Boys tournament recaps: Unity, Clinton, Metamora
By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA
UNITY INVITATIONAL
First-place finishes from Connor Collins (106), Brandon Gaither (113), Caleb Peters (190) helped Olympia win the 14-team Unity Invitational. The Spartans finished with 229 points to outpace Notre Dame (179.5), which edged out Benton (178.5) for second-place honors. Marquette (156) and host Unity (154.5) closed out the top five squads.
“I’m really happy with how the boys competed,” Olympia coach Josh Collins said. “There was a lot of tough competition and the team performed well. We’ve got a fairly young team and we’re excited for their future and the future success of Olympia Wrestling. We still have a few adjustments to make in our lineup, and are hopeful that we will continue to improve throughout the season. We’ve got a lot of big goals we want to achieve as a team.”
1st: Olympia (229)
In addition to titles from Collins, Gaither and Peters, the Spartans brought back one second-place, four third-place and one fourth-place finishes. Darian Holloway placed second at 285, while Tucker Garey (126), Carter Knobloch (132), Kaden Collins (157) and Isaac Warnock (175) each won third-place matches. Cohen Maness (215) finished fourth.
“We had three individual champions,” Collins said. “Connor Collins was the champion at 106 pounds. He’s a freshman that we’re really excited to have. We also had a champion in sophomore Brandon Gaither at 113. Brandon was a state placer at 106 pounds last season, and is on track to have another great season. Our third champion was freshman Caleb Peters at 190 pounds. This was his first tournament of the season as he’s been rehabbing from a football injury. We were really excited about how he performed in his return to competition.”
2nd: Notre Dame (179.5)
Remington Joesting (132) and Brady Mullens (285) won first-place matches to pace the Irish. Jesus DeLa Cruz (113), Christian Johnson (126) and Alijah Atkins (165) finished second, while Freddie Couri (120) and Thomas Baker (215) came in third.
3rd: Benton (178.5)
The Rangers were powered first-place finishes by Zane Stanley (120) and Kaden Blades (144), while Derek Wilkey (150) and Peyton Robinson (157) added second-place finishes. Braxton Tittle (106) and Talon Hughes (190) came out with third-place finishes, while Eli Wilkey (138) placed fourth to cap the Rangers top-four finishing individuals.
Final team scores:
Olympia 229, Notre Dame 179.5, Benton 178.5, Marquette 156, Unity 154.5, Rochester 114, McNamara 111, Carterville 102, Camp Point Central 80.5, Charleston 73.5, Hoopeston Area 63.5, Peotone 58, Tremont 53.5, Urbana 44.
Additional champions: 126 Aiden Bell (Hoopeston Area); 138 Trotter Titus (Charleston); Hayden Smith (Unity); 157 Ben Mullins (Unity); 165 Abram Davidson (Unity); 175 Reily Leifheit; 215 Alex Schaefer (Marquette).
Statistics: Olympia posted the most pins in the least time with 24 in 45:23 and also earned the most tech falls in the least time with eight in 21:47. The Spartans also had the most total match points with 318.
Individually, Kayden Thomas of Olympia had the most pins in the least time with four in 5:50, while Jack Welch of Camp Point Central had the fastest fall in 18 seconds.
Caleb Peters (Olympia), Brady Mullens (Notre Dame) and Reily Leifheit (Marquette) each earned a tournament-high 30 team points, while Brandon Gaither of Olympia led with 57 total match points. Marquette’s Alex Schaefer provided the largest seed-place difference, as the No. 12 seed placed first at 215.
Championship match results:
106: Connor Collins (Olympia) TF 3:57 Dakota Harmon (Marquette)
113: Brandon Gaither (Olympia) TF 1:59 Jesus DeLa Cruz (Notre Dame)
120: Zane Stanley (Benton) TF 2:29 Isaac Wood (Carterville)
126: Aiden Bell (Hoopeston Area) Fall 5:17 Christian Johnson (Notre Dame)
132: Remington Joesting (Notre Dame) D 11-5 Case Hughes (Camp Point Central)
138: Trotter Titus (Charleston) F 3:10 Alex Kostecka (McNamara)
144: Kaden Blades (Benton) Inj. 0:00 Hunter Shike (Unity)
150: Hayden Smith (Unity) D 15-8 Derek Wilkey (Benton)
157: Ben Mullins (Unity) TF 5:55 Peyton Robinson (Benton)
165: Abram Davidson (Unity) D 7-1 Alijah Atkins (Notre Dame)
175: Reily Leifheit (Marquette) F 3:22 Josh Heath (Unity)
190: Caleb Peters (Stanford (Olympia) F 0:49 Tristin Golden (McNamara)
215: Alex Schaefer (Marquette) TF 4:08 Connor Broughton (Rochester)
285: Brady Mullens (Notre Dame) Inj. 0:00 Darian Holloway (Olympia)
Third-place match results:
106: Braxton Tittle (Benton) Fall 5:32 Harrison Kolba (Rochester)
113: Evan Johnson (McNamara) F 1:50 Austin Barr (Rochester)
120: Freddie Couri (Notre Dame) TF 4:00 Logan Leskanich (Marquette)
126: Tucker Garey (Olympia) F 3:17 Miles Carroll (Rochester)
132: Carter Knobloch (Stanford (Olympia) F 3:03 Blake Arseneau (McNamara)
138: AJ Daly (Unity) MD 15-1 Eli Wilkey (Benton)
144: Beau Thompson (Marquette) TF 2:41 Luke Lubert (Peotone)
150: Gavin Slack (Carterville) F 0:35 Jordan Karmide (Peotone)
157: Kaden Collins (Olympia) TF 2:17 Dorin Coss (Hoopeston Area)
165: James Escobar (Rochester) F 1:14 Malik Mosley (Urbana)
175: Isaac Warnock (Olympia) F 3:03 Bradley Smith (Unity)
190: Talon Hughes (Benton) F 4:24 Evan Pane (Peotone)
215: Thomas Baker (Notre Dame) F 0:57 Cohen Maness (Olympia)
285: Colton Maltby (Rochester) F 1:13 Remi Bryant (Charleston)
CLINTON HOLIDAY INVITATIONAL
Warrensburg Latham edged Clifton Central 277.5-274 to take home the team title at the Clinton Holiday Invitational. Westville (208), El Paso-Gridley (197.5) and Heyworth (177.5) completed the top five finishers in the 15-team event. Four Cardinals finished in first place, including Taygan Gossard (120), Zayden Mansfield (126), Francisco Lopez Banderas (138) and Charlie Wittmer (157). Six other Cardinals had top-four finishes in their weight classes.
“To be in the team race today, right up until the last few matches was a testament to our kids and the way they prepared going into this tournament while being student-athletes and preparing for finals and getting better in the room every night,” Warrensburg Latham coach Garrett Knock said. “We have found success in the four years that I have been at Warrensburg-Latham, but this was one of those moments that felt really good as a coach and where the program has grown too.”
1st: Warrensburg-Latham (277.5)
In addition to titles from Gossard, Mansfield, Lopez Banderas and Wittmer, the Cardinals had a second-place finish from Jack Kerley (285) and a third-place finish from Graham Blackwell (215).
“Super proud of the way our kids stepped up today and took it match by match,” Knock said. “Seniors Charlie Wittmer and Taygan Gossard did a good job bringing home bonus points wins and individual titles today. Zayden Mansfield and Francisco Lopez Banderas did a great job and really elevated themselves today with multiple bonus points wins and individual titles as well. We had 12 total placers on the day and I’m super excited these guys found a way to grind it out and make the podium, which in turn put us in a place to win the tournament.”
2nd: Clifton Central (274)
The Comets soared with three first-place finishes by Giona Panozzo (150), Brody O’Connor (215) and Josh McCurry (285). They also had second-place finishes from Owen Robinson (132), Evan Cox (144), and Colton Vaughn (175). Beau Williams (120), Garrison Bailey (157) and John Randles (165) came out with third-place finishes.
3rd: Westville (208)
The Tigers had two first-place finishers in Ty McMasters (165) and Ethan Miller (190), while Liam Hughes (157) came home with second place and Levi Miller (132) finished third. Fourth-place finishers included Kason Cramer (106), Connor Mahaffey (144), Jacob Jones (215), and Kendall Newell (285).
Final team scores:
Warrensburg-Latham 277.5, Clifton Central 274, Westville 208, El Paso-Gridley 197.5, Heyworth 177.5, Farmington 154.5, Clinton 146, Normal University 117.5, Ridgeview 102, East Alton-Wood River 98, Rantoul 54, Metro East Lutheran 47, DeLand-Weldon 40, McArthur 35.5, Taylorville 34.
Additional champions:
106 Kole Petta (El Paso-Gridley); 113 Isaac Showalter (Farmington); 132 Miles Dennis Metro East Lutheran; 144 Bradley Ellis (Farmington); 175 Tristan Stamp (Heyworth).
Statistics:
Clifton Central posted the most pins in the least time with 33 in 57:55, while Clinton earned the most tech falls in the least time with five in 18:07. Invite-champion Warrensburg Latham scored the most total match points with 388.
Individually, Ethan Miller of Westville had the most pins in the least time with five in 4:01, while Jacob Hoffman of Normal University and Colton Vaughn of Clifton Central tied with the fastest falls in eight seconds.
Ethan Miller (Westville), Isaac Showalter (Farmington) and Francisco Lopez Banderas (Warrensburg Latham) each earned a tournament-high 36 team points, while McCoy Moody of Clinton led with 77 total match points. Normal University’s Max Beard and McArthur’s Braydence Pettyjohn each provided the largest seed-place differences. Beard was a 14th seed who placed sixth at 126 and Pettyjohn was a 13th seed who placed fifth, also at 126.
Championship match results:
106: Kole Petta (El Paso-Gridley) TF-1.5 3:22 Jayden Schmider (Farmington)
113: Isaac Showalter (Farmington) F 1:12 Sawyer Manning (Ridgeview)
120: Taygan Gossard (Warrensburg Latham) F 2:56 Emmet Roeder (Heyworth)
126: Zayden Mansfield (Warrensburg Latham) D 10-4 Tom Erwin (El Paso-Gridley)
132: Miles Dennis (Metro East Lutheran) F 2:15 Owen Robinson (Clifton Central)
138: Francisco Lopez Banderas (Warrensburg Latham) F 3:29 Zane Bartz (East Alton-Wood River)
144: Bradlee Ellis (Farmington) TF-1.5 3:21 Evan Cox (Clifton Central)
150: Giona Panozzo (Clifton Central) MD 13-2 Nate Godfery (Heyworth)
157: Charlie Wittmer (Warrensburg Latham) F 3:48 Liam Hughes (Westville)
165: Ty McMasters (Westville) TF-1.5 2:00 Brandon Almanza (Rantoul)
175: Tristan Stamp (Heyworth) TF-1.5 2:00 Colton Vaughn (Clifton Central)
190: Ethan Miller (Westville) F 0:33 Bryson Foster (El Paso-Gridley)
215: Brody O’Connor (Clifton Central) D 7-5 Jarrod Fulcher (Heyworth)
285: Josh McCurry (Clifton Central) MD 13-2 Jack Kerley (Warrensburg Latham)
Third-place match results:
106: Mateo Anaya (Clinton) F 5:51 Kason Cramer (Westville)
113: Asa Reedy (Normal University) TF-1.5 4:00 Kevin Sanderson (Warrensburg Latham)
120: Beau Williams (Clifton Central) F 1:44 Cayden Bostic (Clinton)
126: McCoy Moody (Clinton) TF-1.5 3:42 Kolton Johnston (Heyworth)
132: Levi Miller (Westville) D 4-0 Ariel Lopez Banderas (Warrensburg Latham)
138: Gage Williamson (Farmington) Fall 1:12 Aiden Douglas (Clinton)
144: Landon Johnson (Wood River (East Alton-W.R.) F 0:43 Conner Mahaffey (Westville)
150: Isreal Ramirez (Clinton) TF-1.5 4:46 Jackson Painter (Ridgeview)
157: Garrison Bailey (Clifton Central) D 8-2 Nolan Whitman (El Paso-Gridley)
165: John Randles (Clifton Central) F 5:01 Logan Wagoner (Ridgeview)
175: Andrew Schmid (Clinton) M. For. Hayden Washum (Normal University)
190: Jarod Krigbaum (Warrensburg-L) F 4:58 Kamden Gaither (Warrensburg Latham)
215: Graham Blackwell (Warrensburg Latham) F 3:11 Jacob Jones (Westville)
285: Ben Buis (El Paso-Gridley) F 0:40 Kendall Newell (Westville)
METAMORA BOYS HOLIDAY CLASSIC 2025
Host Metamora took home an impressive win in its own tournament, clinching the Metamora Boys Holiday Classic 2025 with 172.5 points. The next closest team, St. Joseph Ogden, finished with 154 points, while Plainfield South took third with 151.5 points. Rounding out the top five were Richwoods with 125 points, and Galesburg with 118 points.
Connor Graham (144), Grady Neal (157), and Jayden Lambert (215) each finished in first place in their weight classes for the Redbirds. Five other Metamora wrestlers came up with top-four finishes.
1st: Metamora (172.5)
In addition to the first-place finishes from Graham, Neal and Lambert, Tanner Durst (120) and Mark Aeschliman (190) placed third in their respective weight classes. Meanwhile, Kade Schieber (132), Kamden Kobylarz (138) and Logan Grap (285) brought home fourth-place finishes for the Redbirds.
2nd: St. Joseph Ogden (154)
The Spartans earned three second-place finishers in Levi Lee (106), George Hale (120), Aiden Hundley (138). They added another five third-place finishers in Ben Wells (113), Camden Getty (126), Nathan Daly (150), Alex Vaughn (165) and Cam Wagner (285).
3rd: Plainfield South (151.5)
Allen Cortez (106), Islom Ismanaliev (120), Sean Volf (138) and Chase Pierceall (190) each battled to first-place finishes for the Cougars, while Macon Bucon (215) clinched a second-place finish and Quon Hamilton (106) finished third.
Final team scores: Metamora 172.5, St. Joseph Ogden 154, Plainfield South 151.5, Richwoods 125, Galesburg 118, Geneva 102, Pontiac 94, Eureka 71, Ottawa Twp. 68, Dunlap 53.5, Streator Twp. 45.5, ROWVA 34.5, Manual 30, Peoria High 3, St. Thomas More 2, Granville Putnam County 0.
Additional champions:
113 Mayson Munson (Ottawa Twp.); 126 Jack Voights (Pontiac); 132: Henry Watson (Eureka), 150 Gabe Robb (Richwoods); 165 Jayden Schmick (Dunlap); 175 Lucas Maier (Pontiac); 285 Hunter McCullough (Pontiac).
Statistics:
Champion Metamora posted the most pins in the least time with 18 in 40:10, while Eureka earned the most tech falls in the least time with six in 15:31. St. Joseph Ogden scored the most total match points with 300.
Individually, Quinn Hogan of Geneva had the most pins in the least time with three in 3:07, while his teammate David Rueth had the fastest fall in 28 seconds.
Metamora teammates Grady Neal and Connor Graham tied with a tournament-high 26 team points, while Braiden Tucker of Galesburg led with 65 total match points. Cam Wagner of St. Joseph Ogden provided the largest seed-place difference, as the ninth-seed finished third at 285.
Championship match results:
106: Allen Cortez (Plainfield South) F 1:39 Levi Lee (St. Joseph Ogden)
113: Mayson Munson (Ottawa Twp.) D 11-9 Devin DiSilvestro (Geneva)
120: Islom Ismanaliev (Plainfield (South) F 1:06 George Hale (St. Joseph Ogden)
126: Jack Voigts (Pontiac) F 3:58 Nathan Ortiz (Richwoods)
132: Henry Watson (Eureka) TF 3:19 Landon Darst (Galesburg)
138: Sean Volf (Plainfield (South) TF 5:44 Aiden Hundley (St. Joseph Ogden)
144: Connor Graham (Metamora) F 1:01 Finn Hoffman (Eureka)
150: Gabe Robb (Richwoods) TF 2:00 Beaudry Fisk (Galesburg)
157: Grady Neal (Metamora) F 1:58 Josh Bousek (Richwoods)
165: Jayden Schmick (Dunlap) D 11-5 over David Rueth (Geneva)
175: Lucas Maier (Pontiac) SV-1 8-5 Anthony Makwala (Galesburg)
190: Chase Pierceall (Plainfield South) F 1:28 Wes Weatherford (Ottawa Twp.)
215: Jayden Lambert (Metamora) MD 14-2 Mason Bucon (Plainfield South)
285: Hunter McCullough (Pontiac) Fall 3:58 Landon Petty (Galesburg)
Third-place match results:
106: Quon Hamilton (Plainfield South) F 1:47 Talan Price (ROWVA)
113: Ben Wells (St. Joseph Ogden) F 3:06 Kegan Miller (ROWVA)
120: Tanner Durst (Metamora) TF 4:18 Conner Knapp (Eureka)
126: Camden Getty (St. Joseph Ogden) D 6-2 Rohit Pallavajjala (Geneva)
132: Garritt Benstine (Streator Twp.) Inj. 1:38 Kade Schieber (Metamora)
138: Jesus Martinez (Streator (Twp.) F 3:14 Kamden Kobylarz (Metamora)
144: La’Darius Green (Manual) F 5:08 Ashton Houdek (Ottawa (Twp.)
150: Nathan Daly (St. Joseph Ogden) F 3:02 Sam Hoffman (Eureka)
157: Jack Bernardi (Galesburg) F 2:54 James Conway (Geneva)
165: Alex Vaughn (St. Joseph Ogden) F 2:20 Jayden Hermacinski (Richwoods)
175: Braiden Tucker (Galesburg) D 10-3 Mason Taylor (Galesburg)
190: Mark Aeschliman (Metamora) F 3:49 Cale Johnson (Galesburg)
215: Quinn Hogan (Geneva) F 1:34 Nathan Cortez (Manual)
285: Cam Wagner (St. Joseph Ogden) F 3:25 Logan Grap (Metamora)