Unity qualifies six, LeRoy/Tri-Valley advances five at Olympia Sectional

While a large number of the teams that took part in the Class 1A Olympia Sectional were happy to advance one or two individuals out of the rugged competition in Stanford, a few were fortunate to qualify significantly more than that, which no doubt gives them a lot more confidence about what their athletes might be able to achieve on the big stage at this weekend’s IHSA Individual Finals in Champaign.

Unity led the field with six state qualifiers, LeRoy/Tri-Valley advanced five and Canton, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher and Olympia all qualified four individuals for state.

Advancing for coach Logan Patton’s Unity Rockets were champion Hunter Eastin (43-6) at 190 and second-place finishers Hunter Shike (38-7) at 126, Kaden Inman (41-7) at 144 and Thayden Root (44-9) at 175. Taking third was Ryan Rink (39-10) at 165 and finishing fourth was Taylor Finley (38-16) at 132. Abram Davidson (39-9) at 157 fell in the semifinals and lost a narrow decision in the consolation semifinals to twice come up one win shy of a state trip.

Qualifying for coach Brady Sant Amour’s LeRoy/Tri-Valley Panthers were title winners Brady Mouser (42-2) at 106, Connor Lyons (39-9) at 157 and Jacob Bischoff (42-2) at 215 while taking fourth place were EJ Chaon (30-11) at 120 and Bo Zeleznik (29-12) at 165. Colton Prosser (32-14) at 138 and Tate Sigler (38-8) at 285 both lost semifinal matches and then fell again in the consolation semifinals to come up one win short of advancement to state.

Coach Zach Crawford’s Canton Little Giants were led by third-place finishers Dyllan Steele (35-6) at 106, Danny Murphy (43-2) at 190 and Connor Williams (41-2) at 285 while Maddux Steele (36-8) at 113 finished in fourth place.

Sectional qualifiers for coach Cody Moody’s Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher Falcons were runners-up Carson Maxey (36-8) at 150 and Cooper Miller (32-11) at 165, third-place finisher Shawn Schlickman (34-11) at 132 and also Aiden Sancken (33-6) at 190, who placed fourth.

Advancing to state for coach Josh Collins’ Olympia Spartans were title winner Bentley Wise (40-8) at 150 and second-place finisher Nolen Yeary (36-6) at 215 as well as Dylan Eimer (29-3) at 113 and Kelton Graden (42-11) at 157, who both took third place. Austin Kisner (36-14) at 120 fell one win shy of a state trip after he lost in the consolation semifinals.

Unity Christian’s VerHeecke brothers, Clinton (39-0) at 120 and Garrett (40-0) at 126, head to state with both having perfect seasons and a combined 79-0 record.

Peoria Notre Dame also had two champions, Ian Akers (38-5) beat Illini Bluffs’ Hunter Robbins (45-2) in a 113 title match for the second time in two weeks and Michael McLaughlin (34-6) at 285 got a quick fall to close out the finals.

Other champions were St. Joseph-Ogden’s Holden Brazelton (45-1) at 132, Mercer County’s Ethan Monson (44-4) at 138, Illini Bluffs’ Jackson Carroll (47-2) at 144, Tremont’s Bowden Delaney (42-1) at 165 and Hoopeston Area/Milford’s Angel Zamora (48-2) at 175.

Also finishing in second place were St. Joseph-Ogden’s Emmitt Holt (37-2) at 106, Warrensburg-Latham/Maroa-Forsyth’s Logan Roberts (42-4) at 120, Farmington/Cuba’s Keygan Jennings (40-4) at 132, Illini Bluffs’ Ian O’Connor (45-7) at 138, Mercer County’s Eli Burns (21-5) at 157, The High School of Saint Thomas More’s Brody Cuppernell (32-3) at 190 and Clinton’s Dawson Thayer (37-10) at 285.

Additional third-place finishers were Quincy Notre Dame’s Bradi Lahr (38-5) at 144 and Taylin Scott (43-4) at 215, PORTA’s Zach Bryant (42-10)  at 120, Ridgeview/Lexington’s Danny Tay (42-5) at 126, Tremont’s Mason Mark (41-8) at 138, Peoria Notre Dame’s Chase Daugherty (36-7) at 150 and The High School of Saint Thomas More’s August Christhilf (38-5) at 175.

Others who took fourth place were Pontiac’s Aidan Scholwin (29-5) at 106, Warrensburg-Latham/Maroa-Forsyth’s Kaden Roberts (42-8) at 126, Farmington’s Bradlee Ellis (37-11) at 138, Mercer County’s Zeke Arnold (25-6) at 144, St. Joseph-Ogden’s Coy Hayes (29-8) at 150, Hoopeston Area/Milford’s Ayden Larkin (40-11) at 157, Illini West’s Shawn Watkins (35-9) at 175, Peoria Heights’ Issac Coleman (30-12) at 215 and Beardstown’s Chunk Dailey (34-14) at 285.

Individuals who were all-staters in 2023 who qualified for state again are Hunter Robbins (second at 106 in 2023, second at 106 in 2022), Keygan Jennings (second at 113 in 2023, sixth at 113 in 2022), Brody Cuppernell (second at 195 in 2023), Holden Brazelton (third at 132 in 2023, sixth at 120 in 2022), Clinton VerHeecke (third at 113 in 2023), Ian Akers (fourth at 106 in 2023), Aiden Sancken (fifth at 195 in 2023), Maddux Steele (fifth at 106 in 2023), Jacob Bischoff (sixth at 220 in 2023) and Garrett VerHeecke (sixth at 120 in 2023).

Taylor Finley had the most total match points with 58 while Ayden Larkin was second with 45 points. Kelton Graden was the lone individual in the sectional who recorded five falls. Unity had the most total match points with 186 while Olympia ranked second with 157 points. And Olympia collected the most falls with 13 while Unity was next-best with 10 pins.

Once the individual competition is complete this weekend with many participants in the Olympia Sectional being at or near the top of the awards stand, the focus will shift to four schools’ dual teams. On Tuesday, LeRoy/Tri-Valley will host a Dual Team Sectional in LeRoy and it will face Canton while Unity meets up with Peoria Notre Dame. The winners of the ttwo duals will advance to next weekend’s IHSA Class 1A Dual Team Finals, which take place in Bloomington.

Championship matches for the Class 1A Olympia Sectional Tournament

106 – Brady Mouser (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) 42-2, Jr. over Emmitt Holt (St. JosephOgden) 37-2, Sr. (Dec 1-0)
113 – Ian Akers (Peoria Notre Dame) 38-5, Jr. over Hunter Robbins (Illini Bluffs) 45-2, Sr. (Dec 4-3)
120 – Clinton VerHeecke (Unity Christian) 39-0, So. over Logan Roberts (Warrensburg-Latham) 42-4, Jr. (Fall 1:57)
126 – Garrett VerHeecke (Unity Christian) 40-0, So. over Hunter Shike (Unity) 38-7, So. (Dec 1-0)
132 – Holden Brazelton (St. Joseph-Ogden) 45-1, Jr. over Keygan Jennings (Farmington/Cuba) 40-4, Sr. (TF-1.5 5:43 (15-0))
138 – Ethan Monson (Mercer County) 44-4, Sr. over Ian O’Connor (Illini Bluffs) 45-7, Sr. (SV-1 3-2)
144 – Jackson Carroll (Illini Bluffs) 47-2, Jr. over Kaden Inman (Unity) 41-7, Jr. (MD 14-5)
150 – Bentley Wise (Olympia) 40-8, Sr. over Carson Maxey (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher) 36-8, Sr. (TB-1 3-2)
157 – Connor Lyons (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) 39-9, Sr. over Eli Burns (Mercer County) 21-5, So. (Dec  11-4)
165 – Bowden Delaney (Tremont) 42-1, Jr. over Cooper Miller (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher) 32-11, Fr. (Fall 2:28)
175 – Angel Zamora (Hoopeston Area/Milford) 48-2, Jr. over Thayden Root (Unity) 44-9, Sr. (Fall 3:47)
190 – Hunter Eastin (Unity) 43-6, Jr. over Brody Cuppernell (High School of Saint Thomas More) 32-3, Sr. (Dec 7-4)
215 – Jacob Bischoff (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) 42-2, Sr. over Nolen Yeary (Olympia) 36-6, Sr. (TB-1 5-4)
285 – Michael McLaughlin (Peoria Notre Dame) 34-6, Sr. over Dawson Thayer (Clinton) 37-10, Jr. (Fall 1:12)

Third Place matches for the Class 1A Olympia Sectional Tournament

106 – Dyllan Steele (Canton) 35-6, So. over Aidan Scholwin (Pontiac) 29-5, Sr. (Dec 10-3)
113 – Dylan Eimer (Olympia/Delavan) 29-3, Jr. over Maddux Steele (Canton) 36-8, So. (Inj.)
120 – Zach Bryant (PORTA) 42-10, So. over EJ Chaon (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) 30-11, Fr. (Dec 6-2)
126 – Danny Tay (Ridgeview/Lexington) 42-5, Sr. over Kaden Roberts (Warrensburg-Latham) 42-8, Jr. (Dec 1-0)
132 – Shawn Schlickman (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher) 34-11, Sr. over Taylor Finley (Unity) 38-16, Fr. (Dec 14-8)
138 – Mason Mark (Tremont) 41-8, Sr. over Bradlee Ellis (Farmington/Cuba) 37-11, So. (Dec 10-4)
144 – Bradi Lahr (Quincy Notre Dame) 38-5, So. over Zeke Arnold (Mercer County) 25-6, Sr. (Dec 3-0)
150 –  Chase Daugherty (Peoria Notre Dame) 36-7, Sr. over Coy Hayes (St. Joseph-Ogden) 29-8, So. (Dec 5-1)
157 – Kelton Graden (Olympia) 42-11, Jr. over Ayden Larkin (Hoopeston Area/Milford) 40-11, Jr. (Fall 1:33)
165 – Ryan Rink (Unity) 39-10, Jr. over Bo Zeleznik (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) 29-12, Jr. (Fall 1:26)
175 – August Christhilf (High School of Saint Thomas More) 38-5, Sr. over Shawn Watkins (Illini West) 35-9, Jr. (MD 9-1)
190 – Danny Murphy (Canton) 43-2, Sr. over Aiden Sancken (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher) 33-6, Sr. (MD 11-2)
 215 – Taylin Scott (Quincy Notre Dame) 43-4, Jr. over Issac Coleman (Peoria Heights) 30-12, Sr. (Dec 3-2)
285 – Connor Williams (Canton) 41-2, So. over Chunk Dailey (Beardstown) 34-14, Jr. (Fall 4:31)

Oakwood/Salt Fork, Vandalia lead the way at Vandalia Sectional

Oakwood/Salt Fork likely enjoyed one of its most successful sectional performances in the program’s history as it qualified seven individuals from the Class 1A Vandalia Sectional for this weekend’s IHSA Class 1A Individual Finals at State Farm Center in Champaign.

Coach Mike Glosser’s Comets, who returned most of his team that went 22-12 last season and beat IC Catholic Prep in the quarterfinals before taking fourth place in the IHSA Dual Team Finals in the first state appearance for the Fithian school that co-ops with Tri-Valley in Downs.  The team’s seven state qualifiers was the third-best for all Class 1A schools, ranking behind only Coal City (10 at Chicago Hope Academy) and Marian Central Catholic (8 at Byron). Oakwood/Salt Fork entered sectional week ranked third in Class 1A by Illinois Matmen, behind only top-ranked Marian Central Catholic and defending Class 1A champions, Coal City.

Oakwood/Salt Fork had no champions and was led by second-place finishers Brayden Edwards (33-13) at 113 and Dalton Brown (41-5) at 175 while Pedro Rangel (44-5) at 132, Grant Brewer (39-3) at 150, Bryson Capansky (40-6) at 157 and Jamison Chambliss (24-5) at 190 took third place and Steven Uden (31-16) at 106 finished fourth. Jack Ajster (37-13) at 138 and Carter Chambliss (33-17) at 144 both lost one-point decisions in the consolation semifinals to fall one win shy of state trips and Carter Chambliss also dropped a two-point decision in the semifinals.

Coach Jason Clay’s host Vandals joined Unity as the Class 1A teams with the fourth-highest total of state qualifiers with six. In a season highlighted by Vandalia winning its 1000th dual meet in program history, the Vandals are ranked fourth in Class 1A and hope to make another visit to Dual Team Finals, something they’ve done 13 times since 2007 under Clay. Vandalia needs to beat the host team at the Benton Dual Team Sectional to get back to state.

State qualifiers for Vandalia are sectional champions Max Philpot (45-2) at 106 and Kaden Tidwell (34-9) at 190, runner-up Dillon Hinton (43-3) at 138 and fourth-place finishers Elijah Mabry (34-12) at 113, Brody Matthews (34-14) at 120 and Cole Yarbrough (19-4) at 132. Artan Mustafa (36-16) at 150 and Ross Miller (25-23) at 157 lost in the consolation semifinals to fall one win shy of a state trip.

Another team that is having a memorable season is Roxana, which is ranked fifth and will take on Oakwood/Salt Fork in the Benton Dual Team Sectional to determine which team will earn a trip to Bloomington for the IHSA Class 1A Dual Team Finals. The last time that Roxana took part in that competition was in 2014 when coach Rob Milazzo’s Shells lost in the quarterfinals. 

State qualifiers are champion James Herring (42-3) at 285, runners-up Brandon Green, Jr. (42-4) at 132, Braden Johnson (33-7) at 150 and Lyndon Thies (43-5) at 157 and fourth-place finisher Logan Riggs (40-9) at 126. Elias Thies (30-17) at 175 and Robert Watt (41-8) at 190 both lost in the consolation semifinals and thus fell one win shy of trips to the state finals.

In one of the biggest stories of the sectional, Auburn senior Joey Ruzic (42-1), a two-time defending IHSA champion, suffered his first loss when he was pinned in 0:47 by Harrisburg senior Tony Keene (41-2) in the 126 title match.

Carlyle’s two-time defending state champion, junior Tyson Waughtel, improved to 47-0 after winning the title at 120 and his freshman brother Preston moved to 46-0 after taking first at 113. Benton senior Mason Tieffel, another defending IHSA champion and two-time finalist, improved to 51-0 when he won the title at 138. Also remaining unbeaten was Murphysboro senior Liam Fox (47-0) at 157, who added to a title by teammate Bryce Edwards (43-7), who won at 144.

Individuals who’ve only lost once this season also won two of the championships, Richland County’s Carson Bissey (45-1) at 132 and Herrin’s Blue Bishop (43-1) at 150. Other sectional title winners were Johnston City’s Jude Beers (40-2) at 215, Robinson’s Kahne Hyre (38-3) at 165 and Red Bud/Valmeyer’s Ty Carter (44-3) at 175.

Other second-place finishers were Litchfield/Mt. Olive’s Vincent Moore (33-8) at 106, Anna-Jonesboro’s Drew Sadler (47-3) at 120, Fairfield’s Scotty Cuff (29-5) at 144, Paris’ Robert Wells (26-10) at 165, Mt. Zion’s Keller Stocks (42-11) at 190, Frankfort Community’s Brandon Turner (43-7) at 215 and Althoff Catholic’s Jason Dowell (28-2) at 285.

Additional third-place finishers were Murphysboro’s Kanton Richards (33-17) at 106, Benton’s Cohen Sweely (39-7) at 113, Oblong/Hutsonville/Palestine’s Ian Rosborough (35-5) at 120, Althoff Catholic’s Brenden Rayl (33-2) at 126, Anna-Jonesboro’s Daniel Dover (33-12) at 138, Cumberland’s Owen McGinnis (44-5) at 144, Hillsboro’s Zander Wells (33-7) at 165, Mt. Zion’s Vincent Fiore (37-4) at 175, East Alton-Wood River’s Drake Champlin (48-3) at 215 and Mt. Zion’s Remington Hiser (43-4) at 285.

Also finishing fourth were Cumberland’s Brayden Olmstead (43-7) at 138, Frankfort Community’s Lucas Parker (35-17) at 144, Shelbyville’s Kaz Fox (36-9) at 150, Shelbyville’s Ryne Peavler (40-7) at 157, Westville/Georgetown-Ridge Farm’s Gabriel Kiddoo (32-7) at 165, Auburn’s Joey Barrow (31-11) at 175, Frankfort Community’s Conner Henson (38-10) at 190, Carmi-White County’s Nelson Rider (38-5) at 215 and Lawrenceville/Red Hill’s Dylan Camden (39-12) at 285.

Drake Champlin was the lone competitor in the sectional to collect four falls. Oakwood/Salt Fork easily had the most total match points with 196 while Murphysboro was second with 117. And Roxana collected the most falls with 18 while Vandalia was next-best with 12 pins.

Championship matches for the Class 1A Vandalia Sectional

106 – Max Philpot (Vandalia) 45-2, Fr. over Vincent Moore (Litchfield/Mt. Olive) 33-8, So. (Dec 8-1)
113 – Preston Waughtel (Carlyle) 46-0, Fr. over Brayden Edwards (Oakwood/Salt Fork) 33-13, Jr. (Fall 2:17)
120 – Tyson Waughtel (Carlyle) 47-0, Jr. over Drew Sadler (Anna-Jonesboro) 47-3, Jr. (Dec 7-3)
126 – Tony Keene (Harrisburg) 41-2, Sr. over Anthony Ruzic (Auburn/Franklin/New Berlin) 42-1, Sr. (Fall 0:47)
132 – Carson Bissey (Richland County) 45-1, Jr. over Brandon Green Jr. (Roxana) 42-4, So. (Dec 5-3)
138 – Mason Tieffel (Benton/Sesser-Valier) 51-0, Sr. over Dillon Hinton (Vandalia) 43-3, So. (MD 17-4)
144 – Bryce Edwards (Murphysboro) 43-7, Jr. over Scotty Cuff (Fairfield) 29-5, Sr. (Dec 4-3)
150 – Blue Bishop (Herrin) 43-1, Sr. over Braden Johnson (Roxana) 33-7, Sr. (MD 13-4)
157 – Liam Fox (Murphysboro) 47-0, Sr. over Lyndon Thies (Roxana) 43-5, So. (Dec 3-2)
165 – Kahne Hyre (Robinson) 38-3, Jr. over Robert Wells (Paris) 26-10, Sr. (Fall 3:56)
175 – Ty Carter (Red Bud/Valmeyer) 44-3, Sr. over Dalton Brown (Oakwood/Salt Fork) 41-5, Sr. (Dec 4-3)
190 – Kaden Tidwell (Vandalia) 34-9, Jr. over Keller Stocks (Mt. Zion) 42-11, So. (Dec 4-2)
3rd Place Match
215 – Jude Beers (Johnston City) 40-2, Sr. over Brandon Turner (Frankfort Community) 43-7, Jr. (Dec 10-8)
285 – James Herring (Roxana) 42-3, Sr. over Jason Dowell (Althoff Catholic) 28-2, Jr. (UTB 10-9)

Third Place matches for the Class 1A Vandalia Sectional

106 – Kanton Richards (Murphysboro) 33-17, Fr. over Steven Uden (Oakwood/Salt Fork) 31-16, Fr. (Dec 5-0)
113 – Cohen Sweely (Benton/Sesser-Valier) 39-7, Fr. over Elijah Mabry (Vandalia) 34-12, Fr. (Fall 3:10)
120 – Ian Rosborough (Oblong/Hutsonville/Palestine) 35-5, Sr. over Brody Matthews (Vandalia) 34-14, Fr. (MD 18-7)
126 – Brenden Rayl (Althoff Catholic) 33-2, Jr. over Logan Riggs (Roxana) 40-9, So. (Fall 3:01)
132 – Pedro Rangel (Oakwood/Salt Fork) 44-5, Jr. over Cole Yarbrough (Vandalia) 19-4, Fr. (Fall 1:23)
138 – Daniel Dover (Anna-Jonesboro) 33-12, Sr. over Brayden Olmstead (Cumberland) 43-7, Sr. (Dec 4-3)
144 – Owen McGinnis (Cumberland) 44-5, So. over Lucas Parker (Frankfort Community) 35-17, Fr. (Fall 1:11)
150 – Grant Brewer (Oakwood/Salt Fork) 39-3, Sr. over Kaz Fox (Shelbyville) 36-9, Sr. (Fall 5:49)
157 – Bryson Capansky (OakwoodSalt Fork) 40-6, Sr. over Ryne Peavler (Shelbyville) 40-7, So. (Dec 9-8)
165 – Zander Wells (Hillsboro) 33-7, Sr. over Gabriel Kiddoo (Westville/Georgetown-Ridge Farm) 32-7, Jr. (MD 17-8)
175 – Vincent Fiore (Mt. Zion) 37-4, Sr. over Joey Barrow (Auburn/Franklin/New Berlin) 31-11, Sr. (Dec 9-6)
190 – Jamison Chambliss (Oakwood/Salt Fork) 24-5, Fr. over Conner Henson (Frankfort Community) 38-10, Jr. (Fall 3:40)
215 – Drake Champlin (East Alton-Wood River) 48-3, Jr. over Nelson Rider (Carmi-White County) 38-5, Sr. (Fall 1:32)
285 – Remington Hiser (Mt. Zion) 43-4, Sr. over Dylan Camden (Lawrenceville/Red Hill) 39-12, Jr. (Fall 2:28)

Coal City qualifies 10 at Chicago Hope Academy Sectional

Defending Class 1A champion Coal City heads to the University of Illinois’ State Farm Center on a high note after it qualified 10 individuals at the Chicago Hope Sectional for the IHSA Class 1A  Individual State Finals, which get underway on Thursday in Champaign.

That’s the highest total of any school in Class 1A, two more than Marian Central Catholic qualified at Byron and three more than Oakwood/Salt Fork advanced from Vandalia. 

The only schools with more state qualifiers are Mount Carmel (13) and Joliet Catholic Academy (11) in Class 3A as well as Montini Catholic (12) in Class 2A  while IC Catholic Prep (10), also in Class 2A, has an equal number who are advancing.

IWCOA Hall of Fame coach Mark Masters’ Coalers won half of the titles at their sectional while De La Salle Institute and Seneca both had two champions and Chicago Hope Academy, Dwight/Gardner-South Wilmington and Manteno each had one first-place finisher.

Winning titles for Coal City were Cooper Morris (38-7) at 113, Culan Lindemuth (31-14) at 120, Brody Widlowski (23-3) at 126, Noah Houston (36-10) at 132, Brant Widlowski (43-3) at 150, Landin Benson (22-2) at 165 and Cade Poyner (40-7) at 190. Taking second place was Owen Petersen (42-4) at 106 and Mason Garner (35-4) at 138 and placing fourth was Brock Finch (37-12) at 144.

De La Salle Institute, which is coached by Jason Davidson, was led by champions Jeremiah Lawrence (22-4) at 106 and David McCarthy (27-5) at 285 and runner-up Josue Hernandez (27-6) at 175. Taking third place were Darrel Oman (17-7) at 113, Mario Perez (23-12) at 132 and Nicholas Arvetis (20-10) at 157 while taking fourth place was Malik Warren (25-9) at 165. The seven state qualifiers have established a new standard for the Meteors’ program.

Seneca’s qualifiers were title winners Gunner Varland (28-13) at 157 and Chris Peura (44-4) at 215, second-place finisher Nate Othon (36-11) at 150 as well as Raiden Terry (42-8) at 106 and Asher Hamby (48-6) at 175, who placed third. The Fighting Irish are coached by Todd Yegge. 

Advancing for for coach Dan Willis’ Chicago Hope Academy Eagles were champion Santiago Chaparro (45-2) at 144, third-place finishers Josiah Wells (35-14) at 120, Arkail Griffin (37-10) at 150 and Roy Phelps (43-7) at 285 and also Tony Jones-Blakely (30-16) at 157, who took fourth.

The other two champions were Dwight/Gardner-South Wilmington’s Dylan Crouch (45-1) at 138 and Manteno’s Carter Watkins (33-2) at 175. 

Peotone had three second-place finishers, Blake Anderson (18-11) at 113, Micah Spinazzola (34-11) at 144 and Ian Kreske (33-10) at 165 and Wilmington had three runners-up, Landon Dooley (31-10) at 120, Parker Adams (33-8) at 157 and Logan VanDuyne (31-8) at 190. Others who took second place were Herscher’s Gerrit Osenga (27-7) at 126, Clifton Central’s Kayden Cody (25-10) at 132, Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville’s Sean Brown (23-2) at 215 

and Leo’s Nicholas Armour (33-5) at 285.

Other third-place finishers were Phoenix STEM Military Academy’s Jose Lua (20-3) at 138 and Kaleb Abney (22-6) at 215, Clifton Central’s Gianni Panozzo (44-5) at 144 and Hunter Hull (24-7) at 190, Walther Christian Academy’s Caleb Peterson (31-10) at 126 and Northridge Prep’s Jon Suter (33-3) at 165.

Nazareth Academy had three fourth-place finishers, Aleksander Ramos (24-11) at 106, Charlie Dvorak (21-18) at 113 and Andrew Fowler (28-12) at 150. Others who placed fourth were King College Prep’s Moses Pittman (31-11) at 132 and Calvin Savage (34-3) at 190, Clifton Central’s Giona Panozzo (36-13) at 138 and Noah Gomez (16-5) at 285, Bishop McNamara’s Blake Arseneau (21-7) at 120, Wilmington’s Oakley Rivera (30-16) at 126, Northridge Prep’s Adam Haddad (28-6) at 175 and Reed-Custer’s Dominic Alaimo (30-14) at 215.

Malik Warren edged Ian Kreske 51-50 for the most total match points while Kaleb Abney, Brock Finch, Jon Suter and Raiden Terry all collected four falls. De La Salle Institute had the most total match points with 270 while Chicago Hope Academy and Coal City tied for second with 244 points. The Coalers had a big advantage in pins, getting 26 of them, while Seneca had 16 falls.

Once this week concludes and the athletes from the sectional conclude what have been very successful individual performances, the focus will shift to the Coal City Dual Team Sectional.

Coal City meets De La Salle Institute on Tuesday in one dual meet and Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville faces Rickover Naval Academy in the other to see who advances to the IHSA Class 1A Dual Team Finals, which takes place next weekend in Bloomington.

 Championship matches for the Class 1A Chicago Hope Academy Sectional

106 – Jeremiah Lawrence (De La Salle Institute) 22-4, So. over Owen Petersen (Coal City) 42-4, Fr. (Dec 8-5)

113 – Cooper Morris (Coal City) 38-7, Fr. over Blake Anderson (Peotone) 18-11, Fr. (Fall 1:11)
120 – Culan Lindemuth (Coal City) 31-14, Jr. over Landon Dooley (Wilmington) 31-10, Sr. (TF-1.5 5:09 (16-0)

126 – Brody Widlowski (Coal City) 23-3, So. over Gerrit Osenga (Herscher) 27-7, Sr. (Dec 9-2)

132 – Noah Houston (Coal City) 36-10, So. over Kayden Cody (Clifton Central) 25-10, Sr. (Dec 9-4)

138 – Dylan Crouch (Dwight/Gardner-South Wilmington) 45-1, Jr. over Mason Garner (Coal City) 35-4, So. (Dec 7-2)

144 – Santiago Chaparro (Chicago Hope Academy) 45-2, Sr. over Micah Spinazzola (Peotone) 34-11, So. (Dec 6-2)

150 – Brant Widlowski (Coal City) 43-3, Sr. over Nate Othon (Seneca) 36-11, Sr. (Fall 2:58)

157 – Gunner Varland (Seneca) 28-13, So. over Parker Adams (Wilmington) 33-8, Sr. (Dec 13-6)

165 – Landin Benson (Coal City) 22-2, Jr. over Ian Kreske (Peotone) 33-10, Sr. (MD 24-11)

175 – Carter Watkins (Manteno) 33-2, Sr. over Josue Hernandez (De La Salle Institute) 27-6, Sr. (SV-1 3-1)

190 – Cade Poyner (Coal City) 40-7, So. over Logan VanDuyne (Wilmington) 31-8, So. (Fall 3:28)

215 – Chris Peura (Seneca) 44-4, Sr. over Sean Brown (Chicago (Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville) 23-2, Sr. (Fall 0:29)

285 – David McCarthy (De La Salle Institute) 27-5, Jr. over Nicholas Armour (Leo) 33-5, Jr. (Dec 8-7)

Third Place matches for the Class 1A Chicago Hope Academy Sectional

106 – Raiden Terry (Seneca) 42-8, Fr. over Aleksander Ramos (Nazareth Academy) 24-11, Fr. (TF-1.5 4:32 (16-1)

113 – Darrel Oman (De La Salle Institute) 17-7, Sr. over Charlie Dvorak (Nazareth Academy) 21-18, So. (Fall 3:16)

120 – Josiah Willis (Chicago Hope Academy) 35-14, Fr. over Blake Arseneau (Bishop McNamara) 21-7, So. (Fall 4:36)

126 = Caleb Peterson (Walther Christian Academy) 31-10, Jr. over Oakley Rivera (Wilmington) 30-16, Fr. (MD 17-3)

132 – Mario Perez (De La Salle Institute) 23-12, Sr. over Moses Pittman (King College Prep) 31-11, Jr. (Fall 1:22)

138 – Jose Lua (Phoenix STEM Military Academy)) 20-3, Sr. over Giona Panozzo (Clifton Central) 36-13, So. (MD 12-2)

144 – Gianni Panozzo (Clifton Central) 44-5, Jr. over Brock Finch (Coal City) 37-12, So. (Dec 6-1)

150 – Arkail Griffin (Chicago Hope Academy) 37-10, Fr. over Andrew Fowler (Nazareth Academy) 28-12, Sr. (Dec 10-4)

157 – Nicholas Arvetis (De La Salle Institute) 20-10, Sr. over Tony Jones-Blakely (Chicago Hope Academy) 30-16, Jr. (Dec 6-4)

165 – Jon Suter (Northridge Prep) 33-3, Sr. over Malik Warren (De La Salle Institute) 25-9, So. (Fall 1:26)

175 – Asher Hamby (Seneca) 48-6, Sr. over Adam Haddad (Northridge Prep) 28-6, Jr. (Fall 1:35)

190 – Hunter Hull (Clifton Central) 24-7, Sr. over Calvin Savage (King College Prep) 34-3, Sr. (Dec 8-2)

215 – Kaleb Abney (Chicago (Phoenix STEM Military Academy)) 22-6, Jr. over Dominic Alaimo (Reed-Custer) 30-14, So. (Fall 1:41)

285 – Roy Phelps (Chicago Hope Academy) 43-7, Jr. over Noah Gomez (Clifton Central) 16-5, Sr. (Dec 2-0)

Phoenix STEM Military Academy qualifies six at the Evanston Township Sectional

Phoenix STEM Military Academy qualified six individuals at the Evanston Township Sectional, which ties it with Edwardsville, making the two schools the state leaders for the most athletes that are advancing to the IHSA Girls Individual Finals in Bloomington on February 23-24.

Lakes Community had five state qualifiers, making it is the only school in the state that was able to achieve that while Zion-Benton advanced four individuals to the IHSA Finals, which made it one of just four programs that were able to accomplish that, with District 230 (Andrew, Carl Sandburg, Stagg), Hoffman Estates and Lockport Township being the others.

Others at the Evanston Township Sectional who had three state qualifiers are Homewood-Flossmoor, J. Sterling Morton, Oak Forest, Round Lake and Thornton Fractional  South. Phoenix STEM Military Academy and Lakes Community both had three champions, which was the most for anyone in the sectional, which featured individuals representing 52 schools.

Leading coach Daniel Curin’s Phoenix STEM Military Academy Firebirds were champions Diana Lopez (21-3) at 110, AJ Grant (25-1) at 145  and America Cabrerra (24-4) at 155 while Ariel Foreman (15-4) at 135 took third place and Mia Thomas (21-9) at 115 and Marisol Castro (21-8) at 120 finished fourth. As for sectional team scores, Phoenix STEM Military finished as the  champions with 144 points, Lake Community (115) was second and Oak Forest (96) took third.

“I keep telling my girls we are the best team nobody has ever heard about,” Curin said. “We knew we had something special and very early on set the goal to be city champions. These girls have far exceeded expectations winning the regional and sectional. It’s been great watching them come together as a team. 

“Last year we had four girls on the team that really set the stage for this year. Three of them went down state as first-year sophomores. That effort last year attracted a bunch of new girls to the team this year and they have worked so hard to prepare and compete. To have six girls qualify is something I still can’t believe.  We are a small school, less than 400 kids, to be competing and winning against these big schools has been amazing to watch.”

Top placewinners for coach Devin Tortorice’s Lakes Community Eagles were first-place finishers Zaryia Mouzon (33-4) at 105, Olivia Heft (30-2) at 120 and Ava Babbs (28-0) at 125 while Josephine Larson (29-7) at 190 took second and Haven Sylves (28-11) at 110 placed fourth.

Individuals who qualified for the IHSA Finals for coach Hal Lunsford’s Zion-Benton Zee-Bees were title winner ILeen Castrjon (21-1) at 190, runner-up Emily Ortiz (33-5) at 130 and third-place finishers Naomi Foote (36-8) at 145 and Grace Johnson (31-7) at 155.

Thornton Township’s co-op of Thornton, Thornridge an Thornwood, had two champions, Jalah Wilson (16-2) at 130 and Keyhanna Phillips (12-0) at 170 while other sectional title winners were Round Lake’s Riley Kongkaeow (32-3) at 100, Loyola Academy’s Harlee Hiller (21-8) at 115, Thornton Fractional South’s Jermia Moore (24-8) at 135, New Trier’s Jillian Giller (31-4) at 140 and Curie Metropolitan’s Aaliyah Grandberry (20-0) at 235. 

Also finishing in second place were Homewood-Flossmoor’s London Gandy (22-14) at 105 and Jocelyn Williams (18-3) at 235, Round Lake’s Ireland McCain (31-8) at 115 and Raven Burnett (23-9) at 145, Rickover Naval Academy’s Mia Vazquez (31-4) at 100, Warren Township’s Alyssa Bentley (21-9) at 110, Glenbrook North’s Ariella Dobin (29-3) at 120, Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville’s Tyhesia Goss (17-2) at 125, Mother McAuley’s Maggie Zuber (9-2) at 135, Saint Ignatius College Prep’s GG Garduno (23-2) at 140, Oak Lawn’s Charvelle Mclain (21-3) at 155 and Waukegan’s Jennifer Perez (25-4) at 170.

Other third-place finishers at the sectional were Thornton Fractional South’s Quincy Onyiaorah (23-4) at 130 and Akayla Coopwood (14-3) at 140, De La Salle Institute’s Anapaula Cerna (12-2) at 100, J. Sterling Morton’s Hope Donnamario (32-8) at 105, Rich Township’s Courben Session (17-5) at 110, Kelly College Prep’s Jaqueline Dimas (25-4) at 115, Grayslake Central’s Gianna Arzer (35-9) at 120, Homewood-Flossmoor’s Makayla Marr (9-3) at 125, Reavis’ Estrella Ramirez (32-4) at 170, Oak Forest’s Isabel Peralta (38-4) at 190 and Rickover Naval Academy’s Jasmine Mejia (26-2) at 235.

Also taking fourth place were J. Sterling Morton’s Nayeli Rodriguez (28-11) at 125 and Violet Mayo (34-16) at 170, Oak Forest’s Iyobosa Odianse (28-13) at 140 and Jessica Komolafe (30-8) at 235, Curie Metropolitan’s Evelin Martinez (16-6) at 100, Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences’ Carmen Jackson (26-4) at 105, Tinley Park’s Simone Standifer (21-2) at 130, Highland Park’s Clara Ugaz (19-5) at 135, Stevenson’s Sajra Sulejmani (9-6) at 145, New Trier’s Nina Aceves (28-8) at 155 and Reavis’ Reyna Padilla (19-6) at 190.

Individuals who are two-time IHSA placewinners that will make a third trip to state are Harlee Hiller (first at 105 in 2023, third at 105 in 2022), Aaliyah Grandberry (second at 235 in 2023 and 2022), ILeen Castrejon (third at 170 in 2023, second at 170 in 2022), Sajra Sulejmani (fourth at 145 in 2023, fifth at 145 in 2022) and Ireland McCain (sixth at 115 in 2023, fifth at 120 in 2022).

Other state medalists who qualified were Olivia Heft (second at 115 in 2022), Ava Babbs (third at 125 in 2023), Olivia Heft (second at 115 in 2022), Jocelyn Williams (fourth at 235 in 2022), Josephine Larson (fifth at 190 in 2023) and Jasmine Mejia (fifth at 235 in 2023).

There was a four-way tie for the most team points with 28 between Aaliyah Grandberry, AJ Grant, Harlee Hiller and Diana Lopez while Keyhanna Phillips had 27.5 points. Ava Babbs and Jillian Giller collected 27 team points and ILeen Castrejon, Olivia Heft, Riley Kongkaeow and Jermia Moore all finished with 26 team points.Carmen Jackson collected the most total match points with 55 while Estrella Ramirez was the lone individual in the sectional to record four falls.

Phoenix STEM Military Academy had the most total match points with 204 points while Oak Forest ranked second with 165. And the same two teams recorded the most falls with the Firebirds again ranking first with an 18-17 advantage in pins over the Bengals.

Championship matches for the Evanston Township Sectional Tournament100 – Riley Kongkaeow (Round Lake) 32-3, So. over Mia Vazquez (Rickover Naval Academy) 31-4, Jr. (Dec 4-2)
105 – Zaryia Mouzon (Lakes Community) 33-4, Sr. over London Gandy (Homewood-Flossmoor) 22-14, So. (Dec 8-3)
110 – Diana Lopez (Phoenix STEM Military Academy) 21-3, Jr. over Alyssa Bentley (Warren Township) 21-9, Jr. (Fall 1:49)
115 – Harlee Hiller (Loyola Academy) 21-8, Jr. over Ireland McCain (Round Lake) 31-8, Jr. (Fall 1:58)
120 – Olivia Heft (Lakes Community) 30-2, Sr. over Ariella Dobin (Glenbrook North) 29-3, Fr. (Dec 9-7)
125 – Ava Babbs (Lakes Community) 28-0, Sr. over Tyhesia Goss (Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville) 17-2, So. (Fall 0:44)
130 – Jalah Wilson (Thornton Township) 16-2, Jr. over Emily Ortiz (Zion-Benton) 33-5, So. (Dec 4-2)
135 – Jermia Moore (Thornton Fractional South) 24-8, So. over Maggie Zuber (Mother McAuley) 9-2, Jr. (Fall 0:53)
140 – Jillian Giller (New Trier) 31-4, Jr. over GG Garduno (Saint Ignatius College Prep) 23-2, Fr. (MD 13-5)
145 – AJ Grant (Phoenix STEM Military Academy) 25-1, So. over Raven Burnett (Round Lake) 23-9, Sr. (Fall 2:23)
155 – America Cabrerra (Phoenix STEM Military Academy) 24-4, So. over Charvelle Mclain (Oak Lawn) 21-3, Jr. (Dec 12-7)
170 – Keyhanna Phillips (Thornton Township) 12-0, Sr. over Jennifer Perez (Waukegan) 25-4, Sr. (Fall 2:22)
190 – ILeen Castrejon (Zion-Benton) 21-1, Sr. over Josephine Larson (Lakes Community) 29-7, Jr. (Dec 6-0)
235 – Aaliyah Grandberry (Curie Metropolitan) 20-0, Sr. over Jocelyn Williams (Homewood-Flossmoor) 18-3, Sr. (Fall 1:19)

Third place matches for the Evanston Township Sectional Tournament

100 – Anapaula Cerna (De La Salle Institute) 12-2, So. over Evelin Martinez (Curie Metropolitan) 16-6, Jr. (Fall 3:35)
105 – Hope Donnamario (J Sterling Morton) 32-8, Jr. over Carmen Jackson (Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences) 26-4, So. (Fall 2:58)
110 – Courben Session (Rich Township)) 17-5, Sr. over Haven Sylves (Lakes Community) 28-11, Jr. (Fall 1:19)
115 – Jaqueline Dimas (Kelly College Prep) 25-4, So. over Mia Thomas (Chicago (Phoenix STEM Military Academy) 21-9, Jr. (Fall 2:39)
120 – Gianna Arzer (Grayslake (Central) 35-9, So. over Marisol Castro (Phoenix STEM Military Academy) 21-8, Jr. (TF 4:22 (15-0)
125 – Makayla Marr (Homewood-Flossmoor) 9-3, So. over Nayeli Rodriguez (J Sterling Morton) 28-11, Sr. (TF 4:00 (21-4)
130 – Quincy Onyiaorah (Thornton Fractional South) 23-4, Jr. over Simone Standifer (Tinley Park) 21-2, Jr. (Fall 4:49)
135 – Ariel Foreman (Phoenix STEM Military Academy) 15-4, Jr. over Clara Ugaz (Highland Park) 19-5, Sr. (Fall 5:18)
140 – Akayla Coopwood (Thornton Fractional South) 14-3, So. over Iyobosa Odiase (Oak Forest) 28-13, So. (Fall 3:06)
145 – Naomi Foote (Zion-Benton) 36-8, Jr. over Sajra Sulejmani (Stevenson) 9-6, Sr. (For.)
155 – Grace Johnson (Zion-Benton) 31-7, Jr. over Nina Aceves (New Trier) 28-8, Sr. (Inj. 3:07)
170 – Estrella Ramirez (Reavis) 32-4, Sr. over Violet Mayo (J. Sterling Morton) 34-16, Jr. (Fall 1:46)
190 – Isabel Peralta (Oak Forest) 38-4, Jr. over Reyna Padilla (Reavis) 19-6, So. (Fall 0:44)
235 – Jasmine Mejia (Rickover Naval Academy) 26-2, Jr. over Jessica Komolafe (Oak Forest) 30-8, Sr. (Dec 6-1)  

Team scores for the Evanston Township Sectional Tournament (top 10 finishes)

1. Phoenix STEM Military Academy 144, 2. Lakes Community 115, 3. Oak Forest 96, 4. Zion-Benton 84, 5. Thornton Township 79.5, 6. Round Lake 78, 7. Thornton Fractional South 73, 8. Homewood-Flossmoor 71.5, 9. J. Sterling Morton 59, 10. Curie Metropolitan 51.

Minooka, DeKalb, Geneseo advance three at the Geneseo Sectional

Of all the four girls sectionals, there was only one where no team had more than three state qualifiers and just three teams in the competition, DeKalb, Geneseo and Minooka, were able to  advance three individuals to next weekend’s IHSA Finals in Bloomington.

Advancing to state for coach Paige Schoolman’s Minooka Indians were champion Addison Cailteux (24-4) at 130 and runners-up Eva Beck (26-11) at 135 and Peyton Kueltzo (32-11) at 235. Three other individuals fell one victory shy of advancing to state after losing in the consolation semifinals. They were Brooklyn Doti (25-14) at 110, Bella Cyrkiel (36-6) at 145 and Abbey Boersma (35-13) at 170.  

In tournament scoring, Minooka easily won the title with 105 points while Geneseo took second with 70 points and Kaneland scored 69 points to finish third. Part of the Indians’ success in easily outscoring the other top teams in the sectional was because nine of their 11 competitors captured two or more wins in the two-day tournament the featured athletes from 60 schools.”We are ecstatic for our three state qualifiers,” Schoolman said. “Our whole team wrestled tough all weekend.  We had nine girls win multiple matches with three girls advancing to the championship mat.  Three of our seniors lost in the blood round and that is heartbreaking, but we couldn’t be prouder of what those three have done for this team over the past 2-3 years.” “Addie wrestled solid all weekend, Beating the #5 and #3 ranked wrestlers according to Illinoismatwomen. This has been a long journey for Addie to get back to where we know she can be, one of the best girls in the state. 

Eva wrestled a gritty tournament taking second place. On her way to the finals she beat the third- and fourth-place wrestler in her bracket.  Friday night she had a gutsy OT win versus the girl from Sherrard and Saturday morning wrestled real smart to upend her Joliet opponent. Peyton dominated on Friday night and pulled out a tough 1-0 decision in the semis to punch her ticket to state for the third time in her career.  We are so proud of the work she has put in over the past three years.” 

Coach Carley Rusk’s Geneseo Maple Leafs were led by a third-place finish from Lauren Piquard (26-11) at 140 while Molly Snyder (23-8) at 100 and Bella Curcuru (18-14) at 125 both claimed fourth place. Mady Mooney (17-8) at 155 came up one win short of advancing to state when she lost a close decision in the consolation semifinals.

And coach Conor Infelise’s DeKalb Barbs were led by a second-place finish from Alex Gregorio-Perez (30-6) at 105, a third from Reese Zimmer (32-10) at 115 and a fourth from Aariana Boyd (24-13) at 235.

Two of the sectional champions are also two of the four two-time IHSA champions who will be trying to make more history next weekend by becoming the first three-time state title winners in the sport. They are Hononegah’s Angelina Cassioppi (13-1) at 120, who took first place at 120 a year and claimed first at 100 in 2022, and Freeport’s Cadence Diduch (25-0) at 135, who finished first at 125 last season and captured first place at 120 in 2022. Boylan Catholic’s 

Netavia Wickson (19-2) at 140 won a state title at 135 last season and claimed second place at the same weight in 2022.

IHSA second-place finishers who won sectional titles included a two-time runner-up, Lincoln-Way Central’s Gracie Guarino (23-0) at 115, who took second place last year at 110 and also finished second at 105 the year before. The other three state runners-up who won sectional titles were Joliet Township’s Eliana Paramo (34-3) at 110, who was second at 115 a year ago and finished fifth at 115 in 2022, Canton’s Kinnley Smith (24-3) at 125, who was a runner-up at 135 in 2023 and Moline’s Maryam Ndiaye (27-0) at 155, who was second at 155 last season. 

A returning state champion, Plainfield Central’s Alicia Tucker (33-1), who won a championship at 155 in 2023, suffered her first loss of the season to Peotone’s Kiernan Farmer (17-1) in the 170 title match. And another IHSA runner-up from a year ago, Yorkville’s Yamilet Aguirre (24-1), who placed second at 120 last year and took fourth at 115 in 2022, also lost for the first time this season when she fell to Smith in the 125 title match. 

Other first-place finishers were Newman Central Catholic’s Blair Grennan (13-1) at 100, Kaneland’s Angelina Gochis (43-5) at 105, Canton’s Katelyn Marvel (24-4) at 145, Clifton Central’s Karmen Cody (13-2) at 190 and Ottawa Township’s Juliana Thrush (27-3) at 235.

Additional second-place finishers were Galesburg’s Hannah Almendarez (19-3) at 100 and Annalisa Gibbins (19-4) at 140, Sandwich’s Ashlyn Strenz (15-4) at 110, Burlington Central’s Victoria Macias (32-4) at 115, Joliet Catholic Academy’s Grace Laird (20-7) at 120, Camp Point Central’s Amber Louderback (19-9) at 130, Macomb’s Kelly Ladd (25-7) at 145, Plainfield South’s Teagan Aurich (24-5) at 155 and United Township’s Afi Koumasse (9-1) at 190.

Macias placed fifth at 110 a year ago and finished fourth at that same weight class in 2022 while  Louderback took fourth at 125 in 2023 and Strenz claimed fourth at 115 a year ago

Also finishing third were Yorkville’s Danielle Turner (30-11) at 100, Lincoln-Way West’s Zoe Dempsey (16-5) at 105, Morris’ Ella McDonnell (31-3) at 110, Jacksonville’s Alexis Seymour (27-3) at 120, Kaneland’s Brooklyn Sheaffer (14-3) at 125, Seneca’s Sammie Greisen (30-7) at 130, Sherrard’s Nadia Anderson (12-6) at 135, Rock Island’s Sanaa Hampton (11-2) at 145, El Paso-Gridley’s Savannah Hamilton (10-2) at 155, Burlington Central’s Ryann Miller (32-3) at 170, Morris’ Morgan Congo (28-9) at 190 and Prairie Central’s Chloe Hoselton (15-3) at 235.

Hamilton was a state runner-up at 130 last season and also took second place at 140 in 2022.

McDonnell finished fourth at 110 last year and fourth at 105 in 2022, Seymour placed fourth at 120 in 2023 and Sheaffer finished sixth at 120 a year ago. 

Others who placed fourth in the sectional were Erie/Prophetstown’s Ryleigh Stephens (28-7) at 110 and Michelle Naftzger (32-8) at 130, Streator’s Lily Gwaltney (19-7) at 105, University High’s Allison Kroesch (20-11) at 115, El Paso-Gridley’s Kianna Mayne (13-5) at 120, Joliet Township’s Izabel Barrera (24-7) at 135, Princeton’s Isabella Gibson (19-6) at 140, Rochelle’s Dempsey Atkinson (17-5) at 145, Clifton Central’s Payton Temple (6-4) at 155, Joliet Catholic Academy’s Cheya Bishop (22-11) at 170 and Putnam County’s Bailey Herr (15-11) at 190.

There was a five-way tie for the most team points with 28 between Blair Grennan, Gracie Guarino, Katelyn Marvel, Maryam Ndiaye and Netavia Wickson while Cadence Diduch had 27.5 points, Kiernan Farmer and Angelina Gochis each scored 27 points and Karmen Cody, Kinnley Smith and Juliana Thrush finished with 26 team points. Kianna Mayne had the most total match points with 55 while Angelina Gochis ranked second with 45 total match points. Minooka had the most total match points with 120 while Kaneland was second with 92. And Minooka also had the most falls with 16 while Geneseo ranked second with 14 pins.

Championship matches for the Geneseo Sectional Tournament

100 – Blair Grennan (Newman Central Catholic) 13-1, Fr. over Hannah Almendarez (Galesburg) 19-3, Sr. (Fall 1:40)
105 – Angelina Gochis (Kaneland)) 43-5, Fr. over Alex Gregorio-Perez (DeKalb) 30-6, So. (MD 18-6)
110 – Eliana Paramo (Joliet Township) 34-3, Sr. over Ashlyn Strenz (Sandwich) 15-4, Sr. (Dec 2-0)
115 – Gracie Guarino (Lincoln-Way Central) 23-0, Sr. over Victoria Macias (Burlington Central) 32-4, Jr. (Fall  5:13)
120 – Angelina Cassioppi (Hononegah) 13-1, Jr. over Grace Laird (Joliet Catholic Academy) 20-7, Jr. (Fall 1:52)
125 – Kinnley Smith (Canton) 24-3, Jr. over Yamilet Aguirre (Yorkville) 24-1, Sr. (Fall 4:54)
130 – Addison Cailteux (Minooka) 24-4, So. over Amber Louderback (Camp Point Central) 19-9, So. (Dec 4-3)
135 – Cadence Diduch (Freeport) 25-0, Sr. over Eva Beck (Minooka) 26-11, Sr. (Fall 1:31)
140 – Netavia Wickson (Boylan Catholic) 19-2, Sr. over Annalisa Gibbons (Galesburg) 19-4, Jr. (Fall 2:19)
145 – Katelyn Marvel (Canton) 24-4, Jr. over Kelly Ladd (Macomb) 25-7, Jr. (Fall 4:46)
155 – Maryam Ndiaye (Moline) 27-0, Sr. over Teagan Aurich (Plainfield South) 24-5, Jr. (Fall 1:26)
170 – Kiernan Farmer (Peotone) 17-1, Sr. over Alicia Tucker (Plainfield Central) 33-1, Jr. (MD 9-0)
190 – Karmen Cody (Clifton Central) 13-2, Sr. over Afi Koumasse (United Township) 9-1, Sr. (Fall 1:46)
235 – Juliana Thrush (Ottawa Township) 27-3, So. over Peyton Kuetlzo (Minooka) 32-11, Sr. (Fall 1:43)

Third place matches for the Geneseo Sectional Tournament

100 – Danielle Turner (Yorkville) 30-11, So. over Molly Snyder (Geneseo) 23-8, Fr. (Fall 4:00)
105 – Zoe Dempsey (New Lenox (Lincoln-Way West) 16-5, So. over Lily Gwaltney (Streator) 19-7, Fr. (Fall 1:21)
110 – Ella McDonnell (Morris) 31-3, Sr. over Ryleigh Stephens (Erie/Prophetstown) 28-7, Fr. (Fall 1:58)
115 – Reese Zimmer (DeKalb) 32-10, Jr. over Allison Kroesch (University High) 20-11, Sr. (Fall 3:01)
120 – Alexis Seymour (Jacksonville) 27-3, Jr. over Kianna Mayne (El Paso-Gridley) 13-5, Fr. (Dec 15-8)
125 – Brooklyn Sheaffer (Kaneland) 14-3, Jr. over Bella Curcuru (Geneseo) 18-14, Jr. (Fall 3:46)
130 – Sammie Greisen (Seneca) 30-7, So. over Michelle Naftzger (Erie/Prophetstown) 32-8, So. (Fall 5:28)
135 – Nadia Anderson (Sherrard) 12-6, Jr. over Izabel Barrera (Joliet Township) 24-7, So. (Dec 6-0)
140 – Lauren Piquard (Geneseo) 26-11, Fr. over Isabella Gibson (Princeton) 19-6, So. (Fall 5:38)
145 – Sanaa Hampton (Rock Island) 11-2, Sr. over Dempsey Atkinson (Rochelle) 17-5, Jr. (Fall 1:40)
155 – Savannah Hamilton (El Paso-Gridley) 10-2, Jr. over Payton Temple (Clifton Central) 6-4, Fr. (Fall 0:58)
170 – Ryann Miller (Burlington Central) 32-3, Fr. over Cheya Bishop (Joliet Catholic Academy) 22-11, Sr. (Fall 2:55)
190 – Morgan Congo (Morris) 28-9, Jr. over Bailey Herr (Putnam County) 15-11, Jr. (Fall 5:26)
235 – Chloe Hoselton (Prairie Central) 15-3, Jr. over Aariana Bloyd (DeKalb) 24-13, So. (UTB 1-0)

Team scores for the Geneseo Sectional Tournament (top 10 finishes)

1. Minooka 105, 2. Geneseo 70, 3. Kaneland 69, 4. Joliet Township 63, 5. Canton 61, 6. Galesburg 57, 7. DeKalb 56, 8. Macomb 52, 9. Burlington Central 48, 10. Morris 42, 10. Yorkville 42.

Edwardsville has six qualifiers at the Richwoods Sectional

Edwardsville qualified six individuals from the Richwoods Sectional in Peoria for next weekend’s IHSA Finals at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington. Only one other team advanced as many individuals to state, Chicago’s Phoenix STEM Military Academy.

Four other teams at the sectional advanced three individuals to state, Auburn/Franklin/New Berlin, East Peoria, Mahomet-Seymour and Richwoods. In the team scoring, Edwardsville finished as the champions with 143 points while Richwoods placed second with 105.5 points and Glenwood took third place with 61 points. Athletes representing 59 schools took part in the sectional tournament.

Leading the way for the Edwardsville Tigers, who are coached by 2019 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Jon Wagner, were champion Norah Swaim (17-1) at 120 and second-place finishers Holly Zugmaier (31-6) at 125 and Tayla Phillips (32-7) at 235 while Genevieve Dykstra (27-8) at 100 and Olive Linhorst (28-1) at 130 took third place and Abbrey DeWerff (26-12) at 155 finished fourth. Olivia Coll (23-13) at 105, who took sixth place at 100 in the inaugural IHSA Finals in 2022, and Gianna Linhorst (26-11) at 110, both fell one win short of qualifying after falling in both the semifinals and the consolation semifinals.

“The girls did an outstanding job competing this weekend in the Peoria Richwoods Sectional,” Wagner said. “Placing six in the top four is a Girls wrestling record for our program. We look forward to the IHSA State tournament and are grateful we get to go back to work.”

Twelve teams had sectional champions with Glenwood and Richwoods each winning two titles. Taking first place for Glenwood were Kadi Wilbern (21-0) at 100 and Jenna Tuxhorn (20-2) at 135) while host Richwoods got first-place finishes from Kaila Williams (23-1) at 140 and Jaida Johnson (22-3) at 155. Johnson is one of the seven champions who won a medal at one or both of the first two IHSA Finals, placing second at 155 in the inaugural tournament in 2022.

Other sectional champions were Anna-Jonesboro’s Zoee Sadler (36-10) at 105, Litchfield/Mt. Olive’s Rilynn Younker (25-9) at 110, Mt. Zion’s Sydney Cannon (21-3) at 115, Vandalia’s Sophie Bowers (23-7) at 125, Collinsville’s Taylor Dawson (44-0) at 130, Goreville/Vienna’s Alivia Ming (34-0) at 145, Highland’s August Rottmann (26-3) at 170, Urbana’s Jurdan Tyler (23-4) at 190 and Robinson’s Rylee Hammond (13-7) at 235.

August Rottman won the IHSA title at 170 last season after finishing third at that weight class in the inaugural IHSA Finals in 2022. Other sectional champions who were IHSA medalists in either 2023 or 2022 were Zoee Sadler (second at 105 in 2023), Sydney Cannon (third at 110 in 2023), Taylor Dawson (third at 130 in 2023 and second at 125 in 2022), Alivia Ming (second at 140 in 2023 and fourth at 135 in 2022) and Jurdan Tyler (third at 235 in 2023).

Other who placed second were Roxana’s Madelyn Murphy (16-18) at 100, Pekin’s Tessa Donaldson (11-9) at 105, Monticello’s Marrissa Miller (7-3) at 110, Springfield High/Lanphier/Southeast’s Ella Miloncus (19-6) at 115, Mahomet-Seymour’s Isabelle Leyhe (23-3) at 120, Morton’s Karen Canchola (18-1) at 130, Olympia/Delavan’s Jordan Bicknell (12-2) at 135, Oakwood/Salt Fork’s Taylor Owens (4-3) at 140, East Peoria’s Dezyrae Murray (13-8) at 145, Alton’s Elanna Hickman (28-5) at 155, Peoria Notre Dame’s Autumne Williams (19-4) at 170 and Mt. Vernon’s Faith Barret (5-1) at 190. Karen Canchola won an IHSA medal last season, finishing in fifth place at 130.

All three of the state qualifiers for Auburn/Franklin/New Berlin, Jasmine Brown (22-6) at 115, Jadyn Perry (25-5) at 145 and Heaven Workman (14-6) at 170, claimed third place. 

Additional third place finishers were East Peoria’s Bailey Lusch (14-4) at 105 and Kennedy McMenimen (17-3) at 110, Benton/Sesser-Valier’s Mia Balota (27-5) at 120, Red Bud/Valmeyer’s Avery Smith (19-10) at 125, Cumberland’s Natalie Beaumont (16-2) at 135, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Avery Schlickman (13-8) at 140, Belleville East’s Kami Ratcliff (11-3) at 155, Trico/Elverado’s Maddie Ramaker (11-10) at 190 and Unity’s Phoenix Molina (25-5) at 235. 

Bailey Lusch is a two-time IHSA medalist, placing sixth at 105 in 2023 and fifth at 105 in 2022. Avery Smith also won two IHSA medals, taking third at 115 in 2023 and fourth at 120 in 2022.

And other individuals who finished fourth were Mahomet-Seymour’s Kalista Granadino (23-10) at 115 and Jaycee Fancher (20-8) at 125, Charleston’s Mackensie Williams (14-5) at 145 and Alexus Dodge (5-9) at 235, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Justice Milligan (14-10) at 100, Belleville East’s Alexcia Hardin (20-5) at 105, Larenceville/Red Hill’s Delaney Ledbetter (20-17) at 110, Belleville West’s Brooklyn Zeller (12-7) at 120, Richwoods’ Isabella Motteler (19-5) at 130, Collinsville’s Leann Cory (30-9) at 135, Urbana’s Rickasia Ivy (24-11) at 140, Cumberland’s Summer Nichols (8-4) at 170 and Goreville/Vienna’s Krista McBride (23-5) at 190. Isabella Motteler also won an IHSA medal in 2022, placing sixth at 115.

There was a five-way tie for the most team points with 28 between Sydney Cannon, Taylor Dawson, Norah Swaim, Jurdan Tyler and Kadi Wilbern while Zoee Sadler scored 27 team points and Sophie Bowers, Rylee Hammond, Jaida Johnson, Alivia Ming and August Rottmann all collected 26 team points. Olive Linhorst edged Leann Cory for the most total match points by a 35-34 margin while Jasmine Brown and Avery Smith both recorded four falls in the sectional. Richwoods had the most total match points with 101 while Edwardsville was second with 71. And Edwardsville finished with 14 falls while Richwoods collected 12 pins.

Championship matches for the Richwoods Sectional Tournament

100 – Kadi Wilbern (Glenwood) 21-0, Fr. over Madelyn Murphy (Roxana) 16-18, Fr. (Fall 1:34)
105 – Zoee Sadler (Anna-Jonesboro) 36-10, Jr. over Tessa Donaldson (Pekin) 11-9, So. (Fall 1:04)
110 – Rilynn Younker (Litchfield/Mt. Olive) 25-9, Fr. over Marrissa Miller (Monticello) 7-3, Sr. (Dec 7-2)
115 – Sydney Cannon (Mt. Zion) 21-3, So. over Ella Miloncus (Springfield High/Lanphier/Southeast) 19-6, Jr. (Fall 0:12)
120 – Norah Swaim (Edwardsville) 17-1, Sr. over Isabelle Leyhe (Mahomet-Seymour) 20-3, Sr. (Fall 2:40)
125 – Sophie Bowers (Vandalia) 23-7, Jr. over Holly Zugmaier (Edwardsville) 31-6, Jr. (Dec 2-1)
130 – Taylor Dawson (Collinsville) 44-0, Jr. over Karen Canchola (Morton) 18-1, Jr. (Fall 1:36)
135 – Jenna Tuxhorn (Glenwood) 20-2, So. over Jordan Bicknell (Olympia/Delavan) 12-2, Sr. (Dec 2-1)
140 – Kaila Williams (Richwoods) 23-1, Sr. over Taylor Owens (Oakwood/Salt Fork) 4-3, So. (Dec 10-3)
145 – Alivia Ming (Goreville/Vienna) 34-0, Sr. over Dezyrae Murray (East Peoria) 13-8, Fr. (Fall 0:59)
155 – Jaida Johnson (Richwoods) 22-3, Sr. over Elanna Hickman (Alton) 28-5, Sr. (Fall 4:20)
170 – August Rottmann (Highland) 26-3, Jr. over Autumne Williams (Peoria Notre Dame) 19-4, Jr. (Dec 9-5)
190 – Jurdan Tyler (Urbana) 23-4, Sr. over Faith Barret (Mt. Vernon) 5-1, Sr. (Fall 0:52)
235 – Rylee Hammond (Robinson) 13-7, Jr. over Tayla Phillips (Edwardsville) 32-7, Sr. (Dec 2-1)

Third place matches for the Richwoods Sectional Tournament

100 – Genevieve Dykstra (Edwardsville) 27-8, Fr. over Justice Milligan (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher) 14-10, Jr. (Dec 10-5)
105 – Bailey Lusch (East Peoria) 14-4, Sr. over Alexcia Hardin (Belleville East) 20-5, Jr. (Fall 3:35)
110 – Kennedy McMenimen (East Peoria) 17-3, So. over Delaney Ledbetter (Lawrenceville/Red Hill) 20-17, Fr. (Dec 4-1)
115 – Jasmine Brown (Auburn/Franklin/New Berlin) 22-6, Sr. over Kalista Granadino (Mahomet-Seymour) 23-10, So. (Fall 4:50)
120 – Mia Balota (Benton/Sesser-Valier) 27-5, Sr. over Brooklyn Zeller (Belleville West) 12-7, Jr. (Inj. 3:43)
125 – Avery Smith (Red Bud/Valmeyer) 19-10, Sr. over Jaycee Fancher (Mahomet-Seymour) 20-8, Fr. (Fall 5:04)
130 – Olive Linhorst (Edwardsville) 28-11, Fr. over Isabella Motteler (Richwoods) 19-5, Jr. (Dec 6-0)
135 – Natalie Beaumont (Cumberland) 16-2, So. over Leann Cory (Collinsville) 30-9, Fr. (Dec 6-4)
140 – Avery Schlickman (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher) 13-8, Jr. over Rickasia Ivy (Urbana) 24-11, Fr. (Fall 3:24)
145 – Jadyn Perry (Auburn/Franklin/New Berlin) 25-5, Sr. over Mackensie Williams (Charleston) 14-5, Sr. (Dec 3-2)
155 – Kami Ratcliff (Belleville East) 11-3, Sr. over Abbrey DeWerff (Edwardsville) 26-12, So. (Fall 5:09)
170 – Heaven Workman (Auburn/Franklin/New Berlin) 14-6, Sr. over Summer Nichols (Cumberland) 8-4, Fr. (Dec 6-0)
190 – Maddie Ramaker (Trico/Elverado) 11-10, Jr. over Krista McBride (Goreville/Vienna) 23-5, So. (Inj. 0:00)
235 – Phoenix Molina (Unity) 25-5, So. over Alexus Dodge (Charleston) 5-9, So. (Fall 1:34)

Team scores for the Richwoods Sectional Tournament (top 10 finishes)

1. Edwardsville 143, 2. Richwoods 105.5, 3. Glenwood 61, 4. Auburn/Franklin/New Berlin 56, 5. Mahomet-Seymour 55, 6. East Peoria 48, 7. Goreville/Vienna 47, 8. Collinsville 46, 9. Robinson 46, 10. Urbana 44. 

By Chris Walker – for the IWCOA

Mount Carmel’s Seth Mendoza (126), Evan Stanley (132), Edmund Enright (157) and Colin Kelly (175) followed their regional titles a week ago with sectional titles during Saturday’s Class 3A Hinsdale Central Sectional.

They punched their ticket to state along with teammates Justin Williamson (113), Jairo Acuna (144), Rylan Breen (190), William Jacobson (215) and Alex Poholik (285) who took second place. Kavel Moore (106) and Liam Kelly (150) finished with victories on the third-place mat while Damian Resendez (138) and Kevin Kalchbrenner (165) fell short in their respective third-place matches, but all of them qualified for coach Alex Tsirtsis’ Caravan, who will send 13 individuals to the IHSA Class 3A Individual Finals at the State Farm Center in Champaign, which runs from Thursday through Saturday. Last year, Mount Carmel had 10 state qualifiers.

Marist advanced eight wrestlers to the state finals behind Donavon Allen (138), Will Denny (150) and Conor Phelan (190), who won titles. Michael Esteban (126) and Ethan Sonne (132) took second, George Marinopoulos (120) and Ricky Ericksen (175) placed third and Tommy Fidler (113) took fourth for coach Brendan Heffernan’s RedHawks.

Marmion Academy’s Nicholas Garcia (113) and Joey Favia (215) led the Cadets with sectional championships. Logan Conover (106) and Zach Stewart (138) finished second while Donny Pigoni (126) and Ashton Hobson (144) won their third-place matches and Mateuz Nycz (285) took fourth place. All told, the Cadets, who are coached by Anthony Cirrincione and Nathan Fitzenreider, will send seven individuals to Champaign.

West Aurora didn’t come away with any sectional titles, but five of its individuals advanced to state. Dominic Serio (150) and Noah Quintana (157) placed second, Dayne Serio (165) was third and Aiden Massaro (120) and Evan Matkovich (126) took fourth.

Carl Sandburg matched the Blackhawks with five state qualifiers, led by champion Rocco Hayes (106). Madden Parker (120) took second, Ryan Hinger (138) was third and Brady Ritter (132) and Zac Ritter (150) were fourth.

Naperville Central, the DuPage Valley Conference champs, didn’t have any sectional champs either, but will send four Redhawks to state. Christopher Bern (157) and William Erbeck (285) won their third place matches while Hagan Taylor (144) and Nicolas Besteiro (215) each took fourth place.

Batavia matched the Redhawks with four state qualifiers as Ino Garcia (120) and Aidan Huck (144) earned championships to lead the way. Asher Sheldon (215) was third and Ben Brown (190) took fourth.

Downers Grove South’s Matt Lapacek (190) took third and RJ Samuels (175) was fourth while Glenbard West’s Collin Carrigan picked up his 42nd victory on the season to earn the title at 165 while his teammate Tony Shadid (157) took fourth.

A handful of teams were fortunate to escape Hinsdale with at least one state qualifier.

Lyons Township’s Gunnar Garelli (165) and Wheaton Warrenville South’s Sedeeq Al Obaidi (175) each took second, Stagg’s Jaime Corral (113) and Naperville North’s Tyler Sternstein both placed third and Glenbard East’s Waleed Binmahfooz (106) finished in fourth.

Argo, Bolingbrook, Curie Metropolitan, Downers Grove North, East Aurora, Hubbard, Kennedy, J. Sterling Morton, Neuqua Valley, Oak Lawn, Reavis, Thornton, Waubonsie Valley and Willowbrook also had wrestlers that competed in the sectional.

Carl Sandburg’s Rocco Hayes (44-1) dominated like few others at Hinsdale Central, pinning all three opponents he faced and each in shorter time than the last, including his win by fall at 0:30 against Marmion Academy freshman Logan Conovoer (29-14) in the 106 title match.

106 – Rocco Hayes, Carl Sandburg

“I’m just happy with all my training that I was able to have,” Hayes said. “I got prepared really well for this but the job is not done. I have more work to do.”

That work is pointing towards a possible state title. Hayes, a junior, took third at 106 last year and has gotten better.

“Getting to my offense is really important and I’m really good at what I do and it really helped me throughout this tournament,” he said. “I’ve become (offense oriented) this year and gotten into more positions where I wasn’t able to (last year) and I’m a lot better now and I have better coaches and partners who push me everyday.”

Mount Carmel junior Kavel Moore (21-11), one of five wrestlers from his team to advance to state by advancing to the third-place mat, finished with an 11-1 major decision victory over Glenbard East senior Waleed Binmahfooz (38-9).

113 – Nicholas Garcia, Marmion Academy

Marmion Academy sophomore Nicholas Garcia (41-7) had a difficult time getting into his offense against Mount Carmel freshman Justin Williamson (29-9) but kept his poise and pulled out a 6-5 decision in the 113 championship match. Last year, Garcia placed fourth at 106 in the IHSA 3A Finals.

“He had a really good game plan going into it, trying to hold on the whole time,” Garcia said. “He had a great ride on top, turned me, it’s exactly what he wanted to do, so I have a lot of respect for that. I knew I had it in me. I just had to go out there and win so the pressure was on.”

Stagg senior Jaime Corral (28-8) won a 7-3 decision over Marist sophomore Tommy Fidler (27-13) to take third place. Corral’s finish was a big for him and his program as he’ll be the only Charger that’s competing at state this weekend.

120 – Ino Garcia, Batavia

Batavia senior Ino Garcia (24-5) earned a 9-1 decision against Carl Sandburg junior Madden Parker (40-6) to win the title at 120. He’ll be making his third state appearance.

“I just had to get on my offense,” Garcia said. “I knew I was good at defense and stuff like that. So if I get on my offense and score early I can usually put away a match like that.”

Garcia, who took sixth in the state last season at 113 in the Class 3A finals, believes he’s an ever better wrestler than he was a year ago.

“I think I’ve grown the most on my feet,” he said. “I like to think I’ve grown in everything, but I’m not sure if that’s 100 percent. Either way I know I’ve gotten better and I put in a lot of time and effort.”

After wins by fall and decision to win the Glenbard West regional, Garcia picked up three victories to win the sectional. Tough battles prior to the postseason helped prepare Garcia for a state run. He placed second in the DuKane Conference, losing to Glenbard North’s Kalani Khiev. He took third in Batavia’s Arlis Invite after dropping a match in the semifinals to Marmion Academy’s Nicholas Garcia, who won the sectional title at 113.

“In those other tournaments and stuff against really tough opponents pushed me to get better,” Garcia said. “It put me in position so I could take first place.”

Marist junior George Marinopoulos (35-7), who fell one win shy of a medal at 106 a year ago at state, scored a 15-1 major decision victory against West Aurora senior Aiden Massaro (32-13) on the third-place mat.

126 – Seth Mendoza, Mount Carmel

Improving to 38-2 on the year, Mount Carmel junior Seth Mendoza is now looking for a third-straight state title after winning by technical fall in 4:24 over Marist junior Michael Esteban in the 126 sectional finals. Mendoza was the IHSA 113 champion last season after taking first place at 106 in 2022. Esteban (32-8) placed sixth at state at 113 in 2022.

Marmion Academy senior Donny Pigoni (30-12), who fell one win shy of state medals in both 2023 

and 2022, pinned West Aurora sophomore Evan Matkovich (34-9) in 1:12 to win third place at 126.

132 – Evan Stanley, Mount Carmel

As much as he loves his two older sisters, Mount Carmel freshman Evan Stanley is equally thankful for the pestering he absorbed growing up around them which helped mold him into the tough, successful wrestler he is today.

Stanley (33-5) defeated another freshman in the 132 finals, earning a 7-2 decision over Marist’s Ethan Sonne (21-15).

“I got into wrestling when I was four years old and I was really hyper and didn’t have any older brothers or cousins who were boys, just had two older sisters (Leia and Haven) who beat up on me a lot,” he said. “And my parents got me into wrestling because I was hyper and it seemed like I would like it.”

He’s remains committed to the sport since he started.

“I’ve never taken a year off,” he said. “Never taken a month off unless for surgery or a broken bone.”

He suffered his last broken bone several years ago against St. Charles East’s Ben Davino who is vying to become a four-time state champion.

“Ben Davino broke my collarbone when I was seven or eight years old,” he said.  “It’s been a long time since we wrestled, and me and him have talked (since),” he said. “It’s raised a little bit (the left collarbone), it’s never been the same.”

Despite being a newcomer on a team loaded with talent, Stanley hasn’t just shown he belongs, he knows he deserves this kind of success.

“I haven’t surprised myself, this has been the goal,” he said.”I work for it. I know I do, and whenever I feel like I underperform that’s when I hold my head even if it’s a win. And I was running after (the championship win) trying to do everything I can to be the best version of myself on and off the mat, and that’s pushing myself through everything, but also expecting a lot from myself throughout life and throughout wrestling.”

As an Indiana resident, Stanley hasn’t attended the IHSA state finals before. That’ll change real soon.

“Growing up, it’s been going to Indiana,” he said. “I’m an Indiana kid who ever since middle school factored in going to Mount Carmel. I always paid attention and I have friends who have wrestled at (the IHSA state finals) and I wrestled in the actual arena just for a fun match when I was younger, but going down there and competing is something I’m really looking forward to. I’m going to put in a lot of work this week, I’m getting right back at it at 8 a.m. tomorrow and the grind starts, the state run, the state push, it’s time now.”

Naperville North junior Tyler Sternstein (34-4) upended Carl Sandburg freshman Brady Ritter (31-12) with a 7-5 decision for third place at 132. Sternstein is the Huskies’ lone state qualifier.

138 – Donavon Allen, Marist

Donavon Allen (31-6) doesn’t mince words when he talks about where he hopes to end up at the end of his junior year at Marist.

“The goal for me is being on top of that podium this year,” he said. “I fell short the two previous years so I want to be on the top of that podium. I feel like I definitely got better in my conditioning and my overall work ethic (from last year) so I feel ready to go.”

Last year Allen fell short of winning a sectional title, taking second place after losing by technical fall in the 132 finals.

He stayed focused and persevered to beat Marmion Academy sophomore Zach Stewart (26-8) 5-3 by sudden victory in the 138 title match.

“I really practice on that poise and my coaches help me stay focused during a match,” Allen said. “I try to stay focused through the whole six minutes locked in and battling. I don’t really buy into what’s going on in the match, I just wrestle my match.”

Carl Sandburg junior Ryan Hinger (41-4) earned a 10-1 major decision over Mount Carmel senior Damian Resendez (20-13) to capture third place at 138. A year ago in the IHSA Finals, Hinger fell one win shy of getting a medal at 132. Resendez took fifth at 120 in 2023 and was second at 113 in 2022. 

144 – Aidan Huck, Batavia

It was deja vu for Aidan Huck on Saturday almost a year to the day at the same place, Hinsdale Central.

A year ago, Batavia’s Huck survived Mount Carmel junior Jairo Acuna by sudden victory at 126 in the Hinsdale Central Sectional semifinals before falling in the finals.

On Saturday, Huck (40-5) met Acuna (29-11) in the 144 finals and earned a 5-3 decision to claim a sectional title in his senior season.

“This means a lot,” Huck said. “We came in with a plan and I held him down and got to my attack and ended up on top. That definitely worked for me. We got four guys in, the same as last year going down to state.”

Last year’s narrow win was definitely on Huck’s mind as he fought for a sectional title.

“This kid (Acuna) won against me last year in the semis,” Huck said. “I took him down by a point or two, and you know, he came in with a plan but I slowed him down and got to my attacks and ended up on top.”

Marmion Academy sophomore Ashton Hobson (36-8) won a 20-8 major decision against Naperville Central senior Hagan Taylor (29-9) for third place.

150 – Will Denny, Marist

In a final pairing of two juniors, Marist’s Will Denny (38-4) earned a 15-4 major decision over West Aurora’s Dominic Serio (29-2) in the 150 title match. A year ago, they both advanced to state at 145 and Denny took fourth place while Serio fell one win shy of a medal.

Mount Carmel sophomore Liam Kelly (28-11), who fell one win shy of a medal at 138 last year at state, was able to get past Carl Sandburg senior Zac Ritter (42-11) by a 3-2 decision to win the third-place match at 150.

157 – Edmund Enright, Mount Carmel

Mount Carmel senior Edmund Enright, who finished second to West Chicago’s Nolan Allen in the IHSA Finals at 152 last season, will now try to win a state title at 157. Enright (36-3) won the sectional title at 157 with a 5-0 decision over West Aurora senior Noah Quintana (28-6). 

Naperville Central senior Christopher Bern (29-9) gained some momentum as he heads to state after winning a 5-1 decision over Glenbard West senior Tony Shadid (25-13) in the third-place match at 157.

165 – Collin Carrigan, Glenbard West

It’s hard to imagine Glenbard West’s Collin Carrigan and Lyons Township’s Gunnar Garelli as fourth graders joking around about a future where the two battled for a sectional wrestling title as high school seniors, but that’s exactly where the two met up again on Saturday.

“I transferred to Glenbard West for my senior year so I’ve known (Garelli), we went to the same club since fourth grade so I’ve wrestled this kid forever,” Carrigan said. “It’s funny that senior year worked out like this. I’ve seen him already two times and this was the third time. It’s a cool rivalry.”

Carrigan (42-1) beat Garelli (44-2) by a 5-3 decision in the 165 title match. A year ago at state, Garelli took fourth place at 160 while Carrigan, competing for Marmion Academy, lost in the 152 quarterfinals and failed to win a medal after placing fifth at 152 in 2022.

“Getting that early score was good and helped me win,” Carrigan said. “Being No. 1 or whatever doesn’t mean you can just cruise to a state title. They’re people gunning for you which makes me hungry.”

Rebounding from a loss by fall against Garelli in the semifinals, West Aurora sophomore Dayne Serio (34-5) earned an 8-3 decision over Mount Carmel junior Kevin Kalchbrenner (21-14) to take third place.

175 – Colin Kelly, Mount Carmel

Mount Carmel senior Colin Kelly (39-1) appears to be ready to battle for another state title after earning a 19-7 major decision against Wheaton Warrenville South senior Sedeeq Al Obaidi (37-3) in the 175 championship match. 

Last year, Kelly finished second at state following a 3-2 loss to McHenry’s unbeaten Chris Moore in the 170 finals. In 2022, he won the 160 championship by handing Moore his first loss 3-1 in sudden victory. As a freshman in 2021, he took third at 160 in the IWCOA Finals. Meanwhile, Al Obaidi fell one win shy of a medal at 170 last year at state.

With Downers Grove South senior RJ Samuels (34-8) succumbing to injury at 1:58 in the third place match at 175, Marist junior Ricky Ericksen (28-10) finished his day with a win.

190 – Conor Phelan, Marist

Marist senior Conor Phelan has good reason to be passionate about the sport as he nears the end of his high school career. After taking third place at 182 a year ago to earn his first state medal, he heads into this weekend’s IHSA Finals on a high note after recording a fall in 2:32 in the 190 title match over Mount Carmel senior Rylan Breen, who is a two-time state medalist.

“I knew I was going to have a lot of good matches against really good wrestlers here,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun. Skipping school to go wrestle some studs, that’s fun. I love it, I love it.”

Phelan (36-8) recalled taking a break from the sport while in elementary school, but the itch to return brought him right back. That’s not only been good for him, but for the sport.

“I’ve gone up and down with it (wrestling) throughout the years,” he said. “I quit when I was 10 and forgot about it over the summer and told my dad I need my wrestling shoes and that’s when I started to show some talent in the sport,” he said. “And I think last year at state, again there wasn’t anything left to qualify for anymore, it was just wrestling, and I wanted to just wrestle. And that’s when I started to fall in love with it again because I realized I have nothing to prove to anyone except myself and there’s no reason to do sports if you don’t enjoy it.”

Breen (26-8) took fifth place at state at 182 last season after finishing sixth at that weight in 2022.

“I’ve wrestled him twice before and twice it’s been really dynamic matches,” Phelan said. “He’s always trying to score and that’s a lot more fun to me than people who don’t like to try to win their matches and it’s 2-1, 1-0 matches. I hate that. I just knew it was going to be a fun match going in and I think that let me wrestle better a little bit.”

Winning is fun and Phelan is having a blast winning.

“I got two different people telling me it was a fun match, and honestly that was a better compliment to me than anything you could say,” he said. “I want to be dynamic when I wrestle. I do this sport because I love it and that was part of going into the match. I know it was for seeding points or whatever, but I already was in (for state) and he was already in (for state) so I just wanted to wrestle him again and have fun. My college situation is already figured out. I have nothing to prove to anyone. I’m really just here because I like to wrestle.”

Downers Grove South senior Matt Lapacek (26-4), who fell one win shy of a medal at 182 last year at state, handed Batavia senior Ben Brown (31-2) his second loss of the day, and of the season, with a 5-1 victory for third place at 190.

215 – Joey Favia, Marmion Academy

Marmion Academy’s Joey Favia (34-6) held on to defeat Mount Carmel senior William Jacobson (25-12) by a 3-2 decision for the 215 title. The sophomore has been fantastic all season long for the Cadets and now will try to reign supreme on the state’s biggest stage.

“It feels really good, I’m honored, I feel I took all the right steps to make it to state,” Favia said. “I’ve wrestled that kid before so I knew it was going to be a good match. I just have the best coaches in the corner and just know what I’m going to do so I was pretty confident going in. I mean, obviously, this is a really good sectional, you just got wrestle your match, wrestle like you can wrestle.”

Batavia junior Asher Sheldon (40-9) put his loss to Jacobson in the semifinals behind him and bounced back in a big and quick way with a win by fall in 1:17 over Naperville Central senior Nicolas Besteiro (27-5) to take third place at 215.

285 – Marko Ivanisevic, Hinsdale Central

Hinsdale Central senior Marko Ivanisevic (37-2) defeated Mount Carmel senior Alex Poholik (18-9) 3-0 to wrap up the sectional title at 285. Ivanisevic finished fifth at state at 220 in both 2023 and 2022. If he places again this year, he’ll join Brian Allen, Juwan Edmond, Jack Allen and Cody Tavoso as the only Red Devils who have been all-staters for three or more seasons.

Naperville Central junior William Erbeck (36-3) earned a 7-5 decision to defeat Marmion Academy junior Mateusz Nycz (27-20) to take third place at 285.

Class 3A Hinsdale Central Sectional Championship matches

106 – Rocco Hayes (Carl Sandburg) F 0:30 Logan Conover (Marmion Academy)

113 – Nicholas Garcia (Marmion Academy) D 6-5 Justin Williamson (Mount Carmel)

120 – Ino Garcia (Batavia) MD 9-1 Madden Parker (Carl Sandburg)

126 – Seth Mendoza (Mount Carmel) TF 4:24 Michael Esteban (Marist)

132 – Evan Stanley (Mount Carmel) D 7-2 Ethan Sonne (Marist)

138 – Donavon Allen (Marist) SV 5-3 Zach Stewart (Marmion Academy)

144 – Aidan Huck (Batavia) D 5-3 Jairo Acuna (Mount Carmel)

150 – Will Denny (Marist) MD 15-4 Dominic Serio (West Aurora)

157 – Edmund Enright (Mount Carmel) D 5-0 Noah Quintana (West Aurora)

165 – Collin Carrigan (Glenbard West) D 5-3 Gunnar Garelli (Lyons Township)

175 – Colin Kelly (Mount Carmel) MD 19-7 Sedeeq Al Obaidi (Wheaton Warrenville South) 

190 – Conor Phelan (Marist) F 2:32 Rylan Breen (Mount Carmel)

215 – Joey Favia (Marmion Academy) D 3-2 William Jacobson (Mount Carmel)

285 – Marko Ivanisevic (Hinsdale Central) D 3-0 Alex Poholik (Mount Carmel)

Class 3A Hinsdale Central Sectional Third Place matches

106 – Kavel Moore (Mount Carmel) MD 11-1 Waleed Binmahfooz (Glenbard East)

113 – Jaime Corral (Stagg) D 7-3 Tommy Fidler (Marist)

120 – George Marinopoulos (Marist) MD 15-1 Aiden Massaro (West Aurora)

126 – Donny Pigoni (Marmion Academy) F 1:12 Evan Matkovich (West Aurora)

132 – Tyler Sternstein (Naperville North) D 7-5 Brady Ritter (Carl Sandburg)

138 – Ryan Hinger (Carl Sandburg) MD 10-1 Damian Resendez (Mount Carmel)

144 – Ashton Hobson (Marmion Academy) MD 20-8 Hagan Taylor (Naperville Central)

150 – Liam Kelly (Mount Carmel) D 3-2 Zac Ritter (Carl Sandburg)

157 – Christopher Bern (Naperville Central) D 5-1 Tony Shadid (Glenbard West)

165 – Dayne Serio (West Aurora) D 8-3 Kevin Kalchbrenner (Mount Carmel)

175 – Ricky Ericksen (Marist) Inj, 1:58 RJ Samuels (Downers Grove South)

190 – Matt Lapacek (Downers Grove South) D 5-1 Ben Brown (Batavia)

215 – Asher Sheldon (Batavia) F 1:17 Nicolas Besteiro (Naperville Central)

285 – William Erbeck (Naperville Central) D 7-5 Mateusz Nycz (Marmion Academy)

By Bobby Narang for the IWCOA

SCHAUMBURG – A year after hosting the first IHSA girls sectional, the 2024 version of the Schaumburg Sectional had a different look.

The sectional was power-packed with talented wrestlers – just like last year – but the tournament wasn’t as hectic or cramped. That’s due to the change in the format this year by the IHSA to include regionals, which led to less congestion, a smoother run sectional and more space for fans, coaches and wrestlers.

The Schaumburg Sectional was the place to be for top-notch wrestling. Schaumburg had the largest turnout of any of the four sectionals: 582 girls compared to 366 for the Evanston Sectional, 335 for the Geneseo Sectional and 235 for the Rich East Sectional.

Just like on the boys’ side, the top four wrestlers from each of the 14 weight classes advanced to the state tournament. But unlike the boys, the girls will not have dual team state tournament.

But they were still wrestling for team pride.

Schaumburg and Lockport tied for first place with 92 points, while Hoffman Estates (91) and Andrew (85) took third and fourth, respectively.

Schaumburg coach Matt Gruszka, hosting the sectionals for the second year in a row, talked about the growth of the sport.

In 2023, Andrew won the Schaumburg Sectional, with the host Saxons taking second and Hoffman Estates earning third place.

“First of all, the level of wrestling has increased so much in the state,” Gruszka said. “This sectional was a grind. We will have state champs and placers all over the place at state from this sectional. It’s just the growth of it. This thing is going to grow, in terms of quality in the next couple of years. 

“This year’s sectional was easier to host because there was only a 12-girl bracket. Last year, we had all these teams in, like 45 teams. This year that was at the regionals. In our sectional, we had a massive amount of talent, and some didn’t make it out of sectionals. Another big thing I see is the level of coaching is raising in girls wrestling. A lot of older coaches are coming down. It’s nice. They have the knowledge. You could see it (today) and how it looked.”

Schaumburg advanced three girls to the state tournament, including two champions in Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic (140) and Valeria Rodriguez (155), and fourth-placer Madyson Meyer (125),

“Val and Madeline had really good matches, but there’s still a lot of things to work on for the next two weeks,” Gruszka said. “That’s the one thing I wish they would change. The boys have rhythm with regionals, sectionals and state. We go regionals, then wait two weeks, then sectionals, then wait two weeks for state. It’s a mental grind. Everyone, though, wrestled well.”

Lockport coach Nathaniel Roth echoed Gruszka’s opinion on the sectional, noting he was happy to see his team step up in such a talented sectional.

“As far as sharing the tournament title championship with Schaumburg, we are ecstatic,” Roth said. “They are a phenomenal team and to be right up there with them is an absolute honor. We saw them earlier in the season and they are solid throughout their entire lineup and very well- coached, so us showing up as well as we did on Friday and Saturday and getting as many points as they did was just beyond fantastic for us.”

Roth said girls wrestling is growing at a fast rate. Several coaches at the sectional discussed the big difference in talent and coaching from last season.

“I have seen some major progress in girls wrestling over the last three years,” Roth said. “The first year we had an IHSA state series, to be moderately successful you just had to be athletic, or aggressive, or extra points if you were both. But now it’s very obvious that there is more talent out there which makes it tougher to be successful, but also pushes girls to keep getting better as well. 

“Girls are starting wrestling earlier and earlier and I do not think it will be long until most teams in the state have not only a full lineup, but a JV lineup as well. It’s still kind of tough for those girls that cannot quite break the varsity lineup to get matches just because so few teams have full lineups, much less extras. 

“Luckily, most of the tournaments that run allow extras to enter them, so those JV girls can still get some experience on the mat and get better prepared for seasons to come. It’s really great to see it growing and improving so much though. It is especially fun to see the big-name girls competing so close to home too. I mean Illinois has some of the biggest names in the country competing for us. You have Sydney Perry, Cadence Diduch, Gabby Gomez and Morgan Turner. These are big names that are known at the national and international level, wrestling right here in front of you and that is a really cool experience and very humbling.”

Regarding his team, Roth praised his two sectional champions for stepping up. Morgan Turner captured a title at 110 and Claudia Heeney won her weight class at 130.

“Morgan is a very talented wrestler, as is Claudia,” Roth said. “Claudia has been with us since her freshman year last year and is an amazing asset to the team. She is looked up to by all the other girls and is a great role model. She is an exceptional leader in the practice room and always works hard. She also has knocked it out of the park with her grades. She currently has a 4.0 GPA in school. Having Claudia on the team is great not only because she is obviously a good wrestler, but she makes everyone around her better as well.

“Our other two qualifiers, Rebekah Ramirez and Averi Colella, have similar stories as well. They both work hard and are great students. Having kids that you do not have to worry about any of the other stuff like grades, and behavior is a great feeling because you just know that the other stuff is taken care of already. So as a coach, you do not have to worry about it and can focus on the wrestling. All of our qualifiers are coming back next year as well so that is a great feeling too. I have even more time to keep developing the team and getting even better. Maybe next year we can win the sectional tournament outright.”

Hoffman Estates coach Leo Clark was all smiles following the last match of the day. At 120 pounds, Hoffman Estates’ Sophia Ball capped a dominating weekend by cruising to a sectional championship. At the next weight, teammate Abi Ji finished second at 125 to advance to state. In addition, Emmylina O’Brien took third at 135 and Anjali Gonzalez earned fourth at 235 to round out the Hawks’ state qualifiers.

“Sophia Ball came out and wrestled well in the finals and handled business,” Clark said. “Abi Ji got second and made a couple of mistakes but we will make some adjustments and be ready for state to get her on the podium. Emmylina is another tough wrestler. We’re looking for her to do some damage and have some success. Anjali is dangerous. You don’t want to wrestle her.”

Clark said the Schaumburg Sectional is a good testing ground for his wrestlers.

“We’re going to have a lot of state champions coming out of this sectional,” Clark said. “There was so much talent up and down the board. It was a loaded sectional, which was exciting to see. I expect a lot of placers coming out of state.”

100—Alycia Perry, Glenbard West

Glenbard West senior Alycia Perry did everything right on the mat on Saturday.

She just made one mistake after her 4-2 win over Batavia’s Lily Enos in the 100-pound finals. Perry (31-0) made the mistake of walking over to the wrong coaches following the completion of her stellar championship match win.

“I actually wear glasses, so I’m kind of blind without them,” Perry said, smiling. “Usually, the coaches are on the (other) side, so that’s the side I usually go to. I didn’t realize they were on the other side. This feels really, really good. I worked really, really hard for this.”

A tough-as-nail competitor, Perry (31-0) credited her belief that early in the season that she could win a sectional title.

“I was just focused on my offense, tried to take my shots because that’s how you win,” Perry said. “Last year I didn’t make state, so this is a really big moment for me. I had some really good competition today, so I’m surprised I made it through. I definitely could’ve taken more shots today, and been more offensive.”

Batavia’s Enos (38-10) heads to state, while West Aurora’s Kameyah Young defeated Montini’s Kat Bell in the third-place match with a 12-4 major decision.

105 – Nadia Shymkiv, Glenbard East

Glenbard East sophomore Nadia Shymkiv (18-0) was locked into a tough match in the finals, but she managed to make an incredible turnaround that shocked the crowd. She pinned Huntley’s Janiah Slaughter in the second period to win at 105.

“I was scared when I got put on my back, but I fought hard to get off,” Shymkiv said. “My coaches inspired me because they believed in me. I knew I needed to be aggressive and try to pin her. I was relieved when I heard the referee call the pin.”

Shymkiv said she was happy to repeat as a sectional champion. She captured an 18-4 major decision win over Addison Trail’s Veronica Cosio in the sectional semifinals.

“I was a little nervous, but still confident that I would do well,” Shymkiv said. “I thought I wrestled well, but I think I could do better. I want to work on taking better shots. I won sectionals last year and expected to win it again. I want to win state. I have worked really hard and trained a lot. I’m in great shape and I want it very much.”

Late in the second period, Glenbard East coach Matt Nelson provided Shymkiv a source of motivation by telling him Slaughter was tired.

“She wrestled great and showed it,” Nelson said.

Lockport’s Averi Colella (39-11) won the third-place match, pinning Cosio in the third period.

110 – Morgan Turner, Lockport

As one of the celebrated stars of the sport, Lockport sophomore Morgan Turner handled her business on Saturday afternoon with an efficient yet powerful performance.

Turner (7-0) defeated Bartlett’s Emma Engels (30-13) with a 16-3 major decision in the 110-pound finals.

“I was trying to be slick because (wrestlers) were a lot bigger and I trusted my training,” Turner said. “I worked on everything my coaches taught me.”

Morgan said wrestling is in her blood.

“My brother did it, my mom did it and my uncle did it, so I just started it,” Turner said.

Turner’s late season success is not surprising due to her worldly talents, but she dealt with an assortment of injuries all season that limited her time on the mat.

“I’m just grateful that I was able to come back, and at least finish out on the girls season because they wouldn’t let me finish out on the boys,” Turner said. “I was out six to seven weeks. I got cleared a day before regionals. I feel good now. I stayed solid in my position, kept my head up and listened to my coaches.”

On the other side of the gym, Crystal Lake South Annalee Aarseth notched a 3-1 decision against Grant’s Ayane Jasinski in the third-place match.

115 – Gabby Gomez, Glenbard North

Glenbard North junior Gabby Gomez spent the majority of her finals match showing her dominance. The title match was a good opportunity for Gomez to work on her conditioning, technique and get some additional mat-time against a quality opponent.

Gomez, one of Illinois’ marquee girls’ wrestlers, is among the best in the Midwest. She showed that again in the 115-pound finals, pinning Andrew’s Sophia Figueroa in a powerful showing of her talents to improve to 34-0.

“I knew she was going to be a tough competitor, so I was focused on keeping my composure and trying new things,” Gomez said of her finals match. “Right now, I really want to practice my top (position). My top is getting a lot better. I kept my composure.”

Besides her first-place medal, Gomez walked away from the sectionals with a lasting memory.

“I bit my lip pretty hard today,” Gomez said.

Gomez, a two-time state champion, also commented on the toughness of the sectional.

“It’s a lot more different because there’s a lot more girls in our sectionals,” Gomez said. “I think our sectional is probably one of the toughest ones. The bracket is not easy. So seeing the girls you will see at state is even better. You’d rather have the tough ones now because it really only matters at state. All you have to do is qualify here.”

Glenbard North coach Chris Edwards said Gomez is focused on a three-peat.

“She’s always focused and set goals early in the season and getting the takedown record. She already broke her own record from last year,” Edwards said. “She’s really focused and an energetic wrestler. She’s in better shape than anyone. She’s good at breaking her opponent.”

Wheaton Warrenville South senior Star Duncan pinned Bartlett’s Angie Carpintero in the first period to notch the third-place medal.

120 – Sophia Ball, Hoffman Estates

Sophia Ball had a big group of fans cheering her on in the title match at 120, but one spectator definitely caught her eye in the middle of her match.

After winning the 115-pound title, Glenbard North star Gabby Gomez, a two-time state champion, sat down and watched her friend and summer training partner from just a few feet outside the circle.

Ball did not disappoint her friend.

The junior remained undefeated, just like Gomez, with a first period pin over West Aurora’s Aiyanah Sylvester. Ball (24-0) won all three matches in her bracket via a pin. She placed fifth at state last year at 120. Ball said Gomez helped her up her game this season.

“I feel way better this year,” Ball said. “I was training all summer with Gabby and her dad. I think it helped me a lot on the offensive side. I think it did a lot. Gabby really helped me and showed me technique when I didn’t get it. Warming up with her today was really nice.”

Ball said her main focus in sectionals was setting herself up for a run at the state title.

“I just really wanted to win because I wanted better seeding at state,” Ball said. “I had a good warmup and having good partners and training helped me.”

Ball said she’s excited to be healthy and primed for a state title run after being out with a concussion.

“I had a concussion at the beginning, so I missed half the tournaments and meets we went to,” Ball said. “It was literally on the first day of practice, so it’s been pretty weird. I was really mad and also sad. I just wanted to wrestle. I was out for a month and a half. I just rested and worked out in the gym and started to slowly get back to the mat. I think about five or six matches, I saw my conditioning start going back up and the matches started being the same again.”

Addison Trail’s Nina Matthews pinned Naperville Central’s Ellen Purl in the second period for the third-place medal.

125 – Lilly White, Bartlett

Bartlett coach Matt Pancamo couldn’t stop smiling following White’s title victory, mainly because he has two more full years working with her. Before this season, White had never wrestled but decided to take a stab at the growing sport.

“This is her first year wrestling with us,” Pancamo said. “She was doing Brazilian jiu-jitsu. She’s been fantastic and puts in extra overtime and helps coach little kids on the weekend or during the week. She’s a great student of the sport. She’s been wanting to learn. I watched her first match at the start of the season beating the boys.”

White (28-3) capped off her stunning run to state by notching a 9-1 major decision over Hoffman Estates’ Abi Ji in the finals at 125 pounds.

“I never thought I could do it, but all my coaches and teammates have been very supportive,” White said. “My coaches have been watching the matches and tried to drill in what I had to work on. I just had to tell myself not to let the past affect me.”

White said her martial arts background helps her on the mat.

“That helps me with takedowns and helped me get a head start,” White said. “The Palatine tournament in late December was my turning point for me to realize I could do it. I love that girls wrestling is becoming so popular. I loved being here and doing it.”

Schaumburg junior Madyson Meyer is headed to state following a first-period pin over Riverside-Brookfield’s Eleanor Aphay in the third-place match.

130 – Claudia Heeney, Lockport

After earning a second-place medal at state at 125 pounds last season, Lockport sophomore Claudia Heeney has her sights focused on the top prize in two weeks.

Heeney broke her thumb during freestyle state, which has affected her development since the summer.

“I think I have a lot less confidence, but I’m getting it back slowly,” Heeney said. “Since my injury, I haven’t been able to gain it all this season. Today was a confidence booster, to come back and win sectionals was a big deal for me. It wasn’t until about mid-November that I realized my thumb wasn’t okay, so I had to take five weeks off. I had a lot less confidence coming back because of that. I’m going into state with a clear mind and going out there and wrestling my match every single time.”

Heeney (17-1) defeated Huntley sophomore Aubrie Rohrbacher (40-4) in a hard-fought 4-0 grind in the 130-pound final.

“I’ve been working on bottom a lot recently and my coach has been getting on me to get out,” Heeney said. “Since I’ve been working on it, it’s been going really well. (Rohrbacher) is a very talented wrestler. I tried to wrestle my match to the best I could, so she wrestled her match. It was definitely a grind.”

Prospect junior Viola Pianetto (22-4) recorded a first-period pin win over Wheeling’s Elise Burkut (29-9) for third place.

135 – Katie Ramirez-Quintero, Bolingbrook

Kate Ramirez-Quintero notched Bolingbrook’s lone sectional title win by fall over Elmwood Park’s Rose Craig in the 135-pound title match.

Ramirez-Quintero (30-3) is headed back to state armed with more experience.

“It’s all about not being afraid of anyone because anyone is beatable,” she said. “Records and rankings don’t matter. I think I got into my head last year, looking at the rankings. I had to get that out of my head. I’m just trying to have fun with wrestling this year. It’s my last year, not to put too much pressure on it.”

Now healthy, Ramirez-Quintero is primed for a big showing at state.

“I feel good,” she said. “I’ve been wrestling since freshman year. It’s always been my best sport. I used to play soccer and flag football. I have to sharpen up what I already know and be good at my staples. Last year was pretty bad with injuries. Thankfully, I haven’t had any injuries this year. I feel like a different person.”

Bolingbrook coach Jordan Hovel said Ramirez-Quintero is wrestling at a very high level.

“She stayed on her attack and we’ve been working a lot on her getting after it and not playing around too much, and that’s what she did today,” Hovel said. “She wrestled (Craig) two weeks ago at regionals, so we knew her well. We just had to play our game. I think we can get to the finals at state.”

Hoffman Estates senior Emmylina O’Brien (21-17) pinned Conant sophomore Jasmine Zavaleta in the third-place bout.

140 – Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic, Schaumburg

Seconds after pinning Andrew’s Alyssa Keane in the second period to win the 140-pound sectional championship, Schaumburg junior Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic (34-2) was mobbed by several teammates and fans.

That’s the positive side of wrestling on your home mat, as she wrestled one of the most-watched finals matches.

“The key was I kind of viewed all of the girls in my bracket and knew they were all really good, but  my coach told me to prepare for six minutes,” Zerafa-Lazarevic said. “He got me mentally and physically ready, but also having this home field advantage and seeing all my girls was so helpful. It was super awesome. I was in a pin position and she was tight and her coaches were in my ear. I was getting in my own head and then I hear my best friend scream and that helped me. I fought through it and had my teammates and coaches and the energy in the room that helped me.”

Zerafa-Lazarevic said she was motivated to break new ground after placing second in the past two seasons in her weight class.

“Everyone was saying there was no pressure for me because I was going to state anyways,” she said. “For me, I felt the pressure. The pressure was on because I had to break the curse, especially in the home gym. We love hosting. It was really awesome. Last year I was cutting too much. Being able to not worry about weight and cutting has completely changed the experience for me this year. When I’m not worried about making weight, it makes everything so much easier.”

Richmond-Burton senior Jasmine McCaskel (19-3) earned a first-period pin over McHenry’s Natalie Corona.

 145 – Sydney Perry, Batavia

Coming into the sectional, Batavia senior Sydney Perry (37-0) didn’t lack for name recognition as one of the elite wrestlers in the country.

She added to her growing fame by handing Fenton’s Yamile Penaloza (34-1) her first defeat of the season via first-period pin at 145 pounds.

“I just practiced my shots and learning positions and tried to stay into it,” Perry said. “I have the same mindset as last year, excited to be done with the high school season and get ready for world team trials and all the great national tournaments that are coming up.”

Batavia coach Scott Bayer said Perry is a unique athlete who doesn’t require much of a push by the coaching staff to train.

“She’s been flawless,” Bayer said.  “She’s a once-in-a-career kid to have in your room. The great thing is she grew up in our Batavia wrestling club, a home-grown talent and trained Izzy style and dedicated to her own training all year round but also dedicated to our program, too. She’s basically one of my assistant coaches and a team leader and an absolute gift.”

In the third-place match, Harvard sophomore Ithandehui Rosas (33-9) is headed to the state tournament with momentum after earning a 6-3 win over Downers Grove North’s Natalia Cruz.

155 – Valeria Rodriguez, Schaumburg

Last season, Valeria Rodriguez was a ball of energy and smiles after her showing at sectionals. This season, at regionals and sectionals, Rodriguez remained focused and driven even well-after her victories.

Rodriguez (37-1) remained on track toward a big finish at state by notching a 5-1 decision over Hinsdale South’s Callie Carr in the 155-pound finale. A three-time state qualifier, Rodriguez placed third at state at 140 pounds.

“Balance and movement and patience were key for me today,” Rodriguez said. “This year, as I’ve gotten closer to state, I’ve been more zoned in and more focused on my goal and what I want to do. Last year I moved a lot less, but this year at my bracket, I’m like more of the smaller girls in my bracket. I weighed in at 153 today. If I’m not wrestling or maintaining my weight, I’m naturally at 145.”

Rodriguez, in her fourth year wrestling, said she’s glanced at her possible state opponents, noting she’s aiming for a top-of-the-podium ending to her storied prep career.

“It’s my senior year and I’m giving it everything I have,” she said. “I don’t want to leave Schaumburg High School without winning state. That’s my ultimate goal. I want to leave something behind for my teammates and coaches.”

Fenton’s Sophia Sosa notched a tough 2-1 win over West Aurora’s Ionicca Rivera in the third-place match.

170 – Kayleigh Loo, Downers Grove North

Downers Grove North wrestler Kayleigh Loo was just happy to be on the mat at the Schaumburg Sectional.

Maybe that’s why she couldn’t stop smiling following her amazing performance, which ended with a second-period pin over Maine West’s Lillian Garrett in the 170 final.

Loo said she was happy because she had a different feeling last season at sectionals.

“I tore my ACL, so I wasn’t able to wrestle last year about halfway into the season,” Loo said. “I was here last year. I sat at the top because there’s always a great view. I felt I could’ve taken half of these girls (last year). I was watching what they were doing, and how I could do it better. It was hard watching. I wanted to be out there.”

Loo (21-0) is headed to the state tournament after notching her 20th pin of the season.

“I tried not to go on bottom, and let (Garrett) get on top of me,” Loo said of her strategy in the finals. “I kept my head up and took my shots with my arms in. This feels fantastic, all the hours of physical therapy I put in. I put in hundreds of hours. It was physically hard. It feels great to be back.”

Downers Grove North coach Marcos Rico said Loo is special wrestler and teammate.

“Kayleigh started off the season wrestling varsity boys, so she’s really been putting it together,” Rico said. “This year she’s been healthy. She’s a workaholic and does everything right on the mat and in the classroom. I think she’s only had three matches go outside the first period. She’s been wrestling with confidence and having fun.”

Proviso East’s Haley Arechiga sealed her third-place medal with a third-period pin over Andrew’s Janae Vargas.

190 – Jasmine Rene, Wheeling

Wheeling sophomore Jasmine Rene had plenty of fans at Saturday’s Sectional. Rene, who pinned Oak Park-River Forest’s Trinity White in the third period of a long match in the 190 finals, spent most of the her time before the medals were handed out in the stands talking to congratulators on both sides of the gym.

She earned that respect by improving to 33-1 on the season.

“Today, I just came out and wrestled my bracket. I knew I had a lot of tough girls in my bracket, with three state placers and other state qualifiers, but I had to wrestle like it was just another match for me,” she said.

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

Wrestling fans can be sure that the fur will be flying when top-ranked Montini Catholic and No. 2 IC Catholic Prep square off at this year’s 2A Wauconda Dual Team Sectional.

Montini advanced 12 wrestlers to this year’s individual finals in Champaign and IC Prep advanced 10, giving the two programs a combined 22 state qualifiers of the 56 who advanced from this year’s Grayslake Central individual sectional.

It’s a transgression against Illinois high school wrestling that the powers that be scheduled the two top-ranked teams in an elimination dual, ensuring that one of them won’t wrestle in the dual team state finals.

A simple seeding process would likely prevent such an occurrence — as it’s done in every other team sport except football — but that’s a story for another time.

Montini had four individual champions in Grayslake in Allen Woo (106), Mikey Malizzio (113), Josh Vazquez (126), and David Mayora (150), while IC Prep had five champs in Deven Casey (120), Bryson Spaulding (138), Joe Gliatta (165), Foley Calcagno (190), and Michael Calcagno (215).

“This sectional is so tough,” Montini coach Mike Bukovsky said. “There are weight classes where you’re going to get multiple place-winners from this sectional. We knew that going in. We had a rough semifinal where we only won four (out of 10) of those matches. So we challenged ourselves to pick it up and I was really pleased with the way they responded.”

The blood round was where Montini truly shined, going 8-for-8 in wins in the consolation semifinals – that brutal round at every individual sectional which determines who will wrestle downstate, and who goes home.

“I don’t know if we’ve ever done that before,” Bukovsky said of his squad’s 8-for-8 blood round performance. “You look at those blood-round guys. Kam Luif (132) and Jeremy Huf (138) bounced back, and Harrison Konder (157) got caught this morning by a real tough kid from Lake Forest (Seth Digby) and bounced back, and that’s what this sport is about.”

“Santino Tenuta (165) had a bad match last night and came all the way back to take third place in his bracket — it’s guts, toughness, and heart. Then AJ Tack (175) and Santino both bumped up a weight for us when Harrison became eligible late in the year, and they both qualified. They deserve it, they did everything right, and they’re just great kids.”

“Jaxon Lane had the best day of his season today at 190 and really wrestled his butt off to finish fourth. It just goes up and down the lineup.”

Isaac Mayora (120) and Mick Ranquist (285) rounded out Montini’s 12 state qualifiers.

IC Prep coach Danny Alcocer’s boys also won four blood-round matches to earn state qualification, in Kannon Judycki (113), Pat Mullen (144), Brody Kelly (150), and Nate Brown (175) to round out IC’s 10 qualifiers.

“It was a great team effort. You always want to get more guys through and there are always a couple guys you wish could have performed better to get down(state),”Alcocer said. “But overall we did great and the team is coming together at the right time. I can’t wait to see how these guys do next week in Champaign.”

In his first year at the helm, Alcocer has IC poised to make a run at state glory.

“It’s a different vibe this year but I don’t deserve to take all the credit. We have a great coaching staff and what I like to say is ‘it’s we, not me’,” Alcocer said, tipping his hat to assistant coaches Corey Stanley, Randy Spaulding, and Tony Norton for the job they do with the IC program.

Other sectional champions at Grayslake Central were Edgar Albino (132), St. Patrick’s Nikolas Karamaniolas (144), Lake Forest’s Seth Digby (157), Grayslake Central’s Matty Jens (175), and Fenton’s Thomas Klos (285).

Wauconda advanced six wrestlers to Champaign, St. Patrick advanced four, while host Grayslake Central, Deerfield, Fenwick, Notre Dame, and Antioch each advanced three wrestlers downstate.

2A Grayslake Central Individual Sectional championship match results:

106 – Allen Woo, Montini Catholic

The top three ranked wrestlers in Illinois at 106 battled for a sectional title in Grayslake, and No. 3 Allen Woo (17-3) of Montini shined in winning the sectional title.

Woo has the ingredients that could have him en route to winning a state title, as the top-ranked Montini freshman dominated Wauconda’s No. 2 Gavin Rockey in a 9-2 decision in the finals.

“Allen just does everything right,” Montini coach Mike Bukovsky said. “Great kid, hard worker, and just absolutely as robotic and disciplined as they come, in everything he does. He’s a great representation for our program.”

Woo set himself apart from the field with a quarterfinal fall before winning 8-1 over Grayslake Central’s top-ranked Vince DeMarco (39-6). Wood then handled No. 2 Rockey with a pair of first-period takedowns, one in the second, and one more in the third without giving up a single takedown.

Rockey won a 4-3 ultimate tie-break decision in his semifinal match against Antioch’s Jacob Smith (25-8). DeMarco went on to place third by walkover against St. Patrick’s Daniel Goodwin (37-9).

Woo lost part of this season to injury and only recently returned to the fold.

“Regionals was my first tournament back and I feel good,” Woo said. “I just know that nobody trains as hard as me, so I was ready. We’ve got good coaches and we train hard, so we’re all ready for whatever comes our way.”

113 – Mikey Malizzio, Montini Catholic

Along with Woo, Montini’s other highly-touted lower-weight freshman is Mikey Malizzio. Malizzio toughed out a 5-4 semifinal win over Notre Dame’s John Sheehy (39-10), then used a third-period reversal in the finals for a 3-0 win over Cary-Grove’s Hunter Lenz (14-4).

Third-ranked freshman Malizzio improved to 30-5 in winning the first sectional title of his career.

“I love what he’s doing this year,” Montini coach Mike Bukovsky said. “He had a couple growing pains early in the year but he wrestles smart, and he can wrestle in all three phases and I think that’s the secret to him.”

The junior Lenz reached the finals with an 8-1 semifinal decision over IC Prep freshman Kannon Judycki (24-16). Sixth-ranked Sheehy and Judycki bounced back with pins in the blood round, and Sheehy placed third with a fall against Judycki.

120 – Deven Casey, IC Catholic Prep

Two of the state’s best at 120 squared off in the finals at Grayslake Central when IC Prep’s No. 2-ranked Deven Casey and Antioch’s No. 3 Gavin Hanrahan took to the title mat.

Casey (30-4) ultimately prevailed 7-5 over Hanrahan (37-7) to give IC the first of its five individual sectional titles on the day.

“You just can’t say enough about (Casey),” IC coach Danny Alcocer said. “His GPA is above 4.0, he’s a great team leader, and he does all the little things that we ask of him. I can’t wait to see him compete downstate.”

Hanrahan had the first takedown of the match, Casey had the second and led 5-4 after a period. Casey reversed Hanrahan to start the second, Hanrahan escaped, and Casey’s 7-5 lead held up for the rest of the match between the two juniors.

Casey placed third in Illinois at 106 as a freshman and third at 113 last season; Hanrahan was a state qualifier as a freshman and a sophomore.

Casey won by major decision in his semifinal match against Montini freshman Isaac Mayora (29-12), while Hanrahan won by fall in his semifinal against DePaul College Prep’s Johnny Cunningham (32-13). Wauconda’s Lucas Galdine (32-16) took third to advance and Mayora placed fourth in getting to Champaign.

126 – Josh Vazquez, Montini Catholic

Another bracket featuring four top 10-ranked wrestlers saw the day’s tightest finals match play out, when Montini’s top-ranked Josh Vazquez (39-4) took on Deerfield’s No. 4 Luke Reddy (40-3) at 126.

A scoreless first period in the finals gave way to a long second period of riding time for Vazquez, but Reddy escaped with five seconds remaining in the period and led 1-0 heading into the third.

A Vazquez escape to start the third made it 1-1, which held to a first overtime in neutral, which went scoreless. A Reddy escape to start the second OT put him up 2-1 before Vazquez got a reversal to start the third OT and held on for the 3-2 victory.

“I wasn’t wresting as sharp as I wanted to but later in the match I kind of picked it up,” Vazquez said. “My conditioning kind of pulled me through.”

Vazquez placed fourth in Champaign at 132 as a freshman and second at 120 last season. 

“I’ll just get my practices in, probably not too hard but just keeping my body ready for state,” Vazquez said.

132 – Edgar Albino, Antioch

At this stage, Antioch senior Edgar Albino is a wily veteran of the state tournament. He’s a two-time medal winner and three-time IHSA state-qualifier, and a medal-winner his freshman year at the IWCOA state tournament during the COVID year.

Albino finished fourth at 132 in Champaign last year and third at 120 as a sophomore. He’s now a senior with an approach that young wrestlers should heed.

“I’m having fun now. It’s a game; it’s not life or death,” Albino said. “In past years I was too nervous and I wasn’t having fun at all. Now, I’m just letting it fly. It’s just a sport.”

On the mat, Albino is also using his speed, fakes, and snaps to greater effect. The third-ranked senior improved to 38-4 with his 5-2 win in the finals Saturday over IC Prep’s No. 8 Omar Samayoa.

“I wrestled him at a (club) practice and I knew he was defensive,” Albino said. “So I already had a plan in my head — just be patient.”

A scoreless first period gave way to a second-period Albino takedown, and Albino led 3-1 before scoring again off a desperation shot from Samayoa in the waning seconds of the third period.

Samayoa (26-15) reached the finals with a 7-2 semifinal win over St. Patrick’s fifth-ranked Olin Walker (35-5), while Albino gutted out a 3-1 sudden victory decision in his semifinal against Montini’s fourth-ranked Kam Luif (33-7). Walker won by fall over Luif on the third-place mat.

138 – Bryson Spaulding, IC Catholic Prep

If you could bottle and sell senior-year urgency, you’d be a millionaire in no time. But IC Prep senior Bryson Spaulding came by that sense of urgency honestly, after three years of high school wrestling.

“I started feeling it at the very beginning of the season and I’ve worked on all the things I need to clean up, on my endurance — I felt it right away,” Spaulding said. “I feel more prepared, I’ve improved my focus and I’m definitely more driven this year.”

Senior-year drive drove Spaulding (31-10) to a sectional title, one week after winning a regional title. Both times, he faced Deerfield’s Jordan Rasof (36-7) on the title mat.

“I wrestled Rasof in the finals at the regional, so I knew I could beat him,” Spaulding said. “I just had to stay on my technique and stay aggressive. After no scoring in the first period I felt alright because I was staying aggressive and true to my technique.”

A Spaulding takedown in the second period and another in the third sent Spaulding to a 5-1 victory and a third berth in the IHSA state finals. The junior Rasof advanced downstate again after placing sixth at 126 in Champaign last year.

Fourth-ranked Spaulding won by major decision in his semifinal match over Wauconda’s Cooper Daun (36-10), and fifth-ranked Rasof won by 5-3 sudden victory decision over Montini’s Jeremy Huf (13-1). Huf won by major decision over Daun for third place.

144 – Niko Karamaniolas, St. Patrick

Illinois’ third, fifth, seventh, and eighth-ranked wrestlers at 144 dove into Saturday’s sectional pool and when it was over, St. Patrick’s No. 5 Niko Karamaniolas (31-5) was the last man treading water.

Karamaniolas won his first sectional title in a hard-fought 8-6 decision in the finals against Deerfield’s No. 7 Mark Martinez (28-3), who kept coming in the third chasing a 6-2 Karamaniolas advantage in the third period.

It was a hard day’s work for all four of the top 10-ranked 144-pounders.

“I also had (IC Prep’s No. 3) Patrick Mullen in the semi’s so I knew it was a tough draw for me,”  Karamaniolas said, “but I had to just go out and treat it like it was any other match.”

Karamaniolas won a 4-3 decision over Mullen (22-8) to reach the finals, while Martinez won by major decision in his semifinal match against St. Ignatius’ Nate Sanchez (35-8). Mullen went on the place third by major decision over No. 8 Tony Hinojosa (33-10) of Carmel.

“Rankings don’t really mean much right now,” Karamaniolas said. “You just have to go out on the mat and give it all you can. I love the kind of matches I had today. In the third period it’s about who wants it more and I wanted it more in every single match. I’m locked in and have my head in the right place.”

150 – David Mayora, Montini Catholic

As one of eight seniors winning sectional titles in Grayslake, Montini Catholic’s top-ranked David Mayora is pulling out all stops during his final run at winning a state title.

Mayora has placed second and third in Champaign in the last two years but with the curtain closing on his high school wrestling career, he is wrestling with a level of aggressiveness that is off the charts.

“(Aggression) has been prioritized all season but right now I feel like I’m kicking it into overdrive,” Mayora said. “Last year I didn’t have as much confidence as I do now, to want to go out there and just rip people’s heads off. And now it’s showing.”

Mayora (34-1) won by fall for a sectional title against Wauconda’s No. 9-ranked Cole Porten (40-8). Mayora led 6-2 when he took Porten to the mat and won by fall at 3:35.

“I realized how strong he was but I didn’t want to let that affect me,” Mayora said. “I just didn’t want to put myself into any compromising positions and give up any points.”

Mayora opened with a win by fall Friday before he and IC Prep’s No. 3 Brody Kelly (30-7) wrestled to overtime in their semifinal match Saturday. Mayora got the takedown he needed in overtime for the 3-1 decision win.

The Montini senior is locked in as he makes a final run at state finals glory.

“I’ve been improving, figuring out my techniques, my strengths, and figuring out that I’m good at anything I put my mind to,” Mayora said.

Kelly won by fall for third place against Cary-Grove’s Noah Pechotta (36-9).

157 – Seth Digby, Lake Forest

State-ranked No.’s 2, 3, and 4 at joined Saturday’s sectional party at 157, and Lake Forest’s No. 3 Seth Digby was the last one to leave.

Two-time state qualifier Digby (38-2) won a 10-3 decision in the finals over Wauconda’s No. 4 Nicholas Cheshier (27-5). Montini’s No. 2 Harrison Konder (11-2) took third and St. Patrick’s Van Grasser (37-14) finished fourth to advance.

Digby won his first sectional title and heading into Grayslake, he wasn’t too concerned with rankings.

“I was just focused on wrestling whoever was in front of me,” Digby said. “It’s my senior year and I just want to have fun. Rankings can get into your head a little bit so I’ve always tried not to pay too much attention to them.”

Digby was a state qualifier in each of the past two years and this year he wants to end his high school career on a Champaign podium.

“The job’s not finished yet. My sophomore year I was sort of surprised I made it (downstate) and was almost just satisfied with that,” Digby said. “Last year I just didn’t wrestle very well at the state tournament but I think it will be a lot different this year.”

Digby led 5-0 in Saturday’s finals after one period thanks to a cradle and back points, then rode Cheshier out for the whole second period before getting two more takedowns in the third.

“We’ve worked on riding a lot in the past month,” Digby said. “It’s something I’ve struggled with but I feel like I’ve turned a switch a little bit. When you’re wrestling the top kids in the state, it’s a key to being able to win a match.”

Digby won by first-period fall in his semifinal match against Konder, while Cheshier won by 8-3 decision in his semifinal against Grasser.

165 – Joe Gliatta, IC Catholic Prep

Another tough bracket at 165 saw four wrestlers ranked among the top 10 in Illinois get after it in Grayslake.

The highest-ranked among them won the crown, as IC Prep’s No. 2 Joe Gliatta (37-6) became the third of the Knights’ five sectional champions on the day. Gliatta won by fall at 1:33 in the finals against Vernon Hills’ No. 7 Ilia Dvoriannikov (29-6), in a first period that saw no shortage of action.

“He came real hard but I got five points in the (first period),” Gliatta said. “He got a reversal, I got up, then got him to his back. It was a short but a long match.”

Gliatta placed sixth at 145 in Champaign two years ago and was a state qualifier last year as a junior. This year

“In previous years I started calm but I know I have to push the pace now because I don’t think anyone can keep up with me,” Gliotta said. “Every day I run two miles, we do bike sprints, and I’m ready to go. Everyone on (IC Prep) wants the same goal and this team is really good.”

Gliatta won a 4-2 semifinal decision over Antioch’s No. 8 Ben Vazquez (35-12), while Dvoriannikov won an 8-4 decision over Montini’s No. 9 Santino Tenuta (30-7). Tenuta went on to place third and Fenton’s Jovany Zuniga (36-5) was fourth.

Gliatta will spend the week before Champaign shoring up his technique. He wasn’t happy with his 4-2 semifinal decision over Vazquez.

“I feel like I let him come to me instead of doing my own thing,” Gliatta said. “I wasn’t attacking enough.”

175 – Matty Jens, Grayslake Central

Matty Jens’ rampage through Illinois’ 175-pound weight class continued on Saturday.

The top-ranked Grayslake Central senior and last year’s state champion at 182 won his second sectional title and improved to 37-1 with a fall in the finals against Fenwick’s Patrick Gilboy (30-12).

Afterwards, Jens was asked if he’s any different than he was when he won a prestigious Dvorak tournament title back in December.

“If I wrestled Matty Jens from six weeks ago, I’d smash that guy’s face,” Jens said. “I think I’d whip his butt. Because everything you do in this sport can get better, every single day.”

Jens got in some work on his feet at this year’s sectional. He won his quarterfinal match by tech fall and led 16-4 after a period in the finals, before a pin at 2:39 ended his day.

Gilboy won a 3-2 decision in his semifinal match against St. Patrick’s Devin Nichol (36-14). After losing to Jens in his quarterfinal match, Montini’s AJ Tack (34-8) ticked off three wins in the wrestlebacks to take third place, with IC Prep’s Nate Brown (8-12) wrestling back to place fourth.

Jens placed second in state at 182 as a sophomore and placed fifth at 170 in the IWCOA state tournament as a freshman.

“When I was younger I was just having fun, and I got to wrestle, too,” Jens said. “But now I’ve matured mentally and physically, and I want to be the best. And I’ll do everything I can do to get there.

“Losing in the finals my sophomore year was pretty rough. It was an eye-opener. But the year before that, getting my butt whipped every single day was a key to making me better.”

190 – Foley Calcagno, IC Catholic Prep

IC Prep’s third-ranked sophomore Foley Calcagno (32-6) and Notre Dame’s No. 7 senior Jim Amatore (34-7) stood across each other on the title mat at 190, and Calcagno’s 6-5 decision win earned him a sectional crown.

“Foley is one of the football players who has really bought into our new system and the culture change that our staff has brought,” IC Catholic coach Danny Alcocer said. “I’m excited to see what he leaves Champaign with, as well as his development over the next two years.”

Like multiple football players at IC, Calcagno worked out with the wrestling team twice a week during football season to stay sharp.

Calcagno had two first-period takedowns and led 5-2 heading to the third, before Amatore found a takedown with a minute left to make it 6-5. Amatore fought hard for a takedown but Foley held him off for the win.

Calcagno reached the finals with an 8-5 semifinal decision win over Montini’s Jaxon Lane (31-12), and Amatore won his semifinal 2-1 over Antioch’s Colin Arquilla (14-14). Fenwick’s Jack Paris (7-3) wrestled back to place third and Lane took fourth place.

215 – Michael Calcagno, IC Catholic Prep

IC Catholic Prep senior Michael Calcagno was a state champion at 182 his sophomore year before his junior season got derailed.

“I tore my ACL and missed the whole year last year,” Calcagno said. “I made it back for football season this year and went through everything I needed to do to get to wrestle again. I feel hungrier. I lost a year and now I have to go out and make up for it.”

Top-ranked Calcagno is making it count. He improved to 47-4 and won a sectional title with his third pin of the tournament, winning by fall in the finals against Antioch’s Owen Shea (26-13). Calcagno followed his semifinal fall at 0:37 against Notre Dame’s Jack Malenock (32-16) with a fall at 0:36 against Shea.

“I just want to go out there, take care of business, and go,” Calcagno said. “I feel like I had more mat time this year in (pre-season) practice. We got back sooner from football so I had more time on the mat, and we worked hard on conditioning, too.”

Calcagno is aware of the target on his back as the state’s top-ranked 215-pounder but he doesn’t give it a second thought.

“I don’t really care,” Calcagno said. “I don’t like looking at who I have to wrestle, or doing all that digging. I just go out and wrestle. I’ve never really looked at the rankings.”

His advice to young wrestlers who obsess over where they’re ranked is simple.

“Don’t do it,” Calcagno said. “Just wrestle.”

Fenwick’s Luke Dalise (30-16) placed third by decision over fourth-place Hunter Wahtola (29-13) of DePaul College Prep.

285 – Thomas Klos, Fenton

“I wasn’t expecting to be here,” Fenton heavyweight Thomas Klos said. “But here I am.”

‘Here’ for Klos was standing in the gym at Grayslake Central after winning a 2A sectional title, thanks to a fall in the finals against Notre Dame’s Scott Cook.

All unranked Klos had to do was negotiate a sectional heavyweight field that included ninth-ranked Cook, Cary-Grove’s No. 8 Lucas Burton, and Montini’s No. 10 Mick Ranquist. Mission accomplished.

Klos (22-6) won by fall in his semifinal against Ranquist (20-6) before pinning Cook (36-8) for the title. Klos got a headlock and threw Cook to his back before winning by fall at 0:44 in the finals.

“I was just hoping to make it to state. I didn’t think I’d win it all,” Klos said. “But I was able to get to my good stuff.”

“My conditioning is so much better now. I was something like 10-6 in December but I haven’t lost since. I’ve just been winning.”

Klos punched his ticket to Champaign with his semifinal win and stayed aggressive in the final against Cook.

“It was exciting winning my (semifinal) and didn’t really know what to think about the finals but I decided to just go out there and compete,” Klos said. “Now I’ll just heal up my body, go (to Champaign), and try to keep winning.”

Burton (22-7) won by decision for third place and Ranquist (20-6) placed fourth to advance.

2A SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS from Grayslake Central 

Sectional championship match results:

106 – Allen Woo (17-3, Montini) over Gavin Rockey (38-9, Wauconda) D 9-2

113 – Mikey Malizzio (Montini)) 30-5, Fr. over Hunter Lenz (14-4, Cary-Grove) D 3-0

120 – Deven Casey (30-4, IC Catholic) over Gavin Hanrahan (37-7, Antioch) D 7-5

126 – Josh Vazquez (39-4, Montini) over Luke Reddy (40-3, Deerfield) TB-1 3-2

132 – Edgar Albino (38-4, Antioch) over Omar Samayoa (26-15, IC Catholic) D 5-2

138 – Bryson Spaulding (31-10, IC Catholic) over Jordan Rasof (36-7, Deerfield) D 5-1

144 – Nikolas Karamaniolas (31-5, St. Patrick) over Mark Martinez (28-3, Deerfield) D 8-6

150 – David Mayora (34-1, Montini) over Cole Porten (40-8, Wauconda) F 3:35

157 – Seth Digby (38-2, Lake Forest) over Nicholas Cheshier (27-5, Wauconda) D 10-3

165 – Joe Gliatta (37-6, IC Catholic) over Ilia Dvoriannikov (29-6, Vernon Hills) F 1:33

175 – Matty Jens (37-1, Grayslake Central) over Patrick Gilboy (30-12, Fenwick) F 2:39

190 – Foley Calcagno (32-6, IC Catholic) over Jim Amatore (34-7, Notre Dame) D 6-5

215 – Michael Calcagno (47-4 IC Catholic) over Owen Shea (26-13, Antioch) F 0:36

285 – Thomas Klos (22-6, Fenton) over Scott Cook (36-8, Notre Dame) F 0:44

Third-place results:

106 – Vince DeMarco (41-7, Grayslake Central) over Daniel Goodwin (37-9, St. Patrick) (For.)

113 – John Sheehy (39-10 Notre Dame) over Kannon Judycki (24-16, IC Catholic) F 3:04

120 – Lucas Galdine (32-16, Wauconda) over Isaac Mayora (29-12, Montini) fft.

126 – Tyler Weidman (38-4, Grayslake Central) over Nathan Randle (34-8, Wauconda) F 0:29

132 – Olin Walker (35-5 St. Patrick) over Kam Luif (33-7, Montini) F 4:28

138 – Jeremy Huf (13-1, Montini) over Cooper Daun (36-10, Wauconda) MD 13-4

144 – Pat Mullen (22-8, IC Catholic) over Antonio Hinojosa (33-10, Carmel) MD 16-5

150 – Brody Kelly (30-7, IC Catholic) over Noah Pechotta (36-9, Cary-Grove) F 5:35

157 – Harrison Konder (11-2, Montini) over Van Grasser (37-14, St. Patrick) MD 10-1

165 – Santino Tenuta (30-7, Montini) over Jovany Zuniga (36-5, Fenton) F 3:53

175 – AJ Tack (34-8, Montini) over Nate Brown (8-12, IC Catholic) SV-1 9-7

190 – Jack Paris (7-3, Fenwick) over Jaxon Lane (31-12, Montini) D 3-1

215 – Luke Dalise (30-16, Fenwick) over Hunter Wahtola (29-13, DePaul College Prep) D 14-9

285 – Lucas Burton (22-7, Cary-Grove) over Mick Ranquist (20-6, Montini) D 7-2

By Mike Garofola – for the IWCOA

It is never fair to compare the four Class 3A sectional venues across the state. There’s so much talent to go around, that each year all of the sectionals are filled to the brim with talent.

However, it would be considered a massive upset if several from the Barrington Sectional are not involved in the Grand March on Saturday night with the chance of lifting the biggest prize of the 2023-2024 campaign.

When the IHSA Class 3A  tournament opens on Thursday in Champaign on the campus of the University of Illinois, the 3A Barrington Sectional will send 56 of the best from its area, which will include 15 who are in the top four of their respective weight divisions, who are all quite capable of finding themselves on or atop the podium.

The big two-day crowd was treated to several high-profile matches that had a profound impact on how each 16-man field eventually shook down. A sectional championship went to the 14 winners, earning each of them the highly-coveted top-four seed.

Let’s take a look now at each weight class and the many fine young men who passed through on their way to Champaign:

106 – Caleb Noble, Warren

The final session of the Barrington sectional created quite a stir when it opened with No. 1 Rocco Cassioppi (Hononegah, 40-3) and No. 2 Caleb Noble (Warren, 38-3) stepping out onto mat No.1 in the 106-pound final.

These two fantastic freshmen can already be found in the national rankings, where they have validated their lofty status in the country with their impressive results in and out of the state.

Noble, who earlier in the season lost to Cassioppi in the Ironman semifinals, would avenge that 4-2 defeat with a marvelous six-minute performance en route to a 7-4 victory to claim the first sectional title of the day.

“It was obviously a very good win for me today. I was a little cautious the first time we met at the Ironman but today I was much more aggressive right from the start to help me set the tone for the match,” said Noble, who would start down in the third period with a 4-3 advantage, make it 5-3 with an early escape, then extend his lead to 7-3 midway one minute from time.

“Rocco is a great wrestler, and to be honest, I hope we meet in the state final next weekend,” added Noble.

No. 8 Kaleb Pratt (Barrington, 33-11) is on his way to Champaign after his pin of James Hemmila (Loyola Academy) in the third place match between a pair of regional champions.

113 – Bruno Cassioppi, Hononegah

No. 4 Bruno Cassioppi spent countless hours inside the big gym here in Barrington during the days when his older brother Tony dominated the field at 285, before heading off to the University of Iowa where he became a four-time All-American.

On Saturday, the Hononegah freshman would add another big piece of sectional hardware to the Cassioppi family collection following his masterful effort during a 15-3 major decision victory over Warren junior Jonathan Marquez.

“I was running around this gym when I was just a little guy with my brother Rocco, so it’s kind of cool to actually come here to wrestle and win a sectional championship,” said Cassioppi after claiming his seventh major of the season, which includes a NIC-10 conference title.

“One of the most important things I learned from Tony is that hard work eventually pays off, and that’s what I will continue to do when we get back to training,” added Cassioppi.

The aforementioned Marquez is now 30-9, while third-place Anthony Orozco-Diaz (Hersey, 26-3) moves on after his 3-2 decision over Grant sophomore Vince Jasinski (33-13) who advanced on the same day his sister Ayane did from the Schaumburg girls’ sectional.

Ayane Jasinski was a girls state champion a year ago at 110 pounds.

120 – Alejandro Cordova, Round Lake

Alejandro Cordova (38-7) certainly earned his spot in the final with Libertyville rival Luke Berktold, but an injury Berktold (33-6) would suffer earlier would see Cordova claim victory due to a medical forfeit.

“I would have much rather wrestled Luke instead of winning because of his injury, I just hope he’s better and can wrestle at state next week,” said a classy Cordova, who is now a three-time state qualifier.

Cordova made history of sorts along with teammate William Smith and Grayson Kongkaeow when the trio became the first in the Panthers program to qualify three to the tournament.

Back in 2003, the Panthers the sextet of: Scott Pocasangre, AJ Charping, Calvin Reed, Ted Silvetti, Rob Walleck, and heavyweight Mark Beaton all were sectional qualifiers, with Walleck winning a sectional title here at Barrington at 189 to become the lone Panther to advance.

“I’m excited for going downstate, and hoping to make this last time there my best ever,” said Cordova, who leads his club in take-downs 92 and team points (331), and is now only the second in program history to be a three-time qualifier after Mike Kukla did so in 1992-1994.

Regional champions Gavin Pardilla (Loyola Academy, 26-11) and Barrington freshman Ryan Dorn (24-17) finished third and fourth respectively to advance.

126 – Abdullokh Khakimov, Hersey

No. 4 Addullokh Khakimov was all business during these two days in Barrington to earn his second consecutive appearance in Champaign, following his 8-2 decision over No. 7 Drew Fifield (19-10) from Fremd.

The Hersey senior, who also collected his second regional title of his career last weekend, opened with a pin and then an impressive six minutes against Round Lake senior Grayson Kongkaeow (36-13), which ended with a 13-2 major decision.

“Addullokh is getting better and better each time out, and when he opens things up like he did this weekend, anything is possible for this young man,” said Hersey head coach Joe Rupslauk.

“His style is kind of funky and right now his attack is just flowing really well,” added Huskies assistant, Tom Vezzetti.

Kongkaeow, who won his second regional title a week ago, now becomes a first-time state qualifier, as does Barrington sophomore Jimmy Whitaker (31-17) who majored Kongkaeow in their third place contest.

132 – TJ Silva, Hononegah

As this tournament would continue to heat up, so did Hononegah junior TJ Silva. Silva was never threatened on his way to a third trip downstate, where he looks to claim his second- straight state championship trophy.

Silva (25-4), who won a 1A title for Dakota at 126 last season after taking second at 132 in 2022, pressed over his three rivals, including No. 4 Maksim Mukhamedaliyev (Hersey, 32-3) who was unable to slow the No. 2 man in the state in what ended with a fall at 5:08.

“I know some people thought winning a state title at 1A last year wasn’t a big deal because it was a small school class, but I can tell you 1A is a very competitive class down at state. So I am out to make a statement this year in 3A,” said Silva.

“We have a great room, with a great coaching staff, and I feel like a lot of us are going to do great things at state, then dual team state.”

No. 6 Erik Rodriguez (Mundelein, 34-13) is in the field of 16, as is fellow NSC sophomore, Shawn Kogan (24-8) whose exciting 6-5 victory over top-four seed Max Brown (Glenbrook South) in his quarterfinal kept the Patriots star alive in the front draw.

138 – Robert Darling, Honenegah

There is always a sleeper among the 14 weight divisions that will surprise to stay alive for yet another day.

Hononegah sophomore Robert Darling (29-16) is one such young man, who could only smile when asked who was Robert Darling, and why is he now a first-time state qualifier for head coach Tyler DeMoss.

“I’m a hard worker in a room full of great teammates, who push me everyday, and I’ve been able to reach my goal of going downstate after a pretty good year that had me medal in just about every tournament we went to,” said Darling, who came in unrated but left with the big prize.

Darling would defeat a pair of quality opponents en route to his hard fought 1-0 victory over Stevenson senior Andrew Chamkin, who joins three of his teammates as first-time qualifiers.

Darling, second at the NIC-10 and giant Sycamore Invite, beat regional champ Giorgio DiFalco (Prospect, 35-9) in his quarterfinal (10-7) after turning in a strong effort in his sectional-opening 7-0 decision.

Next up would be Hersey junior, No. 10 Rodrigo Arceo (21-12) who was a freestyle and Greco Fargo qualifier, coming off a regional title last weekend at Stevenson.

Darling would edge Arceo 4-3, then use a third period escape against Chamkin (28-13) to claim his sectional crown.

DiFalco would defeat Arceo 5-1 for third place.

144 – Evan Gosz, Fremd

Evan Gosz would produce a world-class effort during his two days here at host Barrington High School, ending his tournament with a third-straight technical fall to make it three consecutive sectional championships.

The number three has an interesting attachment to the Fremd junior, who entered this weekend as the No. 3 man in the state behind Carson Weber (Joliet West) and two-time state champion Jaydon Colon from St. Charles.

Twice Gosz (34-0) has finished third at state, last year after entering the final weekend of the season ranked No. 3.

“(Obviously) I am looking to change all of that No. 3 stuff next weekend at state,” began Gosz with a wry smile.

“I’ve put more work in during the offseason than ever before. I am bigger and stronger, spent a lot of time lifting to gain ten pounds, and I really feel like I’ve opened my game up much more than last year.”

After collecting his three tech-fall victories here, Gosz now has 11 on the year to go along with 16 pins, plus going well over his previous 126 takedowns prior to the boat load more he earned over the two days.

Stevenson sophomore Vlad Maluhin is on his way to Champaign for the first time as is Glenbrook South junior Andrew Haritos (24-7) who was a regional champion a week ago on his home mats.

150 – Rhenzo Augusto, Barrington

No. 3 Rhenzo Augusto cut his teeth in the sport of ju-jitsu, where his father was a world champion in Brazil, so the die had been cast for the Barrington senior, who Saturday afternoon won the biggest prize of his career thus far.

The 2023 state qualifier held off three-time state qualifier Pedro Jimenez (McHenry, 37-3) by using a third-period reversal to be the difference in a 2-0 victory, much to the delight of a large Broncos contingency and head coach Dan Keller.

“Just a great, hard-fought victory by Rhenzo who needed a dynamic and strong six-minute effort to help get him ready for state,” said a proud Keller, who in his first year after coming over from league rival Prospect would guide his men to a MSL title, and later send four into the state tournament.

“These are the type of 2-0, 2-1, 3-2 matches that I need, and expect at state, so to beat a really great opponent like Jimenez will help me prepare for what’s ahead,” said Augusto, now 38-5.

“Ju-jitsu helped me get ready for high school wrestling, and our great room, and all of the time spent wrestling at Izzy has been really important to my success thus far,” added Augusto.

New Trier junior Tagg Miller (33-7) whose hopes to advance were dashed in a blood round loss here last year, heads into the state tournament with the wind in his sails after a major decision victory for third place over Max Haskins (34-8) of Hononegah.

157- Aaron Stewart, Warren

In the second of two powerhouse finals between Warren and Hononegah, Warren’s No. 1 Aaron Stewart held firm over Hononegah’s No. 3 Brody Sendele in this key final when Stewart (39-2) used a late throw for a takedown near the edge to defeat freshman Sendele 3-1.

The two could meet for the state title inside State Farm Center, although Mount Carmel’s No. 2 Edmund Enright will have plenty to say of that outcome as he will likely be on the same side of the bracket as Sendele.

“I always felt in control, just waiting for the opportunity to get (in) for a takedown,” said Stewart, who wrestled a smart, yet cautious six minutes, which still made for an exciting final that saw two super-quick and talented young men whose constant movement and superb defense kept the big crowd on the edge.

Stewart, third a year ago as a freshman, drew back level with Sendele at 1-1 with an escape 16 seconds into the third period, thrilling the audience with his takedown with just 10 seconds from time.

Stewart, a three-sport star (football, track) won here last season and is currently No. 12 in the nation. His only defeats on the season are to No. 2 Charlie Millard from Wisconsin, who;s on his way to the University of Minnesota next fall, and No. 11 Landyn Sommer from Oklahoma, who will stay in his home state to attend the University of Oklahoma in the fall.

No. 7 Ryan Muslimovic (42-6) has enjoyed an outstanding senior campaign at Fremd which includes three majors, and a 5-3 win over sectional champion Thomas Fulton from Wheaton North. The Vikings senior won 9-5 over Huntley freshmen Radic Dvorak (36-14) in the third place contest.

165 – Royce Lopez, Warren

The road to glory for No. 7 Royce Lopez (28-7) was paved in gold for the Warren sophomore who is now a two-time state qualifier, and his top-four seed at state was assured following his marvelous three match performance which ended with his impressive 10-3 decision over Prospect’s No. 9 Connor Munn (38-8), who is now a three-time qualifier.

Warren head coach Brad Janesek said after Lopez raced past the competition en route to his regional title that his young star is “never satisfied” and “always looking for more each time he goes out”, and the Blue Devils’ 165-pounder could not agree more with his Janecek.

“There’s always something that I can do better, whether in the room, or when I compete, but what is most important is for me to always look to score, and to add points to help keep the pressure on my opponents,” said Lopez, who did just that against Munn.

Holding a narrow 2-0 lead after two periods, Lopez executed a sweet reversal to double his advantage at the start of the third period, then slowly pulled away from the Prospect senior who is also a two-time MSL and regional champion.

“I feel like I’m ready for what is ahead of me at state, the really tough six minute matches as I go deeper into the tournament,” added Lopez, who beat Hononegah’s No. 6 Connor Diemel to move into the final.

Diemel (43-5), who leaves here with the most wins on the season with along with teammate Brody Sendele, recently won at Batavia, NIC-10, and regionals before finishing third ahead of Highland Park senior Dmitry Derbedyenyev (32-3) who earned his second-straight state appearance.

175 – Matt Kubas, Libertyville

This weight class at the state tournament is separated by just inches within the top four, all arriving in Champaign from different sectionals with a ridiculous 158-16 overall record, and seven state medals among them, including the state championship Mount Carmel’s Colin Kelly won in 2022.

Libertyville’s No. 2 Matt Kubas (36-3), just behind Kelly, and in front of St. Charles East’s No. 3 Brody Murray and Yorkville’s No. 4 Luke Zook, with Kelly, Zook and Kubas, in that order, finishing behind 2023 170-pound state champ Chris Moore of McHenry, who’s now at the University of Illinois.

If all comes to fruition, this quartet will meet in the semifinals on Friday night with the chance of earning a spot in the Grand March one day later.

“At this point it’s all about taking it one match at a time, not looking ahead, and just respecting your next opponent you face,” said Kubas moments after a magnificent six minutes in which he defeated NSC rival, Stevenson’s Themba Sitshela (35-16), with a 11-2 major decision.

“Cole (Matulenko) just took off from here last year, and he was so good at that same approach of a match at a time and not caring at all about who your opponent is, and where they’re at in the state rankings (so) it worked for him, and that’s my plan from here on out,” continued Kubas, who watched Matulenko crush his opponents on his way to the 195-pound state title last season.

Sitshela used a narrow 1-0 victory in his semifinal contest with Prospect’s Michael Matuszak (28-14) to go through to the final. Hononegah’s No. 7 Kurt Smith (38-9) won 3-1 over Matuszak for third place.

190 – Jaxon Penovich, Prospect

Add Prospect sophomore Jaxon Penovich to the list of favorites to bring home a state title after the No. 1 man at 190-pounds made his statement of intent following a brilliant two days in which he continued his dominant ways over his rivals.

Penovich (42-3) wasted little time on his way to his first sectional title of his young career when he opened with his 22nd pin of the year, then followed up with a pair of wins by technical fall to run his season total to 17.

Penovich needed 4:58 to record a 22-6 technical fall over Loyola Academy’s No. 7 Quinn Herbert (29-8) to give his club its lone sectional title on the day.

“I’d like to believe that I can, and will win a state title next weekend, which is obviously one of my goals, but being an eventual world champion is right up there also,” admits Penovich, fifth a year ago at 195 with a 45-7 overall record.

“I think (me) being a little immature as a freshman may have led to my loss in my state  opener to the state runner-up Pete Marinopoulos (Marist, now at Illinois), and after that, I struggled some to get back on track,” continued Penovich.

“This year is different in that I am mentally stronger and have a better idea of what is needed at this level, and especially with my technique.”

Penovich has either pinned, or tech’d all of his opponents from Illinois and has conceded just one takedown on the season.

Herbert held off a hard-charging Caleb Baczek (34-8) to defeat the No. 8 Libertyville junior in the quarterfinals.

Baczek later suffered a stunning 5-4 loss in his state qualifying match with his conference rival, Warren’s Jeremija Hixson (24-10) who fell in the third place bout against Hersey senior Anthony Cambria (30-11), who is now a two-time state qualifier.

215 – Kai Calcutt, Loyola Academy

There would have been quite an amazing list to choose from should there have been an O.W. (Outstanding Wrestler) named at the end of the two days, perhaps beginning with Loyola Academy sophomore Kai Calcutt, who overwhelmed all three of his opponents to collect his second-consecutive sectional title.

The No. 1 man at 215 pounds left little doubt as to who will be the favorite in Champaign in his weight class after spending just 90 seconds on the mats during his first two bouts, before forcing Libertyville’s No. 3 Owen McGrory (41-3) to play defensive wrestling for six minutes en route to a 12-7 victory.

“My hand fighting is so much better than a year ago, I really feel like it has helped bring my game together to where it needs to be,” said Calcutt, now 27-4.

The affable Loyola Academy star was state runner-up at 220 to Yorkville’s Ben Alvarez after a heart-breaking 3-2 ultimate tie-breaker contest which ended at 6:57.

“To be honest (that) loss didn’t really stay with me at all during the offseason, it was over, and my work to be better and get back in the final was much more important to me,” said Calcutt.

Calcutt says he was inspired by his former teammate, and 2023 120 state champion, Massey Odiotti (Northwestern), who he remains close to, even training with Odiotti family members at the gym.

Despite the loss to Calcutt, McGrory is on his way to Champaign for the second consecutive season, and will challenge for a top three spot on the podium.

Buffalo Grove senior Cadon Watson (39-8) will be on his maiden voyage after his pin over Warren’s No. 6 Anthony Soto (30-8), who is also now a first-time state qualifier, for third place.

Watson won at the Rex Lewis at 190 pounds, but bumped up to 215 for the state series before claiming a regional title.

285 – William Cole, Round Lake

William Cole continues to be in total command of his rivals at 285 after the Round Lake senior squashed the competition here on his way to his first sectional title and sixth major of the season.

The Round Lake junior defeated Huntley senior Markos Mihalopoulos (39-9) 6-1 as each earned their second visit to Champaign to give the Panthers their first sectional crown since Rob Walleck did so in 2003.

“It’s all about getting better each time out there to help me get back downstate where the goal is to get on the podium, and even win a state title,” said Smith, No. 5 in the polls, and just behind Wyatt Schmitt (Joliet West) whom his only loss is to in the Dvorak final in overtime.

“My movement is so much better than last year, I was kind of too stiff but this year my feet are quicker which has helped me set up my attacks,” added Cole, now 41-1 overall.

Mundelein junior Abisai Hernandez (38-7) is back for a second trip downstate after his pin of Loyola Academy junior Joey Herbert (20-11).

Barrington Sectional Championship match results

106- Kaleb Noble (Warren) D 7-4 Rocco Cassioppi (Hononegah)

113- Bruno Cassioppi (Hononegah) MD 15-3 Jonathan Marquez (Warren)

120- Alejandro Cordova (Round Lake) M FFT Luke Berktold (Libertyville)

126- Abdullokh Khakimov (Hersey) D 8-2 Drew Fifield (Fremd)

132- TJ Silva (Hononegah) F 5:08 Maksim Mukhamedaliyev (Hersey)

138- Robert Darling (Hononegah) D 1-0 Andrew Chamkin (Stevenson)

144- Evan Gosz (Fremd) TF 4:45 (19-4) Jake Hanson (Hersey)

150- Rhenzo Augusto (Barrington) D 2-0 Pedro Jimenez (McHenry)

157- Aaron Stewart (Warren) D 3-1 Brody Sendele (Hononegah)

165- Royce Lopez (Warren) D 10-3 Connor Munn (Prospect)

175- Matt Kubas (Libertyville) MD 11-2 Themba Sitshela (Stevenson)

190- Jaxon Penovich (Prospect) TF 4:58 (22-6) Quinn Herbert (Loyola Academy)

215- Kai Calcutt (Loyola Academy) D 12-7 Owen McGrory (Libertyville)

285- William Cole (Round Lake) D 6-1 Markos Mihalopoulos (Huntley)

Barrington Sectional Third Place match results

106- Kaleb Pratt (Barrington) F 1:50 James Hemmila (Loyola Academy)

113- Anthony Orozco-Diaz (Hersey) D 3-2 Vince Jasinski (Grant)

120- Gavin Pardilla (Loyola Academy) D 5-0 Ryan Dorn (Barrington)

126- Jimmy Whitaker (Barrington) MD 15-6 Grayson Kongkaeow (Round Lake)

132- Erik Rodriguez (Mundelein) D 8-4 Shawn Kogan (Stevenson)

138- Giorgio DiFalco (Prospect) D 5-1 Rodrigo Arceo (Hersey)

144- Val Vihrov (Stevenson) MD 12-2 Andrew Haritos (Glenbrook South)

150- Tagg Miller (New Trier) MD 16-6 Max Haskins (Hononegah)

157- Ryan Muslimovic (Fremd) D 9-5 Radic Dvorak (Huntley)

165- Connor Diemel (Hononegah) D 5-1 Dmitry Derbedyenyev (Highland Park)

175- Kurt Smith (Hononegah) D 3-1 Michael Matuszak (Prospect)

190- Anthony Cambria (Hersey) MD 12-3 Jeremija Hixson (Warren)

215- Cadon Watson (Buffalo Grove) F 3:32 Anthony Soto (Warren)

285- Abisai Hernandez (Mundelein) F 5:28 Joey Herbert (Loyola Academy)

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2A HINSDALE SOUTH INDIVIDUAL SECTIONAL

Brother Rice led all schools with nine state qualifiers at this year’s 2A Hinsdale South Individual Sectional, led by sectional champion James Crane (190) and four second-place finishers in Jonathan Harris (126), James Bennett (132), and Oliver Davis (138).

Oak Forest had three sectional champions to lead a field of five state qualifiers, in James Mair (120), Austin Perez (138), and Hunter Daniel (157). Lemont also advanced five to Champaign, led by sectional champions Noah O’Connor (150) and Alex Pasquale (285).

St. Rita had three sectional champions in Jack Hogan (106), Nino Protti (132) and Sean Larkin (144) among its four state qualifiers; Providence Catholic’s five state qualifiers were led by sectional champion Tommy Banas (126); while Hinsdale South’s four state qualifiers were led by sectional champion Jovani Piazza (175).

Other sectional champs at Hinsdale South were Riverside-Brookfield’s Edgar Mosquera (113), Richards’ Mike Taheny (165), and St. Laurence’s Xavier Bitner (215).

2A Hinsdale South championship match results:

106 – Jack Hogan (34-5, St. Rita) over Jacob Sebek (33-3, Oak Forest) F 0:40

113 – Edgar Mosquera (38-6, Riverside-B) over Victor Alvarado (26-3, Kennedy) MD 12-4

120 – James Mair (23-12, Oak Forest) over Gianni Alberto (14-3, Kennedy) MD 15-3

126 – Tommy Banas (41-7, Providence) over Jonathan Harris (30-9, Brother Rice) F 1:41

132 – Nino Protti (33-3, St. Rita) over James Bennett (31-13, Brother Rice) D 8-2

138 – Austin Perez (39-3, Oak Forest) over Oliver Davis (29-7, Brother Rice) D 5-2

144 – Sean Larkin (18-2, St. Rita) over Josh Gonzalez (40-10, Riverside-B) MD 12-2

150 – Noah O`Connor (41-4, Lemont ) over Andrew Musil (34-8, Hinsdale S) F 2:22

157 – Hunter Daniel (34-4, Oak Forest) over Geno Papes (36-13, Providence) F 1:34

165 – Mike Taheny (29-3, Richards) over Malakai Davis (39-3, Hancock) F 0:33

175 – Jovani Piazza (30-4, Hinsdale S) over Michael O`Connor (Providence) MD 11-3

190 – James Crane (35-11, Brother Rice) over Genesis Ward (37-7, Evergreen Park) D 5-0

215 – Xavier Bitner (42-5, St. Laurence) over Sebastian Sanderson (27-4, Tinley Park) F 5:52

285 – Alex Pasquale (30-3, Lemont) over Marco Olvera (27-12, Bremen) F 1:07

Third-place match results:

106 – James Lotito (24-13 Brother Rice) over Amari Brown (22-14, Hillcrest) F 1:20

113 – Mikey Wallace (30-15, Hinsdale S) over Brian Bahena (33-10, Little Village) F 1:56

120 – Angel Ramirez (26-6, Evergreen Park) over Chase Tankson (12-11, Marian) F 2:41

126 – Chance Woods (39-3, Evergreen Park) over Julian Vallianatos (26-16, Lemont) F 5:15

132 – Cory Zator (33-8, Lemont) over Justus Snapp (22-18, Providence) D 3-1

138 – Enzo Canali (26-10, St. Rita) over Carter Mikolajczak (36-12, Lemont) D 4-3

144 – Kiaven Sullivan (25-4, Hillcrest) over Jack O`Connor (36-15, Brother Rice) SV-1 7-5

150 – Dom Paul (29-7, Richards) over Frank Miceli (29-15, Brother Rice) D 13-8

157 – Joseph Merritt (24-9, T-F North) over Ethan Rivas (24-12, Riverside-B) med. fft.

165 – Jackson Castaneda (37-2, Oak Forest) over Colin Goggin (31-7, Brother Rice) MD 10-1

175 – Dan Costello (35-7, Brother Rice) over Adrian Esparza (32-6, Bremen) F 0:47

190 – Alec Miller (33-8, Hinsdale S) over Derick Ibarrondo (24-11, Back of the Yards) F 2:48

215 – Eduardo Antunez (37-3, Evergreen Park) over Antone Woods (28-11, Agricultural Science) D 6-2

285 – Gerald O’Hare (33-6, Evergreen Park) over Mike Sisk (27-16, Providence) D 3-2

2A MAHOMET-SEYMOUR INDIVIDUAL SECTIONAL

Glenwood advanced eight wrestlers to this year’s 2A state finals in Champaign, led by sectional champions Tyler Clarke (106) and Drew Davis (120) at Saturday’s 2A Mahomet-Seymour Individual Sectional.

Civic Memorial had six state qualifiers, led by sectional champ Bryce Griffin (157); Bloomington advanced five wrestlers to Champaign, led by sectional champ Maddox Kirts (165); Jacksonville’s four state qualifiers were led by sectional champions Joe Reif (150) and Oliver Cooley (215); and Mt. Vernon had four state qualifiers led by sectional champion Dillon White (138).

Other sectional champions at Mahomet-Seymour were Champaign Central’s Talin Baker (113), Triad’s Colby Crouch (126), Carbondale’s Isaac Smith (132), Mattoon’s Korbin Bateman (144), Danville’s Phillip Shaw IV (175), Waterloo’s Jaxson Mathenia (190), and Champaign Centennial’s Jack Barnhart (285).

2A Mahomet-Seymour Individual Sectional championship match results:

106 – Tyler Clarke (39-5, Glenwood) over Will Kelly (39-6, Triad) D 6-0

113 – Talin Baker (30-6, Champaign Central) over Dylan McGrew (32-12, Normal West) D 6-0

120 – Drew Davis (39-0, Glenwood) over Bradley Ruckman (40-8, Civic Memorial) MD 17-4

126 – Colby Crouch (36-1, Triad) over Caleb Scott (27-7, Civic Memorial) F 0:25

132 – Isaac Smith (45-2, Carbondale) over Bradley Dollus (35-12, Glenwood)) F 0:36

138 – Dillon White (37-3, Mt. Vernon) over John Ben Maduena (30-5, Glenwood) F 5:40

144 – Korbin Bateman (42-0, Mattoon) over Ron Baker III (13-2, Champaign Central) F 1:40

150 – Joe Reif (44-6, Jacksonville) over Tyson Rakers (40-4, Highland) D 3-2

157 – Bryce Griffin (45-2, Civic Memorial) over Evan Willock (35-2, Normal West) F 1:34

165 – Maddox Kirts (36-7, Bloomington) over Dawson McConnell (41-6, Lincoln) MD 13-5

175 – Phillip Shaw IV (33-1, Danville) over Gus Schreiber (36-11, Normal West) D 11-4

190 – Jaxson Mathenia (23-4, Waterloo) over Kenner Bye (25-8, Bloomington) D 5-2

215 – Oliver Cooley (43-4, Jacksonville) over Cody Moss (38-11, Glenwood) F 1:35

285 -Jack Barnhart (40-0, Champaign Centennial) over Aiden Surratt (40-5, Jacksonville) med. fft.

Third-place results:

106 – Pierce Bultmann (31-10, Rochester) over Jaylen Sandy (22-17, Bloomington) F 5:27

113 – Avery Jamie (30-10, Civic Memorial) over Tyler Barlow (14-15, Bloomington) MD 9-1

120 – Riddick Cook (38-8, Marion) over Deshawn Armstrong (34-8, Jacksonville) F 3:18

126 – Andon Beldo (30-7, Champaign Centennial) over Justus Vrona (38-15, Mahomet-S) F 1:27

132 – Ty Rangel (25-9, Danville) over Brody Smith (31-9, Triad) D 7-0

138 – Trevor Schoonover (41-8, Champaign Centennial) over Ben Capitosti (39-7, Mattoon) D 8-3

144 – Brock Ross (40-7, Mascoutah) over Nathen Herrin (34-17, Civic Memorial) F 0:47

150 – Aidan Blackburn (43-5, Mattoon) over Caden Frey (38-12, Marion) F 2:52

157 – Gage Decker (36-9, Mahomet-S) over Braxton Warren (36-17, Glenwood) med. fft.

165 – James Wojcikiewicz (34-9, Civic Memorial) over Thomas Imboden (38-11, Carbondale) D 12-5

175 – Maddux Randall (36-8, Mt. Vernon) over Justin Hay (34-10, Glenwood) D 5-1

190 – Max Wiezorek (47-4, Glenwood) over Mason Randall (33-10, Mt. Vernon) D 5-3

215 – Ashton Zobrist (39-10, Highland) over Jhymear Smith Henson (31-15, Mt. Vernon) D 3-1

285 – Stephen Carr (30-9, Bloomington) over Mekhi McDowell (25-9, East St. Louis) F 3:23

2A SYCAMORE INDIVIDUAL SECTIONAL

Washington led all teams with eight state qualifiers at this year’s 2A Sycamore Individual Sectional, getting sectional titles from Wyatt Medlin (138), Peyton Cox (144), Cael Miller (165), plus seconds from Eli Gonzalez (126), Zane Hulet (175) and Josh Hoffer (190).

Geneseo’s five state qualifiers featured a pair of sectional champions in Zachary Montez (150) and Kye Weinzieri (157); Rock Island’s five state qualifiers were led by sectional champion Truth Vesey (113); and Rochelle had four state qualifiers led by sectional champions Xavier Villalobos (126) and Kaiden Morris (215).

Other sectional champions at Sycamore were Morris’ Owen Sater (106), Galesburg’s Rocky Almendarez (120) and Gauge Shipp (132), and Crystal Lake South’s Andy Burburija (285).

2A Sycamore Individual Sectional championship match results:

106 – Owen Sater (39-1, Morris) over Nicholas Pollett (40-4, Streator) D 6-1

113 – Truth Vesey (33-4, Rock Island) over Tim Sebastian (27-9, Geneseo) MD 17-5

120 – Rocky Almendarez (39-1, Galesburg) over Kamron Scholl (44-1, Kaneland) TB-1 5-3

126 – Xavier Villalobos (40-1, Rochelle) over Eli Gonzalez (27-10, Washington) D 3-2

132 – Gauge Shipp (41-0, Galesburg) over Ty Edwards (43-2, Yorkville Christian) MD 13-4

138 – Wyatt Medlin (41-4, Washington) over Antonio Parker (29-14, Rock Island) TF-1.5 4:39

144 – Peyton Cox (23-1, Washington) over Malaki Jackson (31-9, Geneseo) MD 12-2

150 – Zachary Montez (37-2, Geneseo) over Alessio Pezzella (31-11, Crystal Lake C) MD 11-3

157 – Kye Weinzierl (32-3, Geneseo) over Ty Smart (32-10, Rockford E) F 2:58

165 – Cael Miller (36-10, Washington) over Nick Mueller (39-3, Dunlap) D 5-4

175 – Amare Overton (39-2, Rock Island) over Zane Hulet (32-7, Washington) D 10-6

190 – Andrew Marquez (39-2, Rock Island) over Josh Hoffer (31-10, Washington) D 9-5

215 – Kaiden Morris (38-3, Rochelle) over Tommy McNeil (26-5, Crystal Lake C) D 11-4

285 – Andy Burburija (32-0, Crystal Lake S) over Jose Del Toro (27-7, East Peoria) D 2-0

Third-place matches:

106 – Jack Ragan (37-5, Dixon) over Noah Harris (31-11, Morton) F 5:12

113 – Aiden Larsen (35-3, Yorkville Christian) over Jake Lowitzki (33-8, Prairie Ridge) med. fft.

120 – Noah Woods (37-13, Washington) over Joseph Young (37-9, Rockford E) D 10-7

126 – Daniel McGhee (39-2, Rock Island) over Mikey Meade (33-8, Prairie Ridge) med. fft.

132 – Donald Cannon (33-1, Rockford E) over Timmy Smith (30-15, Washington) MD 12-2

138 – Izaac Gaines (20-4, Geneseo) over Jayden Dohogne (30-14, Sycamore) med. fft.

144 – Dana Wickson (37-10, Rockford E) over Grady Neal (25-8, Metamora) med. fft.

150 – Steven Marvin (40-3, Morton) over Caidan Ronning (31-4, Plano) F 0:52

157 – Robby Nelson (40-5, Yorkville Christian) over Xander York (25-8, Prairie Ridge) F 1:43

165 – Grant Gensler (37-6, Rochelle) over Jonah Chavez (26-18, Central) D 6-0

175 – Kaden Combs (37-3, Woodstock N) over Caden Casimino (30-4, Crystal Lake S) F 4:29

190 – Cayden Parks (38-6, Crystal Lake C) over Brock Metzger (34-6, Rochelle) F 1:08

215 – John Fallaw (27-11, Prairie Ridge) over Gable Carrick (31-11, Sycamore) F 2:09

285 – Lee Smith (37-5, Rockford E) over Riley Vest (27-10, Harvard) F 0:18

3A CONANT INDIVIDUAL SECTIONAL

St. Charles East had six sectional champions and led all teams with eight wrestlers advancing to this year’s individual state finals in Champaign. Winning titles for Saints coach Jason Potter were Dom Munaretto (113), Ben Davino (132), Tyler Guerra (138), Jayden Colon (144), Gavin Connolly (150), and Brody Murray (175). Anthony Gutierrez (165) and Cooper Murray (190) placed second to advance for the Saints.

DeKalb had six state qualifiers, led by sectional champion Jacob Luce (165), and Glenbard North advanced five, led by sectional champion Christian Chavez. Conant advanced three to Champaign, led by sectional champ Harley Stary (285). OPRF advanced four wrestlers to Champaign, and York had five state qualifiers.

Other sectional champions at Conant were Proviso West’s Jamiel Castleberry (106), Maine South’s Teddy Flores (120), Wheaton North’s Thomas Fulton (157), Elgin’s Fabian Ramirez (190), and Oak Park and River Forest’s Eric Harris (215).

3A Sectional championship match results:

106 – Jamiel Castleberry (30-1, Proviso West) over Bernardo Roque (34-5, Taft) MD 13-4

113 – Dom Munaretto (44-2, St. Charles E) over Dominick Marre (32-7, Glenbard N) D 1-0

120 – Teddy Flores (44-1, Maine S) over Demetrios Carrera (38-3, South Elgin) D 5-1

126 – Christian Chavez (36-4, Glenbard N) over Grant Madl (34-3, Elk Grove) D 3-2

132 – Ben Davino (46-0, St. Charles E) over Damian Valdez (32-10, Addison Trail) F 1:00

138 – Tyler Guerra (45-1, St. Charles E) over Joseph Knackstedt (34-8, OPRF) MD 13-5

144 – Jayden Colon (37-5, St. Charles E) over Mekhi Cave (41-8, DeKalb) F1:59

150 – Gavin Connolly (37-10, St. Charles E) over Fernando Lopez (26-3, Lane Tech) D 7-1

157 – Thomas Fulton (39-8, Wheaton North) over Peyton Marzen (29-10, Geneva) D 3-2

165 – Jacob Luce (41-2, DeKalb) over Anthony Gutierrez (35-10, St. Charles E) D 4-2

175 – Brody Murray (39-8, St. Charles E) over Danny Decristofaro (31-5, York) F 1:13

190 – Fabian Ramirez (20-4, Elgin) over Cooper Murray (29-17, St. Charles E) D 9-5

215 – Eric Harris (32-9, OPRF) over Joe Pettit (39-6, Geneva) D 2-1

285 – Harley Stary (28-6, Conant) over Mikey Milovich (32-2, Elk Grove) F 2:39

Third-place matches:

106 – Michael Rundell (31-8, OPRF) over Rocco Macellaio (32-14, Wheaton North) MD 12-1

113 – Alex Valentin (33-5, Lane Tech) over Kaden Klapprodt (25-17, DeKalb) D 3-1

120 – Brady Phelps  (21-2, Schaumburg) over Kalani Khiev (34-6, Glenbard N) D 7-4

126 -Mondo Martinelli (32-11, York) over Nick Merola (8-4, Lake Park) D 8-3 

132 – Zack Parisi (45-3, York) over Luke Morrison (34-11, Maine South) F 1:57

138 – Hudson Ikens (32-12, DeKalb) over Frank Nitti (41-9, York) D 7-1

144 – Callen Kirchner (33-8, Schaumburg) over Gavin Hoerr (27-11, Maine S) F 3:04

150 – David Ogunsanya (34-8, OPRF) over Rylan Kradle (38-9, Glenbard N) D 4-2

157 -Tanner Cosgrove (35-10, Conant) over Martin Duarte (36-8, Addison Trail) F 2:36

165 – Logan Tosterud (17-7, Elk Grove) over Julian Flores (32-15, Wheaton N) D 11-6

175 – Sean Kolkebeck (38-12, DeKalb) over Gabe Inorio (15-5, Streamwood) MD 10-1

190 – Tyler Ott (29-12, Glenbard N) over Jace Wolf (28-9, Streamwood) F 4:32

215 – Lamar Bradley (37-7, DeKalb) over Austin Bagdasarian (42-10, York) D 3-1

285 – Tyler Fortis (40-4, Maine S) over Julian Hutchinson (15-3, Lane Tech) F 1:41

3A QUINCY INDIVIDUAL SECTIONAL

Joliet Catholic led all schools with 11 state qualifiers at this year’s 3A Quincy Sectional, led by sectional champions Jason Hampton (120), Nico Ronchetti (190) and Dillan Johnson (285).

Yorkville qualified six wrestlers, led by sectional champs Jack Ferguson (150), Ryder Janeczko (157) and Luke Zook (175), and Plainfield North had three state qualifiers, led by sectional champion Maddox Garbis (113). Lockport also qualified three, led by sectional champion Justin Wardlow (138), as did Joliet West, led by sectional champ Carson Weber (144).

Lincoln-Way East also qualified four wrestlers to Champaign.

Other sectional champions at Quincy were Normal Community’s Caden Correll (106), Andrew’s Max Siegel (126), MInooka’s Cale Stonitsch (132), Quincy’s Owen Uppinghouse (165), and Plainfield South’s Matt Janiak (215).

3A Quincy Sectional championship matches:

106 – Caden Correll (36-5, Normal Community) over Luke Foster (35-13, Joliet Catholic) D 13-6

113 – Maddox Garbis (41-3, Plainfield North) over Nadeem Haleem (36-7, Andrew) D 6-2

120 – Jason Hampton (30-15, Joliet Catholic) over Brian Farley (29-3, Romeoville) D 8-5

126 – Max Siegel (40-6, Andrew) over Adante Washington (23-10, Joliet Catholic) D 4-3

132 – Cale Stonitsch (36-6, Minooka) over Damien Flores (29-16, Joliet Catholic) D 1-0

138 – Justin Wardlow (39-6, Lockport) over Luke Siwinski (28-13, Lincoln-Way W) MD 13-3

144 – Carson Weber (38-1, Joliet West) over RaMez Watson (34-4, Pekin) MD 9-0

150 – Jack Ferguson (41-10, Yorkville) over Connor Cumbee (29-17, Joliet Catholic) D 5-3

157 – Ryder Janeczko (20-9, Yorkville) over Terence Willis (13-1, Belleville E) MD 12-1

165 – Owen Uppinghouse (51-0, Quincy) over Max Corral (30-15, Joliet Catholic) D 3-0

175 – Luke Zook (44-4, Yorkville) over AJ Mancilla (41-5, Bradley-B) D 8-1

190 – Nico Ronchetti (32-9, Joliet Catholic) over Leonardo Tovar (42-5, Plainfield North) MD 19-6

215 – Matt Janiak (41-4, Plainfield South) over Cooper Caraway (43-3, Normal Community) F 3:00

285 – Dillan Johnson (35-1, Joliet Catholic) over Jonathan Rulo (32-1, Belleville East) med. fft.

3rd-place matches:

106 – Rocky Seibel (31-4, Belleville West) over Bryson Nuttall (31-16, Edwardsville) F 1:27

113 – Max Cumbee (29-14, Joliet Catholic) over Shane Stream (34-17, New Lenox (Lincoln-Way W) Dec 6-3

120 – Cole Gentsch (41-5, Normal Community) over Aiden Villar (34-10, Plainfield East) MD 8-0

126 – Kaidge Richardson (36-11, Lincoln-Way E) over Coehn Weber (35-10, Joliet West) D 5-2

132 – Liam Zimmerman (37-14, Lockport) over Tyson Zvonar (38-8, Lincoln-Way E) F 4:42

138 – Elias Gonzalez (27-21, Joliet Catholic) over Brayden Swanson (31-9, Oswego) D 8-4

144 – Blake Mink (30-10, Edwardsville) over Dominick Coronado (29-6, Yorkville)F 2:48

150 -Jase Salin (40-9, Lincoln-Way W) over Domanic Abeja (38-9, Lincoln-Way E) D 4-0

157 – Luke Hamiti (31-17, Joliet Catholic) over Zander Ealy (40-7, Moline) D 5-0

165 – Durango Valles (37-14, Lockport) over Rory Moran (6-2, Lincoln-Way E) MD 16-

175 -Bryor Newbold (44-6, Quincy) over Mason Gougis (25-7, Romeoville) med. fft.

190 -Luke Chrisse (32-15, Yorkville) over James Soliz (35-11, Moline) D 6-3

215 – Ben Alvarez (42-5, Yorkville) over Charles Walker (40-7, Joliet Central) D 6-2

285 – Wyatt Schmitt (32-2, Joliet West) over Nick Kavooras (39-11, Lincoln-Way W) F 1:17

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

The Class 1A Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Regional definitely lived up to expectations as three of the state’s top 11 teams in the class, No. 6 Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher, No. 7 Olympia and No. 11 LeRoy/Tri-Valley, squared off to not only see see how many individuals they could advance to the Olympia Sectional but also which team would move on to the LeRoy Dual Team Sectional to see if then could win a dual meet there and qualify for the IHSA Dual Team Finals.

Things were tight through the semifinals with the hosts holding a narrow lead over LeRoy/Tri-Valley with Olympia still very much in the mix and things remained tight the rest of the way as only eight points separated the three teams entering into the final three weight classes. 

The host Falcons watched in dismay as LeRoy/Tri-Valley kept closing the gap and the Panthers, who featured many individuals who competed in the IHSA Dual Team Finals last season, only trailed 192-189.5 after they got a title win from Jacob Bischoff at 215 while the Falcons were unable to win a third-place match at that same weight class.

So in a scenario that happened a few other times throughout the state on Saturday, the title would be determined in the 285 championship between LeRoy/Tri-Valley junior Tate Sigler and Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher senior Aydin Cornell.

Following a match that was tough throughout and still in doubt until the final whistle, Sigler ermerged with a 2-1 decision over Cornell to give LeRoy/Tri-Valley the title by a 193.5-192 margin. Olympia scored 180 points and took third while University High (120.5) was fourth and Pontiac (103) placed fifth in the 11-team tournament in Gibson City.

During a key stretch from 138 until the end of the competition, the Panthers went 5-1 in place matches, with five of those being on the title mat, and they won two matches by fall, one by a major decision and two others in narrow decisions.

As a result, coach Brady Sant Amour’s Panthers will get to compete in their own dual team sectional on  February 20 against Canton, who also edged a host team in a close team race when it got past PORTA by a 226-221 margin in Petersburg. The other dual meet that day will feature Unity going up against Peoria Notre Dame, which won its first regional title in the program’s history. The Panthers hope to make a return trip to the IHSA Dual Team Finals.

Leading the way for champion LeRoy/Tri-Valley were title winners Brady Mouser (106), EJ Chaon (120), Colton Prosser (138), Connor Lyons (157), Jacob Bischoff (215) and Tate Sigler (285) while Brock Owens (144) took second place and Bo Zeleznik (165) finished third, giving the title team eight individual sectional qualifiers.

Brian Roberts, LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s assistant coach and a LeRoy graduate, was understandably impressed by his team’s strong finish but also wasn’t that surprised by it.

“First, hats off to Gibson City, they’re tough and they’re a well-coached team,” Roberts said. “This is a tough regional and both Gibson and Olympia were ranked in the top 10 and they’re two good programs. But sometimes you just have to be prepared for the opportunity to arise and that’s kind of what we talk about in our program, is being consistent, being dependable and being prepared. And when you’re consistent, dependable and prepared, it allows you to take advantage of opportunities when those opportunities come around.  

“We saw them last week at the tournament, and they beat us by 20 points. So our whole conversation today was that everybody’s got to score points and everybody’s a part of it and that every point matters. These guys did a wonderful job of getting ready for every single round and it seemed like as the day went on that we wrestled better. You can talk about mentality and mindset, and that’s what we’re talking about. Like winning matches that people don’t think you can win or keeping it close and giving yourself the opportunity. The kids want to be successful and they put in a lot on their own individually in the mornings. A group of them wake up and run every day. And when you put in that amount of sweat, it’s hard to lose and it’s hard to give up, and I think that’s the best thing.”

Top performers for coach Cody Moody’s second-place Falcons were champions Shawn Schlickman (132) and Aiden Sancken (190), runners-up Carson Maxey (150), Cooper Miller (165), Lincoln Eastin (175) and Aydin Cornell (285) and third-place finishers Gage Martin (120) and Hudson Babb (126).

One week earlier, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher claimed top honors over LeRoy/Tri-Valley in the Heart  of Illinois Conference Tournament by a 199-179.5 with most of the same teams in the field as the regional, with the exception of Olympia, University High and Pontiac.

So even though Moody’s team had a 15-point lead at one point during the final round, he realized all too well that both LeRoy/Tri-Valley and Olympia weren’t going down without a fight.

“It was absolutely heartbreaking today, coming down to the last match,” Moody said. “The heavyweight match was one that we had not calculated winning, so he did everything that we asked and got the pins that we needed. It was tough getting a draw like this with a regional stacked with three of the top 10 teams, or in my opinion, three of the top five teams in central Illinois. I really like Olympia’s and LeRoy’s programs and I respect and enjoy their coaches  and so today, even though we lost by an inch, it was fun. Competing against those top two teams today was really fun. There’s a lot of rivalry there, but it’s a good rivalry.

“Falling short of the team goal today and that was sad, but we’ve got to shift gears as a coaching staff and still get those guys ready to try to accomplish their individual goals. The seniors have been working, not only four years, but their entire lives, through kids club and middle school and high school. They’ve had their sights set on standing on the podium and it’s our job to help them get there this year.”

Turning in the best showings for coach Josh Collins’ third-place Olympia Spartans were first-place finishers Dylan Eimer (113) and and Bentley Wise (150) while Austin Kisner (120), Kelton Graden (157) and Nolen Yeary (215) took second place and Cooper Phillips (138) placed third.

Other regional champions were Ridgerview’s Danny Tay (126), University High’s Ethan Lowe (144), Tremont’s Bowden Delaney (165) and El Paso-Gridley’s Dominic Ricconi (175). Also finishing in second place were Pontiac’s Aidan Scholwin (106) and Kooper Wiles (113), University High’s Nolan Lowe (126), Prairie Central’s John Traub (132), Tremont’s Mason Mark (138) and El Paso-Gridley’s Ryden Barker (190).

Individuals with the best records following the regional include Bowden Delaney at 165 (39-1, .975), Jacob Bischoff at 215 (39-2, .951), Brady Mouser at 106 (39-2, .951), Dylan Eimer at 113 (26-2, .929), Danny Tay at 126 (38-4, .905), Aidan Scholwin at 106 (26-3, .897), Aiden Sancken at 190 (31-4, .886) and Ethan Lowe at 144 (37-5, .881).

Shawn Schlickman had the most team points with 27.5 while Cooper Lyons was next with 27 and then there was a three-way tie with 26 points between Jacob Bischoff, Danny Tay and Bentley Wise. Ethan Lowe had 25.5 team points and EJ Chaon, Bowden Delaney and Dylan Eimer all finished with 24 team points.

Gage Martin had the most total match points with 36 while Domonic Ricconi was next-best with 33 points. There were eight individuals who had three falls with Bo Zeleznik getting his pins in 3:49 and EJ Chaon needed 3:50 to pull off the same feat. Olympia beat out Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher 208-204 for total match points and the Falcons edged the Panthers 19-18 for the most pins.

Note: Because this story couldn’t be posted until Saturday, I’ve included updated results through the Olympia Sectional semifinals since 12 of the regional champions and five others who took second or third place also advanced to the semifinals. Then another roundup of the Olympia Sectional will run some time next week.

Seventeen individuals from Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Regional advance to Olympia Sectional semifinals, including 12 champions

If anyone had any doubts about how challenging the Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Regional was, they saw an impressive display from many of the individuals who are featured in the regional story that follows.

Twelve of the regional champions and five others who took second or third won quarterfinals matches on Friday to earn spots in the semifinals and to move to within one win of qualifying for the IHSA Finals in Champaign.

Here’s a rundown of qualifiers from the Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Regional who won in Friday’s Olympia Sectional quarterfinals:

106 

LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s Brady Mouser (40-2) won by fall in 3:52 over Clinton’s Briley Carter (30-8). Semifinals opponent: Hoopeston Area’s Charlie Flores (38-11).

.

Pontiac’s Aidan Scholwin (28-3) won a 4-1 decision over Canton’s Dyllan Steele (31-6). Semifinals: St. Joseph-Ogden’s Emmitt Holt (36-1).

113 

Olympia’s Dylan Eimer (27-2) won by technical fall over Camp Point Central’s Case Hughes (24-18). Semifinals: Illini Bluffs’ Hunter Robbins (44-1).

120 

LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s EJ Chaon (29-9) won by technical fall over Peoria Notre Dame’s Remi Joesting (21-19). Semifinals: Warrensburg-Latham’s Logan Roberts (41-3).

132

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Shawn Schickman (32-10) won by fall in 3:26 over Warrensburg-Latham’s Charlie Wittmer (36-12). Semifinals: Farmington’s Keygan Jennings (39-3).

138

LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s Colton Prosser (32-12) won a 7-3 decision over Farmington’s Bradlee Ellis (34-10). Semifinals: Illini Bluffs’ Ian O’Connor (44-6).

150

Olympia’s Bentley Wise (38-12) won by fall in 1:26 over Clinton’s Kayleb Kent (25-19). Semifinals: Warsaw’s Evan Carel (29-5).

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Carson Maxey (35-7) won a 12-1 major decision over St. Joseph-Ogden’s Coy Hayes (26-7). Semifinals: Peoria Notre Dame’s Chase Daugherty (34-6).

157

LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s Connor Lyons (37-9) won a 9-3 decision over Hoopeston Area’s Ayden Larkin (37-10), Semifinals: Monmouth United’s Jake McElwee (29-7)

165 

Tremont’s Bowden Delaney (40-1) won by fall in 1:59 over PORTA’s Brayden Barner (31-5). Semifinals: Unity’s Ryan Rink (37-9).

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Cooper Miller (31-10) won by technical fall over IVC’s Owen Moser (23-20). Semifinals: LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s Bo Zeleznik (28-10).

LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s Bo Zeleznik (28-10) won by fall in 2:23 over Camp Point Central’s Connor Griffin (29-9). Semifinals: Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Cooper Miller (31-10).

175

El Paso-Gridley’s Dominic Ricconi (33-14) won a 5-2 decision over Beardstown’s Gunner Looker (22-7). Semifinals: Hoopeston Area’s Angel Zamora (46-2).

190

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Aiden Sancken (32-4) won by technical fall over Monmouth-Roseville’s Alex Gandarilla. Semifinals: Unity’s Hunter Eastin (41-6).

215

LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s Jacob Bischoff (40-2) won a 5-1 decision over Warsaw’s Malachi McKune (26-12). Semifinals: Peoria Heights’ Issac Coleman (29-10).

Olympia’s Nolan Yeary (35-5) won by fall in 2:35 over High School of Saint Thomas More’s James Schmidt (13-5). Semifinals: Quincy Notre Dame’s Taylin Scott (41-3).y’s Taye

285

LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s Tate Sigler (38-6) won by fall in 3:03 over Monticello’s Brandon Peters (30-20), Semifinals: Clinton’s Dawson Thayer (36-9).

Here’s a look at the champions and their weight classes for the Class 1A Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Regional

106 – Brady Mouser, LeRoy/Tri-Valley

The final round of the Gibson City Regional began in impressive fashion for Brady Mouser as he secured the lone win by technical fall on the title mat with a victory over Pontiac’s Aidan Scholwin in 5:17 for his fifth title this season. And it ended in an even more exciting way for the LeRoy/Tri-Valley junior as he watched his teammates rally from being down 15 points at one point in the medal round to edge host Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher to win the team title by a 193.5-192 margin. Mouser (39-2), a two-time state qualifier who went 47-5 a year ago and fell one win shy of a medal at 106 in the IHSA 1A Finals before helping the 24-2 Panthers reach the IHSA Dual Team Finals, was one of six champions and eight sectional qualifiers for LeRoy/Tri-Valley.  He won his only other match with a fall in 0:24 over University High’s Clayton Piper.

“We’re down a couple of guys so I’m really proud of all of our JV kids who stepped up and scored some points for us,” Mouser said. “We have a good group of seven or eight good leaders on the team and everybody is pushing each other in the room and out here, so it’s a great team with great morale. A lot of hard work goes into it and the mentality is that you outwork everybody. You wrestle with the mentality that they haven’t put in as much work as you so they aren’t going to take it from you.”

Scholwin (26-3), a senior who was one of two finalists and three sectional qualifiers for Pontiac, won by injury default in 0:25 over Olympia’s Noah Whiteside in the semifinals in his only other match. A year ago, Scholwin went 36-6 but fell one win shy of making a trip to the IHSA Finals at 106 at the Clinton Sectional. Piper (4-7) , a freshman who was one of four sectional qualifiers for University High, won third place by medical forfeit over freshman Whiteside (19-16), who was unable to return following his injury in the semifinals.

113 – Dylan Eimer, Olympia

Dylan Eimer hopes that he can make another successful postseason run just as he did as a freshman in 2022 when he capped a 43-7 season by placing fourth at 106 in the IHSA 1A Finals. The Olympia junior seems to be well on his way to duplicating that impressive debut after he improved to 26-2 by recording a fall in 1:33 over Pontiac’s Kooper Wiles to claim the 113 title. He was one of the Spartans’ two champions, five finalists and six qualifiers for their own sectional. Olympia was right in the thick of things in the three-way team title race throughout most of the finals before claiming third place. Eimer won his only other match, getting a pin in 1:40 over University High’s Mason Howard in the semifinals. 

“I had to come out there strong and was just trying to get six, and that’s what I did,” Eimer said. “You’ve just got to do what’s best for the team. I’d love to go back (to state), that’s been my goal since the start of the season. I’ve just been going after competition and trying to see if I can get. In the mat room, everyone is pushing everyone and it’s a dogfight every day. We’ve created such a good bond over this past year, Everyone has come together and everybody’s buddies and that just helps us a team”

Wiles (27-7), a freshman, joined Aidan Scholwin at 106 as one of Pontiac’s two finalists and is among three individuals from his team that will compete in the Olympia Sectional. He won his only other match, in the semifinals, with a 9-1 major decision over Eureka’s Henry Watson.  The two freshmen who lost in the semifinals met up for third place with Eureka’s Watson (13-6) winning by fall in 1:49 over University High’s Howard (9-12) to become one of the Hornets’ three sectional qualifiers.120 – EJ Chaon, LeRoy/Tri-Valley 

When talk will come up in the future about LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s come-from-behind effort to win top honors at the Class 1A Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Regional, one name that will be recalled was one of the youngest of the Panthers’ six champions and eight sectional qualifiers, EJ Chaon, who only needed 0:51 to record a fall over Olympia freshman Austin Kisner in the 120 title match. Chaon, who improved to 28-9, won all three of his matches with first-period falls, with the longest duration of those pins coming in the semifinals when he needed 1:52 to beat Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Gage Martin.

“It’s pretty impressive,” Chaon said of winning a regional title, “I’ve been working really hard with it and my partner, Brady Mouser, has been pushing me all of this time. He’s really fast and keeps me on my toes and even when I’m tired, he tells me to keep going, no matter what.  Our coach really pushes us in the wrestling room, And whether we’re up or down, he’s always trying to encourage us to keep going. He’s just a really good coach all around.”

Kisner (33-12), one of five finalists and six sectional qualifiers for Olympia, joins 157-pounder Kelton Graden as freshmen from their team that will be competing in the sectional that they host. He also recorded a pair of pins to set up the all-freshman 120 finals, getting a win in 2:54 over El Paso-Gridley’s Nolan Whitman in the semifinals. The lone semifinalist that lost  but made it the third-place mat, GCMSF sophomore Gage Martin (23-13), captured a 10-9 thriller over University High junior Joshua Butler (34-13) to earn his spot in the sectional. The pair also met in the quarterfinals with Martin winning that time with a fall in 4:26 over Butler.

126 – Danny Tay, Ridgeview/Lexington

After getting the opportunity to compete in the IHSA Class 1A Finals in 2022 and finishing 37-8 after falling one win shy of a medal at 113, Danny Tay had high hopes for a return to state last season but a broken finger hampered those plans. That’s why the Ridgeview/Lexington senior is focused not only on getting back to Champaign but to also finish on the awards stand this time. Tay improved to 38-4 after winning an 11-4 decision in the 126 title match over University High’s Nolan Lowe which gave him a first-round bye in the Olympia Sectional, where he’s the lone qualifier for the Mustangs. He won his first two matches by fall, earning his spot in the finals with a pin in 3:00 over Pontiac’s Drayden Ramsey.

“I’m doing pretty good so far and I’ve only lost a few matches to some pretty good kids,” Tay said. “Last year, I was hurt and had a broken finger. I’ve just been working hard in practice and I’m just really hoping to get there (back to state). I’ve got a pretty tough sectional with a few top-ranked kids.”

Lowe (28-13) one of three freshmen who qualified for the sectional for University High, he will also be joined at Olympia this weekend by his sophomore brother Ethan, who like him was a finalist, but also was the Pioneers’ only regional champion after taking top honors at 144. Nolan Lowe set the table for both brothers to reach the title mat when he opened with two falls, with the latter one in 3:35 over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Hudson Babb in the semifinals. Babb (33-9), who’s also a freshman, bounced back from his semifinal loss to meet Drayden Ramsey (18-16), who also lost in the semifinals, and Babb won by recording a fall in 0:56.

132 – Shawn Schlickman, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher

Shawn Schlickman competed for the final time in his home gym and walked away feeling good about doing his part to help Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher stave off LeRoy/Tri-Valley and Olympia in a clash of three of the top 11 teams in Class 1A, according to Illinois Matmen. Schlickman (31-10) went 30-12 last season and qualified for the IHSA Finals along with classmates Carson Maxey and Aiden Sancken. In the 132 title match, Schlickman needed only 0:50 to record a fall over Prairie Central’s John Traub to become one of the Falcons’ two champions with Sancken being the other at 190. He earned his spot on the 132 title mat following a quick fall and a win by technical fall in 4:31 over Olympia’s Mateo Martinez in the semifinals to assure of being one his team’s six finalists and eight sectional qualifiers.

“These are teams that we were ranked under all year, so this really shows the time and effort that we’ve put into it,” Schlickman said. “This year, we’ve just been a really close team and we’ve all worked and practiced really hard together and even a couple of us go on runs every night after practices. It really motivates you when you know that you should be ranked higher, but you’re not. This year we have nine seniors and we’re really close together with each other, so that also helps us to push each other.”

Traub (29-14), a junior who was the lone finalist and one of two sectional qualifiers for Prairie Central, opened with a fall and then won a dramatic 2-1 decision over Tremont’s Chase Stedman in the semifinals. Traub won 30 matches and qualified for the Clinton Sectional last season. The two juniors who lost in the semifinals met for third place and Tremont’s Stedman (30-10) captured an 8-4 decision over Olympia’s Martinez (24-21) to  become one of the three sectional qualifiers for the Turks.

138 – Colton Prosser, LeRoy/Tri-Valley 

As LeRoy/Tri-Valley was trying to stage a late rally to finish ahead of the hosts in the Class 1A Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Regional, there were several key matches where the Panthers needed to beat individuals who may have had better credentials than their competitor did. One of those cases was in the 138 finals where senior Colton Prosser, who went 32-13 and failed to qualify at the Clinton Sectional a year ago, met Tremont senior Mason Mark, who was a state qualifier that went 44-8 last year. But with his team hoping to move a step closer to a trip to the IHSA Dual Team Finals for the second-straight year, Prosser (31-12) won a 3-1 decision over Mark to become one of his team’s six champions and eight sectional qualifiers. Prosser followed a major decision with a 6-2 victory over Ridgeview/Lexington’s Judson Stover in the semifinals.

“We had a lot of guys who were seeded low and they placed higher than they were seeded, so we’re putting up a fight,” Prosser said. “I’m really proud of the guys. Last year I was on the team that went to state and we wanted to do this year again. I started off really good and I won at the PORTA tournament, but then I kind of went through a mid-year slump, and at the PIT (Princeton), I was sick and I went 0-2. But I’m at full strength now, so it’s good to finish up the year strong.”

Mark (36-7), who joined 165 champion Bowden Delaney as one of Tremont’s two finalists and three qualifiers for the Olympia Sectional, used a pair of falls to reach the 138 title match, with the last of those coming in 2:24 over Olympia’s Cooper Phillips in the semifinals. The two individuals who lost in the semifinals, both juniors, met in the third-place match and Olympia’s Phillips (32-15) won a 10-4 decision over Ridgeview/Lexington’s Stover (32-12) to become one of his team’s six qualifiers for their own sectional tournament, which takes place in Stanford.

144 – Ethan Lowe, University High

People may not have known a whole lot about University High sophomore Ethan Lowe prior to the Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Regional, but they do now after the sophomore improved to 37-5 when he captured the title at 144 with a 10-5 decision over LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s Brock Owens. Although only a sophomore, Lowe was the oldest of the Pioneers’ sectional qualifiers, with the other three being freshmen, which included his brother Nolan, who also advanced to the finals and took second place at 126. Lowe, who was unable to qualify out of the Pontiac Regional at 152 last season when he won 24 matches as a freshman, followed a quick pin with a win by technical fall in 3:52 over GCMSF’s Corbin Ragle in the semifinals to join Nolan as a finalist.

“I’ve talked about it with my parents and I’m definitely going to work a lot harder this offseason because I’m going to try to wrestle after high school,” Lowe said. “We’re from kids club, so I’m just thankful that we;ll never have to wrestle in the finals like in kids club. Over the offseason, what I worked the most on was my neutral, setting up shots and finishing, and I think that’s been my strongest point this year. That’s helped me a lot to win matches with that one takedown that I had to work hard for.”

Owens (16-10), a sectional qualifier who went 35-14 last season and came up a bit short of advancing from the Clinton Sectional, was one of a tournament-high seven finalists and joins the Panthers’ six champions and third-place finisher Bo Zeleznik as one of their eight sectional qualifiers. Owens opened with a major decision and then won by fall in 1:29 over Prairie Central’s Ayden Mackey in the semifinals. Mackey (23-8), a senior, joined 132 runner-up John Traub as sectional qualifiers for the Hawks after he won 4-2 over Olympia senior Bryson Wilson (25-19), who lost to Owens in the quarterfinals and bounced back to win his next two matches. 

150 – Bentley Wise, Olympia

A year ago, Bentley Wise came as close as you can get to qualifying for a trip to the state finals in each of the past two seasons when he lost in the consolation semifinals at the Clinton Sectional in 2023 and at his own Olympia Sectional in 2022 to come up short of appearances in the state finals by just one win despite winning 42 matches last season and 30 in the 2021-22 season. Needless to say, the Olympia senior doesn’t intend to fall short in his final attempt. Wise improved to 37-8 after claiming a 3-1 decision over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Carson Maxey in the 150 title match to join 113 title winner Dylan Eimer as regional champions and was one of five finalists for the Spartans, who will have six qualifiers advancing to their own sectional in Stanford. Wise opened with a fall and then advanced to the 150 title match when University High’s Joshua Carabello was forced to take a medical forfeit.

“I say that we’re almost there, too bad we had injured guys,” Wise said. “We have six guys who are getting ready for sectionals. This year has been amazing, This past week we had the best times of our lives, getting ready, and our coaches are amazing and they bring everyones’ spirits up to have some fun in the wrestling room . I hope to come back next year and watch them.”

Maxey (33-7), a senior who was one of six finalists and eight sectional qualifiers for the host school, did his best to try to help his team hang on to the team lead and hold off challenges by both LeRoy/Tri-Valley and Olympia for the regional championship. Maxey, who went 36-7 last season and was a state qualifier along with classmates Shawn Schlickman and Aiden Sancken and Maxey fell in the quarterfinals. He’d like to do what Sancken accomplished last season, which was earning a medal for placing fifth at 195. Maxey followed a pin with an 11-3 major decision over Eureka sophomore Sam Hoffman in the semifinals. Hoffman (29-14) bounced back to capture an 11-8 decision over University High junior Joshua  Carabello (24-10) in the third-place match to become one of the three sectional qualifiers for the Hornets.

157 – Connor Lyons, LeRoy/Tri-Valley

Connor Lyons helped to close the gap some more on the hosts as he became LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s fourth champion in five title matches when he captured a 9-0 major decision over Olympia’s Kelton Graden in the 157 finals to improve to 36-9. Last season he went 32-11 and fell one win shy of qualifying for state at 145 from the Clinton Sectional. Beside looking to get to Champaign, he would also like to see the Panthers return to the Dual Team Finals for the second year in a row. In order to accomplish that, they need to beat Canton in the dual team sectional that they will host on the Tuesday after the IHSA Individual Finals conclude. Lyons assured himself of being one of his team’s six finalists and eight qualifiers when recorded a pair of first-period falls, including one in 1:51 over Pontiac’s Carlito Lattin in the semifinals.

“LeRoy and Tri-Valley is a co-op and it is such a strong brotherhood,” Lyons said. “I tell them all of the time that I wouldn’t trade a single one of you. I’m so blessed to be able to compete with these guys and go through all of the hardships of wrestling. I love them all and I’d fight for every single one of them. And I’m going to turn some heads, for sure, I promise you that.”

Graden, a freshman who is 37-10, assured himself of being one of Olympia’s five finalists and six qualifiers to their own sectional when he followed a pin with a 7-5 decision over El Paso-Gridley’s Waylon Melick in the semifinals. Melick, a senior, improved to 32-15 when he won by fall in 2:25 over Pontiac junior Carlito Lattin (21-16) in the third-place match, Melick, one of four sectional qualifiers for the Titans, went 31-14 last season and suffered the same fate as Lyons did in the 145 bracket at the Clinton Sectional when he also came up one win shy of making an appearance in the IHSA Finals.

165 – Bowden Delaney, Tremont  

While plenty of individuals left the Class 1A Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley with impressive records, only one of them has suffered just one defeat heading into sectional competition, Bowden Delaney captured his fifth tournament title of the season and improved to 39-1 after winning by fall in 1:21 over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Cooper Miller in the 165 title match. The Tremont junior was one of three sectional qualifiers and two finalists for the Turks, who are coached by IWCOA Hall of Famer TJ Williams. Delaney advanced to the 165 title mat with a pin in 1:16 over Deer Creek-Mackinaw’s Wyatt Otto in the semifinals in his other match. A two-time IHSA qualifier who went 42-6 last season and lost in the quarterfinals at 126, hopes to become just the 11th Turk to win a medal at the IHSA Finals, joining former teammates Payton Murphy and Cooper and Lucas Wendling, who accounted for three medals in 2022 and 2023. Delaney’s lone defeat this season came at ABE’s Rumble to Marian Central Catholic’s Max Astacio.

Miller (29-10), one of six finalists and eight sectional qualifiers for the second-place Falcons, also was one of six freshmen who competed in title matches. He opened with a pair of falls in the opening period, which included a pin in 1:44 over LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s Bo Zeleznik in the semifinals. Zeleznik (26-10), a junior and one of the eight sectional qualifiers for the champion Panthers, did his part in his team’s late surge that helped them win the team title as he won by fall in 1:27 over Deer Creek-Mackinaw freshman Wyatt Otto (24-17) to claim third place.

175 – Dominic Ricconi, El Paso-Gridley

Dominic Ricconi didn’t know what to expect when Joe Cliffe stepped in to be the head coach again at El Paso-Gridley. But as the season has progressed, the junior has found out why Cliffe has received all sorts of honors, such as a 1993 IWCOA Hall of Fame induction, serving as a 2000 Grand Marshal, being a 2003 IWCOA Lifetime Service Recipient and in 2007, receiving a Lifetime Service Award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame – Illinois Chapter.  Ricconi, who improved to 32-14, credits the veteran coach for making him better, and that was evidenced by him winning the title at 175 with a 7-5 decision over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Lincoln Eastin. Ricconi, the lone champion and one of four sectional qualifiers for the Titans, followed a major decision with a 10-3 victory over Olympia’s Cole Bauer to earn his spot in the finals.

“It does feel really good,” Ricconi said of winning the regional title. “When I started off the year, coach Cliffe was the new head coach coming in, and we really weren’t used to it because he’s kind of old school, but it’s really paid off for all of us and I’ve seen the whole team improve.”

Eastin (22-8), who’s a senior, was one of six finalists and eight sectional qualifiers for Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher. He followed up on a fall in his opening match with a 14-3 major decision over Eureka’s Wyatt Zacha in the semifinals. The third-place match featured the two individuals who lost in the semifinals and senior Zacha (28-14) captured a 9-3 decision over Olympia junior Cole Bauer (25-17) to earn his trip to the Olympia Sectional.

190 – Aiden Sancken, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher

As Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher, LeRoy/Tri-Valley and Olympia were all still within eight points of each other with the finals matches at three weight classes remaining, Aiden Sancken knew what he needed to do as he stepped onto the mat for the 190 championship match with the hosts hanging on to a 4.5-point lead for first. With El Paso-Gridley’s Ryden Barker also battling to win a regional title, Falcons senior Sancken delivered a big win for the home team with a 6-2 decision to capture the 190 title and improve to 31-4. Sancken, one of six finalists and eight sectional qualifiers for GCMSF joined Shawn Schlickman as regional champions for the Falcons, who eventually lost the title to LeRoy/Tri-Valley by 1.5 points. Sancken, who went 35-6 a year ago and took fifth at 195 in the IHSA Finals, won his first two matches in falls of 0:21 and 0:32, with the second pin against Pontiac’s Jackson Crawford in the semifinals. 

“I think we had a lot of matches where we had people leave a lot of points out there, including mine,” Sancken said. “Honestly, there’s not much you can do there, you’ve just got to wrestle. LeRoy is a really good team and we faced them earlier this season and only lost to them by one or two. It’s just a shame that we had three amazing teams in the same regional and only one could come out. But we have a lot of people who are still going to sectionals and I was kind of patting everyone on the shoulder and saying, ‘hey, keep your head up, you still have a week left.’ And for some kids, even two more weeks. Last year we had three people make it and I was the only one to place. The people we have going to sectionals have amazing talent and I think we could send almost everyone that’s going to sectionals to state and maybe even place multiple people. I can’t wait.”

Barker (35-10), a junior who was one of two finalists and four sectional qualifiers for El Paso-Gridley, won his first two matches to advance him to the 190 finals. After collecting a quick pin in his opener, Barker had a struggle in the semifinals and he prevailed for a 3-0 decision over Olympia’s Darian Holloway. The third-place match featured the two individuals who lost in the semifinals meeting up and Pontiac junior Jackson Crawford (17-17) assured himself of a trip to the Olympia Sectional after recording a fall in 0:44 over sophomore Holloway (30-17).

215 – Jacob Bischoff, LeRoy/Tri-Valley

Jacob Bischoff knew exactly what he had to do as he stepped onto the title mat at 215 but getting the job done against a determined opponent like Nolen Yeary was easier said than done. With the Olympia senior frustrating his efforts to end the match early to help his team win the regional championship, the Panthers senior finally got his opportunity and made the most of it to record a fall in 4:49 to assure that Tate Sigler could wrap up the team title with a decision at 285, which is what he did. Bischoff (39-2) followed a fall in his opener with a 7-5 decision over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Cohen Kean in the semifinals. One of six champions and eight sectional qualifiers for LeRoy/Tri-Valley, he hopes to not only get back to state and improve upon last year’s showing, when he capped a 43-12 season with a sixth-place finish at 220, but also close out his career by once again competing in the IHSA Dual Team Finals.

“It was a close race the entire time,” Bischoff said. “Gibson and Olympia, we were neck and neck the entire time, it was intense. It started from the beginning, I could just tell that the focus wasn’t what we had. We were down two guys but we wanted to keep going. Today, every one of us wrestled great, from our freshmen to our seniors, everyone wrestled to the best of their abilities. We’re down Kobe (Brent) and Jimmy (Chaon), but we’re hoping to get them back because now we have an extra week of team.” 

Yeary (33-5), one of the six qualifiers from Olympia who will get the opportunity to try to qualify for a trip to Champaign at their own sectional, opened his tournament with a quick fall and then captured an 11-3 major decision over El Paso-Gridley’s Parker Duffy in the semifinals. In the third-place match, senior Duffy (38-8) complicated matters for the host team when he captured an 8-1 decision over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher junior Cohen Kean (29-11).

285 – Tate Sigler, LeRoy/Tri-Valley

The task at hand was clear, get a victory and your team wins a regional championship or lose, and the other team walks away with the regional plaque. With two competitors realizing that there was so much on the line, there didn’t figure to be a lot of twists and turns, and that’s what happened when LeRoy/Tri-Valley junior Tate Sigler and Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher senior Aydin Cornell met in the 285 title match to determine who would take first. The host Falcons entered the match up 192-189.5. After a scoreless first period, Sigler went up 2-0 in the second period and Cornell got the early escape to make it 2-1, but that was it for the scoring as Sigler (37-6) won a 2-1 decision that was the last piece of the puzzle in the Panthers’ comeback which saw them prevail by a 193.5-192 margin. Sigler, one of his team’s six champions, opened with two falls, with one in 5:30 in the semifinals over University High’s Michael Bennett.

“Both of those programs are incredible so we knew that it was going to be a dog fight coming in, so just to pull it out at the end, that’s awesome,” Sigler said. “With how hard our program works and since we work as hard as anyone, I wouldn’t call it pressure, it’s more like I’m in that position. It also helps that we have a couple of guys that are injured right now and this gives them time to come back. I just like the fight. Midway through the last round, we’re down by 15 or so. But coach (Brian) Roberts came up to everyone and said, ”just do your job, and if you win, you win’. And then people went out and got bonus points.”

Cornell (15-6) reached the 285 championship match following a pair of first-period falls to become one of his team’s six finalists. His quickest pin came in the semifinals when he needed just 0:43 to get past Deer Creek-Mackinaw’s Joey Humphries. For third place, University High freshman Michael Bennett bounced back from his loss to Sigler to assure himself of a sectional trip when he recorded a fall in 3:00 over El Paso-Gridley junior Christopher Blackmore (29-17).

Championship matches for the Class 1A Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Regional

106 – Brady Mouser (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) TF 5:17 Aidan Scholwin (Pontiac)

113 – Dylan Eimer (Olympia) F 1:33 Kooper Wiles (Pontiac)

120 – EJ Chaon (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) F 0:51 Austin Kisner (Olympia)

126 – Danny Tay (Ridgeview/Lexington) D 11-4 Nolan Lowe (University High)

132 – Shawn Schlickman (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher) F 0:50 John Traub (Prairie Central)

138 – Colton Prosser (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) D 3-1 Mason Mark (Tremont)

144 – Ethan Lowe (University High) D 10-5 Brock Owens (LeRoy/Tri-Valley)

150 – Bentley Wise (Olympia) D 3-1 Carson Maxey (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher)

157 – Connor Lyons (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) MD 9-0 Kelton Graden (Olympia)

165 – Bowden Delaney (Tremont) F 1:21 Cooper Miller (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher)

175 – Dominic Ricconi (El Paso-Gridley) D 7-5 Lincoln Eastin (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher)

190 – Aiden Sancken (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher) D 6-2 Ryden Barker (El Paso-Gridley)

215 – Jacob Bischoff (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) F 4:49 Nolen Yeary (Olympia)

285 – Tate Sigler (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) D 2-1 Aydin Cornell (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher)

Third-place matches for the Class 1A Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Regional

106 – Clayton Piper (University High) M For Noah Whiteside (Olympia)

113 – Henry Watson (Eureka) F 1:49 Mason Howard (University High)

120 – Gage Martin (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher) D 10-9 Joshua Butler (University High)

126 – Hudson Babb (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher) F 0:56 Drayden Ramsey (Pontiac)

132 – Chase Stedman (Tremont) D 8-4 Mateo Martinez (Olympia)

138 – Cooper Phillips (Olympia) D 10-4 Judson Stover (Ridgeview/Lexington)

144 – Ayden Mackey (Prairie Central) D 4-2 Bryson Wilson (Olympia)

150 – Sam Hoffman (Eureka) D 11-8 Joshua Carabello (University High)

157 – Waylon Melick (El Paso-Gridley) F 2:25 Carlito Lattin (Pontiac)

165 – Bo Zeleznik (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) F 1:27 Wyatt Otto (Deer Creek-Mackinaw)

175 – Wyatt Zacha (Eureka) D 9-3 Cole Bauer (Olympia)

190 – Jackson Crawford (Pontiac) F 0:44 Darian Holloway (Olympia)

215 – Parker Duffy (El Paso-Gridley) D 8-1 Cohen Kean (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher)

285 – Michael Bennett (University High) F 3:00 Christopher Blackmore (El Paso-Gridley)

Team scores for the Class 1A Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Regional

1. LeRoy/Tri-Valley 193.5, 2. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher 192, 3. Olympia 180, 4. University High 120.5, 5. Pontiac 103, 6. El Paso-Gridley 98, 7. Tremont 73, 8. Eureka 59, 9. Ridgeview/Lexington 48, 10. Prairie Central 44, 11. Deer Creek-Mackinaw 37.