Feature Stories

By Mike Garofola for the IWCOA

70th Berman Holiday Tournament

Canton showed a field of 2A and 3A rivals that it belonged, with a terrific start-to-finish effort that gave the Little Giants their second tournament crown of the season, adding to its win at the Seneca Fighting Irish Invite in early December.

“We were thrilled to have the opportunity to come here to compete against bigger schools, and I would say we did quite well today,” Canton coach Zach Crawford said.

“Our three individual champions, Dyllan Steele, Jacob Hardesty, and Connor Williams obviously wrestled well. They were very strong throughout the tournament.”

The Little Giants (7-3-0) won their own regional last year easily, then fell short in their class 1A dual-team sectional against Stanford Olympia, who would lose to eventual state champion Coal City in its dual-team state quarterfinal.

The Berman Holiday Classic is the longest -running boys wrestling tournament in the state, aside from the state tournament, and is named after Al and Sally Berman, two names synonymous with Palatine High School wrestling.

Al Berman began as the freshman coach at Palatine in 1969, moved on to the man in charge of the Junior Varsity through the 1989 sports season.

It was during this time that he met and married Sally, and together they worked what was then called the Palatine Holiday Wrestling Tournament.

The Bermans would work at a variety of tournaments in and around the area, while continuing to be the glue that held together the Pirates’ programs.

In 1993, the tournament was officially renamed the Berman Holiday Wrestling Classic. Al Berman was named to the IWCOA Hall of Fame in 2001, and two years later, the Berman’s were inducted into the Palatine High School Hall of Fame in honor of a lifetime of contributions to the community.

Final Team Standings

Canton 179.5, Palatine 167.5, Lake Zurich 145.0, Stevenson 138.5, Zion-Benton 136.0, Oswego East 93.5, Buffalo Grove 88.5, St. Ignatius 80.0, Rolling Meadows 71.0, Lane Tech 69.5, Leyden 66.5, Metea Valley 62.0, St. Viator 45.5, Grayslake North 40.0, Bremen 25.0, Hillcrest 23.5.

1st: Canton (179.5)

The 200 mile-plus trip to Palatine would be an enjoyable one for individual champions: Dyllan Steele (120, 17-0), Jacob Hardesty (132, 16-1) and heavyweight Connor Williams (16-0) all found in the state’s top 10, but it always takes support from others in order to have the chance to lift the team championship trophy.

Maddux Steele (126, 15-2), Alex Carrier (157) and Daniel Kees (165, 13-5) were all deserving of their second place medals, with Jireh Hodges (138) and Grady Smith (150) third overall. Dean Bruketta would pitch in with his fourth place finish at 113.
“We got ourselves a good experience against guys we will never see, and the hope is this trip here will help us going forward, and the goal is to see if all comes together for us in the postseason,” Crawford said.

2nd Palatine (167.5)

The host Pirates, and its head coach Tulga Zuunbayan, who would star at Wheeling, then Rolling Meadows, earning three trips downstate, would in second all throughout the day to earn the runners-up trophy.

“I thought we wrestled pretty well as a team, and especially (Dunamis) Philip at (13) and Karl Bep at (65) who were both champions here at home,” said Zuunbayan, who would finish up his prep career with a 142-16 overall record before going on to win a National Junior College championship while at nearby Harper College.

“My defense today was really good, especially in my final because it was so high scoring (18-11) – but I give all the credit to Jesus, who is so important in my life,” said the freshman Philip, who is now 10-2.

“Dunamis is a shy young man, but his faith is very strong,” said Zuunbayan.

“As far as (Bep) he’s the leader in our room, a four-year guy, whose energy, and personality is something we all appreciate,” echoed Zuunbayan, and Pirates long-time assistant Chris Winters, who was head coach (2019-2020) in between Jeff Keske, now head coach at Fremd, and Javier Rivera, whom Zuunbayan took over for last season.

The Pirates, ninth here a year ago, would also receive second place medals from: Aidan Noe (106) and Ilya Pilshchikov (10-2) at 215, with teammate Daniel Derevlyak third at 157.

Joel Aragon (120) and Jacari Turner (285) were fourth, and Miguel Allende (144) and Josiah Carrillo (150) fifth.

3rd: Lake Zurich (145.0)

The Bears are in a steady rebuilding project under head coach Mike Buhr, who watched his best man, Rocco DiCanio (22-3) overwhelm the competition at 215 to give the Bears its lone title on the day.

“Rocco is just a great leader, who gets better each time out, and the perfect guy to lead a really young group that we have,” said Buhr, of his sophomore who was fifth at Barrington at the start of the season.

Evan Honegger earned second place honors at 138, Ivan Pantoja (190) third, Jonathan Diaz fourth at 126, with the foursome of: Joey Pacini (113), Cole Wojtalewicz (120, 4 pins), Edgar Bonilla (157) and Filip Kawalec (165) all grabbing fifth place medals.

The Bears were in fifth place on the leaderboard just after the lunch break, but it would be its eight medal day that helped them squeeze past NSC rival Stevenson by one-half point, and into third place.

Additional champions:

Jeremiah Arroyo-McMullan (106, Lane), Mykola Shamray (126, Buffalo Grove), 

Dylan Solesky (138, Zion-Benton), Colton Huff (144, St. Ignatius), William Guziec 

(150, Stevenson), Anthony Malone (157, Zioń-Benton), Josh Rappa (175, Rolling Meadows), John Rappa (190, Rolling Meadows), 

Additional runners-up:

Danny Huerta (113, Leyden), Braden Sroka (120, Zioń-Benton), Malachi Turner (132, Bremen), Kingsley Chen (144, Stevenson), Noah Snów (150, Oswego East),

Dominic Ganir (175, Leyen), Eduardo Albarran (190, Zion-Benton), David Williams (285, Grayslake North).

Buffalo Grove sophomore Mykola Shamray (14-1) would be named O.W. after his championship performance at 126 pounds.

The unbeatens (minimum 10 matches wrestled)
Canton’s Dyllan Steele (17-0 at 120), Buffalo Grove’s Mykola Shamray (13-1 at 126), Rolling Meadows’ John Rappa (13-0 at 190), Canton’s Connor Williams (16-0 at 285)

The once-beatens (minimum 10 matches)
Lane’s Jeremiah Arroyo-McMullan (22-1 at 106), Canton’s Jacob Hardesty (16-1 at 132), St. Ignatius’ Colton Huff (16-1 at 144), Rolling Meadows’ Josh Rappa (11-1 at 175)

Statistics
Lake Zurich posted the most pins in the least time, with 16 in 36:11, while Rolling Meadows had the most tech falls in the least time, with four techs in 9:58. Stevenson scored the most total match points with 298, followed by Palatine with 287.

Individually, Lake Zurich’s Cole Wojtalewicz finished with the most pins in the least time, with four falls in 7:30. Metea Valley’s Lucas Marcoux had the most tech falls in the least time, with three techs in 13:25. Marcoux also scored the most total match points in the tournament with 65. St. Ignatius’ Colton Huff and Lane’s Jeremiah Arroyo-McMullan tied for the fastest pin, at 25 seconds. Rolling Meadows’ John Rappa posted the fastest tech fall, at 1:04.

Zion Benton’s Anthony Malone and Lake Zurich’s Rocc DiCanio tied for the most team points scored with 28, and Metea Valley’s Adam Loos had the most single-match points with 25.

Buffalo Grove’s Christiano Marogy provided the largest seed-place difference, as the No. 16 seed placed sixth at 215.

Championship match results:

106- Jeremiah Arroyo-McMullan (Lane) d. Aidan Noe (Palatine) (TF 1:59, 19-4).

113- Dunamis Philip (Palatine) d. Danny Huerta (Leyden) (MD 22-11).

120- Dyllan Steele (Canton) d. Braden Sroka (Zioń-Benton) (MD 9-0).

126- Mykola Shamray (Buffalo Grove) d. Maddux Steele (Canton) (D 6-0).

132- Jacob Hardesty (Canton) d. Malachi Turner (Bremen) (TF 3:40, 21-5).

138- Dylan Solesky (Zion-Benton) d. Evan Honegger (Lake Zurich) (MD 13-1).

144- Colton Huff (St. Ignatius) d. Kingsley Chen (Stevenson) (TF 5:09, 15-0).

150- William Guziec (Stevenson) d. Noah Snów (Oswego East) (D 4-3).

157- Anthony Malone (Zion-Benton) d. Alex Carrier (Canton) (D 10-6).

165- Karl Bep (Palatine) d. Daniel Kees (Canton) (TF 2:58, 21-5).

175- Josh Rappa (Rolling Meadows) d. Dominic Ganir (Leyden) (TF 3:06, 16-0).

190- John Rappa (Rolling Meadows) d. Eduardo Albarran (Zion-Benton) (MD 16-2).

215- Rocco DiCanio (Lake Zurich) d. Ilya Pilshchikov (Palatine) (F 2:20).

285- Connor Williams (Canton) d. David Williams (Grayslake North) (D 4-2).

Third-place match results:

106- Thomas Emery (St. Viator) d. Aidan Noe (Palatine) (TF 1:59, 19-4).

113- Jayden Garcia (Rolling Meadows) d. Dean Brunette (Canton) (TF 3:23, 18-3).

120- Evan Mishels (Stevenson) d. Joel Aragon (Palatine) (TF 2:33, 16-1).

126- Alex Villanueva (St. Ignatius) d. Jonathan Diaz (Lake Zurich) (MD 13-4).

132- Colin McCann (St. Ignatius) d. Joaquin Salameda (Lane) (F 3:16).

138- Jireh Hughes (Canton) d. Angel Santana (Lane) (F 1:53).

144- Marcus Smith (Oswego East) d. Daniel Chacia (St. Viator) (F 3:19).

150- Grady Smith (Canton) d. Gage Tate (Zion-Benton) (F 4:48).

157- Daniel Derevlyak (Palatine) d. Johnny Khurshedov (Buffalo Grove) (INJ).

165- Payton McNabb (Zion-Benton) d. Larry Watson (Hillcrest) (D 2-1).

175- Sonny Tugs (Buffalo Grove) d. Carpel Herry (Zion-Benton) (4-3).

190- Ivan Pantoja (Lake Zurich) d. Tului Hurelbaatar (Stevenson) (INJ).

215- Melson Ngassa (St. Ignatius) d. Jovan Cerny (Oswego East) (INJ).

285- Dave Reardon (St. Ignatius) d. Jacari Travis (Palatine) (F 0:59).

Steve Eckert Holiday Wrestling Classic

Naperville North made it two tournament titles in a row, winning Morton’s 18-team Steve Eckert Classic just one week after winning the team title at West Chicago.
Naperville North coach Tom Champion sent five to the title mat, getting individual titles from Michael Arrendondo (132) and Tavfik Ibragimov (215) to lead the Huskies to a 190-152.5 final cushion over second-place Maine West. Bolingbrook (144.5) placed third, followed by host Morton (143.5) and Riverside-Brookfield (135.5) to round out the top five.

1st- Naperville North (190)
In addition to titles from unbeaten Arrendondo (21-0) and unbeaten No. 4 Ibragimov (21-0), North got runner-up finishes from Max Venecia (144), Kai Balice (150), and JT Hill (190), thirds from Cam Krueger (106) and Jaden Milner (165), a fifth from Hank Burresh (113), and sixths from Antonis Rasoulis (120) and Kienan Rubald (175).

2nd-Maine West (152.5)
Maine West coach Demetrios Vrettos got a third-place finish from Lucas Masek (285), fourths from Lincoln Curley (106), Hafid Alicea (144), Louis Avalos (150), and Nathan Dorado (190), fifths from Adrian Trejo (126), Joshua Villacis (138), and Marcel Debski (215), and sixths from Tyson Dorado (113) and Ben Crumlish (132).

3rd- Bolingbrook (144.5)
A pair of individual champs in Elijah Flowers (144) and Geno Vargas (165) led the way for Raiders coach Dylan Burnoski, who also got a second from Nate Zeffield (285), and fourths from Jeremiah Starks (138), Diego Segura (157) and Logan Sogavo (175).

Team scores
Naperville North 190, Maine West 152.5, Bolingbrook 144.5, JS Morton 143.5, Riverside-Brookfield 135.5, Burlington Central 121.5, Fenwick  120.5, St. Laurence 106, Stagg 98, Shepard 94.5, Montini 91, Nazareth Academy 86, Little Village 76, Maine East 65.5, Hancock 48.5, Argo 30.5, Ridgewood 25.5, Phoenix Military Academy 7

Additional champions
106 Angelo Alcantar (Morton), 113 Liam Kissane (St. Laurence), 120 Eduardo Vences (Central), 126 Alek Ramos (Nazareth), 138 Tony Lombardo (R-B), 150 Brandon Leech (Shepard), 157 Samer Suleiman (Stagg), 175 Santiago Moya (Morton), 190 Matthew Zalinski (St. Laurence), 285 Ruben Tello (Little Village)

Additional runners-up
106 Riley Cavaliere (R-B), 113 Tristan Rodriguez (Morton), 120 Rich Gulli (Nazareth), 126 Harrison Brown (Fenwick), 132 Adrian Pintado (St. Laurence), 138 Will Howenstein (Montini), 157 Ronald Perez (Central), 165 Joey Massey (Shepard), 175 Malaki Davis (Hancock), 215 Xavier Bitner (St. Laurence)

The unbeatens (minimum 10 matches)
Nazareth’s Alek Ramos (17-0 at 126), Naperville North’s Michael Arrendondo (21-0 at 132), Naperville North’s Tavfik Ibragimov (21-0 at 215)

Statistics
Maine West finished with the most pins in the tournament with 23, followed by Naperville North’s 21 pins. Montini had the most tech falls with six, followed by Shepard with five. Fenwick scored the most total match points with 320, followed by Bolingbrook with 306.

Individually, Bolingbrook’s Diego Segura had the most pins in the least time, with four falls in 8:47, and Maine East’s Mustafa Al-Temeeni had the fastest fall at 8 seconds. Nazareth Academy’s Alek Ramos had most tech falls in the least time, with three in 13:15.

Shepard’s Brandon Leech scored the most team points with 29, and the most single-match points with 25. The largest seed-place difference came from Stagg’s Samer Suleiman, who was seeded 16th and won the title at 157 pounds.

Championship match results
106-Angelo Alcantar (Morton) MD 15-5 Riley Cavaliere (R-B)
113-Liam Kissane (St. Laurence) TF 4:00 Tristan Rodriguez (Morton)
120-Eduardo Vences (Central) F 1:47 Rich Gulli (Nazareth)
126-Alek Ramos (Nazareth) TF 4:44 Harrison Brown (Fenwick)
132-Michael Arrendondo (Naperville N) F 2:34 Adrian Pintado (St. Laurence)
138-Tony Lombardo (R-B) D 12-6 Will Howenstein (Montini)
144-Elijah Flowers (Bolingbrook) F 2:19 Max Venecia (Naperville N)
150-Brandon Leech (Shepard) TF 6:00 Kai Balice (Naperville N)
157-Samer Suleiman (Stagg) D 3-1 Ronald Perez (Central)
165-Geno Vargas (Bolingbrook) MD 15-6 Joey Massey (Shepard)
175-Santiago Moya (Morton) D 8-4 Malakai Davis (Hancock)
190-Matthew Zalinski (St. Laurence) D 6-5 JT Hill (Naperville N)
215-Tavfik Ibragimov (Naperville N) D 8-3, Xavier Bitner (St. Laurence)
285-Ruben Tello (Little Village) F 1:13 Nate Zeffield (Bolingbrook)

Third-place match results
106-Cam Krueger (Naperville N) MD 15-3 Lincoln Curley (Maine W)
113-Maurizio Campana (Fenwick) D 7-4 Emilio Fortiz (Nazareth)
120-Javier Corral (Stagg) D 5-0 Benito Chavez (Little Village)
126-Cade Vazquez (Montini) D 13-11 Nicolas Jaramillo (Morton)
132-Izaiah Gonzalez (R-B) TF 2:00 Joaquin Fortiz (Nazareth)
138-Mohamad Khater (Ridgewood) MD 11-3 Jeremiah Starks (Bolingbrook)
144-Joel Waggoner (Montini) MD 12-2 Hafid Alicea (Maine W)
150-Burke Burns (Fenwick) TF 4:37 Louis Avalos (Maine W)
157-Will Konder (Montini) D 4-2 Diego Segura (Bolingbrook)
165-Jaden Milner (Naperville N) F 2:59 Brayden Driscoll (Stagg)
175-Nick O’Connor (R-B) F 5:03 Logan Sogavo (Bolingbrook)
190-Gerald Evans (R-B) F 2:32 Nathan Dorado (Maine W)
215-Michael Junitz (Central) MD 14-4 Zikorno Mbewe (Fenwick)
285-Lucas Masek (Maine W) D 7-3 Daniel Cisneros (Maine E)


Glenbard South Varsity Tournament
Host Glenbard South ruled the roost at its 15-team tournament Saturday for the second straight year, winning 200.5-182.5 over second-place East Aurora. Leyden (161) was third followed by St. Francis (154) and Northridge Prep (123) to round out the top five.
Glenbard South got individual titles from Jin Tai (150) and Dallin Ames (175) to lead the Raiders.
“Jin is a returning state qualifier with goals of making it on the podium,” Glenbard South coach Kenny Paoli. “He recorded three wins on the day, two by tech fall and a pin in the finals. Dallin is an up-and-coming sophomore whose strength and athleticism make him dangerous on the mat. He recorded three wins in the tournament, all of them coming by pin.”

1st- Glenbard South (200.5)
In addition to individual titles from Tai and Ames, coach Kenny Paoli got seconds from Logan Murphy (113), Ruben Kasman (157) and Anthony Kinney (165), fourths from Max Klaus (120), Aiden Munoz (132) and Kurt Lewandowski (144), fifths from Rocco Marcantonio (126) and Griffin Pawelski (138), and a sixth from Lucas Benning (106).
“We are a fairly young team with seven underclassmen in the varsity lineup but we are filling a varsity lineup for the first time in a long time at Glenbard South,” Paoli said. “The team is currently 7-3 and our goal is to win a regional championship this year, something that has never been done in school history.”

2nd- East Aurora (182.5)
East Aurora coach Frank Davison got runner-up finishes from Benjamin Hinton (106) and Zaid Lupian (138), plus thirds from Jorge Farias (157) and Kevin Sanchez (165), a fourth from Emmanuel Diaz (190), fifths from Alejandro Camarillo (113) and Roman Cepeda (215), and sixths from Salvador Rodriguez (132), Jose Guzman (144), Alexander Chaves (150) and Josias Garcia (175).

3rd- Leyden (161)
Danny Huerta (113) and Erick Worwa (190) won individual titles for coach John Kading, and the Eagles got thirds from Dominic Ganir (175) and Zachary Jaffray (215), fourths from Xiavier Herrera (157) and Alexander Aguinaga (285), fifths from Eli Uribe (150) and Jason Castro (165), and a sixth from Zabiel Lagunas (138).

Team scores

Glenbard South 200.5, East Aurora 182.5, Leyden 161, St. Francis 154, Northridge Prep 123, Kelly 111.5, Elgin 98, Highland Park 80.5, Noble/ITW Speer 76, Goode STEM Academy 61, Horizon/Southwest Chicago 55.5, Harvest Christian 48.5, Waukegan 47, Westmont 42.5, Lindblom 34.5

Additional champions
106 Ira Medina (Waukegan), 120 Patrick Manio (Northridge), 126 Brian Martinez (Highland Park), 132 Brennan O’Donnell (Harvest Christian), 138 Paul Coco (St. Francis), 144 Jayden Veal (Good/STEM Academy), 157 Emilio Guzman (Elgin), 165 Chase Siguenza (St. Francis), 215 Victor Juarez (Elgin), 285 Rafael Castrejon-Tello (Westmont)

Additional runners-up
106 Benjamin Hinton (East Aurora), 120 Santino Pignatelli (St. Francis), 126 Andrew Chirinos (Waukegan), 132 Patrick Kopecky (Northridge), 144 Max Mulhearn (Harvest Christian), 150 Javier Rodriguez (Northridge), 175 James Reitman (St. Francis), 190 Samel Marrero (Horizon/SW Chicago), 215 Nick Belcore (Northridge)

The unbeatens (10-match minimum)
Goode/STEM Academy’s Jayden Veal (14-0 at 144)

The once-beaten (10-match minimum)
Glenbard South’s Jin Tai (19-1 at 150)

Statistics
Leyden led all teams present with 23 pins, followed by East Aurora with 21. Glenbard South had the most tech falls in the least time with five in 10:18, followed by East Aurora with five at 16:34. East Aurora and Leyden finished tied for the most total match points with 315, followed by Glenbard South with 313.
Individually, Kelly’s Leovardo Juarez had the most pins in the least time, with four falls in 6:36, while Noble/ITW Speer’s Adrian Ortiz had the fastest fall in 15 seconds. Glenbard South’s Jin Tai had the most tech falls in the least time, with two in 3:04, and the fastest tech fall in 1:04.
Highland Park’s Brian Martinez and Leyden’s Danny Huerta tied for the most team points scored with 29.5, and there was a three-way tie for the most single-match points at 29 between Waukegan’s Ira Medina, and Leyden’s Danny Huerta and Dominic Ganir. Leyden’s Zabiel Lagunas finished with the most total match points with 70.

Championship match results
106-Ira Medina (Waukegan) TF 4:29 Benjamin Hinton (E Aurora)
113-Danny Huerta (Leyden) F 5:39 Logan Murphy (Glenbard S)
120-Patrick Manio (Northridge) F 1:11 Santino Pignatelli (St. Francis)
126-Brian Martinez (Highland Park) F 4:47 Andrew Chirinos (Waukegan)
132-Brennan O’Donnell (Harvest Ch) TF 2:56 Patrick Kopecky (Northridge)
138-Paul Coco (St. Francis) TF 3:02 Zaid Lupian (E Aurora)
144-Jayden Veal (Goode/STEM) F 5:35 Max Mulhearn (Harvest Ch)
150-Jin Tai (Glenbard S) F 2:52 Javier Rodriguez (Northridge)
157-Emilio Guzman (Elgin) MD 14-1 Ruben Kasman (Glenbard S)
165-Chase Siguenza (St. Francis) D 6-1 Anthony Kinney (Glenbard S)
175-Dallin Ames (Glenbard S) F 2:48 James Reitman (St. Francis)
190-Erick Worwa (Leyden) D 5-3 Samel Marrero (Horizon/SW Chicago)
215-Victor Juarez (Elgin) F 3:48 Nick Belcore (Northridge)
285-Rafael Castrejon-Tello (Westmont) F 1:26 Christopher Johnson (E Aurora)

Third-place match results
106-Jonathan Mendoza-Rodriguez (Lindblom) D 7-0 Jayden Robles (Kelly)
113-Christopher Gaytan (Kelly) D 14-7 Ithan Payne (Lindblom)
120-Adrian Ortiz (Noble/ITW Speer) TF 4:09 Max Klaus (Glenbard S)
126-Arden Baglaev (Westmont) TF 4:49 Isaah Montes (Kelly)
132-Leon Stille (Highland Park) D 8-6 Aiden Munoz (Glenbard S)
138-Alontae Lorek (Horizon/SW Chicago) TF 1:58 Isaiah Poole (Goode/STEM)
144-Leovardo Juarez (Kelly) TF 4:19 Kurt Lewandowski (Glenbard S)
150-Jayden Corchado (Highland Park) F 3:05 Lev Svoboda (St. Francis)
157-Jorge Farias (E Aurora) TF 3:54 Xiavier Herrera (Leyden)
165-Kevin Sanchez (E Aurora) F 1:23 Amir Carruthers (Horizon/SW Chicago)
175-Dominic Ganir (Leyden) F 3:00 Josiah Turner (Elgin)
190-Kylexy Sosa (Elgin) fft. Emmanuel Diaz (E Aurora)
215-Zachary Jaffray (Leyden) F 0:25 Yovany Amaya (Noble/ITW Speer)
285-Thomas Suter (Northridge) F 5:21 Alexander Aguinaga (Leyden)

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

Jacksonville Crimsons Girls Invitational

Belleville West was at it again on Saturday.

One week after winning the team title at the 33-team Joe Bee Memorial tournament, coach Mech Spraggins’ girls entered a field of 42 teams at Jacksonville’s Crimsons Girls Invite and again walked away with the top prize.

The Maroons won 146.5-137 over Collinsville in a hard-fought battle in Jacksonville. Triad (129.5) placed third, followed by Mahomet-Seymour (96) and Westville (92) to round out the top five.

Belleville West got a title from unbeaten Brooke Stellhorn (15-0 at 190), her third tournament win this season, to lead the Knights’ stable of eight girls finishing in the top six of their weight classes.
And none were any more pivotal than sophomore Dasonni Greene.

“Dasonni Greene is my third string 170-pounder who I asked to step up while my other 170-pounders were out for personal reasons,” Spraggins said. “Warming up before the tournament,  I kinda go around to each girl and see how they feel and joke about what time they went to bed. I stopped at Dasonni and said “it’s on you to pick up the slack.”

“That she did, as she would be a deciding factor on winning our first Jacksonville tournament.”
Dasonni’s third-place finish helped key the team win — which the Belleville West girls weren’t even aware of until after they’d loaded up the team bus and left Jacksonville.

At tournament’s end, Collinsville was given the team title. But as Belleville West was on the highway home, an astute look at the results by a dedicated member of the program turned things around.
“Sarah Pacha is a Trackwrestling statistician and our dietician/team mom and everything else that I can’t handle on the team,” Spraggins said. “She discovered Dasonni’s points hadn’t been factored in. I immediately had her contact Jacksonville’s tournament director Josh Stuart who acted promptly, seeing there was an issue and immediately looked into the scoring. He straightened the problem out immediately, which actually gave us the edge over Collinsville for first place.”

1st- Belleville West (146.5)

In addition to Stellhorn’s individual title, Spraggins also got a second-place finish from Riley Weems (110), a third from Dasonni Greene (170), a fourth from Ja’yla Hurst (135), fifths from Alyssa Hardt (140) and Andre’a Kirkpatrick (235), and sixths from Haylee Hooks (115) and Moriah Lampley (155).

2nd- Collinsville (137)
Coach Adam Gillespie got individual titles from Londyn Long (120) and Leann Cory (145), a second from Addyson Bailey (140), and fifths from Ivana Torres (110) and Emma Ford (120).

3rd- Triad (129.5)
Makenna Steele (135) and Kaitlin Wood (155) won titles for the Knights, who also got a fifth-place finish from Terryiah Lamb-Carraway (170) and sixths from Daisy Smith (120), Imani Hawkins (130) and Beckah Burrelsman (235).

Team scores
Belleville West 146.5, Collinsville 137, Triad 129.5, Mahomet-Seymour 96, Westville 92, Glenwood 86, Jacksonville 83, East Peoria 82.5, Urbana 81.5, Mascoutah 68, Carbondale 52, Unity 52, Charleston 46, Rantoul 46, Vandalia 44, ROWVA 41, Normal West 38, Canton 34, El Paso-Gridley 34, Decatur Eisenhower 33, Macomb 32, Peoria Notre Dame 32, Alton 29, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher 29, Mt. Zion 27.5, Centennial 27, Illinois Valley Central 27, Mt. Vernon 26, Olympia 24.5, Beardstown 23, O’Fallon 23, North Mac 19, Hillsboro 17, Morton 17, Farmington 16.5, Highland 16, Rochester 16, Clinton 13, Heyworth 11, Taylorville 10.5, Jerseyville 7

Additional champions
100 Kadi Wilbern (Glenwood), 105 Shayla Garner (Mascoutah), 110 Leena Cavender (Jacksonville), 115 Kiana Mayne (El Paso-Gridley), 120 Morgan Krone-Smallhorn (Charleston), 130 Sydney Cannon (Mt. Zion), 140 Rickasia Ivy (Urbana), 170 Jaycee Weitekamp (Mahomet-Seymour), 235 Phoenix Molina (Unity)

Additional runners-up
100 Jasmine Johnson (Rantoul), 105 Jhayla Lawson (Mascoutah), 115 Kiley Knight (Westville, 120 Kathleen Loyola (Carbondale), 125 Aryanna Jones (Alton), 130 Ava Beldo (Unity), 135 Kyah Kaonohi (East Peoria), 145 Kyla Ford (Carbondale), 155 Dezyrae Murray (East Peoria), 170 Brynn Swyers (Vandalia), 190 Addison Briggs (Westville), 235 Lillian Disanto (Urbana)

The unbeatens (10-match minimum)
Mt. Zion’s Sydney Cannon (13-0 at 130), Urbana’s Rickasia  Ivy (19-1 at 140), Belleville West’s Brooke Shellhorn (15-0 at 190)

The once-beatens (10-match minimum)
Triad’s Makenna Steele (13-1 at 135)

Championship match results
100-Kadi Wilbern (Glenwood) F 1:39 Jasmine Johnson (Rantoul)
105-Shayla Garner (Mascoutah) F 2:34 Jhayla Lawson (Mascoutah)
110-Leena Cavender (Jacksonville) D 6-1 Riley Weems (Belleville W)
115-Kiana Mayne (El Paso-G) F 1:10 Kiley Knight (Westville)
120-Morgan Krone-Smallhorn (Charleston) TF 4:28 Kathleen Loyola (Carbondale)
125-Londyn Long (Collinsville) F 5:10 Aryanna Jones (Alton)
130-Sydney Cannon (Mt. Zion) F 1:40 Ava Beldo (Unity)
135-Makenna Steele (Triad) F 1:21 Kyah Kaonohi (E Peoria)
140-Rickasia Ivy (Urbana) F 2:00 Addyson Bailey (Collinsville)
145-Leann Cory (Collinsville) F 1:28 Kyla Ford (Carbondale)
155-Kaitlin Wood (Triad) F 0:51 Dezyrae Murray (E Peoria)
170-Jaycee Weitekamp (Mahomet-S) F 2:48 Brynn Swyers (Vandalia)
190-Brooke Stellhorn (Belleville W) F 2:40 Addison Briggs (Westville)
235-Phoenix Molina (Unity) F 3:18 Lillian Disanto (Urbana)

Third-place results
100-Chloe Collins (Olympia) F 1:24 Elizabeth Austin (Morton)
105-Madilyn Becker (Mahomet-S) fft. Sandy Clark (Clinton)
110-Annalee Haschemeyer (Canton) F 4:38 Jaylynn Elmore (ROWVA)
115-Kaitlyn Knight (Jacksonville) fft. Asher Ronan (North Mac)
120-Lucie Eisenbarth (Rochester) D 5-2 Lilyana Malagon (Illinois Valley C)
125-Zoey Nelson (Mascoutah) F 1:58 Maryn Tarver (Hillsboro)
130-Daisy Gil (Beardstown) F 2:50 Laney Cook (Westville)
135-Sammy Baker (Notre Dame) D 6-5 Ja’yla Hurst (Belleville W)
140-Elsie Dozier (Glenwood) F 3:40 Makenna Roedl (Westville)
145-McKenzie Miller (GCMS/F) F 1:14 Dru Hyde (Macomb)
155-Arian Sabu (Normal W) F 0:46 Zaniah Manuel (Eisenhower)
170-Dasonni Greene (Belleville W) F 3:16 Mallory Feldhaus (E Peoria)
190-Avery Lundgren (Macomb) F 2:27 Patience Riggs (ROWVA)
235-Olivia Rosine (Charleston) TF 6:00 Madeleine Cooley (Jacksonville)

Bradley-Bourbonnais’ Boilermaker Battler

Triad conquered the field at this year’s 23-team Bradley-Bouronnais Boilermaker Battler, winning 163-140 over second-place host Bradley-Bourbonnais. Lane (139.5) placed third followed by Plainfield South (131) and South Elgin (121) to round out the top five.

Four Triad girls reached the finals for coach Lucas Bernal, and eight total girls finished in the top six of their weight classes.

“I thought our ladies stepped up and made a statement with grit and determination,” Bernal said. “We are traveling more this season to seek out more competition. We knew coming in there were going to be some tough teams.

“We put four girls in the finals with our team captain Cloe Graumenz leading the way

  The rest of our ladies battled and sealed the team race for us.”
The Knights added a team title to a growing resume this season. They also placed second at Granite City’s 29-team tournament on Dec. 5, and a third-place finish at Jacksonville’s 42-team Crimsons invitational.

“Triad girls wrestling is having our best season yet,” Bernal said. “Sophomore Makena Steele has made the finals in each of our tournaments. Another standout is senior Kaitlin Wood who has also made multiple finals and has excelled.

“My assistant coach Ali Hillard works a lot with our girls and has really been the foundation of our team’s success. We are very proud of what we have accomplished and where we are heading.”

1st-Triad (163)
Triad had four second-place finishers lead the way to a team title in Cloe Graumenz (115), Imani Hawkins (130), Makenna Steele (135), and Beckah Burrelsman (235). The Knights also got a third from Adaliah Roth (145), a fourth from Kaitlin Wood (155), and fifths from Daisy Smith (120) and Terryiah Lamb-Carraway (170).

2nd-Bradley-Bourbonnais (140)
The Boilermakers got a pair of individual titles from Aubrianna Rapier (135) and Kaylee Morris (235), a second from Kylie Rapier (155), a third from Alexis McCullough (170), fourths from Rihanna Randall (110) and Gabriella Morrs (145), and sixths from Ember McGarvey (145) and Mya Robinson (170).

3rd-Lane (139.5)
Lane got a pair of individual titles from returning state qualifiers Sofia Guerrero (100) and Zabby Badru (140), plus thirds from Allison Gutierrez (135) and Layla Moreland (155), a fourth from Kanaiece Barrett (170), and a sixth from Valeria Hernandez (105).

Team scores
Triad 163, Bradley-Bourbonnais 140, Lane 139.5, Plainfield South 131, South Elgin 121, Harlem 95.5, Tinley Park 86, Deerfield 85, Princeton 83.5, St. Charles East 74.5, Kankakee 58.5, Streator 51, Lake Park 50, Clifton Central 46.5, St. Thomas More 39, Plainfield Central 30, Rantoul 32, Prairie Central 30, Herscher 24, Manual 22, Oakwood/ Salt Fork 17, Deer Creek-Mackinaw 15, Plainfield North 9

Additional individual champions
105 Rylee Beckes (Princeton), 110 Sydney Stieb (St. Charles East), 115 Laila Vaughn (Streator), 120 returning state qualifier Yurithdzy Vilchis (Prairie Central), 125 Taniyah Sherman (Kankakee), 130 Madison Heneks (Harlem), 145 Jaqueline Martinez (South Elgin), 155 returning fourth in state Allison Garbacz (South Elgin), 170 returning state qualifier Layla Spann (Plainfield South), 190 returning state runner-up Payton Temple (Clifton Central)

Additional runners-up
100 Mya Olejiniczak (Harlem), 105 Reese Nicolas (Lake Park), 110 Madison Poll (St. Thomas More), 120 Jayden Melendez (Tinley Park), 125 Jadeyn Klingenberg (Princeton), 140 Tamirea Welch (Kankakee), 145 Madison Mauer (Deerfield), 170 Henna Mullikin (Herscher), 190 Kimyra Patrick (Plainfield South)

Statistics
Triad finished with the most pins of any team with 19, followed by South Elgin and Bradley-Bourbonnais with 17 apiece. Princeton had the most tech falls of any team present with three. Plainfield South finished with the most total match points with 185 followed by Lane with 165.
Individually, South Elgin’s Annie Romo had the most pins in the least time, with five falls in 5:08. Princeton’s Abby Harris had two tech falls in 6:13 to lead the field with the most techs in the least time and St. Charles East’s Sydney Stieb had the day’s fastest tech fall in 1:04. Princeton’s Harris also scored the most total match points with 56, followed by Harlem’s Eve Tollett with 43.

Championship match results
100-Sofia Guerrero (Lane) D 20-16 Mya Olejiniczak (Harlem)
105-Rylee Beckes (Princeton) F 1:54 Reese Nicolas (Lake Park)
110-Sydney Stieb (SC East) F 1:33 Madison Poll (St. Thomas More)
115-Laila Vaughn (Streator) MD 17-9 Cloe Graumenz (Triad)
120-Yurithdzy Vilchis (Prairie C) F 1:27 Jayden Melendez (Tinley Park)
125-Taniyah Sherman (Kankakee) F 1:23 Jadeyn Klingenberg (Princeton)
130-Madison Heneks (Harlem) F 1:45 Imani Hawkins (Triad)
135-Aubrianna Rapier (Bradley-B) F 0:31 Makenna Steele (Triad)
140-Zabby Badru (Lane) F 3:12 Tamira Welch (Kankakee)
145-Jaqueline Martinez (S Elgin) F 4:31 Madison Mauer (Deerfield)
155-Allison Garbacz (S Elgin) F 1:47 Kylie Rapier (Bradley-B)
170-Layla Spann (Plainfield S) F 2:20 Henna Mullikin (Herscher)
190-Payton Temple (Clifton C) F 3:01 Kimyra Patrick (Plainfield S)
235-Kaylee Morris (Bradley-B) F 1:35 Beckah Burrelsman (Triad)

Third-place match results
100-Jasmine Johnson (Rantoul) F 0:18 Kiani Nevel (Harlem)
105-Leila Ruiz (S Elgin) F 1:46 Veronica Mendoze (Rantoul)
110-Anni Romo (S Elgin) F 2:57 Rihanna Randall (Bradley-B)
115-Abby Harris (Princeton) D 13-10 Kate Wochner (Oakwood)
120-Alexia Kachiroubas (Plainfield S) MD 11-1 Autumn Badon (SC East)
125-Elida Garcia (Lake Park) F 0:48 Eve Tollett (Harlem)
130-Uliana Persky (Deerfield) F 0:49 Madi Radke (S Elgin)
135-Allison Gutierrez (Lane) F 0:56 Abigail Harris (Tinley Park)
140-Rylee Hernandez (Tinley Park) F 0:28 Olivia Pearson (SC East)
145-Adaliah Roth (Triad) F 0:40 Gabriella Morris (Bradley-B)
155-Layla Moreland (Lane) F 2:52 Kaitlin Wood (Triad)
170-Alexis McCullough (Bradley B) F 1:25 Kenaiece Barrett (Lane)
190-Zanasia Simmons (Manual) Avalena Wunderlich (Princeton)
235-Tash Wilson (Plainfield S) TF 15-0 Estella Godinez (Tinley Park)

5th Sally Berman Tournament

That Homewood-Flossmoor carried off the championship trophy was a testament to its tourney-best 20 pins, and 229 total match points claimed.

The Vikings didn’t have an individual champion but depth and balance carried the day; nine of coach Scott Aronson’s girls medaled in the top six of their weight classes.

Homewood-Flossmoor won 150.5-138.5 over second-place Grant, as one of six teams finishing with more than 100 team points in a highly-competitive chase for the team title.

Conant (124) placed third, followed by West Chicago (119), District 230 (118.5) and Downers Grove South (107.0) in a tight race at Palatine.

Final Team Standings:

Homewood-Flossmoor 150.5, Grant 138.5, Conant 124.0, West Chicago 119.0, District 230 118.5, Downers Grove South 107.0, Oswego East 90.0, Round Lake 85.5, Lake Zurich 81.0, Bolingbrook 80.5, Bartlett/Palatine 80.0 (each), Grayslake North 72.5, Lakes Community 68.0, Zion-Benton 67.5, Evanston 57.0, Hinsdale South 55.0, New Trier 54.5, Oak Forest 49.0, Dundee-Crown 46.5, Burlington Central 33.0, Waukegan 27.0, Fremd 23.0, St. Viator 23.0

1st: Homewood-Flossmoor (150.5)

The Lady Vikings would medal in nine of the 14 weight classes on Saturday, led by second-place finishes from Rachel Nugin (170) and Kendra Hayden (190), thirds from returning state qualifier Lonon Gandy (125) and Amara Nwoye (130), fourths from Kennedy Dade (140) and Na’imah Lemon (155), and sixths from Taniyah Bradley (120), Madelynn McClements (135) and Denise Brown (145).

2nd: Grant (138.5)

Second place Grant had the most top-five medal winners with eight, with 125 champion Myla Reyes leading the way with (30) total match points.

The junior went from the No. 19 seed all the way to the top in her respective weight division. 

Sophomores Kaylee Albovais (100), America Camacho (115, 14-2), and freshman Abby Quirk (135) were all second.

Annabelle Melton (140) was third, and Jaiydyn Hoffmann was fifth at 120.

3rd: Conant (124.0)

The Lady Cougars would always be within striking distance of a top three finish, never falling below fourth place behind Downers Grove South (70.0-68.0) or later 

West Chicago (104.0-102.0) before finally taking over for good during the final session to claim third place by five points over West Chicago.

It’s top wrestler, No. 10 Jasmine Zavaletta, 38-13 a state qualifier a year ago with a 38-13 overall record, won her second major title of the season in terrific fashion at 135 pounds.

Teammate Brea Hoffman was second at 125, with Giselle Varelas fifth at 115.

Varelas recorded the fastest tech-fall (2:00) of the tournament, while sophomore Jayiana Newcombe the quickest pin at 12 seconds in 155-pound quarterfinal wrestle-back contest.

Additional individual champions:

Ester Migues-Gayton (100, Grayslake North), Brissia Bucio (105, West Chicago),

Sunny Aitzemkour (110, New Trier), Jade Hardee (115, Andrew), Piper Booe (120, Andrew), Emily Ortiz (130, Zion-Benton), Quinn Janssens (140, Oswego East), Ella Cooper (145, Oswego East), Callie Carr (155, Hinsdale South), Nancy Licona (170, Round Lake), Irma Villa (190, Palatine), Ti’ara Saunders (235, Lake Zurich).

Additional runners-up:

Melanie Granda (105, Grant), Norah Cwik (110, Bartlett), Mackensie Szajda (120, West Chicago), Brea Hoffman (125, Conant), Lilly White (130, Bartlett), Allison Garcia (140, Downers Grove South), Allyson Alvarenga (145, Grayslake North), 

Lyobosa Odiase (155, Oak Forest), Rachel Nugin (170, Homewood-Flossmoor),

Kendra Hayden (190, Homewood-Flossmoor)

Big matches:
A pair of previously unbeaten returning state qualifiers squared off on the the title at 130 pounds, with Zion-Benton’s Emily Ortiz (9-0) winning by fall at 2:22 over Bartlett’s Lilly White (17-1).
Two previously unbeaten girls also squared off at 155, with returning state champion Callie Carr (17-0) winning by fall at 2:36 against Oake Forest’s Lyobosa Odiase (10-1).

Close calls:
A pair of two-point decisions took place in the finals, with New Trier’s Sunny Aitzemkour winning 8-6 over Downers Grove South’s Cassie Chavez at 110, and Lake Zurich’s Ti’ara Saunders winning a 4-2 decision at 235 against Conant’s Ava Adorni.

The unbeatens. (10-match minimum)

Hinsdale South’s returning state champions Callie Carr (17-0 at 155)

The once-beatens (10-match minimum)
Bartlett’s Lilly White (17-1 at 130), Conant’s Jasmine Zavaleta (16-1 at 135), Oswego East’s Quinn Janssens (14-1 at 140), Oak Forest’s Lyobosa Odiase (10-1 at 155), Palatine’s Irma Villa (20-1 at 190)

Championship match results:

100- Ester Migues-Gayton (Grayslake N) d. Kaylee Albovais (Grant) (F 1:54).

105- Brissia Bucio (West Chicago) d. Melanie Granda (Central) (MD 15-2).

110- Sunny Aitzemkour (New Trier) d. Cassie Chavez (DG South) (D 8-6).

115- Jade Hardee (Andrew) d. America Camacho (Grant) (F 1:29).

120- Piper Booe (Andrew) d. Mackensie Szajda (West Chicago) (F 4:48).

125- Myla Reyes (Grant) d. Brea Hoffman (Conant) (F 5:42).

130- Emily Ortiz (Zion-Benton) d. Lilly White (Bartlett) (F 2:22).

135- Jasmine Zavaleta (Conant) d. Abby Quirk (Grant) (F 1:28).

140- Quinn Janssens (Oswego E) d. Allison Garcia (DG South) (F 1:55).

145- Ella Cooper (Oswego E) d. Allyson Alvarenga (Grayslake N) (F 2:35).

155- Callie Carr (Hinsdale S) d. Lyobosa Odiase (Oak Forest) (F 2:36).

170- Nancy Licona (Round Lake) d. Rachel Nugin (H-F) (F 3:50).

190- Irma Villa (Palatine) d. Kendra Hayden (H-F) (F 1:31).

235- Ti’ara Saunders (Lake Zurich) d. Ava Adorni (Conant) (D 4-2).

Third-place match results:

100- Sam lewis (Oak Forest) d. Esther Vega (Waukegan) (F 2:53).

105- Esme Grugel (Dundee-Crown) d. Jamie Poblete (West Chicago) (TF 2:47).

110- Tatum De La Vega (Andrew) d. Cassie Chavez (DG South) (F 3:30).

115- Evalyn Idzik (St. Viator) d. Osmairi Medina Alvarado (Lane) (F 4:39).

120- Georgia Hay (Lake Zurich) d. Jaiydyn Hoffman (Grant) (F 4:15).

125- London Gandy (H-F) d. Ruby Gavina (Dundee-Crown) (D 3-1).

130- Amara Nwoye (H-F) d. Marissa Mayfield (Round Lake)(D 11-8).

135- Maserati Valenzuela (Zion-Benton) d. Juliana Loynes (Hinsdale S) (F 3:00).

140- Annabelle Melton (Grant) d. Kennedy Dade (H-F) (F 2:49).

145- Angie Arrendondo (DG South) d. Liliana Chavez (Bartlett) (F 1:28).

155- Myriah Jefferson (Round Lake) d. Na’imah Lamon (H-F)(F 5:30).

170- Claudia Weglarz (Conant) d. Olivia Halminiak (West Chicago) (F 0:30).

190- Zuza Cebulski (DG South) d. Brianna Gomez (Bolingbrook) (D 7-1).

235- Cynthia Rios (Bolingbrook) d. Mackenzie Mansavage (Conant) (F 1:40.

Glenbard North Winter Classic
Glenbard North hosted an eight-team dual tournament Dec. 22, with McHenry finishing first for coach James Buss. The Warriors went 3-0 with wins over Curie (72-6) and Willowbrook (51-24) before topping host Glenbard North 57-24.
Willowbrook finished third with a 48-27 win over Oswego, West Chicago won 34-30 over Curie for fifth place, and Romeoville placed seventh with a 54-12 win over Larkin.

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

HINSDALE – When two teams are involved a real battle for top honors in a major tournament, like Barrington and Glenbard West certainly were at Hinsdale Central’s 59th-annual Rex Whitlatch Invitational, the deciding factor as to who takes first and who finishes second often comes down to who got the most wins in place matches, who got more bonus points and who won more close matches.

Both the Broncos and Hilltoppers did well in all of those areas and they both should be very proud that they went from vying for sixth place a year ago to seeing who would capture top honors in the 25-team competition that featured nine teams ranked in the top 25 in 3A and 2A and eight others who were honorable mention in those two classes by Illinois Best Weekly. Barrington came in ranked 19th in 3A while Glenbard West was honorable mention in 3A.

In the end, the Broncos edged the Hilltoppers 219.5-217 for first place while Lincoln-Way West got past Oak Park and River Forest 193.5-191.5 for third place. Neenah, Wisconsin (177.5), Carl Sandburg (168), Geneseo (162.5), Minooka (148.5), West Aurora (146.5), Stevenson (120.5), Downers Grove North (119) and Downers Grove South (118) rounded out the top-12.

Coach Dan Keller’s Broncos went 5-2 in place matches and had two falls and three major decisions in those five triumphs to hold off coach Pat McCluskey’s Hilltoppers, who made a late charge by going 7-4 in place matches with their victories being a win by technical fall, a major decision, a medical forfeit and four decisions. Barrington had a 19-12 advantage in pins while both had 11 wins by technical fall and the Broncos had a 490-467 lead in total match points. 

“I’m really proud of the guys,” Keller said. “We scored a lot of bonus points and we’re always preaching on our program. It was kind of a back-and-forth battle. It’s a great tournament and we love coming here. We see a lot of teams that we don’t typically see, some of those south suburb teams that are always tough as nails. So just really, really proud of the guys’ effort and resiliency to kind of stick with it. We ended that placing round with our five wins being bonus-point wins, so that kind of was a summary of what the weekend was for us. We talk a lot in our program about ending with the win, ending with placing matches that are odd numbers is what we want. Obviously, those rounds get tougher and tougher, and you’ve got to raise your level of intensity, and I thought our guys did that really well today.” 

Barrington was led by title winners Ryan Dorn (132) and Jimmy Whitaker (144) and second-place finishers Kaleb Pratt (120) and Saul Ramirez (126). Other top-eight finishers were Daniel Blanke (3rd at 157), Sam Cushman (3rd at 175) and Aaron Jafri (5th at 190). Domenic Nudo (215) and Adriel Arana (285) both added 10 team points, Diego Ramirez (106) scored 6.5, Maddux Orozco (150) scored six points and Michael Fiandaca (165) had two. Other contributors were Ismael Lopez (113) and Dimitry Bordeianu (138). Dorn also claimed first place last year.

“We’ve got some hammers that we think will finish really high, real high on the podium at state, but then we’ve also got a lot of role guys that are really grinding and working really hard and being super coachable and improving,” Keller said. “A lot of times in high-end duals, it’s not your studs or your state placers that win your duals, it’s the role guys. So they’re really doing a great job of understanding their role and in the room, working hard every day, being coachable, trying to fix the things we want to fix. We know it’s late December right now, so it’s not the end of the year. We’ve still got a month and a half until we’ve got to be ready for where we want to be, but we think we will be.”

Top performers for Glenbard West were champions Aidan Ortega (106) and Vince Tortoriello (150) and runner-up Phin Codinha (215). Others who placed in the top-eight were Alejandro Aranda (3rd at 138), Manny Rodriguez (5th at 126), Jondelle Malunay (5th at 157), Marc Tchapda (5th at 285), Tallis Taylor (6th at 165), Cristian Lopez (7th at 113), Brennen Myra (8th at 144) and Vince Schoettle (8th at 175). Andrew Bargiel (190) added 10 points and Ben Sallas (120) also contributed and the team had no entrant at 132. 

Leading the way for third-place Lincoln-Way West, who’s coached by 2020 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Brian Glynn, were title winner Jimmy Talley (215) and second-place finisher Shane Stream (138). Others who turned in top-eight finishes for the Warriors were Carter DiBenedetto (3rd at 126), Brady Glynn (3rd at 132), Max Herman (4th at 165), Kellan Hack (5th at 113), Michael Scott (7th at 106) and Max Munn (7th at 150).

Oak Park and River Forest had the most champions with three, and they were defending IHSA champion Michael Rundell (113) as well as Jamiel Castleberry (126) and David Ogunsanya (157) while Zev Koransky (144) finished in second place. Also finishing in the top eight for coach Jason Renteria’s fourth-place Huskies were Aiden Noyes (3rd at 150) and Jeremiah Hernandez (7th at 165). Rundell also won a Whitlatch title in 2024.

Warren Township had two first-place finishers who are two-time defending IHSA champions and they’ve combined to win seven Whitlatch titles, four-time winner Aaron Stewart (190), who also received the Outstanding Wrestler Award, and Caleb Noble (120), who’s won three in a row.

The other two individuals who repeated as champions were Lyons Township’s Griff Powell (138) and Neenah, WI’s Declan Koch (165). Also capturing their initial Whitlatch titles were West Aurora’s Dayne Serio (175) and Downers Grove North’s Colin Murphy (285).

Two of the champions remained unbeaten, Powell and Koch, who both had 18-0 records. Other title winners who had only lost once were Castleberry (16-1), Murphy (15-1), Noble, Ortega (17-1), Rundell (16-1), Serio (16-1) and Tortoriello (16-1).

Additional second-place finishers were Rockford East’s Dana Wickson (150) and Ty Smart (157), Geneseo’s Izaac Gaines (165) and Kye Weinzierl (175), Stevenson’s Stefan Vihrov (106), 

West Aurora’s Gabriel Richmond (113), Minooka’s Maddux Tindal (132), Wheaton North’s Ryan Rosch (190) and Lyons Township’s Jimmy Hillmann (285).

Three of the title matches featured one-point decisions. In those, Noble edged Pratt 3-2 at 120, Tortoriello got past Wickson 5-4 at 150 and Serio nipped Weinzierl 1-0 at 175.

Stewart had the most team points of any of the champions with 34 while Rundell and Talley tied for second place with 33.5 points. Castleberry, Koch and Powell tied for fourth with 32 team points, Ogunsanya was seventh with 31.5 points, Dorn ranked eighth with 31 points and Noble and Whitaker tied for ninth in most team points with 30.5.

Five seniors claimed top-eight medals for four-straight years. They were four-time champion Stewart, two-time title winner and four-time finalist Koch, two-time runner-up Koransky, 2025 champion Ogunsanya and also Aranda, whose third-place effort this year was his best finish. 

Downers Grove South’s Noah Greene easily had the most total match points with 86 while his Mustangs teammate Jadon Dinwiddie and Glenbard West’s Jondelle Malunay tied for second place with 72 team points.

Five individuals finished with four falls, Barrington’s Sam Cushman, Neenah, WI’s Kaden Roth, Lincoln-Way West’s Michael Scott, Warren Township’s Aaron Stewart and Stevenson’s Aaron Von Heimburg. 

Six competitors claimed three victories by technical fall, Barrington’s Ryan Dorn, Oak Park and River Forest’s Isaiah Gibson, Glenbard West’s Jondelle Malunay, Minooka’s Kaden Meyer, West Aurora’s Dayne Serio and Geneseo’s Kye Weinzierl.

And two of the participants had the largest seed-place difference with an improvement of 14 positions. They were Neenah, WI’s Broden Butzke and Belleville West’s Wyatt Dahm.

Rex Whitlatch, a 2013 recipient of a Lifetime Service Award to Wrestling from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame – Illinois Chapter, was a two-time IHSA champion at Urbana and wrestled at the University of Illinois before beginning his coaching career which eventually saw him become Hinsdale Central’s head coach in 1964, where he started the invite that bears his name. He passed away in 2021 at age 84.

Here are the champions and their weights at Hinsdale Central’s Rex Whitlatch Invitational

106 – Aidan Ortega, Glenbard West

Aidan Ortega enjoyed a successful sophomore season at Glenbard West by qualifying for the IHSA Finals, giving him optimism that he’ll be able to achieve much bigger and better things as a junior. And so far, he’s been doing just that by opening this season with a title at Barrington and a second-place effort at Joliet Central. He advanced to his third tournament finals and won his second championship when he captured a 10-3 decision over Stevenson freshman Stefan Vihrov for the 106 title at the Rex Whitlatch to improve his record to 17-1. 

Ortega, who claimed third place in last year’s Rex Whitlatch Invite, joined Vince Tortoriello (150) as a champion and was also one of three finalists and 11 top-eight finishers for coach Pat McCluskey’s Hilltoppers, who finished second with 217 points, which was just 2.5 points behind champion Barrington. It was quite the improvement for Glenbard West after it took seventh place in last year’s tourney and finished 70 points behind title winner Carl Sandburg. Ranked sixth at 106 in 3A, he followed a win by technical fall with three decisions, with the second one of those an 8-1 victory over Carl Sandburg’s Anthony Hayes in the semifinals.

“I feel like this year we’ve really got a lot of guys that can do something special, and it’s just fun to be a part of the team and be a part of the practices each and every day,” Ortega said. “We just have got good practice partners and good teammates to help push me. And I’m still trying to get better every day, and where I am right now is not enough. Everyone’s got really big goals, and it’s really nice to see, and so the only way we can accomplish those big goals is to put in the work, keep getting better, and I look forward to getting better throughout the season.” 

Vihrov (17-5), who was the lone finalist and one of five top-eight placewinners for coach Shane Cook’s Patriots, opened with a major decision and added a win by technical fall before reaching the 106 title mat with a fall in 5:58 over DeKalb’s Julian Hartwig to advance to his first high school tourney finals. In the third-place match, Hartwig (12-3) captured a 1-0 decision over Hayes (12-4). For fifth place, West Aurora’s Aiden Ambre (11-3) claimed a 14-0 major decision over Warren Township’s Diego Rea. And for seventh place, Lincoln-Way West’s Michael Scott (13-9) won by fall in 4:21 over Minooka’s Justin Majewski (8-5).  

113 – Michael Rundell, Oak Park and River Forest

Michael Rundell has only had one bump along the way in his quest to follow up on his 2025 IHSA 3A title at 106 over Loyola Academy’s Niko Odiotti as he begins his junior season at Oak Park and River Forest and that happened in the season-opening Marmion Academy Classic, when he lost a 7-1 decision in the 113 finals to a two-time defending IHSA champion, Warren Township’s Caleb Noble. A USA Wrestling Athlete of the week in July after claiming a bronze medal in Greco-Roman at the U17 World Championships in Greece, he’s been on a roll since that loss to Noble, improving to 16-1 after taking first at Washington Community and reaching his third finals and capturing another title at 113 in the Rex Whitlatch Invite with a fall in 1:31 over West Aurora sophomore Gabriel Richmond to become a two-time champ in the event.

Rundell joined Jamiel Castleberry (126) and David Ogunsanya (157) as champions and also Zev Koransky (144) as finalists for the Huskies, who are coached by Jason Renteria, a two-time IHSA champion and four-time state finalist for OPRF from 2013-2017. The Huskies got points from 11 individuals and that helped them finish fourth with 191.5 points, which was two points behind third place Lincoln-Way West. Rundell, ranked second to Noble at 113 in 3A, opened with a pin, followed with a win by technical fall and earned his spot in the 113 finals with a pin in 2:25 over Maine South’s George Georgiev. He tied for second in team points with 33.5 with Lincoln-Way West’s Jimmy Talley, one-half point behind Warren Township’s Aaron Stewart.

“I’ve had a pretty good start to this year,” Rundell said. “One loss, and I’m hoping to eventually wrestle him (Caleb Noble) again in the state finals. I’ve been working as hard as I can every day, working until I can’t move anymore. Our coaches are really devoted to trying to get us to be in the best situation possible so there’s really a culture there of just like trying to get better. Just looking at me and my partner, Jamiel Castleberry, we’re grinding every single day, getting extra workouts in together, just everything we can do so that in February we’re ready.”

Richmond (14-2), who joined champion Dayne Serio (175) as one of two finalists and seven top-eight finishers for coach Andrew Plata’s ninth-place Blackhawks, opened with a win by technical fall, followed that with a 13-9 decision and earned his spot in the 113 title match with 12-3 major decision over Neenah, WI’s Broden Butzke. In the third-place match, Carl Sandburg’s Kyle Hayes (12-4) won by fall in 1:34 over Butzke (15-4). For fifth place, Lincoln-Way West’s Kellan Hack (12-8) got a pin in 2:38 over Georgiev (13-4). And in the seventh-place match, Glenbard West’s Cristian Lopez (13-6) won by technical fall in 2:42 over Geneseo’s Tad Moore (12-8).    

120 – Caleb Noble, Warren Township

Caleb Noble made it two-for-two in IHSA championships last season as a sophomore when he beat Normal Community’s Caden Correll to claim first place at 113 in the IHSA 3A Finals to follow up on a 3A title at 106 in 2024. The Warren Township junior hopes to become a three-time champion in 2026 and right now is off to a great start toward that goal after taking first place at Marmion Academy, Neuqua Valley and again at the Rex Whitlatch after he claimed a 3-2 decision over Barrington junior Kaleb Pratt in the 120 title match. His only loss in tournament competition came out of state when he lost a 4-2 decision to Malvern Prep, PA’s Justin Farnsworth in the 113 semifinals of the Ironman in Ohio and settled for a third-place finish.

Noble, top-ranked at 113 in 3A, won his third-straight title in this event and joined four-time Whitlatch winner Aaron Strewart as one of two champions and four top-eight finishers for coach Brad Janecek’s Blue Devils. He kicked off his latest title run with two victories by technical fall and then recorded a pin in 4:13 in the semifinals over Stevenson’s Evan Mishels.  

“I’ve been doing good,” Noble said “I just went to Ironman and I took third there, It was not the way I wanted to get it done. I lost in the semifinals. It was a controversial match and I feel like I should have had more points than I had, but I can complain about it all day, but it’s not going to change anything. So I just had to go to the room and make some adjustments. Other than that, I’ve been having a good season and I can’t complain. Losses are good, it’s not always a bad thing. It’s not fun to lose, but sometimes you need to lose and you just have to get your head screwed on straight. (On winning two state titles) I’m super proud, I can’t complain. My dad is happy, so I’m a happy camper. (Competing at Warren Township) It’s been just a dream. Having two state championships, going for a third. I’m glad that I’m in this position, and hopefully I can steal four, if I’m lucky.” 

Pratt (15-3) was one of four finalists and seven top-five finishers for coach Dan Keller’s champion Broncos. Ranked third at 120 in 3A and a title winner at his school’s invite, he’s a two-time IHSA qualifier who took sixth at 106 in 2024. He opened with two falls and then got a win by technical fall in 3:28 in the semifinals over Willowbrook’s Aris Neal to reach the 120 title mat. In the third-place match, Mishels (16-5) claimed a 13-5 major decision over Downers Grove South’s Tanner Stone (14-5). For fifth place, Downers Grove North’s Damian Garcia (16-2) won by fall in 3:17 over Neal (10-5). And for seventh place, Minooka’s Julian Hanson (12-4) won a 15-4 major decision over Belleville West’s Wyatt Dahm (9-5), who tied for the largest seed-place difference with 14 positions.

126 – Jamiel Castleberry, Oak Park and River Forest 

Jamiel Castleberry added to a season-opening title at Marmion Academy and won his second title in his third trip to a tournament finals after claiming a 16-4 major decision over Barrington junior Saul Ramirez in the 126 title match. The Oak Park and River Forest junior, who’s ranked fourth at 126 in 3A, finished fifth in the IHSA Finals at 120 last season after placing fourth at 106 in 2024. He joined teammates Michael Rundell (113) and David Ogunsanya (157) to give coach Jason Renteria’s fourth-place Huskies a Rex Whitlatch Invite-high three champions.

Castleberry (16-1), who took third place at the 2024 Rex Whitlatch and finished second at Washington Community this season, recorded a pin in his first match and then got wins by technical fall in both the quarterfinals and semifinals, prevailing in 3:46 over Stevenson’s Marcelo Cantu to earn his spot in the 126 finals. He tied Lyons Township’s Griff Powell and Neenah, WI’s Declan Koch for fourth place in most team points with 32.

“My class is pretty good,” Castleberry said. “We’ve got MJ Rundell, a state champ last year, he’s pretty good and I practice with him every day. With me practicing him every day, it kind of makes these tournaments easy. We’ve got a lot of good coaches and have a new head coach, Jason Renteria, a two-time champion and four-time finalist. And we’ve got Jake Rundell, MJ’s brother. We’re hoping to get a team trophy this year. In the last two years, we were like one dual away.”

Ramirez (12-4), an IHSA qualifier last season who’s ranked eighth at 126 in 3A, was one of four finalists and seven top-five placewinners for coach Dan Keller’s champion Broncos, He followed a pin with two victories by technical fall, with the second of those in the semifinals in 4:10 over Lincoln-Way West’s Carter DiBenedetto (14-5), who went on to take third place with an 11-3 major decision over Cantu (11-3). For fifth place, Glenbard West’s  Manny Rodriguez (11-8) won an 18-6 major decision over Carl Sandburg’s Zayne Salah (10-6). In the seventh-place match, Minooka’s Casey Janicki (10-4) got a pin in 1:56 over Neenah, WI’s Garrett Nedens (8-5). 

132 – Ryan Dorn, Barrington

Ryan Dorn was one of six individuals who repeated as champions at the Rex Whitlatch Invite and this also happened to be the first tournament title that the Barrington junior has captured this season after taking second place in his own Moore-Prettyman-Dunn Invite to kick things off in 2025-2026. Now he’s looking to take the next step forward at a more significant competition at the end of this season, the IHSA Finals, where the fourth-ranked individual at 132 in 3A looks to reach the awards stand this season after coming up short of that goal the past two seasons.

Dorn (14-2) joined Jimmy Whitaker (144) as one of two champions, four finalists and seven top-five finishers for coach Dan Keller’s Broncos, who made the move from sixth-place in 2024 to champions this year after edging Glenbard West 219.5-217 for top honors of the event. He earned his spot on top of the awards stand for the second time with an 11-0 major decision over Minooka junior Maddux Tindal in the 132 title match. His other three matches were wins by technical fall, making him one of six in the invite who achieved that feat, and he earned his spot in the 132 title match with a win in 5:36 over Maine South’s Brett Harman in the semifinals. He finished in eighth place for the most team points with 31, which also led the Broncos.

“Our goal is obviously to win the tournament and as a team, I think we’re doing pretty well,” Dorn said. “Some of our guys dropped out, but I think as a team we’re doing well. We work hard in the room and then we’re really close as a team. Our bond is good and we’re really tight and I feel that makes us wrestle better. I’m just working hard, me and my main practice partner, Kaleb Pratt, who took second, but he had a close match against a good opponent.”

Tindal (10-2) was the lone finalist and one of eight top-eight finishers for the eighth-place Indians, who are coached by 2025 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Michael Kimberlin. Ranked sixth at 132 in 3A and a state qualifier last season after placing third in Texas in 2024, Tindal made it to the finals of a tournament for the first time this season after opening with a win by technical fall, following with a pin and then capturing a 10-5 decision in the semifinals over Lincoln-Way West’s Brady Glynn (16-4), a state qualifier last year who’s ranked tenth at 132 in 3A, took third with a 7-6 win over Harman (15-3). For fifth place, Downers Grove South’s Jadon Dinwiddie (17-3) claimed a 16-10 decision over DeKalb’s Ayden Shuey. And for seventh, Carl Sandburg’s Macarten Parker (11-5) won by fall in 1:26 over West Aurora’s Peter Kabene (9-10). 

138 – Griff Powell, Lyons Township

Griff Powell is not only excited to be able to compete for his father, also Griff Powell, at Lyons Township, but he recently announced that he will be able to follow in his footsteps at the University of Illinois, where his dad was a four-time NCAA qualifier and an All-American in 2002. The Lions senior, who’s ranked second at 138 in 3A, hopes to improve upon his sixth-place finish at 132 last season and also do something that only Will Lepsi and Bill Zeman have achieved at Lyons Township, which is to be an IHSA champion who is also a two-time medalist. He added to a season-opening title at Barrington by winning the Rex Whitlatch Invitational title at 138 when he captured a 14-3 major decision over Lincoln-Way West junior Shane Stream.

Powell (18-0), who joined Neenah, WI’s Declan Koch (18-0 at 165) as the only unbeaten champions at the Rex Whitlatch, was his team’s lone title winner and joined Jimmy Hillmann as finalists and two others who were top-eight placewinners for the Lions. After opening with a quick pin, he was a winner by technical fall in his next matches. He earned his spot in the 138 finals after beating Glenbard West’s Alejandro Aranda in 4:39 in the semifinals. He tied Oak Park and River Forest’s Jamiel Castleberry and Koch for fourth for most team points with 32.

“It’s awesome,” Powell said. “It feels good, it’s a reassuring thing, knowing I’m getting better every day and just dominating the competition, that’s the goal. I think the biggest thing is separating myself from other competition, knowing I’m better, knowing guys can’t compete with me and trying to dominate them. I practice with our coaches. Some of our guys, they’re less experienced, but it’s good practicing some new moves on them and It helps you understand the moves better. (About signing with Illinois). It’s awesome. It’s going to be fun getting down there, experiencing the new level and getting better.” 

Stream (14-3) joined champion Jimmy Talley (215) as one of the two finalists and eight who placed eighth or better for the third-place Warriors, who are coached by 2020 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Brian Glynn, an Illini teammate of Powell’s in 2001-2002 and an All-American at the UI in 2004 and 2005. Ranked ninth at 138 in 3A, Stream hopes to get back to state after falling one win shy of advancing from the Joliet Central Sectional. After opening with two falls, he reached the 138 title match with a 12-6 decision over Geneseo’s Landen Vincent. Aranda (16-5), one of five seniors who placed in the top eight at the Whitlatch for the fourth time, took third with an 11-6 decision over Oswego’s Aiden Ortiz (15-3). For fifth place, Vincent (9-4) won by fall in 1:47 over Neenah, WI’s Jaxon Ennis (15-5). For seventh, Downers Grove North’s Alex Hengles (16-2) won by technical fall in 4:00 over Hinsdale Central’s Anthony Mayen (12-5).   

144 – Jimmy Whitaker, Barrington

Jimmy Whitaker did not participate in last year’s Rex Whitlatch Invite so for the Barrington senior to win a title at 144 was certainly a big deal, both individually and for his role on the team. With every point at a premium in the chase for the team title between the Broncos and Glenbard West, the 2024 state qualifier who’s ranked ninth in 3A at 144, joined Ryan Dorn (132) as one of two champions and four finalists for coach Dan Keller’s championship team, which claimed top honors in the 25-team invite with 219.5 points, which was 2.5 points better than the Hilltoppers. 

Whitaker (14-3), who finished fourth at his school’s Moore-Prettyman-Dunn Invite to begin the season, won a 16-6 major decision over Oak Park and River Forest senior Zev Koransky in the 144 title match. He had a quick pin in his opener, followed that with a win by technical fall and then captured a 7-1 decision over Stevenson’s Val Vihrov in the semifinals. He was one of seven Broncos who took fifth or better to help them improve from a sixth place finish in 2024.

“It just feels like our team’s starting to finally come together,” Whitaker said. “The last few years, we’ve been very good. I think this year, a lot of kids are starting to step it up a lot more, and we’re starting to win a lot of these bigger matches more often. A lot of it came from the offseason and in the fall I was working out at Relentless, and I think they’re a really good program. Coming back from an injury was kind of hard but I’ve bounced back this year. I like how hard-working our group is. Every single day, people are pushing each other. I feel like there’s a lot of leaders on my team.” 

Koransky (13-4), who is ranked tenth at 144 and qualified for state in 2025 and 2023, also was a runner-up at Washington Community after placing fourth at Marmion Academy. He was one of four finalists and the lone runner-up for the fourth-place Huskies, who are now coached by Jason Renteria, who was a two-time IHSA champion and four-time medalist at OPRF. He followed a fall with a 9-3 decision and then recorded a win by technical fall in 4:41 over Carl Sandburg’s Oscar Kalman in the semifinals. He was one of five seniors, and two from OPRF with David Ogunsanya the other, who placed in the top eight four times at the Whitlatch. In the third-place match, Vihrov (18-3) won a 13-2 major decision over Kalman (11-4). For fifth place, Downers Grove North’s Caden Chiarelli (9-4) recorded a pin in 4:34 over Geneseo’s Malaki Jackson (9-7), And in the seventh-place match, Wheaton North’s Jacob Veltri (14-4) captured a 16-2 major decision over Glenbard West’s Brennen Myra (14-7).

150 – Vince Tortoriello, Glenbard West

Vince Tortoriello made the significant jump from being an eighth-place finisher last year at 150 as a junior to becoming a champion as a senior at that same weight in the Rex Whitlatch Invite. Not only is that type of improvement difficult to achieve in one of the state’s perennially-toughest competitions but it was also very important for Glenbard West, which was in the title hunt throughout two days after making the leap from seventh place and 70 points behind champion Carl Sandburg in last year to battling down to the wire with Barrington until the final matches.

Tortoriello (16-1) joined Aidan Ortega (106) as a champion and was one of three finalists and eight others who placed eighth or better to help the Hilltoppers to collect 217 points, which was just 2.5 points behind the champion Broncos, who improved from a sixth-place finish a year ago. A state qualifier for the first time last season who’s ranked eighth at 150, he added to a title at Joliet Central and a runner-up finish at Barrington when he edged Rockford East senior Dana Wickson 5-4 in the 150 title match. After opening with two victories by technical fall, Tortoriello captured another tight decision, 4-2, over Maine South’s Gavin Hoerr in the semifinals. 

“Our team did really good,” Tortoriello said. “We had a huge improvement from last year, which is great to see. We’ve been at a lot of tough tournaments this year. Our coach changed up our schedule from last year, so we’re seeing better competition before state. It’s been a real great time being able to compete in these big tournaments. These long tournaments really help you get better and prepare you for state, and you get to spend a lot of time with your team, which really helps. Definitely my favorite thing about our team is that we’re really close. We’ve all been together since freshman and sophomore year. We’re a really close team and we’re really close with our coaches as well, so it’s been great. Really, I just haven’t stopped working. Last year, I didn’t get the results that I wanted at downstate, so I put my whole offseason or preseason into it, and I’ve been really working at it, and the results are paying off.”

Wickson (12-4), ranked fifth at 150 in 2A, also claimed second place at his own E-Rab Giardini Invite. A two-time state qualifier who was fifth at 150 last season, he joined classmate Ty Smart (157) as second-place finishers to lead the way for coach Gene Lee’s E-Rabs. After opening with two first-period falls, Wickson prevailed 7-5 by ultimate tiebreaker over West Aurora’s Evan Matkovich in the semifinals. In the third-place match, Oak Park and River Forest’s Aiden Noyes (15-4) won by fall in 1:50 over South Elgin’s Logan Dilallo (13-3). Matkovich (11-6) claimed fifth place by medical forfeit over Hoerr (13-2), who’s ranked tenth at 150 in 3A and was an IHSA qualifier in 2024. And in the seventh-place match, Lincoln-Way West’s Max Munn (15-6) won a 5-2 decision over Minooka’s Ben Cyrkiel (12-4). 

157 – David Ogunsanya, Oak Park and River Forest

David Ogunsanya got a taste of the awards stand at the IHSA Finals in 2024 when he placed sixth at 150 but he fell short of a medal in his return trip to Champaign. Now the Oak Park and River Forest senior is hoping that one last appearance downstate sees him finish with one of the top medals at his weight class. His 14-5 major decision over Rockford East senior Ty Smart to claim the 157 title at the Rex Whitlatch Invite is a big step toward that goal after placing second at Washington Community and fourth in his season-opening tournament at Marmion Academy.

Ogunsanya (14-3) joined Michael Rundell (113) and Jamiel Castleberry (126) as one of three title winners, which was an invite-high, for the fourth-place Huskies, who are coached by one of OPRF’s three four-time state medal winners, Jason Renteria, who also was a two-time IHSA champion. Ranked fifth at 157 in 3A and a third-place Whitlatch finisher a year ago, he opened with a win by technical fall, followed with a pin and earned his spot in the 157 title match with another victory by technical fall, in 4:17, over Barrington’s Daniel Blanke in the semifinals. He finished seventh for the most team points with 31.5. He also joined teammate Zev Koransky and three others as the only seniors who had top-eight finishes in all four of their years at the invite.

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“One of the biggest things I would say that’s different is in my freshman year, we were pushing, we were growing, we were building, and we were in that phase,” Ogunsanya said. “But now, one of the biggest things that I appreciate is just the energy and the youthfulness that each coach brings. You can tell they’re always giving 120 percent of their energy. There are times where coaches will reach out or I’ll reach out to them and they’re willing to spend two hours, three hours outside of their time on those practice days when they have work in the morning and things like that. They’re just willing to sacrifice, give everything to coach these young wrestlers that are rising up. So I think that’s really the biggest thing, that’s a big change. And then with coach Jason Renteria, it really helps because not only is he a four-time finalist and a two-time state champ from OPRF, but also he has collegiate experience. He trained with the Iowa Hawkeyes and he trained with Nebraska. So he’s with all these big names, and he has a lot of connections. He’s just getting us out there, giving us the opportunities, the challenges, the difficulties and just allowing us to grow from those struggles.” 

Smart (15-2), who joined classmate Dana Wickson (150) as finalists for coach Gene Lee’s E-Rabs, was hoping to add to the title that he captured at his own Giardini Invite. A two-time state qualifier who placed fifth at 157 last season and is ranked third at 157 in 2A, his first two victories were by technical fall and he earned his spot on the 157 title mat with a 6-4 decision over Neenah, WI’s Landen Sheppard in the semifinals. Blanke (15-3), an IHSA qualifier last year who’s ranked sixth at 157 in 3A, claimed third place with a pin in 2:25 over Sheppard (16-3). Glenbard West’s Jondelle Malunay (21-5) claimed fifth place by medical forfeit over Maine South’s Caden Ljubenko (14-3), who’s ranked tenth at 157 in 3A. And for seventh, West Aurora’s Malan Hatfield (13-4) won 10-7 over Carl Sandburg’s Obaida Hasan (13-4).

165 – Declan Koch, Neenah, WI

Declan Koch won his second-straight Rex Whitlatch Invite title after capturing an 8-0 major decision over Geneseo junior Izaac Gaines in the 165 title match. The Neenah, WI senior also joined Lyons Township 138 champion Griff Powell as the only two title winners who were still unbeaten, and both had 18-0 records. Koch was the lone finalist and one of nine top-eight finishers for coach Kyle Kleuskens’ fifth-place Rockets. He’s a three-time WIAA medalist and has finished in second place in Division 1 in the last two seasons. After opening with two falls, he claimed a 13-1 major decision over Lincoln-Way West’s Max Herman in the semifinals. He was a four-time finalist in the Whitlatch, placing second in 2022 and 2023, and also was one of the five seniors in the competition who finished in the top eight for four-straight years. 

Gaines (16-2), who joined Kye Weinzierl (175) as one of two-second-place finishers and seven top-eight placewinners for coach Tom Rusk’s seventh place Maple Leafs, earned his spot in the 165 finals with a fall in 1:30 over Glenbard West’s Tallis Taylor in the semifinals. A two-time state qualifier who’s ranked second at 165 in 2A and won a title at Rockford East, he claimed victories by technical fall in his first two matches. In the third-place match, Carl Sandburg’s Brady Ritter (15-2), a two-time IHSA qualifier who was ranked fourth at 157 in 3A, won an 8-1 decision over Herman (16-5), who’s ranked fifth at 165 in 3A. Minooka junior Kaden Meyer (10-4) took fifth with a fall in 1:55 over Taylor (13-5). And for seventh, Oak Park and River Forest’s Jeremiah Hernandez (13-7) won a 13-7 decision over Lyons Township’s Cornell Fennessee (12-7).

175 – Dayne Serio, West Aurora

Dayne Serio finished sixth last season at 165 in 3A to claim his first medal in his second trip to the IHSA Finals. Now he’d like to accomplish what his brother Dominic, who’s now competing at Ohio University, was able to achieve last season when he became a two-time state medalist and appeared in the 3A 157 title match, where he was edged 4-3 by Mount Carmel’s Liam Kelly, to become just the ninth individual from West Aurora to win multiple state medals. He won his first title of the season at the Rex Whitlatch after placing third at Marmion Academy in his only other tournament by claiming a 1-0 decision over Geneseo senior Kye Weinzierl in the 175 finals.

Serio (16-1) was the lone champion, a finalist along with runner-up Gabriel Richmond (113) and one of seven top-eight placewinners for coach Andrew Plata’s Blackhawks, who finished in ninth place. Ranked third at 175 in 3A, he claimed wins by technical fall in each of his other three matches, joining Weinzierl and four other individuals as the only ones in the competition who were able to achieve that feat. Serio, who finished in third place at last year’s Whitlatch, earned his spot in the 175 championship match with a victory in 1:12 over Barrington’s Sam Cushman. 

“Every time I’m in the practice room I think about my losses and how I can improve on that,” Serio said “And that pretty much just sparks a flame. So when I’m thinking that I’m tired, I’m tired, I’m done, I just keep going. I hate losing, I hate losing, I don’t like that feeling. Our team is literally a family and everybody loves each other and everybody’s friends. We all go out to lunch and go out to dinner. And we do summer workouts, about four days a week in the summer. It’s nonstop. We’re all family there. It’s a great atmosphere. Hopefully at the end of the year, the expected reward is going to be a little bigger.”  

Weinzierl (9-1), who fell to IC Catholic Prep’s Brody Kelly in last season’s IHSA 2A title match at 175, joined runner-up Izaac Gaines (165) as the top finishers among seven top-eight medal winners for coach Tom Rusk’s Maple Leafs, who finished in seventh place. Ranked second to Brody Kelly in 2A at 175, this was the first tournament of the season for the three-time state qualifier. As with Serio, his other three matches were victories by technical fall and the third of those came in 3:49 over Carl Sandburg’s Adnan Askar in the semifinals. In the third-place match, Cushman (13-5) won by fall in 2:39 over Askar (12-4). For fifth place, Downers Grove South’s Noah Greene (15-7), who collected the most total match points with 86, won by technical fall in 5:22 over Maine South’s Marty Greif (5-6). And Neenah, WI’s Connor Simons (8-6) took seventh place by medical forfeit over Glenbard West’s Vince Schoettle (10-6).

190 – Aaron Stewart, Warren Township

Aaron Stewart has faced some very challenging opponents in the early going of his senior season for Warren Township and lost to three of them, Marian Central Catholic’s Jimmy Mastny in the 190 finals at Marmion Academy to begin the season and then one week before the Rex Whitlatch Invite, back-to-back setbacks at the prestigious Ironman in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio to Lawrence North, IN’s Michael White and Blair Academy, NJ’s Salah Tsarni. But as the IHSA 3A champion at 175 in 2025 over Homewood-Flossmoor’s RJ Robinson and at 157 in 2024 knows all too well, it’s not where you start, but where you finish. The three-time state medalist who took third at 152 in 2023 is determined to end his Blue Devils career as a three-time IHSA champion. 

Stewart became a rare four-time Rex Whitlatch champion when he won the 190 title with a fall in 1:16 over Wheaton North senior Ryan Rosch. He joins junior teammate and fellow two-time IHSA champion Caleb Noble (120) as two of the six repeat title winners, as well as the best finishers among four top-eight medalists for coach Brad Janecek’s Blue Devils. The top-ranked individual at 190 in 3A who also won a title at Neuqua Valley, opened his run to his fourth title with a pair of pins in the first minute before earning his spot in the 190 finals with a fall in 3:23 over Minooka’s Santino Capodice in the semifinals. He was of five individuals, and the lone champ, to record four falls. And he led all of the title winners for the most team points with 34.

He was also one of five seniors who placed in the top eight for four-straight years in the invite.   

“We come to this tournament every year and I think I’ve won every year,” Stewart said. “I’ve gone to Nationals, Worlds, so this is just a tournament where I come to work on my techniques and to get better. There’s never a day off. For me, I practice seven days a week, 365 days a year, you can’t take any days off if you want to be the best. (Reason for Warren Township’s success) Definitely our coaches. The coaches always care for us, work for us, they’re family to us. And our guys, we’re family, too. Most of these guys in our room, we grew up together since we were four or five years old. We’ve been together forever. Just knowing these guys, it makes it a lot easier to work harder.”

Rosch (15-2), who’s ranked sixth at 175 in 3A, finished second for a second time with the 2025 IHSA qualifier also taking second place at Barrington to kick off the season. The senior was the lone finalist for coach Tim Walker’s Falcons. He recorded wins by technical fall in his first two matches before earning his spot in the 190 finals with a pin in 1:48 in the semifinals over Neenah, WI’s Kaden Roth (16-2) who went on to claim third with a fall in 1:43 over Capodice (10-4). In the fifth-place match, Barrington’s Aaron Jafri (13-6) claimed a 15-4 major decision over Downers Grove South’s Daniel Mensah (11-6). And for seventh, Lyons Township’s Luke Wilhelm (15-6) won 8-5 by sudden victory over Downers Grove North’s Jack Helsdon (11-8).

215 – Jimmy Talley, Lincoln-Way West

Jimmy Talley definitely dashed some hopes while also boosting the spirits of others as the Lincoln-Way West senior claimed a victory by technical fall in 2:39 over Glenbard West junior Phin Codinha in the 215 finals at the Rex Whitlatch Invitational. That win denied the Hilltoppers’ hopes of passing Barrington for the team title in the late going while also assuring that Talley’s Warriors would finish ahead of Oak Park and River Forest for third-place honors. But of equal  significance for Talley, his first tournament title of the season suggests that he might not just be able to qualify for the IHSA Finals for the first time, but also may be able to win a medal there.

Talley (15-2), ranked ninth at 215 in 3A, won 36 matches last season but failed to advance to the IHSA Finals from the Joliet Central Sectional. He placed fifth at Marmion Academy but then made another big statement at the Dan Gable Donnybrook in Iowa when he placed second to Bettendorf, IA’s Lincoln Jipp at 215. A year ago at the Whitlatch, he took third, but there was no drama this time as he won his initial three matches with first-period falls, with the last of those in 1:45 in the semifinals over Downers Grove North’s Nate Olona. His title run resulted in him tying Oak Park and River Forest’s Michael Rundell for the second-most team points with 33.5, which was just one-half point behind the leader, Warren Township’s Aaron Stewart. A finalist along with runner-up Shane Stream (138), he was one of eight top-eight finishers for the third-place Warriors, who are coached by 2020 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Brian Glynn.

“We’ve got a few guys out now, too and we’re still putting third, putting up good numbers,” Talley said. “(What’s he done to get better) I finally learned to move my feet. In years before, I was just a big defensive wrestler and I finally started moving my feet. (West’s coaching staff) A lot of them are my practice partners, too. I think we have, like nine seniors starting on the team right now. And we’ve all been wrestling with each other for four years.”

Codinha (6-3) joined champions Aidan Ortega (106) and Vince Tortoriello (150) as finalists and was also one of the 11 top-eight finishers for coach Pat McCluskey’s Hilltoppers, who placed seventh last year but made a great run for the team title before being edged by Barrington 219.5-217 for top honors. Codinha, who won 30 matches last season but fell one win shy of advancing from the Naperville North Regional, opened with a quick fall and then won a 19-9 major decision before earning his spot in the 215 finals with a 3-1 decision over Downers Grove South’s Chris Cali. In the third-place match, Geneseo’s Colten Mooney (14-4) claimed a 4-3 decision over Carl Sandburg’s Wyatt Hochgraber (14-4). For fifth place, Olona (14-3) won by fall in 4:20 over Cali (11-7). And for seventh place, Stevenson’s Aaron Von Heimburg (9-5) recorded  a pin in 0:34 over Neenah, WI’s Willy Brucks (10-7).   

285 – Colin Murphy, Downers Grove North

Colin Murphy didn’t compete in last year’s Rex Whitlatch Invite and was listed as having no varsity matches when he competed in Batavia’s Arlis Invite in January as a non-scoring competitor for Downers Grove North and he actually lost a 1-0 decision in the semifinals before settling for sixth place in the tournament. It’s quite a long ways to go from that showing to winning a championship at the Whitlatch Invitational and also being ranked sixth at 285 in 3A, but that’s what has unfolded for the Trojans senior after he claimed first place at 285 by injury default in 4:00 over Lyons Township senior Jimmy Hillmann to improve to 15-1 on the season.

Murphy opened with a fall before winning consecutive 4-1 decisions. The second of those came in the semifinals when he beat Minooka’s Robbie Murphy. He was one of six individuals who placed eighth or better for coach Chris McGrath’s Trojans, who finished 11th. Murphy avenged his only defeat, which came one week earlier in Downers Grove South’s Larry Gassen Duals Invite when he was pinned by Geneseo’s Josh Stahl, who he beat 4-1 in the quarterfinals.

Hillmann (16-3), who joined champion Griff Powell (138) as finalists for coach Griff Powell’s Lions, won three-straight decisions to reach the 285 title match, with the last of those being by a 10-6 score over Glenbard West’s Marc Tchapda in the semifinals. In the third-place match, Robbie Murphy (13-1), a 2025 IHSA qualifier who’s ranked seventh at 285 in 3A, pulled out a 2-1 victory over Stahl (15-3). For fifth place, Tchapda (17-5) won a 6-3 decision over West Aurora’s Alfonso Aguilar (12-6). And in the seventh-place match, Neenah, WI’s Brayden Milbrodt (12-8) was a 5-2 winner over Warren Township’s Nolan Lopez. 

Final standings of Hinsdale Central’s Rex Whitlatch Invitational

Barrington 219.5, Glenbard West 217, Lincoln-Way West 193.5, Oak Park and River Forest 191.5, Neenah, WI 177.5, Carl Sandburg 168, Geneseo 162.5, Minooka 148.5, West Aurora 146.5, Stevenson 120.5, Downers Grove North 119, Downers Grove South 118, Warren Township 105.5, Lyons Township 102, Wheaton North 94.5, Maine South 81.5, Rockford East 73.5, DeKalb 70, Neuqua Valley 52.5, Oswego 50, Hinsdale Central 46.5, Hinsdale South 41.5, South Elgin 29.5, Willowbrook 25, Belleville West 15.5

Championship matches of Hinsdale Central’s Rex Whitlatch Invitational

106 – Aidan Ortega (Glenbard West) over Stefan Vihrov (Stevenson), D 10-3

113 – Michael Rundell (Oak Park and River Forest) over Gabriel Richmond (West Aurora), F 1:31

120 – Caleb Noble (Warren Township) over Kaleb Pratt (Barrington), D 3-2

126 – Jamiel Castleberry (Oak Park and River Forest) over Saul Ramirez (Barrington), MD 16-4

132 – Ryan Dorn (Barrington) over Maddux Tindal (Minooka), MD 11-0

138 – Griff Powell (Lyons Township) over Shane Stream (Lincoln-Way West), MD 14-3

144 – Jimmy Whitaker (Barrington) over Zev Koransky (Oak Park and River Forest), MD 16-6

150 – Vince Tortoriello (Glenbard West) over Dana Wickson (Rockford East), D 5-4

157 – David Ogunsanya (Oak Park and River Forest) over Ty Smart (Rockford East), MD 14-5

165 – Declan Koch (Neenah, WI) over Izaac Gaines (Geneseo), MD 8-0

175 – Dayne Serio (West Aurora) over Kye Weinzierl (Geneseo), D 1-0

190 – Aaron Stewart (Warren Township) over Ryan Rosch (Wheaton North), F 1:16

215 – Jimmy Talley (Lincoln-Way West) over Phin Codinha (Glenbard West), TF 2:39

285 – Colin Murphy (Downers Grove North) over Jimmy Hillmann (Lyons Township), Inj. 4:00

Third-place matches of Hinsdale Central’s Rex Whitlatch Invitational

106 – Julian Hartwig (DeKalb) over Anthony Hayes (Carl Sandburg), D 1-0

113 – Kyle Hayes (Carl Sandburg) over Broden Butzke (Neenah, WI), F 1:34

120 – Evan Mishels (Stevenson) over Tanner Stone (Downers Grove South), MD 13-5

126 – Carter DiBenedetto (Lincoln-Way West) over Marcelo Cantu (Stevenson), MD 11-3

132 – Brady Glynn (Lincoln-Way West) over Brett Harman (Maine South), D 7-6

138 – Alejandro Aranda (Glenbard West) over Aiden Ortiz (Oswego), D 11-6

144 – Val Vihrov (Stevenson) over Oscar Kalman (Carl Sandburg), MD 13-2

150 – Aiden Noyes (Oak Park and River Forest) over Logan Dilallo (South Elgin), F 1:50

157 – Daniel Blanke (Barrington) over Landen Sheppard (Neenah, WI), F 2:25

165 – Brady Ritter (Carl Sandburg) over Max Herman (Lincoln-Way West), D 8-1

175 – Sam Cushman (Barrington) over Adnan Askar (Carl Sandburg), F 2:39

190 – Kaden Roth (Neenah, WI) over Santino Capodice (Minooka), F 1:43

215 – Colten Mooney (Geneseo) over Wyatt Hochgraber (Car Sandburg), D 4-3

285 – Robbie Murphy (Minooka) over Josh Stahl (Geneseo), D 2-1

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)

By Mike Garofola for the IWCOA

All IWCOA rankings from Rob Sherrill’s Illinois Best Weekly

Yet another long-running holiday tournament to give wrestling fans even more to watch took place inside the Titan Dome in Glenview, as host Glenbrook South welcomed 20 teams at the 60th Rus Erb Tournament.

Deerfield had more in its tank than the rest of its rivals, including runner-up Sycamore, who trailed the Warriors during the early afternoon hours 158-157  before Deerfield extended its lead and ran off with a 211.5-179 win.

Homewood-Flossmoor (165.5), Glenbrook South (145.0) and Batavia (143.5) rounded out the top five.

“We were really excited to win this tournament, especially given the circumstances,” Deerfield coach Marc Pechter said. “We had a few holes in our lineup, some new faces, and we asked some guys to wrestle up a few weight classes. But guys came through when it mattered most.”

The Warriors’ depth would come through with 11 finishing in the top five and three individual champions.

“Jake (Pechter) had an outstanding day, defeating a returning state place-winner in overtime to win at 106,” Pechter said. “Adrian Cohen captured the 138-pound title while wrestling up a weight, as did Alex (Shvartsman) at 150.”

“Ben Howard, at 144, who is new to the varsity lineup rebounded from a pre-lim loss to battle back to earn fourth place to show great perseverance.

“We needed everyone to win matches, score bonus points, and I thought the guys embraced the challenge set forth. So this was a great tune-up for us as we continue to build toward our postseason goals, beginning with a run at a regional title.”

Last year’s champion from Richmond-Burton would send just seven into action due to injury and illness, with two of its best men, Lelan Nelson (120) and returning state runner-up Blake Livdahl (175), both unavailable.

The same held true for Antioch, which was missing four, most notably the dynamic duo of Chase Nobiling (144) and Dominic Garcia (150) both of whom were fourth place state medal winners a year ago.

Deerfield will be one of four regional sites that feed into the Antioch sectional.

Team scores:
Deerfield 211.5, Sycamore 179.0, Homewood-Flossmoor 165.5, Glenbrook South 145.0, Batavia 143.5, Lake Park 105.5, Evanston 98.0, Riverside-Brookfield 96.5, Antioch 96.0, Palatine 76.5, Carmel Catholic 68.5, Glenbard East 66.0, Richmond-Burton 65.0, Niles North 55.5, McHenry 50.5, Richards 49.0, Marian Catholic 25.5, Lakes Community 10.0, St. Patrick 5.0, Rolling Meadows 3.0

106- Jake Pechter, Deerfield

Freshman Jake Pechter (18-2) would show plenty of resilience, purpose, patience and toughness of spirit in order to come back from a 4-1 deficit as late as thirty seconds from time in his 106-pound final with No. 6 Carson West from Sycamore.

Pechter drew back level at 4-4 and then rode out Olson (11-1) to send this contest into extra time. Once there, Pechter struck quickly – hitting the match winning takedown right away to claim a 7-4 sudden victory triumph.

Pechter, ranked No. 8 in the state, pinned his way into the final.

“I was a little nervous at the start – maybe that’s why I gave up that early takedown,” admitted Pechter, the son of the Warriors superb head coach Marc Pechter.

“I knew he was tough on top, so to get an escape at the end of the second period was big for me.”

Pechter would draw even at 4-4 with a well executed shot and a takedown with 28 seconds remaining in the match to set up his eventual thrilling victory.

“I felt really strong as the match went on, so I was especially ready for overtime,” said Pechter, who after a pair of second-place medals at Addison Trail and Antioch, has now earned his first varsity crown.

Antioch’s Haydren Gomez won a 17-11 decision over Batavia’s Joey Calvillo for third place, and Palatine’s Aidan Noe won by fall on the fifth-place mat over Glenbard East’s Nick Greenfield.

113- Liam Schroeder, Sycamore

There is no doubt that freshman Liam Schroeder is ready for competition on the varsity level as a Sycamore rookie, and if his three-match performance is an example of what he is capable of, then the Spartans have yet another terrific addition to their lineup.

Schroeder roared into his final with No. 5 Jayme Cohen (Deerfield 13-4) with a pair of tech-falls. Once there, he took the lead for good early in the second period en route to a 7-3 victory.

“I’m lucky to be in a great room, with great workout partners, so the support for someone new to the program is just amazing,” said Schroeder, who is now an impressive 15-0 on the season.

Cohen, who was first at Addison Trail, had his chance to take a bite of a 4-1 advantage by Schroeder. But when he missed his opportunity, Schroder recorded a takedown to push his lead to 7-1 at five minutes.

“(Cohen) is a big-time thrower, so it was important to keep my elbows in, stay away from tie-ups, and just be aware,” added Schroeder.

Richards’ Ibrahim Mahmadove won by fall for third against Deerfield’s Troy Rotter, while McHenry’s Tyson Rivard pinned Riverside-Brookfield’s Miles Russell-Barnes for fifth place.

120- Kai Enos, Batavia

No. 2 Kai Enos solidified his lofty spot in the class 2A state polls with a marvelous two-day effort that would conclude with a 7-4 victory over No. 9 Michael Olson (Sycamore) who suffered his first loss of the season.

“I did not start the way I wanted to in that first period, and it led to (Olson) getting a takedown, and then being rode out for the rest of the period,” admitted the Batavia sophomore, who went 39-10 as a 3A state qualifier a year ago.

“I came out much stronger in the second period, looked to tilt and turn him, and I was able to make it 3-3 going into the third.”

Enos would grab the lead for good with a takedown at the edge one minute from time which led to his first major of the season over Olson, who was a state qualifier last season with 39-15 record.

“That was a really good third period of wrestling for me, and if I can open things up more and look to take more shots, I should be able to have a chance to get on the podium at state,” Enos said.

Jorey Becker (Deerfield, 16-6) used a 10-3 decision over Liam Lovelace (Lake Park) to earn a third place medal, with Owen Thomas (Carmel Catholic) grabbing fifth place with a fall against Niles North’s Jacob Badal.

126- Chazz Robinson, Homewood-Flossmoor

No. 2 Chazz Robinson is well aware of the task that awaits as the Homewood-Flossmoor junior looks ahead to the State Farm Arena where his goal of advancing into the 120-pound state final remains clear and alive.

Robinson (15-2), who bumped to 126 for the weekend to set up a likely final with No. 7 Ismael Chaidez (Glenbard East, 17-3) who was a state qualifier last season.

Chaidez, strong, powerful, and built like a tank, took an early 4-3 lead into the second period, which increased to 5-3 with his escape off the whistle.

Robinson, sleek and ultra-quick, attacked with confidence and would eventually pry open the Rams’ senior with a late takedown to go up for good at the end of the second, 6-5.

“My focus is always on getting the next point, never settling for less, and that’s what my mindset was when I got my last takedown of the match to go up 8-5,” Robinson said.

The Vikings junior, third last season at state at 120, was a tech-fall semifinals victim of eventual state champion Dom Munaretto (St. Charles East) in Champaign. Munaretto is the man he and everyone else at 120 are chasing this winter.

“Munaretto is a great wrestler, and the guy to beat, but I want to be my best, and get into the final with him to have the chance at a state championship,” says Robinson.

Glenbrook South’s Ermuun Urtnasan (17-2) was third overall after a 3-1 decision over Sycamore’s Tyler Lockhart, and Deerfield’s Danny Martinez won by fall for fifth against Carmel’s Liam Perkins.

132- Wyatt Franckowiak, Richmond-Burton

Wyatt Franckowiak is going to force his way into the state polls if he continues on his recent success tour, which now includes earning a 132-pound Erb title.

“(Franckowiak) sure doesn’t wrestle like he’s a freshman,” said a thrilled Richmond-Burton head coach Tony Nelson after the rookie recorded a hard-fought 1-0 decision over Ethan Hamilton of Homewood-Flossmoor for the title.

Franckowiak also won an individual title one week earlier at Richmond-Burton’s Tom Dubois tournament. “I’m lucky to be in a great room, with a great coaching staff,” Franckowiak said. “Today, I had to wrestle as hard and tough as I could.”

Franckowiak (15-2) used his length to defend all throughout in order to fend off Hamilton, whose valiant effort in the final 30 seconds was stopped cold.

“I tried to keep my pace high throughout the match,” Franckowiak said. “When I got that escape point, I knew I had to be smart and stay composed.”

Izaiah Gonzalez (Riverside-Brookfield, 14-2) claimed third place over Roman Ocampo (Glenbrook South) with a hard-fought 1-0 decision, while Jack Jansen (Deerfield) was fifth by forfeit over Sycamore’s Charlie Olson.

138- Adrian Cohen, Deerfield

Deerfield’s Adrian Cohen (19-1) looked like he easily belonged one weight above his usual spot at 132, where he’s ranked third in Illinois. Cohen cruised to his individual title at 138 after a superb effort in his final that would end at 3:09 against Roan Dukes of Homewood-Flossmoor.

Cohen was off and flying with a takedown just 20 seconds into this contest. That led to a neat inside trip for a wicked throw, takedown and ultimate pin.

“I’m a judo guy, so we throw guys,” said Cohen with a wry smile, who was a state qualifier a year ago. “I just go out there and do my stuff, which mostly comes from my judo background.”

Cohen has won three majors (Addison Trail, Antioch) in the first half of the season and like many of his Warriors teammates, trains at Cohen Brothers Judo in Vernon Hills.

Cohen is one of two returning state qualifiers of five from last season, with Alex Shvartsman, the 150 pound champ, the other. Cohen would finish 42-12 last  year.

Tony Lombardo (Riverside-Brookfield, 13-3) was third after his pin over Elias Chaney of Batavia, with Jack Burton (Glenbrook South) fifth overall with a 6-2 decision over Antioch’s Isaac Thomson.

144- Nicholas Merola, Lake Park

Nicholas Merola mentioned after his Rex Lewis (Buffalo Grove) individual title how important it was for him to be involved in as many tight, hard-fought matches as possible, to better prepare him for the month of February.

Lo and behold, the Lake Park senior found himself in another one of those matches he yearns for, this time against No. 7 Jayden Dohogne, the state qualifier from Sycamore, who was anointed the top seed here.

Merola won a hard-fought 4-1 decision.

Two-time state qualifier Merola grabbed an early second-period advantage with an escape, then conceded an escape to Dohogne (14-2) to start the third period, before nicely defending two shots by Dohogne.

From neutral, Merola (13-1) struck the match-winning takedown with thirty seconds remaining.

“I felt strong out there throughout, especially on bottom, but we talked afterwards about opening this up a little more, which is something I will continue to work on,” said Merola, who suffered his first defeat of the season recently at the hands of No. 7 Liam Aye from St. Charles East 

Ryan Johnston (McHenry) was third thanks to a major decision win over  Ben Howard (Deerfield), and Josh Edelheit from host Glenbrook South was fifth after winning by tech fall against Batavia’s Brady Johansen.

150- Alex Shvartsman, Deerfield

No. 5 Alex Shvartsman (18-3) added his first major of the season to his resume after unloading a pin at 1:54 over Henry Maier from Homewood-Flossmoor.

The Deerfield junior, who won 38 last season on his way to his first state appearance, is the younger brother of Benjamin (wrestling at Cornell) a 2022 state champion at 160-pounds, and someone who is of great inspiration to one of the top men at Deerfield.

“I saw how hard Benjamin worked to win a state title, and what it took to do get to where he is today, so it’s something that has really motivated me,” said Shvartsman.

Shvarstman, like teammate Adrian Cohen, is a judo aficionado himself. It was a sequence in which an underhook and big-time throw near the edge led to his pin for the win.

Third place honors went to Leo Flores (Richards) won won by fall against Niles North’s Nathan Eiduk, and Daniel Gonzalez of Batavia took fifth by fall against Glenbrook South’s Joey Marquardt.

157- Antonio Hinojosa, Carmel Catholic

The Corsairs had been searching for a state medal ever since a memorable two-year run from Riley Palm led to back-to-back championship trophies in 2018 and 2019. Then David Farjado found his way onto the podium last February.

Farjado claimed a sixth place state medal in Champaign, something not lost on Antonio Hinojosa and his teammates in the Carmel Catholic room.

“It was amazing to see David get his state medal last year,” Hinojosa said. “I think it helped all of us in the room and for me, it gave me the motivation to work as hard as I could do get downstate and win a medal.” said Hinojosa.

Hinojosa is now 9-1 after his 14-3 major decision victory over Naijier Morris from Homewood-Flossmoor. Hinojosa was a state qualifier in 2023 and 2024.

“I’ve dealt with a lot of injuries the past couple of years, so to be healthy this season means I should have a great chance to get to state,” added the Corsairs senior, who added points throughout the third period to ensure his first major of the season.

Richmond-Burton sophomore Max Martin (11-3) won his third place bout by tech fall over Maks Wala (Lake Park) and Cole Hubbard (Batavia) claimed a fifth place medal by tech fall against Palatine’s Daniel Derevlyak.

165- Cooper Bode, Sycamore

No. 4 Cooper Bode, sixth a year ago in Champaign at 175 pounds, looks primed to find his way even higher on the podium after he continued his sensational first half of the season.

Bode (14-2) claimed his first title of the year thanks to tremendous early pressure and a steady buildup towards his fourth pin of the tournament, this one at 1:22 over Batavia senior Colin Payton.

“It’s all about being at the right weight, and not having to cut or add, and right now I feel so much quicker, and really comfortable at (165) this year,” said Bode, who played linebacker and running back for a Spartans football team that was a class 5A state qualifier.

Bode, who plans on wrestling in college, will pursue a degree in mechanical engineering.

Rodrigo Salinas (Evanston, 8-1) recorded a tech fall over Jonathan Weissmueller (Deerfield) in the third place match, and Alec Garcia (Antioch) took fifth with an 8-5 decision over Carmel’s Joey Cameron.

175- Diego Lopez, Evanston

Diego Lopez would give Evanston the first of two individual titles when the Wildcats junior moved his overall record to 17-1 with a 9-5 decision over Riverside-Brookfield senior Nick O’Connor (13-2) on the title mat.

“It feels good to win my first varsity tournament,” Lopez said. “My coaches, partners, and teammates have helped me improve each time that I go into the room.”

Lopez found himself on the short end of a 4-0 deficit after an O’Connor (13-2) escape followed by a takedown midway through the second period.

“My coaches kept telling me to look to my underhook in the third period, and when it was there, I went for it,” said Lopez, whose angled shot and subsequent takedown gave him the lead for good at 5-4. He closed out O’Connor with a near-fall to make it 9-4 before an eventual 9-5 victory.

Henry Grant (Homewood-Flossmoor) was third after he pinned Danny St. John from Deerfield, and Dominic Marino (Glenbrook South) was fifth by fall against Batavia’s Blake Vandeloo.

190- Adrian Esparza, Marian Catholic

It was all over very quickly in the 190-pound final with Marian Catholic senior Adrian Esparza unleashing a lethal first-period punch to Xavier Pratt (Homewood-Flossmoor) that began just 30 seconds into the contest, leading to an insurmountable 10-1 advantage.

Esparza would eventually close out the Vikings sophomore with a 19-4 tech-fall at 5:10 to claim his first major of the season after finishing second at Joliet Central.

It has been quite a nice turnaround for the Spartans’ star who one year ago went 0-2 at the Hinsdale South sectional, ending his season at 14-12.

Esparza has already exceeded his record from last season in sensational fashion as he now stands 15-2 overall.

Esparza needed a nervy 4-3 decision over Colin Arquilla in his quarterfinal to stay in the front bracket. 

Arquilla (Antioch) would record three tech-falls in the tournament, and finish third ahead of Jacob Shannon (Glenbrook South), and Alexander Gavrylyuk (Lake Park) placed fifth via fall against Riverside-Brookfield’s Gerald Evans.

215- Sain Uranbold, Glenbrook South

Sain Uranbold gave the home fans plenty to cheer about when theTitans senior won in stunning fashion with a pin at 1:11 over Evan Reichert (15-4) of Glenbard East.

“I cannot tell you how happy, and proud for my teammates, program and school I am, to be able to win a championship here in our home gym,” said an elated Uranbold, who was mobbed by his teammates moments after he put the finishing touches on his victory.

“I was a little nervous before my final, especially after giving up that first takedown, but I settled in and just got back to doing my (stuff),” Uranbold said. “So this is an amazing win, and one that I want to help make this season the best that it can be since it’s my last year here at GBS.”

Uranbold, now 14-5, will major in business in college and hopes to one day help build the butcher shop his father owns.

Ilya Pilshchikov (Palatine) was third following his pin of Brooks Tyler (Evanston) with Lake Park senior Antonin Svaboda fifth after a fall against Riverside-Brookfield’s Joey Alberts.

285- Jeremy Marshall, Evanston

It would be Jeremy Marshall with the win in the final contest of the two-day tournament, as the Evanston senior won a hard-fought 2-1 tug-of-war over the No. 2 man from Antioch, Owen Shea.

“It kind of went the way I thought it would with (Shea),” Marshall said. “He’s very athletic, quick, and strong. But I was able to control my tie-ups, be real defensive, push the pace when I was able, and just wrestle real smart.”

It was Marshall’s third tournament title of the season. Marshall plans on a degree in elementary education.

“Jeremy has worked really hard to get himself ready for his senior year, especially with his footwork, which is so much better than last season,” Evanston coach Rudy Salinas said.

Salinas starred at Lane Tech in the late 1980’s, took over the Evanston job in 2003, and is an IWCOA Hall-of-Famer.

Shea (10-4), who lost to reigning class 3A state champion Jonathan Rulo (Belleville East) earlier in the season was third at the Marmion Academy Cadet Classic last month.

Breckin Campbell (Richmond-Burton, 12-3) placed third with a fall against Collin Hughes (Sycamore), and Jacari Travis from Palatine took fifth by fall against McHenry’s Landen Owens.

Final Team Standings:

Deerfield 211.5, Sycamore 179.0, Homewood-Flossmoor 165.5, Glenbrook South 145.0, Batavia 143.5, Lake Park 105.5, Evanston 98.0, Riverside-Brookfield 96.5, Antioch 96.0, Palatine 76.5, Carmel Catholic 68.5, Glenbard East 66.0, Richmond-Burton 65.0, Niles North 55.5, McHenry 50.5, Richards 49.0, Marian Catholic 25.5, Lakes Community 10.0, St. Patrick 5.0, Rolling Meadows 3.0

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

Lady of Lane Tournament

With eight girls finishing in the top six of their weight classes, led by a pair of individual champions, Wheaton Warrenville South snatched the crown at Saturday’s 16-team Lady of Lane tournament.

Coach Justin Squillo’s Tigers won 205.5-190.5 over second-place Lane, followed by District 210 (185), Taft (137), and Riverside-Brookfield (128.5) to round out the top five team finishes.

“This has been a great year for girls wrestling at Wheaton Warrenville South so far,” Squillo said. “With tremendous buy-in from our returning wrestlers and our numbers over doubling from just 8 girls last year to 18 this year, it has put us in a position to be competitive from a team standpoint, which is exciting.”

Individual champions Sommer Kibbe (120) and Michelle Rojas-Tellez (170) both pinned their way through the tournament.

“Both girls are senior leaders on this team and have seen great success this season largely in part due to their buy-in and work ethic on the mat and in the weight room,” Squillo said.

Team scores
Wheaton Warrenville South 205.5, Lane 190.5, District 210 185, Taft 137, Riverside-Brookfield 128.5, Niles West 121, Addison Trail 113, Noble/ITW Speer 112, Maine East 104.5, New Trier 95, West Chicago 88.5, Maine West 77, Rolling Meadows 70, Lake View 55.5, Glenbrook North 38.5, Saint Viator 38

1st- Wheaton Warrenville South (205.5)
Louisa Enslen (145) and Lana Cummings (155) also reached the title mat for WW South in bringing home second-place finishes. The Tigers got thirds from Andrea Jaimes-Alvarez (100), Heidi Bourne (135) and Lyric Rockymore (235), and a fifth from Estrella Jaimes (110)

“After a good week of practice we came into this tournament motivated and emphasizing wrestling for the team,” Squillo said. “Recognizing that everyone is a contributor, the girls wrestled with a purpose.

Cummings and Rockymore are first-year wrestlers, while Rockymore and Enslen are freshmen.

“I’m very proud of the girls,” Squillo said. “Every girl – beyond just the place winners – wrestled hard, supported one another as a team and had fun. This group is embracing our program philosophy of ‘Out Work, Out Tough, Out Believe’. The hard work and toughness is showing on the mat and after this victory. I can see the girls really starting to believe in themselves and their team. I am looking forward to the rest of the season, hoping we can keep things rolling after the holidays.”

2nd- Lane (190.5)
Lane’s four individual champions were the most for any team, as Sofia Guerrero (100), Lauren Guerrero (115), Zabby Badru (135) and Ella Barbour (145. Coach Liam Cummins also got a third from Kenaiece Barrett (170), a fourth from Mumtaz Abdul Malik (140), fifths from Imyjah Jackson (130) and Layla Moreland (155), and a sixth from Natalia Cordova (130).

3rd- District 210 (185)
While the varsity girls from the co-op of the Lincoln-Way schools were busy winning this year’s Hampshire tournament, District 210’s lower level girls were placing third at Lane on Saturday.
They did it largely thanks to a tournament-leading 30 pins and nine girls placing in the top six of their weight classes.
D 210 got four third-place finishes from Georgia Erhardt (105), Abby Lizak (120), Kate Bohm (145) and Aryana Moran (155), fourths from Kaitlyn Erdakos (135), Avery Holeman (170), and Toni Robertson (235), and fifths from Leeya Kruizenga (100), Grace Hansen (125), and Giana Olds (140).

Additional champions
105 J Colbert (Lake View), 110 Sunny Aitzemkour (New Trier), 125 returning state medal winner Ariella Dobin (Glenbrook North), 130 Alena Oshana (Maine East), 140 Batula Nasib (West Chicago), 155 Danely Villagomez (Riverside-Brookfield), 190 Estefany Bejarano (Riverside-Brookfield), 235 Esmerelda Bustamante (Noble/ITW Speer)

Additional runners-up
100 Adali Cruz (Noble/ITW Speer), 105 Bella Garcia (Noble/ITW Speer), 110 Evalyn Idzik (Saint Viator), 115 Alyssa Martel (Taft), 120 Mackensie Szajda (West Chicago), 125 Evolet Mata (Addison Trail), 130 Zmorah Izenstark (New Trier), 135 Sarah Al Radi (Niles West), 140 Grace Graves (Maine West), 170 Sylvia Lupa (Addison Trail), 190 Oliyah McKay (Noble/ITW Speer), 235 Lyric Walton (Maine East)

Statistics
District 210 led the way with 30 pins in 50:09, while Glenbrook North’s 3 tech falls in 5:59 were the most techs in the least time by any team. Lane scored the most total match points of any team with 325 — a huge edge over the second-most posted by District 210 with 183 match points.
Individually, Taft’s Alicia Hoyou had the most pins in the least time with four falls in 4:19, while Glenbrook North’s Ariella Dobin had the most tech falls in the least time with three techs in 5:59. Dobin also had the fastest tech fall, in 1:27, she scored the most single match points in the tournament with 20, and finished with the most total match points with 58. Riverside-Brookfield’s Estefany Bejarano scored the most team points with 32.

Championship match results
100-Sofia Guerrero (Lane) TF 17-2 Adali Cruz (Noble/ITW Speer)
105-J Colbert (Lake View) F 1:43 Bella Garcia (Noble/ITW Speer)
110-Sunny Aitzemkour (New Trier) F 0:46 Evalyn Idzik (Saint Viator)
115-Lauren Guerrero (Lane) F 3:29 Alyssa Martel (Taft)
120-Sommer Kibbe (WW South) F 1:59 Mackensie Szajda (WEGO)
125-Ariella Dobin (Glenbrook N) TF 20-4 Evolet Mata (Addison Trail)
130-Alena Oshana (Maine E) F 4:46 Zmorah Izenstartk (New Trier)
135-Zabby Badru (Lane) F 3:31 Sarah Al Radi (Niles W)
140-Batula Nasib (WEGO) D 9-2 Grace Graves (Maine W)
145-Ella Barbour (Lane) D 5-0 Louisa Enslen (WW South)
155-Danely Villagomez (R-B) F 0:11 Lana Cummings (WW South)
170-Michelle Rojas (WW South) F 4:17 Sylvia Lupa (Addison Trail)
190-Estefany Bejarano (R-B) F 2:38 Oliyah McKay (Noble/ITW Speer)
235-Esmerelda Bustamante (Noble/ITW Speer) F 1:02 Lyric Walton (Maine E)

Third-place match results
100-Andrea Jaimes-Alvarez (Lane) F 0:42 Melina Valdez (Addison Trail)
105-Georgia Erhardt (D 210) F 2:48 Guadalupe Nava Perez (Rolling Meadows)
110-Eliana Badeen (Maine E) F 0:28 Monica Sanchez (WEGO)
115-Nour Al Radi (Niles W) F 0:10 Breanna Garcia (Addison Trail)
120-Abby Lizak (D 210) F 2:45 Liza Sarkees (Maine E)
125-Jennifer Arenas (Taft) F 0:53 Fiona Monaco (Saint Viator)
130-Layla Zbiec (Taft) D 9-5 Drea Lazzara (Addison Trail)
135-Heidi Bourne (WW South) F 2:00 Kaitlyn Erdakos (D 210)
140-Zoe Pomeranets (Niles W) fft. Mumtaz Abdul Malik (Lane)
145-Kate Bohms (D 210) F 1:45 Mia Shefi (New Trier)
155-Aryana Moran (D 210) F 1:27 Danna Gutierrez (Maine W)
170-Kenaiece Barrett (Lane) D 12-5 Avery Holeman (D 210)
190-Emma Wilson (Niles W) F 3:17 Amira Williams (Maine W)
235-Lyric Rockymore (WW South) F 2:24 Toni Robertson (D 210)

Joe Bee Memorial

Belleville West won its second girls’ Joe Bee Memorial title in the three-year history of the tournament Saturday, finishing 20 points ahead of the 33-team field at Lanphier.

Individual titles from Brooke Stellhorn (190) and Andre’a Kirkpatrick (235) led the way for Belleville West, which had 11 girls finish in the top 10 of their weight classes.

“Andre’a is in her fourth year of wrestling while Brooke is in her second,” Belleville West coach Mech Spraggins said. “Brooke is actually a soccer great player who came out to wrestle with some friends and has decided to stick with the sport.”

Belleville West fairly limped into the tournament, missing starters at 105, 115, and 120 pounds after placing second at this year’s 30-team War in Wentzville dual team tournament.

“I knew going into Saturday we’d have to make some adjustments in the lineup to even have a chance at winning it,” Spraggins said. “But it’s kind of nice being in the South Western Conference with teams like Edwardsville, which makes our bar very high. We’ll chase them until we close the gap and in the meantime we’ll collect as many team wins as we can along the way.”

Team scores:
Belleville West 164.5, LaSalle-Peru 144.5, Cahokia 96, Glenbard South 96, Jacksonville 94.5, Pekin 93, Granite City 91, Glenwood 82.5, Springfield Co-op 81.5, Civic Memorial 78.5, Mahomet-Seymour 73, Macomb 68, Oakwood/ Salt Fork 57, Bloomington 56, Paris 51.5, Cumberland 49, Olympia 48.5, Normal West 43, Clifton Central/ Iroquois West 41, Alton 40.5, Rantoul 37, Limestone 34, West Vigo IN 34, Mt. Zion 32, Highland 29.5, North Mac 21, PORTA 18, Centennial 12, Jersey 9, Normal University 8, Vandalia 4, Unity Christian/ Argenta-Oreana 0

1st-Belleville West (164.5)
In addition to titles from Stellhorn and Kirkpatrick, the Maroons got thirds from Riley Weems (110), Ja’yla Hurst (135), Alyssa Hardt (140) and Moriah Lampley (155), sixths from Michaela Wentz (130) and Inetta Grubbs (170), a seventh from Micaela Gustafson (155), an eighth from Akiya Jett (145), and a 9th from Kendyll Otten (125).

“Alyssa Hardt is just a tough kid, also in her second year,” Spraggins said. “She’s like the catalyst of the team. She’s also pretty green but  goes to camps over the summer to try to catch up with the better wrestlers.

“Riley Weems is our little spark plug at 110 and will be fun to watch over the next few years. Jayla Hurst and Moriah Lampley are both just quiet girls that contribute greatly. Inetta Grubbs bumped up to 170 from 155, giving up nearly 20 pounds to take fourth — ultimately the reason we could pull off a 10-point cushion.”

The Maroons also led the tournament with 27 pins — two ahead of second-place LaSalle-Peru.

2nd- LaSalle-Peru (144.5)
Coach Nolan Keeney got an individual title from Sarah Lowery (110), a second from Lily Higgins (235), a third from returning state medal-winner Kiely Domyancich (125) and a fourth from Avalyn Edwall (140) among the Cavaliers’ top four finishes.

Keeney also got fifths from Kalista Frost (100), Amelia Buckley (105), Theadora Pappas (140), and Marissa Eggersdorfer (155), a seventh from Mackenzie Miller (135), an eighth from Paige Evans (130), and a ninth from Emily Lowery (115).

3rd- Cahokia (96)
A pair of runner-up finishes from Te’Aja Young (130) and Janylah Holman (170) and a fourth from Kamryn Brown (190) led the Lady Comanches to a third-place tie in the team standings with Glenbard South.

Coach Nick DeLoach also got a fifth from Dakota Bell (130), a sixth from Gabrielle Conner (190), a seventh from Nyla Bryant (120) and a ninth from Deja Porter (120).

3rd- Glenbard South (96)
The Raiders got runner-up finishes from Valerie Aliga (100) and Moriah Lampley (155) to lead the way, plus a fifth from Evie DeSantis (135), a sixth from Talia Kaiser (125), sevenths from Lashuna York (110) and Vivian Aliga (115), and an eighth from Nabiha Khader (120).

Additional champions
100 Kadi Wilber (Glenwood), 105 Tessa Donaldson (Pekin), 115 Autumn Starr (Bloomington), 120 Ava Mayer (Pekin), 125 Aryanna Jones (Alton), 130 returning state runner-up Sydney Cannon (Mt. Zion), 135 Chloe Rice (Civic Memorial), 140 Audrey Barnes (Granite City), 145 returning state champion Natalie Beaumont (Cumberland), 155 Alicia Swank (Bloomington), 170 returning state runner-up Payton Temple (Clifton Central)

Additional runners-up
100 Chloe Collins (Olympia), 105 Phoenix Criss (Springfield Co-op), 110 Leena Cavender (Jacksonville), 115 Ma’Kayla Bonner (Granite City), 120 Kate Wochner (Oakwood/ Salt Fork), 125 Claire Shaw (Civic Memorial), 135 Tala Asad (Springfield Co-op), 140 Elsie Dozier (Glenwood), 145 Taylor Sutton (East Peoria), 155 Talhia Hostetter (Limestone), 190 Avery Lundgren (Macomb)

The unbeatens (10-match minimum)
Pekin’s Tessa Donaldson (11-0 at 105), Mt. Zion’s Sydney Cannon (13-0 at 130), Granite City’s Audrey Barnes (16-0 at 140), Clifton Central’s Payton Temple (17-0 at 170), Belleville West’s Brooke Stellhorn (10-0 at 190)
 

Statistics
Belleville West finished with the most pins in the least time for the tournament, with 27 falls in 55:52. Mt. Zion had the most tech falls in the least time with two in 4:51. Glenbard South finished with the most match points in the field with 216, to LaSalle-Peru’s 198.
Individually, LaSalle-Peru’s Kiley Domyancich had the most pins in the least time with four falls in 3:34, while East Peoria’s Dezyrae Murray posted the fastest fall in 12 seconds. Mt. Zion’s Sydney Cannon had two tech falls in 4:51 to finish with the most techs in the least time, and Cahokia’s Deja Porter posted the fastest tech fall in 1:52.
Paris’ Hellie Barrett and Cahokia’s Janylah Holman tied for the most single-match points with 23 points, and Glenbard South’s Valerie Aliga had the most total match points with 66. The largest seed-place difference came from East Peoria’s 15th-seeded Taylor Sutton, who placed second at 145 pounds.

Championship match results

100-Kadi Wilbern (Glenwood) F 1:45 Chloe Collins
105-Tessa Donaldson (Pekin) F 4:27 Phoenix Criss (Springfield Co-op)
110-Sarah Lowery (L-Peru) F 1:43 Leena Cavender (Jacksonville)
115-Autumn Starr (Bloomington) F 3:48 Ma’Kayla Bonner (Granite City)
120-Ava Mayer (Pekin) F 1:35 Kate Wochner (Oakwood/SF)
125-Aryanna Jones (Alton) TF 4:05 Claire Shaw (Civic Memorial)
130-Sydney Cannon (Mt. Zion) TF 2:21 Te’Aja Young (Cahokia)
135-Chloe Rice (Civic Memorial) MD 15-2 Tala Asad (Springfield Co-op)
140-Audrey Barnes (Granite City) F 2:12 Elsie Dozier (Glenwood)
145-Natalie Beaumont (Cumberland) F 0:39 Taylor Sutton (E Peoria)
155-Alicia Swank (Bloomington) 6-0 OT Talhia Hostetter (Limestone)
170-Payton Temple (Clifton C) F 2:45 Janylah Holman (Cahokia)
190-Brooke Stellhorn (Belleville W) F 3:09 Avery Lundgren (Macomb)
235-Andre-a Kirkpatrick (Belleville W) F 4:28 Lily Higgins (L-Peru)

Third-place match results

100-Valerie Aliga (Glenbard S) F 1:38 Jasmine Johnson (Rantoul)
105-Alexia Glover (PORTA) F 3:10 Kaidence Eveland (Paris)
110-Riley Weems (Belleville W) F 1:43 Mackenzie Gound (Rantoul)
115-Katilyn Knight (Jacksonville) F 3:11 Lainey Ehler (Oakwood/SF)
120-Olivia Jarrett (Glenwood) D 12-7 Hellie Barrett (Paris)
125-Kiely Domyancich (L-Peru) F 1:37 Fay Reese (E Peoria)
130-Nichole Castillo (Glenbard S) F 2:42 Dayza Phillips (Alton)
135-Ja’yla Hurst (Belleville W) F 1:14 Jessa Bark (West Vigo IN)
140-Alyssa Hardt (Belleville W) F 1:04 Avalyn Edwall (L-Peru)
145-Dru Hyde (Macomb) F 1:05 Diem Bryan (Mahomet-Seymour)
155-Moriah Lampley (Belleville W) F 5:12 Alyssa Artman (Pekiin)
170-Summer Nichols (Cumberland) F 0:46 Mallory Feldhaus (E Peoria)
190-Vanessa Kelley (Springfield Co-op) F 0::40 Kamryn Brown (Cahokia)
235-Madeline Cooley (Jacksonville) F 1:05 Nina Landmann (Highland)

Lakes Snow Brawl
The 11-team field saw host Lakes snare the team title by a hair, 145.5-141.5 over second-place Antioch. Freeport (133) was third followed by Lyons (100.5) and St. Charles East (87.5) to round out the top five.
Lakes got individual titles from Christina Hasner (145), Kamila Loaiza (190), and Joslin Coon (235) to lead the way among eight girls who finished in the top four of their weight classes.

Team scores
Lakes 145.5, Antioch 141.5, Freeport 133, Lyons 100.5, St. Charles East 87.5, Wauconda 75, Richmond-Burton 57.5, Buffalo Grove 40, Lake Forest 30, Grayslake North 17.5, Intrinsic Charter-Downtown 12, Carmel 4

1st-Lakes (145.5)
In addition to titles from Hasner, Loaiza, and Coon, Lakes got second-place finishes from Elise Kaylor (130), Michelle Otuonye (140) and Erika Celik (235), and thirds from Osmairi Medina Alvarado (115) and Megan Murray (145).

2nd-Antioch (141.5)
Sasha Johnson (140) won an individual title for the Sequoits, who also got seconds from Londyn Lloyd (110), Rylee Dunlavy (145) and Josie Blau (170), thirds from Dylylah Patterson (125), Magdelyn Brough (130) and Isabella Marcomb (135), and a fourth from Alyana Cotton (115).

3rd-Freeport (133)

The Pretzels got titles form Brea Balles (115), NaJeyah Wallace (155) and Caydence Fellows (170), a second from Kaiya Kalindo (120), and thirds from Ariyana Calmese (105), Bella Martins (155) and Nalani Isaac (170).

Additional champions
100 Ester Migues-Gaytan (Grayslake North), 105 Jhania Wickert-Harris (Lyons), 110 Sydney Stieb (St. Charles East), 115 Brea Balles (Freeport), 120 Mirabelle Duboeuf (Lake Forest), 125 Caroline Marogy (Buffalo Grove), 130 Madelyn Peterie (Richmond-Burton), 135 Sofia Turek (Lyons)

Additional runners-up
100 Bailynn Dunham (St. Charles East), 105 Kachi Tijerina (St. Charles East), 115 Sophia Rivas (St. Charles East), 125 Zoe Connelly (Lyons), 135 Brooklyn Peterie (Richmond-Burton), 155 Gesselle Vazquez (Wauconda)

The unbeatens (10-match minimum)
Richmond-Burton’s Madelyn Peterie (11-0 at 130)

Statistics
Second-place Antioch led the tournament with the most pins in the least time, with 18 in 29:28. The Sequoits also led the field with the most tech falls in the least time, with three in 11:43, and had the most total match points with 177.
Individually, St. Charles East’s Autumn Badon had the most pins in the least time with four falls in 3:01, while Antioch’s Londyn Lloyd had the most tech falls in the least time with two in 6:39. St. Charles East’s Valentina Solorzano and Grayslake North’s Ester Migues-Gaytan tied for the fastest tech fall at 2:00.
Lyons’ Gabby Jackson scored the most single-match points with 24 and Wauconda’s Jadzie Dominguez scored the most total match points with 43. The largest seed-place difference came from Freeport’s NaJeyah Wallace, as the No. 9 seed won the title at 155 pounds.

Championship match results
100-Ester Migues-Gaytan (Grayslake N) F 1:08 Bailynn Dunham (SC East)
105-Jhania Wickert-Harris (Lyons) F 2:00 Kachi Tijerina (SC East)
110-Sydney Stieb (SC East) F 0:54 Londyn Lloyd (Antioch)
115-Brea Balles (Freeport) TF 4:00 Sophia Rivas (SC East)
120-Mirabelle Duboeuf (Lake Forest) F 2:57 Kaiya Galindo (Freeport)
125-Caroline Marogy (Buffalo Grove) F 1:29 Zoe Connelly (Lyons)
130-Madelyn Peterie (Richmond-Burton) TF 2:26 Elise Kaylor (Lakes)
135-Sofia Turek (Lyons) F 2:47 Brooklyn Peterie (Richmond-Burton)
140-Sasha Johnson (Antioch) F 0:36 Michelle Otuonye (Lakes)
145-Christina Hasner (Lakes) TF 5:01 Rylee Dunlavy (Antioch)
155-NaJeyah Wallace (Freeport) D 10-7 Gesselle Vazquez (Wauconda)
170-Caydance Fellows (Freeport) F 5:58 Josie Blau (Antioch)
190-Kamila Loaiza (Lakes) BYE
235-Joslin Coon (Lakes) F Erika Celik (Lakes)

Third-place match results
100-Eleanor Ecklund (Carmel) BYE
105-Ariyana Calmese (Freeport) TF 4:24 Lauren Anderson (Grayslake N)
110-Mariah Zalapa (Lyons) F 1:57 April Stevens (Wauconda)
115-Osmairi Medina  Alvarado (Lakes) F 2:12 Alyana Cotton (Antioch)
120-Autumn Badon (SC East) F 0:31 Breanna Warren (Richmond-Burton)
125-Dylhlah Patterson (Antioch) F 0:28 Jadzie Dominguez (Wauconda)
130-Magdelyn Brough (Antioch) F 1:51 Mari Sorice (Lyons)
135-Isabella Marcomb (Antioch) F 1:16 Tallika Shields (Wauconda)
140-Jatziry Godoy (Wauconda) F 2:40 Gabby Jackson (Lyons)
145-Megan Murray (Lakes) F 3:34 Camille Camarena (Wauconda)
155-Bella Martins (Freeport) F 1:16 Victoria Marquez (Grayslake N)
170-Nalani Isaac (Freeport) F 0:51 Allison Schultz (Richmond-Burton)
190-None
235-Leilany Ramirez-Chavez BYE

Metamora Girls Holiday Classic
Galesburg snared the team title at this year’s 21-team Metamora Girls Holiday Classic, topping second-place St. Joseph-Ogden 89-83. Champaign Central (59) was third, Dunlap (54) placed fourth, and host Metamora (53) rounded out the top five team finishes.

1st- Galesburg (89)
The Silver Streaks got in individual title from Dai Driana Wilford (130), a second from Hannah Barton (155), and thirds from Amyah Pruitt (125), Delilah Gregory (135) and Vivian Aldus (140).

2nd- St. Joseph-Ogden (83)

Ainsley Freeman (125) and Maddie Wells (155) won title for the Spartans, who also got a second from Madison Alsip (120), and fourths from Candice Wright (130) and Taylor Vaughn (145).

3rd- Champaign Central (59)
The Maroons got an individual title from  ly’Jah Grant, a second-place finish from Zaiyrah Bailey (140), and a third from Onisty Murphy (155).

Team scores
Galesburg 89, St. Joseph-Ogden 83, Champaign C 59, Dunlap 54, Metamora 53, Washington 52, Richwoods 47.5, ROWVA 45.5, Streator 45.5, Sterling 40.5, El Paso-Gridley 38, Manual 31.5, St. Thomas More 30, Notre Dame 30, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/ Fisher 21, Sparta 20, Putnam County 18, Geneva 15, Pontiac 11, Illinois Valley Central 9, Peoria 4
Additional champions
100 Lesly DeLaCruz (Notre Dame), 105, Leah White (Richwoods), 110 Leilah Vaughn (Streator), 115 Kiana Mayne (El Paso-Gridley), 120 Payton Henson (Streator), 135 Mylee Edwards (Metamora), 140 Olivia Curtis (Dunlap), 145 Vivianna Torres (Sterling), 190 Patience Riggs (ROWVA), 235 Marley Clark (Richwoods)

Unbeaten (10-match minimum)St. Joseph-Ogden’s Maddie Wells (10-0 at 155)

Statistics
St. Joseph-Ogden posted the most pins in the least time, with 11 pins in 13:49, while Galesburg had the most tech falls in the least time, with two at 3:01. Galesburg posted the most match points with 138, followed by Dunlap with 119.
Individually, Champaign Central’s Onisty Murphy had the most pins in the least time with five in 7:51. Sterling’s Devaeh had the fastest tech fall at 1:04. St. Joseph-Ogden’s Ainsley Freeman scored the most team points with 26, while Galesburg’s Delilah Gregory scored the most total match points with 39 and Sterling’s Nevaeh had the most single-match points with 21.
The largest seed-place difference went to Metamora’s Mylee Edwards, who was seeded seventh but won the title at 135 pounds.

Championship match results
100-Lesly DeLaCruz (Notre Dame) TF 1:48 Katherine Garcia (Sterling)
105-Leah White (Richwoods) F 3:25 Grace Aeschliman (Metamora)
110-Leilah Vaughn (Streator) F 2:23 Madison Poll (St. Thomas More)
115-Kiana Mayne (EP-Gridley) F 1:40 Peace Creath (Richwoods)
120-Payton Henson (Streator) F 3:29 Madison Alsip (SJ-Ogden)
125-Ainsley Freeman (SJ-Ogden) F 0:44 Calliope Willman (Metamora)
130-Dai Driana Wilford (Galesburg) F 1:22 Jaydah Green (Richwoods)
135-Mylee Edwards (Metamora) F 3:45 Emma Zeigler (Washington)
140-Olivia Curtis (Dunlap) F 2:47 Zaiyrah Bailey (Champaign C)
145-Vivianna Torres (Sterling) F 1:08 Claire Simmons (St. Thomas More)
155-Maddie Wells (SJ-Ogden) F 0:23 Hannah Barton (Galesburg)
170-ly’Jah Grant (Champaign C) F 1:21 Perla Cortez (Manual)
190-Patience Riggs (ROWVA) F 0:27 Ella Irwin (Putnam County)
235-Marley Clark (Richwoods) F 0:53 Kya Norman (Richwoods)

Third-place match results
100-Jaymaries Andres (Metamora) F 5:15 Kayla Hassell (Geneva)
105-Jaylynn Elmore (ROWVA) BYE
110-Marissa Brown (ROWVA) TF 3:41 Nevaeh Delgado (Sterling)
115-Avery Manning (ROWVA) injury dflt. Charity Miguel (GCMS/Fisher)
120-Paeyton Dickerson (Dunlap) F 3:55 Ruthie Orella (Sparta)
125-Amyah Pruitt (Galesburg) F 0:51 Michaela HIttle (IV Central)
130-Anabell Southern (EP-Gridley) F 3:52 Candice Wright (SJ-Ogden)
135-Delilah Gregory (Galesburg) F 4:27 Sammy Baker (Notre Dame)
140-Vivian Aldus (Galesburg) F 1:07 Bailey Guth (Washington)
145-McKenzie Miller (GCMS/Fisher) F 1:00 Taylor Vaughn (SJ-Ogden)
155-Onisty Murphy (Champaign C) F 0:44 Lilly Severson (Sparta)
170-Grace Mordhorst (Washington) F 1:42 Olivia Miller (Pontiac)
190-Zanasia Simmons (Manual) F 1:08 Atalyssa Craig (Dunlap)
235-Arianna Tamayo (Sterling) BYE

By Chris Walker for the IWCOA

AG SCI Lady Cyclones 2025

St. Laurence is only in its second year in the sport, but its team has more than doubled in size and it’s beginning to have success, as was demonstrated when it won the title at the 23-team AG SCI Lady Cyclones Tournament at Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences.

Coach Arturo Nesci’s Vikings St. Laurence had four champions and four others who placed in the top five to finish with 195 points, placing it 17.5 points ahead of runner-up Portage, IN. The host Cyclones took third with 110 points while Leyden (101), Back of the Yards (95.5), TF South (87.5), Crete-Monee (84), Hillcrest (78), Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy (75) and Rich Township (73) rounded out the top-10 teams in the field.

“We are in our second year,” St. Laurence coach Arturo Nesci said. “Started with eight first-year wrestlers and now have 21. The tournament had 26 teams.”

1st: St. Laurence (195)

Title winners for the champion Vikings were Nina Nesci (120), Hannah Marusarz (140), Jocelyn Gonzalez-Ruiz (145) and Elise Brown (235) while Cecelia Riccordino (100), Jenayah Velazquez (125), Magdalena Roa (130) and Delia Humphrey (155) all placed fifth.

2nd: Portage, IN (178.5)

Madisyn Mikels (105) won the lone title for Portage, who also had four girls who placed second, Grace Pinkelton (110), Sophia Jorge (115), Hailee Esco (130) and Ja`Lynn Parker (155).

3rd: Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences (110)

Winning titles for coach Andrea Hale’s third-place Cyclones were Danita Palmore (115) and Elena Haugh (170) while Madison Cruz (140) took third, Rainie Mack (120) placed fourth and Carmen Jackson (110) was fifth.

Additional individual champions:

100: Sariya Maddox (Rich Township); 110: Zoey Dodgers (Leyden); 125: Kendra Chatman (Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy); 130: Catherine Diehl (Wheaton Academy); 135: Mercedes Carrasco (De La Salle Institute); 155: Melissa Nance (Hillcrest); 190: Jordyn Coleman-Harrison (Hillcrest)

Additional runners-up:

100: Ashley Lopez (Back of the Yards); 105: Anapaula Cerna Rivera (De La Salle Institute); 120: Sabrina Bono (Leyden); 125: Dimond Calvin-Bowsky (Crete-Monee); 135: Stephanie Villada-Garcia (Mother McAuley); 140: Evelyna Perez (Back of the Yards); 145: Jazariah Willis (Hillcrest); 170: Jermia Moore (TF South); 190: Nyomi Ascencio (Back of the Yards); 235: Andrea Aguilera (Leyden)

Statistics of note:

Haugh and Nance led all champions with 30 team points while Carrasco and Diehl tied for third with 29.5 and Marusarz and Nesci tied for fifth place with 29 points. Ag Sciences’ Carmen Jackson had the most total match points with 56. And Nesci also had the largest seed-place difference after being seeded 15th and winning the title at 120. The Vikings had a 32-20 advantage in pins over Portage and easily had the most total match points with 277 while the host Cyclones were second with 206 points.

Final team scores;

St. Laurence (195), Portage, IN (178.5), Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences (110), Leyden (101), Back of the Yards (95.5), TF South (87.5), Crete-Monee (84), Hillcrest (78), Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy (75), Rich Township (73), Mather (71), De La Salle Institute (69.5), Evergreen Park (67), Mother McAuley (64), Hancock (51), York (51), Little Village Lawndale (42), Kenwood Academy (36), Fenwick (32.5), Wheaton Academy (29.5), Marist (19.5), Morgan Park (9), North Chicago (3).

Title match results:

100: Sariya Maddox (Rich Township) over Ashley Lopez (Back of the Yards), F 0:46

105: Madisyn Mikels (Portage, IN) over Anapaula Cerna Rivera (De La Salle Institute), Inj. 3:57

110: Zoey Dodgers (Leyden) over Grace Pinkelton (Portage, IN), F 2:36

115: Danita Palmore (Agricultural Sciences) over Sophia Jorge (Portage, IN), D 7-0

120: Nina Nesci (St. Laurence) over Sabrina Bono (Leyden), MD 16-6

125: Kendra Chatman (Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy) over Dimond Calvin-Bowsky (Crete-Monee), F 0:50

130: Catherine Diehl (Wheaton Academy) over Hailee Esco (Portage, IN), TF 3:46

135: Mercedes Carrasco (De La Salle Institute) over Stephanie Villada-Garcia (Mother McAuley),  F 3:18

140: Hannah Marusarz (St. Laurence) over Evelyna Perez (Back of the Yards), MD 13-0

145: Jocelyn Gonzalez-Ruiz (St. Laurence) over Jazariah Willis (Hillcrest), F 5:00

155: Melissa Nance (Hillcrest) over Ja’Lynn Parker (Portage, IN), F 2:44

170: Elena Haugh (Agricultural Sciences) over Jermia Moore (TF South), F 3:30

190: Jordyn Coleman-Harrison (Hillcrest) over Nyomi Ascencio (Back of the Yards), F 2:26

235: Elise Brown (St. Laurence) over Andrea Aguilera (Leyden), Inj. 2:14

Third-place match results:

100: Iris Cardenes (Evergreen Park) over Adalie Aguilapolo (Mather), F 0:51

105: Camila Ramirez (Little Village Lawndale) over Myricle Hudson (Crete-Monee), F 3:54 

110: Dakodia Kelly (TF South) over Emily Gandar (Leyden), F 1:11

115: Rihanna Raygoza (Little Village Lawndale) over Danita Green (Kenwood Academy), For.

120: Victoria Serment (De La Salle Institute) over Rainie Mack (Agricultural Sciences), D 6-2

125: Azzaria Quintanilla (Portage, IN) over Laniyah Asberry (Rich Township), F 0:31

130: Talea Ferguson (Marist) over Ariadna Cruz (Mather), TF 4:38

135: Olivia Hetzler (Portage, IN) over Liana Wilcox (Rich Township), M. For.

140: Madison Cruz (Agricultural Sciences) over Nyla Hall (Rich Township), F 4:20

145: Neriah Treadway (Hancock) over Mira Novick (York), F1:36

155: Layla Ross (Evergreen Park) over Mya Coffey (TF South), MD 11-0

170: Lilith Merikort (Evergreen Park) over Amirah Favela (Fenwick), F 0:46

190: Kaylee Slattery (Crete-Monee) over Phoenix Boyson (Mother McAuley), F 0:57

235: Maya Grant (Mother McAuley) over Marlene Segundo (Mather), F 0:45 

Curie Metropolitan Queen of the Mayhem 2025

East Aurora continued its run of tournament success after easily winning the title at Curie Metropolitan’s 24-team Queen of the Mayhem 2025 Tournament in Chicago by collecting 267.5 points, which was 78 points ahead of runner-up J. Sterling Morton, who scored 189.5 points. 

It was the third-straight tournament championship for coach Ryan Mick’s Tomcats, who also claimed first-place showings at Larkin and their own invite after finishing in second place to Lincoln-Way co-op in their initial tournament, which was at Minooka.

The rest of the top 10 included Oak Lawn (155), Marist (145.5), Curie (119), Evanston Township (99), South Elgin (96), Lake Park (89.5), Eisenhower (81) and Thornton Township (73.5).

1st: East Aurora (267.5)

Lupita Garcia (140) and Lilli Ortiz (235) won title matches while Jelena Coyomani (120), Valentina Barboza (125), Ivy Ruiz (140) and Jaylene Dealba (190) each placed second to lead the Tomcats. Carmen Garcia (100), Joselyn Llanos (110) and Ayelen Higuera (130) took third, Arianna Olguin (190NoNs) also placed third and contributed 16 team points. Vanessa Tesillos (105), Ninel Alvarez (115), Carolina Ascencio (145) and Alyssa Galarza (155) placed fourth. And there was an all-Tomcats matchup for the 140 championship with Garcia winning over Ruiz.

2nd: J. Sterling Morton (189.5)

Jordan Rodriguez (100) and Anali Wilson (170) took home titles to lead coach Fernando Arratia’s Mustangs. Victoria Vargas (115) placed second and Sophia Almaraz (105) and Dionna Burks (140) were third. Karla Munoz (110), Isis Marcano (120), Fatima Martinez (125) and Liliana Ionescu (135) finished fourth while Quetzalli Delgado (140) and Rhysel Anum (145) were sixth and Jalissa Jaramillo (155 NonS) placed third with 16 team points.

3rd: Oak Lawn (155)

Elizabeth Bisonaya (100) won a title to pace coach Matt Arthur’s third-place Spartans. Journey Jackson (130) and Priscilla Ruiz (145) placed second, Felix Morales (105) and Eliana Caudillo (115) were fifth and Allison Nava (110), Nataly Romero (170) and Bianca Ocampo (190) took sixth.

Additional individual champions:

110: Giselle Arambula (Curie Metropolitan); 115: Gymaria Brown (Curie Metropolitan); 120: Gracie Meluch (Naperville Central); 125: Molly O`Connor (Lemont); 130: Melva Gallego-Sugar (Naperville Central); 135: Ava Burns (Lake Park); 145: Marlen Morelos Perez (Eisenhower); 155: Allison Garbacz (South Elgin); 190: Jadelin Caballero (Larkin)

Additional runners-up:

100: Maria Quintero (Fenton); 105: Ariana Baier (Lemont); 110: Ariel Woodfin (Thornton Township); 135: Stella Harris (Marist); 155: Lily Fish (Reavis); 170: Phoebe Heyboer (Eisenhower); 235: Abby Parker (Marist)

Statistics of note:

Wilson led all champions with 32 team points while Burns was second with 31.5 points and Rodriguez ranked third with 31 team points. There was a five-way tie for fourth with 30 points between Arambula, Brown, Meluch, O’Connor and Ortiz while Garbacz was ninth with 29 points and led all competitors in total match points with 65 while Lake Park’s Reese Nicolas was second with 61 points. Wilson and Oak Lawn’s Eliana Caudillo were the only individuals with five falls while Garbacz and Nicolas were the only two with two wins by technical fall. Burns had the largest seed-place difference, improving 19 spots to win the 135 title. The longest title match was at 190 where Caballero prevailed with a fall in 7:46 over Dealba. East Aurora had the most pins with 35 while J. Sterling Morton edged East Aurora 240-239 for most total match points. 

Records of champions:

Champions who were unbeaten following Queen of the Mayhem 2025 were Bisonaya (12-0 at 100), O’Connor (11-0 at 125), Garbacz (14-0 at 155) and Wilson (15-0 at 170) while title winners with one defeat were Arambula (12-1 at 110), Brown (13-1 at 115), Morelos Perez (13-1 at 145), Caballero (14-1 at 190) and Ortiz (13-1 at 235).

Final team scores:

East Aurora (267.5), J. Sterling Morton (189.5), Oak Lawn (155), Marist (145.5), Curie Metropolitan (119), Evanston Township (99), South Elgin (96), Lake Park (89.5), Eisenhower (81), Thornton Township (73.5), Larkin (72), Lemont (61), Naperville Central (61), Reavis (60), Fenton (53), Bremen (44), Dyett (23.5), Niles North (21.5), Proviso East (16), Chicago Academy (15), Phoenix STEM Military Academy (11), Lincoln Park (8), Intrinsic Downtown (3), Mansueto (3)

Title match results:

100: Elizabeth Bisonaya (Oak Lawn) over Maria Quintero (Fenton), F 3:01

105: Jordan Rodriguez (J. Sterling Morton) over Ariana Baier (Lemont), MD 10-0

110: Giselle Arambula (Curie Metropolitan) over Ariel Woodfin (Thornton Township), F 4:31

115: Gymaria Brown (Curie Metropolitan) over Victoria Vargas (J. Sterling Morton), F 1:17

120: Gracie Meluch (Naperville Central) over Jelena Coyomani (East Aurora), F 4:00

125: Molly O`Connor (Lemont) over Valentina Barboza (East Aurora), F 2:51

130: Melva Gallego-Sugar (Naperville Central) over Journey Jackson (Oak Lawn), MD 13-1

135: Ava Burns (Lake Park) over Stella Harris (Marist), F 1:56

140: Lupita Garcia (East Aurora) over Ivy Ruiz (East Aurora), F 0:18

145: Marlen Morelos Perez (Eisenhower) over Priscilla Ruiz (Oak Lawn), F 1:29

155: Allison Garbacz (South Elgin) over Lily Fish (Reavis), TF 5:24

170: Anali Wilson (J. Sterling Morton) over Phoebe Heyboer (Eisenhower), F 1:30

190: Jadelin Caballero (Larkin) over Jaylene Dealba (East Aurora), F 7:46

235: Lilli Ortiz (East Aurora) over Abby Parker (Marist), F 1:52

Third-place match results:

100: Carmen Garcia (East Aurora) over Adelina Diaz (Chicago Academy), D 7-3

105: Sophia Almaraz (J. Sterling Morton) over Vanessa Tesillos (East Aurora), F 2:48

110: Joselyn Llanos (East Aurora) over Karla Munoz (J. Sterling Morton), F 2:18

115: Janiya Hawkins (Dyett) over Ninel Alvarez (East Aurora), D 12-7

120: Oyetola Rachael Jacobs (Evanston Township) over Isis Marcano (J. Sterling Morton), MD 14-2

125: Ava Enright (Marist) over Fatima Martinez (J. Sterling Morton), MD 15-3

130: Ayelen Higuera (East Aurora) over Yaretzi Avila Calixto (Curie Metropolitan), TF 3:26

135: Amelia Quinlan (Bremen) over Liliana Ionescu (J. Sterling Morton),  F 0:36

140: Dionna Burks (J. Sterling Morton) over Tyler Lee (Thornton Township), M. For.

145: Isabella Vernon (Evanston Township) over Carolina Ascencio (East Aurora), MD 8-0

155: Mariana Morelos Perez (Eisenhower) over Alyssa Galarza (East Aurora), M. For.

170: Mariana Flores (Larkin) over Daiana Lopez (Curie Metropolitan), F 2:59

190: Paige Washburn (Lake Park) over Fatima Gomez (Evanston Township), F 2:50

235: Ariana Solideo (Fenton) over Miniyai Adams (Thornton Township), F 2:39

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)

By Chris Walker for the IWCOA

2025 Morris Girls Reindeer Rumble Invite

It was a two-team race for the team title during the 3rd annual Morris Girls Reindeer Rumble Invite on Dec. 20, but the defending champs were victorious again.

Like Schaumburg did in the inaugural tournament in 2023, and last year, the Saxons showcased their depth and talent to take home the title for the third straight year.

“It’s a good tournament, you got Lockport and DeKalb and Minooka ,all these teams that will be at state duals next week,” Schaumburg coach Matt Gruszka said. “Dual team is definitely a different feel because it brings excitement and it’s nice IWCOA puts on the state duals for next week. It’s a cool thing. We get 16 full teams going at it. It’s a great environment. We look forward to seeing those teams again, and all the coaches here get along well here which is kind of nice.”

The Saxons were challenged by Minooka, outscoring the Indians 448 to 428. Lockport was a distant third with 360 and DeKalb was fourth at 267 with Canton’s 245 rounding out of the top five teams among 27 programs that competed in the festive-themed tourney.

“Our normal (first) tournament got canceled because of the weather so it was the first tournament,” Gruszka said. “It’s always interesting to see how your team responds in their first big tournament, but overall they definitely had the team effort and we’re going to need that when we do duals which is going to be a lot of fun.”

Nadia Razzak (190) won a title while her teammates, Isabella Rivas (125), Layla McHenry (155) and Sharon Olorunfemi (135) wrestled their way into the finals but fell short, placing second. Makenzi Aguilar (100) was third, Ava Hartman (140) and Maja Brzosko (170) were fourth, Catherine Franco (105), Reagan Paulson (120) and Lauren Brehmer (130) were sixth. Olivia Furlan (235) placed eighth to provide 24 points and Anna Villarreal (115) took ninth and delivered 27 points.

“I think our 190 (Razzak) wrestled extremely well,” Gruszka said. “Nadia had a hell of a tournament. And then we had some of the girls in the final, but I tell you, it’s a tough tournament, some tough individual girls here. To win a tournament like this some girls come from smaller teams but they’re tough as nails so you run into someone in the finals or third, who’s this girl? I love wrestling these tournaments, you get to see those individual girls.”

Runner-up Minooka earned a pair of titles from Ezra Rodriquez (145) and Abigail Underhill (155). Anastasia Dewey (125) and Sabina Charlebois (130) took third, Marian Nordsell (110) and Mia Lemberg (190) were fourth and Aubry Smith (115), Lexie Lakota (135), Melody Williams (140) and Addison Davis (170) placed fifth. Therese Escano (105) placed seventh and earned 27 points and Mia Martinez (100) was tenth with 18 points.

100 – Abella Brown, Canton

Brown didn’t get a chance to wrestle here last year. Instead, she was watching from the outside, biding her time waiting for her wrist to heal.

“I’m very happy with actually wrestling at this tournament because last year I broke my wrist the second day of practice and I was out for half the season, so I wasn’t even at this tournament last year,” the junior said. “I’m just happy to be back. I did come back and ended up qualifying for state and Chloe (Hedges) over here also qualified for state.”

Brown scored a 9-0 major over Burlington Central’s Melanie Garcia to win the title match.

“The biggest key for me was just wrestling to my ability and having my teammates and coaches push me and remind me of how I can wrestle,” Brown said. “Really after winning my first one and continuing into my second I just kept pushing and finding my angles, finding my shots was really what got me through today.”

After beginning high school at Coal City, Brown transferred to Canton and now she’s among the Little Giants at the 585-student school in Fulton County, a solid 3-plus hour drive from Morris.

“It’s been like a family to me from the beginning,” Brown said. “All the girls push each other at practice and the coaches genuinely are so amazing and they really want the best for us and they push us to work hard.”

Schaumburg’s Makenzi Aguilar beat West Aurora’s Melissa Melgar by fall at 3:07 for third place, and DeKalb’s Jade Weiss pinned Ottawa’s Isabel Gwaltney in 9 seconds for fifth.

105 – Alex Gregorio-Perez, DeKalb 

Gregorio-Perez, who placed fifth in the state at 105 pounds last year, became a 2-time champion in the infancy of this third-year tournament with a repeated win at 105.

She pinned all five of her opponents, including Canton’s LT Diephus in 2:58 in the final. Diephus won the title at 100 last year here.

Oswego East’s Vivienne Mendygral (0:59), Romeoville’s Delilah Carli (1:10), Sandwich’s Olivia Agajanian (1:21) and Ottawa’s Ciara Wolf (0:51) were among those Gregorio-Perez defeated by fall before matching up against Diephus.

“Overall, we’ve been working on my top and bottom a lot,” Gregorio-Perez said. “If I look at the bigger picture compared to my freshman year I would say my confidence is there. I feel ready to go as soon as we are out of bounds or they stop the match, I’m ready in the middle, ready to go, ready on my feet, thinking of my next move and how to work through that without thinking too much about it. It really is just a feel. Getting through uncomfortable situations as well and just putting it all out there.”

Wrestling has added structure to Gregorio-Perez’s young life.

“I tried out and I’m not going to lie, I was a little bit unstable and a bit of a trouble maker,” she said. “And my parents had told me I couldn’t wrestle and so it just made me want to actually wrestle, so I just still did wrestling and stuck with it and really liked it and now it’s everything for me.”

She’s taken advantage of a program at DeKalb that benefits from the strength of a solid boys program.

“Obviously, at DeKalb we’re very big on wrestling so we have a lot of resources with coaches and they are very willing to work with me, so obviously a lot of those coaches have seen my potential even when I haven’t seen it,” she said. “So during the off-season I worked so hard, I would get a lot of extra practice, go to the off-season stuff and just trying to get other girls to want to practice so I could get a practice partner.”

Now that she’s seeing other girls following in her footsteps, she’s counting her blessings that she was introduced to this great sport which continues to grow with her peers.

“Our girls in general want to do it because they see it’s possible,” she said. “It’s just amazing, and if anything, it’s very rewarding being a part of it and seeing not only our girls team in the high school, but middle school. Our club with girls in fifth grade and fourth grade and second grade, everything is multiplying and so great to see compared to my freshman year and there were five girls maybe.”

Shepard’s Sofia Perez won by fall at 3:07 over Ottawa’s Ciara Bolf for third place, and West Aurora’s Ruby Bolanos-Carbajal earned a 6-0 decision against Schaumburg’s for fifth.

110 – Annalee Haschemeyer, Canton

Haschemeyer, who placed fourth here at 120 as a freshman a year ago, piled up the minutes, earning five victories, including four by decision.

After opening with a 10-7 decision over Coal City’s Norah Minuth, Haschemeyer pinned Oswego’s Kendra Padilla at 3:20 to advance to the quarterfinals. She earned decisions over Sandwich’s Lydia Cartwright and Minooka’s Marian Nordsell to get to the finals where she earned an 8-5 decision against Ottawa’s Lily Gwaltney.  

“I’m really proud of myself because last year I think I got fourth or fifth, and I got first this year,” she said. “So I’m really proud of myself and my thought was just like move, move move, run, run, run on your feet. I’m really proud of how I moved.”

As for what Haschemeyer learned about wrestling from the end last season to now?

“I learned that girls are a lot easier to wrestle than boys,” she said. “From freshman to sophomore year that’s what I learned.”

DeKalb’s Larisza Gomez Guevara earned a tech fall win while ahead 17-1 at the 4-minute mark over Minooka’s Marian Nordsell for third, and Canton’s Shayla Schielein scored a 7-0 decision over Sandwich’s Lydia Cartwright for fifth.

115 – Chloe Hedges, Canton

Plainfield South’s Kayla Ochotorena avoided being pinned by Hedges in the first minute, which was something Hedges’ four other opponents were unable to do.

In fact, Hedges earned pins in 21, 40 and 53 seconds before taking down Schaumburg’s Aubree Campos in 38 seconds in the final.

Attitude and battling teammate Annalee Haschemeyer in the practice room were apparently difference makers in her dominance all day.

“Well, I tried to take a lot of shots and keep a positive attitude mainly,” Hedges said. “I don’t know. I’m not used to doing interviews. My bruises are (Haschemeyer’s) bruises and her bruises are my bruises.”

120 – Aiyanah Sylvester, West Aurora

A year after winning the title here at 125, Sylvester won at 120, joining select company as one of a handful of two-time champs here.

Sylvester dominated. The junior pinned Prairie Central senior Yurithdzy Vilchis in 51 seconds to win the title.

It was her fourth pin of the tournament. After opening with two straight pins in 14 and 33 seconds respectively, Sylvester won by forfeit in her third round match to advance to the quarterfinals where she won by fall in 1:08 against Romeoville’s Jayden Kurowski. She needed a little longer (2:22) before getting to Peotone’s Kennedy Mort in the semifinal. All told, she spent just 4:17 on the mat in Morris wrestling.

Mort received a tech fall win against Plainfield South’s Alexia Kachiroubas when she pulled ahead 17-3 at 3:47 for third place, and Reed-Custer’s Madysen Meyer won 3-1 over Schaumburg’s Reagan Paulson for fifth.

125 – Samantha Greisen, Seneca

Greisen isn’t alone at her school, but she’s in select company with Hayden Lavarier, a 145-pounder who took seventh place on Saturday.

They’re the lone female wrestlers at Seneca.

“Only got us two girls, just me and Hayden at the school, and there are some people who will try it out and they’ll be like, ‘I’m not a fan,’ and give up on it,” Greisen said. “It kind of discourages other girls from trying.”

There’s no doubt Greisen was the exact opposite. She got hooked pretty early on.

“I started when I was in middle school and I just needed an outlet,” she said. “My mom thought for sure I was going to quit. I was in fifth grade and I liked it. It was fun and so I stuck with it. And then I wasn’t a fan of the school I was at and the school was not a big fan of me. Once I moved I thought I wasn’t going to wrestle and then I got the Seneca coaches, mostly Gavin (Kurtz) and I was like ‘I really like this sport’ so I stuck it out and now I might go wrestle in college because of it.”

She’s looking to go next-level because she’s doing fantastic things currently in high school, including pinning five opponents in a single day to win a title.

Greisen’s defeated Bolingbrook’s Kayleah Tate (2:27), Romeoville’s Samantha De La Torre (1:28), Urbana’s Tauhnisjha Hart (3:01), Schaumburg’s Elena Nikolova (4:00) and Schaumburg’s Isabella Rivas (3:47).

“For me it has been figuring out the things I’m comfortable with and sticking with that,” she said. “Then I’ll slowly get out of it and maybe I don’t know if I like it so I figure it out that way.”

Last year Greisen started the season at 140 and then moved down to 135 about midway through it. She’s bounced from 130 to 125 this season but believes she’ll stick at 125.

“Weight hasn’t been too big of a problem,” she said. “The girls, we tend to monitor it a bit better than the guys do. Guys will get 15 pounds over the day before and have to cut it all off. There are times I’ll get a couple pounds over but I always make weight.”

And she’s looking to make things difficult on her opponents by attacking them.

“Last year I did not shoot at all,” she said. “I was definitely a defensive wrestler until I was on the mat. This year my coaches have definitely changed that. Gavin Kurtz is making me shoot more. I’ll say I don’t want a cut on me and he’ll say go neutral. It’s definitely helped me and it’s giving me more confidence being able to shoot. It’s helping out on the mat and off of it.”

Minooka’s Anastasia Dewey earned an 8-0 major decision over Schaumburg’s Elena Nikolova for third, and Bolingbrook’s Alejandra Flores won by fall at 0:59 over Urbana’s Tauhnisjha Hart for fifth.

130 – Ava Beldo, Tolono Unity

Tolono Unity sent Beldo and Phoenix Molina (235) to Morris for this year’s tournament and both came away as champions.

Beldo’s biggest battle came in the semifinal where she won by sudden victory, 6-3, over Minooka’s Sabina Charlebois. She used the adrenalin rush of that victory to make quick work of Shepard’s Mila Rocush in the final, getting the pin at 1:23.

Beldo also won by fall in her first two matches of the tournament.

Minooka’s Sabina Charlebois defeated Lockport’s Kyleigh Green by fall at 1:57 for third place, and Urban’s Tamya Terry earned a 16-2 major over Schaumburg’s Lauren Brehmer to place fifth.

135 – Keagan Edwards, Glenbard North

Edwards became a two-time champion. The senior won at 130 here last year before adding the 135-pound title to her resume on Saturday.

She went 5:16 until she won by fall over Schaumburg’s Sharon Olorunfemi in the final, her longest match of a day in which she pinned all five of her opponents.

Edwards also registered pins over Lockport’s Heidy Castillo Sanchez (1:27), Peotone’s Pyper Seitz (1:17), Minooka’s Gianna Boudonck (0:49) and Oswego’s Joslynn Sheets (1:47).

“I think I was very aggressive today,” she said. “I think I went out there with a goal in mind and I made it happen, that I had a decision to make whether I wanted to win or not and I wanted to win. I definitely did a few things that weren’t my best. I struggled a little bit with staying forward and being the aggressor the whole time, but mostly I think I did a decent job.”

Wrestlers are tough on themselves. Edwards is no different. She expected to go farther last post-season.

“I’m not one to be like easy on myself, you know, I’d say I have really high expectations of myself,” she said. “So it was really upsetting, but one of the philosophies I try to have is it happened, the only thing I can do about what happened is acting out in the future. There’s no way that I can go back and fix the mistakes I made last year but I can make sure I don’t make them again this year.”

Edwards went right back to work after her season ended in the sectional.

“I decided I had another year, I had the whole off-season to work and that’s what I’ve been doing,” she said. “I’ve been working really hard in the off-season, going to practice like every single day, sometimes multiple times a day, and had a good experience at Fargo. I’m just coming back into this season and it’s been really fun so far and I’m excited with how it’s going.”

Fun can get lost in competition, but it’s right there front and center for Edwards who is seeing the program at Glenbard North blow up.

“It’s been an amazing growth,” she said. “I think we had a little bit over 14 girls last year. This year we have around 30 girls coming in. I’m really excited because the first three years we had it, it was a pretty small team. Last year we had our most girls at 14 or 15, and now around 30 girls who are really excited to be there. I’m just really happy it’s grown so much.”

DeKalb’s Kara Zimmerman pinned Oswego’s Joslynn Sheets at 1:34 for third place, and Minooka’s Lexie Lakota pinned teammate Gianna Boudonck at 1:31 for fifth.

140 – Claudia Heeney, Lockport

Heeney, who won at 135 pounds here last year before going on to win her second state title, became a two-time champion in Morris with a title at 140, defeating Oswego East’s Quinn Janssens by tech fall at 2:27 (17-2). Heeney won her first state title as a sophomore in 2024 at 130.

Victories by fall preceded Heeney’s win in the title as she pinned Bolingbrook’s Brand`e Ford-Lewis (1:28), West Aurora’s Raysa Castaneda (1:26), Romeoville’s Ariana Vergara (1:11) and Schaumburg’s Ava Hartman (1:16).

“Just working technique all day,” Heeney said. “Practicing what I can, and what I’m doing in practice on the mat. I’m really trying to work on my footwork and whatnot. I’ve been to a couple tournaments these past two weeks out of state, Iron Man and Donnybrook, and I think one thing I definitely lacked was my footwork and my attacks on the mat. So, I was really just try to focus in on that today. I’ve been practicing with it the last three weeks, so just really trying to get out there and go after it.”

Janssens avoided Heeney’s bid for five straight pins.

“She’s pretty solid,” Heeney said. “You know, she’s got some good technique, headlocking and whatnot. I thought that was pretty fun match, a pretty tough one. Congrats to her. That was great. And I really love the competition, it’s always fun.”

As Heeney’s risen to become one of the state’s first all-time greats, she’s continuing to give back as the sport continues to rise.

“I’ve been wrestling a long time, so a lot of people only see what I’ve done in high school, but when I was a kid, I mean, I got my butt kicked every day by guys,” she said. “So coming here, and, seeing the girls, like, do the sport of it, and grow, and grow, and then, like, every year, from freshman year to now, the girls just get better and better every year so it’s really cool to see, and it’s fun to wrestle and be able to compete in it.”

Lockport senior Kyleigh Green (130) placed fourth, juniors Bella Romando (115) and Rebekah Ramirez (11-4) and senior Rebekah Ramirez (235) took third, and freshmen Alexandra Hardesty (155) and Jaylene Mack (170) placed sixth for the Porters.

“My freshman year we had about eight girls and we just had eight freshmen join this year so we have so many seniors this year and the culture on the team is great,” Heeney said,. “I think it’s really interesting to be a senior on the team and help be like a team captain and help guide the younger girls. I enjoy it a lot. Some people may think it’s not something enjoyable, but I love helping other people and being a mentor if I can be. or if willing, whatever. But I really do love the team culture. We have something special growing at Lockport, and I think we’re gonna be a team to watch over the next couple years.”

When Heeney sees that glint in the eye of one of her teammates, she’s thrilled to help.

“I think a lot of our girls are super invested in the sport, and once, like, I see that those girls are getting invested that makes me want to pull onto them and share my love with the sport with them,” she said. “I love the sport. I eat, sleep, and breathe it. I’m at practice all the time. So when I see girls working hard in the room and we’re all pushing together, it’s just really something special to see.”

Urbana’s Rickasia Ivy earned a 10-6 major against Schaumburg’s Ava Hartman to take third place, and Minooka’s Melody Williams won by fall at 3:45 over Bolingbrook’s Amanda Lezama to take fifth.

145 – Ezra Rodriquez, Monica

Rodriguez was the recipient of a bye to begin her day and was standing atop the awards podium to end it with a 4-1 decision over Kewanee’s Aaliyah Swearingen.

A tech fall win over Oswego’s Ella Cooper preceded the title victory for Rodriguez, who also had a pair of wins by fall on her way to her championship win.

Sandwich’s Jazmin Rios earned an 11-6 win Oswego East’s Ella Cooper to capture third place, and Robinson’s Macee Hammond Butler earned a 3-1 decision against Ottawa’s Alivia Butler to take fifth.

155 – Abigail Underhill, Minooka 

Underhill had opponents under her thumb as she pinned Oswego’s Layla Rafeh (1:49), Lockport’s Alexandra Hardesty (2:26), Oswego East’s Gianna Edwards (3:12) and Oswego East’s Julia Robb (5:11) en route to the title match where she scored a 4-0 decision over Schaumburg’s Layla McHenry.

Glenbard North’s Suzanne Stalley earned a 56-second pin against Robb to place third, and Edwards pinned Lockport’s Hardesty for fifth.

170 – Layla Spann, Plainfield South

Last year, Spann placed fourth here at 170. This year, she pinned six girls and won the title.

She opened with a win by fall in 1:34 over Ottawa’s Mary Rodriguez.

Similar wins over Lockport’s Jaylene Mack (1:41), West Aurora’s Kiveni (Tiffany) Manungu (0:49), Minooka’s Addison Davis (0:31) and Oswego’s Makayla Hill (4:39) followed into the finals where she pinned Herschel’s Henna Mullikin (3:05).

Hill survived Schaumburg’s Maja Brzosko, 7-6, to take third, and Davis won by fall at 2:56 over Mack to take fifth.

190 – Nadia Razzak, Schaumburg

Razzak became a two-time champion here after she earned a 3-0 decision against Plainfield South’s Kimyra Patrick in the 190 final.

“I really was just trying to use my head, usually my wrestling in the past was straight aggression and I’ve been more clear headed,” she said. “Obviously, when I’m warming up I’m getting aggressive like getting clear headed and working my footwork. Just those two things have made my game so much better.”

She had to get past Lockport’s Sophie Kelner in the semifinals. Kelner is someone Razzak has seen often. At this tournament last year they went head-to-head in the semifinals as well, with Razzak pinning her in 53 seconds. On Saturday, Razzak beat her 6-3.

“Sometimes I feel like in a tournament I kind of breeze through, she said. “But especially this one I feel like I really earned it. Two hard matches for my last two and one of the girls is someone I’ve seen so many times through the years. Some girls you can’t shake off of you. You follow each other to every tournament, but I think that competition is good. I enjoy seeing those girls.”

Humble in her success, the senior is especially thankful for her coaches and school.

“It’s really thanks to my coaches especially Jason, he really works with me so much and (Matt) Gruszka,” she said. “It gave me the confidence on the mat where I was able to do what I wanted to do. My coaches, seriously, I’m so grateful, and I say this every time and my team is like, Schaumburg, I would never move schools. The coaching is so good, the girls are so good, everyone is good to each other. It really makes it worth wrestling.”

Lockport’s Sophie Kelner pinned Minooka’s Mia Lemberg at 1:45 for third place, and Romeoville’s Mariyah Mani pinned Glenbard North’s Giannna Tammo at 0:58 for fifth.

235 – Phoenix Molina, Tolono Unity

You couldn’t have asked for a much better matchup than the final at 235 which paired Molina with Urbana’s Lillian Disanto as the two battled for third-place in state last year with Molina coming away victorious, 6-0. Molina earned a pin in 3:22 in their latest square off.

“Pretty much everywhere I go, as long as Ottawa or Urbana is there, it’s like a rerun of state and we’re all preparing for February,” Molina said. “Looking at the match, that was not the best I could’ve possibly wrestled. There is improvement to be had and I think that can be said for every match, never going to perform perfect, and it’s just always little things here and there. A year ago I would’ve looked at that match and said ‘Wow, I’d did amazing,’ but this time of the year I’m looking at that match, ‘So here are a few positional things I can switch to take my wrestling from good to elite,’ so that’s kind of what we’re looking for with all these championship matches.”

Last year’s state champ and runner-up at 235 have graduated leaving Molina and Disanto as the top returnees in their weight class.

“It (State) left a bitter taste in my mouth,” Molina said. “I spent the entirety of my offseason training, and I’ve been training in multiple different rooms, seeking out different experiences, going against the hardest competition I can find, just trying to absorb all of the information, all the technique that I can so I can continue to move forward.”

Molina drew falls over Glenbard North’s Laira Carrillo (1:26) and Romeoville’s Henessis Villagrana (2:51) before getting Disanto in the finals. She won by disqualification over DeKalb’s Aarianna Bloyd in the semifinals. 

“It’s definitely a long game with wrestling and that is something I’m grateful for with coach (Logan) Patton,” she said. “It’s something he’s instilled into me so deep, the discipline and long game of it, and I couldn’t have asked a better person to introduce me to get me in the sport of wrestling.”

Wrestling is truly changing Molina’s life. She’s thriving as well on the mat as off of it. After high school she’ll be wrestling at a Division I program that’s recognized among the nation’s premier research universities.

“When I started wrestling I had no idea how impactful it would be to my life,” she said. “I’m really grateful because of the healthy push forward to school and going to Lehigh for engineering and going to be on an amazing Division 1 program. In all aspects of life, (wrestling) has given so much discipline and so much drive and put me in a better mental place then I feel a lot of people my age can say they are in, simply because I know I can do it for the long gain and I don’t need that short-term gratification.”

Lockport’s Rebekah Ramirez won by fall at 4:38 over DeKalb’s Aarianna Bloyd to take third place, and Romeoville’s Henessis Villagrana won by fall at 2:33 against Shepard’s Karrine Jenkins.

By Mike Garofola for the IWCOA
All IWCOA rankings courtesy of Rob Sherrill’s Illinois Best Weekly

Stillman Valley Holiday Tournament

A sneaky good tournament featured three class 1A state-ranked teams, in addition to 19 state-ranked wrestlers that would showcase several men who undoubtedly will compete for plenty of hardware in Champaign later this year.

Fourth here a year ago, No. 15 Johnsburg (5-0-0) would make the 60-plus mile drive to Stillman Valley where it would lift its first championship trophy of the season over No. 24 Wheaton Academy (196.0) and No. 17 Oregon who tallied 154.0 points.

It would be the depth of Skyhawks that would make the difference as they collected a tourney-best 12 top-five medals, led by its two individual champs, Kainoa Ancog, and No. 7 Duke Mays.

“Kainoa put in a tremendous amount of work this past offseason, and it is starting to show,” began Skyhawks head coach JD Sylvanus. “We really try to do things simple – do the normal things – win the front headlock positions, score points, wear opponents out, and get to work on the top.

“Right now Kainoa is leading our team in pins, and that comes directly from his discipline, effort, and commitment to that approach.

“As for Duke (Mays) he’s come a long way in terms of his confidence on his feet, he’s creating better angles, getting to his shot fakes, and continues to be very strong on top. Overall, his all-around wrestling has improved significantly, and he continues to have success. I know he was not fully satisfied with his result in his final with Blake Livdahl last weekend at Richmond-Burton, but we pride ourselves on continuing to close the gap.

“Livdahl is a great wrestler, and Duke absolutely has visions of being high on the podium this year, as does Kainoa.”

1st- Johnsburg (219)

After finishing just off the top of the podium, the aforementioned Ancog (157, 19-3) and Mays (18-3) claimed their first majors of the season.

They would have plenty of support in the name of runners-up Chase Vogel (120), Chase Davis (132), Jackson Hjorth (215) and Aiden Bowley at 285.

Kai Surdick (113), Connor Gaydo (126), Josh Key (144), Tanner Hansen (150) and Logan Tibbs (175) would all contribute to the cause with their fourth-place medals, with Jordan Syvanus adding his fifth-place medal at 165.

“Chase Davis has been wrestling phenomenally all season for us, and continues to place high in tournaments, and currently holds one of the better records on the team at 19-5,” Sylvanus said.

“Chase Vogel continues to see state-ranked, and high-level competition in nearly all of his matches, where all of his losses have come thus far. The score in his final was not fully indicative of how competitive his match was – he was in position to score throughout, and battled hard, just as he does in the room, where he put in the work on a consistent basis.”

Sylvanus and his men finished their day by bringing both the JV and Varsity together for what he calls ‘team-time’ where, together, they gather to talk one-on-one about goals for the day, and what they need to do in order to achieve them.

2nd- Wheaton Academy (196)

The 2024 tourney champion Warriors made a strong run to a second straight title, and with the help of-now two-time tourney champs: Lincoln Hoger (150) and Tyler Jones (175) and first timer, Hezzy Garcia the club made a valiant run at eventual champion Johnsburg.

No. 9 (144) Hoger is now 17-3. Jones, first at Richmond-Burton last weekend, ran his record to 17-1, while Garcia – who finished third in two previous tournaments – finally earned his first major of the season at 285.

Zion Kaunley (113), Buckley Kazmeirzak (126) and Joey Guidi (144) were all third, with Kazmeirzak recording the fastest pin on the day at nine seconds, and Guidi scoring the most total match points with 60.

Elliot Hardy (106), Oscar Smith (132) and Elijah Shin (138) were all fourth, Joseph Senneses (190) and Ian DeSouza (215) fifth overall.

3rd- Oregon (154)

Oregon (8-1-0), which was sixth a week ago at Richmond-Burton, improved its lot by three spots by outscoring fourth place Marengo by seven points.

No. 2 Josiah Perez (15-0) continues his terrific first half of the year with his second consecutive championship here, and second in two weeks after the senior won it all last weekend at Richmond-Burton.

The Hawks would celebrate a trio of second place medals from: Jordan Lowe (113), Nelson Benesh (138, 14-2) and Jayden Berry at 150, with Newt Wright adding a third place finish at 285.

Fourth-place medals went to Cole Suter (175) and Jackryn Windham (215) with teammates Kendra Ege (106) Carson Benesh (132) and Tyler Hendrickson (175) adding fifth-place medals.

Additional individual champions:

Aden Spinelli (106, Amboy), Cam Whitehead (113, Winnebago), Josiah Perez (120, Oregon), Xander Bell (126, Stillman Valley), Alexander Ferari (132, Lisle),

Mitchell Aukes (138, Marengo), Johnny Consuegra-Lopez (144, Lisle), Ethan Waugh (165, Stillman Valley), Teigen Moreno (215, Dundee-Crown)

Additional runners-up:

Carter Paulson (106, Stillman Valley), Parker McGlinn (120, Winnebago) Hayden Beebe (132, Marengo), Hunter Heath (138, Belvidere), Ibraheem Harb (157, Lisle, Sr.), Josh Karther (165, Kaneland), Gavin Boorsma (175, Marengo), Johnny Strauss (190, Winnebago), Alexander Lopez (215, Aurora Central Catholic), Newt Wright (285, Oregon).

Final Team Results:

Johnsburg 219.0, Wheaton Academy 196.0, Oregon 154.0, Marengo 147.0, Stillman Valley 136.0, Lisle Senior 106.0, Kaneland 87.5, Winnebago 83.0, Amboy 67.0, Belvidere 46.5, Dundee-Crown 35.5, Aurora Central Catholic 12.0, Elgin St. Edward 10.5, Somonauk 8.0, Durand 6.0.

Championship match results:

106- Aden Spinelli (Amboy) d. Sebastian Lara (Lisle Sr.) (F 3:27).

113- Cam Whitehead (Winnebago) d. Jordan Lowe (Oregon) (D 8-1).

120- Josiah Perez (Oregon) d. Chase Vogel (Johnsburg) (MD 15-2).

126- Xander Bell (Stillman Valley) d. Ty Florschuetz (Amboy) (F 1:13).

132- Alexander Ferari (Lisle Sr.) d. Chase Davis (Johnsburg) (D 9-6).

138- Mitchell Aukes (Marengo) d. Nelson Benesh (Oregon) (D 10-3).

144- Johnny Consuega-Lopez (Lisle, Sr.) d. Hunter Boley (Marengo) (F 0:39).

150- Lincoln Hoger (Wheaton Academy) d. Jayden Berry (Oregon) (F 3:09).

157- Kainoa Ancog (Johnsburg) d. Jose Lopez (Amboy) (F 1:54).

165- Ethan Waugh (Stillman Valley) d. Ryan Hess (Marengo) (F 2:57).

175- Tyler Jones (Wheaton Academy) d. Bradley Bankes (Stillman Valley) (F 1:00).

190- Duke Mays (Johnsburg) d. Frankie Solis (Marengo) (TF 26-6).

215- Teigen Moreno (Dundee-Crown) d. Jackson Hjorth (Johnsburg) (D 8-1).

285- Hezzy Garcia (Wheaton Academy) d. Aiden Bowley (Johnsburg) (F 0:45).

Third place match results:

106- Carter Paulson (Stillman Valley) d. Elliot Hardy (Wheaton Academy) (TF 1:37).

113- Zion Kaunley (Wheaton Academy) d. Kai Surdick (Johnsburg) (D 6-5).

120- Parker McGlinn (Winnebago) d. Isaiahs Carreno (Stillman Valley) (F 1:26).

126- Buckley Kazmeirzak (Wheaton Academy) d. Connor Gaydo (Johnsburg) (F 1:49).

132- Hayden Beebe (Marengo) d. Oscar Smith (Wheaton Academy) (D 13-7).

138- Hunter Heath (Belvidere) d. Elijah Shin (Wheaton Academy) (D 11-10).

144- Joey Guidi (Wheaton Academy) d. Josh Key (Johnsburg) (F 4:41).

150- Tanner Hansen (Johnsburg) d. Colten Heltsley (Wheaton Academy) (MD 14-1).

157- Ibraheem Harb (Lisle Sr.) d. Tyler Bell (Stillman Valley) (D 6-3).

165- Josh Karther (Kaneland) d. Cole Suter (Oregon) (F 2:47).

175- Gavin Boorsma (Marengo) d. Logan Tibbs (Johnsburg) (MD 10-2).

190- Johnny Strauss (Winnebago) d. Apollo Gochis (Kaneland) (D 16-10).

215- Alexander Lopez (Aurora Central Catholic) d. Jacksyn Windham (Oregon) (D 11-6).

285- Newt Wright (Oregon) d. Tevian Poole (Dundee-Crown) (F 1:29).

58th SCIACCA-HOLTFRETER INVITE 

Wheeling and Bartlett have moved on to other tournaments this year, taking with them the top two team trophies from a year ago.

New Trier would take full advantage of its first visit here to host Harvard, turning in a solid day’s work. The Trevians used four individual titles and a pair of second place trophies to close out second-place Proviso West (194.0-172.5). Vernon Hills (144.0), Lake Forest (141.0) and Woodstock (136.5) rounded out the top five.

“We opened our week with a dominant performance in our 54-24 conference win over Evanston, and it gave our guys momentum and confidence heading into Harvard this weekend,” began the Trevians long-time head coach Marc Tadelman.

“The leadership provided by our senior captains George Kaup and Matthew Miralles helped set the tone for the team.”

1st: New Trier (194.0)

The Trevians’ championship was driven by the foursome of Matthew Miralles (138), Travis Leonardson (144), Tommy Tures (190, 14-2) and Cooper Kemnitz (285) who all would climb atop the podium at the end of the competition.

“Miralles would dominate all day, and was my vote for O.W. at the lower weights,” Tadelman said. “But as our captain, he set the tone with his confidence and aggressive wrestling.

“Leonardson did a great job of controlling his opponent in the final, who was very athletic – stopping his offense to get to his re-attacks. Great job all day from Tures at 190. His pace in matches was at a high level all day, and it was his pin in his final that sealed the team title for us.

“Cooper (Kemnitz) worked hard all during the offseason. This was the first varsity tournament championship of his career, and it was an awesome comeback pin in his semifinal that really helped our team score.”

William Weedon (157) and George Koup (165) earned second place medals for the Trevians, Tyler Arneson (150) third, and Christian Ballester fifth at 215.

“Weedon and Arneson both had very good days with several dominant wins along the way,” Tadelman said.

2nd: Proviso West (172.5)

The Panthers led the field with 22 pins, and the most total team points on the day with 155 but were unable to use this to overcome eventual tourney champion New Trier.

However, Kelvyn West gave the Panthers’ faithful something to celebrate with his title at 157, with Allante Jackson second at 144, and the upper weight foursome of Isiah Robinson (165), Angel Heard (175), Dijon Cotton (190) and Dameryon Paxton (285) all coming in third. Paxton recorded four pins en route to his third-place finish.

Bairon DeJesus was fifth at 132.

3rd: Vernon Hills (144.0)

Junior Jacob Parker (165, 16-2) won his second straight major after claiming the top prize a week ago at the Rex Lewis. Teammate Sabir Aliev (132) added a second title to the cause to help the Cougars stave off fourth place Lake Forest, which finished just three points away.

The Cougars earned seven medals on the day, one from runner-up Charles Dominguez (113) and the duo of Carson Alper (144) and Timur Arzumanov (215) each finishing third.

Nathan Nobile (106) was fourth, Tony Lopez (120) fifth.

Additional individual champions:

Liam Parker (106, Harvard), Drew Patel (113, North Boone), Dominic Angileri (120, Guilford), Taki Baker (126, Woodstock), Logan Klein 150, Alden-Hebron), Eyzaiah

(175, Boylan), Yaree Sandifer (215, Lake Forest).

Additional runners-up:

Ryan Schacher (106, Lake Forest), Charlie Biddle (120, Lake Forest), Jordan Bradley (126, Woodstock North), Eli Bryan (132, North Boone), Owen Vail (138, Harvard), Paul Halak (150, Lake Forest), Skyler McLeer (175, Woodstock), Jaxson Hansen (190, Woodstock), David Randecker (215, Woodstock North), Sam Reed (285, Belvidere North).

Final Team Scores: 

New Trier 194.0, Proviso West 172.5, Vernon Hills 144.0, Lake Forest 141.0, Woodstock 136.5, North Boone 95.5 Streamwood 84.0, Harvard 72.5, Woodstock North 72.0, Belvidere North 71.5, Boylan 71.0, Guilford 38.0, Bremen 35.5, Alden Hebron 34.0, Gary Comer College Prep 14.0, Kennedy 0.0

Championship match results:

106- Liam Parker (Harvard) d. Ryan Schacher (Lake Forest) (F 0:26).

113- Drew Patel (North Boone) d. Charles Dominguez (Vernon Hills) (D 3-2).

120- Dominic Angileri (Guilford) d. Charlie Biddle (Lake Forest) (Inj. 0:00).

126- Taki Baker (Woodstock) d. Jordan Bradley (Woodstock North) (F 1:54).

132- Sabir Aliev (Vernon Hills) d. Eli Bryan (North Boone) (F 2:36).

138- Matthew Miralles (New Trier) d. Owen Vail (Harvard (D 7-1).

144- Travis Leonardson (New Trier) d. Allante Jackson (Proviso West) (MD 13-1).

150- Logan Klein (Alden-Hebron) d. Paul Halak (Lake Forest) (F 1:07).

157- Kelvyn West (Proviso West) d. Willam Weedon (New Trier) (TF 20-4).

165- Jacob Becker (Vernon Hills) d. George Kaup (New Trier) (MD 10-1).

175- Eyzaiah Campos (Boylan) d. Skyler McLeer (Woodstock) (F 4:37).

190- Tommy Tures (New Trier) d. Jaxson Hansen (Woodstock) (F 5:55).

215- Yaree Sandifer (Lake Forest) d. David Randecker (Woodstock North) (D 12-5).

285- Cooper Kemnitz (New Trier) d. Sam Reed (Belvidere North) (F 4:47).

Third place match results:

106- Juan Rosales (Harvard) d. Nathan Nobile (Vernon Hills) (F 0:26).

113- Cole Malo (Woodstock) d. Luis Martinez (Streamwood) (D 16-9).

120- Gabe Marella (North Boone) d. Olin Wiedel (Woodstock North) (TF 17-0).

126- Asher Baasen (Lake Forest) d. Sean Unzueta (Bremen) (F 1:19).

132- Malachi Turner (Bremen) d. Bairon DeJesus (Proviso West) (F 1:17).

138- Eric Juchimowcz (Belvidere North) d. Deshaun Sutton (Streamwood) (D 12-8).

144- Carson Alper (Vernon Hills) d. Michael Brandt (Lake Forest) (F 3:29).

150- Tyler Arneson (New Trier) d. Max Brzozowski (Boylan) (F 1:15).

157- Logan Wiser (Woodstock) d. Wyatt Stott (Harvard) (F 0:40).

165- Isiah Robinson (Proviso West) d. Marcus Dan (Lake Forest) (TF 18-2).

175- Angel Heard (Proviso West) d. Damien Tremillo (Streamwood) (MD 18-5).

190- Dijon Cotton (Proviso West) d. Alexander Castiglione (Streamwood) (F 2:56).

215- Timur Arzumanov (Vernon Hills) d. Nick Davis (North Boone) (F 3:22).

285- Dameryon Paxton (Proviso West) d. Christian Allen (North Boone) (F 0:55).

EP (Erie/ Prophetstown) Holiday Tournament

There were four state-ranked teams here this weekend, and nearly 30 state-ranked wrestlers to make this event one to keep the fans interested all throughout the day.

However, there was no team that could match the star power of No. 6 Lena-Winslow/ Stockton (10-2-0) who watched its heavy-hitter quintet of Arrison Bauer (144, 12-1), John Mensendike (175, 14-0), Eli Larson (190, 14-0), Oliver McPeek (215, 13-1) and Jeremiah Luke (285, 14-0) flex their collective muscle to send the Panthers to a 53-point win.

The Panthers amassed 219.0 points, No. 21 Morrison was second with 166.0, with Rockridge (144.5), Newman Central Catholic (127.5) and Seneca (126.5) in a first-class top five group atop the table.

“All five champions were pretty dominant today – earning bonus points in each of their matches except for Jeremiah Luke’s decision in his 285 final,” began Panthers head coach Kevin Milder, whose club won her a year ago.

“Our young, lighter-weight guys also held their own, and battled on the consolation side of the bracket to help in our final point total.”

Bauer, Larson, and Luke entered the weekend as the No. 1 men in their respective weight classes, McPeek is No. 2, and a group already in possession of five state medals intend to add several more to its collection come this February.

Luke was a first team All-State football player this fall for the class 1A state champions, while Larson earned a second consecutive All-State honorable mention award.

Connor Knop, the 157-pound champion from West Carroll recorded the fastest pin of the day 12 seconds, while Charlie Rod of Seneca had the most match points with 79.

1st: Lena-Winslow/ Stockton (219.0)

The aforementioned Bauer, Mensendike, Larson, McPeek, and Luke collected a dazzling 134.0 team points for the tourney champions. 

Mauricio Glass was second at 138, while Sam Sikora (157) and Mark Detwiler were fourth overall in their respective weight divisions.

2nd: Morrison (166.0)

The Mustangs turned in a wonderful performance to earn its second place team trophy, recording a tourney-best (20) pins, while cheering the first place trophies won by Eli Modglin (126, 16-1) and Caleb Modglin (150, 18-0).

Caleb Modglin claimed the most team points (29) in the tournament.

Cael Wright (17-3) was second at 120, with Jaken Updike (132), Noah Stout (190) and Caleb Carroll (215) adding to the Mustangs final score with their third place medals.

Patrick Schaefer (138) and Ethan Bush (175) were fifth.

3rd: Rockridge (144.5)

The Rockets would earn seven top-five medals on the day, two of which were first place trophies from Nate Lower (11-0) and Ryan Lower (165, 12-1) who was fourth a year at state. Nate Lower is No. 2 in the state at 106.

Clayton Blumenstein (132) and Thomas Sowards (157) were second overall, Noah Behr (120) and Tanner McKeag (285) third, and Klay Goodnight fourth at 144.

Additional individual champions:

Landon Near (113, Newman Central Catholic), Raiden Terry (120, Seneca), Landon Blanton (132, Newman Central Catholic), Barret Speck (138, Illini Bluffs), Connor Knop (157, West Carroll),

Additional runners-up:

Coltin Hartman (106, Fulton), Boston Morford (113, Mercer County), Tennyson Hampton (126, Alleman), Josiah Tarbill (144, Rock Falls), Cole Herrell (150, West Carroll), Jonner Smith (165, West Carroll), Jordan Thompson (175, Alleman), Landen Venecia (190, Seneca), Jonathan Weakley (215, Sherrard), Caleb Reymer (285, Erie/ Prophetstown).

Final Team Scores
Lena-Winslow/ Stockton 219.0, Morrison 166.0, Rockridge 144.5, Newman Central Catholic 127.5, Seneca 126.5, Mercer County 113.0, West Carroll 109.0, Sherrard 106.0, Fulton/Rock Falls 79.0 each, Orion 75.5, Illini Bluffs 74.0, Galena 50.5, Polo 48.0, Alleman 47.5, Erie/ Prophetstown 38.5

Championship match results:

106- Nate Lower (Rockridge) d. Coltin Hartman (Fulton) (MD 12-0).

113- Landon Near (Newman) d. Boston Morford (Mercer County) (F 2:00).

120- Raiden Terry (Seneca) d. Cael Wright (Morrison) (D 5-0).

126- Eli Modglin (Morrison) d. Tennyson Hampton (Alleman) (F 0:49).

132- Landon Blanton (Newman) d. Clayton Blumenstein (Rockridge) (TF 19-4).

138- Barret Speck (Illini Bluffs) d. Mauricio Glass (L-W/ Stockton) (D 3-1).

144- Arrison Bauer (L-W/ Stockton) d. Josiah Tarbill (Rock Falls) (TF 15-0).

150- Caleb Modglin (Morrison) d. Excequiel Ocampo (Mercer County) (MD 12-3).

157- Connor Knop (West Carroll) d. Thomas Sowards (Rockridge) (D 11-6).

165- Ryan Lower (Rockridge) d. Jonner Smith (West Carroll) (D 14-9).

175- John Mensendike (L-W/ Stockton) d. Jordan Thompson (Alleman) (F 1:06).

190- Eli Larson (L-W/ Stockton) d. Landen Venecia (Seneca) (TF 15-0).

215- Oliver McPeek (L-W/ Stockton) d. Jonathan Weakley (Sherrad) (F 1:41)

285- Jeremiah Luke (L-W/ Stockton) d. Caleb Reymer (Erie/ Prophetstown) (D 4-2).

Third place match results: 

106- Joe Morse (Newman) d. Aidan Eads (Sherrad) (D 9-8).

113- Chris Thompson (Seneca) d. Landyn Leech (Orion) (MF 15-5).

120- Noah Behr (Rockridge) d. Liam Major (Illini Bluffs) (D 12-7).

126- Connor Higgins (Galena) d. Tyler Olson (Orion) (MD 10-0).

132- Jaken Updike (Morrison) d. Jack McIntyre (West Carroll) (MD 10-1).

138- Evan Clark (Mercer County) d. Blake Arnold (Orion) (TF 21-4).

144- Garrett Carter (West Carroll) d. Klay Goodnight (Rockridge) (F 1:44).

150- Andrew Knox (Sherrard) d. Excequiel Ocampo (Mercer County) (MD 12-3).

157- Gunner Varland (Seneca) d. Sam Sikora (Lena-Winslow/ Stockton) (D 8-4).

165- Eli Burns (Mercer County) d. Mark Detwiler (L-W/ Stockton) (MD 15-6).

175- Mason Kuebel (Fulton) d. Gideon Heist (Sherrard) (F 2:15).

190- Noah Stout (Morrison) d. Cooper Thomas (Sherrard) (F 1:38).

215- Caleb Carroll (Morrison) d. Brady Heinrichs (Mercer County) (F 0:37).

285- Tanner McKeag (Rockrdige) d. Mathew Murray (Newman) (D 7-1).