Chicago-area tournament roundup for Jan. 8

By Gary Larsen
For the IWCOA

Leyden’s Randy Conrad Invitational

This year’s 11-team Randy Conrad Invite saw Stevenson earn a 259.5-210.5 edge over second-place Conant to win the team title, as coach Shane Cook’s wrestlers went a perfect 7-0 on the title mat along the way.
Cook also got five third-place finishes and two fourths during a fine day of wrestling for Stevenson at Leyden in Franklin Park.

“The entire team contributed to our success,” Cook said. “Having all fourteen guys place in the top four was really special. And going 7-for-7 in the finals was an exciting round for our team. This tournament was another step forward in preparation for the state tournament series.”

Host Leyden (116) placed third, followed by Harvard (103) and Notre Dame (81) to round out the top five team finishes.

Stevenson – ranked No. 20 in Rob Sherrill’s IWCOA Illinois rankings — got titles from Andrew Chamkin (106), Yash Jagtap (113), Lorenzo Frezza (126), Cole Rhemrev (138), Thomas Schoolman (145), Carter Rand (152), and Jacob Whiting (195).

Rhemrev left Leyden as the tournament’s lone unbeaten wrestler at 22-0, and is currently ranked No. 3 at 138; Frezza improved to 22-1 and is ranked No. 4 at 126.

Stevenson’s third-place finishes came from Allan Kantor (120), Everett Ciezak (132), Josh Choi (170), Mesh Premanand (182) and Blake Duvall (285), with fourths coming from Themba Sitshela (160) and Will Toscaro (220).

Second-place Conant got individual titles from Peter Floyd (132) and CJ Gilbert (160) and seconds from Matt Goolish (106), Ethan Burklund (113), Yordan Neykov (120), Cody Sebo (170) and AJ Hernandez (182).

Placing third for No. 1 Conant coach Andrew Guilde were Mason Bartoli (138), Josh Morrison (145), Justin Deaton (152) and Harley Stary (220), and placing fifth were Chase Hura (126) and Henry Chang (195).

Also winning Leyden titles were Maine East’s Chris Kish (120), Burlington Central’s Nathan Kim (170), Harvard’s Gabe Sanchez (182), and Notre Dame’s Aodan O’Sullivan (220) and Karl Schmalz (285).

Placing second were Richards’ Muath Jilani (126), Leyden’s Rusty Klug (132), Harvard’s Daniel Rosas (138) and Ivan Rosas (145), Maine East’s Ezequiel Figueroa (152), Leyden’s Patrick Gadocha (160), Colin O’Neill (195) and Gus Tosterud (220), and Vernon Hills’ Max Acettura (285).

Third-placers included DeLaSalle’s Raymond Alvarado (106) and Mario Perez (126), and Harvard’s Bailey Livdahl (160) and Nathan Rosas (195).

Finishing fourth at Leyden were Notre Dame’s Johnny Sheehy (106), DeLaSalle’s Anthony Trendle (120), Burlington Central’s Ben Estrada (126), Richards’ Jibrel Judeh (132) and Dominik Paul (138), Leyden’s Joe Cichy (145) and Mike Coyne (285), Jamie Genis (152), and Diego Mendoza (170), Richards’ Nate Conway (182), Vernon Hills’ Jake Psaras (195).

Randy Conrad Invitational championship matches
106 – Andrew Chamkin (Stevenson) over Matt Goolish (Conant), 6-2
113 – Yash Jagtap (Stevenson) over Ethan Burklund (Conant), F 2:18
120 – Chris Kish (Maine East) over Yordan Neykov (Conant), 9-7
126 – Lorenzo Frezza (Stevenson) over Muath Jilani (Richards), F 1:07
132 – Peter Floyd (Conant) over Rusty Klug (Leyden), 10-0
138 – Cole Rhemrev (Stevenson) over Daniel Rosas (Harvard), F 3:06
145 – Thomas Schoolman (Stevenson) over Ivan Rosas (Harvard), 9-8
152 – Carter Rand (Stevenson) over Ezequiel Figueroa (Maine East), 10-5
160 – CJ Gilbert (Conant) over Patrick Gadocha (Leyden), F 3:00
170 – Nathan Kim (Burlington Central) over Cody Sebo (Conant), F 1:51
182 – Gabe Sanchez (Harvard) over AJ Hernandez (Conant), 3-2
195 – Jacob Whiting (Stevenson) over Colin O’Neill (Leyden), F 1:24
220 – Aodan O’Sullivan (Notre Dame) over Gus Tosterud (Leyden), 6-0
285 – Karl Schmalz (Notre Dame) over Max Acettura (Vernon Hills), 9-2

Glenbard West’s Chris Chappell Invitational

Host Glenbard West dominated the field at this year’s 10-team Chris Chappell Invite, posting a 254-142 edge over second-place Prairie Ridge thanks to nine individual titles, two runner-up finishes, and three third-place finishers.
Coach Nick Posegay’s Hilltoppers also tied with Lemont for the team title at this year’s Rex Whitlatch Invitational, and won the title at their own King of the Hill dual tournament this season.
With a 16-4 record in duals, Glenbard West is currently ranked at No. 18 in Illinois in Rob Sherrill’s IWCOA rankings.

“The team works hard and they are a lot of fun to be around,” Posegay said. “It’s nice in my retirement year to have a team like this one. We’ve got several seniors in the line-up that are enjoying strong seasons in Max Konopka, Brennan Skoda, Isaiah Perez, Pat Shadid and Philip Dozier.”

Bartlett finished third with 127 points, followed by Elk Grove (120) and Glenbard South (81) to round out the top five team finishes.
Glenbard West got individual titles from Ullises Rosas (113), Isaiah Perez (126), Jacob Lachs (132), Jeremy Iman (145), Brennan Skoda (152), Max Konopka (160), Patrick Shadid (170), Phillip Dozer (195), and Morely Coval (285). 

Placing second for Glenbard West were Jesus Avila (120) and Jack McCluskey (220), while Carson Prunty (106), Eric Dare (138) and Jason Thomas (182) each finished third.
Prairie Ridge got an individual title from Tyler Evans (120) and seconds from Jake Lowitski (106), Mikey Meade (126), Xander York (145), and Eddie Ferree (160). Travis Dittmer (113), Joe Botella (126), Ryan Koehblinger (132), and Victor Eberim (195) finished third for coach Justin Peete.

Also winning titles at Glenbard West were Thornton’s Keevin Osborne (106), Elk Grove’s Danny Gaskill (138) and Chance Guziec (220), and Bartlett’s Jacob Kucharski (182).

Second-place finishers included Bartlett’s Ryan Richey (113) Jack Kaneshiro (132), Anthony Verges (152), and Ryan Gura (170), Illinois Lutheran’s Josyah Holland (138), Glenbard South’s Steven Orsolini (182), and Elk Grove’s Brady Tosterud (195) and Ramiro Valdivia (285).

Placing third in their divisions were Thornton’s Fred Osborne (120) and Qilee Jackson (220), Bartlett’s Anthony Johnason (145), Glenbard South’s Paul Orizaba (152) and Brian Yun (285), and Elk Grove’s Jacob Elsner (160) and Mitch Janczak (170).

Finishing fourth were Prairie Ridge’s Quinn Zamet (113), Frank Canania (170), Jimmy Stone (182) and Walter Pollack (220), Bartlett’s Brad Richey (120), Proviso East’s Tae Delaney (126) and Clarence Wellington (160), Elk Grove’s Anthony Macina (132), Glenbard South’s Andre Catalang (138) and Cain Smith (195), Larkin’s Gavin Clark (145) and Irvin Reyes (152), and Thornton’s Lionel Senior (285).

Chris Chappell championship matches
106 – Keevin Osborne (Thornton) over Jake Lowitski (Prairie Ridge), 9-3
113 – Ullises Rosas (Glenbard West) over Ryan Richey (Bartlett), F 2:59
120 – Tyler Evans (Prairie Ridge) over Jesus Avila (Glenbard West) F 0:00
126 – Isaiah Perez (Glenbard West) over Mikey Meade (Prairie Ridge), 6-1
132 – Jacob Lachs (Glenbard West) over Jack Kaneshiro (Bartlett), F 3:54
138 – Danny Gaskill (Elk Grove) over Josyah Holland (Illinois Lutheran), 7-5
145 – Jeremy Iman (Glenbard West) over Xander York (Prairie Ridge), 4-2
152 – Brennan Skoda (Glenbard West) over Anthony Verges (Bartlett), 8-3
160 – Max Konopka (Glenbard West) over Eddie Ferree (Prairie Ridge), 12-8
170 – Patrick Shadid (Glenbard West) over Ryan Gura (Bartlett), F 1:30
182 – Jacob Kucharski (Bartlett) over Steven Orsolini (Glenbard South), F 1:20
195 – Phillip Dozer (Glenbard West) over Brady Tosterud (Elk Grove), F 1:20
220 – Chance Guziec (Elk Grove) over Jack McCluskey (Glenbard West), 11-0
285 – Morely Coval (Glenbard West) over Ramiro Valdivia (Elk Grove), F 0:48

Geneva’s Newbill Tournament

West Aurora, Brother Rice, and Lake Zurich finished bunched atop the final standings of this year’s Newbill Wrestling Tournament, hosted by Geneva.

West Aurora won the team title 165-155 over second-place Brother Rice, with Lake Zurich placing third with 150.5.
Blackhawks coach Andrew Plata saw 10 of his wrestlers place in the top 7 of their weight classes in the 18-team tournament. West Aurora got an individual title from Gio Amaya (220) and three runner-up finishes from Ashton Massaro (132), Dominic Serio (138) and Noah Quintana (145).

“Gio (Amaya) is a tough kid for sure. He’s been under the radar for awhile because he’s been stuck behind guys like Dzhabrail Khurshidov and Jordan Lishman,” Plata said.

The Blackhawks also got a third from Moses Quintana (152), a fourth from Jesse Robles (106), fifths from Asam Kabir (160) and Aaron Nelson (120), a sixth from Aiden Massaro (113), and a seventh from Mario Ayala (182).
“The fact that we only had one champ and still won the team trophy speaks for itself on how solid our entire line up is,” Plata said. “We were missing a couple of guys, just like everyone else, but when we are at full strength, we are a force to be reckoned with for sure.”

Brother Rice’s second-place team finish came thanks to a pair of individual titles from Tom Bennett (170) and Pat Galeher (285), a second from Bobby Conway (120), fourths from James Bennett (126), Al Perez (138) and Charley Connolly (152), fifths from Gambino Perez (195) and James Hogan (220), a sixth from Colin Ashley (182) and a seventh from Ben McMurray (132).

Lake Zurich had three champions in Luca Poeta (106), Scott Busse (138) and Nolan Schuetz (160) and fourth-place Marian Central (129.5) led all teams with four individual champions in Kaden Haman (113), Charlie Fitzgerald (120), Vance Williams (132) and Nik Jimenez (145).

Also winning titles in Geneva were Alton’s William Harris (126), Shepard’s Damari Reed (152), Oak Lawn’s Evan Zambrano (182), and Dundee-Crown’s Porter Leith (195).

Placing second in their weight classes were Wheaton Warrenville South’s Aarav Levora (106) and Sedeeq Al Obaidi (160), Lake Zurich’s Alex Kahler (113), Lyons Township’s Matt Ridley (126), Stillman Valley’s Jack Seacrist (152), Oak Lawn’s Hani Odeh (170), Plainfield Central’s Max Bown (182), Geneva’s John Schmidt (195), Lake Zurich’s Ethan Medina (220), and Glenbard East’s Nate Kelley (285).

Finishing third were Glenbard East’s Waleed Binmahfooz (106) and Blake Salvino (160), WW South’s Ben Westmaas (113), Geneva’s Dylan Schlegel (120) and Ben Kunkel (170), Plainfield Central’s Lucas Mena (126), Alton’s Deontae Forest (132), Lyons Township’s Finn Merrill (145) and Mehdi Tlich (285), Lake Zurich’s Dan Hull (182), Joliet Central’s Phil Johnston (195), and Glenbrook North’s Nate Glazebrook (220).

Placing fourth were Addison Trail’s Manny Galeana (113), Lyons Township’s James Zavala (120), Glenbard East’s Andrew Gron (132) and Diego Garcia (138), Geneva’s Nicky O’Keefe (145), Joliet Central’s Kam Mitchell (160), Plainfield Central’s Anthony Minnito (170), Stillman Valley’s Andrew Forcier (182), WW South’s Mason Monce (195), Dundee-Crown’s Juan Jasso (220), and Shepard’s Allen Taylor (285).

Geneva’s Newbill Tournament Champions
106 – Luca Poeta (Lake Zurich) over Aarav Levora (WW South), TF
113 – Kaden Haman (Marian Central) over Alex Kahler (Lake Zurich), MD
120 – Charlie Fitzgerald (Marian Central) over Bobby Conway (Brother Rice), D
126 – William Harris (Alton) over Matt Ridley (Lyons Township), F
132 – Vance Williams (Marian Central) over Ashton Massaro (West Aurora), D
138 – Scott Busse (Lake Zurich) over Dominic Serio (West Aurora), MD
145 – Nik Jimenez (Marian Central) over Noah Quintana (West Aurora), D
152 – Damari Reed (Shepard) over Jack Seacrist (Stillman Valley), MD
160 – Nolan Schuetz (Lake Zurich) over Sedeeq Al Obaidi (WW South), F
170 – Tom Bennett (Brother Rice) over Hani Odeh (Oak Lawn), TF
182 – Evan Zambrano (Oak Lawn) over Max Bown (Plainfield Central), F
195 – Porter Leith (Dundee-Crown) over John Schmidt (Geneva), D
220 – Gio Amaya (West Aurora) over Ethan Medina (Lake Zurich), F