Posts by Mick Torres

By Chris Walker For The IWCOA

The holiday season is a time for giving, and for 32 lucky high school wrestling teams, they just had an opportunity to compete in the premier dual team tournament in Illinois right after Christmas.

The Flavin, hosted by DeKalb, is a great gift those wrestlers and their teams can give one another, especially since it arrived during the midpoint of the season, allowing them to gauge where they’re at as a team and what they need to improve on as they head into the final half of the season in 2025.

Chicago Catholic League powerhouses Marmion, Montini and IC Prep earned a spot in the Champion’s Pool after winning their respective brackets on Friday where they were joined by Detroit Catholic Central (DCC).

IC Prep opened with a 48-27 victory against Oswego in the Wayne Miller Bracket. They survived Lockport, 37-35, and Joliet Catholic Academy, 33-27, to earn the opportunity to wrestle for the overall team dual title.

Marmion beat Libertyville 63-18 to open play in the Dan Cliffe Bracket. The Cadets proceeded to defeat Hersey, 45-17, and Yorkville, 52-29.

Montini beat Moline, 64-18, and Lincoln-Way West, 50-21, to get started in the Rich Harvey Bracket, before earning a 39-32 win over Washington.

DCC, which easily traveled the farthest to get to DeKalb, would win the 25th version in the wonderful history of this tournament. DCC was the lone team to win all six of its duals. 

The winners made their five-hour road trip worthwhile, which is par for the course for the wrestling powerhouse which has won 17 state titles including back-to-back titles the past two seasons.

Marmion placed second in the Champion’s Pool. After falling, 44-23, to DCC, the Cadets beat Montini, 38-30 and IC Prep, 37-30. And the Cadets did it without their full lineup so there is certainly reason to be excited about what lies ahead.

“For our team to miss five starters and to win against rivals like Montini and ICC minus all that firepower, it shows that when we’re healthy we’re going to be a pretty fun team to watch,” Marmion coach Anthony Cirrincione said. “It will happen. We’re probably a couple weeks away, but once we have all of our kids ready to roll it’s going to be fun to watch.”

Nicholas Garcia (126) and Mateusz Nycz each went 6-0 for the Cadets. Demetrios Carrera (132) went 5-0, winning one of his five matches at 138. Colton Wyller (106) went 5-1 and Joseph Favia (215) went 4-1. Wyller’s only loss was a 8-2 decision against Klichurov while Favia dropped a 7-3 decision to DCC sophomore Connor Bercume.

Luke Boersma (190) opened the match against Montini with a fall at 1:55 over Nick Kois.

Favia and Nycz followed with pins of their own in 1:54 each.

“I’ve improved my strength a lot from last year,” Boersma said. “I was over muscled. Now I’m using my technique more to get to my offense and scoring more. (Against Kois), I was able to get underhooks and then I took him down and turned him, and put him away with a half towards the end of the first period.”

A 6-5 decision by Grayson Garcia (144) over Will Konder followed by Jonathan Kopcio (150) winning by fall over Joey Gabreleski and Andrew Haritos getting a 21-11 major over Kevin May sealed the victory for the Cadets. Kopcio’s win was a particularly big one for the Cadets.

“Kopcio basically sealed the dual for us,” Boersma said. “That was really cool especially since he’s not like a top wrestler. You just never know. He may not be one of the best guys on the team but he could step up in that situation and do whatever we needed him to do to win.”

Marmion won its first six bouts against IC Prep before forfeiting its first of four matches. IC Prep would forfeit three.

Montini, which would take third place overall, gave DCC its biggest challenge in the final dual for the two teams on Saturday night, but the Broncos came up short, 35-26.

“I think we wrestled fantastic,” said Montini’s Kam Luif, who scored a 12-1 major victory over DCC’s Nathan Walkowiak at 138. “We all battled as a team and we grew as a team. We just got closer and understand what a dual team is and we were actually wrestling like that. It was awesome.”

Luif went 6-0 in the tournament. He wrestled at 138 save for going up to 144 to defeat IC Prep’s Aidan Arnett by a 10-5 decision. 

Erik Klichurov (106) and Allen Woo (113) also were undefeated for the Broncos while Bobby Ruscitti (120), Josh Vazquez (126, with one match at 132), Santino Tenuta (165) and AJ Tack (175) each went 5-1.

The Broncos defeated IC Prep, 37-29, in their first match in the Champion’s Pool before coming up short, 38-30, against Marmion.

“We put it up to our coaches who got us ready for this,” Luif said. “They got us mentally ready. Anything we needed to get, it’s all thanks to the coaches. I think they’re the best coaches in the country.”

Luif would certainly have liked to see his team pull out victories in their final two duals, but he also understood the significance of the tournament and what it’s true purpose is in allowing teams to assess their status.

“Nothing really stood out, it’s just keep pushing in the room, keep dominating and scoring points, and that’s what we go out there to do,” Luif said. “We’ll go back into the room and coaches will pick out things and we’ll work on all those. It’s reps and reps in the gym and stuff like that that helps me grow as a wrestler. Even if you lose, that will help me grow even more. It gives me the edge to get to the next level.”

IC Prep’s Brody Kelly had a massive tournament, winning his four matches at 175 as well as a pair at 190 to finish 6-0.

“I think getting into my ties and working my offense and working on my pins from neutral to top, it helped me get all my points today,” Kelly said. “We all train really hard so we know what it takes to do good at these tournaments so it’s fun to be testing out how we can do in these tournaments.”

Deven Casey went 5-0 for the Knights at 132 and was named Most Outstanding Wrestling for his team.

“It’s great getting the OW of the team, it’s something too because I’m a senior and team captain,” he said. “It’s nice to lead and show them the expectations, you know, they all look up to me. Everything I do, the way I wrestle, I know they’re watching me.”

Anthony Sebastian (285) went 5-1 for the Knights.

“It’s great watching (my teammates) wrestle,” Casey said. “A shout out to Anthony Sebastian who had a great tournament. Not a lot of guys know him. He’s won a lot of matches, a lot of close ones, and the team is doing great. We have a lot of things to work on. We’re at mid-season on Tuesday (Dec. 31).”

A year ago, Washington topped Montini, 30-28, to win the Class 2A dual team title. 

On Friday, Montini got the better of Washington, 39-32, and the Broncos moved onto the Champions Bracket and Washington went into the Gold Pool.

“There were some guys on the team that were emotional, but for the majority of guys this is just information to make some adjustments for in February,”Washington junior Wyatt Medlin said.

“We lost to Montini and they are 2A and we’ll see them at the end of the year. So getting some information, some moves that can be made, will help us get better by developing. And Washington is great at developing guys. I’m a little biased but from the beginning of the year until the end of February we are the most developed team.”

Washington won the Gold Pool after defeating JCA, 34-31, dropping a 38-34 decision to Yorkville, and then finishing with a 39-32 win over Sandburg.

Noah Woods (120/126), Peyton Cox (144), Medlin (150/157), Josh Hoffer (215) and Sean Thornton (285) each went 6-0 over the weekend to lead Washington to fifth place overall. Symon Woods (106) went 5-1 while Woods split duties going 3-0 at 120 and 126 while Medlin was 2-0 at 157 and 4-0 at 150.

“I felt good,” Medlin said. “I missed out on a few extra bonus points and got a couple tech falls instead of pins. We’re just getting better. Everyone is getting better. The Flavin is essential for Washington’s growth as a team from an end of the year standpoint. We need to get exposed now and lose a few duals. 

“You wrestle your hardest to win and regardless of the result you use the data to get better for your next bout.”

Cox concurred with his teammate.

“I think everybody wants to win, you go into it to win and I think our team and coaching staff understands we’re going in to win,” Cox said. “We want to compete and we want to get better and take things away from it and figure things out. I think we did good securing bonus points. I think some things we need to work on are staying off our backs and wrestling positioning. I mean, honestly, I was really happy with the way we competed.”

Cox had four pins, a tech fall and a forfeit win.

“I don’t have much to complain about,” he said. “I was a little sick going into this weekend so I didn’t know how conditioning was going to work out. I scored points. We talk about protecting your six (points) because you have six points for a team and getting that for the team is all I want to do.”

Washington has got something special going on in the suburbs of Peoria.

“It’s a culture thing,” Medlin said. “I remember being 10 years old in 2016 and sitting in the dual team stands watching Washington win its first state title and I remember being so fired up. To think that it’s me now is really special. Kannon Webster was my role model. I want to be just as successful and hope it has a domino effect from there. Washington has a great legacy of hard-working, really disciplined young men.”

Webster, a three-time state champion, is now wrestling at the University of Illinois, which is where Medlin is committed.

“For me personally I love the dual meet tournament,” Medlin said. “One thing is you can’t get too caught in lows and highs. I think Washington program-wise we’ve got guys willing to fight for something bigger than themselves. Two years ago Cael Miller lost in the state blood round in the individual tournament and then beat that same kid in the state semifinals for the dual team, putting his team on the line willing to fight harder for the team, doing something bigger than just for himself. I love my team. I love the team format and how everyone is warming up together and ready to go. And I like being a leader.”

Cox calls the Washington wrestling community family. 

“I’m blessed to be a part of a program where we really are a family,” he said. “At the end of the day we have each other’s back when wrestling and outside of it. It’s on our t-shirts – hashtag family. We take pride in being a team and family.”

On paper, and in the trophy case, Washington is the team to beat from Tazewell County again this year having won the last two 2A state titles and six since 2016. But, it’s also a new team under the same name.

“We came in with a new team and coach told us that this team is not state champions,” Cox said. “He doesn’t like ‘defending state champions,’ because there are new guys on the roster.”

Washington will head to The Clash XXII in La Crosse, Wisc., next weekend. It’s another similar type of challenge as The Flavin.

“Personally I think this is the best dual team tournament we have on our schedule,” Cox said. “We have The Clash next. When I first got into high school The Clash was harder (than the Flavin) but every single year (The Flavin) gets harder and harder. You get a team like Detroit out-of-state that’s a hammer and a bunch of nationally-ranked teams like JCA, Marmion and IC Prep, us, Yorkville and Sandburg. There’s 12 top teams here, all really solid and hammer teams. So it’s good for us to get a look at that and it’s a really cool tournament, the way they run it and advertise it.”

Joliet Catholic Academy fell short, 34-31, against Washington, but rallied to take second place behind them in the Gold Bracket after beating Sandburg, 35-27, and Yorkville, 44-27.

“Coming in here there were a lot of expectations on our team and the fact of the matter is we’re not at full strength, but it’s not an excuse,” JCA coach Ryan Cumbee said. “Did we meet the expectations? No. But at the same time it’s the middle of the season and we got better and that’s the bottom line. Everyone who wrestled and competed got better and that’s really the end goal. I can’t tell the kids not to worry about the result, but focus on the process and then in turn be worried about the result. We didn’t get the results we wanted, but at the end of the day, it’s process-driven and I thought we did well.”

There’s nothing like The Flavin.

“It’s tougher than the dual state tournament and that’s no disrespect to the IHSA, but you have some of the best teams in the state competing here and six hard matches,” Cumbee said. “You don’t get that anywhere else.”

The Hilltoppers just competed at the 3rd annual National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dual Classic in Oklahoma.

“That was tough competition but only five matches,” Cumbee said. “This is one match after another and is a grind no matter what. And we just love that for these kids. We go to the Cheesehead (Invitational in Kaukauna, Wise.) next week and we’ll be tested again, but after that it’s going to be honing in and getting ourselves ready for the state tournament.

Kane Robles (106) went 6-0 overall with one of his victories coming at 113 for JCA. Jason Hampton (126/132) went 3-0 at 126 and 2-1 at 132. Nolan Vogel (150), Vince Tidal (157) and Nicolas Ronchetti (190) went 5-1. Luke Hamiti (165) was 5-0 and dropped his one bout at 175. Maddux Tindal (120) and Isaac Clauson (175) went 4-1 for the Hilltoppers.

Cumbee tipped his hat to Hampton, and put the junior’s place in the program in perspective. 

“He got the MVP of the tournament for us,” Cumbee said. “And I’ve been coaching since 2003 and he’s the best leader I’ve ever coached.”

Hampton credits his father for helping mold him into the leader he is today.

“It’s my dad,” he said. “And just growing up and being the oldest brother and having to take charge in the house and stuff.”

Hampton’s lone loss was a sudden victory decision against Sandburg’s Madden Parker. He won a tiebreaker against IC Prep’s Max Calmby, as well as had a pair of tech falls, a pin and a major during the tournament. 

“I’d say I wrestled pretty good,” Hampton said. “I had left a match out there and left it up to the refs. It’s a good tournament. I enjoy the dual tournament. It’s really fun to see some of the best guys at my weight, the best guys in the state and being able to wrestle them to see where I’m at. I just try to finish matches strong and wrestle hard here in all the duals.”

Sandburg finished third amongst the four teams in the Gold Pool, dropping duals to JCA and Washington after opening with a win over Yorkville.

Yorkville was fourth, getting a victory over Washington in its middle dual and losing to JCA and Sandburg.

Rocco Hayes (113) went undefeated for the Eagles, pinning all five opponents that he faced. He also received a forfeit victory.  Madden Parker (132), Brady Ritter (138), Ryan Hinger (144), Ahmad Alomari (175) and Omar Alhmoud (285) went 4-2.

Jack Ferguson and Luke Zook went undefeated to lead Yorkville. Ferguson went 3-0 at 165 and 3-0 at 157 while Zook went 2-0 at 190 and 3-0 at 175. Donovan Rosauer (150) was 5-1 and Luke Chrisse went 4-2, going 4-1 at 215 and dropping his match at 285 against Mateusz.

Lincoln-Way East won the Silver Pool and was followed by Lincoln-Way West, St. Charles East and Hersey.

Lockport won the Bronze Pool. Naperville Central placed second and was followed by Barrington and DeKalb.

West Aurora won Pool A. Luxemburg-Casco took second, Glenbard North was third and Rochelle was fourth.

Glenbard West was the Pool B champion. Deerfield followed as did Mukwonago, Wisc., and Oswego.

Minooka captured the Pool C title. Chatham (Glenwood), Sycamore and Prospect followed.

Glenbard East took home the Pool D title. Moline placed second, Pewaukee, Wisc., came in third and Libertyville was fourth.

“It’s really great how we built this tournament up where to be the best you’ve got to beat the best,” DeKalb senior 175-pounder Sean Kolkebeck said. “If you go the whole year without wrestling anybody good then you’re going to fall short at the state tournament. It’s important to get in front of it and wrestle kids you know you’re going to see at state. Wrestle hard and really test yourself. Iron sharpens iron. You’re not going to get better wrestling a kid who is not good.”

Definitely not lost amongst the hours of wrestling was the opportunity it allowed for teams to stick together for the entirety of duals, rather than going to this mat and and that, making it impossible for wrestlers and coaches to capture a complete tournament experience. 

“It’s definitely more emotional with six duals,” Cirrincione said. “There’s more emotion in dual meets than there is in individual tournaments. There’s good blood, there can be bad blood and all that leads to more emotions so it’s actually a lot more draining to be in six duals over two days than an individual tournament. You’re more invested in each match. In a tournament I might get a quarter of my team that I sit in a chair for, where here you’re in the chair for every single match. They all matter. We have performance expectations. You have competitive expectations. So it’s just a lot more draining and a lot more entertaining as well.”

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

The Oak Forest Bengals Bash Girls Invite was an interesting competition in several ways.

First of all, the 30-team competition highlighted a lot of the top talent in the south suburbs, whose schools have been among the early leaders in girls wrestling in Illinois.

Another point of interest is the co-op arrangement, which has been very beneficial for boys teams at small schools, but has also been used in girls wrestling by some larger schools.

The champion of the competition, District 230, includes athletes primarily from two of the schools in that district, Andrew and Carl Sandburg, as well as a few from the other, Stagg.

Meanwhile, Joliet Central took second and its story is noteworthy because this is the first year that the Joliet Township District has had separate teams for its Central and West high schools.

Taking third place in the Bengals Bash was the Lincoln-Way co-op, which had athletes representing Lincoln-Way Central and Lincoln-Way West in previous years but now individuals from those two schools as well as those from Lincoln-Way East are together as one.

A good example of what some school districts are doing is what’s happening in the Bremen District, which Oak Forest is in. The host Bengals competed as did Hillcrest and Bremen, and while Tinley Park did not, it has its own team. Oak Forest placed ninth and Hillcrest had a champion and finished tenth. 

There also was a first-year program in the tournament, Marist, a school that has enjoyed a long and successful tradition in wrestling with its program being led by 1995 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Mark Gervais for 25 years and by Brendan Heffernan for the last 17 years. The RedHawks finished in fifth place in the competition.

Other south suburban programs who placed in the top 10 were Oak Lawn, which tied for fifth, and Homewood-Flossmoor, who took seventh. And teams from well out of the area added to the quality of the event as Wheeling finished fourth and Grant placed eighth.

It was a hectic day at the competition since the school also hosted a Bengals Boys Bash for sophomores and freshmen. But Bengals boys coach Shawn Forst, who led his program to four IHSA Class 2A Dual Team Finals appearances from 2014 to 2018, which included thirds in 2014 and 2015, and the rest of the school’s coaches put on a quality exhibition of southside wrestling.

District 230 co-op, which is coached by Liz Short, added to titles that it won early in the season at Minooka and Fremd when it finished with 290 points, which put it well in front of second-place Joliet Central, who scored 179 points. Lincoln-Way co-op (141), Wheeling (131.5), Marist (111), Oak Lawn (111), Homewood-Flossmoor (109.5), Grant (106.5), Oak Forest (98) and Hillcrest (90.5) rounded out the top third of the field.

Winning titles for District 230 were Emma Akpan (190), Nola Oben (155), Tatum De La Vega (105) and Jade Hardee (100) while Joliet Central’s champions were Izabel Barrera (135) and Valeria Hernandez (235) and Lincoln-Way co-op got a first-place finish from Sadie Sparks (125).

Other Bengals Bash Girls Invite champions were Curie Metropolitan’s Giselle Arambula (110), Metea Valley’s Janiya Moore (115), Homewood-Flossmoor’s Nina Hamm (120), Wheeling’s Elise Burkut (130), Hillcrest’s Christiara Finley (140), Cumberland’s Natalie Beaumont (145) and Marist’s Sarah Parker (170). Akpan is a two-time IHSA medalist while Beaumont took second place at 135 at the IHSA Finals last season and Hamm was a medal winner at state in 2023.

District 230 coach Liz Short is in her first season with the co-op team after leading the Joliet Township co-op program. While happy to be in her new position, she is also grateful for having had the opportunity to lead Joliet Township to a lot of success in its early years, and is quite clear that she will continue to do her best to try to help the growth of girls wrestling in Illinois.

“There’s a lot of different people from the schools and everyone is showing up for each other and it makes the team stronger when we have that good mix and people are there to help each other, and get each other stronger and to help us grow,” Short said. “I love Joliet Township and I’m so thankful for my opportunity there and to see the progress of girls wrestling. I’ll continue to offer those opportunities in freestyle and we’re trying to make the whole state stronger.”

Akpan had the most team points with 34, Hamm (33.5) and Oben (32.5) were next. Beaumont, De La Vega, Hernandez and Parker all tied with 32 points, Arambula had 31.5 and Barrera and Moore scored 31 points each. Moore edged Burkut 57-55 for the most total match points. 

Joliet Central had two second-place finishers, Alisa Carter (105) and April Ortiz (130) while Wheeling also had two individuals who took second, Layah Woods (135) and Krystal Diaz (145).

Others who finished in second place were Curie Metropolitan’s Evelin Martinez (100), Hillcrest’s Taniya Moss (110), Peotone’s Kennedy Mort (115), Homewood-Flossmoor’s Natalia Coleman (120), Grant’s Myla Reyes (125), Mother McAuley’s Maggie Zuber (140), Downers Grove North’s Jahdi’yah Hibbler (155), Lincoln-Way co-op’s Jenna Lee (170), Oak Forest’s Isabel Peralta (190) and District 230 co-op’s Gabbi Vasquez (235).

Here’s a look at the champions and their weight classes at the Oak Forest Bengals Bash Girls Invite

100 – Jade Hardee, District 230

Jade Hardee got the ball rolling for the District 230 co-op team when she became the first of its four champions at Oak Forest’s Bengals Bash Girls Invite when she won by fall in 1:49 over Curie Metropolitan’s Evelin Martinez in the 100 title match. 

Hardee, a freshman, was one of the five finalists for the co-op that has athletes from Andrew, Carl Sandburg and Stagg and is coached by Liz Short. Her team claimed top honors with 290 points, which was 111 points ahead of runner-up Joliet Central. Hardee won her other two matches with first-period falls, pinning Bloom Township’s Lillian O’Brian in 1:25 in the semifinals.

“They’re (her teammates) doing very good and Liz (Short) is like the perfect coach,” Hardee said. “Everyone is catching on very quickly because she’s a very good coach. I really like if someone is down, we always bring them back up. If you have a good match, they cheer you up and even if you have a bad match, they still cheer you up. They’re just overall very supportive and I’m very glad that I got to be part of Andrew (co-op). And I also look up to people that I don’t even know. I’m like, ‘I want to try this in a match because I them saw them succeed at it.’”

Martinez, who was an IHSA qualifier in 2024 and one of the two finalists for coach Yahya Muhammad’s Condors, recorded three falls to reach the 100 title mat, with the last of those pins coming in 0:58 over Joliet Central’s Ariadna Arciniega in the semifinals. For third, Wheeling’s Haydee Cruz was a winner by fall in 0:39 over O’Brian. And for fifth place, Arciniega won an 8-7 decision over Rich Township’s Saryia Maddox.

105 – Tatum De La Vega, District 230

Tatum De La Vega won her first-ever title and made it 2-for-2 in title matches for the coach Liz Short’s District 230 co-op of athletes from Andrew, Carl Sandburg and Stagg when she won the 105 title at the Bengals Bash Girls Invite with a fall in 1:27 over Joliet Central’s Alisa Carter. 

De La Vega, a sophomore, recorded three other falls, with the first those requiring the most time on the mat. She earned her spot as one of the five finalists and eventually one of four champs for her co-op team, which claimed top honors in the competition by 111 points, when she got a pin in 1:13 over Downers Grove North’s Jaszmyn Dotson in the semifinals. De La Vega tied for fourth in team points with 32.

“It feels good because I’ve never gotten first before,” De La Vega said. “I went against the girl that was in my finals and I lost to her, so I was getting that in my head, but when I won, it wasn’t even that bad. I keep on practicing, even if I don’t feel like it, so you just have to push harder. I love this team, it’s pushed me to be better and I’m going to miss all of this year’s seniors. I like that they’re all there for you (her team) and they’re always there to cheer you on.”

Carter, one of four finalists for coach Marcus McCullum’s runner-up Steelwomen, also reached the 105 finals with three falls, all of which came in the opening period. In the semifinals, she won in 1:23 over Marist’s Shae Halleran. Bolingbrook’s Mikaela Najera captured third place with a pin in 2:47 over Halleran and for fifth place, Dotson won by technical fall over Bolingbrook’s Sharleen Barrera.

110 – Giselle Arambula, Curie Metropolitan

Giselle Arambula became Curie Metropolitan’s lone champion in the Bengals Bash when she captured the title at 110 with a fall in 1:02 over Hillcrest’s Taniya Moss.

Arambula, a junior who was of two finalists for coach Yahya Muhammad’s Condors, opened with a fall, followed that with a win by technical fall and then recorded a pin in 1:10 over Westinghouse’s Kimani Glasper. Last season she went 22-7 and fell one win shy of advancing to the IHSA Finals from the Evanston Township Sectional.

“I really enjoy the high school,” Arambula said of Curie. “I love my team and I love my coaches, it’s such a positive atmosphere. The coaches are amazing and they’re always helping me out and improving on what I can do. There are a bunch of newcomers on this team now but we also have some veterans. What I’ve done to try to get better is hitting the gym, doing freestyle competitions and camps throughout the summer to try to benefit myself.”

Moss, one of two finalists as well as two medal winners for coach Keith Franklin’s Hawks, followed two falls with a 6-5 decision over Evergreen Park’s Riley Osborn in the semifinals to earn her spot on the 110 title mat. In the third-place match, Glasper captured an 11-1 major decision over Osborn and for fifth place, Bolingbrook’s Jordan Rodriguez was a winner by fall in 2:00 over Lincoln-Way co-op’s Zoe Zerial.

115 – Janiya Moore, Metea Valley

Janiya Moore had a very productive three-day stretch, where she captured a title at Hampshire two days before doing the same thing at Oak Forest’s Bengals Bash. The sophomore was Metea Valley’s lone finalist and became the only champion for coach Kevin Garbis’ Mustangs when she won a 5-1 decision over Peotone’s Kennedy Mort in the 115 title match.

Moore, who went 17-12 last season but was unable to advance from the Shepard Regional, opened with two wins by technical fall before getting pins in her next two matches, earning her spot in the finals with a pin in 1:29 over District 230’s Sophia Figueroa, who went 28-4 last season and fell short of earning a medal at 115 in the IHSA Finals. She had the most total match points with 57, which was two more than the 130 champion, Wheeling’s Elise Burkut.  

“I’m really glad that I got first,” Moore said. “I’ve just been working myself harder in practice. I just like how fun it is in general (competing for Metea Valley). I think it’s really cool that this is going well.”

Mort, the lone finalist but one of three top-four finishers among four entrants for coach Greg Goberville’s Blue Devils, advanced to the 115 title mat thanks to three falls, with the last those coming in 4:47 over Grant’s Kayden Manis in the semifinals. In the third-place match, Figueroa was a winner by technical fall over Oak Lawn’s Allison Nava and for fifth place, Bremen’s De’neasia Hawkins won by medical forfeit over Manis.

120 – Nina Hamm, Homewood-Flossmoor

Nina Hamm got the unusual opportunity to meet up with a teammate for a championship in a large tournament when she faced Natalia Coleman in an all-Homewood-Flossmoor matchup in the 120 finals. The senior, who took sixth place at 110 in the 2023 IHSA Finals, went on to win by fall in 0:38 over Coleman and they were the lone finalists for coach Scott Aronson’s Vikings.

Hamm earned her spot on the 120 title mat at the Bengals Bash after opening with a win by technical fall and then collecting three first-period pins with the third of those being in 2:00 over Grant’s America Camacho in the semifinals. She ranked second in most team points with 33.5, which was just .5 points behind the leader in that category, District 230’s Emma Akpan.

“It was kind of bad because I had to go against my teammate, but she’ll have more opportunities and this is my last year,” Hamm said of her finals match. It’s been an incredible journey and I love how we’re continuing to grow girls wrestling. Even though I won’t be here, I know that it will be in good hands. I love how just when I went to my freshman year, girls wrestling was starting, and then I joined it and I think I joined it at the perfect time. We were always surrounded by such welcoming people into the sport. The plan is that this is going to be my last year of wrestling and then I’m going to go into firefighting.”

Coleman won her first three matches by fall and all came in the first minute, which was capped by a pin in 0:53 over Peotone’s Kaylee Bordreau in the semifinals to assure the all-Vikings title match at 120. For third place, Camacho was a winner by fall in 3:59 over Bordreau and for fifth place, Marist’s Tracy Balnis got a pin in 0:52 over Curie Metropolitan’s Jasmine Quiroz.

125 – Sadie Sparks, Lincoln-Way

Sadie Sparks provided the highlight for the Lincoln-Way co-op team that includes athletes from Lincoln-Way Central, Lincoln-Way East and Lincoln-Way West, when she won by technical fall over Grant’s Myla Reyes in the 125 finals to become her team’s lone Bengals Bash champion. 

The freshman was one of two finalists for coach Joshua Napier’s team, who took third place.

Sparks, who also got to be part of a team title when Lincoln-Way co-op easily claimed top honors at  Hampshire’s Whip-Purs Women’s Classic two days earlier, opened with another win by technical fall, then won a 7-2 decision and she earned her spot in the finals with a fall in 0:29 over Oak Forest’s Brooklyn Strelow in the semifinals.

“I’m really thankful for the Lincoln-Way program,” Sparks said. “Not only do our coaches have a lot of experience and knowledge, but they also care a lot. He (Joshua Napier) was the freshman coach and he’s doing a beautiful job in my opinion. I don’t want to get too cocky, but we’re starting off our year good. I like our work ethic. I took as many opportunities as I could since there’s a lot of preseason and summer stuff that Lincoln-Way wants to keep all year around. And always perform better in school when I’m involved in something.”

Reyes, the lone finalist for coach Mark Jolcover’s Lady Bulldogs, recorded falls in her first three matches and advanced to the title mat with a pin in 5:00 over Riverside-Brookfield’s Frankie Abasta in the semifinals. District 230’s Hala Salem took third place after winning a 6-1 decision against a teammate, Piper Booe. And for fifth place, Strelow won by fall in 1:50 over Abasta.

130 – Elise Burkut, Wheeling

Elise Burkut captured her second major tournament title in three days when she added to her championship at Hampshire two days earlier with a first-place finish at Oak Forest’s Bengals Bash after getting a win by technical fall over Joliet Central’s April Ortiz in the 130 finals.

Burkut, a junior who went 29-11 last season and qualified for the IHSA Finals, was the lone champion and one of three finalists for coach Anthony Piltaver’s Wildcats. She opened with two first-period falls before winning a major decision in the quarterfinals and then getting a bye in the semifinals to advance to the 130 title match. Burkut finished with 55 total match points, which ranked her second to the 115 title winner, Metea Valley’s Janiya Moore, who had 57 points.

“This feels more like a family than any other sport to me,” Burkut said. “I came here from a swimming background, so I already had the mental strength and some strength and some endurance, so I just needed the technique to work on. So I took the time in my summers, falls and springs, I’ve just been going to practice and getting better.  I mostly came to the sport because of my brother, Eugene. I was dragged to a practice once just to try it out and here we are. He’s a sophomore and I’m a junior but he’s been wrestling longer. Knowing how the competition has changed over the years, it really gets me super hyped-up. With all of the schools teaching different things, it’s really fun figuring out what makes these wrestlers tick, and just using that to my advantage.”

Ortiz, one of four finalists for coach Marcus McCullum’s runner-up Steelwomen, followed two pins with an 11-1 major decision in the semifinals over District 230 co-op’s Mackenzie Conry to reach the 130 title mat. Downers Grove North’s Natalia Cruz claimed third place after winning by fall in 1:29 over Peotone’s Annie Bergeron and Conry finished fifth after receiving a bye.

135 – Izabel Barrera, Joliet Central

Izabel Barrera enjoyed a successful 2023-2024 season where she finished 24-9 and joined three-time medalist and two-time runner-up Eliana Paramo as one of Joliet Township co-op’s two IHSA state qualifiers. Now the junior, competing for Joliet Central, hopes to not only get back to the IHSA Finals but become the fourth individual from JT schools to win a state medal.

Barrera was one of two champions and four finalists for coach Marcus McCullum’s runner-up Steelwomen at Oak Forest’s Bengals Bash after winning an 11-2 decision over Wheeling’s Layah Woods in the 135 title match. She opened with two falls and then added another pin in 2:25 in the semifinals over Bremen’s Amelia Quinlan to secure her spot in the finals.

“It feels weird, it’s definitely different, but it’s a good change,” Barrera said of the two Joliet Township teams. “I like this new coach a lot because it’s slower steps to get better. It’s teaching me not to be so fast-paced but getting it down first and then doing it. I wrestled freestyle during the offseason. So I went to a lot of developments and practices. There’s a lot of newcomers so it’s good to know that the sport of wrestling is growing more and more every day.”

Woods, one of three finalists for coach Anthony Piltaver’s Wildcats, followed a fall with a 12-1 major decision before getting a pin in 5:00 in the semifinals over Homewood-Flossmoor’s Amara Nwoye, who went to claim third place with a fall in 0:15 over Wauconda’s Jatziry Godoy. And for fifth place, District 230’s Anastasia Dvorak recorded a pin in 1:28 over Quinlan.

140 – Christiara Finley, Hillcrest

Christiara Finley provided the highlight for Hillcrest as it competed in a tournament at another school in the Bremen District, Oak Forest, when the senior captured top honors at 140 in the Bengals Bash Girls Invite after claiming a 12-5 decision over Mother McAuley’s Maggie Zuber.

Finley, one of two finalists and the lone title winner for coach Keith Franklin’s Hawks, opened with a win by technical fall and followed with two falls, with the second of those coming in the semifinals when she needed just 0:39 to pin District 230 co-op’s Isabella De La Vega. She earlier won tournaments at Eisenhower and at Beat the Streets.

“I’ve won every one I’ve wrestled in, I’m undefeated,” Finley said. “It’s definitely been my coaches. My coaches push me really further than I could push myself. And just having my teammates on the side and them cheering for me definitely helps. I’ve been working over the summer. I’ve only been wrestling for two years, but I’m seeing the progress in everything.”

Zuber, the lone finalist and medal winner for coach Samantha Barrientos’ Mighty Macs, got a pin in her initial match, followed up with a win by technical fall and secured her spot on the 140 title mat with a fall in 0:40 over Joliet Central’s Amaya Crowder in the semifinals. For third place, Metea Valley’s Rosie Picari recorded a fall in 0:22 over Lincoln-Way co-op’s Liv Clumpner and in the fifth-place match, De La Vega won by medical forfeit over Crowder. 

145 – Natalie Beaumont, Cumberland

Natalie Beaumont took second place at 135 last season at the IHSA Finals, falling by a 10-1 major decision to one of the four three-time state champions, Freeport’s Cadence Diduch, to finish with a 19-3 record. The Cumberland junior not only looks to get back to the title mat at state but wants to claim a title this time. She made the long trek from Cumberland County to Oak Forest to compete in a big tournament and her trip paid off as she won the 145 title of the Bengals Bash Girls Invite with a fall in 2:39 over Wheeling’s Krystal Diaz. 

Beaumont, the only competitor in the field for the Pirates, whose program is led by coach Ash Edmonds, won her first three matches with falls in the opening period, assuring her spot in the finals with a pin in 0:31 over Homewood-Flossmoor’s Madelynn McClements in the semifinals. She tied for fourth place for the most team points with 32.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Beaumont said. “I compete against some of these girls over the summer and go to tournaments with them, and it’s pretty cool getting a small school’s name out there, because most people don’t know where Cumberland is. A lot of these schools up here have two or three times the amount of kids that we do, so it’s pretty cool. I still wrestle boys in practice and it definitely gives you more energy in matches because you’re a lot stronger. This is my seventh year. During high school, I’ve definitely got to see more girls tournaments and the state tournament is always one of the fun ones, obviously. When I started in fifth grade, there were one or two other girls in the gym for a tournament and now there’s huge tournaments of just girls. It’s crazy seeing all of these teams have girls teams bigger than our boys teams back home.”

Diaz, one of three finalists for coach Anthony Piltaver’s Wildcats, went 15-7 last season but was unable to advance to the Schaumburg Sectional. She won all of her initial three matches with falls in the opening period, earning her spot in the 145 finals with a pin in 1:23 over District 230 co-op’s Ahlam Mehyar. In the third-place match, Grant’s Annabelle Melton won by fall in 0:42 over McClements and for fifth place, Mehyar got a pin in 1:39 over Grant’s Cassidy Graham. 

155 – Nola Oben, District 230

Nola Oben continues to impress during her return to the sport after taking last season off as the District 230 senior won her second title of year and made her third finals appearance to help her co-op team that includes athletes from Carl Sandburg, Andrew and Stagg, add to first-place team finishes at Minooka and Fremd when she won the the 155 title at Oak Forest’s Bengals Bash by recording a fall in 3:37 over Downers Grove North’s Jahdi’yaj Hibbler.

Oben, one of four champions and five finalists for coach Liz Short’s co-op team that defeated runner-up Joliet Central by a 290-179 margin for top honors, followed two quick falls with an 18-6 major decision before earning her spot on the title mat with a win by technical fall over Oak Lawn’s Charvelle McLain in the semifinals. She ranked third in most team points with 32.5.

“Actually I prefer it being a district team rather than being split into individual schools, since it’s more girls and you have more partners,” Oben said. “Everyone is working hard at practice and I feel that just by showing up that they’re going to get better,. So even if you don’t do good, if you show up and try, you’ll get better, for sure.”

Hibbler, the lone finalist for coach Marcos Rico’s Trojans, recorded pins in her other three matches, advancing to the 155 finals with a fall in 3:11 over Homewood-Flossmoor’s Rachel Nugin in the semifinals. McLain, who advanced to state last season, claimed third place with a pin in 22 seconds over Nugin. And for fifth, Wauconda’s Gesselle Vazquez won by fall in 3:49 over Marist’s Lilly Lara.

170 – Sarah Parker, Marist

Sarah Parker and her teammates at Marist are enjoying a successful debut for their program as is evidenced by their fifth-place finish at Oak Forest’s Bengals Bash. The lone champion and finalist for coach Kelly Sullivan’s RedHawks, she captured the championship at 170 by recording a fall in 1:04 over Lincoln-Way co-op’s Jenna Lee. 

Parker collected pins in all four of her matches and the last three of those concluded in the first period, which included a fall in 0:41 against another Lincoln-Way co-op competitor in the semifinals, Sara Damirbek. She finished with 32 team points, which tied her for fourth place.

“It feels great, but it’s weird because we’re the first girl wrestlers, ” Parker said of being at Marist. “Marist has one of the better and more expansive programs on the south side, so it feels great to know that I’m a part of it. It’s a growing sport, so we all get to grow into it together. I just went into it thinking that I just had to try my best and then I just kept doing it, so I’ve stuck with it. We’re like a family and that’s amazing. We all try our best and we get to all work together.” 

Lee was one of two finalists for coach Joshua Napier’s third-place Lincoln-Way co-op team, which includes individuals from Lincoln-Way Central, Lincoln-Way East and Lincoln-Way West. She followed two quick pins with a fall in 3:16 over District 230’s Avery Santiago to earn her spot in the 170 finals. Damirbek claimed third with a 13-6 decision over District 230’s Adriana Vela. For fifth, Santiago won an 11-3 major decision over Downers Grove North’s Alyssa Andreen.

190 – Emma Akpan, District 230

Emma Akpan continues to roll along, capturing her third title of the season and helping District 230 to add Oak Forest’s Bengals Bash to earlier team championships won at Minooka and Fremd when she took top honors at 190 with a fall in 2:00 over Oak Forest’s Isabel Peralta to become one of the four first-place finishers for her co-op team, that consists of athletes from Andrew, Carl Sandburg and Stagg. The District 230 co-op team, which is coached by Liz Short, won the title with 290 points while Joliet Central was next with 179.

Akpan, a senior who went 34-8 last season and finished fourth at 190 in the IHSA Finals after taking sixth place at state at 235 in 2023, led all competitors with 34 team points after becoming one of the five individuals to record five falls and four of her pins came in the opening period, including in 49 seconds in the semifinals when she beat Oak Lawn’s Nataly Romero to become one of her team’s five finalists.

“We have a lot of new people, more than ever, but they’re all growing really quickly and they’re getting a lot of new skills every single day,” Akpan said. “Usually we would have 10 new people join, but this time it was around 20 new people and it added a lot to the team. I got to teach so many people so many things. I couldn’t be prouder of them. Some of these people, it’s their first-time placing or the first time doing moves that we taught them. It’s just great seeing everyone progress. It’s been a bunch of firsts for me and I’m so glad that I get to be a part of it.”

Peralta, a senior who went 39-6 last season and qualified for the IHSA Finals, was the lone finalist for the host Bengals, who are coached by Jamie Hubbard. She followed two first-period falls with a pin in 2:27 over Lincoln-Way co-op’s Maryanna Quezada in the semifinals. In the third-place match, Joliet Central’s Evelyn Perez-Bedolla won by fall in 27 seconds over Romero and for fifth place, Quezada captured a 1-0 decision over Evergreen Park’s Lili Meierkort.

235 – Valeria Hernandez, Joliet Central

Valeria Hernandez assured Joliet Central of a second title and denied District 230 of a fifth first-place effort when she recorded a fall in 4:52 over Gabbi Vasquez in the 235 championship match at Oak Forest’s Bengals Bash. With Izabel Barrera joining her as a title winner at 135 to lead the way, coach Marcus McCullum’s Steelwomen took second place in the 30-team competition with 179 points, which was 38 points ahead of third-place Lincoln-Way co-op. 

Hernandez, a senior who was of four finalists for her team, won all four of her matches by fall, which included one in 4:47 over Oak Lawn’s Nathalia Vega to assure herself of a spot in the 235 finals. She tied three others for fourth place in most team points with 32.

“Everybody is getting more opportunities now,” Hernandez said of the two JT teams. “Our teams are both strong so at every weight we’re getting more opportunities to wrestle in tournaments. Our coach has been working us hard. It was pretty exciting because I had to go up a weight class today, but I still performed well and overall our team did good and we placed second.”

Vasquez, one of five finalists for coach Liz Short’s champion District 230 co-op team, opened with two falls before claiming an 8-1 decision in the semifinals over Rich Township’s Amaya McClain. In the third-place match, Lincoln-Way co-op’s Jalyssa Venegas won by fall in 3:39 over McClain. And for fifth, Vega won by medical default over Shepard’s Karrine Jenkins.

Oak Forest Bengals Bash Girls Invite place matches

100

1st Place Match

Jade Hardee (District 230 co-op) won by fall over Evelin Martinez (Curie Metropolitan) (Fall 1:49)

3rd Place Match

Haydee Cruz (Wheeling) won by fall over Lillian O`Brian (Bloom Township) (Fall 0:39)

5th Place Match

Ariadna Arciniega (Joliet Central) won by decision over Saryia Maddox (Rich Township) (Dec 8-7)

Consolation 1st

Kassandra Ruiz (Joliet Central) won by fall over Ella Quigley (Mother McAuley) (Fall 2:30)

105

1st Place Match

Tatum De La Vega (District 230 co-op) won by fall over Alisa Carter (Joliet Central) (Fall 1:27)

3rd Place Match

Mikaela Najera (Bolingbrook) won by fall over Shae Halleran (Marist) (Fall 2:47)

5th Place Match

Jaszmyn Dotson (Downers Grove North) won by tech fall over Sharleen Barrera (Bolingbrook) (TF 16-0)

Consolation 1st

Grace Spangler (Lincoln-Way co-op) won by fall over Iris Cardenas (Evergreen Park) (Fall 1:48)

110

1st Place Match

Giselle Arambula (Curie Metropolitan) won by fall over Taniya Moss (Hillcrest) (Fall 1:02)

3rd Place Match

Kimani Glasper (Westinghouse) won by major decision over Riley Osborn (Evergreen Park) (Maj 11-1)

5th Place Match

Jordan Rodriguez (Bolingbrook) won by fall over Zoe Zerial (Lincoln-Way co-op) (Fall 2:00)

Consolation 1st

Anusha Nagar (Metea Valley) won by decision over Sophia Orcasitas (Oak Forest) (Dec 3-2)

115

1st Place Match

Janiya Moore (Metea Valley) won by decision over Kennedy Mort (Peotone) (Dec 5-1)

3rd Place Match

Sophia Figueroa (District 230) won by tech fall over Allison Nava (Oak Lawn) (TF 16-0)

5th Place Match

De`neasia Hawkins (Bremen) won by injury default over Kayden Manis (Grant) (Inj. 0:00)

Consolation 1st

Jaiydyn Hoffman (Grant) won by decision over Mayali Suarez (Wheeling) (Dec 8-1)

120

1st Place Match

Nina Hamm (Homewood-Flossmoor) won by fall over Natalia Coleman (Homewood-Flossmoor) (Fall 0:38)

3rd Place Match

America Camacho (Grant) won by fall over Kaylee Bordreau (Peotone) (Fall 3:59)

5th Place Match

Tracy Balnis (Marist) won by fall over Jasmine Quiroz (Curie Metropolitan) (Fall 0:52)

Consolation 1st

Brynnley Krauchun (District 230 co-op) won by fall over Abby Lizak (Lincoln-Way co-op) (Fall 1:32)

125

1st Place Match

Sadie Sparks (Lincoln-Way co-op) won by tech fall over Myla Reyes (Grant) (TF 20-3)

3rd Place Match

Hala Salem (District 230 co-op) won by decision over Piper Booe (District 230 co-op) (Dec 6-1)

5th Place Match

Brooklyn Strelow (Oak Forest) won by fall over Frankie Abasta (Riverside-Brookfield) (Fall 1:50)

Consolation 1st

Zoe Kamper (Marist) won by fall over Valentina Gonzalez (Downers Grove North) (Fall 1:43)

130

1st Place Match

Elise Burkut (Wheeling) won by tech fall over April Ortiz (Joliet Central) (TF 18-3)

3rd Place Match

Natalia Cruz (Downers Grove North) won by fall over Annie Bergeron (Peotone) (Fall 1:29)

5th Place Match

Mackenzie Conry (District 230 co-op) received a bye

Consolation 1st

Sam Durbin (Marist) won by decision over Riona Jurik (Oak Forest) (Dec 8-5)

135

1st Place Match

Izabel Barrera (Joliet Central) won by major decision over Layah Woods (Wheeling) (Maj 11-2)

3rd Place Match

Amara Nwoye (Homewood-Flossmoor) won by fall over Jatziry Godoy (Wauconda) (Fall 0:15)

5th Place Match

Anastasia Dvorak (District 230 co-op) won by fall over Amelia Quinlan (Bremen) (Fall 1:28)

Consolation 1st

Stella Harris (Marist) won by fall over Veronica Vera (Grant) (Fall 1:36)

140

1st Place Match

Christiara Finley (Hillcrest) won by decision over Maggie Zuber (Mother McAuley) (Dec 12-5)

3rd Place Match

Rosie Picari (Metea Valley) won by fall over Liv Clumpner (Lincoln-Way co-op) (Fall 0:22)

5th Place Match

Isabella De La Vega (District 230 co-op) won by medical forfeit over Amaya Crowder (Joliet Central) (MFFL)

Consolation 1st

Emily Anaya (Riverside-Brookfield) won by fall over Diana Vargas (Joliet Central) (Fall 3:31)

145

1st Place Match

Natalie Beaumont (Cumberland) won by fall over Krystal Diaz (Wheeling) (Fall 2:39)

3rd Place Match

Annabelle Melton (Grant) won by fall over Madelynn McClements (Homewood-Flossmoor) (Fall 0:42)

5th Place Match

Ahlam Mehyar (District 230 co-op) won by fall over Cassidy Graham (Grant) (Fall 1:39)

Consolation 1st

Savannah Burns (Bolingbrook) won by decision over Lyobosa Odiase (Oak Forest) (Dec 8-2)

155

1st Place Match

Nola Oben (District 230 co-op) won by fall over Jahdi`yah Hibbler (Downers Grove North) (Fall 3:37)

3rd Place Match

Charvelle McLain (Oak Lawn) won by fall over Rachel Nugin (Homewood-Flossmoor) (Fall 0:22)

5th Place Match

Gesselle Vazquez (Wauconda) won by fall over Lilly Lara (Marist) (Fall 3:49)

Consolation 1st

Nikol Orendarchuk (Wheeling) won by decision over Adr Bille (Oak Forest) (Dec 1-0)

170

1st Place Match

Sarah Parker (Marist) won by fall over Jenna Lee (Lincoln-Way co-op) (Fall 1:04)

3rd Place Match

Sara Damirbek (New Lenox (Lincoln-Way co-op) won by decision over Adriana Vela (District 230 co-op) (Dec 13-6)

5th Place Match

Avery Santiago (District 230 co-op) won by major decision over Alyssa Andreen (Downers Grove North) (Maj 11-3)

Consolation 1st

Sydney West (Hillcrest) won by fall over Estefany Bejarano (Riverside-Brookfield) (Fall 1:26)

190

1st Place Match

Emma Akpan (District 230 co-op) won by fall over Isabel Peralta (Oak Forest) (Fall 2:00)

3rd Place Match

Evelyn Perez-Bedolla (Joliet Central) won by fall over Nataly Romero (Oak Lawn) (Fall 0:27)

5th Place Match

Maryanna Quezada (Lincoln-Way co-op) won by decision over Lili Meierikort (Evergreen Park) (Dec 1-0)

Consolation 1st

Cai Triplett (Homewood-Flossmoor) won by fall over Jordyn Coleman-Harrison (Hillcrest) (Fall 1:44)

235

1st Place Match

Valeria Hernandez (Joliet Central) won by fall over Gabbi Vasquez (District 230 co-op) (Fall 4:52)

3rd Place Match

Jalyssa Venegas (Lincoln-Way co-op) won by fall over Amaya McClain (Rich Township) (Fall 3:39)

5th Place Match

Nathalia Vega (Oak Lawn) won by injury default over Karrine Jenkins (Shepard) (Inj. 0:00)

Consolation 1st

Tamera Gibbs (Hillcrest) won by decision over Nancy Herrera (District 230 co-op) (Dec 1-0)

Team scores

1. District 230 co-op (Andrew/Carl Sandburg/Stagg) 290, 2. Joliet Central 179, 3. Lincoln-Way co-op (Lincoln-Way Central/Lincoln-Way East/Lincoln-Way West) 141, 4. Wheeling 131.5, 5. Marist 111, 5. Oak Lawn 111, 7. Homewood-Flossmoor 109.5, 8. Grant 106.5, 9. Oak Forest 98, 10. Hillcrest 90.5, 11. Downers Grove North 88, 12. Curie Metropolitan 84.5, 13. Bolingbrook 79, 14. Peotone 71, 15. Metea Valley 66, 16. Rich Township 51, 17. Bremen 49, 18. Evergreen Park 46, 19. Mother McAuley 41.5, 20. Wauconda 36.5, 21. Riverside-Brookfield 35, 22. Cumberland 32, 23. Westinghouse 29, 24. Bloom Township 27, 25. Eisenhower 22, 26. Shepard 16, 27. Thornton Fractional North 6, 28. Crete-Monee 4.

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

Saturday’s IWCOA Girls’ State Dual Team Championship at Hoffman Estates crowned the first dual-format girls’ team state champion in Illinois history.

That history belongs to Lincoln-Way.

Program history will show that it was Zoe Dempsey’s pin in the final match of the state title dual against Schaumburg that gave Lincoln-Way a 40-38 win, and the first girls dual-format team state title ever in Illinois.

“That’s storybook — our best wrestler with a chance to put it away,” Lincoln-Way coach Josh Napier said.
“It’s so exciting,” Lincoln-Way senior Riley Cooney said. “I’m so happy and we have worked so hard these past weeks for this. I’m so proud of this team. A good amount of our lineup are first-year wrestlers and they’ve been so good.”

Dempsey’s pin capped a comeback that sent Lincoln-Way’s girls into a frenzy: hugging, hollering, and grins from ear-to-ear always mark a state title win, and Dempsey was engulfed by a mob of deliriously happy teammates after her pin handed them a dual team state crown.
The two teams tied 7-7 in matches won.

“It was just two solid all-around teams going at it,” Dempsey said. “I liked the energy we had today. Nobody gave up. We were losing pretty bad to Schaumburg, but nobody was giving up.

“I think this just sets a standard for every girl that’s coming into Lincoln-Way, that we’re the best.”

It may have been team captain Dempsey playing the ultimate hero, riding up on her white horse to save the day, but there had better be room up on that horse for co-captain Cooney.

It’s arguable that what Cooney did against Schaumburg was the most important match wrestled all day by any wrestler — and it was a loss.

Cooney bumped up in weight to 130 against Schaumburg and lost 1-0 to Isabella Rivas. In 32 duals across hundreds of matches wrestled among 16 teams on Saturday, Rivas-Cooney was the only match that ended in a 1-0 decision.

“Riley lost 1-0 but I don’t think she knows how important that match was,” Napier said. “I know she wanted to win but she’s wrestling up and if she got pinned, we lose that dual.”

Trailing Schaumburg 38-18 with four matches remaining, a forfeit win at 235 for Lincoln-Way’s Riley DePolo made it 38-24. And that set the stage for the heart of Napier’s lineup.

An 8-0 major decision win at 100 pounds from Lincoln-Way’s Monica Alvarez made it 38-28. Teammate Emily Peyton followed with a pin at 105 to make it 38-34, setting the stage for Dempsey’s heroics at 110.
“We knew where we might lose some matches but we like to call our little 100 to 120 wrestlers ‘murderer’s row’,” Napier said. “We know we’ve got tough ones there and we needed to win all three. They got it done – two seniors and a junior, girls that have been with me for three or four years now.”
Schaumburg’s wrestlers and coaching staff were naturally disappointed in the loss, but positivity still carried the day for the Saxons.

“Hats off the Lincoln Way,” Schaumburg coach Matt Gruszka said. “They have really come on and they had a hell of a tournament. They wrestled very tough. We bled some points where maybe we shouldn’t have but that’s how it goes.

“The IWCOA did a fantastic job putting this together and giving these girls a chance like this. It was awesome.”

The IWCOA has hosted girls individual state tournaments for years, prior to the IHSA making girls wrestling a sport for the 2022-23 season. The organization threw its hat in the ring for a dual-format state tournament for girls in Illinois for the first time this year.

IWCOA president Rob Porter explained the rationale for the tournament:

“Some of the coaches around the state started talking about it and it just kind of evolved from that,” Porter said. “To know we could do it as an invitational during the season and not have it affect regionals or sectionals, so the girls could have high-level competition and not have it affect their individual opportunities — that was a big factor.”

When the day was over, Schaumburg’s Hope Zerafa-Lazarevic didn’t dwell on her team’s loss to Lincoln-Way, opting instead to see numerous silver linings in a great day for girls wrestling in Illinois.
Zerafa-Lazarevic showed as much class, maturity and perspective in defeat as you might ever get from a high school student-athlete.

“I am just so grateful to the IWCOA for hosting this and giving us this platform,” Zerafa-Lazarevic said. “The IHSA said that we couldn’t do it and I think we proved them wrong today. We all worked really, really hard today and I’m proud of everybody who stepped on a mat, whether it was my team or not. Everyone wrestled hard and you saw some great matches today.”

Pins from Lincoln-Way’s Aubrey Barnes (115) and Sadie Sparks (125) bookended a pin by Schaumburg’s Madyson Meyer (120) to start the state championship dual. Schaumburg took a 15-12 lead on Isabella Rivas’ 1-0 win at 130 and a pin from Sharon Olorunfemi (135).

Lincoln-Way took an 18-15 lead on an Ella Giertuga pin at 140, but Schaumburg reeled off pins from Zerafa-Lazarevic (145), Shreya Gosain (155) and Nadia Razzak (190), and a tech fall win from Alya Razzak (170) in building its 38-18 lead.

DePolo, Alvarez, and Peyton set the stage for Dempsey, and her second-period pin to win a team state title. Lincoln-Way is young and currently banged up, but Napier and assistant coaches Skylar Novak, Alan Durham, Eric Balluff, Bill Guide and Matt Schedin saw girls up and down the lineup got it done through six duals wrestled Saturday.“Aubrey Barnes wrestled out of her mind, and she’s getting better every time she wrestles,” Napier said. “Sierra Heatherly is a first year wrestler with a bad back and she also pulled out some big wins for us.

“It was very well run by Hoffman Estates and Leo Clark, and the IWCOA did an amazing thing for these girls. I hope this can spark the IHSA conversation going forward.”

Lincoln-Way improved to 11-0 in duals with the win in the finals.
“It was cool to hear that we were going to state but now that we’re actually here and we actually won it — it’s so exciting,” Cooney said.

“At the beginning of the season in our first tournaments, a lot of our girls didn’t really know what to expect or what it was about. But they’ve all worked their way up and they’re all becoming more aggressive attacking their opponents and it’s really good to see.”

Zerafa-Lazarevic was similarly proud of her program’s performance.

“We are so grateful to our coaches -(Matt) Gruszka, (Jake) Hughes, and (Jason) Bonilla — all of them scouted, they made spreadsheets of all of these teams, so we were really ready for our action. Every girl was ready.

“We are definitely big dual fans. The reason we do well in individual tournaments is because we really do think of the team; we think of saving team points. So a tournament like this kind of fell right into our skill set as a team. We think about going for team points all the time and it’s just a really good tight knit group of girls.”

Lincoln-Way went 3-0 in pool play, topping Phoenix Military Academy (56-24), West Aurora (54-29) and Batavia (45-33), in a dual that went 8-6 in matches won for Lincoln-Way, which then won 8 matches in a 41-33 win over Edwardsville in a championship quarterfinal dual.

Lincoln-Way earned another 8-6 edge in matches won in its state semifinal win over Hoffman Estates, winning 47-36 to reach the state title mat.

Schaumburg also went 3-0 in opening pool play with wins over Morton (54-27), Homewood-Flossmoor (60-21), and host Hoffman Estates (48-27). The Saxons then won 48-33 in a state quarterfinal dual against West Aurora, before posting an 8-6 edge in matches won and a 43-36 victory over the District 230 team, consisting of wrestlers from Andrew, Carl Sandburg, and Stagg.

District 230 went on to finish third in state with a 60-24 win over Hoffman Estates; Edwardsville placed fifth with a 47-33 win over West Aurora; and Minooka placed seventh with a 54-29 win over Geneseo.

In the consolation bracket, Batavia took first place with a 42-42 tiebreaker win over DeKalb; Huntley won the third-place dual 48-35 over JS Morton; Phoenix Military won the fifth-place dual 48-36 over Lockport, and Homewood-Flossmoor took seventh in a 46-36 win over Rickover Naval Academy. 

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

When a team wins two tournament titles in three weeks after needing nearly all of last season to accomplish the same feat, then usually something really good is happening.

That’s how the Lawrence County co-op featuring the two schools in its county, Lawrenceville and Red Hill, views its prospects heading into 2025 after it captured top honors at Cumberland’s Skull & Crossbones, a 20-team competition that took place last weekend in Toledo.

Coach Cody Bobe, in his first season of leading the program that had been coached by Sam Hyre for several years, saw his team follow up on a title at their own Lawrence County Tournament on December 7 with a second championship against a much bigger field.

Despite having only one champion, Lawrence County received team points from all 12 of its entrants and used three runner-up finishes to go along with two fourths, two fifths and a sixth to help it to 172.5 points, which was 14 points ahead of runner-up Salem, who had 158.5 points.

Shelbyville claimed third place with 154 points while Lichfield was fourth with 146, Althoff Catholic took fifth with 137.5 points and the host Pirates edged Monticello 127.5-125.5 for sixth. Harrisburg (106.5), Fairfield (95.5) and Effingham (94) rounded out the top half of the field.

Leading the way for Lawrence County was Cale Seitzinger, who captured the title at 138. Kyler Guercio (106), Hudson Meek (144) and Nick Morehead (175) also advanced to the title mat but placed second. 

Keegan Liston (150) and Daniel Kiser (157) placed fourth, Delaney Ledbetter (113) and Dylan Camden (285) finished fifth and Malikye Williams (190) claimed sixth. Drew Seitzinger (120), Grayson Allender (126) and Wyatt Scott (215) didn’t place but added 19.5 critical team points.

Salem finishing second is a big deal because this is only the program’s third season. With co-coaches Brian Camp and Rob Ring leading the way, the Wildcats hope to have their first IHSA medalist in 2025. Keyton King took first place at 150 in the Skull & Crossbones while Carson Osborne was the runner-up at 190.

Despite only having eight competitors, Shelbyville finished in third place. Coach Caleb Duckett’s Rams were led at the Skull & Crossbones by Ryne Peavler, who won the title at 165 while Bodee Fathauer (132) and Andre Townsend (285) both settled for second place.

Litchfield/Mt. Olive co-op, which is coached by Chance Davidson, finished fourth and had three title winners and a tournament-high five finalists. Winning championships for the Purple Panthers were Vinny Moore (120), Clayton Hauter (144) and Tristan Staggs (215) while Rilynn Younker (113), who was fourth at 110 in the 2024 IHSA Girls Finals, and Braxton Kieffer (157) took second place.

Finishing in fifth place was Althoff Catholic, which is coached by Emauel Brooks. His Crusaders had a tournament-high four title winners, defending IHSA Class 1A 285 champion Jason Dowell (285) in addition to Brenden Rayl (132), Dawson Hawthorne (126) and Jacobi Cobbs (106).

The host Pirates, who are coached by Ash Edmonds, took sixth place and were led by champion Owen McGinnis (157) and runner-up Harley Pierce (138).

Monticello, which took seventh place, was led by title winner Hunter Romano (190) and second-place finishers Ezekiel Young (120) and Nick Litchfield (126).

Others who captured Skull & Crossbones titles were Fairfield’s Talan Keoughan (175) and Oakwood/Salt Fork co-op’s Weston Frazier (113). Also taking second place were Effingham’s Baker Moon (150), Herrin’s Kolby Coffey (165) and Harrisburg’s Gunner Wayman (215).

Five individuals repeated as champions in the tournament. They were Dowell, Keoughan, McGinnis, Rayl and Staggs. Peavler made the move up from runner-up to champion while Young, a 2023 title winner in the competition, lost in the finals to Moore, who took third last year. 

King also went from third to first place while Romano took fourth last year and Seitzinger did not place and they both won titles. Cobbs, Frazier, Hawthorne and Hauter weren’t in the 2023 field.

Dowell led the way in most team points with 31.5 while Staggs was second with 30 and Keoughan took third with 29.5 points. Peavler was next with 28.5 while Cobbs, McGinnis and Romano tied with 28 points. King scored 27.5 while Hawtorne and Rayl tied with 27 team points.

Staggs was the lone competitor in the field that recorded four falls. And Richland County’s Zander Schrader had the most total match points with 54 while Peavler was next with 51. 

Oakwood/Salt Fork co-op, the top-ranked team in the field and defending champions in the Skull & Crossbones, sent most of their top individuals to a dual meet at Coal City the night before for a clash of top 10 Class 1A teams, which the Coalers won.

Here are the champions and weight classes of the Skull & Crossbones 

106 – Jacobi Cobbs, Althoff Catholic

Jacobi Cobbs went 44-6 as a freshman competing in Mehlville, Missouri but fell one win shy of a trip to the state finals in that state. So this season he decided to try his luck on the other side of the Mississippi River and is excited to be competing for Althoff Catholic. He already is making a name for himself after earning the top spot at 106 in the Class 1A rankings by Illinois Matmen and he improved to 12-1 after winning by fall in 0:51 over Lawrence County co-op freshman Kyler Guercio in the 106 title match at the Skull & Crossbones.

He won all three of his matches with first-period pins, earning his spot on the title mat with a fall in 17 seconds against Salem junior Aden Doolen. This was his first invitational tournament as an Illinois athlete and he joined Dawson Hawthorne, Brenden Rayl and Jason Dowell as title winners to give coach Emanuel Brooks’ Crusaders a tournament-high four champions.

“I’m coming to Althoff because I have better coaches here and it might help me get better,” Cobbs said. “I haven’t skipped a single practice and I work hard in every practice and I never stop. They support you a lot, make good teammates and support you in the wrestling room.”

Guercio (11-2) was one of four finalists for Lawrence County, a co-op team, involving athletes from Lawrenceville and Red Hill that is coached by Cody Bobe. He earned his spot on the 106 title with two first-period falls, with the last of those coming in 1:10 over Effingham freshman Brendan Stewart in the semifinals. In the third-place match, Doolen (10-6) captured a 9-5 decision over Stewart (14-5). Fairfield sophomore Carter Poole won by technical fall in 1:54 over Monticello sophomore River Young to claim fifth place.

113 – Weston Frazier, Oakwood/Salt Fork

Weston Frazier was missing many of his Oakwood/Salt Fork co-op teammates for the Skull & Crossbones since they had made the long trip to Coal City the previous day to compete in a dual meet against the Coalers in a clash of top-10 teams in Class 1A. So while coach Mike Glosser’s team was not able to defend its title in the competition with only eight individuals participating, it was able to get a title win at 113 from Frazier, who is a freshman.

Frazier (9-2), who was one of two top-six finishers and the lone finalist for his team, won the 113 championship with a win by technical fall in 5:44 over Litchfield/Mt. Olive sophomore Rilynn Younker. He also collected a win by technical fall in his opener before earning his spot on the title mat with a 12-0 major decision over Cumberland junior Peyton Groves in the semifinals.

“It feels pretty cool, pretty fun,” I had a good time,” Frazier said. “I feel like we’ll be pretty good if we stay as a team and stay together. I really like the coaches and I really like the team and the school. It’s just a good place to be.”

Younker (15-5), who placed fourth at 110 in the 2024 IHSA Girls Finals in Bloomington, was one of a tournament-high five finalists for coach Chance Davidson’s Purple Panthers, who took fourth place. She won with falls in her first two matches, earning her spot on the title mat with a pin in 3:35 over Effingham freshman Cole Dulumback in the semifinals. Groves (11-7) won by fall in 3:22 over Dulumback (13-4) to finish third and Lawrence County co-op sophomore Delaney Ledbetter (5-4) took fifth with a fall in 3:08 over Herrin sophomore Brennan Jeralds.

120 – Vinny Moore, Litchfield/Mt. Olive

Vinny Moore has qualified for state in each of his first two seasons but after going 34-10 and falling a bit short of a medal at 110, the Litchfield/Mt. Olive co-op junior hopes to be one of individuals from the program who will get back on the awards stand at state after the Panthers missed out on a medal in 2024. Moore improved to 18-1 after capturing top honors at 120 in the Skull & Crossbones with a 10-0 major decision over Monticello sophomore Ezekiel Young. In the latest rankings, Young was ranked eighth while Moore was ninth.

One of a tournament-high five finalists and three title winners for coach Chance Davidson’s Purple Panthers, Moore advanced to the 120 title match with a win by technical fall and then a fall in 2:48 over Effingham senior Kaiden Stewart in the semifinals. 

“I’ve had a lot of good matches in the past, but I think this year is the year that I think I can push through all of the hard ones and probably do something with it,” Moore said. “I have a great team and a great coaching staff and everyone that’s surrounding me is good. I did a lot of offseason work and I travelled to a lot of different states for dual teams and working out. And I overall tried to improve my diet. Just wrestling helps you get better at wrestling.”

Young (8-2), one of three finalists for coach Andy Moore’s Sages, opened with a victory by technical fall and advanced to the title mat with a pin in 4:18 over Salem freshman Rylan Moore. Stewart (16-3) recorded a fall in 0:40 over Moore (13-5) to claim third place and in the fifth-place match, Oblong/Hutsonville/Palestine co-op senior Mason Correll (10-3) got a pin in 5:18 over Shelbyville sophomore Colin Wells (8-8).

126 – Dawson Hawthorne, Althoff Catholic

Dawson Hawthorne had a successful freshman season and went 30-5 but got hurt right before the postseason and was unable to finish on a good note. So the Althoff Catholic sophomore has big plans for the upcoming season and they just got a boost after he won a 5-0 decision over Monticello junior Nick Litchfield in the 126 championship match at the Skull & Crossbones.

Hawthorne (6-0), the second of four champions for coach Emanuel Brooks’ Crusaders, used two falls and a major decision to advance to the 126 title mat. Ranked seventh at 120, he got his second pin in the semifinals where he won in 2:54 over Fairfield junior Jedd Wellen.

“We have a returning state champion and we picked up Jacobi Cobbs from Missouri and I got second as an eighth grader at state (IKWF),” Hawthorne said. “It’s fun, because we’re all like brothers. We all support each other and we push each other to do the best we can. We all push each other in the room and that makes it fun. And we all joke like we’re brothers, too. This year means a lot to me, coming back from an injury, so hopefully I can get to the podium.”

Litchfield, one of three finalists for coach Andy Moore’s Sages, opened with a win by technical fall and then won a 9-0 major decision in the semifinals over Shelbyville freshman Johnathan Kirkbride (10-7), who then went on to claim third place by winning a 5-4 decision over Wellen. Cumberland junior Sawyer Welbaum (13-3) took fifth place after recording a fall in 1:52 over Salem freshman Caleb Osborne (12-5). 

132 – Brenden Rayl, Althoff Catholic

Brenden Rayl made it 3-for-3 for Althoff Catholic on the title mat when he followed Jacobi Cobbs and Dawson Hawthorne as champions at the first five weights of the Skull & Crossbones and the trio would later be joined in the last title match by defending IHSA Class 1A heavyweight champion Jason Dowell. The senior, who was ranked sixth at 132, claimed top honors at 132 with a win by technical fall in 3:24 over Shelbyville junior Bodee Fathauer.

Rayl, who is off to a 14-0 start, is a two-time IHSA qualifier who went 35-4 last season but fell one win shy of earning a medal at 126, so he’s focused on finally getting to the state awards stand this season. After needing just 13 seconds to secure a pin in his opener, he claimed a win by technical fall in 2:46 over Herrin junior Braden Berndt in the semifinals.

“We’ve got tons of good practice partners and we’re always working, even through sickness and injuries,” Rayl said. “This program is full of hammers and they want to be here. They come out to wrestle, they’re set toward it, they want to get after it. I’m really close with all of them and with them seeing me want to succeed, it makes them want to succeed even more. We have a great coach. I think that a lot of it is the mindset and I think right now my mindset is pretty good, but there’s always room for improvement. You’ve got to have that feeling that no matter who I step out there with, we’re going to fight and I’m going to come out on top, that’s what matters.”

Fathauer (14-4), one of three finalists for coach Caleb Duckett’s third-place Rams, was a state qualifier in 2023 who went 30-16 last season and fell one win shy of a state trip. He used two falls to reach the semifinals, where he won by technical fall in 4:28 over Cumberland sophomore Logan Aaron (12-6), who took third place by claiming a 17-7 major decision over Berndt (9-6). For fifth place, Richland County sophomore Kaeden Davis (15-5) won by fall in 3:41 over Johnston City senior Gabe Lively (9-4).

138 – Cale Seitzinger, Lawrence County

Cale Seitzinger was the lone champion among four finalists for the Lawrence County co-op, which features athletes from Lawrenceville and Red Hill. The team, which is coached by Cody Bobe, won the Skull & Crossbones championship with 172.5 points, which was 14 better than runner-up Salem. This title comes two weeks after it took first place at its own tournament. Seitzinger, a junior who didn’t place in the 2023 tourney, improved to 13-1 after winning a 15-4 major decision over Cumberland sophomore Harley Pierce in the 138 championship match.

Seitzinger, who went 28-16 last season but fell one win shy of advancing to the sectional, got a win by technical fall in 3:34 in his first match and then claimed a 7-3 decision in the semifinals over Johnston City junior Jace Weaver to earn his spot on the 138 championship mat.

“Everybody has been working hard and it’s really been showing off,” Seitzinger said. “I have a lot of good people right around my weight and we go back and forth in practice and it really helps. All of the season is just about the end of the year, really. And everyone is practicing and working hard and getting experience right now. I did a lot of offseason stuff this year and it really helps to have people around that I’m close to that wrestle, all of my friends, and we really push each other around the practice room. Everyone works hard and nobody gives up in their match even if they’re wrestling tough guys. And I like my coaches.”

Pierce (10-6), one of two finalists for coach Ash Edmonds’ host Pirates, opened with two pins before capturing a 15-2 major decision over Monticello sophomore Luke Andruczyk. For third place, Weaver (10-4) won by fall in 2:45 over Andruczyk (10-6). And for fifth, Salem sophomore Kevan Moore (13-4) got a pin in 5:46 over Effingham freshman Jeremiah Giles (6-4).

144 – Clayton Hauter, Litchfield/Mt. Olive

Clayton Hauter helped Litchfield/Mt. Olive co-op to enjoy a successful day at the Skull & Crossbones when he became the second of three champions for coach Chance Davidson’s Purple Panthers, following Vinny Moore and preceding Tristan Staggs to help their team claim fourth place in the 20-team competition. The senior improved to 18-3 after winning a 7-4 decision over Lawrence County co-op sophomore Hudson Meek in the 144 title match.

Hauter, who captured his first high school tournament title, went 24-15 last season and qualified for the Vandalia Sectional. He opened with a fall and then captured a 16-3 major decision over Cumberland junior Jaxson Dukeman in the semifinals to make him one of Litchfield’s five finalists, which was the highest total for any of the 20 teams in the tournament.

“Honestly, I’m so proud of them, every single one of our guys,” Hauter said. “It’s about how hard you go in practice, that’s when it matters, and we help each other. We had guys that lost at PORTA last week and then beat them. I had never won a high school tournament. It feels great. I have to thank God, I wouldn’t be anywhere without him and my dad. The people that push and it’s hard work, but it pays off. We all have a very special bond. It’s amazing, it’s something else.”

Meek (11-3), one of four finalists for coach Cody Bobe’s champion Lawrence County co-op team, went 32-13 last season and fell one victory shy of a trip to state. He got a win by technical fall in his opener and then earned his spot on the 144 title mat by recording a fall in 0:53 over Oblong/Hutsonville/Palestine co-op freshman Jude Wirey in the semifinals. In the third-place match, Dukeman (10-7) won by fall in 3:12 over Wirey (12-5). And for fifth place, Salem freshman Kade Orrell (14-4) got a pin in 4:49 over Breese Central junior Jay Klemish (11-10). 

150 – Keyton King, Salem

Keyton King highlighted a memorable day for Salem, a third-year program that took second place in Cumberland’s Skull & Crossbones, finishing ahead of several well-established programs. King, a senior, improved to 14-1 after becoming the only champion for his team when he won by fall in 1:08 in the 150 title match over Effingham junior Baker Moon. He improved from a third-place finish from a year ago.

King, who went 39-6 last season but was unable to advance to state from the Class 1A Vandalia Sectional, was one of two finalists and eight individuals who placed sixth or better for the runner-up Wildcats, who are coached by Brian Camp and Rob Ring. They scored 158.5 points to finish 14 points behind champion Lawrence County and were 4.5 points ahead of third-place Shelbyville. King, who’s ranked 10th at 150 in 1A and hopes to be his school’s first state medal winner, opened with a win by technical fall in 2:49 and earned his spot on the 150 title mat with a pin in 2:42 over Oakwood/Salt Fork co-op sophomore Keagan Leclaire in the semifinals. 

“I’m pretty happy because I got third last year,” King said. “I came in ready to win this year and I’m pretty excited that our team ended up getting second because we’re only a third-year team. We went to PSF Wrestling and we had a bunch of guys going there and working all year-round. That really helped us out a bunch. This gives me confidence. I’ve just wrestled all year-round and worked hard, and I didn’t really ever stop. I only started in my sophomore year and I’ve been wrestling since. I’m excited to see what they (Salem) can do in the next couple of years.”

Moon (9-2), who went 27-14 last season but fell one win shy of advancing from the Class 1A Robinson Regional, was the lone finalist for coach Bryan McMillan’s Flaming Hearts. He advanced to the finals with two first-period falls, with the second of those coming in the semifinals in 1:29 over Lawrence County co-op sophomore Keegan Liston. For third place, Leclaire (7-4) was a winner by fall in 1:29 over Liston (7-4). And for fifth place, Harrisburg senior Brock Felty (10-9) recorded a pin in 1:47 over Richland County freshman Levi Paddock.

157 – Owen McGinnis, Cumberland

Owen McGinnis had an impressive sophomore season in 2023-2024 where he went 44-7 and qualified for the Class 1A IHSA Finals. But instead of just getting to state this season, the Cumberland junior wants to finish on the award state. He definitely made the home crowd in Toledo happy after becoming the lone champion for the Pirates in their Skull & Crossbones when he took first place at 157 with a fall in 4:33 over Litchfield co-op junior Braxton Kieffer.

McGinnis, who improved to 15-2 and is ranked fifth at 157 in Class 1A, repeated as a champion in his own tournament and was one of two finalists for coach Ash Edmonds’ Pirates. After winning by fall in his opener, McGinnis earned his spot on the 157 title mat with a pin in 4:46 over Lawrence County co-op junior Daniel Kiser in the semifinals.

“It’s just a good time to come out here with all of your teammates and show the work that you’ve been putting in in the wrestling room,” McGinnis said of competing at his school’s tournament. “The coaches support you, and the teammates, you put in the work and you’re with them every day, it’s just like a brotherhood. This summer I lifted in the weight room and I got bigger for football and wrestling. I was a linebacker and a running back.”

Kieffer (14-2), who went 34-10 last season but fell one win shy of advancing to state from the Class 1A Vandalia Sectional following a 6-0 loss to McGinnis in the consolation semifinals, was one of a tournament-high five finalists for coach Chance Davidson’s Purple Panthers, a co-op team that includes athletes from Litchfield and Mt. Olive. After opening with a win by technical fall, Kieffer, who’s ranked eighth at 157 in 1A, won an 8-3 decision in the semifinals over Breese Central junior Matthew Walsh (17-5), who went on to take third place with a fall in 4:33 over Kiser. For fifth place, Fairfield senior Nic Masterson (11-6) won by medical forfeit over Herrin senior Jack Finley (10-4).

165 – Ryne Peavler, Shelbyville

Ryne Peavler went 40-9 last season and qualified for the IHSA Class 1A Finals as a sophomore but was 0-2 there. The Shelbyville junior not only wants to get back to state but hopes to medal there and he’s definitely off to a good start with a 15-1 record after capturing the 165 title at Cumberland’s Skull & Crossbones with a 17-6 major decision over Herrin senior Kolby Coffey.

Peavler, who’s ranked tenth in Class 1A at 165 and was one of three finalists and the lone champion for coach Caleb Duckett’s third-place Rams, opened with a pair of first-period pins before claiming a win by technical fall in 4:08 over Salem junior Granger Motch in the semifinals.
He improved from a runner-up showing that he had in the 2023 tournament.

“I believe that we did really good considering the fact that we only had eight wrestlers today, and three of them, this is their first year back,” Peavler said. “So it was a very good tournament. It’s just my hometown and I’ve been here for so long and made a lot of connections with my coaches that I see them more as family members than I do as coaches any more. We just got a new coach and we’ve pretty much just adopted him into the family as if he’d been here for awhile. It’s just a really tight-knit, small community. I just really need to be able to get a wide variety of matches and different experiences. It’s not all about winning and losing, it’s more so getting the best challenges that you can to become the best person you can be.”

Coffey (12-2), who went 30-15 last season but failed to advance from his own regional to the Class 1A Vandalia Sectional, was the lone finalist for coach Kelsey Lewis’ Tigers. He got a pin in his opener, followed that with a 9-1 major decision and earned a trip to the 165 title mat by claiming an 11-7 decision in the semifinals over Harrisburg senior Briar Butler (15-3), who went to claim third place with a fall in 1:41 over Motch (14-4). For fifth place, Althoff Catholic’s Austin Wilkinson (10-6) was a winner by fall in 3:12 over Effingham junior Gage Emmerich (5-4).

175 – Talan Keoughan, Fairfield

Talan Keoughan was one of five individuals who repeated as a champion at Cumberland’s Skull & Crossbones and the Fairfield senior hopes that his repeat title win and 15-3 start is just the beginning of his quest to not only qualify for the IHSA Finals for the first time but also to win a medal there, a feat that has been achieved by only four others in his program. He won the 175 title with a victory by technical fall in 3:07 over Lawrence County co-op’s Nick Morehead.

Keoughan, the lone finalist for coach Jordan Griffith’s Mules, opened with two first-period falls before getting another pin in the initial period when he got a pin in 1:44 over Shelbyville senior Tucker Kull to earn his spot in the 175 championship match.

“It was amazing,” Keoughan said. “I suffered a medical forfeit two weeks ago and hurt my shoulder in a tournament. I just asked my coach to put me in there since I wanted to prove that no matter what, that I can wrestle with the best of the best.  It’s all been about my cardio and my mindset. I came in here and knew that I was going to have a good kid. He won the PORTA Invite, which is a very hard tournament, and I saw him in the semis. I just had to leave it all on the mat and I showed everybody that I know that I can do all of this and I can win state. In Fairfield we don’t have a youth program and we don’t have a wrestling room, we roll our mats into the girls small gym. But it’s not really about what kind of things we have because my coaches and all of my teammates have made it so easy for me to love this sport so much.”  

Morehead (11-7) was one of four finalists for coach Cody Bobe’s champion Lawrence County co-op team, which includes athletes from Lawrenceville and Red Hill. The team scored  172.5 points to claim top honors in the 20-team tourney, which was 14 points better than runner-up Salem. Morehead followed a fall with a 5-3 decision in the quarterfinals and advanced to the 175 title mat following a fall in 4:38 over Harrisburg senior Caleb Williford in the semifinals. For third place, Kull (13-2) won by medical forfeit over Willford (10-4). And for fifth place, Salem junior Killian Merrill (13-4) got a pin in 1:15 over Litchfield co-op junior Jayden Ellinger (15-4).

190 – Hunter Romano, Monticello

Hunter Romano provided Monticello with its biggest highlight of the Skull & Crossbones when he recorded a fall in 1:01 over Salem senior Carson Osborne in the 190 championship match to become his school’s only title winner. Romano, a senior who improved to 9-1, was one of three finalists for coach Andy Moore’s Sages. He finished in fourth place at last year’s tournament.

Romano, who went 32-14 last season but was unable to advance out of the Class 1A Unity Regional, opened with a first-minute fall and then earned his way to the 190 title match with  another quick pin, this one in 0:42 over Harrisburg junior Braxton Welge in the semifinals.

“I didn’t wrestle for very long, but there were good matches all the way around,” Romano said. “We got Nick Litchfield this year and he took second here and Zeke Young did very well, as well. And we have a couple of newcomers too that are looking real good. Trey Leynes is a new practice partner for me, so I’m excited about this group of guys. I’ve done a lot of work with the Casillas brothers, Mateo and Marco, we’re very close with both of them. Hard work, the same as everyone else, I just have to keep moving. I’m looking forward to it.”

Osborne (14-3), was one of two finalists for runner-up Salem, who’s coached by  Brian Camp and Rob Ring. The Wildcats, who are a third-year program, scored 158.5 points, which was 14 points behind champion Lawrence County co-op. Osborne, who went 19-15 last season and advanced to the 1A Vandalia Sectional, followed a first-period pin with a victory by technical fall in 3:51 in the semifinals over Shelbyville senior Gavan Rhodes. In the third-place match, Welge (13-3) won by fall in 1:32 over Rhodes (12-6). For fifth, Richland County senior Ilario Catania (12-4) recorded a pin in 5:00 over Lawrence County co-op junior Malikye Williams (7-4).

215 – Tristan Staggs, Litchfield/Mt. Olive

Tristan Staggs repeated as a champion at the Skull & Crossbones and he also was one of three champions and a tournament-best five finalists for Litchfield/Mt. Olive, which helped coach Chance Davidson’s team claim fourth place with 146 points. Staggs joined Vinny Moore and Clayton Hauter as champions for their team, which is a co-op that have athletes from Litchfield and Mt. Olive. He won the 215 title with a fall in 1:31 over Harrisburrg junior Gunner Wayman.

Staggs, a junior who improved to 17-2, went 26-8 last season but fell one win shy of advancing from the Class 1A Auburn Regional. He recorded three first-period falls to reach the 215 title mat, getting a pin in 0:51 in the semifinals over Shelbyville junior Taven Agney.

“We’re pretty close,” Staggs said. “I don’t hang out with them all of the time, I like to be by myself. When I’m by myself, I’m more focused mentally, but when I’m with people I feel like I’m goofing off more. In the beginning of the season I wasn’t doing so good, I gassed out pretty quickly. One of the kids I wrestled here today I pinned in the first period but in the beginning of the season I beat him only by one point. I just put in a bunch of hard work because I wasn’t doing so well, so I just kept persevering through it. When I see other people win on my team or they get first, it’s like, “I’ve got to win, too.’”

Wayman (8-3), a junior who was the lone finalist for coach Greg Langley’s Bulldogs, opened with two first-period falls before getting a pin in 2:59 in the semifinals over Richland County junior Zander Schrader (15-5), who went on to capture third place with a fall in 3:58 over Agney (11-6). For fifth place, Bismarck-Henning Rossville-Alvin/Armstrong co-op senior Ricky Smith was a winner by fall in 5:45 over Althoff Catholic junior Braden Bush (6-4).

285 – Jason Dowell, Althoff Catholic

Jason Dowell is understandably very grateful of the fact that he was able to be the IHSA Class 1A champion at 285 in 2024, completing a 32-2 junior season with a dramatic 2-1 decision over St. Francis’ Jaylen Torres in the title match. The Althoff Catholic senior hopes to do what only four others from his program have accomplished, winning two or more state titles and he’s off to a good start toward that goal after winning the Skull & Crossbones title at 285 for the second year in a row, beating Shelbyville senior Andre Townsend by technical fall in 6:00 in the finals.

Dowell (11-0) was one of five repeat champions in the competition and also helped coach Emanuel Brooks’ Crusaders have a tournament-best four title winners as they went 4-0 in championship matches with Jacobi Cobbs, Dawson Hawthorne and Brenden Rayl joining him on top of the awards stand. The top-ranked individual at 285 in 1A opened with two first-minute falls before recording a pin in 1:22 over Fairfield senior Bentley Rogers in the semifinals.

“I was just real happy to be here and real happy to win my bracket,” Dowell said. “I just trust in God and trust the process that he has for me. I trust his will and trust to walk with Him. I’ve been doing that for a very long time right now. (Coach Emanuel Brooks) “I look at him as a father/big brother, he’s been there for me through some really hard times, the lows and of course, the highs. He’s been a blessing straight from God and I can’t thank God enough for that man. Of course with Emanuel Brooks as our coach, it’s hard to have a room for just a bunch of mean kids. We want to go in there and have fun and make each other better and improve every day.”

Townsend (15-2) was one of three finalists for coach Caleb Duckett’s Rams, who ended up taking third place in the 20-team competition with 154 points, which was just 4.5 points behind runner-up Salem. Townsend, who went 33-8 last season and fell a bit short of qualifying for the IHSA Class 1A Finals from the Vandalia Sectional, recorded falls in his first two matches before getting a pin in 2:00 over Harrisburg’s Matt Brown in the semifinals.In the third-place match, Rogers (14-4) won by fall in 3:10 over Brown (17-3) and for fifth, Lawrence County co-op senior Dylan Camden (9-5) recorded a pin in 0:27 over Mt. Carmel freshman Carter Pyatt (8-7).

Skull & Crossbones place matches

106

1st Place Match

Jacobi Cobbs (Althoff Catholic) 12-1, So. over Kyler Guercio (Lawrence County) 11-2, Fr. (Fall 0:51)

3rd Place Match

Aden Doolen (Salem) 10-6, Jr. over Brendan Stewart (Effingham) 14-5, Fr. (Dec 9-5)

5th Place Match

Carter Poole (Fairfield) 7-9, So. over River Young (Monticello) 6-9, So. (TF-1.5 1:54 (18-1))

113

1st Place Match

Weston Frazier (Oakwood/Salt Fork) 9-2, Fr. over Rilynn Younker (Litchfield) 15-5, So. (TF-1.5 5:44 (16-1))

3rd Place Match

Peyton Groves (Cumberland) 11-7, Jr. over Cole Dulumback (Effingham) 13-4, Fr. (Fall 3:22)

5th Place Match

Delaney Ledbetter (Lawrence County) 5-4, So. over Brennan Jeralds (Herrin) 7-6, So. (Fall 3:08)

120

1st Place Match

Vinny Moore (Litchfield) 18-1, Jr. over Ezekiel Young (Monticello) 8-2, So. (MD 10-0)

3rd Place Match

Kaiden Stewart (Effingham) 16-3, Sr. over Rylan Moore (Salem) 13-5, Fr. (Fall 0:40)

5th Place Match

Mason Correll (Oblong/Hutsonville/Palestine) 10-3, Sr. over Colin Wells (Shelbyville) 8-8, So. (Fall 5:18)

126

1st Place Match

Dawson Hawthorne (Althoff Catholic) 6-0, So. over Nick Litchfield (Monticello) 11-6, Jr. (Dec 5-0)

3rd Place Match

Johnathan Kirkbride (Shelbyville) 10-7, Fr. over Jedd Wellen (Fairfield) 2-2, Jr. (Dec 5-4)

5th Place Match

Sawyer Welbaum (Cumberland) 13-3, Jr. over Caleb Osborne (Salem) 12-5, Fr. (Fall 1:52)

132

1st Place Match

Brenden Rayl (Althoff Catholic) 14-0, Sr. over Bodee Fathauer (Shelbyville) 14-4, Jr. (TF-1.5 3:24 (16-1))

3rd Place Match

Logan Aaron (Cumberland) 12-6, So. over Braden Berndt (Herrin) 9-6, Jr. (MD 17-7)

5th Place Match

Kaeden Davis (Richland County) 15-5, So. over Gabe Lively (Johnston City) 9-4, Sr. (Fall 3:41)

138

1st Place Match

Cale Seitzinger (Lawrence County) 13-1, Jr. over Harley Pierce (Cumberland) 10-6, So. (MD 15-4)

3rd Place Match

Jace Weaver (Johnston City) 10-4, Jr. over Luke Andruczyk (Monticello) 10-6, So. (Fall 2:45)

5th Place Match

Kevan Moore (Salem) 13-4, So. over Jeremiah Giles (Effingham) 6-4, Fr. (Fall 5:46)

144

1st Place Match

Clayton Hauter (Litchfield) 18-3, Sr. over Hudson Meek (Lawrence County) 11-3, So. (Dec 7-4)

3rd Place Match

Jaxson Dukeman (Cumberland) 10-7, Jr. over Jude Wirey (Oblong/Hutsonville/Palestine) 12-5, Fr. (Fall 3:12)

5th Place Match

Kade Orrell (Salem) 14-4, Fr. over Jay Klemish (Breese Central) 11-10, Jr. (Fall 4:49)

150

1st Place Match

Keyton King (Salem) 14-1, Sr. over Baker Moon (Effingham) 9-2, Jr. (Fall 1:08)

3rd Place Match

Keagan Leclaire (Oakwood/Salt Fork) 7-4, So. over Keegan Liston (Lawrence County) 7-4, So. (Fall 1:29)

5th Place Match

Brock Felty (Harrisburg) 10-9, Sr. over Levi Paddock (Richland County) 3-4, Fr. (Fall 1:47)

157

1st Place Match

Owen McGinnis (Cumberland) 15-2, Jr. over Braxton Kieffer (Litchfield) 14-2, Jr. (Fall 4:33)

3rd Place Match

Matthew Walsh (Breese Central) 17-5, Jr. over Daniel Kiser (Lawrence County) 11-5, Jr. (MD 12-2)

5th Place Match

Nic Masterson (Fairfield) 11-6, Sr. over Jack Finley (Herrin) 10-4, Sr. (M. For.)

165

1st Place Match

Ryne Peavler (Shelbyville) 15-1, Jr. over Kolby Coffey (Herrin) 12-2, Sr. (MD 17-6)

3rd Place Match

Briar Butler (Harrisburg) 15-3, Sr. over Granger Motch (Salem) 14-4, Jr. (Fall 1:41)

5th Place Match

Austin Wilkinson (Althoff Catholic) 10-6, Fr. over Gage Emmerich (Effingham) 5-4, Jr. (Fall 3:12)

175

Guaranteed Places

1st Place Match

Talan Keoughan (Fairfield) 15-3, Sr. over Nick Morehead (Lawrence County) 11-7, So. (TF-1.5 3:07 (18-1))

3rd Place Match

Tucker Kull (Shelbyville) 13-2, Sr. over Caleb Williford (Harrisburg) 10-4, Sr. (M. For.)

5th Place Match

Killian Merrill (Salem) 13-4, Jr. over Jayden Ellinger (Litchfield) 15-4, Jr. (Fall 1:15)

190

1st Place Match

Hunter Romano (Monticello) 9-1, Sr. over Carson Osborne (Salem) 14-3, Sr. (Fall 1:01)

3rd Place Match

Braxton Welge (Harrisburg) 13-3, Jr. over Gavan Rhodes (Shelbyville) 12-6, Sr. (Fall 1:32)

5th Place Match

Ilario Catania (Richland County) 12-4, Sr. over Malikye Williams (Lawrence County) 7-4, Jr. (Fall 5:00)

215

1st Place Match

Tristan Staggs (Litchfield) 17-2, Jr. over Gunner Wayman (Harrisburg) 8-3, Jr. (Fall 1:31)

3rd Place Match

Zander Schrader (Richland County) 15-5, Jr. over Taven Agney (Shelbyville) 11-6, Jr. (Fall 3:58)

5th Place Match

Ricky Smith (Bismarck-Henning Rossville-Alvin/Armstrong) 5-6, Sr. over Braden Bush (Althoff Catholic) 6-4, Jr. (Fall 5:45)

285

Gu1st Place Match

Jason Dowell (Althoff Catholic) 11-0, Sr. over Andre Townsend (Shelbyville) 15-2, Sr. (TF-1.5 6:00 (17-1))

3rd Place Match

Bentley Rogers (Fairfield) 14-4, Sr. over Matt Brown (Harrisburg) 17-3, Jr. (Fall 3:10)

5th Place Match

Dylan Camden (Lawrence County) 9-5, Sr. over Carter Pyatt (Mt. Carmel) 8-7, Fr. (Fall 0:27)

8th Place Match

Kam Acord (Oakwood/Salt Fork) 3-4, Sr. over Anthony Escobedo (Robinson) 5-7, Fr. (For.)

Cons. A Champ

Devin Hansel (Litchfield) 15-7, Sr. over Landynn Balla (Bismarck-Henning Rossville-Alvin/Armstrong) 8-3, Jr. (TF-1.5 2:54 (18-2))

Cons. B Champ

Luke Pruett (Breese Central) 7-13, So. over Nate Darnell (Monticello) 3-7, Jr. (Fall 1:09)

Team scores

1. Lawrence County co-op 172.5, 2. Salem 158.5, 3. Shelbyville 154, 4. Litchfield/Mt. Olive co-op 146, 5. Althoff Catholic 137.5, 6. Cumberland 127.5, 7. Monticello 125.5, 8. Harrisburg 106.5, 9. Fairfield 95.5, 10. Effingham 94, 11. Richland County 73.5, 12. Oakwood/Salt Fork co-op 71, 13. Herrin 57.5, 14. Oblong/Hutsonville/Palestine co-op 46.5, 15. Johnston City 46, 16. Mt. Carmel 42.5, 17. Breese Central 29, 18. Bismarck-Henning Rossville-Alvin/Armstrong co-op 28, 19. Pinckneyville 15, 20. Robinson 10.

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

Three big dogs tore into each other at this year’s 36th Annual Al Dvorak Invitational on Sunday, as the team title hung in the balance heading into the championship round for IC Catholic Prep, St. Charles East and Montini.

And in the program’s first Dvorak appearance under coach Danny Alcocer, IC Prep snared its first-ever Dvorak team title, edging second-place St. Charles East 204.5-202, with Montini just off the lead with 188.5 and Yorkville well in the hunt with 182.5 points.

“It was a close one,” IC Catholic Prep coach Danny Alcocer said. “I thought we needed two champs but we ended up doing it with one, with bonus points.

“The tournament was a battle, the whole way. Starting on Day Two some of our young freshmen came through on the backside for us and got some big wins in that blood round. That gave us a little cushion there. It was nice to get the job done, but like I told these guys, we’re not going to celebrate because it’s right back to work. Hopefully we can celebrate come February or March.”

IC Prep senior Deven Casey won the Dvorak title at 132, while teammates Brody Kelly (175) and Foley Calcagno (215) both reached the finals and placed second.

Casey and his boys kept their noses to the grindstone as the tight team title race unfolded.

“We were definitely aware of it, but we weren’t looking at it too closely throughout the tournament,” Casey said. “We knew we were doing well and we were just focused on getting bonus points for sure. And that definitely made the difference.

“We’re definitely happy but we want the team title in February. It was cool to win at the Dvorak, but we really want to win in February.”
The Knights also got a third-place finish from Aidan Arnett (144), a fourth from Anthony Sebastian (285), and sixths from Jacob Alvarez (138) and Isaac Barrientos (190). 

And in a tournament in which the team title was decided by a mere 2.5 points, IC Prep also got invaluable team points from Dominic Pasquale (106), Mike Bird (113), Kannon Judycki (120), Joey Pontrelli (150), and Nate Brown (165).

“This team is solid,” Alcocer said. “The goal every year is to try to win that team (state) title and this year we’re a young team with four freshmen in the starting lineup, but the freshmen are really coming through. They all keep working hard I think we’ll be in a very good spot by the end of the year.”

St. Charles East was the two-time defending Dvorak team champion and the Saints almost pulled off the three-peat. Despite graduating a ton of talent from last year’s squad, coach Jason Potter’s program might still be a force to be reckoned with.

“We have a lot of guys in the room who haven’t got a lot of recognition that worked really hard in the off-season and are willing to work hard in the room,” Saints junior Dom Munaretto said. “So Anthony (Gutierrez) and I are doing our best to set an example. We’ve seen a lot of improvement and I think we’ll see more before the state tournament. Because this team keeps getting better and better.”

IC Prep is currently ranked third in 2A behind No. 1 Montini and No. 2 Washington; Saint Charles East is ranked No. 8 in 3A.

Rounding out the top 10 Dvorak team finishes were fifth-place Edwardsville (161.5), Hononegah (158), Marian Central Catholic (151) Hersey (150.5), Lincoln-Way East (126) and Glenbard North (124).

Domination was a common theme in Dvorak’s individual title matches this year; nine of 14 championship matches featured bonus points, with four tech falls, three pins and two major decision wins.

The closest finals match was a doozy, with Fremd’s top-ranked Evan Gosz using a third-period takedown to come from behind and win a 5-3 decision over long-time rival Maksim Mukhamedaliyev of Hersey.

The Dvorak’s Outstanding Wrestler Award went to Belleville East’s top-seeded heavyweight Jonathan Rulo, whose day of four falls and one major decision ended with a fall for the title against second-seeded William Cole of Round Lake. Rulo and Cole are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 at 285 in Class 3A, respectively.

Individual Dvorak champions:

106: Vince DeMarco, Grayslake Central
There was no panic for Grayslake Central sophomore Vince DeMarco.
Trailing 3-0 after two periods in the finals against Edwardsville’s Michael McNamara, DeMarco simply drew on his experience.“I’ve been in enough tournaments and had enough experiences where I know how to get out of a hole,” DeMarco said. “I know that no matter what happens, I’m always in it.”
One third-period down-block and a drag-go-behind, and DeMarco knotted the score 3-3, “and then I got a turn on top, and there you go,” DeMarco said after his 5-3 win gave him his first Dvorak title.
One year after placing fourth in Champaign in 2A, DeMarco (19-1) is Illinois’ top-ranked 106-pounder. He feels like a different wrestler in his sophomore campaign.

“My hand fighting is a lot better this year, so I’m able to set up my attacks a lot better,” he said. “The new rule changes for takedowns is really helping me a lot, and I’m also bigger. Last year I was a little undersized.”
DeMarco was seeded second behind Plainfield North’s Maddox Garbis (10-0) who had to medical forfeit his semifinal match to Edwardsville’s Michael McNamara (17-2).
DeMarco topped third-seeded Vannak Khiev (18-3) of Glenbard North in their semifinal before winning a 7-3 decision for the title against McNamara, whose first-period takedown set the stage in the final.
“I shot a single leg and and brought it up on my shelf, but he picked my ankle back and I got taken down and leg ridden pretty much the whole first period,” DeMarco said. “From there, it was pretend like it’s the start of the match again and go get a takedown, which I know I can do.”
Notre Dame’s Ray Long finished third, Normal Community’s Jackson Soney was fourth, Glenbard North’s Vannak Khiev placed fifth, and Garbis was sixth at 106.

113: Caden Correll, Normal Community
The top two seeds met in the finals when top-seeded Allen Woo (17-3) of Montini and second-seeded Caden Correll (19-0) of Normal Community squared off.
Correll proved himself yet again.
Having already won a 13-8 decision this year over nationally-ranked No. 1 Caleb Noble (106) of Warren, Correll beat returning state champion Woo via 7-3 decision to win this year’s Dvorak title at 113. Woo is currently ranked No. 1 in 2A.
“I wrestled (Woo) at Fargo over the summer and he beat me,” Correll said. “My goal going into the match was to be as aggressive as I can and put up as many points as I can. It was about realizing that I can score on him with my attacks so get to those attacks as often as I can.”

Currently ranked third in 3A at 113, Correll has placed fifth twice in Champaign. He has embraced a new level of aggression this season.

“It kind of takes a while in this sport to understand and realize that your attacks are working, and have the confidence to just go out and be super aggressive,” he said. “You get there eventually and once you get there, it feels good.”

Huntley’s Colin Abordo placed third, Crystal Lake Central’s Jackson Marlett took fourth, Lockport’s Anthony Sutton finished fifth and Marian Central’s Austin Hagewold placed sixth at 113.

120: Dom Munaretto, St. Charles East
St. Charles East junior Dom Munaretto was dominant throughout the two-day tournament and won his third Dvorak title with an 11-3 decision over Marian Central Catholic’s Brayden Teunissen. A scoreless first period gave way to a second that ended with a 7-2 lead for Munaretto.
“That was like our fourth time wrestling so we know each other well,” Munaretto said. “He had a good game plan but as the match went on, I was able to break him a little bit, pushing the pace on him, keep him opening up so I can get to my attacks. It was an opportunity and a challenge to find new ways to get to my attacks.”
Munaretto and Teunissen have both been Illinois state champs and state runners-up in their careers. Munaretto is currently ranked No. 1 in Illinois in 3A and No. 7 nationally; Teunissen is ranked No. 1 in 1A as a defending state champion at 120 pounds.
And with now-graduated starters like Ben Davino, Tyler Guerra, Jayden Colon, Gavin Connolly, and Brody Murray no longer in the Saints’ practice room, Munaretto feels the onus upon him.
“It’s an opportunity to be a leader,” Munaretto said. “They’d been the upperclassman and the leaders in the room and now it’s me and Anthony (Gutierrez) who get to run the room so it’s a great opportunity to show everyone what we’re capable of. I’m really enjoying it.”
Montini’s Mikey Malizzio took third, Hersey’s Anthony Orozco was fourth, Hononegah’s Jackson Olson finished fifth and Schaumburg’s Brady Phelps took sixth at 120.

126: Rocco Cassioppi, Hononegah
Hononegah sophomore Rocco Cassioppi (16-2) won the second Dvorak title of his young career, topping Montini’s Josh Vazquez (11-4) on the title mat in a 10-2 major decision. Cassioppi placed second in Illinois at 106 as a freshman in 3A and Vazquez is a three-time state medalist in 2A.

Cassioppi led 3-0 after a period, then escaped to start the second and posted another takedown for a 7-2 lead heading into the third period.
One more takedown made it 10-2 and that’s where it stayed.
Cassioppi was one of 11 top seeds to win Dvorak titles on Sunday. Second-seeded Vazquez, ranked No. 1 at 126 in 2A, fell to 11-4 with the loss. Cassioppi, ranked No. 5 heading into the Dvorak, won by tech fall over No. 4 Kalani Khiev of Glenbard North in a semifinal match, then improved to 16-2 with his win over Vazquez.
Khiev went on to take third place, Notre Dame’s John Sheehy was fourth, Normal Community’s Cole Gentsch was fifth and Hersey’s Riddick Variano took sixth at 126.

132: Deven Casey, IC Catholic Prep
IC Prep three-time state medalist Deven Casey was one of the nine wrestlers in the tournament who dominated their way to individual titles. Three falls and a major decision in his semifinal sent Casey (20-2) to the title mat, where he won by tech fall against Lockport’s Liam Zimmerman (17-3).
Third-seeded Zimmerman upset second-seeded Tommy Banas (11-4) of Providence Catholic by 4-0 decision in their semifinal match, but Casey had too much to handle in the finals.
“I felt good,” Casey said. “I’m never too focused on my opponents, never overthinking it, and I just kind of wrestle whoever’s in front of me. I don’t watch too much film. Sometimes maybe I’ll ask my dad what a given (opponent) does but mostly, I just go out there and focus on my offense rather than what the other guy is going to do.”
Casey is currently the top-ranked 132-pounder in Illinois in Class 2A, and won a state title last year at 120 pounds. He has also placed third twice in Champaign.
“I don’t know what more I can say about Deven Casey,” IC Prep coach Danny Alcocer said. “He’s just a great leader and a fantastic wrestler. He really shows these young guys on our team how we expect them to compete. And when you have leadership like that, it creates a great environment.”

Providence Catholic’s Tommy Banas finished third at this year’s Dvorak, Hersey’s Elijah Garza was fourth, Milton’s Devin Bobzien was fifth and Montini’s Jeremy Huf placed sixth at 132.

138: TJ Silva, Hononegah

Top-seeded Hononegah senior TJ Silva (17-2) got in plenty of work on his feet in Harlem, using three tech fall wins to put himself in the finals, where he posted a first-period fall against Montini’s second-seeded Kam Luif (15-1).
Silva has a switch he turns on whenever he enters the circle, and he hit that switch against Luif.
“Off the mat I can by your friend, anytime,” Silva said. “On the mat, I’m as mean as can be.”
Silva is a three-time state medalist, including a state title, and has reached the state title match every year of his high school career.
“It’s always the same goal — get into the state finals and do whatever I have to do,” Silva said. “Last year I didn’t really get the outcome I wanted so now it’s pushing to get the outcome that I want. I’m just working hard and not giving anyone any respect, whether they’re number one or number two or whatever.
“It’s a hard tournament for sure, but in my training I’m just so confident in how hard I work in the practice room that there’s no reason I shouldn’t be able to win any of these matches.”
Montini junior Luif has medaled twice in Champaign, placing sixth and third in 2A. He reached the Dvorak finals with a 9-1 win over Edwardsville’s Ryan Richie. Silva used a tech fall in his semifinal win over Lincoln-Way East’s Tyson Zvonar.
Zvonar went on to take third place, Richie was fourth, St. Charles East’s Gavin Woodmancy placed fifth and IC Prep’s Jacob Alvarez finished sixth at 138.

144: Evan Gosz, Fremd
If Fremd’s Evan Gosz and Hersey’s Maksim Mukhamedaliyev weren’t already tired of wrestling each other, Illinois’ top two-ranked wrestlers at 144 in 3A were fated to square off yet again in this year’s Dvorak title match at 144.
“We’ve probably wrestled each other eight or ten times in high school,” Gosz said. “We’re both smart wrestlers and we obviously know each other very well and he definitely surprised me this time. He wrestled a super smart match and he got me a little off-guard.”
In their previous meeting this season, Gosz won by tech fall. But second-ranked Mukhamedaliyev earned a first-period takedown and led 3-1 after two periods of their Dvorak title match.
Mukhamedaliyev (17-4) seemed primed for his first win against top-ranked Gosz (27-2). But a Gosz escape to start the third period made it 3-2 and a Gosz takedown effectively gave him the 5-3 win.
“I was nervous but I knew it could finish on him,” Gosz said. “It was just whether I was going to get a good shot and get a good finish on him. Last year, honestly, I didn’t have the gas tank I needed so it was nice to see that I could get that late takedown.”
Having placed third twice and second once in Champaign, Gosz is now one of those No. 1-ranked wrestlers that everyone is gunning for.
“It’s nerve-racking, but also exciting that I have a target on my back,” Gosz said. “People are watching film to know what to expect from me and I kind of saw that at the Dvorak. It’s exciting to get to show how dominant I can be but the Dvorak also showed me what I need to work on, and the mistakes I made, so I can get ready for the next test.”
IC Prep’s Aidan Arnett took third, Schaumburg’s Callen Kirchner was fourth, Milton’s Gage Gross took fifth and Lincoln-Way East’s Kaidge Richardson finished sixth at 144.

150: Justus Heeg, Providence Catholic
He’s not doing it alone, but Providence Catholic freshman Justus Heeg is doing more than his part to try to bring the Celtics’ program back to prominence in Illinois.
Heeg improved to 16-2 when he won by 7-2 decision on a Dvorak title mat over Joliet West senior Carson Weber (19-4).
Heeg is ranked second in 2A behind Washington’s returning state champion Wyatt Medlin, but the freshman also already has a high school state championship to his credit: as an eighth-grader last season, Heeg won a Minnesota high school state title at 139 pounds.
Weber is a three-time Illinois state qualifier and placed third at 144 in Champaign last year. After a scoreless first period, Heeg used a takedown in the second and another in the third on his way to winning his first Dvorak title.
Marian Central’s Vance Williams took third, Yorkville’s Donovan Rosauer was fourth, Wheaton North’s Ryan Rosch placed fifth and Glenbard North’s Treshon Williams finished sixth at 150.

157: Jack Ferguson, Yorkville
Unbeaten Yorkville senior Jack Ferguson (18-0) stayed that way, capped by the second of three title-match pins for the day over Huntley’s Radic Dvorak (23-3).
Ferguson is a three-time state qualifier who placed fifth last year in Champaign at 150 pounds. He’s currently ranked second in 3A at 157 behind last year’s state champion at 150, Marist’s Will Denny.
As a Dvorak top seed, Ferguson posted two tech falls and two major decision wins to reach the finals, including a 14-4 major in his semifinal against Wheaton North’s fourth-ranked Thomas Fulton (18-4).
Huntley’s fifth-ranked Dvorak reached the finals with a fall in his semifinal against Normal Community’s Carter Mayes (18-2).  Mayes went on to place third, Plainfield North’s Luke Grindstaff took fourth, Fulton placed fifth and Lockport’s Jaedon Calderon finished sixth at 157.

165: Anthony Gutierrez, St. Charles East
The top-ranked 165-pounder in 3A, St. Charles East senior Anthony Gutierrez (17-2) gave the Saints their second Dvorak title of the day and the second of his career when he won 5-0 in the finals over Montini junior Santino Tenuta (14-1).
Gutierrez’s win handed Tenuta, seeded third and top-ranked in 2A, his first loss of the season. Gutierrez has placed sixth and fourth in Champaign; Tenuta is a two-time state qualifier.
Gutierrez posted two falls before posting a third in the semifinal round over fourth-seeded Tommy McDermott (16-3) of Bolingbrook. The Saints’ senior has not lost to an Illinois wrestler this season. Tenuta had a tech fall, a major decision win, and a fall to reach the semifinals, where he won 12-6 over Fremd’s Lucas Nance (22-5).
Bolingbrook’s Tommy McDermott took third, Belleville East’s Terence Willis was fourth, Fremd’s Lucas Nance captured fifth and Yorkville’s Caleb Viscogliosi finished sixth at 165.

175: Caleb Dennee, Marshfield, WI
Ranked No. 10 in the nation at 175 by Flowrestling, Marshfield, Wisconsin’s top-seeded Caleb Dennee (18-0) had a tech fall and two pins to reach the semifinal round, where he won 11-7 over fourth-seeded, two-time Illinois state medalist Luke Zook (18-1) of Yorkville, currently ranked No. 2 in Illinois in 3A.
Dennee then won a 9-5 decision on the title mat against IC Prep’s Brody Kelly (17-3), ranked No. 1 in Illinois in 2A at 175, one year after placing 2nd at 150 in Champaign. Kelly won his Dvorak semifinal match by fall over second-seeded Ilia Dvoriannikov (19-3) of Vernon Hills, currently ranked No. 2 in Illinois at 165 pounds.

Zook wrestled back for third place, Hononegah’s Connor Diemel was fourth, Dvoriannikov took fifth and Lincoln-Way East’s Jackson Zaeske finished sixth at 175.

190: Jimmy Mastny, Marian Central Catholic
Mastny was a tornado looking for a trailer park throughout this year’s Dvorak, and the sophomore wreaked havoc over the field at 190 pounds.
Ranked 5th nationally at 190 by Flowrestling and No. 1 in Illinois in 1A, the sophomore Mastny (20-1) had two falls and three tech falls to win his first career Dvorak title. He won by tech fall on the title mat over previously-unbeaten Cayden Parks (23-1) of Crystal Lake Central, who is top-ranked in 2A at 190 pounds.
Mastny was an Illinois state champion as a freshman last year at 157 pounds for Marian Central. The jump from 157 to 190 has been no problem for the talented sophomore.

“I’d say I’ve always had confidence. I’ve been wrestling since I was 10 or 12 years old,” Mastny said. “I’ve definitely gotten better in my attacks and shooting, now I need to work on getting more angles.”
Mastny’s lone loss this year came at the nationally-formidable Ironman Tournament in Ohio, to nationally-ranked De’Alcapon Veazy of Ponderosa, Colorado.
Wauconda’s Mike Merevick placed third at the Dvorak, Hononegah’s Kurt Smith took fourth, Yorkville’s Ryder Janeczko was fifth and IC Prep’s Isaac Barrientos finished sixth at 175.

215: Kai Calcutt, Loyola Academy
If Marian’s Jimmy Mastny was a tornado, Loyola Academy junior Kai Calcutt was a typhoon at this year’s Dvorak, one season after an injury forced him to injury default in the finals at last year’s tournament.
“Last year, my knee popped here and I was out for like three weeks,” Calcutt said. “I had to wear a brace and I didn’t really feel healthy until after the state tournament.”
Top-ranked and top-seeded Calcutt (9-0) won the state title at 215 last year and was the state runner-up at 220 as a freshman. He posted a tech fall win on a Dvorak title mat against IC Prep’s second-seeded Foley Calcagno (16-4), ranked third in 2A and a two-time state medalist.
Calcutt is not yet close to being in wrestling shape after playing an extended football season, and entered the Dvorak having only wrestled four matches all year. But Calcutt was a man on a mission, posting three pins and two tech fall wins en route to winning his first Dvorak title and erasing last year’s title-mat injury default.
“After football this year I was overweight, I was beat up and I was in football condition,” Calcutt said. “There’s great competition and great wrestlers here and it was a big test for me because my first tournament was last week. I came off of our state game in football at 240 and then I got sick for a week and that actually helped because I lost weight while I was sick. It was a perfect time to get sick.

“I definitely feel stronger this year. I got a lot stronger over the summer and I wasn’t satisfied with my wrestling. Now I’ve just got to keep working.”

Yorkville’s Luke Chrisse took third place, Edwardsville’s Roman Janek was fourth, St. Charles East’s Cooper Murray placed fifth and Crystal Lake Central’s Tommy McNeill finished sixth at 215.

285: Jonathan Rulo, Belleville East
If you’re chasing the dream of a state title, you’re downright hungry to wrestle the best competition possible towards getting ready for the state finals in Champaign. It helps when your head coach is putting you in exactly that position.
Belleville East coach Rashad Riley is doing just that for the Lancers.

“We have traveled north every weekend in December knowing that’s where not just (Rulo) but our entire team is going to get the best competition,” Riley said. “So far (Rulo) has passed every test but we all know the test he’s yet to pass, and that’s the state tournament. It’s time to get over that hump and prove he’s the best heavyweight in Illinois regardless of class.”
Rulo (15-0) aced his most recent test and won a Dvorak Outstanding Wrestler Award in the process. The Lancers’ junior – ranked No. 1 in 3A – won by fall at 0:48 on a Dvorak title mat against No. 2 William Cole (21-2) of Round Lake. Rulo has placed second and third downstate, and Cole placed fourth.

Rulo’s four pins and a major decision helped earn him Sunday’s OWA.
“(Rulo) is having a great season so far and he’s just looking for quality matches,” Riley said. “We know all the top heavyweights are up north.”
St. Charles East’s Matt Medina placed third, IC Prep’s Anthony Sebastian took fourth, Edwardsville’s Riley Ste was fifth and Lincoln-Way East’s Ryan Stingly finished sixth at 285.

Team scores:
IC Catholic Prep 204.5, St. Charles East 202, Montini 188.5, Yorkville 182.5, Edwardsville 161.5, Hononegah 158, Marian Central Catholic 151, Hersey 150.5, Lincoln-Way East 126, Glenbard North 124, Providence Catholic 121.5, Lockport 118, Belleville East 107, Normal Community 101, Marshfield, WI 99.5, Huntley 99, Crystal Lake Central 96.5, Joliet West 93, Wheaton North 92, Moline 77.5, Notre Dame 76, Lincoln-Way Central 75.5, Wauconda 74.5, Schaumburg 70, Fremd 66, Milton, WI 65.5, Loyola Academy 63.5, McHenry 59.5, Plainfield North 59, St. Rita 55.5, Libertyville 52.5, Bolingbrook 50.5, Grayslake Central 46.5, Conant 46.5, Plainfield South 44, Round Lake 43, Freeport 33, Harlem 30, Belvidere North 25, Prairie Ridge 24, Vernon Hills 19.5, Dakota 19, Proviso West 0

Al Dvorak Invitational results:
106

1st: Vince DeMarco (Grayslake C) 19-1, d. Michael McNamara (Edwardsville) 17-2,  (D 7-3)

3rd: Ray Long (Notre Dame) 23-3, d. Jackson Soney (Normal C) 14-4,  (D 14-7)

5th: Vannak Khiev (Glenbard N) 18-3, d. Maddox Garbis (Plainfield N) 10-0,  (M. For.)

113

1st: Caden Correll (Normal C) 19-0, .d. Allen Woo (Montini) 17-3,  (D 7-3)

3rd: Colin Abordo (Huntley) 24-5, d. Jackson Marlett (CL Central) 22-4,  (D 1-0)

5th: Anthony Sutton (Lockport) 15-5, d. Austin Hagevold (Marian) 13-2,  (M. For.)

120

1st: Dom Munaretto (SC East) 19-0, d. Brayden Teunissen (Marian) 7-1,  (MD 11-3)

3rd: Mikey Malizzio (Montini) 14-4, d. Anthony Orozco (Hersey) 12-3,  (D 7-1)

5th: Jackson Olson (Hononegah) 20-3, d. Brady Phelps (Schaumburg) 17-1,  (M. For.)

126

1st: Rocco Cassioppi (Hononegah) 16-2, d. Josh Vazquez (Montini) 11-4,  (MD 10-2)

3rd: Kalani Khiev (Glenbard N) 22-1, d. John Sheehy (Notre Dame) 21-3,  (MD 13-4)

5th: Cole Gentsch (Normal C) 20-2, d. Riddick Variano (Hersey) 17-7,  (MD 15-3)

132

1st: Deven Casey (IC Prep) 20-2, d. Liam Zimmerman (Lockport) 17-3,  (TF-1.5 3:38 (18-3))

3rd: Tommy Banas (Providence) 11-4, d. Elijah Garza (Hersey) 16-5,  (D 14-9)

5th: Devin Bobzien (Milton WI) 15-2, d. Jeremy Huf (Montini) 11-5,  (D 7-0)

138

1st: TJ Silva (Hononegah) 17-2, d. Kam Luif (Montini) 15-1,  (F 1:25)

3rd: Tyson Zvonar (LW East) 16-2, d. Ryan Richie (Edwardsville) 17-3,  (D 12-6)

5th: Gavin Woodmancy (SC East) 14-4, d. Jacob Alvarez (IC Prep) 11-7,  (D 11-7)

144

1st: Evan Gosz (Fremd) 27-2, d. Maksim Mukhamedaliyev (Hersey) 17-4,  (D 5-3)

3rd: Aidan Arnett (IC Prep) 16-5, d. Callen Kirchner (Schaumburg) 22-3,  (F 4:00)

5th: Gage Gross (Milton WI) 17-2, d. Kaidge Richardson (LW East) 15-4,  (F 1:47)

150

1st: Justus Heeg (Providence) 16-2, d. Carson Weber (Joliet W) 19-4,  (D 7-2)

3rd: Vance Williams (Marian) 10-2, d. Donovan Rosauer (Yorkville) 15-2,  (F 2:32)

5th: Ryan Rosch (Wheaton N) 12-2, d. Treshon Williams (Glenbard N) 13-4,  (D 4-1)

157

1st: Jack Ferguson (Yorkville) 18-0, d. Radic Dvorak (Huntley) 23-3,  (F 2:52)

3rd: Carter Mayes (Normal C) 18-2, d. Luke Grindstaff (Plainfield N) 18-3,  (D 5-3)

5th: Thomas Fulton (Wheaton N) 18-4, d. Jaedon Calderon (Lockport) 12-4,  (F 1:04)

165

1st: Anthony Gutierrez (SC East) 17-2, d. Santino Tenuta (Montini) 14-1,  (D 5-0)

3rd: Tommy McDermott (Bolingbrook) 16-3, d. terence willis (Belleville E) 14-3,  (F 0:34)

5th: Lucas Nance (Fremd) 22-5, d. Caleb Viscogliosi (Yorkville) 17-4,  (MD 13-5)

175

1st: Caleb Dennee (Marshfield) 17-0, d. Brody Kelly (IC Prep) 17-3,  (D 9-5)

3rd: Luke Zook (Yorkville) 18-1, d. Connor Diemel (Hononegah) 17-4,  (MD 9-1)

5th: Ilia Dvoriannikov (Vernon Hills) 19-3, d. Jackson Zaeske (LW East) 19-5,  (D 6-2)

190

1st: Jimmy Mastny (Marian) 20-1, d. Cayden Parks (CL Central) 23-1,  (TF-1.5 3:42 (17-2))

3rd: Mike Merevick (Wauconda) 23-7, d. Kurt Smith (Hononegah) 16-3,  (D 5-4)

5th: Ryder Janeczko (Yorkville) 17-2, d. Isaac Barrientos (IC Prep) 11-6,  (F 0:44)

215

1st: Kai Calcutt (Wilmette (Loyola)) 9-0, d. Foley Calcagno (IC Prep) 16-4,  (TF-1.5 3:28 (23-5))

3rd: Luke Chrisse (Yorkville) 18-2, .d. Roman Janek (Edwardsville) 15-3,  (MD 14-2)

5th: Cooper Murray (SC East) 13-5, d. Tommy McNeil (CL Central) 23-4,  (D 7-5)

285

1st: Jonathan Rulo (Belleville E) 15-0, d. William Cole (Round Lake) 21-2,  (F 0:48)

3rd: Matt Medina (SC East) 10-4, d. Anthony Sebastian (IC Prep) 11-4,  (F 4:09)

5th: Riley Ste (Edwardsville) 16-4, d. Ryan Stingly (LW East) 10-4,  (F 2:45)

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

Richwoods captures championship at Metamora Holiday Classic

Richwoods had three champions and four second-place finishers to help it win the title of the 14-team Metamora Holiday Classic with 221 points, which was 48 points ahead of runner-up Byron, who claimed second place with 173 points. Galesburg (145), Peoria Notre Dame (139) and the host Redbirds (134.5) rounded out the top five teams in the competition.

1 – Richwoods

Leading the way for coach Rod Boyer’s champion Knights were title winners Wensley Rahn (106), Gabe Robb (138) and Gabe Martinez (175) while Tyler Wieland (126), Colton Boyer (132) Rikyis Doss (144) and Shaun Anderson (285) all took second place. Finishing third were Nathan Ortiz (120), Christopher Harris (150) and Michael Kimbrough (190) while Benjamin Owen (113) and Phoenix Wombacher (165) both took fifth place.

2 – Byron 

Top performers for coach Mike Elsbury’s runner-up Tigers were champions Jackson Norris (120), Will Julian (157) and Jared Claunch (285) while Brody Stien (165) and Jarett Ross (215) placed second, Finishing fourth were Hunter King (132), Dylan Dach (138) and Issac Alvarez (175) while Aiden Salo (106) and Cael O’Horo (150) took sixth place.

3 – Galesburg

Coach Greg Leibach’s third-place Silver Streaks got a title win from Anthony Makwala (165) while Josiah Carter (150) and Don Patrick (157) took second place. Finishing third were 

Orlando Castellano (138) and Caleb Johnson (144) while LaVant Ritenour (215) and Larry Randolph (285) placed fourth and Landon Darst (120) and Mason Taylor (175) took fifth.

Peoria Notre Dame had four champions, Josh Stedwill (113), Remi Joesting (126), Ian Akers (132) and Joe Culp (215) while host Metamora had two title winners, Connor Graham (144) and Grady Neal (150). The other champion was Pontiac’s Jackson Crawford (190).

Eureka had three second-place finishers, Conner Knapp (106), Henry Watson (120) and Finn Hoffman (138) while St. Joseph-Ogden’s Jackson Walsh (113), Peoria High’s Sargent Maubach (175) and Ottawa Township’s Wes Weatherford (190) also claimed second place

There was a seven-way tie for the most team points with 25 between Akers, Claunch, Culp, Julian, Makwala, Neal and Norris while Graham, Martinez, Robb and Stedwill had 24.5 points.

Saint Thomas More’s Philip Christiff and Peoria High’s Jshawn Wilson tied for the most total match points with 59 and St. Joseph-Ogden’s Aiden Hundley was the only individual who was able to record four falls.

Metamora Holiday Classic place matches

106

1st Place Match

Wensley Rahn (Richwoods) 11-1, So. over Conner Knapp (Eureka) 9-6, Fr. (Fall 0:55)

3rd Place Match

Ben Wells (St. Joseph-Ogden) 12-3, Fr. over RJ Cinnamon (Saint Thomas More) 6-4, Fr. (TF-1.5 0:00 (19-2))

5th Place Match

Camden Gangloff (Metamora) 6-9, Fr. over Aiden Salo (Byron) 2-3, Fr. (Inj. 0:00)

113

1st Place Match (round robin)

Josh Stedwill (Peoria Notre Dame) 17-6, So. over Jackson Walsh (St. Joseph-Ogden) 13-4, Sr. (Dec 8-2)

3rd Place Match (round robin)

Brendan Foster (Metamora) 7-9, Fr. over Jude Fosdick (Metamora) 6-5, Fr. (Fall 4:59)

5th Place Match (round robin)

Benjamin Owen (Richwoods) 6-8, So. over Joesph Dixon (Manual) 3-12, So. (Fall 4:09)

120

1st Place Match

Jackson Norris (Byron) 4-0, Sr. over Henry Watson (Eureka) 13-7, So. (Dec 10-4)

3rd Place Match

Nathan Ortiz (Richwoods) 10-4, Fr. over Camden Getty (St. Joseph-Ogden) 8-5, Jr. (TF-1.5 0:00 (22-7))

5th Place Match

Landon Darst (Galesburg) 8-7, Fr. over Freddie Couri (Peoria Notre Dame) 8-5, So. (Dec 15-9)

126

1st Place Match (round robin)

Remi Joesting (Peoria Notre Dame) 17-5, Jr. over Tyler Wieland (Richwoods) 6-2, Sr. (Fall 2:34)

3rd Place Match (round robin)

Kade Schieber (Metamora) 3-11, Fr. over Gabe Cortez (Ottawa Township) 1-3, Jr. (Fall 1:55)

132

1st Place Match

Ian Akers (Peoria Notre Dame) 21-0, Sr. over Colton Boyer (Richwoods) 13-2, Sr. (TF-1.5 0:00 (16-0))

3rd Place Match

Noah Davis (Pontiac) 15-9, So. over Hunter King (Byron) 4-3, So. (Fall 5:26)

5th Place Match

Brady Rickey (ROWVA) 7-8, So. over Jshawn Wilson (Peoria High) 3-3, Fr. (MD 16-8)

138

1st Place Match

Gabe Robb (Richwoods) 9-2, Jr. over Finn Hoffman (Eureka) 16-4, Fr. (Dec 13-10)

3rd Place Match

Orlando Castellano (Galesburg) 11-5, So. over Dylan Dach (Byron) 6-3, Fr. (MD 25-15)

5th Place Match

Aiden Hundley (St. Joseph-Ogden) 8-9, So. over Jack Bartoletta (Peoria Notre Dame) 7-13, Jr. (Fall 3:12)

144

1st Place Match

Connor Graham (Metamora) 18-3, Jr. over Rikyis Doss (Richwoods) 12-2, Sr. (Dec 15-11)

3rd Place Match

Caleb Johnson (Galesburg) 8-4, Sr. over Chris Walker (Peoria High) 3-2, Sr. (Fall 5:32)

5th Place Match

Landen Butts (St. Joseph-Ogden) 9-6, Sr. over Gavin Allis (Eureka) 7-8, Jr. (Fall 4:54)

150

1st Place Match

Grady Neal (Metamora) 16-2, So. over Josiah Carter (Galesburg) 11-5, Sr. (Dec 11-4)

3rd Place Match

Christopher Harris (Richwoods) 12-3, Sr. over Brayden Quas (Pontiac) 9-7, Fr. (Fall 0:55)

5th Place Match

Nathan Daly (St. Joseph-Ogden) 7-2, Jr. over Cael O`Horo (Byron) 5-3, So. (Fall 1:03)

157

1st Place Match

Will Julian (Byron) 6-0, So. over Don Patrick (Galesburg) 7-5, Sr. (Fall 1:28)

3rd Place Match

Lucas Maier (Pontiac) 14-4, Fr. over Sam Hoffman (Eureka) 16-7, Jr. (Fall 2:40)

5th Place Match

Saul Swanson (Metamora) 11-8, So. over John Couri (Peoria Notre Dame) 13-11, Sr. (MD 17-5)

165

1st Place Match

Anthony Makwala (Galesburg) 12-2, Jr. over Brody Stien (Byron) 4-2, So. (MD 14-3)

3rd Place Match

Philip Christhilf (Saint Thomas More) 14-1, Sr. over Mark Aeschliman (Metamora) 11-10, Fr. (Dec 16-11)

5th Place Match

Phoenix Wombacher (Richwoods) 9-6, Sr. over Jason Crawford (Peoria High) 2-3, Sr. (Fall 3:45)

175

1st Place Match

Gabe Martinez (Richwoods) 14-0, Sr. over Sargent Maubach (Peoria High) 2-1, Sr. (Dec 8-5)

3rd Place Match

Owen Kearfott (Ottawa Township) 9-6, Sr. over Issac Alvarez (Byron) 4-2, Jr. (Fall 1:23)

5th Place Match

Mason Taylor (Galesburg) 12-6, Jr. over Ian Tyler (Metamora) 4-6, Jr. (Fall 0:27)

190

1st Place Match

Jackson Crawford (Pontiac) 5-5, Sr. over Wes Weatherford (Ottawa Township) 14-6, So. (Fall 3:40)

3rd Place Match

Michael Kimbrough (Richwoods) 9-2, So. over Bobby Stickelmaier (Peoria Notre Dame) 4-8, Sr. (Dec 9-2)

5th Place Match

Ashton Helberg (Eureka) 10-10, Fr. over Chaz Bowlin (St. Joseph-Ogden) 1-5, Sr. (TF-1.5 0:00 (16-0))

215

1st Place Match

Joe Culp (Peoria Notre Dame) 17-3, Sr. over Jarett Ross (Byron) 4-1, Sr. (MD 13-2)

3rd Place Match

Nathan Phillips (St. Joseph-Ogden) 12-5, Sr. over LaVant Ritenour (Galesburg) 7-7, Jr. (Fall 2:32)

5th Place Match

Brennan Tabor (Metamora) 6-12, Sr. over Aubreyanun Bailey (Manual) 9-8, Sr. (For.)

285

1st Place Match

Jared Claunch (Byron) 5-1, Sr. over Shaun Anderson (Richwoods) 8-3, Sr. (Fall 3:37)

3rd Place Match

James Schmidt (Saint Thomas More) 15-2, Sr. over Larry Randolph (Galesburg) 13-3, Sr. (TF-1.5 0:00 (16-0))

5th Place Match

Brady Mullens (Peoria Notre Dame) 15-9, Sr. over Alvaro Meza (Metamora) 10-10, Sr. (Dec 2-0)

Team scores

1. Richwoods 221, 2. Byron 173, 3. Galesburg 145, 4. Peoria Notre Dame 139, 5. Metamora 134.5, 6. St. Joseph-Ogden 116.5, 7. Eureka 91.5, 8. Pontiac 76.5, 9. Peoria High 52, 10. Saint Thomas More 46.5, 11. Ottawa Township 45.5, 12. ROWVA 16.5, 13. Manual 11.

El Paso-Gridley prevails in three-way battle at Clinton Holiday Tournament

There were only six points separating the top three teams at the Clinton Holiday Tournament and when the drama ended, El Paso-Gridley edged Westville/Georgetown-Ridge Farm co-op 236.5-232 for the title while the host Maroons had 230.5 points to claim third in their 15-team competition. Clifton Central/Iroquois West co-op (182.5) finished in fourth place and Warrensburg-Latham/Maroa-Forsyth co-op (174) took fifth place.

1 – El Paso-Gridley

Leading the way for coach Caden Tjarks’ first-place Titans were champions Kole Petta (106), Tom Erwin (113) and Ryden Barker (215) while Dominic Ricconi (190) and Christopher Blackmore (285) both placed third. Ben Graham (126) and Parker Key (144) took fourth place while Nolan Whitman (138) and Jude Roth (150) finished fifth and Christian Clark (150) and Bryson Foster (165) both claimed sixth place. 

2 – Westville/Georgetown-Ridge Farm

Coach Austin Hedrick’s runner-up Tigers had four champions, Gabriel Kiddoo (150), Logan Mahaffey (157), Ethan Miller (190) and Josiah Sedlacek (285) while Vance Johnson (132) took second, Ty McMasters (138) was third, Bleighten Irelan (215) finished fourth, Liam Hughes (144) placed fifth and Justin Nose (175) captured sixth place.

3 – Clinton

The host Maroons, who are coached by Matt Cooper, had one champion, Logan Thoms (165) while Briley Carter (113), Kristan Hibbard (190) and Dawson Thayer (285) all placed second. Taking third place were Cayden Bostic (106) and Brayden Dalton (126) while RJ Stamp (150), Jacob Hubble (157) and Oliver Reed (175) finished fourth and Van Angel (215) was fifth. 

Others title winners were Warrensburg-Latham’s Logan Roberts (120) and Kaden Roberts (132), University High’s Ruben Rivera (126), MacArthur’s Brenden Turnbo (138), Farmington’s Bradlee Ellis (144) and Heyworth’s Brody Simons (175).

Clifton Central had four second-place finishers, Owen Robinson (126), Evan Cox (144), Giona Panozzo (150) and Brody O’Connor (215) while Rantoul had two individuals who placed second, Darius Williams (157) and Brandon Almanza (165). Also finishing in second place were MacArthur’s Jamarius Meyrick (106), University High’s Joshua Butler (120), Farmington’s Chase Frye (138) and Lincoln’s Soren Aukamp (175). 

There was a four-way tie for the most team points with 36 between Barker, Ellis, Erwin and Simons. Kiddoo and Mahaffey were right behind them with 35.5 points, Petta and Rivera tied with 35 team points, Thoms collected 34 points and Kaden Roberts had 33.5 team points. 

University High’s Ruben Rivera edged Clinton’s Briley Carter 69-68 for the most total match points and Farmington’s Bradlee Ellis had the most pins in the least time with five in 3:47.

Clinton Holiday Tournament place matches

106

1st Place Match

Kole Petta (El Paso-Gridley) 13-3, Fr. over Jamarius Meyrick (MacArthur) 15-5, Sr. (Fall 1:35)

3rd Place Match

Cayden Bostic (Clinton) 10-3, Fr. over Jayce McMillon (Taylorville) 13-10, Fr. (TF-1.5 4:27 (19-4))

5th Place Match

Landon Nieslawski (Heyworth) 6-6, So. over Jayden Schmider (Farmington) 9-11, Fr. (Fall 1:44)

7th Place Match

Wiatt Coady (Taylorville) 0-4, Fr. (Bye)

113

1st Place Match

Tom Erwin (El Paso-Gridley) 18-0, Fr. over Briley Carter (Clinton) 11-2, So. (Fall 5:26)

3rd Place Match

Taygan Gossard (Warrensburg-Latham) 13-4, Jr. over Parker Zerfass (Farmington) 11-9, So. (MD 15-6)

5th Place Match

Emmett Roeder (Heyworth) 15-11, Fr. over Owen Thomas (Lincoln) 4-8, Jr. (Fall 0:54)

7th Place Match

Matthew Salas (Clifton Central) 8-10, Jr. over Ariana Humes (Clinton) 0-5, Sr. (Fall 3:20)

120

1st Place Match (round robin)

Logan Roberts (Warrensburg-Latham) 15-1, Sr. over Joshua Butler (University High) 13-6, Sr. (Dec 7-0)

3rd Place Match (round robin)

Beau Williams (Clifton Central) 9-8, So. over Tristan Green (MacArthur) 4-10, So. (Fall 1:20)

5th Place

Zack Eckhardt (Lincoln) 3-7, So.

126

1st Place Match (round robin)

Ruben Rivera (University High) 23-3, Jr. over Owen Robinson (Clifton Central) 12-6, Fr. (TF-1.5 2:26 (20-3))

3rd Place Match (round robin)

Brayden Dalton (Clinton) 8-6, Fr. over Ben Graham (El Paso-Gridley) 11-7, Fr. (Fall 3:56)

5th and 6th Place

Miles Dennis (Metro-East Lutheran) 8-2, Jr. and Jordan Jones (Farmington) 16-8, Fr.

7th and 8th Place

Blaise Rogers (Taylorville) 12-10, So. and James Brewer (Lincoln) 6-5, Sr.

132

1st Place Match

Kaden Roberts (Warrensburg-Latham) 13-1, Sr. over Vance Johnson (Westville) 15-7, So. (Fall 4:37)

3rd Place Match

Garritt Benstine (Streator Township) 8-5, Jr. over Landon Christner (Ridgeview/Lexington) 3-6, Jr. (Dec 17-10)

5th Place Match

Tanilyn Reed (MacArthur) 13-8 over Lincoln Coffey (Taylorville) 10-14, So. (UTB 10-9)

7th Place Match

Braydence Pettyjohn (MacArthur) 5-8, So. over Colin Martinez (El Paso-Gridley) 4-12, Fr. (Fall 0:32)

138

1st Place Match (round robin)

Brenden Turnbo (MacArthur) 14-5, Sr. over Chase Frye (Farmington) 13-5, Fr. (MD 19-10)

3rd Place Match (round robin)

Ty McMasters (Westville) 7-4, Jr. over John Randles (Clifton Central) 8-7, Jr. (M. For.

5th and 6th Place

Nolan Whitman (El Paso-Gridley) 8-9, Jr. and Francisco Lopez Banderas (Warrensburg-Latham) 10-8, So.

7th and 8th Place

Riley Simpson (Lincoln) 7-6, Jr. and Cyrus Fisher (University High) 6-12, Fr.

144

1st Place Match

Bradlee Ellis (Farmington) 17-1, Jr. over Evan Cox (Clifton Central) 17-2, Jr. (Fall 0:20)

3rd Place Match

Hayden Washum (University High) 17-6, So. over Parker Key (El Paso-Gridley) 14-4, Sr. (Fall 2:28)

5th Place Match

Liam Hughes (Westville) 7-4, Fr. over Trevor Soice (Heyworth) 11-6, Jr. (M. For.)

7th Place Match

Carter Bostic (Clinton) 8-6, So. over Preston Bessonette (Warrensburg-Latham) 10-8, Fr. (MD 10-2)

150

1st Place Match

Gabriel Kiddoo (Westville) 13-2, Sr. over Giona Panozzo (Clifton Central) 16-3, Jr. (TF-1.5 5:20 (21-5))

3rd Place Match

Joshua Caraballo (University High) 19-8, Sr. over RJ Stamp (Clinton) 2-2, Jr. (TF-1.5 3:37 (19-4))

5th Place Match

Jude Roth (El Paso-Gridley) 8-9, So. over Christian Clark (El Paso-Gridley) 6-5, Fr. (Fall 1:17)

7th Place Match

Wyatt Buck (Rantoul) 7-5, Sr. over Levi Allison (Lincoln) 8-7, Jr. (Dec 13-7)

157

1st Place Match

Logan Mahaffey (Westville) 13-4, Sr. over Darius Williams (Rantoul) 7-2, Sr. (TF-1.5 1:27 (20-5))

3rd Place Match

Carter Brooks (Heyworth) 7-3, Jr. over Jacob Hubble (Clinton) 4-7, Sr. (Fall 4:20)

5th Place Match

Hunter Bockelman (Heyworth) 15-9, Sr. over Isaiah Cook (Warrensburg-Latham) 6-7, Fr. (Inj. 1:18)

7th Place Match

Gavin Eales (Lincoln) 6-2, Jr. over Noah Lambert (University High) 7-5, Jr. (Fall 1:45)

165

1st Place Match

Logan Thoms (Clinton) 11-2, Sr. over Brandon Almanza (Rantoul) 7-9, Jr. (Fall 5:07)

3rd Place Match

Tristian Stamp (Heyworth) 15-9, Fr. over Dillon Durbin (Farmington) 7-3, So. (Fall 1:12)

5th Place Match

Jarod Krigbaum (Warrensburg-Latham) 9-6, Jr. over Bryson Foster (El Paso-Gridley) 5-6, So. (Fall 3:57)

7th Place Match

Ethan Rusher (Taylorville) 18-10, Sr. over Blake Edge (Ridgeview/Lexington) 4-5, So. (Dec 15-9)

175

1st Place Match (round robin)

Brody Simons (Heyworth) 17-8, Fr. over Soren Aukamp (Lincoln) 9-1, Sr. (Fall 3:55)

3rd Place Match (round robin)

Cooper Moyer (Clifton Central) 11-9, Sr. over Oliver Reed (Clinton) 4-6, So. (Fall 3:25)

5th and 6th Place

Shane Johnson (Warrensburg-Latham) 12-7, Sr. and Justin Nose (Westville) 13-6, Jr.

7th and 8th Place

Ryan Kerr (El Paso-Gridley) 8-10, So. and Alex Mager (Rantoul) 7-11, Fr.

190

1st Place Match (round robin)

Ethan Miller (Westville) 13-0, Jr. over Kristan Hibbard (Clinton) 12-2, Sr. (MD 12-3)

3rd Place Match (round robin)

Dominic Ricconi (El Paso-Gridley) 7-4, Sr. over Charlie Karun (University High) 17-11, Sr. (TF-1.5 6:00 (19-4))

5th and 6th Place

Jarrod Fulcher (Heyworth) 13-5, So. and Devin Thompson (Streator Township) 8-6, Sr.

7th and 8th Place 

Julian Martinez (Clifton Central) 9-10, Sr. and Dray Neal (Lincoln) 7-5, So.

215

1st Place Match

Ryden Barker (El Paso-Gridley) 16-1, Sr. over Brody O`Connor (Clifton Central) 14-4, Jr. (Fall 2:35)

3rd Place Match

Drew Owen (Rantoul) 10-8, Sr. over Bleighten Irelan (Westville) 6-5, Jr. (Dec 6-2)

5th Place Match

Van Angel (Clinton) 9-7, So. over Tanner Jacobs (Warrensburg-Latham) 7-10, Jr. (Fall 1:46)

7th Place Match

Aidan Hager (University High) 5-17, So. over Dave Advincula (Clinton) 2-7, So. (M. For.)

285

1st Place Match (round robin)

Josiah Sedlacek (Westville) 13-3, Sr. over Dawson Thayer (Clinton) 4-0, Sr. (M. For.)

3rd Place Match (round robin)

Christopher Blackmore (El Paso-Gridley) 12-5, Sr. over Josh McCurry (Clifton Central) 10-9, So. (Fall 3:03)

5th and 6th Place 

Aiden Ferris (Streator Township) 12-3, Jr, and Jack Kerley (Warrensburg-Latham) 14-6, Jr.

7th and 8th Place 

Loni Bektososki (Heyworth) 5-12, So. and Ben Buis (El Paso-Gridley), 2-4, So.

Team scores

1. El Paso-Gridley 236.5, 2. Westville/Georgetown-Ridge Farm co-op 232, 3. Clinton 230.5, 4. Clifton Central/Iroquois West co-op 182.5, 5. Warrensburg-Latham/Maroa-Forsyth co-op 174, 6. Heyworth 153.5, 7. University High 143.5, 8. Farmington/Cuba co-op 123.5, 9. MacArthur 97, 10. Rantoul 81, 11. Lincoln 78, 12. Taylorville 54.5, 13. Streator Township/Woodland co-op 52.5, 14. Metro-East Lutheran 28, 15. Ridgeview/Lexington co-op 26.

Glenwood claims top honors at Springfield Joe Bee Memorial

Glenwood had three champions and three second-place finishers to help it capture the title of Springfield’s Joe Bee Memorial with 239 points while PORTA took second with 197.5 points. Glenbard South (131), Normal West (115) and Pekin (111.5) rounded out the top five in the 21-team competition, which took place at Lanphier.

The tournament is named in honor of Joe Bee, a two-time medalist for Springfield High who also competed for Eastern Illinois University’s wrestling team. He died in a tragic drowning accident in 1996 at the age of 21 along with his Panthers teammate Tim Fix, who was from Plainfield.

1 – Glenwood

Winning titles for coach Jerod Bruner’s champion Titans were Tyler Clarke (126), Elijah Smith (175) and Max Wiezorek (190) while Larson Nestar (150), Maizon Milestone (165) and Cody Moss (285) finished in second place. Cooper Clarke (106) and Mason Streb (215) were third, 

Jullian Rammelkamp (157) finished fourth, AJ Williams (132) placed fifth and Jake Tuxhorn (120) and John Vallar (138) took sixth place.

2 – PORTA

Leading the way for PORTA’s Bluejays, whose coach is 2011 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Jeff Hill, the IHSA’s all-time leader in dual meet wins, were title winners Mike Minor (144), Logan Baker (150) and Justin Zimmerman (157) while Coyt Rademaker (106), Kainin Fillbright (113) and Zach Bryant (132) took second place. Dane Jiannoni (190) captured third place, Ryan McCoy (120) finished fourth and Max King (126) claimed fifth place.

3 – Glenbard South

Top performers for coach Kenny Paoli’s third-place Raiders were champion Danny Langer (215) and second-place finishers Jordan Quaid-Bowman (126) and Jin Tai (144). Logan Price (165) took third place, Diego Myers (138) finished fifth and Logan Murphy (113) claimed sixth place.

Other champions were Cahokia’s Nathan Fisher (106) and Kindall Williams (165), Unity Christian’s Garrett VerHeecke (132) and Clinton VerHeecke (138), Normal West’s Dylan McGrew (113), Pekin’s Lincoln Hawkins (120) and East Peoria’s Jose Del Toro (285).

Additional second-place finishers were Macomb’s Ethan Hoyt (120), Granite City’s Braxton Tolley (138), Normal West’s Logan Alvarez (157), Springfield High’s Keyshaun Harris (175),

Southeast’s Chris Hull (190) and Centennial’s Moses Kim (215).

There was a four-way tie for the most team points with 30 between Clinton VerHeecke, Langner, Minor and Williams while Wiezorek was next with 29.5 points. Clarke and Zimmerman each had 28 team points while Garrett VerHeecke, Baker and Smith were next-best with 27 points.

There was a tie for total match points of 71 between Auburn’s Cade Venrick and Glenwwood’s AJ Williams. Mahomet-Seymour’s Hayden Hart was the lone individual in the field with five falls.

Springfield Joe Bee Memorial place matches

106

1st Place Match

Nathan Fisher (Cahokia) 10-3, So. over Coyt Rademaker (PORTA) 15-3, Fr. (Fall 3:30)

3rd Place Match

Cooper Clarke (Glenwood) 14-7, Fr. over Donovan Lowery (Normal West) 11-9, So. (Fall 4:22)

5th Place Match

Zachary Cooley (Granite City) 2-2, So. over Zander Johnson (Granite City) 7-11, Fr. (Dec 6-4)

113

1st Place Match

Dylan McGrew (Normal West) 14-4, Sr. over Kainin Fillbright (PORTA) 16-3, Fr. (MD 17-7)

3rd Place Match

Kayne Hayes (Pekin) 8-4, Jr. over Dashun Caldwell (Granite City) 4-7, Jr. (Fall 4:43)

5th Place Match

Billy Green (Granite City) 5-4, Fr. over Logan Murphy (Glenbard South) 3-4, So. (TF-1.5 3:24 (15-0))

120

1st Place Match

Lincoln Hawkins (Pekin) 9-3, Fr. over Ethan Hoyt (Macomb) 11-3, Jr. (Dec 3-0)

3rd Place Match

Jace Brown (Granite City) 11-5, So. over Ryan McCoy (PORTA) 10-7, Fr. (MD 18-5)

5th Place Match

Austin Herron (LaSalle-Peru) 10-6, Jr. over Jake Tuxhorn (Glenwood) 6-12, Fr. (Fall 1:23)

126

1st Place Match

Tyler Clarke (Glenwood) 15-6, Sr. over Jordan Quaid-Bowman (Glenbard South) 6-3, Jr. (Fall 1:55)

3rd Place Match

Harrison Lott (Riverton) 6-3, So. over Griffen McGrew (Normal West) 10-11, So. (Fall 2:57)

5th Place Match

Max King (PORTA) 10-7, Fr. over Dalton Davis (Pekin) 3-2, Sr. (Fall 0:58)

132

1st Place Match

Garrett VerHeecke (Unity Christian) 16-1, Jr. over Zach Bryant (PORTA) 16-3, Jr. (TF-1.5 0:00 (15-0))

3rd Place Match

Abram Rader (Normal West) 14-7, Sr. over Drayven Hamm (Auburn) 9-6, Jr. (TF-1.5 4:42 (16-1))

5th Place Match

AJ Williams (Glenwood) 13-9, Jr. over Adrian Mendez (Granite City) 11-8, Fr. (TF-1.5 5:42 (21-5))

138

1st Place Match

Clinton VerHeecke (Unity Christian) 16-0, Jr. over Braxton Tolley (Granite City) 12-5, So. (Fall 2:16)

3rd Place Match

Reegan Kellett (LaSalle-Peru) 14-4, Sr. over Trey Boston (Auburn) 9-5, Fr. (Fall 5:29)

5th Place Match

Diego Myers (Glenbard South) 9-8, Sr. over John Vallar (Glenwood) 13-8, Jr. (Fall 1:21)

144

1st Place Match

Mike Minor (PORTA) 8-0, Sr. over Jin Tai (Glenbard South) 12-3, Jr. (Dec 11-8)

3rd Place Match

Nehemie Mbangi (Centennial) 11-3, Jr. over Jaxxon Long (Normal West) 16-5, Sr. (Dec 9-3)

5th Place Match

Aydyn Artman (Pekin) 5-1, Sr. over Cade Venrick (Auburn) 12-4, Sr. (NC)

150

1st Place Match

Logan Baker (PORTA) 17-3, Jr. over Larson Nestar (Glenwood) 10-6, Sr. (M. For.)

3rd Place Match

Bryce Bryant (Springfield High) 12-8, So. over Anthony Steskal (Lanphier) 2-2, Jr. (For.)

5th Place Match

Caleb Plut (LaSalle-Peru) 11-3, So. over Caleb Berg (Unity Christian) 13-6, So. (Fall 2:43)

157

1st Place Match

Justin Zimmerman (PORTA) 18-0, Jr. over Logan Alvarez (Normal West) 13-8, Sr. (TF-1.5 4:20 (17-0))

3rd Place Match

Cohen Green (Macomb) 12-5, Sr. over Jullian Rammelkamp (Glenwood) 17-9, So. (Fall 3:01)

5th Place Match

Lucas Gosch (Pekin) 10-4, Jr. over Zachary Pocivasek (LaSalle-Peru) 10-7, Sr. (TF-1.5 2:07 (21-5))

165

1st Place Match

Kindall Williams (Cahokia) 8-3, Sr. over Maizon Milestone (Glenwood) 15-7, Sr. (Fall 2:40)

3rd Place Match

Logan Price (Glenbard South) 10-4, Sr. over Atsard Aplogan (Macomb) 16-6, Sr. (Fall 2:56)

5th Place Match

Chris Dill (Mahomet-Seymour) 3-1, Fr. over Elijah Kolb (Granite City) 7-12, Sr. (Dec 11-4)

175

1st Place Match

Elijah Smith (Glenwood) 18-4, So. over Keyshaun Harris (Springfield High) 6-2, Sr. (Fall 3:02)

3rd Place Match

Eli Miller (Granite City) 12-5, Fr. over Maliki Fitch (Auburn) 13-4, Sr. (Fall 1:30)

5th Place Match

Jaylen Crowder (Lanphier) 2-1 over Alexander Waller (Pekin) 8-5, Fr. (TF-1.5 4:50 (18-3))

190

1st Place Match

Max Wiezorek (Glenwood) 21-2, Sr. over Chris Hull (Southeast) 13-5, Jr. (Fall 2:42)

3rd Place Match

Dane Jiannoni (PORTA) 14-4, Sr. over Martez Williams (Cahokia) 8-3, So. (Fall 3:08)

5th Place Match

Shamar Brownlee (Springfield High) 11-4, Jr. over Gabe Del Toro (East Peoria) 3-2, Fr. (Fall 1:08)

215

1st Place Match

Danny Langner (Glenbard South) 14-4, Sr. over Moses Kim (Centennial) 8-1, Sr. (Fall 1:00)

3rd Place Match

Mason Streb (Glenwood) 14-10, Jr. over Ashton Schwab (Hazelwood West, MO) 6-4, Jr. (Fall 1:51)

5th Place Match

Hayden Hart (Mahomet-Seymour) 5-1, Sr. over Bradyn Haynes (Pekin) 9-6, Fr. (Fall 3:54)

285

Guaranteed Places

1st Place Match

Jose Del Toro (East Peoria) 19-0, Sr. over Cody Moss (Glenwood) 18-4, Jr. (Dec 5-4)

3rd Place Match

Gabriel Casteblanco (Hazelwood West, MO) 9-2, So. over Zeb Johnson (Cardinal Ritter, MO) 13-9, Jr. (Fall 4:58)

5th Place Match

Demarco Clark (Cahokia) 11-2, Sr. over Alex Brown (Macomb) 15-8, Sr. (Fall 1:28)

Team scores

1. Glenwood 239, 2. PORTA/A-C Central/Greenview/Havana co-op 197.5, 3. Glenbard South 131, 4. Normal West 115, 5. Pekin 111.5, 6. Granite City 98.5, 7. Cahokia 87, 8. Unity Christian/Argenta-Oreana co-op 73, 9. Springfield High 71.5, 10. Macomb 66, 11. Auburn/Franklin/New Berlin co-op 63.5, 12. Centennial 59, 13. LaSalle-Peru 57, 14. Lanphier 39.5, 15. East Peoria 36.5, 16. Hazelwood West, MO 36, 17. Mahomet-Seymour 34, 18. Southeast 30, 19. Sacred Heart-Griffin 26, 20. Riverton 22.5, 21. Cardinal Ritter, MO 18.5

• 

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

Unity finishes strong to capture top honors at own invitational

Unity had six champions, one third-place finisher, two fourth-place efforts and a fifth to win the title of its 15-team Unity Invitational in Tolono with 224 points, which was 21.5 points better than runner-up Olympia/Delavan co-op, who had 202.5 points. Ottawa Marquette beat out Rochester 148-143 for third place while Hoopeston Area/Milford co-op finished fifth with 137 points.

1 – Unity

Leading the way for coach Logan Patton’s champion Rockets were title winners Hunter Shike (132), Taylor Finley (138), Kaden Inman (144), Holden Brazelton (150), Abram Davidson (165) and Hunter Eastin (190) while Ryan Rink (175) placed third, Zayden Mansfield (120) and Josh Heath (165) finished fourth and Chason Daly (215) claimed fifth place.

2 – Olympia

Winning titles for coach Josh Collins’ runner-up Spartans were Dylan Eimer (113) and Darian Holloway (285) while Mateo Martinez (126), Cooper Phillips (138), Austin Kisner (144) and Zach Fry (190) took second place. Other medalists for Olympia were Brandon Gaither, who took third at 106, Kaden Collins, who was fourth at 150 and Cohen Maness, who placed sixth at 215.

3 – Ottawa Marquette 

The lone champion for coach Trent Lyons’ third-place Crusaders was Alex Schaefer (215) who took first place at 215. Finishing  in second place were Reily Leifheit (165) and Adrian Schaefer (285) while Koby Clark (120) claimed third and Beau Thompson (132) placed fourth. Brysen Manly (150) and Landyn McEmery (175) took fifth place and Shea Conner (113) was sixth.

Other title winners were Hoopeston Area/Milford co-op’s Charlie Flores (106), Aiden Bell (126) and Angel Zamora (175) and Rochester’s Miles Carroll (120) and James Escobar (157).

Benton had three second-place finishers, Braxton Tittle (113), Cohen Sweely (120) and Tiffin Kouzoukas (157). Also taking second place were Rochester’s Pierce Bultmann (106), Urbana’s Emiliano Bedolla (132), Peotone’s Conor Pasche (150), Tremont’s Bowden Delaney (175 )and Crete-Monee’s Malaki Scott (215).

Alex Schaefer and Holloway led all competitors for the most team points with 30 while Finley was right behind with 29.5 and Brazelton was next-best with 29 team points. Davidson and Shike tied for fifth with 28 points while Eastin had 27.5, Inman finished with 27 points, Zamora had 26 and there was three-way tie between Bell, Carroll and Flores for tenth with 25.5 points.

Rochester’s James Escobar edged Ottawa Marquette’s Reily Leifheit 60-59 for the most total match points. And Ottawa Marquette’s Alex Schaefer had the most falls in the least amount of time with four in 4:26 

Unity Invitational place matches

106

1st Place Match

Charlie Flores (Hoopeston Area) 14-0, Jr. over Pierce Bultmann (Rochester) 13-1, So. (Dec 5-3)

3rd Place Match

Brandon Gaither (Olympia) 16-3, So. over Zane Stanley (Benton) 16-3, Jr. (TF-1.5 4:53 (17-1))

5th Place Match

Isaac Wood (Carterville) 14-5, Fr. over Gracen Elliott (Robinson) 7-4 (Fall 5:01)

113

1st Place Match

Dylan Eimer (Olympia) 12-1, Sr. over Braxton Tittle (Benton) 17-1, So. (Fall 2:50)

3rd Place Match

Nicky Weber (Tremont) 11-6, Fr. over Ramiro Sebastian (Carterville) 10-5, Sr. (Dec 5-2)

5th Place Match

Kameree Ahonto (Crete-Monee) 3-3, Fr. over Shea Conner (Ottawa Marquette) 2-7, So. (Fall 1:10)

120

1st Place Match

Miles Carroll (Rochester) 13-1, So. over Cohen Sweely (Benton) 19-1, So. (TF-1.5 4:56 (18-2))

3rd Place Match

Koby Clark (Ottawa Marquette) 10-3, So. over Zayden Mansfield (Unity) 2-2, Fr. (Dec 9-2)

5th Place Match

Gavin Stoecker (Tremont) 16-6, Fr. over Blake Anderson (Peotone) 14-6, So. (Dec 13-8)

126

1st Place Match

Aiden Bell (Hoopeston Area) 14-1, Jr. over Mateo Martinez (Olympia) 16-10, Sr. (TF-1.5 5:18 (20-3))

3rd Place Match

Brawnsen Bloodworth (Carterville) 11-4, Sr. over Jordan Kirkpatrick (Crete-Monee) 2-8, Jr. (Fall 1:10)

5th Place Match

Jacob Booher (Robinson) 6-6 over Brendon Jones (Benton) 1-2 (Dec 12-11)

132

1st Place Match

Hunter Shike (Unity) 3-0, Jr. over Emiliano Bedolla (Urbana) 17-2, Sr. (Fall 3:42)

3rd Place Match

Blake Arseneau (Bishop McNamara) 2-1, Jr. over Beau Thompson (Ottawa Marquette) 9-5, So. (Dec 16-10)

5th Place Match

Landyn Flood (Carterville) 13-3, Sr. over John Traub (Prairie Central) 13-5, Sr. (MD 13-1)

138

1st Place Match

Taylor Finley (Unity) 4-0, So. over Cooper Phillips (Olympia) 15-6, Sr. (Fall 3:33)

3rd Place Match

Nic Mrozowski (Rochester) 11-4, So. over Broady Kelly (Robinson) 8-2 (Inj. 0:00)

5th Place Match

Chase Stedman (Tremont) 19-6, Sr. over Alex Kostecka (Bishop McNamara) 10-7, Jr. (Dec 7-1)

144

1st Place Match

Kaden Inman (Unity) 3-0, Sr. over Austin Kisner (Olympia) 18-4, So. (TF-1.5 4:39 (18-3))

3rd Place Match

Cole Kimberlin (Bishop McNamara) 6-7, Jr. over Derek Wilkey (Benton) 14-4, So. (Fall 5:45)

5th Place Match

Jacob Kuhn (Charleston) 10-8, Jr. over Gerard Fleming (Crete-Monee) 7-5, So. (Fall 3:39)

150

1st Place Match

Holden Brazelton (Unity) 4-0, Sr. over Conor Pasche (Peotone) 17-4, Sr. (Fall 1:48)

3rd Place Match

Drake Pfeiffer (Rochester) 4-2, Sr. over Kaden Collins (Olympia) 15-7, Fr. (Fall 2:48)

5th Place Match

Brysen Manly (Ottawa Marquette) 11-6, So. over Jason Adams (Crete-Monee) 5-7, Sr. (MD 14-3)

157

1st Place Match

James Escobar (Rochester) 11-4, So. over Tiffin Kouzoukas (Benton) 16-2, Sr. (Dec 18-12)

3rd Place Match

Ben Mullins (Robinson) 13-2 over Laith Abunijmeh (Peotone) 8-7, Sr. (TF-1.5 1:56 (15-0))

5th Place Match

Yanai Taylor (Urbana) 6-7, Sr. over David Bell (Hoopeston Area) 9-8, Sr. (MD 10-2)

165

1st Place Match

Abram Davidson (Unity) 4-0, Jr. over Reily Leifheit (Ottawa Marquette) 11-2, So. (Dec 8-2)

3rd Place Match

Kahne Hyre (Robinson) 11-4, Sr. over Josh Heath (Unity) 2-2 (SV-1 9-6)

5th Place Match

Ayden Larkin (Hoopeston Area) 14-3, Sr. over Jaxson Martin (Prairie Central) 3-2 (Fall 1:22)

175

1st Place Match

Angel Zamora (Hoopeston Area) 14-0, Sr. over Bowden Delaney (Tremont) 18-1, Sr. (Dec 14-10)

3rd Place Match

Ryan Rink (Unity) 2-1, Sr. over Will Mullins (Robinson) 8-5 (TF-1.5 2:47 (16-1))

5th Place Match

Landyn Mcemery (Ottawa Marquette) 7-4, Fr. over Kijuan Springfield (Crete-Monee) 6-8, Sr. (Fall 1:15)

190

1st Place Match

Hunter Eastin (Unity) 3-0, Sr. over Zach Fry (Olympia) 17-7, So. (Fall 2:00)

3rd Place Match

Ethan Pfieffer (Bishop McNamara) 7-3, Sr. over Izaiah Dalton (Benton) 10-7, Sr. (Fall 1:49)

5th Place Match

Terry Mick (Carterville) 13-5, So. over Earl Kelnhofer (Hoopeston Area) 11-5, So. (Fall 2:26)

215

1st Place Match

Alex Schaefer (Ottawa Marquette) 11-2, So. over Malakai Scott (Crete-Monee) 9-4, Sr. (Fall 0:47)

3rd Place Match

Connor Broughton (Rochester) 9-6, Jr. over Marcellx Boling (Charleston) 8-5, Sr. (Fall 1:47)

5th Place Match

Chason Daly (Unity) 4-1, Jr. over Cohen Maness (Olympia) 10-10, Jr. (Fall 2:32)

285

1st Place Match

Darian Holloway (Olympia) 20-3, Jr. over Adrian Schaefer (Ottawa Marquette) 6-4, Sr. (Fall 1:28)

3rd Place Match

Jeremiah Bouchard (Carterville) 11-5, So. over Kian Bramer (Bishop McNamara) 5-6, Jr. (TF-1.5 5:33 (18-3))

5th Place Match

Dominic Jackson (Crete-Monee) 10-4, So. over Colton Maltby (Rochester) 12-4, So. (Fall 0:52)

Team scores

1. Unity 224, 2. Olympia/Delavan co-op 202.5, 3. Ottawa Marquette 148, 4. Rochester 143, 5. Hoopeston Area/Milford co-op 137, 6. Benton/Sesser-Valier co-op 115, 7. Carterville 106, 7. Crete-Monee 106, 9. Robinson 86.5, 10. Bishop McNamara 81, 11. Tremont 80, 12. Peotone 50.5, 13. Urbana 42, 14. Charleston 36.5, 15. Prairie Central 33.5.

Fort Zumwalt North takes first place at Dale Breckel Mascoutah Invite

Fort Zumwalt North of O’Fallon, Missouri easily captured top honors at the 32-team Dale Breckel Mascoutah Invite after scoring 236 points, which was 66.5 ahead of runner-up Quincy Senior, who collected 169.5 points to beat out third-place Murphysboro by 1.5 points. Roxana edged Waterloo 148-147.5 for fourth place while Normal Community (144.5), Morton (143.5) and the host Indians (142) were next in line in the competition in Mascoutah.

1 – Fort Zumwalt North, Missouri

Leading the way for coach Josh Cooper’s champion Panthers were title winners Cole Aguirre (157) and Deacon Moran (190) while Chaz Mitchell (113) took second place. Jacob Bals (120), Nathaniel Provost (126) and Patrick Provost (138) finished third, Jack Bals (106), Carsten Burkemper (132) and Drake Weston (150) placed fifth and Logan Bizzle (165) was seventh.

2 – Quincy Senior

Top medalists for coach Phil Neally’s second-place Blue Devils were runner-up Eli Roberts (150) and third-place finishers Brody Baker (157) and Gunnar Derhake (165). Claiming fourth place was Cooper Kamm (138) while Derik Lohmeyer (120) took sixth place, Clayton McClelland (113) placed seventh and Cale Mixer (144) and King Johnson (285) both finished eighth.

3 – Murphysboro

Turning in top finishes for coach Shea Bakers’ third-place Red Devils were champion Paxton Pyatt (113) and runner-up Kaiden Richards (120). Other top performers were Bryce Edwards (144), who took third place, Sergio Garcia (126), who finished fifth, Logan Tanner (175), who placed sixth and Aiston Holt (132), who claimed eighth place. 

Also winning Dale Breckel Mascoutah Invite championships were Waterloo’s Matthew Deutch (106) and Drew Glowacki (285), Champaign Central’s Talin Baker (126) and Ron Baker III (138), Roxana’s Brandon Green, Jr. (132) and Lyndon Thies (175), Triad’s Will Kelly (120), Mt. Vernon’s Dillon White (144), Mascoutah’s Brock Ross (150), East St. Louis’ Pierre Walton (165) and East Alton-Wood River’s Drake Champlin (215).

Other second-place finishers in the invite were Mattoon’s Tristan Porter (126) and Ben Capitosti (144),  Morton’s Harrison Dea (132) and Clay Mckee (165), Anna-Jonesboro’s Zoee Sadler (106), Mahomet-Seymour’s Justus Vrona (138), Highland’s Tyson Rakers (157), Lincoln’s Dawson McConnell (175), Roxana’s Rob Watt (190), Waterloo’s Jaxson Mathenia (215) and Collinsville’s Jack Shepherd (285).

Deutch and Ross tied for the most team points with 34 while Ron Baker III and Moran were next-best with 33.5 points. Kelly ranked fifth with 33 points, Glowacki and White both scored 32 points and Aguirre, Green, Jr. and Thies all ended up with 31.5 team points.

Alton’s Brayden Drew had the most total match points with 87 and Collinsville’s Connor Castens had the most falls in the least amount of time with five pins in 5:16.

Dale Breckel Mascoutah Invite place matches

106

1st Place Match

Matthew Deutch (Waterloo) 19-0, So. over Zoee Sadler (Anna-Jonesboro) 13-3, Sr. (Fall 0:59)

3rd Place Match

Xavier Sonon-Hale (Mascoutah) 14-4, Fr. over Elijah Conda (Normal Community) 9-2, Jr. (Dec 12-9)

5th Place Match

Jack Bals (Fort Zumwalt North, MO) 9-5, So. over Connor Castens (Collinsville) 9-6, Fr. (Fall 2:37)

7th Place Match

Austin Jones (Alton) 15-5, Fr. over Parker Kelly (Triad) 3-3, Fr. (Fall 3:35)

113

1st Place Match

Paxton Pyatt (Murphysboro) 15-1, So. over Chaz Mitchell (Fort Zumwalt North, MO) 12-3, Sr. (Dec 6-3)

3rd Place Match

Colin Crouch (Triad) 14-1, Fr. over Gideon Hayter (Mahomet-Seymour) 14-10, So. (Dec 6-5)

5th Place Match

Ryan Siebenthal (Morton) 10-7, So. over Jack Clark (Mt. Vernon) 13-7, So. (Dec 6-5)

7th Place Match

Clayton McClelland (Quincy Senior) 9-5, Fr. over Rigdon Meacham (Marion) 14-8, Fr. (Fall 1:36)

120

1st Place Match

Will Kelly (Triad) 14-0, Jr. over Kaiden Richards (Murphysboro) 12-2, Sr. (MD 12-1)

3rd Place Match

Jacob Bals (Fort Zumwalt North, MO) 12-5, Sr. over Mason Soney (Normal Community) 13-5, Fr. (Fall 1:17)

5th Place Match

Vincent Gibson (Mattoon) 17-7, Sr. over Derik Lohmeyer (Quincy Senior) 7-7, Fr. (Fall 0:32)

7th Place Match

Ayden Shaw (Lincoln) 7-3, Jr. over Liam Cardwell (O`Fallon) 8-9, So. (Fall 5:23)

126

1st Place Match

Talin Baker (Champaign Central) 12-0, So. over Tristan Porter (Mattoon) 19-3, Jr. (Dec 9-3)

3rd Place Match

Nathaniel Provost (Fort Zumwalt North, MO) 14-3, Sr. over Cort Pentecost (Lincoln) 10-2, Sr. (Fall 2:47)

5th Place Match

Sergio Garcia (Murphysboro) 12-5, Jr. over Drew Sadler (Anna-Jonesboro) 12-3, Sr. (Inj. 0:00)

7th Place Match

Macguire Leck (Mascoutah) 15-5, Jr. over Max Wade (Marion) 14-9, Jr. (Fall 3:36)

132

1st Place Match

Brandon Green Jr. (Roxana) 16-0, Jr. over Harrison Dea (Morton) 16-2, Jr. (Dec 8-7)

3rd Place Match

Jordan Kholian (Jacksonville) 9-2, So. over Brayden Manning (Normal Community) 17-4, Fr. (Dec 6-0)

5th Place Match

Carsten Burkemper (Fort Zumwalt North, MO) 13-4, So. over Karter Hild (Lincoln) 10-3, Sr. (Dec 10-4)

7th Place Match

Elliott Tanner (Champaign Central) 4-2, Jr. over Aiston Holt (Murphysboro) 7-5, Sr. (MD 11-0)

138

1st Place Match

Ron Baker III (Champaign Central) 16-0, Sr. over Justus Vrona (Mahomet-Seymour) 16-7, Jr. (Fall 2:08)

3rd Place Match

Patrick Provost (Fort Zumwalt North, MO) 13-4, So. over Cooper Kamm (Quincy Senior) 11-4, So. (TF-1.5 0:00 (16-1))

5th Place Match

Camron Minner (Collinsville) 17-4, Sr. over TY KINZINGER Ty Kinzinger (Waterloo) 15-6, Sr. (Fall 5:22)

7th Place Match

Desi Wade (Mascoutah) 16-3, So. over Marshall Skelton (Alton) 15-6, Sr. (TF-1.5 0:00 (22-6))

144

1st Place Match

Dillon White (Mt. Vernon) 16-0, Sr. over Ben Capitosti (Mattoon) 19-3, Sr. (Dec 9-3)

3rd Place Match

Bryce Edwards (Murphysboro) 13-2, Sr. over Caiden Robison (Morton) 19-4, Sr. (TF-1.5 0:00 (17-0))

5th Place Match

Brody Smith (Triad) 12-3 over Logan Riggs (Roxana) 13-5, Jr. (Fall 4:36)

7th Place Match

Nathen Herrin (Civic Memorial) 16-6, Sr. over Cale Mixer (Quincy Senior) 4-4, Jr. (Fall 4:52)

150

1st Place Match

Brock Ross (Mascoutah) 18-1, Jr. over Eli Roberts (Quincy Senior) 11-2, Sr. (Fall 4:43)

3rd Place Match

Caden Frey (Marion) 15-3, Jr. over Brayden Drew (Alton) 17-4, Jr. (MD 15-6)

5th Place Match

Drake Weston (Fort Zumwalt North, MO) 11-5, Jr. over Jonathan McCray (East St. Louis) 7-5, So. (TF-1.5 0:00 (15-0))

7th Place Match

Talon Decker (Mahomet-Seymour) 16-6, So. over Gavin Capodice (Normal Community) 15-7, Jr. (TF-1.5 0:00 (19-2))

157

1st Place Match

Cole Aguirre (Fort Zumwalt North, MO) 14-3, Jr. over Tyson Rakers (Highland) 16-1, Sr. (Dec 4-1)

3rd Place Match

Brody Baker (Quincy Senior) 7-2, Jr. over Joe Reif (Jacksonville) 16-3, Jr. (Dec 7-4)

5th Place Match

Trevor Gihring (Roxana) 14-4, Sr. over Sean Murphy (Mascoutah) 17-4, So. (TF-1.5 0:00 (17-2))

7th Place Match

Logan Thomas (O`Fallon) 14-4, Sr. over Ryne Metelko (Lincoln) 10-6, Jr. (Fall 3:01)

165

1st Place Match

Pierre Walton (East St. Louis) 12-0, Jr. over Clay Mckee (Morton) 18-3, Sr. (MD 11-2)

3rd Place Match

Gunnar Derhake (Quincy Senior) 11-2, Sr. over Thomas Imboden (Carbondale) 15-5, Sr. (Fall 4:18)

5th Place Match

AJ Demos (Mahomet-Seymour) 18-8, Sr. over Jordan Sonon-Hale (Mascoutah) 16-5, Jr. (Dec 10-7)

7th Place Match

Logan Bizzle (Fort Zumwalt North, MO) 12-5, Sr. over Aiden Frye (Lincoln) 7-4, Sr. (TF-1.5 0:00 (20-5))

175

1st Place Match

Lyndon Thies (Roxana) 16-0 over Dawson McConnell (Lincoln) 10-1, Sr. (Dec 16-14)

3rd Place Match

Marco Casillas (Mahomet-Seymour) 21-2, Fr. over Jaren Frankowiak (Normal Community) 18-4, Sr. (TF-1.5 0:00 (18-2))

5th Place Match

Colin Hughey (Trico/Elverado) 13-2, Sr. over Logan Tanner (Murphysboro) 12-6, So. (TF-1.5 0:00 (17-2))

7th Place Match

Colton Mckee (Morton) 16-3, So. over Liam Kobbeman (Highland) 3-3 (Fall 3:40)

190

1st Place Match

Deacon Moran (Fort Zumwalt North, MO) 16-0, Jr. over Rob Watt (Roxana) 15-1, Sr. (Fall 3:49)

3rd Place Match

Danny Jackson (Red Bud/Valmeyer) 24-1, Fr. over Scott Snyder (Collinsville) 11-2, Sr. (Dec 13-8)

5th Place Match

Evan Francis (Marion) 13-7, Jr. over Alec Gilomen (Triad) 11-5, So. (Fall 3:40)

7th Place Match

Cole Kretsinger (Normal Community) 8-2, Jr. over Andrew Vanderheyden (O`Fallon) 7-6, Sr. (Fall 2:53)

215

1st Place Match

Drake Champlin (East Alton-Wood River) 14-0, Sr. over Jaxson Mathenia (Waterloo) 11-1, So. (Dec 8-7)

3rd Place Match

Kenner Bye (Bloomington) 13-2, Sr. over Ashton Zobrist (Highland) 14-5 (Fall 3:58)

5th Place Match

Gavin Gentille (O`Fallon) 17-2, Sr. over Noah Daniels (Mahomet-Seymour) 10-4, Jr. (Fall 0:51)

7th Place Match

Dane Olmstead (Freeburg) 6-2, So. over Mitchell Clapp (Mattoon) 12-7, So. (Inj. 0:00)

285

1st Place Match

Drew Glowacki (Waterloo) 20-0 over Jack Shepherd (Collinsville) 12-6, Sr. (Dec 3-1)

3rd Place Match

Jordyn Lomax-Brown (Carbondale) 13-3, Sr. over Jack Amann (Freeburg) 5-2, So. (Fall 3:55)

5th Place Match

Aiden Surratt (Jacksonville) 16-4, Sr. over London Miller (Mattoon) 6-4, So. (Fall 0:59)

7th Place Match

Logan Wachendorf (Lincoln) 8-4, Sr. over King Johnson (Quincy Senior) 9-5 (Dec 4-0)

Team scores

1. Fort Zumwalt North, MO 236, 2. Quincy Senior 169.5, 3. Murphysboro 168, 4. Roxana 148, 5. Waterloo 147.5, 6. Normal Community 144.5, 7. Morton 143.5, 8. Mascoutah 142, 9. Collinsville 128, 10. Lincoln 126, 11. Triad 119.5, 12. Marion 117.5, 13. Mahomet-Seymour 115.5, 14. Mattoon 110.5, 15. Carbondale 95.5, 16. Champaign Central 88, 17. Jacksonville 84.5, 18. East St. Louis 78, 19. Highland 77.5, 20. O’Fallon 75.5, 21. Alton 64.5, 22. Mt. Vernon 61, 23. Freeburg 56.5, 24. Red Bud/Valmeyer co-op 54.5, 25. Civic Memorial 54, 26. Anna-Jonesboro 44, 27. East Alton-Wood River 39.5, 28. Centralia 39, 29. Bloomington 34, 30. Trico/Elverado 22, 31. Sparta/Steeleville co-op 15.5, 32. Mascoutah JV 7.

Out -of-state tournaments

Jersey Community boys wins title at Chaminade Invite in Missouri

Jersey Community’s boys team had two title winners and three second-place finishers to help it score 194.5 points and capture top honors by 49 points over runner-up Parkway West, Missouri, which had 145.5, in the 13-team Chaminade Invite, which took place in Frontenac, Missouri.

Winning titles for coach Frank Speidel’s champion Panthers were Maddox Williams (106) and  Timothy Shea Herrera (175) while Bodey Waltz (126), Nicholas Hartley (165) and Ethan Daniels (285) claimed second place. Taking third were Hunter Hodge (120), Trevor Tucker (157) and Nicholas Woelfel (215) while Jace Marshall (190) finished in fourth place. 

Tucker was one of three individuals who had a tourney-high four falls. Herrera tied for sixth with 26 team points while Williams ranked eighth with 25.5 team points.

Round Lake girls finish sixth at Badger State Invite in Wisconsin

Round Lake’s girls scored 99 points to finish in sixth place in the 51-team Badger State Girls Invitational that was held at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

The three placewinners for the Panthers were runner-up Ireland McCain (114), third-place finisher Riley Kongkaeow (100), and Brianna Perez (132), who finished eighth. The three individuals combined to score 60 of their team’s points. 

Joliet Central boys have a champion, take sixth at Wisconsin invite

Joliet Central’s boys had a champion and four others in the top six to help it score 126.5 points and finish sixth at the 24-team E.H. Stech Invitational, which took place in West Allis, Wisconsin.

Charles Walker won the 215 championship to lead the Steelmen. He also tied for second place for the most team points with 31, which was just one-half behind the leader in that category.

Other top finishers for Joliet Central were Isaiah Kan (third at 138), Aleck Allende (fourth at 120), Liam Walsh (fifth at 113) and Xavier Eggert (sixth at 175).

Marist boys leads four teams at Carnahan Memorial Invite in Indiana

Marist’s boys took seventh place with 102 points, Mount Carmel was eighth with 77 points, Marmion Academy placed 10th with 69 points and Homewood-Flossmoor took 13th with 54 points in the 20-team Carnahan Memorial Invitational, which took place in Crown Point, Indiana.

The lone Illinois champions were Mount Carmel’s Seth Mendoza, who claimed top honors at 138, and Marist’s Will Denny, who won the title at 165. Mendoza tied for second-best in team points with 28.5, just one-half point behind the leader in that category while Denny tied for seventh and finished with 26 team points. Mendoza also had the most match points with 70.

Other top finishers for Marist’s Redhawks were Donavon Allen (third at 138), Ricky Ericksen (third at 190), George Marinopoulos (fourth at 132) and Michael Esteban (sixth at 126). 

The defending Class 3A IHSA champion Caravan also got medals from Liam Kelly (third at 157) and Landon Carter (fifth at 285). 

Marmion Academy also had five individuals who placed sixth or better. They were Colton Wyller (second at 106), Demetrios Carrera (third at 132), Mateusz Nycz (fourth at 285), Aidan McClure (fifth at 113) and Joey Favia (sixth at 215). 

Four individuals from Homewood-Flossmoor placed. They were Chazz Robinson (third at 120), Davion Henry (fourth at 106), RJ Robinson (fourth at 175) and Jovan Vukajlovic (sixth at 157). 

Three Illinois girls teams participate at the F.I.G.H.T. in Ohio

Competitors from Batavia, Huntley and Homewood-Flossmoor put up a good fight at the Findlay Invitational Girls High School Tournament (F.I.G.H.T.) in Findlay, Ohio, which had individuals representing 80-plus schools on hand, but none were able to advance to the title mat.

Leading the way for Batavia was Lily Enos, who claimed fourth place at 100. Huntley had two placewinners, Aubrie Rohrbacher (sixth at 130) and Sara Willis (seventh at 235) and Homewood-Flossmoor was led by London Gandy (seventh at 110).

Montini Catholic’s Bell finishes fifth at Girls Beast of the East

Montini Catholic’s Katelyn Bell took fifth place at 100 at the 3rd annual Girls Beast of the East, a competition featuring nearly 300 girls from over 100 schools that was held in Newark, Delaware.

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

CURIE QUEENS OF MAYHEM TOURNAMENT

Curie’s 18-team Queens of Mayhem tournament saw JS Morton take the team title thanks to 11 wrestlers finishing in the top six of their weight classes. Coach Fernando Arriata’s girls posted a 195-181 edged. second-place Marist, followed by Thornton Township (112), Naperville Central (106.5) and Lemont (98) to round out the top five team finishes.
“Overall, I believe everyone looked great,” Arriata said. “It is good to see the team get rewarded after they put in a lot of work all season.”

1st place: Morton (195 points)

The Mustangs got three individual titles to lead the way, from Andaira Marron (100), Hope Donnamario (105) and Monica Garcia (120). Arriata also got a second from Brianna Carbajal (120), a third from Violet Mayo (155), fourths from Karia Munoz (110), Andrea Martinez (135), Rhysel Anum (145), and Anali Wilson (190), a fifth from Quetzal Delgado (135), and a sixth from Isabella Sanchez (155).
Anum and Sanchez competed as non-scoring wrestlers for the Mustangs, who also got team points from Liliana Covarurubias (125), Victoria Vargas (130), and Angelina Uvalle (170).

“The girls wrestled very tough, and it was great to see many of our first-year wrestlers chain up their wrestling this weekend,” Arriata said. “And our seasoned wresters looked very good and had to really compete to win.”

2nd place: Marist (181)

Among scoring wrestlers, the Redhawks got individual titles from Ava Enright (115), Stella Harris (135) and Samantha Fontaine (190), seconds from Zoe Kamper (125) and Sarah Parker (190), a third from Shae Halleran (105), a fourth from Samantha Durbin (130), and sixths from Meghan Ciukaj (110) and Jordan Hozzian (145).

3rd place: Thornton Township (112)

Thornton got a title from Jalah Wilson (130), seconds from Ariel Woodfin (100) and Sionna Stampley (235), thirds from Heavenlee Wilson (125) and Shuntara Freeman (140), and a sixth from Miniyai Adams (235).

Curie Queens of Mayhem individual champions:
Morton’s Andaira Marron (100), Morton’s Hope Donnamario (105), Curie’s Giselle Arambula (110), Marist’s Ava Enright (115), Morton’s Monica Garcia (120), Lemont’s Molly O’Connor (125), Thornton Township’s Jalah Wilson (130), Marist’s Stella Harris (135), Lake Park’s Ava Burns (140), Lake Park’s Joscelin Ritthamel (145), South Elgin’s Allison Garbacz (155), Marist’s Samantha Fontaine (170), Larkin’s Jadelin Caballero (190), and Streamwood’s Jasmine Rene (235).

Team scores:

Morton 195, Marist 181, Thornton Township 112, Naperville Central 106.5, Lemont 98, Oak Lawn 92.5, Curie 83, South Elgin 77, Bremen 72, Larkin 71.5, Lake Park 70.5, Streamwood 70, Westinghouse 68.5, Evanston 42, St. Laurence 40, Reavis 38.5, Eisenhower 34, Niles North 7

Queens of Mayhem tournament results:

100

1st: Andaira Marron (Morton E) 13-3, d. Ariel Woodfin (Thornton) 8-1,  (D 21-19)

3rd: Annika Hull (Naperville C) 12-5, d. Thi Van (Reavis) 8-8,  (F 2:08)

5th: Evelin Martinez (Curie) 2-1, d. Reese Nicolas (Lake Park) 1-2,  (F 0:13)

105

1st: Hope Donnamario (Morton E) 12-3, d. Ashley Hammond (Larkin) 12-5,  (D 12-5)

3rd: Shae Halleran (Marist) 14-3, d. Ariana Baier (Lemont) 13-3,  (F 0:54)

5th: Susan Cruz (Larkin) 10-5, d. Livia Adolfo (Marist) 6-5,  (F 1:56)

110

1st: Giselle Arambula (Curie) 4-0, d. Eliana Caudillo (Oak Lawn) 3-5,  (F 1:58)

3rd: Lauren Stevens (Lemont) 5-6, d. Karla Munoz (Morton E) 7-8,  (F 3:00)

5th: Samantha Albaugh (Evanston) 9-4, d. Meghan Ciukaj (Marist) 3-4,  (F 2:21)

115

1st: Ava Enright (Marist) 15-3, d. Azucena Rodriguez (South Elgin) 7-3,  (MD 15-4)

3rd: Allison Nava (Oak Lawn) 5-1, d. Gracie Meluch (Naperville C) 11-6,  (F 2:16)

5th: Melva Gallego-Sugar (Naperville C) 8-5, d. Zoey Sanchez (Streamwood) 5-2,  (MD 13-5)

120

1st: Monica Garcia (Morton E) 13-4, d. Brianna Carbajal (Morton E) 8-8,  (F 1:19)

3rd: Samantha Gipson (Evanston) 7-5, d. Abril Duarte (Bremen) 2-2,  (F 1:43)

5th: Ellen Purl (Naperville C) 13-6, d. Melanie Cervantes (Eisenhower) 11-4,  (TF-1.5 2:28 (16-0)

125

1st: Molly O`Connor (Lemont) 18-2, d. Zoe Kamper (Marist) 14-5,  (F 1:41)

3rd: Heavenlee Wilson (Thornton) 3-1, d. Dezi Azar (Naperville C) 16-3,  (M. For.)

5th: Journey Jackson (Oak Lawn) 4-1, d. Faith Arenibar (St Laurence) 3-2,  (D 11-5)

130

1st: Jalah Wilson (Thornton) 8-0, d. Bianca Arredondo (Naperville C) 15-5,  (F 3:37)

3rd: Shan`drea Jones (Bremen) 2-1, d. Samantha Durbin (Marist) 7-5,  (F 0:31)

5th: Priscilla Ruiz (Oak Lawn) 3-1, d. Sophia Rittorno (Marist) 4-4,  (TF-1.5 2:21 (18-1)

135

1st: Stella Harris (Marist) 16-2, d. Amelia Quinlan (Bremen) 3-1,  (F 0:34)

3rd: Abril Caamaño (South Elgin) 5-5, d. Andrea Martinez (Morton E) 3-3,  (F 2:53)

5th: Quetzal Delgado (Morton E) 4-1, d. Leslie Lopez (Reavis) 7-8,  (F 3:08)

140

1st: Ava Burns (Lake Park) 4-0, d. Arianna Rico (Naperville C) 12-6,  (F 0:43)

3rd: Shuntara Freeman (Thornton) 5-4, d. Rodriguez Zoe (Streamwood) 2-2, . (F 0:15)

5th: Yaretzi Avila Calixto (Curie) 4-1, d. Shaniah West (Bremen) 2-2,  (F 1:12)

145

1st: Joscelin Ritthamel (Lake Park) 3-0, d. Nermina Rustemi (Lake Park) 2-1,  (F 5:44)

3rd: Zoe Gonzalez (Curie) 2-1, d. Rhysel Anum (Morton E) 1-6,  (F 0:09)

5th: Hannah Marusarz (St Laurence) 2-1, d. Jordan Hozzian (Marist) 3-3,  (F 4:19)

155

1st: Allison Garbacz (South Elgin) 12-0, d. Cecilia Colon (Westinghouse) 3-1,  (F 2:59)

3rd: Violet Mayo (Morton E) 12-6, d. Jazmin Novoa (Streamwood) 10-6,  (F 1:35)

5th: Charvelle McLain (Oak Lawn) 6-2, d. Isabella Sanchez (Morton E) 3-2,  (F 1:26)

170

1st: Samantha Fontaine (Marist) 12-1, d. Zamaya Taylor (Larkin) 12-5,  (F 0:26)

3rd: Delia Humphrey (St Laurence) 2-1, d. Gabriela Baltierres (Lemont) 8-5,  (F 0:40)

5th: Yamieth Castillo (Reavis) 13-3, d. Kimberly Bautista (Lake Park) 2-2,  (F 3:15)

190

1st: Jadelin Caballero (Larkin) 16-1, d. Sarah Parker (Marist) 14-4,  (F 5:20)

3rd: Phoebe Heyboer (Eisenhower) 10-3, d. Anali Wilson (Morton E) 9-7,  (F 2:01)

5th: Emily Nieto (Westinghouse) 4-1, d. Nataly Romero (Oak Lawn) 4-4,  (F 0:22)

235

1st: Jasmine Rene (Streamwood) 11-0, d. Sionna Stampley (Thornton) 7-2,  (F 0:20)

3rd: Rowyn Page (Lemont) 14-7, d. Jocelyn Gonzalez (Streamwood) 3-2,  (F 0:56)

5th: Persia Foster (Westinghouse) 4-1, d. Miniyai Adams (Thornton) 3-2,  (F 0:40)

LADY OF LANE WRESTLING TOURNAMENT

The home team reigned at Lane Tech, where the host Champions took the team title of their 16-team tournament.

Lane won 136.5-118d. the second-place Lincoln-Way co-op team, with Rolling Meadows (111) placing third, New Trier (100.5) in fourth, and Taft (85.5) finishing in fifth place. The Champions had eight girls finish in the top six of their weight classes, including two champions.

1st place: Lane (136.5 points)
The Champions got titles from Nyah Lovis (130) and Zabby Badru (135), a second from Lauren Guerrero (115), thirds from Sofia Guerrero (105) and Akyah Thomas (170), a fifth from Kenaiece Barrett (190), and sixths from Imyjah Jackson (140) and Allison Gutierrez (155).

2nd place: Lincoln-Way (118)
Lincoln-Way got second-place finishes from Avery Holeman (170) and Liana Zimmer (190), thirds from Zoe Zerial (110) and Sierra Heatherly (115), a fourth from Ella Foley (130), fifths from Kaitlyn Erdakos (135) and Jalyssa Venegas (235), and a sixth from Abby Lizak (120).

3rd place: Rolling Meadows (111)
The Mustangs got individual titles from Aiaishah Sanchez (155) and Leilani Brindis (170), seconds from Ziza Sanchez (140) and Janet Brindis (155), thirds from Muneeba Butt (130) and Shafia Butt (145), and fourths from Joselyn Canto Lezama (110) and Yami Serrano Amanya (155).

Other Lady of Lane individual champions were Glenbrook North’s Leah Stringfellow (100), West Chicago’s Brissia Bucio (105), New Trier’s Lola Bianco (110), Agricultural Science’s Carmen Jackson (115), Glenbrook North’s Ariella Dobin (120), Lindblom’s Nakya Scott (125), New Trier’s Jillian Giller (140), Addison Trail’s Madeline Beltran (145), Lindblom’s Ashyia Scott (190), and Noble/ITW Speer’s Esmerelda Bustamante (235).

Team scores:
Lane 136.5, Lincoln-Way Central 118, Rolling Meadows 111, New Trier 100.5, Taft 85.5, Wheaton Warrenville South 82.5, Lindblom 77, Riverside-Brookfield 73.5, West Chicago 71.5, Agricultural Science 63, Lake View 56, Glenbrook North 55, Addison Trail 54, Saint Viator 33.5, Maine South 32, Noble/ITW Speer 29

Lady of Lane tournament results:

100

1st: Leah Stringfellow (Glenbrook N) d. Andrea Jaimes-Alvarez (WWSouth) (D 16-10)

3rd: Sunny Aitzemkour (New Trier) d. Maria Mino (WWSouth) (F 1:49)

5th: Isabella Datil (Addison Trail) d. Melina Valdez (Addison Trail) (F 0:43)

105

1st: Brissia Bucio (West  (H.S.) d. Estrella Jaimes (WWSouth) (F 0:44)

3rd: Sofia Guerrero (Lane) d. Isabella Castro (New Trier) (F 0:29)

5th: Evalyn Idzik (St. Viator) d. Autumn Oregon-Williams (Addison Trail) (F 5:54)

110

1st: Lola Bianco (New Trier) d. Alyssa Martel (Taft) (F 0:32)

3rd: Zoe Zerial (LW Central) d. Joselyn Canto Lezama (Rolling Meadows) (F 1:52)

5th: Aphrodite Gineris (Maine S) received a bye () (Bye)

115

1st: Carmen Jackson (Agricultural Science) d. Lauren Guerrero (Lane) (F 0:57)

3rd: Sierra Heatherly (LW Central) d. Heidi Velazquez (R-B) (F 0:51)

5th: Monica Sanchez (West  (H.S.) d. Lily Scribner (Lake View) (F 2:48)

120

1st: Ariella Dobin (Glenbrook N) won by tech Fd. Jennifer Arenas (Taft) (TF 21-5)

3rd: Danita Palmore (Lindblom) d. Addison Dill (Maine S) (F 0:41)

5th: Mackensie Szajda (West  (H.S.) d. Abby Lizak (LW Central) (F 4:59)

125

1st: Nakya Scott (Lindblom) d. Alyssa Gianola (Maine S) (F 0:22)

3rd: Frankie Abasta (R-B) d. Zmorah Izenstark (New Trier) (F 1:53)

5th: Angel Emeana (Lake View) d. Isabelle Diaz (Agricultural Science) (F 2:59)

130

1st: Nyah Lovis (Lane) d. Raynisha Sims (Lake View) (F 2:34)

3rd: Muneeba Butt (Rolling Meadows) d. Ella Foley (LW Central) (F 0:52)

5th: Deyton Montes (Agricultural Science) d. Madison Cruz (Agricultural Science) (F 3:56)
135

1st: Zabby Badru (Lane) won by tech Fd. Angelica Solis (R-B) (TF 17-2)

3rd: Heidi Bourne (WWSouth) d. Layla Zbiec (Taft) (F 1:49)

5th: Kaitlyn Erdakos (LW Central) d. Kamila Sarmiento (W Chicago) (F 2:58)

140

1st: Jillian Giller (New Trier) d. Ziza Sanchez (Rolling Meadows) (F 1:53)

3rd: Batula Nasib (West  (H.S.) d. Makiya Lewis (Lake View) (F 0:15)

5th: Emily Anaya (R-B) d. Imyjah Jackson (Lane) (F 3:11)

145

1st: Madeline Beltran (Addison Trail) d. Avery Brooks (St. Viator) (F 3:17)

3rd: Shafia Butt (Rolling Meadows) d. Evelyn Rodriguez (Taft) (F 2:34)

5th: Noelia Gordoa (Lake View) d. Jaylene Correa (Noble/ITW Speer) (F 0:48)

155:

1st: Aiaishah Sanchez (Rolling Meadows) d. Janet Brindis (Rolling Meadows) (F 1:11)

3rd: Michelle Rojas-Tellez (WWSouth) d. Yami Serrano Amaya (Rolling Meadows) (F 3:48)

5th: Sylvia Lupa (Addison Trail) won by Disiond. Allison Gutierrez (Lane) (D 7-5)

170

1st: Leilani Brindis (Rolling Meadows) d. Avery Holeman (LW Central) (F 4:24)

3rd: Akyah Thomas (Lane) d. Elena Haugh (Agricultural Science) (F 0:46)

5th: Olivia Halminiak (West  (H.S.) d. Estefany Bejarano (R-B) (F 2:33)

190
1st: Ashyia Scott (Lindblom) d. Liana Zimmer (LW Central) (F 1:42)

3rd: Jayna Turner (Lindblom) d. Tanesha Esteban (Noble/ITW Speer) (F 3:53)

5th: Kenaiece Barrett (Lane) won by Disiond. Aileen Galvez (Noble/ITW Speer) (D 4-1)

235

1st: Esmerelda Bustamante (Noble/ITW Speer) d. Rim Ayouchi (Taft) (F 0:38)

3rd: Dayrin Tirado (Noble/ITW Speer) d. Areli Espinosa (Noble/ITW Speer) (F 1:09)

5th: Jalyssa Venegas (LW Central) won by Disiond. Keira Rodriguez (Lake View) (D 5-3)

WESTINGHOUSE GIRLS SCRAMBLE #2

Phoenix Military Academy’s girls ran away with the team title at this year’s Westinghouse Girls Scramble #2, topping the 15-team field 123.5-64d. second-place Mather. Crane Medical Prep (53) placed third, followed by Little Village (41) and Washington (40) to round out the top five team finishes.

1st place: Phoenix Military Academy (123.5)
Phoenix entered six wrestlers in the tournament and had six individual champions in Dana Lopez-Jimenez (115), Mia Thomas (120), Marisol Castro-Duran (125), Jocelyn-Quiroz-Rosales (135), America Cabrera (140), and AJ Grant (145).

2nd place: Mather (64)
Among scoring wrestlers, Mather got an individual title from Esther Gouegnon (155), a second-place finish from Julissa Az (170-190), thirds from Lisbeth Tenorio (140) and Krishna Garfias (145), fourths from Tuyet Tran (115) and Miriam Orduno (120), a fifth from Mia Zepeda (135), and a sixth from Ariadna Cruz (125).

3rd place: Crane (53)

Among scoring wrestlers, Crane got titles from Katherine Gonzalez-Moline (100) and Dorca Morales (170-190), a second from Hannah Chong (115), and thirds from Andrea Wells (115) and Simone Dyer (120).

Little Village’s Mavis Marchan (235) was also an individual champion at Westinghouse.

Team scores:
Phoenix Military Academy 123.5, Mather 64, Crane Medical Prep 53, Little Village 41, Washington 40, Kenwood 32, Fenger 29.5, Clark 24, South Shore 15, Chicago Academy 12, Phillips 12, Horizon/Southwest 7, Corliss 0, King 0, Noble UIC 0

Westinghouse Girls Scramble #2 results

100

1st: Katherine Gonzalez- Moline (Crane) 2-1, d. Nevaeh Salinas (Mather) 1-2,  (F 2:29)

105 – none

110
1st:Chloe Arana (Washington) 22-0, d. Isis Rivera (Noble UIC) 0-2,  (F 0:54)
115

1st: Diana Lopez-Jimenez (Phoenix) 3-0, d. Hannah Chong (Crane) 2-1,  (F 1:26)
3rd: Andrea Wells (Crane) 1-2, d. Tuyet Tran (Mather) 0-3,  (F 0:48)

120

1st: Mia Thomas (Phoenix) 4-0, d. Jocelyn uriostegui (Chicago Academy) 3-1, . (F 3:40)
3rd: Simone Dyer (Crane) 2-2, d. Miriam Orduno (Mather) 1-3,  (TF-1.5 4:20 (20-4)
5th: Fatima Jacinto (Horizon SW)

125

1st: Marisol Castro-Duran (Phoenix) 3-0, d. Alyssa McGee (Kenwood) 2-1,  (F 3:23)

3rd: Itzel Jimenez (Washington) 3-1, d. Rihanna Raygoza (Little Village) 1-2,  (F 0:36)

5th: Trinity Kinsey (Clark) 1-2, d. Ariadna Cruz (Mather) 0-3,  (F 1:43)

130 – none

135

1st: Jocelyn Quiroz-Rosales (Phoenix) 2-0, d. Melany Serroto (Washington) 2-1,  (F 1:18)

3rd: Akira Camp (Fenger) 3-1, d. jayla bowie (Clark) 2-1,  (M. For.)

5th: Mia Zepeda (Mather) 2-2, d. paris freeman (Clark) 0-3,  (F 1:07)

140

1st: America Cabrera (Phoenix) 2-0, d. kayla Nolan (Phillips) 1-1,  (F 1:09)
3rd: Lisbeth Tenorio (Mather)
145
1st: AJ Grant (Phoenix) 4-0, d. Theresa Sewell (Fenger) 3-1,  (F 1:38)
3rd: Krishna Garfias (Mather) 2-2, d. Amor Juarez (South Shore) 1-3,  (F 1:46)
5th: Amaleia Chronopoulos (Crane Medical Prep)
155

1st: Esther Gouegnon (Mather) 2-0, d. Adaycia Cashew (Kenwood) 1-1,  (F 0:28)
3rd: Celeste Lazcano (Mather) 0-2, d. () , . (Bye)

170-190

1st:Dorca Morales (Crane Medical Prep) 4-0, d. Elizabeth Herrera (Mather) 0-4,  (F 0:46)

3rd: Emma Guzman (Little Village) 2-2, d. Andrea Hernandez (Little Village) 1-3,  (F 0:55)
5th: Elizabeth Herrera (Mather)
235

1st: Mavis Marchan (Little Village) 2-0, d. Erin Armour (South Shore) 4-1,  (F 1:27)
3rd: Arelii Santamaria (Horizon SW)

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

SPRINGFIELD’S JOE BEE MEMORIAL GIRLS TOURNAMENT

Springfield coach Cody Watts saw his girls grab a bit of history at this year’s second annual 33-team Joe Bee Memorial Girls Tournament.
“This was our first tournament win as a co-op,” Watts said.
Springfield out-pointed second-place LaSalle-Peru 369-312.5, followed by Civic Memorial (273), Triad (262) and Vandalia (232.5) to round out the top five team finishes.

1st place: Springfield co-op (369 points)
A trio of runner-up finishes paced Springfield to the team title, in Phoenix Criss (105), Madison Bradley (120) and Ariella Miloncus (130). “A big shout-out to Madison Bradley, who made it into the finals as a first-year wrestler,” Watts said.
Watts also got fourth-place finishes from Meredith Gumz (115) and Maya Bennett (155),  and sixths from Tala Asad (135) and Crishonna Seals (235).

2nd place: LaSalle-Peru (312.5)
The Lady Cavaliers got an individual title from Kiely Domyancich (115), a third from Kalista Frost (100), a fourth from Sarah Lowery (110), a fifth from Avalyn Edwall (140), and sixths from Kalli Ware 115), Amelia Buckley (120), and Marissa Eggersdorfer (155).

3rd place: Civic Memorial (273)
Civic Memorial got second-place finishes from Kendall Moss-Smith (115) and Delaney Griffin (140) to lead the way, plus fourths from Claire Shaw (125) and Alicia Dominquez (130), and a fifth from Carlina McGaughey (190).

Individual champions:
Winning individual Joe Bee titles were Triad’s Claire Crouch (100), Glenwood’s Kadi Wilbern (105), Pekin’s Tessa Donaldson (110), LaSalle-Peru’s Kiely Domyancich (115), Oakwood’s Lainey Ehler (120), Vandalia’s Sophie Bowers (125), Centennial’s Ava Beldo (130), Carlinville’s Samantha Scott (135), Macomb’s Kelly Ladd (140), Glenwood’s Jenna Tuxhorn (145), Paris’ Gabbie Collins (155), Highland’s August Rottmann (170), Central’s Payton Temple (190), and Normal West’s Cadence Duvall (235)

Team scores:
Springfield Co-op 369, LaSalle-Peru 312.5, Civic Memorial 273, Triad 262, Vandalia 232.5, Belleville West 232, Macomb 223, Granite City 193, Cahokia 188, Hazelwood West, MO 179, Glenwood 168, Paris 166, Glenbard South 159, Mahomet-Seymour 154, Jacksonville 138, Highland 136, Central 132.5, Pekin 121.5, Oakwood 120, East Peoria 116.5, Carlinville 87.5, Unity Christian 83, Rochester 75, Normal West 73, University 72.5, West Vigo 63, Centennial 47, Goreville 46, Cumberland 44, Jersey 39, Alton 38, PORTA 27, Cardinal Ritter, MO 15

Joe Bee Memorial Girls results:
100

1st: Claire Crouch (Triad) 3-0, d. Kelly Tran (Hazelwood West) 8-3,  (F 0:57)

3rd: Kalista Frost (LaSalle (L.-Peru) 5-5, d. Nicole Stanley (Carlinville) 1-2,  (F 1:11)

5th: Sierra Tuttle (M.-Seymour) 4-4, d. Taylor Duncan (Granite City) 3-8,  (F 2:34)

105

1st: Kadi Wilbern (Glenwood) 16-1, d. Phoenix Criss (Springfield) 6-2,  (F 4:48)

3rd: Briana Ramirez (Granite City) 14-4, d. Janiya Fleming (Hazelwood W) 10-6,  (D 8-1)

5th: Valerie Aligia (Glen Ellyn (Glenbard S) 2-1, d. Ariel Sipes (Petersburg (PORTA) 1-2,  (TF-1.5 3:23 (20-2)
110

1st: Tessa Donaldson (Pekin) 10-0, d. Vanessa McDaniel (Hazelwood W) 8-3,  (F 1:26)

3rd: Jala Singleton (Belleville (W) 5-3, d. Sarah Lowery (LaSalle-Peru) 5-3,  (F 3:31)

5th: Carlly Ho (Rochester) 10-3, d. Marley Black (Vandalia) 3-6,  (F 1:48)

115 

1st: Kiely Domyancich (LaSalle-Peru) 11-0, d. Kendall Moss-Smith (Civic Memorial) 13-3,  (TF-1.5 4:00 (16-0)

3rd: Lucie Eisenbarth (Rochester) 8-7, d. Meredith Gumz (Springfield) 2-2,  (F 1:38)

5th: Madizyn Megrant (Pekin) 8-2, d. Kalli Ware (LaSalle (L.-Peru) 4-5,  (F 2:29)

120

1st: Lainey Ehler (Oakwood) 5-4, d. Madison Bradley (Springfield) 4-4,  (D 9-7)

3rd: Cloe Graumenz (Triad) 2-1, d. Lilly Plumley (Clifton (Central) 3-7,  (F 1:29)

5th: Deja Porter (Cahokia ) 3-1, d. Amelia Buckley (LaSalle (L.-Peru) 1-2,  (F 0:23)

125

1st: Sophie Bowers (Vandalia) 11-0, d. Alexis Seymour (Jacksonville ) 12-2,  (D 5-3)

3rd: Madi Dooley (West Vigo) 10-4, .d. Claire Shaw (Civic Memorial) 6-6,  (F 3:42)

5th: Hailey Watson (Normal (University) 3-1, d. Isabella Paranto (East Peoria) 3-7,  (F 0:29)

130

1st: Ava Beldo (Centennial) 11-2, d. Ariella Miloncus (Springfield) 10-4,  (MD 19-10)

3rd: Kenzi Milestone (Glenwood) 14-5, d. Alicia Dominguez (Civic Memorial) 4-5,  (F 3:33)

5th: Te`Aja Young (Cahokia ) 3-1, d. Jocelyn Hauck (University) 2-2,  (F 0:30)

135

1st: Samantha Scott (Carlinville) 4-0, d. Emerson Barrett (Paris) 11-1,  (D 6-5)

3rd: Audrey Barnes (Granite City) 17-3, d. Taylor Sutton (East Peoria) 7-6,  (F 1:40)

5th: Zoey Brandt (Pekin) 6-5, d. Tala Asad (Springfield) 1-2,  (F 0:12)

140 

1st: Kelly Ladd (Macomb) 14-1, d. Delaney Griffin (Civic Memorial) 6-1,  (F 3:22)

3rd: Lillien Roughton (Unity Christian) 7-3, d. Amelia Watterson (Vandalia) 11-4,  (F 0:34)

5th: Avalyn Edwall (LaSalle-Peru) 7-5, d. Alyssa Hardt (Belleville (West) 4-4,  (F 3:34)

145

1st: Jenna Tuxhorn (Glenwood) 16-1, d. Natalie Beaumont (TCumberland) 8-1,  (D 3-0)

3rd: Tamia Coleman-Hawkins (Hazelwood W) 8-3, d. Taylor Owens (Oakwood) 3-2,  (MD 9-1)

5th: Mikaela Mwangong (Macomb) 3-1, d. Zoe Dozier (Belleville (West) 2-4,  (F 2:35)

155

1st: Gabbie Collins (Paris) 14-1, d. Dru Hyde (Macomb) 14-3,  (F 1:38)

3rd: Lola Sumpter (Alton () 3-1, d. Maya Bennett (Springfield) 2-2,  (MD 16-2)

5th: Adaliah Roth (Triad) 3-1, d. Marisa Eggersdorfer (LaSalle (L.-Peru) 5-3,  (Inj. 0:27)

170

1st: August Rottmann (Highland) 18-0, d. Demi Barnes (Granite City) 14-3,  (F 0:59)

3rd: Brynn Swyers (Vandalia) 9-4, d. Violet Gray (Vandalia) 9-5,  (F 2:00)

5th: Janylah Holman (Cahokia ) 2-1, d. Liberty Hamer (Macomb) 11-4,  (F 3:26)

190
1st: Payton Temple (Clifton (Central) 12-0, d. Krista Mcbride (Goreville) 3-1,  (TF-1.5 2:00 (16-1)

3rd: Andre`a Kirkpatrick (Belleville (West) 6-3, d. Sophia Elkins (Highland) 6-4,  (F 1:28)

5th: Carlina Mcgaughey (Civic Memorial) 5-3, d. Olivia Monroe (Jacksonville) 6-7,  (F 0:13)

235

1st: Cadence Duvall (Normal W) 3-0, d. Gracey Simmons (Vandalia) 5-2,  (F 0:53)

3rd: Jaycee Weitekamp (M.-Seymour) 10-6, d. Kamryn Brown (Cahokia ) 1-2,  (F 0:33)

5th: Arabella Spampanato (E Peoria) 4-5, .d. Crishonna Seals (Springfield) 1-2,  (F 0:59)

MORRIS HOLIDAY CLASSIC

With two champions and 14 total girls contributing team points, Schaumburg cruised to the title of the 27-team Morris Holiday Classic. The Saxons won 467-388 over second-place West Aurora, Minooka (338) took third, with DeKalb (287.5) and Canton (260) rounding out the top five team finishes.

“I would say the thing that impressed me most was that all the girls placed high and were able to make adjustments to their technique within the tournament itself,” Schaumburg coach Matt Gruszka said. “I was happy to see them becoming students for the sport.”

1st place: Schaumburg (467 points)
Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic (145) and Nadia Razzak (190) earned individual titles for the Saxons. Sharon Olofunfemi (135) placed second and Schaumburg got thirds from Madyson Meyer (115), Isabella Rivas (125), and Alya Razzak (170), a fourth from Mia Phelps (105), fifths from Makenzi Aguilar (100), Justice Girod (110), and Anna Villarreal (120), a seventh from Shreya Gosain (155), and an eighth from Ava Hartman (140). Also scoring team points were Lauren Brehmer (130) and Abbey Rogers (235).
“Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic and Nadia Razzak both had fantastic days,” Gruszka said. “The tournament set up allowed for many matches with the pool play to start and then into the different brackets. It actually mimicked what the dual team state championship is set up like. So that was great for the girls.”

The IWCOA’s girls dual team state tournament takes place Saturday, Dec. 28 at Hoffman Estates.

2nd place: West Aurora (388)

West Aurora had five wrestlers finish in the top six of their weight classes. The Blackhawks got a pair of individual titles from Kameyah Young (110) and Aiyanah Sylvester (125), a second from Giselle Marin-Carrasco (140), a fourth from Brittany Moran (235), and a sixth from Brooklyn Czenk (190).

3rd place: Minooka (338)
Eight girls finished in the top six for Minooka, led by a runner-up finish from Holli Coughlen (120). Minooka also got thirds from Palmer Calvey (145) and Mia Lemberg (155), a fourth from Ezra Rodriguez (140), fifths from Kailey Jefferson (125) and Addison Davis (170), and sixths from Maggie Metke (115) and Sabrina Charlebois (130).

Individual champions:
Winning individual championships at Morris were Canton’s LT Diephuis (100), DeKalb’s Alex Gregorio-Perez (105), West Aurora’s Kameyah Young (110), Bolingbrook’s Alejandra Flores (115), Prairie Central’s Yurithdzy Vilchis (120), West Aurora’s Aiyanah Sylvester (125), Glenbard North’s Keagan Edwards (130), Lockport Township’s Claudia Heeney (135), Oswego East’s Quinn Janssens (140), Schaumburg’s Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic (145), Unity’s Anna Vasey (155), Burlington Central’s Ryann Miller (170), Schaumburg’s Nadia Razzak (190), and Prairie Central’s Chloe Hoselton (235).

Team scores:
Schaumburg 467, West Aurora 388, Minooka 338, DeKalb 287.5, Canton 260, Morris 258, Burlington Central 250, Lockport Township 244.5, Plainfield South 235.5, Oswego East 224.5, Urbana 184, Seneca 173, Romeoville 171, Ottawa 155.5, Glenbard North 153, Bolingbrook 145.5, Prairie Central 129, Rich Township 128, Peotone 110, Sandwich 110, Unity 108, Shepard 96, Robinson 67, Kewanee 37, Herscher 34, Somonauk 20
 

Morris Wrestling Invitational results: 

100
1st: LT Diephuis (Canton) 15-1, d. Amie Fuentes (Plainfield S) 9-4,  (F 5:03)

3rd: Ellie Evans (Morris) 13-4, d. Daniella Almanzan (Shepard) 13-4,  (F 1:36)

5th: Makenzi Aguilar (Schaumburg) 13-5, d. Jade Weiss (DeKalb) 10-7,  (F 1:34)

7th: Melissa Melgar (W Aurora) 7-4, d. isabel gwaltney (Ottawa) 6-7,  (F 1:37)

105

1st: Alex Gregorio-Perez (DeKalb) 19-2, d. Daniela Santander (Romeoville) 13-1,  (MD 14-2)

3rd: Shayla Schielein (Canton) 16-5, d. Mia Phelps (Schaumburg) 11-4,  (F 3:17)

5th: Averi Colella (Lockport) 11-4, d. Sofia Perez (Shepard) 14-5,  (F 1:21)

7th: Cristal Jacinto  (Glenbard N) 12-4, d. Maya Phillips (Richton Park Rich) 2-3,  (F 1:08)

110

1st: Kameyah Young (W Aurora) 16-1, d. Veronica Skibicki (Lockport) 16-5,  (F 5:45)

3rd: Ruby Vences (Central) 15-5, d. Lydia Cartwright (Sandwich) 14-3,  (F 0:56)

5th: Justice Girod (Schaumburg) 16-5, d. Frieda Hernandez (DeKalb) 8-5,  (D 7-4)

7th: Maggie Gordon (Morris) 9-6, d. Mikaela Busse (Oswego) 7-12,  (F 1:42)

115

1st: Alejandra Flores (Bolingbrook) 10-2, d. Victoria Macias (Central) 15-3,  (F 5:10)

3rd: Madyson Meyer (Schaumburg) 19-1, d. Makensi Martin (Morris) 15-6,  (F 2:57)

5th: Chloe Hedges (Canton) 20-7, d. Maggie Metke (Minooka) 8-4,  (F 1:13)

7th: Diana Llanos (W Aurora) 13-8, d. Norah Vick (Sandwich) 11-7,  (F 1:51)

120

1st: Yurithdzy Vilchis (Fairbury (Prairie Central)) 10-5, d. Holli Coughlen (Minooka) 11-4,  (F 3:33)

3rd: Danica Martin (Morris) 9-6, d. Annalee Haschemeyer (Canton) 14-6,  (F 1:05)

5th: Anna Villarreal (Schaumburg) 18-3, d. Payton Lustrup (Oswego E) 11-9,  (F 1:08)

7th: Kaylee Bordreau (Peotone) 7-8, d. Chloe Carmona (Ottawa) 1-3,  (F 3:30)

125

1st: Aiyanah Sylvester (W Aurora) 18-0, d. Reese Zimmer (DeKalb) 13-6,  (MD 13-2)

3rd: Isabella Rivas (Schaumburg) 15-3, d. Tauhnisjha Hart (Urbana) 12-7,  (D 3-1)

5th: Kailey Jefferson (Minooka) 9-4, d. Mia Nevarez (Oswego E) 12-7,  (D 11-8)

7th: Lauren Jalowiecki (Central) 7-5, d. Makiya Baker (Fairbury (Prairie Central)) 8-7,  (F 0:38)

130

1st: Keagan Edwards  (Glenbard N) 21-4, d. Kinnley Smith (Canton) 22-1,  (D 8-5)

3rd: Catalina Pacheco (Seneca) 4-1, d. Soraya Walikonis (Central) 14-6,  (F 5:06)

5th: Kara Zimmerman (DeKalb) 13-6, d. Sabina Charlebois (Minooka) 11-5,  (D 9-5)

7th: Annie Bergeron (Peotone) 10-6, d. Lexi Kachiroubas (Plainfield S) 9-6,  (F 1:32)

135

1st: Claudia Heeney (Lockport) 11-2, d. Sharon Olorunfemi (Schaumburg) 19-3,  (F 1:34)

3rd: Sammie Greisen (Seneca) 4-1, d. Lana Zimmerman (DeKalb) 14-5,  (F 1:15)

5th: Mora Munoz (Plainfield S) 12-4, d. Emily House (Oswego E) 4-7,  (F 1:04)

7th: Beth Castro (Minooka) 8-5, d. Ameera Murphy (Oswego) 8-6,  (For.)

140

1st: Quinn Janssens (Oswego E) 21-1, d. Giselle Marin-Carrasco (W Aurora) 12-5,  (TF-1.5 1:34 (15-0))

3rd: Kennedy Smith (Canton) 18-6, d. Ezra Rodriquez (Minooka) 12-5,  (D 17-10)

5th: Rickasia Ivy (Urbana) 12-3, d. Olyve Havens (Morris) 8-5,  (F 0:40)

7th: Hailey Zamot (Richton Park Rich) 6-2, d. Ava Hartman (Schaumburg) 9-3,  (F 3:01)

145

1st: Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic (Schaumburg) 19-0, d. Makayla Hill (Oswego) 19-3,  (TF-1.5 5:40 (19-4))

3rd: Palmer Calvey (Minooka) 13-3, d. Ella Cooper (Oswego E) 9-6,  (MD 14-5)

5th: Fra`ncette Musau (Urbana) 13-5, d. Savannah Burns (Bolingbrook) 8-7,  (F 3:41)

7th: Kymber Hall (W Aurora) 7-3, d. Jazmin Rios (Sandwich) 9-10,  (F 2:32)

155

1st: Anna Vasey (Unity) 16-1, d. Kiyah Chavez (Oswego) 17-5,  (TF-1.5 3:41 (22-5))

3rd: Mia Lemberg (Minooka) 11-5, d. Henna Mullikin (Herscher) 6-3,  (F 3:22)

5th: Macee Hammond (Robinson) 7-6, d. Dakota Obbish (Lockport) 9-8,  (F 0:59)

7th: Shreya Gosain (Schaumburg) 10-9, d. Karma Gomez (W Aurora) 4-6,  (F 2:18)

170

1st: Ryann Miller (Central) 12-0, d. JESSICA STOVER (Oswego E) 17-2,  (F 1:19)

3rd: Alya Razzak (Schaumburg) 16-4, d. Layla Spann (Plainfield S) 7-3,  (F 3:24)

5th: Addison Davis (Minooka) 13-2, d. Mariyah Mani (Romeoville) 10-8,  (F 5:28)

7th: Lana Fay (Oswego E) 4-5, d. Abigail Underhill (Minooka) 6-5,  (F 3:05)

190

1st: Nadia Razzak (Schaumburg) 19-2, d. Lydia Chrobak (Lockport) 5-1,  (F 0:20)

3rd: Morgan Congo (Morris) 15-4, d. Sophie Kelner (Lockport) 12-6,  (F 1:24)

5th: Franciana Kalanga (Urbana) 17-4, d. Brooklyn Czenk (W Aurora) 7-8,  (F 1:51)

7th: Helena Torres (Oswego) 11-11, d. Keira Enright (Plainfield S) 13-4,  (Inj. 0:00)

235

1st: Chloe Hoselton (Fairbury (Prairie Central)) 12-0, d. Phoenix Molina (Unity) 13-3,  (D 3-0)

3rd: Juliana Thrush (Ottawa) 12-1, d. Brittany Moran (W Aurora) 9-4,  (F 1:22)

5th: Henessis Villagrana (Romeoville) 12-4, d. Asreilla Wallace  (Glenbard N) 17-6,  (D 4-0)

7th: Aarianna Bloyd (DeKalb) 12-7, d. Amaya McClain (Richton Park Rich) 4-4,  (D 7-0)

METAMORA HOLIDAY CLASSIC

Galesburg coach Ryan Shipp got four individual titles among his 11 medal winners, as the Silver Streaks topped the 14-team field at the Metamora Holiday Classic.
Galesburg won 100-74 over second-place Richwoods, Washington (59) finished third, followed by ROWVA (55.5) and Sterling (54) to round out the top five team finishes.

1st place: Galesburg (100 points)
Among its scoring wrestlers, Galesburg got individual titles from Eiliana Juarez (115), Dai Driana Wilford (130), Amyah Pruitt (135) and Annalisa Gibbons (140-145), thirds Kelsie Woodridge (125) and Vivian Aldus (155) and a fourth from Addie Boyd (120). Among non-scoring wrestlers, the Silver Streaks also got thirds from Liberty Darst (105) and Victoria Sutton (135), and fourths from Willow Pilger (135) and Hannah Barton (140-145).

2nd place: Richwoods (74)
Richwoods was led by individual champions Sydney Johnson (170) and Marley Clark (235), runner-up Jamie Varda (115), a fourth-place finish from Rebecca Kravetz (100), and a non-scoring third from Kya Norman (235).

3rd place: Washington (59)
Washington got second-place finishes from Lilly Bay (135) and Gracie VanQuakebeke (190), a fourth from Grace Mordhorst (190), a fifth from Isabella Randolph (140-145), and a sixth from Emma Ziegler (135).

Individual champions:
Other individual champions at Metamora included GCMS’ Justice Milligan (100), Metamora’s Grace Aeschliman (105), Streator’s Addison Yacko (110) and Laila Vaughn (120), Pontiac’s Jocelyn Cobix (125) and Alix Robinson (155), and ROWVA’s Patience Riggs (190).

Team scores:

Galesburg 100, Richwoods 74, Washington 59, ROWVA 55.5, Sterling 54, Pontiac 52, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 39.5, Putnam County 29, Streator 22, Manual 21.5, St. Joseph Ogden 14.5, Sparta 14, Metamora 9, Champaign Central 0

Metamora Holiday Classic results:

100

1st: Justice Milligan (GCMS) 8-0, d. Katherine Garcia (Sterling) 2-1,  (F 1:03)

3rd: Audrey Morss (ROWVA) 1-2, d. Rebecca Kravetz (Richwoods) 0-7,  (MD 12-2)

105

1st: Grace Aeschliman (Metamora ) 5-4, d. Kylie Tate (Sterling) 1-1,  (F 2:55)

3rd; Liberty Darst (Galesburg)

110

1st: Addison Yacko (Streator ) 4-2, d. Jenavieve Echols (Sterling) 1-1,  (F 1:11)

3rd: Sydney Zigler (Sterling)

115

1st: Eliana Juarez (Galesburg) 12-2, d. Jamie Varda (Richwoods) 9-4,  (F 4:21)

3rd: Payton Henson (Streator ) 6-1, d. Marissa Brown (ROWVA) 7-3,  (F 1:53)

120

1st: Laila Vaughn (Streator ) 8-4, d. Riley Foglesong (ROWVA) 4-3,  (F 0:16)

3rd: Caylee Lyons (Sterling) 2-2, d. Addie Boyd (Galesburg) 1-3,  (F 1:24)

5th: Samantha Fellers (Pontiac)

125

1st: Jocelyn Cobix (Pontiac) 16-2, d. Isabella Mottler (Richwoods) 3-1,  (F 5:21)

3rd: Kelsie Wooldridge (Galesburg) 6-6, d. Alize Gomez (Sterling) 1-3,  (F 0:27)

5th: Emily Newman (Sterling)

130

1st:Dai Driana Willford (Galesburg) 10-4, d. Skyann Munz (Sterling) 1-1,  (MD 14-2)

3rd: Paola Oviedo (Champaign Central )
135

1st: Amyah Pruitt (Galesburg) 5-0, d. Lilly Bay (Washington) 4-1,  (F 1:53)
3rd: Victoria Sutton (Galesburg) 3-2, d. Willow Pilger (Galesburg) 3-4,  (F 1:47)

5th: Betzy Aguilar-Navarro (Sterling) 1-4, d. Emma Ziegler (Washington) 0-2,  (M. For.)

140-145

1st: Annalisa Gibbons (Galesburg) 10-3, d. Avery Schlickman (GCMS) 9-2,  (F 6:00)

3rd:Maddie Wells (SJ Ogden) 10-4, .d. Hannah Barton (Galesburg) 5-6,  (F 0:13)

5th:Isabella Randolph (Washington) 1-4, d. Olivia Cathey (Sterling) 0-5,  (F 3:50)

155
1st:Alix Robinson (Pontiac) 3-0, d. Loughlyn Kurtz (Sparta) 3-4,  (F 3:10)
3rd:Vivian Aldus (Galesburg) 6-6, d. Viviana Torres (Sterling) 0-3,  (F 1:29)

170

1st: Sydney Johnson (Richwoods) 11-1, d. Zanasia Simmons (Manual) 3-4,  (F 2:48)

3rd: Katie Mitchell (ROWVA) 3-1, d. Olivia Miller (Pontiac) 4-5,  (F 0:32)

190

1st: Patience Riggs (ROWVA) 6-2, d. Gracie VanQuakebeke (Washington) 3-1,  (F 0:58)

3rd: Bailey Herr (Putnam County) 4-1, d. Grace Mordhorst (Washington) 2-2,  (F 0:43)

235

1st: Marley Clark (Richwoods) 8-5, d. Ella Irwin (Putnam County) 3-1,  (F 1:53)
3rd:Kya Norman (Richwoods) 2-2, d. Arianna Burgess Tamayo (Sterling) 1-3,  (F 5:19
5th: Leann Johnson (Pontiac)

LAKES SNOW BRAWL

Lakes’ 12-team Snow Brawl provided fans with a razor-thin difference among the top three team finishes, with host Lakes ultimately out-pointing second-place Kaneland 122.5-120 for the team title. St. Charles East (116) placed second, followed by Freeport (104) and Lyons Township (82) to round out the top five.
Lakes was crowned Illinois’ team state champion last year, after scoring the most team points at the individual girls’ state finals. Lakes graduated two state medal winners but returned state runner-up Josie Larson (190) to this year’s squad.

“We have some new blood, two sophomores and two freshmen, who all have winning records so far,” Lakes coach Mark Stave said. “I am very optimistic about this young bunch.”

1st place: Lakes (122.5)
The Eagles were spearheaded by individual champions Christina Hasner (145) and Josie Larson (190), and got runner-up finishes from Lilyann Blasius (120) and Elise Kaylor (135), thirds from Lovely Calinog (100), Haven Sylves (110), and Osmari Medina (115), a fourth from Timyra Caces (100), and a sixth from Michelle Otuonye (140).

“We’ve placed in the top five in all three of our previous tournaments with only nine roster spots filled,” Stave said. “Josie is an incredible captain for this year’s team and she leads by example on and off the mat.”
Larson is 16-0 with 16 pins thus far this season.

2nd place: Kaneland (120.5)
Kaneland led all teams with three individual champions in Angelina Gochis (115), Brooklyn Sheaffer (125), and Dyani Torres (140). The Knights also got seconds from Sadie Kinsella (190) and Kara Colles (235), a third from Caitlyn Manier (155), a fourth from Reygan Behrends (145), and a fifth from Adeline Coady (120).

3rd place: St. Charles East (116)

The Saints got an individual title from Sydney Steib (110) and runner-up finishes from Natalia Santelli (130), Mia Olenek (140), Addison Wolf (145) and Liz Borderave (170), a third from Sophia Rivas (125), a fourth from Laila Cuadra (135), and a sixth from Olivia Pearson (135).

Individual champions:
Freeport’s Aurielle Calmese (100), Lyons Township’s Jhania Wickert-Harris (105), St. Charles East’s Sydney Steib (110), Kaneland’s Angelina Gochis (115), Freeport’s Hailey Vogel (120), Kaneland’s Brooklyn Sheaffer (125), Lake Forest’s Bree Hirsch (130), Lyons Township’s Sofia Turek (135), Kaneland’s Dyani Torres (140), Lakes’ Christina Hasner (145), Wauconda’s Gesselle Vazquez (155), Freeport’s Caydance Fellows (170), Lakes’ Josie Larsen (190), and Grayslake North’s Allison Poole (235).

Team scores:
Lakes 122.5, Kaneland 120.5, St. Charles East 116, Freeport 104, Lyons Township 82, Buffalo Grove 78, Wauconda 61.5, Antioch 60, Grayslake North 56, Lake Forest 26, Intrinsic Charter 17, Carmel 4

Lake Snow Brawl results:
100

1st: Aurielle Calmese(Freeport) 14-3, d. Ester Migues-Gaytan(Grayslake N) 12-8, (F 1:11)

3rd: Lovely Calinog(Lakes) 1-2, d. Timyra Caces(Lakes) 0-3, (F 0:17)

105

1st: Jhania Wickert-Harris(Lyons) 2-0, d. April Stevens(Wauconda) 1-7, (F 3:39)

110

1st: Sydney Stieb(St Charles E) 3-0, d. Avi Gonzalez(Lyons) 7-2, (F 2:00)

3rd: Haven Sylves(Lakes) 2-1, d. Ariyana Calmese(Freeport) 9-8, (F 0:39)

5th: Abigail Fryza(Intrinsic) 1-2,d.. Jaqueline Martin(Antioch) 0-3, (F 0:57)

115

1st: Angelina Gochis(Kaneland) 15-0, d. Kaiya Galindo(Freeport) 14-11, (F 1:24)

3rd: Osmairi Medina(Lakes) 2-2, d. Alyana Cotton(Antioch) 5-13, (F 1:11)

5th: Brianna Martinez(Lyons)

120

1st: Hailley Vogel(Freeport) 4-4, d. Lilyann Blasius(Lakes) 2-1, (F 3:35)

3rd: Carolina Huertero(Freeport) 7-10, d. Sophie Pinca(Lyons) 2-2, (F 1:00)

5th: Adeline Coady(Kaneland) 1-2, d. Lizzy Quirk(Antioch) 0-5, (F 0:52)

125

1st: Brooklyn Sheaffer(Kaneland) 12-0, d. Teresita Orduna-Santos(Antioch) 4-2, (F 2:18)

3rd: Sophia Rivas(St Charles E) 3-1, d. Jac Lateano(Buffalo Grove) 4-4,(F 2:00)

5th: Areli Pacheco(Wauconda) 3-5, d. Lilly-anne Miller(Antioch) 2-5, (MD 16-2)

130

1st: Bree Hirsch(Lake Forest) 16-7,d.. Natalia Santelli(St Charles E) 1-1, (F 1:45)

3rd: Caroline Marogy(Buffalo Grove) 6-2,d.. Dylylah Patterson(Antioch) 9-7, (D 6-4)

5th: Mari Sorice(Lyons) 1-2, d. Ana Lekishvili(Wauconda) 0-3, (F 0:28)

135

1st: Sofia Turek(Lyons) 3-0,d.. Elise Kaylor(Lakes) 2-1, (F 2:49)

3rd: Catalina Videlka(Buffalo Grove) 4-4,d.. Laila Cuadra(St Charles E) 1-2, (F 0:50)

5th: Jatziry Godoy(Wauconda) 4-5, d. Olivia Pearson(St Charles E) 1-2, (D 3-1)

140

1st: Dyani Torres(Kaneland) 12-4, d. Mia Olenek(St Charles E) 2-1, (F 1:15)

3rd: Sasha Johnson(Antioch) 7-8, d. Alyson Alvarenga(Grayslake N) 13-10,(F 3:52)

5th: Vanesa Penaloza(Freeport) 12-6, d. Michelle Otuonye(Lakes) 2-2, (F 1:30)

145

1st: Christina Hasner(Lakes) 3-0,d.. Addison Wolf(St Charles E) 2-1, (F 1:28)

3rd: Victoria Marquez(Grayslake N) 12-9, d. Reygan Behrends(Kaneland) 2-2, (F 2:34)

5th: Briseida Mendoza(Wauconda) 5-2, d. Lillian Hacker(Antioch) 1-7, (F 1:22)

155

1st: Gesselle Vazquez(Wauconda) 7-1,d.. Alondra Tejeda(Buffalo Grove) 10-5, (D 4-3)

3rd: Caitlyn Manier(Kaneland) 2-1, d. Neve Stateler(Grayslake N) 1-2, (F 1:57)

5th: Juilamay Teston(Intrinsic) 2-1, d. August Pulli(Lyons) 1-2, (F 0:42)

170

1st: Caydance Fellows(Freeport) 9-7, d. Liz Borderave(St Charles E) 3-1,(F 1:53)

3rd: Hero Lucius(Wauconda) 2-2, d. Malina Cook(Antioch) 7-13, (M. For.)

5th: Leila Saenz(Grayslake N)

190

1st: Josie Larson(Lakes) 2-0, d. Sadie Kinsella(Kaneland) 8-4, (F 1:51)

3rd: Lily Wurster(Freeport) 4-5, d. Angie Pena(Buffalo Grove) 3-5, (F 1:37)

5th: Alyssa Olsen(Buffalo Grove) 1-6, d. Josie Blau(Antioch) 11-12, (MFFL)

235

1st: Allison Poole(Grayslake N) 16-4, d. Kara Colles(Kaneland) 0-2,(F 0:34)

By Mike Garofola for the IWCOA

It’s a tournament that has a little bit of everything for the fans of wrestling.

One of the grandaddies of the season, the 58th Rex Whitlatch Invitational hosted by Hinsdale Central would feature over 40 state-ranked men, including nationally-ranked wrestlers led by No. 1 Caleb Noble from Warren Township.

Always one of the best stops of the season, Neenah, Wisconsin fans traveled over 200 miles once again to cheer on their heroes who once again would enjoy plenty of success.

A staple in the Whitlach lineup, 2A state power Geneseo would bow out at the last minute when pneumonia raced through its room, taking with it several members of the Maple Leafs’ roster.

After the first day of action, Clinton Polz’s club from Carl Sandburg found itself nearly 20 points ahead of West Aurora (95.0-77.5) – a lead the No. 5 team in 3A would never relinquish as it went on to lift the championship trophy.

“As always, Hinsdale Central did a great job of running a highly competitive tournament,” said Polz, whose club amassed 209.5 overall points, to runner-up Lincoln-Way West’s 188.5.

Oak Park and River Forest was third with 180.0, with Warren (178.5) and West Aurora (176) rounding out the first five.

“As a team, we left Saturday pleased with winning the tournament, but knowing we all have a lot of work ahead of us as we move on,” Polz said. “Friday night was a very good team effort as we sent thirteen into the quarter-finals, setting us up in a position to win the tournament.

“We were humbled a little bit on Saturday – leaving us a lot of room for growth.”

The tournament’s namesake, Rex Whitlatch, was a three-time state medal winner, and two-time state champion (1953, 1955) while at Urbana High School.

Mr. Whitlatch would then go on to star at the University of Illinois and would captain the Illini during his senior year, when he was named MVP.

He began his coaching career at Niles West High School as an assistant before moving over to run the Hinsdale Central program for 28 of his 32 years at the school.

106 – MJ Rundell, Oak Park and River Forest

Aside from being in a terrific room at OPRF, MJ Rundell (17-0) has the benefit of tapping into older brothers Matt (North Carolina) and Jake (Purdue) who came through the Huskies room in sensational fashion.

“We obviously have a lot of wrestling history in our family, so any help I get from my brothers is always great,” said Rundell, after the No. 1 man in the state at 106 collected his second major trophy of the season.

The sophomore, a Fargo champ at both Freestyle and Greco, helped his club with 32.5 team points with a pin, major, and tech-fall in his final to solidify his spot atop the most recent polls.

“Rankings are just rankings – really doesn’t mean a thing until the final weekend of the season in Champaign,” said Rundell, 32-10 a year ago in his rookie season which included a trip downstate.

113 – Caleb Noble, Warren

A quick glance at where all eyes were pointing inside Hinsdale Bank Gymnasium gave even the most novice of fans an idea of what all came to watch on this Saturday afternoon.

It was a rematch of the 2023 semifinal between reigning state champion Caleb Noble of Warren and Rocco Hayes of Sandburg, who thrilled the crowd a year ago when Noble (15-1) claimed a hard fought 3-1 sudden victory before going on to win his first Whitlatch trophy.

It would take another extra time contest for the Warren sophomore to secure another big trophy after a 3-2 tie-breaker would settle the 113-pound final.

“It was exactly what I expected with Rocco, there isn’t really anything either of us doesn’t know about each other,” said Noble, currently ranked No. 1 in the nation at 106 pounds by Flowrestling.

Hayes took a 1-0 lead with 15 seconds left in the second period near the edge with an escape, but a well executed reversal by Noble 90 seconds from time gave him a 2-1 advantage.

A locked hands penalty with seven seconds remaining in regulation would send this affair into overtime. Noble would eventually gain the win with 10 seconds remaining in the third extra session.

Hayes was the 106-pound champion here two years ago.

“I was very proud of the way Rocco competed in his final with Noble,” began Sandburg head coach Clinton Polz. “He had a few opportunities to win, and I believe he walked away excited to wrestle him again.

“He is determined to make a few adjustments in the future, so we hope they get to see each other for another rematch.”

Noble admitted his recent 13-8 loss to Normal Community star Caden Correll provided the proverbial wake-up call he may have needed.

“I think I was a little too complacent – maybe overconfident before that match with (Correll),” Noble said. “So after that loss it was back into the room to work even harder than I had been before.”

120 – Ryan Dorn, Barrington

Barrington sophomore Ryan Dorn (14-3) opened fast and finished even faster when he beat top seed Rocky Seibel (14-1) of Belleville West, with a magnificent six-minute performance en route to a 13-0 major decision victory.

“There wasn’t any plan of attack before our final, and after a pretty quiet first period that ended 0-0, I was able to get the first take down,” Dorn said. “After that I just looked to keep adding points, and turns, and just going for it until the end.

“I have my eyes on getting back downstate, and having a much better result than a year ago.”

Barrington’s 120-pounder won by 8-1 decision over No. 9 Jonathan Marquez (Warren) in his semifinal, after his terrific effort in the quarters against another state-ranked Joshua Huicochea of West Aurora, which Dorn won by tech-fall.

“This was a big tournament to win, and I am looking forward to getting better each time out from here,” added Dorn, a state qualifier a year ago in his rookie season.

126 – Shane Stream, Lincoln-Way West

Lincoln-Way West sophomore Shane Stream is likely to move up in the state polls after earning his first major trophy of the year, in a nervy 1-0 decision over Minooka senior Noah Avina.

“It was a real dogfight of a match,” began Stream (15-5), who was fourth here a year ago at 113.

“(Avina) beat me last year, so there was a lot of hand-fighting and shots that neither of us finished, but my ability to ride him in that second period might have been the difference.

“I was able to make it downstate last year, but I want to have better results this time around, and with the great coaches we have in our room, I believe I will.”

Stream was 34-19 last season.

132 – Griff Powell, Lyons Township

Lyons Township junior Griff Powell (17-1) would continue the good fortune LT has had in recent years when he gave his program its third consecutive Whitlatch title, after handing Glenbard West senior Ulises Rosas his first defeat of the season with an emphatic 21-5 tech-fall at 4:22.

Powell followed former teammates Cooper King (Illinois Wesleyan, football) and Gunnar Garelli (Virginia Tech, wrestling, 2024 state runner-up) as Whitlatch champions.

“I spent a lot of time training at Izzy Style over the summer, going against plenty of top guys,” Powell said. “I feel like it was a great benefit to me and has helped me come out so much stronger that I was last year.”

This weight class would feature no less than five state-ranked men, including No. 6 Shawn Kogan (Stevenson, 18-1), No. 9 Madden Parker (Sandburg, 14-4), Zev Koransky (OPRF, 12-5) and the aforementioned Rosas who together now have collected four tournament championship medals.

Parker was the 126-pound champion last year, Kogan the same at 132.

“This was a good weekend for me, but there’s still a lot of improvement to be made, and great competition ahead of me also,” said No. 8 Powell, who had the most single match points (24) of anyone competing at this year’s Whitlatch.

138 – Joseph Knackstedt, Oak Park and River Forest

OPRF’s Joseph Knackstedt (16-0) has slowly climbed the ladder of success at this prestigious tournament, reaching the top on Saturday afternoon in grand fashion.

The Huskies’ senior smashed the competition over the two days, as he pinned his way into the finals. Once there, his relentless pursuit of success came to fruition, when a 14-2 technical fall victory over Donald Cannon (Rockford East, 14-2) gave him his second major of the season.

“Three times here – I was sixth as a sophomore and third last year, so it’s great to finish on top in my senior year,” said Knackstedt with a smile.

The No. 8- rated man at 138 is a two-time state qualifier with a 66-23 record during that time. He finished this year’s Whitlatch second in most team points earned with 33.5.

“I put a lot of work in during the offseason with the goal to get back downstate and and on the podium,” said Knackstedt, who will attend Cornell next fall, where he will continue to wrestle while pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering.

144 – Ryan Hinger, Carl Sandburg

Carl Sandburg’s Ryan Hinger has enjoyed plenty of success here in the Hinsdale Bank Gymnasium during a marvelous career that is far from over.

The Sandburg senior earned his second straight Whitlatch crown after a dazzling two days that culminated with a 13-0 major over Brayden Swanson (Oswego, 16-1) to ensure a spotless record thus far at 17-0.

“This is always a great tournament to come to, and it feels great to win here again,” said the Eagles star, twice a state qualifier and fourth overall a year ago at 138 with a superb 44-6 overall record.

Hinger also earned 32.5 team points for the Eagles.

“I am very happy with the way Ryan has competed so far this season,” coach Clinton Polz said.

“His efforts in the offseason from the state tournament until now are really beginning to show. There is not a position he is weak in and he has developed a very good pace. He’s been a leader on this team, and he not only puts in a lot of time on himself, but he brings others along and pushes the entire program as well.”

Hinger, who sits just behind Evan Gosz (Fremd), Max Mukhamedaliyev (Hersey), and Ahston Hobson (Marmion Academy) in the state rankings, anticipates a first class battle come late February for the top spot at 144.

“I feel right now that Gosz is the favorite, but our weight is so competitive, so it just means more work in the room every day,” said Hinger, who will reach 140-plus victories in his career before going on to wrestle in college, where he plans on a career in nursing.

150 – Daniel Blanke, Barrington

Another bright young sophomore star from Barrington would climb atop the podium when Daniel Blanke (17-2) left his mark on the 150-pound bracket when he registered a  pin at 1:02 against Rockford East’s Dana Wickson  to win his first title of the first half of the season.

Blanke, third at the Moore-Prettyman-Dunn Invitational on Thanksgiving weekend, proved to have too much for all in a weight class that saw the top two seeds go out early on.

“I feel like I’ve done a lot of good work during the offseason to help me get off to a much better start than a year ago,” said Blanke, who overcame a couple of broken fingers at the start of his rookie season to fall just short of advancing to state, when his blood-round defeat at 126 dashed his hopes.

“I feel much more comfortable in my wrestling this year,” Blanke said. “I spent time on my ties, getting more shots off my moves, and just about everything else during the offseason.”

Top seed, and No. 4 David Ogunsanya (OPRF) lost his second round match, while at the same time Blanke pinned state-ranked Val Vihrov (Stevenson) to advance into the quarters, where he then decisioned Landon Sheppard (Neenah) to secure a spot in the finals.

The Broncos sophomore claimed (31) team points over his two days, and would record the fifth quickest tech-fall of the tournament (1:53) which came in his Whitlatch opener.

157 – Declan Koch, Neenah WI

Neenah, Wisconsin’s Declan Koch and Jacob Herm provide the type of one-two punch in the middle of the lineup that are the envy of most coaching staffs.

Koch earned his first Whitlatch crown after finishing second here on two straight occasions. Koch won a 6-5 decision over West Aurora’s Dominic Serio in the finals.

“We really like coming down to this tournament, the competition is very good and the style is very different than we have in Wisconsin,” Koch (17-0)  said. “It really helps prepare us for the second half of our season leading up to the post-season.”

Serio is ranked No. 2 in Illinois at 157. The senior from West Aurora, is a two-time state qualifier and a 2024 state medal winner and like Koch, Serio had an easy time on the way to the final.

Koch would record a pair of tech-falls, then a pin in his semifinal while Serio would dominate with a trio of tech-falls to earn his spot against the Neenah junior.

“(Serio) was really very strong so it was important to be able to defend, while still scoring when I could,” said Koch, who placed second in Wisconsin a year ago and recently claimed his 100th career victory.

165 – Jacob Herm, Neenah WI

The other half of the dynamic duo from Neenah, senior Jacob Herm left little doubt as to why he is the No. 1 man in Wisconsin at his weight class. The reigning Wisconsin state champion gave a magnificent two-day performance that would end with the Red Rockets star claiming his second consecutive Whitlatch title.

“This is such a great tournament for us to come to,” said Herm, who went 48-0 a year ago. A trio of pins sent him into the 165-pound final, where he recorded a 19-3 tech-fall at 4:17 over No. 3 Royce Lopez (Warren, 12-1) who was fourth here a year ago.

Herm commited to wrestle at South Dakota State next year, a decision that came easily for the nationally-ranked 65-pounder.

“Everything felt right on my visit, it felt like home to me,” Herm said. “The room, the team, and coaching staff all were great, and the program itself is always very competitive.”

SDS was the No. 12 team in preseason polls.

Herm is a two-time state runner-up, and earned All-American honors following his sixth place Greco finish at Fargo, and currently owns a sparkling 150-11 career record.

175 – Aaron Stewart, Warren

Now a three-time champion here at the Whitlatch, Warren junior Aaron Stewart (14-2) will continue his assault on his 175-pound rivals as he looks to add a second state crown to his trophy case in Champaign in late February.

“I didn’t want to allow any points scored against this weekend, so it felt good to reach that goal, but there’s always work to do,” said Stewart.

No. 1 in the state, Stewart suffered his lone two defeats of the season at the Ironman just three weeks after his high school football season came to an end in the 8A state quarterfinals.

No. 13 in the most recent national polls, Stewart lost to No. 5 Asher Cunningham (Penn State-bound) in his semifinal, 5-1.

Stewart is a true three-sport star, turning in a spectacular fall season where he ran for nearly 2500 yards, while adding 34 touchdowns.

During the post-season Stewart ran for 689 yards in three games, including an astounding 360 yards (5 touchdowns) during a 35-26 victory over Barrington.

190 – Judah Heeg, Lemont

Lemont junior Judah Heeg (16-0) has transitioned nicely into wrestling into his new room at perennial 2A state power Lemont just fine.

“Wrestling here in Illinois is so much different than Minnesota,” began Heeg, who 

was a state qualifier (165, 33-16) while at Simley High School in Minnesota last season.

“It’s much more physical here, so there was a little bit of an adjustment to that style, but I like it a lot more. And it feels good to win a big tournament like this one.”

Heeg, the No. 3 seed and unranked coming into the weekend, would demolish a trio of opponents to advance into the final against top-seeded Zachary Kruse (15-1) of Hinsdale Central, who is currently ranked fourth in Illinois.

Heeg won a 7-4 decision over Kruse on the title mat.

“I’d say wrestling in Minnesota is a little more technical but like I said, I like the physical, tough style (in Illinois), and I feel like our room has helped me prepare for it,” Heeg said.

215 – Nate Elstner, Lincoln-Way West

Lincoln-Way West’s Nate Elstner (16-2) came into the weekend ranked just outside the top 10 at 215 in Illinois. After his performance over the two days here, the senior can make a strong case to move up a spot or two.

Elstner pinned his way to the Marmion Cadet Invite earlier this season, and was at it again in Hinsdale, recording a quartet of pins while adding 34 team points to the cause for his club that would finish second in the team race.

“I worked a lot during the offseason on a variety of things,” Elstner said. “Now I’m just trying to stay focused, wrestling my style, and doing everything needed to get downstate and get up on the podium.” 

Elstner was a linebacker for the Warriors football team this fall that lost to eventual 7A state runners-up Batavia in the second round of the post-season.

Elstner went 31-8 a year ago and was the No. 4 seed in Hinsdale, defeating top seed Colin Goggin (Brother Rice) in his semifinal via a fall.

285 – Anthony Soto, Warren

Warren’s Anthony Soto (17-0) would stay perfect on his season after his impressive finish in the 285-pound final, when the senior recorded a pin at 3:21 over No. 9 Jacobi Spraggins (12-1) of Downers Grove South to win his second major of the year.

“I’m kind of a light weight compared to most of the heavyweights who are huge and so much bigger than me,” said Soto, who weighed in at 231. “But with my speed and quickness, I feel like I can use that to my advantage.

“Last year I may have lacked the confidence needed to compete at a higher level, but this year my confidence, mental approach, and my offseason work to improve my shots in order to get take-downs is so much better.”

The humble senior was a standout defensive tackle for the Blue Devils football team, which advanced to the 8A state quarterfinals before being eliminated by eventual state runner-up York.

Team scores:
Carl Sandburg 209.5, Lincoln-Way West 188.5, Oak Park and River Forest 180, Warren 178.5, West Aurora 176, Barrington 165.5, Glenbard West 139.5, Brother Rice 135, Minooka 134, Downers Grove North 128.5, Stevenson 121.5, Neenah WI 119, Lyons Township 112, Rockford East 101.5, Oswego 89.5, Belleville West 80.5, DeKalb 73, Lemont 62.5, Downers Grove South 57, New Trier 56.5, Hinsdale South 45, Hinsdale Central 38, Neuqua Valley 37, Willowbrook 28.5

Rex Whitlatch Invitational results:

106

1st: MJ Rundell (OPRF) 17-0, d. Matthew Blanke (Barrington) 12-7,  (TF 3:44 (20-2)

3rd: Aidan Ortega (Glenbard W) 17-2, d. Jaden Bradley (DeKalb) 9-5,  (F 1:22)

5th: Daniel Berdich (Stevenson) 16-6, d. Gabriel Richmond  (W Aurora) 13-4,  (Inj. 0:00)

113

1st: Caleb Noble (Warren) 15-1, d. Rocco Hayes (Sandburg) 16-1,  (TB-1 3-2)

3rd: Jamiel Castleberry (OPRF) 12-1, d. Kaleb Pratt (Barrington) 15-2,  (Dec 5-3)

5th: Brady Glynn (LW West) 16-4, d. Aris Neal (Willowbrook) 13-4,  (TF 4:00 (16-1)

120

1st: Ryan Dorn (Barrington) 14-3, d. Rocky Seibel (Belleville (West) 14-1,  (MD 13-0)

3rd: Jonathan Marquez (Warren) 13-3, d. Tyler Tiancgo (DG North) 17-3,  (Dec 7-3)

5th: Max Munn (LW West) 14-7, d. Ayush Bajaj (Stevenson) 10-10,  (MD 9-1)

126

1st: Shane Stream (LW West) 15-5, d. Noah Avina (Minooka) 9-4,  (Dec 1-0)

3rd: Roger Martinez (Lyons) 16-4, d. Carson Prunty (Glenbard W) 16-3,  (Dec 3-1)
5th: Aiden Ortiz (Oswego (H.S.) 15-6, d. Saul Ramirez (Barrington) 11-9,  (MD 12-4)

132

1st: Griff Powell (Lyons) 17-1, d. Ulises Rosas (Glenbard W) 17-1,  (TF 4:22 (21-5)

3rd: Shawn Kogan (Stevenson) 18-1, d. Madden Parker (Sandburg) 14-4,  (TF 2:33 (16-1)

5th: Zev Koransky (OPRF) 12-5, d. Cory Zator (Lemont (H.S.) 13-4, . (Dec 9-7)

138

1st: Joseph Knackstedt (OPRF) 16-0, d. Donald Cannon (Rockford E) 14-2,  (TF 5:17 (21-5)

3rd: Oliver Davis (Brother Rice) 14-2, d. Alejandro Aranda (Glenbard W) 17-3,  (Dec 5-0)

5th: Brady Ritter (Sandburg) 14-5, d. Jakob Siwinski (LW West) 13-7,  (Inj. 0:14)

144

1st: Ryan Hinger (Sandburg) 17-0, d. Brayden Swanson (Oswego (H.S.) 16-1 (MD 13-0)

3rd: Marcus Quintana  (W Aurora) 18-2, d. Caden Chiarelli (DG North) 18-3,  (F 1:30)

5th: Aiden Colbert (Belleville (West) 9-4, d. Mike Hodge (DeKalb) 12-7,  (Dec 5-4)

150

1st: Daniel Blanke (Barrington) 17-2, d. Dana Wickson (Rockford E) 11-3,  (F 1:02)

3rd: David Ogunsanya (OPRF) 16-4, d. Ben Cyrkiel (Minooka) 12-7,  (MD 18-6)

5th: Landen Sheppard (Neenah) 12-7, d. Dillon Griffin (Oswego (H.S.) 14-4,  (Dec 7-3)

157

1st: Declan Koch (Neenah) 17-0, d. Dominic Serio  (W Aurora) 16-2,  (Dec 6-5)

3rd: Tagg Miller (Winnetka (New Trier) 15-2, d. Brandon Watson (Glenbard W) 15-5,  (MD 15-7)

5th: Frank Miceli  (Brother Rice) 13-3, d. Ty Smart (Rockford E) 17-7,  (Inj. 0:00)

165

1st: Jacob Herm (Neenah) 16-1, d. Royce Lopez (Warren) 12-1,  (TF 4:17 (19-3)

3rd: Dayne Serio  (W Aurora) 19-1, d. AJ Frescura (Minooka) 12-4,  (MD 10-2)

5th: DJ Freeman (LW West) 10-4, d. Wyatt Hochgraber (Sandburg) 14-5,  (Dec 8-5)

175
1st: Aaron Stewart (Warren) 14-2, d. Kaden Meyer (Minooka) 13-3,  (F 0:32)

3rd: Dan Costello  (Brother Rice) 11-4, d. Jack Lasota (DG North) 16-4,  (TF 5:44 (16-1)

5th: Malachi Cannon (Rockford E) 14-5, d. Ahmad Alomari (Sandburg) 14-6,  (MD 15-5)

190

1st: Judah Heeg (Lemont (H.S.) 16-0, d. Zachary Kruse (Hinsdale C) 15-1,  (Dec 7-4)

3rd: Jimmy Talley (LW West) 14-6, d. crane james  (Brother Rice) 12-3,  (Dec 10-5)

5th: Kaden Roth (Neenah) 15-4, d. Everett Ciezak (Stevenson) 13-6,  (MD 8-0)

215

1st: Nate Elstner (LW West) 16-2, d. Eric Harris (OPRF) 11-6,  (F 3:31)

3rd: Justin Riley (Belleville (West) 9-3, d. Malic Breish (Sandburg) 14-6,  (Dec 6-1)

5th: Colin Goggin  (Brother Rice) 11-4, d. Fernando Anaya  (W Aurora) 4-3,  (F 4:40)

285

1st: Anthony Soto (Warren) 17-0, d. Jacobi Spraggins (DG South) 12-1,  (F 3:21)

3rd: Brandon Bavirsha (LW West) 16-4, d. Peter Rodriguez (DG North) 16-5,  (Dec 4-2)

5th: Robbie Murphy (Minooka) 10-5, d. Alfsonso Aguilar  (W Aurora) 14-7,  (TB-1 6-1)