammed Mohammed-Gazal of King College Prep

3rd Place – Christopher Smith of Fenger

126

1st Place – Andrew Price of Wendell Phillips

2nd Place – Lorenzo Flower of Corliss Early College STEM

3rd Place – Elijah Bell of DuSable

132

1st Place – James Hill of Wendell Phillips

2nd Place – Moses Pittman of King College Prep

3rd Place – Vandell Dudley of Leo

138

1st Place – Nicario Bella of Perspectives

2nd Place – Nakia Smith of Corliss

3rd Place – Dakhari Esters of South Shore International College Prep

144

1st Place – Deangelo Willis of Corliss

2nd Place – Jaymar Beard of DuSable

3rd Place – Ayden Bright of Leo

150

1st Place – Ryan Singleton of Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville

2nd Place – Jacob Jackson of King College Prep

3rd Place – Cory Underwood of DuSable

157

1st Place – Laquaris Moore of Corliss

2nd Place – Roderick Johnson of Wendell Phillips

3rd Place – Oscar De La Cruz of CMA at Bronzeville

165

1st Place – Grant Smith of Corliss

2nd Place – Jamion Simmons of Bowen

3rd Place – Brandon Chamas of King College Prep

175

1st Place – Caleb Gordon of CMA at Bronzeville

2nd Place – Christopher Russel of Corliss

3rd Place – Jayden Scott of Perspectives

190

1st Place – Christopher Simmons of South Shore

2nd Place – Mivontae Russell of Perspectives

3rd Place – Jubril Kannike of Leo

215

1st Place – Alexander Robinson of King College Prep

2nd Place – Charleston Rice of Wendell Phillips

3rd Place – Steven Prince of Bowen

285

1st Place – Nicholas Armour of Leo

2nd Place – Justin Powell of Hyde Park Academy

3rd Place – Devin Fields of King College Prep