Boys’ tournament recap: Cumberland, Lanphier, Mascoutah

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

All IWCOA ranking from Rob Sherrill’s Illinois Best Weekly

Cumberland’s Skull & Crossbones

After placing sixth and then fifth in consecutive years, Althoff Catholic rose to the top of the heap at this year’s Skull & Crossbones tournament. Coach Emanuel Brooks’ Crusaders posted 221.5 points to top Oakwood (196), which won the tournament two years ago.

Lawrenceville (150), the defending Skull & Crossbones team champion, finished third. Host Cumberland (131.5) placed fourth, followed by Litchfield (104.5) to round out the top five.

“I was very pleased with my team’s overall performance,” Brooks said. “From top to bottom, I saw positive things from every kid in my lineup. All of my wrestlers showed up ready to compete, and that made for a very fun and exciting tournament.”

Brooks got individual titles from Dawson Hawthorne (132), Landon Weidler (157) and Pierre Walton (165) to lead a stable of 12 wrestlers finishing in the top eight of their weight classes in the 21-team field.
Walton won a state title last year and he was dominant Saturday.

“He made it a point to tech his opponent in the finals by takedowns only,” Brooks said. “He was beating multiple state-ranked guys with ease. My individual tournament champions all felt they had a bit to prove and made sure they won titles in dominant fashion.”

Hawthorne, ranked No. 4 in Illinois at 132, won by major decision against No. 3 Mason Swartz of Oakwood/ Salt Fork in their title match. The sophomore Weidler pinned and teched his way to the finals, then won a wild 15-10 decision against Cumberland’s Owen McGinnis.

1st-Althoff Catholic (221.5)

In addition to individual titles from No. 3 Hawthorne, HM Weidler and No. 1 Walton, Brooks got seconds from No. 1 at 106 Jacobi Cobbs (113) and HM Jaxon Lynn (126), thirds from HM Nathan Fisher (120) and Colton Stearns (144), fourths from Karson Fowler (106) and Ryan Hogue (150), a fifth from Stephen Ache (215) and a sixth from Robbie Schallert.

Cobbs is top-ranked at 106 and he approached the tournament as a challenge.

“Jacobi Cobbs decided to go 113 pounds to see good competition,” Brooks said. “He lost a one-point match in the finals to a top three-ranked guy (Oakwood’s Steven Uden). It was a tough loss but we learned a lot from that match.”

“Freshman Jaxon Lynn placed second at 126 and had some good battles on his way to the finals. He lost to a pretty good wrestler in the finals (Litchfield’s Vincent Moore). Freshman Colton Stearns finished third at 144 and looked good in all his matches. He’s going to get better as the season goes on.

“Nathan Fisher wrestled his first tournament of the season at 120. He lost a very competitive match in the semi-finals and finished the tournament strong by placing third. I liked what I saw from Fisher. My other wrestlers, led by senior captain Stephen Ache, all had good tournaments. Karson Fowler, Ryan Hogue, Braden Busch, and Austin Wilkinson competed well and made improvements.”

2nd-Oakwood/ Salt Fork (196)
Oakwood/ Salt Fork led all schools in individual titles as coach Mike Glosser sent five high-ranked wrestlers to the top of the awards stand in No. 3 Steven Uden (113), No. 4 Weston Frazier (120), No. 3 Devin Ehler (138), No. 5 Tyler Huchel (144) and No. 10 Jamison Chambliss (190). No. 4 Mason Swartz (132) also reached the title mat and placed second, Alberto Rangel (126) placed fourth, and Keagan Leclaire (157) placed sixth for the Comets.

3rd-Lawrenceville (150)
A trio of second-placers led Lawrenceville coach Cody Bobe’s crew, in HM Hudson Meek (144), Nick Morehead (175) and Malikye Williams (190). The Indians also got thirds from Dalton Baker (106), Cale Seitzinger (150) and Daniel Kiser (157), and a fifth from HM Kyler Guercio (120).

Team scores
Althoff Catholic 221.5, Oakwood/ Salt Fork 196, Lawrenceville 150, Cumberland 131.5, Litchfield 104.5, Salem 98.5, Richland County 97.5, Shelbyville 91, Effingham 86, Robinson 82.5, Herrin 78.5, Pinckneyville 77.5, Monticello 74, Johnston City 68, Mt. Carmel 63, Central 56.5, Harrisburg 44, Oblong 43, Fairfield 38.5, Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin/ Armstrong 36, St. Teresa 21.5

Additional individual champions
106 Peyton Groves (Cumberland), No. 6 126 Vincent Moore (Litchfield), HM 150 Kade Orrell (Salem), 175 Jonathan Ramaker (Pinckneyville), 215 Tristan Staggs (Litchfield), 285 Jeremiah Lorton (Effingham)

Additional runners-up
106 Jonah LeDuc (Effingham), 120 Gracen Elliott (Robinson), 138 Rocko Neal (Harrisburg), 150 Matthew Walsh (Central), HM 157 Owen McGinnis (Cumberland), 165 Ryne Peavler (Shelbyville), 215 Hayden Mudgette (Shelbyville), 285 BHRA/ Armstrong

Close calls
Oakwood/ Salt Fork’s No. 3 Steven Uden (113) and Althoff’s No. 1 Jacobi Cobbs (106) squared off in a marquee title match at 113, with Uden taking the 7-6 decision.
Oakwood/ Salt Fork’s No. 5 Tyler Huchel and Lawrenceville’s HM Hudson Meek faced off at 144, with Huchel earning the lone takedown of the match in a 3-1 decision win.

Statistics
Oakwood/ Salt Fork posted the most pins in the least time, with 21 falls in 41:28,  while Althoff had the most tech falls in the least time, with 5 techs in 16:37. Althoff scored the most total match points with 323.
Individually, Litchfield’s Braxton Kieffer had the most pins in the least time, with four in 4:52, while Oakwood/ Salt Fork’s Mason Swartz had the fastest fall in 14 seconds. Althoff’s Pierre Walton had the most tech falls in the least time, with 3 in 11:07, and Herrin’s Brennan Jeralds had the fastest tech fall in 47 seconds.
Oakwood/ Salt Fork’s Jamison Chambliss scored the most team points with 31.5, Althoff’s Walton scored the most total match points with 56, and Litchfield’s Jayden Ellinger provided the largest seed-place difference, as the No. 18 seed placed third at 190.

Championship match results

106-Peyton Groves (Cumberland) F 3:31 Jonah LeDuc (Effingham)
113-Steven Uden (Oakwood/ Salt Fork) D 7-6 Jacobi Cobbs (Althoff)
120-Weston Frazier (Oakwood/ Salt Fork) TF 3:01 Gracen Elliott (Robinson)
126-Vincent Moore (Litchfield) TF 6:00 Jaxon Lynn (Althoff)
132-Dawson Hawthorne (Althoff) MD 10-0 Mason Swartz (Oakwood/ Salt Fork)
138-Devin Ehler (Oakwood/ Salt Fork) F 3:45 Rocko Neal (Harrisburg)
144-Tyler Huchel (Oakwood/ Salt Fork) D 3-1 Hudson Meek (Lawrenceville)
150-Kade Orrell (Salem) D 7-4 Matthew Walsh (Central)
157-Landon Weidler (Althoff) D 15-10 Owen McGinnis (Cumberland)
165-Pierre Walton (Althoff) TF 2:40 Ryne Peavler (Shelbyville)
175-Jonathan Ramaker (Pinckneyville) D 4-1 Nick Morehead (Lawrenceville)
190-Jamison Chambliss (Oakwood/ Salt Fork) F 3:08 Malikye Williams (Lawrenceville)
215-Tristan Staggs (Litchfield) MD 11-3 Hayden Mudgette (Shelbyville)
285-Jeremiah Lorton (Effingham) MD 10-0 Landynn Balla (BHRA/ Armstrong)

Third-place match results
106-Dalton Baker (Lawrenceville) F 0:51 Karson Fowler (Althoff)
113-Hayden Hazel (Richland County) F 3:45 Cameron Urbaniak (Herrin)
120-Nathan Fisher (Althoff) F 4:39 Brennan Jeralds (Herrin)
126-Rylan Moore (Salem) MD 9-0 Pedro Alberto Rangel (Oakwood/ Salt Fork)
132-Bodee Fathauer (Shelbyville) F 1:24 Sawyer Welbaum (Cumberland)
138-Broady Kelly (Robinson) F 2:49 Jace Weaver (Johnston City)
144-Colton Stearns (Althoff) F 2:55 Jude Wirey (Oblong)
150-Cale Seitzinger (Lawrenceville) F 4:44 Ryan Hogue (Althoff)
157-Daniel Kiser (Lawrenceville) med. fft. Drake Weeks (Monticello)
165-Trevor Fath (Pinckneyville) F 0:54 Killian Merrill (Salem)
175-Garrett Ray (Herrin) F 2:41 Finn Lathrop (Richland County)
190-Jayden Ellinger (Litchfield) D 9-8 Juan Salazar (Johnston City)
215-Wade Rees (Pinckneyville) TF 4:29 Zander Schrader (Richland County)
285-Carter Pyatt (Mt. Carmel) F 1:13 Gentry Michels (Richland County)

Dale Breckel Mascoutah Invitational

Murphysboro and Mahomet-Seymour got into a dogfight for the team title in Mascoutah, and when the dust settled it was Murphysboro snaring the team crown. Coach Shea Baker’s Red Devils won 244.5-232 over Mahomet-Seymour, with Morton (218) placing third, followed by host Mascoutah (182.5) and Roxana (176.5) to round out the top five.

Murphysboro got titles from Drevan Bramlett (113) and Julien Tanner (285) to lead the way among nine Red Devils finishing in the top eight of their weight classes. Five teams present had two champions apiece.

“I’m extremely proud of this team. Winning this tournament for the first time in school history is a huge achievement for our program,” Baker said. “It took every single guy on the roster winning matches and scoring points to get this done. We’re excited to get back in the room and keep this momentum going.”

Dale Breckel was a teacher at Mascoutah from 1967 to 1993. He started the wrestling program and the tournament which has been wrestled for more than half a century and has bore his name since 2023.

1st-Murphysboro (244.5)
In addition to titles from Bramlett and Tanner, the Red Devils got thirds from Paxton Pyatt (120), Sergio Garcia (126) and Maxon Stearns (165), a fourth from Caybren Hubbard (215), a sixth from Jeret Edwards (138), a seventh from Griffin Diehl (106), and an eighth from Lemar Treshansky (144).
“(Bramlett) had an awesome tournament, including a big win over a tough Waterloo opponent and avenging an earlier season loss in the semifinals,” coach Shea Baker said.

“(Tanner) continues to show huge improvements every week, (Pyatt) wrestled great all weekend and hit a major milestone, surpassing 100 career wins. (Garcia) showed a lot of heart by losing his first match and wrestling all the way back through the bracket, eventually beating the kid who beat him in the first round to take third, and (Stearns) put together a very strong tournament performance to finish third.”

2nd-Mahomet-Seymour (232)
Bulldogs coach Rob Ledin got titles from No. 9 Talon Decker (165) and No. 4 Marco Casillas (190), a second from HM Justus Vrona (144), thirds from No. 10 Garrett Waisath (150) and Weston Neutz (157), a fourth from Gideon Hayter (132), fifths from Myles Hartzler (106) and Phil Daniels (215), and an eighth from Jose Torres (285).

3rd-Morton (218)
No. 5 Noah Harris (126) and No. 2 Harrison Dea (132) won titles for Potters coach Edward Henderson, who also got a second from No. 9 Benjamin Chaffer (215), thirds from Trygg Herron (106) and Colton Mckee (175), a fourth from Brody Watson (150), and a fifth from Lincoln Yerby (138).

Additional champions
Quincy’s Griffin Finch (106) and Brody Baker (150), Roxana’s No. 3 Brandon Green (144) and No. 3 Lyndon Thies (175), Mascoutah’s No. 9 Desi Wade (138) and No. 4 Brock Ross (157), Mt. Vernon’s No. 5 Dalton St. Angelo (120), and Waterloo’s No. 2 Jaxson Mathenia (215).

Additional runners-up
Mascoutah’s Braxton McCall (106) and Jordan Sonon-Hale (175), Alton’s Austin Jones (113), Jake Sutphin (138) and Brayden Drew (165), Triad’s Colin Crouch (120), Mattoon’s Tristan Porter (126), Jacksonville’s Jordan Kholian (132), Champaign Central’s Trae Griffiths (157), Red Bud’s Daniel Jackson (190), Quincy’s King Johnson (285)

The unbeatens (minimum 10 matches)
Mt. Vernon’s Dalton St. Angelo (14-0 at 120), Morton’s Harrison Dea (15-0 at 132), Mascoutah’s Brock Ross (14-0 at 157), Roxana’s Lyndon Thies (15-0 at 175), Waterloo’s Jaxson Methenia (11-0 at 215)

Close calls
The closest title match came at 106, where Quincy’s Griffin Finch won a 12-9 decision on a takedown in overtime against Mascoutah’s Braxton McCall. Murphysboro’s Julien Tanner and Quincy’s King Johnson were also in a dogfight at 285, with Tanner winning a 4-2 decision.

Big match
Two top-five ranked, previously unbeaten 2A wrestlers squared off on the title mat at 132, where No. 2 Harrison Dea (15-0) of Morton won by fall at 1:34 against No. 5 Jordan Kholian (14-1) of Jacksonville.

Championship match results
106-Griffin Finch (Quincy) D 12-9 OT Braxton McCall (Mascoutah)
113-Drevan Bramlett (Murphysboro) F 4:37 Austin Jones (Alton)
120-Dalton St. Angelo (Mt. Vernon) MD 14-0 Colin Crouch (Triad)
126-Noah Harris (Morton) D 13-7 Tristan Porter (Mattoon)
132-Harrison Dea (Morton) F 1:34 Jordan Kholian (Jacksonville)
138-Desi Wade (Mascoutah) F 1:03 Jake Sutphin (Alton)
144-Brandon Green (Roxana) F 1:49 Justus Vrona (Mahomet-S)
150-Brody Baker (Quincy) MD 11-3 Logan Riggs (Roxana)
157-Brock Ross (Mascoutah) TF 3:47 Trae Griffiths (Champaign C)
165-Talon Decker (Mahomet-S) F 4:35 Brayden Drew (Alton)
175-Lyndon Thies (Roxana) F 2:35 Jordan Sonon-Hale (Mascoutah)
190-Marco Casillas (Mahomet-S) TF 5:50 Daniel Jackson (Red Bud)
215-Jaxson Mathenia (Waterloo) F 0:28 Benjamin Chaffer (Morton)
285-Julien Tanner (Murphysboro) D 4-2 King Johnson (Quincy)

Third-place match results

106-Trygg Herron (Morton) D 10-8 Bryce Kuhlman (Normal Comm)
113-Matthew Deutch (Waterloo) D 18-13 Hunter Hayes (Jacksonville)
120-Paxton Pyatt (Murphysboro) D 7-3 Wyatt Boeing (Quincy)
126-Sergio Garcia D 10-8 Rylan Poeta (Champaign C)
132-Will Kelly (Triad) MD 12-0 Gideon Hayter (Mahomet-S)
138-Talin Baker (Champaign C) TF 4:57 Dashawn Armstrong (Jacksonville)
144-Rennie Lilo (Quincy) D 4-3 Tyler Barlow (Bloomington)
150-Garrett Waisath (Mahomet-S) MD 8-0 Brody Watson (Morton)
157-Weston Neutz (Mahomet-S) F 3:11 Jonathan McCray (E. St. Louis)
165-Maxon Stearns (Murphysboro) F 3:24 Lonnez Smith (E. St. Louis)
175-Colton Mckee (Morton) F 3:30 Vince Goodman (Waterloo)
190-Evan Francis (Marion) F 2:13 Brock Meyer (Jacksonville)
215-Dane Olmstead (Freeburg) fft. Caybren Hubbard (Murphysboro)
285-Mitchells Clapp (Mattoon) MD 12-1 Cy Courtney (Roxana)

Joe Bee Memorial

Glenwood coach Nick Anthony’s boys snared his program’s third consecutive Joe Bee title, outpointing second-place Granite City 236-190.5 in the 19-team tournament hosted by Lanphier.

PORTA (171) placed third, followed by East Peoria (149.5) and Glenbard South (134.5) to round out the top five.

The Titans got individual titles from No. 10 Cooper Clarke (113), No. 10 Pierce Bultmann (120), No. 10 AJ Williams (132) and No. 1 defending state champion Cody Moss (285) among 11 wrestlers who placed in the top six of their weight divisions.

“I was proud to see how our team responded this weekend at the Joe Bee coming off of the Unity Christmas Duals the night before where we had three tough duals,” Anthony said. “We were able to manage a team tournament victory and get a lot of our wrestlers some valuable varsity experience this weekend, which is what you want in December.

“Our lower weights looked very tough this weekend and we were able to get Cooper Clarke and Pierce Bultmann some good competition up a weight. They both were able to pick up some key victories at the Joe Bee and Unity and are starting to round into form.”

1st-Glenwood (236)

In addition to titles from Clarke, Bultmann, Williams, and Moss, the Titans had two runners-up in Elijah Smith (175) and Mason Streb (215), fourths from Kam Hawkins (106) and Jake Tuxhorn (126), and fifths from Braden Monahan (144), Finnley Try (150) and Julian Rammelkamp (165).

“We are still missing some key pieces of our line up, but we have solid depth with wrestlers like Ryan Pelzek and Finn Try who are able to step up and be competitive at the varsity level when called upon,” Anthony said. “This makes us excited for our future moving forward as we have a solid team this year and we look to be able to reload when these seniors graduate.

“AJ Williams was a champion at 132 and he looked very good this weekend, tech falling all his opponents. Cody Moss is looking better each week as he gets into wrestling shape and we are excited to see how much he can develop going into the postseason. “

2nd-Granite City (190.5)

Warriors coach Kyle Thompson got an individual title from Jace Brown (126) and two second-place finishes from Zander Johnson (106) and Adrian Mendez (138). Lucas Cooley (113), Omar Mendez (144) and Eli Miller (190) brought home thirds,  Zachary Cooley (120) was fourth, Raymond Morales (285) was fifth, and Brendon Freyerabend (132) placed sixth.

3rd-PORTA (171)

Coach Jeff Hill’s Bluejays sent five to the title mat, getting individual championships from No. 5 Coyt Rademaker (106), No. 5 Logan Baker (165) and No. 2 Justin Zimmerman (175) and runner-up finishes from Ryan McCoy (132) and No. 6 Zach Bryant (144), plus thirds from Kainin Fillbright (120) and Jaxsen Feagans (138).

Additional individual champions
Also winning Joe Bee titles were 138 Mason Wood (Normal West), No. 2 144 Garrett VerHeecke (Unity Christian), No. 2 150 Clinton VerHeecke (Unity Christian), No. 8 157 Bryce Bryant (Springfield), and No. 5 Casen Lyons (Sacred Heart-Griffin (190).

Additional runners-up
113 Donovan Lowery (Normal West), 120 Ethan Hoyt (Macomb), 126 Jamarcus Agnew, 150 Cooper Chester (East Peoria), 157 Jovonis Lunford (Sacred Heart-Griffin), 165 Julian Pagliara (Springfield), 190 Dalton Oakman (East Peoria), 285 Ambrose Davis (Glenbard South)

Statistics
Granite City’s 25 pins in 45:01 led all teams in the tournament; Glenwood had 25 pins in 60:32. Glenwood led the field with six tech falls in 24:16 and finished with the most total match points, with 357. Granite City was second in match points with 309.
Individually, Granite City’s Raymond Morales had the most pins in the least time, with five falls in 7:13, and Springfield’s Bryce Bryant had the most tech falls in the least time, with three techs in 8:46. East Peoria’s Chester Cooper posted the fastest tech fall in 1:50.
Mahomet-Seymour’s Renn VanDeveer finished with the most single-match points with 25, and Bryant had the most total match points with 74. Granite City’s Zander Johnson provided the largest seed-place difference, as the No. 15 seed placed second at 106.

The unbeatens (10-match minimum)
The lone wrestlers to walk away from this year’s Joe Bee with undefeated resumes were Unity Christian’s Garrett VerHeecke (16-0 at 144) and brother Clinton VerHeecke (16-0 at 150).

Team scores
Glenwood 236, Granite City 190.5, PORTA 171, East Peoria 149.5, Glenbard South 134.5, Normal West 96.5, LaSalle-Peru 79.5, Cahokia 78.5, Sacred Heart-Griffin 75.5, Springfield 75, Unity Christian 66.5, Pekin 65.5, Auburn 61, Centennial 53, Mahomet-Seymour 49.5, Macomb 41.5, Lanphier 38, Limestone 18, Souteast 17

Championship match results
106-Coyt Rademaker (PORTA) F 2:45 Zander Johnson (Granite City)
113-Cooper Clarke (Glenwood) F 0:43 Donovan Lowery (Normal W)
120-Pierce Bultmann (Glenwood) TF 4:00 Ethan Hoyt (Macomb)
126-Jace Brown (Granite City) F 1:24 Jamarcus Agnew (Cahokia)
132-AJ Williams (Glenwood) TF 4:24 Ryan McCoy (PORTA)
138-Mason Wood (Normal W) D 11-4 Adrian Mendez (Granite City)
144-Garrett VerHeecke (Unity Christian) TF 4:18 Zach Bryant (PORTA)
150-Clinton VerHeecke (Unity Christian) F 0:26 Cooper Chester (E Peoria)
157-Bryce Bryant (Springfield) TF 3:26 Jovonis Lunford (Sacred Heart-G)
165-Logan Baker (Petersburg) TF 4:15 Julian Pagliara (Springfield)
175-Justin Zimmerman (PORTA) D 8-3 Elijah Smith (Glenwood)
190-Casen Lyons (Sacred Heart-G) F 1:32 Dalton Oakman (E Peoria)
215-Alec Del Toro (E Peoria) MD 9-0 Mason Streb (Glenwood)
285-Cody Moss (Glenwood) F 1:43 Ambrose Davis (Glenbard S)

Third-place match results

106-Grant Morphew (Mahomet-S.) F 3:27 Kamden Hawkins (Glenwood)
113-Lucas Cooley (Granite City) F 4:26 Braxton Shemansky (Pekin)
120-Kainin Fillbright (PORTA) TF 2:40 Zachary Cooley (Granite City)
126-Jaxson Cornelius (E Peoria) F 1:47 Jake Tuxhorn (Glenwood)
132-Elijah Scott (Auburn) F 4:00 Jeremiah McCaskill (Cahokia)
138-Jaxsen Feagans (PORTA) F 1:52 Kyler Miller (Macomb)
144-Omar Mendez (Granite City) TF 2:57 Drayven Hamm (Auburn)
150-Jin Tai (Glenbard S) MD 15-3 Trey Boston (Auburn)
157-Nino Caballero (Mahomet-S.) MD 11-0 Rylynd Rynkewicz (LaSalle-P)
165-Anthony Kinney (Glenbard S) TF 3:52 Cole Smith (Normal W)
175-Shamar Brownlee (Springfield) F 2:28 Dallin Ames (Glenbard S)
190-Eli Miller (Granite City) F 0:49 Sergio Baity (Centennial)
215-Martez Williams (Cahokia) TF 4:52 Ayden Williams (Auburn)
285-Keegan Barnes (E Peoria) F 1:53 Eric Mateika (La Salle-P)