Posts by Mick Torres

By Patrick Z. McGavin

“First impressions,” the great English writer Chaucer said, “are lasting.”

The wrestling equivalent are fast starts, the template for success and early confidence that creates a down-the-line influence.

At the 56th annual Rus Erb Tournament at Glenbrook South, Batavia’s lead wrestlers, sophomore Ino Garcia (106) and Aidan Huck (113), created their own downhill momentum.

The two precocious young talents revealed dazzling technique, toughness and athleticism in capturing the first two championships.

Garcia utilized two three-point near falls in the second period to dominate Wauconda’s Lucas Galdine 10-0.

Huck dominated Oswego’s Brayden Swanson with a second period fall.

The Bulldogs rode that early success to the team championship with 195 points, gliding past Oswego, who finished runner-up with 177.50.

Ranked No. 12, Batavia thrived despite not having a full team available. The Bulldogs did not field representatives at 220 and 285 pounds.

It didn’t matter.

The Bulldogs had five wrestlers reach the championship stage in their weight class. Batavia finished with three individual championships, two runner-ups and three fourth-place finishers

“We knew coming in we had a good chance to compete favorably here,” Batavia coach Scott Bayer said. “I knew if we were going to do it, that would take a team effort.

“Those lightweight guys came out and really set the tone. Round by round, we had to press for major decisions and pin points. We got that.”

The 16-team field offered a superb showcase for some of the state’s top wrestlers in Class 2A and 3A. Eight of those champions remain undefeated. Three others have just one loss.

Seven different schools produced champions.

Batavia and Class 2A power Sycamore each produced three individual champions.

The tournament finish had a clear line of demarcation that separated the top five finishers—Batavia, Oswego, Wauconda, Lincoln-Way Central and Sycamore—from the balance of the field.

Led by its lone individual champion, Cruz Ibarra (195) pounds, the Panthers had four finalists and three runner-up placers.

Wauconda, ranked No. 19 in 2A, produced a champion with Colin Husko (145) and two second-place finishes. The Bulldogs also had two third-place finishers.

Lincoln-Way Central standout Joey Malito (120) was its top finisher, who also had two second-place performers.

What it lacked in quantity, Sycamore made up for in high quality with three elite undefeated wrestlers capturing individual titles with Brayden Peet (152), Zach Crawford (170) and Lincoln Cooley.

“A tournament like this is very beneficial,” Peet said. “I don’t have to see the same guys all the time where I go, and I get to see new looks, different wrestlers, and that helps prepare us for the state tournament.

“We’re in 2A, so obviously going up against bigger schools and better people helps me prepare.”

St. Patrick senior Sean Conway (132) earned the most outstanding wrestler award. He recorded two falls. In a riveting title against previously undefeated Conor Smetana of Lincoln-Way Central, he recovered from an early deficit to secure the 6-5 overtime victory.

The top-ranked wrestler in 2A, he improved his record to 19-1

The highest rated showdown was at 138 pounds as No. 5 Kaden Fetterolf survived No. 6 Mike DiBenedetto with an overtime takedown for the 7-5 decision.

By improving to 17-0, Fetterolf posted his second victory of the season against DiBenedetto (12-2).

Fetterolf was also a strong candidate for the most outstanding wrestler. He posted two falls in the preliminary rounds.

“We had a dual against Lake Park, and it was a very similar match that went down to the end,” Fetterolf said. “One thing I learned from wrestling him before is that he is a very heavy right leg shooter, so I tried to counter that.

“He also adjusted to me, and that’s what made it such a great match.”

The other elite showdown involving two highly rated wrestlers played out at 182 pounds.

Lake Forest’s Charlie Heydorn utilized an early five-point throw and near fall to capture the 8-3 victory over Batavia’s previously unbeaten Jackson Tonkovich.

Heydorn (12-1) is ranked No. 4 in 2A; Tonkovich (16-1) is ranked No. 4 in 3A.

“We wrestled before down at the College Showcase,” Heydorn said. “It was a similar match, and I got a few throws in there as well. 

“I’ve been doing a lot of judo. I feel pretty comfortable there. I just felt like I was in a very good position.”

In addition to Malito, Fetterolf, Husko and the three Sycamore individual champions, Loyola’s Massimino Odiotti (19-0) sustained a perfect start

Odiotti (126) defeated No. 6 Dominik Mallinder of Lake Park with a third period fall. 

Lake Park’s Joey Olalde (160) extended his perfect start to 13-0 with a 5-1 victory over No. 8 Andrew Johnson of Oswego.

The other second-place finishers were Wheeling’s Jatuthep Rattanahattaukul (120), Batavia’s Cael Andrews (145), Oswego’s Joseph Griffin (152), Wheeling’s Leo Giron (170), Loyola’s Michael Williams (195), Wauconda’s Matthew Merevick (220) and Lincoln-Way Centrla’s Braeden Barrett (285).

Batavia was the first—and last—team standing.

“Our big guns really came through for us,” Bayer said.

“Every kid on our roster contributed, and that is how you win tournaments.”

Here are the tournament champions and the other place-winners:

106 – Ino Garcia, Batavia

Batavia’s Ino Garcia (14-3) utilized two three-point near falls in the second period to dominate Wauconda’s Lucas Galdine 10-0 for the championship.

“I never wrestled him before,” Garcia said. “He was pretty good. I just try to wrestle my style and get to my moves.

“I like to wrestle from a distance, or neutral. On top I try to be aggressive with turfs and stuff. On the bottom, I just try to get out, and I also like to waste time in that situation as well.”

He said the two near falls in the second period developed out of rigorous practice habits.

“I just always try to get it really tight and go for it.”

Garcia posted two falls to get to the championship. Ranked No. 10 in 2A, Galdine (9-2) also recorded consecutive pins to reach the final.

Batavia’s Jack Duraski defeated Oswego’s Jonny Theodor for third place. Lincoln-Way Central’s Gracie Guarino finished fifth.

113 – Aidan Huck, Batavia

Batavia’s Aidan Huck (13-4) established the dominant tone with a quick takedown en route to the second period pin of Oswego’s Brayden Swanson.

“I always like to grab those first two points,” he said. “I just try to work on nice turns, and keep the pace going.

“I think my takedowns have been very good. That mindset is just perfect for the match.”

Just as impressively, Huck pinned top-seeded Olin Walker of St. Patrick in the first period during the semifinals. Swanson won two decisions to reach the final.

St. Patrick’s Olin Walker defeated Niles North’s Trent Toni for third place. Lake Forest’s Bobby Birdie captured fifth.

120 – Joey Malito, Lincoln-Way Central

Lincoln-Way Central Joey Malito also engineered an early second period fall of Wheeling’s Jatuthep Rattanahattaukul for the championship.

Malito started the season wrestling at 126 pounds. He felt sluggish and slow.

“I cut down to the lower weight, and now I have cleared my mind of the rougher matches,” he said. “Now I am just going to work.”

He just blitzed Rattanahattaukul with a succession of quick actions and rarely let up.

“I like to go as fast as I can, and get those takedowns,” Malito said. “I like to misdirect my opponents, and then just attack them, especially those with slow or heavy feet.”

Malito had three pins for the tournament.

Rattanahattaukul (10-4) by by fall over Buffalo Grove’s Bryan Benitez and by decision over Oswego’s Ryan Goddard.

Loyola’s Patrick Zimmer defeated Goddard in the third-place match. Lake Forest’s Julian Olenick was fifth.

126 – Massimino Odiotti, Loyola Academy

Loyola’s Massimino Odiotti (19-0 ) defeated No. 6 Dominik Mallinder of Lake Park with a third period fall. 

Leading just 4-3 midway through the second period, he expanded his advantage with a takedown that ballooned to a 9-3 edge. He defeated Mallinder at 5:07.

Mallinder (9-3) posted two falls to qualify for the final.

Marian Catholic’s Joey Baranski defeated Batavia’s Zach Szuberla for third. Wauconda’s Cooper Daun was fifth.

132 – Sean Conway, St. Patrick

Sean Conway’s enthralling 6-5 overtime victory over previously unbeaten Colin Smetana of Lincoln-Way Central ended on a controversial note, with St. Patrick’s Conway awarded a point by referee’s judgment in the overtime.

Smetana had a pin and captured a 12-8 decision over Lake Forest’s Seth Digby to reach the final.

Digby recovered for the third-place victory over Batavia’s Chase Osborne. Colin Brown of Oswego was fifth.

138 – Kaden Fetterolf, Batavia

The showdown between Batavia’s Kaden Fetterolf and Lake Park’s Mike DiBenedetto seized the headlines, with Fetterolf earning the takedown with 30 seconds into overtime for the win.

“I noticed he was tired, and kind of standing up during the overtime, so I just chose that as a good time to attack,” Fetterolf said about the decisive takedown.

Fetterolf had two falls in the preliminaries. DiBenedetto won by technical fall and an 8-4 decision over Wauconda’s Cole Porten.

Porten defeated Oswego’s Aidan O’Meara by major decision for third. Evan Guarino was fifth.

145 – Colin Husko, Wauconda

In a superb final, Wauconda’s Colin Husko (12-0) outmaneuvered Batavia’s Cael Andrews 9-7 in a back-and-forth matchup.

“My whole approach is about staying offensive,” said Husko who is ranked No. 6 in 2A. “That is the only way you can win. If you wrestle defensively, guys just have more chances to take you down.

“If you take that away, you are going to be more successful.”

Husko had two falls in the lead up to the final. Andrews had a decision and a .22 second pin of Lane’s Finn Merrill to qualify for the final.

Merrill fought back to defeat Palatine’s Joey Spizzirri for third place. Lincoln-Way Central’s Max Becker was fifth.

152 – Brayden Peet, Sycamore

Sycamore’s Brayden Peet (18-0) used his excellent strength and riding skills for the 5-0 victory over Joseph Griffin of Oswego.

“If you watch college, I like to ride out a lot,” Pet said. “I’m really good on my feet. When I am on the bottom, I am very explosive and I like to scramble.”

Peet won two first period falls as part of his title run. Griffin (15-2) won by major decision and 6-3 over Lincoln-Way Central’s Timmy Key.

Wauconda’s Nick Cheshier defeated Gustavo Cardenas of Niles Roth for third place. Loyola’s Danny Herbert finished fifth.

160 – Joey Olaide, Lake Park

In a showdown of two top-10 ranked athletes, Lake Park’s No. 7 Joey Olalde defeated No. 8 Andrew Johnson of Oswego 5-1.

Olalde had an early pin and a 6-3 decision over Lane’s Fernando Lopez. Johnson posted two pins as part of his backstory.

Sycamore’s Gus Cambier defeated Lane’s Fernando Lopez for third place. Wauconda’s Zac Johnson was fifth.

170 – Zack Crawford, Sycamore

Ranked No. 1 in 2A at 160 pounds, Sycamore’s Zack Crawford (13-0) jumped up a class and wiped out the competition.

He needed just two over two minutes of match time to record three pins. He took out Wheeling’s Leo Giron in 0:34 seconds for the individual title.

St. Patrick’s second-seeded Gio Hernandez (17-4) was forced to withdraw due to injury in an earlier round. Giron won by decision over Batavia’s Asher Sheldon.

Hernandez returned to capture third place over Sheldon. Oswego’s Noel Alvarez was fifth.

182 – Charlie Heydorn, Lake Forest

The Charlie Heydorn and Jackson Tonkovich match lived up to the hype. Both had two pins in the preliminary rounds, before Lake Forest’s Heydorn used a 5-point move en route to an 8-3 win over Batavia’s Tonkovich.

“I like to work out a lot, so I like to muscle kids,” Heydorn said. “You never really see me doing very flashy moves. I like to just stick to the basics and use my strength.”

Buffalo Grove’s Vlad Federchenko (18-11) defeated Fable Carrick of Sycamore in the third-place match. Wauconda’s Sean Christensen was fifth.

195 – Cruz Ibarra, Oswego

Oswego’s Cruz Ibarra (14-3) used his superior athleticism and movement to offset the size advantage of Loyola’s Michael Williams for the 5-1 victory.

Ibarra is a football quarterback who is explosive and dynamic in space. He earlier won by forfeit and a first period pin.

Williams edged Lincoln-Way Central’s Paul Claussen 7-5 in the semifinals.

Palatine’s Sam John beat Claussen for third. Wheeling’s Erik Giron was fifth.

220 – Alex Goworowski, St. Patrick

Two highly-regarded wrestlers in 2A met confronted each other in the final. St. Patrick’s Alex Goworowski (17-1) continued his torrid start with a 16-3 major decision over Wauconda’s Matthew Merevick.

Ranked No. 7, Goworowski also won by forfeit and fall. Honorable mention performer Merevick defeated second-seed Jackson Funderburg of Sycamore with a late fall.

Niles North’s Betim Jahovic won by fall over Palatine’s Leonel Franco for third place. Funderberg was fifth.

285 – Lincoln Cooley, Sycamore

In an exhilarating end to the tournament, Sycamore’s Lincoln Cooley (13-0) used a dramatic reversal for the 4-2 overtime victory over previously unbeaten Braeden Barrett of Lincoln-Way Central.

Lake Forest’s Max Terlap defeated Lane’s Mendi Tilch for third place. Lake Park’s Armand Voloder was fifth.

For the IWCOA

Dundee-Crown edges Princeton at Stillman Valley

Dundee-Crown won this year’s 11-team Stillman Valley Holiday Tournament, edging second-place Princeton 140-135.5 in the final team score. Stillman Valley (122.5), Marengo (118), and Wheaton Academy (109) rounded out the top five team finishers.

Dundee-Crown advanced five wrestlers to the finals, and coach Tim Hayes’ squad got titles from Thomas Taylor (138), Matt Impastato (145), and Porter Leith (195), and seconds from Juan Jasso (220) and Kyle Lessner (285) in the win.

The Chargers also got a third from Christian Gerardo (113), a fourth from Jose Baeza (120), and a fifth from Jose Gavina (160). Eight of the nine wrestlers D-C brought to Stillman Valley finished among the top five of their respective weight classes.

“I was very happy with the effort and growth of all of my wrestlers this week, both jayvee and varsity,” Hayes said. “We changed a few areas of focus at practice and have been seeing positive changes in all of our guys.”

Hayes applauded the day’s work put in by Leith and Taylor after they both pinned their way to winning titles, Lessner wrestled well, and Hayes loves the hard work and leadership Jasso is showing a young team. Hayes also liked the toughness freshman Gerardo showed him in his first varsity tournament, and credited Baeza and Gavina for posting two wins apiece that helped the Chargers take home the team title.

Impastato was named outstanding wrestler for the lower weights at Stillman Valley, after topping Princeton’s top-seeded and previously unbeaten Augie Christiansen by 8-3 decision in his semifinal match, before pinning Oregon’s Anthony Bauer for the title.

“(Christiansen) was tough and continued wrestling through all positions, which is something we have been working on with Matt,” Hayes said. “We had a few good exchanges on our feet that went out of bounds, but in the third Matt got a takedown and back points to seal the victory.”

Champions for Princeton were Steven Benavidez (113) and Matthew Harris (126), while Ace Christiansen (120) placed second among Tigers who reached the title mat. Princeton also got thirds from Augie Christiansen (145) and Justin Wicaryus (285), fourths from Kaydin Gibson (113), Carlos Benavidez (132), Carson Etheridge (160), and Drew Harp (182), and fifths from Preston Arkels (138) and Jesse Wright (220).

The Tigers brought 11 wrestlers to the tournament and all 11 won place-medals. All nine of third-place Stillman Valley’s entered wrestlers also medaled, led by individual champions Jack Seacrist (160) and Aiden Livingston (170), and second-place finisher Mack Jones (106).

Lisle, Oregon, Genoa-Kingston, Johnsburg, Winnebago, and Rockford Lutheran rounded out the field at Stillman Valley.

Other individual champions at Stillman Valley were Lisle’s Ryan Hsu (106), Wheaton Academy’s Will Hupke (120), Marengo’s Ethan Struck (132), Johnsburg’s Logan Kirk (152), Winnebago’s Mannix Faworski (182), Wheaton Academy’s Peter Johanik (220), and Marengo’s Michael Macias (285).

Also placing second in their weight classes were Marengo’s Gavin Prudlick (113), Matthew Rose (126) and Eddie Solis (195), Johnsburg’s Landon Johnson (132), Wheaton Academy’s Will Anliker (138) and Hunter Kazmierczak (182), Oregon’s Anthony Bauer (145) and Gabe Eckerd (160), Genoa-Kingston’s Brady Brewick (152), and Winnebago’s Lucas Cowman (170).

Third-place finishers included Genoa-Kingston’s Shayden McNew (106), Michael Sauber (195) and Ben Younker (220), Stillman Valley’s Henry Hildreth (120), Porter Needs (152) and Andrew Forcier (182), Lisle’s Brady Collins (126), Nolan Kelly (132), and Norbert Guzik (138), Winnebago’s Charley Murray (160), and Oregon’s Ethan George (170).

Taking fourth were Rockford Lutheran’s Kyle Gnewuch (126), Oregon’s Jared Glendenning (138) and Briggs Sellers (285), Stillman Valley’s Cullen White (145) and Braxton Jennings (220), Wheaton Academy’s Caden Smith (152), Lisle’s Vinny Brummel (170), Lisle’s Joe Raineri (195).

Glenbard South Invitational

Glenbard South Invitational

Elgin and Wetosha (WI) finished tied atop the team leaderboard at this year’s 8-team Glenbard South Invitational with 62 points apiece, with host Glenbard South finishing right behind with 58 points. Westmont (57), Northridge Prep (42), Goode (40), Kelly (39) and Guilford (20) rounded out the field.L

Here are the individual champions:
106: Julius Avendano, Elgin 113: Mission Hitchell, Westmont 120: Tyre Davis, Glenbard South 126: Allen Liguigon, Elgin  132: Dominic Wagner, Westmont 138: Andre Calalang, Glenbard South 145: Marcus Gillimore, Westosha  152: Evan Beth, Westosha 160: Mike Kopecky, Northridge Prep 170: Malek Howard, Goode 182: Steve Orsolini, Glenbard South 195: Jaylan lacy, Westmont  220: Leonardo Pascual, Kelly 285: Adam Lambatz, Elgin

Lincoln-Way East wins 4th Rob Porter crown at Niles West

The 4th Annual Robert E. Porter Invitational at Niles West saw 23 teams compete on Saturday, and when it was over Lincoln-Way East won the team title, posting a 489.5 to 431.5 edge over second-place Lake Zurich in the scramble format in Niles.

Coach Kevin Rockett’s Griffins got individual titles from Jack Marion (152) and Gavin Jones (182), seconds from Tyson Zvonar (120) and Dominic Adamo (160), thirds from Domanic Abeja (145), Ari Zaeske (170), Connor Lindaur (195) and Alex Knaperek (285), a fourth from Brayden Mortell (113), fifths from Noah Ciolkosz (106), Kevin Byrne (132) and Jacob Hassan (220), and a sixth from Jackson Zaeske (138).

“Our coaching staff is happy with how our team has competed this year,” Rockett said. “The Niles West Tournament was our first tournament of the year so it was nice to wrestle well as a team.

“Our early success is attributed to the leadership of our upperclassman and underclassman willing to do their part. Our team mantra this year has been happy not satisfied, our goal is to peak February.”

All 13 of Lincoln-Way East’s wrestlers entered in the tournament finished among the top six of their weight classes. Second-place Lake Zurich had nine of its 13 wrestlers present finish in the top six.

Schaumburg led all teams with three individual champions in Brady Phelps (106), Callen Kirchner (113) and Caden Kirchner (126).

Lake Zurich sent three wrestlers to the title mat and got individual titles from Scott Busse (138) and Matt Luby (195) and a second from Tomas Troutman (145). The Bears got a third-place finish from Nolan Schuetz (160), fourths from Tallon Smith (126), Nick Costis (170), Dan Hull (182), and Ethan Medina (220), and a sixth-place finish from Aiden Foley (152).

Normal West (367), Bartlett (286), Taft (283.5), Schaumburg (279.5), Waubonsie Valley (254.5), Geneva (248.5), Elk Grove (242.5), and Notre Dame (241) rounded out the top 10 team finishers in Niles.

Other individual Porter champions were Normal West’s Froylan Racey (120), Taft’s Colin Roque (132) and Ryan Porebski (220), Joliet West’s Austin Perella (145) and Wyatt Schmitt (285), Waubonsie Valley’s Antonio Torres (160), and Grayslake Central’s Aaron Cramer (170).

Second-place finishers included Grayslake Central’s Anthony Alanis (106), Reavis’ Vladamir Vasquez (113), Taft’s Patrick Diete (126), Bartlett’s Jack Kaneshiro (132) and Jacob Kucharski (182), Maine West’s Claudio Castellanos (138), Geneva’s Nicky O’Keefe (152), Burlington Central’s Nathan Kim (170), Waubonsie Valley’s Ashton Phillips (195), and Notre Dame’s Aodan O’Sullivan (220) and Karl Schmalz (285).

Also placing third in Niles were Geneva’s Joey Sikorski (106), Elk Grove’s Grant Madl (113) and Chance Guziec (220), Grayslake Central’s Tyler Weidman (120), Reavis’ Ahmad Suleiman (126), Normal West’s Austin Johnston (132) and Brock Leenerman (182), Saint Viator’s Austin Kanyuh (138), and Bartlett’s Anthony Verges (152).

Additional fourth-placers were Burlington Central’s Jack Aguirre (106), Waubonsie Valley’s Elias Gonzalez (120) and Ethan Wojtowich (132), Normal West’s Cody Sears (138) and Matthew Marsaglia (145), Notre Dame’s Jack Shevlin (152), Schaumburg’s Logan Meyer (160), Addison Trail’s Apolonio Ramon (195), and Taft’s Grzegorz Krupa (285).

Rich Township’s Raptor Invite title goes to Merrilville (IN)

The 13-team field at Rich Township saw team champion Merrilville (IN) post a 256.5 to 183.5 edge over second-place Antioch, with Romeoville (176.5), Evergreen Park (121), and Morton (114) rounding out the top five team finishes.

Rich Township, Eisenhower, Crete-Monee, Tinley Park, Hillcrest, Thornton-Fractional South, Bloom Township, and Thornwood rounded out the field.

Merrilville advanced seven wrestlers to the title mat and got individual championships from David Maldonado (126), Caleb Carter (160), and Ryan Gonzalez (182), and seconds from Matthew Maldonado (113), Nasir Christion (120), Lucas Clement (132) and Adrian Pellot (145). Ruben Padilla (138), Taijon Span (152), Cameron Crisp (170), and Theodore Sparks (285) placed third for Merrilville, who also got fourths from Joy Cantu (106) and James Veal (220), and a fifth from Tyler Knight (195) as the Indiana team entered 20 wrestlers in the Raptor Invite and 14 of them were scoring wrestlers who all finished in the top five of their weight classes.

Second-place Antioch sent six wrestlers to the title mat, getting individual titles from Edgar Albino (120), Anthony Streib (120) and Ben Vazquez (160), and seconds from Caleb Nobiling (138), Evan Vazquez (160) and Seth Gomez (182). The Sequoits got a third from Gavin Hanrahan (106), fourths from Ethan Castillo (113), a fifth from Donald Carson (220), and a sixth from Brock Jurinek (145).

Other Raptor Invite champions included Romeoville’s Brian Farley (106), Sergio Dondiego (145) and Johnathan Espinoza-Luna (195), Morton’s Anthony Lopez (113) and Oscar Bonilla (220), Rich Township’s Nasir Bailey, Evergreen Park’s Mike Torres (170), and Crete-Monee’s Vincent Arebalo (285).

Wrestlers placing second included Rich Township’s Diondre Henry (106), Tinley Park’s Alfonso Insalaco (126), Eisenhower’s Nate Pacetti (152) and Esteban Valesquez (195), Romeoville’s Mason Gougis (170) and Francisco Gonzalez (285), and Evergreen Park’s Eduardo Antunez (220).

Also winning third-place medals were Romeoville’s Alex Bahena (113), Eisenhower’s Juan Carlos Jurardo (120), Evergreen Park’s Axle Rubalcava (126), Aseal Rubalcava (160), James Williams (182) and Connor Rinearson (195), Merrilville’s Marlone Kirksy (132), Ruben Padilla (138), Taijon Span (152), Cameron Crisp (170) and Theodore Sparks (285), and Hillcrest’s Jovan Williams (145) and Rodney Sims (220).

Finishing fourth were Romeoville’s Bryson McDonald (120), Morton’s Rafael Lopez (126), Anthony Rivera (145) and Giovanni Rodriguez (182), Tinley Park’s Andrew Koepke (132) and Sam Zyyad (138), Merrilville’s Anthony Zacarias (152) and James Veal (220), Crete-Monee’s Elijah Grayer (160) and Brandon Alexander (195), Eisenhower’s Alberto Esparza (170), and Bloom Township’s Anggelo Dawson (285).

By Gary Larsen

If any further proof was needed that girls are simply cut from a different cloth than boys, consider this from Larkin’s defending 170-pound state champion Maria Ferrer, who was in no hurry in a tournament title match Saturday against West Aurora’s Ionicca Rivera at Maine East on Saturday.

Ferrer pinned Rivera late in the first period.

“I pinned (Rivera) at Fenton a few weeks ago and to be honest, knowing I pinned her the first time, I wanted to let it go longer today so she could get something from the match, too,” Ferrer said.

“It’s not only about me; it’s about her, so she can get some experience, too,” Ferrer explained. “I get to put more work in and she gets some experience from the match.”

Good luck finding a boys’ wrestler willing to mentor an opponent during a title match. But that’s the extra support for each other that girls in every sport are noted for, and it was on full display at the 3rd Annual Emiliano Hernandez Girls Open.

Hernandez was the long-time head wrestling coach at Maine East, retiring after the 2018-19 season. He was present and working Saturday’s event, along with Maine East coaches Austin Bautista and Lizeth Torres.

Torres wrestled for Maine East and wrestled in the first IWCOA state tournament for girls, as a high school senior in 2017. She placed second in state at 106. Her story in the sport is one that girls today no longer have to tell, now that girls wrestling are an IHSA-sanctioned sport.

“I started wrestling in middle school and there was no girls wrestling,” Torres said. “My senior year was the first year for a girl’s state tournament. I wrestled here with all boys. (Hernandez) was my coach and I was the only girl. So it’s been really amazing to see how this sport has evolved for girls.

“I joined the sport because it taught me so many life lessons about being aggressive, and being tested mentally and physically.”

Female wrestling coaches like Torres can now pass down their expertise to today’s girls in the sport, during a school year that will see the first IHSA state tournament in history for girls wrestling.

And it will be wrestlers like Larkin’s Ferrer helping the next generation of Illinois girls take the sport even farther and higher.

“Some people say it’s a guys’ sport — I say no,” Ferrer said. “Girls can do it, too. And now that I’m really into the sport, I want to learn as much as I can about it and I want to coach someday.”

There was no team champion crowned at Maine East but Morton led all schools present with four champions in Paris Flores (105), Jennifer Villagomez (110), Karla Topete (140), and Diana Rodriguez (190). There are 20 girls in Morton’s program this year.

“We’ve got girls that are very excited about the sport,” Morton coach Joe Helton said. “They’re in the varsity room with the boys, working just as hard as the boys, working their tails off.

“We’ve got a number of girls that are interested in wrestling in college, they’re in a competitive room, and they’re really driving a whole movement for girls over at Morton right now.”

Other individual titles came from Lane Tech’s Sharon Moreno (115), Maine East’s Hanna Suboni-Kaufman (120), Hoffman Estates’ Emmylina O’Brien (125), West Aurora’s Dyani Rivera (145), Downers Grove South’s Violet Cherap (155), and Rickover Naval Academy’s Jasmine Mejia (235).

Here’s a breakdown of the 11 individual champions at Maine East:

105 – Paris Flores, Morton
The junior Flores posted pins over Oak Park-River Forest’s Ana Banuelos and then Ottawa’s Anastaisia Sheptenko to win the title at 105. Banuelos went on to place third by decision against Morton’s Ariana Diaz and Maine East’s Elyssa Guleng placed fifth.

Flores began wrestling as a freshman and took last season off due to COVID. She’s back as an undersized 105-pounder but opponents shouldn’t let her size fool them.

“When she’s on the mat she can get real tough with people,” Helton said. “She’s working so hard and just scrapping with the other girls. She wants to do something special in her senior year and she’s going to go out and fight with whoever is across the line from her.”

Flores is happy to be back in the fold after a year’s hiatus.

“I just have to wrestle smart and try to get stronger,” Flores said. “But these girls are like my second family and we have a real bond with each other.”

110 – Jennifer Villagomez, Morton
Three pins and a tournament championship made for a good Saturday for Villagomez, who captured the title at 110 in Park Ridge.

Villagomez pinned West Aurora’s Emmaly Vargas, Huntley’s Taylor Casey, and Lane Tech’s Ellie Frost during her three-pin run to the title. Maine East’s Emily Villegas won by fall on the third-place mat against Casey to round out the top four finishers.

The second of Morton’s four champions placed sixth in state at the IWCOA finals in June and is one of the Mustangs’ hungriest wrestlers.

“Jennifer is one of those girls who has been there since my first day in the building and she’s just a very hard worker,” Helton said. “She’s always looking for the best competition and she works whoever she has in front of her to their limit.

“She’s one of those people who might get frustrated if her practice partner isn’t doing enough. We really love having her in the room.”

115 – Sharon Moreno, Lane Tech
Lane Tech’s Sharon Moreno improved to 8-1 this season with her title match win at 115 over Rickover Naval Academy’s Kemely Trujillo. In her lone loss this season, Moreno was up 14-0 late in a match when she fell victim to a headlock and a pin.

Moreno went 1-2 at the IWCOA state finals in June and has used that experience to her benefit.

“I learned a lot there and I look back on that a lot,” Moreno said. “My shots had to improve — entries, finishing — and really just being confidence in myself going in. Being more confident means going to my shot first, making first contact, setting the pace. That’s what confidence means to me in wrestling.”

Moreno was never involved in sports to any great extent — until she discovered wrestling.

“This sport is completely different,” Moreno said. “Physically moving someone the way I want to, getting my hands on them and knowing that I have them there. And it’s really emotionally balancing when you win. You just feel good about yourself.”

120 – Hanna Suboni-Kaufman, Maine East
Now in her fourth year in the sport, Maine East senior Hanna Suboni-Kaufman is turning the corner from a defensive to a more offensive-minded wrestler.

Suboni-Kaufman opened with a pin against Huntley’s Addison Drews, then won by major decision against Hoffman Estates’ Evelyn Simon in a semifinal match.

After pinning Hoffman Estates’ Sophia Bell on the title mat, Kaufman was pleased with the way she wrestled Saturday.

“I took a lot of shots today, I did that in the last tournament, and I’m glad I’m getting in there,” Suboni-Kaufman said. “In my last match I saw an opportunity and I went for it.”

Morton’s Lellany DeLeon pinned Lane Tech’s Nyah Lovis for third place, and Simon pinned Morton’s Neida Arreola for fifth place.
Suboni-Kaufman’s approach to the sport echoes what all the best wrestlers have always embraced.
“I love that it’s so hard, and that you just rely on yourself,” Suboni-Kaufman said.

“And just going against the best person I can find — anyone who is better than me that I can wrestle. I always want to go for those matches because even if you lose, you learn a lot.”

125 – Emmylina O’Brien, Hoffman Estates
Hoffman Estates sophomore Emmylina O’Brien is proof positive that there is a popular endeavor away from the sport that can pay huge dividends for a wrestler.

“I’m a dancer as well so I can work on footwork, speed, flexibility, and agility,” O’Brien said. “And strength is obviously important so I was in the weight room a lot last year, even if I didn’t get to wrestle.”

O’Brien began wrestling in eighth grade but sat out of the sport last season because of the pandemic.

O’Brien’s pin on the title mat at 125 against Morton’s Ximena Jaurez upped her season record to 7-0. She pinned Rickover Naval Academy’s Annabella Guzman to start her day, then won a major decision in her semifinal match against Oak Park’s Pearl Lacey to reach the finals.
Morton’s Nayeli Rodriguez pinned Lacey for third and Lane Tech’s Uyen Le pinned Larkin’s Mia Reyes for fifth place.

O’Brien’s hip toss worked well for her all day, and her sprawling ability stood out against Jaurez in the finals. She led 4-2 after a period and 9-4 after two periods before posting a third-period pin.

“This is the only sport I do. I don’t really like running but I like hard, physical sports,” O’Brien said. “I watched the sport in seventh grade but I was too chicken to actually do it.

“But in eighth grade I got into it, I met some of the varsity wrestlers and I’d watch someone who was down in a match but then get a cradle or something and come back and win. I was inspired.”

140 – Karla Topete, Morton

Every team needs a veteran wrestler in the practice room who can help whip the younger wrestlers in the room into shape, and get them to understand what it takes to succeed in the toughest sport.

After Morton’s Karla Topete won the title at 140 Saturday, coach Joe Helton pointed at her directly for being that veteran leader in the Mustangs’ practice room.

Topete placed 7th at the IWCOA state finals in June.

“Karla is a young lady we’ve had since she was a young kid in the Little Mustangs program,” Helton said. “She’s been a lifer for us. She’s a great leader with a lot of the girls in taking kids under her wing. She’s making sure our freshmen know how to work, she loves to have fun, and I’m very proud of her mentality.”

Ottawa’s Sara Meyer forfeited to Topete in their title match, Morton’s Faith Comas won by major decision for third against Hoffman Estates’ Abby Ji, and Larkin’s Quetzali Lara finished fifth with a major decision against Emma Schmidt.

145 – Dyani Rivera, West Aurora
There were only four wrestlers entered at 145, with West Aurora’s Dyani Rivera posting two pins to win the title. She opened with a forfeit win and then pinned Hoffman Estates’ Annie Rakoci before pinning Lane Tech’s Noemi Marchan for the crown at 145. Marchan went 2-1 on the day, with pins over Rakoci and Oak Park-River Forest’s Mayan Awaeli.

Rivera’s win at Maine East came one week after she won an individual title in tournament action at Conant, and two weeks after a runner-up finish at Normal.

“This is really her first time competing against girls,” West Aurora coach Andrew Plata said. “She’s spent ten-plus years competing against boys and holding her own just fine.”

Rivera — who is also a varsity softball player and cheerleader — has a quality Plata highly prizes, and one she shares with sister Ionicca, who competes for the Blackhawks at 170 pounds.

“She’s such an awesome person,” Plata said. “She has such a positive energy day in and day out, always working hard with a huge smile on her face. Her sister Ionicca is the same way. She’s a sophomore and carries the same positive vibes in and out of the wrestling room.”

155 – Violet Cherap, Downers Grove South
At 155, Downers Grove South freshman Violet Cherap showed what DGS coach Sean Lovelace knows all too well.

“Violet has all the tools to be a phenomenal wrestler,” Lovelace said. “She is strong, aggressive, and has a high wrestling IQ. And she hates losing.”

Cherap won by major decision over Oak Park and River Forest’s Megan Barajas in her opening match, then pinned Lane Tech’s Ninnette Martinez in a semifinal match.

Cherap then pinned Lane Tech’s Keira Parker to win the title. Lovelace points to a loss Cherap suffered in a tournament title match earlier this year that propelled her forward.

“Since that match, I’ve noticed a much more cerebral and introspective approach by Violet,” Lovelace said. “She is aggressive but now she’s much more calculated. I really do think that she is going to be a special wrestler for us and for the state of Illinois for the next four years.”

Parker opened with a major decision over Larkin’s Giselle Ayala and then pinned Huntley’s Gretchen Sweeny in a semifinal to reach the finals.
Ayala pinned Sweeny to finish third.

170 – Maria Ferrer, Larkin
Larkin junior Maria Ferrer is unbeaten this season, after winning the IWCOA state title at 170 in June. A major decision win in her semifinal match Saturday against Huntley’s Alexandra Strzelecki set up her match in the finals, where she pinned West Aurora’s Ionicca Rivera late in the first period.

Rivera pinned Downers Grove South’s Camilla Quiroz and then Rickover Naval Academy’s Clara Biela to reach the title match.

Ferrer’s success at the state level last season as a sophomore came when began opening up her offense, which she had working on Saturday.

“I was too passive as a freshman but I was better about shooting more last year,” Ferrer said. “This year I’m shooting even more and trying to learn anything I can that will help me for state.”
Strzelecki pinned Biela on the third-place mat and Maine East’s Claudia Domusiewicz placed fifth with a pin over Morton’s Alejandra Velazquez.

190 – Diana Rodriguez, Morton
Pin, pin, pin, title.

If that’s the preferred path of champions, Morton’s Diana Rodriguez followed it on Saturday. Rodriguez pinned Lane Tech’s Scarlett Ramirez, Hoffman Estates Anjali Gonzalez, and then Downers Grove South’s Gracie Swierzynski on the title mat to win the crown at 190 pounds.

“She’s been able to scrap with the best of them,” Morton coach Joe Helton said. “She’s gone up in weight to wrestle bigger girls and has worked her butt off. She has treated everything like it’s all business this year.”

Swierzynski pinned Maine West’s Lilly Garrett in her opening match before winning by forfeit in her semifinal against Morton’s Sofia De La Sancha.

Hoffman Estates’ Gonzalez won by decision on the third-place mat against Morton’s De La Sancha, and Garrett placed fifth with a decision win against Rickover Naval Academy’s Camilla Martinez.

235 – Jasmine Mejia, Rickover Naval Academy
Rickover Naval Academy freshman Jasmine Mejia opened her day with a pin of West Aurora’s Veronica Sanchez, and won by forfeit in her semifinal match before pinning Oak Park and River Forest’s Tamera Erving to win the title at 235.

In her first year in the sport, Mejia already has a good handle on arguably the greatest life lesson that wrestling has to offer:
“When you feel like you’re beat, to keep on going,” Mejia said. “I do that pretty well but I want to keep working on that.”

Mejia particularly likes the family aspect of the sport that she has experienced at Rickover thus far; in fact, that family aspect was what pulled her into the sport in the first place.

“My dad is the assistant coach, so is one of my teachers, so I thought ‘maybe I can do this’,” Mejia said. “At first I was (resistant) to it. But it’s such an honorable sport and it helps you develop as a person. For girls, especially, it can help you build confidence. It helps you grow into yourself.”

Erving reached the finals with a pin of Downers Grove South’sKat Rodriguez and a fall against Taft’s Kennedi Atkocaitis. Sanchez also went on to pin Rodriguez on the fifth-place mat.

For the IWCOA

Two significant accomplishments that had only been done once before by competitors from Illinois were witnessed again this past weekend at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman XXVII Tournament in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

For only the second time, individuals from multiple schools won championships as Homewood-Flossmoor junior Vincent Robinson captured top honors at 126 and Rich Township junior Nasir Bailey followed him by claiming the championship at 132.

The only other time that had been done was in Illinois’ best year for winning titles, 2006, when Montini Catholic received titles wins from Mike Benefiel and Garrett Goebel and Glenbard North got a first-place finish from Tony Ramos.

Also for the second time, a champion and two other placewinners appeared on the awards stand in the same weight class. That also involved Robinson, who was joined on the next-highest spots on the podium by Washington Community junior Kannon Webster, who took second place, and Mount Carmel junior Sergio Lemley, who finished third.

The only other time a similar scenario occurred was in 2015, when Montini’s Dylan Duncan won the 132 title and was accompanied by Oak Park and River Forest’s Gabe Townsell, who took fourth, and Marmion Academy’s Anthony Cheloni, who placed eighth.

Thanks to the titles won by Bailey and Robinson, Illinois ended a three-year drought in champions which was the longest that the state hadn’t had a first-place finisher in the event since Benefiel captured the first title there in 2004. Illinois now has 13 individuals who’ve won 15 Ironman championships from eight schools with Montini winning eight and seven others with one champion.

One other individual competed in a championship match, St. Charles East sophomore Ben Davino, who took second place at 120. But the Saints missed out on having another medalist when sophomore Tyler Guerra fell one win shy at 132.

Mount Carmel had two other medal winners, both of whom took fifth place, freshman Seth Mendoza at 106 and senior Ryan Boersma at 285. 

Another fifth-place finisher from the state is Aurora Christian senior Braden Stauffenberg at 150. Two others from that school came up one win shy of a medal, senior Joe Fernau at 126 and freshman Deven Casey at 106.

Homewood-Flossmoor also received a seventh-place finish from junior Deion Johnson at 106 while sophomore Jaydon Robinson, Vincent’s brother, fell one win shy of a medal at 144.

Bailey, a 2020 IHSA 2A champion and 2021 Texas 6A champion who’s first at 132 in 3A in Rob Sherrill’s IWCOA rankings, added to tournament titles at Antioch and Joliet Central when he went 5-0, winning three of his matches by fall, one by technical fall and another in a major decision.

A fifth-place finisher in the Ironman in 2019, Bailey recorded a fall in 6:28 over Waynesburg Central’s Mac Church to win the 132 championship. After winning with a first-period fall in the quarterfinals, he advanced to the finals with a 10-2 major decision over Tampa Jesuit. For his efforts, received the Mendoza Award for scoring a tournament-high 34.5 team points.

“This is arguably the hardest high school tournament in the nation and Nasir won the 132 pound title,” Rich Township coach Alex Pell said. “He dominated his opponents from the first match to the last. He finished with a major decision, a tech fall, and three pin falls collecting bonus points from every match wrestled.  With his dominant performance, he was able to win the Mendoza Award for winning the most team points in the tournament.  I’m beyond proud of how hard this young man has worked and the success that he has created.”

Vincent Robinson’s road to the championship and 6-0 performance featured much more drama. His largest win was a major decision in his opening match and then he won two-point decisions in four of his next five matches.

Robinson, a 2020 3A runnerup at Marian Catholic who’s top-ranked at 126 in 3A and was competing in his first tournament of the season, advanced to the semifinals with a 3-1 win over Malvern Prep’s Nick O’Neill and then won 3-1 in sudden victory over Lemley in the semifinals. In the championship match at 126, Robinson captured a 5-3 victory over Webster in an all-Illinois finals. He was second in the  voting for the Bill Barger Outstanding Wrestler Award, which went to Aurora’s Dylan Fishback.

“It was just fun being in that atmosphere,” Vincent Robinson said. “I went there my freshman year and went 1-1 and messed my shoulder up in the second round, so I already knew that you had to wrestle in every match and it wasn’t going to be a breeze. We’re real tough and we go into the practice room and work hard and come in there with a positive attitude. I’m the leader of the team so I have to bring the energy every day.”

“What can be said about Vincent Robinson’s tournament that hasn’t already been said?,” H-F coach Jim Sokoloski said. “He finished in second place for the OW of the tournament, defeating the second-, third- and fourth place finishers in the finals, semis, and quarters, respectively and he defeated two Illinois wrestlers as well. Vincent was absolutely locked in from match number one and kept it rolling the entire tournament. Winning this tournament is such an accomplishment and I really had no idea until I was able to see it first hand. To be able to navigate a bracket that is this difficult is truly special.”

Webster, a 2020 2A champion who’s top-ranked at 126 in 2A, went 5-1 in his first tournament of the season with a fall, a win by major decision and three decisions. After winning 7-2 over Blair Academy’s Matthew Lopes in the quarterfinals, he advanced to the title match with a 9-5 semifinal win over Crescent Valley’s Gabe Whisenhunt.

Davino, a 3A IWCOA state champion who’s top-ranked at 120 in 3A, went 4-1 in his initial tournament of the season to advance to the 120 finals. He won a major decision in his first match and then won three-straight decisions, prevailing 7-2 over Legacy Christian’s Dillon Campbell in the quarterfinals and then 5-2 over Nixa’s Zan Fugitt. In the finals, he dropped a 5-2 decision to McGowan.

The Saints just missed getting another placewinner at 132 as Guerra went 4-2 thanks to four straight wins in the consolation bracket before falling 5-2 to Gonzaga Preparatory’s Joshua Neiwart in his final match.

“Having Ben and Tyler get an invite to the Ironman was a huge step for our program,” St. Charles East coach Jason Potter said. “We knew they could compete with the best and this gave us the opportunity to prove. They performed at a high level and we feel confident they have opened the door for our team and future Saints wrestlers. Our goal is to put our wrestlers in a situation to compete and beat the best and the Ironman did not disappoint.  

“Ben had a great weekend and I am very proud of his performance.  I know he was disappointed not to take home the title, but second place in the Ironman is an amazing accomplishment.  He beat multiple athletes who are nationally ranked ahead of him and avenged a previous loss dominating Ohio’s Campbell. His goal is to be the number one wrestler in the country, and this performance moves him closer to that goal.

“Tyler was a late entry into the tournament and was not seeded. This put him against the number-five seed right out of the gates.  Tyler lost the closely-contested match but bounced back with four wins to get to the blood round. He competed hard and was in the match but fell just short of the podium. I am extremely proud of his effort and am excited to see what he can do at the Dvorak.”

Mount Carmel was the top-scoring Illinois team in the tournament, finishing in 11th place with 70.5 points. 

Lemley, a 3A champion in 2020 and Indiana champion in 2021 who’s ranked second at 126 in 3A, went 5-1 with three falls, a win by major decision and a one-point victory following up on his first-place finish at the Dan Gable Donnybrook.

After beating Bixby’s Clay Giddens-Buttram 18-5 in the quarterfinals, Lemley lost 3-1 in sudden victory to Robinson but bounced back with a fall over Bethlehem Catholic’s Dante Frinzi and an 8-7 triumph over O’Nell to capture third place at 126.

Mendoza went 5-2 after opening with two falls before falling 11-6 in the quarterfinals to Malvern Prep’s Anthony Mutarelli. The state’s top-ranked individual at 106 in 3A who also won a title at the Gable tournament in Iowa, responded with a decision and win by technical fall before dropping a 6-1 decision to send him into the fifth-place match, where he claimed a 3-0 victory over Broken Arrow’s Christian Forbes.

Boersma, a two-time placer and IWCOA 3A champion who’s top-ranked in 3A at 285 and also took first at the Gable Donnybrook, went 5-2 with three falls, a major decision and a decision. After falling 4-3 in the quarterfinals to Mesa Ridge’s Matthew Moore, he recorded a fall and won a decision before losing a one-point match and finishing with a 13-2 major decision over Waynesburg Central’s Noah Tustin for fifth.

Despite having just four competitors, Homewood-Flossmoor finished in 21st place with 49 points. Johnson, ranked third at 106 in 3A and a title winner at Joliet Central, went 5-2 to place seventh at 106. After falling in an ultimate tiebreaker in round three, he won two decisions and claimed a forfeit win before losing to Mendoza. He won 5-0 over Greeneville’s Carson Dupill for seventh place.

Jaydon Robinson went 3-2 after advancing to round three where he lost a decision. He bounced back with a win on a tiebreaker and then got a fall but lost his next match to miss out on a medal at 144.

“Overall, we finished in 21st place and we only brought four wrestlers,” SokoIoski said. “I couldn’t be more proud of our wrestlers and coaches. We have an incredible thing going at H-F right now and it continues to build momentum. Deion Johnson grinded through an incredibly tough bracket as an unseeded wrestler to finish in seventh place.”

Aurora Christian finished 26th with 42.5 points. Stauffenberg, a 2020 3A placer who is ranked second at 152 in 2A and won a title at Barrington, went 6-2 to claim fifth at 150. After dropping a 5-4 decision in the third round, he responded with four-straight close wins, with three coming by sudden victory. After falling 7-5 by sudden victory in his next match, he won 3-0 over Palmetto Ridge’s Carson Miller for fifth.

Fernau, a 2000 3A champion at 103 while at Montini who is ranked third at 126 in 2A, went 3-2 after getting a major decision and two decisions to reach the 126 quarterfinals, where he fell 11-3 to Whisenhunt. His hopes for a medal came up a win short when he fell 4-2 in the next match. 

By Curt Herron

One of the smallest schools in Illinois that has a wrestling program also has some of the biggest dreams as to what special things they may be able to accomplish this season.

With an enrollment of 64.5 students per the IHSA, Yorkville Christian is hoping that its championship in the return of Plano’s Reaper Classic on Saturday after a one-year hiatus is the start of something big for a young program that had just four individuals competing four years ago.

Coach Mike Vester’s Mustangs captured five titles, had six second-place finishers and placed in the top-six at each weight class after advancing all 14 individuals to the semifinals to claim the title of the 38th annual Reaper Classic with 229 points, which was well ahead of runner-up Sandwich, who had 179.5 points.

Princeton claimed third place with 143 points while Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher edged Prairie Central 100-99 for fourth place and the host Reapers were sixth with 84 points in a competition that featured 15 teams.

Winning championships for Yorkville Christian were Aiden Larsen (106), Isaac Bourge (120), Tyler Martinez (160), Jackson Gillen (170) and Michael Esquivel (285). It missed out on winning another title when Noah Dial (132) was disqualified in the late stages of a match where he had a big lead.

Others finishing second for the Mustangs were Grason Johnson (126), Braulio Flores (138), Jeremy Loomis (145), Drew Torza (152) and Chris Durbin (195). Brooklyn Sheaffer (113) finished fifth while Jackson Mehochko (182) and Garrett English (220) took sixth place.

Yorkville Christian, which finished fourth in its first tournament at Antioch, has a challenging schedule for a small school with a young program that features a significant percentage of the students who are wrestlers. The Mustangs have already met Deerfield and are scheduled to face highly-ranked teams like Joliet Catholic Academy and Washington in 2A and Lockport in 3A, as well as taking part in DeKalb’s Flavin Invite, the Cheesehead Invite in Wisconsin and Mahomet-Seymour’s Marty Williams Invite.

One of the Mustangs’ assistants who is excited about what’s happening at the young school in Kendall County and also happens to have his name on the wall at Plano is Travis Martinez. He was a state runner-up at 275 in Class A in 1998 for the Reapers and is the father of the tournament’s 160 champion, Tyler Martinez. 

“It was very exciting to give him a hug afterward and to tell him that in this gymnasium he was able to do something that his father never did, I never won the Reaper Tournament,” Travis Martinez said. “It was great to see the competition here and we’ve been wrestling a lot of 2A and 3A schools and that’s what we’ve been looking for. We want to get battle-tested early since we have some big intentions of trying to go deep into the tournament this year, both individually and as a team. We know the potential of the kids and they’re starting to realize their potential. We went 14 of 14 of getting the kids into the semifinals and 11 made the finals. All in all, you have to be proud of their efforts.”

Sandwich had three champions, Evan Reilly (138), Aidan Linden (152) and Alex Alfaro (182) while Ashlyn Strenz (106) and Samuel Dale (170) both took second. Bryce Decker (160) finished third, Miles Corder (126) and Kaiden Gustafson (195) were fourth, Sy Smith (132) and Nolan Bobee (145) placed fifth as all 10 Indians won medals.

Princeton had nine of its 11 competitors finish sixth or better with Matthew Harris (126) and Augie Christiansen (145) leading the way with championships while Ace Christiansen (120) claimed second place. Taking third for the Tigers were Drew Harp (195) and JJ Wicaryus (285), while Kaydin Gibson (113), Carlos Benavidez (132) and Carson Etheridge (160) all placed fourth and Preston Arkels (138) finished in sixth place. 

Three other teams each had one champion and two of those were recognized with the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler Award for lower and upper weights. 

Earning the honor as outstanding wrestler for lower weights was Somonauk’s Shea Reisel (113), who not only made history as a girls champion in the tournament but also by claiming one of the two OWA awards, for the lower weights. 

“Her biggest thing is that she just outworks everybody, that’s what it comes down to,” Somonauk coach Mike Otto said. “She’s a hard worker and doesn’t give up and doesn’t complain. Even if she’s behind in the score, I always think that she’s going to win because she’s never going to stop. She’s got a goal in mind and that’s what she’s aiming for.”

Receiving the outstanding wrestler award for the upper weights was TF North’s Alex Jackson, who also happened to claim his first title in a varsity tournament. He had been unable to break into the lineup due to the presence of a pair of state champion brothers, Bilal and Sincere Bailey.

The other tournament champion hadn’t even expected to be at the Reaper Classic until just the past week. Prairie Central’s Connor Steidinger (220) was supposed to compete in The Munch Invite in Pontiac, but after that event got canceled, his program was offered the chance to take part and made of the opportunity, which also featured Jerome Brown (138) recording a tournament-best six falls to place third.

Others claiming second-place finishes were Saint Ignatius College Prep’s Nate Sanchez (113) and Dylan Kabance (132), Marian Catholic’s Lloyd Mills (160), Wheaton Academy’s Hunter Kazmierczak (182), TF North’s Bryant Bobadilla (220) and Plano’s Alex Diaz (285).

Seventeen individuals who were placewinners in the last Reaper Classic returned to the awards stand again and eight of those, East Aurora’s Zamir Castanon, Bourge, Flores, Harp, Harris, Kazmierczak, Linden and Reisel are three-time placewinners in the tournament with 2019 first-place finisher Gillen and 2018 title winners Bourge and Harris became two-time champions in the competition.

Teams that have won Reaper Classic titles have fared very well in the IHSA Class A and 1A dual team series. Twenty of the 37 championship squads have won trophies for top-four showings while 15 have competed for titles and nine have captured state championships.

Here are the tournament champions and the other place winners at their weight classes:

106 – Aiden Larsen, Yorkville Christian

Yorkville Christian freshman Aiden Larsen won by fall in 2:18 over Sandwich sophomore Ashlyn Strenz at 106 to start the Reaper Classic finals. He advanced to the title match after getting a quick fall in his first match in the semifinals while Strenz, who joined Shea Reisel as one of the two girls who advanced to consecutive title matches, moved on with first-minute pins in both the quarterfinals and semifinals. Larsen, who is ranked third at 106 in 1A, took second place at Antioch’s DeRousse Tournament.  

“It’s a great school and we’ve been together since we were eight or nine years old,” said Larsen of his school and teammates. “It feels good to get your first high school tournament win. I had a tough loss against Hanrahan (Antioch’s Gavin), who’s a good opponent. It’s going to be a good year.”

De La Salle Institute’s Raymond Alvarado bounced back from his semifinal loss to Larsen to claim third-place with a fall in 2:24 over Saint Ignatius’ Mike Marafino, who lost to Strenz in the other semifinal. Prairie Central’s Drake Clemons took fifth place in the weight class.

112 – Shea Reisel, Somonauk

Saturday marked an historic day for Somonauk senior Shea Reisel, who not only earned her third trip to the awards stand in the event and was one of two girls who competed in the first two title matches, but she claimed top honors at 113 with a 4-1 decision over Saint Ignatius College Prep freshman Nate Sanchez. Reisel got a fall in the quarterfinals and then claimed an 11-6 decision in the semifinals over Princeton’s Kaydin Gibson to help her earn the tournament’s outstanding wrestler award for the lower weights.

“I’m so grateful that the numbers are increasing in female wrestling,” Reisel said. “It’s such an amazing sport but I think that people tend to overlook it. I’ve been wrestling boys all of my life, the same as other girls my age, and I like now that there’s more availability in girls wrestling. But I think overall, wrestling boys up until this time has made me the wrestler who I am. I’m really grateful and I appreciate all of the opportunities that I’ve been given and not just for me but for so many female wrestlers. And I have a load of support., so I’m grateful for that, too.”

Sanchez advanced to the finals with a 7-0 victory over Yorkville Christian’s Brooklyn Sheaffer.  Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Jakob Howell won the third-place match with a fall in 3:55 over Gibson while Sheaffer took fifth place by previous decision against East’s Aurora’s Leo Cardoza.

120 – Isaac Bourge, Yorkville Christian

Yorkville Christian senior Isaac Bourge captured the championship at 120 with a 4-0 decision over Princeton freshman Ace Christiansen. Bourge, who’s ranked seventh in Class 1A, also won the tournament in 2018 when his team had just four competitors and he is also a three-time placewinner in the event. He won a major decision in the quarterfinals and claimed a 5-1 decision over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Shawn Schlickman in the semifinals. 

“It’s very exciting,” Bourge said. “We’ve all been trying really hard in practice and just working on our moves and it’s really paying off. We have really good communication and unity since we’ve all known each other since we were little. We grew up together so we’re really friendly with each other and so our teamwork is amazing. Four years ago, there was just four of us, there was just me and three other kids and they’re gone now and now there’s just me left. We went from four to eight and 11 and from there we’ve just skyrocketed and have a full lineup and it’s just amazing to watch how we grow. This tournament gave us great opportunities since it had kids that we’ll see at state and there were good matches that we got in. This year is really about me placing at state since I’ve qualified my last two years, that will make my dad proud.”

Christiansen earned his spot in the finals with a pair of first-period falls, including a pin in 0:56 against Somonauk’s Mason Smith in the semifinals. Schlickman recorded a fall in 2:39 over Wheaton Academy’s Will Hupke to claim third place while Prairie Central’s John Traub got a fall in 3:58 over Smith to finish fifth.

126 – Matthew Harris, Princeton

Princeton senior Matthew Harris claimed a 7-2 victory over Yorkville Christian sophomore Grason Johnson to claim top honors at 126. Harris, who is ranked fourth in Class 1A and a title winner in 2018 and a three-time medal winner in the tournament, opened with a win by technical fall in the quarterfinals and followed that up with a fall in 1:37 over Somonauk/Leland’s Aiden Rowan in the semifinals. Johnson got a fall in the quarterfinals and then claimed a 3-1 semifinal victory over Marian Catholic’s Joey Baranski. 

“We’ve got a good practice room, for sure,” Harris said. “Once you figure out how to use your leverage, it’s good and I’ve got pretty funky hips. This spring I got fourth at 126 so I’m excited for this season. One of the real nice things  about the finals match is that was actually my 100th career win.”

Baranski bounced back from his narrow semifinal loss to capture a 4-2 victory over Sandwich’s Miles Corder to claim third place. Rowan also responded to his semifinal defeat with an 8-5 decision over Prairie Central’s Mekonnen Steidinger to finish fifth. 

132 – No championship awarded

Yorkville Christian junior Noah Dial was only seconds away from wrapping up a decisive major decision in the 132 finals against Saint Ignatius senior Dylan Kabance when the  situation deteriorated following a late escape. Before the match was able to be concluded, there was contact between the two and during that, the referee got hit and landed on the mat where he was attended to for a few minutes before being assisted out of the gym. As a result, both individuals were disqualified and no championship was awarded.

Dial, who’s ranked fourth in 1A and was fourth at Antioch, followed a pin in the quarterfinals with a win by technical fall in 2:49 over Sandwich’s Sy Smith in the semifinals. Kabance, who was third at Hinsdale South, got a quick fall in the quarterfinals and captured a 6-5 semifinal victory over Princeton’s Carlos Benavidez. In the third-place match, East Aurora’s Zamir Castanon, a three-time medalist in the event, won 5-4 over Benavidez. Smith took fifth place with a fall in 3:38 over Wheaton Academy’s Daniel Kersey. 

138 – Evan Reilly, Sandwich

Sandwich senior Evan Reilly claimed top honors at 138 when he captured a 6-3 victory over Yorkville Christian senior Braulio Flores. Reilly, who is ranked sixth in 1A and was seventh at Barrington, recorded first-period falls in both the quarterfinals and semifinals, pinning Princeton’s Preston Arkels in 1:27 to reach the finals. Flores, a three-time medalist in the tournament who placed fifth at Antioch, opened with a fall before capturing a 2-0 semifinal victory over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Carson Maxey.

“Being a senior is definitely an advantage,” Reilly said. “Being an older guy, you get the same competition but you feel a little bit better mentally knowing that, hey, I’m an older guy here, so I have a little more experience. It’s good to come into the season with some confidence, especially from last year, when it was a weird season. So to come into the next year and say I made it down there gives me some confidence. This upcoming season, and especially with all of our guys, it’s going to be a good season, for sure.”

In the third-place match, Prairie Central’s Jerome Brown recorded a fall in 0:52 over Maxey to collect his sixth-straight pin, which was the highest total in the event. And in the fifth-place match, Plano’s Norbert Gajda was a 10-4 winner over Arkels.

145 – Augie Christiansen, Princeton

Princeton junior Augie Christiansen won a 15-8 decision over Yorkville Christian junior Jeremy Loomis in the 145 finals to give the Tigers a second title in the event and also to join his brother, Ace, who competed at 120, as one of the team’s three finalists. He won by fall in the quarterfinals and claimed a win by technical fall in the semifinals over East Auora’s Emmanuel Gutierrez. Loomis, who was fifth at Antioch, used two first-period falls to reach the finals, pinning Sandwich’s Nolan Bobee in 1:42 in the semifinals.

“This is a very big year for me,” Christiansen said of his state hopes. “I want to be able to get there and to be able to compete with the best of the best and to hopefully come home with some hardware in Champaign. You need to have tournaments like this, especially with the postseason, because you have to have the stamina to come in and wrestle four matches in a day. Especially for this being our first tournament, it was very good for us, we needed that. We’re still super young, too, with a lot of freshmen and sophomores and juniors. We just need to keep working hard in the wrestling room, obviously, and everyone’s got stuff they need to work on. Now it’s just about getting ready for February.”

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Altin Nettleton captured third place after recording a fall in 1:22 over De La Salle’s Nicholas Arvetis. At the start of the finals, there was a malfunction of a recording of the national anthem and after a brief delay, Aaron Nettleton came down to the head table and volunteered to sing and turned in a well-received performance of the anthem. In the fifth-place match, Bobee won by fall in 1:13 over Gutierrez. 

152 – Aidan Linden, Sandwich

Sandwich senior Aidan Linden captured a 6-4 win over Yorkville Christian junior Drew Torza in the 152 championship match. Linden, who’s ranked second in 1A and was fourth at Barrington, is a three-time medalist in the tournament. He followed a fall with a win by technical fall in 1:57 in the semifinals over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Carter Kallal. Torza, who’s ranked seventh in 1A and was sixth at Antioch, recorded two falls to reach the title mat, winning in the semifinals with a pin in 3:06 over Plano’s Gio Diaz.

“We have an amazing team,” Linden saiid. “We’re rebuilding again with a lot of seniors on the team and we have some good kids that are coming in, too, which should fill our spots well. This season, we’re just working on getting better and take it one day at a time. We have a team of leaders and we’re always giving each other high fives and talking to each other if someone loses a match. We’re like, hey, we’ll get them next time, you work toward the future. Since I was young, I’ve always had dreams and wanted to accomplish my dreams and I’m just taking it one step at a time. I’ve had a bunch of setbacks with injuries the last couple of years, but this is my final ride so I have to make it count.”

In the third-place match, Diaz was a winner by fall in 1:39 over Wheaton Academy’s Caden Smith and in the fifth-place match, Marian Catholic’s Evan Fitzgerald recorded a fall in 3:30 over Kallal.

160 – Tyler Martinez, Yorkville Christian

Yorkville Christian junior Tyler Martinez accomplished something that his dad, Travis, a 1998 state runner-up at 275 in Class A for Plano, didn’t do, which was to win a Reaper Classic title. Martinez, who’s ranked fifth in 1A, recorded a fall in 1:09 over Marian Catholic junior Lloyd Mills in the 160 finals to add to the title that he won at Antioch. All of his wins were by first-period fall, including one in 0:45 over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Kellen DeSchepper in the semifinals. 

“My dad’s an assistant coach at Yorkville Christian and is helping coach to run the program,” Martinez said. “It brings a little bit of competition into the household, always trying to one-up him, We performed really well and I think it was a good way to set the pace for the team as we head toward the end of the season and the state tournament. We went to a solid-sized 3A tournament and went 4-1 for the duals and took seventh as a team. Our team looks really solid and we’re able to fill out all of the weight classes and something we weren’t able to do in past years. I’m really glad to be able to help lead this team and hopefully we can come out with a team state championship this year.”

Mills recorded three falls to reach the finals, including one in 5:15 in the semifinals against Plano’s Vincent Herbig. Sandwich’s Bryce Decker claimed third place with a fall in 4:31 over Princeton’s Carson Etheridge while Verbig got a pin in 1:54 over DeSchepper in the fifth-place match.

170 – Jackson Gillen, Yorkville Christian

Yorkville Christian junior Jackson Gillen won 6-0 over Sandwich senior Samuel Dale in the 170 finals. Gillen, who’s ranked fifth in Class 1A and placed second at Antioch, also won a Plano title in 2019. He got a fall in the quarterfinals and won a 2-1 decision in the semifinals over Putnam County/Hall Township’s Connor Brooker. Dale, who’s ranked seventh in 1A and was ninth at Barrington, advanced to the finals with two falls, including one in 5:14 over Saint Ignatius’ George Akkawi in the semifinals.

“It’s good having a bunch of people in the room who want to push each other and want to get better,” Gillen said. “We’ve got the best kids in the state in the room, so it’s a really good atmosphere. We started with four, then we got to eight and now we’re here. I’m really grateful to have all of these people around me and pushing me. We’re pushing each other every day, and that’s nice. I wrestled him (Dale) the week before and pinned him so today I tried to make sure I didn’t mess anything up, just win, and it was fun. ”

Brooker bounced from his tough semifinal loss to claim third place after recording a fall in 2:53 over Akkawi, who placed third at Hinsdale South. East Aurora’s Ashton Gutierrez got a fall in 1:25 over Plano’s William Collins in the fifth-place match.

182 – Alex Alfaro, Sandwich

Sandwich senior Alex Alfaro entered the Reaper Classic as top-ranked at 182 in 1A and maintained that designation after recording three falls, with his shortest match in the finals, in 1:00, over Wheaton Academy senior Hunter Kazmierczak. Alfaro, who took third at Barrington, got a fall in 3:17 in the semifinals against TF North’s Marcos Gomez. Kazmierczak, a three-time medalist in the event, advanced to the finals with two falls, including one in the semifinals in 3:46 over Yorkville Christian’s Jackson Mehochko.

“I have to give a big thanks to the coaches because if it wasn’t for the coaches who’ve pushed us hard every day, I feel that our team wouldn’t be where it should be right now,” Alfaro said. “And also, everybody on our team right now is very dedicated and going to the gym all of the time. We want to get a really good and fun season and have a good time. Since the beginning of the season, our coach has been telling us that he wants the whole team going to state with everyone working hard and pushing it past their limits. The first months are the roughest because everyone’s trying to get back into conditioning and after that, everyone has picked up their rhythm and we’re going from there.”

In the third-place match, Prairie Central’s Owen Steidinger won by fall in 3:34 over Gomez while Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Aiden Sancken claimed fifth place with a fall in 3:41 over Mehochko.

195 – Alex Jackson, TF North

It was a long wait for Alex Jackson to win a varsity tournament title, but that’s what happens when you have a pair of state champions around your weight. The TF North senior who had brothers Bilal and Sincere Bailey ahead of him during his career, captured the title at 195 when he recorded a fall in 2:53 over Yorkville Christian junior Chris Durbin. After recording three falls for the day, including one in 3:53 in the semifinals over Princeton’s Drew Harp, Jackson received the outstanding wrestler award for the upper weights.

“This was the first one that I’ve ever won on varsity,” Jackson said. “I’ve always been a younger guy on the team. In my freshman year I was 13 and we had the Baileys and I was always between them. I was wrestling at 152 and almost made it to state but lost in the blood round. I feel different this year and feel like nobody can do anything to me.”

Durbin, who was one of 11 Mustangs who competed on the title mat, advanced to the finals with a 6-1 semifinal win over Sandwich’s Kaden Gustafson. In the third-place match, Harp, who is a three-time medalist in the tournament, claimed a 13-4 major decision over Gustafson while in the fifth-place match, Marian Catholic’s Leo Mendez won by fall in 0:30 over Prairie Central’s Hunter Shawback.

220 – Connor Steidinger, Prairie Central

It’s a pretty good feeling when you can win a major tournament title that you hadn’t anticipated being at. But that’s what happened for Prairie Central junior Connor Steidinger, who was unable to compete in the canceled Munch invite in Pontiac but instead made the most of the good fortune of competing in the Reaper Classic. Steidinger recorded a fall in 1:10 over TF North senior Bryant Bobadilla in the 220 finals to cap a day where the nine-man Hawks finished fifth and had seven placers, including three Steidingers.

“I’m grateful for this since we got the chance to be able to wrestle,” Steidinger said. “You take every opportunity that you can get and just get better. This was pretty big for us since we had a meet on Tuesday but then we weren’t going to have a meet on Thursday because we had a big tournament coming up., so we would have gone almost a whole week without any competition. Last year I did the IWCOA tournament and almost placed and this year I’m just trying to wrestle as much as I can and try to get good competition and go against harder people and just get better.”

In the semifinals, Bobadilla won by fall in 3:42 over Plano’s Andrew Harrelson while Steidinger recorded a pin in 0:53 over Yorkville Christian’s Garrett English. In the third-place match, Wheaton Academy’s Peter Johanik claimed a 6-5 decision over East Aurora’s Bryan Romero and Harrelson pinned English in 1:05 in the fifth-place match.

285 – Michael Esquivel, Yorkville Christian

Yorkville Christian senior Michael Esquivel claimed a 7-1 victory over Plano junior Alex Diaz in a clash of state-ranked competitors in the 285 finals. Esquivel, who’s ranked fourth in 1A and also won a tournament title at Antioch, recorded a fall in 3:59 over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Markus Miguel in the semifinals. Diaz, who’s ranked seventh, recorded a pair of falls to advance him to the championship mat, including a pin in 2:48 against East Aurora’s Arnold Walker in his semifinal match.

“I know how good this team can be, this is a heck of a team,” Esquivel said. “We only had eight guys last year and were trying to get a regional title and we lost by half a point and that hurt and we could have had them if certain things played out. Going into this year, I want that regional title and the sectional title and hopefully the state title. We have a bunch of hammers on our team now that we can make a run at that team state title. I’ve known Vester for awhile, since club at Team 1006. Our coaches want  to push me to be the best that I can be. I knew right away that we could make  an impact on the tournament. As a team, we wanted the team title, and we got the team title.”

Princeton’s JJ Wicaryus claimed third place with a fall in 1:56 against Walker while Saint Ignatius College Prep’s Corinthian Gladney took fifth by injury default over Miguel.

by Mike Garofola.

With four teams in the top 20 and an all-star cast that featured six men who could vie for a state championship, the stage was set for an exciting day at the 61st annual Mudge-McMorrow Invitational inside Jean Walker Fieldhouse in Mt. Prospect.

This ultra-competitive field did not fail to excite the crowd who watched the favorites compete brilliantly to claim well-deserved individual championship medals. In the team race, it was the home team that outlasted four other challengers, including runner-up Libertyville and third-place Hersey to lift the big trophy.

“It was a good overall effort from the guys today,” Prospect coach Tom Whalen said. “We collected eleven medals all together, three championships, and we found a way to win when and where we needed to. But you know, I always like more so going three-for-five in the finals has to be better down the road when it really counts.”
Prospect’s Will Baysingar bedazzled his competition to win the 132-pound division to help lead his club to its eventual victory.

“We’re getting everyone back from football so our lineup is nearly at full strength,” Baysingar said. “And when we are, we should be in very good shape for the second half of the season.
The Knights, who at one time led Libertyville by just 2.5 points (187.5-185) would finish its day atop the leader board with 220.5 overall points, followed by Libertyville at 200, Hersey (197), McHenry (162) and Fremd with 158.50.

“Caelan (Riley) and Josh Knudten were just fantastic for us today and they, along with others helped us keep things close,” offered Libertyville head coach Dale Eggert. “But Prospect was just too strong for all of us so in the end, it wasn’t very close.”

Hersey, which will meet Prospect Friday night in a dual that could likely decide the Mid-Suburban League East division, did well all across the board but still fell short of the team title.

“We leave here with our heads up after a pretty solid effort, but we all know we could have done better,” said Hersey head coach, Joe Rupslauk, whose club led all teams with 12 medals won overall.“We’ll get back in the room and get ourselves ready for our dual with Prospect at the end of the week.”

McHenry and Fremd stayed close during most of the day, with an undermanned Fremd club making the most of things for coach Jeff Keske and his staff.

“Having only nine today, we knew we were going to have to score bonus points whenever we had an opportunity, so with our heavyweight out with an injury, and our sixty-pounder taking his ACT test, I was very impressed with the fact our overall record on the day was 21-11,” said a proud Keske.

McHenry coach Jake Guardalebene left Prospect pleased with his squad.

“I liked the way our team wrestled today,” he said. “We placed 11 out of 13 we brought, and I’m happy with the way our guys battled back in wrestle-backs to help us finish top four in our first tournament of the year.”

Not to be forgotten on the day was the man who shared the name of this long-running tournament, Gary McMorrow. McMorrow celebrated his 50th year of wrestling, which began under Hall of Fame coaches Dick Mudge and Tom Porter, who led Hersey to back-to-back state titles in 1971 and 1972.

McMorrow was a three-year starter at Prospect and a two-time sectional qualifier, before going on to wrestle at Western Illinois, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology/Anthropology, and his teacher certification.

Upon graduation, McMorrow joined Porter as his assistant, and sophomore head coach for the next 11 years, before serving as freshmen coach for yet another future Hall-of-Fame coach, Rick Mann.

McMorrow took over at his alma mater in 1983, and retired after the 1993-1994 school year, but remained head coach one last season, a season in which he would help guide the first ever state champion in program history, Matt Boggess.

In 2011, the Dick Mudge Memorial was renamed the Mudge-McMorrow in honor of McMorrow’s 34 years as both a wrestler and coach. Since 2010, ‘G-Mac’ — as he is widely known — has been the Knights’ freshmen head coach.

McMorrow was inducted into the IWCOA Hall-of-Fame in 2014.

The Knights family also recognized the contribution of Larry Ellen, who for 25 years has volunteered his valuable time and expertise to the program, and especially in the production of the annual tournament.

Let’s take a closer look at the weight classes:

106 — Wiley Jessup, Fremd

One thing opponents of Fremd can be sure of is seeing a powerful one-two punch at the start of the Vikings lineup beginning with Wiley Jessup at 106 and talented freshman Evan Gosz at 113.

Jessup, who was runner-up Thanksgiving weekend at the 30th annual Moore-Prettyman, pinned his way into the final where he used a strong third period to defeat Joel Muehlenbeck to claim his first major title of the season.

“Getting that first takedown is always so important, but I thought my ability to block his shots in the third period was the key to victory,” said Jessup (17-1) after his 5-2 decision over Muehlenbeck.

The affable Vikings senior, who came in as the No. 4-rated six-pounder in the state, drew first blood with a takedown near the edge with 17 seconds left in the opening period, then later used an escape and another deuce five seconds from time.

“Having Evan in the room as my partner is great for both of us,” continued Jessup.

“He’s tough with his leg riding, which helps me prepare to get out of those types of situations, and we are always doing our best to make things difficult for each other, which ultimately helps us better prepare for competition.”

“Wiley was an IWCOA all-stater last summer,” Fremd coach Jeff Keske said. “Although he is battling a few injuries of late, he found a way to win today, despite not being a hundred percent healthy, and that says a lot about his effort.”

113 — Evan Gosz, Fremd

Gosz continues to sparkle in the first half of the season, earning his second major of the campaign (Gosz won at the Moore-Prettyman) and doing so in spectacular fashion all throughout the day.

“Evan was dominant today with two pins, plus a tech-fall and he just loves to perform on the big stage,” Keske said of his rookie sensation, who is now 17-1 on the season. “He seems to wrestle his best when the lights are bright.”

“I’m in a great room, with a great partner, and I really enjoy being a part of a high school wrestling program,” said Gosz, who before this weekend was No. 6 in the latest IWCOA state poll.

“There was a period of adjustment coming into high school after wrestling IKWF but having Wiley in the room has been great for me. We really get after each other and coach (Keske) has been fantastic helping me improve in all parts of my game.”

Gosz spent just 25 seconds on the mat in his opener and then went nearly a full six minutes before recording his tech-fall in the semifinals to advance into the final against Zach Parisi of York.

Once there, he wasted little time building a 6-1 advantage, before another pin at 3:25 sent him atop the podium.

On his way to the final, Parisi upended No. 2 seed Jimmy Norris of McHenry with a tech-fall in his semifinal. Norris later would claim third place overall in a wild high scoring affair (23-21) with Maxim Mukhamedaliyev of Hersey.

120 — Caelen Riley, Libertyville

Riley’s drive to the 120-pound title was a thing of beauty, as the Libertyville four-year veteran left little doubt as to who was the best in his respected weight class.

The Wildcat senior brought a creative flair in his attack, with constant movement, well designed shots, and an ability to pry open his opponents. That was particularly evident in his final with the No. 7 rated twenty pounder in 2A, Tyler Evans of Prairie Ridge, who dropped a 16-5 major decision to the two-time state qualifier, and sixth-place medalist in Springfield.

“Since the Moore-Prettyman, I’ve been working to improve my hand-fighting, and in all positions, as well as getting an early lead and continuing to put more points up in order to keep the pressure on my opponents,” said Riley, No. 5 in the IWCOA polls.

“(Coach) Eggert is such a great technician, so there’s always something we’re working on to fine tune things. Improving my fitness is something that has also become very important to me.”

Riley makes the five-mile trip to the Poeta Training Center in Lake Forest a couple of times a week to sharpen his skills – extra work that appears to have paid off with his recent commitment to wrestle next fall at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina.

“I looked around at UW-LaCrosse, and Campbell University (North Carolina) but everything fits real well both academically and with my wrestling at The Citadel, where I’ll have the chance to start at 125 pounds,” said Riley, who plans to study marketing.

126 — Massey Odiotti, Loyola Academy

For a guy who was flying far under the radar at the start of this season, Massey Odiotti is fast becoming a rather large ‘blip’ on the screen following yet another terrific weekend effort to claim his third tournament championship.

The Loyola Academy star won the Moore-Prettyman, then won the title at the first ever McLaughlin Classic, and then turned in some marvelous work to take home the big prize in Mt. Prospect.

“It’s all about wrestling six hard minutes each time I go out there and to continue to work hard in the room in order to compete at a high level,” said the senior, who is No. 4 in the state polls at 120, but has won his last two tournaments at 126.

Ramblers head coach Matt Collum, who starred at Neuqua Valley and then at the collegiate level at Iowa Central, where he was a three-time All-American and national champ, noticed a distinct difference in Odiotti after his two-day effort at the Moore-Prettyman

“Last year Massey would find a way to lose the close ones,” Collum said. “This year his focus is much more clear, and he’s winning those close, hard-fought matches, and that’s the secret to success in this sport.”

“(Collum) is right,” Odiotti said. “In the past I’d be down in the second period and that seemed to be it for me in those matches. But he’s been so good for me because after I compete, we go back to work to pinpoint the little things that need to be cleaned up. That, plus a lot more confidence, makes me go out expecting to win.”

Alex Schmacht of Moline would finish second overall after his 9-0 defeat at the hands of Odiotti, while Sean Berger from York earned third place with consecutive pins to close out his day.

132 — Will Baysingar, Prospect

Once again, Will Baysingar was unstoppable.

The Prospect junior, No. 3 in the IWCOA polls, unleashed a masterclass effort to dispatch all three of his opponents — the first two via lightning-quick pins and a third against the talented Maddox Klaminsky of Fremd, with a methodical 12-6 decision to win his second title in three weeks.

“So far, so good, but there’s a lot of work ahead of me, so the plan is to continue to work in order to be my best,” said Baysingar, whose clinical finishing was a thing of beauty to watch over the course of the day.

“Lately I’ve been fine-tuning a lot of things in my attack, and with my partners in the room — Lennon Steinkuehler and Damien Puma — we’ve been pushing each other every day.”

“As good as Will is right now, the drive and work ethic to be the absolute best is what impresses me so much about him,” said Knights assistant Dan Keller. “I feel like there’s so much more to come from him at the rate he works.”

“It’s 24-7, 365 days of wrestling for Will, yet he manages to have a 4.0-plus GPA at the same time. That says a lot about his discipline and desire to succeed.”

138 — Kole Brower, Moline

Kole Brower and teammate Noah Tapia form a devastating partnership in Jacob Ruettiger’s lineup, and the dynamic duo showed just how dangerous they are with their dazzling display all throughout the day.

Brower (13-0) dominated his competition with a trio of pins, including his final against Prospect’s Lennon Steinkuehler. Brower won by fall at 1:41 to earn his championship crown at 138 pounds.

“I am very fortunate to have a great like Noah in the room, we challenge each other every day and I know he’s made me a much better wrestler,” said Brower, who not only is the reigning 132-pound state champion, but also No. 1 in the latest IWCOA state polls.

“I like being the No. 1 guy,” Brower said. “It makes me work harder and it challenges me to be the best that I can be, knowing others will be coming after me each time out.”

Brower, who went 23-0 last season, recently committed to wrestle next season at Illinois, where he’ll pursue a degree in teaching at the high school level, with an eye on coaching some day as well.

“I am very comfortable with coach (Mike) Poeta, and I really like the direction the program is going. It’s going to be a great fit for me,” said Brower, who estimates he’ll compete at 141 on the collegiate level.

145 — Noah Tapia, Moline

Noah Tapia squashed the field from start-to-finish in explosive fashion, needing just 6 1/2 minutes to dash the hopes of a trio of opponents en route to his 145-pound title.

“Just like (Brower) it’s good to be one of the top guys in the state,” Tapia said. “Each guy you wrestle is looking to be the one that beats you.” The Moline junior went into Prospect as the No. 2 man in the state behind another junior, Ethan Stiles of Conant, who won it all last summer at 145.

Tapia collected the first state title of his career last season at 138, one year after earning his first trip downstate. He flashed terrific balance, skill, speed and superb movement to ensure victory, which included his third and final pin of the tournament in his final with Charlie Fifield of Fremd.

“We see a lot of 1A and 2A competition in our area so it’s great we traveled this weekend to come to an amazing tournament like this to compete against talented 3A guys who normally we wouldn’t see,” said Tapia, after improving to 12-0 on the season.

152 Connor Munn, Prospect

Connor Munn may have surprised some on his way to the top of the podium, but it was no surprise to Tom Whalen and his assistant, Dan Keller.

Munn marched into his title match against league rival Matthew Iliynkh of Hersey, where he unleashed an unstoppable attack on the way to securing his first ever varsity title with a pin at 2:20.

“As a sophomore, Connor has been very good for us in the middle of our lineup,” said Whalen. “His work ethic is very good, and he’s come a long way in a short time.”

“(Munn) is a real coachable kid,” added Keller. “Once he was over the usual freshmen mistakes, he has combined hard work and a dedication to putting in the extra work to make himself a valuable guy in our lineup.”

Top seed Jack Downing of Glenbrook South finished third overall, with Zander Ealy (Moline) rounding out the top four in this weight class.

160 — Chris Moore, McHenry

Chris Moore appears ready to settle down after two previous stops before ending up at McHenry under head coach Jake Guardalabene.

The Warriors’ junior made an immediate statement as a freshmen at Aurora Christian, where he carried off the top prize at 113 pounds, before moving over to 2A state power Marian Central Catholic, where he finished second overall in 2A at 138.

Moore came home to McHenry during the offseason and together with teammate Brody Hallin, he gives Guardalabene a spectacular one-two upper weight punch, and one that should give the club enough firepower to challenge for top honors in the Fox Valley Conference and beyond.

“It’s great to be back wrestling at McHenry where I have so many of my friends, in and out of the sport,” said Moore, who validated his spot as the No. 1 man at 160 in the state with a wonderful effort in all three of his matches, which included his pin at 3:27 over Patrick Downing of Glenbrook South in the finals.

“I am attacking with more confidence than ever before, and I am getting an early lead, and I’ve been looking to score more. I’m adding points to put pressure on my opponents as the match goes on,” added Moore, who will compete next fall at Illinois.

“Chris had a great tournament,” Guardalebene said. “He ran into a tough wrestler (Jack Seacrist of Stillman Valley) in his semifinal, and with the match close early on, he went into the next gear to pull away. It was good to see him grind out a hard fought victory.”

170 — Brody Hallin, McHenry

Hallin received an early Christmas present with the arrival of Chris Moore to the McHenry program, and that brought a smile to the three-time state qualifier, whose tenacious and combative style was too much for his opponents to handle at Prospect.

“We already had a great room but with the addition of Chris, who immediately became my partner and someone that will help push me to be at my best, it was the perfect gift for me,” Hallin said with a smile.

“COVID really messed me up mentally last year and even though I was able to finish fourth at the IWCOA state tournament, I still wasn’t really feeling it after that tournament.

“But this season, thanks to Chris being here, and my teammates and coaches, I’ve found myself really loving the sport more than ever, and I believe it’s showing in my wrestling and how I compete.”
Hallin’s coach liked what he saw, particularly after Hallin’s late takedown gave him a 4-3 title-mat decision.

“Brody had a great tournament,” Guardalebene said. “I really enjoyed seeing him get pins in his first two matches. His opponent in the finals, Austin Gomez (Libertyville), had a good game plan against us but Brody did a good job of finding a way to win that match in the third period.”

182 — Josh Knudten, Libertyville

Josh Knudten proved to be a strong candidate for OWA honors following his superb effort in the 182-pound weight class, which included a trio of pins just 55 seconds in his opener, and then at 62 seconds in his title match against Aidan McCain of Round Lake.
It was Knudten’s first tournament title of the season after falling just short at the Moore-Prettyman.

“I learned a lot from that loss in the finals at Barrington,” said Knudten, who cruised into the finals as the No. 1 seed before being stopped by Marmion Academy’s Jack Lesher.

“(Coach) Eggert says we always learn something – win or lose – and for me in that match with Lesher, I learned to never overlook any opponent, whether they’re ranked or unranked,” said Knudten, who’s ranked No. 4 in the IWCOA polls and who won a fifth-place state medal in June.

“Since (Barrington) I’ve worked hard on all parts of my game, including scoring points early, adding to my lead, and learning the importance of closing out matches.”

The two-time state qualifier believes time spent with the well-respected Eggert and his staff, in addition to the trips to the Poeta Training Center where he works alongside Zachary Brunson, has provided the impetus for his success thus far.

195 — Cole Matulenko, Libertyville

Matulenko made it two straight for runner-up Libertyville when he edged Mike Williams (Loyola Academy) 4-3 in his 195-pound final to earn his first championship trophy of the season.

The Wildcats’ junior had an easy time of it in his first two bouts. Matulenko recorded a pair of falls to advance to face Williams, before using an escape one minute from time to ensure victory.

“I feel like my conditioning and fitness was the difference in my final,” Matulenko said.

“Every day in the room, I go head-to-head with our heavyweight (Caleb Christensen) who is big, fast and really tough. Time spent with Caleb has really helped prepare me for guys who are bigger and a little stronger than me.

“It definitely helps me against bigger guys and I’ve been spending a lot of time lifting to get stronger, so I know all that extra work will pay off when it really counts.”

220 — Manny Mejia, Hersey

Manny Mejia can still remember those dreadful days when the program at Hersey had a difficult time with numbers, and an equally difficult time filling out its lineup card. It was a situation which led to far more losses than victories.

Things are different now for Mejia and his teammates, who last weekend lifted the championship trophy at Joliet Central. That team title came one week after Hersey defeated reigning league champion Conant and then perennial powerhouse Barrington on the same evening.

“It was pretty bad when I first got to Hersey,” Mejia said, “but the reason in my opinion for our big turnaround this season is coach (Joe) Rupslauk.

“(Coach) treats us all like family. He works us hard, makes us accountable, gives us his full support, sacrifices all of his time for us, and he’ll do anything for us as long as we put the time in and commit ourselves to each other and to the team.”

Mejia (17-2), an IWCOA sectional qualifier a year ago, recorded a late takedown in the first period of his final with Luke Zunkel (14-1) of McHenry, then went in front for good with an escape and another takedown in the second period en route to an 8-2 decision.

“Manny is a great leader in the room, and I was very proud of his effort today to get himself a well deserved individual title,” said Rupslauk.

285 — Sean Mitchel, Prospect

There’s plenty of depth in the room at Prospect and the Knights received an extra boost when a handful of players returned from its football team, whose deep playoff run ended in a loss 7A state semifinal to St. Rita.

The arrival of big man Sean Mitchel, the Knights starting left guard, has already made a mark in Tom Whalens’ starting 14, giving the long-time head coach quality and pin power at the heavyweight position.

“It’s great having Sean back and in our lineup,” Whalen said after Mitchel pinned his way to the title. “He’s been with us since he was a sophomore, he put on a lot of weight, spent the time in the weight room to get himself bigger and stronger, and today you saw that hard work pay off.”

“I’m excited to be back and with my win today, but I’m really excited about the team winning the championship in our own gym,” said Mitchel.
Mitchel spent just five minutes on the mats on Saturday, including 1:52 in his last bout of the day against the aforementioned Christensen, who entered the tournament as the No. 10-rated man at 285.

Oleg Simankov (Hersey) was third overall and Alex Enkhbaater of Glenbrook South rounded out the top four finishers in the heavyweight division.

By Gary Larsen

DePaul College Prep senior Mikekal McLarin is one of the Rams’ top wrestlers. He may be an even better team leader, as reflected in his comments on DePaul’s domination of the field at Saturday’s 13-team Warren G. Hoger Invitational, hosted by Walter Christian.

“My team came here and showed up,” McLarin said. “This is the best we’ve been in a long time so this is a blessing. I’m proud of the guys who showed up and executed today. It was awesome to see.

“We’re young but we’re not scared to go out there and fight, and we’re always willing to learn something new. When you come in with an open mind and the right mindset, that’s how you grow and get better.”

DePaul posted 244.5 points to the 179 points scored by second-place finisher Seaholm (MI). Elmwood Park (134) placed third, Peotone (123.5) was fourth, and Mather (118) rounded out the top five teams.

McLarin won an individual title at 132 pounds and improved to 8-0 on the season as one of four individual champs for the Rams. A young Rams team also got titles from freshmen Max Rosen (120) and Drew Gerstung (126), and senior Jake Kelly (160), plus second-place finishes from sophomore Jack Myers (113), seniors Jaxon Kaminski (138) and Michael Skory (152), and freshman Brenden Lilla (170).

DePaul coach Pat Heffernan also got thirds from freshman Johnny Cunningham (106) and junior Emmet Jeske (285) and fifths from freshman Matthew Brendel (145) and senior Brian Ngo (195). DePaul led all teams with 12 wrestlers finishing in the top six of their weight classes. The Rams had no wrestlers entered at 182 and 220 pounds.

Class 1A DePaul also placed third at Fenton’s 16-team Weiss Invitational a week earlier, in a field full of 2A and 3A teams.

“We’re a little bit better than I thought we would be, so I’m a little surprised at how well we’re doing right now,” Heffernan said. “The kids are really getting better every day.”

“We had two freshmen step up in their first varsity tournaments today, with Matthew Brendel and Brenden Lilla, and Max Rosen is doing a great job, wrestling up a weight as a freshman and winning two tournaments this year.”

It was also a special day at Walther Christian, which dedicated its multi-purpose room to longtime coach Bruce Tuomi. Tuomi’s teams at Walther went 304-114-0 over his 20-year coaching career there, including his state-qualifying teams of 2015 and 2016. Tuomi finished with a career coaching record of 523-230-9.

Here’s a breakdown of Saturday’s individual champions:

106 — Jack Dombeck, Elmwood Park

Dombeck followed his individual title win at Fenton’s 16-team Weiss Invitational on Dec. 4 by improving to 14-1 en route to his second title of the season. Dombeck used a pair of pins to win his crown, capped by a fall on the title mat against host Walther Christian freshman Caleb Peterson (7-1). 

The two got into a wild exchange early in the first period, with both fighting off potential takedowns. Dombeck chose the down position to start the second period, ultimately reversing and pinning Peterson at 3:13.

“It would have been nice to feel him out a little bit but I’m alright with that much action right at the start of the match,” Dombeck said. “It is what it is. No complaints.

“I wasn’t getting to my offense enough in that match but I took down (position) in the second period, and that was something we’d been working on in practice this week. But I have to work on hitting my offense more. I have shots to score a lot of points so I have to be working on those.”

Dombeck is opening some eyes early on in his high school career. Including his own.

“I wasn’t a very good kids club wrestler. I didn’t start winning tournaments until I was 12 or 13 years old,” he said. “I struggled but now my mentality has changed. I’m more confident in my wrestling now.”

DePaul’s Cunningham won by fall over Amundsen’s Matthew Nguyen on the third-place mat, one week after placing second to Dombeck at Fenton’s Weiss Invitational. Mooseheart’s Tilan Murphy pinned Noah Toth of Lutheran Northwest (MI) for fifth.

113 — Cameron Murray, Seaholm (MI)

Murray improved to 3-0 with a pair of falls on the day, with neither of his matches lasting more than one minute. He pinned Rickover Naval Academy’s Kemely Trujillo (8-2) 47 seconds into their semifinal match before pinning DePaul’s Myers (6-2) 39 seconds into their title match.

Murray was one of three individual champions for Seaholm on the day.

Trujillo won his first match by fall over Ridgewood’s Sal Reina and Myers pinned Elmwood Park’s Dillon Vazquez in their semifinal match. Myers also placed third last week at Fenton. Vazquez pinned Trujillo at 2:58 of their third-place match and Reina finished fifth.

120 — Max Rosen, DePaul College Prep

One week after posting three pins and winning an Outstanding Wrestler Award at Fenton’s Weiss Invitational, DePaul’s Max Rosen posted two more pins to win the title at Walther in improving to 11-0 on the season.

Rosen pinned Seaholm’s James Postema in a semifinal match before winning by fall at 1:30 of his title match against Walther’s Josh Peterson.

Rosen showed throughout the title match that waiting around to react to an opponent’s offense just isn’t his style. The freshman has brought the attacking heat against his opponents all season.

“If I don’t go out there and attack, I’m not going to win,” Rosen said. “Every match I try to attack first and attack hard. That’s how I win, is by being way more aggressive. (Peterson) is a senior, I’m a freshman. He’s a state qualifier. I just went out expecting a battle and I just worked as hard as I could.”

Rickover’s Nathaniel Sales won by fall for third place against Ridgewood’s Luisa Valtierrez, while Postema placed fifth with a fall over Mather’s Malachi Holmes.

126 — Drew Gerstung, DePaul College Prep

One week after placing third at Fenton’s Weiss Invitational, DePaul’s Drew Gerstung improved to 8-3 on the year when he won an 8-6 title-mat decision over Ridgewood’s Kris Popovich in Melrose Park. Gerstung opened his day with a semifinal fall at 0:56 over Lutheran Northwest’s James Wilson.

“I thought everyone else wrestled up to my expectations, but I think (Gerstung at 126) wrestled beyond our expectations,” DePaul coach Pat Heffernan said. “He had a tough match in the finals and he wrestled great.”

Popovich opened with a 12-10 decision over Peotone’s Mohammed Abunijmeh before pinning Westmont’s Sean Patterson in their semifinal match. Abunijmeh pinned Patterson on the third-place mat and Wilson placed fifth with a fall against Westmont’s Magie Anders.

132 — Mikekal McLarin, DePaul College Prep

After posting two falls and a tech fall win on the title mat, DePaul College Prep senior Mikekal McLarin improved to 8-0 this season. McLarin pinned Elmwood Park’s Christian Campos and Nazareth’s Andrew Fowler, before winning by tech fall over Westmont’s Dominic Wagner for the title.

But being content is never part of a wrestler’s makeup.

“I’m not satisfied. I started the day with a pin, then another pin, and I was looking for a pin in the finals,” McLarin said. “I got the tech fall so I got some work in. Now I just have to keep conditioning and keep putting the hammer down. I feel more confident in myself this year, and I’ve been working hard on and off the mat.”

McLarin is aiming to provide leadership by example to a young DePaul team, based on a simple message:

“I just tell them to be mean. You’re not trying to be anybody’s friend out on the mat,” McLarin said. “You can shake hands when you get off the mat. Be aggressive and be the one who wants it more.”

One week after placing second at Fenton’s Weiss Invitational, Wagner (9-4) pinned Amundsen’s Michael Burks and Peotone’s Santino Izzi to reach the finals at Walther Christian. Izzi placed third with an 8-4 decision over Fowler, and Campos took fifth with a 9-3 decision over Rickover’s Julian Hernandez, one week after he placed fourth at Fenton.

138 — Ian Kreske, Peotone

After opening his day with a tight, 9-8 decision win, Peotone’s Ian Kreske(5-2) reeled off a pair of major decisions to win the title at 138. Kreske won 17-4 over DePaul’s Kaminski on the title mat.

Kreske found his groove in the title match, and he stayed there to pile up points.

“As I felt him out I realized I could shoot the single on him, so I started going to that a lot. Then I rode him out and got my chicken wing,” Kreske said.

Kreske won 9-8 over Seaholm’s Dylan Alati in a quarterfinal match before winning a 10-2 major decision in his semifinal against Mooseheart’s SanQuan Bufford. In his title match, Kreske scored a late first-period takedown for a 2-0 lead, then opened up an 11-2 lead by the end of the second period and cruised from there.

The sophomore Kreske started last year at 120 before wrestling at 113 by season’s end. He plans on wrestling at 132 moving forward.

“I’m feeling good,” Kreske said. “I’m better on bottom this year,better at getting out, which was kind of hard for me last year.I’ve always been pretty good on top and I’m always looking to score more points.”

Kaminski (6-4) pinned Elmwood Park’s Konrad Treska and Lutheran Northwest’s Ethan Dodson to reach the finals, one week after placing fourth at Fenton. SanQuan pinned Alati on the third-place mat and Treska pinned Dodson for fifth.

145 — Joey Lewand, Seaholm (MI)

Seaholm’s Joey Lewand learned late what wrestlers who began the sport in grade school already knew. The junior had never wrestled prior to this season and he’s already hooked on the sport.

“I like it so much more than I thought I would,” Lewand said. “There’s just something about all the hard work and pressure that goes into it. I’ve played football, basketball, and baseball my whole life — this is the hardest sport I’ve ever done and there’s something about the hard work I really like.”

Lewand (3-1) reeled off three pins to win the title at 145, capped by a fall at :30 on the title mat against Elmwood Park’s Mark Gomez. Lewand pinned Rickover’s Alejandro Olvera and Mather’s Yovany Coronel to reach the finals.

Gomez (9-8) won a 10-2 major in his quarterfinal match against Amundsen’s Asaph Matis, then a 12-7 decision over Seaholm’s Alex Tappen to reach the finals.

Olvera pinned Coronel on the third-place mat and Brendel won by injury default for fifth against Tappen.

152 — Kevin Hogan, Peotone

With weekend tournaments not allowed last season due to COVID, this year’s return to a more normal schedule has been welcomed by high school wrestlers throughout Illinois.

“I really am excited. I really missed this,” Peotone senior Kevin Hogan said. “We’re already in December and it already feels like it’s going quick.”

Hogan is making the most of his senior season thus far. He won the Hoger title at 152 and improved to 6-1 on the season with a pin on the title mat of DePaul’s Michael Skory.

Hogan is in his fourth year as a varsity wrestler, having wrestled at 113 as a freshman, 132 as an IHSA state qualifier as a sophomore, and an IWCOA state qualifier at145 last season. He’s currently ranked 10th at 145 in 1A per Rob Sherrill’s IWCOA rankings.

“For the state series I’ll probably go 145,” he said. “I feel more aware this year and I’m a lot more confident in my shots and my setups.” 

Hogan pinned Elmwood Park’s Josh Dascola in the first period of a quarterfinal match, and then won by 17-2 tech fall in his semifinal against Seaholm’s Matthew Windsor. Hogan pinned Skory at 4:54 on the title mat.

A week after placing fifth at Fenton, Skory (9-3) pinned Walther’s Leslie Velazquez before winning a 3-2 ultimate tie-break in his semifinal against Lutheran Northwest’s Luke Burmeister. Burmeister posted two pins in the consolation round, capped by a pin of Windsor on the third-place mat, while Rickover’s Adonal Zora-Awni won by fall on the fifth-place mat over Mooseheart’s Chris Wallace.

160 — Jake Kelly, DePaul College Prep

Mather’s Arlo Johnston had a 4-2 lead on DePaul’s Jake Kelly after one period of their title match, before Kelly used a takedown and back points in the second period to grab a 7-4 lead. Kelly then pinned Johnston, 22 seconds into the third period.

Kelly won his title one week after placing third at Fenton’s Weiss Invitational.

Kelly (7-4) pinned Seaholm’s Dalton Fines in his semifinal match, while Johnston (3-1) pinned Rickover’s Tony Goris in their semifinal. Fines then posted a first-period pin over Goris on the third-place mat.

170 — Ashton Bossardet, Seaholm

Three pins in three matches that took a combined 2:52 earned a Hoger title at 170 for Seaholm’s Ashton Bossardet. Bossardet pinned Ridgewood’s Kevin Mimini and Mather’s John Ho to earn a spot in the title match, where he pinned DePaul’s Lilla at :16 of the first period.

Wrestling in his first varsity tournament, Lilla pinned Amundsen’s Adrian Zepedon in their semifinal match to reach the finals. Mimini pinned Ho on the third-place mat and Zepedon pinned Lutheran Nortwest’s Nate Cummins for fifth.

182 — Michael Tuomi, Lutheran Northwest (MI)

Two pins earned the title at 182 for Lutheran Northwest’s Michael Tuomi (4-0), capped by a fall at 2:53 on the title mat against Mather’s Jacob Scott. Tuomi opened with a pin of Peotone’s Jackson Bergeron in their semifinal match.

Scott (3-2) won a 15-4 major decision in his semifinal match against Seaholm’s Eduardo Ferdinand. Bergeron pinned Ferdinand for third place and Ridgewood’s Jose Castro won by injury default on the fifth-place mat against Nazareth’s Scott Creviston.

195 — Jaylan Lacy, Westmont

So far, Westmont’s Jaylan Lacy is making his senior year count. Lacy improved to 14-0 and garnered his second tournament championship medal of the year, having also won the crown at 195 at Fenton’s Weiss tournament a week earlier. Lacy was an IWCOA state qualifier last year as a junior.

Lacy’s three falls on the day left no doubt who the top 195-pounder was at Walther on Saturday, once he got his engine revved up.

“I was tired coming in here. But I got warmed up and took care of business,” Lacy said. “I scouted my opponent before I wrestled and started thinking of a game plan. In my title match I knew I’d beat (Elmwood Park’s Jack Pedersen) before, so I was confident.

“I’m more confident in myself. Last year I was too hesitant to take shots against people who I thought could beat me. But not this year.”

Lacy — currently ranked No. 10 in Illinois at 195 in 1A — pinned Seaholm’s Luke Johnson and Peotone’s Oscar Villalobos to reach the finals, where he pinned Pedersen at the 2:17 mark of the match.

Pedersen (10-7) pinned DePaul’s Brian Ngo and Mather’s Jens Marino to reach the finals, a week after his fourth-place finish at Fenton. Villalobos won a 10-3 decision for third place against Marino, while Ngo pinned Walther’s Zach Zawila on the fifth-place mat.

220 — Gabe Kaminski, Nazareth

There are 33 Class 1A wrestlers ranked at 220 in Rob Sherrill’s IWCOA rankings, and 32 of them are either juniors or seniors — a typical breakdown of upperclassmen among the upper weights.

The lone underclassman ranked at 220 is only a freshman — Nazareth’s Gabe Kaminski, who’s listed on the honorable mention list. After pinning his way to a Hoger title and improving to 8-0 on the year, Kaminski has shown that he can match up physically in a division loaded with upperclassmen.

“I just came off the football season so I’m not in wrestling shape yet,” Kaminski said. “I’ve only had a couple of weeks of wrestling to get back into it. Coach (Denis Laughlin) told me I have the potential to go all the way this year. I know I have a lot more work to do but with hard work, anything is possible.”

Kaminski won his title with three pins on the day, capped by a pin of Seaholm’s Jacob Vance on the title mat at 220. Kaminski pinned Amundsen’s Michael Wojtach and Westmont’s Severin Vorotnjak before pinning Vance on the title mat at the 2:58 mark.

Kaminski won an Illinois kids club state title in seventh grade and has acclimated fast to the high school varsity level.

“The (varsity) competition level is way harder and you have to get rid of all the funk moves you can get away with at the kids club level,” Kaminski said. “(Vance) was strong as hell and I was just able to use that elbow slide-by and got two takedowns off of it.”

Vance pinned Mather’s Jonathan Alvarado and Elmwood Park’s Olmari Evans — both within the first 20 seconds of the first period — to reach the title match against Kaminski. Alvarado pinned Wojtach for third while Evans won by injury default for fifth over Vorornjak.

285 — Kevin Olsen, Amundsen

Olsen opened his day with a fall against Lutheran Northwest’s Derek Friedman, then won a 9-2 semifinal decision over Westmont’s Angel Ortiz to reach the finals. In a battle of unbeaten wrestlers, Olsen won 5-0 for the title against Rickover’s Osmar Mora to improve to 5-0 on the year.

“I was able to get (Friedman) down and pin him in the first match, and the second match (vs. Ortiz) was tough. It went to overtime and I was able to take a double-leg and get it,” Olsen said.

“I woke up feeling good today. I just went out there and got the win. My conditioning is good so I think that’s one of the main reasons I won — I was able to keep working. Now I have to engage more offensively and I need to keep working on conditioning, so I can beat guys with pace.”

Mora (7-1) reached the finals with a pair of falls, respectively, over DePaul’s Emmet Jeske and Mather’s Tofarati Fatoki. Jeske pinned Fatoki for third while Ortiz pinned Elmwood Park’s Marty Lozano for fifth.

By Curt Herron
For the IWCOA

Tremont rolls at PORTA Rex Avery Invite

Tremont scored 240.5 points which helped it to easily capture top honors in Saturday’s Rex Avery PORTA Invite, which was held in Petersburg. Canton edged Auburn 157.5-157 for second place while Kewanee (126), Shelbyville (119), Lincoln (116.5), Knoxville (109), Cumberland/Newton (107.5), Ridgeview/Lexington (101) and PORTA/A-C Central/Greenview/Havana (99.5) rounded out the top 10.

The Turks, who were third in Class 1A in Rob Sherrill’s IWCOA rankings, are coached by 2006 IWCOA Hall of Famer TJ Williams, who won four IHSA titles at Mount Carmel and only lost once and won two NCAA titles at the University of Iowa. His team had two champions and two second-place finishers and had seven other individuals who placed sixth or better in the 25-team competition.

Winning titles for Tremont were Levi Leitner (152) and Cooper Wendling (195) while Lucas Wendling (170) and John Rathbun (220) both placed second. Finishing in third place for the Turks were Chase Stedman (113), Mason Mark (132) and Logan Stedman (160) and placing fourth was Luke Sauder (285). 

Champions for Canton were Trenton Hedges (126), Joseph Norton (170) and Weston Swise (285) while Danny Murphy (182) placed fourth. Winning titles for Auburn were Anthony Ruzic (113) and Dresden Grimm (132) while Colby Willhite (138) finished second and Skylar Fay (182) and Cole Edie (285) both took third place.

Also capturing championships were Cumberland/Newton’s Hank Warfel (106), St. Joseph-Ogden’s Holden Brazelton (120), Lincoln’s Kaden Osland (138), Carlinville’s Jack Schwartz (145), Knoxville’s Hunter Fox (160), Sacred Heart-Griffin’s Cory West (182) and Ridgeview/Lexington’s Evan Antonio (220).

Other second-place finishers were Shelbyville’s Calvin Miller (120) and Kaz Fox (132), Cumberland/Newton’s Colby Ryan (195) and Noah Carl (285). Litchfield/Mt. Olive’s Alex Powell (106), Farmington’s Keygan Jennings (113), Ridgeview/Lexington’s Payton Campbell (126), Lincoln’s Isaac Decker (145), PORTA/A-C Central/Greenview/Havana’s Brayden Barner (152), Deer Creek-Mackinaw’s Gage Sweckard (160) and Warrensburg-Latham/Mt. Pulaski’s Austin Stock (182).

In the closest title matches, Warfel edged Powell 8-6 at 106, Brazelton won 3-1 in sudden victory over Miller at 120, Schwartz claimed a 7-5 victory over Decker at 145 and Norton prevailed 4-3 over Lucas Wendling at 170. Ruzic (113), Hedges (126), Grimm (132), Osland (138), Leitner (152), West (182) and Swise (285) all recorded falls in their title matches while Cooper Wendling claimed a major decision at 195, Fox won 8-1 over Sweckard at 160 and Antonio captured a 7-1 win over Rathbun at 220. 

Other third-place finishers were Kewanee’s Hayden Davis (126), Kadin Rednour (152) and Nathaniel Lockett (195), Mt. Zion’s Mason Gray (106), Ridgeview/Lexington’s Braydon Campbell (120), Beardstown’s Jonny Marquez (138), Shelbyville’s Will Fox (145), Cumberland/Newton’s Iysten Syfert (170) and Hillsboro’s Magnus Wells (220).

Also finishing fourth were Mt. Zion’s Bradley Wilson (120), Lawrence Trimble (160) and Remington Hiser (220), Monmouth-Roseville’s Dayanna Ortiz-Mora (106), Ridgeview/Lexington’s Anthony Wolinsky (113), Knoxville’s Gage Fox (126), Kewanee’s Will Taylor (132), PORTA/A-C Central/Greenview/Havana’s Vance Witherall (138), Monticello’s Jaxon Trent (145), Lincoln’s Colbie Glenn (152), Pittsfield/Pleasant Hill’s Mason Davis (170) and Sacred Heart-Griffin’s Jack Ludolph (195).

Marion captures third-straight title in own Wildcat Duals 

Host Marion won all five of its dual meets to capture its third-consecutive championship in its own Wildcats Duals Tournament on Saturday.

Coach Darren Lindsey’s Wildcats entered as the second-seed and proceeded to defeat the other seeded teams in the final three rounds, beating third-seed Kennett of Missouri 60-20, fourth-seed Carbondale 60-15 and top-seed Waterloo 54-29 in the finale.

Marion got outright first place finishes from Tate Miller (126), Ricky Wade (132) and Nate Dampier (152) while Malakei Weatherly (182) and Garrett Berendson (285) both shared titles. Earning outright seconds were Brennan Vogt (113) and Aden White (160) while Hunter Gibb (138) tied for second. And the hosts got third-place finishes  from Caleb Ohnesorge (170) and Levi Tanner (220).

Waterloo, which was surprised by Carmi-White County 42-39 in its first dual, needed a win in the final dual to try to force a three-way tie with Marion and Carmi-White County. But the Wildcats won five of the first six matches to take a 30-5 lead and after Waterloo got a fall, Marion responded with two pins of its own to go up 42-11 to end the drama.

Carmi-White County only lost one dual meet, its second of the day, when it fell 48-30 to Carbondale. But the Bulldogs bounced back with decisive victories over Carlyle, Sparta and Red Bud/Valmeyer 54-15 in its final dual to earn second-place honors.

Matt Wilson (113) won an outright title for Carmi-White County while Isaac King (182) and Titus Wood (285) tied for first place. Noah Pollard (132) and Gavin Payton (220) both had outright seconds while Trent Belford (138) and Nelson Rider (195) tied for second and Caleb Siebers (152) finished third.

Waterloo responded to its early loss with three-straight wins, edging Carbondale 34-33 and beating Kennett 50-30 to set up its dual with Marion.

Claiming outright titles for Waterloo were Gavin Hearren (120) and Jordan Sommers (220) while Ty Kinzinger (106), Adron Winget (145) and Brandon Lloyd (170) all tied for first place.

Carbondale beat Kennett 30-27 to join Waterloo with 3-2 records but took fourth place as a result of their one-point loss. Kennett and Red Bud/Valmeyer both went 2-3 and Carlyle also won one dual.

Capturing outright titles for the Terriers were Aiden Murphy (138), Isaiah Duckworth (160) and Aiden Taylor (195). Brendon Banz (152) took second and Gabriel Roman (120) and Ryan Hawk (182) had outright thirds while Aaron Johnson (126) tied for third place.

Red Bud/Valmeyer had two individuals who shared honors with Mitch Fleming (145) tying for first-place and Zack Manning (126) tying for third.

Carlyle’s Tyson Waughtel (106) and Owen Birkner (170) both shared first-place while Sparta’s Cody Martin (160) took third place.

Riverdale top Illinois team in own Jim Boyd Invite

The three Iowa teams that competed at Riverdale’s Jim Boyd Invite in Port Byron took the top three sports in the 10-team competition. Pleasant Valley won the title with 241 points while Wilton took second with 196 and Davenport North was third with 154 points. The top three squads also captured eight of the individual titles.

Leading the way for the seven Illinois teams that participated were the host Rams taking fourth with 143.5 points while Sterling (128) edged Sherrard (123) for fifth. Riverdale had four individual champions, which was tied for the high mark along with Pleasant Valley.

Winning championships for Illinois schools were Riverdale’s Brock Smith (132), Blake Smith (138), Zach Bradley (152) and Alex Watson (160), Sterling’s Drew Kested (145) and Sherrard’s Ryder Roelf (170). Finishing in second place were Riverdale’s Kolton Kruse (126) and Eli Hinde (145), Mercer County’s Ethan Monson (120), Seneca’s Asher Hamby (152) and Sterling’s Thomas Tate (160).

In the closest title matches for Illinois athletes, Blake Smith prevailed 12-11 over Wilton’s Owen Milder at 138, Kested won 7-1 over Hinde at 145, Bradley captured an 11-8 win over Hamby at 152 and Monson lost 7-2 to Wilton’s Jordan Dusenberry at 120. Recording falls in championship matches were Watson over Tate at 160, Brock Smith at 132 and Roelf at 170 while Kruse was pinned at 126.

Claiming third place were Sterling’s Dylan Ottens (132), Isaiah Mendoza (152), Joey Cordell (170), Diego Leal (220) and Alejandro Arellano (285),  Sherrard’s Pierce Findlay (113), Austin Fratzke (138) and Walker Anderson (195) and Seneca’s Kyler Hahn (106) and Jaden Casey (126).

Finishing fourth were Sherrard’s Jayden Thomsen (132), Cyrus Hoke (152) and Dylan Russell (160), Seneca’s Owen Feiner (145) and Chris Peura (195), St. Bede’s Jake Migliorini (170), Mercer County’s Bodie Salmon (182) and Polo’s Blake Diehl (220).

By IWCOA reports

Naperville Central wins title at Hoffman Estates’ Mickey Marchese Memorial Tournament

Naperville Central had five champions and five second-place finishers on Saturday to help it easily claim the title of Hoffman Estates’ Mickey Marchese Memorial Tournament with 283.5 points. Harlem placed second in the 13-team event with 141 points and Homewood-Flossmoor edged Notre Dame of Niles 115-114 for third, even though it had some of its top performers competing at the Ironman in Ohio.

Capturing titles for coach Noah Fitzenreider’s Redhawks were Tyler Martin (113), Ethan Olson (120), Tommy Porter (138), Ayden Lutes (152) and David Pirozhnik (182). Taking second were Chris Bern (138), Chris Ramirez (145), Charlie Morgan (160), Niko Besterio (220) and Nick Antonietti (285).

Finishing third for Naperville Central were Mitchell Kaszuba (132),Tristen Hall (170) and Muhammad Totten (220) while placing fourth were Gavin McDonald (106) and Luke Moen (120).

Other champions were Willowbrook’s Isaiah Smith (126) and Nick Mabutas (170),  Notre Dame’s Aodan O’Sullivan (220) and Karl Schmalz (285), Elgin’s Julius Avenado (106), Harlem’s Myles Babcock (132), South Elgin’s Nico Clinite (145), Lane Tech’s Fernando Lopez (160) and Cary-Grove’s Wade Abrams (195).

Also placing second were Wheeling’s Jatuthep Rattanahattakul (120) and Patrick Tinsley (126), Harlem’s Justin Lewis (106) and Marshal Cunz (152), Willowbrook’s Chris Giroux (113), Cary-Grove’s Andrew Mohr (132), Homewood-Flossmoor’s Romeo Williams (170), Hoffman Estates’ Jalen Curtis (182) and South Elgin’s Will Ardson (195).

Two titles matches were decided by one point while two others were settled by two points. Smith edged Tinsley 7-6 at 126 and Lopez prevailed 8-7 over Morgan at 160. Babcock claimed a 4-2 win over Mohr at 132 and Lutes was a 6-4 victor over Cunz at 152.

Winning titles by fall were Avendano (106), Olson (120), Clinite (145), Pirozhnik (182), Abrams (195) and O’Sullivan (220) while Porter (138) won by technical fall. Mabutas (170) captured a major decision and Martin (113) and Schmalz (285) also won decisions.

Also taking third place were Lane Tech’s James Zavala (120), Matt Ridley (126) and Finn Merrill (145), Homewood-Flossmoor’s Jermaine Butler (138), Haku Watson-Castro (182) and Rahmal Graham (195), Notre Dame’s Johnny Sheehy (106) and Quinn Mahoney (160), Wheeling’s Max Katz (113), Hoffman Estates’ Julian Bonilla (152) and Elgin’s Adam Lambaz (285).

Other fourth-place finishers were Maine West’s Matt Westerlin (113), Claudio Castellanos (138) and Dilan Ramirez-Zavala (160), Harlem’s Donavin Vanderheyden (126) and Ben Larsen (170), Notre Dame’s Emmett Chipman (182) and Aiden Rice (195), Streamwood’s Erwin Morales (145) and Richard Rodriguez (285), Willowbrook’s Elijah Smith (132), Elgin’s Chris Santana (152) and Lane Tech’s Gustavo Diaz (220).

Lake Zurich claims top honors at Buffalo Grove’s Rex Lewis Invitational

Lake Zurich had two champions, five finalists and 12 individuals in the top five to win the title at Buffalo Grove’s Rex Lewis Invitational with 200 points. Elk Grove took second place with 158 while Vernon Hills had 150 for third place. Romeoville edged Schaumburg 143-141 to place fourth in the 16-team competition.

Leading the way for coach Jake Jobst’s first-place Bears were champions Scott Busse (138) and Dan Hull (182) and second-place finishers Luca Poeta (106), Tomas Troutman (152) and Ethan Medina (220). Finishing in third place were Alex Kahler (113) and Matt Luby (195) while Jack Turner (285) finished fourth.

“Overall our guys competed really well,” Jobst said. “We had some standout performances by Luca Poeta, Scott Busse, Dan Hull, Tomas Troutman and Ethan Medina. We have a strong core of juniors that really bring the team together. I think everyone wrestled solid and won big matches, even the wrestlers that lost early on were able to score some bonus points in the wrestlebacks and place as high as they could. Scott Busse and Dan Hull also both had dominating performances scoring bonus points in all of their matches.”

Vernon Hills, Schaumburg and St. Patrick all had three champs while Elk Grove, Geneva and Morris also had one title winner apiece. 

Vernon Hills’ champions were Will Ludolph (160), Jake Psaras (195) and Max Acettura (285); Schaumburg got titles from Brady Phelps (106), Callen Kirchner (113) and Caden Kirchner (126) and St. Patrick’s champs were Olin Walker (120), Sean Conway (132) and Gio Hernandez (170). Other title winners were Morris’ Tyler Semlar (145), Geneva’s Nicky O’Keefe (152) and Elk Grove’s Chance Guziec (220).

Also claiming second-place finishes were Elk Grove’s Grant Madl (113), Benny Schlosser (182) and Brady Tosterud (195), Grant’s Sean Rogan (120) and Douglas Zimmerman (132), Romeoville’s Sergio Dondiego (145) and Francisco Gonzalez (285), Buffalo Grove’s Max Turner (126), Vernon Hills’ Garry Gurevich (138), Geneva’s Maguire Hoeksema (160) and Schaumburg’s Jacob Acevedo (170).

Two of the tightest championship matches were the one at 170 where Hernandez won 5-3 over Acevedo on a tiebreaker and the one at 195 where Psaras edged Tosterud 3-2.

Capturing titles by fall were Caden Kirchner (126), Ludolph (160), Hull (182) and Acettura (285) while Conway (132) was a winner by technical fall.  Callen Kirchner (113), O’Keefe (152) and Guziec (220) all claimed major decisions while Phelps (106), Walker (120), Busse (138) and Semlar (145) also won decisions.

Other third-place finishers were Romeoville’s Brian Farley (106) and Mason Gougis (170), Schaumburg’s Daniel Pasman (132) and Logan Meyer (160), Elk Grove’s Danny Gaskil (138) and Ty Macina (182), Grant’s Vinny Potempa (126) and Ivan Hernandez (285), Geneva’s Dylan Schlegel (120), Buffalo Grove’s Cristhian Sanchez (145), Carmel’s Umar Mukhetdinov (152) and Palatine’s Leonel Franco (220). 

Also finishing in fourth place were Buffalo Grove’s Danny Diaz (113), David Rodriguez (120), Isaac Wilson (132), Chris Chi (152) and Dilshod Sultanov (160), Larkin’s Max Zamudio (170) and Hector Flores (182), Geneva’s Joey Sikorsky (106) and John Schmidt (195), Romeoville’s Alan Amaya (126) and Johnathan Espinoza-Luna (220), Carmel’s Ethan Onan (138) and Elk Grove’s Marco Avelar (145).

Wauconda captures first place at Richmond-Burton’s DuBois Invite

Wauconda captured five individual titles to help it claim top honors at Richmond-Burton’s DuBois Invite in Richmond with 162.5 points. Marengo (117.5) edged Hampshire (114.5) for second while Quincy (104.5) took fourth, Lake Forest (100.5) was fifth, Richmond-Burton (98.5) placed sixth and Woodstock (92.5) claimed seventh in the 16-team event.

Winning title for coach Mike Buhr’s champion Bulldogs were Lucas Galdine (106), Cooper Daun (126), Cole Porten (138), Colin Husko (145) and Nick Cheshier (152) while Matthew Merevick (220) finished second and Zac Johnson (160) placed third.

Winning titles for Marengo were Ethan Struck (132) and Michael Macias (285) while Logan Miller (138) was second, Matthew Rose (126) and Eddie Solis (195) took third and Addis Robel (120) placed fourth. Hampshire was led by a second-place finish from Patryk Barnas (285) while Anthony Marlett (145), Niko Skoulikaris (152) and Dimitrios Skoulikaris (170) were third and Chris Napiorkowski (138) and Tyler Boyd (195) finished fourth.

Other champions were Quincy’s Owen Uppinghouse (160) and Kayden Garrett (170), Woodstock’s Caleb Sciame (120) and Gavin Loiselle (220), Richmond-Burton’s Emmett Nelson (113), Lake Forest’s Charlie Heydorn (182) and Johnsburg’s Hayden Lucas (195).

Also claiming second-place finishes were Lake Forest’s Robbert Biddle (113), Julian Olenick (120) and Seth Digby (132), Woodstock’s Max Hodory (126) and Alex Iversen (152), Grayslake North’s Connor Kozaneck (145), Winnebago’s Lucas Cowman (170), Quincy’s Bryor Newbold (182) and Genoa-Kingston’s Julian Torres (195).

Four of the title matches were settled by three points or less. Cheshier beat Iversen 5-4 at 152 while Lucas prevailed 11-9 over Torres at 195. Macias claimed a 6-4 victory over Barnas at 285 while Struck won 7-4 over Digby at 132. 

Galdine (106), Porten (138), Uppinghouse (160), Garrett (170), Heydorn (182) and Loiselle (220) all won by fall in their title matches while Nelson (113) and Husko (145) both won by technical falls in their finals matches. Daun claimed a  major decision at 126 and Sciame won 8-1 over Olenik at 120.

Other third-place finishes were turned in by Richmond-Burton’s Clay Madula (106), Dalton Youngs (120) and Brody Rudkin (132), North Boone’s Gavin Ekberg (113), Winnebago’s Waylon Hanke (138), Johnsburg’s Kyle Rasper (182), Genoa-Kingston’s Ben Younker (220) and Rockford Auburn’s D’marion Love (285).

Also claiming fourth-place efforts were Winnebago’s Reid Shellhorn (145) and Charley Murray (160), Grayslake North’s Alex Carbaja (152) and Peter Weitgenant (170), Genoa-Kingston’s Shayden McNew (106), Woodstock’s Daniel Bychowski (113), Richmond-Burton’s Dane Sorensen (126), Johnsburg’s Landon Johnson (132), Durand’s Logan Braun (182) and Quincy’s Gavin Schumacher (220).

Marmion Academy wins Downers Grove South’s Larry Gassen Dual Team Invite

Marmion Academy captured its second tournament championship of the season when it claimed top honors at Downers Grove South’s Larry Gassen Dual Team Invite, which featured 16 teams. It opened the season by capturing the title at Barrington’s Moore-Prettyman Tournament.

Coach Nathan Fitzenreider’s Cadets, who are ranked fifth in the IWCOA  rankings for Class 3A, defeated Barrington 65-16 in the championship dual after winning 55-12 in the semifinals over the host Mustangs, who beat Lincoln-Way West 42-22 to finish third. 

Marmion only lost four matches on the mats in its pool victories over Oak Forest, Wheaton Warrenville South and Crystal Lake Central, with all of those coming in a 44-27 victory over Crystal Lake South.

Posting perfect marks for the Cadets for the day were Donny Pigoni (106), Jameson Garcia (113), Tyler Aters (120), Santino Scolaro (138), Kenny Siwicki (160), Tyler Perry (170), Jack Lesher (182) and Sean Scheck (220).

After beating Coal City 44-28 as well as Maine South and Warren in their pool, the runner-up Broncos won 38-30 over Lincoln-Way West in the semifinals before falling to Marmion for the title. Brian Beers (126), Chuck Jones (132) and Zach Meyer (195) were undefeated for Barrington.

The host Mustangs beat rival Downers Grove South 42-24 as well as Bartlett and Belleville West in their pool before falling to Marmion in the semifinals and defeating Lincoln-Way West for third place. RJ Samuels (160) won all his matches for Downers Grove South. 

Lincoln-Way West got past Plainfield North 38-33 and also beat Crystal Lake South and Glenwood in its pool before falling to Barrington 38-30 in the semifinals and then to Downers Grove South for third. Jase Salin (120) and Michael Sneed (220) were unbeaten for the Warriors.

Plainfield North took fifth after going 2-1 in its pool with wins over Crystal Lake South and Glenwood and a 38-33 setback to Lincoln-Way West. After capturing a 49-27 victory over Coal City, the Tigers capped their 4-1 day with a 48-18 win over Downers Grove North. Jared Gumila (170) and Jacob Macatangay (132) both went 5-0 with the latter getting the most pins in the least amount of time.

Downers Grove North took sixth after beating Bartlett and Belleville West and falling to rival Downers Grove South 42-24 in its pool. After claiming a 38-27 win over Crystal Lake Central, the Trojans lost 48-18 to Plainfield North. Harrison Konder (145), Ben Bielawski (182) and Jordan Lewis (285) all went 5-0 for their team.

Crystal Lake Central took seventh after beating Oak Forest and Wheaton Warrenville South and falling to champion Marmion in its pool. The Tigers bounced back from a 38-27 loss to Downers Grove North with a 49-30 victory over Coal City. Dillon Carlson (152) went 5-0 for Crystal Lake Central while Brant Widlowski (120) did the same for the Coalers.

By Curt Herron 

For the IWCOA

JOLIET – When a team goes 6-1 on the title mat and finishes with a flurry by winning the last five of those, it often results in a championship at a tournament with a large field.

But just as effective an approach is getting sixth-place efforts or better at each weight and supporting that with bonus points and narrow victories while capturing just one title.

The latter scenario prevailed in Joliet Central’s inaugural Mac McLaughlin Classic on Saturday, where Hersey used balance throughout its lineup to overcome Homewood-Flossmoor’s firepower and claim a 270-260.5 edge in the points for top honors. IC Catholic Prep (166.5) finished third, Hampshire (148) was fourth, St. Rita of Cascia (129) took fifth, Loyola Academy (114.5) placed sixth, Morton (112) was seventh and Romeoville (108) placed eighth in the 25-team competition.

The new tournament honors one of the greatest coaching legends from the Joliet area, Eural ‘Mac’ McLaughlin. Coach Mac, who was on hand as the tournament kicked off, led the Steelmen’s program from 1970 to 2010 and won 507 dual meets and an IHSA dual team title along while having seven state champions and 34 placewinners to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Illinois Chapter in 2017, IWCOA hall of fame honors in 1991 and Grand Marshall at the 2004 IHSA finals.

Beside teaching physical education and coaching for 43 years in a variety of sports at Joliet Central and Joliet Township co-op, Mac was a longtime bench official at the IHSA finals and an analyst on local football broadcasts. Among his proudest accomplishments as an educator was being able to have a significant impact to so many during his long tenure as both a coach and as dean of students.

On a day where a program that won its first state individual titles 75 years ago, one of Illinois’ most historic gymnasiums featured another memorable event as the five mats that were spread across the floor featured good competition throughout and resulted in 13 teams sending individuals to title matches with nine of those squads having champions.

Coach Joe Rupslauk’s champion Huskies had one title winner, Billy Spassov (160), while Danny Lehman (106) and Aaron Hernandez (145) both took second place. But thanks in part to the efforts of assistant coach Hunter Rollins, the Arlington Heights school’s last placewinner who took second place at 160 in Class 3A in 2013, the 11 other members of the team were able to contribute points as they advanced through the third- and fifth-place brackets.

Hersey, which hopes to continue its initial tournament success when it competes in events at Prospect, Harlem’s Dvorak, Wisconsin-Whitewater and The Clash in Rochester, Minnesota in upcoming weeks, received third-place efforts from Maksim Mukhamedaliyev (113), Matt Ilinykh (152), Leo Delgado (195), Manny Mejia (220) and Oleg Simakov (285) while Esteban Delgado (120), James Shaffer (132), Parker Sena (138) and Elliot Carter (170) took fifth and Jake Hanson (126) and Connor Cambria (182) placed sixth. 

“I don’t even know exactly what happened, but we just came and tried to compete and our goal as a program is just getting better,” Rupslauk said. “We’re a relatively new program and have had some ups and downs. But we have some offseason kids going now and we’re growing. We’re a very young team and we only had two seniors out there, so it was cool.  We beat Conant and Barrington in a dual the other night so the kids are excited and they want to wrestle and things are going really well. 

“Our assistant coach, Hunter Rollins, is the guy who deserves the credit since he runs our practices and it’s been incredible. We’re happy, but we’re not content with this. We’ve had some nice dual wins early in the beginning of the year and we’re just trying to improve as a program. That’s what we told the kids. We didn’t talk about winning the tournament, we just talked about getting better and competing with more elite wrestlers and there were some good schools here today.”

Despite having an open weight class due to the unavailability of the injured Vincent Robinson, who’s top-ranked at 126 in Rob Sherrill’s IWCOA rankings and placed fifth in Junior Freestyle at Fargo, Homewood-Flossmoor fell just shy of a team title after claiming four-consecutive firsts from 170 to 220 and capturing six of its seven title matches.

The Vikings got championship wins from Deion Johnson (113), Jaydon Robinson (145), Romeo Williams (170), Haku Watson-Castro (182), Rahmal Graham (195) and Justin Thomas (220) while Jermaine Butler (138) took second place and Mateo Varela (106) was fourth. Chris Williams (152) and Kenny Wallace (285) also placed in the top eight. 

Although a bit disappointed that his team wasn’t able to walk away with the tournament championship, Vikings coach Jim Sokoloski was very pleased with his team’s strong showing and that bodes well for their upcoming appearances at The Ironman in Cuyahoga, Ohio this weekend and the Carnahan in Crown Point, Indiana and The Powerade in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania later this month. H-F also has a pair of big SWSC dual meets against No. 11 Sandburg and No. 3 Lockport during the next 10 days.

“We have big goals and we don’t shy away from that,” Sokoloski said. “In our wrestling room, the first thing on our white board says ‘2020 regional champs’, and everyone of them signed it so we’ve all bought in. We’ve put together one of the toughest schedules that any public school has, with the Ironman and the Powerade and the Carnahan in Crown Point. The state tournament can’t be the hardest tournament that we’ve wrestled in all year. 

“This is year 15 for me but year two as a head coach so as I’ve learned more and met more people involved in the sport, what’s always been kind of our downfall is that when we get the state tournament, they walk out of the tunnel and they’ve been like, ‘Oh my God, look at this.’ So when we get our guys down there, it should be just like another day at the office. I’ve great assistant coaches, great families and great kids and we’re trying to get the community involved. Homewood-Flossmoor is usually synonymous with other sports and we’re trying to make sure that wrestling gets there, too. Most importantly, this is a brutal sport but we have fun, we love grinding every day and going to work. We firmly believe that if we set high expectations that they’ll be met. Everything is for the end goal, which is February. No one really cares what you do on December 4th.”

The tournament’s two state champions both earned outstanding wrestler awards that were split between the lower and upper weights. Rich Township’s Nasir Bailey recorded four victories by technical fall to capture the title at 138 to claim the award for top lower weight competitor and Shepard’s Damari Reed recorded three falls and a major decision to win the title at 152 and claim honors as the top upper weight competitor in the field. Both are number one at their weights in the IWCOA rankings. The event’s Outstanding Wrestler Award is named for the late Pat O’Connell, a 2018 IWCOA Hall of Famer who coached in the district for 30 years, spending most of that time assisting McLaughlin.

Bailey, the Junior Freestyle champion at 132 in Fargo, won a Class 6A title at 132 last season at Arlington Martin, Texas. In 2020, he took first at 120 in Class 2A for TF North to join his brothers Bilal and Sincere for the first-ever case of three titles being won in one year by the same family. Reed made history earlier this year when he won the 152 title at the IWCOA Class 3A finals in Springfield, the first title won by someone from his school since 1984.

Other title winners were Romeoville’s Brian Farley (106), Morton’s Connor Kidd (120), Loyola Academy’s Massey Odiotti (126), West Chicago’s Pierre Baldwin (132) and IC Catholic’s Isaiah Gonzalez (285). Also claiming second-place finishes were IC Catholic’s Nicholas Renteria (126), Brandon Navarro (170) and Jadon Mims (220), Morton’s Zane Ely (113) and Steven Marvin (132), Loyola Academy’s Quinn Herbert (182) and Joey Herbert (195), St. Rita’s Donavon Allen (120), Neuqua Valley’s Ryan Mohler (152), Wheaton North’s Devin Medina (160) and Hampshire’s Joey Ochoa (285).

Three of the most-competitive title matches were at 113, where Johnson got a takedown 12 seconds into overtime to claim a 7-5 win by sudden victory over Ely; at 126, where Odiotti recorded a takedown with 29 seconds left to give him a 6-4 victory over Renteria; and at 160, where Spassov captured a 3-0 triumph over Medina.

106 – Brian Farley, Romeoville

Romeoville sophomore Brian Farley entered the McLaughlin Classic as a bit of an unknown, but after winning twice by major decision and another time by technical fall, he will no longer be under the radar. He capped his day by capturing a 10-1 victory in the 106 finals over Hersey freshman Danny Lehman, who advanced following two falls.

Farley’s championship highlighted a good performance for Romeoville. Of the 10 south suburban teams that were in the field, the Spartans were second-best with only runner-up Homewood-Flossmoor faring better. He was one of five placewinners from his school and that helped them to 108 points, which was good for an eighth-place finish.

“It feels really good,” Farley said. “This will probably put our team on the map and hopefully our team does better throughout the year. I came in talking about just me becoming a better wrestler, practicing throughout the tear and working with the older guys and working with people that I know can challenge me, and that’s basically what’s made me better. This is a very important year as a team and as individuals, hopefully we can go deeper in state.”

In the third-place match, Reavis sophomore Zack Koschintski got a fall in 1:28 against H-F senior Mateo Varela to bounce back from his semifinal loss by technical fall to Farley and that give him the Rams’ best finish of the tournament. Joliet Central freshman Isaiah Kan won by fall in 3:41 over Rich Township sophomore Diondre Henry to claim fifth.

113 – Deion Johnson, Homewood-Flossmoor

Homewood-Flossmoor junior Deion Johnson definitely started his team’s appearances on the title mat in a good fashion when he recorded a takedown 12 seconds into the overtime period to win 7-5 in sudden victory over Morton senior Zane Ely. Both appear in the rankings with Johnson third at 106 in Class 3A and Ely fifth at 113 in 2A.

Johnson earned his trip to the finals with a pin in his first match followed by a 10-4 semifinal win over Hersey freshman Maksim Mukhamedaliyev while Ely recorded a pair of falls, including one over Joliet Central senior Tony Toledo in 3:03 in the semifinals, to advance.

“We are very excited,” Johnson said. “Yesterday we took a loss (to Lincoln-Way East) that we expected to win, but we came back strong today and got seven people into the finals. We’ve been working for this all year and this is a very good start. We work to have a real good team this year and this is just the beginning. Last year because of COVID, I couldn’t go to state and that was my main goal so this year I’m trying to win state and go to team state.”

In the third-place match, Mukhamedaliyev won by fall in 5:40 against Toledo, who was the host school’s top finisher in the event. St. Rita junior Austin Dangles won the fifth-place match with a fall in 0:17 against Romeoville’s Alex Bahena.

120 – Connor Kidd, Morton

Morton senior Connor Kidd took control early in the 120 pound championship and went on to capture a 13-6 victory over St. Rita freshman Donavon Allen to become the lone Potter to get a first-place finish among their three competitors that advanced to the title mat. Kidd is ranked third at 120 in Class 2A while Allen is ranked tenth.

Kidd finished second at 120 in June at the IWCOA finals when he lost to Freeport’s Markel Baker. The Morton athlete hopes to compete for another title this season at the IHSA finals. He used two first-period falls to earn his title appearance while Allen advanced after claiming three victories by major decision.

“Last year I got really close to winning, but I just had a bad finals match,” Kidd said of his IWCOA finish. “This year I’m more focused and there’s way more competition this year so it should be way more fun. Some of these are 3A schools and we’re wrestling a lot more of them this year so it’s way better competition than last year. I’m just excited to come back and win again since I just like winning matches.”

Neuqua Valley senior Jack Reina captured third place after recording a fall in 3:09 over Reavis sophomore Vladimir Vasquez and Hersey sophomore Esteban Delgado helped his team’s cause by claiming a 3-1 victory over Phoenix Military Academy sophomore Jose Lua in the fifth-place match.

126 – Massey Odiotti, Loyola Academy

Loyola Academy junior Massey Odiotti followed up on a championship at Barrington’s Moore-Prettyman tournament with another title after moving in front for good with a takedown with 29 seconds left to capture a 6-4 victory in the 126 title match against IC Catholic Prep senior Nicholas Renteria.

After opening with a fall, Odiotti, who is ranked fourth at 120 in 3A, beat Neuqua Valley senior Josh Kilacky by technical fall in 4:00 in the semifinals while Renteria, a two-time state placewinner who is ranked fifth in 1A at 126, reached the finals with a pin and a semifinal win by technical fall in 5:43 over St. Rita senior Griffen Duffin.

“It felt good to win this one after winning Barrington last week,” Odiotti said. “I felt good today at 26 because I also wrestled at 20, so I’m up a weight. It’s been a shorter break between the seasons but I’ve definitely improved. We’re looking better than the past few years and we have a great coach. It’s looking great for the future.”

In the third-place match, Killacky pinned Duffin in 1:21 and Phoenix Military Academy junior Vin Moreno took fifth with an 8-1 victory over Hersey sophomore Jake Hanson.

132 – Pierre Baldwin, West Chicago

West Chicago senior Pierre Baldwin turned in a dominating performance to capture the 132 championship after following wins by technical fall and fall before winning again by technical fall in 4:00 over Loyola Academy senior Kevin Tedeschi in the semifinals and then recording a pin in 1:32 over Morton sophomore Steven Marvin in the title match.

Baldwin, who placed sixth at 132 in the IWCOA finals, is ranked third at 132 in 3A while Marvin was eighth-ranked in 2A. After opening the tournament with a pin and a decision in the quarterfinals, Marvin captured a 14-6 victory over IC Catholic sophomore Omar Samayoa in the semifinals.

“I was really ready, stayed ready and wrestle hard and dominate and make my opponent look like they’re easy, but they’re not,” Baldwin said. “You just have to go out and win and dominate,” Mainly I have the same mindset when I wrestled for the IWCOA, just keep working hard and I use every advantage that I can. I just stay prepared and just prepare for this moment, and many more to come. I’m coming for the number one spot. Right now, I like my patience. For example, when I was a freshman, I used to panic a lot but now as I’m more mature, even when I lose, I don’t panic as much, I just go in the room and work harder and focus on the future and I just like to improve a lot.”

Samayoa claimed third place in the tournament when he won by injury default over Tedeschi while Hersey junior James Shaffer was a winner by forfeit in the fifth-place match over St. Rita sophomore Sean Larkin.

138 – Nasir Bailey, Rich Township

Nasir Bailey followed up on a tournament title at Antioch in impressive fashion when he rolled through the 138-pound bracket by claiming four victories by technical fall, capped by a win over Homewood-Flossmoor junior Jermaine Butler in 3:42 in the title match that wrapped up the Pat O’Connell award for the outstanding wrestler for the lower weights.

The Rich Township junior, a Fargo Junior Freestyle champion at 132 this summer who won a Class 2A title at 120 in 2020 for TF North, along with his brothers, Bilal and Sincere. He competed at Arlington Martin, Texas last season and won a Class 6A title at 132. Top-ranked at 132 in 3A and among the best in the nation, he’s happy to be back in Illinois.

“It’s nice to be back in Illinois competing,” Bailey said. “Last year I moved to Texas and won a state title. It was tough in general and when they lace their shoes and come on the mat, you have to respect them but nothing really compares to Illinois wrestling, it’s a way different atmosphere. It’s great being in the room there (at Rich Township). Every day there’s different athletes and wrestlers asking me how to get better, and as a wrestler, that just makes you feel good. Every day going to practice, it’s just work and I’m preparing myself for the next level now. I’m focusing on winning a state title but I’m more focused on being ready for college.”

Butler reached the finals with two falls and a win by technical fall in the semifinals against Hampshire freshman Chris Napiorkowski. In the third-place match, Morton senior Jamison Almasy won by fall in 4:18 against Napiorkowski and Hersey junior Parker Sena took fifth following a pin in 0:49 against IC Catholic sophomore Bryson Spaulding.

145 – Jaydon Robinson, Homewood-Flossmoor 

Jaydon Robinson made the most of his first varsity tournament when he became one of the two sophomores to win titles and became the second of six Vikings who took first after stringing together a win by technical fall, a pin and a major decision in the semifinals before closing with a fall in 5:08 over Hersey junior Aaron Hernandez.

Robinson, whose brother Vincent wasn’t able to compete due to an injury, took fourth this summer at Fargo and is fifth at 145 in the IWCOA rankings. He advanced to the finals with a 10-2 win over Hampshire junior Anthony Marlett while Hernandez earned his spot in the finals after claiming a 5-2 semifinal victory over Stagg sophomore Luke Barham.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time and it’s been an opportunity for me to be here because this is actually my first high school tournament,” Robinson said. “Last year because of COVID I didn’t get a chance and I could have gone to state. But I had to get ready for Fargo and I got fourth in Fargo then after that I got ranked 18th in the country. I really appreciate being out here. My brother got hurt but he’s been telling me all day to keep pushing it. I want to be just like him, I want to have that opportunity, just like he had.”

In the third-place match, Marlett captured a 9-0 victory over Barham and in the fifth-place match, Romeoville’s Sergio Dondiego was a 10-0 winner over West Chicago senior Mason Dupasquier.

152 – Damari Reed, Shepard

After making history as his program’s first state champion since 1984 at the IWCOA finals in Springfield, Shepard senior Damari Reed has been focused on following up on his Class 3A  title at 152 by putting together another special season, and he definitely got off to a great start toward that with an impressive performance at the McLaughlin Classic.

The IWCOA’s top-ranked individual in Class 3A at his weight followed a fall and major decision with a pin in 1:23 over Stagg freshman Durango Valles in the semifinals and then won by fall in 0:58 in the 152 finals over Neuqua Valley sophomore Ryan Mohler to earn the Pat O’Connell award as the event’s outstanding wrestler in the upper weights.

“After winning my state title last season, I’m just glad to be on the mat and getting ready for bigger things, like college,” Reed said. “Honestly, college is my next step and I want to pursue that and see where it takes me and wrestling is a tool and I also want to stay on top of my academics to go along with it. How I prepare is kind of the same schedule. I like to have early practices or give me a practice after school or give me a run since I like to stay on top of my cardio so I can take people into deep waters and win good matches. Just having mental stamina and physical stamina, that’s very important in a match, and staying in a match for the whole three periods.”

Mohler prevailed 13-8 in sudden victory in the semifinals against Hersey senior Matt Ilinykh, who bounced back from that tough defeat to capture third place with a fall in 3:09 over Valles. Hampshire junior Niko Skoulikaris claimed fifth place while West Chicago senior James Lasacco finished sixth.

160 – Billy Spassov, Hersey

While Billy Spassov was the lone competitor from Hersey to get a victory on the title mat, the Huskies senior was thrilled that nine of his teammates also got wins in the medal round and the 10-4 effort and having all 14 individuals place sixth or better capped a day where the best highlight was posing with the McLaughlin Classic team trophy.

Spassov was one of the three Huskies who advanced to the title mat and he did so by opening the competition with a pair of falls before winning 14-0 in the semifinals over Kennedy’s Dorian Vaughns and then completed his big day by winning 3-0 in the 160 finals over Wheaton North junior Devin Medina, who was ranked seventh.

“Ever since the season started, we’ve really been working on coming together as a team,” Spassov said. “And I feel like with me winning a title and everybody else winning just happened because we’ve focused on being a team and we haven’t really been focused on ourselves. We go at whatever weight that our coach tells us to and do whatever is best for the team. When we came out here, we just tried to score as many as a team and to do good in the consolation. I’m just really happy that we were able to come out here since our schedule is pretty tough so it’s just nice to get the boys some matches before we head off. I’m excited since it was a fun day and everybody clicked well.” 

Eisenhower senior Nate Pacetti, who fell 3-1 in sudden victory to Medina in the semifinals, bounced back from that close call to prevail 3-1 in the third-place match over Vaughns to give him the Cardinals’ best finish. St. Rita senior Sean Stack finished fifth while Crete-Monee junior Elijah Grayer settled for sixth place.

170 – Romeo Williams, Homewood-Flossmoor

Romeo Williams may not have come into the McLaughlin Classic as an individual who was ranked in the state like some of his Homewood-Flossmoor teammates, but at the end of the day, the contributions that the Vikings senior made to his team’s title quest on a day where they finished second proved to be just as valuable.

Williams followed an opening win by technical fall with two falls, including one in 0:45 over Shepard senior Dominic Chillmon in the semifinals and then he capped his day by winning the title at 170 and becoming one of his squad’s six champions after claiming a win by injury default against IC Catholic Prep senior Brandon Navarro.

“We’ve been working real hard,” Williams said. “Everybody in the room has been putting in all of the work but we still have a long way to go and we have more work to put in. This is just a small piece of a bigger thing. The start that I’ve had is alright but I still have a lot of work to put in and have a lot to improve.”

After falling in the semifinals 9-4 against Navarro, Hampshire junior Dimitrios Skoulikaris bounced back with a fall in 5:04 over Chillon to claim third-place honors. Hersey senior Elliot Carter claimed fifth place while Neuqua Valley sophomore Silvano Spatafora settled for sixth.

182 – Haku Watson-Castro, Homewood-Flossmoor 

Homewood-Flossmoor senior Haku Watson-Castro opened with two falls and closed with a pair of decisions to become one of his team’s six champions in the McLaughlin Classic. In the championship match at 182, he captured a 13-6 win over Loyola Academy sophomore Quinn Herbert, who was followed on the title mat by his cousin, Joey.

Watson-Castro, who entered the tournament ranked eighth at his weight class and is getting back into form following an injury, captured a 10-6 semifinal victory over Stagg senior Mark Jones while Herbert advanced to the finals after winning by fall in 1:43 over Reavis senior Korey Maloney in the semifinals.

“It was a really good day, and especially for me personally coming back off of my torn ACL,” Watson-Castro said. “With this being my first tournament, all that I had to do was get my mindset right and it just pushed me to the right spot. It was good seeing a lot of my teammates being in the finals and all of us winning or doing good in the finals. I feel like we have some small stuff to make up. And we can still improve since we have a long time until February.

The third-place match at 182 was a tight one with Jones prevailing by a 4-3 score over Maloney. And in the fifth-place match, Wheaton North junior Eli Cook claimed a 14-4 victory over Hersey’s Connor Cambria.

195 – Rahmal Graham, Homewood-Flossmoor

In the quest to give their team a chance at a team title in the McLaughlin Classic, Homewood-Flossmoor senior Rahmal Graham needed to join in on the success that his fellow upperweights were enjoying and he more than did his part to help his squad to a second-place finish in the tournament.

Graham won his first three matches with falls in the initial period, which included a pin in 0:58 against Hersey sophomore Leo Delgado in the semifinals, to earn a spot in the 195 title match. Once there, Graham closed out his day with a 15-3 triumph over Loyola Academy freshman Joey Herbert, who advanced with a pin and a 6-0 semifinal decision.

“As a team, we’re just real resilient,” Graham said. “We still have a long way to go. Our coach always tells us that if we fight and put in the work, then it shows. We fight hard and we don’t give up and that’s why we had six champions.”

Delgado got a fall in in 2:55 over the other semifinalist, Northridge Prep sophomore Steven Kopecky, in the third-place match and Reavis senior Dan Obyrtal recorded a pin in 0:46 against Wheaton North junior Toby Martin in the fifth-place match.

220 – Justin Thomas, Homewood-Flossmoor

Justin Thomas faced a tough task as he looked to become one of his program’s six champions at the McLaughlin Classic. But facing a two-time state qualifier who placed at the IWCOA finals in June, the Homewood-Flossmoor senior who’s ranked eighth in Class 3A proved to be up to the challenge.

Thomas beat IC Catholic senior Jadon Mims 8-1 in the 220 finals after recording three first-period pins, including a fall in 1:19 in the semifinals against Romeoville’s Johnathan Espinoza-Luna. Mims, who was third at 220 in Class 1A and is ranked second this season, recorded a fall in 0:37 over Hersey senior Manny Mejia in the semifinals.

“We had one guy roll at 170 and then everybody just kind of went through,” Thomas said. “But it really started with Deion, he worked hard in that match and got an overtime takedown. We’re a long way from where we want to be. In January and February when it gets down to the stretch I think our guys will peak really well and we’ll be ramped up.” 

Mejia claimed third-place when he recorded a fall in 0:59 over Espinoza-Luna and in the fifth-place match at 220, the host Steelmen received one of their best finishes as junior Gustavo Vicencio-Ramos got a fall in 0:52 against Rich Township senior LeVaughn Rudolph.

285 – Isaiah Gonzalez, IC Catholic Prep

After falling in the IWCOA Class 1A  title match at 285 in June to Benton’s Gabe Craig, IC Catholic Prep junior Isaiah Gonzalez has his eyes set upon not only getting back to state for a third time but also finishing with a better result than he had earlier this year.

The IWCOA’s top-ranked individual at his weight in Class 1A showed how he’s capable of performing at the McLaughlin Classic following a major decision in his opener, he pinned his next four opponents, which included Wheaton North senior Joey Kruse in 1:38 in the semifinals and Hampshire sophomore Joey Ochoa in 3:31 in the title match.

“It was a great finals match and my opponent was really good, it was a good match and I finished strong” Gonzalez said. “I’m ranked number one right now in 1A so I have to solidify that statement so when I get to the postseason, I know that I can be there. I love the pressure. Our team did pretty good, but we could have finished better in the final round, but we’ll get back in the room and work. We just got back from football, so some of us are a little out of shape. But we’ll get back into the groove, for sure.”

Hersey junior Oleg Simakov bounced back from a semifinal loss by fall in 0:55 to Ochoa to record a fall of his own in 2:48 against Kruse to claim third place. Shepard junior Allen Taylor captured fifth place while Crete-Monee senior Vincent Arebalo settled for sixth.