Feature Stories

By Gary Larsen

Girls wrestling programs around Illinois continue to grow, with more schools each year striving incrementally towards filling a complete lineup.

Lakes coach Devin Tortorice is fighting that good fight, as the Lake Villa school of less than 1,300 students works its way toward growing its girls wrestling program.

But for now, the Eagles have a rock-solid core group of girls.

Led by a trio of previous Illinois state medal winners in Ava Babbs, Olivia Heft, and Josie Larson, Lakes can do some damage in even the largest of girls tournaments. They were sixth at Palatine’s 25-team tournament with only six girls participating, third at their own 24-team Sandy Gussarson Invite with only eight girls, and third in Waukegan’s 29-team field.

Saturday at Dundee-Crown, it was Lakes’ turn to snare the brass ring, as eight Eagles won the team title among 16 teams present.

“We’ve placed high in some tournaments but that was our first win. It was fun to come together as a team and get that win,” Babbs said. “When we go to tournaments with teams that have full lineups, it’s especially difficult. So it was nice to be at a tournament against teams more our size.”

Lakes won 135-112 over second-place Zion-Benton, followed by Thornton (98), Thornton-Fractional South (86), and host Dundee-Crown (85) to round out the top five team finishes.

Four of those top five teams had eight girls entered in the tournament; Thornton took third with only six girls entered.

1st place: Lakes (135)

Lakes got individual titles from Babbs (125), Heft (120), Zaryia Mouzon (105) and Haven Sylves (110), seconds from Christina Hasner (135) and Josie Larson (190), and a fourth from Osmairi Medina Alvarado (115).

Babbs was particularly happy for one specific teammate.

“Osmairi did really good. It’s her first year and she was able to place fourth, so seeing her do that was cool,” Babbs said.

“I really like this team. I’ve been on teams that can be a little cliquey but not this one. The coaches and everyone are so nice. (Winning) was really fun and it was big for the whole girls’ program because that was our first time winning a tournament.”

2nd place: Zion-Benton

All six of the Zee Bees wrestlers earned place-medals, as coach Hal Lunsford got individual titles from Naomi Foote (145), Grace Johnson (155), and ILeen Castrejon (190), plus thirds from Emily Ortiz (130), Jay Thompson (135), and Adrianna Ketchum (140) in Carpentersville.

3rd place: Thornton (98)

The Wildcats took third for coach Phillip Rembert with only six wrestlers entered, getting individual titles from Jalah Wilson (130) and Keyhanna Phillips (170), seconds from Gymaria Brown (110) and Sionna Stampley (235), and a third from Paige Martin (190).

Others winning individual titles at Dundee-Crown were the host Chargers’ Iris Torres (100) and Perla Lomeli (140), Grant’s Ayane Jasinski (115), Thornton-Fractional South’s Jermia Moore (135), and Maine West’s Eliana Garrett (235).

Wrestlers reaching the title mat and placing second included Rich Township’s Saryia Maddox (100), Harvard’s Alexa Herrera (105) and Ithandehui Rosas (145), Oregon’s Anna Marquardt (115), Thornton-Fractional South’s Summer Rice (120), Taylor Poole (125) and Quincy Onyiaorah (130), Plainfield North’s Viktoriia Rodnikova (140), and Maine West’s Lillian Garrett (170).

Also placing third were Wauconda’s Lilliana Aly (105), Grant’s Kayden Manis (110) and Cassidy Graham (155), Dundee-Crown’s D’Angel Slater (115) and Daniella Ibanez (145), Glenbard East’s Dakota Rosner (120) and Asia Lacey (170), Thornton-Fractional South’s Caylon Guyton (125), and Elmwood Park’s Sky Vazquez (235).

Other fourth-place wrestlers included Thornton-Fractional South’s Dakota Kelly (105), Dundee-Crown’s Elisa Martin (110), Genoa-Kingston’s Violet Sanders (120), Harvard’s Carolina Hernandez (125) and Jarithsie Mercado (170), Maine West’s Ava Reyes (130) and Ashley Mansell (135), Rich Township’s Nina White (140), Hailey Zamot (145), Cheyenne Haire (155) and Sky Vazquez (235), and Glenbard East’s Nadine Spandiary (190).

Top individual statistics:

Most pins, least time – 5 in 5:43 by Zion-Benton’s ILeen Castrejon

Most tech falls, least time – 1 in 2:00 by Grant’s Ayane Jasinski

Fastest fall – 0:12 by Glenbard East’s Nadine Spandiary

Most team points scored – (tie) 26 by Zion-Benton’s ILeen Castrejon and Naomi Foote

Most single-match points scored – 18 by Grant’s Ayane Jasinski

Most total match points scored – 33 by Zion-Benton’s Adrianna Ketchum

Dundee-Crown Girls Invitational individual champions:

100 – Iris Torres, Dundee-Crown

Host Dundee-Crown junior Iris Torres and Rich Township’s Saryia Maddox were the lone entrants at 100, and Torres (18-9) won the best-of-three showdown with two falls to take the crown.

“Iris has had a tough season so far, bumping between a few weight classes trying to build her confidence, after missing qualifying for state by one match last year,” Dundee-Crown coach Jessica McDowell said. “After traveling down to the state tournament as an alternate last year as a sophomore, she’s hoping her junior year proves to be more victorious.”

105 – Zaryia Mouzon, Lakes

Lakes senior Zaryia Mouzon opened her tournament with a fall at 105 against Stevenson’s Makenna Laarveld (2-2), then gutted out a 4-2 decision in a semifinal match against Wauconda’s Lilliana Aly (3-1).

Mouzon completed her day with a pin on the title mat against Harvard’s Alexa Herrera (21-9). Herrera reached the finals with a fall in the semi’s against Thornton-Fractional South’s Dakota Kelly (7-2). Aly went on to placed third by fall over Kelly.

Mouzon (23-3) is currently ranked as honorable mention at 105 in Illinois and has also won individual tournament titles at Waukegan and Lakes this season.

“Zaryia has been doing a great job overall,” Lakes coach Devin Tortorice said. “I feel confident she has the ability to find herself at the state tournament. Her biggest hurdle no doubt is herself. As long as ‘Z’ is mentally prepared she can do very well.”

110 – Haven Sylves, Lakes

Lakes junior Haven Sylves (18-5) had a trio of pins on the day, but it was her 5-1 decision over Thornton’s Gymaria Brown (7-4) that earned her the title at 110 in Carpentersville.

“I would say Haven has been a fun surprise,” Lakes coach Devin Tortorice said. “She struggled the last couple years but has found herself atop the podium a couple times this year. She is another girl that I believe can be at the state tournament if all goes well.”

Grant’s Kayden Manis won a 10-1 major decision for third place over Dundee-Crown’s Elisa Martin, and Glenbard East’s Andrea Jones placed fifth in the round-robin format at 110.

115 – Ayane Jasinski, Grant

Grant senior Ayane Jasinski (6-0) won a state title at 110 last year, after placing fourth at 100 her sophomore year downstate. Currently ranked No. 3 in Illinois at 115, Jasinski won her second tournament title Saturday to go with a title won recently at Palatine. 

Jasinski posted a pair of pins in the round-robin format at 115 before securing the tournament title via tech fall against Oregon’s Anna Marquardt (9-6).

“Ayane is competing really well,” Grant coach Mark Jolcover said. “It has been exciting to see her come into form. She is a professional in the way she goes about training and competition. It’s exciting to watch her continue to grow as she eyes down a second state title and we are very proud of her.”

Dundee-Crown’s D’Angel Slater placed third by virtue of a fall over fourth-place Grant’s Isabelle Miranda.

120 – Olivia Heft, Lakes

Currently unranked in Illinois, Lakes’ Olivia Heft is an X factor at 120 this year. 

“(Heft) is a little Cinderella story, in my opinion,” Lakes coach Devin Tortorice said. “This young lady is a returning runner-up (at 115) from 2022 and had to sit out an entire year due to shoulder surgery. She’s clawed her way back and is also putting herself back in position to chase a state title.”

Heft has also won individual titles at Palatine and Lakes this season, and the senior improved to 18-1 with a fall on the title mat at 120 on Saturday, against Thornton-Fractional South’s Summer Rice (6-2).

Glenbard East’s Dakota Rosner took third place with a fall against Genoa-Kingston’s Violet Sanders.

125 – Ava Babbs, Lakes

Lakes senior Ava Babbs is currently ranked No. 4 in Illinois at 125 and she added a Dundee-Crown title to titles already won this season at Hampshire and Waukegan .

Babbs improved to 17-0 when she won by fall on the D-C title mat at 125 against Thornton-Fractional South’s Taylor Poole.

“Ava Babbs is currently undefeated, a returning state-placer (3rd at 125) and has a true shot to win a state title,” Lakes coach Devin Tortorice said. “She has been a joy to work with. She puts in constant work in and out of the season.”

Babbs is ready to make another run at the top step of the state finals podium.

“We’re all going out there with the same thing in mind. I’m just excited,” Babbs said. “It’s my senior year so I just want to do my best and have fun.

“I got lucky because the first year I started wrestling was the first year they held girls’ state. It was so cool being part of the first girls state (tournament).”

In only her third year of wrestling and after placing third in state at 125 last year as a junior, Babbs furthered her commitment to the sport.

“My coaches, the exposure that I’ve had — my parents have been willing to take me to tournaments, I did off-season training, freestyle over the summer, I went to Fargo,” Babbs said. “I just wanted to try (wrestling) out and I turned out really liking it.”

Babbs pinned Grant’s Aubrey Hopkins in their semifinal match to reach the finals, and Poole reached the title mat after winning by fall against Harvard’s Carolina Hernandez. Thornton-Fractional South’s Caylon Guyton took third place by fall against Hernandez.

130 – Jalah Wilson, Thornton

Currently ranked second in state at 135, Thornton junior Jalah Wilson (8-0) won a 7-5 sudden victory decision on the title mat over another ranked wrestler in Thornton-Fractional South’s Quincy Onyiaorah (8-1).

The bracket at 130 was loaded with talent at Dundee-Crown.

Onyiaorah is currently ranked as an honorable mention wrestler at 120 pounds. Wilson handed Onyiorah her first loss this season, and Wilson also won a title at Rockford East this year.

“Jalah Wilson is a hard worker and has been with us for three years,” Thornton coach Phillip Rembert said. “She really started excelling last year with one other girl, Destiny Bright. The year before she was an only girl (in the program). She goes through the same training as the boys with no complaints. I see a good future for here in the state series and she also wants to wrestle in college.”

To reach the finals, Wilson won a 5-2 semifinal decision over Dundee-Crown’s Ruby Gavina (25-7), a tough freshman with a Lakes tournament title under her belt this season. Onyiaorah won by fall in her semifinal match against Zion-Benton’s Emily Ortiz (22-4), who won a tournament title at Waukegan and placed second at Niles West this year.

Ortiz went on to win by fall on the third-place mat against Maine West’s Ava Reyes (14-9), who topped Gavina in their consolation semifinal match.

135 – Jermia Moore, Thornton-Fractional South

Thornton-Fractional South coach Andre Richmond sees good things ahead for sophomore Jermia Moore, who is only in her second year in the sport. Moore won all four of her round-robin matches and took the title at 135 by virtue of her win by fall against Lakes’ Christin Hasner (15-8). 

Every young wrestler has an evolution in the sport, and Moore’s is underway.

“At the beginning of the season she was having a rough start making weight and losing matches,” Richmond said. “She went against all the technique she learned from the prior year.

“I told her that she needs to get back to what made her great last year, and what made her win.  Today she proved it, winning all of her matches by going back to her bread and butter.  She needs a lot more work but I’m happy for her today and we will work to be better next week.”

Zion-Benton’s Jay Thompson (22-6) placed third via fall over fourth-place Ashley Mansell of Maine West and Richmond’s Mariyah Lewis placed fifth at 135. 

140 – Perla Lomeli, Dundee-Crown

Dundee-Crown senior Perla Lomeli went 24-11 last year in placing 8th downstate at 140 and she has her sights set on another shot at state glory this season.

“Perla hasn’t seen as much mat time as she did last year but these last few weeks before regionals, she is pushing herself to attain more wins than last season,” Dundee-Crown coach Jessica McDowell said. “She hopes to see the state tournament again this year. She is our team captain and has been the most upbeat, positive role model for our younger wrestlers.”

Lomeli had two pins to start her day and she improved to 16-4 with her title-mat pin Saturday against Plainfield Viktoriia Rodnikova. Zion-Benton’s Adrianna Ketchum (13-11) took third place in a 15-8 decision over Rich Township’s Nina White.

145 – Naomi Foote, Zion-Benton

Zion-Benton’s Naomi Foote kicked off a bevy of three champions for the Zee Bees over the next four weights. Foote (23-5) won by fall over Harvard’s Ithandehui Rosas (23-6) to clinch her title in the round-robin format at 145.

Foote also won an individual title at Palatine this season and is currently unranked in Illinois at 145, but she won by fall at 4:49 over No. 4 Rosas.

Dundee-Crown’s Daniella Ibanez (8-8) took third and Rich Township’s Hailey Zamot placed fourth.

155 – Grace Johnson, Zion-Benton

The Zee Bee’s Grace Johnson won all three of her round-robin matches to take the title and improve to 18-4 on the year. She pinned Dundee-Crown’s second-place Mackenzie Lessner  (15-8) to secure the title.

Grant’s Cassidy Graham (12-11) placed third and Rich Township’s Cheyenne Haire took fourth.

170 – Keyhanna Phillips, Thornton

Thornton’s Keyhanna Phillips has had an unconventional season for coach Phillip Rembert, but the senior 170-pounder is positioned to do some damage once the post-season tournament arrives.

Phillips (3-0) opened her tournament with a fall at 0:40, then won by fall at 0:39 in her semifinal match against Glenbrook East’s Asia Lacey (3-1). Phillips then took on Maine West’s Lillian Garrett (18-4) and again won by fall for the title, at the 2:00 mark.

“Keyhanna was a transfer at the beginning of the year so she had to sit out the first semester,” Thornton coach Phillip Rembert said. “She worked hard on her grades and she worked hard wrestling in practice. She pushes the pace in practice with the upper weights.

“She wrestled one match this week before this competition and I see a great future for her in the state series. She also is looking forward to going to college and wrestling next year.”

Lacey went on to win by fall on the third-place mat against Harvard’s Jarithsie Mercado.

190 – ILeen Castrejon, Zion-Benton

Zion-Benton’s ILeen Castrejon (12-1) finished second at 170 twice in the first two years of the IHSA girls state finals, and is currently ranked No. 6 at 170 in Illinois.

Lakes’ Josie Larson (24-4) is currently ranked No. 2 at 190 and she placed fifth downstate at 190 last season.

Something had to give when two of Illinois’ best squared off yet again this season on Saturday, with a Dundee-Crown tournament title at 190 on the line. And at the 1:29 mark, it was Castrejon who came away with a first-period fall.

“This is the third time they’ve met this year,” Zee Bees coach Hal Lunsford said. “Josie is an amazing wrestler and they have had some great matches this year.” Castrejon won 15-9 and 8-6 in their previous two matches this year.

Castrejon intends to wrestle at 170 once the postseason arrives but has wrestled 190 for most of this season.

“ILeen is wrestling up this year due to an injury at the start of the year,” Lunsford said. “She’s completely healthy right now but was unable to (cut) weight in a timely manner.”

Castejon went 5-0 in the round-robin format at 190, capped by her win over Larson. Thornton’s Paige Martin placed third with a fall against Glenbard East’s Nadine Spandiary, and Rich Township’s Laila Carpenter won by fall for fifth against Maine West’s Jathziry Valencia Carranza.

Castrejon also won an individual title at 190 at Palatine this year.

235 – Eliana Garrett, Maine West 

Maine West senior Eliana Garrett improved to 10-6 this year by going 4-1 at Dundee-Crown, and earning the title at 235 on criteria over second-place Sionna Stampley (9-2) of Thornton.

Garrett, Stampley, and Elmwood Park’s Sky Vazquez took turns beating each other in the round-robin format, and a fast pin by Garret over Vazquez was the deciding factor.

“Eliana had a dominant performance and remains an essential part of our team,” Maine West coach Anthony Lonigro said. “She is having a great season and continues to find success. As our only senior, she stands out and does a great job as a leader on our team, demonstrating great sportsmanship and maintaining a positive attitude.”

Vazquez (7-6) placed third, Rich Township’s Nyla Coleman was fourth, Stevenson’s Kaylee Sanchez took fifth, and Maine West’s Ximena Veraza was sixth.

Dundee-Crown Girls Invitational championship match results:

100 – Iris Torres (Dundee-Crown) F 1:05 Saryia Maddox (Rich Township)

105- Zaryia Mouzon (Lakes) F 5:11 Alexa Herrera (Harvard)

110 – Haven Sylves (Lakes) D 5-1 Gymaria Brown (Thornton)

115 – Ayane Jasinski (Grant) TF Anna Marquardt (Oregon)

120 – Olivia Heft (Lakes) F 0:44 Summer Rice (TF-South)

125 – Ava Babbs (Lakes) F 0:43 Taylor Poole (TF-South)

130 – Jalah Wilson (Thornton) SV-1 7-5 Quincy Onyiaorah (TF-South)

135 -Jermia Moore (TF-South) F 1:14 Christina Hasner (Lakes)

140 – Perla Lomeli (Dundee-Crown) F 0:59 Viktoriia Rodnikova (Plainfield N)

145 – Naomi Foote (Zion-Benton) F 4:49 Ithandehui Rosas (Harvard)

155 – Grace Johnson (Zion-Benton) F 2:59 Mackenzie Lessner (Dundee-Crown)

170 – Keyhanna Phillips (Thornton) F 2:00 Lillian Garrett (Maine West)

190 – ILeen Castrejon (Zion-Benton) F 1:29 Josie Larson (Lakes)

235 – Eliana Garrett (Maine West) D Eliana Sionna Stampley (Thornton)

Third-place match results:

105 – Lilliana Aly (Wauconda) F 0:58 Dakota Kelly (TF-South)

110 – Kayden Manis (Grant). MD 10-1 Elisa Martin (Dundee-Crown)

115 – D’Angel Slater (Dundee-Crown) F 0:19 Osmari Medina (Lakes)

120 – Dakota Rosner (Glenbard E) F 2:24 Violet Sanders (Genoa-Kingston)

125 – Caylon Guyton (TF-South) F 1:34 Carolina Hernandez (Harvard)

130 – Emily Ortiz (Zion-Benton) F 5:57 Ava Reyes (Maine West)

135 – Jay Thompson (Zion-Benton) F 2:32 Ashley Mansell (Maine West)

140 – Adrianna Ketchum (Zion-Benton) D 15-8 Nina White (Rich Township)

145 – Daniella Ibanez (Dundee-Crown) F 1:47 Hailey Zamot (Rich Township)

155 – Cassidy Graham (Grant) F 4:59 Cheyenne Haire (Rich Township)

170 – Asia Lacey (Glenbard E) F 5:07 Jarithsie Mercado (Harvard)

190 – Paige Martin (Thornton) F 2:29 Nadine Spandiary (Glenbard E)

235 – Sky Vazquez (Elmwood Park) F 2:12 Nyla Coleman (Rich Township)

Final team scores: 1. Lakes (135) 2. Zion-Benton (112) 3. Thornton (98) 4. Thornton-Fractional South (86) 5. Dundee-Crown (85) 6. Maine West (63) 7. Harvard (57.5) 8. Grant (48.5) 9. Rich Township (48) 10. Glenbard East (45) 11. Elmwood Park (20) 12. Plainfield North (19) 12. Wauconda (19) 14. Genoa-Kingston (18) 14. Oregon (18) 16. Stevenson (7).

By Mike Garofola for the IWCOA

In its third year, the Conant Girls Wrestling Tournament proved to be a marvelous success.

Tournament officials celebrated a 20 percent increase in wrestlers as they welcomed just under 270 competitors and 37 teams, with several on the phone just hours before the official start looking to join this popular event.

“We were excited to see the overwhelming support for our tournament,” Conant athletic director Erik Hauser said. “It caused a little extra work to sort out the weight classes, but in the end the decision to have two to three tiers per weight class made for a tournament that offered those with less experience the opportunity to be in a more competitive eight-person bracket.” 

Hauser, his staff, and volunteers ran a neat, tight, and terrific one-day event inside William Perry Gymnasium in Hoffman Estates.

With multiple weight class divisions, team scores were not kept on this day, much to the dismay of Oak Forest head coach John Sebek, whose club has been on an exciting run.

“It would have been nice to see if we had won another tournament championship, but as I’ve said before, this is a great group of young women that we have, so we’re going to just enjoy the ride we’re on right now,” Sebek said.

After lifting the championship trophy recently at Palatine’s Sally Berman Holiday Classic, the Bengals are in possession of four tournament team titles as we move into the second half of the campaign.

The Bengals grabbed a tournament-high three individual titles, followed closely by Lockport Township and Ottawa Township, each with two.

Oak Forest had A Bracket individual champions in Alex Sebek (110), Maya Coreas-Funes (145) and Isabel Peralta (190); Lockport Township got titles from Averi Colella (105) and Liz Ramirez (115); and Ottawa Township got titles from Ava Weatherford (130) and Juliana Thrush (235).

Other individual champions in the A Bracket included Round Lake’s Riley Kongkaeow (100), Joliet Catholic Academy’s Grace Laird (120), Kaneland’s Dyani Torres (125), Yorkville’s Brooke Coy (135), New Trier’s Jillian Giller (140), Schaumburg’s Valeria Rodriguez (155) and Plainfield Central’s Alicia Tucker (170).

Top individual statistics at Conant:

Most pins, least time – 3 in 2:14 by Riverside-Brookfield’s Estefany Bejarano

Most tech falls, least time – 2 in 5:24 by Riverside-Brookfield’s Eleanor Aphay

Fastest fall (tie) – 0:11 by Schaumburg’s Keara Micek, Kelly’s Liana Andrade, and Oak Park and River Forest’s Jaliyan Knighten.

Most single-match points – 23 by Metea Valley’s Uliana Shevtsova

Most total match points – 42 by Riverside-Brookfield’s Eleanor Aphay

Side note: William Perry Gymnasium also provided a homecoming of sorts for former Conant star and current Ottawa Township head coach Pete Marx, who was a three-time state medal winner and two-time state champion.

Marx compiled a dazzling 145-25 career record for the Cougars, with a remarkable 85 consecutive victories during his junior and senior years. Now in his 18th year in charge of the Ottawa program, Marx was inducted into the IWCOA Hall of Fame in 2022.

Here is a look at this year’s individual champions at Conant:

100 – Riley Kongkaeow, Round Lake

One week after an early exit from the front draw at the Sally Berman Holiday Classic, Round Lake sophomore Riley Kongkaeow (12-1) came back in style to capture the 100-pound crown at Conant.

“It was a little disappointing to lose in the semifinals last week, but I feel like I put that loss behind me really well to come out strong right from the start of this tournament,” said Kongkaeow, No. 4 in the state polls.

The 2023 state qualifier pinned her way into her final against Schaumburg’s Makenzi Aguilar (17-6) where she recorded another pin at 1:17 to earn her second major trophy of the season.

Romeoville’s Daniela Santander (15-4) pinned Yorkville’s Danielle Turner (18-5) in the third place match, while Turner’s teammate Kayleigh Shannon (12-5) recorded a fall in the fifth place bout against Warren’s Jaylyn Trevino.

105- Averi Colella, Lockport Township

There was little those who took on Averi Colella could do as the Lockport Township junior rolled over her rivals at 105.

Colella, now 26-8, pinned her way to the title at 105, needing just under 4:30 in her three matches to ensure victory. Colella won by fall at 2:23 over Lake Park’s Ashley Hammond (17-8) for the title.

“I worked a lot during the offseason and into this season in taking more shots, and just going for those shots more aggressively,” Colella said, “and that double chicken wing in the second period proved to be the difference that led to my pin.

“It’s a great room we have at Lockport. There’s a lot of tradition in the sport and for me, I am lucky to have Liz (Ramirez) as my partner in the room,” Colella said of her teammate, who two matches later would give their club a second title on the day.

Elgin’s Mali Patino won by fall against Glenbrook North’s Zoe Handler (6-6) for third place, and Schaumburg’s Justice Girod (16-8) finished fifth after her pin over Elk Grove’s Linna Vo.

110- Alex Sebek, Oak Forest

There’s just no stopping Alex Sebek, who rolled to yet another tournament title and second in as many weeks.

“I take a lot of pride in how I prepare for each match, and I really never stop putting the extra work into every part of my game,” said Sebek, No. 3 in the state at 105 pounds, and nationally-ranked as well.

“Being ranked nationally is cool, but I am a very competitive person, so I always feel like I should be a little higher in those national polls,” Sebek said. “But there is so much more to concentrate on besides where I’m at in the polls.”

Sebek registered her 20th pin on the season in her final with Metea Valley’s Ashley Basmajian (17-4) to stay at a perfect 22-0 when competing against girls, and 27-2 overall.

“Alex is undoubtedly a leader on the team as a sophomore, and demonstrates that both on and off the mats,” Oak Forest coach John Sebek said. “She’s always cheering for her teammates, and offering advice to her teammates after a win or a loss.

“She has been working really hard this season, and has been switching back and forth between 105 and 110, with the goal of a state title.”

Niles West’s Zoe Pomerantes (16-3) pinned Harvest Christian’s Samantha Hacek (12-10) in the third place bout, and Warren’s Alyssa Bentley (17-6) did the same against Saint Viator senior Natalie Gubernat (11-11) for fifth place. Schaumburg’s Diya Patel (18-10) recorded a pin against Lake Park’s Laurie Cando in the seventh place match.

115- Liz Ramirez, Lockport Township

After her wonderful three-match effort on Saturday at 115 pounds, it might be time for Lockport Township senior Liz Ramirez (31-5) to move into the top 10 in the state polls from her spot just outside of that group.

“I spent more time than ever training during the offseason. I joined a club and just made the commitment to being the best that I could be,” said Ramirez, who won a hard-fought 10-6 decision in the finals against Round Lake’s two-time state qualifier Ireland McCain (12-3).

Ramirez led 7-4 after two periods, only to see McCain circle out of trouble near the edge to record a take-down to make it 7-6 with 90 seconds remaining.

Ramirez would earn a one-point escape, then put things out of reach with a big throw with seconds remaining on her way to a 10-6 decision.

“When it got a little tense in the last minute, it was important for me to remain cool and calm, and wait for the right time to score,” Ramirez said.

Third place honors went to Schaumburg sophomore Anna Villareal (24-5) after her pin of Metea Valley’s Uliana Shevtsova (22-11). Plainfield Central’s Courtni Chuway (21-5) earned a fifth- place medal after her pin over Elgin’s Maya Rangel (3-5). Larkin’s Tina Ebrahimi (10-9) finished seventh following her pin of Yorkville’s Angelica Hernandez (5-6).

120- Grace Laird, Joliet Catholic Academy

With her second tournament title of the season, Joliet Catholic Academy junior Grace Laird (14-5) hopes to continue her ride up the ladder at 120 pounds, in the same fashion that Ryan Cumbee’s men have done thus far.

“There’s a lot of tradition in the sport of wrestling at JCA,” Laird said. “With our girls team, our goal is to build something great like the boys program. Any time we spend with the boys in the room makes us all a lot better and together, we’ve become a family.”

Laird, who also won an individual title at Morris this year, needed just under seven minutes to dispatch three of her rivals. She won by fall in her final with Grayslake Central’s Gianna Arzer (23-4) at the 1:27 mark of their title match.

Schaumburg’s Madyson Meyer (23-3) lost to Laird in the semifinals but came back to take home third place by fall against Elgin’s Salome Patino. Glenbrook North freshman Ariella Dobin (17-2) finished fifth by injury default against Lockport Township’s Lucy Madrigal (9-9).

125- Dyani Torres, Kaneland

Dyani Torres (22-6) was never in trouble Saturday as the Kaneland junior captured her second tournament crown of the season with her title-mat pin at 2:54 over Lake Park’s Valeria Malinowski (10-3).

“We have a good room that we share with our boys’ team, which makes for a fun but hard-working room that’s good for all of us,” said Torres, now in her seventh year in the sport.

“I gained a lot of experience in my first two years of high school wrestling, but the most important thing I learned is how important my fitness and cardio should be,” she said. “So I’ve spent a lot of time in both of those areas during the offseason.” Torres also credits teammate Chloe Cervantes (140) for being the ideal practice partner.

Oak Forest sophomore Camila O’Leary Salas (17-4) pinned Warren’s Jane Kelly in the third place match, and Elk Grove’s Juana Pulido (9-1) was fifth after her 11-7 decision over Elgin’s Emily Pizano. Conant’s Brooklyn Jones (15-8) pinned Lockport Township’s Kyleigh Green to earn a seventh place medal.

130- Ava Weatherford, Ottawa Township

Ava Weatherford claimed the first of two individual titles for Ottawa Township head coach Pete Marx when the sophomore swept away the competition to win the 130-pound crown.

Weatherford (21-9), ranked No. 8 in the state at 135 pounds, added to her title win at Normal Community in the opening week of the season after putting together a superb six-minute effort to record an 8-0 victory over Oak Park and River Forest’s Pearl Lacey (15-9).

“My plan in the final was to control top, and bottom, especially in the second period, and I feel like that’s what I did really well,” said Weatherford.

“Ava was having a great first year last season until she broke her arm during practice in January,” began Marx. “We were concerned that an injury such as that might see her say goodbye to wrestling, but she continued to come to meets, and practice, support her teammates, and when she was medically cleared in the spring (she) began to train for the Virginia Beach national duals.

“She was a little nervous and rusty, but Ava never faltered, and has bounced back to have an outstanding season thus far, and winning this tournament is perfect as she begins to peak at the right time.”

Schaumburg’s Sharon Olorunfemi (13-10) won 5-4 in an overtime tiebreaker over Metea Valley’s Janiya Moore (14-10) for third place. And Warren’s Ashley Bridges pinned Oak Forest’s Jordan Clyne to earn fifth place honors.

135- Brooke Coy, Yorkville

It was too much Brooke Coy for the rest of her rivals at 135 pounds.

The Yorkville junior cruised to victory using a pair of pins to advance into her final against Palatine’s Amaya Jackson (12-0), where she registered an impressive 13-0 major decision.

“It’s been a pretty good year for me, I feel like I’ve come a long way from being on the JV last 

during my first year in the sport,” said Coy (13-3), who was encouraged by her father to give wrestling a try.

“We’ve got a great room, it’s a real positive atmosphere to be in, so hopefully if I continue to work hard and improve, I’ll have a chance to qualify for state.”

Oak Forest’s Madelyn Sears (22-4) bounced back from her loss to Coy in the semifinals to earn third place with a 7-4 decision over Rolling Meadows’ Muneeba Butt (14-7). Schaumburg’s Olivia Furlan got a pin over Evanston’s Priscilla Hartwell to finish in fifth place.

140- Jillian Giller, New Trier

Jillian Giller suffered a heart-breaking loss in the final of the Sally Berman Holiday Classic to District 230’s Alyssa Keane, who took third at 135 at last year’s IHSA Finals, but the New Trier junior came back with a vengeance to capture her first tournament title of the season.

Giller (17-4) pinned her way to the crown, sending off Downers Grove South’s Alison Garcia (16-8), who was ranked fourth, at 3:54.

“I thought I wrestled well enough to win at the Berman, but we went back and made a few adjustments to get myself ready for this tournament, and it showed in how I wrestled in all three of my matches today,” said Giller, who used a little bit of everything from her arsenal to eventually finish off Garcia, whom Giller admitted was tough to turn.

Giller was a state qualifier a year ago with a 25-9 record, losing in the wrestleback quarterfinals to a conference rival Niles West’s Al Ghala Al Radi, 14-12.

“That was a tough way to go out last year at state, but that loss made me work that much harder during the offseason,” admits Giller, now in her fifth year in the sport.

Conant’s Ewa Krupa (16-5) stepped over a conference rival, Schaumburg’s Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic (21-2), who was injured earlier, to finish third. Kaneland’s Chloe Cervantes (11-6) won by fall over Oak Forest’s Iyobosa Odiase (29-8) to earn fifth place. And Elk Grove’s Stephanie Valdez Castaneda beat Palatine’s Karimot Lawal 6-4 to finish seventh.

145- Maya Coreas-Funes, Oak Forest

Maya Coreas-Funes gave the Oak Forest faithful plenty to cheer about when, with 15 seconds before time, she recorded the match-winning escape to defeat Evanston’s Kennedy Murray (14-5) in a 3-2 thriller.

“It was a real defensive battle, but I was able to stay strong right up until the very end which I felt was the difference in the match,” said Coreas-Funes, now 16-4 overall.

“Maya, hands down, is the hardest worker in our room, and has a motor that never stops, and her cardio endurance is second to none, and her results this season proves that out,” said Oak Forest coach John Sebek.

“She is only a couple of months into her second year as a wrestler and is still fine-tuning her technique, but I do not recall an opponent that has been able to outlast her for a full six-minute match.”

“I work as hard as I can in the room and I just love when I am able to hit a move that I’ve been practicing,” added Coreas-Funes, who has 10 pins and six majors this season.

Schaumburg’s Keara Micek (22-8) finished third after she pinned Lake Park’s Joscelin Ritthamel (18-5) and Larkin’s Mia Reyes (16-6) was fifth following her pin over Elk Grove’s Emely Herrera. Saint Viator’s Avery Brooks got an 11-3 major decision victory to claim seventh place over Yorkville’s Joanna Okunnu.

155- Valeria Rodriguez, Schaumburg

Valeria Rodriguez’ impressive take down of the 155-pound field allowed the Schaumburg senior to lift the championship trophy and to make a further statement of her intent on her final year under head coach Matt Gruszka.

“The wrestling IQ of Valeria is way up there, as is her technique, conditioning, mental toughness (all) part of the equation, but her ability to know the flow of the match, how to end each period, and the understanding of what is needed to win a match is what sets her apart,” said Gruszka of the No.-3 rated Rodriguez, who is 25-1 and also a two-time third place state medal recipient.

“I feel very fortunate to have a coach like Matt Gruszka, who I have all the confidence and trust in and is someone who I feel like is a second father to me,” said Rodriguez, moments after her pin of Oak Forest’s Ryann Reeves (19-2) in just 44 seconds to give her 18 on the season.

Oak Park and Rivers Forest’s Megan Barajas (16-8) took third with a 7-6 decision over New Trier’s Nina Aceves (18-6). Downers Grove South’s Jea Jones (9-9) took fifth following her pin of Evanston’s Natalie Graettinger (9-8).

170- Alicia Tucker, Plainfield Central

Nationally-ranked and No. 1 at 170 in Illinois this season, Alicia Tucker (22-0) stayed perfect at 22-0 on the year after she had another fabulous three-match performance to capture her third major title of the campaign, adding to first at Minooka and Waukegan.

The reigning state champion flashed her incredible speed, quickness, technique and strength as she easily went past her opponents, including her last of the day, Downers Grove South’s Gracie Swierczynski, who would concede a pin in the final at 4:57.

“I had wanted to play football, but my father didn’t want me to get hurt, and since he and my brother wrestled, it seemed only natural that I follow in their footsteps,” said the affable Plainfield Central junior, who began to wrestle in sixth grade and was the IWCOA Frosh-Soph 2022 state champion.

Kelly’s Sara Martinez Lopera (14-2) took third place when Rolling Meadows’ Aishah Sanchez (11-7) was forced out of action due to an injury. Joliet Catholic Academy’s Cheya Bishop (16-7) finished fifth after her pin over Conant’s Lana Ton and Yorkville’s Janiah Murray took seventh after an injury forfeit from Palatine junior Sabrina Cargill (17-4).

190- Isabel Peralta, Oak Forest

Isabel Peralta has made her mark in her weight division all throughout her junior season and her impressive run to the 190-pound crown continues to impress Oak Forest coach John Sebek. 

And whenever you beat a two-time state medalist, there’s good reason to be impressed. That’s what Peralta did in the 190 title match when she won by fall in 2:41 over Oak Park and River Forest’s Trinity White (13-2), who took fourth at 170 in last year’s IHSA Finals and was fifth at that weight in the inaugural state finals.

“(Izzy) has been a dominant force all season, she put in a lot of work in the offseason, and it has shown,” said Sebek of Peralta who is now 27-3, with 24 falls, 17 of which have come in the first period.

“I watched a lot of video from the Berman where I finished fifth, so we went back and worked on cleaning some things up from that tournament, and I really felt like that was the difference today,” said Peralta, who’s ranked fifth and also won the top prize at the Lakes Community Tournament earlier in the season.

“Of her three losses this season, they’ve come to a 2023 third place state medal winner (twice) and the 2023 state champ, so as a very light 90-pounder, she can shoot and move faster than most girls that I’ve seen,” adds Sebek.

Schaumburg sophomore Nadia Razzak (22-4) pinned Larkin’s Kimberly Reyes (14-10) to earn third place honors while Downers Grove South’s Violet Cherup (6-3) finished fifth after her pin over Rolling Meadows’ Leilani Brindis (11-7). Lockport Township’s Sophie Kelner (20-13) won by fall over Saint Viator’s Jillian Bollard in the seventh place contest.

235- Juliana Thrush, Ottawa Township

Pete Marx was an upperweight star while at Conant under IWCOA Hall of Fame head coach

Jim Cartwright, so it’s only natural to believe his 235-pounder Juliana Thrush has a chance to taste some of the success Marx enjoyed if she continues on her current flight path.

Thrush (19-3) roared past the field to claim her first major of the season and further validate her place as the No. 4-rated 235-pounder in the state. The Ottawa Township sophomore recorded a pin in 3:19 over Oak Forest’s Jessica Komolafe (21-4) in the 235 finals.

“I’ve got a great coach, in a great room, so if I keep up the hard work, and effort, there’s no reason why I cannot medal at state this year,” said Thrush, after earning her second tournament title of the season.

“Both (Ava) Weatherford and Thrush were first-year wrestlers last year, and both took to the sport very quickly,” said Marx. “Juliana got a taste of the apple after going 2-2 at state, and now she wants the whole thing.

“She has already beaten state qualifiers and placers because she is a fighter, and strong, and I believe she has a real chance to be high a top the podium in Bloomington in late February.”

Oak Park and River Forest’s Sarah Epshtein (16-3), who took fifth at state at 235 last year and fourth at 235 in 2022, pinned Lockport Township’s Rebekah Ramirez (25-10) in the third-place match and Downers Grove South’s Zuzia Cebulski (14-7) won a 6-5 decision over Schaumburg’s Ella Jackson to finish fifth.

Championship matches results of the 2024 Conant Girls Tournament

100- Riley Kongkaeow (Round Lake) F 1:18 Makenzi Aguilar (Schaumburg)

105- Averi Colella (Lockport Township) F 2:23 Ashley Hammond (Larkin)

110- Alex Sebek (Oak Forest) TF 5:22 (18-2) Ashley Basmajian (Metea Valley)

115- Liz Ramirez (Lockport Township) D 10-6 Ireland McCain (Round Lake).

120- Grace Laird (Joliet Catholic Academy) F 1:27 Gianna Arzer (Grayslake Central)

125- Dyani Torres (Kaneland) F 2:54 Valeria Malinowski (Lake Park)

130- Ava Weatherford (Ottawa Township) MD 8-0 Pearl Lacey (Oak Park and River Forest)

135 – Brooke Coy (Yorkville) MD 13-0 Amaya Jackson (Palatine)

140- Jillian Giller (New Trier) F 3:54 Alison Garcia (Downers Grove South)

145- Maya Coreas-Funes (Oak Forest) D 3-2 Kennedy Murray (Evanston)

155- Valeria Rodriguez (Schaumburg) F 0:44 Ryann Reeves (Oak Forest) 

170- Alicia Tucker (Plainfield Central) F 4:57 Gracie Sweircznski (Downers Grove South)

190- Isabel Peralta (Oak Forest) F 2:41 Trinity White (Oak Park and River Forest)

235- Juliana Thrush (Ottawa Township) F 3:19 Jessica Komolafe (Oak Forest)

By Curt Herron for the IWCOA

Glenwood easily captures Carbondale’s Murdale Tournament titleWhen a team wins the championship of a quality 32-team tournament by over 130 points, it definitely shows great potential to achieve additional special accomplishments.

That’s what Glenwood hopes will be the case after it scored 287.5 points to easily capture the title at Carbondale’s 62nd annual Murdale Tournament. 

Murphysboro beat out Paducah, Kentucky’s McCracken County by a 155-150.5 margin for second place while Mt. Vernon (148), Harrisburg (144.5), Benton (139.5) Marion (130.5), Mt. Zion (129), Centennial (119.5) and Anna-Jonesboro (117.5) rounded out the top-10 teams.

1. Glenwood

Leading the way for coach Jerod Bruner’s champion Glenwood Titans were title winners Tyler Clarke (106), Drew Davis (126) and Maximus Wiezorek (190) while Eli Smith (165) took second and Justin Hay (175) finished third.

John Ben Maduena (138), Anny Williams (144), Jullian Rammelkamp (157) and Cody Moss (215) all claimed fourth place while Owen Ottino (120) and Brad Dollus (132) took fifth place and Jaxon Ferguson (113) placed seventh.

Davis (32-0), Clarke (28-4), Maduena (25-4) and Hay (22-5) are returning state qualifiers. Davis went 49-2 last season and won the IHSA Class 2A title at 113 to follow up on a 17-0 campaign and 2A title at 106 in 2022 and a fourth-place finish at 106 at the IWCOA Finals in 2021 when he went 32-3. Maduena also qualified for state in 2022 and fell one victory shy of a medal.

Currently ranked fifth in Class 2A by Illinois Matmen, the Titans hope that they have what it takes to qualify for the IHSA Dual Team Finals for the first time since 2019, when they made their second-straight trip and third overall in Bruner’s debut season as head coach. He moved up from his assistant role when Jeremy Mosier concluded his successful eight-year tenure, which was highlighted by their initial IHSA Dual Team Finals appearances in 2011 and 2018.”I thought we had a good showing overall,” Bruner said. “We got some of the matchups that we wanted and were able to win those for the most part. Champions Tyler Clarke and Drew Davis were completely dominant on their way to their individual championships, and Max Wiezorek was able to take out two ranked opponents on his way towards the 190-pound title. 

“Eli Smith has gotten better each week this year so it was no surprise to see him in the championship match as well. The rest of the team found some success as well as all 14 wrestlers placed, including third-place finisher Justin Hay and fourth-place finishers Jullian Rammelkamp, Cody Moss, John Ben Maduena and Anny Williams.”

2. Murphysboro

Top performers for coach Shea Bakers’ runner-up Murphysboro Red Devils were champion Liam Fox (157) and second-place finishers Kanton Richards (106) and Bryce Edwards (144). Also for Murphysboro, Paxton Pyatt (113) finished fifth, Sergio Garcia (132) and Gage Boucher (150) placed sixth and Julien Tanner (285) took seventh place.

3. Paducah, KY McCracken County

McCracken County’s Mustangs, who are from Paducah, Kentucky, were led by title winner Malachi Gray (165), runner-up Frankie Nutt (215) and third-place finisher Camryn Freiberg (132). Additionally, Hunter Hawthorne (150) took fifth, James Barragan (144) placed seventh and Bryce McTaggart (157) and Landon Newman (190) finished eighth.4. Mt. Vernon
Turning in the best finishes for coach Alejandro Wajner’s Mt. Vernon Rams were champions 

Dillon White (138) and Maddux Randall (175) and second-place finisher Mason Randall (190) while Jhymear Smith Henson (215) took sixth and Kamden Hartman (285) placed eighth.5. Harrisburg
Individuals with the top finishes for coach Greg Langley’s Harrisburg Bulldogs were runner-up 

Kahmari Terry (132) and third-place finisher Tony Keene (126), who went 45-4 last season and placed fourth in Class 1A at 120. Avery Henderson (113), Rocko Neal (120), Brendan Hicks (190) and Javier Horton (285) all finished in sixth place.6. Benton
Top performers for coach Aaron Robinson’s Benton Rangers were title winner 

Mason Tieffel (144), third-place finishers Zane Stanley (106) and Tiffin Kouzoukas (165) as well as Braxton Tittle (113), who took eighth place. Tieffel went 52-2 last season and won the IHSA Class 1A title at 138 after going 47-5 in 2022 and placing second at 126 and he placed third at 120 at the 2021 IWCOA Finals to cap a 33-1 freshman season. Benton and Sesser-Valier now co-op.7. Marion
Leading the way for coach Darren Lindsey’s Marion Wildcats were third-place finisher 

Caleb Ohnesorge (150) as well as Jkwon Williamson (113) and Riddick Cook (120), who both placed fourth. Justin Murphy (157) finished fifth, 

Caden Frey (144) took sixth and Hunter Gibb (138) and Bryan Madinger (215) claimed seventh place.
8. Mt. Zion

Turning in the best showings for 2012 National Wrestling Hall of Fame-Illinois Chapter Lifetime Service Award recipient coach Dave Klemm’s Mt. Zion Braves were third-place finishers Mason Gray (120), Kalvin Becker (157), Keller Stocks (190) and Remington Hiser (285). Vincent Baker (106) took sixth and Kaden Becker (165) and Rylan Owens (175) were seventh.

Carlyle also had two champions, brothers Preston Waughtel (113) and Tyson Waughtel (120). The other Murdale champions were Carbondale’s Isaac Smith (132), Herrin’s Blue Bishop (150), East Alton-Wood River’s Drake Champlin (215) and Centennial’s Jack Barnhart (285).Three other teams had two second-place finishers. They were 

Highland’s Gavin Merkle (113) and Tyson Rakers (150), Althoff Catholic’s Brenden Rayl (126) and Jason Dowell (285) and Red Bud’s Alex Woltor (157) and Ty Carter (175). The other Murdale runners-up were Anna-Jonesboro’s Drew Sadler (120) and Richland County’s Carson Bissey (138).

The high school resumes of three of the event’s 2024 champions is impressive. They are two-time IHSA champion and three-time state medalist Davis (126), two-time IHSA champion Tyson Waughtel (120) and IHSA champ, two-time finalist and three-time state medalist Tieffel (144).

Champlin and Smith tied for the most team points with 40 while Davis and Tieffel tied for third with 39.5 points. Barnhart and Maddux Randall tied for fifth with 39, Bishop and White tied for seventh with 38.5 points, Gray scored 37 points and Wiezorek collected 36 team points.Half of the champions walked away from the Murdale Tournament with perfect records. And 22 of the 28 finalists have won over 80 percent of their matches this season.

Finalists with the best records are Tieffel at 144 (38-0, 1.000), Davis at 126 (32-0, 1.000), Fox at 157 (28-0, 1.000), Tyson Waughtel at 120 (28-0, 1.000), Preston Waughtel at 113 (28-0, 1.000), Bishop at 150 (25-0, 1.000), Barnhart at 285 (23-0, 1.000), Smith at 132 (26-1, .963), Bissey at 138 (22-1, .957), Nutt at 215 (22-1, .957), Sadler at 120 (32-2, .941), Wiezorek at 190 (32-2, .941), Rayl at 126 (13-1, .929), Dowell at 285 (11-1, .917), Rakers at 150 (22-2, .917), Champlin at 215 (19-2, .905), Gray at 165 (28-3, .903), Carter at 175 (25-3, .893), Clarke at 106 (28-4, .875), White at 138 (21-3, .875), Edwards at 144 (24-5, .828) and Terry at 132 (18-4, .818).Some of the closest title matches included Maddux Randall edging Carter 3-2 at 175, Wiezorek prevailing over Mason Randall 1-0 at 190, Gray defeating Smith 7-3 at 165, Barnhart getting past Dowell 4-0 at 285 and Bishop beating Rakers 11-5 at 150.

Additional third-place finishers were Cahokia’s Nicholas Smith (113), Centennial’s Trevor Schoonover (138), Fairfield’s Scotty Cuff (144) and Johnston City’s Jude Beers (215).Anna-Jonesboro’s Zoee Sadler, who was an IHSA runner-up at 105 last season, placed fourth at 106 for the best finish by a girl in the competition.  

Also finishing in fourth place were Centennial’s Andon Beldo (126), Centralia’s Lane Griffin (132), East St. Louis Senior’s Pierre Walton (150), Salem’s Carter Moore (165), Anna-Jonesboro’s Drew Holshouser (175), Frankfort Community’s Conner Henson (190) and Carterville’s Zechariah Miller (285).Others who finished fifth were 

Mascoutah’s Jordan Sonon-Hale (138) and Brock Ross (144), Cahokia’s Nathan Fisher (106), Goreville’s Jeremiah Pulliam (126), Carbondale’s Thomas Imboden (165), Trico’s Johnny Ramaker (175), Highland’s Ashton Zobrist (190), Frankfort Community’s Brandon Turner (215) and East St. Louis Senior’s Mekhi McDowell (285).

Also taking sixth place were Centralia’s Nate LeCrone (126), Anna-Jonesboro’s Daniel Dover (138), Fairfield’s Nicholas Masterson (157), Herrin’s Kolby Coffey (165) and Johnston City’s Randy Fuqua (175).

Other seventh-place finishers were Carterville’s Landyn Flood (120) and Carter Jones (157), Centralia’s Brylan Guthrie (106), Anna-Jonesboro’s Daylon McNelly (126), Johnston City’s Benjamin Harris (132), Effingham’s Saul Ellis (150) and Althoff Catholic’s Antwan Strong (190).

Those who also took eighth were Richland County’s Baxter Smith (106) and Kaeden Davis (120), Effingham’s Kaiden Stewart (126) and Baker Moon (138), Anna-Jonesboro’s Wyatt Wright (132), Frankfort Community’s Lucas Parker (144), Breese Central’s Matthew Walsh (150), Fairfield’s Talan Keoughan (165), Carlyle’s Brody Diekamper (175) and Herrin’s Logan Dirden (215).

Mason Tieffel led in total match points with 77 while Preston Waughtel was second with 74 and Drew Davis was third with 61 match points. Liam Fox and Preston Waughtel had the most combined falls and technical falls with five, with Fox achieving that feat in 6:02. Mt. Zion’s Rylan Owens was seeded 27th and placed seventh.

Glenwood easily had the most total match points with 390 while Highland (282), Harrisburg (279) and Benton (277) were next in line for match points. Cahokia had the most falls with 26 while Mascoutah was second with 24 and Glenwood third with 23 pins.

Title matches for the 62nd annual Carbondale Murdale Tournament

106 – Tyler Clarke (Glenwood) TF 4:00 Kanton Richards (Murphysboro)

113 – Preston Waughtel (Carlyle) TF 3:15 Gavin Merkle (Highland)

120 – Tyson Waughtel (Carlyle) TF 5:53 Drew Sadler (Anna-Jonesboro)

126 – Drew Davis (Glenwood) TF 5:07 Brenden Rayl (Althoff Catholic)

132 – Isaac Smith (Carbondale) MD 11-0 Kahmari Terry (Harrisburg)

138 – Dillon White (Mt. Vernon) F 5:43 Carson Bissey (Richland County)

144 – Mason Tieffel (Benton) F 0:53 Bryce Edwards (Murphysboro)

150 – Blue Bishop (Herrin) D 11-5 Tyson Rakers (Highland)

157 – Liam Fox (Murphysboro) TF 2:22 Alex Woltor (Red Bud)

165 – Malachi Gray (McCracken County, KY) D 7-3 Eli Smith (Glenwood)

175 – Maddux Randall (Mt. Vernon) D 3-2 Ty Carter (Red Bud)

190 – Maximus Wiezorek (Glenwood) D 1-0 Mason Randall (Mt. Vernon)

215 – Drake Champlin (East Alton-Wood River) MD 11-2 Frankie Nutt (McCracken County, KY)

285 – Jack Barnhart (Centennial) D 4-0 Jason Dowell (Althoff Catholic)

Team scoring for the 62nd annual Carbondale Murdale Tournament

1. Glenwood 287.5, 2. Murphysboro 155, 3. Paducah, KY McCracken County 150.5, 4. Mt. Vernon 148, 5. Harrisburg 144.5, 6. Benton/Sesser-Valier 139.5, 7. Marion 130.5, 8. Mt. Zion 129, 9. Centennial 119.5, 10. Anna-Jonesboro 117.5, 11. Highland 115, 12. Carbondale 107.5, 13. Cahokia 100.5, 14. Richland County 99.5, 15. Althoff Catholic 95, 16. Centralia 94.5, 17. Red Bud/Valmeyer 92, 18. Mascoutah 89.5, 19. Carlyle 88, 20. Johnston City 86.5, 21. Carterville 85.5, 22 East St. Louis Senior 77, 23. Fairfield 74.5, 24. Herrin 73.5, 25. Frankfort Community 70, 26. East Alton-Wood River 69, 27. Salem 60, 28. Effingham 55, 29. Goreville/Vienna 54, 30. Trico/Elverado 39, 31. Breese Central 21, 32. Pinckneyville 6. 

Peoria Notre Dame wins championship at Prairie Central Hawk Classic

It’s been a long time since Peoria Notre Dame had last won an invitational tournament. And it’s unclear if the program had ever even captured a tournament title at an event with a large field. 

But on Saturday, the Irish achieved both of those when they edged El Paso-Gridley by a 224.5-218 margin to win the 38th annual Prairie Central Hawk Classic, a 19-team competition which took place in Fairbury.

“This is the first tournament championship our program has won in quite some time at an individual tournament, likely almost 20 years, and potentially the biggest tournament we have ever won, in regards to the number of teams involved,” said Irish coach Danny Burk, who was Notre Dame’s first IHSA medalist in 2002.

Danny Burk is in his first year as head coach but was an assistant coach for 16 years under his father, Kevin, who retired following a 44-year coaching and teaching career. Kevin Burk won 705 dual meets at both Notre Dame and Spalding, ranking him in second place among Illinois coaches in dual meet wins, behind only PORTA’s Jeff Hill. 

Danny Burk also has had a successful career as an assistant coach in boys soccer at Notre Dame for coach Mike Bare, who’s won four titles and had five other teams place third or better. Bare was a huge supporter of wrestling in the state for many years when he ran Illinois Matmen.

Plano (204) finished third, Chicago Hope Academy (192) was fourth and Camp Point Central (188.5) edged Hoopeston Area (187) for fifth place. Beardstown (150), Bishop McNamara (143.5), Sandwich (140) and Herscher (129) rounded out the top-10 teams in the field.

1. Peoria Notre Dame

Top performers for coach Danny Burk’s champion Irish were title winners Ian Akers (113) and Michael McLaughlin (285). Taking third was Andrew Elward (132) while Josh Stedwill (106), Remi Joesting (120) and Michael Kimbrough (165) finished fourth and Chase Daugherty (150) and Joe Culp (190) were fifth.

Akers went 43-6 last season and finished fourth in Class 1A at 106 to join Burk as one of the program’s sevan medal winners. McLaughlin and Daugherty also both won 30 or more matches and also qualified for last year’s IHSA Finals.

2. El Paso-Gridley

Leading the way the runner-up Titans, who are coached by 2007 National Wrestling Hall of Fame – Illinois Chapter Lifetime Service Award recipient Joe Cliffe, were second-place finisher Ryden Barker (190) while Kiana Mayne (113), Nolan Whitman (120) and Parker Duffy (215) took third place. Waylon Melick (157) and Christopher Blackmore (285) placed fourth and Dominic Ricconi (175) finished sixth.

3. Plano

Individuals who finished highest for coach Dwayne Love’s third-place Reapers were champions Caidan Ronning (150) and Prince Amakiri (190), runner-up Antoine Gilford (138) and third-place finisher Trevion Gilford (144). Finishing fifth were Shane Downs (106), Luis Ballesteros (157) and Timmy Young (165) while Marcos Garcia (132), Oscar Cervantes (144) and Tyler Mast (285) were sixth.

4. Chicago Hope Academy

Coach Dan Willis’ Chicago Hope Academy Eagles were led by champion Santiago Chaparro (144) while Josiah Willis (126), Arkail Griffin (150), Ismael Martinez (165), Alex Garcia (190) and Roy Phelps (285) all took third place and Jeramy Sanders (175) finished fifth.

5. Camp Point Central

Top finishers for coach Kasey Monroe’s Camp Point Central Panthers were title winner Jack Thompson (157) and second-place finishers Kanye Mitchell (144) and Conner Griffin (165). Taking fourth was Case Hughes (113) while Dylan Mowen (132) placed fifth and Paul Schenk (138), Konnor Bush (150) and Jacob Leenerts (215) all finished sixth.

6. Hoopeston Area

Leading the way for coach Chris Kelnhofer’s Hoopeston Area Cornjerkers were champions Aiden Bell (132) and Angel Zamora (175), second-place finishers Charlie Flores (106) and Ayden Larkin (157) as well as Talan Nelson (126), who finished fourth.

The other team in the field that had multiple champions was coach Zach Whitsel’s Unity Christian Lions, who received first-place finishes from brothers Clinton (120) and Garrett VerHeecke (126). They both placed in the IHSA Class 1A Finals last year as freshmen as Clinton went 48-2 and took third at 113 and Garrett went 43-7 and placed sixth at 120.

Other Hawk Classic champions were Streator’s Nicholas Pollett (106), Dwight’s Dylan Crouch (138), Bishop McNamara’s Kayden Roach (165) and The High School of Saint Thomas More’s Brody Cuppernell (215), who went 42-6 last season and took second in Class 1A at 195. Cuppernell met James Schmidt in the 215 finals, the event’s only title matchup of teammates.

The High School of Saint Thomas More had three second-place finishers, August Christhilf (175), James Scmidt (215) and Robbie Vavrik (285). Also taking second place were Sandwich’s Colten Stone (113) and Ian Hawkins (150), Bishop McNamara’s Blake Arseneau (120), Ridgeview/Lexington’s Danny Tay (126) and Prairie Central’s John Traub (132).

Some of the closest title matches included Ronning edging Hawkins 3-2 in sudden victory at 150, Thompson getting past Larkin 5-3 at 157, Pollett capturing an 8-5 decision over Flores at 106, Bell prevailing 6-2 over Traub at 132, Crouch defeating Antoine Gilford 4-0 at 138 and Zamora winning a 4-0 decision over Christhilf at 175.

Clinton VerHeecke had the most team points with 50 while Zamora ranked second with 48, Bell and Christholf tied for third place with 44 points and Arseneau and Traub tied for fifth with 42 team points.

Top records of finalists following the Classic included Clinton VerHeecke (24-0, 1.000) Garrett VerHeecke (24-0, 1.000), Zamora (25-1, .962), Crouch (24-1, .960), Amakiri (20-1, .952), Ronning (19-1, .950), Cuppernell (16-1, .941), Chaparro (31-2, .939), Pollett (28-2, .933), Christhilf (19-2, .905), Tay (25-3, .893), Hawkins (6-1, .857), Akers (20-4, .833), Antoine Gilford (19-4, .826), Thompson (14-3, .824), Griffin (17-4, .810), Vavrik (17-4, .810), Arseneau (12-3, .800), Barker (23-6, .793), Larkin (23-6, .793), McLaughlin (15-4, .789), Bell (14-4, .778) and Roach (10-3, .769).

Others who took third place were Sandwich’s Jacob Ross (106) and Sy Smith (157), Beardstown’s Luis De La Cruz (138) and Illini West’s Shawn Watkins (175).

Additional fourth-place finishers were Ridgeview/Lexington’s Judson Stover (138) and Payton Campbell (150), Streator’s Alejandro Lopez (190) and Aydan Radke (215), Bishop McNamara’s Alex Kostecka (132), Urbana’s Emiliano Bedello (144) and Beardstown’s Gunner Looker (175).

Also taking fifth place were Urbana’s Vincent Benjamin (113) and Malachi Hutchinson (138), Herscher’s Everett Osenga (120) and Gerrit Osenga (126), Beardstown’s Maddox Medrano (144) and Leonel Lopez (215) and Peoria Heights’ Issac Coleman (285).

Other sixth-place finishers were Bishop McNamara’s Noah Pelletier (120), Trevor Torres (126) and Tristin Golden (157), Streator’s Lily Gwaltney (106) and Addison Yacko (113), Beardstown’s Alcantar Medrano (165) and Herscher’s Gavin Collins (190).

Akers, Amakiri and Cuppernell had the most falls with five, with the latter achieving that in 2:48. Stedwill edged Chaparro 47-46 for the most match points. And Joesting (21st to fourth) and Mowen (22nd to fifth) both finished 17 places better than they were seeded.

Peoria Notre Dame had the most total match points with 265 while Chicago Hope Academy (240) ranked second and Camp Point Central (224) was third. Plano edged El Paso-Gridley 27-26 for the most pins while Chicago Hope Academy and Notre Dame were next-best with 25. 

Championship matches at Prairie Central’s Hawk Classic

106 – Nicholas Pollett (Streator) D 8-5 Charlie Flores (Hoopeston Area)

113 – Ian Akers (Peoria Notre Dame) F 1:26 Colten Stone (Sandwich)

120 – Clinton VerHeecke (Unity Christian) F 1:58 Blake Arseneau (Bishop McNamara)

126 – Garrett VerHeecke (Unity Christian) D 10-4 Danny Tay (Ridgeview/Lexington)

132 – Aiden Bell (Hoopeston Area) D 6-2 John Traub (Prairie Central)

138 – Dylan Crouch (Dwight) D 4-0 Antoine Gilford (Plano)

144 – Santiago Chaparro (Chicago Hope Academy) F 1:43 Kanye Mitchell (Camp Point Central)

150 – Caidan Ronning (Plano) SV 3-2 Ian Hawkins (Sandwich)

157 – Jack Thompson (Camp Point Central) D 5-3 Ayden Larkin (Hoopeston Area)

165 – Kayden Roach (Bishop McNamara) F 2:55 Conner Griffin (Camp Point Central)

175 – Angel Zamora (Hoopeston Area) D 6-2 August Christhilf (The High School of Saint Thomas More)

190 – Prince Amakiri (Plano) F 1:41 Ryden Barker (El Paso-Gridley)

215 – Brody Cuppernell (The High School of Saint Thomas More) F 0:28 James Schmidt (The High School of Saint Thomas More)

285 – Michael McLaughlin (Peoria Notre Dame) F 5:13 Robbie Vavrik (The High School of Saint Thomas More)

Team scoring at Prairie Central’s Hawk Classic

1. Peoria Notre Dame 224.5, 2. El Paso-Gridley 218, 3. Plano 204, 4. Chicago Hope Academy 192, 5. Camp Point Central 188.5, 6. Hoopeston Area 187, 7. Beardstown 150, 8. Bishop McNamara 143.5, 9. Sandwich 140, 10. Herscher 129, 11. The High School of Saint Thomas More 116, 11. Streator 116, 13. Unity Christian 108, 14. Prairie Central 98, 15. Ridgeview/

Lexington 76, 16. Urbana 74, 17. Illini West 58, 18. Dwight 49, 19. Peoria Heights 30.

Geneseo claims top honors at Morton’s Bob and Liz Schnarr Invitational

With much of its team returning from last season’s Class 2A fourth place team that went 22-3 and earned the school its first trophy since its 2A runner-up teams in 2013 and 2014 in its first state appearances, Geneseo figures to again be one of the top teams in the state.

And on Saturday coach Jon Murray’s Maple Leafs made another big statement by scoring 198 points and finishing 26 points ahead of Yorkville Christian to capture top honors at the 18-team Bob and Liz Schnarr Invitational in Morton. It’s the second invitational title of the season for Geneseo, adding to its first at Rockford East’s Giardini Invite on December 2. 

Yorkville Christian, which lost 28-27 to Coal City in last year’s Class 1A championship dual meet to finish with a 22-6 record after winning the Class 1A championship in 2022, has been moved up to Class 2A this season. Although the Mustangs graduated 10 individuals who helped them to appear in two IHSA Dual Team title meets, they figure to be in the mix of what is developing to be a quality group of teams that is pursuing appearances in this season’s Class 2A Finals.

The host Potters claimed third place with 160.5 points and Normal West edged Triad 119-117.5 to finish fourth. United Township (109), Lincoln (85), Dunlap (84), Morton’s JV (69.5) and Limestone (61) rounded out the top 10 teams in the competition.

1. Geneseo

Maple Leafs coach Jon Murray, who was inducted into the IWCOA Hall of Fame last year, received two titles and three second-place finishes in addition to two thirds, two fourths and two fifths to help his team capture the invitational championship.

Winning titles for Geneseo were Izaac Gaines (138), Zachary Montez (150) while Devan Hornback (126), Grady Hull (132) and Kye Weinzierl (165) took second place. Tim Sebastian (113) and Josh Hock (144) placed third, Malaki Jackson (157) and Colten Mooney (215) were fourth and Logan Palmer (190) and Brayden Franzen (285) finished fifth. Kie Smith (120) and  Brennan Lambin (175) also scored points for the Maple Leafs.

Geneseo returns three state qualifiers, Montez, Jackson and Weinziel. Montez went 51-3 last season and placed third at 132 in Class 2A after finishing fourth at 113 in 2022. 

2. Yorkville Christian

Leading the way for coach Mike Vester’s runner-up Mustangs were champions Aiden Larsen (113) and Ty Edwards (132). Grason Johnson (138), Isaac Gray (150), Robby Nelson (157), Xander Oliver (215) and Garrett Tunnell (285) all took third place, Jackson Allen (175) placed fifth and Eli Foster (120) finished sixth.

Edwards placed second in Class 1A at 120 and went 49-7 last season and also took second at 106 in 201 in the IWCOA Finals while Larsen went 19-11 and took sixth place at 106 after placing fifth at 106 in 2022.

3. Morton

Top performers for coach Edward Henderson’s third-place Potters were title winner Tyus Almasy (175) and second-place finishers Harrison Dea (113) and Steven Marvin (150). Taking third place were Noah Harris (106), Caleb Lenning (126) and Caiden Robison (132) while Cash Hill (120) finished fourth and Clayton McKee (157) and Colton McKee (165) took fifth place.

Dea went 37-11 last season and placed fifth at 106 in Class 2A while Marvin fell one win shy of a state medal at 145.

4. Normal West

Individuals with the best finishes for coach Dave Lehr’s Wildcats were champions Evan Willock (157) and Matt Hanold (285) and runner-up Gus Schreiber (175). Claiming fifth-place finishes were Jacob Payne (106), Dylan McGrew (113) and Abram Rader (120). Willock went 39-7 last season and placed sixth at 132 in Class 2A to become the program’s second state medalist.

5. Triad

Knights’ coach Russ Witzig, a 2022 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee, got a title win from Colby Crouch (126) and a runner-up finish from Will Kelly (106). Placing third was Glen Henry (120) while Braden Rowe (132) and Brody Smith (138) finished fifth and Shane Seip (113), Pearce Goodfield (150) and Jason Powell (215) all claimed sixth place. Crouch went 31-1 last season and finished second at 126 in the IHSA Class 2A Finals after going 35-0 and winning the 2A championship at 120 in 2022. 

6. United Township

The best finishers for coach Lambros Fotos’ Panthers were champion Blake Trickey (106) and second-place finishers Brody Oppendike (144) and Kayden Marolf (157). Finishing fourth was Xavier Marolf (132) while Payton Birdsley (215) placed fifth and Joel Gutierrez-Garcia (126) and Alex Long (175) claimed sixth place.

Limestone also had two champions, Ethan Dixon (190) and Taylor Dixon (215). Other Schnarr Invitational title winners were Lincoln’s Cort Pentecost (120), Pekin’s RaMez Watson (144) and Dunlap’s Nick Mueller (165), who went 43-8 last season and finished in second place at 160 in the IHSA Class 2A Finals.

There was a four-way tie for the individuals with the most team points with 28 involving Crouch, Ethan Dixon, Taylor Dixon and Edwards. Watson ranked fifth with 26.5 points while Almasy, Hanold, Mueller, Trickey and Willock all tied for sixth with 26 team points.

The host Potters also got a runner-up finish from a member of its JV team, Ben Chaffer (215). Additional second place finishers were Champaign Central’s Elliott Tanner (120), Dunlap’s Colton Mosack (138), Southeast’s Chris Hull (190) and East Peoria’s Keegan Barnes (285).

Some of the closest title matches included Montez edging Marvin 7-6 at 150, Almasy prevailing 6-2 over Schreiber at 175, Trickey winning a 10-5 decision over Kelly at 106 and Mueller beating Weinzierl 6-1 at 165.

Finalists who had the best records following the Schnarr Invitational include Edwards (27-1, .964), Mueller (26-1, .963), Larsen (25-1, .962), Willock (23-1, .958), Watson (20-1, .952), Crouch (17-1, .944), Marvin (29-2, .935), Montez (27-2, .931), Gaines (12-1, .923), Weinzierl (22-2, .917), Kelly (22-4, .846), Kayden Marolf (22-4, .846), Dea (21-4, .840), Trickey (19-4, .826), Almasy (27-6, .818), Schreiber (24-7, .774), Hanold (23-7, .767), Tanner (13-4, .765),  Barnes (15-5, .750) and Ethan Dixon (27-9, .750).

Others who captured third place were Lincoln’s Dawson McConnell (165), Richwoods’ Gabe Martinez (175) and Dunlap’s Joseph Weeks (190).

Additional fourth-place finishers were Champaign Central’s Talin Baker (113) and Rowan King (138), Springfield High’s Gabriel Ruvalcaba (144) and Keyshaun Harris (175), East Peoria’s Dalton Oakman (165) and Chase Bancroft (190), Morton JV’s Ryan Siebenthal (106), Lincoln’s Karter Hild (126), LaSalle-Peru’s Caleb Plut (150) and Richwoods’ Shaun Anderson (285).

Fifth-place finishes were also turned in by Morton JV’s Lincoln Yerby (126), Southeast’s Frank Kittrell (144) and Springfield High’s Cody L Stevens (150). And also taking sixth place were Peoria High’s Chris Walker (144) and Sargent Maubach (190), Lincoln’s Aiden Frye (157) and Logan Wachendorf (285), Richwoods’ Wensley Rahn (106), Dunlap’s Tristan Mosack (132), East Peoria’s Cole Brooks (138) and Morton JV’s Lucas Hermann (165).

Geneseo had the most total match points with 248 while Yorkville Christian ranked second with 221 and Triad was third with 215 points. Yorkville Christian had 21 falls, which was eight more than were recorded by Geneseo, Morton and Normal West.

Yorkville Christian’s Jackson Allen had the most total match points with 48 while Pekin’s RaMez Watson had 46 and Geneseo’s Zachary Montez collected 43 match points. Morton’s Clayton McKee and Springfield High’s Cody L Stevens had the most falls with four. And Yorkville Christian’s Xander Oliver had the biggest seed to place differential with 12, placing third after being seeded 15th.

The Bob and Liz Schnarr Invitational honors a couple from the village who were longtime supporters of Morton’s wrestling program. 

Championship matches for Morton’s Bob and Liz Schnarr Invitational

106 – Blake Trickey (United Township) D 10-5 Will Kelly (Triad)

113 – Aiden Larsen (Yorkville Christian) D 9-2 Hamilton Dea (Morton)

120 – Cort Pentecost (Lincoln) F 1:10 Elliott Tanner (Champaign Central)

126 – Colby Crouch (Triad) F 0:40 Devan Hornback (Geneseo)

132 – Ty Edwards (Yorkville Christian) F 0:24 Grady Hull (Geneseo)

138 – Izaac Gaines (Geneseo) D 9-2 Colton Mosack (Dunlap)

144 – RaMez Watson (Pekin) TF 3:55 Brody Oppendike (United Township)

150 – Zachary Montez (Geneseo) D 7-6 Steven Marvin (Morton)

157 – Evan Willock (Normal West) MD 11-1 Kayden Marolf (United Township)

165 – Nick Mueller (Dunlap) D 6-1 Kye Weinzierl (Geneseo)

175 – Tyus Almasy (Morton) D 6-2 Gus Schreiber (Normal West)

190 – Ethan Dixon (Limestone) F 5:55 Chris Hull (Southeast)

215 – Taylor Dixon (Limestone) F 4:41 Ben Chaffer (Morton JV)

285 – Matt Hanold (Normal West) F 1:24 Keegan Barnes (East Peoria)

Team standings for Morton’s Bob and Liz Schnarr Invitational

1. Geneseo 198, 2. Yorkville Christian 172, 3. Morton 160.5, 4. Normal West 119, 5. Triad 117.5, 6. United Township 109, 7. Lincoln 85, 8. Dunlap 84, 9. Morton JV 69.5, 10. Limestone 61, 11. Champaign Central 57, 12. East Peoria 56.5, 13. Springfield High 49, 14. Pekin 44.5, 15. Richwoods 42, 15. Southeast 42, 17. LaSalle-Peru 34, 17. Peoria High 34.

Frankfort Community places first at Carbondale’s Murdale Girls Tournament

Frankfort Community has only competed in wrestling for the past two seasons so that makes what its young team was able to accomplish this past weekend even more special.

What coach Rick Arrington’s Lady Redbirds did was capture top honors in the girls division of Carbondale’s Murdale Tournament, which featured individuals from 22 teams.

Frankfort Community, which is in West Frankfort, scored 77 points to take first by 21 points over Glenwood, who had 56 points. Goreville (45) took third, Paducah, KY’s McCracken County (43) placed fourth, Trico (39) finished fifth while Granite City (38) and Marion (38) tied for sixth-place. Salem (29), Highland (26), Mascoutah (25) and Red Bud/Valmeyer (25) were next in line.

1. Frankfort Community

Coach Rick Arrington’s Frankfort Community Lady Redbirds had two champions and seven individuals who placed fourth or better. Nikolette Ronketto (105) and Kaitlynn Childers (235) won titles while Sophia Bechelli (110) and Hannah Mullins (145) took second, Lilly Browning (170) was third and Aleah Davidson (135) and Rylee Franklin (155) both finished fourth.

Ronketto won the title at 105 after getting two falls over Red Bud’s Emma Smith while Childers took first at 285 with a fall and a 4-3 decision over Marion’s Olivia McDermott.

“We are very proud of the accomplishments of the girls team,” Arrington said. “This being only our second year having a girls program and five of the seven girls being underclassmen makes it even better. The girls work very hard every day and keep learning.”

2. Glenwood

While coach Jerod Bruner’s Titans were rolling to a decisive championship in the 62nd Murdale Tournament, his girls team claimed second place, despite having only four competitors, who all finished in the top three at their weight class.

Taking first place for Glenwood were Kadi Wilbern (100) and Jenna Tuxhorn (135) while Izzy Resendez (125) and Elsie Dozier (155) both took third place. Wilbern won the title at 100 with a pin in 1:14 over Mt. Vernon’s Lilly Davis, who was second in the round robin, while Tuxhorn took first at 135 by getting a fall in 0:54 over Granite City’s Audrey Barnes.

3. Goreville/Vienna

Coach Bart Pulliam’s Goreville Blackcats, who co-op with Vienna, took third thanks to two titles, one second and a third. Taking first place were Madalynn Lapatas (130) and Alivia Ming (145) while Liberty McBride (190) finished second and Krista McBride (190) took third place.

Ming, a two-time IHSA medalist who was second last year at 140 and fourth at 135 in 2022, won at 145 with a fall in 1:25 over Frankfort Community’s Hannah Mullins. Lapatas took first at 130 with a fall in 1:38 over Marion’s DJ Tucker-Lester, who was second in the round robin. 

Trico, which co-ops with Elverado, also had two champions, Cynthia Macke (170) and Maddie Ramaker (190). Other Murdale title winners were Granite City’s Ma’Kayla Bonner (110), Mascoutah’s Ezri Linertz (115), Benton/Sesser-Valier’s Mia Balota (120), Red Bud/Valmeyer’s Avery Smith (125), Highland’s Nina Landmann (155) and Paducah, KY McCracken County’s Abby Ellis (140). Smith is also a two-time IHSA medalist, taking third last year at 115 and fourth at 120 in the inaugural Finals in 2022.

Second-place finishers who weren’t on the top three teams were Salem’s Greta Motch (115), Sierra Malone (155) and Anna Dodson (170), Marion’s DJ Tucker-Lester (130), Daisjha Cooper (140) and Olivia McDermott (235), Mt. Vernon’s Lilly Davis (100), Red Bud’s Emma Smith (105), Centennial’s Ava Beldo (120), Granite City’s Audrey Barnes (135) and McCracken County’s Eelyn Hayden (125).

Individuals who took third place but weren’t on one of the top-three teams were Mascoutah’s Zoey Nelson (110), Cahokia’s A’Liezsha DeLoach (115), Carbondale’s Kylee Wheetley (130), Marion’s Joelene Nappier-Feth (135), Carterville’s Jacee Mardirosian (145) and McCracken County, KY’s Jillian Conn (100) and Lakelynn Janssen (120).

And fourth-place finishers who weren’t on Frankfort Community, Glenwood or Goreville/Vienna were Highland’s Bryleigh Thomas (145) and Sophia Elkins (190), Carbondale’s Delaney Measimer (110), Marion’s Alauni Muex (120), Murphysboro’s Gabriella Mason (125) and Granite City’s Chloe West (170).

Frankfort Community had the most total match points with 61 while Marion was second with 54 and McCracken County was third with 44 points. The team champions also had the most falls with 10, which was one more than runner-up Glenwood had, which recorded nine pins.

Four individuals tied for the most team points with 20. They were Granite City’s Ma’Kayla Bonner, Highland’s Nina Landmann, Trico’s Maddie Ramaker and Red Bud’s Avery Smith. Benton’s Mia Balota and Trico’s Cynthia Macke tied for fifth place with 19 team points. Goreville’s Alivia Ming and Glenwood’s Jenna Tuxhorn tied for seventh with 18 team points.

Benton’s Balota had the most total match points with 23 while Highland’s Sophia Elkins was next with 21. Mascoutah’s Zoey Nelson ranked third with 20 and Carterville’s Jacee Mardirosian and Carbondale’s Delaney Measimer tied for fourth with 18 match points.

Championship matches for Carbondale’s Murdale Girls Tournament

100 – Kadi Wilbern (Glenwood) F 1:14 Lilly Davis (Mt. Vernon) – round robin

105 – Nikolette Ronketto (Frankfort Community) F 1:22 Emma Smith (Red Bud/Valmeyer) 

110 – Ma’Kayla Bonner (Granite City) F 1:45 Sophia Bechelli (Frankfort Community)

115 – Ezri Linertz (Mascoutah) F 1:25 Greta Motch (Salem) – round robin

120 – Mia Balota (Benton/Sesser-Valier) F 3:05 Ava Beldo (Centennial)

125 – Avery Smith (Red Bud/Valmeyer) F 0:30 Eelynn Hayden (McCracken County, KY)

130 – Madalynn  Lapatas (Goreville/Vienna) F 1:38 DJ Tucker-Lester (Marion) – round robin

135 – Jenna Tuxhorn (Glenwood) F 0:54 Audrey Barnes (Granite City)

140 – Abby Ellis (McCracken County, KY) F 1:38 Daisjha Cooper (Marion) 

145 – Alivia Ming (Goreville/Vienna) F 1:25 Hannah Mullins (Frankfort Community)

155 – Nina Landmann (Highland) F 1:56 Sierra Malone (Salem)

170 – Cynthia Macke (Trico/Elverado) F 0:36 Anna Dobson (Salem)

190 – Maddie Ramaker (Trico/Elverado) F 1:43 Liberty McBride (Goreville/Vienna)

235 – Kaitlynn Childers (Frankfort Community) D 4-3 Olivia McDermott (Marion)

Team scoring for Carbondale’s Murdale Girls Tournament

1. Frankfort Community 77, 2. Glenwood 56, 3. Goreville/Vienna 45, 4. Paducah, KY McCracken County 43, 5. Trico/Elverado 39, 6. Granite City 38, 6. Marion 38, 8. Salem 29, 9. Highland 26, 10, Mascoutah 25, 10. Red Bud/Valmeyer 25, 12. Benton/Sesser-Valier 19, 13. Centennial 14, 14. Carterville 11, 15. Carbondale 10, 16. Mt. Vernon 9, 17, Murphysboro 8, 18. Anna-Jonesboro 2, 18. Carlyle 2, 18. Pinckneyville 2, 21, Cahokia 1, 22. Breese Central 0.

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOAJoliet Catholic Academy, St. Charles East second, third at Cheesehead

Joliet Catholic Academy took second place with 504 points and St. Charles placed third with 485.5 points at the 38-team Cheesehead Invitational that took place in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. Southeast Polk, which is located in Altoona, Iowa, won the title with 591.5 points

Warren Township scored 283 points to finish ninth and Yorkville (244.5), DeKalb (242) and Lockport Township (237) finished in a row from 14th through 16th. Others from Illinois who were in the field were Barrington (178.5, 21st), Edwardsville (175.5, T-22nd), Prospect (132, 29th), Grant (103.5, 32nd) and Neuqua Valley (10, 38th).

St. Charles East had three champions, Dom Munaretto (113), Ben Davino (132) and Tyler Guerra (138), while Joliet Catholic Academy’s Dillan Johnson (285), Warren Township’s Caleb Noble (106) and DeKalb’s Jacob Luce (165) also captured titles.

Munaretto (31-2) won the 113 title by fall in 1:52 over West Bend West, WI’s Ethan Bast. Davino (33-0) claimed a 7-2 decision over Wayzata, MN’s Logan Swensen in the 132 finals. And Guerra (30-1) captured a 4-1 decision over Millard South, NE’s Miles Anderson in the 138 title match.

Other top placewinners for the Saints were runner-up Brody Murray (175), fourth-place finisher Gavin Connolly (150), Anthony Gutierrez (165), who placed fifth, sixth-place finisher Jayden Colon (144) and Brandon Swartz (215), who finished seventh. Murray (25-7) lost by technical fall in 3:25 in the 175 title match to Ponderosa, CO’s Tyler Eise. 

Turning in the best performance for coach Ryan Cumbee’s runner-up Hilltoppers was Johnson (24-1), who captured a 4-1 decision over Amery, WI’s Koy Hopke in the 285 title match.

Finishing fourth for JCA were Max Cumbee (113) and Max Hrvatin (215) while Luke Foster (106) took fifth, Jason Hampton (120) and Nico Ronchetti (190) placed sixth, Connor Cumbee (150) was seventh, Elias Gonzalez (138) and Max Corral (165) took eighth and Adante Washington (126) and Nolan Vogel (144) finished ninth.

“I’m so proud of our team’s performance as we showed we belong in the discussion of elite programs in the country,” Ryan Cumbee said. “The secret to our success is simple: we are choosing to enjoy the competition and not be so focused on winning and losing. Our records may not be the prettiest, but they are hard earned and we wouldn’t change a thing.”

Leading the way for coach Brad Janecek’s Warren Township Blue Devils was Noble (26-2), who won the 106 title with a 2-1 decision over Simley, MN’s Turner Ross. Aaron Stewart (26-2) took second at 157 after dropping a 6-2 decision to Homestead, WI’s Charlie Millard. Royce Lopez (165) and Justice Humphreys (175) placed seventh and Anthony Soto (215) finished ninth.

The top performer for coach Sam Hiatt’s DeKalb Barbs was Luce (29-2), who won the 165 title with a 3-2 decision over Kasson-Mantorville, MN’s Dominic Mann. Mekhi Cave (144) finished fourth, Lamar Bradley (215) placed sixth and Kaden Klapprodt (113) took ninth.

Coach Jake Oster’s Yorkville Foxes were led by Luke Zook (175) and Ben Alvarez (215), who both took third place. Leading coach Jameson Oster’s Lockport Township Porters were Justin Wardlow (138), who took fourth place and Timothy O’Connor (113), who finished fifth.

Prospect was led by Jaxon Penovich (190), who finished fourth. Barrington’s top performer was Kaleb Pratt (106), who took sixth place. Grant was led by Erik Rodriguez (132), who also placed sixth. And Edwardsville’s top finisher was Bryson Nuttall (106), who finished eighth. 

JCA was first in total match points with 606 while St, Charles East was fourth with 521. St. Charles East led all teams with 32 falls while JCA and Lockport Township tied for sixth with 20.

Munaretto led all competitors with 71 team points, which was one-half point more than Ponderosa, WI’s Tyler Eise had. Davino ranked fourth with 68, Guerra and Johnson tied for sixth with 67 points and Noble tied Hopke and one other for eighth with 66 team points.

Munaretto also collected the most total match points of anyone in the field with 103 while teammate Davino ranked second with 93. Yorkville’s Jack Ferguson tied for third with 91 and teammate Alvarez was tenth with 79 points.

Lockport Township’s Isaac Zimmerman tied Hopke and Southeast Polk’s Holden Hansen for the most falls with five. Alvarez and Penovich tied three for most wins by technical fall with three. 

And the runner-up Hilltoppers had the top two individuals who had the largest seed to place differential with Hrvatin going from 21st to fourth and Gonzalez improving from 24th to eighth.

Title matches at the Cheesehead Invitational involving Illinois athletes

106 – Caleb Noble (Warren Township) D 2-1 Turner Ross (Simley, MN)

113 – Dom Munaretto (St. Charles East) F 1:52 Ethan Bast (West Bend West, WI)

132 – Ben Davino (St. Charles East)  D 7-2 Logan Swensen (Wayzata, MN)

138 – Tyler Guerra (St. Charles East)  D 4-1 Miles Anderson (Millard South, NE)

157 – Charlie Millard (Homestead, WI) D 6-2 Aaron Stewart (Warren Township)

165 – Jacob Luce (DeKalb) D 3-2 Dominic Mann (Kasson-Mantorville, MN)

175 – Tyler Eise (Ponderosa, CO) TF 3:25 Brody Murray (St. Charles East)

285 – Dillan Johnson (Joliet Catholic Academy) D 4-1 Koy Hopke (Amery, WI)

Five boys teams compete at The Clash XXI Duals

Hersey, Washington Community, Marian Central Catholic, Glenbard North and Loyola Academy all took part in The Clash XXI Duals, a 32-team competition in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Hersey finished with a 4-2 record. Top performers for the coach Joseph Rupslauk’s Huskies were Danny Lehman (6-0 at 107), Maksim Mukhamedaliyev (6-0 at 133/139), Abdullokh Khakimov (5-1 at 127/133),  Anthony Orozco-Diaz (5-1 at 114), Elijah Garza (3-1 at 121/127), Tim Boldt (4-2 at 160), Anthony Cambria (4-2 at 189) and Jake Hanson (4-2 at 145).

Washington Community also went 4-2, which included a 40-17 win over Marian Central Catholic. Posting the best records for coach Nick Miller’s Panthers were Peyton Cox (6-0 at 145), Zane Hulet (6-0 at 172/189), Josh Hoffer (5-1 at 215), Wyatt Medlin (5-1 at 139), Cael Miller (5-1 at 160/172), Sean Thornton (5-1 at 285), Timmy Smith (4-2 at 133), and Noah Woods (4-2 at 121).

Marian Central Catholic posted a 3-3 record, which included a 38-36 win over Loyola Academy. Top individuals for the Hurricanes, who are co-coached by Ryan Prater and Jordan Blanton, were Jimmy Mastny (6-0 at 160), Max Astacio (5-0 at 172), Vance Williams (5-1 at 139), Anthony Alanis (4-2 at 114/121), Andrew Alvarado (4-2 at 133), Austin Hagevold (4-2 at 107) and Brayden Teunissen (4-2 at 121/127).

Top performers for Glenbard North were Christian Chavez (5-1 at 127/133), Dominick Marre (5-1 at 114/121), Brian Petrancosta (5-1 at 215/285), Rylan Kradle (4-2 at 145/152) and Kalani Khiev (4-2 at 121/127).

Leading the way for Loyola Academy were Kai Calcutt (6-0 at 215), James Hemmila (6-0 at 107), Gavin Pardilla (6-0 at 121), Joey Herbert (5-1 at 285) and Quinn Herbert (5-1 at 189).

Washington Community ranked fourth in team points with 225 while Hersey ranked tenth with 202 and also had the fourth-highest total in match points with 446. 

Loyola Academy’s Kai Calcutt and Marian Central Catholic’s Jimmy Mastney tied five others for the most team points with 36 and they also tied several individuals, including Washington Community’s Sean Thornton, for the third-highest number of falls with five. Hersey’s Maksim Mukhamedaliyev tied for the third-most match points with 81.

Three teams participate in Clash Girls Duals II

Minooka, Batavia and Joliet Township all won three or more dual meets in The Clash National Girls Duals II, which featured 13 teams and took place in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Leading the way for coach Paige Schoolman’s 4-2 Minooka Indians, who beat Joliet Township 33-33 on a tiebreaker, were Abbey Boersma (6-0 at 155), Eva Beck (5-1 at 136), Bella Cyrkiel (5-1 at 142/148), Peyton Kueltzo (5-1 at 235), Addison Cailteux (2-1 at 130) and Kailey Jefferson (2-1 at 130).

Top performers for coach Scott Bayer’s 3-3 Batavia Bulldogs, who defeated Joliet Township 38-33, were Sydney Perry (6-0 at 148), Lily Enos (5-0 at 100), Amelia Howell (5-1 at 136), Natalie Lenart (5-1 at 118), Sarah Anderson (4-2 at 155) and Anabelle Guthke (4-2 at 130).

Individuals who had the best records for coach Liz Short’s Joliet Township Steelwomen, who went 3-4, were Eliana Paramo (7-0 at 112), Izabel Barrera (6-1 at 130), Emma Schlismann (6-1 at 106) and Bianca Campos (5-2 at 170).

Minooka led all entrants with the most total match points with 244 while Joliet Township had the third-most team points with 264 and the third-most falls with 38 and Batavia ranked fifth in total match points with 222. 

Joliet Township’s Eliana Paramo tied three others for the most team points with 42 while Batavia’s Sydney Perry, Minooka’s Abbey Boersma and Joliet Township’s Izabel Barrera tied two others for fifth in team points with 36. 

Paramo also tied two others for the most falls with seven while Barrera tied two others for fourth place in pins with six. Batavia’s Lily Enos and Minooka’s  Addison Cailteux were two of the five individuals who got a win by technical fall. Enos also ranked third in match points with 44, which were two more than Perry had to rank fifth in that category.

Belleville West claims third at Old Capital Classic in Indiana

Belleville West had two champions and a second-place finisher to lead it to 208 points and a third-place finish in the Old Capital Classic, a 14-team competition which took place at Corydon Central in Corydon, Indiana, which was the state’s first capital.

Milan, IN outscored Evansville North, IN 259.5-239.5 to claim top honors while one of the two Kentucky teams in the field, Meade County, KY, captured fourth place with 185 points.

Leading the way for coach Bob Dahm’s third-place Maroons were champions Tyson Seibel (126) and Ethan Hofmeister (190) while Rocky Seibel (113) and Aiden Colbert (138) both settled for second place.

Tyson Seibel (18-6) won a 6-3 decision over Bedford North, IN’s Jorj Filler in the 126 title match while Hofmeister (18-4) recorded a fall in 2:38 over Milan, IN’s Carson Betz in the 190 finals.

Rocky Seibel (22-3) injury defaulted to Milan, IN’s Matthew Baylor in the 113 finals while Colbert (20-6) lost a 6-2 decision to Meade County, KY’s Payton Durbin in the 138 title match.

Maroons who took third place were Xander Goodwin (132), Brody O’Donnell (175) and Shamontae Matthews (215) while Alex Ramo (165) and Kenwyn Horne (285) placed fourth and DeMario Walters (106) and Kadin Alexander (150) finished in fifth place.

Evansville North, IN edged Belleville West 243-242 for the most total match points. Tyson Siebel tied for fourth in most team points with 28.5 while Hofmeister tied for ninth with 28 points. Colbert ranked second in total match points with 40 while Rocky Seibel was third with 34.

Civic Memorial takes fifth at Wilkey Invite in Oklahoma

Civic Memorial had a successful trip to the Larry Wilkey Invitational in Jenks, Oklahoma where it placed fifth out of 22 schools representing six states after scoring 165.5 points and capturing three championships in the event. Sand Springs, OK took first place with 208 points.

Coach Jeremy Christeson’s Eagles got titles from Bradley Ruckman (120), Caleb Scott (126) and Bryce Griffin (157) while Kale Hawk (215) and Jake Herrin (285) finished fifth and Avery Jamie (113) and Nathen Herrin (144) both took sixth place.

Ruckman (29-6) captured the title at 120 with a 6-4 win in sudden victory over Sand Springs, OK’s David Ritchey. Scott (21-5) won a 7-0 decision over Salina, OK’s Aaron Blevins in the 126 finals and Griffin (33-2) recorded a fall in 1:15 over Sapulpa, OK’s Blake Hurt for the 157 title. 

Civic Memorial ranked fourth in falls with 23. Griffin tied for fifth in team points with 29 while Scott tied for ninth in team points with 28. Seeds didn’t mean much at some weights since Griffin was seeded 32nd and Ruckman was seeded 30th and both won championships.

Dawson wins title at Lafayette Ross Invite in Missouri

Collinsville’s Taylor Dawson captured another championship and improved to 29-0 after taking top honors at 130 at the the 27-team Lafayette Fred Ross Invite in Wildwood, Missouri.

Dawson, a junior who’s a two-time IHSA medalist who went 34-5 and took third last year at 130 and was second at 125 in the first state finals, won the 130 title with a win by technical fall over St. Clair, MO’s Jossie Hopkins. She led all competitors in the tournament with 38 match points and had the lone win by technical fall. The Kahoks also received third-place finishes from Leann Cory (135) and Hannah Jones (170).

Also competing in the tournament was Alton, which only had three entrants but they all placed in the top four at their weights. Leading the way for the Redbirds was Elanna Hickman (16-6), who took second at 155 after losing by fall in 0:54 to Centralia, MO’s Jayci Shelton. Aryanna Jones (115) finished third while Phuong Tran (145) finished fourth.

IC Catholic Prep at Doc Buchanan in California

Michael Calcagno took fourth place at 218 and Deven Casey finished seventh at 129 to lead the way for IC Catholic Prep in the Doc Buchanan Tournament in Clovis, California, which featured more than 120 teams from throughout the country. With just 10 individuals competing, coach Danny Alcocer’s Knights were able to finish in 17th place with 49 points.

Downers Grove South at Drennan Invite in Tennessee

Downers Grove South took ninth place with 132.5 points at the 49-team Johnny Drennan ’85 Memorial Invitational at Father Ryan in Nashville, Tennessee. Teams from six states took part in the competition. Fenton also participated and scored 37 points.

Top performers for the Mustangs were third-place finishers RJ Samuels (175) and Matt Lapacek (190) while Drew Woolsey (126) took eighth place.

Downers Grove South ranked sixth in both total match points (300) and falls (22). Lapacek tied four others for third place for the most falls with five while Samuels ranked fourth in total match points with 69. 

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

Rickover Naval Academy Girls Tournament

With four individual champions and three runners-up, Phoenix Military Academy’s girls edged the tournament host at this year’s 10-team Rickover Girls Tournament on Saturday.

Phoenix topped Rickover by a mere 4.5 team points — 109.5-105 – and the Firebirds have shined in every tournament coach Daniel Curtin has entered them.

“They have placed in the top two as a team in every tournament they have competed in,” Curtin said. “And the best thing is, the whole team is back next year.”

Wheaton Warrenville South (63) finished third, followed by Maine East (54.5) and Lane Tech (50) to round out the top five team finishes. 

1st place: Phoenix Military Academy (109.5)

Diana Lopez (110), Jocelyn Quiroz (130), AJ Grant (145), and America Cabrera (155) were individual champions for Curtin, who also got seconds from Mia Thomas (115), Marisol Castro-Duran (120), and Vianney Becerra (130) and a third from Alexia Ramos (145).

All Grant did was win the award for the tournament’s outstanding wrestler, with a tech fall and two falls on the day.

2nd place: Rickover Naval Academy (105)

Second-place Rickover got individual titles from Mia Vazquez (100), Clara Biela (170) and Jasmine Mejia (235), seconds from Jocelyn Quillay (145), Camila Martinez-Gonzalez (155), and Julia Augelio (190), and thirds from Elizabeth Castrejon (100), Litzy Estrada (110), Rubi Bandera (115), Sheyla Trujillo (135), Natalia Ribeiro (140), and Alicia Moreno (170).

Other individual champions at Rickover were Westinghouse’s Kimani Glasper (105), Wheaton Warrenville South’s Star Duncan (115) and Cheyenne Duncan (135), Lane Tech’s Nyah Lovis (120), De La Salle’s Iliana Heredia (125), Saint Ignatius’ GG Garduna (140), and Maine East’s Angelica Wszolek (190).

Second-placers included De La Salle’s Anapaula Cerna (100), WW South’s Andrea Jaimes-Alvarez (105) and Ana Sanchez (110), Maine East’s Deepjwal Rai (125) and Alena Oshana (140), and Lane Tech’s Zabby Badru (135) and Lily Cohen (170).

Also placing third were Maine East’s Eliana Badeen (105) and Heba Kiloul (120), Marian’s Mya Gray (125), Chicago Academy’s Jocelyn Uriostegui (130), De La Salle’s Ana Perez (155), and Saint Ignatius’ Carina Robtedo (190).

Rickover Girls Tournament championship matches:

100 – Mia Vazquez (Rickover) F 5:25 Anapaula Cerna (De La Salle)

105 – Kimani Glasper (Westinghouse) F 1:00 Andrea Jaimes-Alvarez (WW South)

110 – Diana Lopez-Jimenez (Phoenix) F 3:53 Ana Sanchez (WW South)

115 – Star Duncan (WW South) D 4-0 Mia Thomas (Phoenix)

120 – Nyah Lovis (Lane Tech) D 10-3 Marisol Castro-Duran (Phoenix)

125 – Iliana Heredia (De La Salle) F 3:48 Deepjwal Rai (Maine East)

130 – Jocelyn Quiroz (Phoenix) F 5:55 Vianney Becerra (Phoenix)

135 – Cheyenne Duncan (WW South) F 3:51 Zabby Badru (Lane Tech)

140 – GG Garduna (Saint Ignatius) F 1:20 Alena Oshana (Maine East)

145 – AJ Grant (Phoenix) F 1:59 Jocelyn Quillay (Rickover)

155 – America Cabrera (Phoenix) F 0:57 Camila Martinez-Gonzalez (Rickover)

170 – Clara Biela (Rickover) F 2:55 Lily Cohen (Lane Tech)

190 – Angelica Wszolek (Maine East) D 7-6 Juila Augello (Rickover)

235 – Jasmine Mejia (Rickover) was the lone entrant at 235

Rickover Girls Tournament top individual statistics:

Most pins, least time: 3 in 1:34 by America Cabrerra (Phoenix)

Most team points: 23.5 by AJ Grant (Phoenix)

Most single-match points: 21 by AJ Grant (Phoenix)

Most total match points: 21 by AJ Grant (Phoenix)

Final team scores: 1. Phoenix Military Academy (109.5) 2. Rickover Naval Academy (105) 3. Wheaton Warrenville South (63) 4. Maine East (54) 5. Lane Tech (50) 6. De La Salle (41) 7. Westinghouse (22) 7. Marian (22) 9. Chicago Academy (17) 10. Saint Ignatius (9)

Sarah E. Goode STEM Holiday Tournament

Heading into the final round at this year’s 14-team Knights Invitational, hosted by Chicago’s Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy, Saint Ignatius knew what it needed to make a run at the team title.

Bonus points.

“We were in third place heading into the final round,” Saint Ignatius coach Ben Sanchez said. “Our guys came up with some big wins by fall, including Nate (Sanchez) and Colton (Huff) pinning in the finals.”

The Wolfpack finished with a 170-161.5 edge over second-place Little Village, 

Curie (159) was third, and Crete-Monee (126), and Northridge Prep (111.5) rounded out the top five team finishes.

1st place: Saint Ignatius (170)

The Wolfpack got individual titles by fall from Sanchez (144) and Huff (126), while  Pat Moroney (106) and Luciano Tufano (150) also got falls on the third-place mat to help propel Saint Ignatius Saint Ignatius’ Alex Villanueva (113) also reached the title mat and placed second for a Saint Ignatius team on an upward trajectory. Jim Higgins (120) and JD Giannis (132) finished fourth, while Luca Capuano (138), Grant Ghaly (165), and Melson Ngassa (215) placed fifth.

Capuano, Ghaly, and Ngassa all won by fall on the fifth-place mat, giving the Wolfpack more invaluable bonus points.

“The team is starting to peak at the right time,” Sanchez said. “The coaches and I are expecting big things to come.”

2nd place: Little Village (161.5)

Little Village got individual titles from Jovani Harris (120), Vince Ramirez (138), and Adrian Chavez (285), and a second from Jaiden Santiago (175). Phoenix coach Michael Zagorsky also got a third-place finish from Brian Behena (113), fourths from Isabella Salgado (106) and Edwin Govea (165), fifths from David Behena (126) and Omar Perez (190), and a sixth from Daniel James (215).

3rd place: Curie (159)

Curie got an individual title from Damond Butler (157) and seconds from Efren Portillo (120) and Giovanni Scumaci (138) for coach Yahya Muhammad. The Condors also got thirds from Porfirio Govea (132), Nathaniel Larios (144), Mylan Williams (165) and Israel Fabilia (285), and fourths from Gerardo Cerritos (126), Victor Quiroz (150), and Eduardo Seija (215).

Other individuals winning titles at Goode were AG Science’s Elijah Sawyer (106), Kelly’s Steven Onofre (113), Zion-Benton’s Luis Medina (132) and Francisco Yilmez (190), Sarah Goode’s Xavier Woods (150), Northridge Prep’s Jon Suter (165) and Adam Haddad (175), and CMA Bronzeville’s Sean Brown (215).

Other second-placers included Eisenhower’s Kaleb Johnson (106), CMA Bronzeville’s Justin Soria (126), Jemel O’Brien (150), and Kylan Palmer (190), Kelly’s Adan Bucio (132), Northridge Prep’s George McShane (144), and Crete-Monee’s Jaylen Johnson (157), Malakai Scott (165), Justin Lawton (215), and Vincent Vargas (285).

Top individual statistics:

Most pins, least time: 4 in 4:58 by CMA Bronzeville’s Sean Brown

Most team points: 30 by CMA Bronzeville’s Sean Brown

Most single-match points: 20 by CMA Bronzeville’s Justin Soria

Most total match points: 50 by Little Village’s Vince Ramirez

Knights Invitational championship matches:

106 – Elijah Sawyer (AG Science) F 3:05 Kaleb Johnson (Eisenhower)

113 – Steven Onofre (Kelly) F 1:08 Alex Villenueva (Saint Ignatius)

120 – Jovani Harris (Little Village) F 2:00 Efren Portillo (Curie)

126 – Colton Huff (Saint Ignatius) F 1:32 Justin Soria (CMA Bronzeville)

132 – Luis Medina (Zion-Benton) bye Adan Bucio (Kelly)

138 – Vince Ramirez (Little Village) TF 2:00 Giovanni Scumaci (Curie)

144 – Nate Sanchez (Saint Ignatius) F George McShane (Northridge Prep)

150 – Xavier Woods (Sarah Goode) F 0:48 Jemel O’Brien (CMA Bronzeville)

157 – Damond Butler (Curie) F 4:00 Jaylen Johnson (Crete-Monee)

165 – Jon Suter (Northridge Prep) D 7-1 Malakai Scott (Crete-Monee)

175 – Adam Haddad (Northridge Prep) F 1:40 Jaiden Santiago (Little Village)

190 – Francisco Yilmez (Zion-Benton) F 1:42 Kylan Palmer (CMA Bronzeville)

215 – Sean Brown (CMA Bronzeville) F 0:45 Justin Lawton (Crete-Monee)

285 – Adrian Chavez (Little Village) fft. Vincent Vargas (Crete-Monee)

Third-place matches:

106 – Pat Moroney (Saint Ignatius) F 3:26 Isabella Salgado (Little Village)

113 – Brian Behena (Little Village) F 1:03 KeAndre Beal Jr. (Sarah Goode)

120 – Roberto Vitela (Kelly) TF 2:00 Jim Higgins (Saint Ignatius)

126 – Joe Pardilla (Northridge Prep) D 5-1 Gerardo Cerritos (Curie)

132 – Porfirio Govea (Curie) F 1:17 JD Giannis (Saint Ignatius)

138 – Isiah Diaz (Sarah Good) F 2:00 Leovardo Juarez (Kelly)

144 – Nathaniel Larios (Curie) F Alexis Zacarias (Sarah Goode)

150 – Luciano Tufano (Saint Ignatius) F 1:15 Victor Quiroz (Curie)

157 – Sebastian Cuadros (Saint Ignatius) F 2:00 Gael Suarez (Kelly)

165 – Mylan Williams (Curie) F 3:58 Edwin Govea (Little Village)

175 – Kijuan Springfield (Crete-Monee) F 0:59 Juan Leyva-Garcia (Kelly)

190 – Isaac Lovett (Crete-Monee) F 1:38 Mason Wagner (Northridge Prep)

215 – Thomas Davis (Sarah Goode) F 1:03 Eduardo Seija (Curie)

285 – Israel Fabila (Curie) fft. Oscar Robles (Sarah Goode)

Final team scores: 1. Saint Ignatius (170) 2. Little Village (161.5) 3. Curie (159) 4. Crete-Monee (126) 5. Northridge Prep (111.5) 6. Kelly (99.5) 7. Sarah Goode (98) 8. CMA Bronzeville (97) 9. Zion-Benton (88) 10. Westinghouse (47) 11. Eisenhower (38.5) 12. Chicago AG Science (37) 13. Ridgewood (18) 14. Thornwood (0)

Englewood STEM Holiday Tournament

The nine-team tournament saw Corliss edge King, 98-95, with Bowen finishing right behind in third place with 90 points.

Chicago Vocational (77), South Shore (76.5), Tilden (44.5), Julian (43), Phillips (41), and Englewood STEM (14) rounded out Saturday’s team finishes.

Corliss coach Stacy Douglas enjoyed having his team compete in the inaugural tournament at Englewood, and 

“It was a great atmosphere,” Douglas said. “We were short-handed and we also had four first-year wrestlers in the tournament. We had a little help along the way to the championship, winning it by (2.5 points). So we also had a little luck on our side but we’ll take it.”

1st place: Corliss (98)

The Trojans got individual titles from Deangelo Willis (144) and Grant Smith (165), seconds from Malachi McClure (120), Derrick Nash (150), Laquarius Moore (165), and Branden McGill (175), and a fourth from Christopher Russell (190).

2nd place: King (95)

Second-place King got individual championships for coach Anthony Burton from Jacob Jackson (150) and Calvin Savage (190), a second from Moses Pittman (132), and thirds from Jyiel Morris (138), Zahir Mbengue (144), Paul Norman (175), and Devin Fields (285).

3rd place: Bowen (90)

Third-place Bowen led the field with three individual champions in Jaylen Hood (120), Jermainen Reed (132), and Jamies Simmons (175), and coach William Burton got a second from Steven Prince (285) and a third-place finish from Cory Addison (215).

Other champions at Englewood included Tilden’s Luis Fernandez (126) and Tyler Saylor (157), South Shore’s Dakhari Esters (138) and Chris Simmons (215), and Julian’s Don Adams (285)

Other wrestlers placing second were Phillips’ Ahmed Mufsa (126) and Kelvin Moore (138), Julian’s Chad Anderson (144) and Isaac Wofford (157), and Vocational’s Chad Harrison (190) and Marcus Dorsey (215).

Also placing third were Phillips’ Andrew Price (120), South Shore’s Zebadiah Winford (126) and Reginald Craig (190), Tilden’s Pedro Ramirez (132), Englewood’s R’mani Thomas (157), and Vocational’s Shadom Richardson (165).

Fourth-placers at Englewood included South Shore’s Jakryi Mitchell (120), Dairrion Hamilton (165) and Justen Norris (215), Phillips’ Lorne Brooks (144), and Vocational’s Jonathan McDonald (157), Devon Garland (175) and Patrick Walker (285).

Julian’s Don Adams scored the most team points in the tournament with 24, Corliss’ Grant Smith scored the most single-match points with 29, and South Shore’s Dakhari Esters finished with the most total match points with 32.

Englewood STEM Holiday Tournament championship match results:

(No wresters were entered at 106 or 113)

120 – Jaylen Hood (Bowen) F Malachi McClure (Corliss)

126 – Luis Fernandez (Tilden) D 4-3 Ahmed Mufsa (Phillips)

132 – Jermainen Reed (Bowen) F Moses Pittman (King)

138 – Dakhari Esters (South Shore) MD 15-5 Kelvin Moore (Phillips)

144 – Deangelo Willis (Corliss) F Chad Anderson (Julian)

150 – Jacob Jackson (King) F Derrick Nash (Corliss)

157 – Tyler Saylor (Tilden) MD 13-4 Isaac Wofford (Julian)

165 – Grant Smith (Corliss) MD 29-18 Shadom Richardson (Vocational)

175 – James Simmons (Bowen) F Branden McGill (Corliss)

190 – Calvin Savage (King) TF 5:00 Chad Harrison (Vocational)

215 – Chris Simmons (South Shore) MD 10-2 Marcus Dorsey (Vocational)

285 – Don Adams (Julian) F Steven Prince (Bowen)

By Chris Walker – for the IWCOA

Brother Rice wasn’t anywhere near 100 percent when it traveled to Geneva on Saturday for the annual Newbill Invitational, but it didn’t matter.

While the Crusaders were without Pat Gilhooly, Mac Murzyn as well as Bobby Conway, who won the Class 2A state championship at 126 last season, they were still stronger than any of the remaining 18 schools that competed, returning home to Chicago with a new trophy.

Brother Rice (197.5) finished comfortably ahead of a logjam for second place between West Aurora (156), Lane Tech (155) and Glenbard East (152).

The host Vikings (118.5) were fifth and followed by Glenbrook North (115.5), Joliet Central (113), Wheaton Warrenville South (109), Dundee-Crown (107) and Wheaton Academy (83.5) to round out the top 10 teams among the 19-team field.

“It really was a good tournament,” Brother Rice coach Jan Muzyn said. “We actually changed some things with how we practice this season and we’re doing a lot more drilling and a lot less live wrestling.”

Whatever the Crusaders are doing behind the scenes, it’s making a difference on the main stage in front of real competition and fans. Jack O’Connor (144), Gabino Perez (165) and James Crane (190) all won titles for the Crusaders, who qualified for the IHSA Class 2A Dual Team Finals for the first time in 2023.

“I think we’re in a pretty good spot,” Perez said. “No one knows who we really are. We are coming in as a new team. No one knows the skills that we’ve got.”

Those who were at Geneva on Saturday certainly know about Brother Rice’s depth of talent.

“We love being the underdogs,” O’Connor said. “No one knows who we are. We have a lot of freshmen on the team so we’re young and we’ll be in this position for years to come.”

Oliver Davis (138) and Dan Costello (175) advanced to the finals but fell short while James Bennett (132) rebounded to place third for the Crusaders.

“I had a tough loss in the semifinals,” Bennett said. “We’re getting better. My sophomore year we qualified for state for the first time so we’re just getting better every year and I think we’re up and coming.”

Logan Conners (120) and Frank Micelli (150) each placed fourth while Charley Stec (215) finished strong with a win in his fifth-place match and Johnathon Harris (126) took sixth as Brother Rice had 10 wrestlers finish in sixth place or better. Dan Tait (113), Marty Flynn (157) and Brooks Braleel (285) also contributed to the cause for the champion Crusaders. 

“We were down three horses but haven’t had this depth before,” Murzyn said. “The kids keep getting better and better and better. We had three kids who were losing going into the third period and came back to win the match.”

Coach Matthew Yan’s third-place Lane Tech Champions had four champions, Alex Valentin (113), Robert James Zavala (126), Nasser Hammouche (138) and Fernando Lopez (150).

Coach Andrew Plata’s second-place West Aurora Blackhawks had two first-place finishers,  Evan Matkovich (132) and Dayne Serio (157) while Noah Quintana (150) took second.

And coach Donald Pool’s fourth-place Glenbard East Rams also had two title winners, Waleed Binmahfooz (106) and Ismael Chaidez (120) while Cooper Conliss (285) placed second.

The other three Newbill champions were Wheaton Warrenville South’s Sedeeq Al Obaidi (175), Geneva’s Joe Pettit (215) and Glenbrook North’s Cray Paich (285).

Joliet Central had three second-place finishers, Liam Walsh (113), Isaiah Kan (120) and Charles Walker (215). Addison Trail also had three individuals who placed second, Damian Valdez (126), Martin Duarte (157) and Elmer Olascoaga (190).

Others who finished in second place were Geneva’s Sammy Sikorsky (106) and Andrew Wendt (132), Plainfield Central’s Matthias Hautzinger (144) and Glenbrook North’s Shane Onixt (165).

Some of the closest title matches included Pettit edging Walker 4-3 at 215, Zavala beating Valdez 11-8 at 126, Paich capturing a 6-3 decision over Conliss at 285, Crane prevailing over Olascoaga 4-0 at 190, O’Connor winning 6-1 over Hautzinger at 144 and Lopez claiming a 7-2 decision over Quintana at 150.

Finalists with the best records following the Newbill Invite include Al Obaidi (27-1, .964), Lopez (12-1, .923), Zavala (28-3, .903), Valentin (26-3, .897), Walker (25-3, .893), Chaidez (24-3, .889), Serio (24-3, .889), Perez (19-3, .864), Onixt (19-3, .864), Paich (12-3, .857), Olascoaga (14-3, .824), Binmahfooz (23-5, .821), Quintana (17-4, .810), Davis (19-5, .792), Duarte (19-5, .792), Costello (18-5, .783), Hautzinger (14-4, .778), Hammouche (26-8, .765), O’Connor (19-6, .760), Valdez (19-6, .760), Crane (18-6, .750) and Sikorsky (24-8, .750).

Matkovich, Serio and Valentin tied for the most team points with 29.5 while Al Obaidi, Binmahfooz and Chaidez tied for fourth with 29 points, Hammouche was right behind them with 28.5 points and Lopez, Paich and Perez tied for eighth with 28 team points. Joliet Central’s 

Jorge Robles had the most match points with 59 while Bennett ranked second with 47 points. Stillman Valley’s Henry Hildreth was the only individual in the invite to collect four falls.

In the team categories, Brother Rice had the most total match points with 144 while West Aurora was second with 138 and Joliet Central ranked third with 132 points. Brother Rice and Dundee-Crown tied for the most falls with 18 while West Aurora was third with 17 pins.

The Newbill Invitational is named in honor of Jim Newbill, who had a 35-year teaching and coaching career in wrestling and baseball at Geneva and Oswego and was Geneva’s athletic director for 10 years.

Here’s a look at the champions and weight classes at the 2024 Newbill Invitational:

106 – Waleed Binmahfooz, Glenbard East

Winning tournaments like the Newbill is something Waleed Binmahfooz could have only dreamed about a few years ago. Now a senior at Glenbard East, he expects to compete for titles. He’s certainly come a long way since he first was introduced to the mats as a freshman.

Binmahfooz (23-5) won the title at 106 with a fall in 4:28 over Geneva junior Sammy Sikorsky (24-8). He opened with a quick pin before capturing a 9-1 major decision over Lane Tech’s Evan Coles in the semifinals to become one of three Rams who advanced to the title mat.

“That freshman kid knew nothing and now how much I know is wild, especially when you see other kids you wrestled over the years who were tougher competition and now you’ve become more competitive,” Binmahfooz said. “It’s nice to be up there on that podium now. I can actually do some things that I wasn’t able to do before. I’ve gotten a lot better. I’ve made huge strides.”

Last year in the Newbill, Binmahfooz placed fourth at 113, but 106 is where he’s at his best.

“It’s my senior year and if I want to perform my best, especially at the state series, I go 106,” he said. “I can go 113 for conference and other matches for the team.”

After not doing much his freshman season due to the pandemic, Binmahfooz filled a spot on varsity right away as a sophomore.

“They threw me on varsity because they bumped the 106 to 113 and he pushed me like crazy,” he said. “I learned a lot and ever since then I’ve always practiced with older, more experienced, heavier wrestlers. Iron sharpens iron. The older, more experienced (wrestlers) have taught me a lot about the culture, the school and wrestling itself. I wouldn’t be where I’m at right now without having those older, more experienced and stronger (teammates) pushing me.”

“I just went out there and I knew the kid would be tough because he had just won by tech fall against the kid he wrestled before me,” Binmahfooz said. “I just went out there and tried my best. I had it in me to win it because I’ve been practicing real hard this year working stuff. My offense has been great so I thought I’d go out and try to pin him.”

Following the trend of Binmahfooz’s win by fall, senior Coles (18-10) won with a pin over Stillman Valley junior Michael Pannarale (18-6) for third place while Dundee-Crown sophomore Aiden Healey (16-12) won by fall over Wheaton Academy freshman Buckley Kazmierczak on the fifth-place mat.

113 – Alex Valentin, Lane Tech

Some guys get it quicker than others, but few have gotten it as quickly as Alex Valentin.

In just his third season wrestling, Lane Tech junior Valentin claimed the 113 title after accumulating point after point in a win by technical fall in 2:42 over Joliet Central junior Liam Walsh.

“I took him down early in the first period but I couldn’t really pin him so I started racking up points and it was like 10-0 after one period,” Valentin said. “At the end of the day I’m 26-3. It’s another tournament. I’m still proud that I won first. As for me, I know I’m happy and I’ve got to celebrate the win but also I’ve got to look forward to the next match and what I’m going to do.”

Glenbrook North senior Ayaan Rizwaan (16-4) won an 11-3 major decision over Plainfield Central sophomore Jayden Mizelle (11-3) to capture third place. Stillman Valley senior Mack Jones (21-3) won an 11-3 major decision over Geneva junior Drew Hosman for fifth place.

120 – Ismael Chaidez, Glenbard East

In his debut as a freshman at last year’s Newbill, Glenbard East’s Ismael Chaidez placed third at 120. This year, he is the champ at 120 after winning by fall in 2:44 over Joliet Central junior Isaiah Kan to improve to 24-3.

“I feel like I’ve grown a lot as a competitor ever since the offseason,” Chaidez said. “I switched my focus so it wasn’t just about wins anymore.”

Rather, he’s focusing on the skills that make him such a tough opponent. Take, for example, what he did to beat Kan (17-12).

“Right out of the game he started with strong pressure,” he said. “I’m used to strong collar ties and I usually take a strong sweep. He was leading with his legs and I took a sweep.”

Chaidez was blessed to work with Jacobi Moore in the room last year, but Moore has since graduated. Still, that experience has stayed with Chaidez.

“I feel like I lost one of our senior wrestlers (Moore) who was somebody I practiced with a lot,” he said. “Wrestling with others I’ve come to realize how much different people are. You’ve got to open them up. Jacobi always said to be loose and don’t be tight and it’s something I’ve got to learn, it’s the way he was seeing from his perspective.”

On the third-place mat, Dundee-Crown junior Christian Gerardo (13-13) won by fall over Brother Rice sophomore Logan Conners (10-10). In the battle for fifth place, West Aurora junior Joseph Hiocochea earned a 7-3 decision against Lane Tech sophomore Angel Santana.

126 – Robert James Zavala, Lane Tech

Lane Tech’s Robert James Zavala won a battle between seniors for the 126 title, capturing an 11-8 decision over Addison Trail’s Damian Valdez.

Zavala, who improved to 28-3, followed a quick fall with a 9-1 major decision over Dundee-Crown junior Chris Gerardo in the semifinals to become one of the Champions’ four finalists and all four would ultimately be Newbill champions.

On the third-place mat, West Aurora senior Aiden Massaro (20-8) scored a 9-1 major decision over Gerardo (23-8) while Wheaton Academy sophomore Lincoln Hoger (22-5), a Class 1A state qualifier last season, edged Brother Rice freshman Johnathon Harris (16-5) by a 3-2 score for fifth place.

132 – Evan Matkovich, West Aurora

It feels good to stand on the podium. West Aurora sophomore Evan Matkovich found himself up there for the first time this season after his victory by technical fall in 3:30 over Geneva junior Andrew Wendt for the 132 title.

“I hadn’t made it to a championship and this was my first time being on the podium this year so it feels pretty good,” Matkovich said. “I just think it was more like persistence, trying to work my turns faster and moving, transitioning onto the next thing over and over that made the difference.”

Matkovich (21-8) just kept piling on the points on Wendt.

“I think it was more of a matter how it came to be,” he said. “And not the kid I faced.”

Brother Rice senior James Bennett (19-6) bounced back from a loss to Matkovich to defeat Glenbard East junior Shane Salerno (15-8) with a 14-3 major decision for third place while Dundee-Crown senior Vinnie Velazquez (17-12) won by fall in 4:36 against Alton sophomore Donovin Moore for fifth place.

138 – Nasser Hammouche, Lane Tech

Lane Tech junior Nasser Hammouche finished his run through the 138 bracket with a win by fall in 5:59 over Brother Rice sophomore Oliver Davis in the title match.

Hammouche (26-8), who was one of four title winners for coach Matthew Yan’s Champions, opened with a fall, got a win by technical fall in the quarterfinals and won a 9-0 major decision over Wheaton Academy senior Will Hupke in the semifinals.

Wheaton Warrenville South senior Cooper Hollis won a 7-6 decision over Hupke (20-4) for third place while Joliet Central senior Jorge Robles (17-10) earned an 8-3 decision over West Aurora senior Adrian Ortiz on the fifth-place mat.

144 – Jack O’Connor, Brother Rice

Brother Rice junior Jack O’Connor improved to 19-6 after winning a 6-1 decision over Plainfield Central junior Matthias Hautzinger to win the 144 title.

“I was just focusing on getting to my moves, my underhooks,” O’Connor said. “I was staying defensive while being offensive and just working through my stuff.”

In a match pairing two sophomores, Alton’s Brayden Drew (18-8) earned a 3-0 win over Wheaton Academy’s Tyler Jones (21-9) for third. In a matchup of juniors on the fifth-place mat, Stillman Valley’s Henry Hildreth (11-5) won by fall over Joliet Central’s Tremaine Cooper (17-11).

150 – Fernando Lopez, Lane Tech

Lane Tech’s Fernando Lopez dropped a 9-7 decision a year ago at the Newbill in the 152 finals to Stillman Valley’s Jack Seacrist. This year, he also went the distance, but came out on top, defeating West Aurora’s Noah Quintana (17-4) by a 7-2 decision in a battle of seniors at 150.

Lopez (12-1), who was one of Lane Tech’s four champions, won his other two matches by fall, including in 2:15 over Brother Rice freshman Frank Micelli in the semifinals.

Wheaton Academy junior Chasen Kazmierczak (21-4) won a 4-2 decision over Micelli (19-6) for third place and Glenbrook North junior Ilan Ruderman (21-9) won a 7-4 decision over Plainfield Central junior Jack Bowen (18-10).

157 – Dayne Serio, West Aurora

Don’t let Dayne Serio get on top.

“Once I get on top, it’s like my dads says, it’s pretty much over,” Serio said.

Serio,  a West Aurora sophomore, got on top of Addison Trail senior Martin Duarte (19-5) often enough and turned it into a win by technical fall for the 157 title.

“I’m just really persistent with this top work and all these turns,” Serio said. “I’ve just been working on top the whole time. I think only one person scored on me this whole tournament and it was on one reversal. I’m 25-3 right now so I’ve been doing pretty good this year.”

Wrestling for the first time in over three weeks, Geneva’s Peyton Marzen won by fall against Glenbrook North sophomore Henry Hafner (18-11) to take third place. A similar result happened on the fifth-place mat as Wheaton Academy senior Deonta Giles (16-12) won by fall against Lake Zurich sophomore Filip Kawalec.

165 – Gabino Perez, Brother Rice

With nearly 40 wins and just five losses between them, the 165-pound title match paired a couple of juniors who aren’t used to losing often this season.

Brother Rice’s Gabino Perez improved to 19-3 after winning by fall in 4:29 over Glenbrook North’s Shane Onixt, who dropped to 19-3.

“It was pretty straightforward going into it,” said Perez, who placed fourth at 195 in the 2023 IHSA Class 2A Finals. “I was just thinking straight, what could I set up and what I could do with the next takedown.”

In a third-place battle pairing two seniors, Dundee-Crown’s Jose Gavina (21-7) and Oak Lawn’s Isaac Barba (20-8), Gavina earned a 6-1 decision. In the fifth-place match, which also featured two seniors, Wheaton Warrenville South’s Corey Gul (18-12) scored an 8-0 major decision over Stillman Valley’s Braden Rogers.

175 – Sedeeq Al Obaidi, Wheaton Warrenville South

Wheaton Warrenville South’s Sedeeq Al Obaidi added to title wins at Niles West and his own Ed Ewoldt Invitational with another championship as the senior who recently celebrated his 100th victory improved to 27-1 after winning by technical fall in 3:40 over Brother Rice freshman Dan Costello (18-5) in the 175 finals.

Al Obaidi, who went 38-7 last season and fell one win shy of getting a medal at the IHSA Class 3A Finals, opened with a fall and then won by technical fall over Lake Zurich junior Maciej Szelazek in the semifinals to become the only Tiger to reach the title mat.

On the third-place mat, Glenbrook North senior Kieran O’Sullivan (22-6) earned a 7-2 decision over Szelazek while in the fifth-place match, Glenbard East sophomore Orlando Hoye won by fall over Joliet Central junior Amilio Gonzalez (18-13).

190 – James Crane, Brother Rice

James Crane was the third Brother Rice wrestler to win a title at the Newbill, winning a 4-0 decision over Addison Trail senior Elmer Olascoaga (14-3) in the finals at 190.

Crane, a junior who improved to 18-6, recorded a fall in 2:58 over Glenbard East senior Blake Salvino (21-8) in the semifinals after capturing a 5-0 decision over Shepard junior Yazen Ashkar (19-6) in the quarterfinals.

Senior Elvis Muja (18-6) joined Wheaton Warrenville South teammate Cooper Hollis (138) with a third-place finish after receiving a forfeit win over Salvino. And Ashkar prevailed by an 8-4 decision over Stillman Valley junior Brock Needs on the fifth-place mat.

215 – Joe Pettit, Geneva

A year ago, Pettit was in the same situation that he was on Saturday as he advanced to the Jim Newbill finals at 220. Last year he fell to Dundee-Crown’s Teigen Moreno but this year, he upset Joliet Central’s Charles Walker by a 4-3 decision for the 215 championship.

No doubt, Pettit was ready to battle Walker in a matchup of returning Class 3A state qualifiers. Pettit was 32-17 last season while Walker (25-3) went 37-14 a year ago and fell one win shy of a medal at 220 at the IHSA Finals.

“I knew he was tough just based off of rankings and whatever,” Pettit said. “But I knew that didn’t matter. I knew I could wear him down. I kind of knew if I was going to win, it was going to be in the third period so I kind of wore him out and then took my shot when I had it and reversed him and ended up on top.”

As a captain who also plays rugby and was an all-conference selection this past fall on the football field, Pettit is undeniably a leader who inspires his teammates.

“He loves to compete and he hates losing,” Geneva coach Tom Chernich said. “He’s just a hard worker and an easy kid to coach, an easy kid to root for. I was probably a little too excited in the finals match, but you’ve got to have some fun.”

Pettit was voted in as this year’s tournament’s Most Valuable Wrestler.

“He’s (Pettit) the MVP right there,” Geneva 157-pounder Peyton Marzen said. “And if I had to pick a most hard-working guy that would be him. He’s going to rugby practice right now after winning a tournament. He’s crazy, but that’s just how he is.”

On the third-place mat, Plainfield Central junior Anthony Minnito (21-3) earned a 5-2 decision against Glenbard East senior Gus Winkler (16-11). And Brother Rice junior Charley Stec (12-7) won by fall over Wheaton Warrenville South junior Mason Monte (16-13) for fifth place.

285 – Cray Paich, Glenbrook North

Cray Paich had a tough season on the JV squad a year ago. But on Saturday, he was a Newbill champion on the varsity team as the Glenbrook North senior improved to 12-2 after persevering to defeat Glenbard East junior Cooper Conliss by a 6-3 decision in the 285 title match.

“It definitely wasn’t my prettiest match, but I’m glad I ended up on top,” Paich said. “This was a nice tournament. I’d heard a few things about guys from different schools here and there that there would be some really good wrestlers and very good competition. The people were right. It was nerve-racking, but at the end of the day the only thing I can control is how I wrestle and not who I’m going against.”

This time of the year with the school break and the holidays can be especially challenging for athletes. For Paich, it was an opportunity to get better.

“My coach has taught me a lot these past few days and especially over break so I’ve had a lot to learn and improve on,” he said. “I’m just kind of getting over that mental barrier that I had before. My coach just really helped me push through today.”

Stillman Valley senior Blake Mollet (16-7) edged West Aurora senior Noah Chacon (14-10) 7-6 for third place while Wheaton Warrenville South junior Ashton Kibbe (19-9) won by fall against Shepard senior Javier Cano (16-8) for fifth place

Championship matches at Geneva’s Newbill Invitational

106 – Waleed Binmahfooz (Glenbard East) F 4:28 Sammy Sikorsky (Geneva)
113 – Alex Valentin (Lane Tech) TF 2:42 Liam Walsh (Joliet Central)
120 – Ismael Chaidez (Glenbard East) F 2:44 Isaiah Kan (Joliet Central)
126 – Robert James Zavala (Lane Tech) D 11-8 Damian Valdez (Addison Trail)
132 – Evan Matkovich (West Aurora) TF 3:30 Andrew Wendt (Geneva)
138 – Nasser Hammouche (Lane Tech) F 5:59 Oliver Davis (Brother Rice)
144 – Jack O’Connor (Brother Rice) D 6-1 Matthias Hautzinger (Plainfield Central)
150 – Fernando Lopez (Lane Tech) D 7-2 Noah Quintana (West Aurora)
157 – Dayne Serio (West Aurora) TF Martin Duarte (Addison Trail)
165 – Gabino Perez (Brother Rice) F 4:29 Shane Onixt (Glenbrook North)
175 – Sedeeq Al Obaidi (Wheaton Warrenville South) TF 3:40 Dan Costello (Brother Rice)
190 – James Crane (Brother Rice) D 4-0 Elmer Olascoaga (Addison Trail)
215 – Joe Pettit (Geneva) D 4-3 Charles Walker (Joliet Central)
285 – Cray Paich (Glenbrook North) D 6-3 Cooper Conliss (Glenbard East)

Team scoring at Geneva’s Newbill Invitational

1. Brother Rice 197.5, 2. West Aurora 156, 3. Lane Tech 155, 4. Glenbard East 152, 5. Geneva 118.5, 6. Glenbrook North 115.5, 7. Joliet Central 113, 8. Wheaton Warrenville South 109, 9. Dundee-Crown 107, 10. Wheaton Academy 83.5, 11. Stillman Valley 82, 12. Addison Trail 80.5, 13. Plainfield Central 74, 14. Alton 44.5, 15. Shepard 35, 16. Lake Zurich 32, 17. Oak Lawn 28, 18. Metea Valley 6, 19. Boylan Catholic 3.

By Bobby Narang for the IWCOA

FRANKLIN PARK – Stevenson wanted to savor its achievement on Saturday afternoon.
The Patriots squeezed out an impressive victory in the 14-team 2024 Randy Conrad Invite held at East Leyden High Sch 
Well after the meet had ended – with nearly every wrestler gone and the gym nearly empty – the Patriots were in deep discussion at the opposite end of the gymnasium, away from the entrance and the main scoring table.
Stevenson wrestling coach Shane Cook had his team in a tight circle, letting his wrestlers hear all the positives from their performance.
The Patriots pulled away late in the event with several outstanding performances, finishing in first place with 208 points to nudge past Notre Dame (198). De La Salle placed third with 131.5 points, Conant snared fourth place with 120 points, and Harlem ended in fifth with 112 points.
“We have a lot of guys who are putting it together at the right time,” Cook said. “Notre Dame is a strong Class 2A team. We knew we were going to be challenged by them all day long. Going into the final round, it was back and forth. The difference, and we always preach to our guys, is to be hungry for bonus points. In the final round, we had eight pins. That’s plus-16 points, so when you end up winning by 10 points, those pins really matter. I’m excited for the guys being aggressive and going after those bonus points.”
Host Leyden took sixth with 99 points, Harvard finished seventh with 86.5 points, Richards tallied 71.5 points for eighth, while Maine East (65.5) and Burlington Central (63.5) took ninth and 10^th, respectively.
Stevenson has won the invite for three straight seasons, and also captured the team title in 2019 and 2020. 
The Patriots got individual titles Saturday from Marcelo Cantu (126), Andrew Chamkin (138) and Val Vihrov (144), and a second-place finish from Mikey Polyakov (120) among their finalists.
Stevenson also went 5-for-6 on the third-place mat, getting third-place finishes from Evan Mishels (106), Ayush Bajaj (113), Tyler Reiff (150), Erick Wade (157), and Anthony Adams (215). Themba Sitshela (165) placed fourth, Andrew Timmons (285) was fifth, and Richie Gueorguiev (190) placed sixth.
“Every year we’re blessed to have kids come to our program and work hard and commit their lives to this,” Cook said. “We have a lot of guys in this group that are looking to put things together in the last month for the state tournament series and try and achieve their goals.”
Second-place Notre Dame was led by individual champions John Sheehy (113), Jim Amatore (190) and Scott Cook (285), and second-placers Ray Long (106), Tim Bridges (144), Sean Adams (175), and Jack Malenock (215).
Also winning individual titles at Leyden were De La Salle’s Jeremiah Lawrence (106) and Josue Hernandez (175), Conant’s Luis Flores (120) and Tanner Cosgrove (157), Burlington Central’s Doug Phillips (132), Harvard’s Daniel Rosas (150), and Highland Park’s Dmitry Derbedyenyev (165).

Rendy Conrad Invite champions:

106 – Jeremiah Lawrence, De La Salle
Sporting a 10-1 record after notching an 11-5 decision over Notre Dame’s Ray Long in the 106 title match, De La Salle’s Jeremiah Lawrence doesn’t want to rest on his laurels.
“Winning that (finals) match I just had to push the pace and not let him breathe and get to my attacks and control the match,” Lawrence said. “I’ve only lost one match so far. I feel like my season is doing really good. I can do better. I’m one win away from being undefeated.”
Stevenson’s Evan Mishels earned a first-period pin over Highland Park’s Alex Gudgeon at third-place, with Burlington Central’s Jackson Marlett notching fifth by major decision over Harlem’s Nathan Corder.

 113 – John Sheehy, Notre Dame
Notre Dame’s John Sheehy had motivation on his side to help push him throughout Saturday’s invite. The junior improved his record to a stellar 25-5 by ending his day with a 19-8 major-decision win over Harlem’s Justin Lewis.
“I feel I wrestled well,” Sheehy said. “I did a good job of opening up my matches and getting to my offense. I was mentally prepared all week for the tournament, especially after our team lost to St. Patrick in our dual the day before this tournament. Everyone on the team had a fire under them.”
Sheehy had his sights set on a trip to the state tournament in Champaign. His season is filled with a number of quality wins, but he’s thinking big.
“I’m seeing all my hard work pay off,” he said. “Throughout this year, my coaches have always made sure I’m always challenging myself by going to difficult tournaments and duals against the best guys. Even though I have five losses and have a strong schedule ahead of me with the Illini Classic next week, I can still see myself winning out the rest of the season. My most difficult matches have been at 120, which is where the majority of my losses occurred at since I’m a 113-pounder.
“One of the toughest matches for me (this season) was against Teddy Flores from Maine South due to only the fact that he’s a great wrestler but I also bumped up a weight in hopes of beating him.”
Stevenson’s Ayush Bajaj cracked a smile following his pin of Conant’s Mike Goolish in the third-place match. Harvard’s Reymundo Romo finished in fifth with a fall against De La Salle’s Vincent Arvetis.

 120 – Luis Flores, Conant
Conant’s Luis Flores kept his words short and to the point following his 7-4 decision over Stevenson’s Mikey Polyakov in the finals.
“Technique from my coaches and doing what they taught me helped me today,” Flores said. “I came here thinking I was going to win. That’s how it has to be. I just kept pressing. I was happy how I did to get eighth at Dvorak. That’s motivating me. I have to just keep working hard.”
Notre Dame’s John Greifelt defeated De La Salle’s Anthony Trendle for the third-place medal with a 7-4 decision, and Vernon Hills sophomore Sabir Aliev closed out his day with a fifth-place showing, winning by fall over Harlem’s Jaydee Doke.

 126 – Marcelo Cantu, Stevenson
Stevenson sophomore Marcelo Cantu is starting to reap the benefits of having a tough mentality. Cantu said he missed a month of the season due to a skin disease, leading to several long days filled with frustration.
“I had some rough battles early in the season with a rare skin disease,” Cantu said. “I didn’t let it stop me, so I just kept going. I just came back recently. I feel good. At the time, I was really re-motivated. I would see all my friends wrestling and I would get really mad because I wanted to wrestle. It’s my main thing. I was out for about a month.”
Cantu took out his frustration on his opponents in Saturday’s invite. He pinned his first two opponents and closed out his perfect day with a 10-5 decision over Conant’s Caden Spizzirri.
“I think it was just taking shots,” Cantu said of the key to his wins. “I think the best thing for me in the finals was using a throw-by. That worked a lot for me in this tournament. One key thing I could work on is my conditioning. I think my conditioning was a little off today. Other than that, everything was good. My coaches helped me a lot. I want to make it downstate. I have to increase my conditioning and have a better mentality.”
Harlem’s Mario Mendez placed third by fall over Notre Dame’s James Frugoli and Maine East’s John Moor pinned Leyden’s Derrick Miranda for fifth.

 132 – Doug Phillips, Burlington Central
After back-to-back left knee injuries in his first two seasons, Doug Phillips is aiming high for his senior season. Phillips said it’s been a mental battle for him this season, but he’s headed in the right direction.
“I’ve been playing a lot of mind games with myself since the beginning of the season,” Phillips said. “It’s because of the past. I had two blown out knees and wasn’t good enough. But I feel amazing right now and have a lot of fight.”
Phillips showed off that fight with an impressive 16-0 tech fall win over Harlem’s Izayah Olejniczak in the finals. Phillips (26-4) said he’s ready for a state run.
“It’s my senior year and anything can happen, just like my last match,” Phillips said. “I didn’t think I would come into the championship and tech him and not let him score any points.
“It’s more mental for me. Sometimes physically it hurts. You just have to tell your mind not to listen to it, from every situation and battle, you have to keep wrestling. It’s definitely nice to get this (title). It will give me some momentum coming into the state series. I’m going to keep pushing hard.”
The rest of the bracket included a third-place finish for De la Salle’s Mario Perez, after his fall over Lakes’ Dominick Lostroscio, and a fifth for Conant’s Matt Goolish by fall over Highland Park’s Drew Scheitenger.

 138 – Andrew Chamkin, Stevenson
Wrestling in his third weight class of his career, Andrew Chamkin is looking to have some fun in his senior year. He wrestled at 106 pounds in his first two season, then went up to 126 last season before moving to 138 this year.
Victories and titles, for Chamkin, are the fun part.
He had a lot of fun on Saturday, pinning all three of his opponents to earn the 138-pound title. He pinned Leyden’s Rusty Klug in the second period to end his productive day.
“138 is pretty tough,” Chamkin said. “In this tournament, it was good to see where I’m at so far. I’ve wrestled in some tough tournaments. I stayed calm and didn’t overthink the matches. My finals match was pretty tough. It’s been a fun season. I’m enjoying it. It’s my senior year, so I’m giving it my all.”
Rounding out the top-five of bracket included a third-place for Harlem’s Owen Recoy after his major decision against Richards’ Leo Flores, and Harlem’s Ethan Hagerman winning by fall for fifth against Conant’s Vlad Castaneda.

144 – Val Vihrov, Stevenson
After a productive offseason, Stevenson’s Val Vihrov is bowling over his competition. He helped the Patriots build some early momentum toward the team title, pinning Notre Dame’s Tim Bridges in the 144 finals.
“I felt pretty confident with my weight and could take everybody down pretty quickly,” Vihrov said. “I was also confidant in my skills and setting up everything. My toughest match was my second match because I had to set things up, so it took a little longer than my other ones. I had to use more strategy. I worked hard in the offseason and built my skills for this.”
Harlem’s Gavin Warner downed Conant’s Victor Chevganov by fall for third place, and Harvard’s Logan Nulle won by fall for fifth against Maine East’s Ali Mohammad.

150 – Daniel Rosas, Harvard
At 6-foot, Harvard junior Daniel Rosas is easy to spot. With long arms and legs, he’s not easy to beat on the mat, either.
That was evident on Saturday, when Rosas won all three of his matches to capture the 150-pound title, capped by his title-mat decision against Richards’ Dom Paul.
It was Rosas’ third tourney title of the season.
“I have to use my (length) and legs to my advantage,” Rosas said. “I have to stay calm at all times. A lot of the wrestlers are stronger than me, but my mindset is they don’t have more technique than me. I have to stay calm in whatever situation I get put into.”
In his 11^th season wrestling, Rosas – who plays wide receiver and safety in football – is looking to make a few improvements to finish his season on a high note.
“I could’ve done better,” he said. “I got sick over the break but came back these last two days and worked hard to get first on the podium. My mindset is still the same after this. I have to keep pushing myself I want to make state for the first time. I have to keep grinding every day.”
Stevenson’s Tyler Reiff defeated De la Salle’s Patrick Young by fall for third place, and Leyden’s Moses Garza won by fall for fifth against Harlem’s Preston Fadness.

157 – Tanner Cosgrove, Conant
Early this season, in late November, Conant senior Tanner Cosgrove had a memorable showing at the Chris Hruska Wrestling Classic. Cosgrove celebrated his 157-pound title with several teammates, coaches and family members at the home invite.
Saturday’s meet was at the opposite end of the spectrum but ended with the same result. Instead of jumping around with his teammates, Cosgrove took a matter-of-fact approach with his 13-0 major-decision victory over Maine East’s Tim Kato in the finals. He didn’t smile, nor did he barely acknowledge the first-place feat.
“I’ve been consistently getting better since the season started,” Cosgrove said. “I felt more prepared for this tournament, had a better mindset. I hadn’t won anything really before until the (Conant) tournament. This time, I already knew I was capable of winning this one. I went out and wrestled more confident and I was more aggressive and it all worked out.”
Cosgrove said he’s slowly building toward a strong finish with his eyes on a more elusive prize.
“The Dvorak was rough,” he said. “I ended up placing there, but it was just a lot harder competition than I’m used to seeing, so that was good because it made me better.”
Cosgrove believes Saturday’s victory was a good way to start the new calendar season, especially since he was sidelined for two weeks.
“I was out for a couple of weeks because I had an infection in my knee,” he said. “I just got back, my first tournament back. This feels good. I feel like I’m back. After the Hruska and Dvorak, I ended up getting ranked, so I feel like I’m going from just want to qualify for state to wanted to place at state. I have to keep looking at my competition and seeing what they are doing. I have to learn how to better counter certain things to make myself a lot better.”
Stevenson’s Erick Wade pinned Notre Dame’s Dean Lazaris for third place, and Leyden’s Brian Gonzalez placed fifth with a fall against Burlington Central’s Michael Junitz.

 165 – Dmitry Derbedyenyev, Highland Park
Nearly 20 minutes after picking up his first-place medal, Highland Park’s Dmitry Derbedyenyev decided to head back to the podium for one more quick photo. By now, Derbedyenyev is accustomed to mugging for the cameras after a season full of victories.
Derbedyenyev (28-1) rolled through the competition on Saturday, ending with 9-1 major-decision over Richards’ Mike Taheney in the finals.
“I feel great and finally got to put together some of the stuff I’ve been working in my wrestling room,” he said. “I have to trust myself and always wrestle hard and not I feel get to me in the room or in here. It’s time now. I don’t have four more years. It’s my senior year. This is my last shot at high school state. I’m working hard every single day and that state tournament is one my mind every single day.”
Seconds after Derbedyenyev won his last match, he was mugged by several friends and teammates, including Vernon Hills’ Ilya Dvoriannikov, who placed third by beating Stevenson’s Themba Sitshela. Malik Warren of De La Salle took fifth place.
“(Illya) is my training partner at the wrestling club I go to, and he doesn’t even go to Highland Park,” Derbedyenyev said. “He’s from Russia and he doesn’t speak much English but I happen to speak Russian. He’s happy for me, and my teammates are happy for me. I love them.”
Dvoriannikov placed third with a 5-3 decision over Sitshela, and De La Salle’s Malik Warren won a 2-1 decision for fifth place against Notre Dame’s Deniz Ozturk. 

175 – Josue Hernandez, De La Salle
Sporting a bloody lip, Josue Hernandez said he followed his game plan and relied on his strength to win at 175 pounds. He pinned Notre Dame’s Sean Adams in the second period to win his weight class.
“The key for me was staying in position and using my technique and my strength to my advantage and I always had good position,” Hernandez said. “I had a few tough matches, but worked hard and had a few (big) takedowns and won by fall over the finals with a good move.”
A two-way starter at running back and linebacker for the De La Salle football team, Hernandez said he’s starting to see all of his hard work pay off in wrestling.
“Right now, for my senior year, I feel great and being ranked (ninth) in the state, and feel it can be a big season by getting downstate,” he said. “I have to keep working hard in the practice room. I was one point away from state last season. It motivates me a lot. I think about it every day that I wrestle. I’m focused on getting there this year.”
Also at 175, Harvard’s Blake Livdahl pinned Richards’ Jeremiah Gill in the third-place match, and Leyden’s Darterrion Garner placed fifth via 10-5 decision over Leyden’s Dominic Ganir.

 190 – Jim Amatore, Notre Dame
As one of the smaller competitors in his challenging weight class, Notre Dame’s Jim Amatore manages to thrive by outworking his competitor.
Or, in some cases like Saturday, out-sweating them.
Dripping with sweat after pinning Lake Villa’s Ramos Julian in the 190 finals, Amatore (20-2) credited his conditioning for winning his three matches, including his last two via pins.
“I’m small for 190, so I know I need to push the pace on these guys and use my cardio to my advantage and push them that way with my hand fighting and shots,” Amatore said. “In my finals match, I was just thinking I knew my cardio was better. I was aggressive and stayed in his face and shoot him off as many times as I can until he gave up.”
Like several competitors at Saturday’s invite, Amatore missed some time due to an injury but gained momentum with his victories.
“I feel I’m going to peak in February,” Amatore said. “I had a strained hip flexor for two weeks, so I was out a long time. I came back about two weeks ago. I feel great. My cardio is back to where it was. I love my coaches. I think our team did great today.”
Harlem’s Andrew Redmon won 8-3 over Maine East’s Adrian Shkeir for the third-place medal. De La Salle’s Terrelle Jackson claimed fifth with a fall against Stevenson’s Richie Gueorguiev. 

215 – Erick Worwa, Leyden
Saturday was the right – and perfect time – for Leyden’s Erick Worva to showcase his potential. He pinned Notre Dame’s Jack Malenock in the finals to win host Leyden’s lone title win.
“My practice and training and constant reps helped me,” Worwa said. “I tried to stay focused and trained harder and just focused on my goals.”
Worwa was one of the star attractions on Saturday, mainly due to his early impressive performances and rapidly growing resume. He captured his first varsity tourney title on Saturday.
“This is really cool since it’s just my second year wrestling and first year on varsity, so it’s really cool,” Worwa said. “This is my house basically, so I think this was pretty cool to win it. I wasn’t really a sports person, so my brother made me get into it. I like the team work and when the ref raises your hand for first place after all those hard months of working and training. I’m going to keep trying to get better and glad for this opportunity.”
Leyden coach John Kading is happy with the progress Worwa has made.
“(Erick) is a sponge, very coachable and works hard and he had to learn how to win wrestling matches,” Kading said. “He’s started to do that now, and to do that with consistency. The whole team is working hard and learning how to win and compete. Hopefully, we will be where we need to be by the end of the season.”
Stevenson’s Anthony Adams placed third with a fall against Maine East’s Edgar Torres, and Conant’s Dan Michelsen won by fall for fifth against Richards’ Luis Perez.

285 – Scott Cook, Notre Dame
Notre Dame’s Scott Cook was locked in one of the more memorable matches in the 285-pound finals against De La Salle’s David McCarthy.
Blessed with tree-trunk sized legs, McCarthy was tough to move for Cook, but he managed to pull out a 4-3 victory to snare the final title match of the day.
“It felt good to win today,” Cook said. “It feels a lot cleaner. I was just going for wins, nothing too fancy or to get caught in the finals. He was strong, just a big boy and he was really good. I just tried to wait for him to make mistakes.”
Cook (12-3) said Saturday’s win has raised the bar for his expectations.
“There’s always room for improvement, but I’m happy where I am right now,” Cook said. “I’ve come a long way since the first week. I feel in way better shape. I’ve improved, so that’s nice to see. My goal is to win state now.”
Harvard’s Riley West pinned Burlington Central’s Sammy Wirstrom to snag the third-place medal, while Stevenson’s Andrew Timmons took fifth by fall over Leyden’s Aidan Jaffray.

 Randy Conrad Invite championship match results:
106 –Jeremiah Lawrence (De La Salle) 19-8 MD Ray Long (Notre Dame)
113 – John Sheehy (Notre Dame) 11-5 D Justin Lewis (Harlem)
120 – Luis Flores (Conant) 7-4 D Mikey Polyakov (Stevenson)
126 – Marcelo Cantu (Stevenson) 10-5 D Caden Spizzirri (Conant)
132 – Doug Phillips (Burlington Central) TF-1.5 4.54 (16-) Izayah Olejniczak (Harlem)
138 – Andrew Chamkin (Stevenson) F 3:21 Rusty Klug (Leyden)
144 – Val Vihrov (Stevenson) F :43 Tim Bridges (Notre Dame)
150 – Daniel Rosas (Harvard) D 6-0 Dom Paul (Richards)
157 – Tanner Cosgrove (Conant) MD 13-0 Timn Kato (Maine East)
165 – Dmitry Derbedyenyev (Highland Park) MD 9-1 Mike Tahenay (Richards)
175 – Josue Hernandez (De La Salle) F 3:34 Sean Adams (Notre Dame)
190 – Jim Amatore (Notre Dame) F 3:49 Ramos Julian (Lakes)
215 – Erick Worwa (Leyden) F 1:57 Jack Malenock (Notre Dame)
285 – Scott Cook (Notre Dame) D 4-3 David McCarthy (De La Salle)

Randy Conrad Invite top individual statistics:

Most pins, least time: 3 in 2:18 by Stevenson’s Val Vihrov
Most tech falls, least time: 2 in 6:00 by Burlington Central’s Jackson Marlett
Fastest fall: (tie) 0:22 by Leyden’s Dominic Ganir and Stevenson’s Andrew Timmons
Fastest tech fall: 2:00 by Burlington Central’s Jackson Marlett
Most team points: (tie) 28 by Leyden’s Erick Worwa and Stevenson’s Val Vihrov
Most single-match points: 25 by Stevenson’s Andrew Chamkin
Most total match points: 53 by Burlington Central’s Jackson Marlett

Final team scores: 1. Stevenson (208) 2. Notre Dame (198) 3. De La Salle (131.5) 4. Conant (120) 5. Harlem (112) 6. Leyden (99) 7. Harvard (86.5) 8. Richards (71.5) 9. Maine East (65.5) 10. Burlington Central (63.5) 11. Lakes (40.5) 12. Highland Park (39) 13. Vernon Hills (25) 14. Leyden JV (12)

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

48th Sycamore Invitational

Hononegah topped the field at the 48th annual Sycamore Invitational on Saturday, finishing atop the field of 26 teams with 532.5 points. Coach Tyler DeMoss’ team had four individual champions and two runners-up in topping second-place York (382) in the team standings.

“We wrestled well,” Hononegah coach Tyler DeMoss said. “Our goal was to have all fourteen guys wrestle their best six minutes for all five matches, and I think we got close to that.”

Normal Community (363.5), Rochelle (361.5), and Lyons Township (351) rounded out the top five team finishes, followed by Rock Island (348), Mundelein (333.5), Unity (325.5), Wheaton North (3125) and host Sycamore (313.5) to complete the top 10.

1st place: Hononegah (532.5)

The Indians got individual titles from Rocco Cassioppi (106), Bruno Cassioppi (113), Max Haskins (150) and Brody Sendele (157), plus second-place finishes from Robert Darling (132) and Connor Diemel (165) to lead the way.

“We had huge performances out of Robbie Darling at 132 and Max Haskins at 150,” DeMoss said. “And Max Aranki (8th at 144) also had his best tournament of the year so far.”

Kurt Smith (175) and Isaak Smith (215) also placed third for Hononegah; Jackson Olson (120) placed sixth; Max Aranki (144) was eighth; Evan Musil (126) placed 10th; Carlos Delgado (285) was 12th; Skyler Stevens (138) was 16th; and Ethan Ballard (190) placed 19th to round out Hononegah’s 14 wrestlers earning team points in the win.

Top-ranked Rocco Cassioppi added a Sycamore title to titles won at the Dvorak and the Mid-States Classic. No. 3-ranked Sendele won titles at Barrington and the Mid-States Classic.

“Rocco Cassioppi was dominant again this week and continues to improve,” DeMoss said. “Brody Sendele had all bonus point wins at 157 and is putting together the best freshman season our program has ever seen.”

In a battle of two highly-ranked wrestlers, No. 4 in 3A Bruno Cassioppi won a 3-2 decision in the finals at 113 against Rock Island’s Truth Vesey, ranked No. 1 in 2A. 

It was Bruno Cassioppi’s third in-season championship, to go with titles won at Barrington and Wisconsin’s Mid-States Classic. It also earned him the Outstanding Wrestler Award at Sycamore.

DeMoss was happy with wrestlers up and down his lineup:

“Connor Diemel wrestled great again, and closed the gap with No. 3 in the state (Lyons’ Gunnar) Garelli at 165,” DeMoss said. “Kurt Smith wrestled tough at 175 and was third, and I think he’s one small step away from being a state placer this season. 

“Jackson Olson at 120 is wrestling better and better every week and kept that rolling on Saturday (finishing) top six. Isaak Smith lost a tough match in the semis but came back and took third at 215 and he’s putting together a great senior year. Overall it was a great day, winning by a margin of 150.5 shows we are becoming more of a full team instead of just a couple studs.”

2nd place: York (382)

The Dukes and coach Nick Metcalf had an individual champion in Frank Nitti (138) and went 3-for-3 with three pins on the third-place mat, from Mondo Martinelli (126), No. 3 3A Zach Parisi (132) and Jackson Hanselman (144) to pace their second-place team finish.

York had 11 place-winners on the day. Austin Bagdasarian (215) placed fifth; Alejandro Carreon (150) took sixth; Nick Decristofaro (157) and Gavin Knill (285) were seventh; Michael Grazzini (165) took 13th; and Scott Periera (190) placed 14th for the Dukes.

3rd place: Community (363.5)

The boys from Normal were led by a pair of individual champions in No. 9-ranked 3A Cole Gentsch (120) and No. 2 Cooper Caraway (215) and a second-place finish for Jackson Soney (106) for Ironmen coach Trevor Kaufman.

Ethan Cavallo (126) and Carter Mayes (138) also placed sixth for Community, Caden Correll (113) was eighth, Hunter Hardwick (150) took 10th, Austin Chiesi (132) and Jaren Frankowiak (157) were 12th, Mason Caraway (190) was 15th, Daniel Bourbulas (165) was 18th, and Gavin Capodice (144) placed 19th among Kaufman’s 12 wrestlers earning team points for the Ironmen.

Other wrestlers winning Sycamore titles were Rock Island’s Daniel McGhee (126), Amare Overton (175), and Andrew Marquez (190), Rockford East’s Donald Cannon (132), Unity’s Kaden Inman (144), Lyons’ Gunnar Garelli (165), and Mundelein’s Abisai Hernandez (285). Leaving Sycamore with perfect season’s records were Rockford East’s Cannon (20-0) and Lyons’ Garelli (29-0).

Individuals also placing second in Sycamore were Rock Island’s Truth Vesey (113), Sycamore’s Tyler Lockhart (120) and Cooper Bode (175), Rochelle’s Xavier Villalobos (126) and Kaiden Morris (215), Mundelein’s Ethan Banda (138), Peotone’s Micah Spinazzola (144), Grayslake North’s Jacob Ronsman (150), Wheaton North’s Thomas Fulton (157), Unity’s Hunter Eastin (190), and Rockford East’s Lee Smith (285).

Other third-placers included Oak Forest’s Jacob Sebek (106) and Hunter Daniel (157), Bloomington’s Tyler Barlow (113), Maddox Kirts (165), and Kenner Bye (190), Lyons’ Griff Powell (120), Belvidere North’s Dominick Girardin (138), Mundelein’s Kevin Hernandez (150), and Hampshire’s Joey Ochoa (285).

Also placing fourth were Bloomington’s Jaylen Sandy (106), Sycamore’s Michael Olson (113) and Gable Carrick (190), Rochelle’s Tommy Tourdot (120), Grant Gensler (165), and Roman Villalobos (175), Belvidere North’s Geren Stapleton (126), Rock Island’s Temar Hudson (132), Sterling’s Austin Clemens (138), Marengo’s Mason Lampe (144), Glenbrook South’s Jacob Malek (150), and Unity’s Abram Davidson (157).

Sycamore’s top individual statistics:

Most pins in the least time – Five falls in 9:43 by Community’s Cooper Caraway (215)

Most tech fall in the least time – Three tech falls in 11:04 by Lyons’ Jack Kutchek (132)

Most pins/tech falls, least time – Five in 5:31 by Hononegah’s Rocco Cassioppi (106)

Most team points (tie) – 58 by Mundelein’s Abisai Hernandez (285) and Community’s Cooper Caraway (215)

Most single-match points – 23 by Rockford East’s Ty Smart (157)

Most total match points – 81 by Hononegah’s Brody Sendele (157)

Sycamore Invitational championship match results:

106 – Rocco Cassioppi (Hononegah) TF 2:19 Jackson Soney (Community)

113 – Bruno Cassioppi (Hononegah) D 3-2 Truth Vesey (Rock Island)

120 – Cole Gentsch (Community) F 1:19 Tyler Lockhart (Sycamore)

126 – Daniel McGhee (Rock Island) D 8-3 Xavier Villalobos (Rochelle)

132 – Donald Cannon (Rockford East) F 5:55 Robert Darling (Hononegah)

138 – Frank Nitti (York) D 7-2 Ethan Banda (Mundelein)

144 – Kaden Inman (Unity) D 5-2 Micah Spinazzola (Peotone)

150 – Max Haskins (Hononegah) F 1:10 Jacob Ronsman (Grayslake N)

157 – Brody Sendele (Hononegah) MD 17-5 Thomas Fulton (Wheaton N)

165 – Gunnar Garelli (Lyons) D 3-1 Connor Diemel (Hononegah)

175 – Amare Overton (Rock Island) D 12-6 Cooper Bode (Sycamore)

190 – Andrew Marquez (Rock Island) D 10-6 Hunter Eastin (Unity)

215 – Cooper Caraway (Community) F 5:15 Kaiden Morris (Rochelle)

285 – Abisai Hernandez (Mundelein) F 4:55 Lee Smith (Rockford E)

Third-place results:

106 – Jacob Sebek (Oak Forest) MD 15-2 Jaylen Sandy (Bloomington)

113 -Tyler Barlow (Bloomington) MD 11-2 Michael Olson (Sycamore)

120 – Griff Powell (Lyons) D 7-0 Tommy Tourdot (Rochelle)

126 – Mondo Martinelli (York) F 4:31 Geren Stapleton (Belvidere N)

132 – Zach Parisi (York) F 1:25 Temar Hudson (Rock Island)

138 – Dominick Girardin (Belvidere N) D 3-1 Austin Clemens (Sterling)

144 – Jackson Hanselman (York) F 3:15 Mason Lampe (Marengo)

150 – Kevin Hernandez (Mundelein) MD 9-0 Jacob Malek (Glenbrook S)

157 – Hunter Daniel (Oak Forest) D 1-0 Abram Davidson (Unity)

165 – Maddox Kirts (Bloomington) F 2:52 Grant Gensler (Rochelle)

175 – Kurt Smith (Hononegah) MD 13-3 Roman Villalobos (Rochelle)

190 – Kenner Bye (Bloomington) D 7-1 Gable Carrick (Sycamore)

215 – Isaak Smith (Hononegah) F 1:21 Nick Arquilla (Lyons)

285 – Joey Ochoa (Hampshire) F 4:41 Sam Costello (Lyons)

Final team scores: 1. Hononegah (532.5) 2. York (382) 3. Community (363.5) 4. Rochelle (361.5) 5. Lyons Township (351) 6. Rock Island (348) 7. Mundelein (333.5) 8. Unity (325.5) 9. Wheaton North (315) 10. Sycamore (313.5) 11. Glenbrook South (307.5) 12. Mahomet-Seymour (294.5) 13. Rockford East (293) 14. Bloomington (289) 15. Belvidere North (264) 16. Oak Forest (261) 17. Hampshire (255) 18. Sterling (217) 19. Marengo (201) 20. McHenry (187.5) 21. Peotone (180.5) 22. Nazareth Academy (158.5) 23. St. Charles North (155.5) 24. Willowbrook (153.5) 25. Portage (147) 26. Grayslake North (118).

Polo Wrestling Invitational

The 17-team field at Polo saw Richmond-Burton take the team title as the Rockets posted a 200-160 edge over second-place Freeport. Oregon (128) finished third followed by Lisle (112) and Erie (107) in the top five.

Rockets coach Tony Nelson had three individual champions and three runners-up among 10 wrestlers that finished in the top five of their weight classes.

“It was good to see the team compete against some of the competition we will see in our schedule,” Nelson said. “This season has tested our guys and our team with illness and injuries and we’re getting back to full strength.  We were missing three of our better guys for the tournament so to enter 10 point-scorers and have them all place is awesome.”

Sixth-place Fulton (106.5), Wisconsin’s Parkview/Albany (104.5), Polo (92.5), Guilford (84.5) and Genoa-Kingston (73) rounded out the top 10 team finishes. 

1st place: Richmond-Burton (200) 

The Rockets got individual titles from Dane Sorensen (138), Emmett Nelson (144), and Colin Kraus (285), and second-place finishes from Kristian Gersch (113), Clayton Madula (120), and Dominick Dickens (165).

Sorenson’s two falls and a 7-0 title-mat decision over Polo’s Phineas Mullen at 138 made his coach particularly happy.

“Dane Sorensen has been out for a few weeks and for him to come back and win a tournament shows what a tough kid he is,” Nelson said. 

“Dickens has made the finals of his last two tournaments, Krause picked up his second tournament title, and Madula has been consistent and has placed at every tournament.  Gersch making the finals and Emmett being a consistent leader also contributed greatly to the title.”

The Rockets Breckin Campbell also returned from a three-week absence to finish third at 215, and Nelson also got a fourth from Dylan Falasca (175), and fifths from Alex Reyna (190) and Dalton Youngs (150).

2nd place: Freeport (160)

Freeport coach Nathan Arendt got individual titles from Donavyn Fernandez (150) and Maddox Olson (157) among 10 wrestlers placing in the top six.

The Pretzels also got thirds from Kyle Clem (165) and Sami Odeh (285), a fourth from Dawson Holland (215), fifths from Thomas Olson (113), Cavieon Boose (120), Mathias Rada (138) and Michael Tillmon (175), and a sixth from Dayvion Fernandez (144).

3rd place: Oregon (128)

The Hawks were led by a second-place finish from Landen Elder (215), and a quartet of wrestlers winning their third-place matches in Landon Ege (113), Ethan Mowry (150), Andrew Young (175) and Quentin Berry (190).

Coach Justin Lahman also got fourths from Jayden Berry (138) and Leyton Kenney (157) and a fifth from Preston LaBay (126).

Other wrestlers winning individual titles at Polo were Guilford’s Dominic Angileri (106), Parkview/Albany’s Slater Valley (113), Sam Schwengels (190) and Wesley Egan (215), Lisle’s Alexander Ferari (120), North Boone’s Gavin Ekberg (126), West Carroll’s Connor Knop (132), Genoa-Kingston’s Brady Brewick (165), and Fulton’s Mason Kuebel (175).

Polo champions who remained undefeated were Guilford’s Angileri (106), Richmond-Burton’s Nelson (144), and Parkview/Albany, Wisconsin’s Schwengels (190).

Second-placers also included Lisle’s Cadence DuBois (106), Adam Drake (132) and Johnny Consuegra-Lopez (144), Polo’s Lucas Nelson (126) and Phineas Mullen (138),  Fulton’s Broden VenHuizen (150), West Carroll’s Cole Herrell (157), Genoa-Kingston’s Xander Gleissner (175), Jefferson’s Karlondo Dubois (190), and Erie’s Caleb Reymer (285).

Also placing third at Polo were Jefferson’s Amair Johnson (106), Durand’s Ethan Foster (120), Parkview/Albany’s Danny Finley (126), Erie’s Jacob Gibson (132) and Victor Bonnell (157), Fulton’s Wiley Blasdell (138), Polo’s Chase Bremmer (144), 

Others taking fourth place were Alden-Hebron’s George Longfield-Loftis (106), Lisle’s Nicholas DuBois (113), Guilford’s Josh Seagren (120) and Ja’Vani Torres (190), Genoa-Kingston’s Shayden McNew (126), Polo’s Jaidyn McKinney (132) and Draven Zier (150), Erie’s Aiden Jepson (144), and North Boone’s Maysen Smith (165) and Christian Allen (285).

Polo’s top individual statistics:

Most pins in the least time: 3 falls in 4:35 by Oregon’s Landen Elder (215)

Most pins/tech falls in the least time: 4 in 14:59 by Fulton’s Skylier Crooks (165)

Fastest fall: 0:07 by Oregon’s Maxx George (285)

Most team points: (tie) 28, by Parkview/Albany’s Wesley Egan (215), Genoa-Kingston’s Brady Brewick (165), Richmond-Burton’s Emmett Nelson (144) and Colin Kraus (285)

Most single match points: 21 by Polo’s Chase Bremmer (144)

Most total match points: 31 by Freeport’s Michael Tillmon (175)

Polo championship match results:

106 – Dominic Angileri (Guilford) TF 2:04 Cadence DuBois (Lisle)

113 – Slater Valley (Parkview/Albany) MD 12-4 Kristian Gersch (Richmond-Burton)

120 – Alexander Ferari (Lisle) D 12-5 Clayton Madula (Richmond-Burton)

126 – Gavin Ekberg (North Boone) D 15-9 Lucas Nelson (Polo)

132 – Connor Knop (West Carroll) F 4:32 Adam Drake (Lisle)

138 – Dane Sorensen (Richmond-Burton) D 7-0 Phineas Mullen (Polo)

144 – Emmett Nelson (Richmond-Burton) F 3:08 Johnny Consuegra-Lopez (Lisle)

150 – Donavyn Fernandez (Freeport) D 3-2 Broden VenHuizen (Fulton)

157 – Maddox Olson (Freeport) D 17-13 Cole Herrell (Savanna)

165 – Brady Brewick (Genoa-Kingston) F 1:33 Dominick Dickens (Richmond-Burton)

175 – Mason Kuebel (Fulton) D 5-3 Xander Gleissner (Genoa-Kingston)

190 – Sam Schwengels (Parkview/Albany) F 5:41 Karlondo Dubois (Jefferson)

215 – Wesley Egan (Parkview/Albany) F 1:40 Landen Elder (Oregon)

285 – Colin Kraus (Richmond-Burton) F 2:49 Caleb Reymer (Erie)

Third-place results:

106 – Amair Johnson (Jefferson) F 2:17 George Longfield-Loftis (Alden-Hebron)

113 – Landon Ege (Oregon) F 2:14 Nicholas DuBois (Lisle)

120 – Ethan Foster (Durand) F 1:15 Josh Seagren (Guilford)

126 – Danny Finley (Parkview/Albany) Inj. Shayden McNew (Genoa-Kingston)

132 – Jacob Gibson (Erie) D 5-0 Jaidyn McKinney (Polo)

138 – Wiley Blasdell (Fulton) F 3:59 Jayden Berry (Oregon)

144 – Chase Bremmer (Polo) F 3:08 Aiden Jepson (Erie)

150 – Ethan Mowry (Oregon) D 11-8 Draven Zier (Polo)

157 – Victor Bonnell (Erie) F 3:40 Leyton Kenney (Polo)

165 – Kyle Clem (Freeport) F 1:36 Maysen Smith (North Boone)

175 – Andrew Young (Oregon) F 1:56 Dylan Falasca (Richmond-Burton)

190 – Quentin Berry (Oregon) F 0:31 Ja’Vani Torres (Guilford)

215 – Breckin Campbell (Richmond-Burton) F 3:30 Dawson Holland (Freeport)

285 – Sami Odeh (Freeport) F 1:44 Christian Allen (North Boone)

Final team scores: 1. Richmond-Burton (200) 2. Freeport (160) 3. Oregon (128) 4. Lisle (112) 5. Erie (107) 6. Fulton (106.5) 7. Parkview/Albany WI (104.5) 8. Polo (92.5) 9. Guilford (84.5) 10. Genoa-Kingston (73) 11. North Boone (62) 12. Jefferson (49) 12. West Carroll (49) 14. Galena (45) 15. Durand (30) 16. Alden-Hebron (18) 17. Dakota (0)

By Patrick Z. McGavin for the IWCOA

Libertyville had the perfect double.

The Wildcats had seven individual champions in dominating the field at the Chris Chappell Invite at Glenbard West on Saturday.

“We have some really good individuals in the upper weights,” Libertyville coach Dale Eggert said. “I have been very happy about some other guys who are not as experienced, but they are picking up a lot of wins. 

“They didn’t necessarily get to the finals, but they picked up a lot of pins and bonus points. I was very happy with the entire group.”

The Wildcats scored 269.5 points in claiming the team championship. Libertyville was a perfect 7-for-7 in the championship round.

Senior Antonio Kelly exemplified the quality of depth and singular individuals for Libertyville. He finished third at 138 pounds last at last year’s tournament.

Kelly was on the Wildcats’ JV level at the start of the season.

“It’s not that he couldn’t do it, but he was behind a sectional qualifier,” Eggert said. “He got the starting spot, and he rose to the occasion. He’s a talented guy who never had a chance to put it together. 

“He’s my hero today. We had a lot of good efforts, but he really came alive and shined.”

For the second consecutive year, Fremd was the runner-up. The Vikings had three individual champions in posting 210 points.

Behind the conquering hero, undefeated Collin Carrigan at 165 pounds, Glenbard West was third with 189 points. The Hilltoppers had eight championship qualifiers, with seven runner-up finishes.

Prairie Ridge, Cary-Grove and Elk Grove had one champion apiece.

Chris Chappell Invite championship matches:

106 – Jake Shafer, Libertyville

The freshman started the Wildcats’ juggernaut with a 4-1 decision over Glenbard West’s Aidan Ortega.

With just four wrestlers in the bracket, the tournament adopted a round-robin format. Shafer and Ortega each went 2-0 in the first two rounds.

“I was really good at creating the ankle pick, and I was able to ride guys out today,” Shafer said. “There weren’t a lot of matches. I wish there were more, but this is definitely going to boost my confidence.

“This is a really nice first tournament championship for me.”

Fremd’s Ayden Castillo had a 9-0 major over Proviso East’s Montrell Williams for third place.

113 – Jake Lowitzki, Prairie Ridge

The junior overwhelmed Fremd’s Trent Odachowski with a first-period pin at 1:03 in the championship match.

In the title match, he worked quickly with two early takedowns for the sharp 4-1 lead. Off the second movement, he caught Odachowski on his back for the commanding victory.

“My style, if I had to describe it, I think is really scrappy,” Lowitzki said. “I like to go out there, and put a lot of points on the board and really push the tempo.”

Lowitzki (24-5) is motivated by his experiences of a year ago when he went 42-13, though he finished one match away from a state place.

He won the tournament last year at 106 pounds and see every tournament as a chance to refine his skills.

“I had a lot of time to prepare for this tournament in the room, with our training, and I thought it went really well today,” he said.

Cary-Grove’s Hunter Lenz captured a 12-2 major decision over Libertyville’s Tyler Wuh for third place, and Proviso East’s Johnneil Otero earned a 5-3 decision over Glenbard West’s Nick Valerio on the fifth-place mat.

120 – Luke Berktold, Libertyville

Wildcats senior Luke Berktold posted a 17-4 major over Glenbard West’s Carson Prunty in the championship match.

He parlayed two takedowns and a three-point near fall into a commanding 7-1 advantage after the first period.

Explosive on his feet and terrific in combining his actions, Berktold put on an exhilarating performance. 

“I really like hand control, getting elbows and ties, and that allowed me to really get into my shots today,” he said. 

“In the championship match, I thought I was really good on my feet, and I was able to leverage him and snap him down a lot.”

Proviso East’s Jaedon Otero earned the 13-1 major decision over Cary-Grove’s Peter Hayden for third place, and Larkin’s Salvador Garcia secured the 4-3 decision over Prairie Ridge’s Lorenzo Massart in the fifth-place mat.

126 – Grant Madl, Elk Grove

Grens senior Grant Madl earned the championship victory over Glenbard West’s Alejandro Aranda by injury default.

Madl (27-1) was up 13-1 in the third period when Aranda suffered an injury trying to make a throw at 4:57.

“I have a lot of confidence in myself, and the work that I put in out there,” Madl said. “My style is very aggressive and offensive, and I’m just trying to score as many points as I can, and also work on the things I have to work on to get better.”

He used a takedown and two separate near falls for the commanding 8-0 lead after the first period.

Bartlett’s Cameron Engels captured a 10-4 decision over Woodstock’s Taqi Baker for third place, and Libertyville’s James Liu posted a fall over Cary-Grove’s Ignacio Santander in the fifth-place bout.

132 – Orion Moran, Libertyville

Libertyville senior Orion Moran earned the championship with a 9-0 major over Fremd’s Jovan Gongora.

He was both methodical and precise, using a first-period takedown and back points in generating an early 4-0 lead.

Moran (25-9) never let Gongora create any dangerous opportunities for himself, using his balance, quickness and speed to counter every action.

“I did a lot of work this offseason wrestling with a lot of elite guys at different tournaments,” Moran said. “That has really prepared me. I have a couple of go-to moves I like to do out there, but mostly I just like to go with the flow.”

Glenbard South’s Diego Myers secured a 5-4 decision over Prairie Ridge’s Christian Pease for third place, and Bartlett’s Filip Szeszko registered a fall over Proviso East’s Zion Gay on the fifth-place mat.

138 – Antonio Kelly, Libertyville

Libertyville senior Antonio Kelly earned a 14-5 major over Glenbard West’s Brennan Myra in the championship match, which featured the craziest closing seconds of any of the finals.

On the verge of an apparent technical fall with a 14-0 lead with about 12 seconds remaining, Kelly attempted an underhook move that Myra blocked and caught him on his back.

Kelly nearly saw victory snatched away as he furiously held off being pinned in the final seconds.

“I feel like I did get a little too comfortable in that moment, and I got lazy and I was thrown there,” Kelly said. “Fortunately I was able to work my way out of it.”

Glenbard South’s Jin Tai earned a fall over Larkin’s Damari Miller for third place, and Cary-Grove’s Trenton Klapperich had a fall over Fremd’s Jack Sloan on the fifth-place mat.

144 – Evan Gosz, Fremd

Fremd star junior Evan Gosz continued his dominant season with a 27-9 technical fall over Glenbard West’s Brandon Watson in the championship match.

He registered six takedowns and a near-fall for a 17-5 lead through the end of the second period.

Gosz (23-0) finished third at 126 pounds last year, and the frightening part for his opponents is he has gotten even better. He has been virtually untouchable this season—fast, electric and powerful. 

“I think I have become even more aggressive with my shooting, and things like that,” he said.

“With the elite guys, there’s a lot of scrambling out there. I like to put my own stamp on how I perform, and what I do out there. I have been able to do just that.”

Woodstock’s Daniel Bychowski posted a 3-2 decision over Thornton’s Ryan Jackson for third place, and Libertyville’s Will Carney had a fall over Glenbard South’s Jordan Bowman on the fifth-place mat.

150 – Lucas Nance, Fremd

The Vikings’ sophomore worked from an early deficit to earn a 7-5 decision over Glenbard West’s Jondelle Malunay in the championship match.

Down 2-0 at the start of the second period, Nance worked out of the bottom for the reversal.

Not satisfied, Nance took control with back points for the 5-2 lead. After conceding an escape at the start of the third period, Nance (17-11) created the necessary distance with a takedown.

Thornton’s Clarence Allen had a fall over Bartlett’s Rodrigo Martinez for third place, and Libertyville’s Jacob Whisenand had a fall over Glenbard South’s Matt Orsolini on the fifth-place mat.

157 – Ryan Muslimovic, Fremd

The Vikings’ senior pinned Cary-Grove’s Noah Pechotta in the closing seconds of the second period of the championship match.

He created magic out of a seemingly impossible scenario with the stunning reversal after trailing much of the match.

Pechotta secured the only points of the first period with a takedown. Muslimovic (29-5) made his move with the second period escape.

Newly energized, Muslimovic exploited his opportunity with a takedown on the outer edge of the mat that he finished with a decisive turn of Pechotta at 3:52.

Prairie Ridge’s Xander York captured a 10-6 decision over Glenbard West’s Tony Shadid for third place and Libertyville’s James Shadid secured a 2-0 decision over Glenbard West’s Vince Tortoriello in the fifth-place match.

165 – Collin Carrigan, Glenbard West

The Hilltoppers’ newest star knocked out Fremd’s Peter Mondus with a pin at 1:20 in the championship match.

The Marmion transfer improved to 29-0 with three falls, requiring just 5:21 of mat time in earning the most outstanding wrestler distinction.

In the championship match, he had five takedowns for the 10-4 advantage leading into the fall.

“It’s been an awesome experience coming here,” he said. “The coaches and other guys have been great.”

Carrigan was fifth at 150 pounds two years ago, and a state qualifier last season.

“I live 30 seconds away from the campus. Everything is good. At Marmion, we had like four guys who were ranked No. 1. Here everybody is behind me.”

Glenbard South’s Logan Price posted a fall over Proviso East’s Clarence Wellington for third place, and Libertyville’s Charlie Clark had a fall over Woodstock’s Max Miller in the fifth-place bout.

175 – Matt Kubas, Libertyville

Libertyville senior Matt Kubas registered a second period fall of Elk Grove’s Benny Schlosser in the championship match.

Kubas (26-2) had six first-period takedowns for the fast and electrifying 12-5 start.

“I go into every match just trying to get the first takedown,” he said. “Once I get that, I just have the attitude of trying to get more and more takedowns.”

He went 42-9 in finishing fourth at 170 pounds last year.

“No matter who I am going up against, my mentality is always just go out there and try and score. Whenever I do that, I tend to beat the best guys.”

Fremd’s Anthony D’Ambrosio secured a fall over Woodstock’s Edgar Arana for third place, and Cary-Grove’s Luke Bennett had a fall over Bartlett’s Gerald Amistoso in the fifth-place match.

190 – Caleb Baczek, Libertyville

Libertyville junior Caleb Baczek used a first period takedown for a 2-0 decision over Glenbard West’s Sasha Boulton in the championship match.

“Getting that first takedown just solidified the match,” he said. 

The scoring was tight, the match was marked by significant actions and sub-movements. Baczek deftly worked out of a cradle Boulton caught him in during the final 37 seconds of the match.

“It got hairy in there when that cradle came in, but I was able to fight it off and dislodge his hands,” Baczek said.

Baczek was a state qualifier at 182 pounds last season.

Woodstock’s Zach Canaday recorded a 5-1 decision over Larkin’s Joshua Castillo for third place, and Waukegan’s Lamero Ceaser had a fall over Elk Grove’s Mo Burt in the fifth-place match.

215 – Owen McGrory, Libertyville

The Wildcats’ standout earned a 15-2 major over Elk Grove’s Dylan Berkowitz in the championship match.

Already up 6-2 to start the second period, McGrory used an escape and two separate near falls for the 13-2 advantage.

“Even though I’m bigger, I tend to wrestle like a lower weight guy, and most guys are not really ready for that or used to it,” he said.

 “I also like to work on the small details, hand fighting, snapping someone down, and getting my technique just right.”

McGrory was 45-8 and was one match away from a state place medal last season.

Woodstock’s Andrew Ryan earned a 1-0 decision over Glenbard South’s Dan Langner for third place, and Prairie Ridge’s John Fallaw secured a 4-0 decision over Fremd’s Jaime Vela on the fifth-place mat.

285 – Lucas Burton, Cary-Grove

Trojans junior Lucas Burton earned a 3-2 decision over Thornton’s Lionel Senior with an early escape in the third period.

He fought off the athletic and dynamic Senior with superb balance and footwork over the final 1:51.

Burton (14-4) had the only offensive points with a first period takedown. Senior created the tie with escapes at the end of the first and second periods.

After Burton went up with the early third period escape, Senior created several dangerous opportunities, but Burton withstood his pressure for the victory.

Waukegan’s Ivan Martinez registered a fall over Woodstock’s Everett Flannery for third place, and Owen Jakuczak had a fall over Libertyville’s Rhett VanBoening for fifth.

Championship match results of the Chris Chappell Invite

106 – Jake Shafer (Libertyville) D 4-1 Aidan Ortega (Glenbard West)

113 – Jake Lowitzki (Prairie Ridge) F 1:03 Trent Odachowski (Fremd) 

120 – Luke Berktold MD 17-4 Carson Prunty (Glenbard West)

126 – Grant Madl (Elk Grove) Injury Default 4:57 Alejandro Aranda (Glenbard West) 

132 – Orion Moran (Libertyville) MD 9-0 Jovan Gongora (Fremd) 

138 – Antonio Kelly (Libertyville) MD 14-5 Brennan Myra (Glenbard West)

144 – Evan Gosz (Fremd) TF 5:41 27-9 Brandon Watson (Glenbard West) 

150 – Lucas Nance (Fremd) D 7-5 Jondelle Malunay (Glenbard West) 

157 – Ryan Muslimovic (Fremd) F 3:52 Noah Pechotta (Cary-Grove)

165 – Collin Carrigan (Glenbard West) F 1:20 Peter Mondus (Fremd) 

175 – Matt Kubas (Libertyville) F 2:21 Benny Schlosser (Elk Grove)

190 – Caleb Baczek (Libertyville) D 2-0 Sasha Boulton (Glenbard West) 

215 – Owen McGrory (Libertyville) MD 15-2 Dylan Berkowitz (Elk Grove)   

285 – Lucas Burton (Cary-Grove) D 3-2 Lionel Senior (Thornton)

Final team scores: 1. Libertyville (269.5) 2. Fremd (210) 3. Glenbard West (189) 4. Cary-Grove (119) 5. Woodstock (101) 6. Elk Grove (88.5) 7. Glenbard South (83) 8. Bartlett (68) 8. Prairie Ridge (68) 10. Thornton (62) 10. Proviso East (62) 12. Waukegan (31.5) 14. Larkin (31).

By Curt Herron – For the IWCOA 

It’s a pretty good achievement when you only bring nine competitors to a 27-team tournament and you can still claim a fourth-place finish in that event.

But that’s just what Batavia was able to accomplish when it scored 218.5 points to finish in fourth place at Granite City’s 62nd annual William “Red” Schmitt Holiday Tournament.

Coach Ryan Farwell’s fourth-place Bulldogs advanced four individuals to the title mat and had one champion. And they had three others who earned medals for placing eighth or better.

Oak Park and River Forest (209.5) finished fifth and Quincy Senior (203.5) placed sixth while Andrew (152.5) took eighth, Plainfield North (151) claimed ninth, Normal West (126.5) was 11th and Mahomet-Seymour (120.5) placed 12th in a competition that was paced by three Missouri squads while another from that state made the top 10, as did one team from Kentucky.

Hickman of Columbia, Missouri scored 281.5 points to claim top honors while Lafayette, Missouri (261.5) took second, Willard, Missouri (236.5) was third, Whitfield, Missouri (180.5) finished seventh and Paducah, Kentucky’s Tilghman (130) placed tenth. (Note: throughout the rest of the story MO will be used for Missouri and KY will be used for Kentucky).

Although they may be one of the few schools in the country whose mascot is a doll, coach Dan Pieper’s Kewpies weren’t in a very playful mood as they made an impressive debut in the Red Schmitt by having a tournament-high three champions and six others who placed fifth or better. 

This is the eighth time in the past 10 tournaments that a Missouri team has won the title with Marmion Academy (2021, 2018) the lone Illinois champions during the time.

Mt. Vernon (106.5, 14th), Waterloo (105.5, 15th), Belleville East (104.5, 16th) and Bloomington (103.5, 17th) all scored 100 points while Joliet Central (98.5, 17th) fell just shy of that mark. The host Warriors scored 86.5 points and placed 20th in one of Illinois’ longest-running tourneys. 

The event is named in honor of William “Red” Schmitt, who coached at Granite City from 1950-1985 and had a 589-70-5 dual meet record there and went 602-82-5 in his career, becoming the first coach in the nation to win 400, 500 and 600 dual meets. He had 15 teams that finished in the top 10 at the IHSA Finals when the title was determined by scoring.

Granite City entered the season with 1,536 dual meet wins, which is also a national record. Due to his significant contributions to the sport as a coach, rules interpreter and an executive in coaching associations, Schmitt was inducted in the second class of the IWCOA Hall of Fame in 1973 and joined Ott Bay, Chuck Farina, Elias George and George Girardi as the initial recipients of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame – Illinois Chapter Lifetime Service Award in 1997.

There were six title winners from Illinois schools and eight from Missouri, with the champion Kewpies having the most with three, Hank Benter (120), Jordan Fincher (144) and Shane Oswald (150).

Mt. Vernon’s Dillon White won the Outstanding Wrestler Award after opening with a win by technical fall before recording pins in his next five matches, including a fall in 4:23 over Batavia’s Aidan Huck in the 138 title match.

Plainfield North’s Maddox Garbis and Belleville East’s Jonathan Rulo repeated as champions in the competition. Garbis captured an 8-6 decision in the 113 finals over Andrew’s Nadeem Haleem in a rematch of last year’s 106 title match. Rulo pulled away late to capture an 8-1 decision over Willard, MO’s Brady Griffin.

Batavia’s highlight came in the 190 championship match where Ben Brown got a takedown with 15 seconds left in overtime to win 3-1 by sudden victory over Lafayette, MO’s Andrew Wier.

Quincy Senior’s Owen Uppinghouse also won a title in a tight battle after getting an escape early in the final period and then holding on to claim a 1-0 decision over Willard, MO’s Gary Walker in the 165 finals. The Blue Devils fell just shy of winning another title when Bryor Newbold was edged 6-5 by Bolivar, MO’s Mason McCurry in the 175 finals.

Normal West’s Evan Willock recorded a fall in 3:04 over Whitfield, MO’s Lucas Parietti to give him the championship at 157.

Other Schmitt Tournament champions hailing from the west side of the Mississippi River were Lafayette, MO’s Riley Sumner (106) and Dylan Roth (126), Whitfield, MO’s Yashua Amen (132), Bolivar, MO’s Mason McCurry (175) and Willard, MO’s Porter Talbot (215).

Batavia had two other finalists beside champion Brown and runner-up Huck. Ino Garcia lost a 10-0 major decision to Benter in the 120 finals and Duraski lost by fall in 1:36 to Amen at 132. In addition, Asher Sheldon (215) took third, Kyle Pasco (126) finished fourth and Ethan Brauer (144) was eighth. Seven of the nine Bulldogs received medals for placing eighth or better.

“The big part is that they wrestle for each other,” Farwell said. “They really take on that team concept and when we came here, we knew that in the beginning rounds and the pool play and coming into the championship round that we had to put up a lot of bonus points. These guys went out there and there executed what they work on every single day and I just can’t say enough about the effort that they put out there.

“That’s why we come here, because we get to see a different type of competition, we get to see these Missouri schools and some of the southern Illinois schools. It’s a great midway point for us to start working on things that we need for the postseason. They’ve bonded pretty well and they’re a great group and they wrestle for each other. They support each other through everything, they hang out and they want everyone to be successful. It’s a really cool thing to see”

Andrew’s Max Siegel was trying to repeat as a champion in the event but he lost a tough 5-4 decision to Roth in the 126 title match. Joliet Central’s Charles Walker put up a good battle in the 215 finals but wound up dropping a 6-3 decision to Talbot. 

Oak Park and River Forest’s Michael Rundell (106), whose brothers Matthew and Jacob were state champions for the Huskies, also took second place. He lost a 9-0 major decision to Sumner in the 106 finals.

Coach Paul Collins’ fifth-place Huskies also had two third-place finishers, Zev Koransky (126) and David Ogunsanya (150), whose brother Joshua was a state champion at OPRF. Also for the Huskies, Joseph Knackstedt (138) finished fifth while Isaac Davis (157) and Hugh Vanek (165) both placed sixth.

“We have some guys who wrestle pretty good but we have a lot of guys that have kind of been building up over the last couple of years,” Collins said. “We have a couple of seniors and their names aren’t as flashy as other guys but they’re going to show up every day and are going to grind. And we have some young guys who are pretty talented and some other guys who are up and coming. 

“We’ve also brought in four coaches who were part of our 2014, 2015 and 2016 state finals. Matt Rundell was a state champ and part of all three of those state title teams. Jason Renteria was a two-time champ and four-time medalist. And we have Bobby Campos, who was a state placer for us and we have Allen Stallings, who was a state champion who played football at Indiana. We want to continue to build the program. Being nationally-ranked every single year is a  tough thing to accomplish but for the better part of a decade, we did a pretty good job of being in contention.

“We have these coaches that only know Oak Park as good, and then we have these kids, who know Oak Park as what we’ve been building these last couple of years. I feel really good about the work that we’ve been doing and we’ve building toward this. We kind of knew that with the work behind this, it was coming. We finally got a middle school program in place. And we have Matt Rundell on staff and MJ’s (Michael) is wrestling now, and we have David Ogunsanya, who took third, he’s the third of three brothers who also wrestled for us and those guys wrestled at West Point and at Columbia.”

And coach Phil Neally’s sixth-place Blue Devils also had two individuals who placed third, Payton Eddy (190) and Todd Smith (285). Others who won medals for Quincy Senior were Cooper Kamm (132), who took sixth, and Brody Baker (144), who finished seventh. 

“The kids have been working real hard and a lot of this because of their work in the offseason, since they had a lot of matches in the offseason” Neally said. “And we’re going to some tough tournaments and get them ready for events like this. I tell them that it’s a marathon, not a sprint, so you have bumps along the way, but the kids are working well and doing good things. The good thing for us is that we’re at home this year for both regionals and sectionals. 

“We’ve been doing early morning practices and weightlifting and just pushing that we have to do things the right way and win third periods and finish our matches. Owen Uppinghouse, Bryor Newbold and Todd Smith do a lot of great things and those guys work hard and they’ve earned the right to be there.”

Two others from Illinois schools took third place, Triad’s Will Kelly (106) and Granite City’s Braxton Tolley (132). Additional individuals from Illinois schools who finished fourth were Granite City’s Dawson Hawthorne (120), Bloomington’s Maddox Kirts (165) and Mahomet-Seymour’s 

Brock VanDeveer (190).

The other fifth-place finishers from Illinois schools were Joliet Central’s Liam Walsh (113), Plainfield North’s Nathan Ali (126), Belleville East’s Killian Rauch (150), O’Fallon’s Logan Thomas (157), Mt. Vernon’s Mason Randall (190) and Andrew’s Michael McDonough (285).

Plainfield North got sixth-place efforts from Luke Grindstaff (144) and Leonardo Tovar (190). Other Illinois athletes who took sixth were Bloomington’s Jaylen Sandy (106), Waterloo’s Konnor Stephens (120), Mascoutah’s Jordan Sonon-Hale (138) and Mt. Vernon’s Maddux Randall (175).

Normal West had five seventh-place finishers, Jacob Payne (106), Dylan McGrew (113),  Abram Rader (120), Gus Schrieber (175) and Matt Hanold (285). Others from Illinois schools who took seventh were Mahomet-Seymour’s Justus Vrona (126), Plainfield North’s Jack Curran (132), Collinsville’s Cody Lutz (165) and Andrew’s Joseph Zimmer (215).

Additional Illinois athletes who finished in eighth place were Waterloo’s Bladen Sease (150), Brady Rose (165), Jackson Deutch (175) and Jaxson Mathenia (190), Bloomington’s Tyler Barlow (113), Vaughn Hochstatter (132) and Noah Misukonis (157), Mahomet-Seymour’s 

Gideon Hayter (106) and Talon Decker (138), Triad’s Glen Henry (120) and Plainfield North’s Cayden Amico (126)

Records for Illinois finalists after the competition are Uppinghouse (25-0), Brown (20-0), Rulo (19-0), Garbis (9-0), Willock (19-1), White (15-1), Garcia (10-1), Huck (23-2), Walker (23-2), Haleem (24-3), Newbold (23-3), Rundell (18-4), Siegel (23-5) and Duraski (21-8).

Oak Park and River Forest tied Lafayette and Willard for the most falls and wins by technical fall with 34. The Huskies also easily collected the most total match points with 518, which was 96 more than second-place Lafayette collected.

Nine individuals recorded five falls, including two from Granite City, Hawthorne and Tolley. Mt. Vernon’s Dillon White and Belleville East’s Jonathan Rulo were the others from Illinois who had five falls.  White was the only individual to record five falls and also get a win by technical fall which helped him to receive the OWA for the tournament.

Dillon White also scored the most team points with 43.5, which was one-half point ahead of Lafayette’s Riley Sumner. Jonathan Rulo ranked third with 42 team points, Normal West’s Evan Willock was fourth with 41 points and Quincy Senior’s Owen Uppinghouse tied with three Missourians for fifth with 40 team points.

OPRF’s Zev Koransky had the most match points with 89 while Plainfield North’s Maddox Garbis was second with 80 points. Joliet Central’s Tremaine Cooper was fourth with 67 points.

The three individuals who made the biggest leaps from where they seeded to where they placed were from Illinois. Belleville East’s Killian Rauch placed fifth after being seeded 26th, Plainfield North’s Jack Curran was seeded 25th and took seventh and Quincy Senior’s Cooper Kamm took sixth after being seeded 21st.

Here’s a look at the champions and their weights for the William “Red” Schmitt Tournament

175 – Mason McCurry, Bolivar, MO

With the finals of the Schmitt Tournament starting at 175, Quincy Senior was hoping that it could bookend the event by getting championships from Bryor Newbold at 175 to the start the finals and from Owen Uppinghouse  at 165 to conclude the two-day event, but Bolivar, MO junior Mason McCurry (19-1) had other ideas and he gave his team its lone title after prevailing over Newbold with a 6-5 decision. Newbold (23-3), a senior who went 41-7 a year ago and qualified for the IHSA Class 3A Finals, was one of six medal winners for coach Phil Neally’s Blue Devils, who took sixth in the competition. Newbold followed a 5-3 decision in the quarterfinals with a fall in 5:39 in the semifinals over Willard, MO’s Jase Motlagh to earn his spot on the title mat. He hopes to join Uppinghouse and 12 others who have won IHSA medals for the Blue Devils.

“I feel like I came in expecting a lot harder competition, because when we came here two years ago, we didn’t have a single placer (in the top eight),” Newbold said. “I wrestled my butt off today and made it to the finals. I thought a couple of calls should have been called differently but they didn’t go my way, but he was a good kid. I’ll take a loss, it happens. I’m looking forward and I’m ready for state. It feels nice to have a good team.”

Mt. Vernon senior Maddux Randall (14-5) took fifth after dropping a 2-0 decision to Hickman, MO’s Beau Waldron (13-2) and Normal West senior Gus Schrieber (21-6) claimed seventh place with a fall in 3:12 over Waterloo junior Jackson Deutch (21-6), becoming one of the six medalists for his team, including four others who also claimed seventh-place finishes.

190 – Ben Brown, Batavia

On a day when Batavia sent four of its nine competitors to the title mat, Ben Brown was the only member of coach Ryan Farwell’s fourth-place Bulldogs that was able to win a championship, but he had to go through a real battle to get the job done. Meeting Lafayette, MO’s Andrew Wier (17-4) in the 190 finals, Brown, a senior, improved to 20-0 after getting a takedown with 15 seconds remaining in overtime to claim a 3-1 win by sudden victory. After opening with three falls, he won a 3-2 decision in the quarterfinals and then won 2-1 on an overtime tiebreaker over Plainfield North’s Leonard Tovar, who took third at 220 in 3A in 2023 and was a champion at last year’s Red Schmitt Tournament. That performance should provide Brown with the motivation to follow in the footsteps of teammate Ino Garcia as well as 2023 Batavia graduates Kaden Fetterolf and Cael Andrews who are three of the 13 medalists that the program has had.

“In the last two matches against shorter and stockier kids, you know where they want to go, they want to go power, they don’t really want to go finesse and for the long run,” Brown said. “So you can kind of wear those guys down. When we get in the room, we have some great coaches, like Logan Arlis, who pushes me, and obviously my practice partner, Asher Sheldon at 215, he gives me that strength aspect, so I’m not going to see a guy as strong as him. I got here late because of football, obviously, but it’s been fun getting into the room with these guys and going to work. Coach (Ryan) Farwell has done a great job since he’s taken over, pushing us and keeps us motivated. He always keeps that competitive attitude and we all just all love to compete and get after it. Once we get into the room, we just go to work.”

Senior Payton Eddy (18-10) became the first of Quincy Senior’s two third-place finishers when he won 5-3 in sudden victory over Mahomet-Seymour junior Brock VanDeveer (15-11). Mt. Vernon senior Mason Randall (14-4), who went 35-16 and qualified for the Class 2A Finals last year, claimed fifth place over senior Tovar (8-1) by medical forfeit and Bolivar, MO’s Owen McCullah won by fall in 1:33 over Waterloo freshman Jaxson Mathenia (19-3) to take seventh.

215 – Porter Talbot, Willard, MO

Joliet Central junior Charles Walker is definitely a man on a mission this season after going 37-14 and falling one victory shy of a state medal at 220 at the 2023 IHSA Class 3A Finals. He put up a great battle in the 215 title match against Willard’s Porter Talbot (18-1), but lost a 6-3 decision to suffer his second defeat in 25 matches. Walker, one of two medalists for coach Patrick McGovern’s Steelmen, earned his spot on the title mat with a 9-6 victory over Lafayette, MO’s Brandon Wunderlich. Walker, who took seventh in last year’s Schmitt Tournament, hopes that in a return trip to state that he can become the first Steelmen to win an IHSA medal since 2013 when Trayvon Zabala won his third medal and Sharod Wilson joined him as an all-stater.

“I wrestled his teammate (in the semifinals) and won but he definitely scouted and came prepared,”  Walker said of Talbot. “This tournament helps me see where I’m at so that I can get prepared for the state tournament. I’ve had a nice season and I’ve won two tournaments already. We have a lot of good coaches and a lot of good quality kids and there’s always competition with everybody. They say that iron sharpens iron and that’s what it’s like in our room. And there’s always smiles and laughter and joking.”

Batavia junior Asher Sheldon (25-2) assured his nine-man team of five individuals in the top three when he won a 10-0 major decision over Paducah, KY Tilghman’s Jack James (7-3) in the third-place match. A year ago, Sheldon took second place in the tournament. Andrew junior Joseph Zimmer (16-9) claimed seventh place by capturing a 9-2 decision over Wunderlich.

285 – Jonathan Rulo, Belleville East

After dropping a 5-3 decision in the IHSA Class 3A Finals to Downers Grove North senior Ben Bielawski last season to finish a 34-2 debut season, Belleville East’s Jonathan Rulo had much to be proud of, considering that he was a rare freshman state runner-up in the heavyweight division. Just the third individual from his school to reach the title mat at the IHSA Finals, and the first to accomplish that feat since Joe Wier in 1991, he’s determined to do whatever it takes to capture a title this season and  become the Lancers’ first state champion. He’s off to a great start, improving to 19-0 after capturing an 8-1 decision over Willard, MO’s Brady Griffin (17-1) in the 285 finals to repeat as a champion in the tournament. Rulo, one of two medal winners in the tournament for coach Rashad Riley’s Lancers, was in a battle throughout much of that match and nearly recorded a late pin to wrap up a tournament where he won his other five matches by fall, including a pin in 0:56 in the semifinals over Hickman, MO’s Levi Harrell. 

“I had to wear him down because he was real strong,” Rulo said. “Not all heavyweights, but a lot of them, get tired real quickly. My coaches provide me with good practices. We’ll do traditional practices, and that’s the main part of it. This year, there’s a lot of good kids. I’ve been working on my shots. Last year, I hardly took any shots, but this year I’ve been working on my shots. You know they say that the best defense is the best offense.”

Quincy Senior sophomore Todd Smith (18-6) became one of his team’s four individuals who placed third or better after winning a 5-4 decision over Harrell in the third-place match. Andrew junior Michael McDonough (21-6),  who qualified for the 2023 Class 3A Finals and finished with a 28-17 record, won a 3-0 decision over Whitfield, MO’s Adrian Harrold to claim fifth place. And Normal West’s Matt Hanold (20-7) became one of the five individuals on his team to finish in seventh place when he won by medical forfeit over Hazelwood Central, MO’s Jonathan Slater. 106 – Riley Sumner, Lafayette, MO

In a matchup of two freshmen in the 106 title match who figure to be top competitors in their respective states for four years, Lafayette, MO’s Riley Sumner (17-2) won a 9-0 major decision over Oak Park and River Forest’s Michael Rundell (18-4), who was the top finisher among six medal winners that helped coach Paul Collins’ Huskies to a fifth-place finish. Rundell’s older brothers, Matthew and Jacob, were standouts at OPRF, each winning an IHSA title and combining for three other state medals before continuing their careers in college. Rundell looks to follow in his brothers’ footsteps and had an impressive tournament with two falls and a win by technical fall before capturing an 8-0 major decision in the semifinals over Triad’s Will Kelly.

“I’m pretty happy with how I’m doing,” Rundell said. “My only losses have been to kids that are ranked in the state and in the country. So I’m doing pretty well, especially for an undersized 106 since I weighed in at 98 pounds. The expectations are definitely higher than for other wrestlers, because you have to one-up your brothers, you can’t be worse than them. I watched all of the state championships. I may not remember some, but I was always there. That’s the goal, to be back to where we were. The guys work hard in the room and they definitely give their all in their matches. So if they just keep getting better, we can definitely be back on the podium at state.”

Kelly (19-3), a sophomore and the top finisher of Triad’s two medal winners, took third place after claiming an 8-1 decision over Lafayette, MO’s Max Layman (10-5). In the fifth-place match, Paduch, KY Tilghman’s Case Simmons (7-3) recorded a fall in 0:56 over Bloomington freshman Jaylen Sandy (12-10). And in a matchup of freshmen for seventh place, Normal West’s Jacob Payne (15-9) captured an 8-3 decision over Mahomet-Seymour’s Gideon Hayter.

113 – Maddox Garbis, Plainfield North

In a rematch of the 2022 Schmitt Tournament finals at 106, Plainfield North junior Maddox Garbis once again prevailed for a title over Andrew sophomore Nadeem Haleem, this time with an 8-6 decision at 113. Garbis (9-0), who took sixth at 106 in the 2023 IHSA Class 3A Finals, was the top finisher and one of six medal winners for the Tigers and their first-year coach, Adrian Cervantes. Garbis advanced to the title mat after recording his second win by technical fall, prevailing in 5:00 over Hickman, MO’s Hogan Benter. Garbis hopes that he and teammate Leonardo Tovar can join Jacob Macatangay and Matthew Hennessey as two-time IHSA medalists for the Tigers and do what only Hennessey achieved in 2018, winning an IHSA title. It should be noted that Macatangay won the IWCOA 3A championship at 126 in 2021.

“I’ve wrestled him now four times, three times last year and he kept getting closer every time,” Garbis said. “Honestly, I came into the match confident since I’ve learned a lot wrestling offseason since I wrestled through Izzy Style and now I’m at Fitz Wrestling Club (Academy). I want to place higher downstate and get into the state finals and maybe get a shot at a state title, that’s the goal. When (former coach Joby) Bodi left, it was really hard for me personally since I was really close with him. But coach Adrian Cervantes, he’s awesome. He’s working with me and I’m getting extra training in and he knows what he’s talking about and I’ve improved so much from last year. I have best friends on the team and they support me through everything in life. I went through a time earlier this season, and honestly I’d like to thank my teammate Cayden Amico for helping me through it all. He’s pushed me through thick and thin and I give him all the thanks in the world.”

Haleem (24-3), who joined teammate Max Siegel as Schmitt Tournament finalists for the second year in a row for coach Peter Kowalczuk’s Thunderbolts, advanced to the title mat at 113 after recording a fall in 4:38 over Lafayette, MO’s Calum Brown, his fourth pin of the competition. Haleem was an IHSA Class 3A qualifier last year as a freshman and finished with a 36-10 record. Joliet Central junior Liam Walsh (16-12) placed fifth after capturing an 11-10 decision over Lafayette, MO’s Ahmad Ghuneim. And in a Twin Cities clash for seventh place, Normal West junior Dylan McGrew (20-7) won by fall in 3:03 over Bloomington sophomore Tyler Barlow, who went 25-18 last season and qualified for the IHSA Class 2A Finals.

120 – Hank Benter, Columbia, MO Hickman

Batavia senior Ino Garcia was hoping to win a Schmitt Tournament title as he had done in 2021 and did not to repeat what he did last year when he took second place at 113 to Andrew ‘s Max Siegel. But a newcomer to the event, Columbia, MO Hickman junior Hank Benter, had his own plans and he captured a 10-0 major decision over Garcia to improve to 19-0 and be one of the three champions for the Kewpies, who also won the team title by 20 points over Lafayette, MO.

Garcia (10-1), a senior, was one of four finalists for the Bulldogs, who took fourth place in the competition despite having nine individuals in the event. Garcia, who went 25-9 a year ago and took sixth place in Class 3A at 113 at the IHSA Finals after taking fourth place at 106 the year before. As one of five individuals from his program who have been a two-time all-stater, he hopes to become his program’s first three-time IHSA medalist this season. It should be noted that Mikey Caliendo won the IWCOA 3A title at 160 in 2021 for his third medal. Garcia earned his spot on the 120 title mat by winning a 4-0 decision over Whitfield, MO’s Jackson Bassett (15-6), who went on to take third after winning a 1-0 decision over Granite City freshman Dawson Hawthorne (24-3). In the fifth-place match, Lafayette, MO’s Caleb Frankenberger (16-7) won by fall in 1:15 over Waterloo sophomore Konnor Stephens (19-9). And for seventh place, Normal West junior Abram Rader (18-7) won 13-2 over Triad sophomore Glen Henry.

126 – Dylan Roth, Lafayette, MO

Max Siegel looked to repeat as a champion at the Red Schmitt Tournament and even though he battled to throughout against Lafayette, MO senior Dylan Roth (17-2), the Andrew senior was unable to get a takedown in the late going and lost a 5-4 decision one year after winning the 113 title over Batavia’s Ino Garcia while Roth was taking third place at 126. Siegel (23-5), who joined teammate Nadeem Haleem as a finalist in the last two tournaments, reached the 126 title mat with a 13-5 major decision over Paducah, KY Tilghman’s Jayven Williams. Siegel went 35-6 last season but was unable to advance from the Class 3A Normal Community Sectional.

“We have some improving to do, but all in all, we did alright,” Siegel said of his team. “I wrestled in the offseason and I’ve been eating right. I bumped up a weight class so I’m not really cutting too much weight so I feel good and strong out there. I have good coaches, they’re good guys.”

Oak Park and River Forest sophomore Zev Koransky (24-5) took third place for the second year in a row in the tournament after winning a 16-9 decision over Batavia sophomore Kyle Pasco (19-11). Koransky had the most match points of any competitor with 89, which was nine more than Plainfield North’s Maddox Garbis had. Plainfield North junior Nathan Ali (9-3) took fifth place by medical forfeit over Williams (11-2) and Mahomet-Seymour sophomore Justus Vrona (18-10) placed seventh when Plainfield North senior Cayden Amico took a medical forfeit.

132 – Yashua Amen, Whitfield, MO

A victory that Batavia junior Jack Duraski rallied to win that helped him to reach the title mat at 132 may have prevented him from winning the championship. Duraski trailed Whitfield, MO’s Yashua Amen 5-1 in a fourth-round match but turned the tables on his opponent and pinned him in 3:57. But it was a different story when the two met up in the 132 championship match as Amen (16-3) recorded a fall over Duraski in 1:36 to become the only champion for his team.  

“It was an outcome that I was expecting in the finals,” Duraski said. “He was actually in my pool and I was losing 5-1 and I ended up getting a pin. I think we would have definitely won the tournament if we had every weight class. It shows how much better our team can be when we have a full lineup.”

Duraski (21-8), one of four finalists and seven medalists for coach Ryan Farwell’s Bulldogs, advanced to the 132 championship match after capturing a 4-1 decision over Granite City freshman Braxton Tolley (12-3), who became the host Warriors’ top finisher in their tournament after he won the third-place match by medical forfeit over Columbia, MO Hickman’s Brady McMurtry (16-3). Willard, MO’s Ethan Craft took fifth place after getting a fall in 1:32 over Quincy Senior freshman Cooper Kamm. And Plainfield North sophomore Jack Curran took seventh place when he got a fall in 2:30 over Bloomington senior Vaughn Hochstatter.

138 – Dillon White, Mt. Vernon

After going 40-6 last season and qualifying for the IHSA Class 2A Finals and then winning a state Greco-Roman title and taking first place at the Midwest Nationals in Bloomington while competing for PSF Wrestling Academy, Dillon White headed into this season with a lot of confidence and a title at Mascoutah’s Dale Breckel Invite was another boost. The Mt. Vernon junior’s performance in winning the title at 138 at the Red Schmitt Tournament impressed so many that he received the event’s Outstanding Wrestler Award after winning by fall in 4:23 over Batavia’s Aidan Huck in the finals. White (15-1) led all competitors in team points with 43.5 after being the only one in the tournament to record five pins in addition to collecting a win by technical fall. He was the lone finalist and one of the three medal winners for coach Alejandro Wajner’s Rams and earned his spot on the title mat with a fall in 0:48 over Christian Brothers College’s Colin Rutlin in the semifinals. White took fourth place at last year’s competition.

“It was a really tough tournament and I’m the first person from our school to win it,” White said. “We had one person in the finals last year and I got fourth the last two years. I’ve qualified so far every year and I’ve lost in my bubble match every year, though, so I was one away from placing. In this offseason, I was really working on my footwork so that I could get faster. This past year, I always had good throws but I couldn’t move my feet, I was practically wearing cinder blocks for shoes. I’m moving a lot more and still hitting my throws and taking a couple of shots. This is the third year (for his coaches) and they’ve really transformed this sport. Before Alejandro (Wajner), they were thinking about cutting wrestling entirely. We have a wrestling academy called PSF Wrestling and we had around eight champions at Midwest Nationals. I’m really excited and I think I’m going to do good at state and place this year. I’m excited for the future and I’m hoping to wrestle in college.”

Huck (23-2), a senior who went 37-11 last year and qualified for the IHSA Class 3A Finals, was one of four finalists and seven medal winners for the Bulldogs, who led all Illinois teams with their fourth-place finish despite having nine entrants. After winning 7-5 over Oak Park and River Forest’s Joseph Knackstedt in the quarterfinals, he advanced to the 138 title mat by recording a fall in 5:57 over Columbia, MO Hickman’s Taryn Nichols (16-5). Last year, Huck took fifth in the tournament. Knackstedt, a junior who is 22-6, took fifth place after recording a fall in 1:48 over Mascoutah sophomore Jordan Sonon-Hale (18-9). Bolivar, MO’s Maddux Nesmith (13-4) placed seventh thanks to a 10-7 decision over Mahomet-Seymour freshman Talon Decker (16-7).

“It’s not what I planned on getting, but it’s still a good placement,” Huck said. “I just did my thing, but I didn’t finish on top. We’re proud of Ben (Brown), he had pretty significant wins. We take grit in all of our wrestling. And all of us hold ourselves accountable every day and I feel like our team chemistry and everything that we do together just makes our team-building so great, and that’s definitely a good thing.”

144 – Jordan Fincher, Columbia, MO Hickman

After the first 10 championship matches involved at least one Illinois competitor, the home state athletes were denied trips to the championship mats at both 144 and 150, which also happened to be where eventual champion Columbia, MO Hickman was winning its second and third titles of the finals to help secure its team title. In the 144 finals, Jordan Fincher (18-2) won 3-2 over Willard, MO’s Caleb Caldwell (16-2) to become his team’s second title winner and that came just before his teammate, Shane Oswald, took first place at 150 in another close match.

Illinois athletes had to settle for visits to the fifth-and seventh-place matches at 144. Bolivar, MO’s Cooper Moore (21-11) took fifth place after capturing an 8-0 major decision over Plainfield North sophomore Luke Grindstaff. And in the seventh-place match, Quincy Senior sophomore Brody Baker (21-11) won a 9-1 major decision over Batavia senior Ethan Brauer (16-9).

150 – Shane Oswald, Columbia, MO Hickman

Shane Oswald helped put the finishing touches on the successful debut by Columbia, MO’s Hickman at the Red Schmitt Tournament. Oswald (18-2), a freshman, joined teammates Hank Benter (120) and Jordan Fincher (144) as champions for coach Dan Pieper’s Kewpies, who had nine individuals that placed fifth or better to capture the team title by 20 points over Lafayette, Missouri. Oswald won the 150 title with a 6-4 decision over Whitfield, MO’s Rome Tate (16-6).

Oak Park and River Forest sophomore David Ogunsanya (21-6) recorded a fall in 4:43 over Willard, MO’s Noah Rogers (14-5) to finish third. His brother Joshua was an IHSA Class 3A champion for OPRF in 2020 and is now a member of the wrestling team at Columbia University while another brother and former Huskie, P.J., had a successful career at West Point. In the fifth place match, Belleville East freshman Killian Rauch (21-7) won a 6-4 decision over Paducah, KY Tilghman’s Amari Williams. Rauch drew the 26-seed in the bracket, making his 21-spot improvement from seed to place the biggest of the tournament. For seventh place, Bolivar, MO’s Cale McCurry (13-8) won by fall in 5:54 over Waterloo junior Bladen Sease (16-9). 

157 – Evan Willock, Normal West

After going 39-7 last season and finishing sixth at 132 in the IHSA Class 2A Finals, Evan Willock can make history as Normal West’s first two-time state medalist and also its highest placewinner if he gets back to state and finishes a bit higher since only one other individual from his school has won a state medal, Luke Nohns, who took fifth place in 3A in 2014. Willock is definitely off to a great start in his senior season after improving to 19-1 as the result of a fall in 3:04 over Whitfield, MO’s Lucas Parietti (14-5) in the 157 championship match. He also won a 3-0 decision over Parietti in the fourth round of the tournament. Willock, who took third place in last year’s Schmitt Tournament, earned his spot on the title mat by recording a fall in 0:40 over O’Fallon junior Logan Thomas (20-9) in the semifinals to lead the way for coach Dave Lehr’s Wildcats, who had six medal winners, with all but Willock claiming seventh-place finishes.

“This has always been a tough one,” Willock said. “I had a pretty tough loss in one of my recent duals, but I shook off some rust, and was feeling good today. I’m excited and I’m hoping for top three for sure and obviously the goal is always state champion. All of the offseason work, the weightlifting, the runs. I didn’t do a whole lot of wrestling this offseason, but I was always preparing every single day for it. The competition (in the Twin Cities) has gotten ridiculous these last few years. West had a lot of seniors that left, so we’re rebuilding, Community has a fantastic team and Bloomington has a strong team, too. There’s just a lot of competition and it makes us all better.”

Thomas bounced from his semifinal loss to Willock to take fifth with a fall in 1:15 over Oak Park and River Forest senior Isaac Davis. And for seventh place, Christian Brother College’s Tanner Faulkner (17-7) won by medical forfeit over Bloomington senior Noah Misukonis (14-10).

165 – Owen Uppinghouse, Quincy Senior

Owen Uppinghouse hopes to make history this season after going 44-2 and placing third at 160 at the IHSA Class 3A Finals to join only six other individuals from Quincy Senior who have placed that high in the IHSA Finals. He’s hoping to take the next step and be a state champ, a feat only accomplished three times at the school, most recently by Jermaine Dade in 2000. If he can place at state again, he’ll join Dade and another champion, Jack Miller, who took first in 1957, as the school’s lone two-time medalists. It should be noted that Quincy Senior had a champion at the IWCOA Finals in 2021 when Thomas Culp won at 195 in Class 3A. The Blue Devils senior improved to 25-0 after getting an escape early in the final period and made it stand to win a 1-0 decision over Willard, MO’s Gary Walker (17-1) in the final title match. Uppinghouse, who joined teammate Bryor Newbold (175) as a finalist, earned his spot there with another close decision, 2-1, over Columbia, MO Hickman’s Luke Hayden in the semifinals.

“Two years ago as a sophomore, I was winning but got thrown and landed on my arm and dislocated my elbow, so just being in this environment brings back a lot of those memories,” Uppinghouse said. “I wanted to get those thoughts out of my head and try to do my best. I’m lucky enough to have great practice partners and great coaches. In my freshman year, we ended with eight kids, so every year, we’re taking a little bit of a step in the right direction. Our college, Quincy University, just started their program, so Quincy is starting to be put on the wrestling map. We have kids who are working hard and they’re the kids that put in the work in the offseason, and it shows.”

Hayden (20-1), a freshman, bounced back from his first loss of the season to Uppinghouse to claim third place with an 11-5 decision over Bloomington senior Maddox Kirts (21-5), who went 36-8 a year ago and qualified for the IHSA Class 2A Finals. Christian Brothers College’s 

Christian Fanetti won by fall in 4:50 over Oak Park and River Forest junior Hugh Vanek (12-10) to claim fifth place. And Collinsville senior Cody Lutz (15-3) took seventh place after capturing an 11-5 decision over Waterloo senior Brady Rose (9-7).

Championship matches for Granite City’s William “Red” Schmitt Tournament

175 – Mason McCurry (Bolivar, MO) D 6-5 Bryor Newbold (Quincy Senior)

190 – Ben Brown (Batavia) SV 3-1 Andrew Wier (Lafayette, MO)

215 – Porter Talbot (Willard, MO) D 6-3 Charles Walker (Joliet Central)

285 – Jonathan Rulo (Belleville East) D 8-1 Brady Griffin (Willard, MO)

106 – Riley Sumner (Lafayette, MO) MD 9-0 Michael Rundell (Oak Park and River Forest)

113 – Maddox Garbis (Plainfield North) D 8-6 Nadeem Haleem (Andrew)

120 – Hank Benter (Columbia, MO Hickman) MD 10-0 Ino Garcia (Batavia)

126 – Dylan Roth (Lafayette, MO) D 5-4 Max Siegel (Andrew)

132 – Yashua Amen (Whitfield, MO) F 1:36 Jack Duraski (Batavia)

138 – Dillon White (Mt. Vernon) F 4:23 Aidan Huck (Batavia)

144 – Jordan Fincher (Columbia MO, Hickman) D 3-2 Caleb Caldwell (Willard, MO)

150 – Shane Oswald (Columbia, OH Hickman) D 6-4 Rome Tate (Whitfield, MO)

157 – Evan Willock (Normal West) F 3:04 Lucas Parietti (Whitfield, MO)

165 – Owen Uppinghouse (Quincy Senior) D 1-0 Gary Walker (Willard, MO)

Team standings for Granite City’s William “Red” Schmitt Tournament

1. Columbia, MO Hickman 281.5, 2. Lafayette, MO 261.5, 3. Willard, MO 236.5, 4. Batavia 218.5, 5. Oak Park and River Forest 209.5, 6, Quincy Senior 203.5, 7. Whitfield, MO 180.5, 8. Andrew 152.5, 9. Plainfield North 149, 10. Paducah, KY Tilghman 130, 11. Normal West 126.5, 12. Mahomet-Seymour 120.5, 13. Bolivar, MO 109.5, 14. Mt, Vernon 106.5, 15. Waterloo 105.5, 16. Belleville East 104.5, 17. Bloomington 103.5, 18. Joliet Central 98.5, 19. Christian Brothers College, MO 96, 20. Granite City 86.5, 21. O’Fallon 71.5, 22. Triad 70, 23. Wentzville, MO Holt 69, 24. Collinsville 62.5, 25. Mascoutah 49, 26. Hazelwood Central, MO 39, 27. Alton 36.5