Feature Stories

This year’s SportsChannel broadcast had been edited by Coach Eggert to highlight just the great action from these Individual Championships. Enjoy!

Class A Individual Brackets | Class AA Individual Brackets

1992 IHSA Individual Wrestling Championships

Class A Brackets:  https://www.ihsa.org/archive/wr/PDF-Brackets/State%20Wrestling%201992-A.pdf

Class AA Brackets:  https://www.ihsa.org/archive/wr/PDF-Brackets/State%20Wrestling%201992-AA.pdf

103	Class A	3:15	Frank Moyes (Lawrenceville) vs. Ryan Metcalfe (Yorkville)
	Class AA		Lindsey Durlacher (Buffalo Grove) vs. Corey Frazier (Proviso East)
112	Class A	10:00	Jose Villareal (Plano) vs. Jeff Castor (Mahomet-Seymour)
	Class AA		Mike Renella (Naperville North) vs. Derrick Noble (Mundelein-Carmel)
119	Class A	15:41	Jesse Kennedy (Prophetstown) vs. Trevor Elliott (Sandwich)
	Class AA		Ralph Ruis (St. Laurence) vs. Keith McCoy (Providence Catholic)
125	Class A	21:20	Mike Mena (Sterling Newman) vs. Jeremy Castro (Savanna)
	Class AA		Mickey Griffin (Marian Catholic) vs. Oswaldo Quintanilla (Waubonsie Valley)
130	Class A	30:34	Joel Stockwell (Port Byron-Riverdale) vs. Shawn Lawrence (Plano)
	Class AA		Kevin Haynes (Rock Island) vs. Frank Laccone (DeKalb)
135	Class A	36:30	Todd Graham (Sandwich) vs. David Duyvejonck (Taylor Ridge-Rockridge)
	Class AA		Joe Widlowski (Providence Catholic) vs. Steve Williams (Mt. Carmel)
140	Class A	45:35	Matt McDonnell (Sterling Newman) vs. John Lieb (Monticello)
	Class AA		Eric Siebert (LaSalle-Peru) vs. Ernest Benion (Romeoville)
145	Class A	57:00	Scott Brewer (Kaneland) vs. Matt Hughes (Hillsboro)
	Class AA		Roger Pascual (Palatine-Fremd) vs. Terry Dantzler (Bremen)
152	Class A	1:06:23	Eric Johnson (Bismarck-Henning) vs. Mark Hughes (Hillsboro)
	Class AA		Joe Williams (Mt. Carmel) vs. Cordell Dedmond (Freeport)
160	Class A	1:17:10	Tim Koester (Taylor Ridge-Rockridge) vs. Corey Christenson (Normal-U-High)
	Class AA		Jevon Herman (St. Charles) vs. John Kading (Glenbard South)
171	Class A	1:24:40	D.J. McDaniel (Sherrard) vs. Tim Deaton (Pinckneyville)
	Class AA		Alex Strobl (Lake Zurich) vs. Tom Manzella (Providence Catholic)
189	Class A	1:32:49	Ryan Scoville (Lisle) vs. Bobby Olsen (Plano)
	Class AA		Mike Vakos (Naperville North) vs. Tony Esposito (Conant)
275	Class A	1:43:25	Tom Sondgeroth (Mendota) vs. Erick Smith (Jacksonville ISD)
	Class AA		Andy Edmondson (Sterling) vs. Will Lepsi (Lyons Township)

1992 Dual Team Championships

Class A:  Harvard vs. Normal (U-High)

Class AA:  Naperville North vs. Chicago (Mt. Carmel)

Phew! Thank you Dale Eggert (Libertyville) for coming through for the IWCOA this week!

This week we saw how unreliable 30 year-old VHS tapes and a 25 year-old VCR can be! We had to skip 1990. If anyone has a copy of SportsChannel’s 1990 broadcast, please email: micktorres@yahoo.com

Click HERE for the 1991 Individual Chicago SportChannel Broadcast

1991 IHSA Individual State Tournament Brackets: Class A | Class AA

103	AA	2:14	Mark Bybee (St. Laurence) vs. Jacob Hey (Dixon)*
103	A		Jerome Reyes (Rock Island Alleman) vs. Rod Monis (Montini)
112	AA	7:25	Matt Hayes (Rolling Meadows) vs. Mike Renella (Naperville North)*
112	A		Corey Daker (Manito-Forman) vs Jeff Castor (Mahomet-Seymour)
119	AA		Mike Baumann (Libertyville) vs. Roger Harris (Cahokia)
119	A	18:20	Trevor Elliott (Sandwich) vs. Matt Atilano (Sterling Newman)*
125	AA		Juan Puente (Gordon Tech) vs. Frank Laccone (DeKalb)
125	A		Mike Mena (Sterling Newman) vs. David Duyvejonck (Taylor Ridge-Rockridge)
130	AA	27:10	Kelly Hamill (Belvidere) vs. Steve Williams (Mt. Carmel)*
130	A		Thad Davidson (Litchfield) vs. Jason Mitsdarffer (Herscher)*
135	AA	36:25	Raphael Wilson (Waubonsie Valley) vs. Mike Eierman (St. Laurence)*
135	A		Gabe Dietz (Prophetstown) vs. Jason Bever (Evergreen Park)*
140	AA		Terry Dantzler (Bremen) vs Mike Collins (Marist)
140	A	50:06	Dan Limon (Plano) vs. Jason High (Clinton)*
145	AA		Dan Walters (Oak Lawn) vs. Joe Williams (Mt. Carmel)
145	A		Matt Hughes (Hillsboro) vs. Lenny Popp (Harvard)
152	AA	53:12	Jevon Herman (St. Charles) vs. John Kading (Glenbard South)*
152	A		Corey Christenson (Normal U-High) vs. Michael Leyden (Harvard)*
160	AA	1:08:50	Alex Strobl (Lake Zurich) vs. Joe Wier (Belleville East)*
160	A		Jim Belcher (Prophetstown) vs. Steve Wood (Harvard)*
171	AA		Tom Buenik (Morton) vs. Tom Lehn (Antioch)*
171	A	1:27:34	Brian Gurley (Luther North) vs. Rob Felstead (Sandwich)*
189	AA		Adam Sutherland (Galesburg) vs. Will Lepsi (Lyons Township)
189	A		Rob Meyer (Pittsfield) vs. Juan Molina (Tolono-Unity)
275	AA	1:37:08	Jim McDonough (Mt. Carmel) vs. Greg Stec (Lyons Township)*
275	A		Eric Smith (Jacksonville ISD) vs. Curt Tomac (Plano)

Between 1987 – 1991, Chicago-area sports broadcasting brought us the IHSA State Individual and Dual Team Wrestling Championships. Many wrestling fans, like our own Rob Sherrill, recorded these broadcasts on VHS tape and stored them away … for days like today!

The conversion from VHS to YouTube is never perfect.
The quality is poor, but the memories are golden!

In 1989, Chicago SportsVision became SportsChannel. Perhaps in an effort to cut back from the 10-hour 1988 marathon, SportsChannel chose to only feature one of the two championship Individual and Dual Team contests. Most of the featured matches were of Class AA competitors. This protocol would continue for the next two years.

1989 Individual State Championships – https://youtu.be/1vKXZSg0XYI

Class AA Brackets : Class A Brackets

			** Feature Match
103	6:50	Class AA	Joe Esparza (Joliet Central) vs. Bill Walsh (Mt. Carmel) **
		Class A	Mike Mena (Sterling Newman) vs. Parr Schoolman (Clifton Central)
112	17:00	Class AA	Jeff Mirabella (Elgin) vs. Andy Gardner (Springfield-Lanphier)**
		Class A	Jason Gonski (Kankakee-McNamara) vs. ThaDavidson (Litchfield)
119	30:52	Class AA	Shannyn Gillespie (Evanston) vs. Abby Myers (Cahokia)**
		Class A	Daryl Grennan (Sterling Newman) vs. Todd VanLue (Harvard)
125	43:05	Class AA	Ken Gerdes (Providence) vs. Chuck Wagner (Oak Lawn)
		Class A	Brett Camden (Mahomet-Seymour) vs. Jeff McCombs (Sandwich)**
130	56:43	Class AA	Shelly Resendez (Homewood-Flossmoor) vs. Terrell Sandifer (Thornton)**
		Class A	Jason Heinold (Mahomet-Seymour) vs. Mike Putts (Peotone)
135	1:11:38	Class AA	Stan Valle (Notre Dame) vs. Joey Gilbert (Andrew)**
		Class A	James Heinold (Mahomet-Seymour) vs. Mark Edwards (Kaneland)
			Joey Gilbert becomes first Class AA 4X State Champ
140	1:24:05	Class AA	Mike Palazzo (Glenbard North) vs. George Hoffman (Joliet Central)**
		Class A	Dan Barclay (Clinton) vs. Steve Wood (Harvard)
145	1:36:15	Class AA	Sean Bormet (Providence) vs. Jim Czajkowski (St. Laurence)**
		Class A	Steve Kelly (Sterling Newman) vs. Pat O’Connor (Glasford Illini Bluffs)
152	1:47:55	Class AA	Paul Andreotti (Marist) vs. Mike Frecking (Warren)**
		Class A	Aaron Fancher (Mahomet-Seymour) vs. Sean McKeon (Tolono-Unity)
160	2:00:02	Class AA	Darnell Thomas (Cahokia) vs. Bill Guide (Mt. Carmel)**
		Class A	Terry Bagwell (Tolono-Unity) vs. Eric Bloch (Argenta-Oreana)
171	2:14:03	Class AA	Kip Hennelly (Downers Grove South) vs. Tuhan Waller (Thornwood)
		Class A	Steve Rusk (Orion) vs. Roy VanDeVeer (Mahomet-Seymour)**
189	2:25:26	Class AA	Sherif Zegar (Oak Lawn) vs. Mike McClarence (Providence)**
		Class A	Pat O’Neal (Port Byron-Riverdale) vs. Chris Steadman (Richmond-Burton)
275	2:47:10	Class AA	Kevin Nolan (Marist) vs. Jim Remsey (Rockford East)**
		Class A	Steve Weekly (Sandwich) vs. Sean Hickerson (Orion)

1989 Dual Team State Championships – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roygSem4JE0

0:00 – Class A Summary Only – Mahomet-Seymour vs. Tolono (Unity)
9:58 – Class AA – Providence Catholic vs. DeKalb

Between 1987 – 1991, Chicago-area sports broadcasting brought us the IHSA State Individual and Dual Team Wrestling Championships. Many wrestling fans, like our own Rob Sherrill, recorded these broadcasts on VHS tape and stored them away … for days like today!

The conversion from VHS to YouTube is never perfect.
The quality is poor, but the memories are golden!
======================================================

Click Here for the 1988 IHSA Individual Wrestling Finals: https://youtu.be/hD0_UWw1WJ0

…scroll down for DUAL TEAM FINALS

This week’s feature year: 1988

Class AA Individual Finals

98 – 4:30 – Sean Kegal (Johnsburg) vs. Jeff Mirabella (Elgin)
105 – 14:45 – Andy Gardner (Springfield-Lanphier) vs. Darren Cowan (Geneseo)
112 – 25:15 – Brett Janis (Lake Park) vs. Matt Bartlett (St. Charles)
119 – 44:00 – Pete Schulte (OPRF) vs. Sam Geraci (Lake Park)
126 – 1:13:35 – Ryan Schafer (Sterling) vs. Greg Rosenbloom (Highland Park)
132 – 1:25:35 – Joey Gilbert (Andrew) vs. William Gay (Rock Island)
138 – 1:44:07 – Armando Sanders (Waubonsie Valley) vs. T.C. Dantzler (Thornwood)
145 – 1:58:30 – Tom Hugunin (Romeoville) vs. Paul Andreotti (Marist)
155 – 2:10:50 – Toby Willis (Morgan Park) vs. Jim Kossakowski (Elgin-Larkin)
167 – 2:25:47 – Dan Ritchie (Pekin) vs. Felix McLin (Proviso East)
185 – 2:39:30 – Bob Gwiasda (Hoffman Estates) vs. Mike Manganiello (Mt. Carmel)
275 – 2:52:25 – Larry Love (Thornton) vs. Nick Moss (Hoffman Estates)

Class A Individual Finals

98 – 3:11:48 – Randy Bull (Lisle) vs. Mark Olbrich (Harvard)
105 – 3:23:10 – Ramon Olalde (Sterling Newman) vs. Robbie Rash (Fulton)
112 – 3:33:55 – Jake Davidson (Litchfield) vs. Brett Camden (Mahomet-Seymour)
119 – 3:48:23 – Bob Mena (Sterling Newman) vs. Mike Sheehy (Elgin – St. Edward)
126 – 4:00:10 – Greg Alber (Dakota) vs. Kevin Tassone (Richmond-Burton)
132 – 4:12:03 – Steve Stender (Stillman Valley) vs. Rick Cunningham (Illini Bluffs)
138 – 4:30:20 – Steve Kelly (Sterling Newman) vs. Razmic Khelghatian (Lisle)
145 – 4:41:25 – Sean Eggenberger (Sandwich) vs. Craig Gharst (Mahomet-Seymour)
155 – 4:53:15 – Steffond Jones (Chicago Luther South) vs Brad Stockstill (Mt. Olive)
167 – 5:08:20 – Jehad Hamdan (Lemont) vs. Mike Novak (Mahomet-Seymour)
185 – 5:21:30 – Pat O’Neal (Mt. Olive) vs. Johan Lerch (Taylor Ridge-Rockridge)
275 – 5:34:00 – Tim Holderer (Mahomet-Seymour) vs. Herb Porter (Argenta-Oreana)
=================================================

1988 IHSA Dual Team Championships

Click Here for the 1988 Class AA and A Championships
https://youtu.be/A7Z3dN3xEFc

0:23 – Class AA – Providence Catholic vs. Oak Park River Forest
1:48:45 – Class A – Mahomet-Seymour vs. Harvard

Between 1987 – 1991, Chicago-area sports broadcasting brought us the IHSA State Individual and Dual Team Wrestling Championships. Many wrestling fans, like our own Rob Sherrill, recorded these broadcasts on VHS tape and stored them away … for days like today!

The conversion from VHS to YouTube is never perfect.
The quality is poor, but the memories are golden!

Click HERE for FIVE HOURS of IHSA Wrestling on the IWCOA YouTube Channel! https://youtu.be/obYQVl0DpC4

This week’s feature year:
1987 (The 50th year of the IHSA State Wrestling Championships)

1987 Individual State Title Matches
Class A Individual Brackets; Class AA Individual Brackets

98 – 12:00 – Matthew Bartlett (St. Charles) vs. Ken Gerdes (Providence Catholic)

105 –  23:00 – Brett Janis (Lake Park) vs. Neil Kohlberg (Wheeling)

112 –  49:00 – Ben Morris (Fenton) vs. Sam Geraci (Lake Park)

“Maybe the greatest state final match in the first 50 years of this State Tournament!” – Rob Sherrill

119 – 1:07 – Phil Johns (Canton) vs. Booker Hobson (Joliet West)

126 – 1:27 – Joe Cascone (St. Laurence) vs. William Gay (Rock Island)

132 – 1:39 – Joey Gilbert (Andrew) vs. Tim Chaplin (Joliet Central)

138 – 1:53 – John Sehnert (Barrington) vs. Dennis Vesey (Rock Island)

145 – 2:05 – Ken Thompson (Bloom) vs. Geoff Woodcock (Waubonsie Valley)

155 – 2:18 – Jay White (Stagg) vs. Tom Blaha (Tinley Park)

167 – 2:31 – Tim Driscoll (Waubonsie Valley) vs. Eric Schultz (Tinley Park)

185 – 2:43 – Steve Hughes (Stagg) vs. Kirk Mammen (Urbana)

275 – 2:55 – Jim Wormsley (Dundee-Crown) vs. Carl Pressley (Conant)

1987 Dual Team State Championship

3:06 – Chicago (Marist) vs. Naperville North

By Curt Herron

There is something to be said about a program having a strong conviction in trying to accomplish something special. And all throughout the 2019-20 season, Lemont’s wrestling team had confidence that it had what it would take to win an IHSA Class 2A title.

That was a big goal for a program that has performed well throughout the years, posting a 262-152 record in coach John St. Clair’s 17 seasons, but hadn’t had a top finish at the dual team finals since claiming third- and fourth-place trophies during visits in 2010 and 2011.

In 2015, 2017 and 2019, the Indians got to team state but lost in the quarterfinals each time, including last year when they fell 40-31 to eventual champion Washington.

But with a strong group returning along with some good new additions, the Indians were at or near the top throughout the season in Rob Sherrill’s IWCOA rankings.

With a lineup that was very solid throughout and with a good number of state-ranked individuals, it’s no wonder that Lemont was able to craft a 32-2 record against a lot of teams from schools that are bigger than theirs is and its only two defeats came against a pair of quality 3A programs in Sandburg and Oak Park-River Forest.

Boosted by a great semifinal round at the individual tournament where it advanced a school-best five competitors to the title mat and also set a new school standard with three champions, Lemont entered the dual team finals with a lot of confidence and that was demonstrated by its high level of performance on Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.

The Indians lost just two matches in a 58-7 quarterfinal win over Mattoon and then only dropped four matches in a 46-19 victory over an Aurora Christian team that was coming off of a big 32-25 triumph over favored Marian Central Catholic in its quarterfinal dual meet.

Those wins advanced the Indians to the championship mat for the first time in their program’s history and they got the opportunity to go up against four-time defending champion Washington to see if they could cap their historic season with a first state championship.

Thanks to three-straight wins to kick off the dual meet and then three more following the Panthers’ first victory, Lemont jumped out to a 9-0 lead and then went up 21-3 midway through the dual and it added two more triumphs after that to assure the championship with one match to go as it claimed a 30-26 victory to halt Washington’s impressive title run.

“The depth in the room helped push all of the starters,” St. Clair said. “Everybody didn’t have to go with the same guy all of the time, they could go with different people and have different looks. In this dual, we only went with the starters, but on Tuesday, we had guys who came in and they stepped up. But that’s because of the room and the leaders that we have. Lemont wrestling hopefully has another one in them soon since the cupboard is not bare.

“Somebody who was a past champ texted me and said, ‘hey, welcome to the club,” and it’s a pretty good club and it feels cool. When you look at the crowd we had tonight, it was as big, or bigger as anyone else, and that was awesome. That’s because all of the people who were here had kids who grew up wrestling in Lemont and they knew that this year was going to be something special, and they followed them through, and I’m so happy for everybody.”

Senior Grant LaDuke, the state runner-up at 152, got things started for the Indians in the title meet with a 10-4 win over Cole Watkins. Kyle Zator followed with a 6-1 victory over Donnie Hidden and then Alex Tagler was an 11-5 winner over Jacob Sollberger.

After Tyler Casey beat Mo Khalil 5-2 at 182 to pull the Panthers to within 9-3, Tyler Wilms followed with a 5-2 victory over Steven Apgar and then 220-pound state champion Apollo Gothard recorded a fall in 1:23 over Braeden Weiss and 285-pound state champ Mo Jarad claimed an 8-3 triumph over Dylan Cooper to put Lemont up by 18 points at 21-3.

“We all had that great mindset to just go out there and to wrestle our hearts out,” LaDuke said. “For our four seniors, this was our last dual so it was just give it our all. We’ve been working for this moment ever since we started here.”

After 106-pound state champion Kannon Webster received a forfeit victory, the Panthers followed that with a 6-3 victory from Josh Biagini over Tyler Bentley and then Abe Hinrichsen beat Evan Schiffman by technical fall to narrow the gap to 21-17.

But 126-pound champion Drew Nash recorded a fall in just 10 seconds against Ashton Rice and then after 132-pound champion Brody Norman pulled Washington to within 27-20 following a 6-3 win over Ray Hernandez, AJ Heeg clinched the championship victory for the Indians with a 10-5 win over Alec Mihelic. Four-time finalist and 145-pound runner-up Kyle Schickel didn’t need to compete in the finale so Blake Hinrichsen received a forfeit win.

“We had a really special team this year,” Nash said. “We knew that we had to capitalize and we did and it was a great year and I’m so thankful for everyone and proud of everyone who competed today. I love all of them, they’re my family, and I’ll never forget them.”

After seeing his program competing for a title for the sixth-straight year and then coming up a bit short of a fifth title, third-year Panthers coach Nick Miller was understandably pleased with the efforts of his squad, which finished 22-7 to improve Washington to 139-36 since Bryan Medlin brought the first of his three finalist teams to the state competition in 2015.

The Panthers won the first 10 matches to roll to a 65-3 victory over Riverside-Brookfield in the quarterfinals and then captured a 35-28 semifinal victory over Antioch after winning eight of the first 11 matches to grab a 35-12 advantage.

“They’re a solid team, no doubt,” Miller said of Lemont. “But we threw our best at them. We made some changes in the lineup that we thought benefited us early on and it didn’t play out that way, but they’re a good, solid team.

“I give a lot of credit for our success to our seniors. These kids come in for four years and they understand what it means to just give your best and to be your absolute best every day, and they pass that lesson on to the younger kids and that’s been a trend for several years.”

After finishing first in 2018 and second in 2019 in Class 1A, Aurora Christian made a successful move to Class 2A by capturing its third-straight trophy for coach Justin Pearch with a third-place finish following a 33-26 victory over Antioch. After handing Marian Central Catholic its first loss 32-25 in the quarterfinals, they fell 46-19 to Lemont in the semifinals.

Winning matches in the third-place meet for the 23-6 Eagles were 138-pound state champion Noah Villarreal, a three-time champion and four-time finalist, 113-pound champion Chris Moore, 182-pound runner-up Alex Knauf, 2017 and 2018 champion Cameron Johnson, 2019 champion Joel Mylin, Jack Certa, Mike Esquivel and Braden Hunter.

“We have 14 guys on the team and in the lineup and we have guys bumping up a couple of weight classes, but they’re tough,” Pearch said. “We prepare them for this time of the season just from the crazy schedule that we have. Aurora Christian is a great culture. From the first time you walk in the door until you leave, it’s one giant family.”

Getting wins for coach Wilbur Borrero’s Sequoits, who entered Saturday with a 21-0 record and won a fourth-place trophy for the third time, were Elijah Reyes, Devin Nobiling, Niall Schoenfelder, Caleb Nobiling, Luke Menzies and Brandon Pinto.

Two coaches led teams to their first state appearances, Brett Porter at Mattoon, which went 18-3, and Nicholas Curby at Riverside-Brookfield, who were 15-9. Coach David Silva’s Marian Central Catholic team finished 23-1 in their third-straight trip to state and coach Rob Ledin led 23-2 Mahomet-Seymour to the program’s 18th state appearance.

By Curt Herron

After dominating in the IHSA’s Class 1A dual team tournament from 2013-16, Dakota didn’t advance to the competition again until this year, but that made sense because another northwest Illinois program, Lena-Winslow/Stockton, won Class 1A titles in 2017 and 2019.

For a program that established a Class 1A standard and shared a small-school record by winning four-straight championships in that class, it wasn’t surprising to see Dakota again in Bloomington this past weekend and to have them capture their sixth state title since 2006.

Coach Pete Alber’s Indians definitely picked up where they had left off by winning another Class 1A championship, beating Coal City 40-19 to hand the Coalers their sixth second-place finish, including their second in a row with last year’s loss coming in the Class 2A finals.

Dakota won its three dual meets by a 43-19.7 margin with the closest one being a 35-27 semifinal win over Unity after opening the day with a 54-13 quarterfinal victory over Tremont.

The Indians also beat Coal City 49-26 on January 4 and were able to avenge a 31-27 loss to Unity on December 7 that was one of four losses they suffered in a 24-4 campaign. Their other defeats came against Aurora Christian, Lockport and Washington, who also were competing in the state finals at the Grossinger Motors Arena.

Unity, which was making its first state appearance since 1990, claimed its second trophy after beating Auburn 48-30 in the third-place meet. The Rockets gave Dakota its biggest challenge, winning five of the first eight matches to lead 18-14 and only trailed 29-27 going into the final match, which Dakota’s Lucas Sutherland secured with a fall in 1:03 at 138.

“It feels good, but at the same time, we don’t like to be gone that long,” said Alber, who was assisted by Josh Alber, Colby Dace, Matt Jacobs and Shad Sutherland. “It was too long of a dry spell for us. Coal City was tough and we respect them, and also Unity, which was awful tough, too, and they beat us earlier in the year. We just came in prepared and these guys were very confident. We didn’t have the mental meltdowns, anything like that. I was very happy with our performance.

“We have a good community with great parents and a great administration in our school and they push us. Our administration kept pushing us, ‘hey, we need a state championship’ and that puts pressure on you. But we’re happy to get this. And we’re junior-heavy, so we should be competitive next year.”

In the title meet, Dakota won three of the first four matches to jump out to a 16-3 lead but Coal City responded with four-straight wins to go up 19-16. However, it was all Dakota after that as it claimed victories in the final six matches, claiming two of those wins with falls.

Dakota’s Quinton Heilemeier started things off with a fall in 1:11 over Joey Breneman at 152 and Coaler 160-pound state runner-up David Papach answered with a 6-0 decision over Aidan Nardin. The Indians won the next two as 170-pound state runner-up Andrew Wenzel pinned Ashton Harvey in 30 seconds and then Evan Riggle won 8-0 over Dane Dearth to give their team an early 13-point lead.

The Coalers then won four in a row as 195-pound state champion Daniel Jezik pinned Cody Meade in 3:18, Gage Leake won 5-0 over Martin Snyder at 220, Logan Miller was an 8-3 winner over Dalton Riggle and Evan Rivera put his team up by three points with a 14-6 victory over Ethan Rood at 106.

But Maddux Blakely got a fall in 1:04 over Mataeo Blessing, Conner Elmer won 7-3 over Derek Carlson and 120-pound state champion Phoenix Blakely edged Zach Finch 10-9 at 126. Tyler Simmer got a fall in 4:18 over Lane Kutemeier, Lucas Sutherland won 5-0 over Connor Huston and Kade Wales won 7-5 over Gabe Ludes in the finale at 145.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Evan Riggle said. “This group of guys have been doing this since we were little. We’ve got the best fans and had the most people here. I’m done, but these guys have such a great future. We were super confident and knew we were going to win. We were ready.”

Coal City, which finished 39-9, opened with a 57-18 win over Harvard, which was making its first trip since 2014. The Coalers followed that with a 39-32 semifinal win over Auburn, which they trailed 20-3 after five matches before winning seven of the last nine, including the final four with wins by Carlson, Finch, Kutemeier and Huston to score the last 18 points.

Coach Mark Masters’ Coalers have placed in the top three on five occasions in the last six years, with three of those being runner-up finishes. Other than last season, they’ve been in Class 1A and the program has posted a 191-33 record, good for an .853 winning percentage.

“Year-in-and-year out they’ve always had a tough team when they come here, so you know that you’re going to get the best that your team is going to see all year,” said Coalers assistant coach Jim Looper, who was filling in at state for coach Mark Masters.

“You’ve got to get here to have a chance and all of these kids do is fight and they do everything we ask them to do on the mat. We laid it all out there, but it just wasn’t our day today. Bonus points are a premium and they got a few more than we did, especially early on. Toward the middle, there were toss-up matches and we battled and battled and they just came out on the toss-ups, and that’s what you see in a good dual.”

Unity’s Rockets, coached by Logan Patton, capped a 40-7 season by claiming third place with its second trophy in its first state trip since 1990. And Auburn’s Trojans finished 30-3 for coach Matt Grimm and placed fourth for their first trophy in their second state appearance.

In the 48-30 third-place meet, Unity got pins from 113-pound state runner-up Tavius Hosley, Cade Scott, Oran Varela, Logan Wilson, Braxton Manuel, Ben Gavel and Peyton Holt and decisions from Pate Eastin and Micah Downs. Getting pins for Auburn were Mikel Ent, Gervasio Marchizza, Gage Lopez and Caleb Nix while Dresden Grimm received a forfeit.

“We wrestled well today,” Patton said. “It’s the first trophy that we’ve brought home in 30 years and it means a whole lot. This is my third year at Unity so we’re building the program the right way and coming up with the medal was great. We’re a family, we’re just tight-knit. No one’s harder on our dudes than each other and we give each other a hard time. It’s a bunch of brothers who have a great time and really excited for that.”

Teams that fell in the quarterfinals were Harvard (25-6), coached by David Schultz; Nazareth Academy (12-10), coached by Denis Laughlin; Prairie Central (35-5), coached by Tyler Webster; and Tremont (20-9), coached by TJ Williams. Harvard made its 14th state trip, Prairie Central its fifth visit, Tremont its second appearance and Nazareth made its debut.

By Patrick Z. McGavin

Joe Roberts set a blistering and dominant tone that proved impossible to top.

“Everyone on this team put in the work,” Roberts said. “Everyone on this team is such a good person, such a hard worker.

“Everyone here deserves this.”

The individual Class 3A state champion at 152 pounds, Roberts showcased dazzling quickness, technique and power in overwhelming Mount Carmel’s Colby Lopez 25-9.

With that performance, Montini marked the start and end of one of the most dominant all-around individual and team performances in the history of the sport.

Already riding high after producing an unprecedented five individual state champions and 11 all-state wrestlers, Montini went to an even higher gear.

The Broncos made another grand statement with its 37-9 victory over Mount Carmel for its third consecutive 3A team dual championship at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington on Saturday night.

Against powerhouse rival Mount Carmel, Montini won the first six matches in running out to the commanding 20-0 advantage.

“Coming into this weekend, the team came into this knowing we are the greatest team to ever step on the Illinois mats,” senior 220-pounder Joshua LaBarbera said. 

“An undefeated season, ranked No. 3 in the country, something in 3A that had never done that before.”

Montini is a 21st century phenomenon. Since winning its first dual team championship in Class A in 2000, the Broncos have won 16 state championships this century.

Montini (24-0) and Mount Carmel (12-2) have been joined at the hip all year—the equivalent of a shotgun marriage—as the two standard bearers of Class 3A wrestling.

The two have stood atop the 3A team rankings since the preseason.

As great as Mount Carmel has been this season, Montini stood above the fray—at a whole other level.

“They were an extremely competitive team,” Mount Carmel coach Alex Tsirtsis said. “I think every single guy who wrestled today did not miss a match for them the whole year. 

“If they did miss any, it was just a short time.”

The final score is somewhat misleading. Mount Carmel wrestled well. Montini won seven of their 11 matches by three points or fewer.

“They really prepared well for us,” LaBarbera said. “You could tell in a couple of specific matches, with (Trevor) Swier, myself, a couple of other kids, they knew what our bread and butter was. 

“They were focused. They probably watched a lot of film because as soon as we got to our ties, they knew what we liked to do in those situations. I think that was their goal, to keep the matches close and try to steal them at the end.”

In many instances, the team dual final represented the fourth or fifth time specific wrestlers locked up against each other this season. 

At 120 pounds, Vazquez and Colton Drousias staged a rematch of their third-place match at the University of Illinois. It marked the sixth time this year the two have confronted each other.

Vazquez reversed the individual state outcome with a 4-3 decision. Their clash illustrated the fullness of how inextricably bound together the two programs were. 

Mount Carmel performed very well. The experience of performing at the highest levels proved too difficult for even a team as skilled and versatile as Mount Carmel to puncture Montini’s privileged air of invincibility.

“It is just about going out there and executing and doing what you have to do and what the coaches tell you what to do,” Mount Carmel senior Jalen Grant.

Grant, the 285-pounder who finished fourth at the University of Illinois, ended the Broncos’ run with a painstaking 3-0 victory over Colin Baker.

“We could not get it done today, but I think everybody tried their best,” Grant said.

At the 3A individual state championship one week earlier, Montini had five state champions: Joseph Fernau (106), Dylan Ragusin (126), Roberts (152), Trevor Swier (182) and LaBarbera (220).

The Broncos had five first-place finishers, four thirds, a fourth and a sixth. Montini became the first program in 3A history to qualify wrestlers at all 14 weight classes.

Ragusin (45-3), Swier (44-6), Fidel Mayora (44-6), Roberts (42-5), Brayden Thompson (41-11) and Nick Gonzalez (40-14) either reached or surpassed the magical single-season victory total of 40.

Nain Vasquez (39-13) and Fernau (37-9) were on the verge.

Mount Carmel produced two individual state champions in freshman Sergio Lemley (113) and junior Noah Mis (132).

The Caravan also a state runner-up with junior Connor Gaynor (145), a third-place finisher with Drousias (120) and a fifth-place finisher with senior Ashton Breen (160). 

Michael Kelly (152) and Nik Mishka (220) each qualified for the quarterfinals.

The brackets worked out and the two powerhouse Catholic League programs stood at opposite sides. Montini and Mount Carmel blitzed through the field. 

The Broncos decimated previously unbeaten Lockport in the quarterfinals and won 13 out of 14 matches against Barrington.

Mount Carmel matched Montini by conceding just one match against Minooka in the quarterfinals and took care of business with Sandburg.

Mount Carmel was the only Illinois program to prove competitive against Montini during the season. On December 7, the Caravan led 26-12. 

On that day, Roberts initiated the comeback with a major decision over Lopez as the Broncos won the final five matches for the 32-26 victory.

The closest any Illinois program came within Montini was 31 points.

“I think this opportunity is truly a story of me being blessed,” Roberts said. “Having five state champs was just crazy. We all came together. Our bond is pushing us past these teams.

“The difference between the beginning of the season and now is the work that has been put in all year.”

The dual team championship produced the match up everybody wanted.

The results favored Montini. The Caravan contended at virtually every weight other than the two technical falls registered by Roberts and Fernau.

“They were all competitive matches,” Tsirtsis said. “We need to build off those guys who did a good thing and finish strong. That needs to be contagious for the rest of the guys on the team and we will go from there.”

The marquee match-up favored a clash of two state champions. The 126-pound state champion, Ragusin jumped up a class to meet the Caravan’s Noah Mis.

Mis dominated Montini’s Ethan Stiles with a technical fall in the quarterfinals at the University of Illinois. An injury prevented Stiles from competing on Saturday.

Ragusin was up to the challenge.

“I am confident in my skills in whatever weight class I go,” he said. “I feel like, pound for pound, I am the best wrestler in the state of Illinois.

“I wanted to fulfill that.”

Ragusin conceded some size and length against Mis. His quickness and power neutralized his opponent’s normal aggressiveness.

A four-time state finalist who won backup-to-back individual state titles, Ragusin kept Mis off-balance with his superb footwork and grace.

Ragusin’s 6-3 victory symbolized the depth of Montini’s power and strength.

“The coaches asked me if the points were tight, would I be willing to go up a class and wrestle him,” Ragusin said. “There was no better way to end my last high school match then to go and beat the state champion a weight above.

“Everybody is surprised but us about the outcome. We know how hard we work. Everything that we do, we always do the right things. 

“Montini wrestling has definitely molded me into the man I am today.”

Lemley executed a late reversal for his 3-2 victory over Gonzalez at 113 pounds. Alex Lalezas (126) won by the same score over Logan Swaw

Mayora closed out the run with a 3-1 victory over Gaynor, reversing the individual state dynamic where he finished third to the runner-up place of Gaynor.

After everything was said and done, Montini was simply too much—for Mount Carmel and the rest of the field.

“We are too disciplined, too focused, too mentally strong and too conditioned,” LaBarbera said. 

In the third-place match, Barrington won the first six matches to defeat Sandburg 40-28.

The Broncos (26-3) secured the best finish in program history and also established a new record for single-season victories.

The most telling match played out at 220 pounds as junior Evan Roper dominated state runner-up Kevin Zimmer 11-4.

“It was a bit of redemption because obviously he was in the state finals and I wasn’t,” said Roper, who finished third at the University of Illinois.

After losing in the quarterfinals in consecutive seasons, Barrington struck back by defeating rival Huntley 34-28 in the quarterfinals.

Roper’s major decision proved the Broncos’ only points against Montini. 

Barrington answered the challenge with its superb performance to close out the season.

“Ever since we got that draw, we were always saying this year was going to be the year we were going to get that trophy,” Roper said.

“The third time was the charm because this was our third straight year down here.”

Barrington finished fourth in 2010 and 2012. 

Senior Luke Rasmussen (46-1), who finished second at 170 pounds, closed out his remarkable career with a first period pin. He was held out of the sectional and early round performances after he suffered a shoulder injury against Huntley’s David Ferrante in the state championship.

“Taking third at team state is really bigger for me than any of my other accomplishments,” Rasmussen said. “To be able to do this with my friends and coaches I have been with my whole life is a great thrill.”

Barrington won nine matches to close out its dream season.

Rasmussen, Roper and senior Kai Conway (48-6, fourth in state at 160) each earned all-state recognition. Barrington qualified six individuals at state.

Senior Jack Hartman (40-8, 195) and Brian Beers (41-10, 113) also reached the 40-victory plateau. Hartman closed out his career with an impressive first period pin against Sandburg quarterfinalist James Hart.

Sandburg (24-7) captured its first state trophy since the 2015 team that finished state runner-up.

Senior Mike Bosco punctuated his extraordinary season with a 10 second pin at 285-pounds. Until this season, Bosco had never even qualified for individual state.

Despite weighing just 214 pounds, Bosco (46-0) used his angular 6-foot-5 length, athleticism and speed to overpower his heavier opponents in capturing the individual state championship.

Bosco, Zimmer and Hart posted consecutive pins that enabled the Eagles to overcome a 21-6 deficit in beating DeKalb 35-30 in the quarterfinals.

“It is unfortunate we could not get it done, but I am happy with how my season ended,” Bosco said.

“I think one of the biggest things we did so well is our team chemistry was so strong. We might have had more talented teams in the past, but everybody on this team is my friend.

“I think that goes a long way.”

3A dual team finals

Grossinger Motors Arena

Quarterfinals

Barrington 34, Huntley 28

Montini 59, Lockport 9

Sandburg 35, DeKalb 30

Mount Carmel 55, Minooka 3

Semifinals

Montini 70, Barrington 4

Mount Carmel 57, Sandburg 10

Third-place

Barrington 40, Sandburg 28

Championship Montini 37, Mount Carmel 9