By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA 

Joliet Catholic Academy beats Marist for East Suburban Catholic Conference title

Two of the top four Class 3A teams met in the East Suburban Catholic Conference Tournament and for the second year in a row, Joliet Catholic Academy prevailed over Marist for the title, with the Hilltoppers outscoring the RedHawks 252-217.5 to win the eight-team event, which was hosted by Marist in Chicago. 

Last year, JCA won the title by a 226-221.5 margin after Marist took first in 2022 while JCA was second. St. Patrick (129) placed third while Notre Dame College Prep (106) finished fourth.

Coach Ryan Cumbee’s champion Hilltoppers had eight title winners and five runners-up. Claiming firsts were Luke Foster (106), Max Cumbee (113), Jason Hampton (120), Luke Hamiti (157), Max Corral (165), Nico Ronchetti (190), Max Hrvatin (215) and Dillan Johnson (285).

Taking second for JCA were Adante Washington (126), Damien Flores (132), Elias Gonzalez (138), Connor Cumbee (150) and Isaac Clauson (175) while Nolan Vogel (144) took third and Griffin Alessio (175) finished fourth. Macello Aguiular (190) also competed for the Hilltoppers.

Leading the way for coach Brendan Heffernan’s second-place Marist RedHawks were champions Michael Esteban (126), Donavon Allen (138), Will Denny (150) and Ricky Ericksen (175)  while Tommy Fidler (113), George Marinopoulos (120), Matthew Cornfield (144), Kevin Bartolotta (165), Conor Phelan (190) and Tom O’Brien (215) took second place. Ethan Sonne (132), Kevin Tomkins (157) and Dan Mahoney (285) finished third while Colin Phelan (106), Tyrese Johnson (150) and Matthew Sullivan (285) claimed fourth place.

Top performers for coach Dominic Angelo’s third-place St. Patrick Shamrocks were title winners Olin Walker (132) and Nikolas Karamaniolas (144) while Daniel Goodwin (106) and Van Grasser (157) took second. Devin Nichol (175) was third while Jack Koenig (113), Calvin Stahl (120), Patrick Hulne (126), Jack Clancy (190) and Aiden Gomez (215) finished fourth.

Notre Dame College Prep’s Dons were led by runner-up Scott Cook (285) while Ray Long (106), John Sheehy (113), John Greifelt (120), Deniz Ozturk (165), Jim Amatore (190) and Jack Malenock (215) took third place and Dean Lazaris (157) took fourth place.

Also finishing in third place were Carmel Catholic’s Matthew Lucansky (126) and Alex Asllani (138) and Nazareth Academy’s Andrew Fowler (150). Others who claimed fourth place were Saint Viator’s Caleb Jendras (132) and Daniel Chacia (138), Carmel Catholic’s Antonio Hinojosa (144) and Nazareth Academy’s Alex Dvorak (165).

Champions who also took first place last year were Donavon Allen, Will Denny, Jason Hampton, Dillan Johnson and Nico Ronchetti while Johnson and Denny also won ESCC titles in 2022.

Will Denny had the most team points with 23 while Max Corral, Max Hrvatin and Dillan Johnson tied for second with 22 points. Michael Esteban and Nico Ronchetti were next with 21.5, Nikolas Karamaniolas had 21 and Max Cumbee, Ricky Ericksen and Luke Hamiti had 20 team points. Denny also had the most total match points with 48 while Esteban was second with 35. And Deniz Ozturk, John Sheehy and Kevin Tomkins all recorded three falls.

Top records following the East Suburban Catholic Conference Tournament include Dillan Johnson at 285 (30-1, .968), Will Denny at 150 (33-4, .892), Olin Walker at 132 (31-4, .886), Nikolas Karamaniolas at 144 (26-5, .839), Jim Amatore at 190 (30-6, .833), George Marinopoulos at 120 (30-6, .833), Michael Esteban at 126 (28-6, .824), Scott Cook at 285 (32-7, .821), Daniel Goodwin at 106 (32-7, .821), Conor Phelan at 190 (31-7, .816), Donavon Allen at 138 (25-6, .806) and Ray Long at 106 (33-8, .805).

Marist had the most total match points with 245 and JCA was second with 205. The champion Hilltoppers recorded the most falls with 15 while Notre Dame had 14 and Marist got 13 pins.

Championship matches for the East Suburban Catholic Conference Tournament

106 – Luke Foster (Joliet Catholic Academy) D 6-1 Daniel Goodwin (St. Patrick)

113 – Max Cumbee (Joliet Catholic Academy) D 8-3 Tommy Fidler (Marist)

120 – Jason Hampton (Joliet Catholic Academy) D 3-2 George Marinopoulos (Marist)

126 – Michael Esteban (Marist) F 5:17 Adante Washington (Joliet Catholic Academy)

132 – Olin Walker (St. Patrick) D 7-3 Damien Flores (Joliet Catholic Academy)

138 – Donavon Allen (Marist) MD 12-2 Elias Gonzalez (Joliet Catholic Academy)

144 – Nikolas Karamaniolas (St, Patrick) MD 11-2 Matthew Cornfield (Marist)

150 – Will Denny (Marist) TF 2:42 Connor Cumbee (Joliet Catholic Academy)

157 – Luke Hamiti (Joliet Catholic Academy) D 5-2 Van Grasser (St. Patrick)

165 – Max Corral (Joliet Catholic Academy) F 2:49 Kevin Bartolotta (Marist)

175 – Ricky Ericksen (Marist) D 10-3 Issac Clauson (Joliet Catholic Academy)

190 – Nico Ronchetti (Joliet Catholic Academy) TF 4:29 Conor Phelan (Marist)

215 – Max Hravtin (Joliet Catholic Academy) F 3:25 Tom O’Brien (Marist)

285 – Dillan Johnson (Joliet Catholic Academy) F 0:28 Scott Cook (Notre Dame College Prep)

Third-place matches for the East Suburban Catholic Conference Tournament

106 – Ray Long (Notre Dame College Prep) F 5:12 Colin Phelan (Marist)

113 – John Sheehy (Notre Dame College Prep) F 1:07 Jack Koenig (St. Patrick)

120 – John Greifelt (Notre Dame College Prep) D 6-5 Calvin Stahl (St. Patrick)

126 – Matthew Lucansky (Carmel Catholic) MD 10-2 Patrick Hulne (St. Patrick)

132 – Ethan Sonne (Marist) F 0:39 Caleb Jendras (Saint Viator)

138 – Alex Asllani (Carmel Catholic) F 1:29 Daniel Chacia (Saint Viator)

144 – Nolan Vogel (Joliet Catholic Academy) D 7-2 Antonio Hinojosa (Carmel Catholic)

150 – Andrew Foster (Nazareth Academy) D 7-0 Tyrese Johnson (Marist)

157 – Kevin Tomkins (Marist) F 3:20 Dean Lazaris (Notre Dame College Prep)

165 – Deniz Ozturk (Notre Dame College Prep) F 3:57 Alex Dvorak (Nazareth Academy)

175 – Devin Nichol (St. Patrick) D 7-3 Griffin Alessio (Joliet Catholic Academy)

190 – Jim Amatore (Notre Dame College Prep) D 7-2 Jack Clancy (St. Patrick)

215 – Jack Malenock (Notre Dame College Prep) F 1:19 Aiden Gomez (St. Patrick)

285 – Dan Mahoney (Marist) D 3-2 Matthew Sullivan (Marist)

Team scores for the East Suburban Catholic Conference Tournament

1. Joliet Catholic Academy 252, 2. Marist 217.5, 3. St. Patrick 129, 4. Notre Dame College Prep 106, 5. Carmel Catholic 31, 6, Nazareth Academy 28, 7. Saint Viator 8, Marian Catholic 1.

Lane Tech wins third-straight Chicago Public League Boys Championship

Lane Tech College Prep had five title winners and three second-place finishers to help it to easily capture top honors at the Chicago Public League Boys Championships with 288 points, which was 98 more than runner-up Taft, which scored 190 points and Little Village took third place with 176 points. It was Lane Tech College Prep’s third-straight title in the competition.

Curie Metropolitan (128.5), Mather (126.5), Perspectives Leadership Academy (126.5), Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville (121.5), Rickover Naval Academy (104.5), Amundsen (98) and Kelly College Prep (87) rounded out the top-10 in the 41-team event that was held at De La Salle Institute in Chicago.

Coach Matthew Yan’s champion Lane Tech College Prep Champions were led by title winners Alex Valentin (113), Robert James Zavala (126), Larry Posey (132), Fernando Lopez (150) and Julian Hutchinson (285) while Evan Coles (106), Angel Santana (120) and Vermaat VanderBrug (144) placed second and Eyob Abebe (157) took third place. Cesar Mucha (138), Michael Birhala (165), Nick Berger (175), Maddox Bartoli (190) and Joaqin Gigante (215) didn’t place but all contributed points to the winning effort.

Top performers for coach Mike DiFrisco’s second-place Taft Eagles were champions Bernardo Roque (106),  runner-up Steven Tantchev (175) and fourth-place finishers Miguel Guevara (113), Ermek Zarylykbekov (132) and Nathaniel Vega (165).

Leading the way for the third-place Little Village Phoenix, who are coached by Michael Zagorski, were runners-up Omar Perez (190) and Adrian Chavez (285) while Vince Ramirez (138) and Edwin Govea (165) took third and Brandon Manzo (150) finished fourth.

Curie Metropolitan had three title winners, Victor Quiroz (144), Damond Butler (157) and Mylan Williams (165). Other CPL champs were Perspectives Leadership Academy’s Donald Bunton, Jr. (120), Simeon’s Davian Hall (138), Mather’s Jacob Scott (175), Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. College Prep’s Calvin Savage (190) and Phoenix Military Academy’s Kaleb Abney (215).

Also claiming second-place finishes were Hubbard’s Alex Carranza (126) and Fabian Salazar (138), Kennedy’s Victor Alvarado (113), Curie Metropolitan’s Porfirio Govea (132), Senn’s Maxwell Nevinger (150), Phoenix Military Academy’s Jules Rodriguez (157), Hancock College Prep’s Malakai Davis (165) and Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville’s Sean Brown (215). 

Top records following the CPL Boys Championships include Donald Bunton, Jr. at 120 (12-0, 1.000), Davian Hall at 138 (12-0, 1.000), Calvin Savage at 190 (29-1, .967), Jacob Pizarro at 132 (28-1, .966), Maxwell Nevinger at 150 (27-1, .964), Sean Brown at 215 (19-1, .950), Malakai Davis at 165 (30-2, .938), Victor Alvardo at 113 (25-2, .926), Xavier Woods at 150 (34-3, .919), Fernando Lopez at 150 (22-2, .917), Julian Hutchinson at 285 (10-1, .909), Robert James Zavala at 126 (37-4, .902), Mivontae Russell at 190 (18-2, .900), Elijah Sawyer at 106 (26-3, .897), Alex Valentin at 113 (35-4, .897), Jacob Scott at 175 (24-3, .889), Vince Ramirez at 138 (30-4, .882), Bernardo Roque at 106 (30-4, .882) and Fabian Salazar at 138 (21-3, .875).

Julian Hutchinson and Victor Quiroz tied for the most team points with 32 while Fernando Lopez, Calvin Savage and Robert James Zavala all had 31.5 points, Damond Butler and Davian Hall had 30.5 and Kaleb Abney, Larry Posey and Jacob Scott finished with 30 team points. 

Eyob Abebe had the most total match points with 75. Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville’s 

DaLauren Edwards and Jemel O’Brien both had six falls. Perspectives Leadership Academy’s 

Nicario Bella was seeded 27th at 126 and took third for the best seed to place differential. Lane Tech College Prep had the most total match points with 386 while Little Village had 333. And the top two teams led in falls with the first-place Champions getting 29 and runner-up Eagles 27.

Lane Tech College Prep also won the Chicago Public League junior varsity championship with 269 points while Sullivan edged Taft 187.5-183 to claim second place. 

Championship matches for the Chicago Public League Boys Championships

106 – Bernardo Roque (Taft) D 9-7 Evan Coles (Lane Tech College Prep)

113 – Alex Valentin (Lane Tech College Prep) D 9-4 Victor Alvarado (Kennedy)

120 – Donald Bunton, Jr. (Perspectives Leadership Academy) SV 10-8 Angel Santana (Lane Tech College Prep)

126 – Robert James Zavala (Lane Tech College Prep) TF 2:08 Alex Carranza (Hubbard)

132 – Larry Posey (Lane Tech College Prep) D 4-3 Porfirio Govea (Curie Metropolitan)

138 – Davian Hall (Simeon) MD 17-9 Fabian Salazar (Hubbard) 

144 – Victor Quiroz (Curie Metropolitan) F 2:34 Vermaat VanderBrug (Lane Tech College Prep)

150 – Fernando Lopez (Lane Tech College Prep) F 1:06 Maxwell Nevinger (Senn)

157 – Damond Butler (Curie Metropolitan) F 3:42 Jules Rodriguez (Phoenix Military Academy)

165 – Mylan Williams (Curie Metropolitan) D 7-6 Malakai Davis (Hancock College Prep)

175 – Jacob Scott (Mather) F 5:45 Steven Tantchev (Taft)

190 – Calvin Salvage (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. College Prep) F 1:16 Omar Perez (Little Village)

215 – Kaleb Abney (Phoenix Military Academy) D 9-8 Sean Brown (Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville)

285 – Julian Hutchinson (Lane Tech College Prep) F 1:48 Adrian Chavez (Little Village)

Third-place matches for the Chicago Public League Boys Championship

106 – Elijah Sawyer (Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences) D 5-3 Matthew Nguyen (Amundsen)

113 – Steven Onofre (Kelly College Prep) F 3:00 Miguel Guevara (Taft)

120 – Gianni Alberto (Kennedy) D 11-10 Daniel Garcia (Hubbard)

126 – Nicario Bella (Perspectives Leadership Academy) F 0:42 Cliffon Johnson (Kelly College Prep)

132 – Jacob Pizarro (Rickover Naval Academy) F 5:33 Ermek Zarylykbekov (Taft)

138 – Vince Ramirez (Little Village) F 2:47 Lennon Ojeda (Senn)

144 – Sergio Ramirez (Lindblom) F 1:31 Brandon Valbuena (Rickover Naval Academy)

150 – Xavier Woods (Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy) F 2:45 Brandon Manzo (Little Village)

157 – Eyob Abebe (Lane Tech College Prep) D 10-7 Willem Johnston (Mather)

165 – Edwin Govea (Little Village) D 9-7 Nathaniel Vega (Taft)

175 – Adrian Zepeda (Amundsen) MD 12-4 James Simmons (Bowen)

190 – Mivontae Russell (Perspectives Leadership Academy) F 1:02 Malyeik Lee (Westinghouse College Prep)

215 – Jaxien Jervis-Orr (Mather) SV 6-4 Elijah Jamison (Perspectives Leadership Academy)

285 – Josue Olivo (Lindblom) D 4-1 Drelin Mack (Westinghouse College Prep)

Team scores for the Chicago Public League Boys Championships

1. Lane Tech College Prep 288, 2. Taft 190, 3. Little Village 176, 4. Curie Metropolitan 128.5, 5. Mather 126.5, 5, Perspectives Leadership Academy 126.5, 7. Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville 121.5, 8. Rickover Naval Academy 104.5, 9. Amundsen 98, 10. Kelly College Prep

87, 11. Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy 81, 12. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. College Prep 76, 13. Kennedy 74, 14. Hubbard 68, 15. Westinghouse College Prep 67, 16. Phoenix Military Academy 65, 17. Schurz 63, 18. Senn 54.5, 19. Back of the Yards 50, 20. Simeon 42.5, 21. Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences 40, 22. Sullivan 39, 23. Noble Gary Comer College Prep 36.5, 24. Horizon Science Academy Southwest Chicago 35, 25. Chicago Vocational Career Academy 34, 26. Crane Medical Prep 29, 27. Noble UIC College Prep 26, 28. Noble Golder College Prep 23, 29. ITW David Speer Academy 19, 30. Julian 18, 31. DuSable 15, 32. Clemente 11, 33. Harlan 10, 34. Wendell Phillips Academy 8.5, 35. Fenger 7, 35. Kenwood 7, 37. South Shore International College Prep 4, 38. Englewood STEM 1, 38. Marshall 1, 38. Roosevelt/Von Steuben 1, 38. Tilden 1.

Quincy Senior wins four-way race for Western Big 6 title

Quincy Senior, Rock Island, Moline and Geneseo were all in the hunt for the Western Big 6 Conference Tournament championship and when all was said and done, Quincy Senior captured the title with 164 points while Rock Island (157.5) finished second, Moline (151) claimed third, Geneseo (150) placed fourth and Galesburg (120) settled for fifth in the eight-team competition, which took place at the historic Wharton Field House in Moline.

Leading coach Phil Neally’s champion Quincy Senior Blue Devils were first-place finishers Brody Baker (144), Owen Uppinghouse (165) and Todd Smith (285) while Bryor Newbold (175) finished second. Taking third were Hugh Sharrow (113), Evan Wakefield (126), Cale Mixer (138) and Eli Roberts (150) while Wyatt Boeing (120) and Gunnar Derhake (157) placed fourth. Cooper Kamm (132), Jayden Wilson (190) and Dalton Mays (215) were also on the title team. Muddy River Sports reports that this was the Blue Devils’ first WB6 title in over 40 years.

Five individuals won titles for coach Joel Stockwell’s runner-up Rock Island Rocks, Truth Vesey (113), Daniel McGhee (126), Antonio Parker (138), Amare Overton (175) and Andrew Marquez (215). Mauricio Parker (106), Merrick Stockwell (120) and Rowan Stockwell (190) took third.

Top performers for coach Jacob Ruettiger’s third-place Moline Maroons were champions Zander Ealy (157) and James Soliz (190) and runners-up Collin Ledbetter (106), Kayden Serrano (132), Jack Sibley (150) and Deanthony Simpson (165). Taking third place was Jaxson Soliz (175) and Housseyn Ndiaye (113) finished fourth.

Geneseo’s Maple Leafs, coached by 2023 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Jon Murray, were led by title winner Zachary Montez (150) while Tim Sebastian (113), Devan Hornback (126), Izaac Gaines (138), Malaki Jackson (144) and Kye Weinzierl (157) all took second place. Jacob Stahl (285) was third and TJ Kennedy (106), Grady Hull (132) and Colten Mooney (190) were fourth.

Galesburg’s Silver Streaks also had two champions, Rocky Almendarez (120) and Gauge Shipp (132), and two runners-up, Nick Makwala (190) and Larry Randolph (285). United Township had one title winner, Blake Trickey (106), and a second-place finisher, Payton Birdsley (215). And Sterling also had one runner-up, Zyan Westbrook (120).

There was a five-way tie for the most team points with 24 between Zander Ealy, Andrew Marquez, James Soliz, Blake Trickey and Owen Uppinghouse while Rocky Almendarez was next with 23.5 points. Zachary Montez, Amare Overton and Todd Smith tied for seventh with 23 points and Gauge Shipp collected 22.5 team points.

Top records following the Western Big 6 Conference Tournament include Owen Uppinghouse at 165 (41-0, 1.000), Gauge Shipp at 132 (35-0, 1.000), Daniel McGhee at 126 (34-1, .971), Rocky Almendarez at 120 (33-1, .971), Andrew Marquez at 215 (34-2, .944), Amare Overton at 175 (34-2, .944), Zachary Montez at 150 (32-2, .941), Kye Weinzierl at 157 (26-3, .897), Izaac Gaines at 138 (15-2, .882), Bryor Newbold at 175 (36-5, .878), Truth Vesey at 113 (28-4, .875) and Zander Ealy at 157 (34-5, .872).

Other individuals who took third were Sterling’s Landon Kenney (144), Gage Tate (165) and Oswaldo Navarro (215) and United Township’s Xavier Marolf (132) and Kayden Marolf (157).

Also finishing fourth were Galesburg’s Christian DeLaCruz (126), Josiah Carter (150) and Nathan Maloy (165),  Alleman’s Adam Jacks (144) and Joey Magee (215), Sterling’s Tatum Allen (175) and Charlie Reyes (285) and United Township’s Loic Houedakor (138).

Gauge Shipp had the most total match points with 54 while the host Maroons had the two individuals who got their three falls the quickest, Zander Ealy in 2:06 and James Soliz in 2:26. 

Geneseo collected the most total match points with 235 while Quincy Senior was second with 188. And the champion Blue Devils had 18 falls while Moline was next-best with 15 pins.

Championship matches for the Western Big 6 Conference Tournament

106 – Blake Trickey (United Township) F 5:56 Collin Ledbetter (Moline)

113 – Truth Vesey (Rock Island) D 10-7 Tim Sebastian (Geneseo)

120 – Rocky Almendarez (Galesburg) TF 4:06 Zyan Westbrook (Sterling)

126 – Daniel McGhee (Rock Island) D 12-5 Devan Hornback (Geneseo)

132 – Gauge Shipp (Galesburg) TF 4:50 Kayden Serrano (Moline)

138 – Antonio Parker (Rock Island) SV 9-7 Izaac Gaines (Geneseo)

145 – Brody Baker (Quincy Senior) D 8-6 Malaki Jackson (Geneseo)

150 – Zachary Montez (Geneseo) F 2:23 Jack Sibley (Moline)

157 – Zander Ealy (Moline) F 1:17 Kye Weinzierl (Geneseo)

165 – Owen Uppinghouse (Quincy Senior) F 1:37 Deanthony Simpson (Moline)

175 – Amare Overton (Rock Island) MD 13-1 Bryor Newbold (Quincy Senior)

190 – James Soliz (Moline) F 1:24 Nick Makwala (Galesburg)

215 – Anthony Marquez (Rock Island) F 0:24 Payton Birdsley (United Township)

285 – Todd Smith (Quincy Senior) F 3:32 Larry Randolph (Galesburg)

Third-place matches for the Western Big Six Conference Tournament

106 – Mauricio Parker (Rock Island) F 0:43 TJ Kennedy (Geneseo)

113 – Hugh Sharrow (Quincy Senior) F 3:36 Housseyn Ndiaye (Moline)

120 – Merrick Stockwell (Rock Island) MD 9-0 Wyatt Boeing (Quincy Senior)

126 – Evan Wakefield (Quincy Senior) F 2:39 Christian DeLaCruz (Galesburg)

132 – Xavier Marolf (United Township) D 5-3 Grady Hull (Geneseo) 

138 – Cale Mixer (Quincy Senior) D 2-0 Loic Houedakor (United Township)

144 – Landon Kenney (Sterling) SV 5-3 Adam Jacks (Alleman)

150 – Eli Roberts (Quincy Senior) D 7-4 Josiah Carter (Galesburg)

157 – Kayden Marolf (United Township) D 8-2 Gunnar Derhake (Quincy Senior)

165 – Gage Tate (Sterling) F 1:19 Nathan Maloy (Galesburg)

175 – Jaxson Soliz (Moline) TF 5:02 Tatum Allen (Sterling)

190 – Rowan Stockwell (Rock Island) F 3:04 Colten Mooney (Geneseo)

215 – Oswaldo Navarro (Sterling) D 10-4 Joey Magee (Alleman)

285 – Jacob Stahl (Geneseo) F 5:26 Charlie Reyes (Sterling)

Team scores for the Western Big 6 Conference Tournament

1. Quincy Senior 164, 2. Rock Island 157.5, 3. Moline 151, 4. Geneseo 150, 5. Galesburg 120, 6. Sterling 86, 7. United Township 80, 8. Alleman 19.

Hononegah rolls to NIC-10 championship

Hononegah had eight champions and four second-place finishers to help it win the NIC-10 Championship with 261 points, which was 85 points in front of runner-up Rockford East (176). Freeport and Harlem tied for third with 125 points while Belvidere co-op took fifth with 122.5 points in the nine-team competition which took place at Hononegah in Rockton.

Leading the way for coach Tyler Demoss’ first-place Indians were champions Rocco Cassioppi (106), Bruno Cassioppi (113), Thomas Silva (138), Max Haskins (150), Brody Sendele (157), Connor Diemel (165), Kurt Smith (175) and Isaak Smith (215) while Carlos Borges (120), Evan Musil (126), Robert Darling (132) and Max Aranki (144) took second. Greyson Cotone (190) was fifth and Luke Petravicz (285) also competed for the team champions.

Winning titles for coach Gene Lee’s runner-up Rockford East E-Rabs were Jospeh Young (120), Donald Cannon (132), Dana Wickson (144) and Lee Smith, Jr. (285) while Ty Smart (157) and Malachi Cannon (165) finished in second place. Rafael Esquer Santana (126) and Mekhi Byrd (190) took third while Cameron Terronez (138) placed fourth.

The other NIC-10 champions were Belvidere’s Bryson Teunissen (126) and Jefferson’s Karlondo Dubois (190). Belvidere also had four second-place finishers, Dominick Girardin (138), Andrew Bucci (150), Juan Cervantes (175) and Zander Martinez (215). Also placing second were Harlem’s Justin Lewis (113) and Andrew Redmon (190), Guilford’s Dominic Angileri (106) and Freeport’s Sami Odeh (285).

Rocco Cassioppi, Brody Senderle and Jospeh Young tied for the most team points with 24 while Bruno Cassioppi, Connor Diemel, Thomas Silva, Lee Smith. Jr. and Bryson Teunissen tied for fourth with 23.5 team points and Donald Cannon and Kurt Smith tied for ninth with 23 points.

Individuals who head into the state series with the best winning percentages from the NIC-10 include Donald Cannon at 132 (28-0, 1.000), Brody Senderle at 157 (40-1, .979), Dominic Angileri at 106 (20-1, .952), Rocco Cassioppi at 106 (37-2, .949), Connor Diemel at 165 (38-4, .905), Lee Smith, Jr. at 285 (32-4, .889) and Bruno Cassioppi at 113 (30-4, .882).

Freeport and Harlem both had four individuals who placed third. Taking third for Harlem were Nathan Corder (106), Izayah Olejniczak (132), Ethan Hagerman (138) and Ayden Goodwin (285) while Freeport got thirds from Thomas Olson (113), Maddox Olson (150), Sajjad Abdulrazzaq (165) and Dawson Holland (215). Others who took third place were Guilford’s Josh Seagren (120) and Xzavier Lindhe (144), Belvidere’s Landon VanAcker (157) and Auburn’s Peter Eziagulu (175).

Auburn had five fourth-place finishers, Tyrone Sims (106), Arshoun Island (150), Dardan Jakupi (165), Joshua Nabors (190) and Joseph Rodriguez (285). Freeport had four individuals who took fourth place, Josh Avila (126), Dayvion Fernandez (144), Kyle Clem (157) and Michael Tillmon (175). Also finishing fourth were Harlem’s Jaydee Doke (120) and Chandler Jack (215),

Belvidere’s Austin Bouback (113) and Guilford’s Ayden Macklin (132).

Lee Smith, Jr. had the most total match points with 43. Xzavier Lindhe had the most falls in the least time with three in 4:05. Evan Musil was seeded seventh at 126 and took second place. Hononegah has the most total match points with 246 and Rockford East ranked second with 229. And Harlem and Rockford East tied for the most falls with 18.

Championship matches for the NIC-10 Conference Tournament

106 – Rocco Cassioppi (Hononegah) F 1:07 Dominic Angileri (Guilford)

113 – Bruno Cassioppi (Hononegah) TF 2:17 Justin Lewis (Harlem)

120 – Jospeh Young (Rockford East) F 4:19 Carlos Borges (Hononegah)

126 – Bryson Teunissen (Belvidere) TF 4:36 Evan Musil (Hononegah) 

132 – David Cannon (Rockford East) MD 12-2 Robert Darling (Hononegah)

138 – Thomas Silva (Hononegah) TF 4:50 Dominik Girardin (Belvidere)

144 – Dana Wickson (Rockford East) MD 17-5 Max Aranki (Hononegah)

150 – Max Haskins (Hononegah) D 7-3 Andrew Bucci (Belvidere)

157 – Brody Sendele (Hononegah) F 1:16 Ty Smart (Rockford East)

165 – Connor Diemel (Hononegah) TF 2:15 Malachi Cannon (Rockford East)

175 – Kurt Smith (Hononegah) MD 11-3 Juan Cervantes (Belvidere)

190 – Karlondo Dubois (Jefferson) D 4-2 Andrew Redmon (Harlem)

215 – Isaak Smith (Hononegah) D 8-1 Zander Martinez (Belvidere)

295 – Lee Smith, Jr. (Rockford East) F 1:38 Sami Odeh (Freeport)

Third-place matches for the NIC-10 Conference Tournament

106 – Nathan Corder (Harlem) F 3:10 Tyrone Sims (Auburn)

113 – Thomas Olson (Freeport) F 1:24 Austin Bouback (Belvidere)

120 – Josh Seagren (Guilford) F 1:38 Jaydee Doke (Harlem)

126 – Rafael Esquer Santana (Rockford East) F 1:50 Josh Avila (Freeport)

132 – Izayah Olejniczak (Harlem) SV 8-6 Ayden Macklin (Guilford)

138 – Ethan Hagerman (Harlem) MD 14-6 Cameron Terronez (Rockford East)

144 – Xzavier Lindhe (Guilford) F 1:17 Dayvion Fernandez (Freeport)

150 – Maddox Olson (Freeport) D 12-9 Arshoun Island (Auburn)

157 – Landon VanAcker (Belvidere) F 5:48 Kyle Clem (Freeport)

165 – Sajjad Abdulrazzaq (Freeport) MD 12-3 Dardan Jakupi (Auburn)

175 – Peter Eziagulu (Auburn) F 5:59 Michael Tilmon (Freeport)

190 – Mekhi Byrd (Rockford East) F 5:41 Joshua Nabors (Auburn)

215 – Dawson Holland (Freeport) F 5:24 Chandler Jack (Harlem)

285 – Ayden Goodwin (Harlem) F 3:23 Joseph Rodriguez (Auburn)

Team scores for the NIC-10 Conference Tournament

1. Hononegah 261, 2. Rockford East 176, 3. Freeport 125, 3, Harlem 125, 5. Belvidere 122.5, 6. Guilford 82, 7. Auburn 63, 8. Jefferson 38.5, 9. Boylan Catholic 3.

Rich Township repeats as Southland Athletic Conference champion

Rich Township had five individual champions and three second-place finishers to help it capture the title of the Southland Athletic Conference Tournament, a five-team competition that it hosted in Richton Park. The hosts, who also won the SAC championship last season, finished with 141 points while Bloom Township got past Thornton Township 118.5-111.5 for second place.

Top performers for coach Alexander Pell’s champion Rich Township Raptors were title winners Keyshawn Pittman (106), Deyonte Drake (113), Kyrin King (120), Caleeb Jones (126) and Tristin King (144) while Chiff Okolo (138), Kelcey Span (175) and Jadin Billingsley (190) placed second. Carl Jeffries (132), Marquis Taylor (150) and Nicholas Parker (165) took third, Sam Kemp (157) and Emmanuel Gyan (215) finished fourth and Ahmah Brown (285) was fifth.

Taking first place for coach Gabe Damiani’s runner-up Bloom Township Blazing Trojans were Kentei Grady (138) and Jonathan Ivy (150) while Cameron Davenport (126), Arryck Dowdy (132), Khalil Craig (144) and Josiah Taylor (165) all placed second.

Thornton Township co-op had four title winners, Emmanuel Adedeji (132), Brandon Dumas (157), Qilee Jackson (190) and Lionel Senior (285). The other three Southland Athletic Conference champions were Kankakee’s Caleb Dickens (175) and Jacob Vinardi (215) and Crete-Monee’s Malakai Scott (165).

Other second-place finishers were Crete-Monee’s Bandile Gcabashe (113), Amaris Crump (150) and Jaylene Johnson (157), Thornton Township’s Adrian Valadez (106) and Taofeeq Amuda (215) and Kankakee’s Aiden Fields (120) and Rogelio Cornejo (285).

Kyrin King and Jacob Vinardi had the most team points with 20 while Kentei Grady and Jonathan Ivy were next-best with 19 team points. Jacob Vinardi was also the only individual in the tournament to record four falls and Chiff Okolo had 34 total match points while Jonathan Ivy and Tristin King both had 33 points. Rich Township had the most match points with 189 while the champion Raptors and Thorntown Township tied for the most wins by fall with 15.

Championship matches for the Southland Athletic Conference Tournament  (round robin)

106 – Keyshawn Pittman (Rich Township) D 7-5 Adrian Valadez (Thornton Township)

113 – Deyonte Drake (Rich Township) F 2:29 Bandile Gcabashe (Crete-Monee)

120 – Kyrin King (Rich Township) F 1:52 Aiden Fields (Kankakee) 

126 – Caleeb Jones (Rich Township) F 1:56 Cameron Davenport (Bloom Township)

132 – Emmanuel Adedeji (Thornton Township) F 2:46 Arryck Dowdy (Bloom Township) 

138 – Kentei Grady (Bloom Township) F 1:09 Chiff Okolo (Rich Township) 

144 – Tristin King (Rich Township) D 10-3 Khalil Craig (Bloom Township)

150 – Jonathan Ivy (Bloom Township) F 5:02 Amaris Crump (Crete-Monee)

157 – Brandon Dumas (Thornton Township) F 5:55 Jaylene Johnson (Crete-Monee)

165 – Malakai Scott (Crete-Monee) D 8-4 Josiah Taylor (Bloom Township)

175 – Caleb Dickens (Kankakee) D 4-2 Kelcey Span (Rich Township)

190 – Qilee Jackson (Thornton Township) D 7-2 Jadin Billingsley (Rich Township)

215 – Jacob Vinardi (Kankakee) F 1:50 Taofeeq Amuda (Thornton Township)

285 – Lionel Senior (Thornton Township) D 5-0 Rogelio Cornejo (Kankakee)

Team scores for the Southland Athletic Conference Tournament

1. Rich Township 141, 2. Bloom Township 118.5, 3. Thornton Township 111.5, 4. Kankakee 78, 5. Crete-Monee 68

By Gary Larsen

Rickover Naval Academy coach Guillermo Mejia put it best in describing the inaugural season of IHSA regional competition in girls wrestling.

“It’s nice to see the growth in the sport,” Mejia said. “It seems like some of the regionals this year were as competitive as some of the sectionals last year.”

Round Lake hosted a regional of 42 teams and when it was over, Phoenix Military Academy had topped the field with 195.5 team points, to second-place Lakes 164. Zion-Benton (129) was third, followed by Grayslake North (123) and Rickover (109) to round out the top five team finishes.

Phoenix also topped the field at this year’s Chicago Public League tournament, where Rickover placed second.

Phoenix coach Dan Curin advanced 11 girls through to this year’s Evanston sectional on Feb. 9-10. The Firebirds’ Diana Lopez (110), AJ Grant (145), and America Cabrera (155) won individual regional titles, Jocelyn Quiroz (130) placed second, and Jitzel Arande (100) finished third.

Phoenix also got fourths from Marisol Castro (120) and Ariel Foreman (135), fifths from Mia Thomas (115) and Alexia Ramos (140), and sixths from America Sanchez (105) and Anne Johnson (170).

“I have never been more proud of a team I’ve coached in my life,” Curin said. “For a school from the west side of Chicago with less than four hundred kids to make this big of an impact is mind-blowing. The amazing thing is the entire squad is back next year. All of these girls are extremely committed and hardworking.”

Nine of the regional title matches in Round Lake were decided by fall, three were decided by straight decision, and two went to overtime before a champion was crowned.

Second-place Lakes advanced seven wrestlers to the sectional, with Zayria Mouzon (105) and Ava Babbs (125) winning regional titles. Lakes coach Devin Tortorice also got seconds from Olivia Heft (120), Christina Hasner (135), and Josie Larson (190), a third from Haven Sylves (110), and a sixth from Davalyn Hampton (140).

“If I was to round up the weekend in a few words, I would call it nearly perfect,” Tortorice said. “I was extremely proud of the ladies. My 140-pound senior (Hampton) was truly the exciting story, though. She came into the tournament as the second-to-last seed and got herself qualified for sectionals, as a first-year senior who put it all together when it mattered. I’m very proud of her.”

With only six wrestlers entered, third-place Zion-Benton entered the least number of girls among the top nine teams. Coach Hal Lunsford got individual titles from Emily Ortiz (130) and ILeen Castrejon (190), seconds from Adrianna Ketchum (140) and Grace Johnson (155), a third from Naomi Foote (145), and a sixth from Jay Thompson (135).

“I am so proud of this team,” Lunsford said. “These young women are amazing student-athletes and I am truly blessed to have them on my team. Taking third as a team with only six wrestlers is a true testament to the hard work they do every day in the practice room.”

Other individual regional champions at Round Lake were Loyola Academy’s Harlee Hiller (115), Glenbrook North’s Ariella Dobin (120), Grayslake North’s Quinna Sheets (135), New Trier’s Jillian Giller (140), and Waukegan’s Jennifer Perez (170). 

Here are the individual champions’ stories:

100 – Mia Vazquez, Rickover Naval Academy

Rickover Naval Academy’s Mia Vazquez and Round Lake’s Riley Kongkaeow kicked off the championship round in fine fashion, going into overtime before a Vazquez takedown gave her an 8-6 decision and a regional crown.

Illinois’ fifth-ranked Vazquez (29-3) posted two takedowns in the first period and sixth-ranked Kongkaeow (29-3) had one in the second to make it 4-3 heading into the third. Kongkaeow chose down and escaped to make it 4-4 before a wild finish saw another Vazquez takedown followed by a Kongkaeow reversal in the final 30 seconds to send the match to overtime.

Vazquez earned her regional title-winning takedown thanks to a quality that the Rickover coaching staff has been helping her adopt.

“I’m more calm now,” Vazquez said. “I can get too anxious to win but if I’m (ahead) in a match, now I know how to get through it a little better. And my shots are better this year. In the past I just used my strength more but now I’m taking better shots.”

Vazquez also won an 8-6 decision over Kongkaeow in the semifinals of this year’s Sally Berman tournament at Palatine. 

“What I love about it is there’s a lot of appreciation and respect between those two girls, and those two families,” Rickover coach Guillermo Mejia said. “They’re obviously hard matches but afterwards there’s a good connection and respect between them.”

Vazquez won tournament titles at the BTS, Palatine, and Chicago Public League tournaments and placed second at Niles West. Kongkaeow won titles at the Waukegan, Conant, and Lake County tournaments and placed third at Palatine.

Phoenix Military Academy’s Jitzel Arande (10-5) placed third, New Trier’s Sundus Aitzemkour (18-11) took fourth, Clark’s Asia Boss (9-3) was fifth, and Grayslake North’s Ester Migues-Gaytan finished sixth to advance.

105 – Zaryia Mouzon, Lakes

Winning her fifth individual title of the season, Lakes senior Zaryia Mouzon used a pin in the finals over Westinghouse College Prep’s Kimani Glasper to become a regional champion.

Top-seeded Mouzon (30-4) pinned second-seeded Glasper (16-5) at the 5:54 mark. Mouzon also won individual tournament titles at Lakes, Waukegan, Dundee-Crown, and Lake County this season.

“Z’s performance was solid,” Lakes coach Devin Tortorice said. “She executed aggressively as she usually does and seized critical opportunities.”

Mouzon won individual titles at Lakes, Waukegan, Dundee-Crown and the Lake County tournaments this year, and was second at Palatine.

Both Mouzon and Glasper used a pair of pins each to reach the finals. Vernon Hills’ Hanna Lee (12-13) placed third, Lane Tech’s Sofia Guerrero (14-13) was fourth, Antioch’s Londyn Lloyd (3-2) took fifth, and Phoenix Military’s Academy’s America Sanchez finished sixth.

110 – Diana Lopez, Phoenix Military Academy

The day’s second overtime match in the finals came when Phoenix Military Academy’s Diana Lopez (18-3) and Niles West’s Zoe Pomeranets (24-10) squared off at 110 in the finals.

A 4-4 tie after three periods gave way to overtime, where the junior Lopez applied what she’s been taught.

“In practice coach (Dan Curin) says it’s whoever wants it more, so I just wanted to try my hardest,” Lopez said. “I just had to remember what we work on every day. And I’m taking more shots now.”

Lopez’s OT takedown gave her a 6-4 decision and earned her the right to be called a regional champion. She was a state qualifier last year and admitted to getting re-dedicated to wrestling this season. 

Lopez will use the two-week break before sectionals begin on Feb. 9 to recover and fine-tune.

“I got sick a week ago and my conditioning is still coming back,” she said. “Now I hope to get downstate, win a couple matches, and get up on the podium.”

Lopez won the title at 110 at this year’s Chicago Public League and Rickover tournaments, and was third at the Lakes tournament.

Third-seeded Pomeranets (17-4) won by fall in her semifinal against second-seeded Haven Sylves (24-9) of Lakes, while top-seeded Lopez won by tech fall in her semifinal against fifth-seeded Alyssa Bentley (18-8) of Warren.

Sylves went on to place third at 110, Bentley took fourth, Grayslake North’s Amara Facundo (20-20) finished fifth, and Taft’s Alyssa Martel placed sixth.

115 – Harlee Hiller, Loyola Academy

Last year’s state champion at 105 pounds is back.

After missing four weeks due to injury, Loyola Academy junior Harlee Hiller returned one week before Saturday’s regional to make another run at state glory.

Hiller was dominant in Round Lake, winning by fall in under 30 seconds in three of her matches. Only Phoenix Military Academy’s Mia Thomas pushed her into the second period before Hiller won by fall in their semifinal at 2:38.

Hiller fell to the bottom of the state rankings at 115 due to her absence. She won by fall in 0:16 in the finals Saturday against Round Lake’s Ireland McCain (29-7).

“I was hurt for the second half of the season but I feel good,” Hiller said. “I’m happy to be back, for sure. I haven’t had any issues. I worked really hard on my own (to stay conditioned).”

New Trier’s Zoe Lee placed (20-11) third at 115, Stevenson’s Nastasia Kobets (16-6) took fourth, Phoenix’s Thomas (17-7) finished fifth and Taft’s Jennifer Arenas (10-9) placed sixth.

120 – Ariella Dobin, Glenbrook South

Two of the top-ranked 120-pounders in Illinois met on the title mat, when Lakes’ No. 4 Olivia Heft (27-2) met Glenbrook South’s No. 8 Ariella Dobin. The freshman Dobin (27-2) built a 6-2 lead in the second period and led 9-3 in the third, before the senior Heft  earned a takedown but couldn’t turn Dobin to the final buzzer.

Both wrestlers had posted three wins by fall to reach the title mat. Heft finished second at 115 at the IHSA’s inaugural girls state finals two years ago.

Dobin won individual titles this year at Niles West and Waukegan, and Heft won titles at the Lakes, Palatine, Dundee-Crown and Lake County tournaments.

Dobin has exceeded whatever expectations GBS coach John Gilchrist may have had for her.

“Being a freshman you don’t really know what kind of wrestler (Dobin) will be,” Gilchrist said. “As the season goes on, you realize how competitive she is. She was a bit nervous but excited to compete (at the regional). We are so very proud of her and the rest of the team.

“It was so impressive to watch all the quality wrestlers from all schools. As a team, we did really well. Zoe Handler (105) was one match from qualifying, Siena Dini (135) took fifth and, of course, Ariella won her weight class.”

Grayslake Central’s Gianna Arzer (31-8) finished third at 120, Phoenix Military Academy’s Marisol Castro (18-6) was fourth, Lake View’s Raynisha Sims (8-3) placed fifth, and Lane Tech’s Nyah Lovis (29-4) placed sixth.

125 – Ava Babbs, Lakes

Fifth-ranked in Illinois and unbeaten at 25-0, Lakes senior Ava Babbs

Is a different wrestler than the one who finished third at last year’s state finals at 125.

For one thing, as her four first-period pins showed Saturday, she’s even more aggressive.

“I’m just attacking, right away,” Babbs said. “Get into my offense and be the first one to score. Leave not doubt at all. Just get it done.”

Babbs only took up wrestling as a sophomore two years ago. She’s much more savvy and experienced on the mat as a senior, but her evolution has gone beyond the nuts and bolts of the sport.

“Of course I’ve grown in my wrestling but a lot of it has been my mindset,” Babbs said. “I’ve had a big mindset shift and I think that helped me a lot. I used to get nervous knowing I was going against people who were good, and be a little afraid of that. But now I want to scrap, and come out firing.

“I had to realize that I can push myself and wrestle against these girls, and I’m there for a reason.”

Babbs also won individual titles in tournaments at Waukegan, Dundee-Crown, and Lake County this year. She won her first regional title by fall against another of the state’s top 125-pounders, Waukegan’s second-seeded senior Noelani Rodriguez (26-6), a two-time state qualifier who won a title at Niles West and placed second at the Waukegan, Palatine, and Lake County tournaments.

Noelani won a tough 2-1 semifinal decision over sixth-seeded Kamile Rayome (14-7) of Lake Forest, who went on to place third. 

Warren’s Jane Kelly (16-12) took fourth, New Trier’s Katelynn Parsawasdi (16-13) finished fifth, and Carmel Catholic’s Haley Ramos placed (5-6) sixth at 125.

130 – Emily Ortiz, Zion-Benton

Zion-Benton’s Emily Ortiz and Phoenix Military Academy’s Jocelyn Quiroz locked horns in the biggest barnburner of the finals, with Ortiz ultimately winning a 16-10 decision.

“She has grit,” Zion-Benton coach Hal Lunsford said of Ortiz. “She is a second-year wrestler and she is all-in with the sport. She works towards being the best in the practice room and in competition.

Ortiz’s win helped the Zee-Bees to a third-place team finish.

Top-seeded Ortiz (31-4) won titles at the Waukegan and Lake County tournaments this year, and was second at Niles West.

Ortiz posted a pair of pins to reach the finals. Quiroz (16-9) posted a fall and then a 10-5 semifinal decision over Grayslake North’s Vanessa Alvarez (14-11).

Stevenson’s Karina Lojowski (11-11) took third, Bree Hirsch (12-7) finished fourth, Round Lake’s Brianna Perez (14-18) was fifth, and Alvarez finished in sixth at 130.

135 – Quinna Sheets, Grayslake North

Seeded fifth at 135, Grayslake North’s Quinna Sheets had her work cut out for her. The senior won her first two matches to reach a semifinal match against Highland Park’s top-seeded Clara Ugaz, ranked fourth in Illinois at 140 pounds.

Sheets (22-7) won by fall in the third period over Ugaz. 

Next up in the finals for her was Lakes’ second-seeded Christina Hasner – a wrestler Sheets has a history with. “I wrestled (Hasner) three times this year,” Sheets said, “and I’ve lost all three of them.”

Sheets got off the schneid against Hasner, winning by fall in the first period to capture a regional title. Wrestling is all about turning corners, and the Grayslake North senior feels like she turned one.

“Even in the last few weeks, I’ve figured out so much more about how to (wrestle) well,” Sheets said. “It’s only my second year wrestling but it feels like everything is starting to fall into place. I’m comfortable in my weight class after cutting and I just felt like (Hasner) was who I had to beat. My mentality was a lot different today.”

Sheets has always known that it’s the space between her ears that matters most.

“It’s always been about my mentality,” Sheets said. “I always felt like I could come here and do well but mentally it was still something I struggled with. So it was a confidence I needed and I just felt ready today. I felt like it was finally my time to be who I needed to be.”

Ugaz (16-3) pinned her way to third place, Phoenix Military Academy’s Ariel Foreman (11-3) was fourth, Glenbrook North’s Siena Dini (16-8) took fifth, and Zion-Benton’s Jay Thompson (27-9) finished sixth at 135.

140 – Jillian Giller, New Trier

New Trier junior Jillian Giller is ranked sixth in Illinois at 140 and she was the class of the division in Round Lake. Top-seeded Giller (28-4) opened with a pair of falls to reach the finals, capped by her fall against Zion-Benton’s second-seeded Adrianna Ketchum (19-15) on the title mat.

Her regional title marked Giller’s first tournament crown of the season; she was second in tournaments at Niles West and Palatine this year.

“Jillian is really wrestling her best right now,” coach Mike Kanke. “She is a special talent and she has set her goals high. Her unique ability to focus and to capitalize on her opponent’s subtle mistakes creates the opportunity for her to score points in any position. I was really proud of the way our girls performed out on the mat and carried themselves throughout the tournament.” 

Ketchum won by 8-3 decision in her semifinal match against Mundelein’s Khloe Heerdegen (29-11), who went on to place third. Grayslake North’s Alyson Alvarenga (12-11) finished fourth, Phoenix Military Academy’s Alexia Ramos (6-4) was fifth, and Lakes’ Davalyn Hampton finished sixth.

145 – AJ Grant, Phoenix Military Academy

A state qualifier last year at 155, Phoenix Military Academy sophomore AJ Grant dropped to 145 this year and won individual titles at the BTS, Morris, Rickover, and Chicago Public League tournaments, and placed second at the Lakes tournament.

Top-seeded Grant (22-1) used a pair of pins to reach the regional title mat at 145, where she won by fall at 1:05 against Stevenson’s fourth-seeded Sajra Sulejmani (7-4).

“AJ Grant has taken to wrestling like a fish to water,” Phoenix coach Dan Curin said. “She started wrestling as a sophomore and hasn’t stopped competing, since quickly rising in the ranks as one of the best wrestlers in the country.”

Sulejmani reached the finals with a major decision win in her semifinal match against second-seeded Naomi Foote (32-7) of Zion-Benton.

Foote went on to finish third, Round Lake’s Raven Burnett (20-8) took fourth, Warren’s Ashley Fugelseth (13-6) placed fifth, and Grayslake North’s Victoria Marquez (23-14) was sixth at 145.

155 – America Cabrera, Phoenix Military Academy

Phoenix Military Academy’s America Cabrera placed second at this year’s Chicago Public League tournament, and finished third in a tournament at Morris.

The second-seeded sophomore (21-4) finally grabbed the brass ring, when she won a regional title with a fall at 0:38 against Zion-Benton’s top-seeded Grace Johnson (28-6).

“America missed her freshman year with health issues,” coach Dan Curin said. “But she has really made a statement, getting herself ready to go this year.”

Cabrera won by fall and then by tech fall to reach the finals; Johnson posted a pair of falls to advance to the championship mat.

New Trier’s Nina Aceves (25-6) placed third, Marshall’s Cecilia Colon (3-2) finished fourth, Grayslake North’s Jacqueline Cordova-Marquina (16-8) was fifth, and Rickover Naval Academy’s Camila Martinez-Gonzalez (17-10) took sixth at 155.

170 – Jennifer Perez, Waukegan

There are moments that make or break a match and Waukegan senior Jennifer Perez arrived at one of those moments, mid-way through the first period of her title match against Rickover’s Clara Biela.

“She went for a shot and I just grabbed her arms,” Perez said. “Then I was like ‘you know what? Headlock, throw, and then whatever comes from it’.”

What came from Perez’s throw was a pin at 1:19 and a regional title. The win upped top-seeded Perez’s season record to 23-3.

Heading into the finals, Perez had a good, healthy dose of butterflies.

“I was scared but my coach told me it’s a good thing to be a little scared, getting  ready, getting your (adrenaline) up,” Perez said. “And once I hit the mat, I felt good. I just went in thinking ‘whatever happens, happens’ and tried to go out and have confidence and have fun.”

Perez was a state alternate last year and is currently unranked — nothing a deep run at this year’s Evanston sectional won’t make up for, and Perez has been preparing to chase some downstate glory this year.

“I started practicing with guys to learn what I could about strength from them,” Perez said. “And whatever I learned I’ve tried to put into my matches.”

Biela (20-6) also used two pins to reach the regional title mat. Vernon Hills’ Madeline Borkowski (14-7) finished third, Grayslake North’s Jeniah Robinson (22-12) was fourth, Lane Tech’s Lily Cohen (10-8) placed fifth, and Phoenix Military Academy’s Anne Johnson (5-6) took sixth at 170.

190 – ILeen Castrejon, Zion-Benton

Familiarity between Zion-Benton’s ILeen Castrejon and Lakes’ Josie Larson isn’t breeding contempt, but it sure made it tough on both wrestlers when they lined up against each other for the fifth time this season.

“We know how we both wrestle,” Castrejon said. “It’s hard because we both know what’s coming.”

Castrejon (18-1) won a hard-fought 2-0 decision over Larson (27-6) for a regional title. A scoreless first two periods saw Castrejon ride Larson out for the entire second period, earn a reversal to start the third, and then ride things out to victory. Four of their five matches this year have gone the distance.

Third-ranked Castrejon improved to 5-0 against fourth-ranked Larson this season. The two and could potentiall square off twice more, at the sectional and state finals.

Larson placed fifth at 190 at last year’s state finals; Castrejon was state runner-up at 170 in 2022 and 2023. A knee injury to start the season put Castrejon on the shelf, leading her to make the move up to 190, since conditioning with a sore knee made it difficult to cut back down to 170.

“I had to change my style this year, wrestling heavier girls,” Castrejon said. “Girls are bigger and stronger, but they’re slower so I’ve tried to use my speed to my advantage. That’s what’s really different. In this match I tried to stay upper-body. I have to work on turns but my riding has been good.”

Castrejon won tournament titles at the Palatine, Dundee-Crown, and Lake County tournaments this year, while Larson was an individual tournament champion at at Lakes and Waukegan.

Noble/ITW Speer’s Aileen Galvez (13-6) placed third, Rickover Naval Academy’s Julia Augello (5-6)  finished fourth, Mather’s Julissa Az (7-6) was fifth, and Evanston’s Fatima Gomez took sixth at 190.

235 – Jasmine Mejia, Rickover Naval Academy

In her freshman year, Rickover Naval Academy’s Jasmine Mejia had a lead in her sectional title match when a knee injury ended her season.

She bounced back her sophomore year to place fifth in Illinois at 235. Now a junior, seventh-ranked Mejia had to show resilience again, after losing her first match of the season recently via overtime tiebreaker.

Mejia lost a 3-2 tiebreak in this year’s Chicago Public League tournament to Curie’s second-ranked Aaliyah Grandberry, who has twice finished second in Illinois at 235.

“It’s fun to watch the level of competition Illinois has at the heavyweight division,” Rickover coach and father Guillermo Mejia said.

Mejia (23-1) got back on track Saturday, pinning her way to a regional title in chasing another state finals place medal.

Mejia’s capped her three pins on the day with a win by fall at 0:19 on the regional title mat, against Round Lake’s Yareli Macias (12-7). 

Mejia has also been a state qualifier in discus and shot put for Rickover. She began wrestling as a freshman and her coach sees a different 235-pounder on the mat this year.

“There’s a lot more confidence for her and a lot more ability to react to what’s given to her,” Mejia said. “It’s fun to watch how she approaches matches and how she’s taking advantage of what others are giving her. Instead of having one or two go-to moves, now she can kind of adjust. She’s ready to go and she’s excited.”

Niles West’s Ari Leon (3-1) took third, Grayslake North’s Allison Poole (6-3) was fourth, Noble/ITW Speer’s Areli Espinoza (8-8) placed fifth, and Taft’s Rim Ayouchi (10-8) finished sixth at 235.

Round lake regional championship match results:

100 – Mia Vazquez (Rickover) SV-1 8-6 Riley Kongkaeow (Round Lake)

105 – Zaryia Mouzon (Lakes) F 5:54 Kimani Glasper (Westinghouse)

110 – Diana Lopez (Phoenix) SV-1 6-4 Zoe Pomeranets (Niles West)

115 – Harlee Hiller (Loyola) F 0:16 Ireland McCain (Round Lake)

120 – Ariella Dobin (Glenbrook North) D 9-5 Olivia Heft (Lakes)

125 – Ava Babbs (Lakes) F 1:42 Noelani Rodriguez (Waukegan)

130 – Emily Ortiz (Zion-Benton) D 16-10 Jocelyn Quiroz (Phoenix)

135 – Quinna Sheets (Grayslake (North) F 1:41 Christina Hasner (Lakes)

140 – Jillian Giller (New Trier) F 0:47 Adrianna Ketchum (Zion-Benton)

145 – AJ Grant (Phoenix) F 1:05 Sajra Sulejmani (Stevenson)

155 – America Cabrerra (Phoenix) F 0:16 Grace Johnson (Zion-Benton)

170 – Jennifer Perez (Waukegan) F 1:19 Clara Biela (Chicago (Rickover)

190 – ILeen Castrejon (Zion-Benton) D 2-0 Josephine Larson (Lakes)

235 – Jasmine Mejia (Rickover) F 0:19 Yareli Macias (Round Lake)

3rd-place match results:

100 – Jitzel Arande (Phoenix) D 9-7 Sundus Aitzemkour (New Trier)

105 – Hanna Lee (Vernon Hills) F 1:19 Sofia Guerrero (Lane Tech)

110 – Haven Sylves (Lakes) F 4:32 Alyssa Bentley (Warren)

115 – Zoe Lee (New Trier) F 4:46 Nastasia Kobets (Stevenson)

120 – Gianna Arzer (Grayslake Central) F 0:38 Marisol Castro (Phoenix)

125 – Kamile Rayome (Lake Forest) F 2:31 Jane Kelly (Warren)

130 – Karina Lojowski (Stevenson) F 0:55 Bree Hirsch (Lake Forest)

135 – Clara Ugaz (Highland Park) F 1:14 Ariel Foreman (Phoenix)

140 – Khloe Heerdegen (Mundelein) F 3:48 Alyson Alvarenga (Grayslake North)

145 – Naomi Foote (Zion-Benton) D 14-8 Raven Burnett (Round Lake)

155 – Nina Aceves (New Trier) F 4:54 Cecilia Colon (Marshall)

170 – Madeline Borkowski (Vernon Hills) D 5-2 Jeniah Robinson (Grayslake North)

190 – Aileen Galvez (Noble/ITW Speer) F 3:35 Julia Augello (Chicago (Rickover)

235 – Ari Leon (Niles West) F 1:38 Allison Poole (Grayslake North)

5th place match results:

100 – Asia Boss (Clark) F 1:28 Ester Migues-Gaytan (Grayslake North)

105 – Londyn Lloyd (Antioch) F 3:46 America Sanchez (Phoenix)

110 – Amara Facundo (Grayslake North) F 4:28 Alyssa Martel (Taft)

115 – Mia Thomas (Phoenix) F 2:00 Jennifer Arenas (Taft)

120 – Raynisha Sims (Lake View) med. fft. Nyah Lovis (Lane Tech)

125 – Katelynn Parsawasdi (New Trier) F 1:38 Haley Ramos (Carmel)

130 – Brianna Perez (Round Lake) F 0:58 Vanessa Alvarez (Grayslake North)

135 – Siena Dini (Glenbrook North) med. fft. Jay Thompson (Zion (Z.-Benton)

140 – Alexia Ramos (Phoenix) F 2:24 Davalyn Hampton (Lakes)

145 – Ashley Fugelseth (Warren) F 5:26 Victoria Marquez (Grayslake North)

155 – Jacqueline Cordova-Marquina (Grayslake North) F 4:26 Camila Martinez-Gonzalez (Rickover)

170 – Lily Cohen (Lane Tech) F 0:19 Anne Johnson (Phoenix)

190 – Julissa Az (Mather) F 0:38 Fatima Gomez (Evanston)

235 – Areli Espinoza (Chicago (Noble/ITW Speer) F 1:08 Rim Ayouchi (Taft)

Final team scores: 1. Phoenix Military Academy (195.5) 2. Lakes (164) 3. Zion-Benton (129) 4. Grayslake North (123) 5. Rickover Naval Academy (109) 6. New Trier (104.5) 7. Round Lake (104) 8. Stevenson (70) 9. Warren (60) 10. Waukegan (55) 11. Niles West (51) 12. Glenbrook North (48) 13. Vernon Hills (45) 14. Lane Tech (44.5) 15. Taft (39) 16. Lake Forest (38) 17. Loyola Academy (30) 18. Highland Park (29) 19. Westinghouse (28) 20. Noble/ITW Speer (26) 21. Mundelein (25) 22. Grayslake Central (22) 23. Evanston (19) 24. Lake View (17) 25. Marshall (16) 26. Antioch (15) 27. Carmel Catholic (11) 28. Clark (10) 29. Mather (10) 30. Intrinsic Charter-Downtown (7) 31. Libertyville (3) 

Chicago Academy, Chicago Hope Academy, Crane Medical Prep, Noble/Golder, Noble Academy, Roosevelt, Schurz, Sullivan, and Deerfield also competed.

By Bobby Narang – for the IWCOA

History was made at several gymnasiums throughout the state this weekend.

Due to the exploding growth in girls wrestling, the Illinois High School Association held a sectional competition for the first time last season.

Now, after a memorable 2022-23 season that included the second individual state competition, the postseason has expanded to hosting regionals for the first time in state history.

The two-day Conant Regional, one of eight regional sites from throughout the state, was one of the best spots to watch. The next round for the six individuals who advanced at each weight is the Schaumburg Sectional in two weeks.

Schaumburg continued its dominance, claiming the regional team title with a whopping 263 points after winning the Mid-Suburban League championship the previous weekend. Hoffman Estates placed second (179), Huntley took third (147.5), McHenry finished fourth (144), Bartlett notched fifth (123), Wheeling tied for fifth (123), Fenton snared seventh (122), host Conant finished eighth (118) and Dundee-Crown (94) and Larkin (94) rounded out the top 10 teams.

The Saxons rode a pair of title winners to the team crown, led by Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic at 140 pounds and Valeria Rodriguez at 155 pounds.

“It’s really the girls believing in their training,” Schaumburg coach Matt Gruszka said. “I told them to believe in the system and believe in your training. They each have their own individual niches they like to hit, but as a whole, I try and combine into the system and rely on it, especially in the six-minute matches. At 140, Madeline’s win can’t go unnoticed. That’s one of the deepest brackets I’ve seen for a regional. It was crazy deep. Val at 155, she’s a grinder and she’s got some big hopes.

“My 170 pounder, Alya Razzak and 190-pounder, Nadia Razzak, both sisters, also wrestled well. In general, the wrestling at this regional was really, really good. We had state champs all over the place.”

Hoffman Estates also had two regional champions, Sophia Ball at 120 pounds and Abi Ji at 125 pounds.

“Our kids wrestled tough and we have one of the hardest rooms with nine state qualifiers from last year,” Hoffman Estates coach Leo Clark said. “They kept wrestling well. Sophia is a returning state placer and she worked really hard in the offseason and put in the time. She’s a tough kid. At 125, Abigail Ji is also a state qualifier. She worked hard in the offseason and believes in the plan we put for her. You have to give credit to Schaumburg. They have a really good team. Those girls came out and wrestled hard.”

Huntley came several points short from a runnerup finish but notched a pair of regional champs in Janiah Slaughter (100) and Aubrie Rohrbacher (130) to account for a special two-day run.

“Janiah and Aubrie have wrestled great all year,” Huntley coach Gannon Kosowski said. “Janiah has one loss this season, Aubrie has three losses. Aubrie was a little hesitant on shots in the final, but I think we will open it up in sectionals and we will be just fine. Janiah wrestled great all day. Overall, the whole team wrestled well. A few of them got caught in a few things, and were in a position not been in all year. We have to work on a few things to get ready for sectionals.”

Here’s the IHSA Conant Regional champions and their weight classes

100 – Diamond Rodriguez, Dundee-Crown

In her second year wrestling, Dundee-Crown junior Diamond Rodriguez is on the right track. Rodriguez (27-3) won all three of her matches via pin, ending a highly-productive day by pinning Schaumburg sophomore Makenzi Aguilar (25-7) in 2:29 in the 100 finals.

“It was just driving,” Rodriguez said. “I was so tired, but my coach told me to not give up or I would be put on my backside and to keep fighting. It was hard.”

Rodriguez credits her strong season to a better mental approach.

“I feel a lot better this year, but part of that is because of my confidence,” Rodriguez said. “It has went way up because I’ve only lost a few times. When I came back this season, I didn’t lose my first one and my confidence went up because last year I would always lose. I feel a lot better this year. I worked hard and my coaches pushed me to go in the summer and work hard. I tried to show up to practice every day and work hard. “

In the third-place match, St. Charles East sophomore Sofia Espinoza (10-5) pinned Prospect junior Elainie Taboada (11-5) while Bartlett’ sophomore Kahlynn Spurgeon (11-12) won the fifth-place match by pinning Maine South freshman Aphrodite Gineris.

105 – Janiah Slaughter, Huntley

Huntley sophomore Janiah Slaughter kept her season of victories rolling along with an impressive showing at regional. Despite suffering a right shoulder injury earlier on Saturday, Slaughter (24-1) labored through a tough finals match against Addison Trail senior Veronica Cosio (21-4). Slaughter, who took third at 100 in last year’s IHSA Finals, showed a lot of moxie, surviving the final 40 seconds even though she was in obvious pain, to defeat Cosio 9-3.

“Getting to my shots and being on top and stabilizing on top and doing what I do best,” Slaughter said. “I tried to get them out of position. That (title) match was hard. I wrestled her earlier in a tournament and it was a good match today. She is always pushing me. I beat her then too. I was really looking for that pin at the end. I tweaked my right shoulder in one of my earlier matches (today). I had a bar and it got stuck. I was feeling a lot of pain.

“I was grabbing my shoulder, but I don’t believe in injury time. I just decided to finish the match because I had 40 seconds, so I tried to get through it the best I could. I got second at sectionals last year, so I really want to get first at sectionals. Last year I got third at state. I don’t feel comfortable having a bronze. All I see is gold for this year. I want to be a state champion.”

Rounding out the top wrestlers in the bracket, Wauconda senior Liliana Aly (18-8) won 6-0 over Dundee-Crown  junior Iris Torres (23-13) for third place and Larkin junior Ashley Hammond (26-12) won over Woodstock sophomore Eva Hermanasson (22-6) in the fifth-place match.

110 – Emma Engels, Bartlett

Bartlett’s Emma Engels jumped with glee following her dramatic 3-2 win over Grant’s top-ranked Ayane Jasinski in the 110-pound final. In a highly-contested and anticipated match between two returning state champions, second-ranked Engels (28-12), a junior who was last year’s IHSA champion at 100, scored a late takedown to pull out the win over Jasinski (15-1), a senior who is two-time IHSA medalist who was the 110 champion in 2023.

“It was tough, but my coach told me I could get a turn,” Engels said. “I trusted myself on top and got the turn. I got a good shot at the start of the period but she had good defense, so she ended up getting a good takedown. For her to get that in and not get the turn was big.

“I think today went well, did what I have to do and wrestled well. My junior season has gone pretty good. I’ve wrestled mostly guys this year so this was nice to come here and wrestle well.”

Crystal Lake South freshman Annalee Aarseth (28-3) pinned Huntley senior Taylor Casey (35-8) for the third-place medal and Saint Viator senior Natalie Gubernat (21-18) pinned Schaumburg junior Diya Patel (25-14) in the fifth-place match.

115 – Gabby Gomez, Glenbard North

Glenbard North junior Gabby Gomez was one of the star attractions at Conant. The highly- competitive and successful Gomez (31-0), a pioneer in the Illinois girls wrestling scene, ended her day with a pin in 1:37 over Bartlett senior Angie Carpintero (25-3) in the 115 finals.

A two-time state champion, at 115 last year and at 105 in 2022, Gomez said she’s seeking to add a few more accolades to her vast resume.

“I’m trying to beat a record of 299 takedowns, so I’m right there with 270 or 280 and hopefully I can beat it by sectionals and just go out there and have fun at state,” Gomez said. “I’ve got to make it through sectionals first. Angie is my teammate in wrestling, and I love her. I know she’s new to wrestling a little bit. She’s really improved and giving me a lot better looks in the room, so I want to go out there and face somebody who can give me a match.”

Overall, Gomez said her march toward a third state title is on track.

“I’ve been working on my conditioning,” she said. “I don’t want to make weight and only wrestle for 15 seconds. I want to wrestle and see how my conditioning is going into freestyle wrestling because that’s a six-minute match. This is really helping me prepare for that. I have bigger goals than being a state champ. I want to be that world champ and Fargo champ. This is really helping me. I think I wrestled pretty well.

Schaumburg sophomore Anna Villarreal (35-6) pinned Larkin senior Tina Ebrahimi (18-16) in the third-place match while Richmond-Burton sophomore Savannah Wells (11-6) earned a forfeit win for fifth over Woodstock sophomore Sophie Sarabia (14-5).

120 – Sophia Ball, Hoffman Estates

Hoffman Estates junior Sophia Ball, in her third year wrestling, maintained her perfect record. Ball (21-0), who took fifth at 120 in last year’s IHSA Finals, kicked off a run of consecutive regional champs from Hoffman Estates by pinning Addison Trail junior Nina Matthews in 0:51 in the 120 title match.

“I just wrestled the way I know how to wrestle,” Ball said. “I worked all of the options and got offensive. I had to get to my spots. My goals are to do well at sectionals in two weeks, do well at state, and win state. My third match was my toughest one. She was very strong.”

McHenry junior Addison Hodges (9-3) earned a spirited victory by fall over Conant senior Beth Ciavarella (21-10) for third place. St. Charles East sophomore Autumn Badon (14-5) pinned Hampshire senior Jamari Simmons (8-6) for fifth place.

125 – Abi Ji, Hoffman Estates

Hoffman Estates junior Abi Ji is among the most accomplished wrestlers in the state. She continued her upward descent with three pins but dealt with a tough finals match at 125 against Bartlett sophomore Lilly White. Ji (31-1) was able to record a 7-5 decision over White (25-3) for the regional title.

“I think I really need to focus on how I cut weight,” Ji said. “I’ve been working with my teammates to get faster because I know dropping weight that these girls are faster than me.”
Ji, ranked fourth in the state, raised her season total to 24 pins.

“My strategy in the finals was making sure I wasn’t hooking on too long. I switched because I realized I could throw this girl and went slow-paced to gain points on her. I think everybody in my bracket was pretty tough, especially in the semifinals. I was hoping to wrestle my friend, Madyson (Meyer), from Schaumburg. I’ve been to state twice and I want to go back to state and place.”

Schaumburg junior Madyson Meyer (32-5) won with a pin over Streamwood senior Kaleigh Allender (11-2) to claim third place and McHenry junior Bri Duran (13-6) won by medical forfeit over Lake Park junior Valeria Malinowski (17-7) for fifth.

130 – Aubrie Rohrbacher, Huntley

Several minutes after her 6-2 decision over Prospect junior Viola Pianetto (19-3) in the 130-pound finals, Huntley sophomore Aubrie Rohrbacher (38-3) was still laser-focused. She darted to the hallways, resting for a brief minute before taking some pointers from one of her coaches.

“It took a lot of hard work and conditioning and wanting to win more,” Rohrbacher said. “I had a last minute takedown at the end. Down 2-1, I was thinking I just needed to shoot. I had to be more attacking and aggressive. Last year I made it to state and placed eighth and I want to go back for more. I feel more confident in myself and I’m very confident in my shooting ability. My bottom game is a lot better than last year.”

Third place went to Wheeling sophomore Elise Burkut (26-7), who pinned Glenbard North sophomore Keagan Edwards (27-8). For fifth place, Maine West junior Ava Reyes (25-14) won by fall over Elgin sophomore Briana Anselmo (15-6).

135 – Jasmine Zavaleta, Conant

Conant sophomore Jasmine Zavaleta enjoyed the attention following her pin in 0:34 over Palatine junior Amaya Jackson (14-14) in the 135-pound championship match. Zavaleta (23-9) celebrated her bracket championship by hugging several friends who attended the regional on her home mat.

“I think just having a positive mindset to keep on going and pushing helped me,” Zavaleta said. “My Fremd match (vs. Lloyd Kowalczyk) was tough because she had beaten me twice. She’s really good. Last year I wrestled three weight classes heavier at 145. I pushed through it and today my mindset was good. This was the best I’ve wrestled, thanks to a positive mindset.”

Hoffman Estates senior Emmylina O’Brien (35-1) pinned Fremd junior Lloyd Kowalczyk (16-5) for the third-place medal. Schaumburg sophomore Olivia Furlan (21-20) also won by fall over Lark Park sophomore Ava Burns (27-15) to snare fifth.

140 – Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic, Schaumburg

Schaumburg junior Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic’s wrestling journey has included a regular and constant partner – her sore back.

A three-year wrestler who took fifth at 125 in last year’s IHSA Finals, she has “had to take a lot of breaks for rehabs for my back” after suffering a serious back injury in her freshman year, when “one of my teammates broke my back real bad and I’ve been recovering ever since.”

Zerafa-Lazarevic (31-2) completed a solid regional by pinning Richmond-Burton senior Jasmine McCaskel (16-2) in 3:22 in the 140 finals. She’s motivated to follow in teammate Valeria Rodriguez’s footsteps. Rodriguez won the 155-pound class on Saturday.

“Our girl last year was Val, so she held down the weight class and finished third at state,” Zerafa-Lazarevic said. “They know about the 140 from Schaumburg from last year, so I’m going to teach them about it this year. 

“That last match was tough. Mentally, I was struggling with my back. I was hurting, but …once I got into it mentally, I decided to go a hundred percent into it. It was just mental. I have some of the best coaches in the state, and I looked at them in my corner and knew I could do it. I have to rehab and work on some things, including better defense. Everyone on our team has made great progress, especially since my freshman year. Everyone has helped grow our team and our sport.”

In the third-place match, McHenry sophomore Natalie Corona (18-1) won by fall over Huntley senior Jessica Olson (38-8). And for fifth place, Fenton junior Yannel Perez (27-8) recorded a pin over Conant sophomore Ewa Krupa (22-10).

145 – Yamile Penaloza, Fenton

Just like Huntley’s Aubrie Rohrbacher at 130, Fenton senior Yamile Penaloza preferred to take a pensive attitude after winning the 145-pound weight class. Walking around in the hallways while talking to one of her coaches, the third-year wrestler is aiming for a return trip to state.
Penaloza (32-0) notched a 3-2 win over Harvard sophomore Ithandehui Rosas (30-8) in the finals. She captured the Upstate Eight Conference Tournament title last weekend.

“I just pushed myself really hard today and really want to get to state again,” Penaloza said. “I’ve only won one match at state. I’m motivated because I’m in my senior year, so I’m trying to give it my all and push harder. I’ve been working really hard in practice and it’s starting to show. I had a pretty good day. My finals match was hard. I had to push myself and take some shots.”

In the third-place bout, Lake Park junior Joscelin Rittamel (31-7) posted a 5-2 decision over Schaumburg senior Keara Micek (33-10). And Huntley freshman Grecia Garcia (24-16) took fifth by medical forfeit over Wheeling senior Stephanie Solano (12-4).

155 – Valeria Rodriguez, Schaumburg

Schaumburg senior Valeria Rodriguez was at a loss for words following her 155 finals win over Fenton senior Sophia Sosa. Rodriguez (34-1) notched a tough 4-1 decision over Sosa (29-2) on a day where the Saxons easily won the regional team championship.

Even with all of her wrestling experience, and after placing third at 140 last year in the IHSA Finals and third at 155 in the inaugural IHSA Finals in 2022, Rodriguez admitted she’s battled with her confidence levels at times.

“Confidence was my key today,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve struggled with confidence, but I felt a lot better today and gave everything I had. My season is 33-1. I had an easy first two matches, but my finals match was a lot harder.”

Wheeling freshman Madeline Chicas (20-10) pinned Dundee-Crown junior Mackenzie Lessner (23-10) in the third-place match. And McHenry sophomore Madalynn Sima (16-4) got a first-period pin over Conant freshman Susan Bilyal (12-20) to claim fifth place.

170 – Lillian Garrett, Maine West

Maine West junior Lillian Garrett is closing out her third year of wrestling with a run of victories. Garrett, now 24-4, made quick work of her 170 finals opponent, Schaumburg junior Alya Razzak (29-12), recording a fall in 0:28 in the title match.

Garrett said one of the main factors in her solid season is a better mental outlook, and also putting her phone away.

“I stopped getting in my head,” Garrett said. “I kind of look at brackets before matches, but for this one, I turned off my phone. That helped a lot, not getting in my own head. It was a lot easier and was wrestling to my best abilities, and I felt every wrestler was on an equal level. I paced myself between matches not to get gassed between matches. I thought finals was going to be a full six-minute match. I’ve been getting a lot more experience wrestling girls this year, and that’s helped after wrestling boys in past years.”

In the third-place match, Palatine junior Sabrina Cargill (24-5) won by fall over Hoffman Estates junior Isabella Chiovari (23-10). Conant sophomore Lana Ton (22-16) placed fifth by pinning Crystal Lake Central sophomore Cait Jones (13-11).

190 – Jasmine Rene, Wheeling

Wheeling sophomore Jasmine Rene was a tough critic of herself on Saturday. Rene (30-1) defeated an old nemesis, Schaumburg sophomore Nadia Razzak (31-6), with a pin in 4:53 in the 190 championship match.

“The key I felt was hard work and not worry about past results,” Rene said. “I wrestled in our conference (tournament) and did very bad. I had to get that out of my mind. I won conference but didn’t wrestle (good). I had a whole different mindset (Saturday). Besides my semifinals, I thought I did pretty well. This year I’ve done really good and my training in the offseason helped a lot.”

Wheeling coach Anthony Piltaver said Rene, who took fourth place at 190 at last year’s IHSA Finals, has been solid all season.

“It was really nice seeing her match awareness, just what she needs and when she needs it,” he said. “As far as scoring goes, it was about keeping a level head and what she needed to do. That was big for her. It was nice having someone in the finals for our program.”

Larkin junior Kimberly Reyes (27-11) pinned Hoffman Estates freshman Essenze Reid (14-8) to earn a third-place medal. And Fenton sophomore Cailyn Platta (29-6) notched a third-period fall to defeat Fremd junior Jazz Ocampo (22-10) for fifth place.

235 – Sophia Brown, McHenry

Better late than never, at least in the case of McHenry senior Sophia Brown. Wrestling for the first time in her career, Brown (11-3) has become a quick study in the sport. She added to her stunning season by winning the 235-pound weight class at the Conant Regional, pinning Hoffman Estates junior Anjali Gonzalez (24-4) in 1:22.

“Everyone kind of pressured me to wrestle because they saw the potential in me,” Brown said. “I took that risk of wrestling and I truly came long. I love it now. I focused on my coach in the finals and what the next move was and to keep going. Winning the bracket, I just kept going one at a time and listening to my coaches and staying confident. My coaches have really helped me.”

McHenry coach James Buss said Brown has become a standout wrestler in a short period of time.

“Sophia just found her shot,” Buss. “We knew she had her shot all year long. She had to find her shot and stay consistent with it. Sophia is a natural wrestler.”

Maine West senior Eliana Garrett (15-7) won by fall over Maine East sophomore Lyric Walton (9-11) to earn the third-place medal. And Fenton freshman Ariana Solideo (26-7) closed out her day by pinning Bartlett senior Kim Olwoch (7-13) for fifth place.

Championship matches for the IHSA Conant Regional Tournament

100 – Diamond Rodriguez (Dundee-Crown) F 2:29 Makenzi Aguilar (Schaumburg)

105 – Janiah Slaughter (Huntley) D 9-3 Veronica Cosio (Addison Trail)

110 – Emma Engels (Bartlett), D 3-2 Ayane Jasinski (Grant)

115 – Gabby Gomez (Glenbard North) F 1:37 Angie Carpintero (Bartlett)

120 – Sophia Ball (Hoffman Estates) F 0:51 Nina Matthews (Addison Trail)

125 – Abi Ji (Hoffman Estates) D 7-5 Lilly White (Bartlett)

130 – Aubrie Rohrbacher (Huntley) D 6-2 Viola Pianetto (Prospect)

135 – Jasmine Zavaleta (Conant) F 0:34 Amaya Jackson (Palatine)

140 – Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic (Schaumburg) F 3:22 Jasmine McCaskel (Richmond-Burton)

145 – Yamile Penaloza (Fenton) D 3-2 Ithandehui Rosas (Harvard)

155 – Valeria Rodriguez (Schaumburg) D 4-1 Sophia Sosa (Fenton)

170 – Lillian Garrett (Maine West) F 0:28 Alya Razzak (Schaumburg)

190 – Jasmine Rene (Wheeling) F 4:53 Nadia Razzak (Schaumburg)

235 – Sophia Brown (McHenry) F 1:22 Anjali Gonzalez (Hoffman Estates)

Third-place matches for the IHSA Conant Regional Tournament

100 – Sofia Espinoza (St. Charles East) F 1:26 Elanie Taboada (Prospect)

105 -Liliana Aly (Wauconda) D 6-0 Iris Torres (Dundee-Crown)

110 – Annalee Aarseth (Crystal Lake South) F 2:41 Taylor Casey (Huntley)

115 – Anna Villarreal (Schaumburg) F 3:27 Tina Ebrahimi (Larkin)

120 – Addison Hodges (McHenry) F 1:30 Beth Ciavarella (Conant)

125 – Madyson Meyer (Schaumburg) F 1:52 Kaleigh Allender (Streamwood)

130 – Elise Burkut (Wheeling) F 3:09 Keagan Edwards (Glenbard North)

135 – Emmylina O’Brien (Hoffman Estates) F 2:25 Lloyd Kowalczyk (Fremd)

140 – Natalie Corona (McHenry) F 1:13 Jessica Olson (Huntley)

145 – Joscelin Ritthamel (Lake Park) D 5-2 Keara Micek (Schaumburg)

155 – Madeline Chicas (Wheeling) F 5:39 Mackenzie Lessner (Dundee-Crown)

170 – Sabrina Cargill (Palatine) F 3:43 Isabella Chiovari (Hoffman Estates)

190 – Kimberly Reyes (Larkin) F 3:48 Essenze Reid (Hoffman Estates)

235 – Eliana Garrett (Maine West) F 0:51 Lyric Walton (Maine East)

Fifth-place matches at the IHSA Conant Regional Tournament

100 – Kahlynn Spurgeon (Bartlett) F 2:00 Aphrodite Gineris (Maine South)

105 – Ashley Hammond (Larkin) M For Eva Hermansson (Woodstock)

110 – Natalie Gubernat (Saint Viator) F 0:27 Diya Patel (Schaumburg)

115 – Savannah Wells (Richmond-Burton) M For Sophie Sarabia (Woodstock)

120 – Autumn Badon (St. Charles East) F 4:23 Jamari Simmons (Hampshire)

125 – Bri Duran (McHenry) M For Valeria Malinowski (Lake Park)

130 – Ava Reyes (Maine West) F 5:12 Briana Anselmo (Elgin)

135 – Olivia Furlan (Schaumburg) F 5:49 Ava Burns (Lake Park)

140 – Yannel Perez (Fenton) F 1:28 Ewa Krupa (Conant)

145 – Grecia Garcia (Huntley) M For Stephanie Solano (Wheeling)

155 – Madalynn Sima (McHenry) F 0:18 Susan Bilyal (Conant)

170 – Lana Ton (Conant) F 0:21 Cait Jones (Crystal Lake Central)

190 – Cailyn Platta (Fenton) F 5:52 Jazz Ocampo (Fremd)

235 – Ariano Solideo (Fenton) F 2:51 Kim Olwoch (Bartlett)

Team scores for the IHSA Conant Regional Tournament

1. Schaumburg 263, 2. Hoffman Estates 179, 3. Huntley 147.5, 4. McHenry 144, 5. Bartlett 123, 5. Wheeling 123, 7. Fenton 122, 8. Conant 118, 9. Dundee-Crown 94, 9. Larkin 94, 11. Maine West 86, 12. Lake Park 80, 13. Addison Trail 77, 13. Richmond-Burton 77, 15. Palatine 74, 16. Glenbard North 67, 17. Maine East 65, 18. St. Charles East 63, 19. Woodstock 61, 20. Prospect 59, 21. Harvard 52, 22. Fremd 47, 23. Maine South 45, 24. Elgin 43, 25. Wauconda 40, 26. Streamwood 39, 27. Grant 36, 28, Crystal Lake South 30, 29, Saint Viator 29, 30. Buffalo Grove 28, 31. Rolling Meadows 22, 32. Crystal Lake Central 18, 32. Hampshire 18, 34. Cary-Grove 11, 35. Elk Grove 10, 35. South Elgin 8, 37. Prairie Ridge 7, 38. Harvest Christian Academy 5, 39. Johnsburg 4, 40. Jacobs 0, 40. Marengo 0.

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

Erie Regional

Geneseo led all teams with 205 points at this year’s Erie regional meet, followed by Galesburg (155), Macomb (134), Canton (112), and Erie (99) to round out the top five team finishes.

Geneseo coach Carley Rusk got 12 wrestlers through to the sectional meet, led by a regional champion in Aislan Leetch (235).

Also advancing for Geneseo were Molly Snyder (100), Claire Swanson (105), Lydia King (110), Emily Bopes (120), Bella Curcuru (125), Grace Schilling (130), Gia Ritter (135), Lauren Piquard (140), Madelyn Roberts (145), Mady Mooney (155), and Macy Litherland (170).

“Our coaching staff is incredibly impressed and proud of this group of girls and how they performed,” Rusk said. “Our seniors’ leadership has been amazing this year; Emily, Grace, Madz, Macy, Molly, and Gia, have really shown our underclassmen the expectations of being a Geneseo wrestler. Junior Mady Mooney was also elected a captain and has also helped shape us this year.”

Leetch’s regional title came ahead of schedule by any metric.

“I am incredibly proud of Aislan’s work effort,” Rusk said. “She had never wrestled before this year, and has really taken her role on this team and ran with it.”

Curcuru’s lone loss of the day came in the finals to Illinois’ second-ranked wrestler at 125, Canton’s Kinnley Smith.

“Bella had a nice tournament and got great experience against one of the top wrestlers in the state,” Rusk said. “Our coaching staff expresses the importance of chasing losses throughout the regular season, and we know that running into these top-ranked girls like Smith, (Erie’s Ryleigh) Stephens, and (Freeport’s Cadence) Diduch is beneficial.”

Rusk also applauded freshman Lydia King (110) for her runner-up finish, “and Molly, Lauren, and Claire have their eyes set on sectionals and are working hard to get through to the next round,” Rusk said.

Rusk also wanted to extend her gratitude to her coaching staff and beyond.

“The Geneseo school district and the community has also been amazing through our first year as an official sport at our school,” Rusk said. “Last year, we were only club status and through the support of the school district, our AD Joe Nichols, and of course our very loving community, we were able to become a school sport and able to get these girls to look the part, too, in awesome women’s singlets and warm-ups. Thank you to everyone who helped, all of that plays into their success so far — look good, feel good, wrestle good!”

Second-place Galesburg advanced eight to the sectional, with a pair of regional champs in Eliana Juarez (115) and Annalisa Gibbons (140). Third-place Macomb sent seven to the sectional meet, led by regional champion Sifa Feruzi (170).

Other regional champions at Erie included Newman Central Catholic’s Blair Grennan (100), LaSalle-Peru’s Kiely Domyancich (105), Erie’s Ryleigh Stephens (110), Jacksonville’s Alexis Seymour (120), Canton’s Kinnley Smith (125) and Katelyn Marvel (145), Central of Camp Point’s Amber Louderback (130), Freeport’s Cadence Diduch (135), Moline’s Maryam Ndiaye (155), and United of East Moline’s Afi Koumasse (190).

The top six wrestlers in each weight class advance to the Geneseo sectional on Feb. 9-10.

Erie Regional championship match results:

100 – Blair Grennan (Newman) F 1:29 Hannah Almendarez (Galesburg)

105 – Kiely Domyancich (LaSalle-Peru) F 1:12 Emylee Miller (Galesburg)

110 – Ryleigh Stephens (Erie) D 8-1 Lydia King (Geneseo)

115 – Eliana Juarez (Galesburg) D 9-5 Marijose Avila (Freeport)

120 – Alexis Seymour (Jacksonville) F 3:43 Ryleigh Eriks (Rock Falls)

125 – Kinnley Smith (Canton) F 1:48 Bella Curcuru (Geneseo)

130 – Amber Louderback (Central (Camp Point) D 7-2 Brianna Bynum (Sherrard)

135 – Cadence Diduch (Freeport) F 1:03 Nadia Anderson (Sherrard)

140 – Annalisa Gibbons (Galesburg) D 7-3 Isabella Gibson (Princeton)

145 – Katelyn Marvel (Canton) F 3:45 Kelly Ladd (Macomb)

155 – Maryam Ndiaye (Moline) F 0:31 Ellisa Russell (Rock Falls)

170 – Sifa Feruzi (Macomb) F 0:36 Courtney Walls (Rock Island)

190 – Afi Koumasse (East Moline (United) MD 12-4 Bailey Herr (Putnam County)

235 – Aislan Leetch (Geneseo) F 3:14 Ella Irwin (Putnam County)

3rd Place results:

100 – Molly Snyder (Geneseo) F 0:50 Aurielle Calmese (Freeport)

105 – Jaelin Hawkins (Erie) D 4-0 LT Diephuis (Canton)

110- Camryn Lippens (Fulton) D 4-3 Karley Moore (Jacksonville)

115 -Kaitlyn Knight (Jacksonville) F 1:49 Lucy Mass (Rock Island)

120 – Daisy Gil (Beardstown) F 2:35 Lilyana Malagon (Illinois Valley Central))

125 – Maggie Quinn (Quincy) F 2:21 Alize Gomez (Sterling)

130 – Jaelyn Hare (East Moline (United)) F 3:09 Grace Schilling (Geneseo)

135 – Gia Ritter (Geneseo) F 0:53 Dena Cox (Erie)

140 – Jayda Rosenow (Erie) F 4:30 Dru Hyde (Macomb)

145 – Sanaa Hampton (Rock Island) F 1:10 Madelynn Roberts (Geneseo)

155 – Mikeala Mwangong (Macomb) D 1-0 Mady Mooney (Geneseo)

170 – Macy Litherland (Geneseo) F 1:30 Emmie Waller (Canton)

190 – Patience Riggs (ROWVA) F 4:00 Isabella Rivera (Galesburg)

235 – Lilliana Burns (Galesburg) F 1:33 Justine Lewis (Macomb)

5th place results:

100 – Aerith Adams (Dunlap) F 0:29 McKenzie Yelm (ROWVA)

105 – Claire Swanson (Geneseo) F 0:22 Autumn Meeks (Metamora)

110 – Sarah Lowery (LaSalle-Peru) F 1:35 Allison Bartell (Kewanee)

115 -Abigail Harris (Princeton) F 3:16 Hailey Lampe (Kewanee)

120 – Emily Bopes (Geneseo) MD 12-2 Esmeralda Martinez (Kewanee)

125 – Emma Duncan (Galena) F 5:13 Jayden Klingenberg (Princeton)

130 – Michelle Naftzger (Erie) F 1:05 Hailey DeWitt (Jacksonville)

135 – Raegen Hansen (Macomb) F 3:35 Amyah Pruitt (Galesburg)

140 – Brooklyn Thoms (Fulton) F 1:26 Lauren Piquard (Geneseo)

145 – Paytyn Dykes (Metamora) F 3:18 Andrea Morales (Galesburg)

155 – Aubrianna Putman (Canton) F 0:27 NaJeyah Wallace (Freeport)

170 – Heather Heider (Princeton) Inj. Rose Jackson (Erie)

190 – Avery Lundgren (Macomb) F 1:12 Lilly Florea (Quincy)

235 – Tori Kness (Oneida (ROWVA)) F 2:58 Emily Sanders (Jacksonville)

Mt. Zion Regional

With all 14 weight classes filled, Richwoods grabbed the team title at Mt. Zion, posting a 204-90.5 advantage over second-place Mahomet-Seymour. Glenwood (80) was third, followed by East Peoria (78) and Springfield (74) in the top five.

Coach Rob Penney’s Lady Knights got individual regional titles from Kaila Williams (140) and Jaida Johnson (155), seconds from Heaven Sewell (105), Isabella Motteler (130), Abby Ochoa (190) and Marley Clark (235), and thirds from Christian Johnson (110) and Sydney Johnson (170).

Jamie Varda (120) placed third for Richwoods, which also got a fourth from Aaneshia Duffin (135) and fifths from Aliyah Cockfield (125) and Esther David (145).

“The team has been putting in hard work for a long time,” Penney said. “Most of them practice in the offseason to work on techniques and mat strategies. They’ve earned their success. I’m very proud of our team. They’re good individuals that make our community better.”

Mahomet-Seymour got regional titles from Isabelle Leyhe (120) and Jaycee Fancher (125), and third-place Glenwood got a regional title from Kadi Wilbern (100).

Other individual regional champions at Mt. Zion were Pekin’s Tessa Donaldson (105), Monticello’s Marissa Miller (110), Mt. Zion’s Sydney Cannon (115), Morton’s Karen Canchola (130), Olympia’s Jordan Bicknell (135), East Peoria’s Dezyrae Murray (145), Notre Dame’s Autumne Williams (170), Urbana’s Jurdan Tyler (190), and Unity’s Phoenix Molina (235).

The top six wrestlers in each weight class advanced to the Richwoods sectional on Feb. 9-10.

Mt. Zion regional championship match results:

100 – Kadi Wilbern (Glenwood) F 2:10 Justice Milligan (G.C.-Melvin-Sibley)

105 – Tessa Donaldson (Pekin) F 0:56 Heaven Sewell (Richwoods)

110 – Marrissa Miller (Monticello) OT Kennedy McMenimen (East Peoria)

115 – Sydney Cannon (Mt. Zion) F 1:19 Ella Miloncus (Springfield)

120 – Isabelle Leyhe (Mahomet-Seymour) F 1:50 Morgan Krone-Smallhorn (Charleston)

125 – Jaycee Fancher (Mahomet-Seymour) F Anna Miloncus (Springfield)

130 – Karen Canchola (Morton) D 3-0 Isabella Motteler (Richwoods)

135 – Jordan Bicknell (Olympia) D 11-7 Jenna Tuxhorn (Glenwood)

140 – Kaila Williams (Richwoods) F 5:05 Taylor Owens (Oakwood)

145 – Dezyrae Murray (East Peoria) F 3:20 Jadyn Perry (Auburn)

155 – Jaida Johnson (Richwoods) F 1:03 Gabbie Collins (Paris)

170 – Autumne Williams (Notre Dame) F 1:03 Heaven Workman (Auburn)

190 – Jurdan Tyler (Urbana) fft. Abby Ochoa (Peoria (Richwoods)

235 – Phoenix Molina (Unity) F 1:28 Marley Clark (Richwoods)

3rd-place match results:

100 – Mya Downs (Olympia) MD 15-6 Abella Brown (East Peoria)

105 – Bailey Lusch (East Peoria) F 2:40 Anna Muchow (Paris)

110 – Christian Johnson (Richwoods) D 15-13 Ariana Humes (Clinton)

115 – Ava Beldo (Centennial) D 6-2 Jasmine Brown (Auburn)

120 – Reaghan Madura (Springfield) D 6-1 Jamie Varda (Richwoods)

125 – Isabella Resendez (Glenwood) D 4-3 Joi Lord (Clinton)

130 – Londyn Grant (Champaign (Central) F 1:18 Maddie Wells (S.J.-Ogden)

135 – Emerson Barrett (Paris) F 2:50 Lillien Roughton (Unity Christian)

140 – Avery Schlickman (G.C.-Melvin-Sibley) F 1:18 Rickasia Ivy (Urbana)

145 – Mackensie Williams (Charleston) F 3:50 Emma Creviston (Unity Christian)

155 – Elise Dozier (Glenwood) F 1:28 Brooklyn Fuller (Mattoon)

170 – Sydney Johnson (Richwoods) D 2-1 Franciana Kalanga (Urbana)

190 – Grace Ribbe (Mahomet-Seymour) F 2:54 Bella Brooks (Deer Creek-M.)

235 – Alexus Dodge (Charleston) F 1:06 Addison Briggs (Westville)

5th-place match results:

100 – Gracie Pattison (Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin) F 0:33 Rebecca Kravetz (Richwoods)

105 – Kate Early (Olympia) BYE

110 – Carly Ho (Rochester) F 3:08 Phoenix Criss (Springfield)

115 – Kalista Granadino (Mahomet-Seymour) F 3:32 Lucie Eisenbarth (Rochester)

120 – Aunaca Wickware (G.C.-Melvin-Sibley) F 1:38 Jade Stevenson (Clinton)

125 – Randi Campe (Urbana) F 5:24 Aliyah Cockfield (Richwoods)

130 – Laney Cook (Westville) F 1:33 Lilly Bay (Washington)

135 – Aaneshia Duffin (Richwoods) F 0:41 Tauhnisjha Hart (Urbana)

140 – Alexia Glover (PORTA) BYE

145 – Emma Shelato (Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin)) D 9-4 Esther David (Richwoods)

155 – Alicia Navarrete (Rantoul) BYE

170 – Emma Shelkey (Paris) F 3:04 Alexis Bow (Clinton)

190 – Aubrey Wilson (Paris) BYE

Frankfort Regional

Edwardsville advanced 12 girls through to the sectional and topped the field with 237 points at Frankfort. Belleville West (103), Collinsville (83), Goreville (82), and Robinson (66) rounded out the top five team finishes.

Tigers coach Jon Wagner sent seven wrestlers to the regional title mat and got an individual regional title from Norah Swaim (120), and runner-up finishes from Genevieve Dykstra (100), Gianna Linhorst (110), Holly Zugmaier (125), Olive Linhorst (130), Lydia Blind (140) and Tayla Phillips (235).

Placing third for Edwardsville and advancing were Olivia Coll (105), Alie Chong (115), and Abbrey DeWerff (155). Victoria White (190) was fifth and Madison Aldrich (135) was sixth for the Tigers.

“The girls did great,” Wagner said. “They came out aggressive and crossed the line. The team showed good depth, placing in the top six in twelve weight classes. We’re looking forward to the sectional coming up in Peoria.”

The top six girls in each weight class advance to the Richwoods sectional Feb. 9-10.

Edwardsville entered 14 wrestlers and Belleville West was second with nine participants. Second-place Belleville West was led by a pair of third-place finishes from Brooklyn Zeller (120) and Ju’Bri Edwards (140), and third-place Collinsville had a regional champion in Taylor Dawson (130).

Others winning individual regional titles at Frankfort were Roxana’s Madelyn Murphy (100), Anna-Jonesboro’s Zoee Sadler (105), Litchfield’s Rilynn Younker (110), Civic Memorial’s Kendal Smith (115), Vandalia’s Sophie Bowers (125) and Brynn Swyers (140), Cumberland’s Natalie Beaumont (125), Goreville’s Alivia Ming (145), Alton’s Elanna Hickman (155), Highland’s August Rottmann (170), Mt. Vernon’s Faith Barret (190), and Robinson’s Rylee Hammond (235).

Vandalia was the lone team with more than one regional champion.

The top six girls in each weight class advance to the Richwoods sectional on Feb. 9-10.

Frankfort regional championship match results:

100 – Madelyn Murphy (Roxana) MD 11-2 Genevieve Dykstra (Edwardsville)

105 – Zoee Sadler (Anna-Jonesboro) F 3:03  F 3:03Alexcia Hardin (Belleville East)

110 – Rilynn Younker (Litchfield) F 0:45 Gianna Linhorst (Edwardsville)

115 – Kendal Smith (Civic Memorial) D 4-3 Aryanna Jones (Alton)

120 – Norah Swaim (Edwardsville) F 3:04 Mia Balota (Benton)

125 – Sophie Bowers (Vandalia) F 0:33 Holly Zugmaier (Edwardsville (H.S.)

130 – Taylor Dawson (Collinsville) F 2:40 Olive Linhorst (Edwardsville)

135 – Natalie Beaumont (Cumberland) F 0:51 Leann Cory (Collinsville)

140 – Brynn Swyers (Vandalia) D 12-7 Lydia Blind (Edwardsville)

145 – Alivia Ming (Goreville) F 0:27 Hannah Mullins (Frankfort)

155 – Elanna Hickman (Alton) D 6-0 Kami Ratcliff (Belleville East)

170 – August Rottmann (Highland) F 1:51 Summer Nichols (Cumberland)

190 – Faith Barret (Mt. Vernon) D 6-0 Maddie Ramaker (Trico)

235 – Rylee Hammond (Robinson) F 5:26 Tayla Phillips (Edwardsville)

3rd-place match results:

100 – Claire Crouch (Triad) F 4:34 Lily Davis (Mt. Vernon)

105 – Olivia Coll (Edwardsville) D 7-3 Nikolette Ronketto (Frankfort)

110 – Delaney Ledbetter (Lawrenceville) F 4:56 Jala Singleton (Belleville (West)

115 – Alie Chong (Edwardsville (H.S.)) 27-12, So. over Halle Smith (Benton) 11-6, Jr. (Dec 3-1)

120 – Brooklyn Zeller (Belleville West) F 3:04 Alauni Muex (Marion)

125 – Avery Smith (Red Bud) F 2:46 Gabriella Mason (Murphysboro)

130 – Samantha Scott (Carlinville) F 3:43 Delaney Griffin (Civic Memorial)

135 – Audrey Barnes (Granite City) F 4:37 Roxie Royster (Murphysboro)

140 – Ju`Bri Edwards (Belleville West) F 0:28 Aubrey Raban (Freeburg)

145 – Rory Speidel (Jersey) F 3:05  Phuong Tran (Alton)

155 – Abbrey DeWerff (Edwardsville) F 3:39 Nina Landmann (Highland)

170 – Hannah Jones (Collinsville) F 5:03 Cynthia Macke (Trico)

190 – Krista McBride (Goreville) F 1:09  Khyiema Poole (Robinson)

235 – Olivia McDermott (Marion) F 2:43 Alexia Di maggio (Highland)

5th-place match results:

100 – Nicole Stanley (Carlinville) BYE

105 – Emma Smith (Red Bud) F 1:44 Abigayle Haller (Breese (Central)

110 – Ma`Kayla Bonner (Granite City) F 1:19 Zoey Nelson (Mascoutah)

115 – Ezri Linnertz (Mascoutah) F 2;52 Greta Motch (Salem)

120 – Deziare Jones (Mt. Vernon) F 0:42 Ayla Rushing (Highland)

125 – Ariel Board (Goreville) F 2:36 Emma Ford (Collinsville)

130 – Joelene Nappier-Feth (Marion) TF 5:31Rachel Richey (Robinson)

135 – Madeleine Moreland (Belleville West) F 0:37 Madison Aldrich (Edwardsville)

140 – Baylee Allshouse (Civic Memorial) F 5:25 Daisjha Cooper (Marion)

145 – Harmony Martin (Triad)  F 1:39 Zoee Dozier (Belleville West)

155 – Derika Gradford (Mt. Vernon) F 2:00 Macee Hammond (Robinson)

170 – Liberty McBride (Goreville) F 0:42 Anna Dodson (Salem)

190 – Victoria White (Edwardsville) F 3:12 Andre`a Kirkpatrick (Belleville West)

235 – Kaitlynn Childers (Frankfort) BYE

Shepard Regional

Andrew and West Aurora slugged it out for top team score at Shepard and when the dust settled it was Andrew that prevailed by a mere 4.5 points, 195.5-191.

Batavia (176.5) finished third in scoring, followed by Lockport (153.5) and Glenbard West )127) to round out the top five finishes.

Andrew had a pair of individual regional champions in Sophia Figueroa (115) and Alyssa Keane (140) and a third-place finish from Emma Akpan (190) to lead the way for the Thunderbolts’ seven sectional qualifiers.

Janae Vargas (170) placed fourth for Andrew, which also got a fifth from Lana Shuaibi (130) and sixths from Emily Alvarez-Rodriguez (135) and Ahlam Mehyar (145).

Second-place West Aurora had a pair of regional champions in Aiyanah Sylvester (120) and Brittney Moran (190), and third-place Batavia got a regional title from returning state champion Sydney Perry (145).

Other individual regional champions at Shepard were Glenbard West’s Alycia Perez (100), Glenbard East’s Nadiia Shykiv (105), Lockport Township’s Morgan Turner (110) and Claudia Heeney (130), Riverside-Brookfield’s Eleanor Aphay (125), Bolingbrook’s Katie Ramirez-Quintero (135), Hinsdale South’s Callie Carr (155), Downers Grove North’s Kayleigh Loo (170), and Oak Park and River Forest’s Sarah Epshtein (235).

The top six girls in each weight class advance to the Schaumburg sectional on Feb. 9-10.

Shepard regional championship match results:

100 – Alycia Perez (Glenbard West) F 5:34 Kameyah Young (West Aurora)

105 – Nadiia Shykiv (Glenbard East) F 3:09 Averi Colella (Lockport)

110 – Morgan Turner (Lockport) F 2:28 Avi Gonzalez (Lyons)

115 – Sophia Figueroa (Andrew) F 4:45 Uliana Shevtsova (Metea Valley)

120 – Aiyanah Sylvester (West Aurora) F 0:27 Ellen Purl (Naperville Central)

125 – Eleanor Aphay (Riverside-Brookfield) F 5:15 Dezi Azar (Naperville Central)

130 – Claudia Heeney (Lockport) F 2:37 Kaila Stubbs (Glenbard East)

135 – Katie Ramirez-Quintero (Bolingbrook) F 3:16 Rose Craig (Elmwood Park)

140 – Alyssa Keane (Andrew) F 2:45 Alison Garcia (Downers Grove South)

145 – Sydney Perry (Batavia) F 2:58 Natalia Cruz (Downers Grove North)

155 – Callie Carr (Hinsdale South) D 5-2 Ionicca Rivera (West Aurora)

170 – Kayleigh Loo (Downers Grove (North) F 3:33 Haley Arechiga (Proviso East)

190 – Brittney Moran (West Aurora) F 1:14 Jayden Huesca (West Chicago)

235 – Sarah Epshtein (OPRF) F 0:51 Rebekah Ramirez (Lockport)

3rd-place results:

100 – Kat Bell (Montini)  F 2:53 LIly Enos (Batavia)

105 – Josefina Orozco (Romeoville) D 6-4 Andrea Jaimes-Alvarez (WW South)

110 – Alejandra Flores (Bolingbrook) D 6-5 Valentina Fantoni (Glenbard West)

115 – Karolina Konopka (Glenbard West) F 2:43 Veronika Arabova (Neuqua Valley)

120 – Natalie Lenart (Batavia) D 5-4 Molly O`Connor (Lemont)

125 – Zoe Connelly (Lyons) F 5:09 Tierra Hardin (Proviso West)

130 -Stacey Massey (Shepard) F 0:19 Tiyanna Hart (Hinsdale Central)

135 – Amelia Howell (Batavia) F 3:13 Jenny Espinal (West Chicago)

140 – Viktoriia Rodnikova (North) F 4:36 Danely Villagomez (Riverside-Brookfield)

145 – Makayla Hill (Oswego) F 2:15 Sofia Arain (Hinsdale Central)

155 – Sarah Anderson (Batavia) F 5:16 Kiyah Chavez (Oswego)

170 – Caliyah Campbell (OPRF) 14-7, So. over Janae Vargas (Andrew)

190 – Emma Akpan (Andrew) F 3:49 Aurelia Gil-Lane (Bolingbrook)

235 – Megan O`Toole (Downers Grove North) F 3:28 Iana Victory (Wheaton North)

5th-place results:

100 – Zoey Dodgers (Leyden) F 0:25 Daniela Santander (Romeoville)

105 – Keyi Wang (Naperville North) MD 22-9 Valerie Aligia (Glenbard South)

110 – Rebecca DiSilvestro (Geneva) MD 13-3 Frankie Abasta (Riverside-Brookfield)

115 – Star Duncan (Wheaton (WW South) F 2:58 Gracie Meluch (Naperville Central)

120 – Lucy Madrigal (Lockport) fft. Valentina Barboza (East Aurora)

125 – Mila Rocush (Shepard) F 0:46 Elena Raymond (Argo)

130 – Lana Shuaibi (Andrew) D 8-1 Anabelle Guthke (Batavia)

135 – Maria Green (Glenbard East) F 3:50 Emily Alvarez-Rodriquez (Andrew)

140 – Giselle Marin-Carrasco (West Aurora) F 0:16 Norah Stoodley (Batavia)

145 – Rosie Picari (Metea Valley) F 2:21 Ahlam Mehyar (Andrew)

155 – Jea Marie Jones (Downers Grove South)  MFFL Jordan Smith (East Aurora)

170 – Vilte Petreikyte-Zemaitis (Naperville North) MFFL Gracie Swierczynski (Downers Grove S)

190 – Trinity White (OPRF) Inj. Violet Cherep (Downers Grove South)

235 – Sky Vazquez (Elmwood Park) F 0:19 Henessis Villagrana (Romeoville)

Curie Regional

A parade of 12 sectional qualifiers for Oak Forest marched home with top honors at this year’s Curie regional, led by a a pair of regional champions in Maya Coreas Funes (145) and Isabel Peralta (190). Seconds from Iyobosa Odiase (140) and Ryann Reeves (155) and a perfect 4-for-4 finish on the third-place mat from Marjorie Rodriguez (115), Charlotte Pedroza (120), Camila O’Leary Salas (125), and Jessica Komolafe (235) gave Oak Forest coach John Sebek seven wrestlers finishing in the top four of their weight classes.

Aliyah Blound (100) and Madelyn Sears (135) finished fourth for the Bengals, and Alex Sebek (105) and Jordan Clyne (130) placed fifth in advancing.

Morton (182) finished second, Homewood-Flossmoor (162), Thornton (139) and Thornton-Fractional South (113) rounded out the top five team finishes.

Second-place Morton had a pair of individual regional champions in Monica Garcia (120) and Faith Comas (135), and third-place Homewood-Flossmoor got regional titles from London Gandy (105) and Nina Hamm (115).

Also winning individual regional championships were De La Salle’s Anapaula Cerna (100), Thornton’s Gymaria Brown (110) and Keyhanna Phillips (170), Chicago Military Academy-Bronzeville’s Tyhesia Goss (125), Tinley Park’s Simone Standifer (130), St. Ignatius’ GG Garduno (140), Oak Lawn’s Charvelle McCLain (155), and host Curie’s Aaliyah Grandberry (235).

The top six girls in each weight class advance to the Evanston sectional on Feb. 9-10.

Curie regional championship match results:

100 – Anapaula Cerna (De La Salle) F 1:14 Evelin Martinez (Curie)

105 – London Gandy (Homewood-Flossmoor) D 6-5  Hope Donnamario (Morton)

110 – Gymaria Brown (Thornton) F 5:52 Courben Session (Rich Township)

115 – Nina Hamm (Homewood-Flossmoor) F 0:53 Jaqueline Dimas (Kelly)

120 – Monica Garcia (Morton) F 2:43 Iliana Heredia (De La Salle)

125 – Tyhesia Goss (C. Military Academy-Bronzeville) F 1:54 Makayla Marr (H-Flossmoor)

130 – Simone Standifer (Tinley Park) TB-7-5 Quincy Onyiaorah (Lansing (T-F South)

135 – Faith Comas (Morton) F 1:11 Christiara Finley (Hillcrest)

140 – GG Garduno (St. Ignatius) F 1:46 Iyobosa Odiase (Oak Forest)

145 – Maya Coreas Funes (Oak Forest) F 3:00 Abigail Dominguez (Back of the Yards)

155 – Charvelle McClain (Oak Lawn) F 3:37 Ryann Reeves (Oak Forest)

170 – Keyhanna Phillips (Thornton) F 1:19 Violet Mayo (Morton)

190 – Isabel Peralta (Oak Forest) F 1:08 Reyna Padilla (Reavis)

235 – Aaliyah Grandberry (Curie) fft. Jocelyn Williams (Homewood-Flossmoor)

3rd-place match results:

100 – Faythe Robinson (Homewood-Flossmoor) DQ Melany Corona (C. Military Academy-Bronzeville)

105 – Ariel Woodfin (Harvey (Thornton) F 1:54 Carmen Jackson (C. Agricultural Science)

110 – Giselle Arambula (Curie) F 4:00 Hida Thomas (Back of the Yards)

115 – Marjorie Rodriguez (Oak Forest) F 4:32 Jayden Melendez (Tinley Park)

120 – Charlotte Pedroza (Oak Forest) F 4:52 Ava Enright (Marist)

125 – Camila O`Leary Salas (Oak Forest) TF 6:35 Nayeli Rodriguez (Morton)

130 – Jalah Wilson (Thornton) F 1:40 Yesenia De Paz (Back of the Yards)

135 – Maggie Zuber (Mother McAuley) MD 13-5 Jermia Moore (T-F South)

140 – Akayla Coopwood (T-F South) F 0:43 Leylani Bahena (Kelly)

145 – Hailey Zamot (Rich Township) F 0:11 Jocelyn Diaz (Reavis)

155 – Lilly Fish (Reavis) F 5:30 Daiana Lopez (Curie)

170 – Estrella Ramirez (Reavis) F 3:13 Liana Andrade (Kelly)

190 – Nadia Johnson (C. South Shore Int’l. College Prep) D 8-4 N`dyia Mahon-Godfrey (Kelly)

235 – Jessica Komolafe (Oak Forest) F 1:21 Sionna Stampley (Thornton)

5th-place match results:

100 – Aliyah Blount (Oak Forest) D 8-2 Anahi Ceja (Morton)

105 – Dakota Kelly (T-F South)  med. fft. Alexandra Sebek (Oak Forest)

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

When a program can boast that it’s one of only two in Illinois that had the top score at a sectional in both 2022 and 2023, and that it also is one of four that has qualified five or more individuals to each of the first two IHSA Finals and it’s also one of just 10 that have had three or more different state medalists thus far, the bar for success is naturally going to be very high.

So it’s understandable why there may have been some concern about Joliet Township after it took fourth place and was more than doubled up by Schaumburg in its opening tournament at Normal Community and then finished third to Oak Forest and Batavia at Larkin one week later.

But despite having a significant number of freshmen and sophomores on this season’s team, coach Liz Short’s Steelwomen benefited from appearances at the Walsh Women’s Ironman in Ohio and The Clash National Duals in Wisconsin and based on their showing at the Southwest Prairie Conference Tournament, they seem to be performing at their best at the right time.

Joliet Township had three champions, five runners-up and five others who finished fourth or better to help it capture top honors in the SPC Tournament, which it hosted at Joliet Central’s historic Steelmen gymnasium. The Steelwomen scored 197.5 points while defending champion Minooka took second with 163 points and West Aurora placed third with 117 points. Plainfield Central (102), Oswego (91) and Plainfield South (85) were next-best in the 11-team competition.

Joliet Township, a co-op of Joliet Central and Joliet West athletes, was led by champions Emma Schlismann (105), Eliana Paramo (110) and Izabel Barrera (135) while Chloe Wong (100), April Ortiz (120), Alexandra Rosas (130), Veronica Klobnak (140) and Fernanda Miranda (235) all  claimed second-place finishes.

Briahna Klobnak (125) and Trista Pisano (190) took third place, Isabella Sandoval (130), Vanessa O’Connor (145) and Valeria Hernandez (235) finished fourth and Noelie Perez-Bedolla (155) and Evelyn Perez-Bedolla (190) placed sixth. 

The Steelwomen hope to use the momentum of the SPC championship for this weekend’s Minooka Regional. Individuals that advance from that regional will join qualifiers from the Erie/Prophetstown Regional at the Geneseo Sectional on February 9-10 and then two weeks later the season concludes at the IHSA Finals at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.

Other SPC teams that will join Joliet Township and the hosts at the Minooka Regional are Plainfield Central, Plainfield South and Yorkville.  Southwest Prairie Conference schools West Aurora, Oswego, Oswego East, Plainfield East, Plainfield North and Romeoville will be at the Shepard Regional in Palos Heights, which feeds into the Schaumburg Sectional.

Short, who was honored as the IWCOA’s Girls Coach of the Year in 2023, likes the progress that she’s seen from her team. And she’s also understandably happy that she has some coaches helping her this season after she had to do a lot of coaching on her own in the past.

“I was really happy with the way that we performed,” Short said. “We’ve been working very hard in the practice room, so it’s all starting to come together and it’s at a good time. We did a lot of work this offseason and we had a lot of girls participate in Team Illinois and Fargo and do some spring wrestling. And spring wrestling really pays off and that’s what we’re wrestling in college for women. It just gets them really comfortable so they feel like they can move to the next level.”

Runner-up Minooka and fourth-place Plainfield Central also had three Southwest Prairie Conference champions while third-place West Aurora had two title winners and Plainfield North, Plainfield South and Romeoville each had one first-place finisher.

Top performers for coach Paige Schoolman’s Minooka Indians were title winners Addison Cailteux (130), Bella Cyrkiel (145) and Peyton Kueltzo (235) while Holli Coughlen (105), Daisy Musser (115) and Eva Beck (135) finished second. Palmer Calvey (140) took third, Abbey Boersma (155) placed fourth, Marian Nordsell (100), Brooklyn Doti (110), Ava Staley (115) and Keziah Gaston (190) took fifth place while Ezra Rodriguez (140) claimed sixth.

Leading the way for coach Charlie Graves’ West Aurora Blackhawks were title winners Aiyanah Sylvester (120) and Brittney Moran (190) while Ionicca Rivera (155) took second and Lailonie Molina (115) and Michelle Obasa (145) placed third. Mia Orozco (125) finished fourth, Allina Williams (130), Giselle Marin-Carrasco (140) and Vicky Stackowicz (235) were fifth and Joseline Saucedo (100), Diana Llanos (115), Charlotte Weiler (120), Denise Ruiz (135) and Reyna Esquivel (170) all claimed sixth-place finishes.

Plainfield Central’s Wildcats, coached by Terry Kubski, got first-place finishes from Courtni Chuway (115), Shania Davison (125) and Alicia Tucker (170) while Zyon Jordan (190) took second and Candice Cameron (110) finished fourth.

Other SPC champions were Romeoville’s Daniela Santander (100), Plainfield North’s Viktoriia Rodnikova (140) and Plainfield South’s Teagan Aurich (155).

Individuals who repeated as SPC champions were Bella Cyrkiel, Peyton Kueltzo, Brittney Moran, Eliana Paramo, Emma Schlismann and Alicia Tucker.

Also finishing in second place were Plainfield South’s Aliyaah Campos (110) and Kayla Ochotorena (125), Oswego’s Makayla Hill (145) and Oswego East’s Jessica Stover (170).

Additional third-place finishers were Oswego’s Mikaela Busse (110), Aaliyah Roldan (120), Harmony Evans (130) and Kiyah Chavez 155), Yorkville’s Analiese Garretson (100), Brooke Coy (135) and Janiah Murray (170) and Romeoville’s Josefina Orozco (105) and Henessis Villagrana (235)

Top records of individuals who were in the finals included Alicia Tucker at 170 (28-0, 1.000), Brittney Moran at 190 (25-1, .962), Viktoriia Rodnikova at 140 (15-1, .938), Bella Cyrkiel at 145 (31-4, .886), Eliana Paramo at 110 (23-3, .885) and Daniela Santander at 100 (21-3, .875).

There was a four-way tie for the most team points with 26 between Courtni Chuway, Eliana Paramo, Viktoriia Rodnikova and Alicia Tucker and a tie between Teagan Aurich, Brittney Moran, Daniela Santander and Aiyanah Sylvester for fifth place with 24 team points. Addison Cailteux, Shania Davison and Peyton Kueltzo tied for ninth with 22 team points.

Emma Schlismann had the most total match points with 32 while Oswego East’s Qianxi Brooks had 28 and Shania Davison had 26. Ava Staley led all competitors with four falls and Giselle Marin-Carrasco was seeded 11th and placed fifth for the biggest seed to place difference. 

Champion Joliet Township collected the most match points with 152 while runner-up Minooka was second with 125 match points. And the Steelwomen had the most falls with 19 while Minooka and West Aurora each recorded 18 pins.

“A lot of these girls, we see them during the spring, too, so I’m glad that it’s popular and that they really enjoy the sport,” Short said.  “It’s about getting them to buy into the sport and like it so that you get them to work hard. I love wrestling, I am for sure obsessed with wrestling. We’ve got some assistants and we’re still hoping  to have equal assistants as the boys. At first we were growing the sport, and now we see the quality, and that starts on the youth level. And we’re seeing a lot of women who graduated from college and they’re starting to give back and starting to coach. Before we were kind of stuck with people that got the girls, but now, people are clamoring to coach the women and that’s really exciting to see.”

Here’s a look at the champions for the Southwest Prairie Conference Tournament and their weight classes.

100 – Daniela Santander, Romeoville

Daniela Santander was just about as surprised as anyone in the gymnasium when she had her hand raised following the 100 title match. After all, the Romeoville sophomore was trailing Joliet Township junior Chloe Wong 7-1 with just over a minute remaining. But that’s when she turned the tide and was able to record a fall in 4:53, to stun Wong, a two-time state qualifier who went 32-8 last season and placed sixth at 100 at the IHSA Finals. Santander (21-3), who went 9-12 a year ago and failed to qualify from the rugged Schaumburg Sectional, used two falls to reach the title match, getting a pin in 2:15 over Yorkville’s Analiese Garretson in the semifinals. She was one of three Spartans to finish third or better and the only one that got to the title mat.

“I’m so excited about this, I think I might have a chance to make it to state,” Santander said. “She was so close to pinning me multiple times, but I was able to fight her off. I’m so happy. It’s been a lot of hard work but it’s finally paying off. My coaches are amazing and they’re really helping me.”

Wong was one of eight finalists for champion Joliet Township, which is a co-op team that features athletes from Joliet Central and Joliet West. Wong, who won an SPC title in 2023, advanced to the title match with two first-period falls, with the last of those coming in 1:20 over Yorkville’s Kayleigh Shannon in the semifinals. In a matchup of two Yorkville competitors for third place, Garretson (12-4) won by fall in 3:45 over Shannon (15-7). And for fifth place, Minooka’s Marian Nordsell recorded a pin in 0:23 over West Aurora’s Joseline Saucedo.

105 – Emma Schlismann, Joliet Township

On a day when all but four of the championship matches were decided by fall, the 105 finals were the closest of them all as Joliet Township senior Emma Schlismann (23-8) had to fight off a tough challenge from Minooka’s Holli Coughlen before prevailing in an 8-6 decision to become the first of three champions for coach Liz Short’s champion Steelwomen. Schlismann, an SPC champion in 2023 who finished with 15-9 record last season and came up one victory shy of qualifying from the Geneseo Sectional, opened with a win by technical fall before capturing an 8-0 major decision over Yorkville’s Danielle Turner in the semifinals.

“There’s been a couple of times where I’ve let stuff go that was in my head and I just didn’t do what I know that I have to do, and that lost me a couple of matches,” Schlismann said. “I’m trying to come out here and shoot as much as I can. And I have the best practice partner ever in Eli (Eliana Paramo). I just like how supportive the girls are and they’re really tough. There’s a couple of good girls this year that can make it really far and I’m really proud of them.” 

Coughlen (14-14), who lost to Schlismann in the 110 finals at the SPC Meet in 2023, went 12-7 last season and also competed in the Geneseo Sectional. She followed a pin in her opener with a 5-4 decision over Romeoville’s Josefina Orozco in the semifinals to become one of the six finalists for Minooka. Orozco (15-4), a senior, claimed third place by getting a fall in 3:46 over sophomore Turner (22-6). And for fifth place, Plainfield East junior Mahi Kansagara captured a 5-2 decision over her Bengals freshman teammate, Angelina Nettey.

110 – Eliana Paramo, Joliet Township

After going 37-5 last season and finishing in second place at 115 to Glenbard North’s Gabby Gomez at the IHSA Finals, Eliana Paramo is hoping to not only get back to the state title mat in Bloomington but to also become her school’s first state champion. The Joliet Township senior is heading in a good direction going into the postseason after improving to 23-3 by recording a fall in 1:45 in the 110 SPC title match over Plainfield South’s Aliyaah Campos to repeat as an SPC champion. Paramo, who also finished in fifth place at 115 in 2022 at the first IHSA Finals while competing for Joliet West, advanced to the 110 title match with a pair of first-period falls, with her pin in the semifinals coming in 1:08 over Plainfield Central’s Candice Cameron.

“It’s really exciting seeing the way that our team has developed, and how strong we are and how much of a force we’ve become, it’s really awesome,” Paramo said. “We started off the year with so many new girls and here we are at the end of the season and they’re well-seasoned now. It’s a really familial environment and everyone is there and supporting each other. We all just love supporting each other and hanging around each other. Now we start the state series at regionals and I’m really excited for that.”

Campos (6-5), a sophomore, became one of the Cougars’ three finalists after she won her first two matches by fall, which included a pin in 2:20 over Oswego’s Mikaela Busse in the semifinals. Busse (15-11), a junior, bounced back from that setback to claim third place with a win by fall in 0:31 over Cameron (12-13), who’s a sophomore. And in the fifth-place match, Minooka senior Brooklyn Doti (18-10), who was a state qualifier in the inaugural IHSA Finals in 2022, won with a fall in 3:18 over Oswego East’s Qianxi Brooks (11-12).

115 – Courtni Chuway, Plainfield Central

Courtni Chuway began a successful final round for Plainfield Central when she won the 115 title with a fall in 1:36 over Minooka’s Daisy Musser. She was the first of three champions for the Wildcats, with Shania Davison (125) and Alicia Tucker (170) later taking firsts. Chuway (26-5), a senior who went 15-9 a year ago and qualified for the IHSA Finals, used two falls to reach the 115 finals and recorded a pin in 2:56 over Oswego East’s Payton Lustrup in the semifinals. Last year, Chuway took third place in the SPC Tournament.

“The Wildcats had a great day and I’m very proud of myself and the rest of the team,” Chuway said. “I think that we’ve all come so far and we’ve worked very hard. It was very impressive (freshman Shania Davison’s title) and I’m very proud of her, too,she’s come a very long way. I think that I’ve come a long way. I’ve impressed myself a lot this season. There has been a lot of ups and downs but I just think that comes with the nature of the sport. I’m very excited for the future. I like how we’re all like a family. We have a very uplifting team.”

Musser (12-13) became the first of six freshmen to compete on a title mat when she faced Chuway. After opening with a quick fall, Musser earned her spot as one of six Minooka competitors to reach the title mat when she captured a 10-6 decision over West Aurora’s Lailonie Molina in the semifinals. Molina (18-8), who’s also a freshman, won third place after recording a fall in 1:21 over Lustrup, who’s a junior. Minooka and West Aurora each picked up additional medals in the fifth-place match as Indians’ junior Ava Staley (15-8) won with a pin in 1:48 over Blackhawks’ junior Diana Llanos (15-10).

120 – Aiyanah Sylvester, West Aurora

Aiyanah Sylvester gave West Aurora the first of its two titles and also became the first of three freshmen champions in the competition when she won by fall in 3:38 in the 120 title match over Joliet Township’s April Ortiz. Sylvester (24-7) earned her spot in the finals after recording two falls that each concluded within one minute. Her pin of Oswego’s Aaliyah Roldan in 0:52 in the semifinals made her one of three individuals from her team who reached the title mat.

“It feels really good,” Sylvester said. “As a freshman, I’ve been struggling a bit. But I keep practicing every day and keep working on what I need to work on, and eventually I’m getting there. My cousin, Kameyah Young, and I are both pushing each other at practice every day. I like how all of my teammates support each other. And if we support each other, we’re always winning. It’s great to have a big team and we’re all supporting each other.”

Ortiz (9-4), a junior, became one one of eight Steelwomen to reach the title match when she recorded her second fall of the tournament, in 4:54, over Romeoville’s Jesslynne Ochoa in the semifinals. In the third-place matchup of juniors who fell in the semifinals, Roldan (18-10) won by fall in 2:49 over Ochoa (10-9). And for fifth place, Plainfield North sophomore Meryn Finnegan (9-6) captured a 10-8 decision over West Aurora freshman Charlotte Weiler (5-4).

125 – Shania Davison, Plainfield Central

With two first-year high school competitors facing off in the 125 title match, a second freshman champion was assured and one of the few matches that were decided by fall that reached the third period, Plainfield Central’s Shania Davison won with a pin in 5:20 over Plainfield South’s Kayla Ochotorena. Davison (7-8) joined Courtni Chuway (115) and defending state champion Alicia Tucker (170) as champions for coach Terry Kubski’s Wildcats and reached the finals with a fall in her opener and then she prevailed 9-7 by sudden victory over Joliet Township’s Briahna Klobnak in a semifinals thriller.

“We’ve just been working hard together,” Davison said. “Even though we don’t have a lot of members of our team, we still work hard and we still do good. We have great coaches and they help us a lot with everything that we need. I first wanted to get into wrestling because of football, but now that I’m in wrestling, I just want to keep going since it’s so much fun. I like how we’re a family, we’re not just teammates, we’re basically best friends.”

Ochotorena (8-7), one of six freshmen who were able to advance to the title mat and one of three Cougars who were able to get there, only had to wrestle one match prior to the 125 finals, and she won that match in the semifinals with a fall in 1:33 over West Aurora’s Mia Orozco. For third place, sophomore Klobnak (23-16) recorded a pin in 2:26 over junior Orozco (6-7). And another freshman placed fifth, Romeoville’s Allison Cisneros (7-8), who received a forfeit win.

130 – Addison Cailteux, Minooka

After Minooka lost its first two title matches at the SPC Meet, its fortunes began to improve when Addison Cailteux stepped on the mat to face Joliet Township’s Alexandra Rosas in the 130 finals. Cailteux (18-4), a sophomore, recorded a fall in 2:52 over senior Rosas and that helped coach Paige Schoolman’s Indians to win titles in three of their last four finals matches to tie them with Joliet Township and Plainfield Central for the most individual champions with three apiece. Cailteux, who was later joined by Bella Cyrkiel (145) and Peyton Kueltzo (235) as SPC title winners, pinned another Joliet Township opponent in her only other match, recording a fall in 0:59 over Isabella Sandoval in the semifinals.

“I love our coaches,” Cailteux said. “They always help us on things that we need to work on. And they always talk to us straight after our matches about what we did good but they also talk about what we did wrong, even if we win, just to make sure that we can keep winning. Joliet and West Aurora are all great competitors and I like seeing them throughout the season because I know that I’ll end up getting a good match out of it. Ultimately, the better teams make me a better wrestler because I get better experience, it just helps so much. I like how we all hold each other to a certain standard. We encourage each other but we also aren’t afraid to call each other out to make sure that they’re working hard to keep the team standard high.”

Rosas, one of eight individuals from coach Liz Short’s champion Steelwomen who were able to reach the title mat, recorded falls in her other two matches, with the shorter of those two pins coming in the semifinals in just 0:24 over Oswego’s Harmony Evans. In the third-place match, junior Evans (10-11) followed her loss to one JT competitor with a victory over another individual from the host school, sophomore Sandoval, when she captured an 11-2 major decision. And for fifth place, West Aurora senior Allina Williams (19-9) won by fall in 1:12 over Yorkville junior Brianna Benninger (5-7).

135 – Izabel Barrera, Joliet Township

On a day where two of the seniors who’ve helped Joliet Township become one of the state’s top programs captured SPC titles, one of the younger members of the team who hope to carry on that legacy also claimed top honors as JT easily won the team championship at historic Steemen Gym. Izabel Barrera, a sophomore, joined seniors Emma Schlismann and Eliana Paramo as title winners for coach Liz Short’s Steelwomen when she won a 7-2 decision over Minooka’s Eva Beck in the 135 finals. Barrera (20-5), who was one of her team’s eight finalists, got to the title mat after winning her only other match by fall in 0:31 over Oswego’s Ameera Murphy in the semifinals.

“I’m very excited, this team has grown so much,” Barrera said. “Our coach, especially, has helped us so much. And all of the coaches who’ve come and volunteer, are very helpful and they have helped the girls grow and continue to get better. Wrestling is a really hard sport mentally and physically, so it’s nice to have other girls around that are helping you. I’ve been wrestling for two years now. I didn’t think about doing wrestling until my freshman year and when I got into it, I didn’t think it would be easy, but not as hard as it is, but it’s been a nice experience. The thing I like about Joliet’s program is that we all come together, no matter what, and we help each other become one as a team.”

Beck (20-9), a senior who was one of the six finalists for coach Paige Schoolman’s runner-up Indians, opened with a fall and then captured a 7-2 decision over Yorkville’s Brooke Coy in the semifinals. Beck went 21-12 last season and advanced to the Geneseo Sectional but fell one win shy of a trip downstate. In the third place match that featured two juniors, Coy (25-8) won by fall in 2:55 over Murphy. And for fifth place, Plainfield South senior Tannon Whitaker (10-8) recorded a pin in 3:19 over West Aurora freshman Denise Ruiz.

140 – Viktoriia Rodnikova, Plainfield North

As a newcomer to the United States from Russia, Viktoriia Rodnikova hoped to utilize some of the training that she had received in judo as she looked to be involved in a sport while attending Plainfield North. After getting off to a 15-1 start and winning a title in the Southwest Prairie Conference Tournament, it seems that wrestling might be the answer for the Tigers freshman. She captured the title at 140 with a fall in 3:26 over Joliet Township’s Veronica Klobnak. Rodnikova, one of two entrants for Plainfield North, also had falls in her first two matches, which both ended in the opening period. She earned her spot on the title mat with a pin in 1:50 over Plainfield South’s Lexi Kachiroubas in the semifinals.

“I worked really hard for this,” Rodnikova said. “I’m a freshman and this is my second year of wrestling. I came here from Russia three years ago and I did judo there. So I just wanted to try to do something similar, so I decided to do folkstyle and freestyle and this is my freshman year at Plainfield North High School. I’m doing this for college because I want to go to the University of Chicago. I’m going to get in there. I know that it’s hard and very expensive. My future plan is to win Fargo. I’m just enjoying it. I love wrestling.”

Klobnak (20-16), a sophomore who one of eight finalists for champion Joliet Township, recorded a quick fall in her opener and then captured a 4-1 decision over Minooka’s Palmer Calvey in the semifinals. A year ago, Klobnak won two matches in the Geneseo Sectional but fell a bit short of a state trip. For third, junior Calvey (17-12) won by fall in 0:44 over freshman Kachiroubas (13-8). And in the fifth-place match, West Aurora junior Giselle Marin-Carrasco (21-11) recorded a pin in 1:38 over Minooka’s Ezra Rodriguez.

145 – Bella Cyrkiel, Minooka

A year ago, Bella Cyrkiel was preparing for what turned out to be her initial appearance at the IHSA Finals, which put a nice close on a successful 28-9 season. After having gotten the taste of competing at state along with three of her teammates, the Minooka senior obviously wants not only to get back to Bloomington but to also win a few matches there. Cyrkiel improved to 31-4 and repeated as an SPC champion after claiming a 5-0 decision over Oswego’s Makayla Hill in the 145 title match to become one of her team’s three champions. She only had to wrestle in one other match, and that was in the semifinals, where she recorded a fall in 1:20 over West Aurora’s Michelle Obasa to become one of the runner-up Indians’ six finalists.

“I’m definitely excited because it’s like every weekend we have a new success and that just keeps pushing us,” Cyrkiel said. “I’m excited because we are a new sport, so it always pushes us to do more. We have a good rivalry (with Joliet Township) and we saw them at The Clash and it was a tie, 33-33. We’re definitely a hard-working team and we’re always getting pushed. The coaches are always pushing us, but then you also have teammates who are pushing you even more. And I’ve been putting in a lot of extra work whenever I can.” 

Hill, who’s a freshman, is off to a 25-5 start. Beside being one of the six freshmen who reached the title mat, she was the lone Oswego Panther to advance to the finals. She opened with a pair of falls, with her pin in the semifinals being the quickest of the two, in just 0:59 against Joliet Township’s Vanessa O’Connor. In the third-place match, Obasa was a winner by fall in 4:26 over O’Connor, who’s a sophomore. And for fifth place, Plainfield South freshman Mora Munoz recorded a pin in 3:41 over Yorkville senior Joanna Okunnu.

155 – Teagan Aurich, Plainfield South

Teagan Aurich got a good laugh when she found out that she was being referred to as Aurich Teagan at the SPC Tournament. But if anyone was unclear as to who the Plainfield South junior was before, it’s unlikely that they’ll forget her name now that she captured a 4-1 decision in the 155 title match over West Aurora’s Ionicca Rivera, who finished sixth at 170 in last year’s IHSA Finals and fell one win shy of winning a medal in 2022. Aurich, who improved to 18-3, became one of three finalists for the Cougars when she got her second fall, in 4:31, over Minooka’s 

Abbey Boersma in the semifinals. Aurich, who  qualified for state in 2023 and advanced to the quarterfinals, has been influenced by the Cougars’ 2022 IHSA champion, Alexis Janiak.

“I’ve been working on really shooting and I’m kind of upset with how that match went because when it comes to pushing matches, I get really nervous,” Aurich said. “But this is definitely a confidence booster and it’s going to help me going into regionals and sectionals. Alexis was one of the big reasons that I actually joined. They’ve made the program so much bigger now and they’re giving us so many opportunities to achieve great things. I really give most of that to Lexi because she really pushed to have a girls team. It’s great to be making history and for the new girls coming in and giving them more opportunities to compete and to do things they couldn’t do before.”

Rivera (26-5), who became the third individual from West Aurora to win a state medal after advancing to the quarterfinals last year, was one of three SPC  finalists for coach Charlie Graves’ Blackhawks. She earned her spot on the 155 title mat after getting two wins by fall, with her semifinal pin over Oswego’s Kiyah Chavez coming at 3:12. In the third-place match, junior Chavez (12-2) won by medical forfeit over senior Boersma (28-9). For fifth, Plainfield East sophomore Kaitlyn Bucholz (12-9) won 4-2 over Joliet Township senior Noelie Perez-Bedolla.

170 – Alicia Tucker, Plainfield Central

As the IHSA postseason begins this weekend with eight regionals being contested, all eyes will be focused on the four two-time state champions who seek a third title to be the first to achieve that feat. But there’s also nine others who wish to become two-time title winners, something that just six have accomplished thus far. Alicia Tucker is one of those nine and the Plainfield Central junior seems ready to add to her state title at 155 a year ago after improving to 28-0 and winning her second-straight SPC title with a fall in 3:04 over Oswego East’s Jessica Stover in the 170 finals. Tucker, who went 34-2 a year ago and will be at the Minooka Regional, used two pins to reach the 170 title mat, winning in 2:16 over Yorkville’s Janiah Murray in the semifinals.

“I think that our girls have been training very hard to get here and I think that all deserve being in the finals,” Tucker said of the tournament’s finalists. “And we have a few first-years that have training almost just as hard as anyone else. As captain, it’s my job to set the tone for everybody else. I have a few more to go. And I’m just going to keep getting better.”

Stover (21-6), a junior, was the lone Oswego East competitor to advance to the finals. She won her first two matches with falls and advanced to the 170 title match with a pin in 3:06 over Plainfield South’s Annika Lundgren. In the third-place match between two sophomores, Murray (15-14) recorded a fall in 3:49 over Lundgren. For fifth place, Oswego junior Rikka Ludvigson (16-10) won with a pin in 1:26 over West Aurora sophomore Reyna Esquivel.

190 – Brittney Moran, West Aurora

As one of the few athletes statewide who can say that they were placewinners at each of the first two IHSA Finals, Brittney Moran obviously has a lot to be proud of. But after finishing sixth at 190 in both 2022 and 2023, the West Aurora junior is looking to finish higher on the awards stand on February 24 in Bloomington. She improved to 25-1 and repeated as an SPC champion after recording a fall in 1:53 over Plainfield Central’s Zyon Jordan in the 190 title match. Moran, who went 28-5 a year ago and lost in the semifinals to the eventual state champ, Homewood-Flossmoor’s Ini Odumosu, became the first Blackhawk to be a two-time medalist. She got a quick fall in her first match and won by medical forfeit in the semifinals to reach the title mat.

“This is a lot different than last year or my freshman year,” Moran said. “I feel like people are getting more exposed to new wrestlers and that’s great. This is giving me more of a challenge than my freshman and sophomore years and I’m actually pushing myself to be better and tougher. And we have a couple of new coaches who are teaching us a lot more and motivating us so much more.  I like how we support each other. We have new girls and we push them as well as we push each other.”

Jordan (9-7), a junior who went 20-12 last year but fell short of qualifying from the Geneseo Sectional, was one of four finalists for coach Terry Kubski’s Wildcats. She won her first two matches by fall, needing just 0:24 in the semifinals to get past Joliet Township’s Trista Pisano. In the third-place match, sophomore Pisano won by medical forfeit over Plainfield East sophomore Jennifer Serna (7-6), who got injured in her semifinals match.  For fifth, Minooka sophomore Keziah Gaston won with a fall in 3:32 over Joliet Township freshman Evelyn Perez-Bedolla.

235 – Peyton Kueltzo, Minooka

After being a part of a group of four state qualifiers at both of the first two IHSA Finals, Peyton Kueltzo has the distinction of joining 2023 Minooka graduate Jaiden Moody as the first two-time state qualifiers in the program’s history. While the Indians senior wouldn’t mind being joined by a few more qualifiers next month, one thing that she really would like to do is what Moody did last year, becoming Minooka’s first state medalist when she took third at 190. Kueltzo improved to 26-8 and repeated as an SPC champion following a fall in 1:01 over Joliet Township’s Fernanda Miranda in the 235 finals. One of three champions and six finalists for Minooka, she won her only other match with a fall in 0:51 over Joliet Township’s Valeria Hernandez in the semifinals.

“We’ve gone against these teams multiple times and it’s always back and forth, especially between Minooka and Joliet,” Kueltzo said. “They’re winning now, but in our dual it was 33-33 and we won by criteria. I’m so grateful for the coaches that we were given. Coach Schoolman sacrificed coaching the boys to be our head coach and he’s obviously been really successful. He’s the perfect coach for this. I’m excited for the postseason and I hope to end up on the podium at state this year. I went last year and the year before and didn’t end up on the podium.”

Miranda (12-5), a senior who was one of eight finalists for the champion Steelwomen, won her first two matches with pins, earning her spot on the title mat with a fall in 3:00 in the semifinals over Romeoville’s Henessis Villagrana. For third place, freshman Villagrana (10-6) won with a pin in 3:21 over junior Hernandez. And in the fifth-place match, West Aurora sophomore Vicky Stackowicz recorded a fall in 2:48 over Plainfield South freshman Timi Mudasiru.

Championship matches for the Southwest Prairie Conference Tournament

100 – Daniela Santander (Romeoville) F 4:53 Chloe Wong (Joliet Township)

105 – Emma Schlismann (Joliet Township) D 8-6 Holli Coughlen (Minooka)

110 – Eliana Paramo (Joliet Township) F 1:45 Aliyaah Campos (Plainfield South)

115 – Courtni Chuway (Plainfield Central) F 1:36 Daisy Musser (Minooka)

120 – Aiyanah Sylvester (West Aurora) F 3:38 April Ortiz (Joliet Township)

125 – Shania Davison (Plainfield Central) F 5:20 Kayla Ochotorena (Plainfield South)

130 – Addison Cailteux (Minooka) F 2:52 Alexandra Rosas (Joliet Township)

135 – Izabel Barrera (Joliet Township) D 7-2 Eva Beck (Minooka)

140 – Viktoriia Rodnikova (Plainfield North) F 3:26 Veronica Klobnak (Joliet Township)

145 – Bella Cyrkiel (Minooka) D 5-0 Makayla Hill (Oswego)

155 – Teagan Aurich (Plainfield South) D 4-1 Ionicca Rivera (West Aurora)

170 – Alicia Tucker (Plainfield Central) F 3:04 Jessica Stover (Oswego East)

190 – Brittney Moran (West Aurora) F 1:53 Zyon Jordan (Plainfield Central)

235 – Peyton Kueltzo (Minooka) F 1:01 Fernanda Miranda (Joliet Township)

Third-place matches for the Southwest Prairie Conference Tournament

100 – Analiese Garretson (Yorkville) F 3:45 Kayleigh Shannon (Yorkville)

105 – Josefina Orozco (Romeoville) F 3:46 Danielle Turner (Yorkville)

110 – Mikaela Busse (Oswego) F 0:31 Candice Cameron (Plainfield Central)

115 – Lailonie Molina (West Aurora) F 1:21 Payton Lustrup (Oswego East)

120 – Aaliyah Roldan (Oswego) F 2:49 Jesslynne Ochoa (Romeoville)

125 – Briahna Klobnak (Joliet Township) F 2:26 Mia Orozco (West Aurora)

130 – Harmony Evans (Oswego) MD 11-2 Isabella Sandoval (Joliet Township)

135 – Brooke Coy (Yorkville) F 2:55 Ameera Murphy (Oswego)

140 – Palmer Calvey (Minooka) F 0:44 Lexi Kachiroubas (Plainfield South)

145 – Michelle Obasa (West Aurora) F 4:26 Vanessa O’Connor (Joliet Township)

155 – Kiyah Chavez (Oswego) M For Abbey Boersma (Minooka)

170 – Janiah Murray (Yorkville) F 3:49 Annika Lundgren (Plainfield South)

190 – Trista Pisano (Joliet Township) M For Jennifer Serna (Plainfield East)

235 – Henessis Villagrana (Romeoville) F 3:21 Valeria Hernandez (Joliet Township)

Team scores for the Southwest Prairie Conference Tournament

1. Joliet Township 197.5, 2. Minooka 163, 3. West Aurora 117, 4. Plainfield Central 102, 5. Oswego 91, 6. Plainfield South 85, 7. Romeoville 62, 8. Yorkville 56, 9. Oswego East 44, 10. Plainfield North 29, 11. Plainfield East 14.

Yorkville wins third-straight Southwest Prairie Conference title

Three-peating was a common theme at the Southwest Prairie Conference Tournament, which took place at Joliet Central, as Yorkville claimed top honors for the third year in a row and three members of the champion Foxes won titles for the third-consecutive time, Jack Ferguson, Luke Zook and Ben Alvarez,  while Joliet West’s Carson Weber pulled off the same feat. And several others reached the title match for the third time in three years.

Coach Jake Oster’s Yorkville Foxes easily grabbed the team title with 519 points while Minooka claimed second place with 427 points. It was a big step up for coach Michael Kimberlin’s Indians, who took seventh place in last year’s competition.

Plainfield North took third with 369 while Oswego (365) finished just behind. Joliet West (343.5), West Aurora (341.5) and host Joliet Central (314) were next-best in the 12-team competition.
Winning championships for the first-place Foxes were Donovan Rosauer (138), Jack Ferguson (150), Ryder Janeczko (157), Luke Zook (175) and Ben Alvarez (215) while Liam Fenoglio (113), Dominic Recchia (132), Dominick Coronado (144) and Ryan Stockl (190) took second place. Caleb Viscogliosi (165) placed third while Nathan Craft (126), Cam Peach (157) and  Sebastian Westphal (165) finished fourth.

“This was the third year that we had a boys and girls conference tournament together and it was run pretty well so we got to see girls and boys competing and it’s good to have both teams cheering for each other,” Oster said. “A lot of times we don’t get to watch them compete because we’re competing or practicing when they’re going, so it’s good.

“We have a lot of depth this year. We have guys that were sectional qualifiers or two-time sectional qualifiers that are backups this year. It’s hard for those individuals that they don’t get to start, but it’s good for us as a team because we can move guys around if someone gets hurt, we have a guy that is very capable that can step up. We had a couple of guys wrestling each other in the semis or in third-place matches, that’s a good problem to have. Some of those guys are seniors and they could have just walked away but they stuck around because they wanted to be part of the team.”

Top performers for the runner-up Minooka Indians were title winners Mason Vogt (106) and Cale Stonitsch (132) while Noah Avina (120) and Hunter Coons (175) took third. Kaden Meyer (150) and Lucas Shipla (190) were fourth and Chase Musser (126), Ben Cyrkiel (144), Mason Boles (165) and Santino Capodice (215) claimed fifth place.

Leading the way for coach Adrian Cervantes’ third-place Plainfield North Tigers were champions Maddox Garbis (113) and Leonardo Tovar (190) and third-place finishers Cayden Amico (126) and Luke Grindstaff (138) while Tristen Garbis (106), Aidan Durell (120) and Liam Corona (285) all finished in fourth place.Coach Chuck Rumpf’s Joliet West Tigers had three champions, Coehn Weber (126), Carson Weber (144) and Wyatt Schmitt (285). 

Other SPC title winners were Romeoville’s Brian Farley (120) and Oswego’s Joseph Griffin (165).

Plainfield East’s Bengals had three second-place finishers, Aidan Villar (120), Niko Duggan (157) and Jerry Nino (165), while Romeoville had two runners-up, Mason Gougis (175) and Jamir Thomas (285). 

Others who took second place were Joliet Central’s Yadiel Colon (106), West Aurora’s Aiden Massaro (126), Oswego’s Brayden Swanson (138), Oswego East’s Noah Demarco (150) and Plainfield South’s Matt Janiak (215).

In some of the closest title matches, Ben Alvarez won 2-1 on a tiebreaker over Matt Janiak at 215, Coehn Weber edged Aiden Massaro 1-0 at 126, Donovan Rosauer got past Brayden Swanson 2-0 at 138, Luke Zook prevailed over Mason Gougis 5-2 at 175, Maddox Garbis defeated Liam Fenoglio 8-4 at 113, Cale Stonitsch beat Dominic Recchia 7-3 at 132 and Joseph Griffin won a 6-1 decision over Jerry Nino at 165.

Wyatt Schmitt led all competitors with 49 team points while his teammate Carson Weber was second with 48.5. There was a four-way tie for third place with 48 team points between Ben Alvarez, Joseph Griffin, Ryder Janeczko and Leonardo Tovar and then there was a three-way tie between Jack Ferguson, Maddox Garbis and Cale Stonitsch, who all had 47.5 points.

Brian Farley, Maddox Garbis and Cale Stonitsch all won their second SPC championships.

Coach Andrew Plata’s West Aurora Blackhawks had four third-place finishers, Evan Matkovich (132), Noah Quintana (150), Dayne Serio (157) and Noah Chacon (285). 

Others who won medals for taking third place were Joliet West’s Jakob Crandall (106), Oswego’s Jonathan Theodor (113), Plainfield Central’s Matthias Hautzinger (144), Romeoville’s Isaiah Escobar (190) and Joliet Central’s Charles Walker (215).

Maddox Garbis had the most total match points with 64 while Wyatt Schmitt was second with 57 and Carson Weber ranked third with 52. Eight individuals recorded three falls and of those, Joseph Griffin did it in the least time, 3:53. Two teammates from Minooka, Mason Boles and Chase Musser, were seeded 10th but finished fifth, for the largest seed to place difference.

Some of the top records of top-four finishers in the SPC Tournament include Wyatt Schmitt at 285 (22-0, 1.000), Carson Weber at 144 (29-1, .967), Brian Farley at 120 (24-1, .960), Niko Duggan at 157 (30-2, .938), Leonardo Tovar at 190 (35-3, .921), Ben Alvarez at 215 (34-3, .919), Maddox Garbis at 113 (33-3, .917), Luke Zook at 175 (38-4, .905), Charles Walker at 215 (30-4, .882), Joseph Griffin at 165 (29-4, .879), Dayne Serio at 157 (29-4, .879) and Matt Janiak at 215 (31-5, .861).

Champion Yorkville edged runner-up Minooka 309-304 for the most total match points. The first-place Foxes also recorded the most falls with 21 while Oswego was next-best with 19 pins.

Championship matches for the Southwest Prairie Conference Tournament

106 – Mason Vogt (Minooka) TF 3:23 Yadiel Colon (Joliet Central)

113 – Maddox Garbis (Plainfield North) D 8-4 Liam Fenoglio (Yorkville)

120 – Brian Farley (Romeoville) MD 13-5 Aidan Villar (Plainfield East)

126 – Coehn Weber (Joliet West) D 1-0 Aiden Massaro (West Aurora)

132 – Cale Stonitsch (Minooka) D 7-3 Dominic Recchia (Yorkville)

138 – Donovan Rosauer (Yorkville) D 2-0 Brayden Swanson (Oswego)

144 – Carson Weber (Joliet West) Inj 0:00 Dominick Coronado (Yorkville)

150 – Jack Ferguson (Yorkville) F 3:49 Noah Demarco (Oswego East)

157 – Ryder Janeczko (Yorkville) MD 13-5 Niko Duggan (Plainfield East)

165 – Joseph Griffin (Oswego) D 6-1 Jerry Nino (Plainfield East)

175 – Luke Zook (Yorkville) D 5-2 Mason Gougis (Romeoville)

190 – Leonardo Tovar (Plainfield North) D 10-3 Ryan Stockl (Yorkville)

215 – Ben Alvarez (Yorkville) TB 2-1 Matt Janiak (Plainfield South)

285 – Wyatt Schmitt (Joliet West) TF 3:54 Jamir Thomas (Romeoville)

Third-place matches for the Southwest Prairie Conference Tournament

106 – Jakob Crandall (Joliet West) SV 9-7 Tristen Garbis (Plainfield North)

113 – Jonathan Theodor (Oswego) D 3-0 Liam Walsh (Joliet Central)

120 – Noah Avina (Minooka) D 9-2 Aidan Durell (Plainfield North)

126 – Cayden Amico (Plainfield North) D 9-3 Nathan Craft (Yorkville)

132 – Evan Matkovich (West Aurora) D 10-8 Alex Fernandez (Joliet Central)

138 – Luke Grindstaff (Plainfield North) MD 9-1 Adrian Ortiz (West Aurora)

144 – Matthias Hautzinger (Plainfield Central) D 8-6 Dillon Griffin (Oswego)

150 – Noah Quintana (West Aurora) F 5:44 Kaden Meyer (Minooka)

157 – Dayne Serio (West Aurora) TF 5:28 Cam Peach (Yorkville)

165 – Caleb Viscogliosi (Yorkville) F 1:01 Sebastian Westphal (Yorkville)

175 – Hunter Coons (Minooka) F 1:54 Garrett Patnoudes (Oswego East)

190 – Isaiah Escobar (Romeoville) Inj 0:26 Lucas Shipla (Minooka)

215 – Charles Walker (Joliet Central) D 13-6 Josh Edwards (Oswego East)

285 – Noah Chacon (West Aurora) D 4-1 Liam Corona (Plainfield North)

Team scores for the Southwest Prairie Conference Tournaments

1. Yorkville 519, 2. Minooka 427, 3. Plainfield North 369, 4. Oswego 365, 5. Joliet West 343.5, 6. West Aurora 341.5, 7. Joliet Central 314, 8. Plainfield East 263.5, 9. Romeoville 255.5, 10. Plainfield Central 230.5, 11. Plainfield South 218.5, 12. Oswego East 200.

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

Byron edges Riverdale for Orion Mitton Invite title

Byron got past Riverdale by a 189-184 margin to capture top honors at Orion’s 22-team Bob Mitton Invitational. Clinton edged Galesburg 154-151 for third place while Rockridge (140), Orion (135), Kewanee (128.5), University High (116), Sherrard (101.5) and Rock Falls (94) rounded out the top 10 teams in the competition.

Coach Mike Elsbury’s champion Tigers had no title winners but placed eight individuals in the top five to prevail over coach Aron Kindelsperger’s runner-up Rams, who had four champions and one second-place finisher.

Leading the way for Byron were second-place finishers Carsen Behn (165), Kyle Jones (190) and Jared Claunch (285) while Jackson Norris (120) and Brody Stien (150) took third, Damien Palacios (113) placed fourth and Will Julian (138) and Jarett Ross (215) finished fifth.

Top performers for Riverdale were championsTharren Jacobs (113), Dean Wainwright (120), Blake Smith (150) and Zac Bradley (175) while Ben Porter (106) was second, Kolton Kruse (138) finished fourth and Iyezaha Hill (190) was sixth.

Coach Matt Cooper’s third-place Clinton Maroons were led by champions Briley Carter (106) and Dawson Thayer (285) while Kristan Hibbard (175) placed second. Kayleb Kent (150) finished fourth and Logan Thoms (157) and Kael Morlock (215) took sixth place.

Galesburg’s Silver Streaks, who are coached by Greg Leibach, were led by title winners Rocky Almendarez (126) and Gauge Shipp (138) while Josiah Carter (150) finished second. Isaac Admire (144) took third, Orlando Castellano (132) was fourth, Nathan Maloy (165) placed fifth and Larry Randolph (285) claimed sixth place.

Capturing titles for coach Lucas Smith’s Rockridge Rockets were Jude Finch (132) and Ryan Lower (165) while Thomas Soward (126) took second place, Tanner McKeag (215) took fourth and Colton Bock (113) finished fifth.

Other Bob Mitton Invitational champions were University High’s Ethan Lowe (144), Marquette Academy’s Reily Leifheit (157), Orion’s Maddux Anderson (190) and Kewanee’s Alejandro Duarte (215).

Also finishing in second place were Kewanee’s Kingston Peterson (113) and Landon Mason (144), Amboy/Ashton-Franklin Center/LaMoille/Ohio’s Landon Blanton (120), Farmington/Cuba’s Keygan Jennings (132), Mercer County’s Ethan Monson (138), Monmouth-Roseville’s Gabe Ortiz-Mora (157) and Orion’s Aiden Fisher (215).

Ethan Lowe, Ryan Lower and Dawson Thayer had the most team points with 32 while Alejandro Duarte and Blake Smith were next-best with 31.5. Alejandro Duarte and Blake Smith tied for fourth with 31.5 points, Gauge Shipp had 30.5 points, Maddux Anderson had 30, Jude Finch collected 29 points and Tharren Jacobs and Dean Wainwright each had 28 team points.

Some of the best records of top-four finishers included Gauge Shipp at 138 (29-0, 1.000), Dean Wainwright at 120 (38-1, .974), Tharren Jacobs at 113 (32-1, .970), Rocky Almendarez at 126 (27-1, .964), Blake Smith at 150 (36-2, .947), Maddux Anderson at 190 (33-2, .943), Ryan Lower at 165 (30-2, .938), Alejandro Duarte at 215 (26-2, .929), Zac Bradley at 175 (37-3, .925), Keygan Jennings at 132 (30-3, .909), Ethan Monson at 138 (34-4, .895), Ethan Lowe at 144 (32-4, .889), Jude Finch at 132 (28-4, ,875) and Bawi Thing at 106 (27-4, .871).

Polo/Forreston/Eastland/Milledgeville’s Chase Bremer had the most match points with 79 while Gauge Shipp was second with 59 and Rock Falls’ Adan Oquendo third with 57. Marquette Academy’s Koby Clark, Geneseo JV’s Owen King and Galesburg’s Larry Randolph had five pins. Owen King was 20th-seed at 285 and took fourth for the largest seed to place differential.

Galesburg had the most total match points with 308 while Riverdale was second with 257 and Byron third with 240. Champion Byron recorded 25 falls while Clinton finished with 23 pins.

Championship matches for Orion’s Bob Mitton Invitational

106 – Briley Carter (Clinton) F 5:35 Ben Porter (Riverdale)

113 – Tharren Jacobs (Riverdale) F 3:49 Kingston Peterson (Kewanee)

120 – Dean Wainwright (Riverdale) D 7-2 Landon Blanton (Amboy/Ashton-Franklin Center/LaMoille/Ohio)

126 – Rocky Almendarez (Galesburg) TF 3:49 Thomas Soward (Rockridge)

132 – Jude Finch (Rockridge) D 3-2 Keygan Jennings (Farmington/Cuba) 

138 – Gauge Shipp (Galesburg) MD 13-4 Ethan Monson (Mercer County)

144 – Ethan Lowe (University High) F 3:15 Landon Mason (Kewanee)

150 – Blake Smith (Riverdale) F 1:39 Josiah Carter (Galesburg)

157 – Reily Leifheit (Marquette Academy) TF 5:31 Gabe Ortiz-Mora (Monmouth-Roseville) 

165 – Ryan Lower (Rockridge) F 5:04 Carsen Behn (Byron)

175 – Zac Bradley (Riverdale) F 4:36 Kristan Hibbard (Clinton)

190 – Maddux Anderson (Orion) SV 5-1 Kyle Jones (Byron)

215 – Alejandro Duarte (Kewanee) F 3:50 Aiden Fisher (Orion)

285 – Dawson Thayer (Clinton) F 3:37 Jared Claunch (Byron)

Third-place matches for Orion’s Bob Mitton Invitational

106 – Bawi Thing (Monmouth-Roseville) F 0:47 Luke Werner (Sherrard)

113 – Koby Clark (Marquette Academy) F 4:50 Damien Palacios (Byron)

120 – Jackson Norris (Byron) M For Kaleb Sovey (Orion)

126 – Lucas Nelson (Polo/Forreston/Eastland/Milledgeville) F 3:17 Blake Pender (Sherrard)

132 – Adan Oquendo (Rock Falls) TF 4:46 Orlando Castellano (Galesburg)

138 – Bradlee Ellis (Farmington/Cuba) F 5:06 Kolton Kruse (Riverdale)

144 – Isaac Admire (Galesburg) F 1:53 Andrew Knox (Sherrard)

150 – Brody Stien (Byron) F 3:27 Kayleb Kent (Clinton)

157 – Jake McElwee (Monmouth United) D 7-6 Tyler Shannon (Macomb)

165 – Nolan Loete (Orion) D 5-4 Alex Schaefer (Marquette Academy)

175 – Lucas Blanton (Amboy/Ashton-Franklin Center/LaMoille/Ohio) TF 5:04 Jamal Lasenby (Kewanee)

190 – Jonathan Weakley (Sherrard) TB 3-2 Colten Mooney (Geneseo JV)

215 – Joseph Hunt (University High) D 10-4 Tanner McKeag (Rockridge)

285 – Jacob Hosler (Rock Falls) F 1:52 Owen King (Geneseo JV)

Team scoring for Orion’s Bob Mitton Invitational

1. Byron 189, 2. Riverdale 184, 3. Clinton 154, 4. Galesburg 151, 5. Rockridge 140, 6. Orion 135, 7. Kewanee 128.5, 8. University High 116, 9. Sherrard 101.5, 10. Rock Falls 94, 11. Marquette Academy 92.5, 12. Amboy/Ashton-Franklin Center/LaMoille/Ohio 87, 13. Monmouth-Roseville 83, 13. Polo/Forreston/Eastland/Milledgeville 83, 15. Geneseo JV 74.5, 16. Farmington/Cuba 71, 17. Macomb 55, 18. Monmouth United 41, 19. ROWVA/Williamsfield 37, 20. Mercer County 26, 21. Illini West 22, 22. Walther Christian Academy 17.

Oakwood/Salt Fork captures LeRoy/Tri-Valley Bowman Invite title

Oakwood/Salt Fork easily won the title at LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s Randy Bowman Invitational, a 20-team competition that took place in LeRoy.

Coach Mike Glosser’s Oakwood/Salt Fork Comets scored 210.5 to take first place while Princeton edged the host Panthers 164-161 for second place. Auburn (153.5), Shelbyville (119), Oregon (114), Warrensburg-Latham (106.5), Knoxville (83), El Paso-Gridley (77) and Illini Bluffs (72.5) made up the top-10 in the field.

Leading the way for Oakwood/Salt Fork, who qualified for the IHSA Dual Team Finals for the first time last season and finished fourth in Class 1A, were champions Pedro Rangel (132), Bryson Capansky (157) and Dalton Brown (175) while Tyler Huchel (120) and Carter Chambliss (144) placed second. Steven Unden (106) and Brayden Edwards (113) took third, Jack Ajster (138) finished fourth, Thomas Wells (126) was fifth and Ezekiel Smith (215) claimed sixth.

Coach Steve Amy’s runner-up Princeton Tigers got titles from Augustus Swanson (106), Casey Etheridge (165) and Cade Odell (285) while Ace Christiansen (138) took second place. Ian Morris (215) was fourth, Preston Arkels (157) finished fifth and Eli Berlin (190) placed sixth.

Top performers for coach Brady Sant Amour’s third-place Panthers were title winner Jacob Bischoff (215), runners-up Brady Mouser (106), Connor Lyons (157) and Tate Sigler (285). 

Finishing fourth were Brock Owens (144) and Bo Zeleznik (165) while E.J. Choan (120) took fifth and Colton Prosser (138) finished sixth.

Coach Matt Grimm’s Auburn/Franklin/New Berlin Trojans were led by champion Joey Ruzic (126) and second-place finishers Jayden Brown (150) and Joey Barrow (175).

Winning championships for coach Shawn O’Connor’s Illini Bluffs Tigers were Hunter Robbins (113) and Jackson Carroll (144). Other Bowman Invitational title winners were Warrensburg-Latham/Maroa-Forsyth’s Logan Roberts (120), Dwight/Gardner-South Wilmington’s Dylan Crouch (138), Shelbyville’s Kaz Fox (150) and Pittsfield’s Tucker Cook (190).

Coach Joe Cliffe’s El Paso-Gridley Titans received second-place finishes from Ryden Barker (190) and Parker Duffy (215). Also finishing in second place were Oregon’s Nelson Benesh (113), Warrensburg-Latham/Maroa-Forsyth’s Kaden Roberts (126), Knoxville’s Gage Fox (132) and Pittsfield’s Waylon White (165).

Some of the best records of top-four finishers in the Randy Bowman Invite include Hunter Robbins at 113 (38-0, 1.000), Joey Ruzic at 126 (35-0, 1.000), Dylan Crouch at 138 (31-1, .969), Augustus Swanson at 106 (22-1, .957), Cade Odell at 285 (20-1, .952), Jackson Carroll at 144 (35-2, .946), Logan Roberts at 120 (35-2, .946), Pedro Rangel at 132 (34-2, .944), Brady Mouser at 106 (33-2, .943), Jacob Bischoff at 215 (31-2, .939), Dalton Brown at 175 (34-3, .919), Anthony Bauer at 157 (28-3, .903), Kaden Roberts at 126 (33-4, ,892), Bryson Capansky at 157 (29-4, .879), Danny Tay at 126 (29-4, .879) and Ian O’Connor at 138 (35-5. .875).

Casey Etheridge led all competitors with 28 team points while Jackson Carroll was next with 27.5. There was a four-way tie for third with 27 points between Dalton Brown, Kaz Fox, Logan Roberts and Joey Ruzic. Jacob Bischoff, Cade Odell and Pedro Rangel had 26 team points. 

Joey Ruzic led the way with 59 total match points while Warrensburg-Latham/Maroa-Forsyth’s Charlie Wittmer and teammate Logan Roberts tied for second with 53 match points. 

Oakwood/Salt Fork had the most total match points with 278 and Warrensburg-Latham/Maroa-Forsyth was second with 238. Princeston edged Oakwood/Salt Fork 22-21 for the most falls.

Championship matches for LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s Randy Bowman Invitational

106 – Augustus Swanson (Princeton) D 7-1 Brady Mouser (LeRoy/Tri-Valley)

113 – Hunter Robbins (Illini Bluffs) D 11-7 Nelson Benesh (Oregon)

120 – Logan Roberts (Warrensburg-Latham) D 6-2 Tyler Huchel (Oakwood/Salt Fork)

126 – Joey Ruzic (Auburn) TF 5:23 Kaden Roberts (Warrensburg-Latham)

132 – Pedro Rangel (Oakwood/Salt Fork) F 4:25 Gage Fox (Knoxville)

138 – Dylan Crouch (Dwight) SV 5-3 Ace Christiansen (Princeton)

144 – Jackson Carroll (Illini Bluffs) TF 3:49 Carter Chambliss (Oakwood/Salt Fork)

150 – Kaz Fox (Shelbyville) F 1:11 Jayden Brown (Auburn)

157 – Bryson Capansky (Oakwood/Salt Fork) D 7-3 Connor Lyons (LeRoy/Tri-Valley)

165 – Casey Etheridge (Princeton) F 3:09 Waylon White (Pittsfield)

175 – Dalton Brown (Oakwood/Salt Fork) D 9-4 Joey Barrow (Auburn)

190 – Tucker Cook (Pittsfield) D 5-1 Ryden Barker (El Paso-Gridley) 

215 – Jacob Bischoff (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) F 5:49 Parker Duffy (El Paso-Gridley)

285 – Cade Odell (Princeton) D 3-2 Tate Sigler (LeRoy/Tri-Valley)

Third-place matches for LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s Randy Bowman Invitational

106 – Steven Uden (Oakwood/Salt Fork) D 12-5 Taygan Gossard (Warrensburg-Latham)

113 – Brayden Edwards (Oakwood/Salt Fork) TF 4:57 Colin Wells (Shelbyville)

120 – Hunter Johnson (Knoxville) F 1:56 Drayven Hamm (Auburn)

126 – Danny Tay (Ridgeview/Lexington) F 5:17 Preston LaBay (Oregon)

132 – Charlie Wittmer (Warrensburg-Latham) MD 16-6 Owen Stoller (Eureka)

138 – Ian O’Connor (Illini Bluffs) F 5:02 Jack Ajster (Oakwood/Salt Fork)

144 – Quinten Chizmar (Auburn) F 3:01 Brock Owens (LeRoy/Tri-Valley)

150 – Joe Wall (Knoxville) F 2:43 Darius Williams (Rantoul)

157 – Anthony Bauer (Oregon) D 13-6 Ryne Peavler (Shelbyville)

165 – Wyatt Otto (Deer Creek-Mackinaw) D 6-4 Bo Zeleznik (LeRoy/Tri-Valley)

175 – Wyatt Zacha (Eureka) D 10-5 Bodine Marable (Pittsfield)

190 – Quentin Berry (Oregon) D 6-3 Aydan Fisher (Shelbyville)

215 – Isaac Coleman (Peoria Heights) D 5-2 Ian Morris (Princeton)

285 – Andre Townsend (Shelbyville) F 0:25 Cash Thomas (Auburn)

Team scores for LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s Randy Bowman Invitational

1. Oakwood/Salt Fork 210.5, 2. Princeton 164, LeRoy/Tri-Valley 161, 4. Auburn/Franklin/New Berlin 153.5, 5. Shelbyville 119, 6. Oregon 114, 7. Warrensburg-Latham/Maroa-Forsyth 106.5, 8. Knoxville 83, 9. El Paso-Gridley 77, 10. Illini Bluffs 72.5, 11. Pittsfield 71.5, 12. Deer Creek-Mackinaw 58, 13. Eureka 48, 14. Ridgeview/Lexington 39, 15. Dwight/Gardner-South Wilmington 33, 16. Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin/Armstrong 31, 17. Rantoul 27.5, 18. Peoria Heights 26, 19. Midwest Central 13, 20. Heyworth 12.

Seneca claims championship at Rochester Rocket Invite

Seneca captured top honors with 230.5 points while host Rochester took second with 194 points in its 15-team Rocket Invite and Lincoln placed third with 172.5 points. Jersey Community (118.5), Lanphier (108), Quincy Notre Dame (106), Springfield High (101.5) and Southeast (95.5) were next in line.

Top performers for coach Todd Yegge’s champion Seneca Fighting Irish were title winners Raiden Terry (106), Ethan Othan (120), Nate Othon (150) and Asher Hamby (175) and runners-up Gunner Varland (157) and Chris Peura (215) while Wyatt Coop (113) took third and Ryker Terry (132) and Landen Venecia (190) finished fourth.

Leading the way for coach Brad Alewelt’s second-place Rochester Rockets were champions Conner Carroll (113) and Ethan Fordham (157) and second-place finishers Pierce Bultmann (106), Drake Pfeiffer (144) and James Escobar (150) while Miles Carroll (120) took third place and Carly Ho (106), Nick Mrozowski (126) and Dylan Estes (144) finished fourth.

Coach Justin Dietrich’s Lincoln Railsplitters got a first-place finish from Dawson McConnell (165) while Cort Pentecost (120), Karter Hild (126) and Lakin Adams (138) took second, Paytan Bunner (190) and Logan Wachendorf (285) were third and Ryne Metelko (150) claimed fourth.

Coach Andrew Gardner’s Southeast Spartans had two title winners, Brayden McBride (132) and Chris Hull (190). Other Rocket Invite champions were Decatur Eisenhower’s Kayson Duffney (126), Springfield High’s Gabriel Ruvalcaba (138), Quincy Notre Dame’s Bradi Lahr (144) and East Alton-Wood River’s Drake Champlin (215).

Also claiming second-place finishes were Lanphier’s Cedar Ngiramoai (113), East Alton-Wood River’s Jamal Burgess (132), Hillsboro’s Zander Wells (165), Jersey Community’s Connor Chin (175), Quincy Notre Dame’s Ryan Darnell (190) and Williamsville’s Matthew Crouch (285).

The best records of top-four finishers in the Rocket Invite include Drake Champlin at 215 (37-2, .949), Taylin Scott at 215 (36-2, .947), Chris Peura at 215 (29-3, .906), Kayson Duffney at 126 (16-2, .889), Dawson McConnell at 165 (31-4, .886), Asher Hamby at 175 (30-4, .882) and Bradi Lahr at 144 (28-4, .875).

Chris Hull led all participants in the invite with 30 team points while Jeremy Gagnon, Brayden McBride and Dawson McConnell tied for second with 28 team points, Ethan Othon had 27.5 points and Asher Hamby scored 27 team points.

Hillsboro’s Gaven Vollintine had the most total match points with 67 while Springfield High’s Marshawn Brown was second with 49 points. Springfield High edged Lincoln 182-181 for total match points while Seneca was third with 180. And Champion Seneca had the most falls with 22 while runner-up Rochester was second with 20 pins.

Championship matches for Rochester’s Rocket Invite

106 – Raiden Terry (Seneca) D 3-0 Pierce Bultmann (Rochester)

113 – Conner Carroll (Rochester) D 4-0 Cedar Ngiramoai (Lanphier)

120 – Ethan Othon (Seneca) F 1:19 Cort Pentecost (Lincoln)

126 – Kayson Duffney (Decatur Eisenhower) D 6-4 Karter Hild (Lincoln)

132 – Brayden McBride (Southeast) F 0:12 Jamal Burgess (East Alton-Wood River)

138 – Gabriel Ruvalcaba (Springfield High) D 6-1 Lakin Adams (Lincoln)

144 – Bradi Lahr (Quincy Notre Dame) D 8-2 Drake Pfeiffer (Rochester)

150 – Nate Othon (Seneca) F 3:56 James Escobar (Rochester)

157 – Ethan Fordham (Rochester) D 7-1 Gunner Varland (Seneca)

165 – Dawson McConnell (Lincoln) F 2:46 Zander Wells (Hillsboro)

175 – Asher Hamby (Seneca) F 1:15 Connor Chin (Jersey Community)

190 – Chris Hull (Southeast) F 3:24 Ryan Darnell (Quincy Notre Dame)

215 – Drake Chamnplin (East Alton-Wood River) SV 7-5 Chris Peura (Seneca)

285 – Jeremy Gagnon (Seneca) F 4:49 Matthew Crouch (Williamsville)

Third-place matches for Rochester’s Rocket Invite

106 – Hunter Hodge (Jersey Community) F 0:57 Carly Ho (Rochester)

113 – Wyatt Coop (Seneca) F 2:20 Hector Alvarado (Illinois United)

120 – Miles Carroll (Rochester) F 2:51 Marshawn Brown (Springfield High)

126 – Oliver Moore (Quincy Notre Dame) D 6-0 Nick Mrozowski (Rochester)

132 – Cale Hibing (Quincy Notre Dame) D 9-4 Ryker Terry (Seneca)

138 – Matthew Miller (Williamsville) F 5:48 Gaven Vollintine (Hillsboro)

144 – Trevor Tucker (Jersey Community) D 1-0 Dylan Estes (Rochester)

150 – Cody L Stevens (Springfield High) F 1:52 Ryne Metelko (Lincoln)

157 – Christian Pollard (Sacred Heart-Griffin) F 2:32 Nicholas Hartley (Jersey Community)

165 – Trieontez Williams (Springfield High) D 6-3 Danny Thomas (Sacred Heart-Griffin)

175 – Jaylen Crowder (Lanphier) D 1-0 Dom Porter (Southeast)

190 – Paytan Bunner (Lincoln) F 1:03 Landen Venecia (Seneca)

215 – Taylin Scott (Quincy Notre Dame) F 1:02 Mayson Buckman (Williamsville)

285 – Logan Wachendorf (Lincoln) F 0:27 Sullivan Feldt (Seneca)

Team scores for Rochester’s Rocket Invite

1. Seneca 230.5, 2. Rochester 194, 3. Lincoln 172.5, 4. Jersey Community 118.5, 5. Lanphier 108, 6. Quincy Notre Dame 106, 7. Springfield High 101.5, 8. Southeast 95.5, 9. East Alton-Wood River 80, 10. Williamsville 78.5, 11. Hillsboro 63, 11. Sacred Heart-Griffin 63, 13. Illinois United 37, 14. Taylorville, 15. Decatur Eisenhower 

Belleville West captures title at the boys Blackcat Brawl

Belleville West got past Benton/Sesser-Valier 215.5-203 to capture top honors at the 2nd- annual Blackcat Brawl, a 21-team boys competition which was hosted by Goreville/Vienna and took place in Vienna. Marion finished third with 175 points.

Rounding out the top-10 were Carbondale (135), Red Bud/Valmeyer (130), Anna-Jonesboro (114), Salem (102.5), Goreville/Vienna (90.5), Johnston City (85.5) and Murphysboro (79).

Top performers for coach Bob Dahm’s champion Belleville West Maroons were title winners Tyson Seibel (126), Ethan Hofmeister (190) and Mathew Shamontae (285) while Rocky Seibel (113), Xander Goodwin (132), Aiden Colbert (138) and Justin Riley (215) took second place. DeMario Walters (106) placed third, Kadin Alexander (150) finished fifth and Landon Page (157) claimed sixth place.

Leading the way for coach Aaron Robinson’s runner-up Benton/Seeser-Valier Rangers were champions Zane Stanley (106) and Mason Tieffel (138) while Connor Dean (157) and Izaiah Dalton (190) took second. Cohen Sweely (113) placed third, Braxton Tittle (106), Kaden Blades (126), Anthony Hernandez (144) and Drake Spears (285) finished fourth, Peyton Robinson (175) claimed fifth and Tristen Gordon (150) was sixth. Tieffel improved his record to 43-0.

Coach Darren Lindsey’s third-place Marion Wildcats received first-place finishes from Caden Frey (144) and Caleb Ohnesorge (150) while Riddick Cook (120) claimed second place. Justin Murphy (157), Tate Miller (165) and Evan Francis (190) all finished fourth while Jkwon Williamson (113), Jaycen McBride (138) and Greyson Sanders (175) all took sixth place.

Preston Waughtel (113) and Tyson Waughtel (120) both won titles for coach Ben Wademan’s Indians and remained unbeaten with Tyson moving to 36-0 and Preston improving to 35-0.

Coach Rod Pipher’s Red Bud/Valmeyer Musketeers also had two champions, Alex Wolter (157) and Ty Carter (175). Other Blackcat Brawl champions were Carbondale’s Isaac Smith (132), Trico/Elverado’s Colin Hughey (165) and Johnston City’s Jude Beers (215).

A pair of Wildcats who had two second-place finishers were coach Chase Hargrave’s Anna-Jonesboro Wildcats with Zoee Sadler (106) and Drew Holshouser (175) and coach Brian Camp’s Salem Wildcats with Granger Motch (150) and Carter Moore (165). Others who placed second were Goreville/Vienna’s Jeremiah Pulliam (126), Murphysboro’s Jonathan Witzman (144) and Carbondale’s Zane Williard (285).

Some of the best records of top-four finishers coming out of the Blackcat Brawl include Mason Tieffel at 138 (43-0, 1.000), Tyson Waughtel at 120 (36-0, 1.000), Preston Waughtel at 113 (35-0, 1.000), Isaac Smith at 132 (35-2, .946), Jude Beers at 215 (25-2, ,926), Ty Carter at 175 (35-3, .921) and Rocky Seibel at 113 (31-3, .912).

There was a three-way for most team points with 30 between Caden Frey, Caleb Ohnesorge and Mason Tieffel and there was a four-way tie for fourth with 28 points between Jude Beers, Ty Carter, Ethan Hofmeister and Isaac Smith. DeMario Walters had the most total match points with 59 while Tieffel was next with 51.

Belleville West had the most total match points with 273 while Benton/Sesser-Valier was second with 228 points. And Benton/Sesser-Valier and Marion tied for the most falls with 27.

Championship matches for the boys Blackcat Brawl

106 – Zane Stanley (Benton/Sesser-Valier) D 14-7 Zoee Sadler (Anna-Jonesboro)

113 – Preston Waughtel (Carlyle) D 4-1 Rocky Seibel (Belleville West)

120 – Tyson Waughtel (Carlyle) TF 2:57 Riddick Cook (Marion)

126 – Tyson Seibel (Belleville West) D 5-0 Jeremiah Pulliam (Goreville/Vienna)

132 – Isaac Smith (Carbondale) F 0:50 Xander Goodwin (Belleville West)

138 – Mason Tieffel (Benton/Sesser-Valier) F 1:40 Aiden Colbert (Belleville West)

144 – Caden Frey (Marion) F 1:14 Jonathan Witzman (Murphysboro)

150 – Caleb Ohnesorge (Marion) F 1:52 Granger Motch (Salem)

157 – Alex Wolter (Red Bud/Valmeyer) D 9-6 Connor Dean (Benton/Sesser-Valier)

165 – Colin Hughey (Trico/Elverado) D 6-4 Carter Moore (Salem)

175 – Ty Carter (Red Bud/Valmeyer) F 3:30 Drew Holshouser (Anna-Jonesboro)

190 – Ethan Hofmeister (Belleville West) F 0:50 Izaiah Dalton (Benton/Sesser-Valier)

215 – Jude Beers (Johnston City) D 7-5 Justin Riley (Belleville West)

285 – Mathew Shamontae (Belleville West) D 7-2 Zane Williard (Carbondale)

Third-place matches at the boys Blackcat Brawl

106 – DeMario Walters (Belleville West) D 9-4 Braxton Tittle (Benton/Sesser-Valier)

113 – Cohen Sweely (Benton/Sesser-Valier) F 0:34 Jaxton Thompson (Trico/Elverado)

120 – Matt Crim (Goreville/Vienna) D 7-5 Ayden Swan (Carbondale)

126 – Daelan McNelly (Anna-Jonesboro) F 6:15 Kaden Blades (Benton/Sesser-Valier)

132 – Benjamin Harris (Johnston City) MD 17-9 Julian Wyant (Frankfort Community)

138 – Gavin Watson (Sparta/Steeleville) D 7-2 Carter Pryor (Metro-East Lutheran)

144 – Keyton King (Salem) D 5-1 Anthony Hernandez (Benton/Sesser-Valier)

150 – Bronco Morgan (Goreville/Vienna) F 0:59 Colt Hess (Red Bud/Valmeyer)

157 – Trevor Fath (Pinckneyville) M For Justin Murphy (Marion)

165 – Clayton Dent (Frankfort Community) F 1:08 Tate Miller (Marion)

175 – Jonathan Ramaker (Trico/Elverado) D 13-7 Connor Daly (Carbondale)

190 – Terry Henderson (Paducah Tilghman, KY) F 0:57 Evan Francis (Marion)

215 – Lucas Schwartzkopf (Red Bud/Valmeyer) F 3:22 Levi Jones (Anna-Jonesboro)

285 – Proper Livingston-Holmes (Paducah Tilghman, KY) F 1:18 Drake Spears (Benton/Sesser-Valier)

Team scores for the boys Blackcat Brawl

1. Belleville West 215.5, 2. Benton/Sesser-Valier 203, 3. Marion 175, 4. Carbondale 135, 5. Red Bud/Valmeyer 130, 6. Anna-Jonesboro 114, 7. Salem 102.5, 8. Goreville/Vienna 90.5, 9. Johnston City 85.5, 10. Murphysboro 79, 11. Carlyle 74,5, 12. Trico/Elverado 71, 13. Paducah Tilghman, KY 66.5, 14. Frankfort Community 48, 15. Pinckneyville 45, 16. Sparta/Steeleville 36, 17. Metro-East Lutheran 31, 18. Civic Memorial 12, 19. Robinson 10, 20. Breese Central 3.

Collinsville leads Illinois team at 2nd annual girls Blackcat Brawl

Union County of Morganfield. Kentucky scored 121.5 points to win the championship of the 2nd- annual girls Blackcat Brawl, which was a 26-team competition that was held in Vienna. 

Collinsville took second place with 90 points while Frankfort Community edged the hosts, Goreville/Vienna, 76-74 for third place. Robinson (70), Marion (56.5), Belleville West (52), Granite City (50), Civic Memorial (48) and Jacksonville (48) rounded out the top-10 teams.

Leading coach Jordan May’s runner-up Kahoks were champions Taylor Dawson (130) and Hannah Jones (170) and second-place finishers Emma Ford (125) and Leann Cory (135).

Top performers for coach Rick Arrington’s third-place Lady Redbirds were title winner Nikolette Ronketto (105) and third-place finisher Kaitlynn Childers (235) as well as Sophia Bechelli (110) and Lily Browning (170), who both finished fourth.

Coach Bart Pulliam’s host Goreville/Vienna Blackcats got a title from Alivia Ming (145) while Liberty McBride (190) took second, Krista McBride (190) placed third and Ariel Board (125) and Madalynn Lapatas (130) both finished fourth.  And the Robinson Maroons, coached by Tanner Keeler, had two champions, Macee Hammond (155) and Rylee Hammond (235).

Other Blackcat Brawl title winners were Union County, KY’s Tanya Bacon (110) and Sutton Fuller (115), Jacksonville’s Alexis Seymour (120), Red Bud/Valmeyer’s Avery Smith (125), Cumberland’s Natalie Beaumont (135), Vandalia’s Brynn Swyers (140) and Trico/Elverado’s Maddie Ramaker (190).

Also claiming second-place finishes were Benton/Sesser-Valier’s Halle Smith (115) and Mia Balota (120), Mt. Vernon’s Lilly Davis (105), Granite City’s Ma’Kayla Bonner (110), Civic Memorial’s Delaney Griffith (130), Belleville West’s Ju’Bri Edwards (140), Triad’s Harmony Martin (145), Union County, KY’s Hadlee Clevidence (155), Trico/Elverado’s Cynthia Macke (170) and Unity’s Phoenix Molina (235).

Five of the champions in the Blackcat Brawl have unbeaten records. They are Taylor Dawson at 130 (34-0, 1.000), Alivia Ming at 145 (24-0, 1.000), Tanya Bacon at 110 (24-0, 1.000), Sutton Fuller at 115 (21-0, 1.000) and Nikolette Ronketto at 105 (8-0, 1.000).

There was a five-way tie for the most team points with 26 between Taylor Dawson, Sutton Fuller, Macee Hammond, Alivia Ming and Brynn Swyers while Natalie Beaumont had 25.5 points. Taylor Dawson also had the most total match points with 45 and Nikolette Ronketto was the only individual in the field who recorded four falls. 

Union County had the most total match points with 134 while Collinsville was second with 85 and Marion was third with 81 points. And champion Union County had the most falls with 14, which was one more than Frankfort Community recorded.

Championship matches for the girls Blackcat Brawl

105 – Nikolette Ronketto (Frankfort Community) F 5:19 Lilly Davis (Mt. Vernon) round robin

110 – Tanya Bacon (Union County, KY) F 5:11 Ma’Kayla Bonner (Granite City)

115 – Sutton Fuller (Union County, KY) F 1:04 Halle Smith (Benton/Sesser-Valier)

120 – Alexis Seymour (Jacksonville) D 10-5 Mia Balota (Benton/Sesser-Valier)

125 – Avery Smith (Red Bud/Valmeyer) F 1:02 Emma Ford (Collinsville)

130 – Taylor Dawson (Collinsville) F 0:26 Delaney Griffith (Civic Memorial)

135 – Natalie Beaumont (Cumberland) TF 3:06 Leann Cory (Collinsville)

140 – Brynn Swyers (Vandalia) F 3:43 Ju’Bri Edwards (Belleville West)

145 – Alivia Ming (Goreville/Vienna) F 1:15 Harmony Martin (Triad)

155 – Macee Hammond (Robinson) F 4:57 Hadlee Clevidence (Union County, KY)

170 – Hannah Jones (Collinsville) F 2:22 Cynthia Macke (Trico/Elverado)

190 – Maddie Ramaker (Trico/Elverado) D 9-5 Liberty McBride (Goreville/Vienna)

235 – Rylee Hammond (Robinson) D 2-1 Phoenix Molina (Unity)

Third-place matches for the girls Blackcat Brawl

105 – Emma Smith (Red Bud/Valmeyer) F 1:28 Claire Crouch (Triad) round robin

110 – Jala Singleton (Belleville West) F 1:28 Sophia Bechelli (Frankfort Community)

115 – Kendal Smith (Civic Memorial) F 3:17 Kelsey Davis (Triad)

120 – Bailey Buchanan (Union County, KY) F 3:56 Deziare Jones (Mt. Vernon)

125 – Brailey Jackson (Union County, KY) F 2:47 Ariel Board (Goreville/Vienna)

130 – Joelene Nappier-Feth (Marion) F 2:37 Madalynn Lapatas (Goreville/Vienna)

135 – Audrey Barnes (Granite City) F 1:32 Roxie Royster (Murphysboro)

140 – Vada Gregory (Jacksonville) F 1:28 Daisjha Cooper (Marion)

145 – Rory Speidel (Jersey Community) F 1:33 Zoee Dozier (Belleville West)

155 – Charity Bolinger (Jacksonville) F 0:44 Melissa Comerford (Marion)

170 – Chloe West (Granite City) F 1:54 Lily Browning (Frankfort Community)

190 – Krista McBride (Goreville/Vienna) F 0:18 Kylie Cross (Union County, KY)

235 – Kaitlynn Childers (Frankfort Community) F 1:00 Olivia McDermott (Marion)

Team scores for the girls Blackcat Brawl

1. Union County, KY 121.5, 2. Collinsville 90, 3. Frankfort Community 76, 4. Goreville/Vienna 74, 5. Robinson 70, 6. Marion 56.5, 7. Belleville West 52, 8. Granite City 50, 9. Civic Memorial 48, 9. Jacksonville 48, 11. Triad 42, 12. Trico/Elverado 40, 13. Benton/Sesser-Valier 38, 14. Red Bud/Valmeyer 31, 15, Mt. Vernon 29.5, 16. Vandalia 26, 17. Cumberland 25.5, 18. Salem 25, 19. Unity 20, 20. Murphysboro 17, 21. Jersey Community 16, 22. Carlyle 11, 23. Carbondale 6, 24. Anna-Jonesboro 5.

Richwoods has four champions at own Lady Knights Scramble

Individuals from 18 schools took part in Richwoods’ Lady Knights Scramble and three of the schools had multiple champions, with the hosts leading the way with four.

Winning titles for coach Rob Penney’s Lady Knights were  Jaydah Green (120), Isabella Motteler (125), Kaila Williams (140) and Jaida Johnson (170) while Heaven Sewell (105), Aliyah Cockfield (125), Aaneshia Duffin (135) and Abby Ocoa (190) took second and Sydney Johnson (170) and Marley Clark (235) finished third.

East Peoria had two champions, Bailey Lusch (105) and Kennedy McMenimen (105) while Abella Brown (101) and Dezyrae Murray (145) both claimed second place.

And Macomb got first-place finishes from Raegen Hansen (135) and Kelly Ladd (145) while Mikeala Mwangong (155) placed second and Sifa Feruzi (190) took third place.

Other Scramble title winners were Newman Central Catholic’s Blair Grennan (101), Centennial’s Ava Beldo (115), Rock Falls’ Ellisa Russell (155), Urbana’s Jurdan Tyler (190) and Prairie Central’s Chloe Hoselton (235).

Urbana had two second-place finishers, Rickasia Ivy (140) and Franciana Kalanga (170) and Normal West also had two runners-up, Cheyenne Anderson (110) and Cadence Duvall (235). Others who took second place were Illinois Valley Central’s Lilyana Malagon (115) and Rock Falls’ Ryleigh Eriks (120).

Others who took third place where four places were awarded included Bloomington’s Alila Beck (135) and Alicia Swank (145), Prairie Central’s Yuri Vilchis (110), University High’s Allison Kroesch (115), Urbana’s Randi Campe (125) and Normal West’s Vivian Guither (140).

Five individuals tied for the most team points with 24 and they were Ava Beldo, Chloe Hoselton, Kennedy McMenimen, Jurdan Tyler and Kaila Williams. Isabella Motteler collected the most total match points with 25.

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

Washington Community continues Mid-Illini Conference title streak

The beat goes on for Washington Community as the defending IHSA Class 2A state champions won its 15th-straight Mid-Illini Conference title by scoring 218.5 points, which was 35.5 points better than runner-up Morton (183) in the eight-team competition that took place in Dunlap.

Canton (169) placed third while Metamora (98) finished fourth and Dunlap (74) took fifth.

Coach Nick Miller’s first-place Panthers had six champions, eight finalists and 12 who placed fourth or better.  Leading the way were title winners Noah Woods (120), Eli Gonzalez (126), Wyatt Medlin (138), Cael Miller (165), Zane Hulet (175) and Josh Hoffer (215) while JJ Rokey (144) and Cruise Brolley (157) placed second. Zed Hulet (106), Logan Makiney (113) and Tyler Brown (150) took third place while Luke Hoffman (285) finished fourth.

Washington Community, which is ranked third in Class 2A by Illinois Matmen, hopes to contend for another state championship. Since 2014 under Bryan Medlin and Nick Miller, the Panthers have won five IHSA  Class 2A titles, including four in a row from 2016-2019, placed second twice and qualified for the IHSA Class 2A Dual Team Finals each season but one, in 2022.

Coach Edward Henderson’s runner-up Morton Potters had four champions, eight finalists and 10 finishers in the top three. Top performers were title winners Harrison Dea (113), Caiden Robison (132), Steven Marvin (150) and Clayton McKee (157) while Noah Harris (106), Caleb Lenning (120), Lincoln Yerby (126) and Tyus Almasy (175) placed second and Colton McKee (165) and Benjamin Chaffer (215) finished third.

Coach Zach Crawford’s third-place Canton Little Giants had three champions, six finalists and 11 individuals placed fourth or better. Dyllan Steele (106), Danny Murphy (190) and Connor Williams (285) won titles while Maddux Steele (113), Jack Jochums (132) and Grant Kessler (215) took second place. Mason Bilbrey (126), Aden Greene (157) and Gus Lidwell (175) placed third and Alex Carrier (138) and Grady Smith (144) finished fourth.

Metamora, which is coached by Noah Trollope, had the other champion, Grady Neil (144), and one of the other second-place finishers, Conner Graham (138). Other top placewinners for the Redbirds were third-place finishers Zach Bumeter (120), Adam Sloan (190) and Ty Dykes (285) as well as Paul Reason (132), Karson Hale (150) and Seth Shaw (165) who finished fourth.

Also finishing in second place were Pekin’s RaMez Watson (150), Dunlap’s Nick Mueller (165), Limestone’s Ethan Dixon (190) and East Peoria’s Jose Del Toro (285).

There was a four-way tie for the most team points with 24 between Eli Gonzalez, Josh Hoffer, Cael Miller and Caiden Robison while Zane Hulet and Dyllan Steele both had 23 points. Harrison Dea, Clayton McKee, Wyatt Medlin, Grady Neil and Connor Williams tied for seventh with 22 team points and Noah Woods had 21.5 points and Steven Marvin had 21 team points.

Mason Bilbrey had the most total match points with 40 while Gus Lidwell was second with 38 points and Noah Woods ranked third with 37 match points. Bilbrey was also the lone competitor to record three falls. Colton McKee had the best seed to place differential, being seeded eighth at 165 and then finishing in third place.

Top records of medal winners from the Mid-Illini Conference Tournament include Danny Murphy at 190 (37-1, .974), Connor Williams at 285 (35-1, .972), Steven Marvin at 150 (35-2, .946), Nick Mueller at 165 (32-2, .941), RaMez Watson at 150 (29-2, .935), Wyatt Medlin at 138 (36-4, .900), Grant Kessler at 215 (34-5, .872), Harrison Dea at 113 (27-4, .871) and Dyllan Steele at 106 (29-5, .853).

Canton had the most total match points with 220 while Washington Community was second with 181 and Morton ranked third with 178. The champion Panthers recorded the most falls with 15 while the third-place Little Giants had 11 pins and the runner-up Potters collected 10 falls.

Championship matches for the Mid-Illini Conference Tournament

106 – Dyllan Steele (Canton) MD 10-2 Noah Harris (Morton)

113 – Harrison Dea (Morton) SV 10-8 Maddux Steele (Canton)

120 – Noah Woods (Washington Community) TF 4:57 Caleb Lenning (Morton)

126 – Eli Gonzalez (Washington Community) F 0:26 Lincoln Yerby (Morton)

132 – Caiden Robison (Morton) F 0:37 Jack Jochums (Canton)

138 – Wyatt Medlin (Washington Community) D 18-11 Conner Graham (Metamora)

144 – Grady Neil (Metamora) SV 4-2 JJ Rokey (Washington Community)

150 – Steven Marvin (Morton) D 7-5 RaMez Watson (Pekin)

157 – Clayton McKee (Morton) D 1-0 Cruise Brolley (Washington Community)

165 – Cael Miller (Washington Community) DQ Nick Mueller (Dunlap)

175 – Zane Hulet (Washington Community) MD 12-0 Tyus Almasy (Morton)

190 – Danny Murphy (Canton) D 9-3 Ethan Dixon (Limestone)

215 – Josh Hoffer (Washington Community) F 0:48 Grant Kessler (Canton)

285 – Connor Williams (Canton) TB 4-1 Jose Del Toro (East Peoria)

Third-place matches for the Mid-Illini Conference Tournament

106 – Zed Hulet (Washington Community) F 3:13 Tessa Donaldson (Pekin)

113 – Logan Makiney (Washington Community) F 1:07 Dakota Hentz (Limestone)

120 – Zach Bumeter (Metamora) F 4:15 Devon Swope (Dunlap)

126 – Mason Bilbrey (Canton) F 3:17 Kalan Delbridge (Dunlap)

132 – Tristan Mosack (Dunlap) F 3:53 Paul Reason (Metamora)

138 – Colton Mosack (Dunlap) D 2-1 Alex Carrier (Canton)

144 – Aydyn Artman (Pekin) F 3:42 Grady Smith (Canton)

150 – Tyler Brown (Washington Community) M For Karson Hale (Metamora)

157 – Aden Greene (Canton) F 5:37 Jayden Schmick (Dunlap)

165 – Colton McKee (Morton) F 3:11 Seth Shaw (Metamora)

175 – Gus Lidwell (Canton) D 10-3 Bruce Ryder (Limestone)

190 – Adam Sloan (Metamora) D 3-0 Joseph Weeks (Dunlap)

215 – Benjamin Chaffer (Morton) D 11-6 Alec Del Toro (East Peoria)

285 – Ty Dykes (Metamora) D 8-1 Luke Hoffman (Washington Community)

Team scores for the Mid-Illini Conference Tournament

1. Washington Community 218.5, 2. Morton 183, 3. Canton 169, 4. Metamora 98, 5. Dunlap 74, 6. Pekin 47, 7. Limestone 40, 8. East Peoria 28.Normal Community repeats as Big Twelve Conference champions

Normal Community had a big day at its own gym as it repeated as Big Twelve Conference champions for the first time in its history, thanks to 13 placewinners, including five champions and nine finalists, to give it 207 points, which was 82 points ahead of Normal West, with 125.

Bloomington took third with 106.5 points, Centennial (79) was fourth, Champaign Central (70) took fifth and Peoria Notre Dame (62) edged Danville (61) to finish sixth in the 11-team event.

Leading the way for coach Trevor Kaufman’s champion Ironmen were title winners Jackson Soney (106), Caden Correll (113), Cole Gentsch (120), Hunter Hardwick (150) and Cooper Caraway (215) while Carter Mayes (138), Jaren Frankowiak (157), Victor Reyes (165) and Mason Caraway (190) finished in second place. Taking third place was Ethan Cavallo (126) while Luke Eganhouse (132), Gavin Capodice (144) and Cole Kretsinger (175) placed fourth.

Top performers for coach Dave Lehr’s runner-up Normal West Wildcats were champions Jaxxon Long (126) and Evan Willock (157) and runners-up Abram Rader (120) and Gus Schreiber (175). Taking third were Jacob Payne (106) and Collin Lowery (150) while Dylan McGraw (113) and Matt Hanold (285) finished fourth.

Coach Savion Haywood’s third-place Bloomington Purple Raiders were led by first-place finishers Maddox Kirts (165) and Kenner Bye (190) while Jaylen Sandy (106) and Javier Enriquez-Lynd (126) placed second and Chet Swank (215) and Stephen Carr (285) took third.

The Centennial Chargers, who are coached by Andrew Nyland, also had two champions, Trevor Schoonover (138) and Jack Barnhart (285) while Nehemie Mbangi (144) took second place and Ettavias Holmen-Anderson (215) finished in fourth place.

The Danville Vikings, who are coached by Marcus Forrest, also had two title winners, Ty Rangel (132) and Phillip Shaw IV (175) while Josiah Williams (138) placed third and Sir Timothy White (126) placed fourth.

Champaign Central’s Ronald Baker III (144) was the other champion. Coach Merle Ingersoll’s Maroons also received third-place finishes from Talin Baker (113), Elliott Tanner (120), John Jones (157) and Aidan Walker (165) while Rowan King (138) finished fourth.

Others who claimed second-place finishes were Peoria Notre Dame’s Ian Akers (113) and Michael McLaughlin (285), Richwoods’ Rikyis Doss (132) and Anthony Marziani (150) and Manual’s Anijas King (215).

Phillip Shaw IV led all competitors with 24 team points while Hunter Hardwick ranked second with 23 points. There was a seven-way tie for third place with 22 team points between Ronald Baker III, Jack Barnhart, Cooper Caraway, Cole Gentsch, Trevor Schoonover, Jackson Soney and Evan Willock while Maddox Kirts was tenth with 21.5 points.

The best records among top finishers in the Big Twelve Tournament included Jack Barnhart at 285 (30-0, 1.000), Ronald Baker III at 144 (6-0, 1.000), Jackson Soney at 106 (37-1, .974), Evan Willock at 157 (.968), Phillip Shaw IV at 175 (28-1, .966), Cooper Caraway at 215 (37-2, .949), Cole Gentsch at 120 (32-3, .914), Caden Correll at 113 (29-3, .906), Trevor Schoonover at 138 (31-5, .861) and Ian Akers at 113 (29-5, .852).

Hunter Hardwick had the most total match points with 40 while Caden Correll ranked second with 37 points. Stephen Carr was the only individual to record three falls and he did so in 6:44. John Jones was seeded seventh at 157 and finished third to lead in seed to place difference. The champion Ironmen easily had the most total match points with 212 while Normal West was next-best with 140. And Normal Community edged Normal West in falls by a 13-12 margin.

Championship matches for the Big Twelve Conference Tournament

106 – Jackson Soney (Normal Community) F 0:09 Jaylen Sandy (Bloomington)

113 – Caden Correll (Normal Community) D 10-5 Ian Akers (Peoria Notre Dame)

120 – Cole Gentsch (Normal Community) F 0:32 Abram Rader (Normal West)

126 – Jaxxon Long (Normal West) D 5-3 Javier Enriquez-Lynd (Bloomington)

132 – Ty Rangel (Danville) D 5-3 Rikyis Doss (Richwoods)

138 – Trevor Schoonover (Centennial) MD 9-1 Carter Mayes (Normal Community)

144 – Ronald Baker III (Champaign Central) D 8-6 Nehemie Mbangi (Centennial)

150 – Hunter Hardwick (Normal Community) F 1:34 Anthony Marziani (Richwoods)

157 – Evan Willock (Normal West) F 1:31 Jaren Frankowiak (Normal Community)

165 – Maddox Kirts (Bloomington) TF 3:40 Victor Reyes (Normal Community)

175 – Phillip Shaw IV (Danville) D 6-0 Gus Schreiber (Normal West)

190 – Kenner Bye (Bloomington) D 6-1 Mason Caraway (Normal Community)

215 – Cooper Caraway (Normal Community) F 0:33 Anijas King (Manual)

285 – Jack Barnhart (Centennial) F 1:27 Michael McLaughlin (Peoria Notre Dame)

Third-place matches for the Big Twelve Conference Tournament

106 – Jacob Payne (Normal West) F 1:47 Freddie Couri (Peoria Notre Dame)

113 – Talin Baker (Champaign Central) D 4-2 Dylan McGrew (Normal West)

120 – Elliott Tanner (Champaign Central) D 4-0 Remi Joesting (Peoria Notre Dame)

126 – Ethan Cavallo (Normal Community) F 1:32 Sir Timothy White (Danville)

132 – Andrew Elward (Peoria Notre Dame) D 8-3 Luke Eganhouse (Normal Community)

138 – Josiah Williams (Danville) D 10-3 Rowan King (Champaign Central)

144 – Emiliano Bedello (Urbana) D 10-6 Gavin Capodice (Normal Community)

150 – Collin Lowery (Normal West) D 8-7 Jonnah Fonner (Urbana)

157 – John Jones (Champaign Central) F 3:37 Alex Martinez (Richwoods)

165 – Aidan Walker (Champaign Central) D 9-3 Edwin Villagomez (Urbana)

175 – Gabe Martinez (Richwoods) Md 10-2 Cole Kretsinger (Normal Community)

190 – Sargent Maubach (Peoria High) F 3:22 Joe Culp (Peoria Notre Dame)

215 – Chet Swank (Bloomington) MD 14-6 Ettavias Holmen-Anderson (Centennial)

285 – Stephen Carr (Bloomington) F 2:30 Matt Hanold (Normal West)

Team scores for the Big Twelve Conference Tournament

1. Normal Community 207, 2. Normal West 125, 3. Bloomington 106.5, 4. Centennial 79, 5. Champaign Central 70,  6. Peoria Notre Dame 62, 7. Danville 61, 8. Richwoods 55, 9. Urbana 31, 10. Manual 25, 11. Peoria High 24.

Morris wins Interstate Eight Women’s Championship

Morris scored 94.5 points to capture top honors in the six-team Interstate Eight Conference Women’s Championship which was held in Rochelle. Ottawa Township took second place with 81 points while Kaneland (60), LaSalle-Peru (38), Rochelle (33) and Sycamore (20) were next.

Leading the way for coach Lenny Tryner’s Morris team were champions Ella McDonnell (110), Destiny Garcia (135) and Morgan Congo (190) while Maggie Gordon (105), Danica Martin (110), Mackensi Martin (115), Tessa Neikirk (130) and Jordan Wilson (135) took second place. Finishing third were Ellie Evans (120) and Nicolette Boelman (130).

Top performers for coach Peter Marx’s runner-up Ottawa Township Lady Pirates were title winners Val Munoz (115), Ava Weatherford (130) and Juliana Thrush (235) while Emma Yawn (120) and Chloe Carmona (125) placed second and Brie Grady (105) took third place.

Turning in the best finishes for coach Josh West’s third-place Kaneland Knights were first-place finishers Dyani Torres (125) and Chloe Cervantes (140) while Sadie Kinsella (190) placed second and Natalie Naab (135), Falyn Soto (140) and Carly Duffing (190) finished third.

Coach Matthew Rebholz’s LaSalle-Peru Lady Cavaliers only had three competitors and they each placed third or better. Kiely Domyancich (105) won a title, Dania Scoma (140) placed second and Sarah Lowery (110) took third place.

Coach Alphonso Vruno’s host Rochelle Lady Hubs had two entrants, Cammyla Macias (120) and Dempsey Atkinson (155), and they both won championships.

And coach Randy Culton’s Sycamore Spartans received second-place finishes from both of their entrants, Ema Durst (155) and Jasmine Enriquez (235).

Ella McDonnell led all competitors with 19.5 team points while Chloe Cervantes, Morgan Congo and Ava Weatherford all scored 18 points. Kiely Domyancich beat out McDonnell 37-34 for the most total match points. Morris had the most total match points with 120 while LaSalle-Peru ranked second with 57 points. And Morris recorded nine falls to lead in that category.

Top two finishers in round robin for the Interstate Eight Women’s Championship

105 – Kiely Domyancich (LaSalle-Peru) TF Maggie Gordon (Morris)

110 – Ella McDonnell (Morris) F 0:31 Danica Martin (Morris)

115 – Val Munoz (Ottawa Township) SV 10-8 Makensi Martin (Morris)

120 – Cammyla Macias (Rochelle) F 1:52 Emma Yawn (Ottawa Township)

125 – Dyanni Torres (Kaneland) F 3:41 Chloe Carmona (Ottawa Township)

130 – Ava Weatherford (Ottawa Township) F 0:27 Tessa Neikirk (Morris)

135 – Destiny Garcia (Morris) F 5:20 Jordan Wilson (Morris)

140 – Chloe Cervantes (Kaneland) F 2:22 Danica Scoma (LaSalle-Peru)

155 – Dempsey Atkinson (Rochelle) F 0:39 Ema Durst (Sycamore)

190 – Morgan Congo (Morris) F 2:37 Sadie Kinsella (Kaneland)

235 – Juliana Thrush (Ottawa Township) F 1:58 Jasmine Enriquez (Sycamore)

Unity takes top honors at Illini Prairie Conference Duals

Unity defeated St. Joseph-Ogden 57-18 in the first-place dual meet of the Illini Prairie Conference Duals, an eight-team competition which took place at Unity in Tolono.

Pontiac beat Monticello 45-35 for third place, Prairie Central defeated Illinois Valley Central 45-36 for fifth and Rantoul won 36-18 over The High School of Saint Thomas More for seventh.

Coach Logan Patton’s Rockets defeated Pontiac 64-18 in the semifinals and The High School of Saint Thomas More 66-12 in the quarterfinals to go 3-0 during the competition.

Unity competitors who went 3-0 were Travis McCarter (113), Hunter Shike (126/132), Keegan Germano (138/144), Kaden Inman (144/150), Josh Heath (150/157), Abram Davidson (157/165) and Ryan Rink (165/175) while Thayden Root (175/190) and Hunter Eastin (190/215) went 2-1.

St. Joseph-Ogden went 2-1 after opening with a 71-9 win over Prairie Central and then claiming a 46-30 victory over Monticello in the semifinals. Individuals who went 3-0 for coach Bill Gallo’s runner-up Spartans were Emmitt Holt (106) and Holden Brazelton (132/138). Going 2-1 were Jackson Walsh (113), Camden Getty (120), Landen Butts (132/138), Coy Hayes (150), Quincy Jones (215/285) and Brodie Harms (215/285).

In the championship dual meet, the Rockets used falls from Ryan Rink (175), Thayden Root (190), Hunter Eastin (215) and Hudson DeHart (285) to grab a 24-0 advantage. And Unity closed with five wins as Josh Heath (157) recorded a fall, Austin Winters (138), Kaden Inman (150) and Abram Davidson (165) claimed major decisions and Keegan Germano (144) edged Thomas Ware. Travis McCarter (113) and Hunter Shike (126) added falls for the Rockets.

Also in the title dual meet, St. Joseph-Ogden received falls from Camden Getty (120) and Holden Brazelton (132) while Emmitt Holt (106) got a forfeit win.

Pontiac also went 2-1 after beating Illinois Valley Central 55-19 in the quarterfinals and falling to champion Unity in the semifinals. Posting 3-0 records for coach Vinnie Hobart’s Indians were Aidan Scholwin (106) and Hunter Melvin (157/215) while Noah Davis (120) went 2-0. Turning in 2-1 records were Drayden Ramsey (126/132) and Hunter Christenson (144).

Monticello opened with a 55-18 victory over Rantoul before falling to St. Joseph-Ogden. Going 3-0 for coach Andy Moore’s Sages were Will Osborne (126), Gavin Ridings (157), Russ Brown (165) and Wyatt Vaughan (175) while Hunter Romano (190) went 2-0 and Luke Andruczyk (120) had a 2-1 record.

Illinois Valley Central got 3-0 efforts from Logan Gargiulo (138) and Owen Moser (165) while Antonio Toliver (150) and Maison Toliver (157) went 2-0 and Hunter Toliver (132) went 2-1.

The High School of Saint Thomas More received 3-0 days from August Christhilf (175) and Robbie Vavrik (285) while Brody Cuppernell (215) went 2-0.

Prairie Central’s Ayden Mackey (144/150) went 3-0 while Yurithdzy Vilchis (106), Ruby Guzman (113), Wyatt Strait (120), John Traub (132) and Antontio Vilchis (157) went 2-1 for the Hawks.

Rantoul’s Erick Almanza (190) had a 3-0 day while Cody Culbertson (132), Christian Francis (138) and Drew Owen (215) all turned in 2-1 efforts for the Eagles.

Title meet for the Illini Prairie Conference Duals – Unity 57, St. Joseph-Ogden 18

175 – Ryan Rink (Unity) F 3:59 Corbin Smith (St. Joseph-Ogden)

190 – Thayden Root (Unity) F 1:26 Khaden Hallowell (St. Joseph-Ogden)

215 – Hunter Eastin (Unity) F 0:11 Quincy Jones (St. Joseph-Ogden)

285 – Hudson DeHart (Unity) F 1:00 Brodie Harms (St. Joseph-Ogden)

106 – Emmitt Holt (St. Joseph-Ogden) FFT 

113 – Travis McCarter (Unity) F 0:15 Jackson Walsh (St. Joseph-Ogden)

120 – Camden Getty (St. Joseph-Ogden) F 5:01 Bryce Martin (Unity)

126 – Hunter Shike (Unity) F 1:42 Maddie Wells (St. Joseph-Ogden)

132 – Holden Brazelton (St. Joseph-Ogden) F 1:03 Cohl Boatright (Unity)

138 – Austin Winters (Unity) MD 9-0 Landen Butts (St. Joseph-Ogden)

144 – Keegan Germano (Unity) D 6-4 Thomas Ware (St. Joseph-Ogden)

150 – Kaden Inman (Unity) MD 19-7 Coy Hayes (St. Joseph-Ogden)

157 – Josh Heath (Unity) F 2:50 Nathan Daly (St. Joseph-Ogden)

165 – Abram Davidson (Unity) MD 11-3 Devan Swisher (St. Joseph-Ogden)

Mid-Illini Conference holds girls invite

Twenty-two girls from seven teams competed in the Mid-Illini Conference Girls Invite in East Peoria with Canton and the host Raiders experiencing the most success. Seven weight classes featured two or more competitors while at three of the weights, there was only one entrant.

Winning titles for coach Zach Crawford’s Canton Little Giants were Kinnley Smith (125), Kennedy Smith (140), Katelyn Marvel (145), Abrianna Putman (155) and Emmie Waller (170) while LT Diephuis (105) took second place.

Claiming championships for coach Chad Dunham’s East Peoria Raiders were Abella Brown (100), Bailey Lusch (105) and Kennedy McMenimen (110) while Kyah Kaonohi (125) and Dezyrae Murray (145) finished second.

Other Mid-Illini Conference champions were Morton’s Karen Canchola (130) and Metamora’s 

Abrianna Schertz (120). Also finishing second were Pekin’s Madizyn Megrant (110) and Violet Pennington (130) as well as Dunlap’s Aerith Adams (100) and Metamora’s Olivia Prunty (140).

Contested championship matches for the Mid-Illini Conference Girls Invite

100 – Abella Brown (East Peoria) F 4:00 Aerith Adams (Dunlap)

105 – Bailey Lusch (East Peoria) F 1:01 LT Diephuis (Canton)

110 – Kennedy McMenimen (East Peoria) F 0:59 Madizyn Megrant (Pekin)

125 – Kinnley Smith (Canton) F 1:26 Kyah Kaonohi (East Peoria)

130 – Karen Canchola (Morton) TF Violet Pennington (Pekin)

140 – Kennedy Smith (Canton) D 13-8 Olivia Prunty (Metamora)

145 – Katelyn Marvel (Canton) F 5:00 Dezyrae Murray (East Peoria)

By Mike Garofola for the IWCOA

There were so many state-ranked men inside the Benedetti Center at Grant in Fox Lake, far too many to list, and several ended up in the finals, where some of the best in the state faced off.

Once the two wrestling powers of the North Suburban Conference and Northern Lake County Conference merged to become a wrestling super-power conference, fans of the sport would have the opportunity to watch dozens of young men who will vie for a spot on the podium in Champaign in late February.

On the team side, Warren held off Libertyville to lift the championship trophy of the Lake County Invitational with 196 total points, 2.5 more than Libertyville, which lost last year to Warren by eight points and two weeks later by 17 at the Grant Regional.

These two terrific clubs will have at it again on February 3 in Libertyville along with a quality group of wrestling rivals that includes Grant, McHenry, Mundelein and Round Lake.

“It feels good to win here today for the second straight year,” Warren coach Brad Janecik said. “It’s a great field comprised of some amazing 2A and 3A teams. For us, we were fortunate to get some big wins along the way plus bonus points, which usually can be the deciding factor.”

This sensational 2A/3A field would see top-rated stars validate their lofty status in the state polls, including Aaron Stewart (Warren) and Matty Jens (Grayslake Central) while seeing future No. 1’s like freshman Caleb Noble (Warren) and Vince DeMarco (Grayslake Central), who faced each other in the opening match of the finals.

Lake County Invitational championship results:

103 – Caleb Noble, Warren

Add another major trophy to the resume of Warren’s Caleb Noble after the Warren freshman recorded a pin over Grayslake Central’s Vince DeMarco.

Noble (29-2) now has four big trophies on the season, including trophies won at the Rex Whitlatch and at Wisconsin’s Cheesehead.

“It feels great to win my first Lake County Invite championship,” Noble said. “Vince is a great wrestler with plenty of success at Fargo, especially in Greco, so this was a good win. But I know that I’ve got to continue to push myself if I want to get on top of the podium in Champaign.”

This highly anticipated final would see the No. 2 man in 3A  in Noble versus the top-rated 106-pounder in 2A in DeMarco.

“Vince is off to a great start to his high school career, he has not lost to a 2A opponent yet – he’s an awesome young man, and he just comes in, and gets to work, and is making everyone around him better,” said Grayslake Central head coach Matt Joseph.

DeMarco (35-5) has two victories over 2A state runner-up, Wauconda’s Gavin Rockey (29-2). Rockey used a tech fall to beat Stevenson’s Evan Mishels (26-13) for third place while Antioch’s Jacob Smith (19-5) earned fifth place over Libertyville’s sixth-place Jake Shafer (19-12) who was forced out of action due to a medical forfeit.

113 – Vince Jasinski, Grant

Grant’s Vince Jasinski (27-6) was a hometown hero when the sophomore beat Stevenson’s Ayush Bajaj (24-13) to win the 113-pound title much to the delight of the Bulldogs faithful.

“Vince had a relentless offseason, where he wrestled nearly a hundred matches, traveling all around the country,” Grant head coach Mark Jolcover said.  “So as we continue to work on being consistent in his competition, we believe he’s quite capable of beating anyone, at any time.”

With his two pins recorded in advance of his 10-5 victory over Bajaj, Jasinski now has a team-high 20 pins.

“It feels great to win a conference title here at home, and to win at the same time my sister (Ayane) won last night in the girls’ conference tournament,” said Jasinski, who was a sectional qualifier a year ago with a record of 31-14.

Lake Forest’s Charlie Biddle (20-12) claimed third with a win by medical forfeit over Libertyville’s Tyler Wuh (13-11) and Antioch’s Quinton Cohen (17-13) took fifth over Warren’s Jonathan Marquez (22-7) due to a medical forfeit.

120 – Gavin Hanrahan, Antioch

Antioch’s Gavin Hanrahan (29-6) is aiming for a third consecutive appearance in the state tournament. Only this time, the Antioch junior is ready to bring back a 2A state medal.

“Getting so close to a state medal last year and then losing in my wrestle-back quarterfinal was a huge disappointment,” Hanrahan said. “But it gave me a ton of motivation to work harder in the offseason.” 

Hanrahan won a 6-0 decision for the title at 120 over No. 4 in 3A, Libertyville’s Luke Berktold (26-6).

“I knew Luke liked his drags but I thought I did well watching out for that,” Hanrahan said. Hanrahan, ranked No. 7 in 2A, reversed Berktold to start the second period to go up for good at 2-0, before adding two more takedowns and two back points before riding out the period.

Round Lake’s three-time state qualifier Alejandro Cordova (31-6) beat Stevenson’s Mikey Polyakov (22-14) in the third place contest while Warren’s Carlos Ordonez (17-9) majored Grayslake Central’s Krish Sahu (23-13) for fifth place.

126 – Tyler Weidman, Grayslake Central

Grayslake Central coach Matt Joseph is thrilled with how Tyler Weidman (32-3) has come back from a midseason injury to put himself in position to challenge for state hardware next month.

“He’s back to full strength, has had a real solid run in his final year with us, and really looks ready to make a strong run in the postseason,” Joseph said of Weidman, who is a three-time state qualifier, a fourth place 2A state medal winner, and is currently No. 7 in the state polls.

“My work ethic is so much stronger this year,” Weidman said. “I attribute that to my loss at state in the quarters, where I fell behind and then chased the rest of the way.” 

Weidman went 40-13 a year ago and leads his club with 21 pins.

“Nobody’s perfect but I was sloppy in that (state quarterfinal) match, so I decided to just go out and be the best that I can this season,” Weidman said. “So far it’s been very good for me.” 

Weidman won by fall at 5:44 over a league rival, Wauconda’s Lucas Galdine (24-14), in his final.

Round Lake’s Grayson Kongkaeow (30-11) won by fall over Stevenson’s Yash Jagtap (11-11) for third place and Carmel Catholic’s Matthew Lucansky (25-7) beat Warren’s Evan Glowinski 7-1 in the fifth-place match.

132 – Edgar Albino, Antioch

Antioch’s Edgar Albino (29-4) gave 2A teams their third consecutive title after his hard-fought 6-4 victory over Grant’s Erik Rodriguez (26-12).

Albino is a three-time state qualifier who has collected three state medals, his best coming in 2022 when he brought home a third-place medal at 120 pounds.

Albino dropped a 5-2 decision in his semifinal against the eventual state champion, Mascoutah’s Santino Robinson.

“Last year at state was disappointing but I guess it’s never a great success unless you’re on top of the podium on Saturday night,” said Albino, who wants to wrestle in college next fall at either UW-Parkside or Wabash College in Indiana.

“I decided to go out there this year and have more fun, and really enjoy my last season here at Antioch,” Albino said. “I really feel a lot better about myself and my chances (downstate) because of that.”

The Sequoits senior, who now is 104-11 during the past three years, is No. 3 in the most recent state polls.

Libertyville’s Orion Moran (27-10) majored Grayslake Central’s Liam Halloran (24-16) for third and Wauconda’s Brian Hart (29-13) took fifth after Zion-Benton’s Luis Medina (12-6) had to medical forfeit.

138 – Andrew Chamkin, Stevenson

It’s been a breakthrough season for Stevenson senior Andrew Chamkin, who claimed his second major of the season thanks to his 11-6 decision over Mundelein’s Ethan Banda (24-7).

Chamkin, who pinned his way to the 138-pound crown at Leyden’s Randy Conrad Invite just after the new year, stunned the top-seed, Wauconda’s Cooper Daun, in the semifinals via an 18-6 major decision.

In the other semifinal, third-seeded Banda sent off second-seeded Chase Nobiling (28-9) by 7-2 decision. In the title match, Chamkin (20-11) got the ever-important first takedown.

“That first take-down was so important, and even though (Banda) came back in the second period, I always felt confident thanks to that early take-down,” said Chamkin.

“I’ve been very fortunate to be in the room for three years with an amazing wrestler and an equally amazing person in Lorenzo Frezza (now wrestling at Columbia after a brilliant four-year career). He was a real inspiration to me when he was here.”

Chamkin has been looking at Texas A&M, Clemson, Penn State, among others, and will likely pursue a degree in finance.

Wauconda’s Cooper Daun (30-7) won 2-1 over Antioch’s Chase Nobiling (28-9) to take third place and Round Lake’s Marshawn Washington (23-16) pinned Libertyville’s Antonio Kelly (11-7) to earn fifth-place honors.

144 – Logan Andrews, Wauconda

Logan Andrews was the first of two-straight wrestlers from Wauconda to lift the championship bracket board.

The Bulldogs senior opened strong against Carmel’s Tony Hinojosa (26-5) with a 5-0 first period advantage. He extended his lead to 7-0 with an early reversal, before using a near fall at three minutes to make it 11-0 before Hinojosa could take a small bite of Andrews’ big lead.

“I had to get better with the mental part of my game this year – it just wasn’t strong enough to help me compete against the top guys in the state at my weight,” admitted Andrews, No. 7 in the state and 30-18 a year ago.

“We’ve had a good season as a team thus far, and I really feel like things are coming together for all of us. So there’s no reason why we cannot get back to (dual-team) state and bring home another team trophy.” 

Andrews is now 27-10, with 13 pins on the season.

“Logan has significantly improved over the last two years, and he put a ton of training in last summer, and it’s paying off,” Wauconda coach Trevor Jauch said. “He’s much more focused, and he’s staying disciplined in his training as well.”

Stevenson’s Val Vihrov (25-13) earned third place when Grayslake North’s Owen Anderson (19-9) was forced out with an injury at 1:39. Libertyville senior Will Carney(18-13) won by fall over Grant’s Adrian Khi (14-14) to finish fifth.

150- Cole Porten, Wauconda

Wauconda’s Cole Porten shifted all the momentum in his favor when he registered a takedown just moments into his final with Mundelein’s Kevin Hernandez (28-6) en route to a 6-0 decision.

Porten, No. 8 in the state, won 30 matches in 2023.

“I’m much more calm and composed than I was last year,” said Porten, who leads Wauconda with 15 pins. “It’s something I knew I had to be better at this year, as well as having a higher pace and better set-ups.

“We lost some quality guys from last year, but the new guys have filled in really well, so I feel like we’re a stronger team this season.” 

The Bulldogs finished third at the IHSA Class 2A Dual Team Finals last year, giving the program its second dual team state trophy in its history.

Grayslake North’s Jacobs Ronsman (29-13) majored Warren’s Warren Nash (30-14) in the third place bout while Warren’s Nicholas Hermsen (16-10) used a 11-4 decision over Antioch’s Marcus Macias (9-5) in the fifth-place match.

157- Aaron Stewart, Warren 

It was yet another blistering attack from Aaron Stewart that helped the Warren sophomore easily wrap-up his second-straight Lake County Invite title and third of the season for the No. 1 man in the state at 157 pounds.

Stewart (29-2) started slowly in the scoring column despite an all-action first two minutes with Lake Forest’s Seth Digby (27-1), and the fourth-ranked individual in Class 2A did his best to hold off the ever-attacking Stewart,  who led after one period, 2-1.

Stewart started down, grabbed a quick one-point escape, then in an instant, it became a 7-1 contest before the 2023 state third-place medalist ended the period with a takedown near the edge to increase his advantage to 9-3.

“People will watch Aaron’s final and think it’s just business as usual with him, but that would be further from the truth,” said Warren coach Brad Janecek.

“He’ll (Aaron) make it look easy at times, but what nobody knows is how much work he puts in, and away from the room, is free time, and the time he spends lifting for football, and track (his) work ethic is very high, which he takes into the classroom as well.”

Stewart’s 13-5 major decision ended Digby’s 27-match unbeaten streak, which along the way included individual titles at Richmond-Burton, and later at Glenbrook South’s Russ Erb.

“The biggest motivation for Seth which stands out for me is his failure to place the last two years,  he took that personal, and is on a mission this year,” said Lake Forest head coach, Nick Kramer.

With his pin in the semifinals, Digby now has collected 16 thus far.

Libertyville’s James Scanio earned third place over Mundelein’s Ethan Thomas (17-7) due to a medical forfeit and Stevenson’s Erick Wade was fifth following his pin of Grayslake North’s Jacob Deleon.

165 – Royce Lopez, Warren

Warren’s Royce Lopez (21-7) won a second championship trophy of this season after his impressive six-minute contest with Grant’s Christian Wittkamp (25-11) that saw the Blue Devils sophomore record a 16-3 major decision.

“I am very happy for Royce, he is a consummate hard worker, who just wants more, and today in his final, you saw how he just goes out there always looking to score points (right) up until the very end,” said Blue Devils coach Brad Janecek.

“He had a real solid freshman season last year but this year his expectation(s) are so much higher than a year ago and we’re seeing him getting those big points when he goes looking for them.”

Last year, Lopez came this close to 40 wins, falling one match short to earning a state medal  at 160 pounds, and later, proved to be a key figure in the Blue Devils advancing to its first-ever IHSA Class 3A Dual Team appearance.

Previously, Lopez, No. 7 in the state polls, had won at the Neuqua Valley Invite, and had finished fourth overall at the Rex Whitlach.

Antioch’s Ben Vazquez (27-10), a 2023 state qualifier, beat Stevenson’s Everett Ciezak 6-1 in the third place match and Libertyville’s Charlie Clark (24-15) finished fifth after his 7-5 decision over Wauconda’s Zac Johnson (22-14).

175 – Matty Jens, Grayslake Central

Libertville’s Matt Kubas will never compete for a tournament championship this season against his good friend, Grayslake Central’s Matty Jens, but if Jens has his way, both he and Kubas could be under the spotlight on that Saturday night inside State Farm Center in Champaign.

Jens is the reigning 182-pound IHSA 2A champion, and the No. 1 man in the state at 177, while Kubas is No. 2 in Class 3A and has a sparkling 33-3 overall record with his three defeats coming at the hands of Jens, now 31-1 after his hard-fought and tense, 5-1 decision.

“Matt is my great friend, I love the guy like a brother, he also happens to be an unbelievable wrestler and competitor and I see no reason why we both cannot be in the state final in February,” said Jens, who has beaten Kubas in the Moore-Prettyman, the Dvorak and now ther Lake County Invite final, by 6-5, 7-4, and 5-1 scores.

These two freight trains would collide head-on from the opening period with Jens’ returns the story of the second period which ended 0-0.

Jens started down to begin the third period, and earned an escape, then 90 seconds from time grabbed two points near the edge with a takedown.

Kubas drew closer with an escape of his own to make it 3-1 at five minutes but a late takedown by Jens ensured his victory.

“There was nothing easy about that match, it was exactly how I thought it would be,” said Jens, a state runner-up in 2023.

“The only loss of the year for Matty is against the defending state champ from Wisconsin in the Mid-State final, and that was a 3-2 match in UTB,” said Grayslake Central coach Matt Joseph.

“(He) has an incredible gas tank, and one that can go 8 1/2 minutes if needed.”

Jens has 15 pins on the season while Kubas has 22, tying the program record of 73 with 2004 state runner-up Mark Friend.

Stevenson senior Themba Sitshela (27-14) used a 1-0 victory over Warren’s Justice Humphreys (16-9) to claim third place and Grant’s Aaden Arroyo majored Lake Zurich’s Maciej Szelazek for fifth place.

190 – Caleb Baczek, Libertyville

Caleb Baczek had a brief call-up to the big club during his rookie season for Libertyville, going 3-3, yet still managed to earn a spot in the Barrington Sectional at 160 pounds.

Last year, a regional title eventually led to a berth in the 182-pound bracket of 16 in Champaign where a pair of losses saw Baczek finish with a respectable 18-11 record.

This season, Baczek has been difficult to get the best of as witnessed by his hard-fought 6-5 victory over a league rival, Warren’s Jeremija Hixson (15-6) to push his record to 27-6.

“I feel like I’ve come a long way this year, I was way too defensive of a wrestler a year ago, so this year I’ve become more aggressive in my attack, tried to push the pace more, and just turn up the pace in order to compete in this weight class,” said Baczek, who won earlier at Glenbard West and has a second-place finish at the high-profile Mudge-McMorrow.

“The experience of going downstate last year gave me a huge boost and to be going live against guys like Cole Matulenko (2023 state champion), Matt Kubas, and Owen McGrory (it) can make for some incredible time in the room,” Baczek said with a wry smile.

Baczek is third behind McGrory and Kubas with 15 pins on the season.

Wauconda’s Michael Merevick (26-7) pinned Waukegan’s Lamero Ceaser (12-6) to take third place and Grant’s Casey Gipson (20-15) won 6-4 over Antioch’s Colin Arquilla to finish fifth.

215 – Owen McGrory, Libertyville

The meteoric rise up the charts for Owen McGrory has been to marvel at with the Libertyville senior bursting onto the scene full time to advance into the state tournament where he came one victory away from earning a state medal in his first-ever trip downstate.”

“Last year was a good one, but there are/were still a lot of things that I needed to clean up, and improve on in order to compete with the best in my weight at state,” admits McGrory, now 33-2 following his 11-2 major decision over Warren junior Anthony Soto (19-5).

“(Anthony) Soto is a big, tough, solid opponent,  someone I’ve wrestled 3-4 times before, so we know each other and what to expect,” continued McGrory, who was 45-8 in 2023 and No. 3 in the most recent IWCOA state polls and also has a team-high 23 pins.

“I’m looking forward to the next two weeks to continue to work on a few of the little hiccups in my game, and to clean those up before regionals.”

Lake Forest’s Yaree Sandifer (27-9) pinned Zion-Benton’s Isaiah Tellado (18-10) in the third place match while Grant’s Matthew Longabaugh (19-12) claimed fifth place after Antioch’s Owen Shea (17-13) took a medical forfeit.

285 – William Cole, Round Lake

William Cole continues his remarkable junior campaign as all three of his Lake County Invite opponents on this day were unable to muster up any kind of attack on the Round Lake big man who won a second-straight league title at 285 pounds with a 9-3 victory over Mundelein’s Abisai Hernandez in the finals. 

“Winning here for the second time feels really good, it’s the first of many goals I’ve set for myself, and I am going to continue to work as hard as I can in order to reach my biggest goal of getting on the podium in Champaign,” said Cole, a junior who is 33-1.

The 6-6, 265 pound Cole, currently fifth in the state, made an early statement to the rest of the state when he pinned Hinsdale Central’s No. 3 Marko Ivanisevic, who is a two-time third place state medalist. Hernandez, a junior who is 28-5, recently won at the Sycamore Invite.

Waukegan’s Ivan Martinez (14-5) won 3-1 by sudden victory over Warren’s Jacob Bolender (20-10) to take third place and Stevenson’s Andrew Timmons (18-12) also won by sudden victory over Antioch’s James Kasprzak (12-2) to finish in fifth place.

Championship matches for the Lake County Invitational

106 – Caleb Noble (Warren) F 1:49 Vince DeMarco (Grayslake Central)

113 – Vince Jasinski (Grant) D 10-5 Ayush Bajaj (Stevenson)

120 – Gavin Hanrahan (Antioch) D 6-0 Luke Berktold (Libertyville)

126 – Tyler Weidman (Grayslake Central) F 5:44 Lucas Galdine (Wauconda)

132 – Edgar Albino (Antioch) D 6-4 Erik Rodriguez (Grant)

138 – Andrew Chamkin (Stevenson) D 11-6 Ethan Banda (Mundelein)

144 – Logan Andrews (Wauconda) D 12-6 Tony Hinojosa (Carmel Catholic)

150 – Cole Porten (Wauconda) D 6-0 Kevin Hernandez (Mundelein)

157 – Aaron Stewart (Warren) MD 13-5 Seth Digby (Lake Forest)

165 – Royce Lopez (Warren) MD 16-3 Christian Wittkamp (Grant)

175 – Matty Jens (Grayslake Central) D 5-1 Matt Kubas (Libertyville)

190 – Caleb Baczek (Libertyville) D 5-4 Jeremija Hixson (Warren)

215 – Owen McGrory (Libertyville) MD 11-2 Anthony Soto (Warren)

285 – William Cole (Round Lake) D 9-3 Abisai Hernandez (Mundelein)

Team Scores for the Lake County Invitational

1. Warren 196, 2. Libertyville 193.5, 3. Stevenson 172.5, 4. Wauconda 164.5, 5. Antioch 147.5, 6. Grayslake Central 145.5, 7. Grant 139, 8. Mundelein 111.5, 9. Round Lake 82, 10. Lake Forest 65, 11. Grayslake North 49, 12. Waukegan 42, 13. Carmel Catholic 39.0, 14. Lake Zurich 32, 15. Zion-Benton 28, 16. Lakes Community 0.