Feature Stories

By Mike Garofola – For the IWCOA

BARRINGTON – What a sensational opening weekend for Dan Keller and Barrington wrestling. 

Keller tasted plenty of success during his short stay at Prospect, leading the Knights to their first-ever IHSA Dual Team state trophy in 2022. And he has wasted little time making his mark at his new wrestling-room address.

Keller’s Broncos led from start to finish to claim the big trophy at the 32nd Barrington Moore-Prettyman Invitational on their home mats on Saturday afternoon, winning the team title for the first time since 2019.

“I could not have expected to have this type of start to the season,” began an obviously proud Keller, who arrived in Barrington after leading his alma mater, Prospect, to a fourth-place finish at the 2022 IHSA Class 3A Dual Team Finals.

“We asked the guys to put together their individual goals sheet and it was clear that a top-three finish at the Moore-Prettyman was high on the list of everyone on this team,” Keller said.

“Of course, winning the whole thing seemed a little ambitious for this team but we came out and went 11-for-11 in the first round (all pins), so right from the start we began to rack up those all-important bonus points, and the guys never let up. We have a nice blend of youth and experience, with strong leadership from our seniors, and the entire team was just locked in this weekend.”

Assistant coach Ken Hoving, who starred at Conant back in the day, was head coach in 2011 when Barrington finished fourth at Dual Team State, and assisted under Dave Udchik when the Broncos earned a third-place Dual Team State trophy in 2019.

“It’s kind of amazing that we won the tournament without having a single individual champion,” Hoving said. “I’m not sure if that’s ever happened since I’ve been here.”

When Hinsdale Central’s Marko Ivanisevic won at 285 to end the high-profile tournament on Saturday, the day’s final team tally saw Barrington with 204 points to win the title. Hononegah edged Libertyville for second place honors, 196.5-195.

Barrington headed home on Friday with an 11-point advantage over Hersey (133.50-122.5) and never let its rivals get any close during day No. 2. Clarence Jackson led the Broncos in total points scored on day No. 1 with 15.

“As I said, we had just a terrific start on the first day, and we were able to get three into the finals, with Kaleb Pratt, just a freshmen in his first high school final, and guys like Brady Wright, and Rhenzo (Augusto) working so hard to earn a spot in the finals,” Keller said.

“There were so many others who would contribute over the two days, especially our heavyweight Clarence Jackson, just back from football, and only in his second year in the sport making it into the semifinals. There’s a lot of wrestling still ahead of us, but, today, I am really proud of these guys, and now we’ll enjoy winning the tournament.”

Hononegah put on a show for its fans, while making a statement of its intent this season. Coach Tyler Demoss’ club had just one senior in its starting lineup of 12 and earned eight medals overall, including two individual titles from a pair of freshmen.

Libertyville’s fabulous foursome of Luke Berktold, Caleb Baczek, Matt Kubas and Owen McGrory did not disappoint. Berktold and McGrory won individual titles and coach Dale Eggert got a second-place medal from Kubas and a third from the junior Baczek.

“We were not concerned so much about our team score, but we were very happy with a bunch of our team members,” Eggert said.

Reigning Mid-Suburban League champion Hersey (190.5) flashed its depth with a tourney-high 10 overall medals to finish fourth. Making its first appearance at Barrington, Northern Lake County Conference power Wauconda earned a well-deserved 144.5 overall points to grab the fifth spot on the leader board.

Here’s a breakdown of Barrington’s Moore-Prettyman Invitational champions and their weight classes:

106 – Gavin Rockey, Wauconda

Wauconda junior Gavin Rockey got the final session off and running with a hard fought 3-2 decision over Barrington freshmen Kaleb Pratt to claim the 106-pound title. 

“It was good to get that first takedown, I am still not anywhere near being as fit as I need to be, but I felt pretty good out there and it was nice to win here at such a big tournament,” said Rockey, who enjoyed a memorable year last season that saw him finish second at state, win 33 matches and helped his club earn a Class 2A third place trophy at the Dual Team State championships. “It was a great year for our team and with us having so many back from last year, we hope to finish even better this year.”

Grayslake Central’s Vince DeMarco won 10-1 over Stevenson’s Evan Mishels to take third place, Glenbard East’s Waleed Binmahfooz recorded a fall in 3:04 over Jacobs’ Kristian DeClercq to finish fifth and Wheaton North’s Rocco Marcellaio won a 7-1 decision over Lane Tech’s Evan Coles to place seventh.

113 – Bruno Cassioppi, Hononegah

Bruno Cassioppi won it all at 113 after an impressive two days of work which ended with a 6-0 decision over Grant sophomore Vince Jasinski, a Fargo qualifier in both Freestyle and Greco.

“The most important thing I learned from my two brothers was that hard work pays off in the end,” said Cassioppi, whose older brother Tony was a two-time Illinois state champion. Tony Cassioppi set state records at heavyweight before going on to earn All-America honors four times at the University of Iowa.

“I really enjoy being in a high school wrestling room,” Bruno Cassioppi said. “We have so much young talent, a great coaching staff led by (Tyler) Demoss. I know if I follow the advice of my brothers, and put the extra time in, good things will happen to me too.” Cassioppi’s twin brother Rocco competes at 106 for the Indians.

Rocco was absent from Barrington because he was away at the Pan Am Games, where he won a silver medal. Bruno Cassioppi is ranked No. 3 in Rob Sherrill’s state rankings while Rocco is the No. 1-ranked man at 106.

Hersey’s Anthony Orozco placed third with an 11-2 win against Prairie Ridge’s Jake Lowitzki, Washington Community’s Logan Makiney won by forfeit for fifth against Crystal Lake Central’s Dylan Ramsey and Lane Tech’s Alex Valentin won by fall in 0:57 over Loyola Academy’s Harlee Hiller, the 2023 IHSA girls champion at 105, to take seventh place.

120 – Luke Berktold, Libertyville

Libertyville’s Luke Berktold, the No.-2 seed at 120, went 2-2 a year ago in his first visit to the state tournament, and will look to use that experience to return and take a run at the top spot.

“I learned a lot last year in Champaign, and during the offseason I worked a lot at being better with my fakes, and sweeps, and to be in a room with great leaders like Matt (Kubas) makes it better for all of us,” Berktold said.

Berktold doubled his advantage in the finals to 4-0 with an early reversal to start the second period as he went on to defeat Hersey’s Elijah Garza by a 6-1 decision.

“(Berktold) was very dominating, just tough throughout,,” Eggert said.

Garza upended the top-seed, Wauconda’s Nathan Randle, in their semifinal match. Randle wrestled back to win a 2-0 decision for third place against Barrington’s Ryan Dorn. 

Washington Community’s Noah Woods won a 1-0 decision against Loyola Academy’s Gavin Pardilla for fifth and Hersey’s Riddick Variano won by fall in 0:48 for seventh place against Stevenson’s Mikey Polyakov.

126 – Tommy Banas, Providence Catholic

It was a tournament filled with freshmen success stories and yet another came from Tommy Banas, who in his first big test in his rookie season at Providence Catholic, went from the No. 8- seed on to the top of the podium.

Banas bounced the top-seed, Grayslake Central’s Tyler Weidman, out of contention with a 6-0 victory after recording a pair of falls to open his tournament.

After the Weidman triumph, Banas held off the No. 5-seed, Fremd’s Drew Fifield, to gain a 5-3 semifinal decision before using an escape at five minutes to edge the No. 2-seed, Hersey’s Abdullokh Khakimov, 1-0 to win the title at 126 pounds.

During the offseason, Banas finished seventh overall at Preseason Nationals in Des Moines, Iowa at 126 pounds, going 7-2 overall.

Fifield took third place with an 8-5 decision over Lane Tech’s Robert Zavala, Lyons Township’s Griff Powell won an 11-4 decision over Prairie Ridge’s Mikey Meade to finish fifth and Weidman won by fall in 0:53 over Libertyville’s James Liu to take seventh place.

132 – Max Mukhamedaliyev, Hersey

Max Mukhamedaliyevproved to be an immovable force as he stormed through the 132-pound field to win his first Barrington title.

The Hersey junior, who a year ago came home with a sixth-place state medal and 37 wins before going on to qualify for Fargo in Freestyle and Greco-Roman.

“(Max) works non-stop, he worked on cleaning some things up from a year ago and this year, coming into a new season, he is so much better on top, with his feet and it’s his work ethic and desire to be the best that will be the difference later on when it really counts,” said Hersey assistant Tony Vezzetti, who finished fourth at state at 182 in 2016 for Schaumburg.

Mukhamedaliyev needed just under six minutes to get three falls to advance into his final with Stevenson sophomore Shawn Kogan, the No. 3-seed, who finished second at the IWCOA Frosh-Soph tournament.

Once there, the top-seeded Mukhamedaliyev built a 5-0 early first period advantage, but Kogan slowly chipped away at the lead, drawing closer at 7-5 with a takedown to end the second period before eventually falling 10-6.

Libertyville’s Orion Moran edged Washington Community’s Timmy Smith 3-2 to take third place, Hononegah’s Robert Darling won by forfeit over Washington Community’s Eli Gonzalez for fifth place and Grant’s Sammy Mendez took seventh after getting a fall in 5:52 over Wheaton North’s David Hyde.

138 – Wyatt Medlin, Washington Community

Reigning Class 1A champion and top-seed, Thomas Silva, who moved from Dakota to join Hononegah, booked his spot in the finals against No. 2-seed, and the current No. 1 man in Class 2A at 138, Washington Community’s Wyatt Medlin, in what promised to be one of the best of the bunch on this final day of action.

Medlin, who was third overall at state at 126, collected the only points needed in this contest with a first-period takedown in advance of his 3-1 victory.

“I knew his strength would be hand-fighting, so I made sure not to get into any of that with him (that) early takedown really helped set (up) the rest of the match for me,” said Medlin, who feels his fitness and ability to go all out for six minutes will fuel his chances for a state title.

“I kind of like having the target on my back as the No. 1-rated guy at my weight class, but (rankings) really do not matter, results do,” added Medlin, who won 28 matches a year ago, which included two at the Dual Team State Finals, where he and his Panthers teammates won the Class 2A state title.

Grant’s Erik Rodriguez took third after recording a fall in 3:41 over Lane Tech’s Nasser Hammouche, Hersey’s Rodrigo Arceo edged Prospect’s Giorgio Difalco 3-2 in an overtime tiebreaker for fifth place and Sandwich’s Cooper Corder took seventh with a 3-2 decision over Plainfield Central’s Gavin Enders.

144 – Carson Weber, Joliet West

After two consecutive trips to Champaign failed to earn Carson Weber a place on the podium, the Joliet West junior is convinced the third time will be the charm this season.

Weber was in superb form during his first four matches at 144, needing a total of just a little over six minutes to dispatch his rivals with a quartet of pins, before dashing the hopes of Barrington’s Brady Wright to claim a title before the hometown fans.

It was all Weber, who led from the start, then rode Wright the entire second period until finishing things up with a well-deserved 8-0 major decision.

“It wasn’t fun falling short in my two trips downstate, but this year I feel like I am ready to go back down there and make a real run at a state title,” said Weber, 40-4 a year ago, while adding a sectional title to his resume.

“The goal always is to win a state title (it) cannot be anything else, and I am confident that I can reach that goal.”

Wright, a two-time sectional qualifier, is just back from playing on the Barrington football team, which lost to Class 8A runner-up Lincoln-Way East in a state semifinal game.

Waubonsie Valley’s Ethan Wojtowich took third place with a fall in 1:46 over Wauconda’s Logan Andrews, Washington Community’s JJ Rokey finished in fifth place after capturing a 5-2 decision over Libertyville’s Will Carney and Stevenson’s Val Vihrov won by fall in 1:05 over Prospect’s Bennett Westfallen to capture seventh place.

150 – Fernando Lopez, Lane Tech

Fernando Lopez has plenty of incentive for his upcoming final year at Lane Tech using a disappointing finish a year ago to inspire bigger and better things for the 150-pounder.

The reigning Chicago Public League champion came this close to earning his first trip downstate only to have his hopes dashed in the blood round of the Class 3A Conant Sectional.

“Oh yeah, the way my season ended last year has really stayed with me, so I’ve worked as hard as I could during the offseason to help me get ready for a big year,” said Lopez after his 8-5 title decision over the top-seed, Barrington’s Rhenzo Augusto.

“That first period really helped set the tone for me and even though I let him get back into the match late in the third period, I knew all the extra work I’ve done in the room would help me win the title.”

Lopez pinned his way to his City title at 152 pounds and eventually finished last year with a 32-5 overall record. He added two more pins at regionals to give him six during the postseason. 

Wauconda’s Cole Porten won a 5-3 decision over Hersey’s Jake Hanson to take third place, Hononegah’s Max Haskins won by forfeit over Crystal Lake Central’s Alessio Pazella for fifth place and Hampshire’s Aric Abbott placed seventh with a fall in 4:00 over Prospect’s Joe Quirk.

157 – Brody Sendele, Hononegah

Another rookie in the Hononegah lineup is Brody Sendele, perhaps undervalued as the No. 5- seed at 157 when the tournament began. But as each round was entered into the books, it was clear Sendele will be one to watch for the next couple of years.

After sending the No. 1-seed, Wauconda’s Nick Cheshier out in the semifinals, Sendele opened fast and finished strong in his final with the No. 3-seed, Fremd’s Ryan Muslimovic, during an 11-4 victory.

“I feel like I’m getting back close to a hundred percent after having a partial torn ACL during the offseason, but in a room like the one we have at Hononegah, I know it won’t take long to get to where I want to be,” Sendele said. 

Sendele went into the second period against Muslimovic with a 4-1 advantage, which he slowly increased to 8-4 after four minutes. Sendele, currently ranked at No. 10, was an Under-16 Folkstyle National Champion.

Chesier won an 8-5 decision against Providence Catholic’s Geno Papes to take third, Wheaton North’s Thomas Fulton won a 6-2 decision for fifth against Hersey’s Tim Boldt and Jacobs’ Casey Lechuga won by forfeit for seventh against Joliet West’s Gavin Garcia.

165 – Gunnar Garelli, Lyons Township

Lyons Township senior Gunnar Garelli would like nothing more than to add a state championship to the Garelli family name, and alongside his cousin, Matt, who twice won a state crown while competing at Fenwick.

“Physically, and mentally, I feel like I am better prepared for the season ahead and today proved to be a good start to the year,” said Garelli, who will wrestle next fall at Virginia Tech, where he will major in Finance.

“That early takedown in the first 20 seconds really helped set the tone of the match, and that’s always the goal is to get out to an early lead and just control things from there on,” said Garelli following his 5-0 victory over Hononegah junior Connor Diemel in their 165-pound final.

“My cousin won in 2011 and 2012 and I really feel like I have a realistic chance to win a state title and to give the Garelli family another state championship,” said Garelli.

Grant’s Christian Wittkamp won a 10-2 major decision over Fremd’s Peter Mondus to take third, Prospect’s Connor Munn won 11-4 over Wauconda’s Zac Johnson to finish fifth and Stevenson’s Themba Sitshela won a 7-2 decision over Washington Community’s Cael Miller to place seventh.

175 – Matty Jens, Grayslake Central

As the tournament picked up a head of steam, it was clear the outstanding wrestler award would come down to just a select few still waiting in the wings to compete.

The title match between Grayslake Central’s Matty Jens and Libertyville’s Matt Kubas at 175 pounds looked to be the marquee match during the final session, and the two longtime friends gave the big crowd plenty to watch during a 6-5 result in favor of Jens.

“Matt and I go way back to when we wrestled at the Grayslake club in fourth grade, I love him like a brother,” Jens said. “But we know we have to put that aside when we’re out there competing against each other.”

Jens won it all a year ago in Class 2A with a sparkling effort at 182 pounds to end his season with a perfect 32-0 record.

“My plan is to go out as a two-time state champion, and I feel if I stay healthy, and continue to work hard, there really isn’t anyone out there who I cannot beat,” said Jens, who opened with a fall and followed up with a pair dominating tech fall results to advance into the final.

Kubas, who went 42-9 and placed fourth at state and also won a Barrington title last season, grabbed the early advantage over Jens before the two were even at 3-3 after the first period.

Jens held a 6-5 advantage after conceding an escape at the start of a third period that saw all of the action on the mat. Despite a pair of stalemate calls down the stretch, Kubas was unable to pry Jens open before the final whistle.

“That first takedown was important, and (Kubas) almost got a second one,” Eggert said. “But Jens is a tough and smart opponent, so we’ll get back to work on a few things after this great early season test of his.”

Downers Grove South’s RJ Samuels took third with a 5-1 decision over Hinsdale Central’s Zach Kruse, Hononegah’s Kurt Smith placed fifth by fall in 5:45 against Hersey’s Leo Delgado and Prospect’s Michael Matuzak won a 7-3 decision for seventh against Stevenson’s Everett Ciezak.

190 – Jaxon Penovich, Prospect

Prospect sophomore Jaxon Penovich overpowered four opponents en route to his second straight individual Barrington title, this time at 190.

Penovich, who enjoyed a marvelous rookie season which included championship rings at conference and regionals before ending with a fifth place state medal at 195, rolled past Hersey senior Anthony Cambria, another 2023 state qualifier, with a 22-7 tech fall victory to claim the 190-pound top prize.

“I learned a lot of lessons last year as a freshmen, the most important was it is not how you start, but how you finish, and after a great start to my first year in high school wrestling,” said Penovich, who went 47-7 a year ago, with one of those losses coming in the final at the Barrington Sectional against eventual state champion, Libertyville’s Cole Matulenko.

“I found out the season is a real grind and I don’t think I was quite ready for what was ahead of me at state, but this year it will be much different,” said Penovich, who spends most of his week training under Jordan Blanton and Ryan Prater at the Relentless Training Center.

Libertyville’s Caleb Baczek won a 3-1 decision over Bradley-Bourbonnais’ AJ Mancilla to take third place, Glenbard East’s Blake Salvino won by forfeit over Crystal Lake Central’s Cayden Parks for fifth and Barrington’s Ayden Salley won by fall in 1:21 over Providence Catholic’s Mike O’Connor to claim seventh place.

215 – Owen McGrory, Libertyville

Owen McGrory, who enjoyed a memorable first season with Libertyville last winter, showed plenty of energy and pace in going 45-8 and earning a first trip downstate.

“I might have surprised a few people last season, but I spent the offseason making sure that I can come back, and be even better in order to have a long run in the state tournament,” McGrory said. 

McGrory defeated Plainfield South’s Matthew Janiak, who took sixth at state last season, 3-0 in the finals at 215.

“My strength is my leg-riding, but I still spent a lot of time in the offseason fine tuning that and other parts of my game,” McGrory said. “Having partners like (Matt) Kubas and Caleb (Baczek) will make all of us continue to improve as the season goes on.”

Hononegah’s Isaak Smith won a 4-2 decision on the third-place mat against Downers Grove South’s Mack Piehl, Prairie Ridge’s Walter Pollack won by fall in 2:38 for fifth place against Glenbard East’s Gus Winkler, and Lyons Township’s Nick Arquilla won 7-0 for seventh against Barrington’s Peter Kazaglis.  

285 – Marko Ivanisevic, Hinsdale Central

Hinsdale Central senior Marko Ivanisevic is now a two-time Barrington champion after recording a pin at 1:08 over Hampshire senior Joey Ochoa in the 285 finals.

“Marko kept a high pace with his hand-fighting throughout the tournament,” Hinsdale Central coach Jason Hayes said “During the offseason, he worked extremely hard to help build his confidence when the big matches come his way.”

Ivanisevic, who pinned his way to the 285-pound title, earned his second straight fifth-place state medal at 220 a year ago with a sparkling 44-3 overall record. He won individual sectional and regional titles, along with a highly-coveted championship trophy at the Rex Whitlatch Invite on his home mats.

Barrington’s Clarence Jackson won by fall in 1:49 on the third-place mat against Lyons Township’s Sam Costello, Stevenson’s Andrew Timmons placed fifth with a fall in 0:38 against Washington Community’s Sean Thornton, and Prospect’s Tommy Johl won by fall in 1:22 for seventh against Waubonsie Valley’s Leonidas Hobson.  

Barrington Moore-Prettyman Invitational championship matches

106 – Gavin Rockey (Wauconda) D 3-2 Kaleb Pratt (Barrington)

113 – Bruno Cassioppi (Hononegah) D 6-0 Vince Jasinski (Grant)

120 – Luke Berktold (Libertyville) D 6-1 Elijah Garza (Hersey)

126 – Tommy Banas (Providence Catholic) D 1-0 Abdullokh Khakimov (Hersey)

132 – Max Mukhamedaliyev (Hersey) D 10-6 Shawn Kogan (Stevenson)

138 – Wyatt Medlin (Washington Community) D 3-1 Thomas Silva (Hononegah)

144 – Carson Weber (Joliet West) MD 8-0 Brady Wright (Barrington)

150 – Fernando Lopez (Lane Tech) D 8-5 Rhenzo Augusto (Barrington)

157 – Brody Sendele (Hononegah) D 11-4 Ryan Muslimovic (Fremd)

165 – Gunnar Garelli (Lyons Township) D 5-0 Connor Diemel (Hononegah)

175 – Matty Jens (Grayslake Central) D 6-5 Matt Kubas (Libertyville)

190 – Jaxon Penovich (Prospect) TF 4:23 Anthony Cambria (Hersey)

215 – Owen McGrory (Libertyville) D 3-0 Matthew Janiak (Plainfield South)

285 – Marko Ivanisevic (Hinsdale Central) F 1:08 Joey Ochoa (Hampshire)

Barrington Moore-Prettyman Invitational team scores

1. Barrington 204, 2. Hononegah 196.5, 3. Libertyville 195, 4. Hersey 190.5, 5. Wauconda 144.5, 6. Prospect 129.5, 7. Stevenson 129, 8. Grant 127.5, 9. Washington 124, 10. Lane Tech 110.5, 11. Lyons Township 104, 12. Fremd 94, 13. Downers Grove South 89.5, 13. Glenbard East 89.5, 15. Grayslake Central 87, 16. Joliet West 75.5, 17. Providence Catholic 72, 18. Hinsdale Central 71, 19. Crystal Lake Central 70, 20. Jacobs 68, 21. Hampshire 67, 22. Wheaton North 59, 23. Prairie Ridge 57.5, 24. Plainfield South 45, 25. Waubonsie Valley 41, 25. West Chicago 41, 27. Fenwick 40.5, 28. Bradley-Bourbonnais 37.5, 29. Sandwich 31.5, 30. Loyola Academy 31, 31. Plainfield Central 29, 32. Lake Zurich 18.

By Curt Herron – For the IWCOA

NORMAL – There was a little old and a little new at Saturday’s Normal Community Invite where 38 teams competed in the event that made IHSA history in 2021 as the inaugural tournament in the sport.

And just as was the case in that initial competition, Schaumburg benefitted from its depth to easily capture the championship, winning this time by a 225-141 margin over Homewood-Flossmoor, which was even bigger than its 172-100 cushion over Joliet Central in the debut.

Richwoods (112), Joliet Township co-op (109), Mahomet-Seymour (84.5), Galesburg (84), Plainfield South (84), Urbana (72), Auburn (71) and Canton (67) rounded out the top 10 teams in the field.

Saxons coach Matt Gruszka, who also led the 2021 title winner, had four individuals who were on that original championship squad and they all contributed as Schaumburg had five finalists, which was three more than anyone else, and also had 10 who placed sixth or better.

The Saxons’ lone champion was Madyson Meyer (125), who was a member of the 2021 team. Taking second place for Schaumburg were Makenzi Aguilar (105), Olivia Furlan (135), Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic (140) and Valeria Rodriguez (155).

Alya Razzak (170) finished fourth, Anna Villarreal (120), Keara Micek (145) and Nadia Razzak (190) all took fifth, Stephanie Zahareas (100) placed sixth and Diya Patel (115) was eighth. The four Saxons who were a part of that historic 2021 title team are Meyer, Alya Razzak, Rodriguez and Zerafa-Lazarevic. 

“I have a lot of senior leaders and some juniors who have been around and they understand that, yes, it’s individual, but the points add up for your team,” Gruszka said. “We had some disappointments in the quarterfinals, but then they came back and won for fifth, which is huge points in the wrestlebacks.

“I always tell them that I like to win as many matches in the last round and I want to try to get the champions. Does it always work out? No, but the competition here was excellent. That’s what I like about this tournament. We come down south and see a lot of good teams and there’s a lot of good competition. 

“We just stress going out there and going point by point and match by match because if you start looking ahead, things get haywire, and they did a good job with that. Everyone contributed, which is nice.”

The only individual that won a title in the most recent NCHS Invite that also took first place in the event’s 2021 debut was Mahomet-Seymour’s Isabelle Leyhe (120). Rodriguez and Zerafa-Lazarevic also tried to add to their 2021 titles but they lost in the finals.

Individuals who repeated as champions were Galesburg’s Hannah Almendarez (100), Joliet Township’s Eliana Paramo (115), Moline’s Maryam Ndiaye (155) and Homewood-Flossmoor’s Ini Odumosu (190). Richwoods’ Kaila Wiliams (140) won a B division title in 2022.

Other title winners were Pekin’s Tessa Donaldson (105), Morris’ Ella McDonnell (110), Collinsville’s Taylor Dawson (130), Ottawa Township’s Ava Weatherford (135), Galesburg’s Annalisa Gibbons (145), Highland’s August Rottmann (170) and Urbana’s Jurdan Tyler (235). Champions who took second  place last year but won titles on Saturday were McDonnell (110) and Meyer (125). 

Also finishing in second place were Auburn’s Jasmine Brown (115) and Jadyn Perry (145), Olympia’s Mya Down (100), East Peoria’s Bailey Lusch (110), Normal Community’s Trey Fletcher (120), Centennial’s Ava Beldo (125), Richwoods’ Isabella Moteller (130), Peoria Notre Dame’s Autumn Williams (170), Plainfield South’s Keira Enright (190) and Ottawa Township’s Juliana Thrush (285).

Galesburg had the most champions with two and the champion Saxons had the most finalists with five. The other teams that had two finalists were Auburn, Ottawa Township and Richwoods. 

Odumosu had the most team points with 34 while Dawson had 33. Gibbons, Meyer and Rottmann had 32 points apiece, Leyhe scored 31.5 points and McDonnell, Ndiaye, Paramo and Tyler all had 30 team points. Dawson easily had the most total match points with 65.

Micek and Odumosu both had five falls, but Micek only needed 2:56 to collect all of her pins while Odumosu required 7:45 to collect falls in all of her matches enroute to the 190 championship.

Two defending IHSA champions won titles, Rottmann and Odumosu, and two second-place finishers from last year’s IHSA Finals also won invite titles, Paramo and Ndiaye.

Here’s a look at the Normal Community Invite champions and their weight classes:

100 – Hannah Almendarez, Galesburg

Hannah Almendarez is definitely excited about the start that Galesburg got off to on Saturday, as well she should be. Coach Greg Leibach’s Silver Streaks were the lone team in the 38-team Normal Community Invite that had two champions with Annalisa Gibbons taking first place at 145 after Almendarez had earlier repeated as a champion at 100 in the tournament when she claimed top honors with a fall in 0:34 over Olympia’s Mya Down in the title match.

Almendarez won her first two matches by fall to reach the finals. With Gibbons, who became the program’s first state qualifier at the 2023 IHSA Finals, later joining her on the title mat, the Silver Streaks were one of only five teams who had more than one finalist in the invite.

“In my first year of wrestling, there weren’t a lot of girls,” Almendarez said. “Me and my friend were like the first girls trying wrestling. And then it came out big, and it’s crazy to see how big it is now. I’ve been working toward the goal to get first. I love that we’re a family, we really are.”

Down was the lone finalist and one of two medalists for the Spartans, who are coached by Josh and Justin Collins. The program had a big day on Saturday as the boys team won the title at the Illini Bluffs Invite. Down won her opener with a fall and then claimed a 12-9 decision over Joliet Township’s Ariadna Arciniega in the semifinals. It was an all-Steelwomen clash for third place as Arciniega edged teammate Kassie Ruiz 3-0. Plainfield South’s Amie Fuentes took fifth place after recording a fall over Schaumburg’s Stephanie Zahareas.

105 – Tessa Donaldson, Pekin

Pekin only brought three girls to the Normal Community Invite but two of them placed and one of those, Tessa Donaldson, instantly made a name for herself by being one of the 14 champions in the 38-team competition. Donaldson recorded a fall in 0:43 to capture the 105 title over Schaumburg’s Makenzi Aguilar, who was one of five finalists for the tournament champion Saxons.

Donaldson, a sophomore who is also a cheerleader, hopes to become the second individual state qualifier and first place winner for coach John Jacobs’ Lady Dragons. She won all three of her matches by fall in under a minute and needed 24 seconds in her quarterfinals win and just 17 seconds to get a pin against Joliet Township’s Alisa Carter in the semifinals.

“It’s really hard,” Donaldson said. “There are a lot of girls now that are joining wrestling and so you never know what’s going to happen. We’re getting more girls on the team and we’ve had new girls that have joined and they’ve done pretty good. This is like a family. They all build you up, they all support you and they all cheer you on.”

Aguilar, who was one of the four individuals who took second place for coach Matt Gruszka’ Saxons, also won her first two matches by fall to reach the title mat. Carter recorded a fall over Canton’s LT Diephuis to claim third place while Richwoods’ Heaven Sewell took fifth place after winning by fall over another Joliet Township competitor in the weight class, Morgan Kelley.

110 – Ella McDonnell, Morris

After falling in the semifinals and taking third at 115 in Wednesday’s Minooka Thanksgiving Throwdown, Ella McDonnell was looking for a better showing when she competed in her second invite in four days, and that’s what happened for the Morris senior as she took top honors at 110 with an 11-4 decision over East Peoria’s Bailey Lusch. A year ago, McDonnell took second place at 120 in the competition.

McDonnell, who is the lone medal winner for coach Lenny Tryner’s program, went 33-13 and took fourth place at 110 at the 2023 IHSA Finals after also finishing fourth at state at 105 in 2022. She hopes that she not only gets back to the awards stand for the third time but takes the next step and is able to compete for a state title. McDonnell advanced to the 110 title mat with three opening-period falls.

“The team has been doing good,” McDonnell said. “It’s our second year of having a girls team and everyone has been doing really good and everyone is improving. I’m happy that the girls program is increasing. There’s a lot of good girls here and they all deserve respect. The wrestling is hard, so every medal is deserved. I’d like to place higher, but placing at state is an overall good thing against all of these tough girls.”

Lusch, a senior who went 15-7 and placed sixth at 105 last season and also placed fifth at 105 in 2022 and is East Peoria’s lone medal winner, was the top finisher for coach Chad Dunham’s Raiders. She recorded four falls to reach the title mat. Belleville East junior Alexcia Harden, a two-time state qualifier who went 19-13 last season and fell one win shy of a medal at 105 in 2022, took third place with an 8-5 decision over Erie/Prophetstown’s Ryleigh Stephens. Homewood-Flossmoor’s London Gandy placed fifth after winning a 16-10 decision over another Morris competitor, Maggie Gordon.

115 – Eliana Paramo, Joliet Township

There’s no shame in finishing second when you are going up against Gabby Gomez. That’s what happened to Joliet Township’s Eliana Paramo when she faced one of the nation’s best in the 2023 IHSA Finals at 115 and she actually went the full six minutes before falling 12-3 to cap a 37-5 season. The Steelwomen senior, who took fifth at 115 while competing for Joliet West in 2022, hopes to make a third state appearance and would like to finish as a state champion.

Paramo was the lone champion and finalist for Joliet Township, last year’s NCHS Invite champions and a co-op team featuring athletes from Joliet Central and Joliet West that’s coached by Liz Short, who was the 2023 IWCOA Girls Head Coach of the Year Award winner. In the 115 finals, she claimed a 6-0 decision over Auburn’s Jasmine Brown. This was the second year in a row that she won the 115 title, joining Galesburg’s Hannah Almendarez (100), Moline’s Maryam Ndiaye (155) and Homewood-Flossmoor’s Ini Odumosu (190) as repeat champs. She had first-period falls in her initial three matches.

“I had a really phenomenal season last year, it was amazing,” Paramo said. “It was my first year as a team at Joliet Township so it was really exciting. This year we have a lot of new people so I’m really excited to see where the season takes us. And I’m really excited, being my senior year, and it’s going to be my last time coming to these tournaments and then I’m going to go off to college and continue to wrestle. 

“This was my second year at this tournament and second time winning it. Liz is an amazing coach. I don’t know how she does everything she does. She’s like Wonder Woman, handling all of these different things and different girls. We had such a big team year last year and if you thought our team last year was big, this year our team is even bigger. We’re getting a lot of these new girls matches, which is really awesome.”

Brown, who went 25-22 last season and fell one win shy of a medal at 115, was one of two finalists for Auburn, with Jadyn Perry the other at 145. Coach Matt Grimm’s Trojans were one of five teams that had two or more finalists. Brown got pins in her first two matches before edging University High’s Allison Kroesch 2-0 in the quarterfinals and Homewood-Flossmoor’s Nina Hamm 4-2 in the semifinals. Mahomet-Seymour’s Kalista Granadino took third with a 4-3 decision over Hamm, a junior who went 31-14 and placed sixth at 110 last season. East Peoria’s Kennedy McMenimen claimed a 4-2 win over Kroesch, who qualified for state at 115 in 2023, to capture fifth place.

120 – Isabelle Leyhe, Mahomet-Seymour

Two years ago when Normal Community hosted the first regular season tournament that featured only girls, Isabelle Leyhe was one of the champions. But the Mahomet-Seymour senior was unable to compete last season due to an injury. On Saturday, Leyhe was once again on hand for the third edition of the tournament and she captured a championship for the second time, defeating Normal Community’s Trey Fletcher 22-6 by technical fall in the 120 finals.

Leyhe is inspired by a Mahomet-Seymour legend, IWCOA Class of 2019 Hall of Famer Mary Kelly, who was a three-year starter who competed for third- and fourth-place AA dual meet teams. She hopes to become the first individual from coach Jeff Castor’s girls program to not only qualify for but also place at the IHSA Finals. Leyhe became her team’s lone finalist after recording three-straight first-period falls.

“I got kind of lucky because I got a bye in the first round because every girl that I faced, I knew that they were putting in the effort,” Leyhe said. “And to me, that’s really the biggest thing about girls wrestling is seeing these young girls come out and put in the effort. I love to see the growth of this sport. I’m a senior now and I started wrestling when I was in junior high. When I started wrestling, there were no other girls out there and now we have these tournaments and these sanctioned things. (Mary Kelly) Is definitely one of my biggest influences and she left some big footsteps to fill. 

“We lost a lot of seniors last year, but it’s really great to watch a lot of these underclassmen and these younger kids step up and take these varsity roles. It’s been great this year watching these younger and newer wrestlers showing a lot of effort and a lot of hard work. They’re really pushing themselves to make the team better. I had to take the year off because of my shoulder, so being able to come back and get back into it feels great, better than anything.”

Fletcher was the lone Normal Community girl to compete in the third edition of the historic tournament that Ironmen coach Trevor Kaufman started in 2021. She recorded three falls to reach the title mat, which included first-period pins in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Joliet Township’s Keily Centeno took third after recording a fall over Morris’ Makensi Martin and Schaumburg’s Anna Villarreal claimed fifth place after getting a pin over Homewood-Flossmoor’s Amirat Lawal. 

125 – Madyson Meyer, Schaumburg

Two years ago, Schaumburg’s Madyson Meyer was a member of the first girls team to win an invitational title when the Saxons defeated Joliet Central 172-100 for top honors at the Normal Community Invite. On Saturday, five of the individuals from that historic team won the title for a second time. With 125 champion Meyer and four other finalists leading the way, the Saxons took first by a 225-141 margin over Homewood-Flossmoor to win the 38-team tournament. 

Meyer recorded a fall in 1:13 over Centennial’s Ava Beldo to become the lone champion for coach Matt Gruszka’s Saxons. Meyer was one of the five individuals from Schaumburg who also qualified for the inaugural IHSA Finals in 2022, which includes three of her current teammates, Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic, Alya Razzak and Valeria Rodriguez. The Saxons junior advanced to the 125 title mat after recording three first-period falls, needing just 42 seconds in the quarterfinals and only 32 seconds in the semifinals to secure wins.

“Last year, I kind of had a plateau at the end of the season,” Meyer said. “So this year, I promised myself that I was going to believe in myself a lot more and put in all of the effort that I could, and I feel like today, I did exactly that. I’m really proud of our team, we’ve really grown. This is our third year of being an all-girl official team and the second year that we won the tournament at Normal. 

“Our head coach (Matt) Gruszka, he really pushes us. He’s coached guys for years and years and he pushes us just as much as pushes the guys, and we all push each other, as a team. And we all work together and we’re really good friends, and I think that really helps. I like how good our personalities all mesh together. We all have different situations, but we all just fit together and it just works. It’s really nice having such a close team, they’re like a second family.”

Beldo, the only girl in the tournament field for coach Andrew Nyland’s Chargers, looks to become the first girl from Centennial to qualify for the IHSA Finals. She earned her spot in the 125 finals after recording four-straight falls. Homewood-Flossmoor’s Evie Regas claimed third place by recording a fall over Normal West’s Amelia McClure. Clinton’s Joi Lord finished in fifth place after capturing an 11-1 major decision over Joliet Township’s Briahna Klobnak. 

130 – Taylor Dawson, Collinsville

Taylor Dawson has performed very well in the first two IHSA Finals, finishing in third place last year at 130 to cap a 34-5 season after being a state runner-up at 125 and winning 19 matches during her debut. Now the Collinsville junior, who’s her program’s only medal winner, looks to not only capture a third medal at the IHSA Finals but also challenge once again for a state title. Dawson kicked off her 2023-24 season in impressive fashion, needing just 30 seconds to record a fall over Richwoods’ Isabella Motteler in the 130 finals.

Dawson was one of the three medal winners and the lone finalist for coach Jordan May’s Kahoks. She opened with a pair of falls before claiming a 14-4 major decision over Canton’s Kinnley Smith, who posted a 24-5 record and was the IHSA 135 runner-up a year ago. Dawson followed that up with a fall over Westville/Georgetown-Ridge Farm’s Laney Cook in the semifinals to earn her spot on the title mat.

Motteler, one of two finalists for coach Rob Penney’s third-place Lady Knights, went 31-7 last season and fell one win shy of a medal at 120 after going 16-5 and placing sixth at 115 in 2022. The junior advanced to the finals with four pins, with all but her quarterfinals match being decided in the first minute. Cook took third after recording a fall over Lemont’s Molly O’Connor. And Smith settled for fifth place following a pin over Mahomet-Seymour’s Jaycee Fancher.

135 – Ava Weatherford, Ottawa Township

Ava Weatherford opened her season on a high note by competing in the finals of two major invitationals in the season’s opening week. Her first title match was at Wednesday’s Minooka Thanksgiving Throwdown, where she lost by fall to Hoffman Estates’ Emmylina O’Brien in the 135 finals. However, it was a different story on Saturday for one of Ottawa Township’s two finalists as Weatherford won the 135 title with a 3-0 decision over Schaumburg’s Olivia Furlan.

Weatherford, who along with 235 runner-up Juliana Thrush, assured coach Peter Marx’s Lady Pirates to become one of the five teams in the 38-team competition that had two or more finalists. After opening the tournament with a pair of falls, Weatherford earned her trip to the championship match after pulling out a 5-4 decision over Joliet Township’s Izabel Berrera in the semifinals.

“It’s been super exciting,” Weatherford said. “It’s only my second year and I’m a sophomore. I worked all summer at the high school with the wrestling team and I went to a Jiu Jitsu place in the Peru Mall, and they helped me with wrestling stuff, too. It is a great start. Minooka’s tournament was a lot and this was a lot, but I’m glad that I got to make it to finals in both.”

Furlan, who was one of five finalists and four second-place finishers for the champion Saxons, followed a fall in her first match with a 9-5 quarterfinals win over Lemont’s Gabriella Estrada and then won by fall over Joliet Township’s Janelle Maldonado Gonzalez in the semifinals. Joliet Township teammates Berrera and Maldonado Gonzalez squared off in the third-place match where Berrera recorded a fall. Erie/Prophetstown’s Michelle Naftzger, a state qualifier who went 25-18 a year ago, claimed fifth place after winning by fall over Pekin’s Violet Pennington.

140 – Kaila Williams, Richwoods

A year ago, Kaila Williams put together a 32-7 record and fell one win shy of earning a medal at 135 at the IHSA Finals. So it’s quite understandable that the Richwoods senior will be determined to not only return to state, but to reach the awards stand this time. Williams kicked off this season in a good fashion, capturing top honors at 140 when she recorded a fall in 4:46 over Schaumburg’s Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic, who went 32-7 and took fifth at 125 in last season’s IHSA Finals after going 18-6 and falling one win shy of a medal at 130 in 2022.

Williams was the only champion and joined 130 runner-up Isabella Motteler as one of the two finalists for coach Rob Penney’s Lady Knights, who took third place in the competition and were one of five teams in the field that had more than one finalist. After opening with a fall, Williams captured a 15-10 decision over Olympia’s Jordan Bicknell in the quarterfinals and then recorded a fall in 0:41 in the semifinals over Plainfield South’s Lexi Kachiroubas.

Zerafa-Lazarevic was one of five finalists for coach Matt Gruszka’s champion Saxons. The junior also won a title in the invite’s first year, 2021, when she became the program’s first individual tournament champion, one of the 14 individuals who won the first tournament championships and was a member of the first team to win an invitational title. She used three first-period falls to advance to the title mat. Kachiroubas won a 6-4 decision in sudden victory over Urbana’s Rickasia Ivy to finish third. Mahomet-Seymour’s Gabriela Dawson took fifth place with a 5-4 decision over Bicknell, a senior and two-time state qualifier who went 16-14 and finished one win shy of a medal at 145 last year.

145 – Annalisa Gibbons, Galesburg

Annalisa Gibbons made history for Galesburg last season when she became the program’s first state qualifier and won her opener in the tournament. The junior obviously has bigger goals this season and she definitely opened on a high note when she won the 145 title with a fall in 5:28 over Auburn’s Jadyn Perry to make coach Greg Leibach’s Silver Streaks the only team in the event that had two champions, with 100 title winner Hannah Almendarez the other.

Gibbons, who was one of three medal winners for Galesburg, opened with two first-period falls before capturing a 6-5 decision over Bloomington’s Alicia Swank in the quarterfinals. She earned her spot on the title mat after recording a fall in 1:48 in the semifinals over Erie/Prophetstown’s Jayda Rosenow. 

“Two years ago was our first year, and I was the first girl to go to state for Galesburg last year, so that really helped it grow,” Gibbons said. “I’m really proud of our program and I just want it to keep growing. We have 10 girls now and we’ve doubled our numbers. I’m really hoping that our program will grow and continue. I’m excited to see what everybody can accomplish this season and I want to see how I do at state this year.”

Perry, a state qualifier last year, was joined by teammate Jasmine Brown on the title mat. That gave coach Matt Grimm’s Trojans two finalists, making them one of the five teams with more than one individual in a championship match. Perry used four-straight falls, with three of those in the first period, to reach the finals. Rosenow, a two-time state qualifier, claimed third place with a fall over Homewood-Flossmoor’s Autumn Pace. And Schaumburg’s Keara Micek took fifth place with a fall over another Erie/Prophetstown place winner, Dena Cox. Micek had the most falls in the least time with five pins in just 2:56. The only other individual who had five falls was the 190 title winner, Homewood-Flossmoor’s Ini Odumosu, the defending IHSA 190 champion.

155 – Maryam Ndiaye, Moline

On a day where there were a lot of championship matches that featured clashes of IHSA place winners at the Normal Community Invite, certainly one of the most anticipated of those meetings was the title matchup at 155 where Moline senior Maryam Ndiaye and Schaumburg senior Valeria Rodriguez squared off. 

Ndiaye went 19-5 last season and placed second at 155 to Plainfield Central’s Alicia Tucker while Rodriguez went 37-2 and took third at 140, one year after going 32-2 and taking third place at 155. In the invite’s championship match at 155, Ndiaye captured a 7-3 decision to repeat as a champion while Rodriguez was denied in her effort to add to the title that she won in the state’s first girls tournament in 2021. Ndiaye, one of two individuals competing for coach Jacob Ruettiger’s Maroons, recorded three falls to earn her spot in the finals.

“It just pushes me to work harder this year,” Ndiaye said. “Of course, I want to get first this year and get back to the finals and win the title. It’s good to know that I have people that know where I’m coming from. I love to work hard and wrestling  is one way to put that work in and work hard for whatever you want. We’re a very young team, but I think that we have people that can go far as long as we keep working hard. And every day, we do work hard.”

Rodriguez, who was one of four Saxons who were members of the 2021 team that won the state’s first invitational title in the sport’s debut that are still in coach Matt Gruszka’s program, helped their team to this title with five finalists, which was three more than any other team had. Rodriguez had four first-period falls with two of those concluded in under a minute. Plainfield South’s Teagan Aurich, a state qualifier last year, took third place with a major decision win over Collinsville’s Tashieya Taylor and Canton’s Katelyn Marvel, a two-time state qualifier, won by fall over Unity’s Anna Vasey to capture fifth place.

170 – August Rottmann, Highland

After turning in a 21-1 campaign a year ago where she won the 170 IHSA title to follow up on a 22-15 debut season where she claimed third place at the same weight class, August Rottmann is excited about what awaits her in the 2023-24 season. The Highland junior kicked off her season in impressive fashion by winning the Normal Community Invite championship at 170 by getting a fall in 2:35 over Peoria Notre Dame’s Autumne Williams in the finals.

Rottmann, who was the lone medal winner for coach Nick Bellamy’s Bulldogs in the competition, won all four of her matches with falls. She had first-period pins in the second round and quarterfinals before needing 2:13 to record a fall in the semifinals over Auburn’s Heaven Workman to earn her trip to the title mat. Rottmann hopes to join the six individuals who have thus far been two-time IHSA champions, and she’s in good company in that quest since there are seven others who also won their first state titles last year who return.

“I’m excited to get back into the high school season,” Rottmann said. “This is what I train for and put in the work for. I’m also excited to see the sport grow. I can’t wait to see how my teammates flourish throughout a few short months in a sport that is completely new to them.”

Williams, one of two entrants for Irish coach Danny Burk in the girls division, hopes to become her program’s first qualifier and place winner. She won three-straight matches by fall to reach the finals, In the third-place match, Workman claimed a 6-0 decision over Shaumburg’s Alya Razzak, who is one of four current Saxons who competed on the 2021 team that made history by winning the first invitational title in this event. Richwoods senior Jaida Johnson, a two-time state qualifier who lost 10-8 in the 2021 IHSA Finals at 155 to Unity’s Lexi Ritchie, took fifth after recording a fall over Collinsville’s Hannah Jones.

Ini Odumosu, Homewood-Flossmoor

Last year, Ini Odumosu won the IHSA title at 190, and with Attalia Watson-Castro capturing her second championship, Homewood-Flossmoor had the distinction of being the lone school at the Finals to have two title winners and just the second to do it, after Hononegah got titles from Rose and Angelina Cassioppi in 2022. Now two-time placewinner Odumosu sets her sights on joining her former teammate and five others as winners of two state titles. She got off to a great start to this season by winning the 190 title with a fall in 1:15 over Plainfield South’s Keira Enright to repeat as a champion in the event.

Odumosu, a senior who went 36-4 last season, also won a medal in the first IHSA Finals, when she capped a 24-7 season with a fifth-place finish at 190. She recorded falls in all five of her matches, which all ended in the first period, and the length of time for the five matches was 7:45. Only one other individual recorded five falls, Schaumburg’s Keara Micek, but she did that in six matches and placed fifth at 145 after falling in the quarterfinals. Odumosu, who led all competitors with 34 team points, was the only champion and finalist for coach Scott Aronson’s Vikings, who took second to Schaumburg with 141 points.

Enright, a junior and two-time state qualifier who placed third at state at 235 in 2022 to cap a 12-4 debut season to become one of two medalists for her school along with 2022 130 champion Alexis Janiak. She won four matches by fall, with three of those under 30 seconds, to become the lone finalist for coach Daniel Saracco’s Cougars. Urbana’s Franciana Kalanga took third place with a win by fall over Granite City’s Chloe West and in the fifth place match, Schaumburg’s Nadia Razzak also prevailed with a fall over Pontiac’s Alix Robinson.

235 – Jurdan Tyler, Urbana

Jurdan Tyler made history in 2023 by becoming Urbana’s initial state medal winner when she capped a 14-8 season by claiming third place at 235 in the IHSA Finals in her first state appearance. The senior looks to take the next step in 2023-24 and get to the state championship mat and she claimed top honors in her first tournament of this season when she pinned Ottawa Township’s Juliana Thrush in 2:56 in the 235 title match at the Normal Community Invite.

Tyler became the lone finalist for coach Phil Sexton’s Tigers when she won by fall in her first-round and semifinals matches after winning by injury default in the quarterfinals. Her semifinals win over Unity’s Phoenix Molina was the longest time that she spent on the mat, 3:07. 

Thrush joined 135 champion Ava Weatherford as one of two finalists for coach Peter Marx’s Pirates, who were one of five teams in the field to have two in the finals. The sophomore, who fell one win shy of a medal at 235 in last year’s IHSA Finals, also took second place on Wednesday when she competed at Minooka’s Thanksgiving Throwdown. Thrush advanced to the title mat with three first-period falls. Molina won by fall over Normal West’s Cadence Duvall to place third and Joliet Township’s Fernanda Miranda recorded a fall over Galesburg’s

Isabella Rivera to claim fifth place.

Normal Community Invite championship matches

100 – Hannah Almendarez (Galesburg) F 0:34 Mya Down (Olympia)

105 – Tessa Donaldson (Pekin) F 0:43 Makenzi Aguilar (Schaumburg)

110 – Ella McDonnell (Morris) D 11-4 Bailey Lusch (East Peoria)

115 – Eliana Paramo (Joliet Township) D 6-0 Jasmine Brown (Auburn)

120 – Isabelle Leyhe (Mahomet-Seymour) TF 22-6 Trey Fletcher (Normal Community)

125 – Madyson Meyer (Schaumburg) F 1:13 Ava Beldo (Centennial)

130 – Taylor Dawson (Collinsville) F 0:30 Isabella Motteler (Richwoods)

135 – Ava Weatherford (Ottawa Township) D 3-0 Olivia Furlan (Schaumburg)

140 – Kaila Williams (Richwoods) F 4:46 Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic (Schaumburg)

145 – Annalisa Gibbons (Galesburg) F 5:28 Jadyn Perry (Auburn)

155 – Maryam Ndiaye (Moline) D 7-3 Valeria Rodriguez (Schaumburg)

170 – August Rottmann (Highland) F 2:35 Autumne Williams (Peoria Notre Dame)

190 – Ini Odumosu (Homewood-Flossmoor) F 1:15 Keira Enright (Plainfield South)

235 – Jurdan Tyler (Urbana) F 2:56 Juliana Thrush (Ottawa Township)

Normal Community Invite third-place matches

100 – Ariadna Arciniega (Joliet Township) D 3-0 Kassie Ruiz (Joliet Township)

105 – Alisa Carter (Joliet Township) F 3:57 LT Diephuis (Canton)

110 – Alexcia Harden (Belleville East) D 8-5 Ryleigh Stephens (Erie/Prophetstown)

115 – Kalista Granadino (Mahomet-Seymour) D 4-3 Nina Hamm (Homewood-Flossmoor)

120 – Keily Centeno (Joliet Township) F 2:26 Makensi Martin (Morris)

125 – Evie Regas (Homewood-Flossmoor) F 3:57 Amelia McClure (Normal West)

130 – Laney Cook (Westville/Georgetown-Ridge Farm) F 1:38 Molly O’Connor (Lemont)

135 – Izabel Berrera (Joliet Township) F 1:05 Janelle Maldonado Gonzalez (Joliet Township)

140 – Lexi Kachiroubas (Plainfield South) SV 6-4 Rickasia Ivy (Urbana)

145 – Jayda Rosenow (Erie/Prophetstown) F 2:52 Autumn Pace (Homewood-Flossmoor)

155 – Teagan Aurich (Plainfield South) MD 13-1 Tashieya Taylor (Collinsville)

170 – Heaven Workman (Auburn) D 6-0 Alya Razzak (Schaumburg)

190 – Franciana Kalanga (Urbana) F 2:44 Chloe West (Granite City)

235 – Phoenix Molina (Unity) F 0:27 Cadence Duvall (Normal West)

Normal Community Invite fifth-place matches

100 – Amie Fuentes (Plainfield South) F 2:56 Stephanie Zahareas (Schaumburg)

105 – Heaven Sewell (Richwoods) F 1:15 Morgan Kelley (Joliet Township)

110 – London Gandy (Homewood-Flossmoor) D 16-10 Maggie Gordon (Morris)

115 – Kennedy McMenimen (East Peoria) D 4-2 Allison Kroesch (University High)

120 – Anna Villarreal (Schaumburg) F 0:29 Amirat Lawal (Homewood-Flossmoor)

125 – Joi Lord (Clinton) MD 11-1 Briahna Klobnak (Joliet Township)

130 – Kinnley Smith (Canton) F 0:31 Jaycee Fancher (Mahomet-Seymour)

135 – Michelle Naftzger (Erie/Prophetstown) F 1:37 Violet Pennington (Pekin)

140 – Gabriela Dawson (Mahomet-Seymour) D 5-4 Jordan Bicknell (Olympia)

145 – Keara Micek (Schaumburg) F 0:31 Dena Cox (Erie/Prophetstown)

155 – Katelyn Marvel (Canton) F 3:37 Anna Vasey (Unity)

170 – Jaida Johnson (Richwoods) F 0:56 Hannah Jones (Collinsville)

190 – Nadia Razzak (Schaumburg) F 3:25 Alix Robinson (Pontiac)

235 – Fernanda Miranda (Joliet Township) F 0:28 Isabella Rivera (Galesburg)

Normal Community Invite team standings

1. Schaumburg 225, 2. Homewood-Flossmoor 141, 3. Richwoods 112, 4. Joliet Township 109, 5. Mahomet-Seymour 84.5, 6. Galesburg 84, 6. Plainfield South 84, 8. Urbana 72, 9. Auburn 71, 10. Canton 67, 11. Collinsville 65, 12. Morris 61, 13. Ottawa Township 60, 14. East Peoria 57, 15. Erie/Prophetstown 53.5, 16. Highland 43, 17. Normal West 41, 18. Pontiac 39, 19. Unity 38, 20. Pekin 37, 21. Granite City 36, 22. Moline 30, 22. Peoria Notre Dame 30, 24. Olympia 29, 24. Westville 29, 26. Centennial 28, 26. Lemont 26, 28. Belleville East 27, 29. Normal Community 26, 30. Clinton 24, 31. University High 22, 32. Rochester 17, 33. Bloomington 10, 33. Rantoul 10, 35. Metamora 8, 36. PORTA 7, 37. Deer Creek-Mackinaw 4, 38. Heyworth 0.

By Bobby Narang

After finishing in third place in the 2022 Chris Hruska Wrestling Classic at Conant High School, Carl Sandburg wanted to send an early-season message on Saturday.

The Eagles clearly made their point, dominating the 17-team field with several outstanding performances to finish in first place with 251 points.

Chatman-Glenwood snared second place with 173.5 points and Glenbard North and Oswego tied for third with 169.5 points. Bloomington had a solid day to end in fifth place (110), just nudging out host Conant (107.5) for a top-five team placing.

Sandburg coach Clinton Polz credited a strong and motivated group of wrestlers for helping his team win the team title.

“I think the key to us winning the tournament was the contributions from all wrestlers competing in the tournament,” Polz said. “Our goal as a team was to have every individual that wrestled in the tournament place on Saturday and that included the extra non-scoring wrestlers that we were fortunate to be able to bring. We accomplished that, and all twenty wrestlers we brought placed.

“When everyone on the team contributes and pushes each other it leads to success. Our kids have done a great job of that so far this season, and that includes every kid in the program, not just the ones at Conant on Saturday.”

Rocco Hayes (113), Madden Parker (126), Ryan Hinger (144) and Ahmad Jaffal (215) won titles for Sandburg.

“We had four tournament champions and they all wrestled extremely well,” Polz said. “Rocco Hayes put on a dominating performance up a weight class at 113 and earned the outstanding wrestler award for it, pinning his way through the tournament.

“Madden Parker won one of the toughest weights at the tournament, defeating two returning state qualifiers on his way. Ryan Hinger had a dominating performance as well while also wrestling up a weight class, and finally Ahmad Jaffal was able to win the tournament also up a weight class giving himself an opportunity to decide what weight he would like to compete at this season.”

Meanwhile, Chatman-Glenwood coach Jerod Bruner credited the key to his team finishing in second place to a “great offseason and our senior lineup.”

“We are still missing a number of key guys, but we will be close to full strength soon,” Bruner said. “Anny Williams made his first tournament championship in his career. Of course, it was nice to see Drew Davis, John Ben and Tyler win, which was expected. Max (Wiezorek) had a great tournament, finishing second at 175. A kid who surprised us was Maizon Milestone, who took fifth at 165 in the only start of his third season.”

Hruska championship matches:

106 – Tyler Clarke, Chatham-Glenwood

In a tough match to close out a long day, Tyler Clarke defeated South Elgin’s Julius Avendano 6-4 in the title game. Clarke rolled through the competition with two impressive victories to set up a long and grueling match with Avendano.

Clarke, a junior, said he enjoyed walking away with a first-place medal to gain some confidence for the season, especially with senior two-time state champion Drew Davis motivating and pushing him. Two years ago, Davis captured the Class 2A state title at 106 and notched the state championship at 113 last season to run his record to 66-2 in the two-year span.

“I just had to break him down,” Clarke said of his title-match win which ran his record to 7-0. “He couldn’t really get out, so I had to keep working the turn. I was up by two and I had to keep holding him down. My goal is to win state, but that’s kind of unrealistic because I have a state champion on my team. That’s a whole different skill level.

“I hope to get there some day. I learned today to keep wrestling until the match was over. I was down a few points in my last match, but just kept wrestling.”

Avendano, a senior, is a wrestler to watch after earning two quality wins to reach the finals at 106.

Other placers — 3rd: Ray Long, Notre Dame; 4th: Nolan O’Grady, Oswego; 5th:Oscar Kalman, Sandburg; 6th: Sammy Sikorsky, Geneva; 7th: Chris Gutierrez, Glenbard North; 8th: Ryu Yamazaki, Conant

113 – Rocco Hayes, Sandburg

Hayes wrestled at 106 last season but is adjusting to wrestling at his new weight class – at least for now. He wrestled at 113 on Wednesday before the Conant meet. Hayes pinned Notre Dame’s Johnny Sheehy in the title match to run his record to 3-0 on the season.

“I just got to my offense was really key in that last match,” Hayes said. “I was happy with how I did today. I tried to get all falls. I went up a weight class. I did decent. I tried to get more on attacks. It’s been a change for me wrestling at 113, but I’m used to wrestling kids a lot taller and bigger than me. It was a change, but worked out for me today. All of this is preparation for winning a state title.”

Other placers — 3rd: Jonny Theodor, Oswego; 4th: Jaxon Ferguson, Chatham; 5th Bryce Mensik, Lake Park; 6th Isaac Velasco, Glenbard North; 7th: Mike Goolish, Conant; Anthony Lazare, South Elgin.

120 – Drew Davis, Chatham-Glenwood

Davis was one of the most storied wrestlers at the Conant meet, with his final match drawing several eyes on Mat 1. A two-time state champion, Davis pinned Glenbard North’s Dominick Marre in the title match.

“I felt good and strong,” Davis said. “I came here and kept my head level. I want to win another state title and be more dominant than I was last year and just get better at wrestling. I think I’m a lot stronger and taller this year. I’ve been working really hard all summer. I had a long offseason and just worked on my wrestling.”

Other placers — 3rd: Demetrius Carrera, South Elgin; 4th: Alejandro Cordova, Round Lake; 5th: Tyson Bruce, Sandburg; 6th: Tyler Barlow, Bloomington; 7th: Aidan Ortiz, Oswego; 8th: Nico Harris, Oswego East.

126 — Madden Parker, Sandburg

Parker, a junior, is focused on his goal to land a spot at the state tournament. He wrestled at 113 last season, placing fourth in the sectionals.

“I felt pretty good and had some close matches but came out on top,” Parker said. “The key was short offense, which helped a lot. I’ve been working on it with my coaches in practices and kept my stamina up.

“It feels good to get a confidence booster in the first tournament. It definitely helps. I’m feeling good. My goal is to place at state. I worked on my feet and got more confidence there. My bottom and top are already good, so that extra work helped out.”

Parker earned a dominating 10-0 major decision win over Conant’s Luis Flores in the championship match.

Other placers — 3rd: Kalani Khiev, Glenbard North; 4th: Grayson Kongkaeow, Round Lake; 5th: Owen Ottino, Chatham; 6th: Vincent Manfre, Oswego; 7th: Sergio Hernandez, Lake Park; 8th: M’Khi Hollins, Bloomington.

132 – Christian Chavez, Glenbard North

Standing near the main scoring area, Christian Chavez took a subdued approach to winning the 132-pound title. As several teammates congratulated him on his fall over Bloomington’s Javier Enriquez-Lynd in the title match, Chavez maintained a focused approach.

Chavez said his left shoulder is finally healthy, too.

“I usually wrestle at 126, but I bumped up this weekend,” Chavez said. “I felt better on my weight. I wanted to dominate and just felt better at 132. I was able to move good and didn’t feel as gassed. I’m going back to 126 but I put in a lot of work in the summer to get my shoulder right. It feels good now.”

Other placers — 3rd: Andrew Wendt, Geneva; 4th: Matt Goolish, Conant; 5th: Nick Nicosia, Sandburg; 6th: JR Leach, Lake Park; 7th: Emilio Chavarria, Round Lake; 8th: Mohammed Mahmoud, Oswego.

138 – John Ben Maduena, Chatham-Glenwood

John Ben Maduena was all smiles following his dominating one-day showing at Conant. The senior raised his record to 8-0 following four quality wins, including by fall over Oswego’s Brayden Swanson in his final match.

Maduena won the Conant invite title in his sophomore season at 132, but last year placed third at 126. Maduena said he was happy to get some revenge for last season’s defeat to Swanson in the semifinals.

“(Brayden) was really good in neutral and even top but my shoulders are really the only flexible part on me, so they are able to take it,” Maduena said. “He did really good defending but I caught him in the end.”

Other placers — 3rd: Brady Ritter, Sandburg; 4th: Mario Perez, De La Salle; 5th: Porfirio Govea, Curie; 6th: Trey Thompson, Glenbard North; 7th: Vaughn Hochstatter, Bloomington; 8th: Bela Mohap, Lake Park.

144 – Ryan Hinger, Sandburg

Hinger, a junior, closed out a four-win day by earning a tech fall win over Chatham-Glenwood senior Anny Williams at 144. Hinger (4-0) said he had one goal on Saturday.

“I felt strong today and confident in myself,” Hinger said. “I came into this tournament looking for nothing but first. This is a good building block and helps my confidence for upcoming tournaments and wrestling multiple matchups in one day and building my stamina. I feel a lot more confident this year in myself and my team. We’re overall doing a lot better on the mat.

Other placers — 3rd: Tim Bridges, Notre Dame; 4th: Samer Alsalah, Sandburg; 5th: Dillon Griffin, Oswego; 6th: Rusty Klug, Leyden; 7th: Brad Dollus, Chatham; 8th: Victor Chevganov, Conant.

150 – Leo Rosas, South Elgin

A sophomore, Rosas was elated with his showing, mainly because he wanted an early-season test of his conditioning after bumping up two weight classes this season. He had three of his matches decided by points, ending with a 6-2 win over Glenbard North junior Rylan Kradle in the title match.

“I had to put in that work,” Rosas said. “I’ve been working on my stamina. That was one of my weak points last year. I knew there were guys stronger and more experienced at 150, so I had to work on that gas tank and wrestle until the end. It was a long day, but it feels good to get first.

“I went out there with an elite mindset and when I was getting tired, I kept pushing the pace and didn’t get tired. My goal is to get 40 or more wins and make it downstate and place and be a champion. It was a good day.”

Other placers — 3rd: Ethan Essick, Oswego; 4th: Vince Gutierrez, Sandburg; 5th: Vince Merola, Lake Park; 6th: Patrick Young, De La Salle; 7th: Braxton Warren, Chatham; 8th: Joseph Resler, Oswego East.

157 – Tanner Cosgrove, Conant

By far, one of the day’s biggest highlights was Tanner Cosgrove’s championship match, partly due to the large crowd watching him. With the Conant losing two title matches leading up to the 157 pound finale, several Cougars were circling around Mat 1 watching Cosgrove’s battle with Oswego’s Colin O’Grady.

In a tense and emotional match, Cosgrove pulled off a 4-2 win to capture the 152-pound title, which led to a massive celebration. A big group immediately engulfed Cosgrove following his win.

“It was hard but a good match and I just tried to stay composed,” Cosgrove said. “Consistency was the key, and I kept fighting and tried to finish it hard.”
Cosgrove (4-0) said the title was particularly sweet on his home mat, in front of a lot of family and friends.

“My parents are here, my twin sister and older brother and the whole team,” Cosgrove said. “This was amazing. I didn’t start wrestling until seventh grade and never wrestled club or anything. My coaches pushed me in the wrestling room. Last year I cut from 160 to 138, but I was too weak to wrestle. This year I just took whatever spot fit me best and I haven’t been weak.

“I’m trying to make it to state. Both of my older brothers were wrestlers but didn’t make it to state. I want to get my last name up on the wall, for them, my dad and myself. I have to keep doing what my coaches tell me. It’s all about staying focused, consistent and composed in matches.”

Other placers — 3rd: Noah DeMarco, Oswego East; 4th: Noah Misukonis, Bloomington; 5th: Moe Askar, Sandburg; 6th: Adnan Askar, Sandburg; 7th: Payton Marzen, Geneva; 8th: Moses Garza, Leyden.

165 – Maddox Kirts, Bloomington

Maddox Kirts made quick work of his division by recording four easy victories, highlighted by a 10-3 decision over Oswego senior Joseph Griffin in the title match.

Even after his match, Kirts didn’t celebrate his victory. Instead, he went over to one of his coaches and worked on his technique.

“I felt energized out there,” Kirts said. “I kept the mentality I could beat anybody they put in front of me.”

Kirts said he feels like a renewed wrestler after suffering a knee injury in his sophomore year that slowed down his development and progress as a junior. He finished 38-8 last year, winning regionals and sectionals.

“Last year I came back from a double knee surgery and that was a lot of adversity,” he said. “I had a whole offseason to train after being out my entire sophomore year and last year I went to state but I feel a lot better this year. I have to train hard every day in practice, not let up and keep working hard. Today was just a little goal. I’m going for the big goal at the end of the season.”

Other placers — 3rd: Zac Ritter, Sandburg; 4th: Damond Butler, Curie; 5th: Maizon Milestone, Chatham; 6th: Erik Esquivel, Glenbard North; 7th: Cam McGoarty, Geneva; 8th: Kosta Carrera, South Elgin.

175 – Malik Warren, De La Salle.

Soon after his 4-1 win over Chatham-Glenwood’s Max Wiezorek in the 175-pound final, De La Salle sophomore Malik Warren talked about the challenge of bumping up in weight on Saturday.

“I felt pretty good after wrestling up from 165,” Warren said. “It’s a different type of environment (at 175), just bigger guys and I have to use my quickness and what my coaches taught me. That last match, he wrestled different than what my other matches had been. But in my training, we do all types of tie-ups. One of my biggest goals is to win state and team state. Last year I didn’t make it to state, but I learned it’s all about training and preparation. I have to keep on training.”

Other placers — 3rd: Josue Hernandez, De La Salle; 4th: Elias O’Neill, Lake Park; 5th: Wyatt Hochgraber, Sandburg; 6th: Jack Campbell, Conant; 7th: Fadel Alsalahi, Sandburg; 8th: Dart Garner, Leyden.

190 – Tyler Ott, Glenbard North

Glenbard North junior Tyler Ott had a solid day at 190 pounds, beating Elgin’s Fabian Ramirez 13-5 in a major decision and pinning Sandburg’s Ahmad Alomari in the title match. Ramirez bounced back to earn third place by pinning Leyden’s Hector Cisneros.

Other placers — 5th: Jim Amatore, Notre Dame; 6th: Noah Cruz, Sandburg; 7th: Evan Mueller, Conant; 8th: Mikey Urso, South Elgin.

215 – Ahmad Jaffal, Sandburg

Sandburg senior Ahmad Jaffal rounded out a big day for the Eagles by tallying a 6-2 decision over Glenbard North senior Brian Petrancosta in the 215 final. Jaffal (4-0) endured a long and tough match, pulling out the victory to add to the Eagles’ title day.

Other placers — 3rd: Joe Petit, Geneva; 4th: Sean Sporleader, Sandburg; 5th: Malic Breish, Sandburg; 6th: Terrelle Jackson, De La Salle; 7th: Jack Malenock, Notre Dame; 8th: Jack Farrell, Oswego.

285 – William Cole, Round Lake

Round Lake junior William Cole capped a four-pin day by beating De La Salle’s David McCarthy in the title match. At 6-foot-5, Cole (4-0) was an easy wrestler to spot all afternoon. After not wrestling on the varsity level in his sophomore season, Cole rose up through the ranks last season to become one of the surprise standout wrestlers in Lake County and in the state.

Other placers — 3rd: Tommy Roath, South Elgin; 4th: Stephen Carr, Bloomington; 5th: Harley Stary, Conant; 6th: Josh Edwards, Oswego East; 7th: Scott Cook, Notre Dame; 8th: Judeh Ali, Sandburg.

Conant Chris Hruska Classic championship matches

106 – Tyler Clarke (Glenwood) D 6-4 Julius Avendano (South Elgin)

113 – Rocco Hayes (Sandburg) F 2:58 Johnny Sheehy (Notre Dame)

120 – Drew Davis (Glenwood) F 1:50 Dominick Marre (Glenbard North)

126 – Madden Parker (Sandburg) MD 10-0 Luis Flores (Conant)

132 – Christian Chavez (Glenbard North) F 5:06 Javier Enriquez-Lynd (Bloomington)

138 – John Ben Maduena (Glenwood) F 3:46 Brayden Swanson (Oswego)

144 – Ryan Hinger (Sandburg) TF 4:34 Anny Williams (Glenwood)

150 – Leo Rosas (South Elgin) D 6-2 Rylan Kradle (Glenbard North)

157 – Tanner Cosgrove (Conant) D 4-2 Colin O’Grady (Oswego)

165 – Maddox Kirts (Bloomington) D 10-3 Joseph Griffin (Oswego)

175 – Malik Warren (De La Salle) D 4-1 Max Wiezorek (Glenwood)

190 – Tyler Ott (Glenbard North) F 0:42 Ahmad Alomari (Sandburg)

215 – Ahmad Jaffal (Sandburg) D 6-2 Brian Petrancosta (Glenbard North)

285 – William Cole (Round Lake) F 0:49 David McCarthy (De La Salle)

Conant Chris Hruska Classic third-place matches

106 – Ray Long (Notre Dame) F 3:20 Nolan O’Grady (Oswego)

113 – Jonny Theodor (Oswego) F 0:56 Jaxon Ferguson (Glenwood)

120 – Demetrios Carrera (South Elgin) D 4-1 Alejandro Cordova (Round Lake)

126 – Kalani Khiev (Glenbard North) D 12-6 Grayson Kongkaeow (Round Lake)

132 – Andrew Wendt (Geneva) F 3:53 Matt Goolish (Conant)

138 – Brady Ritter (Sandburg) F 3:19 Mario Perez (De La Salle)

144 – Tim Bridges (Notre Dame) F 0:34 Samer Alsalah (Sandburg)

150 – Ethan Essick (Oswego) F 2:29 Vince Gutierrez (Sandburg)

157 – Noah DeMarco (Oswego East) F 2:55 Noah Misukonis (Bloomington)

165 – Zac Ritter (Sandburg) F 3:08 Damond Butler (Curie)

175 – Josue Hernandez (De La Salle) F 1:14 Elias O’Neill (Lake Park)

190 – Fabian Ramirez (Elgin) F 1:20 Hector Cisneros (Leyden)

215 – Joe Petit (Geneva) F 0:59 Sean Sporleader (Sandburg)

285 – Tommy Roath (South Elgin) F 5:15 Stephen Carr (Bloomington)

Conant Chris Hruska Classic team standings

1. Sandburg 251, 2. Glenwood 173.5, 3. Glenbard North 169.5, 3. Oswego 169.5, 5. Bloomington 110, 6. Conant 107.5, 7. Notre Dame 97.5, 8. South Elgin 95.5, 9. De La Salle 86, 10. Lake Park 80, 11. Geneva 77, 12. Round Lake 70, 13. Leyden 60, 14. Oswego East 48, 15. Curie 27, 16. Elgin 21, 17. Conant JV 3.

By Patrick Z. McGavin

Last February Brody Kelly was the classic newcomer who was eager to perform at the highest level.

As a freshman at Marmion, he stepped on the highest stage by wrestling at 138 pounds in the Class 3A state dual championship against St. Charles East.

He lost a tough 14-10 decision against individual state finalist Tyler Guerra in the Saints’ 28-24 team championship victory. He finished 26-18, toggling between 132 to 145 pounds.

At the Ted DeRousse Invitational Saturday, Brody Kelly was the swing candidate who catapulted his new school to the team championship over his former school.

Now part of a revamped and stacked team at IC Catholic Prep, Kelly captured the 157-pound championship with the 8-2 decision over Robby Nelson of Yorkville Christian.

The Knights had four individual champions and seven finalists in scoring 441 points over runner-up Marmion, who finished with 393 points.

“I kind of expected this,” Kelly said. “I put a lot of work into the offseason.”

Danny Alcocer is the new coach of the Elmhurst school over two years directing the program at another private school state power at Aurora Christian.

He developed state champions Brandon Stauffenberg and Taythan Silva.

“Aurora Christian was a great experience, and we really loved it there,” Alcocer said.

“When the chance came to coach at IC Catholic Prep, our coaching staff just jumped at the opportunity to build a full team. At Aurora Christian, we always had success, but we never had a full team. This is a chance for us to get 14 guys in the lineup.”

Alcocer has some new and familiar faces helping round out a stacked, versatile and gifted lineup.

“I think a lot of these guys put in the work during the offseason, and it’s easy to mesh when you have common goals,” he said.

“We’re trying to build a culture at IC Catholic Prep, and this is a step in the right direction.”

Two of his standout wrestlers at Aurora Christian reached the finals wrestling for the Knights.

The Aurora connection between Alcocer and Kelly ended up tipping the balance in the Knights’ favor.

“I thought Brody Kelly wrestled a great tournament,” Alcocer said. “We love to have him, and he is doing all the right things. We had some matchups with Marmion that ended it.”

Deven Casey captured the 126-pound championship, and Pat Mullen finished second at 150 pounds.

Casey finished third in each of the last two seasons at Aurora Christian. Mullen was one match away from a state finish last season.

Behind standout sophomores Nick Garcia and Zach Stewart, the Cadets finished second at 393 points.

Marmion had three first place medalists and six finalists, an impressive performance given the absence of defending Class 3A 182-pound state champion Jack Lesher, who is recovering from knee surgery.

Lesher is hopeful to return in time for the regionals next February. The Cadets are also without two-time state qualifier Collin Carrigan.

Quincy (356.5), West Aurora (315) and Yorkville Christian (305) rounded out the top six in the 24-team field.

Quincy dominated the upper weights with individual champions at 165 pounds (Owen Uppinghouse), 175 pounds (Bryor Newbold) and 285 pounds (Todd Smith)

Yorkville Christian was the fourth program to produce multiple champions with Aiden Larsen at 113 pounds and Ty Edwards at 132 pounds.

Larsen finished sixth at 106 pounds in Class 1A last year, and Edwards was the state runner-up at 120 pounds.

The tournament named two outstanding wrestlers, with Marmion sophomore Nick Garcia given the lower weight distinction, and West Aurora junior Dom Serio awarded the upper weight standout.

106: Danny Goodwin, St. Patrick

Goodwin dominated with power and weight. And he pulled out the 2-0 tie breaker over Marmion’s Logan Conover for the championship.

“I thought the difference today was staying heavy on top, and being able to ride kids,” Goodwin said. “I’m a year older, but the same weight as last year, and I thought that was really beneficial.

“I was really able to navigate through the matches. I stayed calm.”

Goodwin had one of the most impressive runs in the field, posting three falls and a technical fall to reach the championship round. He knocked out his teammate Jack Koenig with a first- period fall in the semifinals.

Conover had a bye, and won his first match on a first-period fall. In a riveting back and forth semifinal, he defeated William Du Chemin of Wilmot Academy (Wis.) with a 7-4 decision.

Du Chemin rebounded from his semifinal loss with a decisive technical fall victory over Koenig for third place. Marmion’s Preston Morrison won by fall over Normal West’s Jacob Payne in the fifth-place match.

113: Aiden Larsen, Yorkville Christian

Yorkville Christian’s Aiden Larsen demolished his field, registering four falls, three of them in the first period.

Larsen was overwhelming, and as good as Quincy’s Hugh Sharrow was, he wasn’t quite good enough, falling to Larsen at 1:01 of the championship match.

“I just stayed on my offense, and I wrestled my game plan,” Larsen said. “I just stuck to my stuff, and I didn’t wrestle anybody else’s game.

Larsen’s longest match came in the semifinal round against Thiago Guardiola of Wilmot Union (Wis.), which he ended with a fall at 3:06 to qualify for the championship match.

“This year, I have to take a role that others had last year, or the year before,” Larsen said. “My focus is to wrestle my match every day.”

Sharrow was equally dominant in his half of the bracket. He also posted four falls, including a third-period semifinal fall against Hinsdale South’s Mikey Wallace.

Guardiola pinned Wallace in the second period of the third-place match and Normal West’s Dylan McGrew won by 10-3 decision over Kannon Judycki of IC Catholic Prep for fifth place.

120: Nicholas Garcia, Marmion Academy

Time appeared to stand still during the best match of the day featuring two nationally-rated competitors, and Nicholas Garcia made one more move.

Garcia’s takedown produced a 6-4 sudden victory decision over two-time defending Wisconsin state champion Co’ji Campbell of St. Joseph Academy.

Campbell suffered the first loss of his high school career. He was 64-0 heading into the match, and he appeared unbeatable in annihilating his half of the championship bracket.

But as the younger brother of two-time state champion Jameson Garcia, Nick Garcia proved his mettle.

Garcia finished fourth in Class 3A at the 106 pounds last season and he is bigger, stronger and ready to take the leap.

“I think I am moving my feet better, and that has opened up more attacks for me,” Garcia said.

“In the overtime, I was able to get to my final finish. I got the under hook, and I noticed that he stood up for half a second, and I was able to trip him up with my foot, and I got the take down.”

The championship punctuated a superb tournament by Garcia, who also posted two falls and a technical fall over Hinsdale South’s Alex Schuetz in the quarterfinals.

In another exhilarating match, he outlasted Antioch’s Gavin Hanrahan 8-5 in the semifinals.

In his half of the draw, Campbell was untouchable, with four consecutive falls. He posted three pins in under a minute, most remarkably requiring just 0:35 to dispatch Normal West’s Abram Rader in the semifinal round.

Campbell needed just 2:46 to complete his four falls heading into his showdown with Garcia.

Hanrahan rebounded from his first loss to post a second-period fall of Rader in finishing third. In the fifth place match, Mundelein’s Pedro Becerra defeated Hinsdale South’s Alex Schuetz by 9-5 decision.

126: Deven Casey, IC Catholic Prep

Everything old is new again for Deven Casey.

Casey is new to IC Catholic Prep. He has been an elite wrestler for four years, with two top-three state finishes. Casey punctuated his startling performance with a second-period fall of Carmel’s Matthew Lucansky in the championship match at 126.

Casey blitzed the field with four falls and then a major decision in the semifinals over Wheaton Academy’s Lincoln Hoger. Casey had three second-period falls, and one first-period fall. Against Hoger, he utilized his elite length, power and speed for a 15-4 major.

Lucansky matched Casey through his half of the bracket. He posted four falls in the lead up to the championship, including a third-period fall over Zach Rohloff of Wilmot Union (Wis.) in the semifinals.

In the third-place match, Hoger dominated Rohloff with a 10-3 decision. St. Patrick’s Calvin Stahl edged West Aurora’s Aiden Massaro 4-1 in the fifth-place match.

132: Ty Edwards, Yorkville Christian

Yorkville Christian’s Ty Edwards had not faced Antioch’s Edgar Albino since the two were in the seventh grade.

The wait was worth it.

Edwards had two key takedowns and a reversal for the 7-0 victory in a superb championship match between the two. The championship match was Edwards’ only match by that went the distance.

He began his part of the tournament with four consecutive falls, with his first three matches taking just over a minute or less. Edwards completed his string of consecutive falls with a third period action over Wheaton Academy’s WIll Hupke.

Albino had a convincing run through his part of the bracket, posting three falls and a tough 3-1 decision over Deerfield state qualifier Luke Reddy in the semifinal.

Reddy regrouped from his first loss for a 6-2 decision win over Hupke for third place.In the fifth-place match, Marmion’s Donny Pigoni posted the second-period fall of Hinsdale South’s Apollo Cobb.

138: Zach Stewart, Marmion Academy

Zach Stewart had a great freshman season except for the end, when an injury knocked him out of a state finals finish and a chance to compete for the state dual team championship.

The Marmion sophomore has used that memory to fuel his next step.

Jumping up three classes, Stewart is now a cut above. Like the award captured by his teammate Nicholas Garcia, Stewart was a strong choice for most outstanding wrestler.

Stewart captured the championship with an 18-6 major decision over Omar Samayoa of IC Catholic Prep. He posted three technical falls and dominated St. Patrick’s Olin Walker 11-4 in the semifinal.

Despite his championship loss, Samayoa was outstanding in his own right, posting two falls and a technical fall in the preliminary action. In a riveting semifinal, he outlasted Deerfield’s Jordan Rasof in a 3-0 decision win.

In one of the strongest top-four weight classes, Walker pulled out the sudden victory 5-3 decision over Rasof for the third-place medal. Hillcrest’s Jovan Williams secured a first-period fall of Al Amir Almannai of Hinsdale South for the fifth-place award.

144: Ashton Hobson, Marmion Academy

Ashton Hobson was on a mission.

“I got to my single today, and that really helped me do what I wanted out there,” he said.

The Marmion junior put together a versatile and sharp run that culminated with his 7-3 decision over Joel Sullivan of Wilmot Union (Wis.) in the championship match.

“Last season I was injured a lot, and I don’t know that I helped the team that much,” he said “Now I’m healthy, and I just want to win some matches.”

Hobson jammed together one of the top individual runs of the day with two technical falls in the preliminary rounds, and the fall over Antioch’s Chase Nobiling in the quarterfinal round.

He dominated IC Catholic Prep’s Bryson Spaulding 9-0 in the semifinal bracket.

Sullivan had a fall and technical fall in the first two rounds. He engineered two sharp decisions over Deerfield’s Mark Martinez and Carmel’s Tony Hinojosa.

Hinojosa recovered from his first loss with a dominant first period fall of Spaulding for third place. Mark Martinez took down Brody Baker of Quincy with a first-period fall to capture fifth place.

150: Dominic Serio, West Aurora

Dominic Serio was a man on a mission.

“I just want to score points all the time,” he said.

The past has been both crucial and cruel. As a freshman two years ago, Serio lost a sectional blood round match. Last season, he was one match away from placing at state at 138 pounds.

Serio turned a solid field into a private showcase for his intoxicating blend of speed, power, technique and aggressive flair. Serio’s performance earned him the most outstanding wrestling award in the upper weight division, after posting three falls and two major decision victories.

His 18-9 major over Pat Mullen of IC Catholic Prep in the championship match secured his standing.

“My goal is to win state this year, and I don’t want to let anything stop me,” he said. “My style is just relentless attacks, and never let my foot off the gas.”

Serio caught Mullen on two takedowns for a 4-2 lead after the first period. Serio expanded his advantage in the second period, utilizing his balance, strength and aggressiveness.

Mullen showed resilience with the only points scored against Serio with a third-period takedown that closed his deficit to 11-7. But Serio answered with an escape and three takedowns for the winning margin.

Going up against New Trier’s Tagg Miller in the semifinals, he generated 12 takedowns in a 24-10 major decision.

Mullen strung together four highly-impressive performances with three falls and a dominant victory over Mundelein’s Kevin Hernandez in the semifinals.

He punched his ticket to the final with the 23-8 victory over Hernandez.

After suffering his first loss against Serio in the semifinals, Miller responded with a sharp second period fall of Hernandez to finish in third place. Quincy’s Eli Roberts posted a first- period fall of Hinsdale South’s Andrew Musil for the fifth-place medal.

157: Brody Kelly, IC Catholic Prep

Brody Kelly is ostensibly transformed from last season, bigger and more than 20 pounds heavier.

He has made a seamless adjustment.

“I grew some, and I put on a lot of weight,” he said. “During the offseason, I wrestled a lot against heavier guys, and guys bigger than me, so I was ready for this.”

Kelly outlasted Yorkville Christian’s Robby Nelson 8-2 in the championship match. He posted four falls through the first four rounds, and the most significant and stunning was his late second-period fall of West Aurora’s Noah Quintana.

Kelly overcame an early takedown by Quintana, and a second-period 4-3 deficit with a reversal that he brilliantly parlayed into turning Quintana on his back.

Nelson posted back-to-back falls to reach the championship mat. He posted the second- period fall of Wilmot’s Logan Defilippo.

Quintana responded to his first loss with the tough 4-1 decision over Defilippo for the third-place medal. In the fifth-place bracket, Richards’ Dom Paul posted the first period fall of Van Grasser of St. Patrick.

165: Owen Uppinghouse, Quincy

Quincy’s Owen Uppinghouse has the perfect name.

The space at Lakes was his own home, comfortable, assured and impossible to overcome. Uppinghouse put on a clinic, devastating the field with three first-period falls and a technical fall in the quarterfinal round.

He overwhelmed Joe Gliatta of IC Catholic Prep with a fall at 1:51 in the championship match.

“What worked great definitely was getting into my leg attacks, and wrestling smart,” he said. “Once I get on top, it’s pretty much over from there.”

By his own admission, Uppinghouse is unorthodox.

“I’m a little funky on my feet, but once I score first, I’m very dominant.”

Despite his loss, Gliatta was brilliant with four falls in the lead-up to the championship match. All four occurred during the first period, the most significant being his pin of Antioch’s Ben Vazquez in the semifinal round.

His first three matches took just 1:28, 0:59, and 1:07.

In the third-place match, Dayne Serio of West Aurora used a four-point reversal and near fall for a 4-2 victory over Vazquez. On the fifth-place mat, Mundelein’s Mac Rastrelli captured a major decision over Ian Kreske of Peotone.

175: Bryor Newbold, Quincy

Quincy’s Bryor Newbold is a magician on his feet.

“I really love to go out there, and work on my takedowns,” he said.

Newbold utilized his talent to mesmerizing effect, with four takedowns over Hinsdale South’s Jovanni Piazza for a 9-3 decision in the championship final.

“I worked on it very hard the whole summer,” Newbold said. “I used to struggle, but now I am really confident on my feet. You have to be able to ride guys, but takedowns are the name of the game. If you can take kids down, let them up, and then take them down again, you’re going to win every match.”

Piazza proved the only significant challenge against the skilled and dynamic Newbold. Newbold posted four falls in reaching the championship match, and none of those matches went past the second period.

He defeated Richards’ Mike Tahenet in the semifinals.

Piazza was his near equal in his half of the bracket, with three falls and a tight 4-1 decision over Normal West’s Gus Schreiber in the semifinal.

In the third-place match, Schreiber pulled out a 7-4 decision over Tahenet. St. Patrick’s Devin Nichol posted the 10-3 decision over Austin Gonzalez of Lakes on the fifth-place mat.

190: Foley Calcagno, IC Catholic Prep

The Calcagno brothers sealed the team championship for IC Catholic Prep with back-to-back victories over Marmion wrestlers.

In a showdown of elite sophomores, Foley Calcagno outmaneuvered Marmion’s Vincenzo Testa for a 9-5 decision in the championship.

“I have always practiced and wrestled against bigger, older guys, and that has allowed me to be successful,” Foley Calcagno said. “It’s a mind thing. You just have to free yourself, and wrestle your style. I like to keep a lot of upper body, but I am also really good at shooting. I’ve gotten way better at that.”

Calcagno posted four falls in the lead up to the championship match, and none of his first four matches went past the second period. He defeated New Trier’s Bailey Cornelison by fall in the semifinal round.

Testa posted two falls and a major decision in reaching the championship round. His most impressive performance was a 15-1 major over Hinsdale South’s Alec Miller in the semifinal round.

Miller overcame his semifinal loss with a decisive third-period fall of Cornelison in finishing third. In the fifth-place match, Woodstock’s Zach Canaday beat Yorkville Christian’s Hayden Wheeler by 4-0 decision.

215: Michael Calcagno, IC Catholic Prep

Michael Calcagno put on a show-stopping performance, earning a special distinction for the highest number of falls (five) in the least amount of time.

He stunned Marmion standout Joey Favia with a fall at 1:04 of the championship match. None of Calcagno’s five matches moved past the second period.

“I just like working on underhooks, and getting my opponent off balance,” he said. “In the championship, I just felt his pressure, and I worked that against him. I took him where he wanted to go.”

Despite his championship loss, Favia was spectacular through the first four rounds with four falls.

Drumke responded to his semifinal loss with a late first-period fall of St. Patrick’s Aiden Gomez in taking third place. Andrew Ryan of Woodstock posted a first-period fall of Antioch’s Owen Shea to finish in fifth place.

285: Todd Smith, Quincy

Quincy’s Todd Smith is not a traditional heavyweight.

“My style has changed a lot, and this year I’m starting to shoot more, and do more lightweight things,” he said.“My style is not really normal for this weight class, and people aren’t ready for it.”

Smith completed a standout tournament with the 9-4 decision over Normal West’s Matt Hanold for the tournament championship. Smith’s elite combination of size, power and unorthodox movements turned the rest of the field on its literal back.

He posted three falls leading up to a riveting semifinal showdown with Mundelein’s Abisai Hernandez. Smith escaped Hernandez for the 5-3 sudden victory, setting the stage for the final.

Hanold had two falls and a victory by injury default to reach the semifinal round. He continued his run with a comeback and a third-period fall of Marmion’s Mateusz Nycz.

Hernandez captured third place with a late fall of Nycz. Yorkville Christian’s Garrett Tunnell posted a first-period fall of Hillcrest’s Jazarri Jackson in the fifth-place match.

Championship match breakdowns:

106–Danny Goodwin (St. Patrick) D TB-1 2-0 Logan Conover (Marmion)

113–Aiden Larsen (Yorkville Christian) F 1:01 Hugh Sharrow (Quincy)

120–Nichocas Garcia (Marmion) D SV-1 6-4 Co’ji Campbell (St. Joseph Catholic Academy, WI)

126–Deven Casey (IC Catholic Prep) F 3:03 Matthew Lucansky (Carmel)

132–Ty Edwards (Yorkville Christian) D 7-0 Edgar Albino (Antioch)

138–Zach Stewart (Marmion) MD 18-6 Omar Samayoa (IC Catholic Prep)

144–Ashton Hobson (Marmion) D 7-3 Joel Sullivan (Wilmot Union, WI)

150–Dominic Serio (West Aurora) MD 18-9 Patrick Mullen (IC Catholic Prep)

157–Brody Kelly (IC Catholic Prep) D 8-2 Robby Nelson (Yorkville Christian)

165–Owen Uppinghouse (Quincy) F 1:51 Joe Gliatta (IC Catholic Prep)

175–Bryor Newbold (Quincy) D 9-3 Jovani Piazza (Hinsdale South)

190–Foley Calcagno (IC Catholic Prep) D 9-5 Vincenzo Testa (Marmion)

215–Michael Calcagno (IC Catholic Prep) F 1:04 Joey Favia (Marmion)

285–Todd Smith (Quincy) D 9-4 Matt Hanold (Normal West)

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

After what she’s been through, winning an individual title at Saturday’s Niles West Girls Invite can’t possibly be considered Cailyn Platta’s biggest accomplishment in the last year.
But after missing most of last season after being hit by a car, and spending three months in a wheelchair with a pelvis fractured in ten different places, the Fenton sophomore was certainly happy to be competing again on Saturday.

And don’t ever let anyone tell you that girls aren’t tough.
“After I got out of the wheelchair I had like three weeks of physical therapy and I was back wrestling again,” Platta said.

If Fenton’s team is anything this year, it’s gritty. With increasing numbers in the program, the Bison won the team title at Niles West, posting a 181-158 edge over second-place Hoffman Estates in the 30-team field.

Conant (123.5) placed third, New Trier (105) was fourth, and Addison Trail (103.5) finished fifth in the team standings, followed by Zion-Benton (101), Metea Valley (90.5), Warren (88), Larkin (81), and Maine West (78) to round out the top ten finishes.

Platta (190), Yamile Penazola (155) and Sophia Sosa (170) won individual titles for Fenton, and the Bison got a second from Giselle Castillo (125), thirds from Yannel Perez (140) and Ariana Solideo (235), and a fourth from Paula Serpa (130).

“The team is doing great,” Penaloza said. “We work hard every day and we’re only going to get better. More girls are coming out for wrestling and falling in love with the sport.”
Fenton assistant coach Kacper Piskorz has been with Fenton’s program for three years, and has watched the girls program grow.

“We had some girls have some success and I think girls around the school were seeing that success and wanted to join the program,” Piskorz said. “They had someone to look up to and now they’re becoming role models themselves.

“We thought we could have some success her today but they’ve exceeded our expectations. They wrestled great, fought so hard, and we’re proud of them. We had a girl (freshman Ariana Solideo at 235) place third in her first-ever tournament today.”

Hoffman Estates led the field with four individual champions to Fenton’s three, and had nine wrestlers finish in the top four of their weight classes. The Hawks got titles from Emmylina O’Brien (135), Abby Ji (140), Liriana Rakoci (145), and Anjali Gonzalez (235).

Fenton placed seven wrestlers in the top four of their divisions with two third-placers, and in the battle for team bonus points Fenton led the field with 23 pins to Hoffman Estates’ 16.

Among individuals, Glenbrook North’s Ariella Dobin scored the most team points of any wrestler with 34, while Penaloza and Hoffman Estates’ O’Brien and Ji tied for the second-most team points scored with 32 apiece.

Dobin’s five pins in a combined total of 5:07 were the most falls in the least amount of time by any wrestler, and Conant’s Samantha Hernandez posted the fastest tech fall win in 3:53. Montini’s Kat Bell scored the most points in a match with 27, and Bell and Metea Valley’s Uliana Shevtsova tied for the most total match points scored with 50.

Nine of the 14 title matches were decided by fall, four were decided by straight decision, and one was decided by major decision. The closest finals matches of the day came at 115 and 190, with the breakdown to follow.

Championship round breakdowns:

100: Kat Bell, Montini

Bell posted a tech fall, a pin, and a 10-2 major decision win for the title against Rickover’s Mia Vazquez. The Montini junior won 20 matches and was a state qualifier last year, and in her third year in the sport she’s hungry for more.

“I want to go undefeated and I would like to place at state. That would be a really good feeling,” said Bell, who placed third at 100 in last year’s inaugural Niles West tournament.

Bell’s 27 points scored in her second-round tech fall win were the most points scored by any wrestler in a single match. She also tied for the most total match points scored with 50 for the tournament.
In the finals, Bell earned a takedown and two near-fall points in the first period against Vazquez before opening up in the third en route to the win.

“(Vazquez) is short and stocky and she made it difficult for me to get in,” Bell said. “I like to go with lower shots and re-attacks and that was hard to do against her.”

As one of three girls in the program, Bell currently squares off with her younger brother Jack in the Broncos’ practice room. She gets instruction from her father, who also wrestled at Montini in the 1990s for veteran Montini coach Mike Bukovsky.

The IWCOA hall-of-fame Montini coach is back overseeing the program full-time this year.
“My dad is usually in my corner and the Montini room has some great coaches and that has helped a lot,” Bell said. “And I haven’t stopped training. I went from the high school season right into training for freestyle. It’s been really fun for me.”

105: Riley Kongkaeow, Round Lake

Last year’s state qualifier Kongkaeow went 4-0 in the five-girl bracket at 105, with three pins and an 11-6 decision over second-place Averi Colella of Lockport. Kongkaeow went 21-7 last season as a freshman.
Naperville Central’s Annika Hull finished third, Hoffman Estates’ Gwendolyn Ridley was fourth, and Hoffman Estates’ Judy Soto placed fifth.

It was Kongkaeow’s second individual title at Niles West; last year she won the title at 100 pounds.

110: Avi Gonzalez, Lyons Township
The junior Gonzalez surprised the field as the No. 13 seed, pinning three higher seeds en route to the title mat, where she won by fall over Metea Valley’s Ashley Basmajan.

In only her second full season of wrestling, Gonzalez is ready to take a big step forward after spending her first season learning what it takes to be a wrestler.

“I’ve been wrestling all pre-season and I’m much better than I was last season,” Gonzalez said. “I just started wrestling last year. I wrestled with Beat the Streets and they definitely helped me so much. I really like how challenging this sport is. It can put you in a dark place sometimes and you have to find a way out of it.”

Gonzalez opened her tournament with a fall against No. 4 Alyssa Bentley of Warren and beat top-seeded Sam Macek of Conant by fall in the semifinals. Tenth-seeded Basmajan also provided her share of surprises, winning by fall in her quarterfinal over second-seeded Hannah Lee of Vernon Hills, then winning by fall over third-seeded Samantha Hernandez of Conant in her semifinal.

Macek went on to place third at 110, Hernandez was fourth, Larkin’s Ashley Hammond took fifth, and Maine East’s Eliana Badeen placed fifth.

115: Zoe Lee, New Trier

The seventh-seeded Trevians freshman announced her arrival on the high school wrestling scene by posting three falls before gutting out a 9-8 decision win on the title mat against Metea Valley’s top-seeded Utlana Shevtsova. Lee led 4-1 after a period and 6-3 after two periods before Shevtsova stormed back in the third. Shevtsova reached the finals this year after placing fifth.

Niles West’s Zoe Pomeranets finished third, teammate Sarina Krieger was fourth, Saint Viator’s Natalie Gubernat was fifth, and Oswego East’s Payton Lustrup finished sixth at 115.

120: Ariella Dobin, Glenbrook North

Glenbrook North’s Dobin was a 120-pound buzz-saw at Niles West on Saturday. The No. 14 seed knocked off top-seeded Nina Matthews of Addison Trail, and went 5-0 with five pins on the day. She also had the most pins in the least time of any wrestler in the tournament, clocking in a grand total of 5:07 spent on the mat over her five matches. Dobin’s 34 team points scored were also the most by any wrestler present at Niles West.

Not a bad day for a freshman.

“Last year she qualified for the IESA boys wrestling state,” GBN girls coach Vince Agin said. “She is one of our top workers in our wrestling room, puts her head down and works her butt off every day. She’s extremely strong and skilled. She showed a great outside single and also showed her dominance on top, pinning all of her opponents in that position.”

125: Nyah Lovis, Lane Tech

The Lane Tech junior kicked off her Saturday with a pin, then won three consecutive straight decisions to win the title at 125, capped by a 9-2 decision on the title mat against Fenton’s Giselle Castillo.

Lovis was a state qualifier last year, entered the tournament as the No. 10 seed at 125, and Castillo was the top seed; Lovis also beat the No. 2, 7, and 11 seeds en route to capturing the crown.
Lovis also placed second at 120 in last year’s tournament.

“It was good to see Nyah getting to her offense in this tournament,” Lane Tech coach Matt Yan said. “When she opens up, she can be dangerous. We still have a lot to work on, but I’m glad she got the finish she wanted after taking second here last year.”

Conant’s Beth Ciavarella placed third at 125, Warren’s Justyce Sieber was fourth, Oak Park and River Forest’s Anahi Banuelos placed fifth, and Naperville Central’s Ellen Purl finished sixth.

130: Noelani Rodriguez, Waukegan

The Waukegan senior pinned her way to the title at 130 as the No. 10 seed, and no one survived the first period against her. Rodriguez’s day ended with a pin on the title mat against Zion-Benton’s third-seeded Emily Ortiz.

Rodriguez, a state qualifier last year who went 27-7, pinned top-seeded Aubrey Mueller of Conant in the quarterfinal round, then pinned No. 4 Paula Serpa of Fenton in the semifinals.

Addison Trail’s Brithany Mondragon placed third, Serpa finished fourth, Oak Park and River Forest’s Pearl Lacey took fifth, and Warren’s Jane Kelly took sixth.

135: Emmylina O’Brien, Hoffman Estates

Now in her fourth year of wrestling, the senior O’Brien is practically a wily veteran at this point in her career. She went 29-9 at 115 as a state qualifier last year, and with her final high school season staring her in the face, she’s more ready to wrestle than ever before.

“I’m so much more aware of what weight I should be at, and I’m just better at being self-aware of my body and what it can do,” O’Brien said. “It’s been a lot of trial and error and I’m so happy I stuck with it.”
Top-seeded O’Brien posted four pins to take the crown at 135 in Skokie, ending her day with a second-period fall against Conant’s third-seeded Jasmine Zavaleta. With 32 points scored, O’Brien tied for second overall among wrestlers who scored the most team points in the tournament. She also won the tournament title at 130 last year.

“It took so many people and so much of me, mentally and physically, to take me from wrestling boys as a freshman to becoming a state qualifier wrestling girls,” O’Brien said.

“There are a handful of girls who like wrestling as much as I do – maybe even more – who have probably been training since birth. I’m so happy to be able to compete against them.”

Maine West’s Ava Reyes placed third at 135, Hoffman Estates’ Lourdes Roberts was fourth, Warren’s Ashley Bridges finished fifth, and Glenbrook North’s Sienna Dini took sixth.

140: Abby Ji, Hoffman Estates

Ji became the second top seed from Hoffman Estates to win a title, when she won by fall at the end of the second period on the title mat at 140 against second-seeded Jillian Giller of New Trier.

Ji went 35-10 as a state qualifier last year and posted three pins Saturday to claim her tournament crown.
Fenton’s Yannel Perez placed third at 140, Conant’s Ewa Krupa was fourth, Zion-Benton’s Tegan Haske placed fifth, and Zion-Benton’s Adrianna Ketchum took sixth.

145: Liriana Rakoci, Hoffman Estates

The junior Rakoci made it a perfect three-for-three for Hoffmans Estates’ top seeds winning individual titles, winning by fall on the title mat against Larkin’s Mia Reyes. Tenth-seeded Reyes upset her way to the finals, including a semifinal win over second-seeded Douaa Badou of Conant.

Rakoci had pins in the first minute of both her quarterfinal and semifinal matches before posting her fall in the finals at the 2:25 mark.

Zion-Benton’s Grace Johnson wrestled back to finish third, Metea Valley’s Alketa Picari placed fourth, Maine West’s Soila Orodco was fifth, and Warren’s Hanna Bairstow placed sixth.

155; Yamile Penaloza, Fenton

Top-seeded Penaloza and second-seeded Naomi Foote of Zion-Benton spent the first period hand-fighting in their title match at 155, before Penaloza saw her chance in the second period and took it.
“I was trying to figure out how (Foote) moves, and what she was trying to do,” Penaloza said. “In the second period she was shooting so I just tried to move her head and bring her down. I’m shooting and defending better than I did last year.”

Penaloza’s pin at 3:42 gave her the first of Fenton’s three consecutive individual titles in the upper weights. Penaloza is a two-time state qualifier and went 18-7 as a state qualifier last year.
Penaloza had four pins on the day, reaching the finals with a fall in her semifinal match against fourth-seeded Eliza Buivis of Jacobs. Penaloza went 1-2 at last year’s state finals, in her third year as a wrestler, and the sport is now undeniably in her blood.

“I love the commitment, how we have to work hard, and how it’s me versus me because there’s really nobody else to count on but yourself,” Penaloza said.

Foote reached the finals by semifinal fall against third-seeded Nina Aceves of New Trier. Aceves went on to place third at 155, Buivis placed fourth, Warren’s Ashley Fugelseth was fifth, and Conant’s Susan Bilyal placed sixth.

170: Sophia Sosa, Fenton

The top-seeded Fenton senior won by second-period fall in the finals against Metea Valley’s Sanskruti Sangalge to win the title at 170. Sosa went 26-4 last year as a junior, and won the title at Niles West at 155 pounds.

“Sophia did a lot of off-season work, went to Fargo, and she’s getting better,” Fenton assistant coach Kacper Piskorz said. “She has become a real role model for the team. She and Yami (Penaloza) are going against each other in the room and it’s making them both better.”

Sosa won a 9-5 decision in her semifinal match against fourth-seeded Isabella Chiovari of Hoffman Estates, and third-seeded Sangalge won by fall in her semifinal match against second-seeded Lillian Garrett of Maine West.

Garret went on to place third at 170, Chiovari was fourth, Oswego East’s Jessica Stover placed fifth, and Conant’s Lana Ton finished sixth.

190: Cailyn Platta, Fenton

The top-seeded sophomore went 14-6 in her injury-shortened freshman season and she’s glad to be back and healthy this year. Platta and second-seeded JD Quijano were locked in a 3-3 tie on the title mat at 190 in the waning seconds when a late escape by Platta gave her the 4-3 win and an individual title.

“I have no clue,” Platta said when asked how she earned the escape. “I probably just brought my hips back. It was tough. My conditioning is better this year and I have good practice partners, which helps out a lot in getting better with technique and how to defend stuff.”

Platta won by fall in her semifinal match against Lockport’s fourth-seeded Lydia Chrobak, while Quijano pinned No. 14 Jillian Bollard in their semifinal match.

Chrobak went on to place third at 190, Oak Park and River Forest’s Jaliyah Knighten was fourth, Larkin’s Kimberly Reyes placed fifth, and Saint Viator’s Jillian Bollard took sixth.

235: Anjali Gonzalez, Hoffman Estates

The junior Gonzalez went 25-11 at 190 as a state qualifier last year, and on Saturday she completed the Hawks’ quartet of top seeds to win individual titles in a win by fall on the title mat at 235, over second-seeded Jereni Marshall of Evanston.

Gonzalez won by fall in her semifinal match against fourth-seeded Eliana Garrett of Maine West, while Marshall won by fall in her semifinal against Fenton’s Ariana Solideo.

Solideo went on to place third at 235, Garret took fourth, Lockport’s Rebekah Ramirez was fifth, and Maine East’s Lyric Walton took sixth.

Niles West championship match results:

100: Kat Bell (Montini) MD 10-2 Mia Vazquez (Rickover)
105: Riley Kongkaeow (Round Lake) D 11-6 Averi Colella (Lockport)
110: Avi Gonzalez (Lyons) F 1:23 Ashley Basmajan (Metea Valley)
115: Zoe Lee (New Trier) D 9-8 Uliana Shevtsova (Metea Valley)
120: Ariella Dobin (Glenbrook N) F 0:45 Nina Matthews (Addison Trail)
125: Nyah Lovis (Lane Tech) D 9-2 Giselle Castillo (Fenton)
130: Noelani Rodriguez (Waukegan) F 1:32 Emily Ortiz (Zion-Benton)
135: Emmylina O’Brien (Hoffman Estate) F 3:29 Jasmine Zavaleta (Conant)
140: Abby Ji (Hoffman Estates) F 4:00 Jillian Giller (New Trier)
145: Liriana Rakoci (Hoffman Estates) F 2:25 Mie Reyes (Larkin)
155: Yamile Penaloza (Fenton) F 3:42 Naomi Foote (Zion-Benton)
170: Sophia Sosa (Fenton) F 3:25 Sanskruti Sangalge (Metea Valley)
190: Cailyn Platta (Fenton) D 4-3 JD Quijano (Addison Trail)
235: Anjali Gonzalez (Hoffman Estates) F 1:08 Jereni Marshall (Evanston)

By Curt Herron – For the IWCOA

MINOOKA – After being involved in several historic moments for West Aurora girls wrestling, Brittney Moran and Ionicca Rivera are hoping that the program’s third season proves to be the charm, and based on their team’s debut on Wednesday, the 2023-24 campaign could be very memorable.

The Blackhawks opened the season for both girls and boys wrestlers on Wednesday by easily capturing top honors at the inaugural Minooka Thanksgiving Throwdown, a tournament that featured 21 varsity teams in addition to 23 junior-varsity teams.

West Aurora won the championship in the varsity competition by a 194-114 margin over the hosts. Huntley took third place with 111.5 points while Hoffman Estates edged Geneseo 102-99 for fourth. Yorkville (91), Lockport Township (89), the District 230 co-op of Andrew, Carl Sandburg and Stagg (85), Plainfield Central (68), Morris (59), Ottawa Township (57), Curie (51) and Larkin (51), East Aurora (46), Glenbard North (46), Macomb (46) and Bolingbrook (45) were next.

The Blackhawks received titles from Kameyah Young (110) and Moran (190) and second-place showings from Janelly Gutierrez (100), Laolonie Molina (120) and Aiyanah Sylvester (125). Taking third place were Michelle Obasa (155) and Rivera (170) while Allina Williams (130) finished fourth and Giselle Marin-Carrasco (140) and Kymber Hall (145) both took sixth place. Luciana Dominguez (115) also competed in the varsity tournament for the champions. 

It was quite an improvement for the program, which placed eighth in two late-season invitationals last season, finishing 81 points behind East Aurora at Batavia and 151 points in back of Minooka at Oak Park and River Forest. 

Moran and Rivera have the distinction of reaching the title matches at the inaugural Illinois girls tournament at Normal Community in 2021 and later that season, Moran took sixth at 190 in the IHSA Finals while Rivera fell one win shy of placing at 170. But Rivera had some consolation since her sister, Dyani, reached the championship mat at 145 and placed second. And both took sixth at the 2023 finals, in the same weight classes that they competed in the first tournament. Young is a new addition, having competed at crosstown rival East Aurora for the past two seasons and she placed fourth at state at 100 in 2023.

In Blackhawks coach Charlie Graves’ view, the pair as well as other returnees, are largely responsible for increasing the program’s size from the three state qualifiers in 2022 to the 30 individuals who competed at both levels in Wednesday’s competition.

“We have 30-plus girls on the team, and I owe a lot to the girls who were returning, who did the recruiting for the team,” Graves said. “I think they enjoyed themselves last year and they really came together. It’s not about wins and losses, it’s about coming together and learning some mental and physical discipline and really having fun by learning how to win and learning how to lose.

“A lot of them are beginners, but if they come to practice ready to go, they can be pretty successful. Today was the first time that I saw so much support for one another. And it wasn’t just our team, it was everybody, and it’s very refreshing to see. It shows a lot of the sportsmanship that these girls have and they’re best friends, whether they get beat by pin or win by one. 

“I just want to make sure that they know how to win and how to lose and do it respectively. And also make sure that they appreciate the referees and the coaches that put in the time, and I think that that’s important.”

Hoffman Estates and Lockport Township also had two champions with Emmylina O’Brien (135) and Abby Ji (140) winning consecutive titles for the Hawks while the Porters received first-place finishes from Liz Ramirez (120) and Claudia Heeney (130).

Glenbard North’s Gabby Gomez (115), a two-time defending IHSA champion, and Plainfield Central’s Alicia Tucker (170), a 2023 IHSA title winner, were two of the other eight first-place finishers, who all received hats looking like turkeys for their accomplishment.

Beside Heeney, two others who have placed second at state, Curie’s Aaliyah Grandberry (235), a two-time IHSA runner-up at 235, and Yorkville’s Yamilet Aguirre (125), a 2023 IHSA finalist at 120, also captured titles. 

Huntley’s Janiah Slaughter (105), who took third at 100 in the 2023 IHSA Finals, and District 230’s Alyssa Keane (145), who placed third at 135 at last year’s IHSA Finals, also claimed first-place finishes. The other two champions were Geneseo’s Molly Snyder (100) and Minooka’s Abbey Boersma (155).

Leading the way in team points with 30 were Heeney, Ramirez and Tucker while Aguirre, Boersma, Gomez, Keane, Moran and O’Brien all had 28 points, Young had 27, Slaughter had 26.5 and Ji and Snyder each scored 26 team points.

Huntley had three second-place finishers, Taylor Casey (110), Aubrie Rohrbacher (130) and Jessica Olson (140). Taking second for Ottawa Township were Ava Weatherford (135) and Juliana Thrush (235) while Macomb got second-place finishes from Kelly Ladd (145) and Sifa Feruzi (170).

Others who took second place were Romeoville’s Josefina Orozco (105), Plainfield Central’s Courtni Chuway (115), East Aurora’s Jordan Smith (155) and District 230’s Janae Vargas (190).

Morris had three third-place finishers, Ella McDonnell (115), Ellie Evans (120) and Morgan Congo (190) while Minooka had two individuals who took third, Beth Castro (140) and Bella Cyrkiel (145).

Others who took third place were Curie’s Evelin Martinez (100), Romeoville’s Daniela Santander (105), Metea Valley’s Ashley Basmajian (110), Lockport Township’s Lucy Madrigal (125), Glenbard North’s Keagan Edwards (130), Seneca’s Sammie Griesen (135) and District 230’s Emma Akpan (235).

Here’s a breakdown of the champions and the weight classes

100 – Molly Snyder, Geneseo

Although Molly Snyder may be fairly new to wrestling, she has a good knowledge of the sport after watching her brother Jack compete for successful Geneseo teams and now is determined to see what she can accomplish.

The Maple Leafs freshman, who is in her second season of competition, claimed the title at 100 by recording a fall in 1:12 over West Aurora’s Janelly Gutierrez in the finals. She won all three of her matches with first-period falls and each of her wins was quicker than the previous one. She was the lone individual from coach Carley Rusk’s team to reach the title mat.

“It feels really good, being a freshman and in my second year of wrestling,” Snyder said. “I’ve learned a lot from all of my coaches. And we had over 20 girls so it’s growing a lot. I’m really excited for this year with all of the girls and I hope that some of us can go to state this year. My brother (Jack) wrestled all of his life and I’ve always watched him wrestling, and then I heard that they were starting a girls team. After wrestling for one year, it’s my favorite sport already. It feels great to step on the mat and to win.”

Gutierrez had first-minute falls in her first two matches before getting pinned in the finals. The third- and fifth-place matches also ended in the first period as Curie’s Evelin Martinez defeated Hoffman Estates’ Amari Gibson for third and Yorkville’s Kayleigh Shannon beat Minooka’s Kiley Adelmann for fifth place.

105 – Janiah Slaughter, Huntley

After enjoying a successful freshman season where she went 27-5 and took third place at 100 in the IHSA Finals to become Huntley’s first state medalist, Janiah Slaughter has a much bigger goal on her mind for 2023-24 and that’s becoming a state champion.

On a day when coach Gannon Kosowski’s Red Raiders advanced four individuals to the title mat, she was their lone champion. And Slaughter, who also plays football, took top honors at 105 in impressive fashion, capturing wins by technical fall in all three of her matches, collecting 80 match points and capping the event with a 26-9 victory over Romeoville’s Josefina Orozco.

“Last year I didn’t come for bronze, I came for gold and I fell short of my goal,” Slaughter said. “This year, I’m coming back after training all season and been doing two sports at once and I’ve been trying to reach my goal of being a state champ at 105. The family, the environment and the group that we have and the support that you get is unbelievable and it’s one of the reasons why I’m doing so good.”

Orozco, who was the lone finalist for coach John Arlis’ Spartans, won her first three matches by fall to reach the title mat. She was joined on the 105 awards stand by teammate Daniela Santander, who took third place with a pin over Yorkville’s Danielle Turner. Morris’ Maggie Gordon claimed fifth place with a 10-6 decision over Curie’s Giselle Arambula.

110 – Kameyah Young, West Aurora

Following a successful two years at East Aurora where she qualified for the first two IHSA finals and finished 32-4 after falling to Huntley’s Janiah Slaughter in the third-place match at 100 in 2023, Kameyah Young decided to compete for the Tomcats’ rival, West Aurora.

In her debut with the Blackhawks, the junior helped coach Charlie Graves’ team to top honors by 80 points over the hosts after becoming the first of her squad’s two champions, with Brittany Moran the other at 190. Following a win by major decision in her opener, she recorded two falls before rallying with two three-point near falls in the final period to win the 110 title 13-9 over Huntley’s Taylor Casey.

“I knew that I had to come back and that I had to step up my game,” Young said. “I feel like I’m working hard, especially with my cousin (Aiyanah Sylvester) and I wrestling together. East is still good, I just needed a change of scenery. It’s fun here, it’s different, but it’s nice.”

Casey, a senior who went 23-9 a year ago and made her second trip to state, was one of the Red Raiders’ four finalists and one of their two individuals that lost close decisions on the title mat. She won her first two matches by fall to advance to the finals. Metea Valley’s Ashley Basmajian took third place with a fall over Larkin’s Ashley Hammond and Lockport Township’s Averi Colella finished fifth after getting a pin over Hoffman Estates’ Gwendolynn Ridley.

115 – Gabby Gomez, Glenbard North

Following a successful offseason, Gabby Gomez sets her sights on accomplishing what three others, Angelina Cassioppi, Cadence Diduch and Sydney Perry, also seek to do this season, and that’s becoming the first three-time IHSA champions.

The Glenbard North junior, who went 33-0 last year to take first at 115 after going 12-0 and winning the title at 105 in 2022, continued her winning ways and was the lone champion for coach Chris Edwards’ Panthers after winning all four of her matches by technical fall, collecting 104 match points. Gomez claimed a 24-9 triumph over Plainfield Central’s Courtni Chuway in the 115 finals.

“This year we have a bigger team, so I have 15 girls on my team supporting me and I get to support them,” Gomez said. “Freshman year, I had nobody really cheering for me, and this year I have teammates so I’m helping them learn and they’re helping me to learn to teach them how to wrestle. This sport is really growing and I like to see the new competition because girls are getting better and they’re getting stronger and are getting faster, and I like that. Seeing a lot of these girls picking this as their first sport is crazy. Wrestling makes it feel like a community and a family and what I really like about the sport is that a lot of the girls are right on top of the mat and cheering, and you don’t see that with the guys. Illinois is really stepping up with the girls programs and hopefully in a couple of years it will be Freestyle. A lot of the girls in the finals went to Fargo, so they want that competition. Hopefully all of these girls will be on the National team again and we can bring some more Fargo titles home.”

Chuway, a senior who was a state qualifier who finished 15-9 a year ago, joined 170 champion Alicia Tucker as finalists for coach Terry Kubski’s Wildcats. She won her first two matches by fall before advancing to the title match with a 12-4 major decision. Morris senior Ella McDonnell, who went 33-13 and placed fourth at 110 in 2023 and also finished fourth at 105 in 2022 at the IHSA Finals, took third place with a first-period fall over Ottawa Township’s Kailee Lane. And Bolingbrook’s Alejandra Flores finished fifth after winning by technical fall over Metea Valley’s Uliana Shevtsova.

120 – Liz Ramirez, Lockport Township

A year ago, Liz Ramirez joined Claudia Heeney as the first two individuals from Lockport Township to win 30 or more matches as both made their state debuts. After seeing practice partner Heeney cap a 42-1 season with a runner-up finish at 125 in the IHSA Finals, Ramirez hopes to improve upon a 33-10 campaign and also become her school’s second state placewinner to cap her senior season.

The pair started off the current season on a good note as they both won titles for coach Nathaniel Roth’s squad, joining West Aurora and Hoffman Estates as the only teams with multiple champions. Ramirez took top honors at 120 after recording a fall in 3:11 over West Aurora’s Laolonie Molina. Ramirez, who’s in her third season in the sport, recorded three first-period falls, including two in less than a minute, to reach the title mat. That allowed her to tie 130 champion Heeney and the 170 title winner, Plainfield Central’s Alicia Tucker, with the most team points with 30.

“I just want to get better,” Ramirez said. “All summer I went to club and I went to offseason training just to get better. Now I have a bit more experience with takedowns because Freestyle is all takedowns and understanding that getting a good set up and a nice shot off. And working with my practice partners, like Claudia, is a big help. It’s huge, especially with her experience. Even at club, there weren’t a lot of girls so I had to work with guys and they had more experience than me so they told me what I could do better to improve. I really try to put in the effort, not miss practice and do work on the side. And I watch videos and that helps me to understand. (Being at Lockport) It does help because they are so knowledgeable. I can go to any one of the coaches, and even my teammates, and they’ll know.”

Molina, one of five finalists for coach Charlie Graves’ champion Blackhawks, reached the finals after recording two falls. Morris’ Ellie Evans pinned Bolingbrook’s Samara Hood to claim third place while Larkin’s Tina Ebrahimi won by fall over Romeoville’s Jesslynne Ochoa to finish in fifth place.

125 – Yamilet Aguirre, Yorkville

Yamilet Aguirre has been a part of a lot of history during her career at Yorkville. She joined teammate Natasha Markoutsis as one of the first champions at a girls-only invite at Normal Community in 2021 and then went 29-4 and took fourth at 115 at the inaugural IHSA Finals while her senior teammate Markoutsis won the 125 championship. 

After finishing 37-4 last season and placing second to Hononegah’s Angelina Cassioppi in the IHSA Finals at 120 to become the initial two-time medal winner and also the second state finalist for the Foxes, Aguirre hopes to close out her senior season in style. She’s off to an impressive start after recording three straight pins to capture the championship at 125 after recording a fall in 2:57 over West Aurora’s Aiyanah Sylverster in the title match, the top showing for coach Kevin Roth’s team during the competition.

“This is definitely super exciting,” Aguirre said. “I love seeing the sport grow more and a lot of tough girls are coming in, so it’s progressively getting harder. It’s definitely been a big jump from going from just two girls my first year to almost 20. It’s great to see and a lot of the girls are learning fast. I’m going to be a force to be reckoned with this year.”

Sylvester, who was one of five finalists and three second-place finishers for the champion Blackhawks, advanced to the title mat after recording three first-period falls. Lockport Township’s Lucy Madrigal claimed third place with a 6-1 decision over East Aurora’s Valentina Barboza while Geneseo’s Lydia King finished in fifth place after getting a pin over Minooka’s Kira Cailteux.

130 – Claudia Heeney, Lockport Township

Last season, Lockport Township freshman Claudia Heeney caught everyones’ attention after recording victories in her initial 42 matches to assure herself of becoming her school’s first medal winner before falling to Freeport’s Cadence Diduch in the championship match at 125 in the IHSA Finals in a showdown of unbeaten competitors. 

As Heeney embarks on her second season for coach Nathaniel Roth’s Porters, she hopes to again post an impressive record while taking the next step and capturing her first state title. The sophomore got off to a great start after recording a fall in 3:13 over Huntley’s Aubrie Rohrbacher in the 130 title match after winning her first three matches with first-period falls. Heeney joined teammate and 120 champion Liz Ramirez as well as Plainfield Central’s 170 title winner, Alicia Tucker, with a tournament-high 30 team points.

“I really do like the competition,” Heeney said. “We have a lot of good girls in Illinois and it certainly is fun to just go out there and get it. It’s very individualized, so everybody has their own accomplishments, and I think that’s what is beautiful about it, you have nobody else to depend on but yourself. (Lockport Township’s coaches) They do push the bar very high and they have high expectations. It’s really fun to be part of a program where everyone is pushing each other and everybody wants each other to do well. I definitely love the program. I feel like the difference between this year and last year is definitely numbers and the girls are getting a lot more talented. So it really is fun to see the sport grow.”

Rohrbacher, a sophomore who finished 30-7 last season and fell one win shy of earning a medal at 125 at the IHSA Finals, was one of four finalists and three runner-ups for coach Gannon Kosowski’s Red Raiders after winning by fall in her first two matches. Glenbard North’s Keagan Edwards took third place after recording a fall over West Aurora’s Allina Williams and Geneseo’s Bella Curcuru placed fifth after getting a pin over Metea Valley’s Isabel Rangel.

135 – Emmylina O’Brien, Hoffman Estates

Emmylina O’Brien hopes that the third time’s the charm as the Hoffman Estates senior looks to place at the IHSA Finals for the first time in 2024 after going 29-9 last season and 17-5 the year before, qualifying for appearances in the IHSA Finals on both occasions.

O’Brien captured top honors at 135 and teammate Abby Ji followed with a title at 140, making coach Leo Clark’s Hawks one of three teams in the invite with two champions, joining West Aurora and Lockport Township in that regard. O’Brien recorded a fall in 1:19 over Ottawa Township’s Ava Weatherford on the title mat, her third opening-period pin in her three matches.

“I would love to step foot on that (the awards stand) since just being a state qualifier is not enough any more,” O’Brien said. “I crave more and I’ve got to get more. Things have progressed fast, amazingly and beautifully, but it took so much work. I started off wrestling boys with no girls on the team, especially when COVID-19 was big. So to see this all happen and me and (Abby Ji) were qualifiers in the inaugural state tournament. It’s been very emotional, but also amazing. It went from us being a little girls team with the boys program and now we’re trying to expand it. We’re our own girls team now. We’ve had a state placer, Sophia Ball, and she is definitely supposed to come back.”

Weatherford, the first of two Pirates to reach the title mat, recorded two first-period falls to advance to the finals. Seneca sophomore Sammie Griesen, who went 24-15 and fell one win shy of a medal at 130 last season at state, claimed third place with a fall over Geneseo’s Grace Schilling. And Minooka’s Eva Beck took fifth place after recording a pin over Plainfield Central’s Miah Banda.

140 – Abby Ji, Hoffman Estates

Following in the footsteps of her teammate Emmylina O’Brien, who took top honors at 135, Abby Ji claimed the championship at 140 to give the Hawks two title winners, a feat that was only achieved by champion West Aurora and by Lockport Township. The Hawks junior hung on to capture a 4-3 victory over Huntley’s Jessica Olson in the 140 championship match.

Ji, who went 33-8 and fell one win shy of a medal at 130 in the 2023 IHSA Finals and also qualified for state in 2022 when she went 18-6, recorded two first-period falls to earn her spot on the title mat, which was the closest of the three championships determined by decisions.

“I started off at a good time in my freshman year since we had a team that was strong,” Ji said. “We had a lot of people who were just starting out that year so it’s really nice seeing them joining me and then growing to where we are now and what we are. Now we’re to the point where we don’t want to be just a program any more, we want to be an actual team, and that’s what we’re working toward, and I’m glad to be a part of the working steps to it. Our new girls look up to us older girls and we’re glad that we can set the example for them. We set the bar in practice and they watch us in practice and they follow our lead. So we’re glad that we can build a strong team.”

Olson, one of four finalists for Huntley, had first-period falls in her first match and in the semifinals and also captured a 5-3 decision in the quarterfinals over Bolingbrook’s Katie Ramirez-Quintero. In the third-place match, Minooka’s Beth Castro won by fall over District 230’s Lana Shuaibi. And senior Ramirez-Quintero, who went 17-3 a year ago and qualified for state and 13-5 in 2022 when she finished  sixth at 130 in the IHSA Finals to become the Raiders’ first medal winner, claimed fifth with a fall over West Aurora’s Giselle Marin-Carrasco.

145 – Alyssa Keane, District 230 (Andrew)

At the 2023 IHSA Finals, Alyssa Keane and Kelly Ladd met in the consolation semifinals at 135 to see who would advance to the third-place match and who would compete for fifth. The two met again in the 145 finals and just as was the case in Bloomington, District 230 (Andrew/Carl Sandburg/Stagg) co-op’s Keane defeated Macomb’s Ladd, but this time it was not by fall but instead a 6-2 decision.

Keane, a junior at Andrew, went 32-5 and placed third at state while Ladd, also a junior, wound up taking sixth place and finished with a 32-8 record. Keane is the highest of three placewinners for District 230 at state while Ladd became her school’s first medal winner. Both also qualified for state in 2022. Keane, the lone champion for the co-op team and one of two finalists, reached the title mat with three falls.

“I went to Nationals for preseason and I was kind of a little rusty, but after those practices, I’ve just come back and built everything back up,” Keane said. “We have a lot bigger team with around 30 girls. And a lot of the girls haven’t been quitting, so we keep adding up after last year when we did decrease a little bit. I feel like I’ve improved a lot, especially this past week. I can definitely wrestle differently in just a matter of a week and just come back and be on top.”

Ladd, who was one two Bombers to reach the finals, also recorded three falls to advance to the title mat. Minooka senior Bella Cyrkiel, who went 28-9 and was a state qualifier last season, took third after recording a fall over Yorkville’s Brooke Coy. And in the fifth-place match, Geneseo senior Gia Ritter, who also was a state qualifier in 2023, claimed a forfeit win over West Aurora’s Kymber Hall.

155 – Abbey Boersma, Minooka

Abbey Boersma made sure that the host school wouldn’t be shut out of an individual champion in the inaugural Thanksgiving Throwdown that they hosted when she recorded a fall in 1:13 over East Aurora’s Jordan Young in the 155 finals.

Although coach Paige Schoolman’s Indians claimed a second-place finish to West Aurora in not only their first tournament but also the initial invitational in girls or boys wrestling in Illinois this season, they only had one individual who advanced to the finals, senior Boersma, who won all three of her matches with pins in the opening period.

“There were a lot of good competitors here and it was exciting to see it was hosted at my own school,” Boersma said. “It’s exciting for me to start off the season this way because I feel like I’m starting off on a good note. There was a lot of good competition here. I’m very excited for the rest of the season because my teammates performed really good, as well.”

Young, who was the lone finalist for coach Ryan Mick’s Tomcats, recorded three falls to reach the title mat. In the third-place match, West Aurora’s Michelle Obasa won by fall over Huntley’s Grecia Garcia. And Yorkville’s Joanna Okunnu claimed fifth place with a pin over Curie’s Daiana Lopez.

170 – Alicia Tucker, Plainfield Central

Alicia Tucker, who joined Gabby Gomez as one of two defending state champions at the inaugural Minooka Thanksgiving Throwdown, turned in a dominating performance as did the Glenbard North junior earlier in the finals which she completed with a win by fall in 2:20 over Macomb’s Sifa Feruzi in the 170 championship match.

Tucker, who capped a 34-2 season in 2022-23 with a 3-1 decision over Moline’s Maryam Ndiaye in the 155 championship match in her inaugural state appearance to also become her school’s first state medal winner, recorded falls in all four of her matches. The junior was the lone champion for coach Terry Kubski’s Wildcats and one of their two finalists. Tucker finished with 30 team points, which tied her with Lockport Township’s Claudia Heeney and Liz Ramirez for the highest totals in that category for the competition.

“I was the first girls state champion at my high school,” Tucker said. “And just throughout the summer, I competed in various tournaments and placed high in those, so I think going to both Folkstyle and Freestyle really helped me for this season. My high school team is growing every year. We had about six or seven and now we have a full team with 10.”

Feruzi, one of two finalists for coach Luke Ladd’s Bombers, recorded two falls to reach the title mat. West Aurora senior Ionicca Rivera, who went 27-7 and took sixth place at 170 in last year’s IHSA Finals and was 20-8 and fell one win shy of a state medal at 170 in 2022, bounced back from her semifinals loss to Tucker to finish third with a fall over Yorkville’s Janiah Murray, her third of the day. Hoffman Estates’ Isabella Chiovari pinned Minooka’s Mia Lemburg to take fifth.

190 – Brittney Moran, West Aurora

Following a sixth-place finish at 190 to cap a 28-5 campaign in 2023 and another sixth-place showing at 190 in the 2022 IHSA Finals to complete a 12-5 debut, Brittney Moran clearly wants to move closer to the top of the awards stand this season. But the West Aurora junior also would like to be a member of a successful team, and she and some of her teammates did something about that and the dividends are clearly already beginning to pay off for them.

Thanks to a push for more team members, West Aurora has gone from three individuals competing in the 2022 sectional to over 30 athletes this season. Coach Charlie Graves’ Blackhawks kicked off the season in impressive fashion by capturing the championship at the Minooka Thanksgiving Throwdown by 80 points over the hosts and Moran was one of its two champions and five finalists. She joined new teammate Kameyah Young as a title winner after recording a  fall in 1:43 over District 230’s Janae Vargas to cap a day where she won all three of her matches with first-period falls to capture the 190 championship.

“I’m really proud of all of the girls that came out,” Moran said. “We have over 30 girls, which we did not expect, and they’ve actually turned this all around. We’re supporting each other mentally and physically and we’re teaching the new varsity girls to be better. We have some girls who are in their first year and they got third place in their first tournament, which is amazing. I feel like us being a leader for the varsity team is just expected. If you see us during practice or after school, we all just push each other.”

Vargas was one of two finalists for District 230, which consists of athletes from Andrew, Carl Sandburg and Stagg. The senior, who went 17-7 last season and fell one win shy of qualifying from the rugged Schaumburg Sectional, advanced to the title mat with three pins in the opening period. Morris’ Morgan Congo edged Larkin’s Kimberly Reyes by a 5-4 decision to capture third place while Geneseo’s AJ Juarez took fifth with a fall over Plainfield Central’s Zyon Jordan.

235 – Aaliyah Grandberry, Curie 

After falling twice in 235 championship matches at the IHSA Finals to Belleville East’s Kiara Ganey, Aaliyah Grandberry has high expectations for her senior season and will be very disappointed if she doesn’t capture a state title to close out her successful high school career. In the process, the standout from Curie hopes to not only become the first state champion from any Chicago school but also the first three-time medalist from one of the Chicago Public Schools.

Grandberry, who went 24-1 last season and suffered her lone loss in the state finals after going 11-1 and doing the same thing in 2022, only had to wrestle two matches to claim the 235 title at the Thanksgiving Throwdown, becoming the lone member of coach Yahya Muhammad’s Condors to win a title and be a finalist. The two individuals she faced also finished in the top eight at state in 2023. She beat Ottawa Township’s Juliana Thrush by fall in 1:01 for the title after capturing an 8-2 semifinals decision over District 230’s Emma Akpan.

“This past summer I’ve been working really hard,” Grandberry said. “I’ve been going to different tournaments. I went to Fargo and I placed fifth. So every bit of training and every tournament, win or lose, I’m going to still keep pushing. We’re (her and Kiara Ganey) like really good friends now, ever since we went to Fargo, we had an automatic bond, regardless of what happened in competition. I’m so happy that there’s been so much growth, especially at my school. We almost have a full lineup of girls and they’re working hard. It’s just so good to see how much the sport has grown because now we’re here until 6:00, like the boys.”

Thrush, who concluded a 20-12 freshman season by losing to Akpan in the third round of the consolation bracket at 235 last year at state, joined teammate Ava Weatherford as finalists for coach Peter Marx’s Pirates. She recorded falls in her first two matches to earn her spot on the title mat. Akpan, a junior who placed sixth at 235 a year ago to cap a 21-8 campaign, claimed third place after capturing a 6-4 decision over Minooka senior Peyton Kueltzo, a two-time state qualifier who went 26-13 a year ago. And in the fifth-place match, Hoffman Estates junior Anjali Gonzalez, who also was a state qualifier who finished 25-11 a year ago, won by fall over another Ottawa Township competitor, Shelby Rank.

Lockport Township wins Minooka Thanksgiving Throwdown J-V title

Lockport Township edged host Minooka 157.5-148 to claim the junior-varsity title at the Minooka Thanksgiving Throwdown on Wednesday. District 230 co-op (Andrew, Carl Sandburg, Stagg) placed third with 141 points, Macomb (114) was fourth, West Aurora (86) took fifth and Geneseo (86) claimed sixth place.

Winning championships for coach Nathaniel Roth’s first-place Porters were Veronica Skibicki (110), Lizzy Rock (120), Kyleigh Green (125), Lydia Chrobak (190) and Rebekah Ramirez (235+).

District 230 received title wins from Tatum De La Vega (105) and Mackenzie Conry (135), champions for East Aurora were Jazmin Vera (140) and Noreidy Ruiz (170) and Macomb got first-place finishes from Makela Mwangong (155) and Avery Lundgren (235). Other title winners were Yorkville’s Analiese Garretson (100), Minooka’s Ava Staley (115), Peotone’s Annie Bergeron (130) and Geneseo’s Lauren Piquard (145).

Minooka Thanksgiving Throwdown team standings

1. West Aurora (194), 2. Minooka (114); 3. Huntley (111.5); 4. Hoffman Estates (102); 5. Geneseo (99); 6. Yorkville (91); 7. Lockport Township (89); 8. District 230 (85); 9. Plainfield Central (68); 10. Morris (59); 11. Ottawa Township (57); 12. Curie (51); 12. Larkin (51); 14. East Aurora (46); 14. Glenbard North (46); 14. Macomb (46); 17. Bolingbrook (45); 18. Metea Valley (41); 19. Romeoville (34); 20. Seneca (19); 21. Plainfield East (0).

Minooka Thanksgiving Throwdown championship matches

100 – Molly Snyder (Geneseo) over Janelly Gutierrez (West Aurora), F 1:12

105 – Janiah Slaughter (Huntley) over Josefina Orozco (Romeoville), TF 26-9

110 – Kameyah Young (West Aurora) over Taylor Casey (Huntley), D 13-9

115 – Gabby Gomez (Glenbard North) over Courtni Chuway (Plainfield Central), TF 24-9

120 – Liz Ramirez (Lockport Township) over Laolonie Molina (West Aurora), F 3:11

125 – Yamilet Aguirre (Yorkville) over Aiyanah Sylvester (West Aurora), F 2:57

130 – Claudia Heeney (Lockport Township) over Aubrie Rohrbacher (Huntley), F 3:13

135 – Emmylina O’Brien (Hoffman Estates) over Ava Weatherford (Ottawa Township), F 1:19

140 – Abby Ji (Hoffman Estates) over Jessica Olson (Huntley), D 4-3

145 – Alyssa Keane (District 230) over Kelly Ladd (Macomb), D 6-2

155 – Abbey Boersma (Minooka) over Jordan Smith (East Aurora), F 1:13

170 – Alicia Tucker (Plainfield Central) over Sifa Feruzi (Macomb), F 2:20

190 – Brittney Moran (West Aurora) over Janae Vargas (District 230), F 1:43

235 – Aaliyah Grandberry (Curie) over Juliana Thrush (Ottawa Township), F 1:01

Minooka Thanksgiving Throwdown third-place matches

100 – Evelin Martinez (Curie) over Amari Gibson (Hoffman Estates), F 1:41

105 – Daniela Santander (Romeoville) over Danielle Turner (Yorkville), F 3:06

110 – Ashley Basmajian (Metea Valley) over Ashley Hammond (Larkin), F 1:24

115 – Ella McDonnell (Morris) over Kailee Lane (Ottawa Township), F 0:38

120 – Ellie Evans (Morris) over Samara Hood (Bolingbrook), F 4:18

125 – Lucy Madrigal (Lockport Township) over Valentina Barboza (East Aurora), D 6-1

130 – Keagan Edwards (Glenbard North) over Allina Williams (West Aurora), F 1:42

135 – Sammie Griesen (Seneca) over Grace Schilling (Geneseo), F 1:24

140 – Beth Castro (Minooka) over Lana Shuaibi (District 230), F 0:48

145 – Bella Cyrkiel (Minooka) over Brooke Coy (Yorkville), F 3:43

155 – Michelle Obasa (West Aurora) over Grecia Garcia (Huntley), F 2:12

170 – Ionicca Rivera (West Aurora) over Janiah Murray (Yorkville), F 1:04

190 – Morgan Congo (Morris) over Kimberly Reyes (Larkin), D 5-4

235 – Emma Akpan (District 230) over Peyton Kueltzo (Minooka), D 6-4

Minooka Thanksgiving Throwdown fifth-place matches

100 – Kayleigh Shannon (Yorkville) over Kiley Adelmann (Minooka), F 0:50

105 – Maggie Gordon (Morris) over Giselle Arambula (Curie), D 10-6

110 – Averi Colella (Lockport Township) over Gwendolynn Ridley (Hoffman Estates), F 2:17

115 – Alejandra Flores (Bolingbrook) over Uliana Shevtsova (Metea Valley), TF 15-0

120 – Tina Ebrahimi (Larkin) over Jesslynne Ochoa (Romeoville), F 2:55

125 – Lydia King (Geneseo) over Kira Cailteux (Minooka), F 1:47

130 – Bella Curcuru (Geneseo) over Isabel Rangel (Metea Valley), F 0:26

135 – Eva Beck (Minooka) over Miah Banda (Plainfield Central), F 3:57

140 – Katie Ramirez-Quintero (Bolingbrook) over Giselle Marin-Carrasco (West Aurora), F 3:24

145 – Gia Ritter (Geneseo) over Kymber Hall (West Aurora), FF

155 – Joanna Okunnu (Yorkville) over Daiana Lopez (Curie), F 0:44

170 – Isabella Chiovari (Hoffman Estates) over Mia Lemburg (Minooka), F 1:29

190 – AJ Juarez (Geneseo) over Zyon Jordan (Plainfield Central), F 2:36

235 – Anjali Gonzalez (Hoffman Estates) over Shelby Rank (Ottawa Township), F 0:50

By Gary Larsen

Lakes Sandy Gussarson Invitational

Phoenix Military Academy of Chicago launched its program with a handful of girls that were young but tough.

Those girls have come a long way.

“This is a scrappy team, founded by four sophomores and a tough freshman last year,” Firebirds coach Daniel Curtin said. “Those girls have moved into a leadership role and drafted an entire team of tough freshmen and sophomores. It’s a homegrown operation.”

With six wrestlers finishing in the top four of their weight classes, the school of roughly 550 students won this year’s 25-team Sandy Gussarson Invitational, edging out second-place Lincoln-Way Central, 295-276.
Host Lakes (251) placed third, followed by Oak Forest (249), and Lake Park (239.5) in rounding out the top five team finishes.

“Today was a David versus twenty-four Goliaths moment,” Curtin said. I can’t tell you how impressed by and proud of this team I am. And they are all back next year.”

The Firebirds were led on the awards stand by second-place individual finishers Marisol Castro-Duran (120) and AJ Grant (155). Curtin got thirds from Diana Lopez (120) and America Cabrerra (170), fourths from Jocelyn Quiroz (135) and Giselle Villareal (140), and a seventh from Miles Gonzalez (100).

Second-place Lincoln-Way Central’s Gracie Guarino (120) was a state runner-up at 110 last year and won an individual title to lead the Knights, who also got fourths from Yasmine Ejaidi (125), Riley Cooney (130), and Elia Giertuga (145), a fifth from Monica Alvares (100), and a sixth from Elia Downing (115).
Third-place host Lakes led the field with four individual champions in Zaryia Mouzon (105), Haven Sylves (115), Olivia Heft (125), and Josephine Larson (235).

Dundee-Crown’s Diamond Rodriguez won the individual title at 100 pounds and finished as the wrestler with the most pins in the least amount of time. Rodriguez had five pins in a combined total of 1:30 spent on the mat, and she tied with individual champ Isabel Peralta (190) of Oak Forest for the most team points scored by any wrestler, with 52. The 56 match points scored by Phoenix’s Diana Lopez (120) led the field, followed by the 55 match points scored by individual champion Ruby Gavina (130) of Dundee-Crown. Lopez also posted the fastest tech fall time of 1:54

Also notable: the largest seed-place difference provided came from Grayslake North’s Jacqueline Cordova-Marquina. Cordova-Marquina was seed No. 21 and finished fourth at 155 pounds.

Other champions included a state runner-up last year in Oak Forest’s Alexandra Sebek (110), Oak Forest’s Iyobosa Odiase (140), a state champion last year at 125 in Freeport’s Cadence Diduch (135), Harvard’s Ithandehui Rosas (145), Hinsdale South’s Callie Carr (155), and Burlington Central’s Ryann Miller (170).
Second-place finishers included Shepard’s Danialla Almazan (100), Wilmont-Union’s Greta Rzonca (105), Dundee-Crown’s Iris Torres (110), Burlington Central’s Ruby Vences (115), Lake Park’s Valeria Malinowski (130) and Christina Hasner (140), Prospect’s Viola Pianetto (135), Rolling Meadows’ Muneeba Butt (145), Grant’s Riley O’Grady (170), Grayslake North’s Jeniah Robinson (190), and Oak Forest’s Jessica Komolafe (235).

Also placing third at Lakes were Freeport’s Aurielle Calmese (100), Shepard’s Sofia Perez (105) and Stacey Massey (135), Harvard’s Alexa Herrera (110), Hillcrest’s India Long (115), Peotone’s Shannon Bennett (125), Woodstock’s Danica LaTessa (130), Oak Forest’s Madelyn Sears (140), Oswego’s Makayla Hill (145), Burlington Central’s Jada Hall (155), Rolling Meadows’ Leilani Brindis (190), and Prospect’s Vivian Kowalczyk (235).

Fourth-placers included Oak Forest’s Aliyah Blount (100), Dundee-Crown’s Leslie Figueroa (105), Lake Park’s Laurie Cando (110), Lakes’ Osmari Medina (115), Grant’s Myla Reyes (120), Lincoln-Way Central’s Yasmine Ejaidi (125), Riley Cooney (130), and Ella Giertuga (145), Grayslake North’s Jacqueline Cordova-Marquina (155), Rolling Meadows’ Janet Brindis (170), and Shepard’s Breanna Robinson (190) and Quadalupe Arreola (235).

Lakes Sandy Gussarson Invitational championship matches:

100: Diamond Rodriguez (Dundee-Crown) F 0:10 Danialla Almazan (Shepard)
105: Zaryia Mouzon (Lakes) F 2:15 Greta Rzonca (Wilmont-Union)
110: Alexandra Sebek (Oak Forest) F 3:17 Iris Torres (Dundee-Crown)
115: Haven Sylves (Lakes) D 14-8 Ruby Vences (Burlington Central)
120: Gracie Guarino (Lincoln-Way C) F 1:17 Marisol Castro-Duran (Phoenix)
125: Olivia Heft (Lakes) F 3:47 Mia Thomas (Phoenix)
130: Ruby Gavina (Dundee-Crown) F 5:55 Valeria Malinowski (Lake Park)
135: Cadence Diduch (Freeport) F 1:28 Viola Pianetto (Prospect)
140: Iyobosa Odiase (Oak Forest) F 1:07 Christina Hasner (Lakes)
145: Ithandehu Rosas (Harvard) F 1:25 Muneeba Butt (Rolling Meadows)
155: Callie Carr (Hinsdale S) D 7-6 AJ Grant (Phoenix)
170: Ryann Miller (Burlington Central) F 0:25 Riley O’Grady (Grant)
190: Isabella Peralta (Oak Forest) F 3:51 Jeniah Robinson (Grayslake N)
235: Josephine Larson (Lakes) F 1:22 Jessica Komolafe (Oak Forest)

Rockford East Girls Invitational

Geneseo took top honors at this year’s 22-team Rockford East Girls Invitational on Saturday, out-pointing second-place Wheeling 142-106. Richmond-Burton (99) placed third, followed by Palatine (73) and Thornton (72) to round out the top five team finishes.

Geneseo coach Carley Rusk got an individual title from Molly Snyder at 105 to lead the Maple Leafs, while Grace Schilling (135), Reagan Bopes (140), and Gia Ritter (145) all reached the title mat and placed second.

Snyder also posted four pins in 4:48 to lead the entire field in the most pins in the least amount of time.
Geneseo got thirds from Lydia King (125) and Bella Curcuru (130), and fourths from Emily Bopes (130) and Brooke Shollenderger (145) to help lead the way.

Second-place Wheeling got an individual title from Jasmine Rene (190), who placed fourth in Illinois at 190 last year. Wheeling also got seconds from Elise Burkut (130) and Madeline Chicas (170), and thirds from Isabella Gomez (115) and Valeria Avalos (140).

Third-place Richmond-Burton was led by individual champ Jasmine McCaskel (145), who placed fourth in state at 145 last season.

Other individual champs in Rockford included a pair of returning state champions in Glenbard North’s Gabby Gomez (115) and Boylan’s Netavia Wickson (140). Gomez won the state crown at 115 last year and Wickson won her title at 135.

Gomez’s three tech fall wins in 11:25 were the most tech falls in the least time by any wrestler in the field; her 31 points in a single match also led the field; and her 88 total match points were the most scored, followed by Wickson with 50 match points scored. Wickson also posted the quickest tech fall time at 2:00.
Fremd’s Lloyd Kowalczyk (135) scored 30 team points to lead all wrestlers present, and Rockford East’s Gisselle Garcia posted the largest seed-place difference. Garcia placed fourth at 155 after being seeded 15th in the field.

Other individual champions in Rockford were Crystal Lake South’s Annalee Aarseth (110), Sandwich’s Ashlyn Strenz (120), Thornton’s Destiny Bright (125) and Jalah Wilson (130),, Rochelle’s Dempsey Atkinson (155), Palatine’s Sabrina Cargill (170), and Harlem’s Savannah Schutt (235).

Individuals placing second included Sandwich’s Norah Vick (105), Richmond-Burton’s Isabella Nelson (110) and Julienna Beese (155), Geneva’s Rebecca DiSilvestro (115), Grayslake Central’s Gianna Arzer (120), Rochelle’s Cammyla Macias (125), Crystal Lake South’s Kayla Hodfield (190), and Thornton’s Sionna Stampley.

Finishing third in Rockford were Geneva’s Kayla Hassell (105) and Delaney Cunningham (120), LaSalle-Peru’s Sarah Lowery (110), Fremd’s Kandice Wallace (135), Palatine’s Karimot Lawal (145) and Jazz Ocampo (190), Riverside-Brookfield’s Estefany Bejarano (155), Richmond-Burton’s Sandra Teren Reyes, and Jefferson’s Kylie Eilken (235).

Placing fourth were Wheeling’s Yazmine Gomez (105) and Jocelyn Juarez (120), Rockford East’s Tha Ru (110), Richmond-Burton’s Savannah Wells (115) and Alana Echevarria (125), Rochelle’s Paris Washington (135), Prairie Ridge’s Angela Thrush (140), Palatine’s Angela Escalera (170) and Aiva Wikar (190), and Glenbard North’s Malachi Evans (235)

Rockford East Girls Invitational championship matches:

105: Molly Snyder (Geneseo) F 1:47 Norah Vick (Sandwich)
110: Annalee Aarseth (CL South) D 7-0 Isabella Nelson (R-Burton)
115: Gabby Gomez (Glenbard N) TF 4:17 Rebecca DiSilvestro (Geneva)
120: Ashlyn Strenz (Sandwich) F 5:47 Gianna Arzer (Grayslake C)
125: Destiny Bright (Thornton) F 1:24 Cammyla Macias (Rochelle)
130: Jalah Wilson (Thornton) D 14-7 Elise Burkut (Wheeling)
135: Lloyd Kowalczyk (Fremd) F 3:08 Grace Schilling (Geneseo)
140: Netavia Wickson (Boylan) F 1:31 Reagan Bopes (Geneseo)
145: Jasmine McCaskel (R-Burton) F 3:33 Gia Ritter (Geneseo)
155: Dempsey Atkinson (Rochelle) F 0:57 Julienna Beese (R-Burton)
170: Sabrina Cargill (Palatine) F 1:43 Madeline Chicas (Wheeling)
190: Jasmine Rene (Wheeling) D 8-2 Kayla Hodfield (CL South)
235: Savannah Schutt (Harlem) F 1:09 Sionna Stampley (Thornton)

By Curt Herron for the IWCOA

Six individuals received The Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award at last Sunday’s National Wrestling Hall of Fame Illinois Chapter Honors Banquet that was held at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Alsip.

This year’s six recipients were Sean Bormet, Mike Bukovsky, Bill Honeycutt, Rob Murphy, Mick Ruettiger and Mick Torres. 

The Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award is given in recognition of years of dedication to the development of leadership and citizenship to the youth of Illinois through the sport of wrestling.

Two other honors that were also presented at the honors banquet to former wrestlers were the Medal of Courage Award, which went to Darrell Gholar, and the Outstanding American Award, which went to Terry McCann.

The Outstanding American Award is given to former wrestlers who are highly successful in other walks of life and use the disciplines learned in wrestling in their profession. That award has been presented since 2005.

And the Medal of Courage Award is presented to a former wrestler who has overcome what appears to be insurmountable challenges. Those awards have been given out since 2003.

In addition, 2023 graduates who were given honors were Homewood-Flossmoor’s Attalia Watson-Castro, who received the Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award, and Washington Community’s Kannon Webster, who received the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award.

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame Illinois Chapter Lifetime Service to Wrestling Awards have been given out since 1997, when the first group of recipients were selected. They were Ott Bay, Chuck Farina, Elias George, George Girardi and Bill Schmitt. Other recipients have been added in each year since 2001, except for 2021. A total of 139 individuals have received this award.

The recipients of all of the awards that were given at the honors banquet will be honored in the State Chapter Hall of Honors at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum, which is located in Stillwater, Oklahoma. 

Biographies of all of the most recent award winners as well as pictures and biographies of many of the earlier Illinois Chapter award winners can also be seen at the Hall of Fame & Museum’s website, which is http://nwhof.org

Here is a summary of all of this year’s award recipients, with the Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award winners listed first.

The biographies were submitted by the recipients, who all gave speeches at the banquet. The quotes that appear were from subsequent conversations with the six individuals who received Lifetime Service to Wrestling Awards.

Sean Bormet

Lifetime Service to Wrestling

Sean Bormet is in his sixth season as University of Michigan wrestling head coach after serving seven seasons as Joe McFarland’s top assistant coach. On March 27, 2018, Sean was named the 10th head coach of the Michigan program.

Named both the Big Ten and NWCA National Coach of the Year in 2022, Sean guided the Wolverines to 48 dual meet wins over his five seasons at the helm of the Michigan program, captured the 2022 Big Ten championship and boasted three top-five finishes at the NCAA Championships (2019, 2021, 2022).

Michigan has claimed two NCAA champions in Nick Suriano (125 pounds, 2022) and Mason Parris (Heavyweight, 2023) and 16 NCAA All-Americans, plus four NWCA All-Americans during the COVID-canceled 2019-20 season. Parris was also named the 2023 Hodge Trophy winner as the nation’s top college wrestler. 

Sean led Michigan to one of the most successful seasons in the 100-year program history in 2021-2022, when the Wolverines posted a 12-1 dual meet record and the first Big Ten championship since 1973 before claiming runner-up honors at the NCAA Championships.

Since returning to his alma mater in 2011, Sean has helped mentor 21 different Wolverine All-Americans to 36 All-America total citations. Michigan has earned top-10 team finishes at each of the last seven NCAA Championships, including four straight top-five finishes (2018-2022).

Sean is a three-time winner of the Terry McCann Award as the USA Wrestling Freestyle Coach of the Year (2006, 2008, 2010). He has been a personal coach for athletes at seven World Championships and three Olympic Games and has coached World Champions at every age group. 

Michigan recently boasted three medalists at the 2023 World Championships in Serbia, earning Wolverine alums Stevan Micic and Myles Amine qualification for the 2024 Olympics. Micic is Michigan’s first freestyle world champion while Amine became the first to claim an Olympic freestyle medal with his 2021 bronze in Tokyo.

From 2001-2011, as the owner and founder of the Overtime School of Wrestling in Naperville, Sean built the cutting edge training center into the nation’s premiere wrestling club, producing numerous champions and All-Americans at all age levels. 

Alumni of Overtime include World medalists, Olympic and World team members, NCAA champions and All-Americans, USA Wrestling Junior and Cadet national champions and more than 150 state champions.

Sean was named the 2004 USA Wrestling Developmental Coach of the Year for his achievements with age-group wrestlers and programs. He coached the Illinois Junior Freestyle Team to five dual national titles (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011) and two national freestyle titles in Fargo (2007, 2010). He has also coached numerous age-group national champions and All-Americans for the Illinois Junior and Cadet freestyle national teams.

As a Michigan student-athlete (1991-1994), Sean was a two-time NCAA All-American at 158 pounds, placing second as a senior (1994) and third as a junior (1993) and a two-time Big Ten champion (1993, 1994). He posted a 125-21 career record, including a 33-2 mark as a senior, and ranks 13th among Michigan’s all-time winningest wrestlers. He accumulated 44 career falls to list fifth on the program’s all-time pins list. A two-time team captain, Sean was twice named the Wolverines’ Cliff Keen Award winner as the team’s most outstanding wrestler.

In addition to his collegiate success, Sean excelled in freestyle wrestling, placing second at 76 kg at the 1999 U.S. Senior Nationals and third at 74 kg in 1996. He also took third place at the 1996 Olympic Team Trials and 1999 World Team Trials. While at Michigan, he competed in the 1991 Espoir World Championships after claiming the Espoir national championship at 74 kg. He also participated in several international tours, claiming gold medals in Italy (1993), Greece (1996), Montreal (1997) and Poland (1998, 2000).

Sean started wrestling at age eight in 1979 when his dad formed the Frankfort Falcons Wrestling Club. He was a two-time IKWF state champion before heading to Providence Catholic High School (1985-1989). There Sean contributed to two undefeated team state championships in his final two seasons and was himself a state champion and a three-time state place winner. He compiled a 184-6 prep record, including a 53-0 senior season with 48 falls – a mark that still stands as Illinois’ state record for most falls in a season.

“It’s an honor to be recognized with such a distinguished group of wrestlers and Lifetime Achievement Award winners here,” Bormet said. “I’ve travelled all around, coached all around and recruited all around the world and the state of Illinois is such a hotbed for wrestling. I have so much pride that I grew up and wrestled in the state of Illinois. 

“It’s still one of the first places and really important places for me to continue to recruit for the University of Michigan. It was a great group tonight for me with Michigan, Illinois, Providence and Overtime here. It’s been a lot of fun and it’s a really special state and there are a lot of special people to me and I’m just very thankful.”

Mike Bukovsky

Lifetime Service to Wrestling

Mike Bukovsky started his wrestling career at Eisenhower Junior High School wrestling for Hall of Famer Joe Pedersen. Mike moved on to Montini Catholic High School and continued his wrestling career under another Hall of Famer, Jim Izzo. 

Mike was a three-year varsity starter and two-time conference champion and was also voted team captain and most valuable wrestler his senior year. He also played football for Montini’s first-ever state playoff qualifying football teams in 1981 and 1982, while earning All-Conference, All-Area and honorable mention All-State recognition.

When an injury ended his college wrestling career after two years at North Central College, Mike began helping out with the Montini wrestling team and began his coaching career in 1985. After nine years as the sophomore coach, Mike assumed the reins of the varsity program in 1995, a position he held for 16 years until 2010. All told, he coached wrestling for 25 years at Montini.

As the Head Wrestling Coach, Mike led his teams to 460 dual meet wins while losing only 39, a career 92 percent winning mark. His squads won 15 IHSA Regional Championships and qualified for the Dual Team State Tournament 13 times. Those teams won 11 Dual Team State Trophies, including eight IHSA Dual Team State Championships. Mike’s teams included 140 state qualifiers, 81 state place winners and 32 IHSA Individual State Champions. Mike has also coached three IHSA Individual four-time State Champions.

Several of his teams were nationally ranked, including the 2007 team ranked fifth in the nation by Amateur Wrestling News Magazine. Mike was recognized three times as IWCOA Coach of the Year and selected as the National High School Athletic Coaches Association’s National Coach of the Year in 2009. He was inducted into the IWCOA Hall of Fame in 2008, received the IWCOA Man of the Year award in 2010 and served as a Grand Marshal at the 2017 IHSA State Wrestling Finals.

Mike has been a member of the IWCOA Executive Board since 1999, serving as the chairman of the Classic Dual Committee and emcee of the All-State Banquet, among various other duties. He served as the IWCOA President in 2008 and 2009 and has been a member of the IWCOA Hall of Fame selection committee since 2008. Mike has also promoted wrestling by working as a color analyst and broadcaster for the IHSA and IKWF State Finals and numerous other wrestling events over the years.

At present, Mike is the Head Football Coach at Montini and is currently in his 33rd season coaching in the football program, being a part of six State Championship Teams. Mike also coached in the girls softball program for eight years, and in his five years as head coach, won two state titles. While coaching wrestling, football and softball at Montini for 37 years, Mike has been a part of 16 state championship teams.

“My first thought was very, very humble to be included in that group of people and of course to join the group of people who had already been inducted before,” Bukovsky said. “It was a very humbling experience for me ever since I got the news that I was being inducted. It’s kind of a neat process since it makes you go back  and you have to gather some information and some pictures. And it makes you really appreciate a lot of the people that have been in my life that I’m fortunate to have, both wrestling people and non-wrestling people. That’s where I started with the whole process and I was thinking about how fortunate I’ve been to have those people in my life. That’s really what I got out of the evening.

“It is a very special place. I obviously am a graduate of Montini and I’ve been around here for a long, long time. This is my 39th year in some capacity, so it’s been great to be around here. What I kept coming back to the other night were the people that I’ve had the good fortune of being in contact with. It was kind of neat. I got so many phone calls, messages, reach outs and emails, from former wrestlers that I’ve had and just thanking me. It kind of makes you pause and realize how fortunate I am to be in a position where I can help people like that, and that’s really been my driving force. Coaching kids has always been something that’s flipped my switch. 

“I’ve always said my whole life that wrestling people are among the best people that I’ve come into contact with. Parents, kids, fellow colleagues. I’ve always been around great people from the wrestling world and that’s kind of been an obvious thing that I’ve really enjoyed. I see wrestling in almost every part of my life. Any time I’ve had tough things to overcome and things i had to make, I just kind of always seem to fall back to wrestling and there’s a lesson there some how that I learned on a wrestling mat and it has served me very well.”

Bill Honeycutt

Lifetime Service to Wrestling

Bill Honeycutt has been involved with the sport of wrestling since he was a freshman at Morton East High School. He wrestled for four years in high school and continued to play football while attending Monmouth College. An injury during his freshman football season at Monmouth ended his days as a wrestler at the collegiate level, however, but it allowed Bill to begin a memorable career as an official.

After graduating from Monmouth in 1974, he became assistant wrestling coach at Morton East. Two years later, he became head wrestling coach at Saint Viator High School. In 1978, after leaving his career in coaching and teaching, his desire to stay involved in the sport of wrestling resulted in an intensified commitment to officiating.

Bill has officiated for IHSA, IESA and NCAA Division III events. From 1992-2023, his officiating includes a combination of 27 Individual and Dual Team IHSA State Tournaments, along with 13 IESA State Tournaments. He served on the IESA Advisory Committee from 2005-2008 and was appointed the Head Official for the IESA State Wrestling Series. 

He has also served as Coordinator of Officials and refereed several IWCOA Frosh/Soph. State Tournaments. Bill was privileged to be on the whistle for the 2022 IHSA Inaugural Girls First State Tournament.

Bill was inducted into the IWCOA Hall of Fame in 2003. Other honors include the 2005-2006 South Suburban Coaches Association Official of the Year; official at four Illinois-Indiana All-Star dual meets; 2007 National Federation High School Association Official of the Year for Illinois; Grand Marshall for the 2010 IESA State Tournament; and 2012 Official of the Year by the IWCOA. 

In 2008, Bill was appointed and continues to serve as an IHSA Clinician and Rules Interpreter for the sport. He also served on the IHSA Officials’ Advisory Committee from 2009-2012.

Bill served as the Coordinator of Officials at the 2014 IHSA Wrestling Dual Team State Final Tournament and was also honored in 2014 as a Grand Marshal for the IHSA Individual State Tournament. In 2018, Bill was honored by the IWCOA with The Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2023, Bill served as Assistant Coordinator at the IHSA Wrestling Boys Individual State Tournament and Coordinator of Officials at the IHSA Girls Wrestling Individual State Tournament and the IHSA Wrestling Boys Dual Team State Tournament.

He continues to be involved in projects including the recruitment of new officials, IHSA videos and all forms of continuing education for the sport. He has also worked with the NFHS Association on projects including video and new rule proposals.

Bill continues as an active, on-the-mat high-level official. He just completed 51 years of officiating and has refereed over 50,000 matches in his career, including some great classic IHSA State Finals championship matches.

Bill lives in Woodridge with his supportive wife Nancy and enjoys family time with his four children and eight grandchildren. He is honored to be part of a wrestling community that includes a lifetime of cherished friendships and unforgettable memories.

“I think about when I started and got out of teaching and went into officiating, my goal might be to one time be good enough to be a state finals official,” Honeycutt said. “I didn’t think that I’d end up where I did that night (NWHOF banquet). It’s still kind of a little pinch me scenario. I always wanted to give back to wrestling because wrestling made me a good football player. It’s kind of like something that was indebted. I would have never thought that later in life that I would be tied more to wrestling than I would be to football, but that’s the way that it’s been. 

“The biggest thing probably has been the camaraderie with all of the wrestling world, and the wrestling world is totally different than I think any other one. When I was up there and looking at guys like Mick Ruettiger and Mike Bukovsky, I’ve been in their gyms several times and I’ve had those smiling moments and I’ve had those moments where Mick wanted to tear me apart. But as I said in my speech, at the end of the day, we all go home as family. 

“I’m just humbled and honored. There were great moments obviously when you walk and you do your state tournament, and that’s great. But some times when I got the call and they asked me to be a clinician and an interpreter, it’s a different kind of satisfaction. The other ones are on your skills, your IQ and your quickness while this one was a great respectful award from my peers. I kind of say that from the little kid who was taking horse hair mats off the wall at Morton East gymnasium, that I would be standing on a stage with a Lifetime Achievement Award in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, it’s kind of like a fairy tale.”

Rob Murphy

Lifetime Service to Wrestling

Rob Murphy started his wrestling career in sixth grade at Shabbona Middle School in Morris. He moved to Coal City when he was in eighth grade and was a state qualifier. At Coal City High School, he was a three-sport letterwinner and all-state linebacker. He was also a two-time IHSA wrestling state qualifier with a record of 96-14, finishing third in state his senior year and helping his team earn their first state wrestling trophy with a runner-up finish.

After graduation in 1981, Rob started college that summer at Joliet Junior College to wrestle for National Wrestling Hall of Fame Lifetime Service Award winner Henry Pillard, but with a heavy heart, having to leave college because of lack of money, Rob worked pipeline construction for three and a half years. 

After saving money, he returned to the junior college in 1985, where he became a Juco national qualifier and an Academic All-American. In 1996 he transferred to Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, where he received wrestling, football and ROTC scholarships.

Rob became a three-time National Christian College Association champion and a three-time NAIA national qualifier. He also captained the 1987 and 1988 NCCAA team champions. Also in 1987, he wrestled with Athletes in Action in Japan and South Korea. At the end of his junior year in college, Rob was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve. From 1988 to 1994, he taught at Lincoln Community High School and coached wrestling with National Wrestling Hall of Fame Lifetime Service Award winner Floyd Bee.

Rob’s first head wrestling coaching position was at Wilmington High School in 1994 and he continued teaching and coaching there until he retired in 2022. At Wilmington, he posted 570 career dual meet wins. His team won three IHSA Class A Dual Team state championships in 2007, 2008 and 2009, becoming the first Illinois public school to win three in a row. 

His Wilmington teams qualified for dual team state nine times and brought home six state trophies, 10 conference team titles and 12 regional championships. He coached 129 IHSA individual state qualifiers, 52 state place winners and 10 state champions, including his two sons, Robbie and Jake.

Rob has been an active IWCOA executive board member for 25 years and co-chairman of the fundraising committee, as well as co-chairman for the Illinois/Indiana Duals. He has also served on the Hall of Fame committee since 2016 and is a Past President. In 2021-2022, he served as the sports chair for wrestling for the National High School Athletic Coaches Association. 

Rob was a 10-time conference Coach of the Year, IWCOA Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2010 and a National High School Coaches Association finalist in 2010 and 2018. He was inducted into the IWCOA Hall of Fame in 2011 and received the Silver Service Award in 2014, Man of the Year honors in 2015 and Gold Service award in 2018. Also in 2019, Rob served as a Grand Marshal in the IHSA Wrestling State Finals.

Rob and his wife, Tina have three children, Robbie, Jake and Erin, and seven grandchildren.

“It’s been awesome,” Murphy said. “At first, I was at Lincoln, where I was head track coach and assistant coach in wrestling and football. My first head coaching for wrestling was at Wilmington and that’s where I was head coach the whole time. And I actually coached track there, too, for about seven years and the track team finished fourth in the state. And I was an assistant in football for 28 years with coach (Jeff) Reents and on Friday nights, I’m still on the sidelines helping out any way that I can. But I’m not doing the practices any more because my wife and I are retired and we travel and do stuff.

“Like I said at the induction, you’re only as good as the people that you surround yourself with and I had a lot of great assistant coaches. I talked about all of the ones that were there that night, but there were other people that weren’t there that were great like Eddie Van Duyne, who’s been there with me from the start. I’ve had a lot of great people helping me out. Both of my sons, Robbie and Jake, came back to coach and Jake’s still coaching at Wilmington. It goes all the way from them to my mentors, to my friends and guys I wrestled with throughout the years. And it comes down to the table workers and people that run the clock and do the scoreboard, like my wife, Tina, and my daughter, Erin. You can’t make the journey by yourself, it’s going to be way too hard, you’ve got to have help. 

“What I’m so proud about the IWCOA is that we don’t get paid anything, we just do what’s best for Illinois wrestling. For a number of years, we were the ones that ran the girls state tournament. And we got it built up to where the numbers were so large that then the IHSA had to look at it. That’s what the IWCOA is about. And we did the Frosh/Soph Tournament and the Illinois-Indiana Duals with the big school wrestlers, the smaller school wrestlers and now the girls wrestlers. That’s all good stuff. But that’s what the wrestling community does. When we ran that state tournament (in 2021), I couldn’t get them to stop coming up and saying, thank you so much for doing this. Everybody appreciated it because it needed to be done. And not one person got sick, and that was during COVID. It was the right thing to do at the right time and it turned out perfect. The IWCOA does things that nobody else does because we’re a tight-knit family. You might go out there for competition, but once it’s all said and done, once a wrestler, always a wrestler.”

Mick Ruettiger 

Lifetime Service to Wrestling

Mick Ruettiger started his wrestling career in 1973 as a high school senior at Providence Catholic High School. He was a varsity starter in football, wrestling and baseball. Providence started its wrestling program in 1971-72. A broken arm kept Mick off the mats as a junior, but in his senior year, he went 19-3-1, won a Private School League Conference title and placed third in the IHSA Regionals in a one-class system. Mick was also the first Providence wrestler to medal in the IHSA State Individual Series at the Regionals, and he and his brother Johnny were the first to win Conference Championships.

Mick was also the first collegiate wrestler from Providence. He wrestled at Joliet Junior College (1973-1975) under Hall of Famer Henry Pillard, earning a varsity letter and the Hardest Worker Award. Mick went on to Eastern Illinois University (1975-1978), where he wrestled for NCAA Champion Ron Clinton, earning three varsity letters. Mick placed second in three tournaments while placing in two others and defeating two IHSA State Champions.

Mick’s coaching career started when he returned to EIU (1978-1979) as a graduate assistant. The university placed second at the 1979 NCAA Division II Championships, producing seven All-Americans with two National Champions. In 1979-1981, Mick served as a varsity assistant at Mount Saint Joseph in Baltimore, helping the school to add two more titles to its 12-year win streak at the Maryland Scholastic Private School State Championships. MSJ also won the 1980 Eastern Prep Nationals and third place in 1981.

Mick returned to Illinois to coach at Plano with his first head coaching job (1981-1982), producing a dual meet record of 11-7 with one state qualifier. Plano also had one wrestler start his collegiate career at the United States Naval Academy.

In 1982, Mick accepted the head coaching position at St. Charles High School, where he coached for 15 years (1982-1997), building a dual meet record of 187-117. Mick would return to St. Charles East High School in 2018, where he still serves as an assistant coach.

St. Charles won its first IHSA wrestling trophy in 1997, finishing third at the IHSA Dual Meet Finals, along with a Sectional, three Regional and two Upstate 8 and eight regular season titles from 1990-1997 while posting a dual meet record of 119-29-2. That includes 44 State Qualifiers, 21 State Placers, two State Champions and seven finalists. Also, the 1997 team was ranked 23rd nationally. Mick established the St. Charles IKWF Wrestling Club 1985-1986, which helped lead St. Charles to an outstanding 1990s run. 

While at St. Charles, Mick also coached for two years at the Prairie State Games. He also wrestled at the Games, winning a Bronze Medal in Greco-Roman and placing fifth in Freestyle. St. Charles also prepared 14 young men to wrestle in college. Five were NCAA I National Qualifiers with one All-American and one NJCAA All-American. St. Charles had six wrestlers graduate from the United State Military Academies and serve in the US Military.

In 1997, Mick took on the head coaching position at the new Neuqua Valley High School, where he coached 20 years until 2018. Those teams forged a dual meet record of 276-148-2 in 19 years of varsity competition. Following retirement, Mick volunteered as an assistant coach in 2017-2018.

Neuqua Valley reached the Sweet Sixteen three times in the IHSA State Dual Meet tournament and won six IHSA Regional Championships, eight Upstate 8 Championships and 16 regular season tournaments and was ranked 11 times in state, including five times in the top six. Its 2006 and 2008 teams were nationally ranked, 18th and 23rd, respectively. Mick’s teams at Neuqua Valley produced 55 State Qualifiers, 29 place winners, two State Champions and eight finalists.

In 2000, the Fox Valley Wrestling Club also made its permanent home at Neuqua Valley, focusing on the incoming student athletes. Mick’s teams at Neuqua Valley prepared 34 young men to wrestle in college; sent 16 to NCAA Division I, one of which was a D1 Tournament qualifier, one NJCAA National Champion and won All-American twice at the NAIA Nationals. Neuqua Valley also had three wrestlers graduate from the United States Military Academies and serve in the US Military.

Over his career, Mick compiled a total dual meet record of 463-274-4. He has been inducted into the IWCOA Hall of Fame, the St. Charles High School Hall of Fame and the Neuqua Valley Hall of Fame. In 2022, Mick and four of his brothers (John, Tim, Bernie and Mark) served as Grand Marshals at the IHSA Individual State Tournament.

Mick has also been named a Neuqua Valley “Most Influential Educator of the Year,” and the Neuqua Valley IKWF Tournament was renamed the Mick Ruettiger Invitational.

“Randy Konstans called me up and said he had some good news for me,” Ruettiger said. “It’s an incredible feeling, it really is. You get a chance to reflect on the 45 years that I’ve been involved in wrestling. And you know all of the other people that have been involved with wrestling with you. So it’s not my award so much as it is the people that supported me and wrestled for me, and one of the biggest things was they believed in me and my system and how I handled kids, and that kind of brings it all together. I tried to bring that across during my speech, and I could have told a thousand stories. The (Ruettiger) boys were pretty close to each other, but we were also our own person. We had our own world to live in and we had to survive within a 14-kid family and you had to fend for yourself. And the only time that we were together was when somebody got in trouble, because when one got in trouble, we all got in trouble. Dad wasn’t there to judge anybody, but all of us. So we learned to deal with it and then go on to the next day. 

“I think the reason that I got that job in Plano was because of my last name. I was a guy who didn’t have the high school record based on wrestling one year. Butch Cotter, the football coach at Plano, knew our family because they were Class A wrestlers at the time so when he heard the Ruettiger name, he said that I had to be pretty good, so I said to take a chance on me, and he did. When I started at St. Charles, we didn’t have a kids club so I got a hold of Mr. Potter and he got some other dads together and we had a Saturday club, and the first day we had it, 100 kids showed up in the back gym. Then we had enough people to do an IKWF club the next year. When that kids club opened up, it took us five or six years to really get competitive at a team level. In the 1990’s we had some outstanding teams and just missed getting into the finals of the dual meets. We got pounded by Waubonsie Valley and DeKalb but then started beating them in my last few years and that’s how important the kids club was. And our high school parents, whatever we needed to get done, the fine points of the program was done by them.

“I wasn’t looking to go anywhere, but the new principal at Neuqua Valley asked me if I knew anyone who was interested in coaching there. I was a dean at the time and one of the positions they needed was a dean so I said that I might be interested in that. When I would go home to Joliet, I could see them building that building. I told her that I had wanted to see the building, so I might as well work there and I got the lead coaching job, not the head coaching job, so I had to reinterview again for that. We had the Fox Valley Wrestling Club, which was an outstanding kids club, but no one was coming to Neuqua, even though they were using our room. After a few years, I went to the parents and we talked about going with our own club and then we built up that program. I was there for 19 years as head coach and I think that we were ranked in 13 of those years.”

Mick Torres 

Lifetime Service to Wrestling

Mick Torres has been involved with the Illinois wrestling community since 1975 as a competitor, head coach, official and athletic director. It has been in the area of wrestling tournament management, however, that Mick has made his greatest contribution to the sport. 

Starting in 1994, along with his brother Dave Torres, wife Lisa Torres, and other family members, Mick and his management team at ILWrestle.com have managed more than 200 high school tournaments, mostly in the counties of northern Illinois. When not working on the weekends in high school gyms, Mick has provided training, troubleshooting and consulting on all aspects of tournament management for other tournament directors and the IHSA.

Notable tournaments Mick and ILWrestle have run multiple times include: Al Dvorak Invitational at Harlem; Berman Holiday Classic at Palatine; Moore-Prettyman Invitational at Barrington; Rex Whitlatch Invitational at Hinsdale Central; Leyden; and Hoffman Estates and more than 70 Conference, Regional and Individual Sectional Tournaments, mostly in the northwest suburbs. 

Back in the mid-1990s when handheld digital cameras first became popular, Mick was one of the first to snap a photo of the tournament champ getting his hand raised by the official and then quickly transposing it on to a printed awards bracket.

Mick wrestled at Yorkville High School, placing fourth at 98 pounds as a freshman in 1976 and third at 126 in 1978, and he was a state finalist in 1979 at 138 lbs. He was a valuable team member on a Yorkville squad that won the IHSA Team Wrestling State Title in 1976 and finished second in 1977, third in 1978 and second in 1979. Mick finished his high school career with a 102-15 record. He was also an NEC All-Conference tailback in 1978, setting a school record with 16 touchdowns his senior year.

Mick would go on to wrestle at Northern Illinois University, where recurring shoulder injuries ended his competitive career. He graduated in 1983, received his bachelor’s degree and teaching certification and went on to teach physical science and become the head wrestling coach at Lake Zurich High School. Mick coached three state place winners and Lake Zurich High School’s first state champion in any sport, Al Strobl, at 160 pounds in Class AA in 1991. During his tenure at Lake Zurich, Mick obtained his master’s in Educational Administration in 1990.

Mick left the classroom and coaching to become Lake Zurich’s assistant principal/athletic director from 1991 to 1994. He returned as an assistant wrestling coach, assistant principal and technology director at Antioch High School from 1994 to 2003 and finished his 37-year career in education as District 128’s (Libertyville/Vernon Hills High Schools) Educational Technology Director, retiring in 2022.

Mick was also an IHSA Wrestling Official from 1993-1996. He was nominated for IWCOA Administrator of the Year in 2010 and 2019 and was inducted into the IWCOA Hall of Fame in 2016. Since 2015, Mick has served on the Executive Board of the IWCOA and serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He also currently serves as the announcer for the IHSA Individual, Dual and Girls State Tournaments and most recently served as announcer for the Midlands.

Mick and his supportive wife Lisa have four children (Amanda, Ashley, Zack and Ray) and five grandchildren (Allie, Sophie, Connor, Willow and Benjamin).

“I started out in my speech recognizing my two greatest supporters… I’m just really fortunate to still have my parents around,” Torres said. “Mom (Sophie) and dad (Ray) are going to be celebrating their 68th anniversary and they’re 89 and 92. I just think to be honored in this way with them there was obviously for me, just so big. And also to have my brother Dave there. Dave was the one that really got me started in tournament management work. He encouraged me to be a teacher, he encouraged me to be a coach and he encouraged me to go on and get into school administration. Ultimately, we both got to that point where we couldn’t coach any more because we were both school administrators, so we were like, ‘let’s do that one thing that we’re really passionate about, and that’s running a great wrestling tournament.”

“Back in the 1980’s there really wasn’t a lot of software back then to run tournaments, so Dave and I both thought that we could do a better job. So we started ILWrestle and I think our first tournament was 1994, so it’s been going on 30 years that we’ve been running these tournaments, and that’s a lot of tournaments. We’ve got some great roots and both of us are just real passionate about the sport and are lucky that we’ve been able to give back in a unique way. I tried officiating for a little while after I got out of coaching, but it seemed like the tournament work was just that much more fun. It was the opportunity to see anywhere from 12 to 16 to 20 new teams every weekend. And to see all of the coaches and have an opportunity to interact with officials and just all of the people involved. Both of us ran the same tournaments every year and when you’d go to the Dvorak or Whitlatch year in and year out you know everyone there, from the A.D.s secretary to all of the tournament workers and parent volunteers. It really became where every weekend we had something to look forward to and seeing so many friendly faces. The Berman was our longest legacy with Al and Sally. It started out as a 16-team tournament and grew into a 32-team powerhouse and at one point was rivaling the Dvorak.” 

“In the IWCOA, we work hard and we’re always looking at ways where we can advance this sport. Now there are a growing number of tournament opportunities for girls and the boys Fresh/Soph Series is another great example of some of the great things that the IWCOA is doing. It’s really giving kids and coaches something to look forward to once the regular season is over. The whole Board of Directors of the IWCOA and the NWHOF are just a fabulous group of passionate, hard working individuals that I’m honored to work alongside.”

Darrell Gholar

Medal of Courage

Growing up in Chicago, Darrell Gholar attended Chicago Dunbar Vocational High School, where he wrestled and played football. He was an IHSA Wrestling State finalist in 1980 and AAU Wrestling National Runner-up and was named captain of both the football and wrestling team.

After graduating from Dunbar, Darrell attended the University of Minnesota and started his collegiate wrestling career. There he was named to the Freshman All-American Team and served for two years as Minnesota Wrestling Team Captain. Darrell graduated from Minnesota in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in world literature.

His desire to wrestle moved forward as he became a three-time United States Greco-Roman National Champion, an alternate for the 1988 Olympic Team and Captain of the 1986 United State World Team. He also served as assistant coach at the University of Minnesota in 1985-1986 and as assistant coach at Drake University in 1986-1987.

Darrell then became a successful professional fighter, starting his professional fighting career in 1998. In 2000, he captured the World Vale Tudo Championship. A middleweight champion, he vacated the title in 2001 when he retired from professional fighting.

Darrell also became a finalist for a Jerome Fellowship in playwriting. He was a Walt Disney Pictures screenwriting fellowship recipient, where after completion he was offered a position writing for Walt Disney Pictures Touchstone Division. While writing for Disney, Darrell wrote and directed “The Dancer” at the Ivar Theater in Hollywood. 

He then co-produced “Looking for Bruce,” a full-length feature film. In 2003, Darrell was named one of the world’s top 200 living poets and was invited to read in Washington D.C. at the National Society of Poets 2003 National Convention.

In 2013, Darrell suffered a massive stroke due to high blood pressure complications. He was unconscious for several days and when he awoke, he was completely paralyzed on the right side of his body. Doctors were shocked he had survived and told him they were surprised he could even talk. 

Darrell faced the huge task of rehabilitation; in his words, “I was so scared. I started working out right away. It was the only thing I knew to do.” Insurance limits would restrict his rehabilitation, but Darrell approached his rehabilitation with the same gusto he did throughout his wrestling and fighting career. He would work out two or three times a day, research for information about rehabilitation of his condition and did all he could do each day to improve himself.

Terry McCann

Outstanding American

Terry McCann attended Notre Dame College Prep High School when he wrestled for Hall of Fame coach Augie Genovesi. At Notre Dame High School, Terry was captain of the football team under legendary coach Mike Hennessey and coach Augie’s wrestling team.

Terry was a two-time Regional Wrestling Champion, Conference Champion, Cadet Greco-Roman State Runner-Up, Cadet National team member and IHSA state qualifier in 1994. In 2016, Terry was inducted into Notre Dame High School Hall of Fame.

After Notre Dame High School, he continued his education at the University of Iowa, graduating in 1998. After graduation from the University of Iowa, Terry entered the Insurance Industry, beginning his career with AIG then CRC as a wholesale broker where he worked his way to vice president, senior vice president, and ultimately president of the Chicago office.

In 2010, working with partners Tim Turner and Ed McCormack, they joined legendary entrepreneur and founder of AON Corporation, Pat Ryan. Together they formed Ryan Specialty, a wholesale insurance brokerage and specialty insurance underwriting platform, that structures complex insurance programs for large corporations.

From infancy, they developed RYAN (NYSE) into a multi-billion dollar global leader in the specialty insurance business. Terry serves as president of the RT Chicago office, one of the largest business units for RYAN which has a market cap of over $12 billion.

In 2021, Terry and his partners led RYAN Specialty to a listing on the New York Stock Exchange. RYAN (NYSE) was the second best performing IPO of 2021 with over 700 listings on the NYSE that year.

Terry is recognized as one of the leading professionals in the industry, garnering numerous awards including National Broker of the Year in 2018 by Business Insurance magazine as well as 2017 Construction Broker of the year by Insurance Business America Magazine. The entire office was honored nationally in 2020.

Wrestling has had an indelible influence on his life and his wrestling roots run deep. Terry’s brother Kevin has been honored with the National Wrestling Hall of Fame’s Medal of Courage for his bravery, and his father Dennis is an Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association Hall of Fame inductee as a coach, as well as in the Chicago Catholic League Hall of Famer. Terry’s Mom Jane, an accomplished nurse, has always been a leading inspiration for him. He has never seen anyone as tough and loving as her.

The principles of wrestling – toughness, perseverance, persistence and commitment to excellence – has been his guiding philosophy for his successful business career. Terry uses a familiar Dan Gable quote in tough times: “After wrestling, everything else is easy”. Work ethic, leadership and emotional intelligence define Terry’s style.

Although his corporate executive position places a heavy demand on his time, Terry still finds time for multiple philanthropic endeavors. He is a financial supporter of Beat The Streets, Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago and has funded scholarships and financial aid for students and athletes at Francis Xavier Warde School, Saint Ignatius College Prep in Chicago and Notre Dame High School. He has served as a director of the Evans Scholars Scholar Foundation since 2013.

Terry lives in Chicago with his Wife Eileen and children Colin (15), Caroline (13) and Kevin (11). Above all else, he loves his time with his family and all their activities and athletics.

Attalia Watson-Castro

Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award

The Illinois Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame honors Attalia Watson-Castro, a Homewood-Flossmoor High School graduate, as its 2023 recipient of the Tricia Saunders Excellence in Wrestling Award. 

The award is named for the four-time World Champion and women’s wrestling pioneer. Saunders was the first woman to be inducted as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006 and was inducted into the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011. Each award recipient is evaluated on excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, character, citizenship, and community service.

Attalia is two-time IHSA State Girls Individual Champion, winning the title at 135 pounds in the state’s inaugural year of 2022 and then again in 2023 at 130 pounds. She also won two girls’ state folkstyle titles, at 135 in 2022 and 130 in 2023. In Fargo Freestyle competition, Attalia earned All-American honors by finishing fourth at 135 in 2021.

In addition to her outstanding wrestling career, Attalia was involved with her school’s Food Drive as well as coaching several youth sports.

Kannon Webster

Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award

The Illinois Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame honors Kannon Webster, a Washington Community High School graduate, as its 2023 recipient of the Dave Schultz Excellence in Wrestling Award in honor of the late Olympic and World Champion.

Each award recipient is evaluated on excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, character, citizenship, and community service.

Kannon is a three-time IHSA State Champion for Washington Community High School, winning titles in 2023 at 145 pounds, in 2022 at 132 pounds and in 2020 at 106 pounds. He also helped the Panthers to capture the 2023 IHSA Class 2A Dual Team Tournament title with a 28-27 victory over Joliet Catholic Academy.

In international style competition, Kannon is a six-time Fargo Nationals All-American. In Freestyle competition, Kannon has four Fargo National All-American finishes including winning the 145 pound championship last summer. 

In addition to his Fargo success last summer, Kannon won the U20 Pan American Championship, finished second in the U20 US Open and second in the U20 World Team Trials Tournament.

In Greco-Roman competition, Kannon is also a four-time Fargo All-American including winning the last two championships. His 2022 title included him being named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.

Kannon was a member of the Washington High School National Honor Society. He has helped out with the Washington Youth Wrestling Club as well as volunteering with the Special Olympics. He is continuing his wrestling career at the University of Illinois.