High School News

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Photo by: Mary Beth Nolan

Article written by: KALEB CARTER Email Follow Dec. 16, 2019

DeKALB – Erik and Jose Garcia of Genoa-Kingston wrestling weren’t quite sure what was in store for them when they took to wrestling in middle school.

Neither Erik Garcia, a junior who now wrestles at 220 pounds, or Jose Garcia, a senior who wrestles at 285 pounds, had done the sport before, and the middle school and high school wrestling programs were far from well-established.

“We were just looking for a sport to do, and that was the only sport that was up and basketball, but we decided to go for wrestling since we’re big kids,” Erik Garcia said with a smile.

Not that there weren’t reservations early.

“I got him into it,” Erik Garcia said of his brother. “He didn’t really want to, but then he ended up going to it, and he enjoyed it, and I did too, so we stayed with it.”

They were only joined by a few wrestlers their first year, when Jose Garcia was a seventh-grader and Erik was in sixth grade.

“I started wrestling in middle school, and I saw three or five kids, me and my brother and some other four kids, and it was really small in middle school,” Jose Garcia said. “But we continued going.”

From there, it was an upward climb to relevance in a school with no wrestling banners hung in the gym.

“We weren’t that good to begin with, but then we just liked [it], so we just kept going with it,” Erik Garcia said.

Watching the duo on the practice mats can be a fun endeavor for the wrestlers and their coaches.

“It’s great to watch them battle, especially when they’re brothers. There’s more to it,” said 160-pound wrestler Will Butterfield. “It’s a fun show for us to watch. They get into it and push each other real hard.”

For the Cogs’ coaching staff, which has grown the program significantly since the Garcias were in middle school – Genoa-Kingston has 30 wrestlers listed on its roster this season – seeing the duo’s success is rewarding.

“Sometimes you can tell it’s that brother rivalry, but they both work really hard,” Cogs coach Chad Wilmarth said. “They push each other in the right way, and Cody Peterson’s in that group, too. All three guys football players. All three guys that don’t like to lose.”

Both brothers achieved a small level of success a season ago, as Erik went 13-3 before dislocating his elbow in a competition at Polo. Jose was 10-3 before being injured as well.

Erik Garcia recently took third at a tournament at Richmond-Burton, where Jose took second, losing only to Lake Forest’s Jack Owen, the No. 7 ranked wrestler in Class 2A by the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association. Saturday, Erik Garcia won a tournament title at Plano, while Jose took third. Erik Garcia has a 10-1 record this season, while Jose Garcia is 11-2.

With this, the last season they’ll be competing with one another after picking up the sport together, both have goals in mind, starting with more postseason success for the Cogs, who finished sixth at their home Class 1A Genoa-Kingston Regional.

Individual success fuels them as well.

“I’m just trying to get 30-plus wins,” Erik Garcia said. “I’m trying not to lose more than five [matches], and I’m trying to make it to state.”

Whatever doubts Jose had after last season’s injury were silenced by the motivation to be better in his final year.

“I’ve just got to [make] it worth it and see what else can I do,” Jose Garcia said. “Get a couple more wins than last time. That’s all I was thinking, get a little bit better over time. That’s what I was looking forward to.”

Now, the motivation to hang banners is on the Garcia brothers’ minds.

“Ever since I’ve been here, I’ve never seen any titles for wrestling,” Jose Garcia said. “If we do, they’re really old. It’d be really nice if we put something in there this year.”

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Written by: Kyle Hartwick Dec 17, 2019

Last season, the wrestling dual meet between Rock Island and Moline came down to the final match of the night. Tonight, the story wasn’t any different as the Rocks took down the Maroons 39-31.

Rock Island’s Aoci Bernard came away with a 9-3 decision over Alex Schmacht in the night’s final match. Before Bernard took the mat, Rock Island coach Joel Stockwell had a simple message for him: Get the win.

“I told him to wrestle for the win and to do his best,” Stockwell said. “But to tell the truth, as long as he didn’t get pinned or lose by technical fall, we won the dual. So we wanted him to stay off of his back as much as possible.”

Things looked dicey for Bernard in the third period as he was on his back and looking in rough shape, but he staved off a pin and got enough points to stay on top of Schmacht.

“I wanted to wrestle for the team,” Bernard said. “I knew it was close and I needed to wrestle hard. I went out there and gave it my all and had a lot of heart.”

The Rocks led 36-18 following the heavyweight match, but a tough group of Maroons in the lower weights turned the tide. Carmelo Cruz won a hard-fought 9-4 decision over Joe Ferguson in 106, Noah Tapia pinned Tyler Barbee in 1:51 at 113, and Charlie Farmer won a 12-3 major decision over Manny Limon in a battle of state qualifiers from last season.

Stockwell was happy that the team got the early points that they needed to come out on top.

“We knew that those weight classes were going to be tough matchups,” Stockwell said. “That’s why every team point mattered early on. We needed a comfortable win going into the final few matches, and it was enough to get the job done.”

The upper weight classes provided key points for the Rocks as Jaiden VanCoillie and Pharoah Gray each picked up six points with pins. VanCoille pinned Trystan Duyvejonck in 4:28 at 220 and Pharoah Gray pinned Nate Parker in 1:47 at 285.

With the victory, Rock Island improves to 3-3 in duals this season. Bernard wants to keep the momentum going for the team.

“We took a big team loss against Geneseo and felt down following that,” Bernard said. “But we kept putting in the work and started rolling through meets, and now we feel pretty good. As long as we keep working together as a team, we can keep this going.”

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Article Written by : Matt Coss

When the third annual Muddy Water Duals are contested next month at Augustana College’s Carver Center, there will be two fewer teams in the field.

With this year’s daylong dual tournament moved to Jan. 4 because of the rollover schedule, Bettendorf and Moline were unavailable to make the event work for their schedules.

That leaves five schools competing for each state — Assumption, Pleasant Valley, Davenport North, Davenport Central and Davenport West for Iowa and United Township, Alleman, Sterling, Rock Island and Geneseo for Illinois.

“This is a different type of stress level,” PV coach Jake Larsen said Wednesday during a news conference at Sanchos to promote the event. “You’re trying to win every dual and give it your best, but these matches won’t impact you at a seeding meeting or be a future district matchup.”

Central activities director Kevin Petersen said the goal is returning the Muddy Water Duals to a 12-team field next year.

A date, however, has not been finalized for next season. There is a possibility of it moving to the first or second weekend of December.

In the meantime, each team will wrestle a dual on the center mat that will be televised by Mediacom 22.

It will be West and United Township in Round 1 (9 a.m.), Central and Alleman in Round 2 (10:30 a.m.), North and Sterling in Round 3 (noon), PV and Rock Island in Round 4 (1:30 p.m.) and Assumption and Geneseo in Round 5 (3 p.m.)

“This is such a good thing because all these kids know each other,” Assumption coach Jon Terronez said. “They wrestle in clubs together and the coaches know each other. There are bragging rights between us.

“It is more about this area to enjoy the sport and help it grow.”

Illinois has won the bi-state event each of the first two seasons. It finished with a 17-13 advantage in duals and outscored Iowa 1,244-964 in team points last season.

“With us changing conferences and now in the Big Six, we see the Illinois guys a lot,” Sterling coach Kevin Heller said. “This is our only chance for the most part to see the Iowa guys.

“We love the venue and opportunity to be down here.”

Davenport West coach Jim Weisrock believes the timing of this year’s event can be beneficial for his team.

“It gives us a reason to come in over (Christmas) break because we’re preparing for that Saturday at the end of break,” Weisrock said.

Quite a catch: Assumption 106-pound freshman Derrick Bass, a four-time state AAU champion, already has made an immediate impact.

Bass, off to a 12-0 start, picked up a championship at the Mount Vernon Invitational last weekend. In that tournament, he beat Class 1A top-ranked Quincy Happel of Lisbon by technical fall and bested Wapsie Valley’s Dawson Schmit in the finals.

“We knew he was a good wrestler, but sometimes kids transition better to high school wrestling than others,” Terronez said. “We didn’t get a true feel until he beat (Kale Anderson) of Clinton. Then it was like, ‘OK, this dude has it.’

“There is a difference between practice wrestlers and competition wrestlers. He’s proven to be a competition wrestler.”

‘Family feel’: With the renovations at PV, the Spartans have two separate wrestling rooms now. It has turned into a good thing for Jake Larsen’s program, which has more than 60 wrestlers out.

“We’re really working hard on maintaining and keeping a relationship with each of those kids,” Larsen said.

Practices are held at the same time, but PV splits its coaching staff up to give each of the kids individualized attention.

Larsen has seen a strong chemistry within his team this winter.

“When I started, we had some studs at PV but it wasn’t a balanced team or real close-knit,” Larsen said. “The vibe now is a family feel, more than it has been. Our kids see it, too.”

PV hosts Clinton and Davenport North in a triangular Thursday night.

Here are the metro-east’s top 13 hopes to bring home state wrestling championships

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BY DEAN CRIDDLE

DECEMBER 17, 2019 05:00 AM 

The 2020 Illinois State Individual State Wrestling Tournament is still a little more than two months away, but already the top 13 wrestlers from southern Illinois have emerged as contenders for the top of the medal platform at State Farm Center in Champaign.

IHSA State Tournament runners-up a year ago, Althoff senior Anthony Federico and Josh Koderhandt of Belleville West highlight a list of local wrestlers ranked in the top five of their respective classes according to the most recent Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association State poll.

Federico is one of four Crusaders ranked in the Class 1A poll.

Following is a list of those who look to be the best bets to contend for state titles on the University of Illinois campus, Feb. 20-22, 2020.

CLASS 1A

106 Pounds: Matthew Minick, Althoff. Minick No. 1 ranked, placed 4th at 106 in 2018 and 5th at 106 in 2019

120 Pounds: Shawn Minick, Althoff, No. 3 ranked. placed 4th at 113 pounds in 2019

145 Pounds: Anthony Federico, Althoff, No. 2 ranked, placed second at 132 pounds in 2019; placed 6th at 132 pounds in 2018

170 Pounds: Joe Braunagel, Althoff, ranked 4th, placed 6th at 170 pounds in 2019

CLASS 2A

152 Pounds: Garrett Bakarich, Triad ranked 2nd, placed fifth at 145 pounds in 2019

152 Pounds: Chase Overton, Mascoutah, ranked 5th., was a state qualifier at 145 pounds in 2019

160 Pounds: Zeke Waltz, Jerseyville, ranked 3rd, placed 5th at 152 pounds in 2019

170 Pounds: Caleb Grau, Mascoutah, ranked 2nd, placed 5th at 170 pounds in 2019

182 Pounds: Arnold Edwards, Cahokia, ranked 2nd, placed third at 195 pounds in 2019

CLASS 3A

120 Pounds: Josh Koderhandt, Belleville West, ranked 2nd; placed second at 113 pounds in 2019

152 Pounds: Adam Thebeau, Belleville East, ranked 5th

160 Pounds: Luke Odom, Edwardsville, ranked 1st, placed 3rd at 126 in 2018 and third at 106 in 2017

285 Pounds: Lloyd Reynolds, Edwardsville, ranked 1st; placed 6th at 285 pounds in 2019

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By Mike Garofola
Daily Herald Correspondent

Not too long ago, the classy duo of James Valentino and Jake Wolf could be counted on for 30-plus victories, plenty of championship trophies and multiple trips downstate, making the St. Viator stars the envy of East Suburban Catholic Conference wrestling coaches.

Lions coach Jason Churak believes he has a triple threat of young men that may rival Valentino and Wolf, so it only figured that Gaetano Console, Nick DeMunno and Ryan McGuire led the Lions to two easy victories Wednesday night at Fr. Cahill Gymnasium in Arlington Heights.

“We’re so young all throughout our lineup so to have those three guys leading the way gives a lot of hope to our season,” said Churak, whose club goes to 9-6-0 on the season following its wins over North Chicago (39-6) and Ridgewood (54-6).

“Nick is just a consummate leader, he mixes fun with serious, and he works so hard. Gaetano has picked up from having an amazing offseason while Ryan, back healthy once again, is ready to enjoy a terrific senior year,” continued Churak.

Console and DeMunno, who recently lifted championship trophies at the Fenton Invite, would both compete in nationals during the offseason in Iowa.

“I was real happy with my eighth place finish at nationals,” said DeMunno, who would compete at 220 pounds in the summer but will land at his true weight of 182 soon.

DeMunno, who won 19 a year ago, wrestled through a serious arm injury at regionals last season, but it caught up with the Lions’ veteran in his state qualifying bout.

Console lost his sectional qualifying match also but the defeat, coupled with some superb results at Fargo in Freestyle and Greco, has provided the junior with all the motivation needed to make this season his best.

“My mental game is so much stronger than a year ago. I found out at nationals that I could compete with all types of styles and levels of talent from all around the country, so now I know I can compete with the best around,” said Console, who won 21 last year.

The Lions’ five pins to overwhelmed North Chicago in their opener, then they had another five in the win against Ridgewood.

McGuire collected two falls on the night, his first coming when he bumped up from 220 to take on North Chicago’s big man Zykez Johnson.

“Ryan just gets better each year, and if not for an injury-filled junior year last season, he likely would have made it downstate,” said Churak of his three-year starter.

St. Viator will travel to Niles West this Saturday to compete in this 24-team invite.