Feature Stories

By Curt Herron
For the IWCOA

Tremont rolls at PORTA Rex Avery Invite

Tremont scored 240.5 points which helped it to easily capture top honors in Saturday’s Rex Avery PORTA Invite, which was held in Petersburg. Canton edged Auburn 157.5-157 for second place while Kewanee (126), Shelbyville (119), Lincoln (116.5), Knoxville (109), Cumberland/Newton (107.5), Ridgeview/Lexington (101) and PORTA/A-C Central/Greenview/Havana (99.5) rounded out the top 10.

The Turks, who were third in Class 1A in Rob Sherrill’s IWCOA rankings, are coached by 2006 IWCOA Hall of Famer TJ Williams, who won four IHSA titles at Mount Carmel and only lost once and won two NCAA titles at the University of Iowa. His team had two champions and two second-place finishers and had seven other individuals who placed sixth or better in the 25-team competition.

Winning titles for Tremont were Levi Leitner (152) and Cooper Wendling (195) while Lucas Wendling (170) and John Rathbun (220) both placed second. Finishing in third place for the Turks were Chase Stedman (113), Mason Mark (132) and Logan Stedman (160) and placing fourth was Luke Sauder (285). 

Champions for Canton were Trenton Hedges (126), Joseph Norton (170) and Weston Swise (285) while Danny Murphy (182) placed fourth. Winning titles for Auburn were Anthony Ruzic (113) and Dresden Grimm (132) while Colby Willhite (138) finished second and Skylar Fay (182) and Cole Edie (285) both took third place.

Also capturing championships were Cumberland/Newton’s Hank Warfel (106), St. Joseph-Ogden’s Holden Brazelton (120), Lincoln’s Kaden Osland (138), Carlinville’s Jack Schwartz (145), Knoxville’s Hunter Fox (160), Sacred Heart-Griffin’s Cory West (182) and Ridgeview/Lexington’s Evan Antonio (220).

Other second-place finishers were Shelbyville’s Calvin Miller (120) and Kaz Fox (132), Cumberland/Newton’s Colby Ryan (195) and Noah Carl (285). Litchfield/Mt. Olive’s Alex Powell (106), Farmington’s Keygan Jennings (113), Ridgeview/Lexington’s Payton Campbell (126), Lincoln’s Isaac Decker (145), PORTA/A-C Central/Greenview/Havana’s Brayden Barner (152), Deer Creek-Mackinaw’s Gage Sweckard (160) and Warrensburg-Latham/Mt. Pulaski’s Austin Stock (182).

In the closest title matches, Warfel edged Powell 8-6 at 106, Brazelton won 3-1 in sudden victory over Miller at 120, Schwartz claimed a 7-5 victory over Decker at 145 and Norton prevailed 4-3 over Lucas Wendling at 170. Ruzic (113), Hedges (126), Grimm (132), Osland (138), Leitner (152), West (182) and Swise (285) all recorded falls in their title matches while Cooper Wendling claimed a major decision at 195, Fox won 8-1 over Sweckard at 160 and Antonio captured a 7-1 win over Rathbun at 220. 

Other third-place finishers were Kewanee’s Hayden Davis (126), Kadin Rednour (152) and Nathaniel Lockett (195), Mt. Zion’s Mason Gray (106), Ridgeview/Lexington’s Braydon Campbell (120), Beardstown’s Jonny Marquez (138), Shelbyville’s Will Fox (145), Cumberland/Newton’s Iysten Syfert (170) and Hillsboro’s Magnus Wells (220).

Also finishing fourth were Mt. Zion’s Bradley Wilson (120), Lawrence Trimble (160) and Remington Hiser (220), Monmouth-Roseville’s Dayanna Ortiz-Mora (106), Ridgeview/Lexington’s Anthony Wolinsky (113), Knoxville’s Gage Fox (126), Kewanee’s Will Taylor (132), PORTA/A-C Central/Greenview/Havana’s Vance Witherall (138), Monticello’s Jaxon Trent (145), Lincoln’s Colbie Glenn (152), Pittsfield/Pleasant Hill’s Mason Davis (170) and Sacred Heart-Griffin’s Jack Ludolph (195).

Marion captures third-straight title in own Wildcat Duals 

Host Marion won all five of its dual meets to capture its third-consecutive championship in its own Wildcats Duals Tournament on Saturday.

Coach Darren Lindsey’s Wildcats entered as the second-seed and proceeded to defeat the other seeded teams in the final three rounds, beating third-seed Kennett of Missouri 60-20, fourth-seed Carbondale 60-15 and top-seed Waterloo 54-29 in the finale.

Marion got outright first place finishes from Tate Miller (126), Ricky Wade (132) and Nate Dampier (152) while Malakei Weatherly (182) and Garrett Berendson (285) both shared titles. Earning outright seconds were Brennan Vogt (113) and Aden White (160) while Hunter Gibb (138) tied for second. And the hosts got third-place finishes  from Caleb Ohnesorge (170) and Levi Tanner (220).

Waterloo, which was surprised by Carmi-White County 42-39 in its first dual, needed a win in the final dual to try to force a three-way tie with Marion and Carmi-White County. But the Wildcats won five of the first six matches to take a 30-5 lead and after Waterloo got a fall, Marion responded with two pins of its own to go up 42-11 to end the drama.

Carmi-White County only lost one dual meet, its second of the day, when it fell 48-30 to Carbondale. But the Bulldogs bounced back with decisive victories over Carlyle, Sparta and Red Bud/Valmeyer 54-15 in its final dual to earn second-place honors.

Matt Wilson (113) won an outright title for Carmi-White County while Isaac King (182) and Titus Wood (285) tied for first place. Noah Pollard (132) and Gavin Payton (220) both had outright seconds while Trent Belford (138) and Nelson Rider (195) tied for second and Caleb Siebers (152) finished third.

Waterloo responded to its early loss with three-straight wins, edging Carbondale 34-33 and beating Kennett 50-30 to set up its dual with Marion.

Claiming outright titles for Waterloo were Gavin Hearren (120) and Jordan Sommers (220) while Ty Kinzinger (106), Adron Winget (145) and Brandon Lloyd (170) all tied for first place.

Carbondale beat Kennett 30-27 to join Waterloo with 3-2 records but took fourth place as a result of their one-point loss. Kennett and Red Bud/Valmeyer both went 2-3 and Carlyle also won one dual.

Capturing outright titles for the Terriers were Aiden Murphy (138), Isaiah Duckworth (160) and Aiden Taylor (195). Brendon Banz (152) took second and Gabriel Roman (120) and Ryan Hawk (182) had outright thirds while Aaron Johnson (126) tied for third place.

Red Bud/Valmeyer had two individuals who shared honors with Mitch Fleming (145) tying for first-place and Zack Manning (126) tying for third.

Carlyle’s Tyson Waughtel (106) and Owen Birkner (170) both shared first-place while Sparta’s Cody Martin (160) took third place.

Riverdale top Illinois team in own Jim Boyd Invite

The three Iowa teams that competed at Riverdale’s Jim Boyd Invite in Port Byron took the top three sports in the 10-team competition. Pleasant Valley won the title with 241 points while Wilton took second with 196 and Davenport North was third with 154 points. The top three squads also captured eight of the individual titles.

Leading the way for the seven Illinois teams that participated were the host Rams taking fourth with 143.5 points while Sterling (128) edged Sherrard (123) for fifth. Riverdale had four individual champions, which was tied for the high mark along with Pleasant Valley.

Winning championships for Illinois schools were Riverdale’s Brock Smith (132), Blake Smith (138), Zach Bradley (152) and Alex Watson (160), Sterling’s Drew Kested (145) and Sherrard’s Ryder Roelf (170). Finishing in second place were Riverdale’s Kolton Kruse (126) and Eli Hinde (145), Mercer County’s Ethan Monson (120), Seneca’s Asher Hamby (152) and Sterling’s Thomas Tate (160).

In the closest title matches for Illinois athletes, Blake Smith prevailed 12-11 over Wilton’s Owen Milder at 138, Kested won 7-1 over Hinde at 145, Bradley captured an 11-8 win over Hamby at 152 and Monson lost 7-2 to Wilton’s Jordan Dusenberry at 120. Recording falls in championship matches were Watson over Tate at 160, Brock Smith at 132 and Roelf at 170 while Kruse was pinned at 126.

Claiming third place were Sterling’s Dylan Ottens (132), Isaiah Mendoza (152), Joey Cordell (170), Diego Leal (220) and Alejandro Arellano (285),  Sherrard’s Pierce Findlay (113), Austin Fratzke (138) and Walker Anderson (195) and Seneca’s Kyler Hahn (106) and Jaden Casey (126).

Finishing fourth were Sherrard’s Jayden Thomsen (132), Cyrus Hoke (152) and Dylan Russell (160), Seneca’s Owen Feiner (145) and Chris Peura (195), St. Bede’s Jake Migliorini (170), Mercer County’s Bodie Salmon (182) and Polo’s Blake Diehl (220).

By IWCOA reports

Naperville Central wins title at Hoffman Estates’ Mickey Marchese Memorial Tournament

Naperville Central had five champions and five second-place finishers on Saturday to help it easily claim the title of Hoffman Estates’ Mickey Marchese Memorial Tournament with 283.5 points. Harlem placed second in the 13-team event with 141 points and Homewood-Flossmoor edged Notre Dame of Niles 115-114 for third, even though it had some of its top performers competing at the Ironman in Ohio.

Capturing titles for coach Noah Fitzenreider’s Redhawks were Tyler Martin (113), Ethan Olson (120), Tommy Porter (138), Ayden Lutes (152) and David Pirozhnik (182). Taking second were Chris Bern (138), Chris Ramirez (145), Charlie Morgan (160), Niko Besterio (220) and Nick Antonietti (285).

Finishing third for Naperville Central were Mitchell Kaszuba (132),Tristen Hall (170) and Muhammad Totten (220) while placing fourth were Gavin McDonald (106) and Luke Moen (120).

Other champions were Willowbrook’s Isaiah Smith (126) and Nick Mabutas (170),  Notre Dame’s Aodan O’Sullivan (220) and Karl Schmalz (285), Elgin’s Julius Avenado (106), Harlem’s Myles Babcock (132), South Elgin’s Nico Clinite (145), Lane Tech’s Fernando Lopez (160) and Cary-Grove’s Wade Abrams (195).

Also placing second were Wheeling’s Jatuthep Rattanahattakul (120) and Patrick Tinsley (126), Harlem’s Justin Lewis (106) and Marshal Cunz (152), Willowbrook’s Chris Giroux (113), Cary-Grove’s Andrew Mohr (132), Homewood-Flossmoor’s Romeo Williams (170), Hoffman Estates’ Jalen Curtis (182) and South Elgin’s Will Ardson (195).

Two titles matches were decided by one point while two others were settled by two points. Smith edged Tinsley 7-6 at 126 and Lopez prevailed 8-7 over Morgan at 160. Babcock claimed a 4-2 win over Mohr at 132 and Lutes was a 6-4 victor over Cunz at 152.

Winning titles by fall were Avendano (106), Olson (120), Clinite (145), Pirozhnik (182), Abrams (195) and O’Sullivan (220) while Porter (138) won by technical fall. Mabutas (170) captured a major decision and Martin (113) and Schmalz (285) also won decisions.

Also taking third place were Lane Tech’s James Zavala (120), Matt Ridley (126) and Finn Merrill (145), Homewood-Flossmoor’s Jermaine Butler (138), Haku Watson-Castro (182) and Rahmal Graham (195), Notre Dame’s Johnny Sheehy (106) and Quinn Mahoney (160), Wheeling’s Max Katz (113), Hoffman Estates’ Julian Bonilla (152) and Elgin’s Adam Lambaz (285).

Other fourth-place finishers were Maine West’s Matt Westerlin (113), Claudio Castellanos (138) and Dilan Ramirez-Zavala (160), Harlem’s Donavin Vanderheyden (126) and Ben Larsen (170), Notre Dame’s Emmett Chipman (182) and Aiden Rice (195), Streamwood’s Erwin Morales (145) and Richard Rodriguez (285), Willowbrook’s Elijah Smith (132), Elgin’s Chris Santana (152) and Lane Tech’s Gustavo Diaz (220).

Lake Zurich claims top honors at Buffalo Grove’s Rex Lewis Invitational

Lake Zurich had two champions, five finalists and 12 individuals in the top five to win the title at Buffalo Grove’s Rex Lewis Invitational with 200 points. Elk Grove took second place with 158 while Vernon Hills had 150 for third place. Romeoville edged Schaumburg 143-141 to place fourth in the 16-team competition.

Leading the way for coach Jake Jobst’s first-place Bears were champions Scott Busse (138) and Dan Hull (182) and second-place finishers Luca Poeta (106), Tomas Troutman (152) and Ethan Medina (220). Finishing in third place were Alex Kahler (113) and Matt Luby (195) while Jack Turner (285) finished fourth.

“Overall our guys competed really well,” Jobst said. “We had some standout performances by Luca Poeta, Scott Busse, Dan Hull, Tomas Troutman and Ethan Medina. We have a strong core of juniors that really bring the team together. I think everyone wrestled solid and won big matches, even the wrestlers that lost early on were able to score some bonus points in the wrestlebacks and place as high as they could. Scott Busse and Dan Hull also both had dominating performances scoring bonus points in all of their matches.”

Vernon Hills, Schaumburg and St. Patrick all had three champs while Elk Grove, Geneva and Morris also had one title winner apiece. 

Vernon Hills’ champions were Will Ludolph (160), Jake Psaras (195) and Max Acettura (285); Schaumburg got titles from Brady Phelps (106), Callen Kirchner (113) and Caden Kirchner (126) and St. Patrick’s champs were Olin Walker (120), Sean Conway (132) and Gio Hernandez (170). Other title winners were Morris’ Tyler Semlar (145), Geneva’s Nicky O’Keefe (152) and Elk Grove’s Chance Guziec (220).

Also claiming second-place finishes were Elk Grove’s Grant Madl (113), Benny Schlosser (182) and Brady Tosterud (195), Grant’s Sean Rogan (120) and Douglas Zimmerman (132), Romeoville’s Sergio Dondiego (145) and Francisco Gonzalez (285), Buffalo Grove’s Max Turner (126), Vernon Hills’ Garry Gurevich (138), Geneva’s Maguire Hoeksema (160) and Schaumburg’s Jacob Acevedo (170).

Two of the tightest championship matches were the one at 170 where Hernandez won 5-3 over Acevedo on a tiebreaker and the one at 195 where Psaras edged Tosterud 3-2.

Capturing titles by fall were Caden Kirchner (126), Ludolph (160), Hull (182) and Acettura (285) while Conway (132) was a winner by technical fall.  Callen Kirchner (113), O’Keefe (152) and Guziec (220) all claimed major decisions while Phelps (106), Walker (120), Busse (138) and Semlar (145) also won decisions.

Other third-place finishers were Romeoville’s Brian Farley (106) and Mason Gougis (170), Schaumburg’s Daniel Pasman (132) and Logan Meyer (160), Elk Grove’s Danny Gaskil (138) and Ty Macina (182), Grant’s Vinny Potempa (126) and Ivan Hernandez (285), Geneva’s Dylan Schlegel (120), Buffalo Grove’s Cristhian Sanchez (145), Carmel’s Umar Mukhetdinov (152) and Palatine’s Leonel Franco (220). 

Also finishing in fourth place were Buffalo Grove’s Danny Diaz (113), David Rodriguez (120), Isaac Wilson (132), Chris Chi (152) and Dilshod Sultanov (160), Larkin’s Max Zamudio (170) and Hector Flores (182), Geneva’s Joey Sikorsky (106) and John Schmidt (195), Romeoville’s Alan Amaya (126) and Johnathan Espinoza-Luna (220), Carmel’s Ethan Onan (138) and Elk Grove’s Marco Avelar (145).

Wauconda captures first place at Richmond-Burton’s DuBois Invite

Wauconda captured five individual titles to help it claim top honors at Richmond-Burton’s DuBois Invite in Richmond with 162.5 points. Marengo (117.5) edged Hampshire (114.5) for second while Quincy (104.5) took fourth, Lake Forest (100.5) was fifth, Richmond-Burton (98.5) placed sixth and Woodstock (92.5) claimed seventh in the 16-team event.

Winning title for coach Mike Buhr’s champion Bulldogs were Lucas Galdine (106), Cooper Daun (126), Cole Porten (138), Colin Husko (145) and Nick Cheshier (152) while Matthew Merevick (220) finished second and Zac Johnson (160) placed third.

Winning titles for Marengo were Ethan Struck (132) and Michael Macias (285) while Logan Miller (138) was second, Matthew Rose (126) and Eddie Solis (195) took third and Addis Robel (120) placed fourth. Hampshire was led by a second-place finish from Patryk Barnas (285) while Anthony Marlett (145), Niko Skoulikaris (152) and Dimitrios Skoulikaris (170) were third and Chris Napiorkowski (138) and Tyler Boyd (195) finished fourth.

Other champions were Quincy’s Owen Uppinghouse (160) and Kayden Garrett (170), Woodstock’s Caleb Sciame (120) and Gavin Loiselle (220), Richmond-Burton’s Emmett Nelson (113), Lake Forest’s Charlie Heydorn (182) and Johnsburg’s Hayden Lucas (195).

Also claiming second-place finishes were Lake Forest’s Robbert Biddle (113), Julian Olenick (120) and Seth Digby (132), Woodstock’s Max Hodory (126) and Alex Iversen (152), Grayslake North’s Connor Kozaneck (145), Winnebago’s Lucas Cowman (170), Quincy’s Bryor Newbold (182) and Genoa-Kingston’s Julian Torres (195).

Four of the title matches were settled by three points or less. Cheshier beat Iversen 5-4 at 152 while Lucas prevailed 11-9 over Torres at 195. Macias claimed a 6-4 victory over Barnas at 285 while Struck won 7-4 over Digby at 132. 

Galdine (106), Porten (138), Uppinghouse (160), Garrett (170), Heydorn (182) and Loiselle (220) all won by fall in their title matches while Nelson (113) and Husko (145) both won by technical falls in their finals matches. Daun claimed a  major decision at 126 and Sciame won 8-1 over Olenik at 120.

Other third-place finishes were turned in by Richmond-Burton’s Clay Madula (106), Dalton Youngs (120) and Brody Rudkin (132), North Boone’s Gavin Ekberg (113), Winnebago’s Waylon Hanke (138), Johnsburg’s Kyle Rasper (182), Genoa-Kingston’s Ben Younker (220) and Rockford Auburn’s D’marion Love (285).

Also claiming fourth-place efforts were Winnebago’s Reid Shellhorn (145) and Charley Murray (160), Grayslake North’s Alex Carbaja (152) and Peter Weitgenant (170), Genoa-Kingston’s Shayden McNew (106), Woodstock’s Daniel Bychowski (113), Richmond-Burton’s Dane Sorensen (126), Johnsburg’s Landon Johnson (132), Durand’s Logan Braun (182) and Quincy’s Gavin Schumacher (220).

Marmion Academy wins Downers Grove South’s Larry Gassen Dual Team Invite

Marmion Academy captured its second tournament championship of the season when it claimed top honors at Downers Grove South’s Larry Gassen Dual Team Invite, which featured 16 teams. It opened the season by capturing the title at Barrington’s Moore-Prettyman Tournament.

Coach Nathan Fitzenreider’s Cadets, who are ranked fifth in the IWCOA  rankings for Class 3A, defeated Barrington 65-16 in the championship dual after winning 55-12 in the semifinals over the host Mustangs, who beat Lincoln-Way West 42-22 to finish third. 

Marmion only lost four matches on the mats in its pool victories over Oak Forest, Wheaton Warrenville South and Crystal Lake Central, with all of those coming in a 44-27 victory over Crystal Lake South.

Posting perfect marks for the Cadets for the day were Donny Pigoni (106), Jameson Garcia (113), Tyler Aters (120), Santino Scolaro (138), Kenny Siwicki (160), Tyler Perry (170), Jack Lesher (182) and Sean Scheck (220).

After beating Coal City 44-28 as well as Maine South and Warren in their pool, the runner-up Broncos won 38-30 over Lincoln-Way West in the semifinals before falling to Marmion for the title. Brian Beers (126), Chuck Jones (132) and Zach Meyer (195) were undefeated for Barrington.

The host Mustangs beat rival Downers Grove South 42-24 as well as Bartlett and Belleville West in their pool before falling to Marmion in the semifinals and defeating Lincoln-Way West for third place. RJ Samuels (160) won all his matches for Downers Grove South. 

Lincoln-Way West got past Plainfield North 38-33 and also beat Crystal Lake South and Glenwood in its pool before falling to Barrington 38-30 in the semifinals and then to Downers Grove South for third. Jase Salin (120) and Michael Sneed (220) were unbeaten for the Warriors.

Plainfield North took fifth after going 2-1 in its pool with wins over Crystal Lake South and Glenwood and a 38-33 setback to Lincoln-Way West. After capturing a 49-27 victory over Coal City, the Tigers capped their 4-1 day with a 48-18 win over Downers Grove North. Jared Gumila (170) and Jacob Macatangay (132) both went 5-0 with the latter getting the most pins in the least amount of time.

Downers Grove North took sixth after beating Bartlett and Belleville West and falling to rival Downers Grove South 42-24 in its pool. After claiming a 38-27 win over Crystal Lake Central, the Trojans lost 48-18 to Plainfield North. Harrison Konder (145), Ben Bielawski (182) and Jordan Lewis (285) all went 5-0 for their team.

Crystal Lake Central took seventh after beating Oak Forest and Wheaton Warrenville South and falling to champion Marmion in its pool. The Tigers bounced back from a 38-27 loss to Downers Grove North with a 49-30 victory over Coal City. Dillon Carlson (152) went 5-0 for Crystal Lake Central while Brant Widlowski (120) did the same for the Coalers.

By Curt Herron 

For the IWCOA

JOLIET – When a team goes 6-1 on the title mat and finishes with a flurry by winning the last five of those, it often results in a championship at a tournament with a large field.

But just as effective an approach is getting sixth-place efforts or better at each weight and supporting that with bonus points and narrow victories while capturing just one title.

The latter scenario prevailed in Joliet Central’s inaugural Mac McLaughlin Classic on Saturday, where Hersey used balance throughout its lineup to overcome Homewood-Flossmoor’s firepower and claim a 270-260.5 edge in the points for top honors. IC Catholic Prep (166.5) finished third, Hampshire (148) was fourth, St. Rita of Cascia (129) took fifth, Loyola Academy (114.5) placed sixth, Morton (112) was seventh and Romeoville (108) placed eighth in the 25-team competition.

The new tournament honors one of the greatest coaching legends from the Joliet area, Eural ‘Mac’ McLaughlin. Coach Mac, who was on hand as the tournament kicked off, led the Steelmen’s program from 1970 to 2010 and won 507 dual meets and an IHSA dual team title along while having seven state champions and 34 placewinners to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Illinois Chapter in 2017, IWCOA hall of fame honors in 1991 and Grand Marshall at the 2004 IHSA finals.

Beside teaching physical education and coaching for 43 years in a variety of sports at Joliet Central and Joliet Township co-op, Mac was a longtime bench official at the IHSA finals and an analyst on local football broadcasts. Among his proudest accomplishments as an educator was being able to have a significant impact to so many during his long tenure as both a coach and as dean of students.

On a day where a program that won its first state individual titles 75 years ago, one of Illinois’ most historic gymnasiums featured another memorable event as the five mats that were spread across the floor featured good competition throughout and resulted in 13 teams sending individuals to title matches with nine of those squads having champions.

Coach Joe Rupslauk’s champion Huskies had one title winner, Billy Spassov (160), while Danny Lehman (106) and Aaron Hernandez (145) both took second place. But thanks in part to the efforts of assistant coach Hunter Rollins, the Arlington Heights school’s last placewinner who took second place at 160 in Class 3A in 2013, the 11 other members of the team were able to contribute points as they advanced through the third- and fifth-place brackets.

Hersey, which hopes to continue its initial tournament success when it competes in events at Prospect, Harlem’s Dvorak, Wisconsin-Whitewater and The Clash in Rochester, Minnesota in upcoming weeks, received third-place efforts from Maksim Mukhamedaliyev (113), Matt Ilinykh (152), Leo Delgado (195), Manny Mejia (220) and Oleg Simakov (285) while Esteban Delgado (120), James Shaffer (132), Parker Sena (138) and Elliot Carter (170) took fifth and Jake Hanson (126) and Connor Cambria (182) placed sixth. 

“I don’t even know exactly what happened, but we just came and tried to compete and our goal as a program is just getting better,” Rupslauk said. “We’re a relatively new program and have had some ups and downs. But we have some offseason kids going now and we’re growing. We’re a very young team and we only had two seniors out there, so it was cool.  We beat Conant and Barrington in a dual the other night so the kids are excited and they want to wrestle and things are going really well. 

“Our assistant coach, Hunter Rollins, is the guy who deserves the credit since he runs our practices and it’s been incredible. We’re happy, but we’re not content with this. We’ve had some nice dual wins early in the beginning of the year and we’re just trying to improve as a program. That’s what we told the kids. We didn’t talk about winning the tournament, we just talked about getting better and competing with more elite wrestlers and there were some good schools here today.”

Despite having an open weight class due to the unavailability of the injured Vincent Robinson, who’s top-ranked at 126 in Rob Sherrill’s IWCOA rankings and placed fifth in Junior Freestyle at Fargo, Homewood-Flossmoor fell just shy of a team title after claiming four-consecutive firsts from 170 to 220 and capturing six of its seven title matches.

The Vikings got championship wins from Deion Johnson (113), Jaydon Robinson (145), Romeo Williams (170), Haku Watson-Castro (182), Rahmal Graham (195) and Justin Thomas (220) while Jermaine Butler (138) took second place and Mateo Varela (106) was fourth. Chris Williams (152) and Kenny Wallace (285) also placed in the top eight. 

Although a bit disappointed that his team wasn’t able to walk away with the tournament championship, Vikings coach Jim Sokoloski was very pleased with his team’s strong showing and that bodes well for their upcoming appearances at The Ironman in Cuyahoga, Ohio this weekend and the Carnahan in Crown Point, Indiana and The Powerade in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania later this month. H-F also has a pair of big SWSC dual meets against No. 11 Sandburg and No. 3 Lockport during the next 10 days.

“We have big goals and we don’t shy away from that,” Sokoloski said. “In our wrestling room, the first thing on our white board says ‘2020 regional champs’, and everyone of them signed it so we’ve all bought in. We’ve put together one of the toughest schedules that any public school has, with the Ironman and the Powerade and the Carnahan in Crown Point. The state tournament can’t be the hardest tournament that we’ve wrestled in all year. 

“This is year 15 for me but year two as a head coach so as I’ve learned more and met more people involved in the sport, what’s always been kind of our downfall is that when we get the state tournament, they walk out of the tunnel and they’ve been like, ‘Oh my God, look at this.’ So when we get our guys down there, it should be just like another day at the office. I’ve great assistant coaches, great families and great kids and we’re trying to get the community involved. Homewood-Flossmoor is usually synonymous with other sports and we’re trying to make sure that wrestling gets there, too. Most importantly, this is a brutal sport but we have fun, we love grinding every day and going to work. We firmly believe that if we set high expectations that they’ll be met. Everything is for the end goal, which is February. No one really cares what you do on December 4th.”

The tournament’s two state champions both earned outstanding wrestler awards that were split between the lower and upper weights. Rich Township’s Nasir Bailey recorded four victories by technical fall to capture the title at 138 to claim the award for top lower weight competitor and Shepard’s Damari Reed recorded three falls and a major decision to win the title at 152 and claim honors as the top upper weight competitor in the field. Both are number one at their weights in the IWCOA rankings. The event’s Outstanding Wrestler Award is named for the late Pat O’Connell, a 2018 IWCOA Hall of Famer who coached in the district for 30 years, spending most of that time assisting McLaughlin.

Bailey, the Junior Freestyle champion at 132 in Fargo, won a Class 6A title at 132 last season at Arlington Martin, Texas. In 2020, he took first at 120 in Class 2A for TF North to join his brothers Bilal and Sincere for the first-ever case of three titles being won in one year by the same family. Reed made history earlier this year when he won the 152 title at the IWCOA Class 3A finals in Springfield, the first title won by someone from his school since 1984.

Other title winners were Romeoville’s Brian Farley (106), Morton’s Connor Kidd (120), Loyola Academy’s Massey Odiotti (126), West Chicago’s Pierre Baldwin (132) and IC Catholic’s Isaiah Gonzalez (285). Also claiming second-place finishes were IC Catholic’s Nicholas Renteria (126), Brandon Navarro (170) and Jadon Mims (220), Morton’s Zane Ely (113) and Steven Marvin (132), Loyola Academy’s Quinn Herbert (182) and Joey Herbert (195), St. Rita’s Donavon Allen (120), Neuqua Valley’s Ryan Mohler (152), Wheaton North’s Devin Medina (160) and Hampshire’s Joey Ochoa (285).

Three of the most-competitive title matches were at 113, where Johnson got a takedown 12 seconds into overtime to claim a 7-5 win by sudden victory over Ely; at 126, where Odiotti recorded a takedown with 29 seconds left to give him a 6-4 victory over Renteria; and at 160, where Spassov captured a 3-0 triumph over Medina.

106 – Brian Farley, Romeoville

Romeoville sophomore Brian Farley entered the McLaughlin Classic as a bit of an unknown, but after winning twice by major decision and another time by technical fall, he will no longer be under the radar. He capped his day by capturing a 10-1 victory in the 106 finals over Hersey freshman Danny Lehman, who advanced following two falls.

Farley’s championship highlighted a good performance for Romeoville. Of the 10 south suburban teams that were in the field, the Spartans were second-best with only runner-up Homewood-Flossmoor faring better. He was one of five placewinners from his school and that helped them to 108 points, which was good for an eighth-place finish.

“It feels really good,” Farley said. “This will probably put our team on the map and hopefully our team does better throughout the year. I came in talking about just me becoming a better wrestler, practicing throughout the tear and working with the older guys and working with people that I know can challenge me, and that’s basically what’s made me better. This is a very important year as a team and as individuals, hopefully we can go deeper in state.”

In the third-place match, Reavis sophomore Zack Koschintski got a fall in 1:28 against H-F senior Mateo Varela to bounce back from his semifinal loss by technical fall to Farley and that give him the Rams’ best finish of the tournament. Joliet Central freshman Isaiah Kan won by fall in 3:41 over Rich Township sophomore Diondre Henry to claim fifth.

113 – Deion Johnson, Homewood-Flossmoor

Homewood-Flossmoor junior Deion Johnson definitely started his team’s appearances on the title mat in a good fashion when he recorded a takedown 12 seconds into the overtime period to win 7-5 in sudden victory over Morton senior Zane Ely. Both appear in the rankings with Johnson third at 106 in Class 3A and Ely fifth at 113 in 2A.

Johnson earned his trip to the finals with a pin in his first match followed by a 10-4 semifinal win over Hersey freshman Maksim Mukhamedaliyev while Ely recorded a pair of falls, including one over Joliet Central senior Tony Toledo in 3:03 in the semifinals, to advance.

“We are very excited,” Johnson said. “Yesterday we took a loss (to Lincoln-Way East) that we expected to win, but we came back strong today and got seven people into the finals. We’ve been working for this all year and this is a very good start. We work to have a real good team this year and this is just the beginning. Last year because of COVID, I couldn’t go to state and that was my main goal so this year I’m trying to win state and go to team state.”

In the third-place match, Mukhamedaliyev won by fall in 5:40 against Toledo, who was the host school’s top finisher in the event. St. Rita junior Austin Dangles won the fifth-place match with a fall in 0:17 against Romeoville’s Alex Bahena.

120 – Connor Kidd, Morton

Morton senior Connor Kidd took control early in the 120 pound championship and went on to capture a 13-6 victory over St. Rita freshman Donavon Allen to become the lone Potter to get a first-place finish among their three competitors that advanced to the title mat. Kidd is ranked third at 120 in Class 2A while Allen is ranked tenth.

Kidd finished second at 120 in June at the IWCOA finals when he lost to Freeport’s Markel Baker. The Morton athlete hopes to compete for another title this season at the IHSA finals. He used two first-period falls to earn his title appearance while Allen advanced after claiming three victories by major decision.

“Last year I got really close to winning, but I just had a bad finals match,” Kidd said of his IWCOA finish. “This year I’m more focused and there’s way more competition this year so it should be way more fun. Some of these are 3A schools and we’re wrestling a lot more of them this year so it’s way better competition than last year. I’m just excited to come back and win again since I just like winning matches.”

Neuqua Valley senior Jack Reina captured third place after recording a fall in 3:09 over Reavis sophomore Vladimir Vasquez and Hersey sophomore Esteban Delgado helped his team’s cause by claiming a 3-1 victory over Phoenix Military Academy sophomore Jose Lua in the fifth-place match.

126 – Massey Odiotti, Loyola Academy

Loyola Academy junior Massey Odiotti followed up on a championship at Barrington’s Moore-Prettyman tournament with another title after moving in front for good with a takedown with 29 seconds left to capture a 6-4 victory in the 126 title match against IC Catholic Prep senior Nicholas Renteria.

After opening with a fall, Odiotti, who is ranked fourth at 120 in 3A, beat Neuqua Valley senior Josh Kilacky by technical fall in 4:00 in the semifinals while Renteria, a two-time state placewinner who is ranked fifth in 1A at 126, reached the finals with a pin and a semifinal win by technical fall in 5:43 over St. Rita senior Griffen Duffin.

“It felt good to win this one after winning Barrington last week,” Odiotti said. “I felt good today at 26 because I also wrestled at 20, so I’m up a weight. It’s been a shorter break between the seasons but I’ve definitely improved. We’re looking better than the past few years and we have a great coach. It’s looking great for the future.”

In the third-place match, Killacky pinned Duffin in 1:21 and Phoenix Military Academy junior Vin Moreno took fifth with an 8-1 victory over Hersey sophomore Jake Hanson.

132 – Pierre Baldwin, West Chicago

West Chicago senior Pierre Baldwin turned in a dominating performance to capture the 132 championship after following wins by technical fall and fall before winning again by technical fall in 4:00 over Loyola Academy senior Kevin Tedeschi in the semifinals and then recording a pin in 1:32 over Morton sophomore Steven Marvin in the title match.

Baldwin, who placed sixth at 132 in the IWCOA finals, is ranked third at 132 in 3A while Marvin was eighth-ranked in 2A. After opening the tournament with a pin and a decision in the quarterfinals, Marvin captured a 14-6 victory over IC Catholic sophomore Omar Samayoa in the semifinals.

“I was really ready, stayed ready and wrestle hard and dominate and make my opponent look like they’re easy, but they’re not,” Baldwin said. “You just have to go out and win and dominate,” Mainly I have the same mindset when I wrestled for the IWCOA, just keep working hard and I use every advantage that I can. I just stay prepared and just prepare for this moment, and many more to come. I’m coming for the number one spot. Right now, I like my patience. For example, when I was a freshman, I used to panic a lot but now as I’m more mature, even when I lose, I don’t panic as much, I just go in the room and work harder and focus on the future and I just like to improve a lot.”

Samayoa claimed third place in the tournament when he won by injury default over Tedeschi while Hersey junior James Shaffer was a winner by forfeit in the fifth-place match over St. Rita sophomore Sean Larkin.

138 – Nasir Bailey, Rich Township

Nasir Bailey followed up on a tournament title at Antioch in impressive fashion when he rolled through the 138-pound bracket by claiming four victories by technical fall, capped by a win over Homewood-Flossmoor junior Jermaine Butler in 3:42 in the title match that wrapped up the Pat O’Connell award for the outstanding wrestler for the lower weights.

The Rich Township junior, a Fargo Junior Freestyle champion at 132 this summer who won a Class 2A title at 120 in 2020 for TF North, along with his brothers, Bilal and Sincere. He competed at Arlington Martin, Texas last season and won a Class 6A title at 132. Top-ranked at 132 in 3A and among the best in the nation, he’s happy to be back in Illinois.

“It’s nice to be back in Illinois competing,” Bailey said. “Last year I moved to Texas and won a state title. It was tough in general and when they lace their shoes and come on the mat, you have to respect them but nothing really compares to Illinois wrestling, it’s a way different atmosphere. It’s great being in the room there (at Rich Township). Every day there’s different athletes and wrestlers asking me how to get better, and as a wrestler, that just makes you feel good. Every day going to practice, it’s just work and I’m preparing myself for the next level now. I’m focusing on winning a state title but I’m more focused on being ready for college.”

Butler reached the finals with two falls and a win by technical fall in the semifinals against Hampshire freshman Chris Napiorkowski. In the third-place match, Morton senior Jamison Almasy won by fall in 4:18 against Napiorkowski and Hersey junior Parker Sena took fifth following a pin in 0:49 against IC Catholic sophomore Bryson Spaulding.

145 – Jaydon Robinson, Homewood-Flossmoor 

Jaydon Robinson made the most of his first varsity tournament when he became one of the two sophomores to win titles and became the second of six Vikings who took first after stringing together a win by technical fall, a pin and a major decision in the semifinals before closing with a fall in 5:08 over Hersey junior Aaron Hernandez.

Robinson, whose brother Vincent wasn’t able to compete due to an injury, took fourth this summer at Fargo and is fifth at 145 in the IWCOA rankings. He advanced to the finals with a 10-2 win over Hampshire junior Anthony Marlett while Hernandez earned his spot in the finals after claiming a 5-2 semifinal victory over Stagg sophomore Luke Barham.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time and it’s been an opportunity for me to be here because this is actually my first high school tournament,” Robinson said. “Last year because of COVID I didn’t get a chance and I could have gone to state. But I had to get ready for Fargo and I got fourth in Fargo then after that I got ranked 18th in the country. I really appreciate being out here. My brother got hurt but he’s been telling me all day to keep pushing it. I want to be just like him, I want to have that opportunity, just like he had.”

In the third-place match, Marlett captured a 9-0 victory over Barham and in the fifth-place match, Romeoville’s Sergio Dondiego was a 10-0 winner over West Chicago senior Mason Dupasquier.

152 – Damari Reed, Shepard

After making history as his program’s first state champion since 1984 at the IWCOA finals in Springfield, Shepard senior Damari Reed has been focused on following up on his Class 3A  title at 152 by putting together another special season, and he definitely got off to a great start toward that with an impressive performance at the McLaughlin Classic.

The IWCOA’s top-ranked individual in Class 3A at his weight followed a fall and major decision with a pin in 1:23 over Stagg freshman Durango Valles in the semifinals and then won by fall in 0:58 in the 152 finals over Neuqua Valley sophomore Ryan Mohler to earn the Pat O’Connell award as the event’s outstanding wrestler in the upper weights.

“After winning my state title last season, I’m just glad to be on the mat and getting ready for bigger things, like college,” Reed said. “Honestly, college is my next step and I want to pursue that and see where it takes me and wrestling is a tool and I also want to stay on top of my academics to go along with it. How I prepare is kind of the same schedule. I like to have early practices or give me a practice after school or give me a run since I like to stay on top of my cardio so I can take people into deep waters and win good matches. Just having mental stamina and physical stamina, that’s very important in a match, and staying in a match for the whole three periods.”

Mohler prevailed 13-8 in sudden victory in the semifinals against Hersey senior Matt Ilinykh, who bounced back from that tough defeat to capture third place with a fall in 3:09 over Valles. Hampshire junior Niko Skoulikaris claimed fifth place while West Chicago senior James Lasacco finished sixth.

160 – Billy Spassov, Hersey

While Billy Spassov was the lone competitor from Hersey to get a victory on the title mat, the Huskies senior was thrilled that nine of his teammates also got wins in the medal round and the 10-4 effort and having all 14 individuals place sixth or better capped a day where the best highlight was posing with the McLaughlin Classic team trophy.

Spassov was one of the three Huskies who advanced to the title mat and he did so by opening the competition with a pair of falls before winning 14-0 in the semifinals over Kennedy’s Dorian Vaughns and then completed his big day by winning 3-0 in the 160 finals over Wheaton North junior Devin Medina, who was ranked seventh.

“Ever since the season started, we’ve really been working on coming together as a team,” Spassov said. “And I feel like with me winning a title and everybody else winning just happened because we’ve focused on being a team and we haven’t really been focused on ourselves. We go at whatever weight that our coach tells us to and do whatever is best for the team. When we came out here, we just tried to score as many as a team and to do good in the consolation. I’m just really happy that we were able to come out here since our schedule is pretty tough so it’s just nice to get the boys some matches before we head off. I’m excited since it was a fun day and everybody clicked well.” 

Eisenhower senior Nate Pacetti, who fell 3-1 in sudden victory to Medina in the semifinals, bounced back from that close call to prevail 3-1 in the third-place match over Vaughns to give him the Cardinals’ best finish. St. Rita senior Sean Stack finished fifth while Crete-Monee junior Elijah Grayer settled for sixth place.

170 – Romeo Williams, Homewood-Flossmoor

Romeo Williams may not have come into the McLaughlin Classic as an individual who was ranked in the state like some of his Homewood-Flossmoor teammates, but at the end of the day, the contributions that the Vikings senior made to his team’s title quest on a day where they finished second proved to be just as valuable.

Williams followed an opening win by technical fall with two falls, including one in 0:45 over Shepard senior Dominic Chillmon in the semifinals and then he capped his day by winning the title at 170 and becoming one of his squad’s six champions after claiming a win by injury default against IC Catholic Prep senior Brandon Navarro.

“We’ve been working real hard,” Williams said. “Everybody in the room has been putting in all of the work but we still have a long way to go and we have more work to put in. This is just a small piece of a bigger thing. The start that I’ve had is alright but I still have a lot of work to put in and have a lot to improve.”

After falling in the semifinals 9-4 against Navarro, Hampshire junior Dimitrios Skoulikaris bounced back with a fall in 5:04 over Chillon to claim third-place honors. Hersey senior Elliot Carter claimed fifth place while Neuqua Valley sophomore Silvano Spatafora settled for sixth.

182 – Haku Watson-Castro, Homewood-Flossmoor 

Homewood-Flossmoor senior Haku Watson-Castro opened with two falls and closed with a pair of decisions to become one of his team’s six champions in the McLaughlin Classic. In the championship match at 182, he captured a 13-6 win over Loyola Academy sophomore Quinn Herbert, who was followed on the title mat by his cousin, Joey.

Watson-Castro, who entered the tournament ranked eighth at his weight class and is getting back into form following an injury, captured a 10-6 semifinal victory over Stagg senior Mark Jones while Herbert advanced to the finals after winning by fall in 1:43 over Reavis senior Korey Maloney in the semifinals.

“It was a really good day, and especially for me personally coming back off of my torn ACL,” Watson-Castro said. “With this being my first tournament, all that I had to do was get my mindset right and it just pushed me to the right spot. It was good seeing a lot of my teammates being in the finals and all of us winning or doing good in the finals. I feel like we have some small stuff to make up. And we can still improve since we have a long time until February.

The third-place match at 182 was a tight one with Jones prevailing by a 4-3 score over Maloney. And in the fifth-place match, Wheaton North junior Eli Cook claimed a 14-4 victory over Hersey’s Connor Cambria.

195 – Rahmal Graham, Homewood-Flossmoor

In the quest to give their team a chance at a team title in the McLaughlin Classic, Homewood-Flossmoor senior Rahmal Graham needed to join in on the success that his fellow upperweights were enjoying and he more than did his part to help his squad to a second-place finish in the tournament.

Graham won his first three matches with falls in the initial period, which included a pin in 0:58 against Hersey sophomore Leo Delgado in the semifinals, to earn a spot in the 195 title match. Once there, Graham closed out his day with a 15-3 triumph over Loyola Academy freshman Joey Herbert, who advanced with a pin and a 6-0 semifinal decision.

“As a team, we’re just real resilient,” Graham said. “We still have a long way to go. Our coach always tells us that if we fight and put in the work, then it shows. We fight hard and we don’t give up and that’s why we had six champions.”

Delgado got a fall in in 2:55 over the other semifinalist, Northridge Prep sophomore Steven Kopecky, in the third-place match and Reavis senior Dan Obyrtal recorded a pin in 0:46 against Wheaton North junior Toby Martin in the fifth-place match.

220 – Justin Thomas, Homewood-Flossmoor

Justin Thomas faced a tough task as he looked to become one of his program’s six champions at the McLaughlin Classic. But facing a two-time state qualifier who placed at the IWCOA finals in June, the Homewood-Flossmoor senior who’s ranked eighth in Class 3A proved to be up to the challenge.

Thomas beat IC Catholic senior Jadon Mims 8-1 in the 220 finals after recording three first-period pins, including a fall in 1:19 in the semifinals against Romeoville’s Johnathan Espinoza-Luna. Mims, who was third at 220 in Class 1A and is ranked second this season, recorded a fall in 0:37 over Hersey senior Manny Mejia in the semifinals.

“We had one guy roll at 170 and then everybody just kind of went through,” Thomas said. “But it really started with Deion, he worked hard in that match and got an overtime takedown. We’re a long way from where we want to be. In January and February when it gets down to the stretch I think our guys will peak really well and we’ll be ramped up.” 

Mejia claimed third-place when he recorded a fall in 0:59 over Espinoza-Luna and in the fifth-place match at 220, the host Steelmen received one of their best finishes as junior Gustavo Vicencio-Ramos got a fall in 0:52 against Rich Township senior LeVaughn Rudolph.

285 – Isaiah Gonzalez, IC Catholic Prep

After falling in the IWCOA Class 1A  title match at 285 in June to Benton’s Gabe Craig, IC Catholic Prep junior Isaiah Gonzalez has his eyes set upon not only getting back to state for a third time but also finishing with a better result than he had earlier this year.

The IWCOA’s top-ranked individual at his weight in Class 1A showed how he’s capable of performing at the McLaughlin Classic following a major decision in his opener, he pinned his next four opponents, which included Wheaton North senior Joey Kruse in 1:38 in the semifinals and Hampshire sophomore Joey Ochoa in 3:31 in the title match.

“It was a great finals match and my opponent was really good, it was a good match and I finished strong” Gonzalez said. “I’m ranked number one right now in 1A so I have to solidify that statement so when I get to the postseason, I know that I can be there. I love the pressure. Our team did pretty good, but we could have finished better in the final round, but we’ll get back in the room and work. We just got back from football, so some of us are a little out of shape. But we’ll get back into the groove, for sure.”

Hersey junior Oleg Simakov bounced back from a semifinal loss by fall in 0:55 to Ochoa to record a fall of his own in 2:48 against Kruse to claim third place. Shepard junior Allen Taylor captured fifth place while Crete-Monee senior Vincent Arebalo settled for sixth.

by IWCOA reports

Geneseo dominates the field at Rockford East

This year’s 19-team Giardini Invitational saw Geneseo run away with the team title, posting 199.5 points to finish 49.5 points ahead of the second-place co-op team from Belvidere (149). Host Rockford East (143.5) finished third, followed by Freeport (141.5) and Rochelle (125.5).

Coach Jon Murray’s Maple Leafs saw three individual champions scale the top of the awards stand in Zachary Montez (113), Anthony Montez (160), and Levi Neumann (285). The Maple Leafs got seconds from Aiden Damewood (152) and Tim Stohl (220), and Geneseo had 12 wrestlers finish in the top six of their respective weight classes, finishing with the most place-winners of any team present.

In title matches, Cameron Phillips of Kaneland won 4-0 over Belvidere’s Brayden Teunissen at 106; Geneseo’s Zachary Montez won a 6-4 sudden victory decision over Rochelle’s Xavier Villalobos at 113; Freeport’s Cadence Duduch won 7-1 over Rochelle’s Joseph Nadig at 120; Rockford East’s Donald Cannon won by fall over Rolling Meadows’ Ben Escalante at 126; Freeport’s Markel Baker won by tech fall over Richmond’s Brody Rudkin at 132; Freeport’s Jacob Redington won 12-6 over Metamora’s Dylan Baitinger at 138; and Rochelle’s Caleb Nadig won by fall over Rockford East’s Sam Young at 145

In the upper weight championship matches, Tanner Paulson of Belmont (WI) won by fall over Geneseo’s Aiden Damewood at 152; Geneseo’s Anthony Montez won a 9-0 major decision over Freeport’s Tarrone Jackson at 160; Rochelle’s Brock Metzger won by fall over Richmond’s Alex Reyna at 170; St. Charles North’s Drew Surges won 1-0 over Winnebago’s Mannix Faworski at 182; Belvidere’s Jake Bell won by tech fall against Winnebago’s Gabe Ginger at 195; Rockford East’s Joey Pineda won a 2-1 tiebreak over Geneseo’s Tim Stohl at 220; and Geneseo’s Levi Neumann won 5-1 over Rockford East’s Andres Cisneros at 285.

Placing third in Rockford were Rochelle’s Thomas Tourdot (106), Richmond’s Emmet Nelson (113), Rolling Meadows’ Alan Velasquez (120), Belvidere’s Dominic Girardin (126), Belvidere’s Camryn Labeau (132), Belvidere’s Colin Young (138), Freeport’s Jaylon Hall (145), Rockford East’s Marshawn Spates (152), Rolling Meadows’ Dominic Andrejek (160), Winnebago’s Lucas Cowman (170), Belvidere’s AJ Piloni (182), Richmond’s Joe Reyna (195), Rochelle’s Kaiden Morris (220), and Metea Valley heavyweight Jake Pauline.

Finishing fourth were Richmond’s Clay Madula (106), Rockford East’s Peter Young (113), LaSalle-Peru’s Reegan Kellett (120), North Boone’s Dylan Hughes (126), Rolling Meadows’ Isaiah Tavera (132), Winnebago’s Waylon Hanke (138), Belmont’s Dylan Taber (145), LaSalle-Peru’s Connor Sines (152), Winnebago’s Charley Murray (160), Belvidere’s Tavion Wilson (170), Johnsburg’s Kyle Rasper (182), Kaneland’s Max Pietak (195), East Aurora’s Bryan Romero (220), and heavyweight Arnold Walker of East Aurora.

Waubonsie Valley tops R-B at Fenton

Waubonsie Valley edged out Riverside-Brookfield at this year’s 16-team Weiss Invitational, hosted by Fenton. Coach Brad Caldwell’s Warriors finished with 192 points to Riverside-Brookfield’s 187, with DePaul Prep placing third with 115 points. Host Fenton and Richards tied for fourth with 111 points each, followed by Bremen (93), Palatine (87), South Elgin (79), Westmont (53), and Elmwood Park (52).

Waubonsie sent seven wrestlers to the finals, getting an individual title from Ethan Wojtowich (132) and seconds from Sebastian Sifuentes (113), Elias Gonzalez (120), David Geataz (145), Andrew Meister (182), Ashton Phillips (195) and Luke Buntin (285).

Eight championship matches were decided by fall at Fenton: Fenton’s Kon Papadopoulous over Waubonsie’s Sifuentes at 113; DePaul’s Max Rosen over Waubonsie’s Gonzalez at 120; Riverside-Brookfield’s Mateo Costello over South Elgin’s Anthony Vasquez at 126; Saint Viator’s Austin Kanyuh over South Elgin’s Andre Rios at 138; South Elgin’s Nico Clinite over Richards’ Mike Taheny at 152; Fenton’s Jovany Zuniga over Riverside-Brookfield’s Bill Martin at 160; Riverside-Brookfield’s Brock Hoyd over Palatine’s Damien Nestor at 170; and Nazareth’s Gabe Kaminski over R-B’s Joe Midonna at 220.

In other title matches, Elmwood Park’s Jack Dombeck won a 13-0 major decision over DePaul’s Johnny Cunningham at 106; Waubonsie Valley’s Wojtowich won an 8-4 decision over Westmont’s Dominic Wagner at 132; Palatine’s Joey Spirrizzi won by 15-4 major decision over Waubonsie’s Geataz at 145; Fenton’s Viktor Klimczyk won 9-6 over Waubonsie’s Meister at 182; Westmont’s Jaylan Lacy won 5-4 over Waubonsie’s Phillips at 195; and Bremen’s Eric Perez-Nava won 1-0 over Waubonsie’s Buntin at 285.

Third-place finishers included Richard’s Adnan Abuzier (106), DePaul’s Jack Myers (113), Nazareth’s Javaughn Jossell (120), DePaul’s Drew Gerstung (126), Richards’ Jibrel Judeh (132), Fenton’s Justin Dickeson (138), Richards’ Xavier Lara (145), Riverside-Brookfield’s Cade Tomkins (152), DePaul’s Jake Kelly (160), South Elgin’s Lukas Lopez (170), Riverside-Brookfield’s. Liam Cote (182), Palatine’s Sam John (195), North Chicago’s Kody Bennett (220), and Richard’s Adnan Abuzier (285).

Finishing fourth in Bensenville were Waubonsie’s AJ Ramirez (106), Bremen’s Gerrardo Zambrano (113), Riverside-Brookfield’s Quintavius Murrell (120), Waubonsie’s Will Traylor (126), Elmwood Park’s Christian Campos (132), DePaul’s Jaxon Kaminsky (138), Riverside-Brookfield’s Jacob Noe (145), Bremen’s Justin Robinson (152), Palatine’s Joey Bowling (160), Richards’ Xavier Dilloy (170), Westmont’s Spencer Gale (182), Elmwood Park’s Jack Pedersen (195), Bremen’s Alex Perez-Nava (220), and Proviso East’s Evan Carr (285).


Highland Park takes Matozzi Invitational

Highland Park won 148.5-141 over second-place Argo at this year’s 10-team Matozzi Invite hosted by Hinsdale South. The host Hornets (139) were third, followed by Fenwick (108) and Bolingbrook (93) to round out the top five team finishers.

Highland Park got individual titles from Seth Gordon (145) and Dmitry Derbedyenyev (152), and seconds from Nikko Rosenbloom (138) and Joe Williams (195). Second-place Argo got titles from Juan Villa (106) and Ethan Medel (182) and seconds from David Gonzalez (113), Luke Wesolowski (160), and Krystian Krol (285).

Hinsdale South led all schools with four individual champions in Oscar Choi (120), Trent Ferguson (138), Manny Wallace (160) and Giovanni Piazza (170). Fenwick had two champs in Conor Paris (195) and Jimmy Liston (285) and Bolingbrook also had two champions in Lucas Beechler (113) and Joe McDermott (132).

Tinley Park’s Aflonso Insalaco (126) and Glenbard South’s Gavin Krisik (220) rounded out the cast of Matozzi champions.

Dixon edges Pleasant Valley, IA at Sterling

Dixon finished with a 205-197 advantage over the second-place team from Pleasant Valley (IA) to win the 43rd Carson DeJarnatt Invitational, hosted by Sterling. Host Sterling (174) finished third in the nine-team field, followed by Newman Central Catholic (128) and Galesburg (125).

Clinton, IA finished with 85 points and rounding out the field were Oak Lawn (78), Fulton (55), and Granville (52).

Coach Micah Hey’s Dukes sent five wrestlers to the title mat and got an individual championship from Mitchell White (195). Placing second for Dixon were Gabe Buelvas (113), Chris Stiller (126), Owen Brooks (160), and Justin Dallas (220).

In addition, seven Dixon wrestlers earned spots on the third-place mat. Five of the 10 wrestlers present for Pleasant Valley won individual titles, followed by three champions for Newman and two for host Sterling.

In championship matches, Pleasant Valley’s Carter Siebel won 4-1 over Oak Lawn’s Ammar Elayyan at 106; Sterling’s Zyon Westbrook won by fall over Dixon’s Buelvas at 113; Newman’s Brady Grennan won a 22-16 decision over Galesburg’s Gauge Shipp at 120; Newman’s Carter Rude pinned Dixon’s Sitter at 126; Newman’s Daniel Kelly won 18-8 over Galesburg’s Santana Castellano at 132; Pleasant Valley’s Holden Willett won 2-0 over Fulton’s Ben Fosdick at 138; and Pleasant Valley’s Jack Miller won by fall over Clinton’s Brooke Peters.

In upper-weight title matches, Sterling’s Drew Kested won 6-0 over Newman’s Mason Glaudel at 152; Sterling’s Thomas Tate won 6-4 over Dixon’s Brooks at 160; Granville’s Connor Brooker won by fall over Oak Lawn’s Hani Odeh at 170; Pleasant Valley’s Caden McDermott won an 11-3 major decision over Oak Lawn’s Evan Zambrano at 182; Dixon’s White won a 3-1 sudden victory over Pleasant Valley’s Rusty VanWetzinga at 195; Galesburg’s Jeremiah Morris won by fall over Dixon’s Dallas at 220; and Pleasant Valley’s Luke Vonderhaar won by fall over Granville’s John Davis at 285.

Taking third in Sterling were Dixon’s Jacob Renkes (106), Clinton’s Drew Steiner (113), Pleasant Valley’s Caden Irvin (120), Galesburg’s Rocky Almendarez (126), Sterling’s Dylan Ottens (132), Clinton’s Brady Jennings (138), Newman’s Brendan Tunink (145), Clinton’s Luke Jennings (152), Pleasant Valley’s Ike Swanson (160), Newman’s Hunter Luyando (170), Fulton’s Zane Pannell (182), Galesburg’s Jashon Parks (195), Sterling’s Diego Leal (220), and Sterling’s Alejandro Arellano (285).

Fourth-place finishers included Sterling’s Nakyynzy Canazos-Hodge (106), Oak Lawn’s Eduardo Nunez, Jr. (120), Pleasant Valley’s Duncan Harn (126), Dixon’s Jayden Weidman (132), Dixon’s Austin Hey (138), Dixon’s Cade Hey (145), Dixon’s Jayce Kastner (152), Galesburg’s Che Thomas (160), Dixon’s Steven Kitzman (170), Dixon’s Brody Potter (182), Clinton’s Ajai Russell (195), Clinton’s Mike Rausenburger (220), Galesburg’s Tyler Kemp (285).

by IWCOA reports

Triad claims top honors at Glenwood Invite

Triad had three title winners and seven top-four finishers to help it score 183 points and capture the title of the 16-team Glenwood Invite that was held in Chatham. 

Coach Russ Witzig’s Knights received championship wins from Colby Crouch (132), Aiden Postma (138) and Seth Brooks (195) and a runner-up finish from Chase Hall (145) to help them finish with a comfortable margin over runner-up Glenwood (168.5) and third-place Centennial (163.5).

In championship matches, MacArthur’s Logan Roberts edged Peoria Notre Dame’s Ian Akers 4-3 at 106, Grayslake Central’s Anthony Alanis got a fall in 3:44 over Notre Dame’s Eddie Couri at 113, O’Fallon’s Brodey Durbin won 8-0 over Grayslake Central’s Tyler Weidman at 120, Centennial’s Trevor Schoonover claimed a 6-4 victory over O’Fallon’s Andrew Orloski at 126, Crouch won by fall in 1:08 over Glenwood’s Ben Maduena at 132, Postma got a pin in 1:03 over Carbondale’s Aiden Murphy at 138 and Glenwood’s Aden Byal won 6-1 over Hall at 145.

In other title matches, Dunlap’s Nick Mueller edged Centennial’s Tyler Easter 7-5 at 152, Notre Dame’s Joey Mushinsky won by fall in 2:30 over Carbondale’s Isaiah Duckworth at 160, Collinsville’s Austin Stewart got a pin in 3:01 against O’Fallon’s Jaron Alf at 170, Grayslake Central’s Matty Jens prevailed 6-4 over Mt. Vernon’s Jared Shafer at 182, Brooks won a 13-4 major decision over East Peoria’s Zach Eaton at 195, Centennial’s Jack Barnhart won by fall in 1:26 over Mt. Vernon’s Mason Randall at 220 and Glenwood’s Alex Hamrick captured a 2-0 victory over O’Fallon’s Isaiah Hill at 285.

Capturing third-place finishes were Triad’s Landon Tourville (170) and Jordan Clines (182), Notre Dame’s Jesus Prieto (120) and Jac Couri (126), Harlem’s Andrew Ryden (145) and Caleb Ecklund (160), Glenwood’s Kayle Blankenship (106) and Jaidyn Lee (220), Peoria High’s Kenny Rutherford (138) and Tim Petty (285), Centennial’s Darell Dugar (113), Collinsville’s Ian Freeman (132), O’Fallon’s Elijah Roberts (152) and Carbondale’s Aiden Taylor (195).

Fourth-place finishers were Collinsville’s Carter Bubb (113), Owen Neimeier (120) and Cameron Varner (138), Notre Dame’s Chase Daugherty (132) and Tommy Miller (160), Glenwood’s Larson Nestar (106) and Brandon Bray (195), Dunlap’s Mohammad Jaber (182) and Austin Hasselman (285), Harlem’s Donavin Vanderheyden (126), Triad’s Landon Steinman (145), Grayslake Central’s Ramon Enriquez (152), East Peoria’s Austin Seaman (170) and Centennial’s Brandon Harvey (220).

Civic Memorial captures own Holiday Tournament

Civic Memorial captured top honors in its 42nd annual Holiday Tournament with 237 points while Vandalia took second place with 191.5 points, Bloomington was third with 169 and Mattoon finished fourth with 150 points in the 22-team event in Bethalto.

Coach Jeremy Christeson’s champion Eagles received title wins from Joey Biciocchi (132), Abe Wojcikiewicz (170), Miggy Gonzalez (182), Colton Carlisle (195) and Logan Cooper (285) while Bradley Ruckman (106) and Bryce Griffin (138) both claimed second placed finishes. 

In title matches, Carlyle’s Tyson Waughtel won 8-0 over Ruckman at 106, Mattoon’s Brady Foster was a 7-3 winner over East Alton-Wood River’s Aaron Niemeyer at  113, Bloomington’s Carson Nishida pinned Benton’s Bobby Rodriguez in 1:44 at 120, East Alton-Wood River’s Jason Shaw won by disqualification over Benton’s Mason Tieffel at 126, Biciocchi won 7-3 over Vandalia’s Owen Miller at 132, Murphysboro’s Arojae Hart edged Griffin 7-6 at 138 and Vandalia’s Cutter Prater prevailed 11-9 over Mattoon’s Aidan Blackburn at 145.

In the other championship matches, Mattoon’s Kiefer Duncan won by fall in 3:34 over Jacksonville’s Trey Elliott at 152, Murphysboro’s Dayton Hoffman was a 5-0 winner over Vandalia’s Ryan Kaiser at 160, Wojcikiewicz won with a fall in 1:17 over Jacksonville’s Luca Thies at 170, Gonzalez recorded a pin in 0:48 over Jersey Community’s Connor Chin at 182, Carlisle won 3-1 in sudden victory over Bloomington’s Anthony Curry at 195, Waterloo’s Jordan Sommers edged Bloomington’s Jack Weltha 6-5 at 220 and Cooper won by fall in 1:50 over Jersey Community’s Jayden Busch at 285.

Claiming third-place finishes were East St. Louis’ Jaymz Young (106), Cody Powell (152) and Mekhi McDowell (285), Vandalia’s Sophie Bowers (113), Pierson Wilkerson (120) and Eric Barenfanger (220), Jacksonville’s Collin Reif (138) and James Cotton (160), Mattoon’s Korbin Bateman (126), Murphysboro’s Bryce Edwards (132), Bloomington’s Jacob Barger (145), Waterloo’s Brandon Lloyd (170), Benton’s Connor Dean (182) and Centralia’s Elijah Johnson (195).

Fourth-place finishers were Bloomington’s Javier Enriquez-Lynd (113), Noah Read (126) and Stephen Carr (285), Highland’s Tyson Rakers (132) and Ben Mitchell (152), Centralia’s Nate Lecrone (120) and Noah Morris (160), Waterloo’s Drew Rose (182) and Kreighton Bair (195), Vandalia’s Daniel Kirkland (106), Mattoon’s Mick Porter (138), Civic Memorial’s Ashton Reed (145), Carlyle’s Owen Birkner (170) and Champaign Central’s Zavier Neill (220).

Lawrenceville/Red Hill wins Lawrence County Tourney

Lawrenceville/Red Hill captured top honors at Saturday’s Lawrence County Tourney in Lawrenceville by scoring 186.5 points, which was well ahead of second-place Fairfield, which scored 153 points. Frankfort Community (149) beat out Carmi-White County (146) and Anna-Jonesboro (144) to claim third place in the 11-team competition..

Coach Sam Hyre’s Indians captured top honors after receiving title wins from Hayden Frey (152) and Brian Seed (170) while Brianna Richey (106), Shaina Hyre (120), Nathan Blackwell (182) and Dylan Camden (220) claimed second-place finishes for the hosts.

In championship matches, Anna-Jonesboro’s Drew Sadler won by fall in 1:12 over Richey at 106, Harrisburg’s Tony Keene got a pin in 0:15 against Mt. Carmel’s Jordan Wood at 113, Frankfort’s Eli Klus recorded a fall in 2:49 over Hyre at 120, Richland County’s Carson Bissey was a winner by fall in 1:39 over Anna-Jonesboro’s Brett Smith at 126, Herrin’s Elijah Bishop captured a 10-0 major decision over Fairfield’s Scotty Cuff at 132, Anna-Jonesboro’s Blake Mays won a 10-0 major decision over Fairfield’s Cole Simpson at 138 and Anna-Jonesboro’s Caleb Mays recorded a fall in 0:55 against Frankfort’s Gavin Mann at 145.

In other title matches, Frey won by fall in 1:44 over Fairfield’s Jerek Keoghan at 152, Robinson’s Jared Hermann won by injury default in 2:00 over Mt. Carmel’s Kenny Taylor at 160, Seed recorded a pin in 1:26 over Harrisburg’s Josh Stewart at 170, Robinson’s Aiden Schrader won 7-0 over Blackwell at 182, Fairfield’s Konner Dagg captured an 11-2 major decision over Harrisburg’s Bryant Lester at 195, Fairfield’s Payton Allen won 6-0 over Camden at 220 and Carmi-White County’s Titus Wood got a fall in 2:34 against Frankfort’s Braxton Tutt at 285.

Claiming third-place finishes were Carmi-White County’s Trenton Belford (138), Isaac King (182) and Nelson Rider (195), Robinson’s Draegon Johnson (145), Austin Hargrave (220) and Dalton Woods (285), Anna-Jonesboro’s Zoee Sadler (113) and Daniel Dover (120), Mt. Carmel’s Satchel Taylor (106), Lawrenceville’s Dylan Aten (126), Harrisburg’s Sebastian Brown (132), Richland County’s Kaden Hess (152), Fairfield’s Talon Keoghan (160) and Carterville’s Chris Bates (170).

Mount Carmel third, DeKalb fourth at Dan Gable Donnybrook

Three Illinois teams finished in the top five at the 33-team Dan Gable Donnybrook in Coralville, Iowa. Mount Carmel edged DeKalb 352.5-351 for third place while Marmion Academy beat out Bettendorf, Iowa 269.5-263.5 for fifth. Lockport was eighth with 246 points while Joliet Catholic Academy (155), Lincoln-Way West (101), Huntley (84.5) and Marian Central Catholic (69.5) also competed in the event which was won by Liberty (Missouri) with 419.5 points while Waverly-Shell Rock (Iowa) took second with 372 points.

Illinois champions were Mount Carmel’s Seth Mendoza (106), Sergio Lemley (126) and Ryan Boersma (285), DeKalb’s Tommy Curran (145) and Lockport’s Brayden Thompson (170) while DeKalb’s Danny Aranda (120) and Bradley Gillum (182) and Lockport’s Carlos Munoz-Flores (132) all took second place.

In championship matches, Mendoza won 5-3 over Brandon Morvari of Simley (Minnesota) at 106, Lemley claimed a 13-4 victory over Carter Freeman of Waukee Northwest (Iowa) at 126, Tommy Curran claimed a 10-7 decision over Kyle Dutton of Liberty (Missouri) at 145, Thompson prevailed 3-1 by sudden victory over Tate Naaktgeboren of Linn-Mar (Iowa) at 170 and Boersma won by fall in 2:29 over Jake Walker of Waverly-Shell Rock (Iowa) at 285.

Aranda lost 13-2 to Trever Anderson of Ankeny (Iowa) at 120, Munoz-Flores dropped a 5-2 decision to Zach Ourada of Omaha Skutt Catholic (Nebraska) at 132 and Gillum suffered an 9-2 setback to Bennett Berge of Kasson-Mantorville (Minnesota) at 182.

Third-place finishers from Illinois schools were Mount Carmel’s Damian Resendez (113) and Colin Kelly (160) and DeKalb’s Damien Lopez (152) while Marmion’s Jack Lesher (182) and Sean Scheck (22) and Mount Carmel’s Eddie Enright (132) finished fourth. 

Fifth-place efforts were turned in by JCA’s Gylon Sims (120), Mason Alessio (152) and Owen Gerdes (220) and DeKalb’s Luke Schmerbach (170) while Marmion’s Jameson Garcia (113) and Kenny Siwicki (160), DeKalb’s Danny Curran (138), Huntley’s Ryder Hunkins (182) and Lincoln-Way West’s Michael Sneed (220) all took sixth place.

Claiming seventh place was Lockport’s Keegan Roberson (152) and placing eighth were JCA’s Logan Kuhl-Trimmer (132) and Owen O’Connor (138), Mount Carmel’s Jairo Acuna (120), Marian Central Catholic’s Nik Jimenez (145), Lockport’s Paul Kadlec (160), DeKalb’s Bryson Buhk (195) and Marmion’s Jared Durian (285).

Glenbard North kicked off the new season with a team championship at Conant’s 19-team Chris Hruska Wrestling Classic on Saturday. The Panthers sent six wrestlers to the title mat and three to the top of the awards stand in Kalani Khiev (106), Cody Dertz (170), and heavyweight Paulie Robertson.

North won 229-212 over second-place Sandburg. Bloomington placed third with 167 and host Conant was fourth with 159 points. Oswego rounded out the top five teams with 157 points.

Glenbard North’s second-pace finishers included Dominick Marre (113), Solomon Gilliam (132), and Ryan Yabi (285).
Second-place Sandburg got an individual title from Sammie Hayes (126) and seconds from Rocco Hayes (106), Ryan Hinger (120), Max Pitura (182), and Mike Rydell (220).

Other individual champions at Conant were Glenwood’s Drew Davis (113) and Ben Maduena (132); Bloomington’s Carson Nishida (120); Lake Park’s Mike DiBenedetti (138) and Joseph Olaide (160) ; Bloomington’s Jacob Barger (145) and Jack Weltha (220); Oswego’s Joseph Griffin (152); Conant’s AJ Hernandez (182); and Leyden’s Colin O’Neill (195).

Bloomington’s Barger (145) and Glenbard North’s Robertson (285) won by fall in each of their four matches on the day. Bloomington’s Nishida (120) and Glenbard North’s Dertz (170) each posted three pins on Saturday.

Lake Park’s DiBenedetti (138) posted a fall, two tech falls, and a major decision in winning his title, and Bloomington’s Weltha (220) had a two falls, an 8-0 major, and a 6-0 decision on the day. Glenwood’s Davis (113) posted a fall to go with two major decision wins.

The closest title matches of the day came at 106 and 182 pounds. Glenbard North’s Khiev won 1-0 over Sandburg’s Rocco Hayes at 106, while Conant’s Hernandez won 1-0 over Sandburg’s Pitura at 182.

By Gary Larsen

Normal West scored 220 points to easily capture top honors at the 15-team Illini Bluffs Invite. Illini Bluffs edged Olympia 135-134 for second place while Peoria Notre Dame was fourth with 122 points.

Winning titles for the champion Wildcats were Froylan Racey (120), Evan Willock (126) and Noah Passoni (160) while Cody Sears (138) and Matthew Marsaglia (145) both finished second.

Host Illini Bluffs’s lone champion was Paul Ishikawa (138) while Wyatt Knowles (106), Hunter Robbins (113), Avery Speck (120), Jackson Carroll (126) and Ian O’Connor (132) all finished in second place.

Winning titles for Olympia were Dylan Eimer (106) and Will Winter (145) while Peoria Notre Dame got a title from Joey Mushinsky (170) and a second-place finish from Tommy Miller (160).

Other champions were Farmington’s Keygan Jennings (113) and Rese Shymansky (182), Limestone’s Cosmo Palmgren (132) and Aydan Trueblood (220), Dunlap’s Nick Mueller (152), East Peoria’s Zach Eaton (195) and Knoxville’s William Stowe (285).

Also claiming second-place finishes were Macomb’s Carter Hoge (152), Max Ryner (182) and Ethan Ladd (195), Knoxville’s Hunter Fox (170), Farmington’s Chris Haggard (220) and East Peoria’s Jose Del Toro (285).
Eimer, Jennings, Racey, Ishikawa, Winter, Shymansky, Eaton, Trueblood and Stowe all won titles with falls while Mueller won by major decision and Willock, Palmgren, Passoni, and Mushinsky all claimed decisions for their title wins.

Vernon Hills Invitational Re-Cap

Wauconda out-pointed second-place Vernon Hills 193.5-160.5 at this year’s 15-team Varsity Cougar Invitational, hosted by Vernon Hills. Glenbrook South (130), Christian Life (124.5) of Wisconsin, and Hoffman Estates (118) rounded out the top five team finishers.

Wauconda sent six wrestlers to the title mat and two to the top of the awards stand as Gavin Rockey (113) and Colin Husko (145) won individual titles.

Husko, currently ranked No. 6 at 145 in Rob Sherrill’s IWCOA rankings, used three falls to earn his title, while Rockey used a pair of 4-3 decisions to reach the finals at 113 before winning 5-3 over Harvard’s Brian Hernandez.

Placing second for Wauconda were Lucas Gladine (106), Cole Porten (138), Nick Cheshier (152), and heavyweight Matthew Merevick.

Vernon Hills had a pair of individual champs in Gary Gurevich (138) and heavyweight Max Accettura and got seconds from Blake Moncayo (170) and Jake Psaras (195).
Maine East led all teams with three individual champions.

Other individual champions included Drew Dolphin (106) and Troy Dolphin (132) of Christian Life (WI); Chris Kish (120), Edgar Estrada (126), and Ezequiel Figueroa (160) of Maine East; Julian Bonilla (152) and Jalen Curtis (182) of Hoffman Estates; Kaden Combs (170) of Woodstock North; Nathan Rosas (195) of Harvard; and Betim Jahovic (220) of Niles North.

The day’s closest finishes on the title mat included Wauconda’s Rockey in a 5-3 win over Harvard’s Brian Hernandez at 113; Maine East’s Estrada in an 8-7 win over Taft’s Patrick Diete at 126; Hoffman Estates Bonilla in a 5-3 win over Wauconda’s Cheshier at 152; and Maine East’s Figueroa in a 6-4 win over Glenbrook South’s Patrick Downing at 160.

Also reaching the finals and placing second were Glenbrook South’s Arnold Park (120); Taft’s Colin Roque (132) and Ryan Porebski (220); Christian Life’s Jordan Luhr (145); and Hoffman Estates’ Josh Ellery (182).

BARRINGTON — Marmion Academy got its 2021-2022 season off to a flying start on Saturday when it lifted the championship trophy at the 30th annual Moore-Prettyman Invitational inside the fieldhouse at Barrington High School.

The Cadets claimed the first major title of this highly anticipated campaign using a trio of individual titles and five top four finishes to outscore runner-up Libertyville 215.50-193.50. Stevenson (159.50) was third followed by Aurora Christian (159) and Fremd (146.5).

Teams hung around eventual champion Marmion until coach Nathan Fitzenreider’s club pulled away for good.

“I can’t tell you how excited the guys are to finally be back wrestling in a real tournament, and one that has so many great teams and wrestlers,” Fitzenreider said. “This is a season we were all looking forward to being a part of after COVID took the season away from all of us last year.

“Although this is a long, grueling season, this is a great way for our team to start and I think the performance the entire team gave was kind of a statement that Marmion Academy wrestling back, and ready to go out and enjoy this season, and to have a successful one as well.”

The aforementioned top five teams were ‘this’ close to each other after the first day of play, with North Suburban Conference (NSC) powers Libertyville and Stevenson suffocating the Cadets all throughout the weight classes.

“Our team is built to compete at a high level in tournament play – and it all starts with our dynamic duo of Lorenzo Frezza (126) and Cole Rhemrev, who provide great energy and leadership that all of the guys feed off of,” said Stevenson head coach Shane Cook, whose Patriots finished fifth at the IWCOA 3A state duals last summer in Springfield.

“We wrestled really well as a team in our first big tournament of the season, and if we continue to work hard, and keep our focus, there’s no reason why we can’t be successful in the regular season and when the state series begins,” offered the senior Rhemrev, who marched through the field at 138. Rhemrev recorded a pair of pins, a tech-fall in his semifinal, and ended with a 13-1 major decision to earn the top prize.

His teammate Frezza bagged plenty of points to help the cause with two pins and a major, before shutting out talented freshman Peyton Cox from Washington, 5-0 to win his second Moore-Prettyman title.

“During the offseason I worked on getting bigger, stronger, and faster, plus my stance and shots, and maybe most importantly watching what I eat, which has really helped me feel so much better,” Frezza said.

The top four teams on the leader board dominated the final round on Saturday, with Aurora Christian and its new head coach, Danny Alcocer, collecting a tourney-high four champions.

“We’re glad the sport of wrestling is back, and as a team, we are really happy to be a part of this great tournament, and our plan all along is to set the bar high, and keep it there throughout the season through hard work and dedication to each other,” said Alcocer, who was a state medal winner at Waubonsie Valley, and would later go on to wrestle for two years at Arizona State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Education.

Alcocer’s program received a major boost in talent when several former Montini Catholic stars made their way west to the Eagles’ campus in Aurora – to make the club an instant favorite to succeed in 1A circles before all is said and done.

“It was a big decision for all of us to leave Montini, and come to ‘AC’ – but we’re all thrilled to part of the program, and stoked about this season, and what we can achieve as a team,” said Eagles senior captain Nate Wemstrom, who will wrestle at Indiana University next season where he is considering a degree in Criminology.

Wemstrom claimed the 195-pound crown while another senior, Braden Stauffenberg grabbing the 152-pound title over Dillon Carlson (Crystal Lake Central) in a contest between the Nos. 1 and 4 rated 52-pounders in the latest rankings by the IWCOA.

“It was a big decision for those of us who moved over to ‘AC’ but once we did, and we saw what we have, the promise and hope of big things for all us will help us fight even harder,” added Stauffenberg, who has his eyes on attending West Point to continue his wrestling career.

“I come from a family of grunts, so to eventually be in Special Forces, and an Army Ranger is really exciting for me,” Stauffenberg said.

Eagles newcomers Deven Casey and California transplant Taythan Silva were magnificent in their first Moore-Prettyman appearances.

“I work as hard as anyone out there,” Casey said. “It’s 24-7 for me — before school, during training, throughout the weekend — I’m working on my conditioning, technique, and everything else in my game to be the best.”

Casey’s reversal at the start of the third period was enough to hold off Fremd’s Wiley Jessup, who was unable to pry open the Eagles’ freshmen in the final moments of a 7-4 decision.

Casey defeated top seed Dominic Ducato of Jacobs, 2-1, in his semifinal.

Silva was rarely challenged throughout his four matches, opening with a fall, then a major, before sending off No. 2 seed Thomas Schoolman (Stevenson) during his 13-2 major decision semifinal victory.

Silva would continue his winning ways over top seed Damien Puma (Prospect) to take home the 145-pound crown, ending his bout with a near fall to record a 11-4 triumph.

“My mother and I moved into the area from California, and I knew coming into the great staff here with coach Alcocer, and Cory Clark (2017 National Champion at Iowa) and the strong academic program at AC would be the best thing for me,” said Silva, who came to Aurora Christian from the prestigious wrestling program at Clovis High School.

Silva was runner-up at Preseason Nationals in Des Moines, Iowa in late October, losing in sudden victory, 3-1.

Teammate Braden Stauffenberg was crowned champion (160) at the same tournament, while Nathan Wemstrom grabbed second place at 195.

While there was plenty of one-way traffic to the top of the podium from Marmion, Stevenson and Aurora Christian, the quintet of Will Baysingar, Evan Gosz, Blake Henrichsen, Massey Odiotti, and John Pacewic all exhibited the skills, style, and staying power needed to earn titles in their respective weight divisions.

At the forefront was the reigning 120-pound state champion Baysingar, who closed out his tournament with a hard fought victory over Aurora Christian senior, Joe Fernau to claim the 132-pound top prize.

The 5-4 decision would avenge a 4-3 decision in the semifinals of the 2019 3A state tournament to Fernau at 106 pounds – a victory that would send the then- Montini sophomore on his way to a state title.

“If I had it to do over, I would have likely pushed the pace more, especially in the first period, and obviously score more points,” Baysingar said. “But (Fernau) is a very good wrestler, so it’s a good start to the season and I’m very happy with the result.”

Baysingar was named Outstanding Wrestler for his efforts over a host of deserving candidates, including an all-star cast at 132 pounds.

Freshman Evan Gosz made his presence felt in his first major tournament ever – recording a 9-2 decision over Rudy SIlva of Plainfield South to win at 113.

“Evan goes right after his opponents – he’s a three sport athlete (football, and lacrosse) who is a fearless, hard working young man,” said Fremd head coach, Jeff Keske after watching the Vikings youngster a third-period takedown, and near-fall to secure his victory.

John Pacewic is off to join the Marines upon graduation but until then, the Plainfield South senior to make his final season at South a memorable one.

“I lost a year of wrestling to the pandemic, so I’m thrilled to be back competing in the sport I love,” said Pacewic, who pinned his way to the 225-pound title.

The affable Pacewic recounted how he figured a visit at work from someone he thought was his sister’s boyfriend was actually a Marine recruiter instead.

“After I told him to get lost, one day later I was in his office and enlisting,” said Pacewic with a smile.

Second place Libertyville, which held the lead over Marmion 162.50-150.50 during the early part of Saturday afternoon, saw its hopes dashed when the Wildcats went o-fer in the finals.

“Our guys had some real tough opponents in the finals,” admitted Wildcats head coach, Dale Eggert.

“The matches were competitive but didn’t go our way. But the guys know they can do better so those defeats will be put to good use.”

Eggert said his sophomore, Matt Kubas got hit by a tiger in his 160-pound final, and that is the perfect way to describe the all out attack Blake Hinrichsen put on display.

The Washington junior registered an impressive 15-4 major decision one bout after defeating top seed Justin Warmowski of Grant.

“I’ve been working on improving my stance, having better position, and scoring early, and adding to my lead, and today I did that,” said Hinrichsen, who says when his team gets back to full strength, it will be a force in 2A this season.

Marmion’s Jack Lesher (182) and heavyweight Jerred Durian helped close out Libertyville with their head-to-head bouts with Wildcats Josh Knudten, and Caleb Christensen in their respective finals.

“It’s been almost two years since all of us have competed, so to come in here and wrestle as well as a team against this competition says a lot about what we can achieve this year,” said Durian, who is being recruited to play football at both North Central College and Augustana.

“Jack was one of our most pleasant surprises this weekend,” Fitzenreider said, following Leshers’ 3-0 decision over Knudten.

“We were not sure what we had with him but he showed a lot over these two days, beating the No. 3 seed in the semi’s, then the top seed to win it all.”

The Cadets’ third and final championship came from Tyler Perry (170), who sent the No. 2 seed, Austin Gomez of Libertyville out in the quarterfinals, and later, top seed AJ Mancilla in spectacular fashion by recording a pin at 2:51.

“I’ve been working a lot on my conditioning, and eliminating mistakes because of being a little sloppy, and this weekend, I felt like I stayed in good position, and was (clean) in all of my matches,” Perry said afterwards.

On a day which featured so many wonderful individual efforts – the performance from Massey Odiotti was one not to be overlooked.

The Loyola Academy junior, who was anointed the No. 3 seed at 120 pounds edged No. 2 Josh Vasquez (Aurora Christian) 3-1 in his semifinal contest – using a lightning quick move to score the decisive take-down 30 seconds from time.

Later, Odiotti staved off top seed Caelan Riley of Libertyville who made a late valiant attempt to draw back even but fell short in Odiotti’s 3-2 victory

“Massey has come a long way from his freshmen year with us,” Loyola coach Matt Collum said. “He likely would have lost this match as a freshman, maybe would have had a better chance to win as a sophomore, but this season he is mentally and physically stronger, which helped him ‘tough’ this out to earn a big win for himself.”

By Curt Herron
For the IWCOA

NORMAL – There aren’t very many firsts that both competitors and spectators will be able to experience in an Illinois high school sport.

But Saturday provided one of those rare events at the Normal Community boys’ JV and Girls Invite and a large crowd was on hand to witness the special occasion.

For the first time as an Illinois High School Association-approved sport, girls could compete against one another in a tournament format to highlight the initial week of girls wrestling.

Sixteen of the 25 schools who brought girls to the competition had individuals who advanced to title matches with eight of those teams capturing individual championships.

Schaumburg led the way with three champions and placed eight of its 13 competitors in the top four to easily claim top honors with 172 points.

Joliet Central edged West Aurora 100-97 for second place and the Steelwomen were one of four teams that had two champions, with Richwoods (fourth, 73 points), Normal West (sixth, 63) and Yorkville (ninth, 54) the others.

Andrew/Sandburg/Stagg co-op took fifth with 68 points but had no first-place finishers. Other teams who had individual champions were Homewood-Flossmoor (seventh, 56.5), Larkin (eighth, 56) and Mahomet-Seymour.

In a fascinating historical twist, the first champion of the event, Normal West’s Sammy Lehr (100), is the daughter of Margaret LeGates Lehr, who was the first girl to compete in the sport in IHSA competition and began her three-year career for the boys’ team at Libertyville 30 years ago.

Schaumburg received titles from Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic (135), Valeria Rodriguez (155) and Lili Reyes (235), had three others who placed third, and two more who took fourth.

The Saxons are coached by Matt Gruszka and his son, Luke. Matt wrestled for his father, Stan, at Naperville North while Luke wrestled at Schaumburg. Stan, a Class of 2003 IWCOA hall of famer, was involved in 79 seasons of coaching in 33 years, which also included football and track and field.

“I’ve been around the sport for a long time and have seen it come to this, where girls are competing,” Matt Gruszka said. “The girls are awesome and this is certainly adding to our sport. Our girls’ national team always does well and our U.S. Olympic team has done well, so it just makes sense that the state has taken this initiative and let the girls have their own venue.

“Just the amount of girls was unbelievable. It’s just great for the sport and it’s fun to be a part of. We’re a big wrestling state so we have good coaches scattered throughout, so when something like this comes along, they see what’s going on and the grassroots movement in Illinois is unbelievable and it trickles down to our freestyle and greco teams. We saw the majority of the girls were in the upper weights. The lower weights weren’t very crowded but there were 13 heavyweights today, and that was unbelievable. Just to see that is very encouraging for the sport.”

Winning titles for Joliet Central were Dioselina Tenorio (115) and Stephany Serna (140). Richwoods’ title winners were Kyley Bair (110) and Arie Johnson (170), Yorkville got titles from Yamilet Aguirrre (120) and Natasha Markoutsis (130) and Normal West also received a first from Angel Bateson (105). 

Other champions were Mahomet-Seymour’s Isabelle Leyhe (125), Homewood-Flossmoor’s Attalia Watson (145) and Larkin’s Maria Ferrer (190). A total of 134 girls took part in the competition with Joliet Central (19), Andrew/Sandburg/Stagg (17), Homewood-Flossmoor (15) and Schaumburg (13) leading the participants.

Here’s a breakdown of the girls champions:

100 – Sammy Lehr, Normal West

Normal West’s Sammy Lehr made history as the first champion of an IHSA-sanctioned girls’ tournament when she used three falls to go 3-0 in round-robin competition to capture top honors at 100, while Galesburg’s Hannah Almendarez went 2-1 to take second place and Olympia/Heyworth’s Mya Down placed third. 

Lehr, whose mother Margaret LeGates Lehr was the first girl to compete in the IHSA in the sport, was thrilled to be able to capture the initial tournament title and in the process, make history just as her mom did 30 years ago.

“I’m very excited,” said Sammy Lehr, who’s a junior. “Being able to be a part of the first one in the state is also really exciting. Coming from my mom’s background, I only started in high school and I’m able to follow in her footsteps. It’s a lot different of an experience to wrestle with other girls compared to guys since it gives you a whole new perspective. It’s a whole new skill set and being able to be a part of this as it grows is really important, as well.”

Margaret, who competed for three seasons at Libertyville for coach Dale Eggert, a Class of 2000 IWCOA hall of famer, was in the corner to help lead the Wildcats’ two finalists to become the sport’s first tournament champions.

“All day I’ve just been amazed by it all, seeing all of these girls with this opportunity,” Margaret Lehr said. “I love it and I’m so excited for the future of girls wrestling. It’s just exploding in growth, so that’s awesome. This is very special. And within my own community this is pretty awesome since we’re Normal West and this is our neighbor. I’m very thankful to Trevor Kaufman for pulling this together and really seeing the future for girls wrestling.”

105 – Angel Bateson, Normal West

Normal West claimed the first two titles at the state’s initial tournament as an approved IHSA sport when Angel Bateson won by fall over East Peoria’s Bailey Lusch to capture top honors at 105. In the third-place match, Homewood-Flossmoor’s Ava Anderson won 8-3 over Metea Valley’s Uliana Shevtsova. 

After recording three falls, Bateson joined teammate Sammy Lehr as champions in the historic competition, and achieving the feat in her hometown made the accomplishment that much better.

“I think it’s very important for girls to have their own sport,” said Bateson, who’s a junior. “To not have to wrestle the boys and to be one-on-one with another girl because girls wrestling is a totally different sport than boys wrestling. It was a fun day.”

110 – Kyley Bair, Richwoods

Richwoods’ Kyley Bair, who’s a junior, recorded a fall over West Aurora’s Fatima Mogollan and went 3-0 in the round-robin to win the title at 110 to become the first of two champions from the Lady Knights, who have had a large number of girls in their program during the past few years.

115 – Dioselina Tenorio, Joliet Central

Joliet Central was assured of a title at 115 after Dioselina Tenorio and Scarlett Chavez both advanced to the title match with a pair of falls. Tenorio, who took  fourth at 106 in the IWCOA finals in June, got a pin in the championship to become one of the two Steelwomen who claimed 

first place finishes. Deer Creek-Mackinaw’s Samantha Lauer claimed third place by fall over Schaumburg’s Harika Matukamilli. 

Tenorio is not only pleased that she is finally able to compete against other girls in high school but also with how many more girls are now participating in the sport.

“From my freshman year, I’ve seen girls wrestling expand and that’s made me so happy,” said Tenorio, who’s a senior. “When I first started, it was like just one or two girls trying it, but as the years have progressed, girls keep joining us. Now we get our own tournaments so in my last year, I’m happy to have all of this.”

120 – Yamilet Aguirre, Yorkville

Yorkville’s Yamilet Aguirre claimed her team’s first of two titles when the sophomore captured a 4-1 victory over Joliet Central’s April Ortiz in the 120 finals after winning three matches by fall. The Foxes only brought two individuals to the tournament and both of them captured championships. Schaumburg’s Nina Akimoto took third place by injury default over Joliet Central’s Itsel Vivanco.

125 – Isabelle Leyhe, Mahomet-Seymour

Mahomet-Seymour captured its first title in a girls tournament when Isabelle Leyhe won by fall over Normal Community’s Pyper Wood in the 125 finals to cap a day where she had two other pins and a win by technical fall. The Bulldogs had the most individuals who competed in the event with 22, but Leyhe was the only girl to take part. In the third-place match, Schaumburg’s Madison Meyer won by fall over Canton’s Naomi Luedtke.

Leyhe, who placed eighth at 113 at the IWCOA finals, enjoyed being on hand for the special day and has been inspired by a famous alumni of her school, Mary Kelly, a Class of 2019 IWCOA hall of famer who was a three-year starter for the program and the first girl to win a match at the IHSA dual team finals.

“Today was just a day full of emotion and I’m really thankful that I could be a part of it,” said Leyhe, who’s a sophomore. “Working so hard for the past couple of years, I’m really glad that I can come out here and show what I can do. As long as I can remember, I’ve always looked up to Mary Kelly and other female wrestlers. I just really wanted to follow in their footsteps and help other girls come out if this is what they want to do. I’m just really glad that this is growing so fast.”

130 – Natasha Markoutsis, Yorkville

Yorkville became one of five teams to have multiple champions when Natasha Markoutsis won by fall over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher’s Avery Schlickman in the 130 title match, which was her third pin of the day. 

Schaumburg’s Bethany Regione, who took fourth at 132 in the IWCOA finals, claimed third place after recording a pin over Larkin’s Quetzali Lara.

After being a runner-up at 132 at the IWCOA finals, Markoutsis not only has her sights set on being one of the first IHSA champions but also is excited about what other girls might be able to achieve in the new sport.

“To me, it means a lot,” said Markoutsis, who’s a senior. “I’ve never actually had the chance to go to a girls-sanctioned event for high school. So to do it with my high school coach there meant the world to me. It’s eye-opening to see how the sport is evolving and just how much it’s getting better, especially for younger girls. They’ll have this opportunity at their fingertips and it’s really inspiring. I’m really thankful for all of those older girls who’ve paved the path for them so they don’t have to battle the boys and they can have their own little space to do what they need to do.”

135 – Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic, Schaumburg

The champion Saxons captured their first individual title at 135 when Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic won by fall over Pekin’s Jaylah Dalton to record her third pin of the day. The third-place match at the weight featured a clash of Andrew/Sandburg/Stagg teammates with Delilah Freyman recording a pin against Noemi Concha.

After receiving a bye, Zerafa-Lazarevic recorded three straight falls to not only be the initial Saxon to capture a tournament title but also become the first freshman to capture a first-place finish in an IHSA-sanctioned event.

“There was a packed crowd and it was awesome,” Zerafa-Lazarevic said. “It is so much fun and I have a really great team that’s full of really great people so I think that I’ll be able to do well with them.”

140 – Stephany Serna, Joliet Central

Joliet Central claimed its second title when Stephany Serna prevailed in the highest-scoring match of the competition by capturing a wild 26-14 triumph over Olympia/Heyworth’s Jordan Bicknell in the 140 finals. The Steelwomen also claimed third and fourth place at the weight class when Ana Franco won by fall over teammate Mariah Crosley-White.

After finishing eighth in the IWCOA finals at 132, the Joliet Central senior looks to finish her high school career on a high note when she gets the opportunity to compete in the IHSA tournament and hopes that she can put her name among the elite wrestlers at her school, which has enjoyed a rich legacy in the sport.

“We’ve been working really hard in the room and this is my senior year and I think that my hard work has been paying off and I’m happy to get this place today,” Serna said. “Competition between girls and boys is really different so I’m excited for our girls to have their own division for the first time and I’m excited to compete. It was really exciting especially with all of the people that were here and I’m just really happy to put everything out on the mat and to get first today. On the wall there’s a lot of boys’ names so we just want to keep adding girls’ names onto the wall.”

145 – Attalia Watson, Homewood-Flossmoor

Attalia Watson became the first Homewood-Flossmoor girl to capture a tournament title after she won by fall over West Aurora’s Dyanni Rivera in the 145 finals to finish with two pins and a win by technical fall. Ottawa’s Sara Meyer captured third place when she recorded a pin against Canton’s Aubrianna Putman.

The Vikings junior is looking forward to seeing her program start making its mark at a school that has enjoyed success in most of its girls programs and also is excited about seeing the growth of her sport throughout Illinois.

“This was fun and It was really interesting and eye-opening to see how many girls were here,” said Watson, who’s a junior. “There was a lot of good things, especially since a lot of them are new, and they’ve come a long way in the first couple of weeks since we started. The IWCOA state was out of season so a lot of girls didn’t compete in it but now that we have a state tournament in season, a lot of girls will be able to compete.”

155 – Valeria Rodriguez, Schaumburg

Schaumburg’s Valeria Rodriguez picked up her team’s second title of the day after recording a pin against Andrew/Sandburg/Stagg’s Amber Schwider in the 155 championship in a matchup of two placers from the IWCOA finals where Rodriguez was sixth at 160 and Schwider was eighth at 152. For third place, Larkin’s Giselle Ayala, who took fourth at 152 in the IWCOA finals, won 7-0 over Plainfield South’s Teagan Aurich.

The Saxon sophomore went 4-0 on the day with three of her victories coming by fall to become one of three individual champions who helped their team to capture top honors in impressive fashion. She was pleased to see her and her teammates compete at a high level against the quality field that participated in the tournament.

“I think this is a really good opportunity for all of us,” Rodriguez said. “We’re from Schaumburg, so we really don’t see a lot of these schools so this is the first time that we get to get experience against everyone else.”

170 – Arie Johnson, Richwoods

Richwoods’ Arie Johnson, who captured the 152 state title at the IWCOA finals in June, gave the Lady Knights their second 

championship of the day when she posted a 7-2 victory over West  Aurora’s Ionicca Rivera in the 170 finals to follow up on three falls. Thesenior standout doesn’t just compete in wrestling, she’s also a member of Richwoods’ cheerleading team. Morton’s Kristiana Bass claimed third place after recording a fall against Andrew/Sandburg/Stagg’s Emma Akpan.

190 – Maria Ferrer, Larkin

Larkin’s Maria Ferrer recorded four falls, including one in the title match against West Aurora’s Brittney Moran, to lead the Royals, who had three of their four individuals place in the top-four. Ferrer, a junior, was the IWCOA champion at 170 and now owns a 21-match winning streak over the past two seasons. In the semifinals, Moran beat Richwoods’ Jaida Johnson, who placed third at 170 in the IWCOA finals. Johnson went on to claim third place with a 10-0 victory over Normal West’s Henriette Bustgaard.

235 – Lili Reyes, Schaumburg

Lili Reyes capped an historic day for Schaumburg by claiming her team’s third championship in the competition. In the 235 finals, Reyes, who was the IWCOA champion at 220, won by fall over Homewood-Flossmoor’s Ini Odumosu to claim the title with her fourth pin of the day. Host Normal Community received a 3-0 victory from Shelby Hailey in the third-place match against Joliet Central’s Janiya McMurtry.

Beside hoping to become one of the first individuals to capture both IWCOA and IHSA championships in the sport, the Saxon junior is excited about what her program might be able to achieve during this truly historic season.

“This is a really good feeling,” said Reyes. “It feels like all of the hard work that we’ve been doing is really paying off. It’s great, it’s a new feeling for everything. With all of the new girls stuff that has been opened up, so many more girls are joining because of that.”

Normal Community wins title at own junior-varsity tournament

The hosts claimed top honors in the junior-varsity boys competition as coach Trevor Kaufman’s Ironmen scored 197.5 points while Mahomet-Seymour was second with 150.5 points and Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher beat out Pontiac by  a 115.5-110 margin to claim third place honors. Ten of the teams in the 31-school field won individual titles.

Capturing titles for Normal Community were Caden Correll (106), Dylan Conway (126) and Jayden Campbell (132). Mahomet-Seymour’s Deandre Hughey (145) and Camden Harms (285) also won titles and Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher received title wins from Shawn Schlickman (120) and Gavin Johnson (220).

Other tournament champions were LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s Kobe Brent (113). Metamora’s Dylan Baitinger (138), Pontiac’s Dylan Ramsey (152), Centennial’s Leon Gordon (160), Richwoods’ Gabe Martinez (170), East Peoria’s Kaden Rowland (182) and Peoria High’s Malachi Washington (195).