By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

Roundups of the regionals that feed into the Oregon Individual Sectional

Oregon qualifies 12 in regional title triumph at Byron

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

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

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

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

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

Oregon Sectional qualifiers from the Byron Regional

106

1st Place – Michael Pannarale of Stillman Valley

2nd Place – Cam Whitehead of Winnebago

3rd Place – Jordan Lowe of Oregon

113

1st Place – Brandon White of Dakota/ Orangeville

2nd Place – Josiah Perez of Oregon

3rd Place – Noah Rannow of West Carroll

120

1st Place – Isaiah Perez of Oregon

2nd Place – Jackson Norris of Byron

3rd Place – Jack McIntyre of West Carroll

126

1st Place – Preston LaBay of Oregon

2nd Place – Chase Whitehead of Winnebago

3rd Place – Damien Palacios of Byron

132

1st Place – Nelson Benesh of Oregon

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

3rd Place – Hunter King of Byron

138

1st Place – Levi Benton of Oregon

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

3rd Place – Dylan Dach of Byron

144

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

2nd Place – Connor Knop of West Carroll

3rd Place – Jackson Messenger of Oregon

150

1st Place – Henry Hildreth of Stillman Valley

2nd Place – Jonner Smith of West Carroll

3rd Place – Jayden Berry of Oregon

157

1st Place – Will Julian of Byron

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

3rd Place – Ethan Mowry of Oregon

165

1st Place – Brody Stien of Byron

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

3rd Place – Ethan Waugh of Stillman Valley

175

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

2nd Place – Andrew Young of Oregon

3rd Place – Dameon Polton of Galena

190

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

2nd Place – Seth Rote of Oregon

3rd Place – Ryon Bland of Dakota

215

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

2nd Place – Jarett Ross of Byron

3rd Place – Avery Bowers of Dakota

285 

1st Place – Randy McPeek of Dakota

2nd Place – Jared Claunch of Byron

3rd Place – Briggs Sellers of Oregon

Sandwich takes top honors at St. Bede Academy Regional

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

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

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

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

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

Oregon Sectional qualifiers from the St. Bede Academy Regional

106

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

2nd Place – Sebastian Lara of Lisle

3rd Place – Hunter Whitecotton of Sandwich

113

1st Place – Michael Benge of St. Bede Academy

2nd Place – Dom Urbanski of Sandwich

3rd Place – Jacob Paull of Princeton

120

1st Place – Augustus Swanson of Princeton

2nd Place – Koby Clark of Marquette Academy

3rd Place – Vince Hefke of Aurora Central Catholic

126

1st Place – Alexander Ferari of Lisle

2nd Place – Max Moreno of St. Bede Academy

3rd Place – Jakob Gruca of Sandwich

132

1st Place – Kane Dauber of Princeton

2nd Place – Colten Stone of Sandwich

3rd Place – Komen Denault of Mendota

138

1st Place – Jaxson Blanchard of Sandwich

2nd Place – Beau Thompson of Marquette Academy

3rd Place – Joshua McKendry of Amboy co-op

144

1st Place – Cooper Corder of Sandwich

2nd Place – Ace Christiansen of Princeton

3rd Place – Caiden Heath of Amboy co-op

150

1st Place – Brysen Manly of Marquette Academy

2nd Place – Joshua Kotalik of Sandwich

3rd Place – Jose Lopez of Amboy co-op

157

1st Place – Josh Lehman of Sandwich

2nd Place – Andre Pineda of St. Bede Academy

3rd Place – Gavin Evans of Mendota

165

1st Place – Casey Etheridge of Princeton

2nd Place – Reily Leifheit of Marquette Academy

3rd Place – Jordan Coventry of St. Bede Academy

175

1st Place – Kai Kern of Sandwich

2nd Place – Landyn Mcemery of Marquette Academy

3rd Place – Corbin Furar of Mendota

190

1st Place – Garrett Connelly of St. Bede Academy

2nd Place – Kaden Clevenger of Sandwich

3rd Place – Alex Tucker of Putnam County/ Hall

215

1st Place – Alex Schaefer of Marquette Academy

2nd Place – Devon Blanchard of Sandwich

3rd Place – Evan Flanagan of Amboy co-op

285

1st Place – Cade Odell of Princeton

2nd Place – Angil Serrano of Mendota

3rd Place – Adrian Schaefer of Marquette Academy

Marian Central Catholic qualifies 11, wins Marengo Regional

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

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

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

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

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

Oregon Sectional qualifiers from the Marengo Regional

106

1st Place – Lelan Nelson of Richmond-Burton

2nd Place – Camden Spiniolas of Marian Central Catholic

3rd Place – Kai Surdick of Johnsburg

113

1st Place – Austin Hagevold of Marian Central Catholic

2nd Place – Chase Vogel of Johnsburg

3rd Place – Drew Patel of North Boone

120

1st Place – Brayden Teunissen of Marian Central Catholic

2nd Place – Adam Glauser of Richmond-Burton

3rd Place – Gabe Marella of North Boone

126

1st Place – Gavin Ekberg of North Boone

2nd Place – Nick Marchese of Marian Central Catholic

3rd Place – Clayton Madula of Richmond-Burton

132

1st Place – Lincoln Hoger of Wheaton Academy

2nd Place – Hayden Beebe of Marengo

3rd Place – Micah Klos of Johnsburg

138

1st Place – Andrew Alvarado of Marian Central Catholic

2nd Place – Landon Johnson of Johnsburg

3rd Place – Joey Guidi of Wheaton Academy

144

1st Place – Emmett Nelson of Richmond-Burton

2nd Place – Max Mulhearn of Harvest Christian Academy

3rd Place – Paul Coco of St. Francis

150

1st Place – Vance Williams of Marian Central Catholic

2nd Place – Chase Siguenza of St. Francis

3rd Place – Dalton Youngs of Richmond-Burton

157

1st Place – Chasen Kazmierczak of Wheaton Academy

2nd Place – Maxwell Martin of Richmond-Burton

3rd Place – Connor Cassels of Marian Central Catholic

165

1st Place – Tyler Jones of Wheaton Academy

2nd Place – Nic Astacio of Marian Central Catholic

3rd Place – Jackson Hjorth of Johnsburg

175

1st Place – Blake Livdahl of Richmond-Burton

2nd Place – Duke Mays of Johnsburg

3rd Place – Josh Gawronski of Marian Central Catholic

190

1st Place – Jimmy Mastny of Marian Central Catholic

2nd Place – Breckin Campbell of Richmond-Burton

3rd Place – Logan Crowell of Alden-Hebron

215

1st Place – Dan French of Marian Central Catholic

2nd Place – Shane Falasca of Richmond-Burton

3rd Place – Jeremy Johanik of Wheaton Academy

285

1st Place – Jaylen Torres of St. Francis

2nd Place – Hezekiah Garcia of Wheaton Academy

3rd Place – Colin Kraus of Richmond-Burton

Newman Central Catholic captures title at Riverdale Regional

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

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

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

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

Oregon Sectional qualifiers from the Riverdale Regional

106

1st Place – Landon Near of Newman Central Catholic

2nd Place – Cael Wright of Morrison

3rd Place – Nate Lower of Rockridge

113

1st Place – Javen Reyes of Newman Central Catholic

2nd Place – Tyson Currie of Kewanee

3rd Place – Tennyson Hampton of Alleman

120

1st Place – Kingston Peterson of Kewanee

2nd Place – Tyler Olson of Orion

3rd Place – Triton Pulfrey of Riverdale

126

1st Place – Zhyler Hansen of Newman Central Catholic

2nd Place – Adan Oquendo of Rock Falls

3rd Place – Clayton Blumenstein of Rockridge

132

1st Place – Dean Wainwright of Riverdale

2nd Place – Landon Blanton of Newman Central Catholic

3rd Place – Logan Thome of Rock Falls

138

1st Place – Jude Finch of Rockridge

2nd Place – Logan Williamson of Rock Falls

3rd Place – Lain Taylor of Kewanee

144

1st Place – Caleb Modglin of Morrison

2nd Place – Aidan Jepson of Erie/ Prophetstown

3rd Place – Thomas Sowards of Rockridge

150

1st Place – Kolton Kruse of Riverdale

2nd Place – Ben Taylor of Kewanee

3rd Place – Tristan Hovey of Erie/ Prophetstown

157

1st Place – Blake Smith of Riverdale

2nd Place – Briar Ivey of Newman Central Catholic

3rd Place – Wyatt Goossens of Erie/ Prophetstown

165

1st Place – Daniel Kelly of Newman Central Catholic

2nd Place – Brady Anderson of Morrison

3rd Place – Joey McGuire of Kewanee

175

1st Place – Skylier Crooks of Fulton

2nd Place – Noah Stout of Morrison

3rd Place – Jordae Crow of Erie/ Prophetstown

190

1st Place – Maddux Anderson of Orion

2nd Place – Jacob Newberry of Newman Central Catholic

3rd Place – Mason Kuebel of Fulton

215

1st Place – Alejandro Duarte of Kewanee

2nd Place – Aiden Fisher of Orion

3rd Place – Tanner McKeag of Rockridge

285

1st Place – Daniel Holman of Fulton

2nd Place – Caleb Reymer of Erie/ Prophetstown

3rd Place – Jake Baustian of Riverdale

Regionals that feed into the Coal City Individual Sectional

Northridge Prep wins first regional title at Walther Christian Academy

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

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

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

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

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

Coal City Sectional qualifiers from the Walther Christian Academy Regional

106

1st Place – Justin Chogllo of Rickover Naval Academy

2nd Place – Mason Ponce of Westmont

3rd Place – Izat Yousef of Universal

113

1st Place – Emilio Fortiz of Nazareth Academy

2nd Place – Luke Jimenea of Westmont

3rd Place – Patrick Manio of Northridge Prep

120

1st Place – Ardan Baglaev of Westmont

2nd Place – Aiden Butler of Rickover Naval Academy

3rd Place – Rich Gulli of Nazareth Academy

126

1st Place – Joe Kopecky of Northridge Prep

2nd Place – Alek Ramos of Nazareth Academy

3rd Place – Christian Rosa of Westmont

132

1st Place – Justin Hernandez of Rickover Naval Academy

2nd Place – Ismail Ayash of Universal

3rd Place – Lawrence Walker of Westmont

138

1st Place – James Furlong of Nazareth Academy

2nd Place – Avi Chen of Ida Crown Jewish Academy

3rd Place – Noah Echavez of Northridge Prep

144

1st Place – Caleb Peterson of Walther Christian Academy

2nd Place – Javi Rodriguez of Northridge Prep

3rd Place – Aidan Zukerman of Ida Crown Jewish Academy

150

1st Place – George McShane of Northridge Prep

2nd Place – Adam Farsi of Universal

3rd Place – Antonio Gonzalez of Walther Christian Academy

157

1st Place – Sean Patterson of Westmont

2nd Place – Kevin Gomez of Walther Christian Academy

3rd Place – Mikey Carney of Northridge Prep

165

1st Place – Adam Haddad of Northridge Prep

2nd Place – Moshe Tarshish of Ida Crown Jewish Academy

3rd Place – Steven Rodriguez of Walther Christian Academy

175

1st Place – Mason Wagner of Northridge Prep

2nd Place – Terrel Washington of Foreman

3rd Place – Tyler Schoessow of Walther Christian Academy

190

1st Place – Vincent Willkommen of Westmont

2nd Place – Mustafa Hanash of Chicago Academy

3rd Place – Nick Belcore of Northridge Prep

215

1st Place – Sam Swais of Nazareth Academy

2nd Place – Ayden Starck of Ida Crown Jewish Academy

3rd Place – Lev Reszczynski of Northridge Prep

285

1st Place – Rafael Castrejon-Tello of Westmont

2nd Place – Thomas Suter of Northridge Prep

3rd Place – Waleed Fuqaha of Universal

Chicago Hope Academy wins own regional tournament

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

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

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

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

Coal City Sectional qualifiers from the Chicago Hope Academy Regional

106

1st Place – Indigo Berg of Chicago Hope Academy

2nd Place – Mohammed Zia Nadre of Sullivan

3rd Place – Cristian Tirado of Phoenix Military Academy

113

1st Place – Nolan Callahan of Chicago Hope Academy

2nd Place – justin forbes of De La Salle Institute

3rd Place – Samuel Cruz of Clemente

120

1st Place – Jeremiah Lawrence of De La Salle Institute

2nd Place – Moneeb Alsakka of Sullivan

3rd Place – Josef Rios of Chicago Hope Academy

126

1st Place – Vincent Arvetis of De La Salle Institute

2nd Place – Jonny Amador of Chicago Hope Academy

3rd Place – Elijah Torres of Phoenix Military Academy

132

1st Place – Josiah Willis of Chicago Hope Academy

2nd Place – Damian Gomez of De La Salle Institute

3rd Place – Alejandro Salas of Noble Golder College Prep

138

1st Place – Liam Drysch of Noble Golder College Prep

2nd Place – Mohsen Maliky of Sullivan

3rd Place – Anthony Oyola of Chicago Hope Academy

144

1st Place – Dylan Galvez of Chicago Hope Academy

2nd Place – Lorenzo Harris of Marshall

3rd Place – Alexander Vazquez of Phoenix Military Academy

150

1st Place – Santori Knight of Chicago Hope Academy

2nd Place – Jose Cristian Lagunas of Phoenix Military Academy

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

157

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

2nd Place – Abobaker Stanikzai of Sullivan

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

165

1st Place – Arkail Griffin of Chicago Hope Academy

2nd Place – Jose Puga of Noble Golder College Prep

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

175

1st Place – Marquis Mays of De La Salle Institute

2nd Place – Ismael Martinez of Chicago Hope Academy

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

190

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

2nd Place – Terrelle Jackson of De La Salle Institute

3rd Place – Ismael Montero of Chicago Hope Academy

215

1st Place – Kaleb Abney of Phoenix Military Academy

2nd Place – Mastewal Evely of Chicago Hope Academy

3rd Place – Marcell Trice of Bogan

285

1st Place – David McCarthy of De La Salle Institute

2nd Place – Roy Phelps of Chicago Hope Academy

3rd Place – Anthony Spivey of Michele Clark Academic Prep

King College Prep edges Corliss to win CMA-Bronzeville Regional

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

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

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

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

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

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

Coal City Sectional qualifiers from the CMA-Bronzeville Regional

106

1st Place – Kenye Flanagan of Perspectives Charter Schools

2nd Place – Alpha Kamate of King College Prep

3rd Place – Demond Smith of Fenger

113

1st Place – Amari Frankiln of Hyde Park Academy

2nd Place – Damarcus Washington of King College Prep

3rd Place – Daveon Farmer of Perspectives

120

1st Place – Donald Bunton, Jr of Perspectives

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

3rd Place – Christopher Smith of Fenger

126

1st Place – Andrew Price of Wendell Phillips

2nd Place – Lorenzo Flower of Corliss Early College STEM

3rd Place – Elijah Bell of DuSable

132

1st Place – James Hill of Wendell Phillips

2nd Place – Moses Pittman of King College Prep

3rd Place – Vandell Dudley of Leo

138

1st Place – Nicario Bella of Perspectives

2nd Place – Nakia Smith of Corliss

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

144

1st Place – Deangelo Willis of Corliss

2nd Place – Jaymar Beard of DuSable

3rd Place – Ayden Bright of Leo

150

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

2nd Place – Jacob Jackson of King College Prep

3rd Place – Cory Underwood of DuSable

157

1st Place – Laquaris Moore of Corliss

2nd Place – Roderick Johnson of Wendell Phillips

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

165

1st Place – Grant Smith of Corliss

2nd Place – Jamion Simmons of Bowen

3rd Place – Brandon Chamas of King College Prep

175

1st Place – Caleb Gordon of CMA at Bronzeville

2nd Place – Christopher Russel of Corliss

3rd Place – Jayden Scott of Perspectives

190

1st Place – Christopher Simmons of South Shore

2nd Place – Mivontae Russell of Perspectives

3rd Place – Jubril Kannike of Leo

215

1st Place – Alexander Robinson of King College Prep

2nd Place – Charleston Rice of Wendell Phillips

3rd Place – Steven Prince of Bowen

285

1st Place – Nicholas Armour of Leo

2nd Place – Justin Powell of Hyde Park Academy

3rd Place – Devin Fields of King College Prep

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

Class 1A regionals that feed into the Carterville Individual Sectional 

Althoff Catholic gets past hosts at Roxana Regional

Three champions, three runners-up and five third-place finishers led Althoff Catholic as it claimed top honors in the IHSA Class 1A Roxana Regional by a 185.5-175 margin over host Roxana to give the Crusaders their first regional title since 2018 when they took fourth in Class 1A and they denied the Shells of competing in the Vandalia Dual Team Sectional after they finished in third place in Class 1A last season. Salem scored 161.5 points to claim third place.

Leading the way for coach Emanuel Brooks’ champion Crusaders were title winners Jason Dowell (27-0 at 285), Dawson Hawthorne (26-0 at 126) and Jacobi Cobbs (28-5 at 106) and  runners-up were Brenden Rayl (132), Liam Bundt (120) and Karson Fowler (113). Finishing in third place were Enrique Morales (215), Matthew Marshall (175), Jakobi Tow (165),Ryan Hogue (150) and Robbie Schallert (138).

“The harder we work, the luckier we get,” Brooks said. “We got very lucky this weekend to bring home the regional championship. But we were only able to capitalize on the fortunate opportunity that presented itself because of the hard work we put in to be ready. The boys earned it the hard way and I’m super proud of them. Now it’s time to get ready for next week!”

Winning titles for the Roxana were Brandon Green Jr. (34-0 at 132), Kaden Carilsle (26-14 at 138), Logan Riggs (33-11 at 144) and Lyndon Thies (39-2 at 165) and coach Rob Milazzo’s Shells advanced five others to the sectional. 

Capturing championships for Salem were Kris Schicker (17-19 at 113), Rylan Moore (36-8 at 120), Keyton King (41-2 at 150) and Killian Merrill (29-13 at 175). The Wildcats, who are led by co-coaches Brian Camp and Rob Ring, had four other sectional qualifiers. The other regional champions were East Alton-Wood River’s Drake Champlin (36-1 at 215), Red Bud’s Danny Jackson (38-5 at 190) and Breese Central’s Matthew Walsh (33-9 at 157).

Carterville Sectional qualifiers from the Roxana Regional

106

1st – Jacobi Cobbs of Althoff Catholic

2nd – Aden Doolen of Salem

113

1st – Kris Schicker of Salem

2nd – Karson Fowler of Althoff Catholic

120

1st – Rylan Moore of Salem

2nd – Liam Bundt of Althoff Catholic

3rd – Savion Hall of Roxana

126

1st – Dawson Hawthorne of Althoff Catholic

2nd – Lleyton Cobine of Roxana

3rd – Miles Dennis of Metro-East Lutheran

132

1st – Brandon Green, Jr. of Roxana

2nd – Brenden Rayl of Althoff Catholic

3rd – Lukas Quartz of Freeburg

138

1st – Kaden Carilsle of Roxana

2nd – Zach Manning of Red Bud

3rd – Robbie Schallert of Althoff Catholic

144

1st – Logan Riggs of Roxana

2nd – Kade Orrell of Salem

3rd – Tyler Adams of East Alton-Wood River

150

1st – Keyton King of Salem

2nd – Gavin Watson of Sparta

3rd – Ryan Hogue of Althoff Catholic

157

1st – Matthew Walsh of Breese Central

2nd – Alex Wolter of Red Bud

3rd – Trevor Gihring of Roxana

165

1st – Lyndon Thies of Roxana

2nd – Granger Motch of Salem

3rd – Jakobi Tow of Althoff Catholic

175

1st – Killian Merrill of Salem

2nd – Rylee McClellan of Roxana

3rd – Matthew Marshall of Althoff Catholic

190

1st – Danny Jackson of Red Bud

2nd – Robert Watt of Roxana

3rd – Carson Osborne of Salem

215

1st – Drake Champlin of East Alton-Wood River

2nd – Dane Olmstead of Freeburg

3rd – Enrique Morales of Althoff Catholic

285

1st – Jason Dowell of Althoff Catholic

2nd – Jack Amann of Freeburg

3rd – Michael Soto of East Alton-Wood River

Murphysboro wins Carmi White County Regional title

Murphysboro had five champions and 11 qualifiers for the IHSA Class 1A Carterville Sectional after winning the title of the Carmi White County Regional with 250 points while Benton/ Sesser-Valier co-op took second with 183 points and Frankfort was third with 136.5 points. This was Murphysboro’s first regional championship since 2018 and the team hopes to get back to IHSA Dual Team State for the first time since 2016, when it finished third in Class 1A.

Leading the way for coach Shea Baker’s first place Red Devils were champions Kaiden Richards (33-9 at 120), Aiston Holt (25-16 at 132), Bryce Edwards (36-4 at 144), Maxon Stearns (35-10 at 165) and Julien Tanner (27-3 at 285) while Paxton Pyatt (113), Sergio Garcia (126),

Lemar Treshansky (138) and Caybren Hubbard (215) claimed second place and Sayvair Williams (150) finished third. Patrick Dover (157) also advanced as an alternate.

“The Murphysboro wrestling team has put in a lot of work this past offseason and throughout the season,” Baker said. “It’s great to see that dedication pay off. We’ve made significant improvements from last year and look forward to competing as a team in the postseason.”

Winning titles for coach Aaron Robinson’s runner-up Rangers were Cohen Sweely (40-3 at 113), Kaden Blades (19-5 at 138), Tiffin Kouzoukas (38-6 at 150) and Kobe Cali (20-3 at 157) while three others also advanced to the sectional.

Frankfort also had three title winners, Hudson Anderton (37-6 at 106), Conner Henson (43-0 at 190) and Brandon Turner (35-3 at 215) while the other two champions were Anna-Jonesboro’s Drew Sadler (41-7 at 126) and Trico/ Elverado’s Colin Hughey (34-4 at 175). Carterville had no champions but qualified seven individuals for the sectional tournament it hosts this weekend.

Carterville Sectional qualifiers from the Carmi White County Regional

106

1st – Hudson Anderton of Frankfort

2nd – Braxton Tittle of Benton

3rd – Isaac Wood of Carterville

113

1st – Cohen Sweely of Benton

2nd – Paxton Pyatt of Murphysboro

3rd – Ramiro Sebastian of Carterville

120

1st – Kaiden Richards of Murphysboro

2nd – Zane Stanley of Benton

3rd – Brawnsen Bloodworth of Carterville

126

1st – Drew Sadler of Anna-Jonesboro

2nd – Sergio Garcia of Murphysboro

3rd – Matt Crim of Goreville

132

1st – Aiston Holt of Murphysboro

2nd – Landyn Flood of Carterville

3rd – Jase Holshouser of Anna-Jonesboro

138

1st – Kaden Blades of Benton

2nd – Lemar Treshansky of Murphysboro

3rd – Gavin Slack of Carterville

144

1st – Bryce Edwards of Murphysboro

2nd – Derek Wilkey of Benton

3rd – Benjamin Harris of Johnston City

150

1st – Tiffin Kouzoukas of Benton

2nd – Jerry Tate of Johnston City

3rd – Sayvair Williams of Murphysboro

157

1st – Kobe Cali of Benton

2nd – Garrett Ray of Herrin

3rd – Michael Minor of Frankfort

Alt – Patrick Dover of Murphysboro

165

1st – Maxon Stearns of Murphysboro

2nd – Kolby Coffey of Herrin

3rd – Trevor Fath of Pinckneyville

175

1st – Colin Hughey of Trico

2nd – Clayton Dent of Frankfort

3rd – Carter Jones of Carterville

190

1st – Conner Henson of Frankfort

2nd – Brendan Hicks of Harrisburg

3rd – Johnny Ramaker of Trico

215

1st – Brandon Turner of Frankfort

2nd – Caybren Hubbard of Murphysboro

3rd – Braxton Welge of Harrisburg

285

1st- Julien Tanner of Murphysboro

2nd – Matt Brown of Harrisburg

3rd – Jeremiah Bouchard of Carterville

Vandalia easily claims title at Litchfield Regional

Vandalia, top-ranked in Class 1A, kicked off its postseason in impressive fashion at the IHSA Class 1A Litchfield Regional where it scored 295.5 points, which was 141.5 points ahead of runner-up Mt. Zion, who had 154 points and Shelbyville claimed third place with 127.5 points. 

Coach Jason Clay’s Vandals, who took fourth place in Class 1A last season, had 10 regional champions and three second-place finishers, giving them 13 qualifiers for this weekend’s Carterville Sectional. Vandalia has won regional titles each season since 1995, except for 2023, when it lost a tournament in Auburn to the hosts by 1.5 points. Clay, who is being inducted into the IWCOA Hall of Fame on April 27, has taken 13 teams to the IHSA Dual Team Finals and has had five teams win trophies, including four of the last five teams that have competed there.

“I’m proud of our team’s dominating performance at Litchfield,” Clay said. “This was our 30th regional title in the last 31 years. Thirteen wrestlers in the regional finals is the second-most we have ever had and 10 champions ties our previous record for individual champs in one regional. We are excited for the team series ahead but for the next couple of weeks we will focus on our individuals and the high goals they have for themselves. We had a couple of guys beat opponents they had lost to multiple times earlier in the season. That growth is awesome to see and helps our guys realize what they can do this next couple of weeks.” 

Regional champions for the Vandals were Aiden Evans (36-9 at 106), Max Philpot (40-0 at 113), Preston Waughtel (45-1 at 120), Tyson Waughtel (47-0 at 126), Cole Yarbrough (34-9 at 138), Keagan Turner (34-8 at 144), Dillon Hinton (45-2 at 150), Ross Miller (37-10 at 175), Kaden Tidwell (43-2 at 215) and Dominic Swyers (32-15 at 285) while Brody Matthews (132), Parker Ray (157) and Artan Mustafa (165) claimed second place finishes.

Other Litchfield Regional title winners were Shelbyville’s Bodee Fathauer (28-7 at 132) and Ryne Peavler (33-6 at 165), Litchfield/ Mt. Olive co-op’s Braxton Kieffer (32-10 at 157) and Sacred Heart-Griffin’s Casen Lyons (36-10 at 190). Mt. Zion had seven sectional qualifiers but no champions.

Carterville Sectional qualifiers from the Litchfield Regional

106

1st Place – Aiden Evans of Vandalia

2nd Place – Eli Hill of Auburn

3rd Place – Kohl Fuller of Hillsboro

113

1st Place – Max Philpot of Vandalia

2nd Place – Vincent Baker of Mt. Zion

120

1st Place – Preston Waughtel of Vandalia

2nd Place – Vincent Moore of Litchfield

3rd Place – Colin Wells of Shelbyville

126

1st Place – Tyson Waughtel of Vandalia

2nd Place – Sammy Toth of Mt. Zion

3rd Place – Johnathan Kirkbride of Shelbyville

132

1st Place – Bodee Fathauer of Shelbyville

2nd Place – Brody Matthews of Vandalia

3rd Place – Drayven Hamm of Auburn

138

1st Place – Cole Yarbrough of Vandalia

2nd Place – Trey Boston of Auburn

3rd Place – Travon Street of Mt. Zion

144

1st Place – Keagan Turner of Vandalia

2nd Place – Gaven Vollintine of Hillsboro

3rd Place – Ronald Laplante of Carlinville

150

1st Place – Dillon Hinton of Vandalia

2nd Place – Jayden Brown of Auburn

3rd Place – Ryan Crowley of Mt. Zion

157

1st Place – Braxton Kieffer of Litchfield

2nd Place – Parker Ray of Vandalia

3rd Place – Jovonis Lunford of Sacred Heart-Griffin

165

1st Place – Ryne Peavler of Shelbyville

2nd Place – Artan Mustafa of Vandalia

3rd Place – Waylon White of Pittsfield

175

1st Place – Ross Miller of Vandalia

2nd Place – Carson Thornton of Mt. Zion

3rd Place – Jayden Ellinger of Litchfield

190

1st Place – Casen Lyons of Sacred Heart-Griffin

2nd Place – Tucker Cook of Pittsfield

3rd Place – Kaden Becker of Mt. Zion

215

1st Place – Kaden Tidwell of Vandalia

2nd Place – Tristan Staggs of Litchfield

3rd Place – Keller Stocks of Mt. Zion

285

1st Place – Dominic Swyers of Vandalia

2nd Place – Andre Townsend of Shelbyville

3rd Place – Devin Hansel of Litchfield

Oakwood/ Salt Fork takes first at Lawrenceville Regional

Oakwood/ Salt Fork co-op finished well ahead of the field at the IHSA Class 1A Lawrenceville Regional when it scored 238 points while Lawrence County co-op, consisting of Lawrenceville and Red Hill, took second place with 163.5 points and Cumberland finished third with 140 points. The champion Comets claimed titles at the first six weight classes and also had two other qualifiers for this weekend’s  Carterville Sectional.

Top performers for Mike Glosser’s first-place Comets were champions Steven Uden (37-4 at 106), Weston Frazier (17-2 at 113), Mason Swartz (39-4 at 120), Devin Ehler (6-0 at 126), Tyler Huchel (37-7 at 132)  and Pedro Rangel (38-7 at 138) while Carter Chambliss (144) took second place and Kade Fleming (285) finished third. Oakwood/ Salt Fork won its third-straight regional title but fell just short of a state trip last year after finishing fourth in Class 1A in 2023.

Winning titles for Westville/ Georgetown-Ridge Farm co-op were Gabriel Kiddoo (36-7 at 150) and Ethan Miller (39-6 at 190), capturing championships for Richland County were Carson Bissey (14-1 at 157) and Zander Schrader (37-7 at 215) and finishing in first place for Fairfield were Talan Keoughan (32-6 at 175) and Bentley Rogers (34-6 at 285)

Other Lawrenceville Regional champions were Lawrence County co-op’s Hudson Meek (33-9 at 144) and Paris’ Joshua Lamore (32-5 at 165). Lawrence County had seven sectional qualifiers while Cumberland, who had no regional champions, qualified six for the Carterville Sectional..

Carterville Sectional qualifiers from the Lawrenceville Regional

106

1st Place – Steven Uden of Oakwood/ Salt Fork

2nd Place – Kyler Guercio of Lawrence County

3rd Place – Hayden Hazel of Richland County

113

1st Place – Weston Frazier of Oakwood/ Salt Fork

2nd Place – Peyton Groves of Cumberland

3rd Place – Cole Dulumback of Effingham

120

1st Place – Mason Swartz of Oakwood/ Salt Fork

2nd Place – Kaiden Stewart of Effingham

3rd Place – Drew Seitzinger of Lawrence County

126

1st Place – Devin Ehler of Oakwood/ Salt Fork

2nd Place – Sawyer Welbaum of Cumberland

3rd Place – Jedd Wellen of Fairfield

132

1st Place – Tyler Huchel of Oakwood/ Salt Fork

2nd Place – Dylan Aten of Lawrence County

3rd Place – Logan Aaron of Cumberland

138

1st Place – Pedro Rangel of Oakwood/ Salt Fork

2nd Place – Broady Kelly of Robinson

3rd Place – Cale Seitzinger of Lawrence County

144

1st Place – Hudson Meek of Lawrence County

2nd Place – Carter Chambliss of Oakwood/ Salt Fork

3rd Place – Jaxson Dukeman of Cumberland

150

1st Place – Gabriel Kiddoo of Westville

2nd Place – Daniel Kiser of Lawrenceville

3rd Place – Garret Rigdon of Paris

157

1st Place – Carson Bissey of Richland County

2nd Place – Owen McGinnis of Cumberland

3rd Place – Ben Mullins of Robinson

165

1st Place – Joshua Lamore of Paris

2nd Place – Kahne Hyre of Robinson

3rd Place – Gage Emmerich of Effingham

175

1st Place – Talan Keoughan of Fairfield

2nd Place – Lenox Parker of Robinson

3rd Place – Max Strader of Cumberland

190

1st Place – Ethan Miller of Westville

2nd Place – Malikye Williams of Lawrence County

3rd Place – Logan McDonald of Richland County

215

1st Place – Zander Schrader of Richland County

2nd Place – Keegan Bare of Fairfield

3rd Place – Bleighten Irelan of Westville

285

1st Place – Bentley Rogers of Fairfield

2nd Place – Carter Pyatt of Mt. Carmel

3rd Place – Kade Fleming of Oakwood/ Salt Fork

Class 1A regionals that feed into the Clinton Individual Sectional

PORTA edges host Peoria Notre Dame for regional title

After getting edged by Canton at the end of the regional tournament that it hosted last season, PORTA was determined not to fall short again when it competed in the IHSA Class 1A Peoria Notre Dame Regional. The Bluejays won three head-to-head title matches over the host Irish and got several decisive victories on both the first- and third-place mats to eke out a 211-210 advantage for top honors as they won their first regional since the 2021 IWCOA Open and their first IHSA regional title since 2015, when a 15-year run of titles ended. They also denied Notre Dame of repeating as regional champions, a feat that it accomplished for the first time in 2024.

The winning formula for PORTA in securing a Clinton Sectional-best 12 qualifiers came in fours as it had four champions, four second-place finishers and four who took third place for a team that’s coached by 2011 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Jeff Hill, the IHSA’s all-time leader in dual meet wins. Champions for the Bluejays were Coyt Rademaker (33-14 at 106), Kainin Fillbright (36-10 at 113), Zach Bryant (38-10 at 132) and Justin Zimmerman (38-8 at 157). 

PORTA, a co-op that includes A-C Central, Greenview and Havana, got second place finishes from Ryan McCoy (120), Mike Minor (144), Logan Baker (150) and Dane Jiannoni (190) while Max King (126), Hunter King (138), Jamarion Thomas (165), and Drayden Mayfield (175) took third place. Rademaker, Fillbright and Zimmerman all beat Notre Dame competitors on the title mat and of the Bluejays’ eight victories in first- and third-place matches, there were five pins, two victories by technical fall and a close decision.

“The key was winning the three finals matchups we had with Peoria Notre Dame at 106 with Coyt Rademaker, at 113 with Kainin Fillbright and at 157 with Justin Zimmerman,” Hill said. “Additionally, we had a big win in the semifinals with Ryan McCoy defeating his Peoria Notre Dame wrestler. Last year the regional came down to the last match and if Canton won they would win the title and they did.”

Leading coach Danny Burk’s runner-up Irish were champions Ian Akers (42-3 at 126), Sie Couri (29-18 at 165), Joe Culp (37-9 at 215) and Brady Mullens (30-14 at 285) while Tomie Couri (106), Josh Stedwill (113), John Couri (157) and Tyler Miller (175) claimed second place and Freddie Couri (120), Remi Joesting (132) and Bobby Stickelmaier (190) finished in third place.Notre Dame’s 11 qualifiers was the second-highest total for the Clinton Sectional.

Other Peoria Notre Dame Regional champions were Illini Bluffs’ Jackson Carroll (46-0 at 150) and Barret Speck (40-5 at 120), Farmington/ Cuba’s Bradlee Ellis (39-3 at 144) and Chase Frye (37-11 at 138), Illinois Valley Central’s Owen Moser (36-8 at 175) and Knoxville’s Brydon Walters (27-6 at 190).

Clinton Sectional qualifiers from the Peoria Notre Dame Regional

106

1st Place – Coyt Rademaker of PORTA

2nd Place – Tomie Couri of Peoria Notre Dame

3rd Place – Jayden Schmider of Farmington/ Cuba

113

1st Place – Kainin Fillbright of PORTA

2nd Place – Josh Stedwill of Peoria Notre Dame

3rd Place – Parker Zerfass of Farmington/ Cuba

120

1st Place – Barret Speck of Illini Bluffs

2nd Place – Ryan McCoy of PORTA

3rd Place – Freddie Couri of Peoria Notre Dame

126

1st Place – Ian Akers of Peoria Notre Dame

2nd Place – Nathan Owens of Illini Bluffs

3rd Place – Max King of PORTA

132

1st Place – Zach Bryant of PORTA

2nd Place – Gavyn Stevens of Knoxville

3rd Place – Remi Joesting of Peoria Notre Dame

138

1st Place – Chase Frye of Farmington/ Cuba

2nd Place – Gage Fox of Knoxville

3rd Place – Hunter King of PORTA

144

1st Place – Bradlee Ellis of Farmington/ Cuba

2nd Place – Mike Minor of PORTA

3rd Place – Devon Stone of Illinois Valley Central

150

1st Place – Jackson Carroll of Illini Bluffs

2nd Place – Logan Baker of PORTA

3rd Place – Matthew Miller of Williamsville

157

1st Place – Justin Zimmerman of PORTA

2nd Place – John Couri of Peoria Notre Dame

3rd Place – Evan Cannon of Illinois Valley Central

165

1st Place – Sie Couri of Peoria Notre Dame

2nd Place – Preston Schroeder of ROWVA/ Williamsfield

3rd Place – Jamarion Thomas of PORTA

175

1st Place – Owen Moser of Illinois Valley Central

2nd Place – Tyler Miller of Peoria Notre Dame

3rd Place – Drayden Mayfield of PORTA

190

1st Place – Brydon Walters of Knoxville

2nd Place – Dane Jiannoni of PORTA

3rd Place – Bobby Stickelmaier of Peoria Notre Dame

215

1st Place – Joe Culp of Peoria Notre Dame

2nd Place – Jayden Cantu of Knoxville

3rd Place – Anthony Beckman of Williamsville

285

1st Place – Brady Mullens of Peoria Notre Dame

2nd Place – Curnell Williams of Manual

3rd Place – Liam Dodsworth of Williamsville

Unity prevail over LeRoy/ Tri-Valley at Monticello Regional

In the unusual situation where two teams that qualified for the IHSA Dual Team Finals one year are in the same regional in the following year, Unity had six champions and nine sectional qualifiers to help it claim first place at the Class 1A Monticello Regional with 221 points while LeRoy/ Tri-Valley co-op took second place with 197.5 points and Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher co-op finished third with 184.5 points. The runner-up Panthers, who also qualified nine individuals for this weekend’s Clinton Sectional, advanced to the IHSA Dual Team Finals in 2023, as well. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher had the most sectional qualifiers with 10.

Leading the way for coach Logan Patton’s first-place Rockets were champions Hunter Shike (28-9 at 132), Taylor Finley (44-4 at 138), Kaden Inman (42-5 at 144), Holden Brazelton (42-6 at 150), Abram Davidson (42-5 at 165) and Hunter Eastin (45-2 at 190). Ryan Rink (175) placed second while Keegan Germano (157) and Chason Daly (215) finished in third place. 

“I thought the guys wrestled real well and for each other.” Patton said. “We have a great family bond and are excited to host team sectionals.” 

Winning titles for coach Brady Sant Amour’s second place Panthers were Brady Mouser (36-3 at 120), Brock Owens (40-8 at 157) and Tate Sigler (41-5 at 285). Hoopeston Area/ Milford had two first-place finishers, Charlie Flores (44-3 at 106) and Angel Zamora (45-1 at 175). 

The other three Monticello Regional champions were St. Joseph-Ogden’s Jackson Walsh (39-8 at 113), Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher’s Landen Lage (36-3 at 126) and The High School of Saint Thomas More’s James Schmidt (28-6 at 215).

Clinton Sectional qualifiers from the Monticello Regional

106

1st Place – Charlie Flores of Hoopeston Area/ Milford

2nd Place – Ben Wells of St. Joseph-Ogden

3rd Place – Austin Pacha of LeRoy/ Tri-Valley

113

1st Place – Jackson Walsh of St. Joseph-Ogden

2nd Place – Jake Baughman of LeRoy/ Tri-Valley

3rd Place – Aiden Komnick of Monticello

120

1st Place – Brady Mouser of LeRoy/ Tri-Valley

2nd Place – Aiden Bell of Hoopeston Area/ Milford

3rd Place – Gage Martin of Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher

126

1st Place – Landen Lage of Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher

2nd Place – Noah Davis of Pontiac

3rd Place – Nick Litchfield of Monticello

132

1st Place – Hunter Shike of Unity

2nd Place – Nolan Lowe of Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher

3rd Place – Will Osborne of Monticello

138

1st Place – Taylor Finley of Unity

2nd Place – Hunter Brandon of Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher

3rd Place – Jimmy Chaon of LeRoy/ Tri-Valley

144

1st Place – Kaden Inman of Unity

2nd Place – Ethan Lowe of Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher

3rd Place – Landen Butts of St. Joseph-Ogden

150

1st Place – Holden Brazelton of Unity

2nd Place – Kobe Brent of LeRoy/ Tri-Valley

3rd Place – Hudson Babb of Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher

157

1st Place – Brock Owens of LeRoy/ Tri-Valley

2nd Place – Lucas Maier of Pontiac

3rd Place – Keegan Germano of Unity

165

1st Place – Abram Davidson of Unity

2nd Place – Ayden Larkin of Hoopeston Area/ Milford

3rd Place – Cooper Miller of Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher

175

1st Place – Angel Zamora of Hoopeston Area/ Milford

2nd Place – Ryan Rink of Unity

3rd Place – Bo Zeleznik of LeRoy/ Tri-Valley

190

1st Place – Hunter Eastin of Unity

2nd Place – Jaxon Wright of Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher

3rd Place – Gannon Pinkerton of LeRoy/ Tri-Valley

215

1st Place – James Schmidt of High School of Saint Thomas More

2nd Place – Cohen Kean of Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher

3rd Place – Chason Daly of Tolono Unity

285

1st Place – Tate Sigler of LeRoy

2nd Place – Cam Wagner of St. Joseph-Ogden

3rd Place – Carson Sexton of Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher

Canton claims championship at own regional

After securing a regional title in its final match a year ago over the hosts at PORTA, Canton was understandably pleased that there was no late drama necessary as it won its own regional tournament to give it three-consecutive regional championships. It finished with 214 points while Beardstown finished second with 146 points and Macomb took third place with 125 points.

Coach Zach Crawford’s first-place Little Giants had seven title winners and qualified 10 individuals for this weekend’s Clinton Sectional. Leading the way for Canton were champions Jaxsun Owens (26-9 at 106), Jacob Hardesty (31-6 at 120), Dyllan Steele (29-2 at 126), Jack Jochums (30-7 at 138), Alex Carrier (27-11 at 144), Grady Smith (21-19 at 150) and Connor Williams (32-0 at 285) while Daniel Kees (157) and Garrett Sego (190) took second place and Gus Lidwell (175) finished third.

“Seven champs, two runners-up and a third,” Crawford said. “It was a great day for Canton. They all wrestled really well and competed as a team, cheering each other on throughout the whole tournament matside.” 

Quincy Notre Dame had three champions while Mercer County had two first-place winners. Claiming top honors for Quincy Notre Dame were Oliver Moore (27-6 at 132), Bradi Lahr (40-5 at 157) and Ryan Darnell (41-6 at 215) and Mercer County got title wins from Eli Burns (17-3 at 165) and Bodie Salmon (24-6 at 190).

Also winning Canton Regional championships were Beardstown’s Bryan Islas (27-12 at 113) and Illini West’s Shawn Watkins (33-4 at 175). Macomb had no title winners but did qualify seven individuals for this weekend’s Clinton Sectional.

Clinton Sectional qualifiers from the Canton Regional

106

1st Place – Jaxsun Owens of Canton

2nd Place – Paxton Buehler of Camp Point Central

3rd Place – Elliot Adamson of Mercer County

113

1st Place – Bryan Islas of Beardstown

2nd Place – Jackson Buehler of Camp Point Central

3rd Place – Jairon Royer of Macomb

120

1st Place – Jacob Hardesty of Canton

2nd Place – Ethan Hoyt of Macomb

3rd Place – Landon Peterson of Monmouth-Roseville

126

1st Place – Dyllan Steele of Canton

2nd Place – Case Hughes of Camp Point Central

3rd Place – Kellen Brown of Beardstown

132

1st Place – Oliver Moore of Quincy Notre Dame

2nd Place – Nic Parkins of Macomb

3rd Place – Josh Collins of Camp Point Central

138

1st Place – Jack Jochums of Canton

2nd Place – Kai Humphry of Warsaw

3rd Place – Austin Shull of Quincy Notre Dame

144

1st Place – Alex Carrier of Canton

2nd Place – Luis De La Cruz of Beardstown

3rd Place – Cale Hilbing of Quincy Notre Dame

150

1st Place – Grady Smith of Canton

2nd Place – Paul Schenk of Camp Point Central

3rd Place – Excequiel Ocampo of Mercer County

157

1st Place – Bradi Lahr of Quincy Notre Dame

2nd Place – Daniel Kees of Canton

3rd Place – Cohen Green of Macomb

165

1st Place – Eli Burns of Mercer County

2nd Place – Gunner Looker of Beardstown

3rd Place – Atsard Aplogan of Macomb

175

1st Place – Shawn Watkins of Illini West

2nd Place – Keegan Smith of Monmouth-Roseville

3rd Place – Gus Lidwell of Canton

190

1st Place – Bodie Salmon of Mercer County

2nd Place – Garrett Sego of Canton

3rd Place – Kyler Cheatham of Macomb

215

1st Place – Ryan Darnell of Quincy Notre Dame

2nd Place – Alex Gandarilla of Monmouth-Roseville

3rd Place – Malachi McKune of Warsaw

285

1st Place – Connor Williams of Canton

2nd Place – Chunk Dailey of Beardstown

3rd Place – Alex Brown of Macomb

Olympia captures title at its own regional

Olympia looks to be putting things together at the right time as it easily grabbed top honors in the IHSA Class 1A Olympia Regional in Stanford when it scored 208 points, placing it well ahead of runner-up Clinton (117.5) as well as El Paso-Gridley (109) and Heyworth (106.5).

Coach Josh Collins’ champion Spartans had five title winners, seven finalists and eight qualifiers for the Clinton Sectional. Winning regional championships for the hosts were Brandon Gaither (37-8 at 106), Dylan Eimer (37-4 at 113), Austin Kisner (36-12 at 144), Kelton Graden (19-5 at 157) and Darian Holloway (39-7 at 285). Claiming second-place finishes were Kinzer Burrell (132) and Cooper Phillips (138) while Isaac Warnock (175) placed third. Olympia won its first regional title since 2017, when it last made a trip to the Dual Team Finals and took third in 1A.

Unity Christian/ Argenta-Oreana co-op received title wins from brothers Garrett VerHeecke (38-1 at 132) and Clinton VerHeecke (37-0 at 138) and Heyworth got first-place finishes from Logan Stout (27-21 at 150) and Brody Simons (32-13 at 175).

The other Olympia Regional champions were Warrensburg-Latham/ Maroa-Forsyth’s Logan Roberts (37-2 at 120), University High’s Ruben Rivera (35-8 at 126), Tremont’s Bowden Delaney (45-2 at 165), Clinton’s Kristan Hibbard (32-8 at 190) and El Paso-Gridley’s Ryden Barker (41-3 at 215). Clinton qualified six individuals for the sectional it hosts this weekend.

Clinton Sectional qualifiers from the Olympia Regional

106

1st Place – Brandon Gaither of Olympia

2nd Place – Kole Petta of El Paso-Gridley

3rd Place – Cayden Bostic of Clinton

113

1st Place – Dylan Eimer of Olympia

2nd Place – Briley Carter of Clinton

3rd Place – Tom Erwin of El Paso-Gridley

120

1st Place – Logan Roberts of Warrensburg-Latham

2nd Place – Josh Butler of University High

3rd Place – Henry Watson of Eureka

126

1st Place – Ruben Rivera of University High

2nd Place – Kaden Roberts of Warrensburg-Latham

3rd Place – Harrison Lott of Riverton

132

1st Place – Garrett VerHeecke of Unity Christian

2nd Place – Kinzer Burrell of Olympia

3rd Place – Josiah Rokey of Eureka

138

1st Place – Clinton VerHeecke of Unity Christian

2nd Place – Cooper Phillips of Olympia

3rd Place – Finn Hoffman of Eureka

144

1st Place – Austin Kisner of Olympia

2nd Place – Hayden Washum of University High

3rd Place – Charlie Wittmer of Warrensburg-Latham

150

1st Place – Logan Stout of Heyworth

2nd Place – Caleb Berg of Unity Christian

3rd Place – Josh Caraballo of University High

157

1st Place – Kelton Graden of Olympia

2nd Place – Sam Hoffman of Eureka

3rd Place – hunter Bockelman of Heyworth

165

1st Place – Bowden Delaney of Tremont

2nd Place – Braden Gibson of El Paso-Gridley

3rd Place – Logan Thoms of Clinton

175

1st Place – Brody Simons of Heyworth

2nd Place – Aaron Eastman of Eureka

3rd Place – Isaac Warnock of Olympia

190

1st Place – Kristan Hibbard of Clinton

2nd Place – Dominic Ricconi of El Paso-Gridley

3rd Place – Jarrod Fulcher of Heyworth

215

1st Place – Ryden Barker of El Paso-Gridley

2nd Place – Bryan Alejandro of Clinton

3rd Place – Ethan Kinsey of Tremont

285

1st Place – Darian Holloway of Olympia

2nd Place – Joey Humphries of Deer Creek-Mackinaw

3rd Place – Dawson Thayer of Clinton

By Chris Walker – for The IWCOA

The names Lobrillo and Leidig may not be the first two that come to mind when you think about St. Charles East wrestling, but without wrestlers like Rocco Lobrillo and Abe Leidig, the Saints would have a much harder time remaining as one of the premier teams in the state each winter.

Those two along with 10 other Saints advanced to championship matches during Saturday’s IHSA Class 3A St. Charles East Regional.

They all advanced to next weekend’s Conant Sectional along with a third-place finisher as the Saints qualified 13 individuals while also winning the regional title as a team with 247 points. Glenbard North took second with 171.5 points and was followed by DeKalb (132.5), Wheaton North (128.5), West Chicago (83), Bartlett (65), Geneva (56) and St. Charles North (18.5).

“Lobrillo and Leidig don’t have a lot of experience wrestling,” Saints coach Jason Potter said. “Most of the guys on the team have been wrestling since they were five, six and seven years old. So to see them buy in and get themselves in the mix and not only be very high contributors but to come out here in the postseason and do damage and advance themselves and put themselves in position to get down to the individual state tournament. Once you’re down there your credentials don’t mean anything. Anything can happen.”

Potter, who will be inducted into the IWCOA Hall of Fame on April 27, said advancing 12 to the regional title match may be a school record.

“Might be a record, to be honest, I’m not sure, so it’s pretty good,” he said. “We’re pretty excited. And we felt we had one of the tougher regionals inside our sectional so for us to put 12 in the finals shows how good of a morning we had rolling into that.”

Dom Munaretto (120), Gavin Woodmancy (138), Anthony Gutierrez (165), Leidig (175) and Cooper Murray (215) won regional titles for the Saints. It was the first for all of them, except for Munaretto, who won this title with a pin while Gutierrez and Murray got victories by technical fall, Leidig captured a major decision and Woodmancy claimed a decision.

“We challenged the guys today to wrestle better than they did at the conference tournament last week,” Potter said. “Some of this competition was the same but we also drew some really tough kids from Bartlett and West Chicago.”

At last year’s regional at DeKalb, Woodmancy, Gutierrez and Murray lost title bouts while Leidig was competing at the JV level.

“I’ve been JV the last three years so for me it’s just been next match, next match and it doesn’t matter what seed I get or who I wrestle,”’ Leidig said. “It’s just been the next match and if you think too far ahead you get in your head.”

Leidig earned a 14-4 major decision against Glenbard North’s Joseph Fitak in the 175 final. Most recently, Fitak defeated Leidig in the DuKane Conference.

“I beat him early in the season but it was nothing that I wanted it to be and then lost to him two weeks ago at conference,” Leidig said. “Today I had to clear my mind. Some people feed off the emotion and I just need to calm down and focus. Normally I’m a little more passive and just sit upper body and really had to get that moving and get that moving. 

“Before the match the goal was just a takedown a period, one takedown a period, and I just kind of stuck to that mentality. When you really lock in you kind of just forget if you’re tired or not. I was just going and moving and moving. I wanted it so bad. I could’ve just gone on top and rode him out that last period but wanted to go up again. I wanted that last takedown. I wanted to win that not just to win it, but because last time never should’ve happened in the first place.”

Wrestling for a program that took third in the state last year and sharing the same gym as state champions like Ben Davino, Jayden Colon and Munaretto has certainly inspired Leidig this year as he transitioned in the fall from playing soccer to wrestling in the winter.

“After Ben (Davino), Jayden (Colon) and Tyler (Guerra), the standard is just set through the roof,” Leidig said. “And you can take it as if it’s pressure, but it’s encouraging. It really pushes us, especially in the room everyday. It’s like this is what you want to be, you see these kids at the next level on TV. That’s really what’s motivating and with coach Potter there’s no going wrong there.”

Fitak had beaten Leidig, 3-2, in the DuKane Conference semifinal at St. Charles North on January 25.

“To finally win something feels cool,” Leidig said. “I took eighth at Cheesehead, took third at conference, but this, to finally win something like this, this is a cool moment.”

Kaden Potter (106), Declan Sons (113), Liam Aye (126), Logan Tatar (144), Ryan McGovern (157), Lobrillo (190) and Matt Medina (285) each took second and advanced for the Saints, as did Payton Lee (132), who finished third. 

Potter’s return was a big one as the sophomore had been sidelined for the past two months.

Thanks to an opening bye, Potter’s first and only match came in the 106 semifinals as he pinned DeKalb’s Jaden Bradley in 3:37. To be cautious going forward, knowing that Potter had already advanced, the Saints kept him sidelined for the finals match against Glenbard North freshman Vannak Khiev.

“Since he got into the finals it was one of the weird father/son moments of hey buddy you’re not wrestling this,” Jason Potter said. “So he’s smart enough to understand it. We look forward to another week of practice. I think he can get his timing back, really get his conditioning back and more importantly his confidence back after taking eight weeks off the mat.”

Jason Potter thought that his son’s season may have been over so the fact that he’s back in action is big news for the Saints.

“He’s been out eight weeks so we thought his season was over or that we could get him back for postseason,” Jason Potter said. “He’s healed up a little bit faster than we thought. We just got him cleared two days ago so he had two days of practice, and out of respect for (Vannak) Khiev and the situation of not being 100 percent yet and a couple more days in practice would put him in a better position, so we tried to weigh the risk/rewards.”

After getting a pin in his return, there was no doubt that Kaden Potter wanted to wrestle for the title, but more importantly, the Saints need Potter at his best next week.

“He’s not excited about forfeiting and not going out, but as a coach I thought that was the right decision,” Potter said. “The goal was winning as a team and advancing. After taking eight weeks off the mat, stepping out and going against high-level competition and your confidence isn’t quite there yet. That was the main concern. I need him confident so he doesn’t get himself hurt.”

Junior Trey Thompson was one of Glenbard North’s four regional champions, earning a 6-4 decision against Bartlett’s Nick Barton in the 132 final.

“I haven’t won a tournament since freshman year,” Thompson said. “I started wrestling in the eighth grade so I’m pretty new to it so I’m just getting that first place feeling. It’s hard falling short often so just getting that victory, getting a bracket, getting a first place medal. It feels real nice.”

While Thompson had an older sibling who wrestled years ago, it didn’t inspire him to give the sport a shot until recently.

“It was always football, baseball and basketball and doing those sports,” he explained. “Wrestling seemed too weird and gritty for me. After falling short because of not being fast or big enough, I tried wrestling to get better at football and just fell in love with it right away. I started doing good and just wanted to be the best that I could.”

And he wanted to be on the wall.

“My coaches and our team, we have a wall in our school and if I won this match my coach was going to put me on it so it meant a lot to me to go out there,” he said. “It’s exciting. I love wrestling and I was happy to be out there. The guys, we all work hard. Every morning, every day, it’s a grind. I’m just excited. Our goal coming out here was to win the regional and obviously with a team like St. Charles East it’s hard to get a victory as a whole team, but we work hard every day to just be the best us and it showed out pretty well.”

Thompson’s growth between seasons has been phenomenal. 

“Last year I went 1-2 in this tournament,” he said. “I didn’t qualify and was unseeded with six wins on the year. This was my 32nd win this year. I’ve closed a very big gap working with programs like Team EL1TE Wrestling. It just inspires me to work harder and do better everyday.”

As Thompson walked past the bleachers shortly after his victory a huge smile formed as he lifted his left arm and gave a fist bump to some of his biggest supporters in the stands. He was in love with the moment.

“I love to come out here,” he said. “A lot of wrestlers don’t love it, but I love to come out here. I love wrestling. I take inspiration from Iowa. I like how they work, that mindset of keeping that pressure, keeping it going.”

His teammate, Julian Holland, joined him as a regional champion for the Panthers. Holland earned an 11-6 decision over St. Charles East’s Lobrillo in the 190 final.

‘Third match we’ve wrestled all year so I knew he was really amped up about the match thinking about it a lot,” Holland said. “I was trying to stick, to stay sticking to my set of moves, stay in my box, keep working my things I knew I was good at. And coaches were telling me to stay in good position and you got it.”

“This is pretty big to me. This means I get my photo up in the wrestling room, which was a big goal of mine, so it’s nice to make my next week easier and get me closer to state. I’m just happy.”

Holland’s come a long way.

“Last year I got last at conference but qualified for sectional, but I’ve gotten so much better,” he said. “I just keep on working. In the summer I kept getting better. I’ve noticed so many improvements since I started wrestling freshman year.”

Vannak Khiev (106) and Kalani Khiev (126) also won titles for Glenbard North, with Kalani winning by fall. Isaac Velasco (120), Richard Morales (138), Xavier Smiley (157) and Tyler Hvorick (215) took third to give coach Travis Cherry’s Panthers nine sectional qualifiers.

Geneva senior Joe Pettit is well aware that the end of his wrestling career could be nearing.

“Hard to imagine only two weeks left of this, and we’ll see if I wrestle in college or not,” he said. “I’m just looking forward to the next two weeks, being in the moment, going as hard as I can at practice. These big matches are the best part of wrestling because they’re pressure-free really going into better opponents and whatever happens, happens, wrestle hard and let the cards fall.” 

The two-time state qualifier defeated St. Charles East junior Matt Medina, 4-0, for the 285 regional title .

“He is a tough opponent, but I knew he was going to come after me after the last two times we wrestled,” Pettit said “He made me work, but I’m just excited for what’s to come with sectionals because it’ll be more big matches.”

It was the third time in as many weeks that the two DuKane Conference big men met.

“He came out strong,” Pettit said. “I got a takedown and just rode him out from there.”

Geneva’s Sam Sikorsky (113) also won a regional title, earning an 11-3 major decision over St. Charles East’s Declan Sons.

“I kind of came back this year and wrestled my heart out,” Sikorsky said. “That was the goal. Being regional champion will help me out going into sectionals for sure.”

Sikorsky said he’s feeling pretty good these days, not battling any injuries but continuing to battle the scales.

“The hardest part about wrestling for me is just about making weight,” he said. “I’m injury free right now. I don’t have knee pain or anything, basically just making weight every day is a little bit of a struggle, but I do it.”

Last year Sikorsky lost a 7-4 decision to Sons in the 106 semifinals of the Class 3A DeKalb Regional. Not this time.

“I wrestled him three times last year and I beat him at conference and then lost to him at regionals and a dual,” he said. “So I’m just coming back and getting my get-back. I like when it’s competition like that. Like when I wrestle (Batavia’s Kai) Enos. I beat him and then lost to him and wished the best for him. I like the competition, knowing I have something to go for when I lose someone is catching up to me so I got to train my heart out.”

Wheaton North’s Thomas Fulton captured the 157 title after a 4-2 victory over St. Charles East’s Ryan McGovern. Fulton has now won back-to-back regional titles.

Rocco Macellaio (120) took second for Wheaton North while Falcons teammates Ryan Rosch (150), Julian Flores (165) and Nikolas Schaafsma (175) fought back to win their respective third place matches to also move on to sectional competition. 

DeKalb’s Mike Hodge isn’t afraid of blood. In fact, the senior is used to it as bloody noses are not uncommon when he’s battling on the mat.

“I’m a bloody guy,” he said. “Going into practice every day, I get bloody noses. I think this one started in the second period and the loose plugs kept falling out and it kept getting worse.”

Hodge beat St. Charles East’s Logan Tatar, 5-3, to win the title at 144.

“This is really big, especially since last year I got fourth and it didn’t live up to what I wanted to do,” he said. “So this year I just came back improved, so this was huge for me.”

Also for the Barbs, Hudson Ikens (150) and Sean Kolkebeck (165) finished second while Jaden Bradley (106) and Jeremiah Piniera (285) each took third.

“I thought they all wrestled really hard,” Hodge said. “They wrestled a lot to the best of their ability and sometimes you just don’t come out on top, but coaches teach win, lose as long as you give the best effort you have, they’re happy.”

Knowing the stakes of a regional and the talent of such a competition, wrestlers will look to gain even the slightest edge over their opponents.

Sometimes that advantage somehow lands right at their feet, such as when it was time for West Chicago’s Leo Rosas to battle DeKalb’s Hudson Ikens for the 150 title.

Prior to it, Rosas watched as teammates Emanuel Rangel (113), Ryan Alvarado (126) and Santino Milazzo (144) won crucial third-place matches to qualify for next weekend’s Class 3A Conant Sectional. Rosas defeated Ikens, 5-2, to give West Chicago its lone regional champion.

“I had the comfort of knowing I had made it next week so in the finals I just had to go out there and give it my all and if I lose, I lose, I’m still going to wrestle next week,” Rosas said. “So it’s nervous watching your teammates wrestle for third place and everything and it’s nervous competing for that regional title, but at the end of the day I still made it to next week.”

“I went in knowing it was going to be a tough match. Whenever I know I’m wrestling someone tough I never let it get to my head, I take the nerves as like energy. So when I got in there, you know, he was pretty heavy on the clubs but I knew what I’ve been working on all week in practice and I used that and that’s how I was able to get the win. Everything I’ve been working on paid off.”

Bartlett had no regional champions but received second-place finishes from Nick Barton (132), Cameron Engels (138) and James Smrha (215).

Conant Sectional qualifiers from the St. Charles East Regional

106

1st Place – Vannak Khiev of Glenbard North

2nd Place – Kaden Potter of St. Charles East

3rd Place – Jaden Bradley of DeKalb

113

1st Place – Sam Sikorsky of Geneva

2nd Place – Declan Sons of St. Charles East

3rd Place – Emanuel Rangel of West Chicago

120

1st Place – Dom Munaretto of St. Charles East

2nd Place – Rocco Macellaio of Wheaton North

3rd Place – Isaac Velasco of Glenbard North

126

1st Place – Kalani Khiev of Glenbard North

2nd Place – Liam Aye of St. Charles East

3rd Place – Ryan Alvarado of West Chicago

132

1st Place – Trey Thompson of Glenbard North

2nd Place – Nick Barton of Bartlett

3rd Place – Payton Lee of St. Charles East

138

1st Place – Gavin Woodmancy of St. Charles East

2nd Place – Cameron Engels of Bartlett

3rd Place – Richard Morales of Glenbard North

144

1st Place – Mike Hodge of DeKalb

2nd Place – Logan Tatar of St. Charles East

3rd Place – Santino Milazzo of West Chicago

150

1st Place – Leo Rosas of West Chicago

2nd Place – Hudson Ikens of DeKalb

3rd Place – Ryan Rosch of Wheaton North

157

1st Place – Thomas Fulton of Wheaton North

2nd Place – Ryan McGovern of St. Charles East

3rd Place – Xavier Smiley of Glenbard North

165

1st Place – Anthony Gutierrez of St. Charles East

2nd Place – Sean Kolkebeck of DeKalb

3rd Place – Julian Flores of Wheaton North

175

1st Place – Abraham Leidig of St. Charles East

2nd Place – Joseph Fitak of Glenbard North

3rd Place – Nikolas Schaafsma of Wheaton North

190

1st Place – Julian Holland of Glenbard North

2nd Place – Rocco Lobrillo of St. Charles East

3rd Place – Carlo Saenz of Wheaton North

215

1st Place – Cooper Murray of St. Charles East

2nd Place – James Smrha of Bartlett

3rd Place – Tyler Hvorick of Glenbard North

285

1st Place – Joseph Pettit of Geneva

2nd Place – Matt Medina of St. Charles East

3rd Place – Jeremiah Piniera of DeKalb

By Mike Garofola – for the IWCOA

Mark Jolcover likes to remind anyone who will listen to a prediction he made back in November, that his Grant Bulldogs could challenge for its first regional title in nearly 10 years.

After a third place finish at the Rus Erb, followed by a second place trophy at the Berman Holiday Classic, Jolcover thought the chances for his club to reach the summit might happen at the County, otherwise known as the Lake County Invite.

A long, full day of wrestling at that Lake County Invite ended with the Bulldogs scoring 223.0 overall points, 41.5 more than runner-up Stevenson to grab the big trophy, and set the wheels in motion for bigger and better things ahead.

“Stevenson, Warren, and Wauconda are so tough, but we were able to get a complete team effort with bonus points, and big wins when we needed them to win the Lake County Invite,” began Jolcover.

“That win at the County was so big, and it sent the right message to all of our guys that the hard work and extra time they have been putting in was beginning to pay off.

“Warren has a great lineup, Libertyville is Libertyville, and there were a lot of great wrestlers here but there was no excuse for us to use at this point. We could win this thing if we wrestled for each other, get those bonus points when we can, and if we lose, we come back strong in wrestle-backs, and do whatever we can to stay alive, and get more bonus points when they are there.”

“All of the guys today did just that and more, and to win at home before our friends, families and the community is something they can all be proud of.”

The Bulldogs had a lead of 22.5 points (130.5-108.0) over Warren during the late stages of the morning, forcing the Blue Devils and the rest of the field to chase for the rest of the day until time ran out inside the Benedetti Center in Fox Lake.

The home side captured its first regional title since 2016 with 229.5 total points, 30 more than runner-up Warren (195.5). Libertyville (152.0) was third, followed by Mundelein (138.5).

“Mark has done an amazing job since taking over,” said former Grant coach Ryan Geist. “His commitment to excellence, rapport with the boys, work ethic, and desire to make Grant wrestling what it once was is the driving force in the success of this program.” 

Geist took five Grant teams to the dual team state tournament and was one of many former coaches and wrestlers on hand to cheer on the Bulldogs to victory.

Individual regional champions and their weight classes:

106 – Christian Saucedo, Mundelein

Christian Saucedo could hardly contain himself after his terrific day-long effort at 106 ended with the top seed from Mundelein recording a pin at 1:31 over Grant sophomore Andrew Ocampo (20-15) to give the sophomore the biggest win of his young career.

“This is just an amazing feeling that I have right now,” beamed Saucedo, now 28-13, who with his victory earned a first round bye at sectionals.

Saucedo, fourth recently at the Lake County Invite, points to a less than dazzling ending to his rookie season a year ago that saw him go 15-15 on the year, which included a blood-round defeat at regionals.

“Last year my record wasn’t very good, I didn’t even qualify for sectionals, so I knew it would be important to dedicate myself entirely to the sport, and do all of the little things during the offseason to get better,” he said.

Saucedo would pay close attention to his doubles, the No. 1 item he looked at to fine tune in his game, as well as his jump-backs.

“I wanted to make my 2024-2025 season the best it could be,” added Saucedo.

Zion-Benton freshman Brayden Sroka beat Warren’s Walter Thomas for third place.

113 – Caleb Noble, Warren

Reigning 106-pound state champion Caleb Noble (37-2) had far too much firepower for his rivals at 113, who were steamrolled by the Warren sophomore on his way to a second straight regional crown, and first-round bye at sectionals.

“This is the fun time of the year at so many levels,” opined Noble. “One of the things I enjoy about the postseason is going against top-level guys from here on out, and having each match mean so much more than the regular season.”

Noble would start fast in his final with Grant sLarry Quirk, recording a take-down at 30 seconds and then building a lead with pace and purpose up until 4:40, when the No. 13 man in the nation (according to Flo Wrestling) finished off Quick with a 16-1 technical fall.

“I am fortunate to be in a great room, a room that motivates all of us everyday, and being able to work with great teammates who are at a different weight than me but can still help me hone my skills,” said Noble.

Libertyville’s Riggs Mitran won 6-4 over Round Lake’s Orlando Gonzalez for third place.

120 – Jonathon Marquez, Warren

Jonathon Marquez put points on the scoreboard on Saturday as if he was playing on a pinball machine, first with a 18-3 tech-fall (5:41) in his tournament opener and ending with another barrage in his final with Neftali Cernas (Mundelein, 28-10) in which the Warren senior won with ease.

The two-time state qualifier registered an impressive 17-2 tech fall (4:00) victory to give him the perfect stepping stone to make it downstate where he fully expects to find himself on the podium in Champaign.

“My confidence is so much better than a year ago, as is my fitness, mental approach, pace, and taking shots with more of a purpose,” said Marquez, No. 8 in the state, and now 31-9 on the season.

“I like to go after my opponents, and be more physical, which I really felt like I was today, and being able to work against bigger guys in the room like Royce (Lopez, 165) helps me so much, even with the size and strength difference,” Marquez said.

Libertyville sophomore Tyler Wuh won 7-4 over Grant’s Breiydyn Hoffman for third place.

126 – Vince Jasinski, Grant

Vince Jasinski has come a long way in two short years for the regional champion Bulldogs.

The junior was a sectional qualifier in his rookie season with a 33-14 record. A year ago Jasinski made it to state at 33-15, however this winter has been a breakout year, with his 40-6 overall record. He also has an eye on the single-season record for pins set by the brilliant three-time state champion Lee Munster.

Jasinski pinned Libertyville’s Jake Shafer on the regional title mat.

“There is a real purpose in the way Vince works in, and out of the room, and when he competes, he truly has come a long way, and just gets the most out of his time when he’s training,” Bulldogs head coach Mark Jolcover said.

“Winning a regional title for the first time ever means a lot to me, and especially here at home, and when we win the team title at the same time it doesn’t get much better than this,” admitted Jasinski, who runs 3 1/2 miles each day after practice.

Shafer and Warren’s Luis Calderon, who took third, each qualified for sectionals for the first time. Calderon won a 17-14 decision over Mundelein’s Max Cordova in the third-place match.

132 – Ryan Hanson, McHenry

Ryan Hanson remains confident and quietly optimistic of his chances of a return visit downstate after falling just short a year ago.

The McHenry senior opened up with two wins last year at the Barrington sectional, only to see a blood-round defeat put a dagger in the heart of the two-time regional champion, who as a sophomore went 36-12 and qualified for Champaign at 106 pounds.

“That loss last season was difficult to take, but it made me focus more on my training during the offseason, and this year I feel like all parts of my game, including my high-crotch shots, and confidence are so much better,” said Hanson, who pinned his way into his final where a workmanlike effort in a 8-1 decision over Grant’s Sammy Mendez (20-10) gave him his title.

“When you win in the postseason like I did today, it helps remind you that the hard work pays off,” added Hanson (37-8) who in both the second and third periods would ride Mendez hard to ensure victory. Hanson will continue to wrestle in the fall at UW-Oshkosh.

Zion-Benton’s Luis Medina (25-9), who was the second-seed, finished third after defeating Libertyville’s Alexander Osborne.

138 – Erik Rodriguez, Grant

No. 10 Erik Rodriguez, a key figure in the rebuilding project of Mark Jolcover and his club from Grant, earned himself a well-deserved second consecutive regional title after his 16-2 major decision over Dylan Solesky, now 25-13, when he outscored the Zion-Benton freshman 8-0 in the third period.

“This is such a special day for our team and our regional champions Nathan Flores, Casey Gipson, and Vinnie (Vince Jasinski), my partner in the room who has helped me get to where I am right now,” said a gracious Rodriguez, who now owns a sparkling 42-5 record.

“Vinnie and our coaching staff have helped me be all that I can. My singles and ability to finish are so much better than last season, and like Vinnie I’ve made it a goal for each of us to get downstate and on the podium.”

Rodriguez, who cruised to victory two weeks ago at the Lake County Invite, made his first appearance in Champaign a year ago with a 36-15 record.

Warren’s Evan Glowinski (21-15), who was the second-seed, took third place after winning a 6-5 decision over Libertyville’s Elliott Hibbard.

144 – Ethan Banda, Mundelein

Ethan Banda looked well on his way to earning his first trip downstate a year ago after pinning his way to a regional title at 138 pounds, only to see his hopes dashed by a blood-round loss at the Barrington Sectional.

The loss would inspire a strong offseason work rate, but the Mundelein junior would have never expected to be side-swiped by an injury this season that would keep him out of action for a month.

“I was wrestling with a chipped vertebrae for quite a while, I dealt with the pain and discomfort until it was too much,” recounted Banda after he registered a pin at 1:17 over Waukegan’s David Brown (23-10) to claim his second straight regional title.

“I literally could not do anything for a month, no fitness or cardio stuff at all, which made coming back a little tough at the start, but it feels great to be back,” added Banda, who had the quickest tech fall on the day at just 52 seconds. Banda, now 13-2, finished third recently at the Lake County Invite.

Grant senior Adrian Khi finished third after winning 7-3 over Libertyville’s Jacob Whisenand.

150 – Nathan Flores, Grant

The Lake County Invite did not go well for Grant senior Nathan Flores, who despite his sixth- place finish at County still was able to earn the top-seed at 150 pounds.

The Bulldogs’ four-year veteran took full advantage of his lofty status when he opened with a pin and followed up with a major decision victory in his semifinal contest before putting the finishing touches on his championship effort in high fashion against McHenry’s Myles Wagner (17-9).

Flores (28-18) led from the early stages and never let up, scoring nine points in the third period en route to a 20-5 technical fall at 5:38.

“This is a great way to end the tournament for me, with a regional championship and team title at home, and in my senior year,” said Flores, who is still exploring his collegiate options with the knowledge he would like to eventually be a physical education teacher.

“After my season did not go as well as I wanted it to last year, I realized I just wasn’t as strong as I needed to be in order to really compete at a higher level this season,” admitted Flores.

“I spent a lot of time during the offseason getting in better shape, and stronger at RTC (Relentless Training Center) and with the help at club, and my high school teammates and coaching, I was able to get myself ready for my final year here at Grant,” added Flores.

Warren’s Simon Castillo took third place following a win over Libertyville’s Ruben Quintero.

157 – Justice Humphreys, Warren

The trio of Justice Humphreys, Royce Lopez and Aaron Stewart has struck fear into the hearts and minds of their rivals this season, it’s a dangerous triple threat that many clubs desire to have.

Humphreys (21-5) would be at the start of three-consecutive victories amongst his teammates when he recorded a 7-2 decision over a NSC rival, Mundelein senior Kevin Hernandez ( 33-7), who is now twice a regional runner-up.

“The main difference with me compared to last year is my mindset, I am totally tuned into being as strong as I can be mentally, which I feel is a big reason for me falling short at sectionals last year,” suggests Humphreys, who was 25-12 in 2023-2024.

The Blue Devils senior would lose his blood round contest to Hononegah star Kurt Smith, 2-1 in a tiebreaker, and it would stay with him all throughout the offseason.

“(That) loss forced me to pay closer attention to everything, my doubles, high-crotch shots, and overall approach, which included, as I said, getting mentally stronger,” added Humphreys, who will play football at Carroll College in Kenosha, after his all-NSC season last fall as a running back and defensive-back for a Blue Devils team that lost in its 8A quarterfinal to eventual state runner-up York.

Libertyville junior Pierce Adams won 12-9 in sudden victory over Zion-Benton’s Demar Dixon to claim third place.

165 – Royce Lopez, Warren

No. 2 Royce Lopez left little doubt as to who was the best 165-pounder here after the Blue Devils junior squashed the competition to capture his third-straight regional title.

Lopez (26-5) would build an insurmountable 12-1 advantage at three minutes before going on to a 18-3 tech fall (3:38) victory over McHenry senior Aiden Schuldt (28-11), who advanced to his second sectional appearance in as many seasons.

“(My) offseason was five days a week, twice a day workouts, working on just about everything to give myself the best possible chance to make it into the state final where I can go for a state championship,” said Lopez, a two-time state qualifier, whose late interception against Barrington would help seal the Blue Devils’ 35-26 victory in its 8A second-round contest.

“Having guys like Justice, (Aaron) Stewart, and even our heavyweight Anthony Soto in the room gives me a real boost in my confidence and ability to handle a lot of different situations that I might have, and I feel the extra work I’ve put in to be better in my position(s), shots and set-ups has really helped my overall game improve.”

Grant’s Aaden Arroyo took third place with a win over Libertyville’s Ethan Trowbridge.

175 – Aaron Stewart, Warren

It was another masterclass performance from No. 1 Aaron Stewart (36-2) who brushed aside his opponents with a pair of tech falls in just over six minutes to earn his third-straight regional title, and a first-round bye in sectionals next weekend at Barrington.

“It’s all about staying healthy, eating right, fine-tuning things, and just getting myself ready for these last three weeks of the season,” said Stewart, the reigning 157-pound state champion, and 2023 third place medal winner who recently committed to the University of Illinois to play football and also to wrestle for head coach Mike Poeta.

Stewart was an All-State running back last fall and has run for over 4000 yards already, with 55 touchdowns to his credit.

No. 6 in the nation at 175 pounds, the Blue Devils junior is a two-time Cheesehead and Fargo champion as well.

“Everything felt right for me at Illinois, so that’s why I would commit to the program in January, now I can just concentrate on my academics and wrestling,” said Stewart after his tech fall (21-5) victory over Grant senior Christian Wittkamp (15-3) who earlier defeated Libertyville’s James Scanio (30-14) in his semifinal. 

Scanio went on to claim third place with a victory over Mundelein’s Danny Hernandez.

190 – Casey Gipson, Grant

The 2024 campaign would end far too quickly for Grant’s Casey Gipson, who pinned his way to his first- ever regional title.

“I didn’t even qualify for sectionals last year after going 0-2 at regionals,” began Gipson, who finished with a 25-19 record a year ago, but is now a sparkling 36-10 this season following his pin over Zion-Benton’s Tyson Poyer (30-12), who nonetheless earned his first sectional appearance.

“I decided to be totally committed to the sport, and my teammates this year, it was the only way to be if I wanted to go much further this year, and to get myself downstate,” said the Bulldogs junior, who had a tourney-high three pins on the day.

Gipson would concede an early takedown to Poyer, execute an escape to make it 3-1 after one period and another after starting down in the second period.

Gipson finished a nice ankle shot to go up for good at 5-3 at three minutes before his strong effort at the edge resulted in his pin at 3:16.

“I got off to a little bit of a slow start in my final, but there was no way I was going to lose my chance to win my first regional championship here in our home gym,” said Gipson.

Waukegan senior Lamero Ceaser took third when Libertyville’s Jack Treutelaar injury defaulted.

215 – Caleb Baczek, Libertyville

No. 6 Caleb Baczek added a third-consecutive regional crown to his impressive resume, and now it’s on to sectionals where the Libertyville senior will find himself on the opposite side of the bracket from his good friend, Loyola Academy’s Kai Calcutt, the No. 1 man in the state at 215, and reigning state champion, who, just as Baczek, is a star on the football field, as well.

“Kai is a really good friend of mine, he’s just unbelievable as a wrestler and football player, and in the sport of wrestling, it’s like he’s not human,” said Baczek with a smile.

The Wildcats senior, who will play football in the fall at Valparaiso, is as determined as ever to erase a heart-breaking end to his 2024 campaign, which appeared to be on course to finish with a spot on the podium in Champaign.

“After making downstate as a sophomore, and advancing to sectionals, it all came to a disappointing end for me,” said Baczek, who was an all-NSC inside linebacker for a Wildcats football team that would qualify in the 6A state tournament.

Baczek (30-1) would drop a 5-4 blood-round match to Jeremiah Hixson at sectionals, however he would be an important piece in the Wildcats’ fourth-place finish at dual team state.

“It’s been all upper body attacks for me, but I’ve been working on more of a well in my attack, and my shots,” said Baczek, who was 36-9 a year ago.

Mundelein’s Aiden Devine 215 took third place with a win over Warren’s Caleb Vanleer.

285 – Anthony Soto, Warren

That earthquake that rattled around inside Benedetti Center on Saturday was a result of the thunderous roar from the Warren faithful who just watched their favorite heavyweight Anthony Soto deliver a hard fought 4-2 victory over Round Lake’s William Cole, who’s ranked second.

In a heavyweight division which featured Cole (43-3), Mundelein’s Abisai Hernandez (No. 6, 36-4) the aforementioned Soto, and additional quality in Libertyville’s Erich Walldorf and Zion-Benton’s Isaiah Tellado, it would be Soto’s winning effort in the final contest of the day that would end the day on a high note for all.

“William is a great guy, and a great wrestler and opponent, so I expected a real tough match, and when I saw (he) was a little slow, and lazy with his footwork, I went for my double and was able to finish it,” recounts Soto, now 40-5, and surely on the way up from his current No. 8 spot in the state.

“That first period was just a lot of hand fighting, I was just cautious, and careful because William is one big dude,” continued Soto, who is a lightweight at 237 pounds in this big mans’ field compared to the rest of his rivals.

Cole would earn an escape moments into the second period, in which Soto answered at five minutes to go level with the Round Lake senior.

With 30 seconds from time, Soto executed a first-class double, and takedown to take the lead for good at 4-1, making an escape with six seconds to go meaningless.

“This was a great weight class here at Grant, and a real exciting ending for me and my teammates, but now it’s back in the room to get ready for sectionals,” Soto said.

This terrific trio will likely meet again at Barrington next weekend, Soto is alone on the bottom half of the bracket, while Hernandez and Cole could meet in the semifinals if all goes according to plan. Hernandez, sixth a year ago at state, finished third after he pinned Tellado.

Barrington Sectional qualifiers from the Grant Regional

106

1st Place – Christian Saucedo of Mundelein

2nd Place – Andrew Ocampo of Grant

3rd Place – Brayden Sroka of Zion-Benton

113

1st Place – Caleb Noble of Warren

2nd Place – Larry Quirk of Grant

3rd Place – Riggs Mitran of Libertyville

120

1st Place – Jonathon Marquez of Warren

2nd Place – Neftali Cernas of Mundelein

3rd Place – Tyler Wuh of Libertyville

126

1st Place – Vince Jasinski of Grant

2nd Place – Jake Shafer of Libertyville

3rd Place – Luis Calderon of Warren

132

1st Place – Ryan Hanson of McHenry

2nd Place – Sammy Mendez of Grant

3rd Place – Luis Medina of Zion-Benton

138

1st Place – Erik Rodriguez of Grant

2nd Place – Dylan Solesky of Zion-Benton

3rd Place – Evan Glowinski of Warren

144

1st Place – Ethan Banda of Mundelein

2nd Place – David Brown of Waukegan

3rd Place – Adrian Khi of Grant

150

1st Place – Nathan Flores of Grant

2nd Place – Myles Wagner of McHenry

3rd Place – Simon Castillo of Warren

157

1st Place – Justice Humphreys of Warren

2nd Place – Kevin Hernandez of Mundelein

3rd Place – Pierce Adams of Libertyville

165

1st Place – Royce Lopez of Warren

2nd Place – Aiden Schuldt of McHenry

3rd Place – Aaden Arroyo of Grant

175

1st Place – Aaron Stewart of Warren

2nd Place – Christian Wittkamp of Grant

3rd Place – James Scanio of Libertyville

190

1st Place – Casey Gipson of Grant

2nd Place – Tyson Poyer of Zion-Benton)

3rd Place – Lamero Ceaser of Waukegan

215

1st Place – Caleb Baczek of Libertyville

2nd Place – Matthew Longabaugh of Grant

3rd Place – Aiden Devine of Mundelein

285

1st Place – Anthony Soto of Warren

2nd Place – William Cole of Round Lake

3rd Place – Abisai Hernandez of Mundelein

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

Just like it is for any team winning a regional title, Wheeling’s Class 2A title win Saturday came thanks to contributions far and wide.

There were comeback wins on the title mat from Wheeling’s Frankie Katz and David Perez. Wheeling heavyweight Pablo Morales won a title. Five more Wheeling wrestlers reached the finals and placed second, and on the gut-wrenching third-place mat, three of four Wheeling wrestlers won to become sectional qualifiers. 

All of the above was pivotal to Wheeling’s team title win at Deerfield. But in one of the closest team races anywhere in Illinois, the poster boy for Wheeling’s 196-189.5 win over Wauconda was senior Jonny Dominguez.

With Wheeling and Wauconda locked in a dogfight, Dominguez lost by major decision to Wauconda’s 6th-ranked Mike Merevick in the finals at 190 pounds. But the way Dominguez finished that match perfectly illustrated what Wheeling coach Charlie Curran loves about his team.

Dominguez suffered an eye injury against Merevick and with his right eye quickly swelling shut, Dominguez and Curran met at the trainer’s table to assess the injury.

“The trainer said ‘I don’t think he can go back out there’,” Curran said, “and (Dominguez) just says ‘ah, I’ll be fine’. Then he goes out and finishes the match. And that was big for the team, for him to not give up a fall there to one of the toughest wrestlers in the tournament.”

Afterwards, with wrestling mats being rolled up behind him as one of 11 sectional qualifiers for Wheeling, Dominguez looked like a battered boxer who couldn’t escape a left jab. So it was with a wide grin and a wicked black eye that he happily explained what propelled his side to its first regional team title since 2017, and its 13th in program history.

“I just have to give thanks to coach Curran and all the coaches,” Dominguez said. “They helped build us up to where we are now, they push us every day in practice. (Curran) just wants what’s best for us. And we’re a family. We call each other brothers. And thanks to all of our families, too, because they also built us up and gave us the support we needed.”

After individual place medals were handed out and Wheeling was announced as team champion inside Deerfield’s fieldhouse, Curran’s boys went predictably wild as they hoisted their regional plaque.

After they settled down, they all scaled the awards stand for the obligatory team photo, as parents three rows deep held up cell phones and snapped away. 

Then came one of the day’s best moments. Wheeling is a hard-working, blue-collar town. Its high school competes in a Mid-Suburban League loaded with bigger Class 3A schools; among the MSL’s 12 wrestling programs, Wheeling is the only one small enough to wrestle in Class 2A.

After team photos were taken, Curran gathered his wrestlers, their parents, and their friends together so he could address them. He gave his wrestlers’ parents a grateful earful, but he might have well been speaking to wrestling parents everywhere:

“Your support and the community’s support for these fourteen kids, and our girls’ team, our freshmen — it just means the world,” Curran said, “It took that support to get something like this done. People are congratulating me but I didn’t really do anything today but sit there and be scared, so I’m very thankful for all of you. Thank you very much for everything you’ve done for this program and for your children. Because I guarantee you it’s going to pay dividends as they become adults. I’m so proud of them. So thank you all.”

All individual qualifiers will wrestle at the 2A Crystal Lake Central Sectional beginning on Friday,

A Wheeling loss here and a bonus point given up there would have been enough to give Wauconda the team title. But starting with Katz’s 7-4 comeback win in the finals at 106 against Vernon Hills’ Charles Dominguez, Wheeling’s script began to play out.

Katz (30-7) trailed Dominguez (27-10) 3-0 after two periods, escaped to start the third to make it 3-1 and went up 4-3 on a takedown with only 40 seconds remaining. One more takedown in the waning seconds gave the sophomore his regional title.

Next came Perez (22-10), who fell behind 3-0 in the first period of the 113 finals to Deerfield’s Jorey Becker (30-16). Perez escaped and tied the match 4-4 with a takedown in the final seconds of the second period. A Perez escape point midway through the third provided the final 5-4 decision win.

“I knew I needed to get one more. Last year I took second so that motivated me to try even harder,” Perez said. “And to see us take first here, it’s really great to see how much we’re improving as a team. This summer we were all wrestling at clubs and getting better. I’m excited for the sectional.”

Curran was happy to see his two lower-weight champs stay the course in the face of a deficit.

“We try to preach all the time not to worry about the score, just go and get the next points, and not to get down on yourselves if you’re losing,” Curran said. “Those two guys did a great job of that today. Frankie had to come out and get two takedowns late and he found a way to get it done in regulation. David had to go get (a takedown) too, and then he hung on at the end and got the escape there. It’s what we talk about all the time — just keep wrestling. Don’t stop.”

One of Illinois’ best wrestlers snared the title at 120. Wauconda’s Gavin Rockey has placed second in Illinois twice at 106 and he used two pins to win a regional title on Saturday in Deerfield. His pin in the finals against Deerfield’s Danny Martinez upped Rockey’s season record to 39-7.

“I feel good. This is when I start to peak,” Rockey said. “This is when I start to perform my best. You’ve got to be thinking about it 24-7, slowly tapering down in the room, and then just honing in on your technique.”

Rockey placed second in state at 106 twice in the last two years.

“At first it was a little tough to get used to the jump from 106 to 120 this year but I found out pretty quickly that I could hang with these guys,” Rockey said. “I focused in on what I was doing badly last year, like diving on a kid’s legs. I focused on technique and what I needed to do better. I know it’s my last ride so I’m nervous but excited for it. I feel better than in years past. Last year the cut to 106 was tough, for sure. This year I feel healthy.”

The first of Deerfield’s four regional champions came next at 126. 5th-ranked Adrian Cohen (38-8) had the lone takedown of the title match against Wheeling’s Joey Romano in winning a 4-0 decision. Next came teammate Jackson Palzet, ranked 6th in Illinois at 132 pounds.

Palzet’s second-period fall against Wheeling’s Max Katz gave him a 43-1 record heading into the sectional meet. Palzet is a senior with a star-crossed past, seeking his first state finals appearance. Palzet broke his arm last season as a junior, then healed up and got back at it.

“I’ve always been injured in the high school season and couldn’t perform,” Palzet said.
“After last season I put in a lot of preseason work. I was a freestyle state finalist and a Fargo qualifier. I also did a lot of research on nutrition in the offseason and how to cut weight the right way because last year, I’d work really hard and then not recover, and then I’d get hurt. So a lot of this year has been about nutrition and recovery.”

Two wrestlers at the Deerfield Regional went in ranked 2nd in Illinois in their weight classes and both won regional titles. The first was Deerfield’s Jordan Rasof (44-2) at 138, who in his career has placed 5th and 6th in Champaign. Top-seeded senior Rasof won by fall at 3:28 in his title match against Carmel’s 6th-ranked Matthew Lucansky (34-7).

Wrestling fans saw one seriously dissatisfied wrestler leave the title mat at 144, when Wauconda’s Brian Hart (33-12) stomped away after winning a regional title by tech fall against Deerfield’s Alex Shvartsman (33-14) at the 4:00 mark.

The Wauconda sophomore may have won the first regional title of his career, but didn’t feel as though he met the standard he has set for himself.

“That should have been a first-period tech,” Hart said. “I had a sour taste in my mouth after that match, and even after my first match when I didn’t wrestle how I wanted to. But last year at regionals I took second (at 132). I lost to (Antioch’s) Edgar Albino by decision. And at sectionals I lost to (St. Patrick’s) Olin Walker by major and to (Montini’s) Kam Luif by decision.”

Luif went on to finish 3rd in state and Albino placed 6th in Champaign.

Hart knows a sectional showdown with Antioch’s Chase Nobiling might be in the making, and he’d like another shot at the Sequoits’ junior after two barnburners this season between the two 144-pounders. 

“The first time I wrestled him I was a point away from a tech and he threw me to my back for a pin,” Hart said. “Then I saw him at Lake County and I was up on him by a point with 20 seconds left and he got a takedown and I lose by two. I hope we get to wrestle again.”

Nobiling is ranked 8th in Illinois and Hart is also listed in the state’s top 20.

The title match at 150 featured Wauconda junior Wyatt Roland (32-16) and a senior who will not only turn pro as a boxer after he graduates, but also hasn’t wrestled since his freshman year: Carmel’s David Farjado.

Farjado improved to 17-1 in winning the title via major decision against Roland, then talked about his journey back to wrestling.

“I’m a boxer at heart and I’ll turn pro this upcoming year, but I just decided to wrestle because I’ve been wrestling since I was six and I love it,” Farjado said. “My mom kept saying she missed me wrestling and it’s been pretty cool to come back. I’ve always had an aggressive mindset in whatever I’m doing so it’s good to be back in the sport. Coming back, I have a statement to make and I feel great.”

Deerfield senior Charlie Cross (37-9) at 157 may have expressed the best mindset of all when it comes to wrestling in the regional, sectional and state tournament: “I’m the predator,” Cross said.

Cross was a wounded predator in his title match Saturday, suffering an ankle injury but gutting it out to win a major decision against Wauconda’s Brody McKenna (27-16).

“He did a switchover and I heard my ankle pop,” Cross said. “I knew I had to finish the match and win the regional. It was tough but I got it done. You just have to stay tough, not let him take advantage of you, stay in the zone and finish the match. And I was (mad) I didn’t get the number one seed. (The ankle) is okay and I’ll be fine by the sectional. I’ll just keep wrestling my match.”

Vernon Hills junior Ilia Dvoriannikov (37-4) is ranked 2nd in Illinois at 165, and one year after placing second in Champaign, he added another regional title to his resume this season. Dvoriannikov won by major decision in the finals against Wheeling’s Nicholas Montesino (31-11), but not before needing a little blood time to deal with some cramping.

Two of Dvoriannikov’s four losses came when he wrestled up a weight at 175. He feels like a different wrestler this season.

“I’m better in neutral and on bottom. You have to be explosive on bottom,” Dvoriannikov said. “And in neutral I’ve been more aggressive, wrestling with more technique.”

Wauconda senior Christian Cendajez (19-10) was seeded third at 175 but knocked off second-seeded Jonathan Martinez (13-7) of Wheeling in a semifinal match and then won a 10-4 decision in the finals against Vernon Hills’ top-seeded Timur Arzumanov (24-14) to become a regional champion.

The title match at 190 between Wheeling’s Jonny Dominguez (32-8) and Wauconda’s Mike Merevick (38-8) came next. Merevick led 3-1 after a period and escaped to go up 4-1 to start the second. The Wauconda senior scored again off a scramble to go up 10-2 to end the second period, then managed a takedown in the third en route to victory over Dominguez in a valiant one-eyed effort.

Lake Forest junior Yaree Sandifer (34-5) won his first-ever regional title at 215, winning a 21-8 major decision in the finals against Wheeling’s Eddie Juarez (28-8). Sandifer also won a tournament title at Richmond-Burton to start the season.

After placing third in regionals as a freshman and second in last year’s regional round but failing to get through the sectional, Sandifer is ready to make a run downstate.

He also had a few good thoughts on how to do it.

“Probably listen to my coaches more,” Sandifer said. “And I do a lot of running and I eat right but I have to try to get better conditioned. This is my third time at sectionals so hopefully the third time’s the charm. And I don’t just want to get to state, I want to place at state.”

Wheeling’s Pablo Morales (30-10) finished off the day by finishing off Wauconda’s Loomis Finnegan (21-17) with a tech fall in the finals at 285 pounds, which is not Morales’ usual way.

“Pablo probably has thirty wins and probably twenty-five pins, so he’s real dominant when he wrestles,” Curran said. “That he actually got a tech fall in the finals —  I don’t think he’s had one of those in his life. But he got a bunch of takedowns today. He’s done a phenomenal job.”

In addition to Wheeling’s regional champs, also becoming sectional qualifiers for the Wildcats were Joey Romano (126), Max Katz (132), Austin Berger (144), John Scanlon (157), Nicholas Montesino (165), Jonathan Martinez (175), Jonny Dominguez (190) and Eddie Juarez (215).

“We got a lot of pins in that wrestleback round and on that third-place mat,” Curran said. “Every little point counted today, so that was huge. Nicholas Montesino took second to an absolute stud (Dvoriannikov). He’s the heart and soul of our team and I’m super proud of the way he competed against a really tough kid from Vernon Hills. John Scanlon is another pinner at 157 and he got us two falls in the wrestlebacks and qualified for the sectional.

“Austin Berger was not having his best day but he found a way to get himself out. He was down in a bunch of matches today but he came back and even got some pins in a couple of those. Eddie Juarez getting a pin in the semi’s was huge, too.

 “You can take all fourteen kids and every single kid has helped our team, all year.”
Every coach in every regional bleeds for his wrestlers who don’t advance to sectionals, and Curran’s experience was no different.

 “I hurt for Miguel Lopez (120), who has been one of our all-stars for two years,” Curran said. “He’s done a phenomenal job. He wasn’t able to qualify today and he’s a senior, so that hurt me. I’ll be hurting for him for a long time.”

 Lopez will live to fight another day, however, when host Wheeling squares off at this year’s team sectional meet on Feb. 25.

 SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE DEERFIELD REGIONAL

106: 1st – Frankie Katz of Wheeling; 2nd – Charles Dominguez of Vernon Hills; 3rd – Troy Rotter of Deerfield 

113: 1st – David Perez of Wheeling; 2nd – Jorey Becker of Deerfield; 3rd – Tony Lopez of Vernon Hills

120: 1st – Gavin Rockey of Wauconda; 2nd – Danny Martinez of Deerfield; 3rd – Rie Hermsen of Carmel

126: 1st – Adrian Cohen of Deerfield; 2nd – Joey Romano of Wheeling; 3rd – Charlie Biddle of Lake Forest
132: 1st – Jackson Palzet of Deerfield; 2nd – Max Katz of Wheeling; 3rd – Liam Harris of Wauconda

138: 1st – Jordan Rasof of Deerfield; 2nd – Matthew Lucansky of Carmel; 3rd – Andrew Diaz of Vernon Hills

144: 1st – Brian Hart of Wauconda; 2nd – Alexander Shvartsman of Deerfield; 3rd – Austin Berger of Wheeling

150: 1st – David Farjado of Carmel; 2nd – Wyatt Roland of Wauconda; 3rd – Darius Jackson of North Chicago

157: 1st – Charlie Cross of Deerfield; 2nd – Brody McKenna of Wauconda; 3rd – John Scanlon of Wheeling

165: 1st – Ilia Dvoriannikov of Vernon Hills; 2nd – Nicholas Montesinos of Wheeling; 3rd – Jonathan Weissmueller of Deerfield 

175: 1st – Christian Cendajez of Wauconda; 2nd – Timur Arzumanov of Vernon Hills; 3rd – Jonathan Martinez of Wheeling

190: 1st – Mike Merevick of Wauconda; 2nd – Jonny Dominguez of Wheeling; 3rd – Shane Blumberg of Vernon Hills

215: 1st – Yaree Sandifer of Lake Forest; 2nd – Eddie Juarez of Wheeling; 3rd – Brody Rudolph of Wauconda

285: 1st – Pablo Morales of Wheeling; 2nd – Loomis Finnegan of Wauconda; 3rd – Noah Breckenridge of Carmel

REGIONALS THAT FEED THE JOLIET CENTRAL INDIVIDUAL SECTIONAL

NORMAL COMMUNITY REGIONAL

Joliet Catholic ensured that it would continue competing as a team this winter after winning the Class 3A Normal regional on Saturday.

The Hilltoppers scored 244.5 points to outdistance themselves from runner-up Lockport’s 201. Normal was third with 142.

Joliet Catholic Academy produced six regional champions in Kane Robles (29-12 at 106), Maddux Tindal (31-8 at 120), Jason Hampton (34-10 at 126), Elias Gonzalez (28-17 at 144), Luke Hamiti (19-7 at 165) and Nico Ronchetti (32-6 at 190).

“This win was sweeter than regional championships in the past,” Hilltoppers coach Ryan Cumbee said. “This year has been a constant struggle to get our lineup healthy for a more realistic showing of what we’re capable of. Looking forward to focusing on the individuals for the next two weeks and use that momentum into dual team sectionals.”

Other individual regional champions at Normal were Lockport’s Liam Zimmerman (36-7 at 132), Naseem Jaber (18-9 at 138), Justin Wardlow (39-3 at 150) and Jaedon Calderon (29-12 at 157), Normal Community’s Caden Correll (42-0 at 113) and Jaren Frankowiak (38-8 at 175), Joliet Central’s Charles Walker (43-2 at 215) and Minooka’s Robbie Murphy (27-11 at 285).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE NORMAL COMMUNITY REGIONAL

106

1st – Kane Robles of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

2nd – Jackson Soney of Normal (Community)

3rd – Pedro Hernandez of Romeoville (H.S.)

113

1st – Caden Correll of Normal (Community)

2nd – Jakob Crandall of Joliet (West)

3rd – Anthony Sutton of Lockport (Twp.)

120

1st – Maddux Tindal of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

2nd – Timmy O`Connor of Lockport (Twp.)

3rd – Noah Avina of Monicker

126

1st – Jason Hampton of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

2nd – Isaac Zimmerman of Lockport (Twp.)

3rd – Cole Gentsch of Normal (Community)

132

1st – Liam Zimmerman of Lockport (Twp.)
2nd – Adrian Hernandez of Joliet (West)

3rd – Brayden Manning of Normal (Community)

138

1st – Naseem Jaber of Lockport (Twp.)

2nd – Dawson Mack of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

3rd – Mason Vogt of Minooka

144

1st – Elias Gonzalez of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

2nd – Anthony Diorio of Lockport (Twp.)

3rd – Tremaine Cooper of Joliet (Central)

150
1st – Justin Wardlow of Lockport (Twp.)

2nd – Carson Weber of Joliet (West)

3rd – Nolan Vogel of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

157

1st – Jaedon Calderon of Lockport (Twp.)

2nd – Carter Mayes of Normal (Community)

3rd – Vince Tindal of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

165

1st – Luke Hamiti of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

2nd – Chris Miller of Lockport (Twp.)

3rd – Kaden Meyer of Minooka

175

1st – Jaren Frankowiak of Normal (Community)

2nd – Issac Clauson of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

3rd – AJ Frescura of Minooka

190

1st – Nico Ronchetti of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

2nd – Drew Silzer of Lockport (Twp.)

3rd – Santino Capodice of Minooka

215

1st – Charles Walker of Joliet (Central)

2nd – Mason Caraway of Normal (Community)

3rd – Derrick Pomatto of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

285

1st – Robbie Murphy of Minooka

2nd – Jamir Thomas of Romeoville (H.S.)

3rd – Elijah Watt of Joliet (Catholic Academy)

MOLINE REGIONAL

Yorkville, last year’s Class 3A state runner-up, is sending 14 wrestlers onto sectionals, including 10 champions, after winning Saturday’s Class 3A Moline regional.

The Foxes were dominant with 307.5 points. Oswego was a distant second with 131, just ahead of third-place Moline’s 127.5.

Yorkville reached double digits in champions as 10 Foxes won regional titles: Nolan Chrisse (15-9 at 120), Vince Konecki (26-15 at 132), Dominic Recchia (25-9 at 138), Van Rosauer (39-7 at 150), Jack Ferguson (44-2 at 157), Caleb Viscogliosi (34-13 at 165), Luke Zook (43-2 at 175), Ryder Janeczko (32-5 at 190), Luke Chrisse (38-8 at 215) and Xavion Ulloa (20-13 at 285).

Other individual regional champions at Moline were Plainfield North’s Maddox Garbis (302 at 106) and Aidan Durell (31-10 at 126), Moline’s David McDermott (14-11 at 113) and Oswego’s Brayden Swanson (36-7 at 144).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE MOLINE REGIONAL

106

1st – Maddox Garbis of Plainfield (North)

2nd – Drew Ritchie of Plainfield (South)

3rd – Ramsey Barton of Yorkville (H.S.)

113

1st – David McDermott of Moline (H.S.)

2nd – Landon Jenkins of Yorkville (H.S.)

3rd – Brian Tejeda of Plainfield (East)

120

1st – Nolan Chrisse of Yorkville (H.S.)

2nd – Collin Ledbetter of Moline (H.S.)

3rd – Raynen Ruffin of Oswego (H.S.)

126

1st – Aidan Durell of Plainfield (North)

2nd – Nathan Craft of Yorkville (H.S.)

3rd – Aiden Ortiz of Oswego (H.S.)

132

1st – Vince Konecki of Yorkville (H.S.)

2nd – Housseyn Ndiaye of Moline (H.S.)

3rd – Nathan Alli of Plainfield (North)

138

1st – Dominic Recchia of Yorkville (H.S.)

2nd – Braeden Grisham of Oswego (East)

3rd – Jack Bowen of Plainfield (Central)

144

1st – Brayden Swanson of Oswego (H.S.)

2nd – Donncha Souza of Yorkville (H.S.)

3rd – Kyle Mccormick of Plainfield (South)

150

1st – Van Rosauer of Yorkville (H.S.)

2nd – Dillon Griffin of Oswego (H.S.)

3rd – Muhammad Hasib of Plainfield (East)

157

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

2nd – Kayden Marolf of East Moline (United)

3rd – Hassan Ndiaye of Moline (H.S.)

165
1st – Caleb Viscogliosi of Yorkville (H.S.)

2nd – Chase Pierceall of Plainfield (South)

3rd – Jaxson Soliz of Moline (H.S.)

175

1st – Luke Zook of Yorkville (H.S.)

2nd – Colin Bickett of Plainfield (South)

3rd – DeAnthony Simpson of Moline (H.S.)

190

1st – Ryder Janeczko of Yorkville (H.S.)

2nd – Ty Sabin of Plainfield (Central)
3rd – Hugh Callaghan of Plainfield (East)

215

1st – Luke Chrisse of Yorkville (H.S.)

2nd – Anthony Minnito of Plainfield (Central)

3rd – Josh Edwards of Oswego (East)

285

1st – Xavion Ulloa of Yorkville (H.S.)

2nd – Jakub Kowal of Plainfield (South)

3rd – Liam Corona of Plainfield (North)

EDWARDSVILLE REGIONAL 

Edwardsville won its own Class 3A Edwardsville regional with 244 points on Saturday to advance to the dual team competition.

The Tigers finished with 244 team points to second-place Belleville East’s 157.5. Quincy was third with 129.5.

Edwardsville received eight individual regional titles from Michael McNamara (36-5 at 106), Bryson Nuttall (32-10 at 113), Levi Wilkinson (27-11 at 126), Tyler Perry (16-5 at 132), Ryan Richie (30-8 at 138), Brendan Landau (28-10 at 175), Simon Schulte (28-10 at 190) and Roman Janek (31-3 at 215).

“The Edwardsville wrestling team wrestled well at the regional,” Tigers coach Eric Pretto said. “11 out of 14 guys qualified for the sectional tournament. Our regular season schedule helped prepare them for this time of the year.”

Other individual regional champions at Edwardsville were Belleville West’s Rocky Seibel (26-3 at 120) and Aiden Colbert (30-10 at 144), Belleville East’s Terence Willis (31-6 at 165) and Jonathan Rulo (28-0 at 285), Alton’s Brayden Drew (37-10 at 150) and Quincy’s Brody Baker (24-10 at 157).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE EDWARDSVILLE REGIONAL

106

1st – Michael McNamara of Edwardsville (H.S.)

2nd – Jackson Schadegg of Belleville (East)

3rd – Connor Castens of Collinsville

113

1st – Bryson Nuttall of Edwardsville (H.S.)

2nd – Clayton McClelland of Quincy (Sr.)

3rd – Dashun Caldwell of Granite City

120

1st – Rocky Seibel of Belleville (West)

2nd – Corbin Zeisset of Belleville (East)

3rd – Jace Brown of Granite City

126

1st – Levi Wilkinson of Edwardsville (H.S.)

2nd – Wyatt Boeing of Quincy (Sr.)

3rd – Delane Mosley of Belleville (East)

132

1st – Tyler Perry of Edwardsville (H.S.)
2nd – Mason Hare of Collinsville

3rd – Adrian Mendez of Granite City

138

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

2nd – Braden Kelly of Belleville (East)

3rd – Cooper Kamm of Quincy (Sr.)

144

1st – Aiden Colbert of Belleville (West)

2nd – Blake Mink of Edwardsville (H.S.)

3rd – Marshall Skelton of Alton (Sr.)

150

1st – Brayden Drew of Alton (Sr.)

2nd – Xander Goodwin of Belleville (West)

3rd – Logan Hiller of Edwardsville (H.S.)

157
1st – Brody Baker of Quincy (Sr.)

2nd – Killian Rauch of Belleville (East)

3rd – Logan Thomas of O`Fallon (H.S.)

165

1st – Terence Willis of Belleville (East)

2nd – Gunnar Derhake of Quincy (Sr.)

3rd – Alex Ramo of Belleville (West)

175

1st – Brendan Landau of Edwardsville (H.S.)

2nd – Eli Miller of Granite City

3rd – Payton Chanerl of O`Fallon (H.S.)

190

1st – Simon Schulte of Edwardsville (H.S.)

2nd – Scott Snyder of Collinsville

3rd – Ethan Hofmeister of Belleville (West)

215

1st – Roman Janek of Edwardsville (H.S.)

2nd – Justin Riley of Belleville (West)

3rd – Gavin Gentille of O`Fallon (H.S.)

285

1st – Jonathan Rulo of Belleville (East)

2nd – Riley Steinkuehler of Edwardsville (H.S.)

3rd – King Johnson of Quincy (Sr.)

RICH TOWNSHIP REGIONAL

Lincoln-Way East won the Class 3A Rich Township regional, getting past some familiar foes in order to do it.

The Griffins finished with 246 team points to second-place Lincoln-Way West’s 203. Homewood-Flossmoor was third with 151.

Lincoln-Way East got six individual regional titles from JT Theis (22-19 at 126), Tyson Zvonar (36-6 at 132), Kaidge Richardson (30-11 at 144), Connor Schultz (16-12 at 150), Colton Zvonar (29-6 at 190) and Gage LaDere (18-3 at 285).

“We have preached all year about wrestling our best at the end of the season,” Griffins coach Collin McPhillip said. “As an entire team we did that on Saturday and are looking forward to continuing that trend this weekend. We still have team and individual goals to go after.”

Other individual regional champions at Rich Township were Homewood-Flossmoor’s Davion Henry (30-6 at 106), Chazz Robinson (34-5 at 120), Jovan Vukajlovic (25-5 at 157) and RJ Robinson (34-6 at 175), Lincoln-Way West’s Brady Glynn (35-9 at 113) and Nate Elstner (37-4 at 215), and Lincoln-Way Central’s Jadon Zimmer (40-7 at 138) and Jalen Byrd (41-5 at 165).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE RICH TOWNSHIP REGIONAL

106

1st – Davion Henry of Flossmoor (Homewood-F.)

2nd – Nathan Powers of Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

3rd – Evan Johnson of Bradley (B.-Bourbonnais)

113

1st – Brady Glynn of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way West)

2nd – Noah Ciolkosz of Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

3rd – Ethan Hamilton of Flossmoor (Homewood-F.)

120

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

2nd – Nadeem Haleem of Tinley Park (Andrew)

3rd – Max Munn of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way West)

126

1st – JT Theis of Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

2nd – Shane Stream of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way West)

3rd – Roan Dukes of Flossmoor (Homewood-F.)

132

1st – Tyson Zvonar of Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

2nd – Carter Dibenedetto of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way West)

3rd – Connor Richardson of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way Central)

138

1st – Jadon Zimmer of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way Central)

2nd – Jakob Siwinski of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way West)

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

144

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

2nd – Jack Strezo of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way West)
3rd – Tristin King of Richton Park (Rich Township)

150

1st – Connor Schultz of Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

2nd – Haden Anderson of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way West)

3rd – Ethan Harvey of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way Central)

157

1st – Jovan Vukajlovic of Flossmoor (Homewood-F.)

2nd – Alex Lizak of Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

3rd – Caden Harvey of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way Central
165

1st – Jalen Byrd of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way Central)

2nd – Christian Darnell of Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

3rd – DJ Freeman of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way West)

175

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

2nd – Jackson Zaeske of Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

3rd – Kayden Roach of Bradley (B.-Bourbonnais)

190

1st – Colton Zvonar of Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

2nd – Jimmy Talley of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way West)

3rd – Brayden O`Connor of Bradley (B.-Bourbonnais)

215

1st – Nate Elstner of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way West)

2nd – Justin Powers of Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

3rd – Logan Wooten of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way Central)

285

1st – Gage LaDere of Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

2nd – Aiden Hennings of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way Central)

3rd – Brandon Bavirsha of New Lenox (Lincoln-Way West)

REGIONALS THAT FEED THE HINSDALE CENTRAL INDIVIDUAL SECTIONAL

DOWNERS GROVE SOUTH REGIONAL

Marist overpowered the field during the Class 3A Downers Grove South regional.

The RedHawks scored 320 points well in front of runner-up Lyons which finished with 212. The host Mustangs placed third with 145.5.

All 14 wrestlers for the RedHawks advanced to the regional final with 11 winning titles, including: Elio Gil (24-11 at 106), Joe Bronske (18-18 at 113), Michael Esteban (30-6 at 126), George Marinopoulos (33-6 at 132), Jonathan Fields (16-11 at 138), Donavon Allen (24-5 at 144), Tommy Fidler (19-9 at 150), Ethan Sonne (30-9 at 157), Will Denny (35-1 at 165), Ricky Ericksen (30-7 at 190) and Tommy O`Brien (22-10 at 215).

Other individual regional champions at Downers Grove South were Lyons’ Louie King (18-16 at 120) and Downers Grove South’s Noah Greene (28-7 at 175) and Jacobi Spraggins (25-4 at 285).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE DOWNERS GROVE SOUTH REGIONAL

106

1st – Elio Gil of Chicago (Marist)

2nd – Tanner Stone of Downers Grove (South)

3rd – Andy Casmiro of Burbank (Reavis)

113

1st – Joe Bronske of Chicago (Marist)

2nd – Javier Corral of Palos Hills (Stagg)

3rd – Kenny Banks of Palos Heights (Shepard)

120

1st – Louie King of LaGrange (Lyons)

2nd – Caden Campo of Chicago (Marist)

3rd – Juan Najera of Palos Hills (Stagg)
126

1st – Michael Esteban of Chicago (Marist)

2nd – Roger Martinez of LaGrange (Lyons)

3rd – Lucas Zhao of Downers Grove (South)

132

1st – George Marinopoulos of Chicago (Marist)

2nd – Griff Powell of LaGrange (Lyons)

3rd – Anthony Mayen of Hinsdale (Central)

138

1st – Jonathan Fields of Chicago (Marist)

2nd – Jack Kutchek of LaGrange (Lyons)

3rd – Jonathan Martinez of Hinsdale (Central)

144

1st – Donavon Allen of Chicago (Marist)

2nd – Samer Suleiman of Palos Hills (Stagg)

3rd – Drew Woolsey of Downers Grove (South)

150

1st – Tommy Fidler of Chicago (Marist)

2nd – TaVayris Howard of Palos Heights (Shepard)

3rd – Owen Smott of Downers Grove (South)
157

1st – Ethan Sonne of Chicago (Marist)

2nd – Charles Shane of Oak Lawn (Community)

3rd – Mickey Ahrens of LaGrange (Lyons)

165

1st – Will Denny of Chicago (Marist)

2nd – Cornell Fennessee of LaGrange (Lyons)

3rd – Jihad Suleiman of Palos Hills (Stagg)

175

1st – Noah Greene of Downers Grove (South)

2nd – Kevin Tomkins of Chicago (Marist)

3rd – Aidan Hill of Palos Heights (Shepard)

190

1st – Ricky Ericksen of Chicago (Marist)

2nd – Zachary Kruse of Hinsdale (Central)

3rd – Ryker Czubak of Downers Grove (South)

215

1st – Tommy O`Brien of Chicago (Marist)

2nd – Nicky Arquilla of LaGrange (Lyons)

3rd – Daniel Mensah of Downers Grove (South)

285

1st – Jacobi Spraggins of Downers Grove (South)

2nd – Jack Watson of Chicago (Marist)

3rd – Jimmy Hillmann of LaGrange (Lyons)

NAPERVILLE NORTH REGIONAL

Sandburg is sending 11 individuals to the Hinsdale Central sectional as well as keeping its team season alive after winning the Class 3A Naperville North regional on Saturday.

The Eagles scored 208.5 points. Naperville Central was second with 155 and Glenbard West placed third with 147.

Sandburg received regional championships from four of its wrestlers. Winning titles for the Eagles were Rocco Hayes (39-1 at 113), Madden Parker (34-8 at 132), Brady Ritter (33-9 at 138) and Ryan Hinger (38-3 at 144). 

“We’re looking forward to the rest of the post season individually and as a team,” Eagles coach Clinton Polz said. 

Other individual regional champions at Naperville North were Glenbard West’s Aidan Ortega (34-5 at 106), Carson Prunty (29-6 at 126) and Brandon Watson (31-13 at 157), Naperville Central’s Henry Rydwelski (40-3 at 175), Paul Peradotti (34-4 at 190) and William Erbeck (36-1 at 285), Naperville North’s Tyler Sternstein (33-7 at 150) and Tavfik Ibragimov (33-6 at 215), Bolingbrook’s Tommy McDermott (32-6 at 165) and Glenbard East’s Ismael Chaidez (40-2 at 120).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE NAPERVILLE NORTH REGIONAL

106

1st – Aidan Ortega of Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West)

2nd – Dalton Meluch of Naperville (Central)

3rd – Lorenz Rios Loud of Lombard (Glenbard East)
113

1st – Rocco Hayes of Orland Park (Sandburg)

2nd – Adam Beedon of Naperville (North)

3rd – Aris Neal of Villa Park (Willowbrook)

120

1st – Ismael Chaidez of Lombard (Glenbard East)

2nd – Tyler Tiancgo of Downers Grove (North)

3rd – Oscar Kalman of Orland Park (Sandburg)

126

1st – Carson Prunty of Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West)

2nd – Jacob Cochran of Naperville (Central)
3rd – Alex Hengles of Downers Grove (North)

132

1st – Madden Parker of Orland Park (Sandburg)

2nd – Ulises Rosas of Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West)

3rd – Vince Bern of Naperville (Central)

138

1st – Brady Ritter of Orland Park (Sandburg)

2nd – Alejandro Aranda of Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West)

3rd – Caden Chiarelli of Downers Grove (North)

144

1st – Ryan Hinger of Orland Park (Sandburg)

2nd – Aaron Camacho of Bolingbrook

3rd – Aidan Cummings of Downers Grove (North)

150

1st – Tyler Sternstein of Naperville (North)

2nd – CJ Bierman of Naperville (Central)

3rd – Vince Tortoriello of Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West)

157

1st – Brandon Watson of Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West)

2nd – Liam O`Sullivan of Downers Grove (North)

3rd – Adnan Askar of Orland Park (Sandburg)

165

1st – Tommy McDermott of Bolingbrook

2nd – Tallis Taylor of Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West)

3rd – Wyatt Hochgraber of Orland Park (Sandburg)

175

1st – Henry Rydwelski of Naperville (Central)

2nd – Ahmad Alomari of Orland Park (Sandburg)

3rd – Jack Lasota of Downers Grove (North)

190

1st – Paul Peradotti of Naperville (Central)

2nd – Orlando Hoye of Lombard (Glenbard East)

3rd – Chris Davis of Orland Park (Sandburg)

215

1st – Tavfik Ibragimov of Naperville (North)

2nd – Malic Breish of Orland Park (Sandburg)

3rd – Nate Olona of Downers Grove (North)

285

1st – William Erbeck of Naperville (Central)

2nd – Peter Rodriguez of Downers Grove (North)

3rd – Omar Alhmoud of Orland Park (Sandburg)

MORTON REGIONAL

Mt. Carmel rolled over the competition on Saturday in Cicero.

The Caravan scored 304.5 points. Morton was second with 148.5 and Argo was third with 103.

Mt. Carmel won all but one weight division, bringing home 13 regional titles. Its champions included Sebastian Garcia (22-10 at 106), William Grafton-Hodgetts (19-10 at 113), Kavel Moore (22-11 at 120), Justin Williamson (12-5 at 132), Seth Mendoza (29-1 at 138), Jaxon Jorgensen (7-1 at 144), Jairo Acuna (15-6 at 150), Liam Kelly (28-4 at 157), Daniel Lynch (14-11 at 165), Kevin Kalchbrenner (22-8 at 175), Kenneth Segerson (3-12 at 190), Leonard Siegal (17-13 at 215) and Landin Carter (8-11 at 285).

The lone other regional champion at Morton was T.F. South’s Adonis Wilson (22-6 at 126).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE MORTON REGIONAL

106
1st – Sebastian Garcia of Chicago (Mt. Carmel)

2nd – Angel Jacobo of Berwyn-Cicero (Morton)

3rd – Dylan Cooper of Lansing (Thornton Fractional South)

113

1st – William Grafton-Hodgetts of Chicago (Mt. Carmel)

2nd – David Roldan of Berwyn-Cicero (Morton)

3rd – Julian Govea of Chicago (Curie)

120

1st – Kavel Moore of Chicago (Mt. Carmel)

2nd – Jayden Scott of Lansing (Thornton Fractional South)

3rd – Daniel Garcia of Chicago (Hubbard)

126

1st – Adonis Wilson of Lansing (Thornton Fractional South)

2nd – Jose Berrios of Berwyn-Cicero (Morton)

3rd – Francis Burke of Chicago (Mt. Carmel)

132

1st – Justin Williamson of Chicago (Mt. Carmel)

2nd – Rey Alvarado of Berwyn-Cicero (Morton)

3rd – Larrenz Anderson of Lansing (Thornton Fractional South)

138

1st – Seth Mendoza of Chicago (Mt. Carmel)

2nd – Aldo Gutierrez of Summit (Argo)

3rd – Anthony Trujillo of Berwyn-Cicero (Morton)

144

1st – Jaxon Jorgensen of Chicago (Mt. Carmel)

2nd – Jacob Van Allen of Summit (Argo)

3rd – Fabian Salazar of Chicago (Hubbard)

150

1st – Jairo Acuna of Chicago (Mt. Carmel)

2nd – Leovardo Juarez of Chicago (Kelly)

3rd – Skylar Arellano-Phipps of Summit (Argo)

157

1st – Liam Kelly of Chicago (Mt. Carmel)

2nd – Mylan Williams of Chicago (Curie)

3rd – Emiliano Ruiz of Chicago (Kelly)

165

1st – Daniel Lynch of Chicago (Mt. Carmel)

2nd – Titus Woodring of Lansing (Thornton Fractional South)

3rd – Quenton Mingo of Harvey (Thornton)

175

1st – Kevin Kalchbrenner of Chicago (Mt. Carmel)

2nd – Santiago Moya of Berwyn-Cicero (Morton)

3rd – Mike Starzyk of Summit (Argo)

190

1st – Kenneth Segerson of Chicago (Mt. Carmel)

2nd – Eduardo Seija of Chicago (Curie)

3rd – Lenin Contreras of Berwyn-Cicero (Morton)

215

1st – Leonard Siegal of Chicago (Mt. Carmel)

2nd – Carlos Arriaza of Berwyn-Cicero (Morton)

3rd – Jayden Derrick of Lansing (Thornton Fractional South)

285

1st – Landin Carter of Chicago (Mt. Carmel)

2nd – Remy Avalos of Summit (Argo)

3rd – Dameon Norman of Chicago (Kenwood)

MARMION REGIONAL

Marmion, which opened its season at home with a dual win over Lockport and by winning the inaugural Marmion Wrestling Invite, began its post-season in the same comfy environment on Saturday while hosting the Class 3A Marmion regional. The results were the same, too.

The Cadets scored 298.5 points to capture the regional team crown. West Aurora was second with 225 and Batavia was third with 144.

Marmion sent 11 wrestlers into the finals and they all came away with regional titles. Cadets who won regionals included: James Morrison (30-11 at 106), Aidan McClure (24-7 at 113), Colton Wyller (38-7 at 120), Nicholas Garcia (18-1 at 126), Demetrios Carrera (39-5 at 132), Zach Stewart (27-2 at 144), Ashton Hobson (22-5 at 150), Vincenzo Testa (8-4 at 175), Luke Boersma (33-15 at 190), Joseph Favia (15-6 at 215) and Mateusz Nycz (38-4 at 285).

“The boys wrestled the best they have wrestled all season on Saturday,” Cadets coach Anthony Cirrincione said. “We won all but three matches and set a Marmion record with 298.5 points. Stand-out performances from the majority of the team, but we were most impressed with the guts on display from Colton Wyller, Vincenzo Testa and Andrew Haritos, with all digging deep to move on to sectionals. We are excited to be healthy at this time of year and we are ready to compete.”

 Other individual regional champions at Marmion were West Aurora’s Evan Matkovich (39-5 at 138), Dominic Serio (30-4 at 157) and Dayne Serio (43-1 at 165).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE MARMION REGIONAL

106

1st – James Morrison of Aurora (Marmion Academy)

2nd – Gabe Richmond of Aurora (West Aurora)

3rd – Rocco Valvano of Wheaton (W. Warrenville South)

113

1st – Aidan McClure of Aurora (Marmion Academy)

2nd – Kai Enos of Batavia

3rd – Jeremiah Haynes of Aurora (West Aurora)

120

1st – Colton Wyller of Aurora (Marmion Academy)

2nd – Joseph Huicochea of Aurora (West Aurora)

3rd – Elias Chaney of Batavia

126
1st – Nicholas Garcia of Aurora (Marmion Academy)

2nd – Kyle Pasco of Batavia

3rd – Peter Kabene of Aurora (West Aurora)

132

1st – Demetrios Carrera of Aurora (Marmion Academy)

2nd – Jack Platt of Aurora (West Aurora)

3rd – Nathan Duffield of Aurora (Waubonsie Valley)

138

1st – Evan Matkovich of Aurora (West Aurora)

2nd – Jack Duraski of Batavia

3rd – Grayson Garcia of Aurora (Marmion Academy)

144

1st – Zach Stewart of Aurora (Marmion Academy)

2nd – Marcus Quintana of Aurora (West Aurora)

3rd – Cole Hubbard of Batavia

150

1st – Ashton Hobson of Aurora (Marmion Academy)

2nd – Malan Hatfield of Aurora (West Aurora)

3rd – Curtis Burke of Naperville (Neuqua Valley)

157

1st – Dominic Serio of Aurora (West Aurora)

2nd – Chase Osborne of Batavia

3rd – Andrew Haritos of Aurora (Marmion Academy)

165

1st – Dayne Serio of Aurora (West Aurora)

2nd – Colin Peyton of Batavia

3rd – Anthony Haddad of Aurora (Marmion Academy)

175

1st – Vincenzo Testa of Aurora (Marmion Academy)

2nd – Manny Chavez of Aurora (West Aurora)

3rd – Jack Brown of Batavia

190

1st – Luke Boersma of Aurora (Marmion Academy)

2nd – Mason Monce of Wheaton (W. Warrenville South)

3rd – Deividas Lewiton of Naperville (Neuqua Valley)

215

1st – Joseph Favia of Aurora (Marmion Academy)

2nd – Asher Sheldon of Batavia

3rd – Fernando Anaya of Aurora (West Aurora

285

1st – Mateusz Nycz of Aurora (Marmion Academy)

2nd – Alfonso Aguilar of Aurora (West Aurora)

3rd – Leonidas Hobson of Aurora (Waubonsie Valley)

By Mike Garofola for the IWCOA

REGIONALS THAT FEED THE BARRINGTON INDIVIDUAL SECTIONAL

Competition at Barrington will begin this Friday at 5 p.m., and again on Saturday at 9 a.m. with finals scheduled to begin at 2:45.

DUNDEE-CROWN REGIONAL

Barrington and Stevenson were close to each all day long in Carpentersville along with MSL power Fremd.

Drew Fifield, Evan Gosz and Lucas Nance would come through as expected for Fremd with magnificent performances, but it wouldn’t be enough to slow Barrington, which would pull away as the afternoon went on to claim the top prize.

The Broncos would win three of five head-to-head championship contests, and advance 11 into its own sectional while second place Stevenson will send nine ahead to sectionals.

Barrington finished with 216.0 overall points, followed by second-place Stevenson (202.0) and third-place Fremd (138.5).

“We are all incredibly proud of the team effort, and the toughness needed to find a way to win a regional title,” began Broncos head coach Dan Keller. “All season long we have been battling injuries, and today was the first time we’ve been at full strength.

“Our lineup today had just two seniors, so it’s great for our young guys to experience what it’s like to win a regional as a team.”

Keller would praise 126-pound champion Saul Ramirez for his effort to win after he pinned an opponent that majored him earlier in the season.

Likewise for junior Maddox Orozco who recorded a pin in his semifinal against his opponent, who he lost to in December via a tech-fall.

Silas Oberholtzer and Clarence Jackson were regional champions, but the Stevenson duo of Everett Ciezak and Andrew Timmons would cancel out the Broncos’ success in the finals.

In the end, the difference would be bonus points for the Broncos, to the tune of 17 pins and 283 total match points that would send them over the top.

Individual regional champions:
Daniel Berdich (106, 33-13, Stevenson), Oleksandr (Sasha) Havrylkiv (113, 28-1, Buffalo Grove), Ryan Dorn (120, 34-7, Barrington), Saul Ramirez (126, 21-18, Barrington), Shawn Kogan (132, 37-4, Stevenson), Drew Fifield (138, 31-3, Fremd), Evan Gosz (144, 40-2, Fremd), Daniel Blanke (150, 26-9, Barrington), Silas Oberholtzer (157, 23-16, Barrington), Lucas Nance (165, 34-7, Fremd), Trey Widlowski (175, 32-5, Palatine), Everett Ciezak (190, 30-15, Stevenson), Clarence Jackson (215, 34-7, Barrington), Andrew Timmons (285, 16-6, Stevenson).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE DUNDEE-CROWN REGIONAL

106

1st – Daniel Berdich of Stevenson

2nd – Matthew Blanke of Barrington

3rd – Lucas Crandall of Fremd

113

1st – Oleksandr Havrylkiv of Buffalo Grove

2nd – Kaleb Pratt of Barrington

3rd – Evan Mishels of Stevenson

120

1st – Ryan Dorn of Barrington

2nd – Ayush Bajaj of Stevenson

3rd – MYKOLA SHAMRAY of Buffalo Grove

126

1st – Saul Ramirez of Barrington

2nd – Marcelo Cantu of Stevenson

3rd – Max Duberstein of Fremd

132

1st – Shawn Kogan of Stevenson

2nd – Jimmy Whitaker of Barrington

3rd – Chris Gerardo of Dundee-Crown

138

1st – Drew Fifield of Fremd

2nd – Mikey Polyakov of Stevenson

3rd – Brennan O`Donnell of Barrington

144

1st – Evan Gosz of Fremd

2nd – Maddux Orozco of Barrington

3rd – Donovan Acosta of 

150
1st – Daniel Blanke of Barrington

2nd – Valentin Vihrov of Stevenson

3rd – Jadon Wheatley of Dundee-Crown

157

1st – Silas Oberholtzer of Barrington

2nd – Alan Allende of 

3rd – Koko Kachakov of Rolling Meadows

165

1st – Lucas Nance of Fremd

2nd – Chris Chi of Buffalo Grove

3rd – Sam Cushman of Barrington

175

1st – Trey Widlowski of 

2nd – Philip Boyko of Stevenson

3rd – Josh Rappa of Rolling Meadows

190

1st – Everett Ciezak of Stevenson

2nd – John Rappa of Rolling Meadows

3rd – Zach Anderson of Dundee-Crown

215

1st – Clarence Jackson of Barrington

2nd – Teigen Moreno of Dundee-Crown

3rd – Maciej Szelazek of Lake Zurich

285

1st – Andrew Timmons of Stevenson

2nd – Owen Jakubczak of Fremd

3rd – Roy Ramirez of Dundee-Crown

GLENBROOK SOUTH REGIONAL

MSL champion Hersey would march to its second consecutive regional title but in truth, the Huskies all but secured its 130-point victory minutes after the seeding meeting gave Joe Rupslauks’ club seven top seeds, and 13 top four seeds.

The No. 11 Huskies would celebrate an astounding nine individual champions, which would include eight straight from 113 to 157, and will send 13 into the sectional Friday after recording 271.5 overall points.

In addition to the individual champions listed below, the Huskies would advance Grant Moga (165), Connor Moga (175), Nick Larsen (215) and heavyweight Harrison Lacaeyse.

Last season, the Huskies outscored league rival Barrington 243.0-204.5 and third-place Stevenson at a top-heavy team regional in Lincolnshire at host Stevenson to garner the team trophy there.

Prospect was second overall with 144.5 points, Loyola Academy third (110.).

Individual regional champions: Nico Odiotti (106, 24-2, Loyola Academy), Daniel Lehman (113, 16-10, Hersey), Anthony Orozco (120, 20-11, Hersey), Riddick Variano (126, 31-14, Hersey), Elijah Garza (132, 35-8, Hersey), Nolan Variano (138, 24-12, Hersey), Max Mukhamedaliyev (144, 38-6, Hersey), Rodrigo Arceo (150, 29-14, Hersey), Frankie Tagoe (157, 27-14, Hersey), Joseph Quirk (165, 18-10, Hersey), Shane Onixt (175, 33-3, Glenbrook North), Jonathan Slump (190, 19-20, Hersey), Kai Calcutt (215, 31-0, Loyola Academy), Hunter Johnson (285, 26-10, Glenbrook South).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE GLENBROOK SOUTH REGIONAL

106

1st – Niko Odiotti of Loyola Academy

2nd – Caleb Son of Glenbrook North

3rd – Carlo Difalco of Prospect

113

1st – Daniel Lehman of Hersey

2nd – Quentin Williams of Loyola Academy

3rd – Alex Gudgeon of Highland Park

120

1st – Anthony Orozco of Hersey

2nd – Daniel Myint of Loyola Academy

3rd – Ermuun Urtnasan of Glenbrook South

126

1st – Riddick Variano of Hersey

2nd – Matthew Miralles of New Trier

3rd – Karol Kosciarz of Prospect

132

1st – Elijah Garza of Hersey

2nd – Ryan Georgopoulos of New Trier

3rd – Roman Ocampo of Glenbrook South

138

1st – Nolan Variano of Hersey

2nd – Jordan Mokhtarian of Glenbrook North

3rd – Ronin Umali of Prospect

144

1st – Maksim Mukhamedaliyev of Hersey

2nd – Zachary Hempen of Niles North

3rd – Sharjeel Saqibuddin of New Trier

150

1st – Rodrigo Arceo of Hersey

2nd – Oliver Quiros of Niles North

3rd – Daniel Malan of Loyola Academy

157

1st – Frankie Tagoe of Hersey

2nd – Tagg Miller of New Trier

3rd – Bennett Westfallen of Prospect

165

1st – Joseph Quirk of Prospect

2nd – Grant Moga of Hersey

3rd – Henry Downing of Glenbrook South

175

1st – Shane Onixt of Glenbrook North

2nd – Gavin Payne of Prospect

3rd – Connor Moga of Hersey

190

1st – Jonathan Slump of Hersey

2nd – Shiloh Martinez of Niles North

3rd – August Close of Loyola Academy

215

1st – Kai Calcutt of Loyola Academy

2nd – Daniel Derbedyenyev of Highland Park

3rd – Nick Larsen of Hersey

285

1st – Hunter Johnson of Glenbrook South

2nd – James Brouilette of Prospect

3rd – Harrison Lacaeyse of Hersey

HONONEGAH REGIONAL

No. 12 Hononegah won its second-consecutive regional crown before its home fans with 259.5 overall points as the hosts and a young club from Huntley would dominate the proceedings.

With the Indians starting lineup back in form with the return of Bruno Cassioppi and Brody Sendele off the injured list, the regional and NIC-10 champions advanced 13 into sectionals, including a whopping eight individual champs.

Isaiah Martinez (113), Maddox Franklin (126), Evan Musil (144), Max Haskins (157), Ethan Ballard (215) will all advance to sectionals for Hononegah.

Huntley (215.0) finished a strong second place, far ahead of Hampshire (115.5) who would edge Jacobs by one point for third place.

Individual regional champions: Kristian DeClerq (106, 33-10, Hononegah), Colin Abordo (113, 36-9, Huntley), Jackson Olson (120, 39-7, Hononegah), 

Ben Arbotante (126, 32-8, Jacobs), Rocco Cassioppi (132, 40-2, Hononegah),

Thomas Silva (138, 35-3, Hononegah), Matthew Keaty (144, 23-16, Huntley), Bruno Cassioppi (150, 6-0, Hononegah), Radic Dvorak (157, 39-3, Huntley),

Brody Sendele (165, 12-1, Hononegah), Connor Diemel (175, 38-5, Hononegah), 

Kurt Smith (190, 40-4, Hononegah), Wyatt Theobold (215, 31-15, Huntley), Chandler Jack (285, 32-8, Harlem).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE HONONEGAH REGIONAL

106

1st – Kristian DeClercq of Hononegah

2nd – Dominic Angileri of Guilford

3rd – Cael Saldana of Huntley

113

1st – Colin Abordo of Huntley

2nd – Isaiah Martinez of Hononegah

3rd – Deegan Kirschke of Hampshire

120

1st – Jackson Olson of Hononegah

2nd – Enrique Garcia of Jacobs

3rd – Cameron Abordo of Huntley

126

1st – Ben Arbotante of Jacobs

2nd – Julian Gutierrez of Huntley

3rd – Maddox Franklin of Hononegah

132

1st – Rocco Cassioppi of Hononegah

2nd – Alexander Gutierrez of Huntley

3rd – Izayah Olejniczak of Harlem

138

1st – Thomas Silva of Hononegah

2nd – Gavin Nischke of Huntley

3rd – Owen Recoy of Harlem

144

1st – Matthew Keaty of Huntley

2nd – Nathan Gomez of Jacobs

3rd – Evan Musil of Hononegah

150

1st – Bruno Cassioppi of Hononegah

2nd – Chris Napiorkowski of Hampshire

3rd – Arshoun Island of Auburn

157

1st – Radic Dvorak of Huntley

2nd – Max Haskins of Hononegah

3rd – Michael Brannigan of Hampshire

165

1st – Brody Sendele of Hononegah

2nd – Johnathan Strauss of Jacobs

3rd – Lucas Bittman of Huntley

175

1st – Connor Diemel of Hononegah

2nd – Aidan Rowells of Hampshire

3rd – Alex Vega of Huntley

190
1st – Kurt Smith of Hononegah

2nd – Jesse Lovell of Huntley

3rd – Uriah Beamon of Hampshire

215

1st – Wyatt Theobald of Huntley

2nd – Lucas Retzler of Jacobs

3rd – Ethan Ballard of Hononegah

285

1st – Chandler Jack of Harlem

2nd – Knox Homola of Hampshire

3rd – Maximus Garcia of Jacobs

REGIONALS THAT FEED THE CONANT INDIVIDUAL SECTIONAL

First-day individual sectional action at Conant will begin at 4:30 Friday, with Saturday action beginning at 9 a.m, which lead into first and third matches set to start at 2 p.m.

ADDISON TRAIL REGIONAL

Oak Park and River Forest would lift its second straight regional trophy with a near 100-point victory over York (150.0) and third-place Addison Trail (117.5).

The Huskies won at home a year ago over Lane by 30 points, but this year Lane would move over to the Maine South venue and stun the host Hawks for the regional crown.

“Overall, the team performed very well, we qualified twelve of fourteen, which was great,” said Huskies head coach Paul Collins. “Our expectation was for everyone to compete to the best of their ability, and we did that collectively.

“The goal was to dominate the regional, and we did just that. We won seven weight classes, and guys like Terrence Garner (285) did a great job of bouncing back to pin his way to third.

“I am really pleased with Zach (Michaud) at 165, and Hugh Vanek at 175, guys who do not get a lot of attention, but both are putting it together at the right time and wrestling Huskie-style for us right now.”

Senior Joseph Knackstedt is now a two-time regional champion, as is sophomore Jamiel Castleberry (120) who last season defeated his current teammate MJ Rundell in the 106-pound final when competing for league rival Proviso West.

Castleberry would go on to earn a fourth place state medal, while Rundell this year is the No. 1 man at 106.

Sectional qualifiers for the Huskies would include their six individual champions of course, as well as Gabe Rojas (126), AJ Noyes (144), Ryan Wozniak (157), Eric Harris (215) and heavyweight Martaevion Howard.

Harris was the 215-pound regional champion a year ago.

Individual regional champions: MJ Rundell (106, 34-2, OPRF), Zander Spatafore (113, 27-9, Elk Grove), Jamiel Castleberry (120, 25-4, OPRF), Mondo Martinelli (126, 43-4, York), Zev Koransky (132, 22-8, OPRF), Joseph Knackstedt (138, 29-3, OPRF), Frank Nitti (144, 38-4, York), David Ogunsanya (150, 22-6, OPRF), Marquis DeLoach (157, 16-1, Proviso West), Zach Michaud (165, 18-14, OPRF), Hugh Vanek (175, 6-7, OPRF), Dominic Ganir (190, 16-10, Leyden), Mikey Grazzini (215, 28-7, York), Mikey Milovich (285, 26-6, Elk Grove).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE ADDISON TRAIL REGIONAL

106

1st – MJ Rundell of OPRF

2nd – Nikolas Duarte of A. Trail

3rd – Jayden Scott of Proviso East

113

1st – Zander Spatafore of Elk Grove

2nd – Santiago Trejo-Huerigo of A. Trail

3rd – Chase Murrell of Proviso East

120

1st – Jamiel Castleberry of OPRF

2nd – Tommy Conners of York

3rd – Zion Martinez of A. Trail

126

1st – Mondo Martinelli of York

2nd – Gabe Rojas of OPRF

3rd – Jayden Otero of Proviso East

132

1st – Zev Koransky of OPRF

2nd – Michael Miranda of Leyden

3rd – Nicasio Acino of Elk Grove

138

1st – Joseph Knackstedt of OPRF

2nd – Deniko Fox of Chicago Crane Medical Prep

3rd – Jimmy Jacinto of A. Trail

144

1st – Frank Nitti of York

2nd – AJ Noyes of OPRF

3rd – Matthias Hautzinger of A. Trail

150

1st – David Ogunsanya of OPRF

2nd – Jackson Hanselman of York

3rd – Matt DiMaria of Elk Grove

157

1st – Marquis Deloach of Proviso West

2nd – Ryan Wozniak of OPRF

3rd – Benjamin Gorny of York

165

1st – Zach Michaud of OPRF

2nd – Angel Heard of Proviso West

3rd – Alen Bautista of A. Trail

175

1st – Hugh Vanek of OPRF

2nd – Isaiah Robinson of Proviso West

3rd – Christopher Quizhpi of Leyden

190

1st – Dominic Ganir of Leyden

2nd – Emmanuel Leal of A. Trail

3rd – Dylan Crump of Proviso East

215

1st – Mikey Grazzini of York

2nd – Eric Harris of OPRF

3rd – Erick Worwa of Leyden

285

1st – Mikey Milovich of Elk Grove

2nd – Martaevion Howard of Proviso East

3rd – Terrence Garner of OPRF

LAKE PARK REGIONAL

Schaumburg has now gone back-to-back-to-back after outscoring the field here and its closest challenger Lake Park to lift a third-straight regional trophy.

Schaumburg took a modest lead (156.0-134.5) over the host Lancers in Roselle just after the noon hour, then would flex its lower weight strength, using a fourth straight regional title from No. 4 Callen Kirchner at 150 to outscore Lake Park (209.5-152.0) for the crown.

“Today was sort of an inversion of the last two years, During the past two years we had all but wrapped things up after the semifinals. This year, we had a real narrow lead,” began Saxons head coach, Mike Levanti.

“I challenged the guys to really attack the medal round in order to separate ourselves from Lake Park, and I guess they got the message as we went twelve out of twelve, including five third place medals in a row.

“I was proud that a guy like Aiden Quevedo avenged an early season loss in dominant  fashion, and was thrilled with the effort of Sean Christoffel at 175, He had to default out of his semifinal with an injury, but came back and found a way on the backside.”

The Saxons will send 12 of its starting 14 to sectionals in addition to its five champions: Brody Hinkle (138), Justin Cortes-Apolinar (144), Daniel Duran (165), Sean Christoffel (175), Josh Benson (190), Matthew Carver (215) and heavyweight Christopher Arciniega-Sanchez.

Individual regional champions: Austin Phelps (106, 39-5, Schaumburg), Nicholas Dilallo (113, 32-0, South Elgin), Brady Phelps (120, 36-3, Schaumburg), AJ Quevedo (126, 23-5, Schaumburg), Aiden Quevado (132, 31-12, Schaumburg),

Nick Merola (138, 23-8, Lake Park), Victor Chevganov (144, 34-8, Conant),

Callen Kirchner (150, 40-5, Schaumburg), Dmytro Patykovskyi (157, 19-4, Hoffman Estates), Jackson Spizzirri (165, 25-19, Conant), Fabian Ramirez (175, 22-2, Elgin),

Jace Wolf (190, 25-2, Streamwood), Deremit Zamora (215, 32-8, South Elgin),

Jeffrey Rustemi (285, 15-11, Lake Park).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE LAKE PARK REGIONAL

106

1st – Austin Phelps of Schaumburg 

2nd – Liam Lovelace of Lake Park

3rd – Evan Hamilton of South Elgin

113

1st – Nicholas Dilallo of South Elgin

2nd – Bryce Mensik of Lake Park

3rd – Damian Ramos of Conant

120

1st – Brady Phelps of Schaumburg 

2nd – Luis Flores of Conant

3rd – Giovanni Parente of Lake Park

126

1st – AJ Quevedo of Schaumburg 

2nd – Luca Rutili of Lake Park
3rd – Emmett Arens of Conant

132

1st – Aiden Quevedo of Schaumburg 

2nd – Sergio Hernandez of Lake Park

3rd – Mike Goolish of Conant

138

1st – Nick Merola of Lake Park

2nd – Aamir Nieves Allen of South Elgin

3rd – Brody Hinkle of Schaumburg 

144

1st – Victor Chevganov of Conant

2nd – Damari Miller of Larkin

3rd – Justin Cortes-Apolinar of Schaumburg 

150

1st – Callen Kirchner of Schaumburg 

2nd – Juan Cortes of Streamwood

3rd – Max Wala of Lake Park

157
1st – Dmytro Patykovskyi of 

2nd – David Miranda of Larkin

3rd – Emilio Guzman of Elgin 

165

1st – Jackson Spizzirri of Conant

2nd – Jayden Valentino of 

3rd – Daniel Duran of Schaumburg 

 MD 11-2

175

1st – Fabian Ramirez of Elgin 

2nd – Gabe Inorio of Streamwood

3rd – Sean Christoffel of Schaumburg 

190

1st – Jace Wolf of Streamwood

2nd – Karl Pretzer of South Elgin

3rd – Josh Benson of Schaumburg 

215

1st – Deremit Zamora of South Elgin

2nd – Montez Miller of Elgin 

3rd – Matthew Carver of Schaumburg 

285

1st – Jeffrey Rustemi of Lake Park

2nd – Victor Juarez of Elgin 

3rd – Christopher Arciniega-Sanchez of Schaumburg 

MAINE SOUTH REGIONAL 

It was a historic day for Lane wrestling.

Not only did Matt Yan’s men end a six-year win streak for Maine South, in doing so they would also claim their first regional title since 2011.

“We had three back-ups in our lineup, two of which advanced, and without guys like Gabe Peto and Jose Lagunas stepping in and the rest of the team just doing their jobs, we would not have won today,” said a proud Yan.

“One of our freshman wrestlers passed away this week, so it’s been really tough in our room all week long,” continued Yan. “Our entire program has been grieving due to this loss, so the fact that they were able to come together in order to win a regional title is a testament to their perseverance.”

Lane would amass 222.5 points, Maine South 201.0, and third place Maine West 141.5

The home side grabbed a 5-4 advantage in championship matches over Lane, but the regional champs recorded a tourney-high 20 pins and 332 total match points to ensure the CPL champions a spot in dual-team sectionals, where they will face Schaumburg at a yet-to-be-determined venue.

Lane fans will celebrate its four champions of course, in addition to sectional qualifiers: Joaquin Salameda (120), Vermaat VanderBrug (144), Cole Calace (150), Gabe Peto (165), Jose Lagunas (190), and Adrian Meza at 215 who all advanced to sectionals.

Individual regional champions: Jeremiah Arroyo-McMullan (106, 26-6, Lane), Bernardo Roque (113, 37-2, Taft), Logan Battersby (120, 35-7, Maine West), Brett Harman (126, 33-6, Maine South), Alex Valentin (132, 37-6, Lane), Caden Ljubenko (138, 27-7, Maine South), Jake Colleran (144, 34-6, Maine South), Gavin Hoerr (150, 23-3, Maine South), Nasser Hammouche (157, 37-8, Lane), Peter Greco (165, 34-6, Maine West), Eyob Abebe (175, 31-11, Lane), Brian Henry (190, 27-15, Evanston), Evan Jocic (215, 32-2, Taft), Tyler Fortis (285, 33-2, Maine South).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE MAINE SOUTH REGIONAL

106

1st – Jeremiah Arroyo-McMullan of Chicago Lane

2nd – Erle Rosete of Maine South

3rd – Duncan Tenezaca of Maine East

113

1st – Bernardo Roque of Chicago Taft

2nd – Luca Burgio of Maine West

3rd – Jairo Kish of Maine East

120

1st – Logan Battersby of Maine West

2nd – David Ruiz of Chicago Taft

3rd – Joaquin Salameda of Chicago Lane

126

1st – Brett Harman of Maine South

2nd – John Moor of Maine East

3rd – Angel Rivera of Chicago Taft

132

1st – Alex Valentin of Chicago Lane

2nd – Dulguun Nyamdavaa of Maine East

3rd – Jack Handley of Maine South

138

1st – Caden Ljubenko of Maine South

2nd – Lucas Youmara of Niles West

3rd – Adrian Junco of Chicago Taft

144

1st – Jake Colleran of Maine South

2nd – Vermaat VanderBrug of Chicago Lane

3rd – Shane Burns of Maine West

150

1st – Gavin Hoerr of Maine South

2nd – Dylan Kroschel of Maine West

3rd – Cole Calace of Chicago Lane

157
1st – Nasser Hammouche of Chicago Lane

2nd – Luke Gloetzner of Maine South

3rd – Louis Avalos of Maine West

165

1st – Peter Greco of Maine West

2nd – Aidan Swenson of Maine South

3rd – Gabe Peto of Chicago Lane

175

1st – Eyob Abebe of Chicago Lane

2nd – Ken Coleman of Evanston 

3rd – Zbigniew Kordalewski of Maine West

190

1st – Brian Henry of Evanston 

2nd – Jose Lagunas of Chicago Lane

3rd – Josh Taylor of Chicago Taft

215

1st – Evan Jocic of Chicago Taft

2nd – Adrian Meza of Chicago Lane

3rd – Thomas Leach of Maine South

285

1st – Tyler Fortis of Maine South

2nd – Jeremy Marshall of Evanston 

3rd – Manny Olojo of Niles West

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

REGIONALS THAT FEED THE HINSDALE SOUTH INDIVIDUAL SECTIONAL

RIVERSIDE-BROOKFIELD REGIONAL

Coach Nick Curby’s Bulldogs won the program’s seventh team regional title at home, posting 227.5 team points and advancing 12 wrestlers to the Hinsdale South Individual Sectional on Feb. 14.

Riverside-Brookfield had six individual regional champions in Miles Russell-Barnes (6-8 at 113), Jacob Godoy (21-13 at 132), Tony Lombardo (20-15 at 138), Ricky Gutierrez-Blanco (27-12 at 144), Ethan Rivas (15-7 at 157) and Matthew (Elzy 26-8 at 190). Placing second for the Bulldogs were Steven Guzman (106), Edgar Mosquera (120) and Nicholas O’Connor (175), while Tony Miranda (150), Max Strong (165) and Joey Alberts (285) placed third to advance.

“In a day filled with ups and downs, when it came time for guys to wrestle for themselves and for the team, many stepped up to the challenge,” Curby said. “There were a lot of great wrestling moments for our team on Saturday to build on. We will get back to practice on Monday to make sure we are ready to take the that step and qualify as many wrestlers as we can for state next week.”

St. Laurence (205) advanced 10 to the sectional and third-place Lindblom (115.5) advanced six.

Individual regional champions:
Others winning regional titles were St. Laurence’s Liam Kissane (32-7 at 106), Jack Claussen (31-10 at 165), Matthew Zalinski (26-10 at 175) and Xavier Bitner (23-10 at 215), Kennedy’s Victor Alvarado (34-3 at 120) and Habibullo Begov (18-8 at 150), Little Village’s Jovanni Harris (30-6 at 126), and Lindblom’s Josue Olivo (23-5 at 285).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE RIVERSIDE-BROOKFIELD REGIONAL

106

1st – Liam Kissane of St. Laurence

2nd – Steven Guzman of R.-Brookfield

3rd – Nicholas Anguiano of Hancock

113

1st – Miles Russell-Barnes of R.-Brookfield

2nd – Nate Martinez of St. Laurence

3rd – Ithan Payne of Lindblom

120

1st – Victor Alvarado of Kennedy

2nd – Edgar Mosquera of R.-Brookfield

3rd – Benito Chavez of Little Village

126

1st – Jovanni Harris of Little Village

2nd – Ezequiel Farias of Hancock

3rd – Adrian Pintado of St. Laurence

132

1st – Jacob Godoy of R.-Brookfield

2nd – Khalid Eid of St. Laurence

3rd – David Bahena of Little Village

138

1st – Tony Lombardo of R.-Brookfield

2nd – Alexander Gonzalez of Lindblom

3rd – Anthony Suarez of Little Village

144

1st – Ricky Gutierrez-Blanco of R.-Brookfield

2nd – Sergio Ramirez of Lindblom

3rd – Josh Martinez of St. Laurence

150

1st – Habibullo Begov of Kennedy

2nd – Julian Chavez of Back of the Yards

3rd – Tony Miranda of R.-Brookfield

157

1st – Ethan Rivas of R.-Brookfield

2nd – Felipe-Juan Aguilar-Urbina of Little Village

3rd – Christian Vega of Kennedy

165

1st – Jack Claussen of St. Laurence

2nd – Erick Arroyo of Lindblom

3rd – Max Strong of R.-Brookfield

175

1st – Matthew Zalinski of St. Laurence

2nd – Nicholas O`Connor of R.-Brookfield

3rd – Malakai Davis of Hancock

190

1st – Matthew Elzy of R.-Brookfield

2nd – Andrew Banazak of St. Laurence

3rd – Erik Martinez-Mancera of Back of the Yards

215

1st – Xavier Bitner of St. Laurence

2nd – Aiden Quezada of Lindblom

3rd – Juan Zavala of Solorio

285

1st – Josue Olivo of Lindblom

2nd – Angelo Guiterez of St. Laurence

3rd – Joey Alberts of R.-Brookfield

OAK FOREST REGIONAL

Host Oak Forest dominated the field, advancing 11 wrestlers to the Hinsdale South Individual Sectional, led by individual champions Jason Schickel (21-12 at 106), Jacob Sebek (37-3 at 113), Hunter Kroll (16-19 at 120), James Mair (26-14 at 126), Austin Perez (22-1 at 144), Jason Janke (8-0 at 175) and Andrius Vasilevskas (36-7 at 215).

Also qualifying for coach Shawn Forst were finals runners-up Josh Schickel (138), Nathan Izguerra (190) and Jose Montesino (285), and third-place finisher Blake Bussie (165). 

“The Oak Forest wrestlers competed with a great deal of heart and grit today,” Forst said. “The whole coaching staff is very proud of them.  The team is peaking at the right time and we are excited for the rest of the state series.”

Oak Forest topped the field with 233.5 points, while Thornton Fractional North (128) and Marian (128) tied for second place.

Individual regional champions:
Others winning regional titles were Bremen’s Izaiah Gonzalez (20-4 at 132), TF North’s Melik Robinson (17-2 at 138) and Joseph Merritt (23-6 at 157), Hillcrest’s Kiaven Sullivan (28-4 at 150), Marian’s Joey Baranski (29-7 at 165), Kankakee’s Jacob Vinardi (19-3 at 190) and Tinley Park’s Sebastian Sanderson (34-2 at 215).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE OAK FOREST REGIONAL

106

1st – Jason Schickel of Oak Forest

2nd – Patrick O`Connell of Tinley Park 

113

1st – Jacob Sebek of Oak Forest

2nd – Edwin Gomez of Thornton Fractional North

120

1st – Hunter Kroll of Oak Forest

2nd – Tristan Cooks of Marian

3rd – Maurice Walker of Thornton Fractional North

126

1st – James Mair of Oak Forest

2nd – Chase Tankson of Marian

3rd – Malachi Turner of Bremen

132

1st – Izaiah Gonzalez of Bremen

2nd – Deshawn Jones of Thornton Fractional North

3rd – Carter Leshock of Tinley Park 

138

1st – Melik Robinson of Thornton Fractional North

2nd – Josh Schickel of Oak Forest

3rd – Bronx Debergh of Marian

144

1st – Austin Perez of Oak Forest

2nd – Roderick Shepherd of Tinley Park 

3rd – Gerard Fleming of C.-Monee

150

1st – Kiaven Sullivan of Hillcrest

2nd – Walter Hoevker of Bremen

3rd – Jonah Greenwood of Marian

157

1st – Joseph Merritt of Thornton Fractional North

2nd – Shelby Dockery of Marian

3rd – Jarele Johnson of C.-Monee

165

1st – Joey Baranski of Marian

2nd – Jaylene Johnson of C.-Monee

3rd – Blake Bussie of Oak Forest

175

1st – Jason Janke of Oak Forest

2nd – Adrian Esparza of Marian

3rd – Jaime Martinez of Bremen

190

1st – Jacob Vinardi of Kankakee Sr.

2nd – Nathan Izguerra of Oak Forest

3rd – Jadyn Thomas of Marian

215

1st – Andrius Vasilevskas of Oak Forest

2nd – Malakai Scott of C.-Monee

3rd – Jalauni Johnston of Thornton Fractional North

285

1st – Sebastian Sanderson of Tinley Park 

2nd – Jose Montesino of Oak Forest

3rd – Marco Olvera of Bremen

RICHARDS REGIONAL

Top-ranked 2A Montini topped Providence Catholic 252.5-229 to win its 29th team regional title in program history at Richards. 

The 16-time team dual state champs advanced 11 wrestlers to the Hinsdale South Individual Sectional, led by eight regional champions in Erik Klichurov (42-4 at 106), Allen Woo (42-5 at 113), Mikey Malizzio (34-8 at 120), Bob Ruscitti (37-3 at 126), Kam Luif (43-4 at 138), Santino Tenuta (34-7 at 165), AJ Tack (36-11 at 175) and Gavin Ericson (29-18 at 285). Kevin May (157) placed second for Broncos coach Mike Bukovsky to advance, while Isaac Mayora (132) and Jaxon Lane (190) placed third to advance.

“Our team did an excellent job up and down the line-up,” Bukovsky said. “Our big guns did everything they were supposed to do, especially earning bonus points.  The other guys wrestled tough, and we finished top four in every weight class.”

Providence Catholic advanced 13 wrestlers while third-place Glenbard South 95 advanced six.

Individual regional champions:
Others winning individual regional titles were Providence Catholic’s Tommy Banas (25-12 at 132), Justus Heeg (38-3 at 150) and Jasper Harper (32-14 at 157), Glenbard South’s Jin Tai (34-6 at 144) and Danny Langner (36-6 at 215), and Richards’ Mike Taheny (36-1 at 190).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE RICHARDS REGIONAL

106

1st – Erik Klichurov of Montini

2nd – Christian Corcoran of Providence Catholic

3rd – Alex Powers of Lemont 

113

1st – Allen Woo of Montini

2nd – Elijah Sawyers of Agricultural Science

3rd – Nathan Ortiz of Providence Catholic

120

1st – Mikey Malizzio of Montini

2nd – Max Mandac of Providence Catholic

3rd – Alexander Schuetz of Hinsdale South

126

1st – Bob Ruscitti of Montini

2nd – Lucas Forsythe of Providence Catholic

3rd – Parker Ludwig of Lemont 

132

1st – Tommy Banas of Providence Catholic

2nd – Cory Zator of Lemont 

3rd – Isaac Mayora of Montini

138

1st – Kam Luif of Montini

2nd – Luke Banas of Providence Catholic

3rd – Diego Myers of Glenbard South

144

1st – Jin Tai of Glenbard South

2nd – MAURICE BUSH of Agricultural Science

3rd – Andrew Pellicci of Providence Catholic

150

1st – Justus Heeg of Providence Catholic

2nd – Brady Miller of Hinsdale South

3rd – Leo Flores of Oak Lawn Richards

157

1st – Jasper Harper of Providence Catholic

2nd – Kevin May of Montini

3rd – Nick Miller of Hinsdale South

165

1st – Santino Tenuta of Montini

2nd – Logan Price of Glenbard South

3rd – Brayden McKay of Providence Catholic

175

1st – AJ Tack of Montini

2nd – Declan Dircks of Providence Catholic

3rd – Reid Sebahar of Glenbard South

190

1st – Mike Taheny of Oak Lawn Richards

2nd – Judah Heeg of Lemont 

3rd – Jaxon Lane of Montini

215

1st – Danny Langner of Glenbard South

2nd – Koda Miller of Providence Catholic

3rd – DONOVAN KENERSON of Agricultural Science
285

1st – Gavin Ericson of Montini

2nd – Mike Sisk of Providence Catholic

3rd – Ambrose Davis of Glenbard South

ST. RITA REGIONAL

Brother Rice controlled the day at this year’s 2A St. Rita Regional, winning the team title 253.5-187 over second-place Evergreen Park. Host St. Rita finished a mere half-point behind Evergreen Park with 186.5 points in third.

The Crusaders crowned eight regional champions and had three runners-up and two third-place finishers in advancing 13 wrestlers to this year’s Hinsdale South Individual Regional. Evergreen Park and St. Rita each had 11 sectional qualifiers.

Brother Rice coach Jan Murzyn got individual regional titles from Danny Tait (18-16 at 113), Bobby Conway (15-4 at 132), Oliver Davis (33-4 at 138), Jonathan Harris (15-6 at 144), Jack O’Connor (27-12 at 150), Frank Miceli (32-7 at 157), Dan Costello (21-9 at 175), and James Crane (31-5 at 190).

Murzyn also got seconds from Owen Manning (106), Colin Goggin (215) and Charlie Stec (285), and thirds from Logan Connors (120) and Jack McGinnis (165).

Individual regional champions:
Others winning regional titles at St. Rita were Evergreen Park’s Brayden Mateja-Bates (21-12 at 106), Adrian Cervantes (29-3 at 126) and Genesis Ward (28-5 at 215), and St. Rita’s Jack Hogan (31-9 at 120), Micah Spinazzola (25-6 at 165) and Pat Conneely (15-10 at 285).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE ST. RITA REGIONAL

106

1st – Brayden Mateja-Bates of Evergreen Park

2nd – Owen Manning of Brother Rice

3rd – KeAndre Beal of Goode STEM Academy

113

1st – Danny Tait of Brother Rice

2nd – Cartiere Jackson of Goode STEM Academy

120

1st – Jack Hogan of St. Rita

2nd – Jayden Cervantes of Evergreen Park

3rd – Logan Connors of Brother Rice

126

1st – Adrian Cervantes of Evergreen Park

2nd – Jayden Carrasco of Washington

3rd – Cleto Protti of St. Rita

132

1st – Bobby Conway of Brother Rice

2nd – Lucas Landry of Evergreen Park

3rd – Luke Pappalas of St. Rita

138

1st – Oliver Davis of Brother Rice

2nd – Chance Woods of Evergreen Park

3rd – Nino Protti of St. Rita

144

1st – Jonathan Harris of Brother Rice

2nd – Esau Ruvalcava of Evergreen Park

3rd – Enzo Canali of St. Rita

150

1st – Jack O`Connor of Brother Rice

2nd – Xavier Woods of Goode STEM Academy

3rd – David Johnson of Evergreen Park

157

1st – Frank Miceli of Brother Rice

2nd – Andrew Lehman of St. Rita

3rd – Ashton Gray of Evergreen Park

165

1st – Micah Spinazzola of St. Rita

2nd – Josh Matheny of Evergreen Park

3rd – Jack McGinnis of Brother Rice

175

1st – Dan Costello of Brother Rice

2nd – Kevin James of St. Rita

3rd – Owen Brady of Evergreen Park

190

1st – James Crane of Brother Rice

2nd – James Bansley of St. Rita

3rd – Dylan Wilborn of Goode STEM Academy

215

1st – Genesis Ward of Evergreen Park

2nd – Colin Goggin of Brother Rice

3rd – Mitch Street of St. Rita

285

1st – Pat Conneely of St. Rita

2nd – Charlie Stec of Brother Rice

3rd – Tayshawn Larry of Simeon

REGIONALS FEEDING THE CRYSTAL LAKE CENTRAL INDIVIDUAL SECTIONAL

DEPAUL COLLEGE PREP REGIONAL

IC Catholic Prep won its third team regional title in the last four years in resounding fashion, posting 294 team points for coach Danny Alcocer. The Knights advanced 13 wrestlers to the Crystal Lake Central Individual Sectional, including 11 individual regional champions.

Winning titles for IC Prep were Dominic Pasquale (16-6 at 106), Sam Murante (3-0 at 113), Kannon Judycki (24-17 at 120), Max Cumbee (13-5 at 126), Deven Casey (40-6 at 132), Jacob Alvarez (28-16 at 138), Aidan Arnett (31-10 at 144), Nate Brown (18-8 at 165), Brody Kelly (39-5 at 175), Isaac Barrientos (28-14 at 190) and Foley Calcagno (34-12 at 215). The Knights also got seconds from Joey Pontrelli (150) and Anthony Sebastian (285).

Fenwick (205.5) placed second and DePaul College Prep (190.5) finished third in the final team standings. Fenwick had 12 sectional qualifiers and DePaul had 10.

Other wrestlers winning individual regional titles at DePaul Prep were DePaul’s Drew Gerstung (28-11 at 150), Fenwick’s Aiden Burns (39-3 at 157), and DePaul’s Hunter Wahtola (28-9 at 285).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE DEPAUL REGIONAL

106

1st – Dominic Pasquale of IC Catholic

2nd – Aedan Dillow of DePaul College Prep

3rd – Harrison Brown of Fenwick

113

1st – Sam Murante of IC Catholic

2nd – Dimitri Dobre of DePaul College Prep

3rd – CJ Brown of Fenwick

120

1st – Kannon Judycki of IC Catholic

2nd – Colin Bosak of DePaul College Prep

3rd – ALEX VILLANUEVA of St. Ignatius

126

1st – Max Cumbee of IC Catholic

2nd – COLIN MCCANN of St. Ignatius

3rd – Solanus Daley of Fenwick

132

1st – Deven Casey of IC Catholic

2nd – Nabiel Rosario of DePaul College Prep

3rd – LUKE SANCHEZ of St. Ignatius

138

1st – Jacob Alvarez of IC Catholic

2nd – COLTON HUFF of St. Ignatius

3rd – Max Kenny of Fenwick

144

1st – Aidan Arnett of IC Catholic

2nd – Max Rosen of DePaul College Prep

3rd – Brian Timpone of Fenwick

150

1st – Drew Gerstung of DePaul College Prep

2nd – Joey Pontrelli of IC Catholic

3rd – Eiam Staple of Fenwick

157

1st – Aiden Burns of Fenwick

2nd – NATE SANCHEZ of St. Ignatius

3rd – Matthew Brendel of DePaul College Prep

165

1st – Nate Brown of IC Catholic

2nd – Andrew Brendel of DePaul College Prep

3rd – Myles Moriarty of Fenwick

175

1st – Brody Kelly of IC Catholic

2nd – Dominic Esposito of Fenwick

3rd – CHARLIE HOWELL of St. Ignatius

190

1st – Isaac Barrientos of IC Catholic

2nd – Jack Paris of Fenwick

3rd – Alex Drees of DePaul College Prep

215

1st – Foley Calcagno of IC Catholic

2nd – MELSON NAGASSA of St. Ignatius

3rd – Zikomo Mbiewew of Fenwick

285

1st – Hunter Wahtola of DePaul College Prep

2nd – Anthony Sebastian of IC Catholic

3rd – Gianni Bertacchi of Fenwick

ST. PATRICK REGIONAL

Notre Dame (255.5 points) won its 10th regional title in program history at St. Patrick, topping the host school 255.5-230. Fenton finished third with 159 points.

And as it was all over Illinois, the Dons’ team title followed the universal recipe.

“In order to win a regional it took a full team effort,” Notre Dame coach Anthony Genovesi said.  “We were able to get twelve guys to sectionals and two alternates. We’ve had to overcome many things this season and the depth of our program came through on Saturday.”

The Dons advanced 12 wrestlers to the individual sectional, including eight regional champions for coach Anthony Genovesi. Winning titles for the Dons were Ray Long (39-4 at 106), John Sheehy (38-6 at 126), Brady Krueger (30-15 at 132), John Carr (10-7 at 144), Joseph McCarthy (16-13 at 150), Deniz Ozturk (26-13 at 157), Michael Keany (25-13 at 190) and Ian McKendrick (14-22 at 215). Waide Moravek (113) placed second and the Dons got thirds from Dean Lazaris (165), Peter Escamilla (175) and Connor Moynihan (285).

“It’s important for our guys to continue pushing each other and everyone in our lineup works to improve on a daily basis,” Genovesi said. “We knew it would be a tight team race throughout the day and our wrestlers and families all supported each other.”

St. Patrick finished with 11 sectional qualifiers and Fenton had 10.

Individual regional champions:
Other wrestlers winning individual regional titles were St. Patrick’s Daniel Goodwin (40-3 at 113), Calvin Stahl (31-11 at 120), Patrick Hulne (36-11 at 138), and Van Grasser (30-9 at 165), Amundsen’s Adrian Zepeda (32-2 at 175), and Fenton’s Thomas Klos (30-3 at 285).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE ST. PATRICK REGIONAL

106

1st – Ray Long of Notre Dame

2nd – Jack Koenig of St. Patrick

3rd – Oscar Ruiz-Villa of Elmwood Park

113

1st – Daniel Goodwin of St. Patrick

2nd – Waide Moravek of Notre Dame

3rd – Tristyn Santiago of Fenton

120

1st – Calvin Stahl of St. Patrick

2nd – Gabriel Hernandez of Fenton

3rd – Quentin Rodriguez of Elmwood Park

126

1st – John Sheehy of Notre Dame

2nd – Dean Angelo III of St. Patrick

3rd – Michael Aiello of Elmwood Park

132

1st – Brady Krueger of Notre Dame

2nd – Giovani Irizarry of St. Patrick

3rd – Mohamad Khater of Ridgewood

138

1st – Patrick Hulne of St. Patrick

2nd – Randy Lazaro of Schurz

3rd – Esteban Bello of Fenton

144

1st – John Carr of Notre Dame

2nd – Isaac Depakakibo of Ridgewood

3rd – Arlind Rexha of Senn

150

1st – Joseph McCarthy of Notre Dame

2nd – Andrew Rieger of St. Patrick

3rd – Josh Dickeson of Fenton

157

1st – Deniz Ozturk of Notre Dame

2nd – Jose Honorato of Fenton

3rd – Mark Bilek of St. Patrick

165

1st – Van Grasser of St. Patrick

2nd – Omar Diaz of Fenton

3rd – Dean Lazaris of Notre Dame

175

1st – Adrian Zepeda of Amundsen

2nd – Dereck Mazariegos of Fenton

3rd – Peter Escamilla of Notre Dame

190

1st – Michael Keany of Notre Dame

2nd – James Reshof of Amundsen

3rd – Danny Martinez of Fenton

215

1st – Ian McKendrick of Notre Dame

2nd – Salvador Espinoza of St. Patrick

3rd – Gavin Stewart of Fenton

285

1st – Thomas Klos of Fenton

2nd – Abraham Bonano of St. Patrick

3rd – Connor Moynihan of Notre Dame

ANTIOCH REGIONAL

Crystal Lake Central captured the team regional crown at Antioch, the 11th regional title won under coach Justin Lehr and the 12th overall in program history. The Tigers also won a district title back in 1974.

Lehr has also overseen five dual team state medal-winning teams in his 17 years at the helm, including a back-to-back pair of second-place team finishes in Illinois in 2010 and 2011.

Lehr’s boys scored 207 points to top second-place Antioch (188) while Grayslake Central (122) placed third. Crystal Lake Central advanced 12 wrestlers to this year’s individual sectional, including three individual regional champions; Antioch advanced eight and Grayslake Central advanced five.

Winning titles for the Tigers were Jackson Marlett (38-5 at 113), Cayden Parks (38-1 at 190) and Tommy McNeil (36-5 at 215). The Tigers also got a second-place finish from Logan Gough (285) and went a perfect 8-for-8 on the do-or-die third-place mat.

Placing third were Payton Ramsey (120), Dylan Ramsey (126), Daniel Snow (132), Brandon Carbone (138), Nicholas Zuehlke (150), Dominic Vitale (157), Tommy Tomasello (165) and Tyler Porter (175).

Individual regional champions:
Others winning individual regional titles at Antioch were Grayslake Central’s Vince DeMarco (41-1 at 106) and Aidan Eisenberg (29-18 at 138), Cary-Grove’s Hunter Lenz (15-2 at 120), Noah Pechotta (36-1 at 165) and Lucas Burton (25-2 at 285), Antioch’s Gavin Hanrahan (22-6 at 126), Chase Nobiling (38-7 at 144), Dominic Garcia (28-4 at 150) and Ben Vazquez (34-6 at 175), Crystal Lake South’s Nathan Randle (38-0 at 132), and Grayslake North’s Jacob Ronsman (34-6 at 157).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE ANTIOCH REGIONAL

106

1st – Vince DeMarco of Grayslake Central

2nd – Christopher Talbert of Crystal Lake South

3rd – Haydren Gomez of Antioch

113

1st – Jackson Marlett of Crystal Lake Central

2nd – Noah Kwasiborski of Antioch

3rd – Jayden Rudnicki of Lakes

120

1st – Hunter Lenz of Cary C.-Grove

2nd – Jake Lowitzki of Prairie Ridge

3rd – Payton Ramsey of Crystal Lake Central

126

1st – Gavin Hanrahan of Antioch

2nd – Mikey Meade of Prairie Ridge

3rd – Dylan Ramsey of Crystal Lake Central

132

1st – Nathan Randle of Crystal Lake South

2nd – Liam Halloran of Grayslake Central

3rd – Daniel Snow of Crystal Lake Central

138

1st – Aidan Eisenberg of Grayslake Central

2nd – Jacob Turner of Cary C.-Grove

3rd – Brandon Carbone of Crystal Lake Central

144

1st – Chase Nobiling of Antioch

2nd – Aiden Marrello of Crystal Lake South

3rd – Trevor Hengl of Grayslake Central

150

1st – Dominic Garcia of Antioch

2nd – Owen Anderson of Grayslake North

3rd – Nicholas Zuehlke of Crystal Lake Central

157

1st – Jacob Ronsman of Grayslake North

2nd – Warren Nash of Grayslake Central

3rd – Dominic Vitale of Crystal Lake Central

165

1st – Noah Pechotta of Cary C.-Grove

2nd – Marcus Macias of Antioch

3rd – Tommy Tomasello of Crystal Lake Central

175

1st – Ben Vazquez of Antioch

2nd – Aiden Rodriguez of Prairie Ridge

3rd – Tyler Porter of Crystal Lake Central

190

1st – Cayden Parks of Crystal Lake Central

2nd – Julian Ramos of Lakes

3rd – Frank Matviychuk of Prairie Ridge

215

1st – Tommy McNeil of Crystal Lake Central

2nd – David Williams of Grayslake North

3rd – Owen Shea of Antioch

285

1st – Lucas Burton of Cary C.-Grove

2nd – Logan Gough of Crystal Lake Central

3rd – Robert White of Grayslake North

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

Urbana has enjoyed a proud history in wrestling, dating back to the first IHSA Finals in 1937, when it tied for fourth. Things were still going very well during the 1980s, when 1991 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Wayne Mammen led it to eight-straight regional titles through 1990.

But while the school has had four athletes who’ve won multiple state medals and four who’ve competed for IHSA titles in the last 35 years, most notably University of Illinois redshirt senior Luke Luffman, who earned four medals and won IHSA Class 2A championships at 220 in 2017 and 2018 and at 285 in 2019, the Tigers had not won any regional team titles since 1990.

That changed last Saturday at the Pontiac Regional where a third-year girls program led by coach Phil Sexton that only had three individuals, including two freshmen, who took 21st place at the Richwoods Sectional in 2023 was able to win top honors in the 26-team competition by scoring 90 points, which was seven points ahead of Prairie Central, who collected 83 points.

Paris (79.5), Pontiac (77), Oakwood/ Salt Fork co-op (59.5), Westville (56.5), Mahomet-Seymour (54.5), Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher co-op (54), Clinton (51.5), Clifton Central (46), Normal West (45), Deer Creek-Mackinaw (39.5) and Dwight (36.5) were next-best.

A couple of things are pretty clear when you take a quick look at the results of the Pontiac Regional compared to how the top six teams in the standings placed a year ago while competing in either the Mt. Zion or Minooka regionals.

What a difference a year meant and addition definitely led to subtraction. The top six teams averaged a gain of 16.67 positions in the standings from their 2024 regional showing, with the biggest gainers being 29 spots by Pontiiac (fourth from 33rd), 24 by Prairie Central (second from 26th), 20 by Oakwood/ Salt Fork (fifth from 25th) and 18 by Westville (sixth from 24th).

The addition of four regionals from eight to 12 and more competitors on those teams are major reasons why those huge shifts occurred and the improvements in finishes didn’t stop there. Twenty of the 25 teams that scored points finished in a better position than they did a year ago. 

There was a real buzz in Pontiac over where girls wrestling is headed in east central Illinois. And just four years into it being an officially-sanctioned sport by the IHSA, it will be very exciting to see how much others will be able to accomplish building on the great foundation that many of the trailblazers who participated in the regional have already established in such short order.

The champion Tigers advanced five of their seven individuals to the Highland Sectional, which takes place on February 14-15. Their lone champion was Rickasia Ivy (26-4 at 140) while Tauhnisjha Hart (130) claimed second place. Placing third and also advancing to the sectional were Tamya Terry (135), Franciana Kalanga (190) and Lillian Disanto (235). Randi Campe (125) and Fra`ncette Musau (145) didn’t place but contributed key team points to the winning effort.

“It’s awesome and I’m really glad that we got it started at Urbana,” said Sexton, who’s in his 31st season as a coach and his fifth season leading Urbana. “We started off with one girl (Jurdan Tyler) and she was a first-year kid two years ago and she took third in state. And then we got more of her friends to come out and we’ve just exploded since then and more and more girls are coming out because they want to be a part of it because they see there’s options to go to college and options to have success. My girls cheer for everybody, win or lose, they’re at mat side or in the bleachers and are cheering for the kids and it’s just a neat atmosphere.

“And they’ve made a lot of friends with other teams and they go out and cheer for them, as well. It’s just nice to see the girls come together and this sport is just going to keep going up. It’s a lot of fun and I can’t describe how I feel. We have our ups and downs and the girls have just kept me together. And they’re a joy to be at practice and they keep my boys in line. It’s just amazing. We’ve had a motto all year, and it’s do the best that you can. Just give me your best effort and that’s what they’ve done today and it’s been great.

“We’ll keep getting better and keep getting bigger and with the success, we’ll have more and more girls show up. Back in the 1980’s, Urbana wrestling was the best and now we have the girls coming out so we’re the best in the area right now with the girls and we’re trying to build the boys back up. It’s a hotbed, I grew up there and it’s always been a hotbed for wrestling. And with this, it will bring more and more girls out and it will help both Champaign schools and us.”

Runner-up Prairie Central had two champions and two third-place to give it four qualifiers out of the seven who competed. Claiming first-place finishes for coach Scott Ziller’s Hawks were 2024 IHSA 235 champion Chloe Hoselton (20-0 at 235) and Yuri Vilchis (22-10 at 120) while Makiya Baker (125) and Victoria Vadeboncoeur (140) both finished third. Ruby Guzman (110), Valeria Vilchis (130) and Victoria Marquez (135) also contributed to the cause but did not place.

“We’re very proud of how the girls have wrestled all season and especially at regionals,” Ziller said. “It was a day of personal milestones for many of our kids. Chloe of course started her postseason journey in the hunt for her second state championship. She has been a consistent hammer wrestling year-round for years. Not only that, Chloe has been a senior captain for the whole team, boys and girls, and part of our senior leadership council that got together during preseason to define a framework for the culture they wanted to create among the team. That group has helped maintain a positive culture, kept the coaching staff connected to the mental and physical state of the team, and helped us make decisions throughout the season. 

“Yuri has shown so much promise and growth and has worked her butt off year-round since her first time on the mat in preseason open mats in fall of 2023. She seeks out challenging rounds with both boys and girls in practice and competition and is the hardest worker in every weight room she walks into. Makiya and Tori made every preseason workout and have trained hard and been very coachable leading to them qualifying for sectionals in their first season. Talking about the qualifiers is obvious, but also there is Ruby Guzman, who turned a corner toward an attack style of wrestling and was one match from making sectionals this year after being kind of timid and going 0-2 at regionals last year. Vicky Marquez won her first wrestling match at the end of her first season in which she didn’t get much mat time and Val Vilchis made a 100 percent improvement this season from last. 

“Chloe and Yuri have been great leaders directly in practice and examples putting in extra workouts on and off season. They’ve also brought some of the other girls with them on some of those workouts. Chloe and Yuri were the catalyst for the start and growth of our girls program last year and this year. We tried to recruit girls for years and Chloe and Yuri came out last year and brought a few girls with them. They more than doubled the number of sign-ups this year. It was great to see a mostly inexperienced group of girls place a close second in the regional with almost all of them contributing to that team score.”

Paris qualified four of the five individuals that it brought to the regional tournament. Winning a championship for coach Seth Rohrbach’s third-place Tigers was Emma Shelkey (10-0 at 170) while Kaidence Eveland (110) and Emerson Barrett (135) claimed second-place finishes and Paisley Reed (115) took third place.

And fourth place Pontiac had four qualifiers among its six competitors. Winning titles for coach 

Vinnie Hobart’s Indians were Sophia Mussari (12-6 at 115) and Jocelyn Cobix (25-6 at 125) while Alix Robinson (155) took third place and Olivia Miller (170) finished fourth.

Other Pontiac Regional champions were Gibson City Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher’s Justice Milligan (17-0 at 100) and Avery Schlickman (18-5 at 145), Rantoul’s Jasmine Johnson (8-7 at 105), Oakwood/ Salt Fork’s Taylor Wells (12-6 at 110), Centennial’s Ava Beldo (22-5 at 130), Dwight’s Avery Crouch (4-0 at 135), Bloomington’s Alicia Swank (19-5 at 155) and Clifton Central’s Payton Temple (21-1 at 190).

There was a tie for the lead in most team points for champions with 27.5 between Pontiac teammates Cobix and Mussari while Wells ranked third with 25.5 points. There was a six-way tie for fourth place with 24 team points between Beldo, Milligan, Schlickman, Shelkey, Temple and Vilchis while Crouch finished with 23.5 points.

Also claiming second-place finishes were Oakwood/ Salt Fork’s Lainey Ehler (120) and Taylor Owens (145), Westville’s Kiley Knight (115) and Addison Briggs (190), Unity’s Anna Vasey (155) and Phoenix Molina (235), Olympia’s Mya Downs (100), Clinton’s Bella Villanueva (105), University High’s Hailey Watson (125), St. Joseph-Ogden’s Maddie Wells (140) and Deer Creek-Mackinaw’s Bella Brooks (170).

The closest title matches were at 155, where Swank got past Vasey with a 2-0 decision, and at 235, where Hoselton prevailed 4-0 over Molina in a rematch of the 2024 IHSA Finals at 235.

Additional third-place finishes were Clinton’s Ariana Humes (110) and Diana Naxi (170), 

Mahomet-Seymour’s Sierra Tuttle (100), Clifton Central’s Lilly Plumley (120), Champaign Central’s Londyn Grant (130) and Herscher’s Henna Mullikin (145).

Fourth-place showings were also turned in by Normal West’s Cheyenne Anderson (115), Kitzia Racey (120), Vivian Guither (145) and Cadence Duvall (235), Mahomet-Seymour’s Madilyn Becker (110), Kaisley Shotkoski (140) and Jaycee Weitekamp (190), Clinton’s Sandy Clark (100), Dwight’s Adilyn Avilez (125), Westville’s Laney Cook (130), Bloomington’s Alila Beck (135) and Tremont’s Paytyn Dykes (155).

Clinton’s Ariana Humes led all competitors with 48 total match points while her teammate Sandy Clark was second with 44 points. Thirteen individuals recorded three falls with Prairie Central’s Yuri Vilchis accomplishing that feat in the shortest time, which was 2:30. Eleven competitors got a victory by technical fall with Dwight’s Avery Crouch achieving that in a tourney-best 48 seconds. And Mahomet-Seymour’s Sierra Tuttle had the large seed to place difference, at five positions, after being seeded eighth and placing third at 100.

Here are the champions and their weight classes from the IHSA Pontiac Regional:

100 – Justice Milligan, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher

Justice Milligan got the opportunity to compete at the IHSA Finals last season and won a match there in addition to facing the eventual champion at 100, Glenbard West’s Alycia Perez, and she finished with a 15-12 record. The Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher senior hopes to advance from the Highland Sectional and make a second visit to the state finals in Bloomington and also win a few more matches there and she’s now unbeaten in 17 matches following the Pontiac Regional where she won by fall in 1:18 over Olympia senior Mya Downs in the 100 title match.

Milligan, who joined classmate Avery Schlickman as one of two champions among three competitors for coach Josh Carter’s Falcons, also recorded pins in her other two matches, including one in 0:57 in the semifinals over Normal West’s Asa Cedeno. Milligan, who became her program’s first regional champion, tied for fourth place in most team points with 24 along with Schlickman, who added the program’s second regional title with a fall in the 145 finals.

“It’s been super fun,” Milligan said of competing in wrestling. “I played basketball and soccer and this is definitely better. I like the experience that you get, it’s not only physically tough, it’s mentally tough, too, and you have to balance that.”

Downs (9-4), a sectional qualifier last season who was also the lone finalist among the two individuals that were on hand for coach Josh Collins’ Spartans, won her first two matches with falls and advanced to the 100 title match following a pin in 2:32 over Bismarck-Henning Rossville-Alvin/ Armstrong’s Gracie Pattison in the semifinals. Mahomet-Seymour freshman Sierra Tuttle (16-10) and Clinton junior Sandy Clark (7-10) both lost their openers but then won their next two matches to meet up for third place and Tuttle won with a pin in 2:32. Tuttle, who led all competitors with a five-place improvement from her seed to her finish, was one of four qualifiers for the Bulldogs and Clark, who ranked second in match points with 44 behind teammate Ariana Humes (48), also joined her as two of the four qualifiers for the Maroons.

105 – Jasmine Johnson, Rantoul

Jasmine Johnson made history for Rantoul by not only becoming her school’s first regional champion but she also became the first individual to advance to a sectional tournament from a regional when the junior won by fall in 1:25 over Clinton freshman Bella Villanueva in the 105 title match. Johnson (8-7) was the lone competitor for coach Mark Owen’s Eagles while Villanueva joins three other Maroons who qualified for the Highland Sectional.

“I’m by myself, right now,” Johnson said of her girls team. “This is my first year wrestling. It’s very exciting. I actually didn’t think that I was going to like it this much but I like it better than my main sport right now, which is basketball. I love wrestling now, it just makes me happy. I like getting to meet new people and there’s a lot of nice, amazing people in wrestling.”

110 – Taylor Wells, Oakwood/ Salt Fork 

Taylor Wells was not only the lone first-place finisher for Oakwood/ Salt Fork at the Pontiac Regional, the freshman became her program’s first-ever regional champion when she claimed a victory by technical fall in 5:28 over Paris sophomore Kaidence Eveland in the 110 title match. 

Wells (12-6), who was one of three finalists and sectional qualifiers for coach Mike Glosser’s Comets, followed a first-minute pin with an 8-1 decision over Mahomet-Seymour junior Madilyn Becker in the semifinals. Wells was seeded fourth, so her three-place improvement was the best of any of the title winners and it also tied her with two other individuals for second-place in that statistic. She also was one of three freshmen who won championships in the Pontiac Regional.

“My brother, Thomas, was really the one that encouraged me to this first and he wrestles at OSF and he’s a senior right now,” Wells said. “And then some of my friends were deciding to do it so I was like, ‘You know what, I’m going to give it a shot and I think it will be really fun.’ Wrestling with the boys really makes you tougher and it really helps you to get stronger. I like the team bonding and the strength and the courage that it takes to wrestle. It’s just really fun all around.”

Eveland (8-6), one of the three finalists and four sectional qualifiers for coach Seth Rohrbach’s third-place Tigers, followed a first-minute fall in her opener with another pin, that one in 5:30 in the semifinals over Clinton senior Ariana Humes (15-6), who went on to claim third place with a fall in 2:51 over Becker (10-12). Humes, who was a sectional qualifier in 2024, joins three other Maroons at the sectional and Becker will be one of four from her school in Highland. Humes also had the most total match points with 48 while teammate Sandy Clark was second with 44.

115 – Sophia Mussari, Pontiac

Sophia Mussari got things started for the hosts of the Pontiac Regional when the Indians sophomore became the first of two champions for her team after claiming top honors at 115 and was followed two weights later by freshman Jocelyn Cobix with a title at 125 to lead the Indians to a fourth-place finish, which was 29 positions better than how they did last year in the rugged Minooka Regional. As a bonus, Mussari and Cobix led all of the champions for the most team points with 27.5.

Mussari (12-6) became her program’s first regional champion and also first to advance to a sectional from a regional when she won by technical fall in 5:16 over Westville/ Georgetown-Ridge Farm junior Kiley Knight in the 115 finals. She was one of four individuals from coach Vinnie Hobart’s Indians who qualified for the sectional. She opened with two quick pins, earning her spot on the title mat with a fall in 1:19 over Paris sophomore Paisley Reed.

“It feels really exciting,” Mussari said. “This is my first time I got first place and last year was my first year wrestling and before wrestling, I did jiu jitsu. It’s a weird position switching to different sports. Last year I placed at most of my tournaments but two and I went 2-2 at regionals and the two I lost to made it to state and placed at state so my goal is to be better than them now. It teaches me a lot of self-discipline. I just really love the sport.”

Knight (9-3) was one of two finalists and three sectional qualifiers for coach Austin Hedrick’s Tigers. She opened with a first-period pin before claiming a victory by technical fall in 2:07 over Centennial’s Taylor Garner in the semifinals to become her program’s first regional finalist. In the third-place match Reed (10-6) won by technical fall in 4:38 over Normal West sophomore Cheyenne Anderson (4-4), who lost to Mussari in the quarterfinals and got pins in her next three matches to become one of the four qualifiers for the Wildcats. They are coached by Margaret LeGates Lehr, who was the first girl to take part in an IHSA event, competing for IWCOA Hall of Famer Libertyville coach Dale Eggert over 30 years ago and her daughter Sammy was the first girl to win a tourney title as an official IHSA sport in 2021-2022 at the Normal Community Invite.

120 – Yuri Vilchis, Prairie Central

Yuri Vilchis and Prairie Central have come a long way in one year as she went from five wins in 2023-2024 to 22 this season and became her school’s first regional champion and eventually was joined as a title winner by defending IHSA 235 champ Chloe Hoselton as two of the Hawks’ four qualifiers for the Highland Sectional when she capped a three-fall effort by winning the 120 championship with a pin in 0:27 over Oakwood/ Salt Fork freshman Lainey Ehler. There were 13 individuals who had three falls, but Vilchis did so in the least amount of time, needing just 2:30.

Vilchis (22-10) collected all of her pins in the opening period, needing just 42 seconds to beat Clifton Central junior Lilly Plumley in the semifinals to make her the first-ever regional finalist for coach Scott Ziller’s Hawks. They made a huge regional improvement from 2024, by collecting 83 points to finish in second place, just seven points behind champion Urbana, after scoring only 25 points last season and finishing tied for 26th place at the Minooka Regional with Hoselton their first individual to advance from a regional to a sectional after taking third place.

“It’s been amazing,” Vilchis said. “I mean it’s my second year and I’ve been putting a lot of effort and work in during the summer. It’s great seeing the progress and being able to see what I can accomplish with just putting in the work. (Being around Chloe) It’s great, she’s really fun, I love her. It was really nice being able to go to The Compound, because where she trains. I like being able to see progress with effort. This is a lot better than any other sport that I’ve been in, and even if it’s a small team, it’s really nice.” 

Ehler (11-8) joined champions Taylor Wells (110) and runner-up Taylor Owens (145) as sectional qualifiers for coach Mike Glosser’s Comets, who finished in fifth place after taking 25th a year ago at the Mt. Zion Regional with just one individual competing, who was Owens, who became the program’s first to advance to a sectional. After opening with a first-period fall, Ehler captured a high-scoring 15-14 decision over Deer Creek-Mackinaw’s Madisyn Droege in the semifinals to assure herself of a trip to the Highland Sectional. In the third-place match, Plumley won by fall in 0:37 over Normal West freshman Kitzia Racey to become one of two qualifiers for her team while Racey was one of four Wildcats who took fourth place to earn trips to Highland. It was a rematch of the quarterfinals, where Plumley also got a pin, and Racey responded with two wins.

125 – Jocelyn Cobix, Pontiac

Jocelyn Cobix made it two titles in three weight classes for Pontiac and Livingston County schools completed a 3-0 run on the title mat when the Indians freshman followed teammate Sophia Mussari and Prairie Central’s Yuri Vilchis as champions in the Pontiac Regional when she took first at 125 by getting a pin in 3:01 over University High sophomore Hailey Watson. The local crowd also liked the fact that Cobix and Mussari collected the most team points with 27.5.

Cobix (25-6) became her school’s second regional champion and sectional qualifier and was later joined by Alix Robinson (155) and Olivia Miller (170) as four individuals from their team who earned trips to the Highland Sectional. Pontiac tied for 33rd with 15 points and had no qualifiers a year ago at Minooka and on Saturday, coach Vinnie Hobart’s team made up 29 positions to finish fourth with 77 points. After opening with a quick pin, Cobix won by technical fall in 4:10 over Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington freshman Adilyn Avilez in the semifinals.

“It’s just a great opportunity and I’m super grateful to be even wrestling now,” Cobix said. “Growing up as a girl in a male-dominated sport has definitely been hard and I’ve faced so many things. Finally, winning a big thing like a regional title as a freshman just makes me feel so happy because I’ve worked my butt off all of these years. This is my fourth year. (Working with boys) It’s definitely harder but it makes me feel proud and more overjoyed when I win, and even when I lose, it’s ok because it’s all a learning experience and everything happens for a reason.”

Watson (15-5), the lone sectional qualifier for coach Caleb Phillips’ Pioneers, only won four matches a year ago but now is her school’s first regional finalist after getting pins in the initial period of her first two matches, winning in 1:05 over Urbana Randi Campe in the semifinals. In the third-place match, Prairie Central junior Makiya Baker (21-16) won by fall in 5:58 over Avilez (4-3) in a  rematch of the quarterfinals where Avilez won an 8-7 decision. Baker bounced back with four-consecutive wins, with three being falls, to become one of the Hawks’ four qualifiers.

130 – Ava Beldo, Centennial

Ava Beldo stood out at the 130 weight class where each of the top three individuals were quite familiar with one another since they’re all sophomores and are all from Champaign and Urbana. And a year after being the first individual from Centennial to qualify from a regional to a sectional, Beldo became the first Charger to win a regional championship when she was a winner by fall in 1:06 over Urbana sophomore Tauhnisjha Hart to improve to 22-5 on the season. Champaign Central sophomore Londyn Grant took third place to give the school district two of the top three at 130.

Beldo, who went 32-12 last season and fell one win shy of advancing to the IHSA Finals from the Richwoods Sectional, was the lone qualifier for coach Ron Beldo’s Chargers, who only had two individuals in the competition. She also recorded falls in the opening period of her first two matches, with the longest of those coming in 1:17 over Westville co-op junior Laney Cook in the semifinals. Her three falls in 2:52 ranked her second for the most pins in the least amount of time with Prairie Central’s Yuri Vilchis being the only one to record three pins in a quicker fashion. She also finished in a six-way tie for fourth place for the most team points with 24. 

“I love the sport,” Beldo said. “It takes dedication and it takes mental strength. And I think that was the biggest part for me, being able to push through no matter what. It doesn’t matter the ranking, it doesn’t matter the name, it just matters if you get on the mat and you give it 100 percent, it doesn’t matter the outcome, whatsoever, win, lose, you learn. I drill a lot with the boys. Last year I was the only girl on my wrestling team, so it’s just amazing to open up the environment for more girls. I just love the environment that I’m around when I wrestle.”

Hart (21-14) was one of the two finalists, with 140 champion Rickasia Ivy the other, as well as five qualifiers for the Highland Sectional for coach Phil Sexton’s Tigers on an historic day when Urbana captured the regional championship by a 90-83 margin over Prairie Central. It ended a long drought for the school in winning a wrestling regional title, with that last coming in 1990. Hart, who also was a sectional qualifier last season, recorded pins in her other two matches and earned her spot in the 130 finals by recording a fall in 2:57 in the semifinals over Grant (11-2), who also qualified for the sectional for the second year in a row. She hopes to advance to the IHSA Finals after falling one win shy of achieving that at last year’s Richwoods Sectional. For third place, Grant won by fall in 5:11 over Cook (10-9), one of three qualifiers for the Tigers.

135 – Avery Crouch, Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington

Avery Crouch not only was the third of three freshmen who won a title at the Pontiac Regional but more importantly for the Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilington co-op, she was the Lady Trojans’ first regional champion and one of its initial two sectional qualifiers after the freshman captured the championship at 135 by recording a fall in 3:48 over Paris senior Emerson Barrett.

Crouch will be joined at the Highland Sectional by another freshman at her school, Adilyn Avilez, who took fourth place at 125. They were the only two individuals in the regional for coach Jim Gussman’s Lady Trojans. Crouch opened with a win by technical fall in a tournament-best 48 seconds before getting a pin in 1:27 over Bloomington senior Alila Beck in the semifinals. Although Crouch is listed with a 4-0 record, she has also competed against boys this season, and boys are what she has mainly faced during her career, which has spanned nine years.

“This is my ninth year wrestling, so I’m pretty used to it,” Crouch said. “I just came from wrestling boys for all nine years till now and switching to girls. It’s not different and it’s cool that the sport is getting a lot bigger. My determination has been my mindset mostly. You have to stay confident through the hard times, even if you’re losing, because losing makes you better and that’s why I’m here.”

Barrett (13-2), one of four sectional qualifiers for coach Seth Rohrbach’s third-place Tigers, also was a sectional qualifier a year ago and then fell one win shy of qualifying for the IHSA Finals from the Richwoods Sectional to cap a 10-4 season. She only had to compete in one match to reach the 135 finals and that was in the semifinals where she won a 9-5 decision over Urbana junior Tamya Terry (20-10), who went on to claim third place with a fall in 2:00 over Beck (10-6). Terry was one of five sectional qualifiers for the first-place Tigers while Beck joined 155 champ Alicia Swank as qualifiers for the Purple Raiders.

140 – Rickasia Ivy, Urbana

Rickasia Ivy experienced a memorable day for Urbana at last year’s Mt. Zion Regional where she was one of five sectional qualifiers and her team had one champ to take seventh place. But what a difference a year made at the Pontiac Regional, where the Tigers again had one title winner and five sectional qualifiers but there was a much bigger payoff as her program won its first regional title 90-83 over runner-up Prairie Central with the sophomore leading the way with a title win at 140 by claiming a 15-6 major decision over St. Joseph-Ogden junior Maddie Wells.

Ivy (26-4), who went 24-13 last season and qualified for the IHSA Finals with third-place finisher Jurdan Tyler, was one of two finalists for coach Phil Sexton’s Tigers, who won their program’s first regional title and this also marked the first time since 1990 that a wrestling team from the school took first place in a regional. Ivy only had to win one match in order to reach the 140 title mat and she won that with a fall in 0:38 over Prairie Central sophomore Victoria Vadeboncoeur. 

“It’s really nice to compete for Urbana,” Ivy said. “There’s a lot of girls wrestlers and they’re helping me out and they cheer for me, especially in this first-place match where I was really worried, but all of my teammates were cheering for me. My season has been pretty good for my second year. It makes me feel good that in my second year, I’ve been improving since last year. It’s really about how much you want it and if you really want it, you’ll get after it. The fact that this is my second year and I’ve placed first at two tournaments, I feel like it shows that as long as you really want it and you really push yourself throughout the match, that you’ll really get it.” 

Wells (13-5), the lone individual competing in the regional for coach Bill Gallo’s Spartans, won by fall in 1:55 over Mahomet-Seymour freshman Kaisley Shotkoski in the semifinals to advance to the 140 finals. She also qualified for the Richwoods Sectional last season and fell one win shy of a trip to the IHSA Finals to conclude a 25-win season. For third place, Vadeboncoeur won a 15-6 major decision over Shotkoski, who was one of four sectional qualifiers for the Bulldogs while Vadeboncoeur will join three others from the runner-up Hawks at the Highland Sectional. 

145 – Avery Schlickman, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher

Avery Schlickman has been wrestling for most of her life but the senior says that when this season is over, she will conclude her 14 years on the mat. After competing in each of the first three IHSA Finals, the Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley /Fisher senior hopes that she can not only become one of the few four-time qualifiers but also the first girl from her school to place at state. She’s off to a good start toward achieving that goal after she improved to 18-5 on the season by  recording a fall in 3:01 over Oakwood/ Salt Fork junior Taylor Owens in the 145 title match. It was one of just two finals in the Pontiac Regional which featured two returning state qualifiers.

Schlickman joined classmate Justice Milligan (100) as a champion for coach Josh Carter’s Falcons and the two will now compete in the Highland Sectional. She recorded falls in her first two matches and her quickest pin came in 0:52 over Normal West senior Vivian Guither in the semifinals. She tied six others, including Milligan, for fourth place for most team points with 24.

“Wrestling the guys and the girls is a complete difference,” Schlickman said. “So when they split it up, it was like a whole new wrestling style, and it’s just something that you have to get used to. All four of my brothers wrestled. In the state series, it’s a lot more fun now. When I was little, there was no girls state series so now we have our own opportunity for ourselves. I think that’s why so many of us knew each other because there once was a time when we didn’t have this opportunity.”

Owens (6-3) also recorded pins in her first two matches and needed to go into overtime in order to win by fall in 6:37 over Herscher junior Henna Mullikin (18-4), who went on to claim third place after getting a win by technical fall in 2:30 over Guither (24-13). Mullikin was the lone sectional qualifier for the Tigers while Guither was one of four Wildcats who advanced. Mullikin competed in the Geneseo Sectional in 2024 and fell one win shy of a trip to the IHSA Finals.

155 – Alicia Swank, Bloomington

Alicia Swank won 19 matches and got close to advancing to state from the Geneseo Sectional last season so now the Bloomington junior wants to take the next step and qualify for the IHSA Finals. She seems to be headed in the right path toward that goal as she’s already equaled her win total from a year ago and claimed a big victory over another junior who hopes to get to state this season, Unity’s Anna Vasey, when she prevailed with a 2-0 decision in the 155 title match.

Swank (19-5) became her program’s first regional champion and was one of its two sectional qualifiers who were also the only two individuals who competed in the tournament for coach Shawn Safford’s Purple Raiders. She opened with a pin before securing her spot in the 155 finals with an 8-0 major decision over Tremont sophomore Paytyn Dykes in the semifinals. 

“I’m really happy with how the season is going,” Swank said. “I know that I have next year, as well, but I’m happy with my junior year still going on. It’s nice to see how big it is in our area (her sport), our school still has a small team, but to be able to see all of the West girls, the U-High girls and the Community girls and seeing them and their teams everywhere is really fun. And seeing the little schools get teams is really nice because they have small athletics in general so it’s good to see them add another sport, and it’s still growing. I like just how close we are with each other. You’ll go to one tournament and see one girl for the rest of the season and become friends with her. It’s getting big now and you might be one of the first ones to set the tone for your school and your team.”

Vasey (28-4), one of two finalists and qualifiers for coach Logan Patton’s Rockets, with 235 runner-up Phoenix Molina the other, only had to compete in one match in order to advance to the finals and she won that one with a 9-3 decision in the semifinals over Pontiac senior Alix Robinson (9-5), who went to take third by getting a fall in 2:40 over Dykes. Robinson was one of four sectional qualifiers for Pontiac and Dykes was the only one from her team to advance.

170 – Emma Shelkey, Paris

Emma Shelkey and her Paris teammates have a lot to be proud of after they were in the mix for the title at the Pontiac Regional throughout much of the competition before Urbana and Prairie Central passed them in the late stages as the Tigers wound up taking third place. But with junior Shelkey claiming first at 170, two others advancing to the title mat and another giving them four qualifiers for the Highland Sectional, the program hopes to not only have at least one individual advance to the IHSA Finals but perhaps even have their first state medalist this season.

Shelkey, who improved to 10-0 on the season, became the first regional champion for coach Seth Rohrbach’s Tigers when she won by fall in 0:33 over Deer Creek-Mackinaw junior Bella Brooks in the 170 title match. Shelkey only had to compete in one other match in order to reach the finals and she won it with a pin in 3:34 over Pontiac freshman Olivia Miller in the semifinals. She finished tied with five other champions for fourth place for the most team points with 24.

“Our team has progressed a lot, and this is our third year as a program,” Shelkey said. “I think our team just wants it more than a lot of people and we work really hard outside of practice and in practice and we wrestle with boys a lot, too, so that helps. And our boys are doing really good, too, and next year I think we’ll be super solid with a really good lineup. Overall and honestly, it’s just really fun. The pride that we feel when we win is never matched to anything that I’ve done before.”

Brooks (9-9) became the only finalist and was the lone sectional qualifier for coach Tim Thomas’ Chiefs. She also only had to compete in the semifinals and she claimed a victory with a pin in 4:45 over Clinton sophomore Diana Naxi (8-9), who went to claim third place by capturing a 13-10 decision over Miller (8-10), as both were one of four sectional qualifiers for their teams.

190 – Payton Temple, Clifton Central

Payton Temple kicked off her season in impressive fashion when she defeated a two-time IHSA finalist and 2023 state champion, Plainfield Central’s Alicia Tucker, to hand the senior her only loss of the season in the finals at Minooka’s Thanksgiving Throwdown. The Clifton Central sophomore has also only suffered one defeat this season, to Prairie Central’s Chloe Hoselton, the 2024 IHSA champion at 235, and she improved to 21-1 after claiming a win by fall in 0:48 over Westville co-op sophomore Addison Briggs in the 190 title match at the Pontiac Regional.

Temple, the lone champion and one of two sectional qualifiers for coach Travis Williams’ Comets, only had to compete in a semifinal match in order to reach the 190 finals and she won it by recording a fall in 1:12 over Mahomet-Seymour freshman Jaycee Weitekamp. Temple was one of six individuals who tied for fourth place for the most team points with 24. She took sixth place in the IHSA Finals at 155 last season and hopes to become a two-time medalist this year.

“My one loss was to Chloe,” Temple said. “I think that I’ve been shooting a lot more this year and that’s been helping with winning and I’ve been more aggressive. I like this regional since there were a lot of people and teams that I knew here. I like more competition and it is getting bigger and bigger.”

Briggs (7-7), one of two finalists and three qualifiers for the Highland Sectional for coach Austin Hedrick’s Tigers, earned her spot in the 190 finals after winning an 8-7 decision in the semifinals over Urbana senior Franciana Kalanga (25-6), who claimed third place by capturing an 11-4 decision over Weitekamp (16-12). Kalanga advanced from a regional to a sectional for the second year in a row and is one of five sectional qualifiers for coach Phil Sexton’s champion Tigers. Weitekamp is one of four Bulldogs who will also compete in the Highland Sectional.

235 – Chloe Hoselton, Prairie Central

Chloe Hoselton and Phoenix Molina met up for the final title match at 235, providing those in attendance with a rare sight for a regional, which is the rematch of a state championship match from the previous year. And in a similar fashion to that title showdown where Prairie Central’s Hoselton edged Unity’s Molina 2-1 by ultimate breaker, the regional final was very suspenseful with the the senior defending state champion only leading by one point in the late going before she got a late takedown after the junior runner-up attempted to make one final move to pull out a victory and Hoselton captured a 4-0 decision to improve her record to 20-0 on the season.

Hoselton was one of two champions, with Yuri Vilchis the other one at 120, as well as two other sectional qualifiers for coach Scott Ziller’s Hawks, who put up a great fight to claim top honors in the Pontiac Regional before Urbana prevailed by a 90-83 margin. The runner-up finish was even more impressive since Prairie Central finished in 26th place at the Minooka Regional in 2024. Hoselton, who became the program’s first medalist last season, only had to compete in one other match, where she was a winner by fall in 1:14 over Urbana junior Lillian Disanto.

“I know that Phoenix is one of the best opponents I have,” Hoselton said. “She pushes me and she knows me in and out and it’s just really good to have her as an opponent, it challenges me. I’m so excited for our team. Last year, I was the only person that qualified for sectionals and then for this year to have four people, and two of them being brand new, it’s awesome to watch their development and everything they’ve done for our team and how much work they’ve put in. And Yuri Vilchis is a two-year, and to see her come back and not even placing at regionals last year to coming here this year and winning, it was awesome to see her get that achievement. I feel good about where I’m at. I have practice partners that push me and I’ve been working with my brother Drew and I practice with my head coach, Scott Ziller, and they push me and they know what I need to work on. And that’s what we work on and today I came out and showed it.”

Molina (25-4), who joined runner-up Anna Vasey (155) as a finalist and one of two sectional qualifiers for coach Logan Patton’s Rockets, also only had to compete in the semifinals prior to the title match and she won that with a pin in 3:03 over Normal West senior Cadence Duvall. The two individuals who fell in the semifinals met for third place with Disanto (31-7) recording a fall in 1:08 over Duvall (22-5). Didanto was one of five sectional qualifiers for the champion Tigers while Duvall was one of the four Wildcats who will advance to the Highland Sectional. 

Pontiac Regional Tournament

Team Scores

1. Urbana 90, 2. Prairie Central 83, 3. Paris 79.5, 4. Pontiac 77, 5. Oakwood/ Salt Fork co-op 59.5, 6. Westville/ Georgetown-Ridge Farm  co-op 56.5, 7. Mahomet-Seymour 54.5, 8. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher co-op 54, 9. Clinton 51.5, 10. Clifton Central 46, 11. Normal West 45, 12. Deer Creek-Mackinaw 39.5, 13. Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington co-op (36.5), 14. Unity 35.5, 15. Bloomington 32, 15. Centennial 32, 1. University High 25, 18. Olympia 21, 19. Rantoul 20, 20. Champaign Central 16, 21. Herscher 15.5, 22. St. Joseph-Ogden 14, 23. Tremont 11, 24. Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin 4, 25. Heyworth 2, 26. Monticello 0.

Place Matches

100

1st Place Match

Justice Milligan (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher) 17-0, Sr. over Mya Downs (Olympia) 9-4, Sr. (Fall 1:18)

3rd Place Match

Sierra Tuttle (Mahomet-Seymour) 16-10, Fr. over Sandy Clark (Clinton) 7-10, Jr. (Fall 2:32)

105

1st Place Match

Jasmine Johnson (Rantoul) 8-7, Jr. over Bella Villanueva (Clinton) 2-10, Fr. (Fall 1:25)

110

1st Place Match

Taylor Wells (Oakwood/ Salt Fork) 12-6, Fr. over Kaidence Eveland (Paris) 8-6, So. (TF-1.5 5:28 (19-3))

3rd Place Match

Ariana Humes (Clinton) 15-6, Sr. over Madilyn Becker (Mahomet-Seymour) 10-12, Jr. (Fall 2:51)

115

1st Place Match

Sophia Mussari (Pontiac) 12-6, So. over Kiley Knight (Westville/ Georgetown-Ridge Farm) 9-3, Jr. (TF-1.5 5:16 (22-3))

3rd Place Match

Paisley Reed (Paris) 10-6, So. over Cheyenne Anderson (Normal West) 4-4, So. (TF-1.5 4:38 (16-0))

120

1st Place Match

Yuri Vilchis (Prairie Central) 22-10, Jr. over Lainey Ehler (Oakwood/ Salt Fork) 11-8, Fr. (Fall 0:27)

3rd Place Match

Lilly Plumley (Clifton Central) 10-19, Jr. over Kitzia Racey (Normal West) 6-12, Fr. (Fall 0:37)

125

Jocelyn Cobix (Pontiac) 25-6, Fr. over Hailey Watson (University High) 15-5, So. (Fall 3:01)

3rd Place Match

Makiya Baker (Prairie Central) 21-16, Jr. over Adilyn Avilez (Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington) 4-3, Fr. (Fall 5:58)

130

1st Place Match

Ava Beldo (Centennial) 22-5, So. over Tauhnisjha Hart (Urbana) 21-14, So. (Fall 1:06)

3rd Place Match

Londyn Grant (Champaign Central) 11-2, So. over Laney Cook (Westville co-op) 10-9, Jr. (Fall 5:11)

135

1st Place Match

Avery Crouch (Dwight co-op) 4-0, Fr. over Emerson Barrett (Paris) 13-2, Sr. (Fall 3:48)

3rd Place Match

Tamya Terry (Urbana) 20-10, Jr. over Alila Beck (Bloomington) 10-6, Sr. (Fall 2:00)

140

1st Place Match

Rickasia Ivy (Urbana) 26-4, So. over Maddie Wells (St. Joseph-Ogden) 13-5, Jr. (MD 15-6)

3rd Place Match

Victoria Vadeboncoeur (Prairie Central) 2-4, So. over Kaisley Shotkoski (Mahomet-Seymour) 5-16, Fr. (MD 15-6)

145

1st Place Match

Avery Schlickman (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher) 18-5, Sr. over Taylor Owens (Oakwood/ Salt Fork) 6-3, Jr. (Fall 3:01)

3rd Place Match

Henna Mullikin (Herscher) 18-4, Jr. over Vivian Guither (Normal West) 24-13, Sr. (TF-1.5 2:30 (17-1))

155

1st Place Match

Alicia Swank (Bloomington) 19-5, Jr. over Anna Vasey (Unity) 28-4, Jr. (Dec 2-0)

3rd Place Match

Alix Robinson (Pontiac) 9-5, Sr. over Paytyn Dykes (Tremont) 4-6, So. (Fall 2:40)

170

1st Place Match

Emma Shelkey (Paris) 10-0, Jr. over Bella Brooks (Deer Creek-Mackinaw) 9-9, Jr. (Fall 0:33)

3rd Place Match

Diana Naxi (Clinton) 8-9, So. over Olivia Miller (Pontiac) 8-10, Fr. (Dec 13-10)

190

Payton Temple (Clifton Central) 21-1, So. over Addison Briggs (Westville co-op) 7-7, So. (Fall 0:48)

3rd Place Match

Franciana Kalanga (Urbana) 25-6, Sr. over Jaycee Weitekamp (Mahomet-Seymour) 16-12, Fr. (Dec 11-4)

235

1st Place Match

Chloe Hoselton (Prairie Central) 20-0, Sr. over Phoenix Molina (Unity) 25-4, Jr. (Dec 4-0)

3rd Place Match

Lillian Disanto (Urbana) 31-7, Jr. over Cadence Duvall (Normal West) 22-5, Sr. (Fall 1:08)

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

REGIONALS THAT FEED THE WASHINGTON INDIVIDUAL SECTIONAL

MORTON REGIONAL

Washington cruised to its 13th team regional title and advanced 10 wrestlers to sectional weekend for coach Nick Miller.

The Panthers finished with 228.5 team points to second-place Morton’s 169, followed by Richwoods in third with 132.5 points. Both Morton and Richwoods finished with eight sectional qualifiers apiece.

Washington got six individual regional titles from Symon Woods (37-5 at 106), Noah Woods (38-2 at 120), Michael Mendoza (28-14 at 138), Peyton Cox (33-4 at 144), Wyatt Medlin (41-3 at 157) and Josh Hoffer (42-3 at 215), and seconds from Micah Jackson (18-4 at 113), Logan Makiney (25-16 at 126), Wyatt Leman (31-17 at 190) and Sean Thornton (33-11 at 285).

“We don’t feel like we put our best performance out there today, but we have ten moving on to sectionals and won the team title by a solid point differential,” Miller said. “It’s back into the room and preparing our ten individuals for the coming weekend and shifting the rest to focus on team sectionals.”

Individual regional champions:
Other wrestlers winning regional titles at Morton were Morton’s Noah Harris (33-12 at 113), Harrison Dea (31-3 at 126), and Clay McKee (42-6 at 165), East Peoria’s Cooper Chester (28-9 at 132), Dalton Oakman (34-9 at 190) and Jose Del Toro (42-2 at 285), Metamora’s Grady Neal (36-5 at 150), and Dunlap’s Joseph Weeks (22-2 at 175).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE MORTON REGIONAL

106

1st – Symon Woods of Washington

2nd – Wensley Rahn of Peoria (Richwoods)

3rd – Kaleb Fuchs of Bartonville (Limestone)

113

1st – Noah Harris of Morton

2nd – Micah Jackson of Washington

3rd – Kaiden Capranica of Bartonville (Limestone)

120

1st – Noah Woods of Washington

2nd – Brody Watson of Morton

3rd – Christian Johnson of Bartonville (Limestone)

126

1st – Harrison Dea of Morton

2nd – Logan Makiney of Washington

3rd – Tyler Wieland of Peoria (Richwoods)

132

1st – Cooper Chester of East Peoria

2nd – Lincoln Yerby of Morton

3rd – Colton Boyer of Peoria (Richwoods)

138

1st – Michael Mendoza of Washington

2nd – Caiden Robison of Morton

3rd – Gabe Robb of Peoria (Richwoods)

144

1st – Peyton Cox of Washington

2nd – Rikyis Doss of Peoria (Richwoods)

3rd – Connor Graham of Metamora

150

1st – Grady Neal of Metamora

2nd – Colton Mosack of Dunlap

3rd – Chris Walker of Peoria (H.S.)

157

1st – Wyatt Medlin of Washington

2nd – Alex Martinez of Peoria (Richwoods)

3rd – Jacob Allen of Dunlap

165

1st – Clay Mckee of Morton

2nd – Jayden Schmick of Dunlap

3rd – Mark Aeschliman of Metamora

175

1st – Joseph Weeks of Dunlap

2nd – Colton Mckee of Morton

3rd – Gabe Martinez of Peoria (Richwoods)

190

1st – Dalton Oakman of East Peoria

2nd – Wyatt Leman of Washington

3rd – Ethan Dixon of Bartonville (Limestone)

215

1st – Josh Hoffer of Washington

2nd – Alec Del Toro of East Peoria

3rd – Benjamin Chaffer of Morton

285

1st – Jose Del Toro of East Peoria

2nd – Sean Thornton of Washington

3rd – Shaun Anderson of Peoria (Richwoods)

ROCKFORD EAST REGIONAL

Sycamore finished the day with 10 sectional qualifiers for coach Randy Culton. The Spartans topped second-place host Rockford East 205.5-186, with Burlington Central placing third with 127.5 points.

“We wrestled great as a team today,” Culton said. “Sending ten (sectional qualifiers) with such a young team is a great feeling. Having seven champs is unreal and all seven will be returning next year, plus nine of our ten sectional qualifiers. Winning regionals was great, but the true test starts this Friday.”

In winning the program’s 12th team regional title, Sycamore had seven regional champions in Rockford, in Carson West (37-4 at 106), Charlie Olson (19-7 at 113), Michael Olson (34-11 at 120), Tyler Lockhart (36-8 at 126), Jayden Dohogne (41-6 at 138), Cooper Bode (35-9 at 175) and Collin Hughes (28-7 at 285). The Spartans got second-place finishes from Douglas Gemberling (165) and Clyde Nott (215) and a third from Cole Kleiser (150).

Rockford East also advanced 10 to the sectional, while Burlington Central advanced seven.

Individual regional champions:
Other regionals champs in Rockford were Rockford East’s Cameron Terronez (24-6 at 132), Dana Wickson (29-5 at 150) and Ty Smart (34-10 at 157), Belvidere North’s Dominick Girardin (30-11 at 144) and Andrew Bucci (27-10 at 165), Burlington Central’s Michael Junitz (34-12 at 190) and Woodstock North’s David Randecker (22-9 at 215).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE ROCKFORD EAST REGIONAL

106

1st – Carson West of Sycamore (H.S.)

2nd – Oscar Nelson of Burlington (Central)

3rd – Tyler Gentry of Rockford (East)

113

1st – Charlie Olson of Sycamore (H.S.)

2nd – Eduardo Vences of Burlington (Central)

3rd – Sebastian Abwe of Rockford (East)

120

1st – Michael Olson of Sycamore (H.S.)

2nd – Aiden Nebiu of Belvidere (North)

3rd – David Wyruchowski of Burlington (Central)

126

1st – Tyler Lockhart of Sycamore (H.S.)

2nd – Taqi Baker of Woodstock (H.S.)

3rd – Bryson Teunissen of Belvidere (North)

132

1st – Cameron Terronez of Rockford (East)

2nd – Austin Lee of Burlington (Central)

3rd – Geren Stapleton of Belvidere (North)

138

1st – Jayden Dohogne of Sycamore (H.S.)

2nd – Donald Cannon of Rockford (East)

3rd – Landyn White of Woodstock (H.S.)

144

1st – Dominick Girardin of Belvidere (North)

2nd – Landon VanAcker of Belvidere (H.S.)

3rd – Cole McGuire of Burlington (Central)

150

1st – Dana Wickson of Rockford (East)

2nd – Gabe Sarnella of Woodstock (H.S.)

3rd – Cole Kleiser of Sycamore (H.S.)

157

1st – Ty Smart of Rockford (East)

2nd – Logan Wisner of Woodstock (H.S.)

3rd – Leeland Sanchez of Harvard

165

1st – Andrew Bucci of Belvidere (North)

2nd – Douglas Gemberling of Sycamore (H.S.)

3rd – Ayden Dobler of Woodstock (H.S.)

175

1st – Cooper Bode of Sycamore (H.S.)

2nd – Malachi Cannon of Rockford (East)

3rd – Jonah Chavez of Burlington (Central)

190

1st – Michael Junitz of Burlington (Central)

2nd – Kevin Salas of Harvard

3rd – Ismail Bilolo of Rockford (East)

215

1st – David Randecker of Woodstock (North)

2nd – Clyde Nott of Sycamore (H.S.)

3rd – Etungano Kakozi of Rockford (East)

285

1st – Collin Hughes of Sycamore (H.S.)

2nd – Eddie Esguerra of Rockford (East)

3rd – Everett Flannery of Woodstock (H.S.)

DIXON REGIONAL

Geneseo ran away with a team regional title at Dixon, sending 10 wrestlers through to the Washington Individual Sectional in winning the program’s 10th team regional title per IHSA records. Coach Jon Murray’s boys scored 225.5 team points and had five individual champions in Malaki Jackson (24-5 at 150), Grady Hull (33-7 at 157), Zachary Montez (37-0 at 165), Kyle Weinzieri (38-2 at 175) and Owen King (21-4 at 285). Geneseo also got seconds from Tim Sebastian (126), Izaac Gaines (144) and Colten Mooney (215) and thirds form Landen Vincent (120) and Devan Hornback (132).

Rochelle (138.5 points) had seven sectional qualifiers in placing second, and host Dixon (131.5) finished third and advanced five.

Individual regional champions:
Also winning regional titles were Freeport’s Treyden Diduch (31-5 at 106), Dixon’s Jack Ragan (36-4 at 113), Rock Island’s Merrick Stockwell (25-9 at 120), Rochelle’s Xavier Villalobos (36-5 at 126), Sterling’s Zyan Westbrook (32-2 at 132), Dixon’s Charlie Connors (29-5 at 138), Rock Island’s Antonio Parker (37-4 at 144), Rochelle’s Roman Villalobos (35-8 at 190) and Rochelle’s Kaiden Morris (43-2 at 215)

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE DIXON REGIONAL

106

1st – Treyden Diduch of Freeport (H.S.)

2nd – Riley Paredes of Dixon (H.S.)

3rd – Angelo Parker of Rock Island (H.S.)

113

1st – Jack Ragan of Dixon (H.S.)

2nd – Freddie Hernandez of Rochelle

3rd – Evan Jones of Sterling (H.S.) 

120

1st – Merrick Stockwell of Rock Island (H.S.)

2nd – Aidan Lopez of Rochelle

3rd – Landen Vincent of Geneseo
126

1st – Xavier Villalobos of Rochelle

2nd – Tim Sebastian of Geneseo

3rd – Cael Lyons of Sterling (H.S.)

132

1st – Zyan Westbrook of Sterling (H.S.)

2nd – Lucas Nelson of Polo

3rd – Devan Hornback of Geneseo

138

1st – Charlie Connors of Dixon (H.S.)

2nd – Orlando Castellano of Galesburg (H.S.)

3rd – Elijah King of Rock Island (H.S.)

144

1st – Antonio Parker of Rock Island (H.S.)

2nd – Izaac Gaines of Geneseo

3rd – Caleb Johnson of Galesburg (H.S.)

150

1st – Malaki Jackson of Geneseo

2nd – Josiah Carter of Galesburg (H.S.)

3rd – Jayden Weidman of Dixon (H.S.)

157

1st – Grady Hull of Geneseo

2nd – Donavyn Fernandez of Freeport (H.S.)

3rd – Tatum Allen of Sterling (H.S.)

165

1st – Zachary Montez of Geneseo

2nd – Grant Gensler of Rochelle

3rd – Anthony Makwala of Galesburg (H.S.)

175

1st – Kye Weinzierl of Geneseo

2nd – gage tate of Sterling (H.S.)

3rd – Mason Taylor of Galesburg (H.S.)

190

1st – Roman Villalobos of Rochelle

2nd – Rowan Stockwell of Rock Island (H.S.)

3rd – Will Howell of Dixon (H.S.)

215

1st – Kaiden Morris of Rochelle

2nd – Colten Mooney of Geneseo

3rd – Israel Goodman of Freeport (H.S.)

285

1st – Owen King of Geneseo

2nd – Larry Randolph of Galesburg (H.S.)

3rd – Oswaldo Navarro of Sterling (H.S.)

KANELAND REGIONAL

Yorkville Christian stood atop the field at day’s end in Maple Park, as coach Mike Vester’s Mustangs scored 240.5 team points to win the third team regional title in the program’s six-year history. Yorkville Christian won the 1A state title in 2022 and placed second in 2023 under Vester.

The Mustangs advanced 13 wrestlers to this year’s Washington Individual Sectional. Vester got individual regional titles from Ryan Festerling (27-4 at 106), Aiden Larsen (37-3 at 120), Ryan Alaimo (31-12 at 132), Isaac Gray (33-9 at 165) and Jackson Allen (29-3 at 190), and six second-place finishes from Christian Sandoval (113), Nico Harris (126), Adrian Wadas-Luis (138), Austin Wadas-Luis (150), Robby Nelson (157) and Hayden Wheeler (285). Placing third and advancing were Tyler Gleason (175) and Xander Oliver (215).

“Our team energy was very good from the start,” coach Mike Vester said. “We had a few guys who battled illnesses the whole week and were able to jump in and help the team secure the regional title and move on to sectionals as well.

We had a huge win in the finals at 106 with our freshman RJ Festerling beating a really tough returning state qualifier (ranked #6) from Morris to kick off the medal matches. Aiden Larsen dominated his finals match with a first period pin and is really clicking on all cylinders! Ryan Alaimo,  Isaac Gray and Jackson Allen also snagged titles with pins in their 1st place matches so that was great for them and huge for the team.”

Plano (180) finished with nine sectional qualifiers in placing second and third-place Morris (122.5) had six.

Individual regional champions:
Others winning regional titles in Maple Park were Morris’ Paxton Valentine (36-6 at 113), Brock Claypool (36-3 at 126) and Carter Skoff (43-2 at 144), Kaneland’s Alex Gochis (38-0 at 138), and Plano’s Antoine Gilford (150), Caidan Ronning (35-0 at 157), Luis Ballesteros (35-2 at 175) and Tyler Mast (30-9 at 285).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE KANELAND REGIONAL

106

1st – Ryan Festerling, jr. of Yorkville (Y. Christian)

2nd – Owen Sater of Morris

3rd – Gianni Verucchi of LaSalle (L.-Peru)

113

1st – Paxton Valentine of Morris

2nd – Christian Sandoval of Yorkville (Y. Christian)

3rd – Giovanni Hernandez of Ottawa (Twp.)

120

1st – Aiden Larsen of Yorkville (Y. Christian)

2nd – Brandon Anderson of Morris

3rd – Camden Skipper of Maple Park (Kaneland)

126

1st – Brock Claypool of Morris

2nd – Nico Harris of Yorkville (Y. Christian)

3rd – Ryley Soloff of Plano

132

1st – Ryan Alaimo of Yorkville (Y. Christian)

2nd – Jesus Martinez of Streator (Twp.)

3rd – John Havron of Maple Park (Kaneland)

138

1st – Alex Gochis of Maple Park (Kaneland)

2nd – Adrian Wadas-luis of Yorkville (Y. Christian)

3rd – Reegan Kellett of LaSalle (L.-Peru)

144

1st – Carter Skoff of Morris

2nd – Trevion Gilford of Plano

3rd – Jack Gruber of Maple Park (Kaneland)

150

1st – Antione Gilford of Plano

2nd – Austin Wadas-Luis of Yorkville (Y. Christian)

3rd – Charley Clifford of LaSalle (L.-Peru)

157

1st – Caidan Ronning of Plano

2nd – Robby Nelson of Yorkville (Y. Christian)

3rd – Zachary Pocivasek of LaSalle (L.-Peru)

165

1st – John `isaac` Gray of Yorkville (Y. Christian)

2nd – Oscar Cervantes of Plano

3rd – Caden Vanik of Maple Park (Kaneland)

175

1st – Luis Ballesteros of Plano

2nd – Apollo Gochis of Maple Park (Kaneland)

3rd – Tyler Gleason of Yorkville (Y. Christian)

190

1st – Jackson Allen of Yorkville (Y. Christian)

2nd – Prince Amakiri of Plano

3rd – Wes Weatherford of Ottawa (Twp.)

215
1st – Rider Larson of Plano

2nd – Malachi Congo of Morris

3rd – Xander Oliver of Yorkville (Y. Christian)

285

1st – Tyler Mast of Plano

2nd – Hayden Wheeler of Yorkville (Y. Christian)

3rd – Eric Mateika of LaSalle (L.-Peru)

REGIONALS THAT FEED THE LINCOLN INDIVIDUAL SECTIONAL

CIVIC MEMORIAL REGIONAL

In one of the tightest battles for a team regional title anywhere in Illinois on Saturday, Glenwood edged host Civic Memorial 199.5-197 for coach Jerod Bruner. The Titans had four individual champions among its 11 wrestlers qualifying for this year’s Lincoln Individual Sectional.

“It was a great day of wrestling as we snagged another regional title, and kudos to Bethalto for taking us down to the wire,” Bruner said.

Winning individual regional titles for Glenwood were Tyler Clarke (35-9 at 120), Maizon Milestone (29-15 at 165), Elijah Smith (38-8 at 175) and Cody Moss (32-5 at 285). Milestone’s 11-8 sudden victory decision in the finals against Civic Memorial’s James Wojcikiewicz added high-drama to Glenwood’s 2.5-point team win.

John Villar (138) and Mason Streb (215) placed second for the Titans, who got five third-place wins from sectional qualifiers Cooper Clarke (106), Jaxon Ferguson (113), AJ Williams (126), Drew Moffit (132) and Braden Monahan (144).

Monahan’s sudden victory win on the third-place had his teammates and Glenwood fans going wild for the sophomore.

“The team was hyped and that match was my takeaway from today,” Bruner said.  “Braden was a pudgy 165-pound freshman who decided through over a hundred off-season workouts that he would qualify at 144 as a sophomore. He made a huge contribution to Glenwood’s 2025 regional title.”

Civic Memorial finished with eight sectional qualifiers while third-place Triad (129.5) had six.

Individual regional champions:
Other wrestlers winning individual regional titles in Bethalto were Rochester’s Pierce Bultmann (37-2 at 106) and Conner Carroll (21-2 at 113), Civic Memorial’s Avery Jaime (33-10 at 126), Bradley Ruckman (132), Knox Verbais (37-6 at 150) and Tristian Ward (22-11 at 215), Triad’s Braden Rowe (29-6 at 138) and Brody Smith (19-8 at 144), Jacksonville’s Joe Reif (39-5 at 157) and Highland’s Ashton Zobrist (39-5 at 190).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE CIVIC MEMORIAL REGIONAL

106

1st – Pierce Bultmann of Rochester

2nd – Maddox Williams of Jerseyville (Jersey)

3rd – Cooper Clarke of Chatham (Glenwood)

113

1st – Conner Carroll of Rochester

2nd – Colin Crouch of Troy (Triad)

3rd – Jaxon Ferguson of Chatham (Glenwood)

120

1st – Tyler Clarke of Chatham (Glenwood)

2nd – Will Kelly of Troy (Triad)

3rd – Miles Carroll of Rochester

126
1st – AVERY JAIME of Bethalto (Civic Memorial)

2nd – Dashawn Armstrong of Jacksonville (H.S.)

3rd – Aj Williams of Chatham (Glenwood)

132

1st – BRADLEY RUCKMAN of Bethalto (Civic Memorial)

2nd – Jordan Kholian of Jacksonville (H.S.)

3rd – Drew Moffit of Chatham (Glenwood)

138

1st – Braden Rowe of Troy (Triad)

2nd – John Vallar of Chatham (Glenwood)

3rd – Nic Mrozowski of Rochester

144

1st – Brody Smith of Troy (Triad)

2nd – NATHEN HERRIN of Bethalto (Civic Memorial)

3rd – Braden Monahan of Chatham (Glenwood)

150

1st – KNOX VERBAIS of Bethalto (Civic Memorial)

2nd – Drake Pfeiffer of Rochester

3rd – Jacob Perez of Troy (Triad)

157

1st – Joe Reif of Jacksonville (H.S.)

2nd – Tyson Rakers of Highland

3rd – Nicholas Hartley of Jerseyville (Jersey)

165

1st – Maizon Milestone of Chatham (Glenwood)

2nd – JAMES WOJCIKIEWICZ of Bethalto (Civic Memorial)

3rd – Liam Kobbeman of Highland

175

1st – Elijah Smith of Chatham (Glenwood)

2nd – KEVAHN FLANAGAN of Bethalto (Civic Memorial)

3rd – Timothy Shea Herrera of Jerseyville (Jersey)

190

1st – Ashton Zobrist of Highland

2nd – LUKE McCOY of Bethalto (Civic Memorial)

3rd – Nicholas Woelfel of Jerseyville (Jersey)

215

1st – TRISTIAN WARD of Bethalto (Civic Memorial)

2nd – Mason Streb of Chatham (Glenwood)

3rd – Connor Broughton of Rochester

285

1st – Cody Moss of Chatham (Glenwood)

2nd – Aiden Surratt of Jacksonville (H.S.)

3rd – Landon Busch of Troy (Triad)

BLOOMINGTON REGIONAL

Lincoln coach Justin Dietrich saw seven of his wrestlers reach the regional title mat and four Railsplitters came away with individual championships in Cort Pentecost (32-15 at 126), Karter Hild (31-14 at 132), Aiden Frye (35-12 at 165) and Dawson McConnell (37-4 at 175).

Lincoln advanced 11 to Friday’s Lincoln Individual Sectional, getting second-place finishes from Ayden Shaw (120), Ryne Metelko (157) and Caleb Zirklebach (215) and thirds from Owen Thomas (113), Cam Bell (150), Soren Aukamp (190) and Logan Wachendorf (285).

“It was our first-ever back-to-back regional championship and our third in six years,” Dietrich said. “They’ve wrestled well at the end of the season and have big goals still to achieve.”

Lincoln scored 193 points to second-place Bloomington’s 150; Normal Community West finished third with 121.5 points.

Individual regional champions:
Other regional champs in Bloomington were Normal West’s Donovan Lowery (24-19 at 106), Dylan McGrew (32-7 at 113) and Jaxxon Long (17-6 at 144), Eisenhower’s Kayson Duffney (28-3 at 120), Bloomington’s Tyler Barlow (22-14 at 138), Chris Rose (17-12 at 150), Kenner Bye (27-5 at 215) and David Williams (6-3 at 285), Springfield’s Cody L. Stevens (28-15 at 157), and Springfield Southeast’s Chris Hull (27-8 at 190).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE BLOOMINGTON REGIONAL

106

1st – Donovan Lowery of Normal (Community West)

2nd – Jamarius Meyrick of Decatur (MacArthur)

3rd – Angel Lopez of Bloomington (H.S.)

113

1st – Dylan McGrew of Normal (Community West)

2nd – Caidge Smith of Springfield (Lanphier)

3rd – Owen Thomas of Lincoln

120

1st – Kayson Duffney of Decatur (Eisenhower)

2nd – Ayden Shaw of Lincoln

3rd – Tristan Green of Decatur (MacArthur)

126

1st – Cort Pentecost of Lincoln

2nd – Jack Schweitzer of Bloomington (H.S.)

3rd – Griffin McGrew of Normal (Community West)

132

1st – Karter Hild of Lincoln

2nd – Martavious Johnson of Decatur (Eisenhower)

3rd – Abram Rader of Normal (Community West)

138

1st – Tyler Barlow of Bloomington (H.S.)

2nd – Mason Wood of Normal (Community West)

3rd – Brenden Turnbo of Decatur (MacArthur)

144

1st – Jaxxon Long of Normal (Community West)

2nd – Frank Kittrell of Springfield (Southeast)

3rd – Kyndell Johnson of Springfield (Lanphier)

150

1st – Chris Rose of Bloomington (H.S.)

2nd – Bryce Bryant of Springfield (H.S.)

3rd – Cam Bell of Lincoln

157

1st – Cody L Stevens of Springfield (H.S.)

2nd – Ryne Metelko of Lincoln

3rd – Brody Cabrera of Bloomington (H.S.)

165

1st – Aiden Frye of Lincoln

2nd – Tyler Gardner of Bloomington (H.S.)

3rd – Cayden Smith of Springfield (Lanphier)

175

1st – Dawson McConnell of Lincoln

2nd – Shamar Brownlee of Springfield (H.S.)

3rd – Daniel Aguas of Bloomington (H.S.)

190

1st – Chris Hull of Springfield (Southeast)

2nd – Oliver Record-Frank of Springfield (H.S.)

3rd – Soren Aukamp of Lincoln

215

1st – Kenner Bye of Bloomington (H.S.)

2nd – Caleb Zirklebach of Lincoln

3rd – Lamarian Rainey of Springfield (Lanphier)

285

1st – David Williams of Bloomington (H.S.)

2nd – Derek Lawson of Springfield (Lanphier)

3rd – Logan Wachendorf of Lincoln

MAHOMET SEYMOUR REGIONAL

Host Mahomet-Seymour advanced 12 wrestlers to next week’s Lincoln Individual Sectional, posting 223 team points to also win the team regional title. Winning individual regional titles for coach Rob Ledin were Gideon Hayter (32-14 at 113), Talon Decker (35-12 at 150), AJ Demos (35-10 at 165), Marco Casillas (44-3 at 175), Brock VanDeveer (33-7 at 190) and Phil Daniels (28-13 at 285). Placing second for the Bulldogs were Justus Vrona (138), Colton McClure (144) and Noah Daniels (215), and Liam Noonan (126), Niko Truax (132) and Nino Caballero (157) placed third.

Saturday’s team title marked the 40th regional championship in Mahomet-Seymour’s program history.

“It was a great team win today,” Mahomet-Seymour coach Rob Ledin said. “We finally put our best lineup on the mat and it showed.”

Champaign Central (147) placed second and had eight sectional qualifiers and Mattoon (145.5) also had eight qualifiers in placing third.

Individual regional champions:
Other regional champions at Mahomet-Seymour were Centennial’s Owen Schoonover (15-12 at 106), Danville’s Juvontae Williams (16-6 at 120) and Josiah Williams (27-2 at 157), Champaign Central’s Talin Baker (29-4 at 126) and Ronald Baker III (36-1 at 138), Urbana’s Emiliano Bedolla (34-5 at 132), and Mattoon’s Ben Capitosti (42-4 at 144) and Mitchell Clapp (34-8 at 215).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE MAHOMET-SEYMOUR REGIONAL

106

1st – Owen Schoonover of Champaign (Centennial)

2nd – Austin Lechel of Champaign (Central)

3rd – Carlos Juarez of Danville (H.S.)

113

1st – Gideon Hayter of Mahomet (M.-Seymour)

2nd – Ayden Chunn of Champaign (Central)

3rd – Emmett Hench of Rantoul

120

1st – Juvontae Williams of Danville (H.S.)

2nd – Trotter Titus of Charleston

3rd – Vincent Gibson of Mattoon

126

1st – Talin Baker of Champaign (Central)

2nd – Tristan Porter of Mattoon

3rd – Liam Noonan of Mahomet (M.-Seymour)

132

1st – Emiliano Bedolla of Urbana (H.S.)

2nd – Malachi Hutchison of Champaign (Central)

3rd – Niko Truax of Mahomet (M.-Seymour)

138

1st – Ronald Baker III of Champaign (Central)

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

3rd – Brody Goonan of Mattoon

144

1st – Ben Capitosti of Mattoon

2nd – Colton McClure of Mahomet (M.-Seymour)

3rd – Dylan Pierson of Champaign (Central)

150

1st – Talon Decker of Mahomet (M.-Seymour)

2nd – Wyatt Buck of Rantoul

3rd – Brayden Dailey of Mattoon

157

1st – Josiah Williams of Danville (H.S.)

2nd – Mario Nieto of Champaign (Central)

3rd – Nino Caballero of Mahomet (M.-Seymour)

165

1st – AJ Demos of Mahomet (M.-Seymour)

2nd – Ean Freeman of Mattoon

3rd – Aidan Walker of Champaign (Central)

175

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

2nd – Blaine Howell of Mattoon

3rd – Harley Schultz of Rantoul

190

1st – Brock VanDeveer of Mahomet (M.-Seymour)

2nd – Sergio Baity of Champaign (Centennial)

3rd – Tavares Upshaw Jr of Danville (H.S.)

215

1st – Mitchell Clapp of Mattoon

2nd – Noah Daniels of Mahomet (M.-Seymour)

3rd – Moses Kim of Champaign (Centennial)

285

1st – Phil Daniels of Mahomet (M.-Seymour)

2nd – Drew Owen of Rantoul

3rd – Remi Bryant of Charleston

WATERLOO REGIONAL

Marion won the team regional title at Waterloo, edging second-place host Waterloo 185.5-173.5 for the team crown. Mascoutah (148) finished third in the team standings.

Marion coach Darren Lindsey’s Wildcats won the second team regional title in program history per the IHSA website, thanks to 10 wrestlers finishing in the top three of their weight classes. Lindsey got an individual regional title from Riddick Cook (32-5 at 113) and seven second-place finishes from Rigdon Meacham (113), Max Wade (126), Nate Page (144), Caden Frey (150), Tate Miller (165), Evan Francis (190) and Bryan Madinger (215). Justin Murphy (157) and Logan Black (285) placed third to advance to this year’s Lincoln Individual Sectional.

“We don’t have any superstars, just a bunch of scrappers,” Lindsey said. “We knew going into the regional that we would need everyone to hold serve and win, with everyone on the team contributing.”

Marion opened an early 50-point lead thanks to bonus points and advancement, but Lindsey knew Waterloo and Mascoutah would close that gap with their championship wins. Both schools had four individual champs to Marion’s one, but Marion’s seven runners-up and two third-place wrestlers earned the Wildcats the team title.

Lindsey applauded the guts shown by flu-ridden freshman Nate Page (144) in placing second, plus the effort put forth by football player-turned-wrestler Logan Black (285) in placing third.

Both Waterloo and Mascoutah each finished with seven sectional qualifiers.

Individual regional champions:
Others winning regional titles at Waterloo were Mascoutah’s Xavier Sonon (38-5 at 106), Macguire Leck (34-14 at 126), Brock Ross (41-3 at 150), and Jordan Sonon-Hale (36-9 at 157), Mt. Vernon’s Jack Clark (31-13 at 113) and Dillon White (37-0 at 144), Waterloo’s Konnor Stephens (35-11 at 132), Ty Kinzinger (23-9 at 138), Jackson Deutch (33-9 at 190) and Jaxson Mathenia (37-2 at 215), East St. Louis’ Pierre Walton (35-4 at 165) and Corey Robinson (35-12 at 175), and Cahokia’s Demarco Clark (28-7 at 285).

SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS FROM THE WATERLOO REGIONAL

106

1st – Xavier Sonon Hale of Mascoutah

2nd – Nathan Fisher of Cahokia (H.S.)

3rd – Matthew Deutch of Waterloo (H.S.)

113

1st – Jack Clark of Mt. Vernon (H.S.)

2nd – Rigdon Meacham of Marion (H.S.)

3rd – Ethan Clark of East St. Louis (Sr.)

120

1st – Riddick Cook of Marion (H.S.)

2nd – Jamarcus Agnew of Cahokia (H.S.)

3rd – Bradley O`Dell of Carbondale (H.S.)

126

1st – Macguire Leck of Mascoutah

2nd – Max Wade of Marion (H.S.)

3rd – Ayden Swan of Carbondale (H.S.)

132

1st – Konnor Stephens of Waterloo (H.S.)

2nd – Cameron Haake of Centralia (H.S.)

3rd – Jon Oliver of Carbondale (H.S.)

138
1st – Ty Kinzinger of Waterloo (H.S.)

2nd – Desi Wade of Mascoutah

3rd – Xavier Toliver-Cook of Carbondale (H.S.)

144

1st – Dillon White of Mt. Vernon (H.S.)

2nd – Nate Page of Marion (H.S.)

3rd – Joe Prideaux of Carbondale (H.S.)

150

1st – Brock Ross of Mascoutah

2nd – Caden Frey of Marion (H.S.)

3rd – Jon Martin of Carbondale (H.S.)

157

1st – Jordan Sonon-Hale of Mascoutah

2nd – Bladen Sease of Waterloo (H.S.)

3rd – Justin Murphy of Marion (H.S.)

165

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

2nd – Tate Miller of Marion (H.S.)

3rd – Sean Murphy of Mascoutah

175

1st – Corey Robinson of East St. Louis (Sr.)

2nd – Thomas Imboden of Carbondale (H.S.)

3rd – Truett Blount of Mascoutah

190

1st – Jackson Deutch of Waterloo (H.S.)

2nd – Evan Francis of Marion (H.S.)

3rd – Martez Williams of Cahokia (H.S.)

215

1st – Jaxson Mathenia of Waterloo (H.S.)

2nd – Bryan Madinger of Marion (H.S.)

3rd – Connor Daly of Carbondale (H.S.)

285

1st – Demarco Clark of Cahokia (H.S.)

2nd – Drew Glowacki of Waterloo (H.S.)

3rd – Logan Black of Marion (H.S.)