Feature Stories

by Mike Garofola

Warren has been crowned 2023 Lake County Invite champs for the second time in four years by using a strong finish in the medal count, especially in the top half of the medal stand count. The Blue Devils collected five of their ten overall medals in third place, which was four more than runner-up Libertyville.

When this 6th annual contest came to an end on Saturday inside an energized, and raucous gym at host Libertyville, the champion Blue Devils would earn 212.0 points, eight points clear of the Wildcats (204), and 41.5 more than Stevenson (171.5) to round out the top three on the final leaderboard.

Grant would edge Mundelein by one (154.0-153.0) to finish fourth.

“We did what we had to do in order to hold off Libertyville – get bonus points wherever possible, compete as hard as we could in our matches, and do our best to finish top 3-4 to help the team out,” Warren coach Brad Janicek said. “I am obviously proud of the effort from the guys over these two days.

“I reminded the guys we won this tournament four years ago, then failed to win regionals two weeks later. So while today is something we should all be proud about, there’s obviously a lot of work still ahead of us as we prepare for the final four weeks of the season.”

This tournament is unique in-that the North Suburban Conference (NSC) and Northern Lake County Conference (NLCC) are brought together in this sport only to give fans of both 2A and 3A plenty to enjoy over the two days of play.

The 2023 version of this Invite provided would see all sorts of talent all throughout the brackets, witnessed by nearly 25 men ranked in the top 10 of the latest state polls, with several capable of competing for a state title later on in Champaign.

The tourney champion Blue Devils now have a pair of invitational championships to celebrate, one more than 2A power Antioch and one less than Stevenson, which has three.

Warren will now look to garner a ‘double’ this Friday at Mundelein when the NSC meets to decide league champion in a dual meet scenario to finish off the remainder of the regular season schedule for all.

The Blue Devils must beat both Lake Forest and Zion-Benton to force a potential three-way tie with Libertyville and Stevenson, while hoping for a little help from its league rivals.

Libertyville, which has now been runner-up at this invite six times, stands alone in the NSC at 5-0, with Stevenson and Zion-Benton left on the docket for coach Dale Eggerts’ club.

Warren has already defeated Stevenson, so if Libertyville beats Stevenson the Wildcats win the league crown outright, whereas a loss to Stevenson could create a three-way tie.

Stevenson star Lorenzo Frezza would join Joel Vandervere (Warren) and Danny Pucino (Libertyville) as the only three-time Invite champs in the short history of this high-profile event.

Pucino now wrestles at the University of Illinois, while Vandervere is at Northwestern.

Let’s now take a look at each weight class and its champions:

106: Anthony Alanis Grayslake Central

A simply sensational start to his tournament would end with Anthony Alanis claiming the first championship trophy of the final session after the Grayslake Central senior completed a three-match sweep at 106 pounds.

The No. 1 man in the state at 2A would collect his fifth major title of the season, and second Lake County Invite title following his 11-4 decision over Wauconda sophomore Gavin Rockey (20-3) to move his overall record on the season to a near perfect 34-1.

“Anthony wrestled very well over the week – a lot of clean take-downs on his feet, especially in the finals, and I felt like he wrestled well in all areas: neutral, top, and bottom,” began Rams head coach, Matt Joseph.

“He goes out and puts up points early and often, and has become a dominant wrestler because of that all season long.”

“My only focus is getting back downstate, and winning it all,” began Alanis, second a year ago at 106, and sixth in 2021.

“I am working out three times a day: before school I lift, we’re in the room after school, then off to Relentless to train where there’s a bunch of state champions, and place-winners in the room every night.

“For me, I want to improve one percent every day in order to reach my goal of being a state champion,” added Alanis, who recorded two pins this season to give him 13 on the season.

“Anthony is one of our hardest working kids in the room, is a great leader, and he’s peaking at the right time of the year, and is poised to make a great run in the postseason,” Joseph said.

Jonathan Marquez (Warren, 21-6) and Vince Jasinski (Grant, 25-9) were third and fourth, respectively.

113: Grayson Kongkaeow, Round Lake

Grayson Kongkaeow had a lot to prove to himself and others, and the Round Lake junior did just that with his 11-4 decision over Carlos Ordonez (Warren, 21-9) to capture the 113-pound crown, and first of two on the day for the Panthers’ program.

“I really thought I’d be at 120 this season, but Alejandro (Cordova) took over that spot in our lineup,” Kongkaeow said. “My goal this year is to prove that I belong at this weight, and that I can help our team being there.” Kongkaeow (28-10) was a regional champion a year ago and blood-round victim at the Barrington sectional one week later.

“If I was at 120 there would be a lot of guys bigger, stronger, and maybe at 124 pounds, so this is the right weight for me and I feel really good at 113,” added Kongaeow, who trains at Relentless Training Center (RTC) and whose sister (Riley) is an accomplished wrestler herself, recently winning the 100-pound title at the Sally Berman Holiday Classic at host Palatine High School.

Nate Randle (Wauconda, 18-5), and Yash Jagtap (Stevenson, 22-19) finished third and fourth overall.

120: Bryce Durlacher, Mundelein

A shoulder injury at the Berman Holiday Classic may have slowed No. 10 Bryce Durlacher (23-2) for a short time, but the Mundelein senior and returning fifth-place state medal winner showed no signs of damage, when he went past the competition to win his second major of the season and second straight Lake County Invite crown.

The Mustangs’ star rolled into his final against Luke Berktold (Libertyville, 31-9) where he took the lead for good at three minutes (2-0) then slowly added to his advantage until the final whistle of his 7-0 shutout.

“It was tough being out for a few weeks while my shoulder healed,” Durlacher said. “I obviously was not able to do any actual work on the mats, so I spent all of my time working on my cardio, and fitness, so I would be ready to go when I was cleared to return.” Durlacher’s brother Dane, a two-time state medalist, who later wrestled at the University of Illinois, was in his corner.

“My brother has helped with a lot of the little things he’s picked up along the way in college, so that’s been a big help to me, as has Benji (Albavera) who is my partner in the room,” added Durlacher, who was 40-4 a year ago.

Tyler Weidman (Grayslake Central, 31-10) and Ethan Tarvin (22-9) from Grant were third and fourth respectively.

126: Benji Albavera, Mundelein

Benji Albavera could not be more pleased with his first-ever Lake County Invite title, tossing plenty of credit for his success to teammate Bryce Durlacher and his older brother Dane, who have proved to be not only big supporters of the Mustangs senior, but key figures in his desire to advance to state.

“Bryce has been my best friend for a long time,” Albavera said. “We drive together to school, and we train at Relentless. He’s a great partner, and Dane has really been a big help and influence in the way I train and compete. Both of them are a big reason for this win today, and my season so far,”

Albavera (24-7) also won at the Marchese Invite at Hoffman Estates earlier this season.

“(Grant’s Erik) Rodriguez was a tough opponent, and I knew he would be tough on my legs, but getting that first take-down was important for me,” admitted Albavera, whose big throw off the opening whistle set the tone in the first period, which was spent in its entirety on the mat.

Albavera rode Rodriguez hard for all of the second period, then made it 4-0 with a two-point near-fall midway through the second period on his way to a 6-0 decision.

Andrew Chamkin (Stevenson, 24-13) and Orion Moran (Libertyville, 18-16) would round out the top four medal winners.

132: Edgar Albino, Antioch

Edgar Albino still has visions of his 2A semifinal match last February when his route to the final was dashed by Colby Crouch (Triad) who went on to claim the state title at 120 pounds in Champaign.

The Antioch junior, No. 6 in the state at 132, has used that pin he conceded to Crouch as his motivation to get back downstate and win it all in four weeks, a goal he knows is attainable thanks in part to his faith in God, and to himself.

“I put everything in the hands of God, whom I trust, and believe in, and that trust is what has inspired me this season, and nothing else,” says Albino (24-3) after accepting his first title of the season after a trio of second place medals at Antioch, Rich Township, and Bettendorf, Iowa.

“My confidence is so much better than last season, so is my footwork, and ability to attack and score points as the match goes on. So the rest is up to me,” said Albino, who with two early pins in the tournament now has 11 on the season.

Albino, who was a dazzling 43-2 a year ago to help the Sequoits to its fourth place at the 2A state duals, took a 6-2 lead into the second period against runner-up Cooper Daun (Wauconda) before extending his advantage to 10-4 after four minutes, en route to a well deserved 17-6 major decision victory.

Daun (23-5) would impress on his way to the finals with a pin to open the tourney, followed by a tech-fall.

Zach Piszkiewicz (Warren, 18-14), and Hunter Hill (Libertyville, 23-12) were third and fourth overall.

138: Lorenzo Frezza, Stevenson

No. 2 Lorenzo Frezza produced yet another brilliant performance on the mats, highlighted by a trio of superb efforts from start-to-finish. That performance ended with his tech-fall at 2:25 against Evan Onstad (Warren, 21-4) to give Frezza his fourth major of the season and third Lake County Invite crown of his marvelous career.

“All I can say is that Lorenzo is laser focused on the task ahead, and he showed that again yesterday, and today with three tremendous matches to win at 138,” said a proud Stevenson head coach, Shane Cook, who watched his two-time state medal winner and three-time state qualifier dismantle the competition.

“I recently had a skin issue that kept me out of action far too long,” Frezza said. “All I could do was jump rope to stay strong in my cardio and fitness. “It wasn’t easy being on the sidelines but maybe it was a blessing in disguise, because I got a little rest and I feel really fresh for the stretch run.” 

Frezza has wins this season against Will Baysingar (Prospect, No. 2 at 132) and Tyler Guerra (St. Charles East, No. 3 ) included in his perfect 32-0 record.

“It was a good win against a tough opponent (Onstad) and while I’m happy with it, I’m not going to celebrate. We could see each other once or twice more this season,” admitted Frezza.

Onstad would beat the No. 2 seed, and current No. 3 man in 2A, Anthony Streib (16-3) in his semifinal when the Antioch senior was forced to take an injury default with 90 seconds from time when he appeared to suffer an ankle injury.

Clayton Honaker (Grant, 16-11) and Logan Andrews (Wauconda, 22-12) were third and fourth, respectively.

145: Scott Busse: Lake Zurich

It appeared after Scott Busse (Lake Zurich) steamrolled his first two opponents that his third and final rival would be the next to suffer the same fate.

As a chess-like first period ended, it appeared that the Bears senior was on his front foot when he grabbed a 2-0 lead after a well-executed take-down against top-seeded Caleb Nobiling (27-8). But instead of adding points at a record pace as he did in his two previous contests, Busse (36-2) was forced to hang on to earn a hard fought, 2-1 decision over the talented senior from Antioch.

“I knew that Caleb would be a tough opponent in my final, and that it would be closer than my first two matches of the tournament,” began Busse, after collecting his fourth major of the season.

“But I didn’t attack like I did in those matches, and I could have been better with my angles, been more explosive, and probably could have moved more as well. But it was one of those matches where you have to grind out a win. As the season progresses, those are the types of matches I’ll encounter,” continued Busse, who will soon go on a visit to SIU-Edwardsville.

Nobiling, No. 2 in the state at 2A behind Bryce Griffin (Civic Memorial) started down in the third period, and immediately would halve the Busse advantage (2-1) with a neat escape.

Busse would admit afterwards he figured he earned two points when he came around Nobiling with 40 seconds on the clock. But after a stalemate with 34.1 remaining, and an attempt by Nobiling with 8.3 seconds left to go was defended smartly by Busse, it was all over.

“It feels great to finally win a conference title in my senior year, now it’s all about working hard, and focusing on regionals, sectionals, and the state tournament,” added Busse.

Cole Porten (Wauconda, 21-8) and Nicholas Asliani (Carmel Catholic, 26-7) were third and fourth, respectively.

152: Aaron Stewart, Warren

A wrestling fan would be hard-pressed to find a better wrestling rookie than Warren’s Aaron Stewart. The freshman, who already amassed an impressive resume prior to entering the Blue Devils room, appears to be on his way to making a big imprint on the prep scene.

Stewart, who already claimed top honors at the Whitlach, and then the prestigious Cheesehead Invite in Wisconsin, left three rivals in his wake en route to the 152-pound title. Stewart gave Warren its lone championship on the day.

“I am really enjoying being a part of a high school wrestling program, as well as a team that has a great room and great coaches,” Stewart (27-1) said, after his second-straight major decision victory ensured his weight division crown.

Stewart sits just behind No. 1 Kaden Fetterolf (Batavia) in the state polls. He opened tourney play with a pin at 1:03, followed by 17-7 major and then another major (23-9) against returning 2A state qualifier Seth Digby (25-7) of Lake Forest.

“I just go into the room each day looking to get myself better on top and bottom, keeping things clean, and getting myself ready for the next four weeks of the season,” said Stewart, whose only loss of the season came to the No. 1 man in 2A at 152, David Mayora (Montini), by 4-2 decision at the Neuqua Valley Invite

Themba Sitshela (Stevenson, 22-14) and Aidan Foley (Lake Zurich, 27-14) were third and fourth, respectively.

160: Thomas Schoolman, Stevenson

Stevenson senior Thomas Schoolman saw his 2022 hopes and dreams dashed abruptly when he dropped his first-round match in the back-draw at 145 to Danny Herbert (Loyola) at the Barrington sectional.

“It was a tough way to go out for sure,” said Schoolman, who went  33-7 on the season.

“When it happened, I began wondering to myself if my advancing to the IWCOA state tournament in 2021 was a fluke. So I worked during the offseason on being more patient in my attack, and not so wild with my approach with my shots, and just being a more defensive wrestler.

“Things have really turned around for me, and my confidence is so much better than it was a year ago. Winning here is a great way to begin the last few weeks of the season.”

Schoolman, No. 8 in the IWCOA, was encouraged by his title run recently at the Illini Classic, and so was his coach.

“Thomas had a very strong tournament there,” Stevenson coach Shane Cook said. “He beat some quality opponents, including the No. 4 kid from St. Charles East (Anthony Gutierrez) in his final, 5-3.”

Schoolman (28-3) will wrestle next fall at North Central College in Naperville, where he grew up before moving north to attend Stevenson.

Zac Johnson (21-6) of Wauconda, who fell by major decision (11-2) to Schoolman in the finals, was champion at the Vernon Hills Invite over Thanksgiving weekend, and is third on the Bulldogs in pins with nine overall.

Royce Lopez (Warren, 28-9) and Ben Vazquez (Antioch, 26-10) were third and fourth, respectively.

170: Matt Kubas, Libertyville

Matt Kubas (32-5) would solidify his spot at No. 3 in the most recent state polls with his masterful performance at 170 pounds, which saw the Libertyville junior finish off his last two opponents via tech-falls to win his third title of the campaign.

Kubas, who lost here a year ago in the 160-pound final to eventual state medal winner Justin Warmowski (Grant), beat Stevenson junior Richie Gueorguiev with an unstoppable attack, which ended at 4:30 with the score 18-3.

Gueorguiev has made great strides in his first season with the big club, already winning 22 matches thus far.

“(Kubas) gets after it from start to finish,” Libertyville coach Dale Eggert said. “There are few who can keep up with his pace.

“Throw in some solid arm bars and it results in him earning a lot of bonus points, witnessed by a pin and two tech-falls in this tournament.”

“I like to push the pace and keep scoring in order to continue to rack up points,” Kubas said. “I try to put in a strong six minutes of effort, which I feel many of my opponents struggle with.” Kubas (32-5) won earlier in the season at the Moore-Prettyman and recently at Glenbard West, and was fifth overall at the Dvorak.

Justice Humphries (Warren, 23-13) and Carter Vincent (Grayslake Central, 28-13) were third and fourth, respectively.

182: Matty Jens, Grayslake Central

Matty Jens struck gold for the third time this season when the No. 1-rated junior from Central beat up-and-coming Caleb Baczek (Libertyville) 18-8 to win his first league title of his career.

Jens (22-0) crushed his first two opponents during the weekend, registering his third tech-fall of the season and then a team-leading 17th pin on the season, before his encounter with the sophomore Baczek. Baczek took over for ‘Cats senior Austin Gomez, who was out due to injury.

“We were looking forward to seeing Austin in the finals,” Grayslake Central coach Matt Joseph said. “(Matty) was injured the first time they would have met. But Libertyville has some terrific depth in its upper weights and (Baczek) was really tough.

“Matty really uses heavy hands, and he kept his foot on the pedal in that final and never took it off. He can beat you in so many ways on his feet, and is constantly attacking, and he rarely gives his opponents a chance to breathe.”

Jens has bounced back after some adversity this year.

“I tweaked my ankle earlier in the season, which kept me out of action for nearly three weeks,” Jens said. “But I really feel in a way it helped me get my mind straight. I feel better than ever and right now if I can stay healthy the rest of the way, I feel like I can be the best 82-pounder in the state at 2A.” Jens was a state runner-up a year ago, and is a two-time state medal winner.

Baczek (13-6) who recently won the Libertyville JV title at 195 pounds, drew even with Jens at 3-3 with 30 seconds remaining in the first period, but fell behind for good (5-3) moments later when Jens recorded a takedown near the edge.

The sophomore Baczek showed plenty of determination and grit to keep the contest close, but Jens extended his advantage to 10-4 at three minutes and kept attacking to finish with a flurry of points.

“We didn’t expect Gomez to be out of the lineup this weekend, but if there is a weight class for a starter to go out for us it was 182 because we have a blue-chip sophomore who is big, strong, and fast in Caleb,” began Libertyville head coach, Dale Eggert.

“He’s had a few spot starts with the varsity and keeping him on our JV team is no longer a challenge. If he continues to improve at this rate, I definitely see a state medal for him in the future.”

Antioch senior Seth Gomez (23-11), No. 5 in this state at this weight, finished third ahead of Josh Zimring (17-14) of Stevenson.

195: Aaron Cramer, Grayslake Central

Aaron Cramer would thunder past the finish line to win his second straight Lake County Invite title, and his fourth title of the season, after he smashed the 195-pound field in Libertyville.

The SIU-Edwardsville-bound Cramer (28-0) was a 2022 2A state runner-up, and he provided no relief for his three rivals over the tournament’s two days. Cramer racked up his 15th pin and third tech-fall of the season to cruise into the finals, where he used a variety of weapons to beat Cole Matulenko (32-4) of Libertyville.

“We expected to see Matulenko in the final, and when Aaron’s hands and feet are busy in neutral position, he is hard to defend,” coach Matt Joseph said. “With a guy as big and physical like (Matulenko), and Aaron able to get to his attacks and dictate the pace of the match, we were not surprised by the outcome.”

Cramer was up to the challenge.

“I was sick of late, but with having Matty (Jens) in the room with me, and taking care of myself, I felt really good at the start of the tournament and through to the final,” said Cramer, second a year ago at 170 with a sparkling 47-2 overall record.

The affable upper-weight star suffers from Tracheomalacia, a weakness in the windpipe, where the walls of the trachea are floppy instead of being rigid. The condition was present at birth but not  diagnosed fully until he was nine years old.

“I saw a lot of doctors when I was younger, and had a ton of tests done on me, and with having asthma also I use an inhaler to help me breathe easier, and help expand the airways,” said Cramer.

“When I do get sick, it always seems to be an upper respiratory thing, which I’ve gotten used to. It usually keeps me out for a few days or so.”

Cramer showed no signs of feeling ill from the onset, as his pace and work rate helped the senior flash a lethal attack en route to a championship run for the No. 2 man in the state, ranked just behind Mateo Casillas from Mahomet-Seymour. Matulenko came in ranked sixth.

Cramer now joins older brothers Alex and Adrien as two-time Lake County Invite champions.

Jeremija Hixson (Warren, 25-8) and Matt Luby (Lake Zurich, 22-11) were third and fourth, respectively.

220: Owen McGrory, Libertyville

Owen McGrory is no longer the surprise of Lake County, or for that matter the state, after the Libertyville junior marched through the 220-pound field on his way to his third major of the season and first ever Lake County Invite title of his career.

“Owen continues to amaze with his handling of other 220-pounders,” coach Dale Eggert said. “He weighs just 190 and looks like he still has growing to do, but he’s off-the-charts smart. When you throw in his leg riding, which throws off the 220-pounds, it’s led to him having quite a season thus far.” 

McGrory is currently ranked fifth in Illinois.

“I have to admit that I’ve surprised myself this season, but I feel like I’ve worked hard each day in the room to get better,” McGrory (36-5) said. I’ve used a little bit of a funky style and my leg riding to help me against those guys who are bigger and stronger than me. I’ll just keep putting the work in to get ready for the last three or four weeks of the season.

“I used a ‘mouse trap’ in that final and some strong leg riding to get the advantage against a really strong opponent,” added McGrory, after his pin at 3:51 over Anthony Soto (26-9) of Warren.

Grant senior Cameron Lattimore, who was runner-up last weekend at 195 at the Clint Arlis Batavia Invite, placed third ahead of Mundelein sophomore Abisai Hernandez.

285: William Cole, Round Lake

Round Lake sophomore William Cole would end this terrific two-day tournament by claiming the top prize at 285 pounds, the second on the day for a Panthers program which finished 10th overall in a field of 16 clubs.

“William was behind a senior last year (Erik Tellez) and spent the season on the freshmen team,” Round Lake coach Mike Hruska said. “He worked hard to get himself ready for the big jump up to the varsity team this year.

“He’s a terrific young man who has come a long way in a short time. Once he grows into his frame, he’ll have the chance to become a very good heavyweight for us.”

At 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, Hruska is also an increasingly rare three-sport athlete.

“There was a lot for me to learn but I feel like I’m getting better each time out,” Cole said. “I am really enjoying the team and competing at this level as well.” Cole is now 25-6 following his 2-0 victory over Grayslake North senior Dallas Dinkla, whom he beat with a super-quick, and crafty reversal at the start of the third period.

“Despite my inexperience at this level, I feel that I have the speed and quick feet to use to my advantage,” Cole said. “It kind of worked for me when I started down in the third period, and was able to move quick enough to get the reversal.”

Cole also plays on both sides of the ball in football, and throws during the spring track season. He’s also a member of the Round Lake Speech and Debate team where he specialized in the Special Occasion Speaking (SOS) event.

Dinkla (14-10) earlier surprised top-seeded Caleb Christensen (Libertyville, 29-10) with a pin at 4:37 in the semifinals. Christensen then  defeated Ivan Hernandez (Grant, 23-13) for third-place honors.

By Curt Herron

Riverdale wins seven titles to capture Orion’s Bob Mitton Invite championship

Riverdale had seven individual champions to help it take top honors in Orion’s Bob Mitton Invite, which featured 21 teams. Coach Myron Keppy’s first-place Rams scored 255 points while the hosts were second with 191 points and Kewanee beat out Galesburg 157-151 for third place. Mercer County (138.5), Rockridge (125), Clinton (118), Polo (115), Rock Island J-V (93.5), Macomb (92.5) and Monmouth-Roseville (89) were next in line.  

Winning titles for Riverdale were Dean Wainwright (106), Tharren Jacobs (113), Brock Smith (138), Blake Smith (145), Eli Hinde (152), Collin Altensey (160) and Alex Watson (170) while Kolton Kruse (132) finished fourth and Zac Bradley (182) placed sixth.

“We were surprised to have seven champions,” Keppy said. “And we had two other placers and everyone on the team scored points to help us score 255 points, so it was an awesome weekend.”

Leading coach Zach Nelson’s runner-up Chargers were second-place finishers Luke Moen (120), Mason Anderson (145) and Phillip Dochterman (220) while Aiden Fisher (182) and Maddux Anderson (195) took third and Kaleb Sovey (113) finished fourth.

Other Bob Mitton Invite champions were Mercer County’s Ethan Monson (120), Galesburg’s Gauge Shipp (126), Polo’s Wyatt Doty (132), Farmington’s Rese Shymansky (182), Sherrard’s Walker Anderson (195), Macomb’s Ethan Ladd (220) and Clinton’s Dawson Thayer (285).

Also finishing second were Rockridge’s Jude Finch (126), Reese Finch (138) and Ryan Lower (160), Macomb’s Carter Hoge (152) and Max Ryner (195), Polo’s Josiah Perez (106), Mercer County’s Kale Stirn (113), Galesburg’s Rocky Almendarez (132), Illini West’s Shawn Watkins (170), Kewanee’s Alejandro Duarte (182) and Rock Island J-V’s Eli Gustafson (285).

Shipp improved to 35-0 while other top records for those who reached the title mat were Altensey (43-1. .977), Brock Smith (41-1, .976), Wainwright (38-1, .974), Ryner (35-2, .946), Walker Anderson (30-2, .938), Doty (29-2, .935), Shymansky (28-2, .933), Watson (40-3, .930), Perez (24-2, .923), Monson (34-3, .919), Jude Finch (31-3, .912), Ladd (37-4, .902), Hinde (27-3, .900) and Almendarez (26-3, .897). 

Watson led all competitors with 32 team points while Brock Smith and Doty had 31 and Altensey and Thayer both scored 30 team points. Ladd and Shipp had 29.5 points, Hinde scored 29, Blake Smith had 28.5 points and Walker Anderson and Shymansky scored 28 team points.

Also finishing in third place were Galesburg’s Josh Larkin (106), Emilo Torres (170) and Dishon Nolen (220), Kewanee’s Will Taylor (138), Max Kelly (152) and Jackson Hicks (160), Amboy’s Landon Blanton (113), Rock Island J-V’s Temar Hudson (120), Farmington’s Bradlee Ellis (126), Clinton’s Cayden Poole (132), Rockridge’s Bryan Blumenstein (145) and Monmouth-Roseville’s Gavin Bell (285).

Other fourth-place finishers were Mercer County’s Eli Burns (152), Gavin Minteer (170) and Payton Coppla (285), Monmouth-Roseville’s Caleb Dillard (106) and Jay Raymond (160), Polo’s Lucas Nelson (126) and Maddux Hayden (195), Camp Point Central’s Jack Thompson (138) and Joseph Friday (145), United Township’s Xavier Marolf (120), Galesburg’s Nick Makwala (182) and Geneseo J-V’s Brayden Franzen (220).

The tournament is named for Bob Mitton, a 2005 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee who won 319 dual meets, 10 regionals and nine conference titles in his 27 years as Orion’s head coach.

Championship matches from Orion’s Bob Mitton Invite

106 – Dean Wainwright (Riverdale) D 2-0 Josiah Perez (Polo)

113 – Tharren Jacobs (Riverdale) D  4-3 Kale Stirn (Mercer County)

120 – Ethan Monson (Mercer County) D 4-2 Luke Moen (Orion)

126 – Gauge Shipp (Galesburg) D 9-4 Jude Finch (Rockridge)

132 – Wyatt Doty (Polo) MD 13-5 Rocky Almendarez (Galesburg)

138 – Brock Smith (Riverdale) MD 11-1 Reese Finch (Rockridge)

145 – Blake Smith (Riverdale) F 5:25 Mason Anderson (Orion)

152 – Eli Hinde (Riverdale) D 10-8 Carter Hoge (Macomb)

160 – Collin Altensey (Riverdale) F 1:32 Ryan Lower (Rockridge)

170 – Alex Watson (Riverdale) F 1:23 Shawn Watkins (Illini West)

182 – Rese Shymansky (Farmington) F 2:43 Alejandro Duarte (Kewanee)

195 – Walker Anderson (Sherrard) F 3:18 Max Ryner (Macomb)

220 – Ethan Ladd (Macomb) TF 5:28 Phillip Dochterman (Orion)

285 – Dawson Thayer (Clinton) F 2:51 Eli Gustafson (Rock Island J-V)

Crystal Lake Central takes top honors at Oak Park and River Forest Invitational

Crystal Lake Central scored 193 points to claim the title at Oak Park and River Forest Invite while Lyons Township edged Arrowhead, WI 179-177.5 for second place. Glenbard West (167) and Unity (152.5) were next in line in the nine-team competition in Oak Park. The school also hosted a 15-team freshman tournament at the same time, with Huntley, Glenbard West, Crystal Lake Central and the host Huskies being the top four scoring squads in that competition.

Top performers for coach Justen Lehr’s champion Tigers were title winners Zach Carnrite (145) and Leo Diaz (285) while Dylan Ramsey (113) and Ben Butler (160) were second. Cayden Parks (170) and TJ Metz (182) placed third and Payton Ramsey (106), Jon Barrick (195) and Tommy McNeil (220) took fourth place.

“Obviously I’m super happy with our guys winning a tournament,” Lehr said. “But I also want to send a big shout out to all the OPRF folks for running not just one but two great tournaments simultaneously and being first-class from tournament operation to the legendary hospitality room.”

Leading the way for coach Griff Powell’s runner-up Lions were champions Griff Powell (106) and Gunnar Garelli (160) and second-place finishers Calum Rogers (145), Charlie Campbell (152) and Cooper King (195). Jack Kutchek (120) and Sam Costello (220) took third place while Logan Hiatt (285) finished fourth.

Others who won championships were Dakota’s Phoenix Blakely (132), Jason Bowers (138) and Noah Wenzel (220), Unity’s Kyus Root (170) and Nick Nosler (195), Oak Park and River Forest’s Zev Koransky (113) and Glenbard West’s Alejandro Aranda (120).

Glenbard West had four second-place finishers, Carson Prunty (106), Cody Bochenski (126), Jacob Lachs (132) and Sasha Boulton (170). Also claiming second place were Huntley’s Aiden Lira (120) and Ben Wiley (220), Unity’s Hunter Eastin (182) and Alex Abrahamson (285) and Oak Park and River Forest’s Cooper Lacey (138).

Individuals with top records among those who met for titles are Blakely (31-1, .969), Nosler (39-2, .951), Lachs (36-2, .947), Wenzel (31-3. ,912), Eastin (38-4, .905) and King (32-4, .889). Diaz and Koransky tied for the most team points with 26, Blakely had 25.5 points and Carnrite, Nosler, Powell and Wenzel all tied with 24 team points.

Also finishing third were Huntley’s Zack Hornickel (113), Rafael Sobrepena (138) and Shane McGuine (145), Dakota’s Adrian Arellano (152) and Avery Bowers (285) and Oak Park and River Forest’s David Ogunsanya (126).

Other fourth-place finishers were Unity’s Trevor McCarter (113) and Kaden Inman (132), Huntley’s Adam Pena (126) and Alex Napientek (152), Glenbard West’s Elliot Torres (138) and Ryan Odiet (182), Dakota’s Tristen Alexander (145) and Garrett Vincent (160) and Oak Park and River Forest’s Ruben Acevedo (120).

Championship Matches for the Oak Park and River Forest Invitational

106 – Griff Powell (Lyons Township) F 5:08 Carson Prunty (Glenbard West)

113 – Zev Koransky (Oak Park and River Forest) F 0:44 Dylan Ramsey (Crystal Lake Central)

120 – Alejandro Aranda (Glenbard West) D 10-6 Aiden Lira (Huntley)

126 – Collin McDowell (Arrowhead, WI) TF 4:39 Cody Bochenski (Glenbard West)

132 – Phoenix Blakely (Dakota) TF 5:43 Jacob Lachs (Glenbard West)

138 – Jason Bowers (Dakota) D 8-4 Cooper Lacey (Oak Park and River Forest)

145 – Zach Carnrite (Crystal Lake Central) F 5:50 Calum Rogers (Lyons Township)

152 – Ramon Gulmatico (Arrowhead, WI) F 2:45 Charlie Campbell (Lyons Township)

160 – Gunnar Garelli (Lyons Township) D 4-1 Ben Butler (Crystal Lake Central)

170 – Kyus Root (Unity) D 6-0 Sasha Boulton (Glenbard West)

182 – Noah Mulvaney (Arrowhead, WI) TF 4:00 Hunter Eastin (Unity)

195 – Nick Nosler (Unity) D 9-3 Cooper King (Lyons Township)

220 – Noah Wenzel (Dakota) F 1:30 Ben Wiley (Huntley)

285 – Leo Diaz (Crystal Lake Central) F 0:20 Alex Abrahamson (Unity)

Phoenix Military Academy takes title at Phillips Elite Classic 2023

Phoenix Military Academy had four champions and that helped it win the title of the Phillips Elite Classic 2023 at Wendell Phillips Academy in Chicago with 165.5 points while Kennedy took second with 156 points. Amundsen (109), Perspectives – IIT Math and Science Academy (98), Sarah Goode STEM Academy (97), Back of the Yards College Prep (91), Hyde Park Academy (90), Schurz (88), Kenwood (82.5) and Proviso East (76) were next in the 22-team field.

Leading the way for coach Daniel Curin’s champion Firebirds were title winners Elijah Torres (106), Jose Lua (120), Mauricio Cisneros (126) and Vin Moreno (126) while Adan Bucio (113) and Kaleb Abney (195) finished fifth and Brendyn Shields (220) placed sixth.

Top performers for coach Deandre Mosley’s runner-up Crusaders were champions Victor Alvarado (113) and Phillip Lullo (145) and second-place finishers Josue’ Tankson (106) and Maciej Koscielniak (182) while Anthony Archer (120) and Nicolas Jungman (152) took fourth.

Also capturing first-place finishes were Proviso East’s Clarence Wellington (170) and Edward Love (220), Senn’s Maxwell Nevinger (138), Sarah Goode’s Kendall Martin (152), Kenwood’s Christopher Guidger (160), Hyde Park’s Wilhelm Lord (182), Chicago Military Academy – Bronzeville’s Sean Brown (195) and Back of the Yards’ Fernando Gomez (285).

Others who claimed second place were Schurz’s Majd Harmarsha (120), Andrew Delgado (132) and Ameir Alexander (160), Bowen’s Ron Tyler (145), Trevon Smith (152) and Monte Smallwood (220), Amundsen’s Matthew Nguyen (113) and Michael Wojatch (195) , Back of the Yards’ Saeed Ullah (138) and Axel Correa (170), Curie’s Porfirio Govea (126) and Sullivan’s Abdulahad Ahmadi (285).

Individuals with the best records who took first or second place were Lullo (8-0, 1.000), Alvarado (25-1, .962), Nevinger (20-1, .952), Lord (19-1, .950), Love (18-1, .947), Lua (30-3, .909), Moreno (28-3, .903) and Govea (16-2, .889). Brown had the most team points with 29 while eight others tied for second with 28 team points. Those eight were Gomez, Lord, Love, Lua, Lullo, Martin, Moreno and Wellington. Alvarado and Cisneros were next with 27.5 points.

Third-place finishes were also claimed by Perspectives’ Donald Bunton (120), Maurice Bush (132) and Mivontae Russell (195), Kenwood’s Cameron Griffin (126) and Nehemiah Pinder (170), Sullivan’s Mohamed Zia Nadre (106), Bogan’s Lee Hall (113), Wendell Phillips’ Jermaine Erving (138), Sarah Goode’s Francisco Lopez (145), Back of the Yards’ Nick Mata (152), King’s Jeremiah Poindexter (160), Proviso East’s Raphael Webb (182), Westinghouse’s Davarein Stevenson (220) and Hyde Park’s Anton Welsh (285).

And the remaining fourth-place finishers were King’s Mauriece Hearon (138), Joshua Polk (170) and Kenneth Simpson (285), Sarah Goode’s Ralph Liggins (126) and Malek Howard (182), Hyde Park’s Antonio Crump (132) and Desean Mallard (145), Perspectives’ Kenye Flanagan (106), Wendell Phillips’ Andrew Price (113), Amundsen’s John Norton (160), Curie’s Angel Ascencio (195) and Bogan’s Marcel Trice (220).

Championship Matches in the Phillips Elite Classic 2023

106 – Elijah Torres (Phoenix Military Academy) D 4-3 Josue’ Tankson (Kennedy)

113 – Victor Alvarado (Kennedy) F 0:55 Matthew Nguyen (Amundsen)

120 – Jose Lua (Phoenix Military Academy) F 1:27 Majd Harmarsha (Schurz)

126 – Mauricio Cisneros (Phoenix Military Academy) F 0:53 Porfirio Govea (Curie)

132 – Vin Moreno (Phoenix Military Academy) F 0:08 Andrew Delgado (Schurz)

138 – Maxwell Nevinger (Senn) TF Saeed Ullah (Back of the Yards)

145 – Phillip Lullo (Kennedy) F 5:07 Ron Tyler (Bowen)

152 – Kendall Martin (Sarah Goode) F 0:53 Trevon Smith (Bowen)

160 – Christopher Guidger (Kenwood) F 1:33 Ameir Alexander (Schurz)

170 – Clarence Wellington (Proviso East) F 1:30 Axel Correa (Back of the Yards)

182 – Wilhelm Lord (Hyde Park) F 4:00 Maciej Koscielniak (Kennedy)

195 – Sean Brown (Chicago Military Academy-Bronzeville) F 1:02 Michael Wojatch (Amundsen)

220 – Edward Love (Proviso East) F 1:14 Monte Smallwood (Bowen)

285 – Fernando Gomez (Back of the Yards) F 1:05 Abdulahad Ahmadi (Sullivan)

Two champions, nine Illinois finalists at Lueders invite in Clinton, Iowa

Quincy Senior’s Owen Uppinghouse and Lena-Winslow/Stockton’s Mike Haas won titles while seven other Illinois competitors placed second at the Bob Lueders Invitational in Clinton, Iowa.

Quincy (137) took sixth and Lena-Winslow/Stockton (121) was seventh in the 20-team event that was won by Linn-Mar, IA (212.5). Other Illinois teams that competed were Sterling (75), Newman Central Catholic (64), Fulton (45), Erie/Prophetstown (41) and West Carroll.

Uppinghouse improved to 33-0 after recording a fall in 1:29 over Iowa City West, IA’s Justin Avila (31-6) in the 160 championship. The Blue Devils junior had the most falls in the least time with four in 4:48, which helped him tie Linn-Mar’s Kane Naaktgeboren for most team points with 30. His teammate, Bryor Newbold (30-4) lost by fall in 1:08 to Linn-Mar’s Tate Naaktgeboren (23-2) in the 182 finals.

Haas improved to 31-6 with a 1-0 victory over Lisbon, IA’s Indy Ferguson (30-11) in the 220 title match. His teammate, Griffin Luke (36-1), fell for the first time in 37 matches when he lost by technical fall to Milton, WI’s Aeoden Sinclair (28-0) in a clash of unbeatens in the 195 finals.

Fulton’s Zane Pannell (42-1) fell for the first time in 43 matches when he lost 3-1 by sudden victory to Pleasant Valley, IA’s Caden McDermott (34-1) in the 170 finals. His teammate, Ben Fosdick (36-6), lost 6-2 to Davenport Assumption, IA’s Michael Macias (19-1) in the 145 finals.

Erie/Prophetstown’s Jase Grunder (37-2) lost 11-3 to Linn-Mar’s Grant Kress (24-3) in the 152 championship match. Newman Central Catholic’s Carter Rude (34-3) was pinned in 3:17 in the 138 title match by Linn-Mar’s Kane Naaktgeboren (26-2). And Sterling’s Zyan Westbrook (14-5) dropped a 10-4 decision to Linn-Mar’s Malik DeBow (22-5) in the 113 finals.

Illinois athletes who took third place were Lena-Winslow/Stockton’s Garrett Luke (38-2 at 152) and Jared Dvorak (34-4 at 160), Erie/Prophetstown’s Wyatt Goosens (33-5 at 120) and Newman Central Catholic’s Zhyler Hansen (28-12 at 113). 

Quincy’s Todd Smith (29-10 at 285) placed fourth while West Carroll’s Connor Knop (24-5 at 106),  Sterling’s Thomas Tate (21-6 at 160) and Lena-Winslow/Stockton’s Eli Larson (29-11 at 170) all took fifth place. 

Finishing sixth were Quincy’s Brody Baker (24-13 at 138) and Max Miller (29-8 at 170), Lena-Winslow/Stockton’s Karl Hubb (26-12 at 145) and Tanner Gile (14-5 at 182), Newman Central Catholic’s Briar Ivey (30-11 at 120) and Sterling’s Karson Strohmayer (13-18 at 126).

Championship matches involving Illinois athletes at the Lueders Invite in Clinton, Iowa

113 – Malik DeBow (Linn-Mar, IA) D 10-4 Zyan Westbrook (Sterling)

138 – Kane Naaktgeboren (Linn-Mar, IA) F 3:17 Carter Rude (Newman Central Catholic)

145 – Michael Macias (Davenport Assumption, IA) D 6-2 Ben Fosdick (Fulton)

152 – Grant Kress (Linn-Mar, IA) MD 11-3 Jase Grunder (Erie/Prophetstown)

160 – Owen Uppinghouse (Quincy) F 1:29 Justin Avila (Iowa City West, IA)

170 – Caden McDermott (Pleasant Valley, IA) SV 3-1 Zane Pannell (Fulton)

182 – Tate Naaktgeboren (Linn-Mar, IA) F 1:08 Bryor Newbold (Quincy)

195 – Aeoden Sinclair (Milton, WI) TF 4:42 Griffin Luke (Lena-Winslow/Stockton)

220 – Mike Haas (Lena-Winslow/Stockton) D 1-0 Indy Ferguson (Lisbon, IA)

By Curt Herron

LeRoy/Tri-Valley captures top honors at its Randy Bowman Invitational

LeRoy/Tri-Valley captured top honors at its own Randy Bowman Invitational after scoring 210.5 points, which was 13 points better than runner-up Auburn, who had 197.5 points. It was the team’s third  invite title of the season, adding to first-place efforts at the Saint Thomas More New Year’s Challenge and at Metamora. El Paso-Gridley (158.5), Princeton (137), Oakwood/Salt Fork (128), Westville (123.5), Illini Bluffs (107.5), Oregon (100) and Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin (92) were next in line in the 20-team event.

Title winners Brady Mouser (106), Kobe Brent (113) and Tyson Brent (170) led coach Brady Sant Amour’s champion Panthers. Brock Owens (126) and Jacob Bischoff (220) finished second, Colton Prosser (132) took third, Ethan Conaty (160) placed fourth, Jack Green (138), Connor Lyons (145) and Drendon Stickling (195) were fifth and Tate Sigler (285) took sixth. 

“I would say Saturday was a great team effort, 11 of our 13 wrestlers fought their way into a place match,” Sant Amour said. “All 13 wrestlers scored points for their team. I’m looking forward to seeing how this group finishes the season.”

Top performers for coach Matt Grimm’s runner-up Trojans were champions Joey Ruzic (120), Dresden Grimm (138) and Cole Edie (285) while Colby Willhite (160) and Skylar Fay (182) took third place and Walker Britz (126) and Joey Barrow (170) finished fourth.

The other eight Randy Bowman Invite champions were Illini Bluffs’ Ian O’Connor (132) and Paul Ishikawa (145), El Paso-Gridley’s Dax Gentes (160) and Parker Duffy (195), Shelbyville’s Calvin Miller (126), Oregon’s Grant Stender (152), Westville’s Craig Johnson (182) and Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin’s Nathaniel Gnaden (220).

Oakwood/Salt Fork had four second-place finishers, Tyler Huchel (113), Reef Pacot (145), Bryson Capansky (152) and Dalton Brown (170). Also finishing second were Princeton’s Augustus Swanson (106) and Ace Christiansen (132), Dwight’s Dylan Crouch (120), Illini Bluffs’ Jackson Carroll (138), Deer Creek-Mackinaw’s Gage Sweckard (160), El Paso-Gridley’s Cody Langland (182), Warrensburg-Latham’s Walker Allen (195) and Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin’s Hunter Wilson (285).

Individuals who reached the title mat who have the best records are Ishikawa (36-0, 1.000), Gentes (36-1. 973), Grimm (24-1, .960), Ruzic (37-2, .949), Wilson (35-2, .946), Edie (33-2, .943), Mouser (33-2, .943), Pacot (32-2, .941), Johnson (14-1, .933), Miller (33-3, .917) and Tyson Brent (29-3, .906). Gentes and Stender led the way with 29 team points while Edie and Grimm had 28, Mouser and Ruziv had 27.5 points, Tyson Brent collected 27 team points and 

Duffy, Gnaden, Johnson and Miller all recorded 26 team points.

Others who took third place were Princeton’s Carlos Benavidez (138) and Augie Christiansen (145), Eureka’s Derrick Wiles (152) and Landon Wierenga (220), Oakwood/Salt Fork’s Brayden Edwards (106), Warrensburg-Latham’s Logan Roberts (113), Illini Bluffs’ Avery Speck (120),

Westville’s Garyson McBride (126), Dwight’s Austin Burkhardt (170), Oregon’s Quentin Berry (195) and Knoxville’s William Stowe (285).

Also finishing fourth were El Paso-Gridley’s Logan Gibson (120) and Tyler Roth (138), Westville’s Hayden Weaver (132) and Tre Ramirez (220), Princeton’s Casey Etheridge (152) and Cade Odell (285), Warrensburg-Latham’s Charlie Wittmer (106),  Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin’s Landen Toellner (113), Shelbyville’s Kaz Fox (145), Oakwood/Salt Fork’s Harley Grimm (182) and Peoria Heights’ Isaac Coleman (195).

The invitational is named in honor of Randy Bowman, a 1994 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee who was a three-sport coach in LeRoy who led the wrestling program for 23 seasons, posting a 407-89-5 dual meet record, which was good for an 82 percent win rate leading the Panthers.

Championship Matches of LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s Randy Bowman Invitational

106 – Brady Mouser (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) F Augustus Swanson (Princeton)

113 – Kobe Brent (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) D 4-2 Tyler Huchel (Oakwood/Salt Fork)

120 – Joey Ruzic (Auburn) F 3:00 Dylan Crouch (Dwight)

126 – Calvin Miller (Shelbyville) D 8-3 Brock Owens (LeRoy/Tri-Valley)

132 – Ian O’Connor (Illini Bluffs) D 3-2 Ace Christiansen (Princeton)

138 – Dresden Grimm (Auburn) F 3:17 Jackson Carroll (Illini Bluffs)

145 – Paul Ishikawa (Illini Bluffs) D 3-2 Reef Pacot (Oakwood/Salt Fork)

152 – Grant Stender (Oregon) MD 11-2 Bryson Capansky (Oakwood/Salt Fork)

160 – Dax Gentes (El Paso-Gridley) MD 8-0 Gage Sweckard (Deer Creek-Mackinaw)

170 – Tyson Brent (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) MD 14-4 Dalton Brown (Oakwood/Salt Fork)

182 – Craig Johnson (Westville) D 6-1 Cody Langland (El Paso-Gridley)

195 – Parker Duffy (El Paso-Gridley) F 3:35 Walker Allen (Warrensburg-Latham)

220 Nathaniel Gnaden (Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin) D 5-4 Jacob Bischoff (LeRoy/Tri-Valley)

285 – Cole Edie (Auburn) F 0:25 Hunter Wilson (Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin)

Marion rolls to championship at the Blackcat Brawl

Nine titles, three seconds and two thirds helped Marion to dominate Goreville/Vienna’s Blackcat Brawl, which took place in Vienna. Marion won the championship with 268 points, which was well ahead of second-place Red Bud/Valmeyer (117). Other top finishers in the 14-team event were Goreville/Vienna (90), Sparta (86), Harrisburg (78) and Johnston City (57).

Capturing titles for coach Darren Lindsey’s champion Wildcats were Max Wade (120), Brennan Vogt (126), Tate Miller (132), Hunter Gibb (138), Caleb Ohnesorge (145), Malakei Weatherly (182), Jordyn Beverly (195), Bryan Madinger (220) and Kanye Gunn (285).

Placing second were Caden Frey (152), Justin Murphy (160) and Jahkeem McDade (220) while Reddick Cook (113) and Dustin Melvin (120) were third and Grayson Sanders (152) took fifth.

Leading the way for coach Rob Pipher’s runner-up Musketeers were champions Mitch Fleming (160) and Jack Ford (106) and second-place finishers Ty Carter (182) and Wyatt Hamilton. (195). Taking third were Zach Manning (132) and Alex Wolter (152) while Avery Smith (113) and Max Wolter (145) finished fourth.

Other champions were Carlyle’s Tyson Waughtel (113), Sparta’s Trevor Fath (152) and Trico’s Colin Hughey (170). Also claiming second-place finishes were Goreville’s Briley Lehmen (113), Jeremiah Pulliam (120) and Seth Hook (170), Trico’s Kreighton Downen (126), Harrisburg’s Kahmari Terry (132), Sparta’s Josue Cosme-Lopez (138), Metro-East Lutheran’s Elijah Schlessinger (145) and Johnston City’s Jude Beers (220).

Waughtel, the Class 1A champion at 106 a year ago who went 52-0 and is top-ranked at 113, won the title at 113 by technical fall to improve to 37-0 and was the lone unbeaten champion. Ohnesorge edged Schlessinger 7-5 at 145 in a matchup of individuals who had lost just once heading into the finals.

Top records for individuals placing first or second are Waughtel (37-0, 1.000), Ohnesorge (18-1, .947), Schlessinger (21-2, .913), Wade (32-4, .889), Hughey (28-4, .875) and Beers (23-4, .852). Fath and Weatherly tied for the most team points with 26 while Beverly, Fleming, Gibb, Gunn, Hughey and Vogt collected 24 points and Miller and Wade scored 23 team points.

Also finishing in third place were Goreville’s Bronco Morgan (138) and Matt Carter (195), Harrisburg’s Dathan Case (170) and Will Moyer (182), Sparta’s Aaron Orella (126), Salem’s Keyton King (145), Frankfort Community’s Joseph Kahl (160) and Johnston City’s Riley Randolph (285)..

Others who took fourth were Johnston City’s Gabe Lively (120) and Casey Tanner (182), Carlyle’s Carter Missey (126) and Landun Schultz (285), Metro-East Lutheran’s Carter Pryor (138) and Caleb Probasco (195), Salem’s Lyrick Black (132), Harrisburg’s Ryan Maddox (160), and Sparta’s Jayden Jones (220).

Championship Matches at Goreville/Vienna’s Blackcat Brawl boys tournament 

106 – Jack Ford (Red Bud) Bye

113 – Tyson Waughtel (Carlyle) TF 4:27 Briley Lehman (Goreville)

120 – Max Wade (Marion) TF 3:22 Jeremiah Pulliam (Goreville)

126 – Brennan Vogt (Marion) F 0:26 Kreighton Downen (Trico)

132 – Tate Miller (Marion) MD 17-3 Kahmari Terry (Harrisburg)

138 – Hunter Gibb (Marion) F 0:39 Josue Cosme-Lopez (Sparta)

145 – Caleb Ohnesorge (Marion) D 7-5 Elijah Schlessinger (Metro-East Lutheran)

152 – Trevor Fath (Sparta) F 4:48 Caden Frey (Marion)

160 – Mitch Fleming (Red Bud) F 2:21 Justin Murphy (Marion)

170 – Colin Hughey (Trico) F 4:48 Seth Hook (Goreville)

182 – Malakei Weatherly (Marion) F 1:52 Ty Carter (Red Bud)

195 – Jordyn Beverly (Marion) F 1:54 Wyatt Hamilton (Red Bud)

220 – Bryan Madinger (Marion) D 7-3 Jude Beers (Johnston City)

285 – Kanye Gunn (Marion) F 1:31 Jahkeem McDade (Marion)

Mt. Vernon girls win Blackcat Brawl, boys first at Richland County duals

Mt. Vernon scored 74 points to win the title of Goreville/Vienna’s Blackcat Brawl, which was held in Vienna and featured individuals from 12 schools. Union County, KY beat Robinson 58-53 for second place while Goreville/Vienna (49), Carbondale (47), Frankfort Community (45) and Marion (40) were next in line.

Leading the Rams were champions Madison Teriet (155) and Faith Barrett (170), runners-up Deziare’ Jones (115) and Aakira Cain (235) while Mallory Lopez (140) finished fourth. The squad easily claimed top honors despite having only six competitors.

It capped a big week for the Rams’ program, which is led by coach Alejandro Wajner, The boys won 68-11 over Richland County, 56-12 over Litchfield and 66-17 over Robinson to take the title at the Richland County Duals in Olney. The 16-2 Rams have won 16-straight dual meets.

“This was one of the biggest weeks for us and the MVTHS Wrestling team,” Wajner said. “So much growth on and off the mat. We dealt with a lot of adversity through our days leading to this weekend and still they were able to keep their composure and come out with not just one, but two team trophies. Double gold for the boys and girls this weekend. 

“Thank you to coach Ty Coleman and coach Bruce R Harris for leading our Lady Rams to victory. The boys are now riding a 16-dual win streak bringing our team record to 16-2 with conference starting this upcoming Friday against Centralia for our senior night at MVTHS.

“We had a great group of guys wrestle their hearts out at Richland County Duals. All of whom deserve individual praise but I’d say the MVP would be Jhymear Smith-Henson. We decided to bump him up in our final dual against Robinson to 220 against a much larger opponent and he was able to not only secure the win but also secure our team six points with an amazing pin that electrified the room. Outside of that we had wrestlers like Ethan Verdeyen, Dillon White, Gavin Pedigo, Kobey Elkins, Ryder Searcy, Mylze Cammack, Malikie Mays, Maddux Randal, Ethan Rivera, Mason Randall and Travis Sanders who all went undefeated for the weekend.”

Robinson third-place finishers Lilly Blankenbaker (135), Mackenzie Myers (155) and Khyiema Poole (235).

Goreville had three champions, Alivia Ming (140), Mikah Merrill (145) and Liberty McBride (190) while Robinson had two title winners, Rachel Richey (135) and Rylee Hamond (235). Other champions were Anna-Jonesboro’s Orie Dover (120), Carbondale’s Faith Loyd (125) and Union County, KY’s Tanya Bacon (105) and Sutton Fuller (115).

Also taking second place were Benton’s Hailey Hosic (105) and Mia Balota (120), Carbondale’s Ayda Williams-Collins (125) and Ariel Lipe (140), Marion’s Haylie Nappier-Feth (155) and Neveah Gill (170), Frankfort Community’s Aleah Davidson (135), Trico’s Cynthia Mackie (145) and Goreville’s Krista McBride (190).

Robinson had three third-place finishers, Lilly Blankenbaker (135), Mackenzie Myers (155) and Khyiema Poole (235).Other third-place finishers were Frankfort Community’s Nickolette Ronketto (105) and Shelbie Arrington (115), Marion’s Brooklyn Phemister (140) and Olivia McDermott (190) and Salem’s Sierra Malone (170).

Championship Matches of Goreville/Vienna’s Blackcat Brawl Girls Tournament 

105 – Tanya Bacon (Union County, KY) F 1:01 Hailey Hosic (Benton)

115 – Sutton Fuller (Union County, KY) F 0:34 Deziare’ Jones (Mt. Vernon)

120 – Orie Dover (Anna-Jonesboro) F 1:20 Mia Balota (Benton)

125 – Faith Loyd (Carbondale) F 0:44 Ayda Williams-Collins (Carbondale)

135 – Rachel Richey (Robinson) F 3:17 Aleah Davidson (Frankfort Community)

140 – Alivia Ming (Goreville) F 1:47 Ariel Lipe (Carbondale)

145 – Mikah Merrill (Goreville) F 1:14 Cynthia Mackie (Trico)

155 – Madison Teriet (Mt. Vernon) F 1:24 Haylie Nappier-Feth (Marion)

170 – Faith Barrett (Mt. Vernon) F 1:48 Neveah Gill (Marion)

190 – Liberty McBride (Goreville) F 1:08 Krista McBride (Goreville)

235 – Rylee Hamond (Robinson) F 4:00 Aakira Cain (Mt. Vernon)

Note: 105 and 235 had first- and third-place matches; All other weights were round robin

Rochester claims championship at own Rocket Invite

Two champions and six other placewinners in the top four helped give Rochester the title in its own Rocket Invite by a 167-154.5 margin over second place Quincy Notre Dame. Jerseyville (129.5), Lanphier (119.5), Southeast (114.5), Riverton (98.5) and Springfield High (91.5) rounded out the top half of the 14-team field.

Leading the way for coach Brad Alewelt’s champion Rockets were title winners Connor Carroll (106) and Nolan Mrozowski (145) while Andreas Barton (113) was second, Drake Pfeiffer (132) took third and Camden Woodvine (126), Eric Anderson (152), Justin Koch (182) and Zander Crisp (285) finished fourth. Garrison Kallenbach (106) and Connor Broughton (160) placed fifth and Walker Quimby (138) took sixth.

Top performers for coach Adam Steinkamp’s runner-up Raiders were champion Luke Bliven (138) and second-place finishers Ryan Scheuermann (126), Bradi Lahr (132) and Jack Miller (160) while Oliver Moore (120), Taylin Scott (182), Ryan Darnell (195) and Eddie Murphy (220) all claimed third place.

Other champions were Riverton’s Matthew Miller (113), Kameron Sklenka (120) and Colin Ripperda (170), East Alton-Wood River’s Tyler Adams (126) and Drake Champlin (220), Carbondale’s Isaac Smith (132), Southeast’s Adrian Mack (152), Lanphier’s Connor Janssen (160), Taylorville’s Landon Molina (182), Sacred Heart-Griffins’ Cory West (195) and Jersey Community’s Jaydon Busch (285).

Also finishing in second place were Southeast’s Brayden McBride (120), Frank Kittrell (138) and Robert Hull (285), Springfield High’s Alex Souva (145), Jackson O’Connor (182) and Hunter Reid (220), Jersey Community’s Hunter Hodge (106) and Connor Chin (170), Hillsboro’s Zander Wells (152) and Taylorville’s William Blue (195). 

Individuals who took one of the top two spots and have the best records are Busch (28-1, .966), West (22-1, .956), Lahr (30-2, .938), Janssen (22-2, .917), Champlin (36-4, .900), Blue (35-4, .897), Smith (15-2, .882), Mrozowski (28-4, .875) and Ripperda (14-2, .875). There was a seven-way tie for the individual with the most team points with 26 for Bliven, Busch, Carroll, Champlin, Mack, Ripperda and West while Janssen, Miller and Mrozowski had 25.5 points.

Additional third-place finishers were Lanphier’s Cedar Ngiramoai (106), Jaylen Crowder (170) and Jeremy Wright (285), Carbondale’s Gabriel Roman (126) and Thomas Imboden (152), Jersey Community’s Nick Hartley (145) and Mason Martinez (160), Sacred Heart-Griffin’s Porter Dennis (113) and Hillsboro’s Austin Loskot (138). 

Fourth-place showings were also turned in by Lanphier’s Ella Miloncus (113) and Anna Miloncus (120), Hillsboro’s Gaven Vollintine (132) and Seth Hubbart (145), Illinois School for the Visually Impaired’s Hector Alvarado (106), Carbondale’s Cole Young (138), Springfield High’s Hank Souva (160), Pinckneyville’s Kyle Kelly (170), Southeast’s Chris Hull (195) and Jersey Community’s James Busch (220).

Championship Matches at Rochester’s Rocket Invite

106 – Connor Carroll (Rochester) F 0:46 Hunter Hodge (Jersey Community)

113 – Matthew Miller (Riverton) TF Andreas Barton (Rochester)

120 – Kameron Sklenka (Riverton) MD 13-4 Brayden McBride (Southeast)

126 – Tyler Adams (East Alton-Wood River) F 3:47 Ryan Scheuermann (Quincy Notre Dame)

132 – Isaac Smith (Carbondale) D 3-0 Bradi Lahr (Quincy Notre Dame)

138 – Luke Bliven (Quincy Notre Dame) F 1:49 Frank Kittrell (Southeast)

145 – Nolan Mrozowski (Rochester) F 1:31 Alex Souva (Springfield High)

152 – Adrian Mack (Southeast) F 3:52 Zander Wells (Hillsboro)

160 – Connor Janssen (Lanphier) F 3:24 Jack Miller (Quincy Notre Dame)

170 – Colin Ripperda (Riverton) F 1:39 Connor Chin (Jersey Community)

182 – Landon Molina (Taylorville) MD 16-4 Jackson O’Connor (Springfield High)

195 – Cory West (Sacred Heart-Griffin) F 0:51 William Blue (Taylorville)

220 – Drake Champlin (East Alton-Wood River) F 2:32 Hunter Reid (Springfield High)

285 – Jaydon Busch (Jersey Community) F 0:35 Robert Hull (Southeast)

Edwardsville places third at Hickman Invitational in Missouri

Edwardsville had 10 individuals who placed sixth or better, including one champion and three second-place finishers, to help it finish third in the Hickman Invitational in Columbia, Missouri. The Tigers, coached by 2019 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee Jon Wagner, were the only non-Missouri squad in the 24-team field, were edged by Grain Valley 230.5-230 for second place in the invite that was won by host Hickman with 249 points. 

Leading the way for Edwardsville were champion Zeke Rhodes (132) and second-place finishers Blake Frietag (132), Drew Landau (150) and Dawson Rull (285). Ryan Richie (113) took third, Brendan Landau (157) was fourth, Hubey Thomas (175) finished fifth while Bryson Nutall (106), Tyler Perry (113) and Blake Mink (138) all placed sixth.

In an all-Tigers championship at 132, Rhodes (20-11) claimed a 15-3 major decision over Frietag (14-4). That was the lone matchup of teammates on the title mat in the tournament. Drew Landau (25-6) got to the 150 title match but had to take a medical forfeit against Rock Bridge’s Carter McCallister (39-0). Rull (21-8) advanced to the 285 title match, where he fell 8-1 to Blue Springs South’s Callen Smithpeter (30-3).

Championship Matches at the Hickman, MO Invitational involving Edwardsville

132 – Zeke Rhodes (Edwardsville) MD 15-3 Blake Frietag (Edwardsville)

150 – Carter McCallister (Rock Bridge, MO) M For Drew Landau (Edwardsville)

285 – Callen Smithpeter (Blue Springs South, MO) D 8-1 Dawson Rull (Edwardsville)

By Gary Larsen

Here are the team champions from the 2023 conference tournaments that took place in the north and west Chicagoland area on Jan. 20-21:

Conference and league champions:

Central Suburban League at Evanston: Maine South
Chicago Catholic League at Marmion: Marmion
DuKane Conference at Lake Park: St. Charles East
DuPage Valley Conference at DeKalb: DeKalb
Metro Suburban Conference at Riverside-Brookfield: Riverside-Brookfield
Mid-Suburban League at Hoffman Estates: Hersey
West Suburban Conference Girls at Addison Trail: Addison Trail
Upstate Eight Conference at East Aurora: South Elgin

Here is a roundup of results from the above-listed league and conference tournaments:

Central Suburban League champion: Maine South

Evanston hosted this year’s CSL tournament and Maine South walked away with the team title, out-pointing second-place Deerfield 293-227.5, with Glenbrook South (226) finishing just behind Deerfield in third.

New Trier (181) finished fourth, followed by Evanston (140), Highland Park (102), Glenbrook North (99), Vernon Hills (96), Maine West (55), Niles West (53), Maine East (42), and Niles North (30).

Maine South had seven individual champions and one runner-up, plus two third-placers and one fourth-placer finisher. Deerfield had three champions and three second-place finishers, while Glenbrook South had a pair of champions and two second-placers.

CSL championship matches:

106: Brett Harman (Maine South) TF 4:37 Vincent Serwan (Deerfield)

113: Christos Vaselopulos (Maine South) D 4-2 Mikchael Schick (Glenbrook South)

120: Teddy Flores (Maine South) D 3-2 Luke Reddy (Deerfield)

126: Jordan Rasof (Deerfield) D 5-0 Luke Morrison (Maine South)

132: Jackson Palzet (Deerfield) D 9-5 Nate Ferrari (Highland Park)

138: Mark Martinez (Highland Park) F 1:32 Renzo Morgan (Deerfield)

145: Nate Beltran (Maine South) D 10-3 Wilson Wright (New Trier)

152: Danny Spandiary (Maine South) F 3:40 Dmitry Derbedyenyev (Highland Park)

160: Patrick Downing (Glenbrook South) D 5-2 Ilya Dvoryannikov (Vernon Hills)

170: Aiden Cohen (Deerfield) F 2:44 Darrion Coleman (Evanston)

182: Filip Michniewicz (Maine South) D 11-4 Tyler Jackson (New Trier)

195: Tommy Porrello (Maine South) D 8-4 Jacques Munkhjargal (Highland Park)

220: Alex Enkhbaatar (Glenbrook South) F 0:58 Braedon Manogura (Niles West)

285: Max Accettura (Vernon Hills) UTB 3-2 Drew Duffy (Glenview (Glenbrook South)

CSL 3rd-place matches:

106: Sabir Aliev (Vernon Hills) F 1:37 Nate Finklestein (New Trier)

113: Ayaan Rizwan (Glenbrook North) D 6-3 Noah Palzet (Deerfield)

120: Trent Tono (Niles North) D 3-1 Marcus Santos (Glenbrook South)

126: Marco Terrizzi (Evanston) F 1:16 Andrew Haritos (Glenbrook South)

132: Max Brown (Glenbrook South) TF 5:43 Gavin Hoerr (Maine South)

138: Steve Kannampallil (Glenbrook South) D 10-5 Eren Atac (Evanston)

145: Dylan Moncayo (Vernon Hills) MD 15-4 Tim Kato (Park Ridge (Maine East)

152: Elii Polacek (New Trier) MD 14-5 Will Holtz (Deerfield)

160: Tagg Miller (New Trier) D 6-5 Shane Onixt (Glenbrook North)

170: Sam Bartell (Maine South) D 9-2 Badalov (Glenbrook South)

182: Charlie Bolich (Evanston) NC Quintin Newbury (Des Plaines (Maine West)

195: Kevin Halley (Vernon Hills) D 11-9 Thomas Jackson (Evanston)

220: Kyle Pambah (Glenbrook North) F 1:41 Dylan Jeppe (New Trier)

285: Tyler Fortis (Maine South) F 5:52 Jeremy Marshall (Evanston)

Chicago Catholic League champion: Marmion

Host Marmion edged second–place Mt. Carmel 262-251.5 in a race between teams ranked No. 1 and No. 3 in 3A in Illinois, respectively, per Illinois Matmen rankings. Marmion sent 10 wrestlers to the finals and earned seven individual titles, while Mt. Carmel had four champions and one runner-up.

Montini (175) placed third, followed by Loyola (162.5), Brother Rice (147), Providence (107.5), St. Rita (89), De La Salle (81), DePaul Prep (53), Fenwick (50), St. Laurence (41), and St. Ignatius (30).

CCL championship matches:

106: Lukas Tsirtsis (Mt Carmel) D 8-4 James Hemmila (Loyola)

113: Ben Dunne (Montini) SV 6-4 Donny Pigoni (Marmion)

120: Seth Mendoza (Mt Carmel) TF 4:15 Kameron Luif (Montini)

126: Jameson Garcia (Marmion) D 7-5 Massey Odiotti (Loyola)

132: Brody Kelly (Marmion) M For. Sean Larkin (St. Rita)

138: Sergio Lemley (Mt Carmel) M. For. Tyler Aters (Marmion)

145: Santino Scolaro (Marmion) D 5-1 Santino Tenuta (Montini)

152: David Mayora (Montini) D 6-5 Edmund Enright (Mt Carmel)

160: Will Prater (Montini Catholic) F 3:44 Henry Coughlin (St. Laurence)

170: Colin Kelly (Mt Carmel) F 2:35 Finn McGee (Fenwick)

182: Jack Lesher (Marmion Academy) MD 9-1 Quinn Herbert (Loyola)

195: Joey Favia (Marmion) D 2-1 Gambino Perez (Brother Rice)

220: Ed Perry (Marmion) D 8-5 Kai Calcutt (Loyola)

285: Sean Scheck (Marmion) F 1:41 Joey Herbert (Loyola)

CCL 3rd-place matches:

106: Raymond Alvarado (De La Salle) F 2:00 Jack Hogan (St. Rita)

113: Gavin Pardilla (Loyola) TF 1:49 Jack Myers (DePaul Prep)

120: Johnny Vega (Brother Rice) D 7-4 Austin Dangles (St. Rita)

126: Bobby Conway (Brother Rice) D 8-5 (DePaul Prep)

132: Jairo Acuna (Mt Carmel) MD 11-3 Patrick Zimmer (Loyola)

138: Kyle Lindsey (Providence) MD 11-0  Jack O`Connor (Brother Rice)

145: Liam Kelly (Mt Carmel) D 6-2 Danny Herbert (Loyola)

152: Geno Papes (Providence) TF 4:41 Nolan Keenan (St. Rita)

160: Connor Thompson (Marmion) D 7-2 Kevin Kalchbrenner (Mt Carmel)

170: Michael Phillips (Marmion) F 3:42 Mike O`Connor (Providence)

182: Charles Connelly (Brother Rice) F 0:55 Jaxon Lane (Montini)

195: Evan Jocic (Montini) NC William Jacobson (Mt Carmel)

220: Stetz Conor (Fenwick) D 6-2 Mac Murzyn (Brother Rice)

285: Alexander Poholik (Mt Carmel) F 0:52 Dom Infelise (Providence)

DuPage Valley Conference champion: DeKalb

DeKalb and Naperville Central sent 10 wrestlers each to the DVC title mat and DeKalb’s eight champions carried the Barbs to a 269-254 edge over the second-place Redhawks for the DVC team title. DeKalb also went 5-2 on the title mat head-to-head against Naperville Central.

Naperville North (197) finished third followed by Neuqua Valley (94.5), Waubonsie Valley (92), and Metea Valley (56).

DVC championship matches:

106: Kaden Klapprodt (DeKalb) F 3:09 Sanath Benjamin (Naperville North)

113: Ty Martin (Naperville Central) F 5:44 Eduardo Castro (DeKalb)

120: Vince Bern (Naperville Central) D 13-9 Jalen Airhart (DeKalb)

126: Ethan Olson (Naperville Central) MD 10-1 Tyler Sternstein (Naperville North)

132: Hudson Ikens (DeKalb) D 9-7 Mitchell Kaszuba (Naperville Central)

138: Mekhi Cave (DeKalb) F 1:06 Larry Stubitsch (Naperville Central)

145: Austin Martin (DeKalb) MD 11-0 Hagan Taylor (Naperville Central)

152: Jacob Luce (DeKalb) F 3:59 Christopher Bern (Naperville Central)

160: Gavin Bohan (Naperville Central) D 4-3 Kai Goodrick (Naperville North)

170: Silvano Spatafora (Neuqua Valley) D 9-3 Henry Rydwelski (Naperville Central)

182: Nate Sauer (DeKalb) D 8-2 Kyle Gatlin (Naperville North)

195: David Stewart (DeKalb) F 3:07 Steve Harvey (Naperville North)

220: Lamar Bradley (DeKalb) F 1:30 Nicolas Besteiro (Naperville Central)

285: Jesus Rojas (Metea Valley) F 2:38 Alex Marx (Neuqua Valley)

DVC 3rd-place matches:

106: Jacob Cochran (Naperville Central) Bye

113: Ben Messier (Naperville North) F 2:54 Sebastian Sifuentes (Waubonsie Valley)

120: Aiden Hinkle (Naperville North) F 3:37 Jad Esslimani (Neuqua Valley)

126: Ethan Schultz (DeKalb) F 1:18 Jay Chidley (Neuqua Valley)

132: Elias Gonzales (Waubonsie Valley) F 3:40 Zach Mally (Naperville North)

138: Clayton Champion (Naperville North) D 12-10 David Geataz Waubonsie Valley)

145: Grant Gentile (Naperville North) MD 14-6 Ethan Wojtowich (Waubonsie Valley)

152: Nick Oblazny (Naperville North) F 3:51 Matt Garcia (Waubonsie Valley)

160: Dhamaludzin Nurundinov (Neuqua Valley) TF 4:17 Connor Norton (Metea Valley)

170: Matas Budreika (Naperville North) F 3:23 Adrian Franco (DeKalb)

182: Nyree Dabney (Naperville Central) F 2:29 Tyler Funk (Metea Valley)

195: Jacob Smetters (Naperville Central) D 4-2 Josh Housour (Waubonsie Valley)

220: Magomed Nurundinov (Neuqua Valley) F 3:54 Zach Schmidt (Naperville North)

285: Chase Enfield (Naperville Central) TF 3:34 Neyemiah Ericson (DeKalb)

Metro Suburban Conference champion: Riverside-Brookfield

Host Riverside-Brookfield out-pointed Aurora Christian 227-192.5 to take top team honors at this year’s MSC tournament. The Bulldogs had three individual champions, four second-place finishers, and went a perfect 5-for-5 on the third-place mat. Aurora Christian had six champions and one runner-up.

Wheaton Academy (174) finished third, followed by IC Catholic (166), McNamara (102), Ridgewood (74), St. Francis (58), Aurora Central Catholic (42), Westmont (30), and Elmwood Park (21).

MSC championship matches:
106: Blake Arseneau (McNamara) F 1:42 Chase Murrell (Riverside-Brookfield)

113: Edgar Mosquera (Riverside-Brookfield) D 6-1 Islam Khater (Ridgewood)

120: Deven Casey (Aurora Christian) TF 5:59 Lincoln Hoger (Wheaton Academy)

126: Josh Vazquez (Aurora Christian) MD 13-3  Will Hupke (Wheaton Academy)

132: Tyler Jones (Wheaton Academy) OT 5-3 Jacob Godoy (Riverside-Brookfield)

138: Patrick Mullen (Aurora Christian) D 3-1 Bryson Spaulding (IC Catholic)

145: Tag Kazmierczak (Wheaton Academy) F 1:51 Jacob Noe (Riverside-Brookfield)

152: Taythan Silva (Aurora Christian) D 6-1 Luke Christie (McNamara)

160: Adan Rocha (Aurora Christian) D 8-6 Nate Brown (IC Catholic)

170: Bill Martin (Riverside-Brookfield) F 0:31 Daniel OConnell (St. Francis)

182: Foley Calcagno (IC Catholic) F 3:43 Matt Elzy (Riverside-Brookfield)

195: John Goggin (IC Catholic) D 8-4 Tyler Martinez (Aurora Christian)

220: Joe Midona (Riverside-Brookfield) F 5:46 George Truitt (Wheaton Academy)

285: Braden Hunter (Aurora Christian) D 3-0 Isaiah Gonzalez (IC Catholic)

MSC 3rd-place matches:

106: Vince Hefke (Aurora Central) F 2:15 Mohamad Khater (Ridgewood)

113: Oscar Smith (Wheaton Academy) F 4:59 Noah Pelletier (McNamara)

120: Quintavius Murrell (Riverside-Brookfield) F 1:21 Trevor Torres (McNamara)

126: Jackson Jeck (McNamara) F 2:17 Ben Czarnowski (IC Catholic)

132: Dom Gliatta (IC Catholic) F 4:37 Sean Patterson (Westmont)

138: Josh Gonzalez (Riverside-B.) D 7-1 Chasen Kazmierzcak (Wheaton Academy)

145: Ethan Waters (Aurora Central) F 3:30 Parker Jenkins (Aurora Christian)

152: Cade Tomkins (Riverside-Brookfield) F 1:03 Deonta Giles (Wheaton Academy)

160: Max Strong (Riverside-Brookfield) D 6-4 Ben Conte (St. Francis)

170: Julian Luna (Ridgewood) F 1:04 Will From (Wheaton Academy)

182: Dominic Savini (Aurora Christian) D 4-2 Jeremy Johanik (Wheaton Academy)

195: Dan Williams (Riverside-Brookfield) F 1:05 Ian De Souza (Wheaton Academy)

220: Vinny Gonzalez (IC Catholic) D 12-8 Rafael Castrejon (Westmont)

285: Jaylen Torres (St. Francis) F 4:30 Martin Lozano (Elmwood Park)

Mid-Suburban League champion: Hersey

Hersey posted a 266.5-243.5 edge over second-place Prospect to win the MSL team title, sending six wrestlers to the finals and winning three individual titles. Prospect finished with two champs and three runners-up.

Fremd (198) finished third, followed by Schaumburg (182), Barrington (179.5), Conant (140.5), Elk Grove (119), Buffalo Grove (98), Hoffman Estates (88), Rolling Meadows (47), Wheeling (29), and Palatine (14).

Remaining unbeaten on the season and winning regional titles were Schaumburg’s Brady Phelps (33-0 at 113) and Conant’s Ethan Stiles (22-0 at 160). Once-beaten wrestlers and MSL champs included Fremd’s Evan Gosz (33-1 at 126) and Maddox Khalimsky (17-1 at 138), Prospect’s Will Baysingar (41-1 at 132), and Hoffman Estates’ Kehinde Akintunde (14-1 at 285).

MSL championship matches:

106: Danny Lehman (Hersey) D 3-0 Elijah Garza (Prospect)

113 Brady Phelps (Schaumburg) D 7-6 Luis Flores (Conant)

120: Callen Kirchner (Schaumburg) MD 11-3 Esteban Delgado (Hersey)

126: Evan Gosz (Fremd) F 5:19 Rocco Fontela (Schaumburg)

132: Will Baysingar (Prospect) F 2:25 Brady Wright (Barrington)

138: Maddox Khalimsky (Fremd) F 4:36 Rhenzo Augusto (Barrington)

145: Jake Crandall (Fremd) TF 4:27 Jake Hanson (Hersey)

152: Caden Kirchner (Schaumburg) MD 13-4 Damien Puma (Prospect)

160: Ethan Stiles (Conant) INJ  Aaron Hernandez (Hersey)

170: Jonny Fier (Barrington) F 5:09 Michael Matuszak (Prospect)

182: Anthony Cambria (Hersey) SV-1 7-5 Ayden Salley (Barrington)

195: Jaxon Penovich (Prospect) F 0:29 Jared Werner (Fremd)

220: Dylan Berkowitz (Elk Grove) UTB 10-8 Casey Bending (Fremd)

285: Oleg Simikov (Hersey) F 1:14 Kehinde Akintunde (Hoffman Estates)

MSL third-place matches::

106: Neel Talpallikar (Barrington) F 5:08  Austin Phelps (Schaumburg)

113: Abdullokh Khakimov (Hersey) MD 9-1 Jimmy Whitaker (Barrington)

120: Joel Muehlenbeck (Prospect) MD 15-2 Sam Santangelo (Conant)

126: Max Mukhamedaliyev (Hersey) F 2:35 Rodriguez (Buffalo Grove)

132: 3rd Rodrigo Arceo (Hersey) D 5-4 AJ Quevedo (Schaumburg)

138: Giorgio Difalco (Prospect) TF James Shaffer (Hersey)

145:  Gavin Hinkle (Schaumburg) D 4-2 Alex Bootz (Prospect)

152: Parker Sena (Hersey) TF 2:40 over Anthony Macina (Elk Grove)

160: Peter Mondus (Fremd) UTB 3-2 Logan Meyer (Schaumburg)

170: AJ Hernandez (Conant) F 1:37 over Ryan Muslimovic (Fremd)

182: Ali Adel (Fremd) TF 4:30 Benny Schlosser (Elk Grove)

195: Josh Ellery (Hoffman Estates) F 1:51 Max Bradford (Barrington)

220: Harley Stary (Conant) D 4-2 Conor Mitchell (Prospect)

285: Mike Milovich (Elk Grove) F 2:22 Clarence Jackson (Barrington)

Upstate Eight Conference champion: South Elgin

South Elgin cruised to the team title at this year’s UEC tournament at East Aurora, posting 250.5 points to second-place Glenbard East’s 194 points. West Chicago (193) finished in third, one point behind Glenbard East.

South Elgin sent eight wrestlers to the finals and won four individual titles, to go with two third-place finishes. Glenbard East had two champions and three second-place finishers.

East Aurora (135) placed fourth, followed by Bartlett (112.5), Fenton (96), Elgin (93), Glenbard South (85), Elgin (75), and Streamwood (75).

UEC championship matches:

106: Demetrios Carrera (South Elgin) F 2:27 Emma Engels (Bartlett)

113: Julius Avendano (Elgin) D 11-5 Ryan Alvarado (West Chicago)

120: Ismael Chaidez (Glenbard East) F 3:59 Aidan Vasquez (South Elgin)

126: Connor Zentner (West Chicago) D 10-3 Jacobi Moore (Glenbard East)

132: Andre Rios (South Elgin) F 4:48 Donovan Avila (West Chicago)

138: Leo Rosas (South Elgin) D 8-4 Will Schultz (Lombard (Glenbard East)

145: Nico Clinite (South Elgin) INJ Santino Milazzo (West Chicago)

152: David Miranda (Larkin) D 9-4 Juan Cortes (Streamwood)

160: Jovany Zuniga (Fenton) F 1:13 Yazdan Alifov (Glenbard South)

170: Fabian Ramirez (Elgin) F 2:55 Ryan Gura (Bartlett)

182: Blake Salvino (Glenbard East) F 1:59 Josh Taylor (South Elgin)

195: Jace Wolf (Streamwood) F 4:33 Danny Viscuso (South Elgin)

220: Bryan Romero (East Aurora) F 2:56 Billy Clayton (Glenbard East)

285: Adam Lambaz (Elgin) F 1:13 Tommy Roath (South Elgin)

UEC 3rd-place matches:

106: Jonathan Antonio (West Chicago) D 1-0 Ruben Campuzano (Elgin)

113: Waleed Binmahfouz (Glenbard East) F 3:30 Max McCann (Bartlett)

120: Joey Capato (Bartlett) MD 19-5 Leo Cardoza (Aurora (East)
126: Anthony Vasquez (South Elgin) F 3:40 Damari Miller (Larkin)

132: Josh Dickeson (Fenton) F 5:20 Jesus Chaidez (Lombard (Glenbard East)

138: Alberto Bracamontes (Fenton) F 0:52 Scotty Zentner (West Chicago)

145: Noe Resendiz (Aurora (East) OT 10-8 Reid Sebahar (Glenbard South)

152: Gerardo Caudillo (East Aurora) F 0:59 Diego Avalos (West Chicago)

160: Gabriel Hernandez (East Aurora) F 3:07 Zain Yasoob (Bartlett)

170: Mikey Urso (South Elgin) MD 8-0 David Terrazas (West Chicago)

182: Max Dominguez (Streamwood) F 5:00 Hector Flores (Larkin)

195: Gus Winkler (Glenbard East) D 6-3 Austin Platta (Fenton)

220: Omar Sarmiento (West Chicago) D 4-3 Danny Langner (Glenbard South)

285: Alexis Correa (West Chicago) F 1:59 Arnold Walker (Aurora (East)

Girls’ West Suburban Conference champion: Addison Trail

Host Addison Trail sent seven wrestlers to the title mat and got four individual titles in capturing the WSC team crown. The Blazers posted a 176-162 edge over second-place Morton, which had two champions and five second-place finishers.

Glenbard West (127) placed third, followed by Oak Park and River Forest (119), Lyons Township (78), Proviso West (44), Hinsdale Central (41), Downers Grove South (37), Downers Grove North (34), Hinsdale South (24), and Proviso East (12). Neither Leyden nor Willowbrook entered any wrestlers in the tournament.

WSC championship matches:

100: Alycia Perez (Glenbard West) F 1:48 Paris Flores (Morton)

105: Veronica Cosio (Addison Trail) F 1:46 Lluvia Ochoa (Morton)

110: Nina Matthews (Addison Trail) D 11-6 Nayeli Rodriguez (Morton)

115: Lluvia Sanchez (Addison Trail) F 1:05 Sydney Nimsakont (Glenbard West)

120: Monica Garcia (Morton) F 4:52 Brithany Mondragon (Addison Trail)

125: Khatija Ahmed (Glenbard West) F 3:57 Leilany De Leon (Morton)

130: Piper Burke (Glenbard West) F 2:51 Maddie Beltran (Addison Trail)

135: Ruth Castillo (Addison Trail) F 4:23 Lyra Schaafsma (OPRF)

140: Faith Comas (Morton) F 0:31 Marisol Rojas-Serna (Proviso West)

145: Ani Navarro (Glenbard West) F 1:19 Jocelyn Gutierrez (Proviso West)

155: Callie Carr (Hinsdale South) F 0:45 Megan Barajas (OPRF)

170: Gracie Swierczynski (Downers Grove South) F 2:55 Violet Mayo (Morton)

190: Trinity White (OPRF) F 3:20 Elizabeth Villasenor (Addison Trail)

235: Sarah Epshtein (OPRF) D 2-0 Megan O`Toole (Downers Grove North)

WSC 3rd-place matches:

100: No 3rd-place match
105: Emperatriz Montavo (Proviso East) Bye

110: Andrea Munoz (OPRF) F 0:59 F 0:59 Avi Gonzalez (Lyons Township)

115: Anahi Banuelos (Morton) F 4:00 Mayan Alwaeli (OPRF)

120: 3rd Place – Cing Dim of Glenbard West

125: Pearl Lacey (OPRF) F 2:19 Leah Ortiz (Addison Trail)

130: Sophia Turek (Lyons Township) F 0:37 Ren Pang (Hinsdale Central)

135: Juiceylena Roman (Lyons Township) F 1:36 Rocio Carrillo (Morton)

140: Natalia Cruz-Arias (Downers Grove North) F 3:06 Rebekah Castillo (Addison Trail)

145: Naomi Schaller (Hinsdale Central) F 5:04 Mia Santana (Addison Trail)

155: Alex Flores (Lyons Township) F 2:57 Jea Jones (Downers Grove South)

170: Mckensie Ford (Hinsdale Central) D 5-2 Maddy Pieroni (Lyons Township)

190: Ella Rejman (Glenbard West) F 3:08 Vivian Varela (Morton)

235: Michelle Navarrette (Morton) F 5:08 Siena Garcia-Rizzo (Lyons Township)

DuKane Conference champion: St. Charles East

A St. Charles East team ranked second in 3A had eight individual champions and two second-place finishers in out-pointing second-place Glenbard North, 324-224. North had two champions and four second-place finishers on the day at Lake Park in Roselle.

Batavia (178) placed third, followed by Wheaton North (145), Geneva (124), Wheaton Warrenville South (114), Lake Park (89.5), and St. Charles North (87.5).

DuKane Conference championship matches:
106: Dom Munaretto (St. Charles East) TF 1:45 Joey Sikorsky (Geneva)

113: Ino Garcia (Batavia) D 2-0 Kalani Khiev (Glenbard North)

120: AJ Marino (St. Charles East) MD 18-9 Dominic Marre (Glenbard North)

126: Ben Davino (St. Charles East) F 1:31 Aiden Huck (Batavia)

132: Mikey Dibenedetto Jr. (Glenbard North) MD 10-2 Ethan Penzato (St. Charles East)

138: Tyler Guerra (St. Charles East) TF 4:30 Solomon Gilliam (Glenbard North)

145: Jayden Colon (St. Charles East) D 13-7 Cael Andrews (Batavia)

152: Kaden Fetterolf (Batavia) MD 12-0 Gavin Connolly (St. Charles East)

160: Anthony Gutierrez (St. Charles East) F 1:28 Dylan Konkey (Geneva)

170: Sedeeq Al Obaidi (WW South) D 5-3 Mikey Rosch (Wheaton North)

182: Brody Murray (St. Charles East) MD 9-1 Eli Cook (Wheaton North)

195: Drew Surges (St. Charles North) MD 10-0 John Schmidt (Geneva)

220: Blake Maday (Glenbard North) F 5:01 Asher Sheldon (Batavia)

285: Austin Barrett (St. Charles East) F 0:49 Octavio Morales (Glenbard North)

DuKane Conference 3rd-place matches:

106: Bryce Mensik (Lake Park) D 11-5 Chris Gutierrez (Glenbard North)

113: Nick Merola (Lake Park) D 7-2 Wrigley Schroeder (St. Charles East)

120: Jack Duraski (Batavia) MD 11-2  Andrew Wendt (Geneva)

126: JR Leach (Lake Park) F 2:32 Kaden Fisher (Wheaton North)
132: Moses Yanez (Batavia) F 4:58 Cooper Hollis (WW South)

138: Sam Lemp (Wheaton North) D 7-2 Vince Merola (Lake Park)

145: Rylan Kradle (Glenbard North) D 6-2 Charlie Gross (WW South)

152: Maguire Hoeksema (Geneva) F 1:15 John Todd (St. Charles North)

160: Devin Medina (Wheaton North) F 1:24 Tim Francisco (WW South)

170: Lane Robinson (St. Charles East) F 7:53 Johnnie Robertson (Glenbard North)

182: Justin Bland (Glenbard North) D 11-6 Jack Brozny (Batavia)

195: Brandon Swartz (St. Charles East) D 3-1 Ben Brown (Batavia)

220: Christian Wilson (St. Charles East) D 10-5 Joe Pettit (Geneva)

285: Julio Sanchez (St. Charles North) Bye

Mahomet-Seymour wins title at own Marty Williams Invite

Mahomet-Seymour had three champions and 10 individuals who placed sixth or better to help it capture the championship of its own Marty Williams Invitational as it finished with 400.5 points, which was 20.5 points better than Normal West (380) while Naperville Central (374.5) was third.

Rounding out the rest of the top half of the 26-team field from the competition that was held in Mahomet were Fort Zumwalt South, MO (341.5), Normal Community (323), Glenwood (319.5), Rock Island (317.5), Mattoon (305.5), Rochelle (261), Fort Zumwalt North, MO (234), Byron (214.5), Belleville West (200) and Centennial (193).  

Coach Rob Ledin’s champion Bulldogs were one of many ranked squads that took part in the competition. Teams in the top 25 in Class 2A were Mahomet-Seymour (3rd), Glenwood (5th), Rock Island (8th), Rochelle (9th), Normal West (17th), Centennial (20th) and Mattoon (25th). Naperville Central (13th) was the lone 3A team in the invitational.

Leading the way for Mahomet-Seymour were title winners Camden Harms (285), Mateo Casillas (195) and Brennan Houser (182), runner-up Tallen Pawlak (145) and third-place finisher Donovan Lewis (138). Camden Heinold (132) and Caden Hatton (113) took fourth, Colton Crowley (220) and Colton McClure (106) were fifth and Gage Decker (152) took sixth. Casillas and Houser also won Williams Invitational titles last year.

Top performers for coach Adam Richards’ second-place  Wildcats were champions Evan Willock (132) and Froylan Racey (120) and second-place finisher Austin Johnston (126). Brock Leenerman (170) and Cody Sears (138) were fourth, Abram Rader (106) took sixth, Racey was one of three champions who also won in 2022.

Individuals with the best finishes for coach Noah Fitzenreider’s third-place Redhawks were title winner Ethan Olson (126), third-place finisher Gavin Bohan (160) and Christopher Bern (152), who finished fourth. Claiming fifth place were Chase Enfield (285), Hagan Taylor (145), Mitchell Kaszuba (132) and Ty Martin (113).

Also winning championships were Normal Community’s Cooper Caraway (220) and Caden Correll (106), Lincoln’s Dawson McConnell (160) and Isaac Decker (152), Mattoon’s Aidan Blackburn (145) and Ben Capitosti (138), Glenwood’s Drew Davis (113) and Fort Zumwalt North, MO’s Chance Cole (170).

Others who finished in second were Centennial’s Jack Barnhart (220) and Trevor Schoonover (132), Rock Island’s Andrew Marquez (195) and Steven Marquez (182), Carbondale’s Brenden Banz (170) and Aiden Murphy (138), Glenwood’s Mark Helm (285), Decatur Eisenhower’s 

Isaiah Hayes (160), Byron’s Carsen Behn (152), Rochelle’s Xavier Villalobos (120), Normal Community’s Cole Gentsch (113) and Belleville West’s Rocky Seibel (106).

Champions from 2022 who took second place this year were Johnston (126), Banz (170) and Barnhart (220) while 2022 title winners Hatton (113) and Hamrick (220) finished fourth.

Some of the closest title matches were Blackburn beating Pawlak 6-4 in sudden victory at 145, Capitosti edging Murphy 8-7 at 138, Caraway over Barnhart 4-2 at 220, Racey winning against Villalobos 5-3 at 120 and Decker defeating Behn 6-3 at 152

Winning titles by fall were Harms (285) and Willock (132). Houser won 19-5 over Steven Marquez at 182 while Correll beat Seibel 17-6 at 106. In other decisions, Casillas defeated Andrew Marquez 7-0 at 195, Olson beat Johnston 9-2 at 126, Davis won 10-1 over Gentsch at 113 and Cole defeated Banz 10-6 at 170. McConnell beat Hayes by medical forfeit at 160.

Leading all competitors in team points with 52 were Harms and Willock. McConnell had 51 while Cole, Correll and Racey had 50 team points. Casillas, Decker and Houser had 49 points, Davis scored 48.5 and Blackburn and Caraway had 48 team points. 

Rock Island had four individuals who placed third, Amare Overton (170), Daniel McGhee (120), Truth Vesey (113) and Sammy Niyonkuru (106). Also taking third were Mattoon’s Leo Meyer (220) and Korbin Bateman (126), Belleville West’s Kenwyn Horne (285), Carbondale’s Aiden Taylor (195), Rochelle’s Brock Metzger (182), Glenwood’s Aden Byal (145) and Peotone’s 

Santino Izzi (132).

Additional fourth-place finishers were Rock Island’s Eli Gustafson (285), Glenwood’s Alex Hamrick (220), Taylorville’s William Blue (195) and Mattoon’s Logan Blackburn (120).

Also finishing in fifth place were Byron’s Josh Harris (195) and Kyle Jones (182), Normal Community’s Mitchell Mosbach (160), St. Laurence’s Henry Coughlin (152), Springfield High’s Gabe Ruvalcaba (138) and Glenwood’s Jon Ben Maduena (126).

Others who took sixth place were Rochelle’s Roman Villalobos (170), Brenden Voight (145) and Joseph Nadig (126), Mattoon’s Jason Skocy (160) and Tristan Porter (113), Rochelle’s Kaiden Morris (220), Lincoln’s Nicco Sundeen (195), Glenwood’s Maximus Wiezorek (182) and Normal Community’s Carter Mayes (120).

Top records of top-four finishers following the Williams Invitational were Correll (36-0, 1.000), Casillas (34-1, .971), Bateman (33-1, .971), Davis (27-1, .964), Banz (34-2, .944), Gentsch (34-2, .944), Houser (34-2, .944), Meyer (33-2, .943), Villalobos (28-2, .933), Hamrick (27-2, .931), Vesey (27-2, .931), Barnhart (26-2, .929), Byal (24-2, .923), Seibel (22-2, .917), Taylor (32-3, .914), Harms (31-3, .912), Blue (29-3, .906), Willock (28-3, .903), Steven Marquez (24-3, .889), Behn (21-3, .875), Caraway (31-5, .861), Decker (31-5, .861), McConnell (31-5, .861), Racey (22-4, .846) and Blackburn (27-5, .844).

Bateman (126) suffered his first loss in 33 matches when he fell in the semifinals to eventual champion Olson. Competitors who suffered their second losses were Seibel (106), Gentsch (113), Vesey (113), Xavier Villalobos (120), Byal (145), Coughlin (152), Banz (170), Barnhart (220), Meyer (220), and Hamrick (220).

The toughest weight class may have been at 220 where Cooper Caraway (31-5) prevailed in a bracket where second-place Barnhart and third-place Meyer suffered their second losses and fourth-place Hamrick picked up his first and second defeats after winning his initial 27 matches. Caraway beat Hamrick in the semifinals while Barnhart defeated Meyer in that same round. Barnhart and Hamrick both won championships in the tournament last year.

The tournament is named for Marty Williams, an 1992 IWCOA Hall of Famer and a 2012 recipient for Lifetime Service to Wrestling from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame – Illinois Chapter. Following a successful career at Yorkville and continued success at the University of Illinois, he turned to coaching. In eight seasons, his Bulldogs won five state titles and had a 191-4 dual meet record. He also coached 15 individual champions. The four-time IWCOA coach of the year led the Bulldogs to a state-record 109 consecutive dual meet wins from 1980-84.

Championship matches at Mahomet-Seymour’s Marty Williams Invitational

106 – Caden Correll (Normal Community) MD 17-6 Rocky Seibel (Belleville West)

113 – Drew Davis (Glenwood) MD 10-1 Cole Gentsch (Normal Community)

120 – Froylan Racey (Normal West) D 5-3 Xavier Villalobos (Rochelle)

126 – Ethan Olson (Naperville Central) D 9-2 Austin Johnston (Normal West)

132 – Evan Willock (Normal West) F 4:30 Trevor Schoonover (Centennial)

138 – Ben Capitosti (Mattoon) D 8-7 Aiden Murphy (Carbondale)

145 – Aidan Blackburn (Mattoon) SV 6-4 Tallen Pawlak (Mahomet-Seymour)

152 – Isaac Decker (Lincoln) D 6-3 Carsen Behn (Byron)

160 – Dawson McConnell (Lincoln) M FOR Isaiah Hayes (Decatur Eisenhower)

170 – Chance Cole (Fort Zumwalt North, MO) D 10-6 Brenden Banz (Carbondale)

182 – Brennan Houser (Mahomet-Seymour) MD 19-5 Steven Marquez (Rock Island)

195 – Mateo Casillas (Mahomet-Seymour) D 7-0 Andrew Marquez (Rock Island)

220 – Cooper Caraway (Normal Community) D 4-2 Jack Barnhart (Centennial)

285 – Camden Harms (Mahomet-Seymour) F 5:39 Mark Helm (Glenwood)

Harrisburg captures top honors at Carmi-White County Invite

Three champions and five others placed fourth or better resulted in a winning formula for Harrisburg at the Carmi-White County Invite, where it took first with 195.5 points while Lawrenceville/Red Hill (173) was second and Robinson edged Carterville 162.5-159 for third. 

Fairfield (122), Carmi-White County (114), Red Bud/Valmeyer (75.5) and Centralia (74.5) were next in the line in the 13-team competition.

Top performers for coach Greg Langley’s champion Bulldogs were title winners Aiden Unthank (126), Tony Keene (120) and Rocko Neal (106) while Kahmari Terry (132) took second and Briar Butler (145) and Avery Henderson (113) finished third. Javier Horton (285) and Cody Gunter (138) took fourth while Caleb Williford (195), Brendan Hicks (182), Will Moyer (170) and Brock Felty (152) all placed fifth and Ryan Maddox (160) was sixth.

“We have a young team with no seniors and we wrestled well today,” Langley said. “There’s still a lot of room for improvement, but we’re eager to get better.”

Leading the way for coach Samuel Hyre’s second-place Indians were champion Brian Seed (160) and runners-up Nathan Blackwell (182) and Isaac Foster (120). Placing third were Kasen Ochs (170), Trevor Loy (138) and Drew Seitzinger (106) while Dylan Camden (220) and Malikye Williams (195) were fourth and Marcus Hyre (132), Cale Seitzinger (126) and Daniel Kiser (113) claimed fifth place.

Medal winners for coach Tanner Keeler’s third-place Maroons were champions Jared Hermann (170), Kahne Hyre (152) and Broady Kelly (113) while Dalton Woods (285), Craig Markello (220) and Lenox Parker (138) took second. David Staller (182) was third and Draegon Johnson (145) took fourth place.

Individuals claiming medals for coach Daniel Alderman’s fourth-place Lions were champion Riley Bradford (220), runner-up Jacob Grob (152) and third-place finishers Zechariah Miller (285), Jonathon Weiderman (195), Elijah Mohring (160) and Landyn Flood (120). Chris Bates (182), Rowan Beyke (126) and Brawnsen Bloodworth (113) were fourth while Merrick Orendoff (145) finished fifth.

Other invite champions were Fairfield’s Payton Allen (285) and Scotty Cuff (138), Red Bud’s Ty Carter (182) and Zach Manning (132), Centralia’s Elijah Johnson (195) and Metro-East Lutheran’s Elijah Schlessinger (145).

Also claiming second-place finishes were Carmi-White County’s Nelson Rider (195) and Caleb Seibers (160), Trico’s Colin Hughey (170), Centralia’s Russell Tate (145), Johnston City’s Jace Weaver (126), Goreville/Vienna’s Briley Lehmen (113) and Fairfield’s Anthony Grandfelt (106).

Some of the closest title matches involved Manning over Terry 5-3 at 132, Carter winning 6-3 over Blackwell at 182, Johnson beating Rider 6-2 at 195, Seed over Seibers 6-2 at 160 and Kelly winning 7-3 over Lehmen at 113.

Winning championships by fall were Allen (285), Bradford (220), Schlessinger (145), Unthank (126), Keene (120) and Neal (106). Kahne Hyre (152) and Cuff (138) won titles by technical fall and Hermann won a 12-4 major decision over Hughey at 170.

Top records for finalists were Keene (32-0, 1.000), Allen (29-0, 1.000), Schlessinger (14-1, .933), Hermann (27-2, .931), Bradford (34-3, .919), Markello (10-1, .909), Blackwell (29-5, .853), Seed (29-5, .853), Carter (28-5, .848), Neal (25-5, .833), Seibers (14-3, .824), Kelly (23-5, .821), Terry (13-3, .813), Cuff (20-5, .800), Kahne Hyre (28-7, .800) and Rider (16-4, .800). 

There was a three-way tie for the most team points with 26 between Bradford, Schlessinger and Unthank while Kahne Hyre and Keene had 25.5 points and Cuff and Hermann had 25 team points. Allen, Johnson, Kelly, Manning and Neal all had 24 points and Seed had 23 team points.

Also finishing in third place were Johnston City’s Jude Beers (220), Red Bud’s Alex Wolter (152), Carmi-White County’s Dylan Ackerman (132) and Fairfield’s Chase Phillips (126).

Others who took fourth place were Carmi-White County’s Layne Gwaltney (152) and Madden Anderson (106), Pinckneyville’s Kyle Kelly (170), Fairfield’s Talen Keoughan (160), Johnston City’s Benjamin Harris (132) and Centralia’s Cameron Haake (120).

Additional fifth-place finishers were Johnston City’s Riley Randolph (285), Fairfield’s Bertley Rogers (220), Centralia’s Jon Coriell (160), Metro-East Lutheran’s Carter Pryor (138), Carmi-White County’s Matt Wilson (120) and Goreville’s Savanna Oslay (106).

And also taking sixth place were Goreville’s Asher Rockwell (220), Alivia Ming (138) and Gavin Zack (132), Carmi-White County’s Isaac King (182), Jaxon Staton (170) and Travor Mason (113), Red Bud’s Gavin Baldwin (145) and Hunter Hooten (120), Metro-East Lutheran’s Zach Daly (126) and Emily Hughes (106), Centralia’s Brody Nichols (285), Pinckneyville’s Jonah Tanner (195) and Fairfield’s Jeremiah Musgrave (152).

Championship matches of the Carmi-White County Invite

106 – Rocko Neal (Harrisburg) F 2:51 Anthony Grandfelt (Fairfield)

113 – Broady Kelly (Robinson) D 7-3 Briley Lehmen (Goreville)

120 – Tony Keene (Harrisburg) F 2:10 Isaac Foster (Lawrenceville)

126 – Aiden Unthank (Harrisburg) F 2:49 Jace Weaver (Johnston City)

132 – Zach Manning (Red Bud) D 5-3 Kahmari Terry (Harrisburg)

138 – Scotty Cuff (Fairfield) TF Lenox Parker (Robinson)

145 – Elijah Schlessinger (Metro-East Lutheran) F 1:27 Russell Tate (Centralia)

152 – Kahne Hyre (Robinson) TF Jacob Grob (Carterville)

160 – Brian Seed (Lawrenceville) D 6-2 Caleb Seibers (Carmi-White County)

170 – Jared Hermann (Robinson) MD 12-4 Colin Hughey (Trico)

182 – Ty Carter (Red Bud) D 6-3 Nathan Blackwell (Lawrenceville)

195 – Elijah Johnson (Centralia) D 6-2 Nelson Rider (Carmi-White County)

220 – Riley Bradford (Carterville) F 5:13 Craig Markello (Robinson)

285 – Payton Allen (Fairfield) F 3:47 Dalton Woods (Robinson)

Quincy easily wins own invitational championship

Host Quincy Senior had four champions and three-second-place finishers to capture top honors at its own 16-team tournament with 253.5 points, which was 73.5 points ahead of runner-up Jacksonville (180) while Triad (153.5) captured third place.

Other teams were Roxana (140.5), Pekin (127.5), Macomb (125), Quincy Notre Dame (117), Camp Point Central/Southeastern/Brown County (106), Rock Falls (97.5) and East Peoria (93).

Top performers for coach Phil Neally’s champion Blue Devils were title winners Todd Smith (285), Max Miller (170), Owen Uppinghouse (160) and Hugh Sharrow (106) while Bryor Newbold (182), Eli Roberts (132) and Wyatt Boeing (113) finished second.

Placing fourth were Gavin Schumacher (220) and Evan Wakefield (126), finishing fifth were Gunnar Derhake (152), Brody Baker (138), and Dom Deming (120) and taking sixth were Ty Moore (195) and Eric McClelland (145).

Leading the way for coach Dustin Secrist’s runner-up Crimsons were second-place finishers Oliver Cooley (220), Collin Reif (145) and Deshawn Armstrong (120) while Aiden Surratt (285), Mason Meyer (195), Luca Thies (182), James Cotton (152) and Joe Reif (145) took third. Abram Davidson (160) and Hunter Hayes (113) were fourth while Keaton Wilhelm (170) and Ian Willner (138) took sixth.

The best finishers for coach Russ Witzig’s third-place Knights were champions Aiden Postma (145) and Ben Baumgartner (126) while Glen Henry (113) and Will Kelly (106) finished third. Nathan Engler (195) took fourth place, Matt Hobbs (285) and Koen Rodebush (182) were fifth and Braden Carlson (152) claimed sixth place.

Other champions were Roxana’s James Herring (220), Macomb’s Max Ryner (195), Pekin’s Shamon Handegan (182), Mascoutah’s Santino Robinson (138), Quincy Notre Dame’s Bradi Lahr (132), Rock Falls Aaron Meenen (120), Camp Point Central’s Paul Schenk (113) and Palmyra, MO’s Collin Arch (152).

Four of the champions also won titles in last year’s invitational. They were Handegan, Miller, Robinson and Sharrow. 

Also finishing in second place were East Peoria’s Jose Del Toro (285) and Bailey Lusch (106), Quincy Notre Dame’s Ryan Darnell (195), Quincy J-V’s Payton Eddy (170), Camp Point Central’s Conner Griffin (160), Roxana’s Braden Johnson (152), Pekin’s Ramez Wilson (138) and Rock Falls’ Adan Oquendo (126).

Some of the closest title matches featured Smith winning 5-4 over Del Toro at 285, Postma edging Collin Reif 4-3 at 145, Lahr getting a 9-7 win over Roberts 132, Handegan prevailing 7-4 over Newbold at 182, Miller winning 7-1 over Eddy at 170 and Meenan capturing an 11-5 victory over Armstrong (120).

Winning championships by fall were Herring (220), Ryner (195), Uppinghouse (160) and Arch (152). Robinson (138), Baumgartner (126) and Sharrow (106) won championships by technical fall while Schenk (113) took first with a 10-0 major decision over Boeing.

The lone Missouri champion, Arch, led all competitors with 29.5 team points while Robinson was next in line with 29 points. Collecting 28 team points were Handegan, Herring, Miller, Postma, Ryner and Uppinghouse. Baumgartner scored 27.5 points, Sharrow had 26.5 points and Lahr and Schenk both finished with 26 team points.

Also placing third were Roxana’s Robert Watt (170), Lyndon Thies (138), Logan Riggs (132) and Lleyton Cobine (120) and Macomb’s Ethan Ladd (220), Carter Hoge (160) and Charlie Hernandez (126).

Others who took fourth were Roxana’s Trevor Gihring (145) and Justis Theis (120), East Peoria’s Kaden Rowland (182), Rock Falls’ Emmanuel Jamison (170), Camp Point Central’s 

Hunter Bolton (152), Warsaw/Hamilton’s Evan Carel (138), Macomb’s Cohen Green (132), Pekin’s Kayne Hayes (106) and Palmyra’s Mike Thomas (285).

Top records following the invite among those in the top four were Uppinghouse (29-0, 1.000), Handegan (28-0, 1.000), Robinson (25-0, 1.000), Ryner (30-1, .968), Arch (25-1, .962), Lahr (24-1, .960), Newbold (28-3, .903), Joe Reif (24-3, .889), Ladd (30-4, .882), Collin Reif (29-4, .879), Armstrong (27-4, .871) and Watson (24-4, .857).

Other fifth-place finishers were Quincy Notre Dame’s Jack Miller (160) and Ryan Scheuermann (126), Warsaw’s Malachi McKune (220), Pekin’s Gunner Brophy (195), Illini West’s Shawn Watkins (170), Palmyra’s Brayden Pillars (145), Mascoutah’s Jordan Sonon-Hale (132), Quincy J-V’s Pierce Eddy (113) and Pittsfield/Pleasant 

Hill’s Joel Noble (106).

Also claiming sixth-place finishes were Camp Point Central’s Dalton Reische (220) and Amber Louderback (126), Rock Falls’ Jacob Hosler (285), Palmyra’s Ashton Hankins (182), East Peoria’s Tommy Flowers (160), Quincy J-V’s Cale Mixer (132), Quincy Notre Dame’s Oliver Moore (120), Pekin’s Dalton Davis (113) and Macomb’s Nic Parkins (106).

Championship matches at the Quincy Invitational

106 – Hugh Sharrow (Quincy) TF 4:43 Bailey Lusch (East Peoria)

113 – Paul Schenck (Camp Point Central) MD 10-0 Wyatt Boeing (Quincy)

120 – Aaron Meenen (Rock Falls) D 11-5 Deshawn Armstrong (Jacksonville)

126 – Ben Baumgartner (Triad) TF 5:53 Adan Oquendo (Rock Falls)

132 – Bradi Lahr (Quincy Notre Dame) D 9-7 Eli Roberts (Quincy)

138 – Santino Robinson (Mascoutah) TF 4:57 Ramez Watson (Pekin)

145 – Aiden Postma (Triad) D 4-3 Collin Reif (Jacksonville)

152 – Collin Arch (Palmyra, MO) F 3:05 Braden Johnson (Roxana)

160 – Owen Uppinghouse (Quincy) F 0:52 Conner Griffin (Camp Point Central)

170 – Max Miller (Quincy) D 7-1 Payton Eddy (Quincy J-V)

182 – Shamon Handegan (Pekin) D 7-4 Bryor Newbold (Quincy)

195 – Max Ryner (Macomb) F 3:33 Ryan Darnell (Quincy Notre Dame)

220 – James Herring (Roxana) F 0:24 Oliver Cooley (Jacksonville)

285 – Todd Smith (Quincy) D 5-4 Jose Del Toro (East Peoria)

Unity goes 7-0 to win Illini Prairie Conference Duals

Unity went 7-0 and only lost seven matches to capture the title of the Illini Prairie Conference Duals that were at Prairie Central in Fairbury.

Coach Logan Patton’s Rockets, who took third place in Class 1A in the last two dual team finals and are ranked 14th, outscored their seven opponents by an average margin of 75.6- 4.3 to win their second tournament of the season, adding to the title that they claimed at their own invite.

Unity shut out Illinois Valley Central and Rantoul, lost one match apiece to Monticello, Pontiac and Prairie Central and dropped two matches to both St. Joseph-Ogden and The High School of Saint Thomas More. 

Top performers for the champion Rockets were Alex Abrahamson (7-0, 285), Nick Nosler (7-0, 195/220), Ryan Rink (7-0, 152), Hunter Eastin (6-0, 182/195), Kyus Root (6-0, 170), Thayden Root (6-0, 160), Avery McGraw (6-0, 132/138), Zach Renfrow (3-0, 182/195), Evan Vlahovich (3-0, 120), Kaden Inman (6-1, 132/138), Austin Winters (6-1, 120/126), Trevor McCarter (6-1, 113), Travis McCarter (6-1, 106), Haidyn Hendricks (3-1, 220) and Halen Daly (5-2, 145).

Another highlight of the competition for Unity was that senior Nick Nosler, a state runner-up last year who’s ranked second at 195, became the winningest individual in the program’s history.

Pontiac took second place after going 6-1. Leading coach Vinnie Hobart’s Indians were Aidan Scholwin (7-0, 106), Jackson Crawford (3-0, 182), Drayden Ramsey (6-1, 113/120), Ethan Gray (6-1, 152), Carlito Lattin (4-1, 170), Boden Brooks (3-1, 145), Hunter Melvin (3-1, 195), Dylan Ramsey (5-2, 160), Tyson Cramer (5-2, 285) and Samantha Fellers (4-2, 113).

St. Joseph-Ogden went 5-2 to claim third place. Best records for coach Bill Gallo’s Spartans were Emmit Holt (7-0, 113), Holden Brazelton (6-0, 132), Landon Butts (5-2, 138), Coy Hayes (5-2, 152), Owen Birt (5-2, 220) and Camden Getty (4-2, 120).

Monticello posted a 4-3 record to finish fourth. Leading the way for the Sages were Tristan Slade (3-0, 145), Marrissa Miller (5-2, 106/113), Christian Mikulich (3-1, 170), Preston Bettinger (5-2, 126) and Drake Weeks (5-2, 132/138).

Host Prairie Central went 3-4 to take fifth place. The Hawks’ best performers were John Traub (4-0, 126), Caden Travis (4-1, 160), Wyatt Strait (5-2, 113), Jaxson Martin (5-2, 145) and Connor Steidinger (4-2, 182/195)

Illinois Valley Central took sixth with a 2-5 record and Logan Gargiulo (5-2, 132) was the Grey Ghosts’ top winner. Rantoul went 1-6 for seventh and the Eagles were led by Wyatt Buck (4-2, 145/152). 

Despite the fact that The High School of Saint Thomas More only had five competitors, all of them won at least two-thirds of their matches. The Sabers were led by James Schmidt (7-0, 220), Phillip Christhilf (6-1, 145), Brody Cuppernell (6-1, 195), Robert Vavrik (6-1, 285) and August Christhilf (4-2, 170).

By Gary Larsen

There was no shortage of top-level talent in Batavia on Saturday, where four returning Illinois state champions and nationally-ranked wrestlers competed in Glenbard North’s Gabriella Gomez, Hononegah’s Angelina Cassioppi, Freeport’s Cadence Diduch, and host Batavia’s Sydney Perry. Nationally-ranked Netavia Wickson of Boylan, a state runner-up last year, also competed.

In fact, one of the biggest marquee matchups occurring anywhere in Illinois took place when Gomez and Cassioppi wrestled to three overtime periods in the Batavia finals at 115, with Gomez winning a 5-3 decision.

But even beyond the level of elite talent and competition present, it was the way this year’s inaugural Batavia Girls Wrestling Invitational served its 220 participants from 34 schools that stood out.

A popular practice used for larger girls tournaments this season has been the implementation of 8-person brackets, which guarantees every wrestler three matches. The format is also geared towards more constructive individual competition, in a growing girls sport where wrestling abilities can vary greatly.

“It’s intended to foster competition both among experienced wrestlers and also among less experienced wrestlers in the B and C brackets,” Batavia coach Scott Bayer said. “The hope is that girls get the competition at their level that they need. We created 8-woman brackets and overall I think the tournament ran well.”

It likely doesn’t matter how large the brackets are for wrestlers like Gomez, Cassioppi, Perry, Diduch, and Wickson, because they’re all likely to battle their way into the finals of any tournament.

“A bigger bracket gives girls more of a feeling for the state tournament but I didn’t mind the eight-person bracket,” Gomez said. “They wanted everyone to get a fair share of competition.”

The tournament format had an A and a B division for nearly every weight class. The pool of 125-pounders present was so large that a C bracket was added, but there was only one bracket at 235.

Teams were thus able to enter wrestlers in multiple brackets and when the dust settled it was East Aurora out-scoring second-place host Batavia, 153-149 atop the team leaderboard, followed by Huntley (128), DeKalb (119), and Richwoods (110). Rounding out the top 10 team finishers were Andrew (98), Ottawa (87), Yorkville (84.5), West Aurora (72), and Addison Trail (71).

“This was our first actual tournament this year,” Lady Tomcats coach Ryan Mick said. “We had been competing in a lot of quads on the weekends so this was a new experience for them. I told them during the week there was going to be some really good competition so they were nervous going in but they were excited to compete.

“I’m fortunate to have a great group and have quite a few leaders in the bunch. I was happy with how we wrestled. Nobody backed down and fought to the last whistle in all their matches.”

Eleven different wrestlers earned team points for East Aurora. The Lady Tomcats got thirds in the A bracket from Kamayah Young (100) and Ixzayana Cruz (105), to go with fourths from Ruby Becerra (125), Lilian Hernandez (130), and Britany Chavarria (135).

Yoheadi Contreras (130) and Jordan Smith (170) placed sixth.
Young’s brother Tim won a boys’ state title for East Aurora in 2015.

“It’s in her blood,” Mick said of Young. “Even though she’s only in her second year of wrestling she has seen what it takes to be successful on the mat. She was a state qualifier in her first year so we are looking to take the next step this season.”

Cruz noted the competitive fire and leadership that Cruz and Hernandez bring to his squad, and applauded the massive improvement Becerra has shown this season.

In the B bracket, Mick also got a first-place finish from Monica De La Cruz (100), seconds from Brenda Escobedo (140) and Daliah Lagos (145), a third from Ingrid Guillen (155), and a fifth from Luz Avilez (110).

De La Cruz has truly opened her coach’s eyes this season.

“She’s the size of a house cat but has the heart of a lion,” he said. “She’s often giving up 10-12 pounds to other girls wrestling at the 100-pound weight class but she never backs down. I really wish they had a weight class below 100 to see her compete. She’s fun to watch and coach because I know I’m going to get 110 percent effort from her every time she steps on the mat.”

Perry (145), Diduch (125), and Wickson (135) all won Batavia titles, while Gomez and Cassioppi stepped onto the title mat together at 115 for a bout that saw a big crowd surround the mat to watch two of Illinois’ best square off in the circle.

Gomez won an Illinois state title last year at 105 and is currently the top-ranked wrestler in the country at 100 pounds. Cassioppi was the state champ at 100 last year and is ranked nationally at No. 5 at 112 pounds.

The two sophomores had to be feeling the excitement and anticipation that hung in the air as they shook hands at center-mat.

“Seeing how many people were there, I really liked it,” Gomez said. “I feed off the crowd, whoever they’re cheering for. It hypes me up. It helped get me to where I needed to get to. And it (showcased) the sport of girls’ wrestling, that so many people wanted to be there watching us.”

Gomez took a 2-0 lead on a takedown with 48 seconds remaining in the first period but Cassioppi earned her escape point before the period ended. Gomez deferred the escape point to Cassioppi in the second period and the two traded shots that went for naught to the end of the second period with the score tied 2-2.

There were very few quality scoring chances in the third period. Gomez got hold of Cassioppi’s left leg with 40 seconds remaining in overtime, but Cassioppi fought it off. Gomez then rode Cassioppi out in the second overtime and escaped to start the third overtime to grab a 3-2 lead.
The Glenbard North sophomore recorded a takedown with less than 10 seconds remaining to win a 5-2 decision.

“She’s a really good wrestler,” Gomez said of Cassioppi. “She was hard to move and she had a good, sturdy stance. I knew I had to use my conditioning a little bit more and try to get her tired.
“On the last takedown, I’m pretty sure I faked and she tried a shot. I had really heavy hips and got around. I could kind of tell she was a little tired going into that overtime and I knew my conditioning was fine. And seeing people get tired builds me up because I know I can go longer.”

Wickson is ranked No. 11 nationally at 135 and placed second in Illinois at 135 last season. She won her Batavia Saturday by injury default in the finals against Niles West’s Al Ghala Al Radi, who placed third in Illinois last year at 135.

Freeport’s Diduch went 22-3 last year and won a state title at 120 last year and is currently ranked No. 5 nationally at 125. Diduch won by fall on the title mat against Huntley’s Aubrie Rohrbacher.
Host Batavia’s Perry went 21-0 last year in winning her state title at 145, and is currently ranked No. 2 nationally at that weight. Perry improved to 24-0 at 145 this year with her fall on the title mat against teammate Sarah Anderson.

Bayer applauded first-year wrestler Anderson for the day’s and season’s work she has put in.
“Sarah went 3-1 yesterday…and I’m proud of this kid for fighting so many first-year wrestler insecurities and earning a runner-up finish,” Bayer said.

He also continues to feel lucky to have Perry in the program.

“She was a great leader for all the girls (Saturday), running our warm-up, having them watch key matches with other nationally-ranked girls, and giving great advice after they came off the mat,” Bayer said.

“I’m not minimizing her championship but I mean, if you’re winning national titles in Fargo and competing for medals in Buenos Aires and Rome, you’re the odds-on favorite to get it done in the Batavia high school fieldhouse.”

Bayer also got runners-up finishes from Lily Enos (100), Amelia Howell (130), and Lily Newkirk (170) in the A bracket, and Norah Stoodley (135) and Emma Abbate (155) in the B bracket.

Richwoods led all teams with three individual champions in Kyley Bair (110), Isabella Motteler (120), and Kalia Williams (140). Glenbard North had two currently unbeaten champions in Gomez (19-0) and Nadia Shymkiv (16-0 at 105).

Wilmington’s Priscilla Prescott had the most pins in the least time with three falls recorded in 2:36, Batavia’s Sydney Perry posted the fastest tech fall in 2:27, and Richwoods’ Ananeshia Duffin had the quickest pin in any match at 10 seconds. Lyons Avi Gonzalez scored the most team points of any wrestler present with 27.

No B brackets were wrestled at 130 or 235 and in the lone C bracket at Batavia, Lyons’ Sofia Turek won the final at 125 by fall over teammate Journie Wickert-Harris.

Batavia A bracket championship match results:

100: Janiah Slaughter (Huntley) F 5:23 Lily Enos (Batavia)

105: Nadiia Shymkiv (Glenbard North) D 8-4 Alex Gregorio-Perez (DeKalb)

110: Kyley Bair (Richwoods) D 6-4 Ayane Jasinski (Grant)

115: Gabriella Gomez (Glenbard North) TB-1 5-2 Angelina Cassioppi (Hononegah)

120: Isabella Motteler (Richwoods) F 3:13 Grace Laird (Joliet Catholic)

125: Cadence Diduch (Freeport) F 3:19 Aubrie Rohrbacher (Huntley)

130: Lana Shuaibi (Andrew) D 10-4 Amelia Howell (Batavia)

135: Netavia Wickson (Boylan) INJ Al Ghala Al Radi (Niles West)

140: Kalia Williams (Richwoods) MD 12-2 Suzy Knutte (Lemont)

145: Sydney Perry (Batavia) F 1:10 Sarah Anderson (Batavia)

155: Autumne Williams (Peoria Notre Dame) F :34 Itzel Gerardo (Dundee-Crown)

170: Ionicca Rivera (West Aurora) F 3:10 Lily Newkirk (Batavia)

190: Keira Enright (Plainfield South) F :18 Janae Vargas (Andrew)

235: Juliana Thrush (Ottawa) F :44 Jozie Rosenwinkel (Westmont)

Batavia B bracket championship results:
100: Monica De La Cruz (East Aurora) F 0:34 Kayleigh Shannon (Yorkville)

105: Annika Hull (Naperville Central) F 5:21 Aliyaah Campos (Plainfield South)

110: Avi Gonzalez (Lyons) D 8-4 Frieda Hernandez (DeKalb)

115: Reese Zimmer (DeKalb) F 1:32 Zoe Pomeranets (Niles West)

120: Valeria Malinowski (Lake Park) F 0:57 Evy Grady (Ottawa)

125: Ellen Purl (Naperville Central) F 3:31 BriAnna Johnson (Richwoods)

135: Priscilla Prescott (Wilmington) F 0:30 Norah Stoodley (Batavia)

140: Rebekah Castillo (Addison Trail) F 0:55 Brenda Escobdeo (East Aurora)

145: Ananeshia Duffin (Richwoods) F 0:10 Daliah Lagos (East Aurora)

155: NaJeyah Wallace (Freeport) F 0:50 Emma Abbate (Batavia)

170: Janiah Murray (Yorkville) F 0:30 Molly Kraft (DeKalb)

190: Shelby Rank (Ottawa) F 2:27 Alex Godinez (Washington)

By Curt Herron

Joliet Catholic Academy rolls to Geneseo Invitational championship 

Joliet Catholic Academy had five champions and six other individuals who placed fifth or better to dominate at the 23-team Geneseo Invitational, scoring 311.5 points to capture top honors by 110.5 points over Cedar Rapids Prairie, IA, which scored 201 points. The host Maple Leafs claimed third place with 187 points while Downers Grove South finished fourth with 165 points.

Rounding out the top 12 teams in the field were Huntley (153), Riverdale (144.5), Civic Memorial (129.5), Deerfield (126.5), Belleville East (120), Moline (117), Oak Forest (107) and Belvidere (105.5).

Ranked Class 2A teams in the field were Joliet Catholic Academy (1st), Geneseo (4th), Deerfield (11th), Aurora Christian (13th), Oak Forest (14th) and Civic Memorial (16th) as well as one of the top Class 1A teams, Riverdale (3rd).

Leading the way for coach Ryan Cumbee’s champion Hilltoppers, who are the defending Class 2A champions, were title winners Dillan Johnson (285), Zach Pomatto (195), Mason Alessio (160), Gylon Sims (120) and Jason Hampton (113) while Hunter Powell (220) and Nico Ronchetti (182) both finished second.

Connor Cumbee (152) placed third, Nolan Vogel (132) and Noah Avina (106) were fourth and Jake Hamiti (138) took fifth while Luke Hamiti (145) also scored points for JCA, who also won a title at Hinsdale Central’s Whitlatch and took fourth at DeKalb’s Flavin and The Clash in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.

“This was a great weekend of competition for us,” Hilltoppers coach Ryan Cumbee said. “Up and down the lineup we wrestled well and gained confidence. It comes at a great time in the season after a bit of a grind in the schedule. Looking forward to using this momentum to carry us into the state series.”

Prairie, the lone Iowa team in the field, was led by second-place finishers Collin Velky (195), Tyler Lee (132), Blake Gioimo (120) and Dylan Munson (106).

Top performers for coach Jon Murray’s third-place host Maple Leafs were champion Zachary Montez (132), runner-up Levi Neumann (285) and third-place finisher Grady Hull (113). Tim Stohl (220) and Landon Shoemaker (182) were fourth and Tim Sebastian (106) took sixth.

Placewinners for coach Sean Lovelace’s fourth-place Mustangs were runner-up Luke Swan (152) and third-place finishers Keandre Miles (195) and Matty Lapacek (182). Connor Kelly (160) placed fourth while James Croswell (285), RJ Samuels (170), Donnie Fields (120) and Miguel Castaneda (113) all finished fifth.

Other champions were Moline’s James Soliz (182) and Noah Tapia (145), Belvidere’s Colin Young (152) and Brayden Teunnisen (106), LaSalle-Peru’s Connor Lorden (220), Civic Memorial’s Abe Wojcikiewicz (170), Rich Township’s Nasir Bailey (138) and Deerfield’s Jordan Rasof (126).

Also finishing in second place were Riverdale’s Alex Watson (170) and Brock Smith (138), Aurora Christian’s Taythan Silva (160), Belvidere’s Antonio Alvarado (145), Granite City’s Brenden Rayl (126) and Morton’s Caleb Lenning (113).

In a matchup of defending state champions at 138, Bailey, who won IHSA titles for Rich Township last season and for TF North in 2020 with a Texas title won in between, improved to 30-1 after winning by technical fall in 3:31 over Smith, who was a Class 1A champion last season. It was the first defeat in 34 matches for the Riverdale senior.

Other returning state champions who also won Geneseo titles were Johnson and Sims while state runners-up from a year ago who also placed first were Alessio and Tapia.

In some of the closest title matches, Teunnisen won 3-1 in sudden victory over Munson at 106, Soliz edged Rochetti 2-1 at 182, Alessio prevailed 5-2 over Silva at 160, Young beat Swan 8-5 at 152 and Tapia captured a 5-1 decision over Alvarado at 145.

Winning titles by fall were Johnson (285), Lorden (220), Pomatto (195), Montez (132), Rasof (126), Sims (120) and Hampton (113) while Wojciekiewicz (170) won by technical fall.

JCA had three of the four individuals who were tied for most team points with 34. Johnson, Pomatto and Sims, with Lorden being the other. Montez and Hampton were next-best with 33 points while Wojcikiewicz had 32.5 points, Tapia had 32 team points and Soliz, Teunnisen and Young were tied with 30 points.

Two other Riverdale athletes suffered their first defeats in the semifinals and took third. Senior Collin Altensey, a Class 1A champion last season, fell 2-0 to Silva at 160 for his lone loss in 37 matches and freshman Dean Wainwright lost 5-2 to Munson at 106 for his only setback in 32 matches.

Also claiming third-place finishes were Belleville East’s Jonathon Rulo (285) and Warren Zeisset (138), Oak Forest’s Adam Richter (220) and Max Corral (170), Civic Memorial’s Bryce Griffin (145), Deerfield’s Renzo Morgan (132), Huntley’s Adam Pena (126) and Aurora Christian’s Deven Casey (120).

Others who finished fourth were Deerfield’s Aiden Cohen (170) and Luke Reddy (120), Huntley’s Markos Mihalopoulos (285), O’Fallon’s Kyle Kujawa (195), Oak Forest’s Steve Strelow (152), Belleville East’s Nick Fetters (126), Riverdale’s Tharren Jacobs (113) and Prairie, IA’s Casey Kelley (145) and Wyatt Vlasek (138).

Additional fifth-place finishers were Huntley’s Ben Wiley (220), Wyatt Theobald (195) and Vlad Maluhin (132), Riverdale’s Zac Bradley (182), Oak Forest’s Jackson Castenada (160), Morton’s Clay McKee (152), Granite City’s Dylan Boyd (145), Moline’s Kayden Serrano (126) and Civic Memorial’s Bradley Ruckman (106).

Sixth-place showings were also turned in by Cahokia’s Quinterrous Jones (220) and Correion Midget (182), Moline’s Trystan Duyvejonck (195) and Jack Sibley (132), Huntley’s Aiden Lira (120) and Zack Hornickel (113), Deerfield’s Grant Goldsmith (160), Belleville East’s Terence Willis (152), Oak Forest’s Hunter Daniel (145) and Belvidere’s Dom Girardin (138).

Individuals with the best records after the invitational were Tapia (38-0, 1.000), Johnson (29-0, 1.000), Altensey (36-1, .973), Montez (34-1, .971), Smith (33-1, .971), Bailey (30-1, .968), Wainwright (31-1, .969), Lorden (26-1, .963), Rulo (20-1, .952), Alvarado (39-2, .951), Teunnisen (36-2, .947), Watson (33-2, .943), Wojcikiewicz (33-2, .943), Morgan (23-2, .920), Alessio (28-3, .903), Young (36-4, .900), Griffin (35-4, .897), Soliz (30-4, .882), Rasof (31-5, .861) and Zeisset (30-5, .857).

Championship matches of the Geneseo Invitational 

106 – Brayden Teunnisen (Belvidere) SV 3-1 Dylan Munson (Cedar Rapids Prairie, IA)

113 – Jason Hampton (Joliet Catholic Academy) F 3:52 Caleb Lenning (Morton)

120 – Gylon Sims (Joliet Catholic Academy) F 4:33 Blake Gioimo (Cedar Rapids Prairie, IA)

126 – Jordan Rasof (Deerfield) F 3:27 Brenden Rayl (Granite City)

132 – Zachary Montez (Geneseo) F 3:47 Tyler Lane (Cedar Rapids Prairie, IA)

138 – Nasir Bailey (Rich Township) TF 3:31 Brock Smith (Riverdale)

145 – Noah Tapia (Moline) D 5-1 Antonio Alvarado (Belvidere)

152 – Colin Young (Belvidere) D 8-5 Luke Swan (Downers Grove South)

160 – Mason Alessio (Joliet Catholic Academy) D 5-2 Taythan Silva (Aurora Christian)

170 – Abe Wojcikiewicz (Civic Memorial) TF 4:33 Alex Watson (Riverdale)

182 – James Soliz (Moline) D 2-1 Nico Ronchetti (Joliet Catholic Academy)

195 – Zach Pomatto (Joliet Catholic Academy) F 3:44 Collin Velky (Cedar Rapids Prairie, IA)

220 – Connor Lorden (LaSalle-Peru) F 1:46 Hunter Powell (Joliet Catholic Academy)

285 – Dillan Johnson (Joliet Catholic Academy) F 3:38 Levi Neumann (Geneseo)

Bradley-Bourbonnais captures title at Reed-Custer’s Comet Classic

Three champions and six other placewinners helped Bradley-Bourbonnais to claim the title at the Reed-Custer Comet Classic with 219 points while Seneca claimed second-place with 170 points and Clifton Central/Iroquois West edged host Reed-Custer 145.5-143.5 for third place.

PORTA/A-C Central/Greenview finished just behind for fifth place with 141 points while Joliet Central (136), Hoopeston Area/Milford (131.5), El Paso-Gridley (130), Sandwich (128) were next and Bremen (112) edged Plano (111.5) to round out the top of the field in the 23-team competition that took place in Braidwood.

Winning titles for coach Micky Spiwak’s champion Boilermakers were AJ Mancilla (195), Tyler Starr (152) and Ethan Spacht (113) while Levi Greenlee (138) and Tate McCord (106) placed third. Cayden Ghere (182) and Cameron Borneman (120) were fifth and Anthony Smiley (285) and Max Fischer (126) finished sixth.

“Tate McCord is a sophomore at 106, and is really having himself quite a season”, Spiwak said. “He wasn’t varsity for us last year, got 39 off-season practices in, and now is 22-8, got third for us here, and picked up 20 massive team points. Ethan Spacht at 113 pinned his way through this tournament for the second year in a row. He is a returning state placewinner, and an incredibly impressive wrestler that we can always count on. He makes doing hard things in wrestling, like beating 22 other teams, look easy. Levi Greenlee at 138 is a leader for us and a great role model.  He is one of the toughest, most coachable people on Earth. He ended up placing third, and he is not happy about it. I love his ‘never satisfied’ attitude.

“Ty Starr at 152 made this tournament look easy.  He was hungry after last year’s Comet Classic performance, where he beat a really good kid in the semis, and then lost on a last-second score in the finals. This year, he pinned everybody except for a major decision in the semis. Ty won his finals match via a first-period pin, and then immediately did over 100 kettlebell swings. He is hungry to do well in the postseason this year. Cayden Ghere is a senior that is the ultimate team guy. He has had no problem doing what is best for the team, which has meant that he has spent most of the season up a weight class at 195. He has still managed to compile a winning record, despite being up a weight class for almost all of his matches. He ended up placing top five for us at this 23-team tournament, and collecting 19 big team points along the way.

“AJ Mancilla is an absolute freak. We put him up a weight class for this tournament because that was what was best for the team, and he delivered as always.  He had a tough triple overtime ride out for the win in the finals against a very athletic Joliet Central opponent.  AJ is such a smart wrestler. He always knows the situation, and is very good at the skill of winning regardless of the situation. This is AJ’s second win in triple overtime where his opponent got to choose the bottom position this season, a very tough spot to win from. Anthony Smiley at 285 is a first-year wrestler and he really stepped up huge for us this weekend. He has been very coachable, cleaned up his mistakes throughout the season, and built on his strengths.  To be 40 pounds underweight, a first-year wrestler, and place top 6 out of 23 teams is very impressive.

“Overall, this team is filled with very tough, resilient athletes. That’s all I ever want to coach. I’ll take tough over good 100 times out of 100. This is also a very fun group to hang out with, that gets along very well. I think that is an important part of their success, they love each other and don’t want to let each other down when they are representing each other on the mat.”

Top performers for coach Todd Yegge’s runner-up Fighting Irish were champion Nate Othon (145), runner-up Asher Hamby (160) and third-place finishers Chris Peura (195) and Ethan Othon (113) while Collin Wright (170) took fourth and Nick Grant (132) placed fifth.

Leading the way for the coach Travis Williams’ third-place Comets were runners-up Kayden Cody (132) and Evan Cox (126) and third-place finisher Giona Panozzo (145) while Chris Andrade (152) took fifth and Blake Hemp (113) finished sixth. 

Turning in best showings for coach Yale Davis’ host Comets were champion Rex Pfiefer (170), runner-up Kody Marschner (220) and third-place finisher Gunnar Berg (285) while Dominic Alaimo (182) and Jeremy Eggleston (138) both finished fourth.

PORTA and Bremen both had three champions. Winning titles for the Bluejays were Bryar Lane (182), Jacob Vogel (138) and Mike Minor (126) while the Braves’ first-place finishers were Alex Jackson (220), Nore’ Turner (120) and Morgan Turner (106). 

Vernon Hills’ Max Accettura (285), El Paso-Gridley’s Dax Gentes (160) and Tinley Park’s 

Andrew Koepke (132) also placed first. Four individuals repeated as champions in the event, Spacht, Gentes, Mancilla and Accettura.

Other second-place finishers were Plano’s Alex Diaz (285) and Rich Amakiri (182), El Paso-Gridley’s Waylon Melick (145) and Logan Gibson (120), Joliet Central’s Charles Walker (195), 

Winnebago’s Charley Murray (170), Hoopeston Area’s Ayden Larkin (152), Sandwich’s Sy Smith (138), Wilmington’s Landon Dooley (113) and Ottawa Township’s Ivan Munoz (106).

In a clash of unbeaten competitors at 220, Jackson (19-0) won by fall in 2:45 over Marschner (21-1).

Some of the closest title matches were Mancilla winning 4-3 by ultimate tiebreaker over Walker at 195, Morgan Turner prevailing 6-5 over Munoz at 106 and Accettura beating Diaz 5-2 at 285.

Title winners by fall were Jackson (220), Pfiefer (170), Starr (152), Othon (145), Vogel (138), Koepke (132) and Spacht (113). Minor claimed a 12-2 major decision over Cox at 126, Lane won an 8-2 decision over Amakiri at 182, Gentes was an 8-2 winner over Hamby at 160 and Nore’ Turner claimed a 7-0 victory over Gibson at 120.

Nate Othon and Koepke led all competitors with 32 team points while Jackson had 31.5 points and Starr had 31 team points. There was a five-way tie for fifth with 30 points between Accettura, Mancilla, Pfiefer, Spacht and Vogel while Lane and Minor had 29 team points.

Top records among finalists following the Classic were Jackson (19-0, 1.000), Gentes (30-1, .968), Marschner (21-1, .952), Nore’ Turner (18-1, .947), Mancilla (32-2, .941), Spacht (28-2, .933), Lane (35-3, .921), Morgan Turner (20-2, .909), Pfiefer (28-3, .903), Hamby (26-3, .897), Munoz (16-2, .889), Diaz (23-3, .884), Starr (29-5, .853), and Amakiri (17-3, .850).

Also claiming third place finishes were Hoopeston Area’s Angel Zamora (160), Rasiah Jones (132) and Aiden Bell (126), Ottawa Township’s Charles Medrow (220), El Paso-Gridley’s Cody Langland (182), Sandwich’s Bryce Decker (170), Saint Viator’s John Whelan (152) and Dwight’s Dylan Crouch (120).

Additional fourth-place finishers were Joliet Central’s Brian Mendez (126), Alex Fernandez (120) and Isaiah Kan (113), Sandwich’s Gabriel Galvan (145) and Miles Corder (132), Bremen’s Eric Perez-Nava (285), Plano’s Eliyas Peray (220), Vernon Hills’ Kevin Halley (195), Manteno’s Carter Watkins (160), Herscher’s Payden Strahan (152) and Olympia/Heyworth’s Ryan Ballinger (106).

Others who finished fifth were Olympia’s Nolen Yeary (220) and Bryson Wilson (126), PORTA’s Issak Espenschied (285), Wilmington’s Hunter Hayes (195), El Paso-Gridley’s Ethan Whitman (170), Vernon Hills’ Ilya Dvoryannikov (160), Kankakee’s Caleb Dickens (145), Joliet Central’s Jorge Robles (138), Ottawa Township’s Dallas Harmon (113) and Hoopeston Area’s Charlie Flores (106).

The other six-place finishers were Joliet Central’s Andre Miller (182) and Brody Walsh (106), Hoopeston Area’s Ceasar Espinoza (138) and Talan Nelson (120), Tinley Park’s Eric Jenkkins (220), Kankakee’s Michael Bannerman-Blankston (195), Wilmington’s Parker Adams (170), Plano’s Gio Diaz (160), Sandwich’s Josh Lehman (152), PORTA’s Mitchell Horn (145) and Ottawa Township’s Nico Stanfill (132).

Reed-Custer Comet Classic championship matches

106 – Morgan Turner (Bremen) D 6-5 Ivan Munoz (Ottawa Township)

113 – Ethan Spacht (Bradley-Bourbonnais) F 0:57 Landon Dooley (Wilmington)

120 – Nore’ Turner (Bremen) D 7-0 Logan Gibson (El Paso-Gridley)

126 – Mike Minor (PORTA) MD 12-2 Evan Cox (Clifton Central)

132 – Andrew Koepke (Tinley Park) F 1:05 Kayden Cody (Clifton Central)

138 – Jacob Vogel (PORTA) F 1:06 Sy Smith (Sandwich)

145 – Nate Othon (Seneca) F 4:55 Waylon Melick (El Paso-Gridley)

152 – Tyler Starr (Bradley-Bourbonnais) F 1:01 Ayden Larkin (Hoopeston Area)

160 – Dax Gentes (El Paso-Gridley) D 8-2 Asher Hamby (Seneca)

170 – Rex Pfiefer (Reed-Custer) F 1:06 Charley Murray (Winnebago)

182 – Bryar Lane (PORTA) D 8-2 Rich Amakiri (Plano)

195 – AJ Mancilla (Bradley-Bourbonnais) UTB 4-3 Charles Walker (Joliet Central)

220 – Alex Jackson (Bremen) F 2:45 Kody Marschner (Reed-Custer)

285 – Max Accettura (Vernon Hills) D 5-2 Alex Diaz (Plano)

Oregon claims top honors at Kewanee’s Brockman Invite

Behind four champions and two runners-up, Oregon captured the championship at Kewanee’s Helmut Brockman Invite with 242 points while the host Boilermakers took second place with 187 points and Knoxville claimed third place with 151 points.

Rounding out the top half of the 20-team competition were Sherrard (120), Morrison (114.5), Eureka (114), Monmouth-Roseville (107.5), Polo/Forreston/Eastland/Milledgeville (102.5), Farmington/Cuba (101) and Fulton (98). 

Top performers for coach Justin Lahman’s champion Hawks were title winners Jonathon Alaniz (220), Anthony Bauer (160), Grant Stender (152) and Lane Halverson (138) and runners-up Evan Flaharty (285) and Jackson Messenger (113). Taking third place were Quentin Berry (182), Landyn Windham (170) and Preston Labay (120) while Ethan Mowry (132) was fourth.

This was the third tournament title for Oregon, who is ranked fourth in Class 1A. The other championships were won at Stillman Valley and Polo. While the Hawks only had 10 competitors, all of them finished in the top four and six of those advanced to title matches.

“We had a few guys out this weekend and only took 10 wrestlers to Kewanee,” Lahman said. “We weren’t sure how we would finish as a team, but the goal was for everyone to improve in areas we have been practicing on. We managed to get all 10 into the semifinals, with six of them making the finals. 

“We had great leadership in the seniors that were competing and some great wrestling from the freshman and sophomores to help lift the team to the title. The team knew they were going to have to battle all day long to finish where they wanted. It was a long day for us, and the team came away very happy with their performance.”

Leading the way for coach Charley Eads’ second-place Boilermakers were runners-up Alejandro Duarte (182), Jaxson Hicks (160), Will Taylor (138) and Kingston Peterson (106), third-place finisher Max Kelly (152) and Ben Taylor (126), who placed fourth.

Individuals with the best showings for coach Mike Leab’s third-place Blue Bullets were runners-up Jaxin Johnson (170) and Adam Scalf (120), third-place finishers William Stowe (285), Gage Fox (132) and Hunter Johnson (113) while Dilan VanBeveran (195) and Joe Wall (145) took fourth place.

Other champions were Sherrard’s Walker Anderson (195) and Callum Thomson (113), Fulton’s Zane Pannell (170) and Ben Fosdick (145), Rockford Auburn’s Damarion Love (285), Farmington’s Rese Shymansky (182), Polo’s Wyatt Doty (132), Somonauk/Leland’s  Aiden 

Rowan (126), Morrison’s Levi Milder (120) and Streator/Woodland’s Nicholas Pollett (106). Three individuals repeated as champions, Bauer, Doty and Pannell.

Also finishing second were Eureka’s Landon Wierenga (220), St. Bede Academy’s Ryan Migliorini (195), Monmouth Union’s Jake McElwee (152), Sherrard’s Kaden Dutton (145), Morrison’s Camden Pruis (132) and Farmington’s Bradlee Ellis (126). 

In the closest title march, Alaniz edged Wierenga 2-1 at 220. Love beat Flaharty 12-6 at 285 and Rowan won a major decision over Ellis at 126. The other championships were all won by fall.

Additional third-place finishers were Polo’s Maddux Hayden (195), Lucas Nelson (126) and Josiah Perez (106), Eureka’s Dillon Wiles (160) and Gage Heath (145), Streator’s Aydan Radke (220) and Sherrard’s Jayden Thomson (138). Perez suffered his first loss in the semifinals to runner-up Peterson.

Others who placed fourth were Monmouth-Roseville’s Jay Raymond (160), Gabe Ortiz-Morgan (152) and Edgar Jiguan (113), Rockford Auburn’s Jawhed Wainwright (182) and Ntahuyamana Pacifique (106), Fulton’s Braiden Damhoff (285), Mendota’s Albert Harris (220), Eureka’s Wyatt Zacha (170), Morrison’s Zach Miller  (138) and Farmington’s Caleb Showalter (120)

Best records for those who placed fourth or better were Pannell (35-0, 1.000), Love (9-0, 1.000), Perez (17-1, .944), Taylor (24-2, .923), Anderson (23-2, .920), Shymansky (23-2, .920), Fosdick (33-3, .917), Doty (20-2, .909), Rowan (19-3, .864), Kelly (23-4, .852), Pollett (22-4, .846) and Halverson (27-5, .844).

The tournament is named for Helmut Brockman, who was a three-sport coach and also an athletic director during a 33-year career at Kewanee, which has named the school’s gymnasium in his honor. He was an early inductee in the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association hall of fame.

Championship matches at Kewanee’s Brockman Invite

106 – Nicholas Pollett (Streator) F Kingston Peterson (Kewanee)

113 – Callum Thomson (Sherrard) F Jackson Messenger (Oregon)

120 – Levi Milder (Morrison) F Adam Scalf (Knoxville)

126 – Aiden Rowan (Somonauk) MD Bradlee Ellis (Farmington)

132 – Wyatt Doty (Polo) F Camden Pruis (Morrison)

138 – Lane Halverson (Oregon) F Will Taylor (Kewanee)

145 – Ben Fosdick (Fulton) F Kaden Dutton (Sherrard)

152 – Grant Stender (Oregon) F Jake McElwee (Monmouth United)

160 – Anthony Bauer (Oregon) F Jaxson Hicks (Kewanee)

170 – Zane Pannell (Fulton) F Jaxin Johnson (Knoxville)

182 – Rese Shymansky (Farmington) F Alejandro Duarte (Kewanee)

195 – Walker Anderson (Sherrard) F Ryan Migliorini (St. Bede Academy)

220 – Jonathon Alaniz (Oregon) D 2-1 Landon Wierenga (Eureka)

285 – Damarion Love (Rockford Auburn) D 12-6 Evan Flaharty (Oregon)

Antioch takes fourth at Bettendorf Midwest Shootout

Antioch led the way for the three Illinois squads that took part in the 15-team Bettendorf Midwest Shootout in Bettendorf, Iowa. Five Illinois athletes advanced to the title mat but they all fell to competitors from the top two teams in the field.

Coach Wilbur Borrero’s Sequoits placed fourth with 132 points while Plainfield East (73.5) and Sterling (73) also took part in the event which featured 11 Iowa squads and one team from Missouri.

Host Bettendorf, IA took top honors with 229 points while Johnston, IA was second with 188.5 points and Dubuque Hempstead, IA finished third with 157.5 points. This is the fourth top-four tournament showing for Antioch, which is ranked sixth in Class 2A. The Sequoits took second in their own tournament and also at Rich Township.

The Sequoits were led by four second-place finishes and it also received one third and one fourth. Placing second were Seth Gomez (182), Anthony Streib (138), Edgar Albino (132) and Gavin Hanrahan (113). Ben Vazquez (160) took third, Caleb Nobiling (145) was fourth, Chase Nobiling (120) placed seventh while Elias Bentley (170) and Tanner Jurinek (126) finished eighth.

Albino (19-3) dropped a 9-4 decision to Bettendorf, IA’s Jayce Luna (27-3) in the 132 finals. Hanrahan (19-3) fell in the 113 title match to Bettendorf, IA’s Jake Knight (29-1) by a 14-6 score.

Streib (13-2) lost by technical fall in 6:00 to Bettendorf, IA’s Lincoln Jipp (28-6) in the 138 title match. Gomez (18-10) was pinned in 2:43 to Johnston, IA’s Sam Zindel (27-2) for the 182 championship.

Plainfield East had five individuals who placed eighth or better. Niko Duggan (152) was second, Aiden Villar (120) finished fourth, Roderick Burnett (195) took fifth, Jerry Nino (160) was sixth and Nathan Lopez (182) placed eighth.

Duggan (19-6) lost a 9-3 decision to Johnston, IA’s Jacob Helgeson (33-0) in the 152 title match. 

Sterling had five competitors who were eighth or better. Gage Tate (170) was third, Thomas Tate (160) and Javier Luna (220) took fourth, Tatum Allen (152) was seventh and Cael Lyons (106) placed eighth.

Championship matches involving Illinois athletes at Bettendorf, IA Midwest Shootout

113 – Jake Knight (Bettendorf, IA) MD 14-6 Gavin Hanrahan (Antioch)

132 – Jayce Luna (Bettendorf, IA) D 9-4 Edgar Albino (Antioch)

138 – Lincoln Jipp (Bettendorf, IA) TF 6:00 Anthony Streib (Antioch)

152 – Jacob Helgeson (Johnston, IA) D 9-3 Niko Duggan (Plainfield East) 

182 – Sam Zindel (Johnston, IA) F 2:43 Seth Gomez (Antioch)

By Gary Larsen

2023 Sullivan Slam championship match results:

Rickover Naval Academy of Chicago enjoyed a watershed moment at the 2023 Sullivan Slam on Saturday.
“It’s the first tournament championship in program history,” Sea Dragons coach Andrew Holden said. “I’m very proud of the whole team and how hard they’re wrestling this year and I’m excited to watch them compete in the end of the year tournaments. It will be exciting.”

Rickover won the 16-team Slam title, outscoring second-place Evanston 153-143, sending four wrestlers to the championship mat and winning three individual titles.

Northridge Prep (139), Taft (127), and Niles North (117) rounded out the top five team finishers, followed by Mather (114), Amundsen (91), host Sullivan (77.5), Lane (73), and Ridgewood (53).
Winning titles for Rickover were Jacob Pizarro (126), Justin Hernandez (132), and Alejandro Olivera (145), while Brandon Valbuena (138) placed second. Rickover also got thirds from Nathaniel Sales (120) and Adonai Zora (152), and a fourth from Breyon Wallace (113).

Second-place Evanston were led by second-place finishers Grant Aaron (120), Gael Santigiullo (126), Sean Pena Kerr (160), and Chris Fargo (220). Evanston edged Northridge Prep for its second-place team finish thanks to a third from Angel Mondragon (145) and fourths from Henry White (132), Esmat Abdalla (170), and Jaden Paques (285).

Third-place Northridge Prep reeled off four consecutive title-mat wins thanks to individual champions Adam Haddad (152), Jon Suter (160), Michael Kopecky (170), and Steven Kopecky (182).
Sullivan’s Keshawn Walker (195) recorded the most pins in the least time of any wrestler, posting four falls in 2:53, and Taft’s Michael Barretto (285) scored the most team points in the tournament with 28.

2023 Sullivan Slam championship match results:

106: David Ruiz (Taft) F 0:40 Mohamad Khater (Ridgewood)

113: Islam Khater (Ridgewood) D 5-1 Mathew Nguyen (Amundsen)

120: Trent Tono (Niles North) F 2:17 Grant Aaron (Evanston)

126: Jacob Pizarro (Rickover) F 1:19 Gael Santigiullo (Evanston)

132: Justin Hernandez (Rickover) F 0:17 Malik Peterson ( Lane)

138:  Maxwell Nevinger (Senn) F 1:07 Brandon Valbuena (Rickover)

145: Alejandro Olivera (Rickover) F 3:31 Matthew Trimberger (Niles North)

152: Adam Haddad (Northridge Prep) MD 13-4 Julio Rodriguez (Taft)

160: Jon Suter (Northridge Prep) F 0:18 Sean Pena Kerr (Evanston)

170: Michael Kopecky (Northridge Prep) F 3:33 Arlo Johnston (Mather):
182: Steven Kopecky (Northridge Prep) F 1:06 Jacob Scott (Mather)

195: Michael Wojatch (Amundsen ) F 1:05 Jens Marino (Mather)

220: Ahmed Musa (Niles North) D 8-2 Chris Fargo (Evanston)

285: Michael Barretto (Taft) F 0:39 Nick Armour (Leo)

Hoffman Estates Hawk Girls Wrestling Invite championship match results:

Of the top five team finishers at Saturday’s Hawk Girls Wrestling Invite,  Homewood-Flossmoor’s 10 wrestlers entered was the fewest of any team.

The Vikings still managed to post a 172-147 edge over second-place Schaumburg, followed by Oak Forest (139), host Hoffman Estates (135), and Lockport (106) to round out the top five team finishes of the 27-team tournament.

Oak Forest entered 16 wrestlers in the tournament, Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates entered 13, and Lockport entered 12 participants.

The Hawks got individual titles from Attalia Watson-Castro (135), Alima Toheeb-Lawai (145), and Kristen Roberts (170).

As it is for nearly every team that wins a tournament title, Homewood-Flossmoor’s hard work came before the final round even took place.

“Every one of our point-scorers made it to the semis and I think that gave us the lead we needed even though we were missing 5 weights,” Vikings coach Scott Aronson said. “Only one girl did not win their place match and that was due to an injury. It was a great day.

“Our girls have been doing great this season even with concussions and sickness and the normal challenges all teams are facing, but Saturday really demonstrated what our girls are actually able to accomplish when they take it one match at a time.”

Aronson got thirds from Ava Anderson (120), Jzyia Akins (155), Idi Onumosu (190), and Jocelyn Williams (235), and a fourth from Nina Hamm (115).

“We ended up taking home a first-place plaque even though we lost to Hoffman Estates in a head-to-head dual earlier in the season, and that felt really good,” Aronson said. “We’re looking forward to making a mark at the OPRF invitational in two weeks.”

Second-place Schaumburg got an individual title from Valeria Rodriguez (140) and a second from Madyson Meyer (115). Third-place Oak Forest got an individual title from Alex Sebek (105), Hoffman Estates titles came from Sophia Ball (120), and Abby Ji (130), and Lockport had an individual champion in Claudia Heeney (125) and got a second from Monica Skibicki (100).

Other top-ten team finishes came from Glenbard West (101.5), Conant (99), Ronald Reagan of Wisconsin (75), and West Chicago (72).

Schaumburg’s Nina Akimoto had the most pins in the least time with four falls in 2:31, and Lockport’s Claudia Heeney (125) posted the most tech falls in the least time with three techs in 14:01. Nine wrestlers tied for the tournament lead in team points with 30: Glenbard West’s Alycia Perez, Homewood-Flossmoor’s Alima Toheeb-Lawal, Maine South’s Angela Lee, Mount Zion’s Sydney Cannon, Plainfield Central’s Alicia Tucker, Schaumburg’s Valeria Rodriguez, West Chicago’s Jayden Huesca-Rodriguez, and Hoffman Estates’ Sophia Ball and Abby Ji.

Hoffman Estates’ Hawk Girls Wrestling Invite championship match results:

100: Alycia Perez (Glenbard West) F 3:49 Monica Skibicki (Lockport)

105: Alexandra Sebek (Oak Forest) MD 13-5 Annika Cottam (Lake Forest)

110: Sydney Cannon (Mount Zion) F 1:11 Aliana Rauter (Ronald Regan)

115: Angela Lee (Maine South) F 1:52 Madyson Meyer (Schaumburg)

120: Sophia Ball (Hoffman Estates) F 2:50 Nyah Lovis (Lane Tech)

125: Claudia Heeney (Lockport) TF 5:40 Khatija Ahmed (Glenbard West)

130: Abby Ji (Hoffman Estates) F 1:48 Ewa Krupa (Conant)

135: Attalia Watson-Castro (H-Flossmoor) TF 5:01 Tahonesty Donnell (Ronald Regan)

140: Valeria Rodriguez (Schaumburg) F 0:58 Quinna Sheets (Grayslake North)

145: Alima Toheeb-Lawal (H-Flossmoor) F 1:02 Joselyn Vega (Ronald Regan)

155: Alicia Tucker (Plainfield Central) F 1:13 Jada Hall (Burlington Central)

170: Kristen Roberts (H-Flossmoor) F 2:49 Gracie Swierczynski (DG South)

190: Jayden Huesca Rodriguez (West Chicago) F 2:15 Trinity White (OPRF)

235: Aaliyah Grandberry (Curie) D 7-3 Sarah Ephstein (OPRF)

Lisle’s 2023 Melichar Wrestling Tournament championship match results:

Hinsdale South won Lisle’s 2023 Melichar Wrestling Tournament, sending eight wrestlers to the championship finals and getting team points from nine wrestlers on the day.

“We had an excellent tournament,” Hinsdale South assistant coach Andy Mangiaguerra said. “We are really excited for the next couple of weeks preparing for regionals with a couple dual meets left along with a tough quad.”

Winning individual titles for the Hornets were Andrew Musil (145) and Andrew Miller (160), and Mangiaguerra and head coach Steve Matozzi got second-place finishes from Toqir Mir (113), Apollo Cobb (126), John Strahanoski (132), Alec Miller (170), Jovani Piazza (182), and Griffin Carr (220). Quinn Yurkovich (152) also placed third and Gavin Slaughter (285) took fourth for the Hornets.

Hinsdale South finished with a 188-143 edge over second-place Evergreen Park, which had a champion in Aseal Rubalcava (170) and got second-place finishes from Chance Woods (120), Ryan Serna (145), and David Johnson (152).

Hinsdale South’s Andrew Musil (145) had the most pins in the least time with three falls in 5:04, teammate Andrew Miller (160) posted the fastest fall in 0:21, and Phoenix Military Academy’s Jose Lua (120) posted the fastest tech fall in 3:58.

Lua, Evergreen Park’s Eduardo Antunez (220), and Hinsdale South Apollo Cobb (126) tied for the tournament lead in most points scored in a single match with 16, and Antunez scored the most total match points in the tournament with 30. 

Lisle’s 2023 Melichar Wrestling Tournament championship match results:

106: Ryan Hsu (Lisle) F 1:28 Vince Hefke (Aurora Central Catholic)

113: Juan Villa (Argo) F 5:51 Toqir Mir (Hinsdale South)

120: Jose Lua (Phoenix Military Academy) TF 3:58 Chance Woods (Evergreen Park)

126: Mauricio Cisneros (Phoenix Military Academy) D 7-3 Apollo Cobb (Hinsdale South)

132: Nolan Kelly (Lisle) F 1:25 John Strahanoski (Hinsdale South)

138: Vin Moreno (Phoenix Military Academy) D 4-3 Norbert Guzik (Lisle)

145: Andrew Musil (Hinsdale South) F 1:45 Ryan Serna (Evergreen Park)

152: Jimmy Lua (Phoenix Military Academy) F 2:56 David Johnson (Evergreen Park)

160: Andrew Miller (Hinsdale South) F 0:21 Cornelius Vigovsky (Argo)

170: Aseal Rubalcava (Evergreen Park) D 8-7 Alec Miller (Hinsdale South)

182: Max Dominguez (Streamwood) INJ Jovani Piazza (Hinsdale South)

195: Joe Raineri (Lisle) F 3:22 Jace Wolf (Streamwood)

220: Gabriel Kaminski (Nazareth) F 2:47 Griffin Carr (Hinsdale South)

285: Sam Stec (Nazareth) F 1:22 Angel Perez (Argo)

By Mike Garofola

BATAVIA – With six ranked teams and nearly 50 wrestlers ranked in the top 10 of their respective weight divisions on hand at the Clint Arlis Invite, there’s no doubt that fans of this sport would pour into the Batavia gym on Saturday to get a close-up view of the action.

Marmion Academy, top-ranked in Class 3A, was the favorite from the onset to lift the championship trophy and despite missing one of its best in Jameson Garcia and also Zach Stewart, as well as two other starters, Cadets head coach Anthony Cirrincione watched his men outscore Class 2A power Washington by 38.5 points (208.5-170) to collect the team title.

The host Bulldogs were third with 157.5 points while Hinsdale Central (127.5) and Marian Catholic Central (115.5) rounded out the top five.

“The boys knew we would not be at full strength for this great tournament, that had quality competition, and was well-organized, so we really wanted to see how hard we could compete and where we fell as a team as a result,” said Cirrincione, whose club also suffered a couple of injuries during the competition.

“Collectively, we’re very happy with winning this tournament, and as a staff, we are extremely proud of how hard the boys wrestled, especially our freshman, Joey Favia, who won at 220, and of course, Jack (Lesher) who dominated at 182, who has really come into his own as an elite wrestler.”

“We have a hard-working, dedicated bunch of guys with a nice blend of young wrestlers and veterans, who come into the room each day and do whatever it takes to become better wrestlers, and teammates,” added Lesher.

The Cadets also had five second-place finishers, Brody Kelly (132), Santino Scolaro (145), Collin Carrigan (152), Tegan Chumbley (160) and Sean Scheck (285).

The path to victory appeared to be clear once the Cadets went into the lunch break with a 31- point advantage over Washington, which increased to 43 points just ahead of the final session.

A handful of high-profile men did not make it here on this day, including Garcia at 126 and West Chicago’s Noah Allen, who is No. 4 at 152, which also happened to have an array of talent.

Batavia’s Kaden Fetterolf was part of this elite group of champions, and the Bulldogs senior gave the home crowd plenty to celebrate when he beat Marmion Academy’s then-No. 1 Collin Carrigan in the final contest of the tournament.

Andrew had three champions at the lowest weights, Dino Haleem (106), Max Siegel (113) and Trevor Silzer (120). Washington also had three champions, Peyton Cox (138), Kannon Webster (145) and Justin Hoffer (220). Marian Central Catholic had two title winners, Kaden Harman (126) and Max Astacio (160). Others who won titles were Jacobs’ James Wright (132), McHenry’s Chris Moore (170) and Downers Grove North’s Ben Bielawski (285).

Also claiming second-place finishes were Grant’s Vince Jasinski (106) and Cameron Lattimore (195), Batavia’s Ino Garcia (113) and Aidan Huck (126), Hinsdale Central’s Cody Tavoso (138) and Marko Ivanisevic (220), Maine South’s Theodore Flores (120), Washington’s Blake Hinrichsen (170) and Buffalo Grove’s Vlad Fedorchenko (182).

Astacio, Cox and Webster led all competitors in the Clint Arlis Invite with 29 team points while Bielawski was next with 28. Other leaders in team points were Lesher (27.5), Favia (27), Harman (26), Moore (26), Haleem (25.5), Siegel (25), Wright (25) and Fetterolf (24.5).

Finalists with the top records through the Clint Arlis Invite were Fetterolf (36-0, 1.000), Webster (31-0, 1.000), Moore (28-0, 1.000), Ivanisevic (31-1, .969), Bielawski (28-1, .966), Hoffer (25-1, .962), Tavoso (32-2, .941), Silzer (30-2, .938), Siegel (28-2, .933), Cox (27-2, .931), Carrigan (17-2, .895), Flores (25-3, .893), Wright (25-3, .893) and Haleem (28-4, .875).

Before the awards presentation, longtime assistant and wrestling legend in Illinois, Tom Arlis, provided a moving tribute to his son, Clint, who passed away suddenly a year ago.

Clint Arlis, a 2005 graduate from Batavia, starred on the mats, with three trips downstate, a program-high 437 career takedowns and he was second overall in career victories, before going on to wrestle at the University of Illinois, where he double-majored in Architecture and Engineering.

Illinois head coach Mike Poeta paid tribute via a recorded message, where he announced his program would honor Clint Arlis with an annual Heart of a Warrior Award, which former Deerfield star Jake Reicin was the first to receive last February.

Team Results

Marmion Academy 208.5, Washington 170, Batavia 157.5, Hinsdale Central 127.5, Marian Central Catholic 115.5, Andrew 110.5, Grant 106.5, Downers Grove North 99, McHenry 96.5, Naperville North 88, Maine South 79.5, Lemont 76.5, Hononegah 65.5, Harlem 57, Jacobs 55.5, Buffalo Grove 49, Leyden 37, Addison Trail 18, West Chicago 17

Championship Matches of Batavia’s Clint Arlis Invitational

106 – Dino Haleem (Andrew) SV 10-5 Vince Jasinski (Grant)

113 – Max Siegel (Andrew) F 1:36 Ino Garcia (Batavia)

120 – Trevor Silzer (Andrew) D 8-4 Theodore Flores (Maine South)

126 – Kaden Harman (Marian Central Catholic) D 9-7 Aidan Huck (Batavia)

132 – James Wright (Jacobs) D 9-5 Brody Kelly (Marmion Academy)

138 – Peyton Cox (Washington) MD 10-1 Cody Tavoso (Hinsdale Central)

145 – Kannon Webster (Washington) F 1:18 Santino Scolaro (Marmion Academy)

152 – Kaden Fetterolf (Batavia) D 6-4 Collin Carrigan (Marmion Academy)

160 – Max Astacio (Marian Central Catholic) F 3:40 Tegan Chumbley (Marmion Academy)

170 – Chris Moore (McHenry) MD 18-8 Blake Hinrichsen (Washington)

182 – Jack Lesher (Marmion Academy) F 3:59 Vlad Fedorchenko (Buffalo Grove)

195 – Joey Favia (Marmion Academy) D 2-1 Cameron Lattimore (Grant)

220 – Justin Hoffer (Washington) D 5-2 Marko Ivanisevic (Hinsdale Central)

285 – Ben Bielawski (Downers Grove North) F 4:29 Sean Scheck (Marmion Academy)

Here is a breakdown of the Clint Arlis Invitational champions and their weight classes:

106 – Dino Haleem, Andrew

Dino Haleem would inspire lower weight success for Andrew when the freshman registered a thrilling 10-5 sudden victory win over Grant freshman Vince Jasinski, who came from the No. 4- seed to advance into the final.

Haleem (28-4) chased Jasinski (23-7) from the early going when he fell behind 3-0 in the first 30 seconds of this contest, drawing back closer at 3-2 with a nicely-executed reversal, only to find himself down once again when Jasinski earned a takedown near the edge midway through the second period.

“I got off to a slow start, then gave up that takedown to go down 5-3 after the second period (but) I think all the time in the room going against my teammates Max (Siegel) and Trevor Silzer really helped me in a match like this (because) I never really panicked, and was able to get back to what I wanted to do,” said Haleem, who like Jasinski can be found in the Honorable Mention part of the latest IWCOA poll.

“Dino has grown a lot over the season, he continues to improve and buy into our program, and every day he is looking to get better as he continues to put in the work that is needed,” Andrew head coach Peter Kowalczuk said. “We are all excited to see how he finishes up the season.”

Haleem advanced after a major decision victory to open his tournament, followed by another major decision in the semifinals, while Jasinski claimed a pair of pins before his semifinal against the top-seed, Marmion Academy’s No. 3 Nicholas Garcia (19-3), who was forced to take an injury default to end his day, and took fourth place.

McHenry’s Ryan Hansen (26-9) took third place. In the fifth-place match, Hononegah’s Jackson Olson (24-7) won a 6-2 decision over Downers Grove North’s Tyler Tiangco (15-10).

113 – Max Siegel, Andrew

A cutting-edge attack administered by Max Siegel proved no match for the three opponents the Andrew junior faced en route to him lifting his second big trophy of the season after earning top honors recently at Granite City’s Red Schmitt Holiday Tournament.

Siegel (28-2), No. 3 in the polls and an IWCOA state runner-up in 2021, was clearly the best in a field which included three others in the top 10: Batavia’s Ino Garcia, Marmion Academy’s Donny Pigoni and Washington’s Noah Woods, with Woods falling to Siegel in the semifinals and Garcia (14-5) getting pinned by him at 1:45 in the title match.

“It was a good win against Ino, because I beat him in the final at Granite City (so) he had a little more incentive in this final for sure,” said Siegel, who won his opener at state a year ago, before dropping his next two. “Your season never ends the way you hope when it’s not on the podium, so obviously, my goal is to get back down (there) and onto the podium.”

Garcia, Pigoni and Siegel were all part of the 106-pound state field in 2022, and if not for an slight injury, Jacobs’ Dominic Ducato, who’s ranked seventh, would have also been in the tournament making four state qualifiers at the Clint Arlis at 113.

“(Mad) Max, as we call him, is on a tear right now,” said Andrew head coach Peter Kowalczuk,  said, who was head coach at Fenwick, after starring at nearby Oak Park and River Forest.

“(He) is wrestling the best he has in his career thus far, he’s always looking to score points, and create offense, and it’s been awesome to see that his hard work is paying off for him,”

Garcia grabbed a 4-3 overtime victory over Pigoni in the semifinals to advance and Pigoni (18-10) later won 3-0 over Woods (21-11) to capture third place honors. McHenry’s Jimmy Norris (19-14) took fifth place with a fall in 1:59 over Hinsdale Central’s Sam Murante (12-4).

120 – Trevor Silzer, Andrew

Trevor Silzer completed a lower weight sweep for Andrew when the tenth-ranked senior beat Maine South’s eighth-ranked Teddy Flores 8-4 after Flores came back from a 5-1 second period deficit to pull to within 5-4.

“It was the kind of a start you want to get in any match, the first takedown, and another to add to your lead (but) he got that ‘half’ in on me, which led to a reversal to make it a much closer match than I wanted,” Silzer said.

The reversal that Silzer (30-2) spoke of came after the Thunderbolts senior rode Flores (25-3) hard to open the second period, only to be surprised by getting reversed to bring the score to 5-4 with 90 seconds left in the second period.

“I feel like I am much better on both top, and bottom, and that was the difference in this match,” said Silzer, who added two more at the final whistle to claim his 8-4 decision.

“Trevor continues to wrestle smart, and controlled matches, and he puts it all on the line each time he goes out – he’s dialing it in at the right time,” Kowalczuk said.

Silzer, a two-time state qualifier, and a fourth-place medal winner a year ago at 113 with a 35-4 record, recently committed to wrestle next fall at Northern Illinois University, where he will set about earning a degree in Accounting.

Silzer trains at Victory Elite, where, among others, a two-time state runner-up, Homewood-Flossmoor’s Vincent Robinson, trains, as well.

Grant’s Ethan Tarvin (20-7) won by fall in 5:04 over Batavia’s Jack Duraski (13-6) to claim third place. Lemont’s Carter Mikolajzak (31-6) recorded a fall in 1:20 over Buffalo Grove’s Daniel Diaz to finish fifth.

126 – Kaden Harman, Marian Central Catholic

Kaden Harman has a clear view of his future, but for now, the focus is only on reaching the top of the podium at the 1A state tournament.

The Marian Central Catholic junior cruised into his 126-pound final where he met Batavia’s Aidan Huck, ranked fifth in Class 3A, who did all that he could to chip away at a 5-1 deficit before falling short to Harman, ranked fourth in 1A, who earned a hard-fought 9-7 decision.

“I’ve been working on keeping things simple, doing the right things and taking advantage of having coaches like (Jordan) Blanton and (Ryan) Prater who bring it all into the room each day to help prepare for what’s ahead of us,” said Harman, who now has three on the season after also collecting trophies at Antioch and the Mid-States.

“I’ve worked really hard on my offense this year after being a little too defensive last year and getting these tough six minute matches against 3A guys is exactly what I need to make a long run at the state tournament.”

“Kaden is peaking at the right time (he) puts the work in, so it only makes sense that he’s having success,” said Hurricanes co-head coach, Ryan Prater. “In his final, he limited his mistakes, and had stingy defense against a great kid (we) were able to control the ties, and get to our offense, and it is his hand fighting which has shown big improvement  that help lead us to get to our attacks, and end the match with three takedowns against one of the best in the 3A.”

A reversal from Huck (31-6) drew the Batavia senior closer, to within 5-3, but Harman (23-8) answered right away when he kept his hips up in order to finish his second takedown of the third period to extend his advantage to 7-3 with 30 seconds left.

While wrestling is not in the future for Harman after high school, becoming a pilot and serving his country is high on his list of priorities.

“I’ve already signed on with the National Guard, which for the next six years to drill every weekend, but my goal is to get a degree in aviation, maybe at SIU-Carbondale, and one day be a pilot,” Harman said proudly.

Naperville North’s Tyler Sternstein (22-7) recorded a fall in 1:19 over McHenry’s Lucas Van Diepen (19-17) to claim third place. Grant’s Erik Rodriguez (27-8) beat Downers Grove North’s Aidan Cummings with a fall in 1:09 for fifth place.

132 – James Wright, Jacobs

James Wright had the look of a champion all throughout the Clint Arlis Invite, which began with a pair of master class victories via a fall and 12-1 major decision to reach the 132 finals.

Once there, the Jacobs senior, who’s a three-time state qualifier that’s ranked fourth, took a first-period lead with two takedowns, then held off Marmion Academy freshman Brody Kelly to record a 9-5 victory.

“(James’) match with Kelly was a good one, he looked like we got a little tired at the end, which is never the case with him, lack of nutrition on his behalf, but nonetheless, he came out on top, which was a good learning moment for him, and is what that is what we are striving for and can always improve on,” Jacobs coach Gary Conrad said. “Our goal now is to stay healthy, and fit in order to wrestle our best at the end when it really counts.”

“Since that first weekend at the Moore-Prettyman, I’ve worked really hard on my positioning, shots, and set-ups, cleaning things up, and put a lot of extra time with my cardio and fitness to help survive those tough six minutes matches that will be coming at me later on,” said Wright, who also won titles at Barrington and Leyden and took third place at the Dvorak.

Wright’s hopes at state were dashed a year ago as he fell one win short of a medal when he lost to Glenbard North’s Paul Woo, 4-2, after recording two major decision victories.

“I still think about how close I was to getting that state medal, and it’s something that has motivated me this season,” said Wright, who is now 25-3 and was 26-8 last season.

Hinsdale Central’s Liam Ryan (23-9) won a 16-2 major decision over West Chicago’s Donovan Avila (23-8) for third place. And Marian Central Catholic’s Vance Williams (29-6), who’s No. 3 in Class 1A, recorded a fall in 2:16 over Batavia’s Moses Yanez to finish fifth.

138 – Peyton Cox, Washington

Peyton Cox and Kannon Webster took the wind out of the sails of the fields at 132 and 138, when the two top stars at their weight each bumped up from their usual spots at 132 and 138.

Cox (27-2) would show why he’s No. 1 at 132 after capping a four-match performance with his 10-1 victory over Hinsdale Central’s No. 4 Cody Tavoso (32-2) that  began with three-consecutive pins in just over two minutes to send the Washington sophomore into the finals.

“I cut way too much weight last season so this year, at 132 I feel so much better physically, and ready for what lies ahead in the next four to five weeks of the season,” said Cox, who was a state runner-up at 120 a year ago.

“When I came to Washington there were great leaders in the room like Donnie Hidden and obviously Kannon plus a great coaching staff led by coach (Nick) Miller – so I’ve learned a lot already, I was kind of under the radar last season, which was good, but now that I am the guy everyone is looking to beat,so it’s important to work harder, and look to improve each day we go into the room.”

Marian Central Catholic’s Nick Davidson (21-14) won by fall in 2:58 over Jacobs’ Anton Barfield Harris in the third-place match. And Lemont’s Sammy Schuit (23-7), who’s No. 4 in 2A, took fifth place with a fall in 3:12 over Batavia’s Ethan Brauer.

145 – Kannon Webster, Washington

It was a weight class that already looked to be a crowded one with a trio of top-10 men in the state, along with a pair of honorable mention competitors, but once the name of Kannon Webster was added to the 16-man field at 145, the race was on for second place.

The University of Illinois-bound Webster (31-0), whose list of accomplishments is as long as this tournament story, tore through the bracket with ease to win his second major of the season, adding to his Ironman crown in which he came back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat Ponderosa, CO’s Brandon Cannon 5-4 on a third period takedown.

“It’s all about just getting cleaner and sharper each time we go into the room, and improving top and bottom, which is something I feel is better than it was compared to last season,” says Webster, one of the top men in the nation at his weight, who will go in search soon for his third- straight state championship.

Webster, who is No. 1 in the nation at 138 in the WIN rankings, according to Rob Sherrill, ended his marvelous day with a pin over Marmion Academy’s Santino Scolaro at 1:18.

“Kannon makes everyone in the room be at their best, his work ethic is just amazing,” says teammate Peyton Cox.

“It’s close to home, maybe 60 miles, the coaching staff, especially coach (Mike) Poeta is fantastic, the facilities, and my future teammates, make it all the right place for me,” Webster said of his decision to wrestle at Illinois next season.

Scolaro (22-6), who’s No. 7 in 3A, advanced into the final following his hard-fought 5-2 decision over Batavia senior Cael Andrews when he staved off a late attempt by Andrews in the corner.

Andrews (33-3), who’s No. 8 in 3A, won a 9-2 decision over Marian Central Catholic’s Charlie Fitzgerald (27-10), who’s No. 6 in 1A, for third place. Lemont’s Johnny O’Connor (32-5), who’s No. 8 in 2A,  captured a 5-1 decision over Hononegah’s Connor Diemel (20-10) to take fifth place.

152 – Kaden Fetterolf, Batavia

Something had to give in this weight class, and it eventually did.

With three of the top five in the state at 3A, plus another top-four man from 2A spaced throughout this high-profile 152-pound bracket, it was only fitting that the final match of this tournament was under the spotlight, featuring Marmion Academy’s No. 1 Collin Carrigan and hometown favorite Kaden Fetterolf, who got his chance to shine.

The Bulldogs star, who came in as the No. 5 man in the state and now is No. 1 after improving to 36-0, had already sent off his first two opponents with ease, before using a 3-0 decision over Washington’s Cael Miller, (12-4) No. 4 in 2A, to reach the final against top-rated Carrigan, who’s now ranked third.

Carrigan (17-2) had earlier survived an intense encounter with Downers Grove North’s No. 3 Harrison Konder (25-2) during a marathon, six-minute semifinal that went Carrigan’s way by a 4-3 score.

With the big crowd turning its full attention to mat No. 1, Fetterolf struck first with an early takedown to take a 2-0 lead into the second period, which soon became even at 2-2.

Before the third period would begin, both coaches met with officials at the table to clear some confusion on what was the correct score, which many in the audience believed was a 3-2 advantage to Fetterolf.

After a long delay, all agreed it was indeed a 2-2 match with one period remaining.

“It was all about staying composed, and keeping a clear head while they were figuring things out at the table, and I really feel on behalf (that) was most important for me at that point,” Fetterolf said.

Once the third period began, and with Fetterolf starting down, the Batavia junior registered an escape right away, then went to work on adding to his 3-2 lead.

“That second takedown to make it 5-2 really made a difference, I could sense it set Collin back for a moment, but he came right back to make it a tight match to the finish,” Fetterolf said.

With 53 seconds left, Carrigan reversed to make it 5-4, then deferred a one-point escape to give Fetterolf a 6-4 advantage. A wild scramble near the edge, in which Fetterolf escaped gave him a 6-4 victory

“It’s an amazing feeling to win (here) and against a great opponent, but to be honest, we will all celebrate for a couple of hours, then it’s back to work, and time to put this one behind me for good,” Fetterolf said

“What a way to end the tournament for Kaden, and the Batavia wrestling program, but there’s a lot of wrestling ahead of us to come,” said Bulldogs head coach Ryan Farwell.

Konder went on to take third place with a 13-0 win over Miller. Marian Central Catholic’s Ethan Struck (25-12) claimed fifth place with an 11-1 victory over Hononegah’s Max Haskins.

160 – Max Astacio, Marian Central Catholic

Max Astacio has come a long way in a year after a rookie season at Marian Central Catholic that saw the junior lose in his blood-round match at the Princeton Sectional following third place medals at both the conference and regional tournaments.

Astacio (30-7) went to work right away at the bottom of his 160-pound bracket by dispatching his first two opponents, both from Class 3A, with pins before 

unleashing a rousing six-minute effort in his semifinal against Hinsdale Central’s Zach Kruse and advanced into the final following his 15-3 major decision victory.

Despite a valiant attempt to continue through the pain of an injury, Marmion Academy’s top-seed Tegan Chumbley (13-11) was forced to default, giving Astacio his first title of the season.

“Max is one of our leaders (he) just leads by example, coming into the room each day with a hard hat, and lunch pail, and just goes to work,” said Ryan Prater, who along with Jordan Blanton are now in charge of the Hurricanes’ program.

Prater who starred at Plainfield Central, was a three-time state medalist, and state champion in 2007, before going on to the University of Illinois and then making the move to Elmhurst College where he claimed a Division 3 national championship.

Prater, and Blanton co-own Relentless Training in Johnsburg where many, in, and around the area train.

“Astacio’s hand fighting, and motion on his feet are looking great, he pays the price on top, and hustles to take it out of his opponents once you break someone’s will to compete, they become that much easier to defeat,” said Prater, of Astacio, who was rated No. 3 in 1A.

Kruse (25-10) beat Naperville North’s Kai Goodrick (17-6) in the third place match. Jacobs’ Billy Albrecht (16-8) finished fifth after recording a fall in 2:48 over Harlem’s Ben Larsen (20-10).

170 – Chris Moore, McHenry

Chris Moore continued his unbeaten season by collecting his fourth major tournament trophy after dominating the competition to add his Batavia crown to those earned at the Moore-Prettyman, Dvorak, and Mid-States.

Moore (28-0), was a state runner-up last year and in the 2021 IWCOA finals after winning a title as a freshman. The McHenry senior followed two wins by technical fall with an 18-8 major decision over Washington’s Blake Hinrichsen (23-5), who’s recond second in 2A. 

“I’m just trying to be better each time out, get to my turns, continue to add points during the match, and just squeezing the life out of my opponents, and not allowing them to get anything off of me,” said Moore, who admits to being upset with himself when he gave up a takedown to Hinrichsen in the late stages of his is finals match.

“I never like giving up points that way, so this week I’ll look to clean a few things up to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” said Moore, No. 2 in the 3A behind Mount Carmel junior Colin Kelly, who he lost to last season in sudden victory 3-1 in the 152-pound state final.

“It’s all about doing the right things to get back to the final, and winning it this time,” said Moore, who won it all in 2020 at 113 at Aurora Christian, and has captured back-to-back second place medals in 3A at McHenry.

Hononegah’s Elliot Diemel (27-7) won by fall in 2:46 over Leyden’s Diego Mendoza (19-9) for third place, for the top medals won by each team. In the fifth-place match, Harlem’s Kaden Christensen (14-4) got a pin in 0:32 over Maine South’s Sam Bartell (20-6).

182 – Jack Lesher, Marmion Academy

Marmion Academy’s Jack Lesher credits just about everyone associated with the Cadets’ program for his mercurial rise to the top spot in Class 3A  at 182, but much of the success that Lesher has achieved thus far must be put on the broad shoulders of the affable young man who collected his first major of the season.

None of his rivals challenged his eventual climb atop the podium that saw Lesher (21-5) fit a technical fall victory around two pins, including his final against Buffalo Grove senior Vlad Fedorchenko (19-6) in 3:59.

“We have the best room in the state, with an amazing coaching staff, and some terrific partners like Ed Perry, Sean Scheck and our freshman star, Joey Favia, who I treat like my little brother, in, and out of the room,” said

Lesher, who got off to a slow start due to an injury and the football season.

“I missed some time with a leg injury, so I went at things a little slow at the start, iced a lot, and then worked hard to get back my fitness, and cardio, while fine-tuning a few things each time we went into the room, and right now I am feeling ready to go for what’s ahead of us,” said Lesher, who was fourth a year ago at state at 182.

Lesher, who was named All-State in 5A this season while playing both linebacker and running back, and has already received a scholarship offer to play at Akron University.

Batavia’s Jack Brozny (24-8) took third place with a 12-3 major decision over Naperville North’s Kyle Gatlin (14-8). For fifth, Hinsdale Central’s Tyler Riggi (19-13) won by fall in 0:41 over Harlem’s Andrew Redmon (17-11).

195 – Joey Favia, Marmion Academy

Just as his teammate Jack Lesher was quick to say how important he was to his success and development, Joey Favia responded with a glowing compliment of his veteran mate who has gone a long way towards Favia coming of age in the land of big men during his rookie season.

Favia, who was the No. 4 seed in this weight class, opened play with a pair of super-quick pins, before recording a 13-5 major decision triumph over the top-seed, Batavia’s Ben Brown and  then holding off Grant’s Cameron Lattimore during his 2-1 win to capture the top prize at 195.

“In an incredibly intense room, with so many great wrestlers, Lesher is a  tremendous leader and influence for me in my first year of high school, and is one of the main reasons that I’ve felt so comfortable wrestling at this level and weight class,” said Favia (16-5), whose first-period takedown of Lattimore (22-10) would hold up despite a couple of nasty cross-face maneuvers from the Grant senior in the second period with the hope of turning Favia, who had started down to open the period.

“He (Lattimore) was big and strong, so it was important to stay in good position, be smart, and defensive, especially in the third period when he took a few shots late in the match,” said Favia.

In another one-point decision, Washington’s Josh Hoffer (18-14) edged Downers Grove North’s Griff Keown 1-0 to claim third place. Brown (18-7) took fifth with a fall in 3:57 over Buffalo Grove’s Caden Watson (18-6).

220 – Justin Hoffer, Washington

There is always a big target on the No. 1 man, and Washington senior Justin Hoffer took aim, and successfully fired through the heart of the bullseye, which was top-rated Marko Ivanisevic.

Hoffer was solid from start-to-finish during his well-deserved 5-2 victory over the Hinsdale Central star, who dropped his first match of the year in the process, and is now 31-1.

“You always want to beat the No. 1 guy, but to be honest, that wasn’t what that match was all about, it was about wrestling a smart, strong six minutes against a quality opponent, and getting the win,” said Hoffer, now ranked third in the 2A poll.

“That was a very well wrestled match by Justin, he did really well on his angles, and re-start (shots) to get take-downs, and his movement, and spacing that kept a big, strong, and long guy like Ivanisevic from doing what he wanted was outstanding,” said Washington head coach Nick Miller, who is in charge of a Panthers program that is currently No. 2 behind reigning state champion, Joliet Catholic Academy in the latest IWCOA polls.

Hoffer, who was 38-10 a year ago, was in the Panthers starting lineup at 220 when the club would fall to the eventual 2A dual-team state champs 30-29 on its home mats last season.

The Panthers star was unable to get out of the Sycamore Sectional in a loaded heavyweight field which included Joliet Catholic Academy state champion Dillan Johnson and two other state medal winners.

“I feel great at 220 this season, I am much stronger, and quicker, and feel like I have a very good chance at state this year,” said Hoffer, who will major in college in Fire Science with an eye on becoming a firefighter eventually.

Marmion Academy’s Ed Perry (26-5) won by fall in 2:23 over Batavia’s Asher Sheldon (27-8) for third place. Downers Grove North’s Cael Brezina (18-11) captured a 7-0 decision over Hononegah’s Isaak Smith (22-8) for fifth place.

285 – Ben Bielawski, Downers Grove North

There never seems to be a day that Chris McGrath is not impressed by his big man Ben Bielawski, who once again turned in another first-class performance to win his second major of the season, adding to an earlier title win at Wheaton Warrenville South’s Ewoldt Invitational.

Bielawski (28-1), who moved up to No. 4 in the rankings and is on his way to playing football next fall at Division 3 power University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, pinned his way to the top, finishing off Marmion Academy’s No. 7 Sean Scheck (21-6) in style at 4:29.

“The irony with Ben is that he’s a great football player, and will play that sport in college, but he’s really coming into his own as a wrestler, and likely has some of his best in ‘this’ sport ahead of him if he stayed with it,” said McGrath. “He’s worked so hard all his life, and especially this year when he came back from football so much bigger, and stronger than ever before.”

“I am so much better both physically, and mentally than last year, and I really feel coming from the blue collar area like Woodridge gives me the chip on my shoulder to work harder than anyone else,” said Bielawski.

Bielawski, who has the speed and quickness of a 95-pounder and strength and power of a heavyweight, came off the scales at 230 pounds, making him one of the lightest of all big men in this field.

“I can surprise some guys with my quickness, but I’ve worked really hard leading up to the football season lifting to make me as strong and fit as possible to go with these guys in this weight class,” offered the Mustangs senior, who is a three-time state qualifier.

Lemont’s Alex Pasquale (28-4), who is No. 7 in 2A, claimed third place with a 3-1 decision over Maine South’s Tyler Fortis (22-5). In the fifth-place match, Andrew’s Michael McDonough (17-10) won an 11-4 decision over McHenry’s Jesse Saavedra (26-13).

• 

By Patrick Z. McGavin

NEW LENOX— AJ Marino was a wrestler caught in time.

The stage was his, and he was not going to squander his moment. He had worked too hard.

St. Charles East senior Marino utilized two takedowns for a 7-2 victory over Hersey’s Esteban Delgado in the 120 championship of the Illini Classic Saturday at Lincoln-Way Central.

“I worked really hard on pushing the pace,” Marino said. “I got my single in, and then I worked really hard on getting all of my attacks in.”

Marino earned the Most Outstanding Wrestling award in leading Class 3A No. 2 St. Charles East to a historic performance in the annual matchup of University of Illinois alumni which has been hosted recently by Lincoln-Way Central coach Tyrone Byrd in New Lenox.

“It feels great, and I am very honored,” Marino said of his individual award. 

“It just shows that all of my hard work is paying off, and I just have to keep going and keep grinding and pushing, and keeping my composure and doing everything I can.”

The Saints had six first-place finishers in posting a tournament-record 318.5 points for the team championship. Winning titles for coach Jason Potter’s championship squad were Dom Munaretto (106), AJ Marino (120), Ben Davino (126), Tyler Guerra (138), Jayden Colon (145) and Brody Murray (182) while Anthony Gutierrez (160) and Lane Robinson (170) took second. Davino and Guerra were the only individuals to repeat as champions in the Illini Classic.

Yorkville had four individual champions in finishing second with 243.5 points. Capturing titles for coach Jake Oster’s runner-up Foxes were Jack Ferguson (132), Luke Zook (170), Hunter Janeczko (195) and Ben Alvarez (220) while Ryder Janeczko (145) took second.

Coach Brian Glynn’s Lincoln-Way West Warriors claimed third place with 196 points. Hersey (182), Lincoln-Way East (175.5), Marist (167.5), Carl Sandburg (147.5), Schaumburg (142), Lincoln-Way Central (128), Oswego (126), Stevenson (112.5) and Plainfield North (103.5) filled out the top-12 in the 24-team competition.

Schaumburg was the only other team with multiple champions with two. Winning titles for coach Mike LeVanti’s Saxons were Brady Phelps (113) and Caden Kirchner (152). Stevenson’s champion was Thomas Schoolman (160) while Notre Dame got a title from Karl Schmalz (285).

Marist had three second-place finishers, Will Denny (138), Conor Phelan (182) and Luke Liberatore (220). Others who took second place were Carl Sandburg’s Rocco Hayes (106)  and Madden Parker (113), Lincoln-West’s Karter Guzman (132) and Anthony Sherman (195),

Hersey’s Esteban Delgado (120), Lincoln-Way Central’s Nathan Knowlton (126), Bishop McNamara’s Luke Christie (152) and Crystal Lake South’s  Andy Burburijia (285).

The title match at 285 featured two unbeaten competitors with Schmalz claiming a 2-1 decision over Burburijia. In other tight finals, Ferguson prevailed 5-4 over Guzman at 132, Schoolman won a 5-3 decision over Gutierrez at 160 and Alvarez was a 7-4 victor over Liberatore at 220.

Winning championships by fall were Munaretto (106) and Murray (182) while Davino (126) and Colon (145) won titles by technical fall and Zook (170) won with a major decision. Also capturing titles with decisions were  Phelps over Parker at 113, Marino beating Delgado at 120, Guerra over Denny at 138, Kirchner beating Christie at 152 and Hunter Janeczko over Sherman at 195.

Munaretto had the most team points of all competitors with 34 while Colon and Davino had 33.5 points apiece. Guerra, Murray and Zook all had 32 team points while Hunter Janeczko, Alvarez, Ferguson, Kirchner, Marino and Schmalz all had 30 team points. Phelps had 29 points while Hayes, Liberatore, Parker and Schoolman had 28 team points apiece.

Some top records of individuals who competed in the tournament were Davino (36-0, 1.000), Munaretto (36-0, 1.000), Phelps (29-0, 1.000), Schmalz (22-0, 1.000), Burburijia (22-1, .957), Kirchner (28-2, .933), Lincoln-Way East’s Ari Zaeske (27-2, .931), Christie (22-2, .917), Lincoln-Way East’s Zach LaMonto (26-3, .897), Schoolman (25-3, .893), Guerra (33-5, .868), Oswego’s Cruz Ibarra (26-4, .867), Colon (29-5, .853), Murray (23-4, .852) and Knowlton (28-5, .848).

Even the absence of top wrestlers such as Marist’s No. 1 Peter Marinopoulos at 195 pounds or Stevenson’s No. 2 Lorenzo Freeza at 138 pounds could not dull the luster of the event.

One of the driving forces behind the tournament at its inception was bringing togethers coaches who had competed for the University of Illinois primarily under longtime coaches and IWCOA Hall of Famers, Mark Johnson and Jim Heffernan. While many teams that have taken part had U of I graduates as head coaches, plenty of squads had assistants who were former Illini.

Some of the head coaches who were Illini lettermen whose teams competed included Tyrone Byrd (Lincoln-Way Central), Shane Cook (Stevenson), Nicholas Curby (Riverside-Brookfield), Brian Glynn (Lincoln-Way West), Brendan Heffernan (Marist), Patrick Heffernan (DePaul College Prep), Jake Kimberlin (Bishop McNamara), Mike LeVanti (Schaumburg), Clinton Polz (Carl Sandburg), Jason Potter (St. Charles East) and Donald Reynolds (Providence Catholic).

The Illini Classic featured one of its top fields, having 10 teams that were ranked in Class 3A, led by the No. 2 Saints, No. 3 Marist, No. 7 Hersey, No. 9 Yorkville, No. 10 Lincoln-Way East, No. 11 Lincoln-Way West, No. 15 Schaumburg, No. 17 Plainfield North, No. 19 Lincoln-Way Central and No. 20 Stevenson, and one ranked team in Class 2A, No. 22 Bloomington.

(All team and individual rankings are courtesy of Rob Sherrill’s rankings at Illinois Matmen.)

Championship Matches for the Illini Classic at Lincoln-Way Central

106 – Dom Munaretto (St. Charles East) F 5:38 Rocco Hayes (Carl Sandburg)

113 – Brady Phelps (Schaumburg) D 9-5 Madden Parker (Carl Sandburg)

120 – AJ Marino (St. Charles East) D 7-2 Esteban Delgado (Hersey)

126 – Ben Davino (St. Charles East) TF 5:23 Nathan Knowlton (Lincoln-Way Central)

132 – Jack Ferguson (Yorkville) D 5-4 Karter Guzman (Lincoln-Way West)

138 – Tyler Guerra (St. Charles East) D 10-4 Will Denny (Marist)

145 – Jayden Colon (St. Charles East) TF 3:46 Ryder Janeczko (Yorkville)

152 – Caden Kirchner (Schaumburg) D 7-3 Luke Christie (Bishop McNamara)

160 – Thomas Schoolman (Stevenson) D 5-3 Anthony Gutierrez (St. Charles East)

170 – Luke Zook (Yorkville) MD 8-0 Lane Robinson (St. Charles East)

182 – Brody Murray (St. Charles East) F 3:26 Conor Phelan (Marist)

195 – Hunter Janeczko (Yorkville) D 9-3 Anthony Sherman (Lincoln-Way West)

220 – Ben Alvarez (Yorkville) D 7-4 Luke Liberatore (Marist)

285 – Karl Schmalz (Notre Dame) D 2-1 Andy Burburijia (Crystal Lake South)

Here’s a breakdown of the champions of the Illini Classic and their weight classes:

106 – Dom Munaretto, St. Charles East

Dom Munaretto continues to astonish.

The precocious freshman from St. Charles East flashed the remarkable blend of quickness, power, speed and technique that has made him one of the best in the country.

The top-ranked wrestler continued his torrid run with a pin of Carl Sandburg’s No. 4 Rocco Hayes at 5:38 for the championship.

He had three first-period takedowns for the early advantage and led 21-9 at the time of the fall.

“In my mind, I am always thinking about what I have to do to score the next point, just keep it going and stay on my opponent and give them no breathing room,” Munaretto said.

“I want to dominate them, and the more I am able to really push the pace and get into their head. That makes scoring easier and easier.”

Munaretto (36-0) registered three falls in the preliminary rounds, including a second- period pin of Yorkville’s Liam Fenoglio in the semifinals.

Hersey’s Daniel Lehman won 16-2 over Lincoln-Way Central’s Carter Dibenedetto in the third-place match. Marist’s George Marinopoulos won by fall in 2:37 over Fenoglio to capture fifth place. Notre Dame’s Johnny Sheehy won by fall in 3:54 over Oswego’s Jonathan Theodor for seventh place.

113 – Brady Phelps, Schaumburg

Schaumburg’s Brady Phelps has a flair for the dramatic.

He is a live wire with a fast-twitch style and nervous intensity.

His 9-5 victory over Carl Sandburg’s Madden Parker at 113 was one of the best championship matches.

Down 5-4 with just over 30 seconds remaining, No. 4 Phelps looked over at the clock to prepare his action.

His explosive four-point move on the takedown and back points swung the tide against Parker, an honorable mention selection.

“I realized if I keep getting my attacks, he was just going to try and lock me out,” Phelps said.

“I knew I had to go big in that situation. He has a funky style, but I knew I was just as good on top as him. I kept the overbook tight, went for it, and it paid off.”

After opening the tournament with a technical fall and a fall, Phelps (29-0) secured a 10-4 decision over Hersey’s Abdullokh Khakimov in the semifinal.

In the third-place match, Khakimov defeated Marist’s Tommy Fidler by fall in 1:41. Plainfield North’s Lou DelPage won 5-3 over Lincoln-Way West’s Haden Anderson for fifth place. And Stevenson’s Yash Jagtap pinned Lincoln-Way East’s Noah Ciolkosz in 4:47 in the seventh-place match.

120 – AJ Marino, St. Charles East

In the rest of the bracket dominated by Marino (25-7), Schaumburg’s Callen Kirchner won by injury default Marist’s No. 4 Michael Esteban in the third-place match. 

Lincoln-Way East’s Kaidge Richardson won a 5-0 decision over Minooka’s Damien Flores for fifth place. And Lincoln-Way West’s Jakob Siwinski pinned Morris’ Carter Skoff in 4:36 in the seventh-place match.

126 – Ben Davino, St. Charles East

Ben Davino has no peers, at pretty much any level, local, state or national.

A showdown with Marmion Academy’s two-time state champion Jameson Garcia looms in the future.

The top-ranked Davino (36-0) is now an astonishing 73-1 over the last two seasons.

Even a deeply-skilled opponent like Lincoln-Way Central’s No. 9 Nathan Knowlton had little chance.

Davino captured the tournament championship with a win by technical fall at 5:23.

Despite his astonishing level of achievement, Davino never takes an opponent or situation for granted.

“Business is business, so I just come here to do the same that I do at the national level, and I just wrestle,” Davino said.

“I stay focused.”

He uses every tournament as a private platform to show off his extraordinary gifts.

“It’s always nice to show what I can do, and keep pushing myself,” he said.

Davino won each of his three preliminary matches by fall, requiring just 0:46 of time in his dominant semifinal victory over Lincoln-Way West’s Jase Salin.

In the third-place match, Salin won by fall in 3:12 over DePaul College Prep’s Max Rosen. Yorkville’s Dominic Recchia defeated Oswego’s Brayden Swanson 15-8 in the fifth-place match. Stevenson’s Andrew Chamkin won by injury default over Hersey’s Maksim Mukhamedaliyev for seventh-place.

132 – Jack Ferguson, Yorkville

Yorkville’s Jack Ferguson proved the ultimate escape artist.

Up 4-2 in the 132 championship match against Lincoln-Way West’s Karter Guzman, he was caught on a reversal that Guzman quickly turned into a seemingly dangerous half-Nelson.

No 9 Ferguson avoided the back points and secured the escape for the 5-4 victory.

“Obviously that was not the position I wanted to be in there, but I am good enough to wrestle out of that,” Ferguson said.

During the preliminary action, Ferguson (29-8) posted a fall and won twice by major decision to capture his bracket.

“I felt like I was a lot more physical this tournament, and I got into my offense,” Ferguson said. 

“I almost got put on my back, so I know what I have to work on out of the bottom, especially with the state series coming up.”

Minooka’s Cale Stonisch won an 11-3 major decision over Lincoln-Way Central’s Jalen Byrd to capture third place. At fifth place, St. Charles East’s Ethan Penzato won by technical fall over Providence Catholic’s Justus Snapp.And Hersey’s Rodrigo Arceo won a 9-3 decision over Schaumburg’s AJ Quevedo for seventh place.

138 – Tyler Guerra, St. Charles East

Tyler Guerra saved the best for the closing touch.

In the final championship bout of the tournament, the St. Charles East junior worked out of an early deficit with two crucial second-period takedowns to claim a 10-4 victory over Marist’s No. 5 Will Denny.

No. 3 Guerra (33-5) was one of the tournament’s most dominant wrestlers, posting three first-period falls en route to the championship bracket.

Bloomington’s Dylan Watts won by fall in 1:43 over Yorkville’s Dom Coronado for third place. For fifth place, Hersey’s James Shaffer won 8-5 over Lincoln-Way West’s Luke Siwinski. Minooka’s Dominic Schiavonne defeated Willowbrook’s Elijah Smith 5-2 for seventh.

145 – Jayden Colon, St. Charles East

Jayden Colon went to work quickly and efficiently.

Ranked No. 3, a Class 2A state champion at Montini Catholic last year, Colon (29-5) beat Yorkville’s Ryder Janeczko by technical fall at 3:46, in the 145 championship match.

His early five-point action with a takedown and nearfall gave him a 9-3 advantage by the end of the first period.

“I have always been taught that you just go right out there, and you score right away,” Colon said.

“You rack up a big lead, and you don’t have to worry about anything. Today I worked really well at getting into my attacks, and not hesitating. I feel healthy, and I have been training really well. I am starting to really give myself time.”

Lincoln-Way East’s Connor Koehler won by fall in 1:45 over Hersey’s Jake Hanson for third place. Morris’ Tyler Semlar won 8-5 over Schaumburg’s Gavin Hinkle at fifth place. And in the seventh-place match, Lincoln-Way Central’s Kristian Meloy won a 10-2 major decision over Plainfield North’s Jack Tota.

152 – Caden Kirchner, Schaumburg

Schaumburg’s Caden Kirchner is a nightmare matchup for his opponents.

Wiry and long, his length is like a permanent obstacle. Even when his opponents seemingly get the advantage, he has the perfect escape route.

He used his length, size and defensive maneuvers for a 7-3 decision over Bishop McNamara’s Luke Christie, ranked No. 4 in 1A, in the 152 championship match.

“I have a lot going on with my size and reach, and I have learned to really use that,” Kirchner said.

“I think one thing that has changed in my style is thinking about continuing to score rather than just winning the match. You just think about score, score, score.”

No. 7 Kirchner (28-2) put in the work to reach the championship match. After winning by fall and injury default, he edged Minooka’s Elijah Munoz 5-4 in the semifinal round.

Munoz defeated Marist’s Andrew Dado 6-4 in the third-place match. Oswego’s Colin O’Grady won 4-2 over Lincoln-Way Central’s Caden Harvey for fifth place. Lincoln-Way East’s Domanic Abeja won 5-3 in sudden victory over Providence Catholic’s Geno Papes for seventh place.

160 – Thomas Schoolman, Stevenson

Stevenson’s Thomas Schoolman never lost his concentration – or his verve.

His apparent path to victory suddenly clouded by a stall call and escape, he delivered the knockout action with a takedown in the final 10 seconds for a riveting 5-3 victory over St. Charles East’s Anthony Gutierrez.

No. 8 Schoolman went up 3-1 early in the third period with his first takedown. No. 4 Guitterez was awarded the stalling point and secured his escape at the 5:29 mark.

“I had gotten an earlier warning, and I was riding on top, and they said I wasn’t doing enough,” Schoolman said.

“I felt I was better on my feet anyway. I got that earlier takedown, so I knew even with the stall call, I had to stay calm and composed. I knew I was going to take him down again, I was just waiting for the moment.”

Schoolman (25-3) had one of the toughest routes to the championship bracket. He posted a fall and decision in the preliminary rounds. He edged Lincoln-Way East’s No. 9 Zach LaMonto 3-2 in the semifinals.

“I feel like I have grown this year,” Schoolman said. “I have become a lot more patient. In years past, I was just constant offense, shoot, shoot, shoot. Working with my coaches, and my father, I have learned to let the takedowns come.”

For third place, LaMonto won 14-4 over Bloomington’s Maddox Kirts. In the fifth-place match, Oswego’s Joey Griffin defeated Plainfield North’s Anthony Gulino by injury default. Notre Dame’s Quinn Mahoney defeated Lincoln-Way West’s Jimmy Talley 7-2 for seventh place.

170 – Luke Zook, Yorkville

Luke Zook was patient and active, using time and momentum on his side.

His takedown near the end of the first period provided the momentum that the Yorkville sophomore parlayed to an 8-0 major decision over St. Charles East’s Lane Robinson in the 170 championship match.

Ranked No. 6, Zook added a reversal at the end of the second period, expanding his lead and providing some cushion.

“Recently my conditioning has not been great, and I have been spending a lot of time in the practice room working really hard on that,” Zook said.

“I always try to attack before they do, and get the first points on the board, because I feel that sets the tone for the rest of the match.”

Zook (29-7) posted two falls and a major decision in the semifinals to reach the championship match.

Lincoln-Way East’s Ari Zarate won by fall in 1:31 over Lincoln-Way Central’s Tim Key for third place. At fifth place, Minooka’s Cody Pelton defeated Stevenson’s Richie Gueorguiev 8-3. And Providence Catholic’s Mike O’Connor won by fall in 1:29 over Lincoln-Way West’s Devin Swidergal in the seventh-place match.

182 – Brody Murray, St. Charles East

Brody Murray ousted Marist’s Conor Phelan with a fall in 3:26 to capture the title at 182.

Ranked No. 3 at 170, the St. Charles East junior never lost a step in moving up a weight division. No. 10 Phelan had the early takedown but Murray quickly secured the reversal and seized control.

Murray (23-4) registered consecutive falls in his preliminary matches. He defeated Schaumburg’s Jacob Acevedo 5-0 in the semifinals.

Yorkville’s Colten Stevens won by injury default over Hersey’s Anthony Cambria in the third-place match. For fifth, Acevedo edged Lincoln-Way Central’s Evan Welsh 9-7. And in the seventh-place match, Lincoln-Way West’s Nate Elster won by fall in 1:15 over Plainfield North’s Jack Wegner.

195 – Hunter Janeczko, Yorkville

Yorkville’s Hunter Janeczko was back in ideal form – athletic, explosive and very physical.

After missing two weeks from complications of a knee injury, he flashed his trademark mix of speed and power in a 9-3 victory over Lincoln-Way West’s Anthony Sherman in the 195 finals.

Ranked No. 4, Hunter Janeczko (13-3) posted two pins and a 9-2 decision over Lincoln-Way East’s Caden O’Rourke in the semifinals.

O’Rouke came back to edge Oswego’s No. 9 Cruz Ibarra 2-0 in the third-place match. St. Charles East’s Brandon Swartz beat Carl Sandburg’s Ahmad Jaffal 3-1 for fifth place. And Notre Dame’s Aiden Rice got past Plainfield North’s Michael Zamora 6-4 by sudden victory to finish seventh.

220 – Ben Alvarez, Yorkville

Yorkville’s Ben Alvarez made his move.

In a tactical showdown with Marist’s No. 7 Luke Liberatore, Alvarez made his move early in the second period and went on to claim a 7-4 victory.

“I also had the takedown in the last 10 seconds or so of the first period, and I thought that was an early momentum swing,” Alvarez said.

“Throughout the tournament, I felt like I was kind of overpowering the other kids, and I could control the match.”

Ranked No. 3, Alvarez is rounding elite form after the Foxes’ late-state football playoff run meant a delayed start to his season.

“I also had a minor injury, and then with football, I missed a week or two of practice, so my conditioning was kind of down, but I still had the technique, so I felt pretty good.”

Alvarez (22-7) posted consecutive falls before edging a conference rival, Plainfield North’s No. 6 Leonardo Tovar, 3-2 in a riveting semifinal. 

Carl Sandburg’s Mike Rydell won by injury default over Tovar for third place. At fifth place, Lincoln-Way East’s David Wuske won a 7-3 decision over Lincoln-Way West’s Nick Kavooras. Riverside-Brookfield’s Joe Midona won by fall in 2:31 over Hersey’s Ben Erhabor to finish in seventh place.

285 – Karl Schmalz, Notre Dame

In the showdown of unbeaten powers, Notre Dame’s Karl Schmalz worked his riding skills with authority and purpose.

After riding out Crystal Lake South’s Andy Burburijia during the second period, Schmalz secured the 2-1 victory with his reversal at the start of the third.

Ranked No. 2 in Class 2A, Schmalz (22-0) maintained his perfect run. He finished third in the Class 2A state tournament last year.

“I have wrestled him before, and he is very crafty and unorthodox, also much more athletic than he appears,” Schmalz said.

The largest weight class marked the tournament’s deepest and top-heavy field. 

“My style really depends on the game plans I develop based on what I have seen from an opponent before,” Schmalz said.

“I am generally pretty defensive and I am naturally pretty long, with long legs and arms, but I’m only about 245 pounds, so I like to post on people’s shoulders.”

Schmalz began with consecutive falls. He outdueled Hersey’s Oleg Simakov 2-1 in the semifinal. No. 6 Burburijia (22-1) posted two falls and secured the 3-1 decision over St. Charles East’s No. 4 Austin Barrett in the semifinals. 

In the third-place match, Barrett overcame an early deficit against Simakov for a pin in 5:13. In the fifth-place match, Plainfield North’s Ethan Sam won by fall in 3:01 over Oswego’s Matthew Schofield. Yorkville’s Logan Fenoglio won a 10-3 decision over Lincoln-Way East Gage LaDere to take seventh.