Class 1A Dual Team Sectional Roundup

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

Class 1A LeRoy Dual Team Sectional

LeRoy/Tri-Valley 43, Canton 22

For the first time since it made a four-run of appearances at the IHSA Dual Team Finals from 2011-2014, LeRoy/Tri-Valley will make consecutive visits to state with the hopes of placing for the first time since 2012, when Doug DeWald led the Panthers to the Class 1A championship after beating Canton 43-22 at its own dual meet sectional in LeRoy.

Coach Brady Sant Amour’s Panthers won nine of the 14 matches to deny coach Zach Crawford’s Little Giants of making their second-straight trip to the dual team finals. LeRoy/Tri-Valley faces top-ranked Marian Central Catholic on Friday in a 7 p.m. quarterfinal dual meet at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.

LeRoy/Tri-Valley, which is making its seventh appearance in the IHSA Dual Team Finals and also took second in 2009 and third in 2011, has been boosted by the return of Kobe Brent and Jimmy Chaon, who have both missed out on the individual series due to injuries. 

They each recorded pins, as did Brock Owens and Bo Zeleznik, while Connor McLaughlin got a win by technical fall, Colton Prosser and Connor Lyons both won major decisions and Brady Mouser and Jacob Bischoff captured one-point decisions.

“This group has stayed together and battled all year,” Sant Amour said. “The team received a big lift from Kobe Brent, who fractured his clavicle and has been out since December, Freshman Jimmy Chaon missed the last month of the season with a shoulder injury. From start to finish we wrestled tough, only giving up one fall in the dual.”

Canton, which made its dual team state debut a year ago, received a pin from Danny Murphy, a major decision from Gus Lidwell and decisions from Connor Williams and Maddux Steele while Jacob Hardesty got a forfeit win.

LeRoy/Tri-Valley 43, Canton 22

285 – Connor Williams (Canton) over Tate Sigler (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) UTB 3-2
106 – Jacob Hardesty (Canton) over Unknown (Unattached) FFT
113 – Brady Mouser (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) over Dyllan Steele (Canton) Dec 2-1
120 – Maddux Steele (Canton) over EJ Chaon (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) Dec 6-0
126 – Jimmy Chaon (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) over Austin Brewer (Canton) Fall 0:00
132 – Kobe Brent (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) over Jireh Hedges (Canton) Fall 3:20
138 – Colton Prosser (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) over Alex Carrier (Canton) Maj 10-0
144 – Connor McLaughlin (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) over Grady Smith (Canton) TF 15-0
150 – Brock Owens (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) over Daniel Kees (Canton) Fall 1:17
157 – Connor Lyons (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) over Aden Greene (Canton) Maj 17-3
165 – Bo Zeleznik (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) over Jacob Latimer (Canton) Fall 0:44
175 – Gus Lidwell (Canton) over Gannon Pinkerton (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) Maj 12-4
190 – Danny Murphy (Canton) over Adam Moore (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) Fall 0:17 
215 – Jacob Bischoff (LeRoy/Tri-Valley) over Grant Kessler (Canton) Dec 1-0

Unity 43, Peoria Notre Dame 33

Unity closed strong to gain an 8-6 advantage in matches won and recorded six falls to help it claim a 43-33 victory over Peoria Notre Dame in the LeRoy Dual Team Sectional. 

As a result, coach Logan Patton’s Rockets will be making their third state appearance since 2020, when they finished third, and two years ago they again took third place. This will be the program’s fifth state appearance and their best finish was in their first visit to state in 1989 when they lost to Mahomet-Seymour in the finals to take second place for coach Bill Billman.

Unity meets up with Roxana on Friday at 7 p.m. in a quarterfinal dual at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington with the winner advancing to an 11 a.m. semifinal on Saturday.

Recording falls for the Rockets were Taylor Finley, Keegan Germano, 144 state runner-up Kaden Inman, Ryan Rink, Thayden Root and 190 state champion Hunter Eastin while Josh Heath won a major decision and Travis McCarter added a decision.

Coach Danny Burk’s Irish, who won their first regional championship this season, received falls from Michael McLaughlin, Josh Stedwill, Remi Joesting and 113 state runner-up Ian Akers while Chase Daugherty won a decision and Ben Mullens got a forfeit win.

Unity 43, Peoria Notre Dame 33

285 – Michael McLaughlin (Peoria Notre Dame) over Jaden Dene (Unity) Fall 0:23
106 – Josh Stedwill (Peoria Notre Dame) over Andrew Weller (Unity) Fall 3:30
113 – Travis McCarter (Unity) over Freddie Couri (Peoria (Notre Dame) Dec 9-5
120 – Remi Joesting (Peoria Notre Dame) over Bryce Martin (Unity) Fall 0:47
126 – Ian Akers (Peoria Notre Dame) over Symon Griffin (Unity) Fall 0:47
132 – Taylor Finley (Unity) over Noah Corrales (Peoria Notre Dame) Fall 2:36
138 – Keegan Germano (Unity) over Andrew Elward (Peoria Notre Dame) Fall 3:33
144 – Kaden Inman (Unity) over Jack Bartaletta (Peoria Notre Dame) Fall 1:34
150 – Josh Heath (Unity) over John Couri (Peoria (Notre Dame) Maj 12-2
157 – Chase Daugherty (Peoria Notre Dame) over Abram Davidson (Unity) Dec 8-4
165 – Ryan Rink (Unity) over Michael Kimbrough (Peoria (Notre Dame) Fall 1:24
175 – Thayden Root (Unity) over Sie Couri (Peoria Notre Dame) Fall 0:22
190 – Hunter Eastin (Unity) over Joe Culp (Peoria Notre Dame) Fall 0:32
215 – Ben Mullens (Peoria (Notre Dame) over Unknown (Unattached) FFT

Class 1A Benton Dual Team Sectional

Roxana 33, Oakwood/Salt Fork 30

Roxana earned a spot in the IHSA Dual Team Finals for the first time since 2014 when it captured a 33-30 victory over Oakwood/Salt Fork at the Class 1A Benton Dual Team Sectional.

Coach Rob Milazzo’s Shells meet Unity in the Class 1A quarterfinals on Friday at 7 p.m. at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.

Both teams split the 14 matches but Roxana recorded four falls and got a major decision to help it get past coach Mike Glosser’s Comets, who were trying to make a return trip to the dual team finals in Bloomington after taking fourth place there a year ago in their state debut.

Recording falls for the Shells were Lyndon Thies, Zebediah Katzmarek, Donald Battles and James Herring while Brandon Green Jr. won a major decision and Logan Riggs and Robert Watt captured decisions. They were deducted one team point to give them a three-point edge.

Oakwood/Salt Fork got pins from Brayden Edwards and Grant Brewer, a win by technical fall from Dalton Brown, a major decision from Steven Uden and decisions from Tyler Huchel, Jack Ajster and Carter Chambliss. Bryson Capansky, the 157 state runner-up, got pinned by Thies.

Milazzo was also coach of the Shells when they last went to state 10 years ago but they lost to Plano in the quarterfinals. Roxana, which is making its sixth appearance at state, placed twice within a three-year span when Michael Kurth was the coach and he led the program to a fourth-place finish in 2002 and to the title meet in 2004, where it fell to Montini Catholic.

Roxana 33, Oakwood/Salt Fork 30

106 – Steven Uden (Oakwood/Salt Fork) over Savion Hall (Roxana) Maj 12-1
113 – Brayden Edwards (Oakwood/Salt Fork) over Ari Walker (Roxana) Fall 2:56
120 – Tyler Huchel (Oakwood/Salt Fork) over Lleyton Cobine (Roxana) Dec 4-0
126 – Logan Riggs (Roxana) over Thomas Wells (Oakwood/Salt Fork) Dec 6-4
132 – Brandon Green Jr. (Roxana) over Pedro Rangel (Oakwood/Salt Fork) Maj 12-4
138 – Jack Ajster (Oakwood/Salt Fork) over Kaden Carilsle (Roxana) Dec 6-0
144 – Carter Chambliss (Oakwood/Salt Fork) over Trevor Gihring (Roxana) Dec 6-2
150 – Grant Brewer (Oakwood/Salt Fork) over Braden Johnson (Roxana) Fall 2:36
157 – Lyndon Thies (Roxana) over Bryson Capansky (Oakwood/Salt Fork) Fall 3:33
165 – Zebediah Katzmarek (Roxana) over Kyler Johnson (Oakwood/Salt Fork) Fall 2:38
175 – Dalton Brown (Fithian (Oakwood/Salt Fork) over Elias Thies (Roxana) TF 16-1
190 – Robert Watt (Roxana) over Jamison Chambliss (Oakwood/Salt Fork) Dec 0-0
215 – Donald Battles (Roxana) over Ezekiel Smith (Oakwood/Salt Fork) Fall 1:55
285 – James Herring (Roxana) over Kade Fleming (Oakwood/Salt Fork) Fall 1:13

Vandalia 49, Benton 24

Vandalia returns to the Dual Team Finals for the 23rd time and seeks its tenth trophy after capturing a 49-24 victory over Benton in the Class 1A Benton Dual Team Sectional. The Vandals’ 23 state appearances is one behind Montini Catholic, which got past IC Catholic Prep to advance in Class 2A.

The Vandals (30-2) meet Rickover Naval Academy in Friday’s 5:00 p.m. quarterfinals at the IHSA  Class 1A Dual Team Finals at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.

Coach Jason Clay’s Vandals won nine of the 14 matches against the host Rangers, recording falls in seven of those victories. Getting pins for Vandalia were 106 state runner-up Max Philpot, Elijah Mabry, Deon Moore, 138 state runner-up Dillon Hinton, Kaden Tidwell, Dominic Swyers and Jayden Rosetto. Ross Miller won a major decision and Cole Yarbrough added a decision.

Coach Aaron Robinson’s Rangers were led by two-time 138 state champion, three-time finalist and four-time medalist Mason Tieffel, who recorded a fall in his final match to finish a perfect 56-0 season and a 188-8 record. Derek Wilkey and Anthony Hernandez added falls while Cohen Sweely and Tiffin Kouzoukas won decisions for Benton.

Vandalia won its lone title in 1996 and has two seconds, two thirds and four fourths since it made its first state appearance in 1995 under coach Glenn Exton. 

Clay, who is 462-106 in 18 seasons leading the program which won its 1,000th dual meet earlier this season, is bringing his 13th team to the state finals. His first state team in 2007 lost the Class A title to Wilmington 30-29. The Vandals have also won trophies in three of their last four appearances, taking second to Aurora Christian in 2018, placing fourth in 2016 and taking third in the last trip to state, in 2019. 

“We are excited to be back at Dual Team state for the 23rd time,” Clay said. “The dual team tournament paired with the girls state tournament was truly a great idea that has created a fun weekend of wrestling.”

Vandalia 49, Benton 24

106 – Max Philpot (Vandalia) over Braxton Tittle (Benton) Fall
113 – Elijah Mabry (Vandalia) over Zane Stanley (Benton) Fall
120 – Cohen Sweely (Benton) over Brody Matthews (Vandalia) Dec
126 – Deon Moore (Vandalia) over Kingston Palmer (Benton) Fall
132 – Cole Yarbrough (Vandalia) over Kaden Blades (Benton) Dec
138 – Derek Wilkey (Benton) over Nic Jackson (Vandalia) Fall
144 – Dillon Hinton (Vandalia) over Aaden Webb (Benton) Fall
150 – Anthony Hernandez (Benton) over Artan Mustafa (Vandalia) Fall
157 – Mason Tieffel (Benton) over Corbin Meyers (Vandalia) Fall
165 – Ross Miller (Vandalia) over Connor Dean (Benton) Maj Dec
175 – Tiffin Kouzoukas (Benton) over Noah Langston (Vandalia) Dec
190 – Kaden Tidwell (Vandalia) over Peyton Robinson (Benton) Fall
215 – Dominic Swyers (Vandalia) over Izaiah Dalton (Benton) Fall
285 – Jayden Rosetto (Vandalia) over Drake Spears (Benton) Fall

Class 1A Newman Central Catholic Dual Team Sectional

Riverdale 38, Sandwich 36

Riverdale assured itself of its first appearance in the IHSA Dual Team Finals since 2007 when it edged Sandwich 38-36 in the Class 1A Newman Central Catholic Dual Team Sectional.

Both teams won seven matches. The Rams had five pins, a win by technical fall and a decision while the Indians recorded four falls, received a forfeit win and had two decisions.

Coach Aron Kindelsperger’s Rams received falls from Iyezayha Hill, Jacob Schredeya, Jacob Baustian, Dean Wainwright and Blake Smith while Tharren Jacobs got a win by technical fall and Zachary Bradley added a decision.

Coach Derek Jones’ Indians got pins from Ian Hawkins, Sy Smith, Jacob Ross and Jakob Gruca while Colten Stone and Miles Corder both captured decisions and Cooper Corder received a win by forfeit.

Myron Keppy led Riverdale to five state appearances from 1996 to 2007 but the last time the Rams got a win at state was in 1993 when James Boyd led the program to its second-straight third-place finish. This is the Rams’ ninth state appearance and they’ve won two trophies.

Riverdale meets the defending Class 1A champions, Coal City, in Friday’s 5 p.m. quarterfinals at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.

Riverdale 38, Sandwich 36

157 – Ian Hawkins (Sandwich) over Brennan Huggins (Riverdale) Fall 0:26
165 – Sy Smith (Sandwich) over Aaron John Scranton (Riverdale) Fall 1:12
175 – Zachary Bradley (Riverdale) over Kai Kern (Sandwich) Dec 16-9
190 – Iyezayha Hill (Riverdale) over Tristen King (Sandwich) Fall 5:56
215 – Jacob Schredeya (Riverdale) over Brandon Moore (Sandwich) Fall 1:07
285 – Jacob Baustian (Riverdale) over Eddie Hernandez (Sandwich) Fall 2:48
106 – Jacob Ross (Sandwich) over Ben Porter (Riverdale) Fall 1:59
113 – Colten Stone (Sandwich) over Triton Pulfrey (Riverdale) Dec 6-2
120 – Tharren Jacobs (Riverdale) over Ashlyn Strenz (Sandwich) TF 22-7
126 – Jakob Gruca (Sandwich) over Elijah Newton (Riverdale) Fall 6:00
132 – Dean Wainwright (Riverdale) over Jack Forth (Sandwich) Fall 3:34
138 – Cooper Corder (Sandwich) over Unknown (Unattached) FFT
144 – Miles Corder (Sandwich) over Kolton Kruse (Riverdale) Dec 9-7
150 – Blake Smith (Riverdale) over Alton Spears (Sandwich) Fall 0:56

Marian Central Catholic 48, Byron 28

Top-ranked Marian Central Catholic had an 8-6 edge in wins over Byron but recorded four falls and received four forfeit wins to help it capture a 48-28 victory at the Class 1A Newman Central Catholic Sectional that advances it to the IHSA Dual Team Finals for the first time since 2020.

Co-coaches Jordan Blandon and Ryan Prater received falls from 157 state champion Jimmy Mastny, Nicolas Astacio, Anthony Alanis and Andrew Alvarado to go along with their forfeit wins, with one of those going to 120 state champion Brayden Teunissen and another to 132 state runner-up Vance Williams and the other two to Max Astacio and Chandler Gardner.

Recording pins for coach Mike Elbury’s Tigers were Jarett Ross, Jared Claunch and Will Julian while Brody Stien added a major decision and Kyle Jones and Jackson Norris won decisions. 

This will be the Hurricanes’ fourth state appearance with the other three from 2018-2020 under coach David Silva with the highlight being a third-place finish in 2019.

Marian Central Catholic faces LeRoy/Tri-Valley in the quarterfinals on Friday at 7 p.m. at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington. The winner of that dual advances to Saturday’s 11 a.m. semifinal against Roxana or Triad with the first- and third-place dual meets set for 6.p.m. 

Marian Central Catholic 48, Byron 28

157 – Jimmy Mastny (Marian Central Catholic) over Jacob Ross (Byron) Fall 1:30
165 – Max Astacio (Marian Central Catholic) over Unknown (Unattached) FFT
175 – Nicolas Astacio (Marian Central Catholic) over Carsen Behn (Byron) Fall 1:54
190 – Kyle Jones (Byron) over Dan French (Marian Central Catholic) Dec 10-5
215 – Jarett Ross (Byron) over Owen Neuzil (Marian Central Catholic) Fall 1:02
285 – Jared Claunch (Byron) over Kaleb Eckman (Marian Central Catholic) Fall 1:32
106 – Chandler Gardner (Marian Central Catholic) over Unknown (Unattached) FFT
113 – Anthony Alanis (Marian Central Catholic) over Damien Palacios (Byron) Fall 5:20
120 – Jackson Norris (Byron) over Josiah Perez (Marian Central Catholic) Dec 9-4
126 – Brayden Teunissen (Marian Central Catholic) over Unknown (Unattached) FFT
132 – Andrew Alvarado (Marian Central Catholic) over Hunter King (Byron) Fall 0:52
138 – Vance Williams (Marian Central Catholic) over Unknown (Unattached) FFT
144 – Will Julian (Byron) over Josh Gawronski (Marian Central Catholic) Fall 5:11
150 – Brody Stien (Byron) over Connor Cassels (Marian Central Catholic) Maj 19-5

Class 1A Coal City Dual Team Sectional

Coal City 60, De La Salle Institute 15

Coach Mark Masters’ defending Class 1A Coal City Coalers won all but three matches to capture a 60-15 victory over De La Salle Institute in its own dual team sectional.

Coal City will be making its 13th state appearance and going after its 11th trophy for top-four finishes. The Coalers won their first state championship last season, have finished second six times and have two third-place finishes and one fourth-place showing.

Masters, a 2022 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee who is 470-155 in 21 seasons, is taking his seventh team to state since 2015. They won a state title last year, placed second in 2016, 2019 and 2020 and took third place in 2015 and 2018,

Collecting falls for the Coalers (36-5) were Brant Widlowski, Cade Poyner, Cooper Morris, Luke Munsterman, 126 state runner-up Brody Widlowski, Aidan Kenney, Mason Garner and Brock Finch while 165 state champion Landin Benson and Alec Waliczek both won decisions and Landon Bomba won by forfeit. 

The Meteors got a pin from David McCarthy, a decision from Malik Warren and Anthony Trendle won by injury default.

Coal City meets Riverdale in the quarterfinals of the IHSA Class 1A Dual Team Finals on Friday at 5 p.m. at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington with the winner advancing to Saturday’s 9 a.m. semifinals. The championship and third-place dual meets will be at 6 p.m.

Coal City 60, De La Salle Institute 15

157 – Brant Widlowski (Coal City) over Nicholas Arvetis (De La Salle) Fall 2:45
165 – Malik Warren (De La Salle) over John Keigher (Coal City) Dec 3-2
175 – Landin Benson (Coal City) over Josue Hernandez (De La Salle) Dec 9-4
190 – Cade Poyner (Coal City) over Terrelle Jackson (De La Salle) Fall 5:31
215 – Alec Waliczek (Coal City) over Marquis Mays (De La Salle) Dec 4-3
285 – David McCarthy (Chicago (De La Salle) over Payton Vigna (Coal City) Fall 3:42
106 – Landon Bomba (Coal City) over Unknown (Unattached) FFT
113 – Cooper Morris (Coal City) over Darrel Oman (De La Salle) Fall 1:44
120 – Anthony Trendle (De La Salle) over Culan Lindemuth (Coal City) Inj 0:43
126 – Luke Munsterman (Coal City) over Damian Gomez (De La Salle) Fall 3:49
132 – Brody Widlowski (Coal City) over Mario Perez (De La Salle) Fall 0:46
138 – Aidan Kenney (Coal City) over Connor Parker (De La Salle) Fall 1:05
144 – Mason Garner (Coal City) over Melvin Cannon (De La Salle) Fall 2:48
150 – Brock Finch (Coal City) over Patrick Young (De La Salle) Fall 2:37

Rickover Naval Academy 45, Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville 36

Rickover Naval Academy defeated Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville 45-36 in the Coal City Dual Team Sectional to earn its first appearance in the IHSA Dual Team Finals.

The victorious Sea Dragons, who are coached by Andrew Holden, got a pin from Chris Uzhca and a decision from Justin Hernandez while Mohammed Al-Tabaqchali, Christopher Chogllo, Justin Chogllo, Jonathan Pawlowski, Breyon Wallace and Jonny Velez got forfeit wins. 

Coach Francisco Reyes’ Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville Eagles received falls from Caleb Gordon, Denzel Adjei, DaLauren Edwards, Justin Soria and Jemel Obrien.

Rickover Naval Academy meets Vandalia (30-2) on Friday at 5 p.m. in the quarterfinals at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington

Rickover Naval Academy 45, Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville 36

157 – Mohammed Al-Tabaqchali (Rickover Naval Academy) over Unknown (Unattached) FFT
165 – Caleb Gordon (Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville) over Evan Grabowski (Rickover Naval Academy) Fall 0:51
175 – Denzel Adjei (Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville) over Naruto Martinez (Rickover Naval Academy) Fall 4:44
190 – Christopher Chogllo (Rickover Naval Academy) over Unknown (Unattached) FFT
215 – Sean Brown (Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville) over Unknown (Unattached) FFT
285 – DaLauren Edwards (Chicago Military Academy-Bronzeville) over Juan Vega Hernandez (Rickover Naval Academy) Fall 4:38
106 – Justin Chogllo (Rickover Naval Academy) over Unknown (Unattached) FFT
113 – Jonathan Pawlowski (Rickover Naval Academy) over Unknown (Unattached) FFT
120 – Breyon Wallace (Rickover Naval Academy) over Unknown (Unattached) FFT
126 – Chris Uzhca (Rickover Naval Academy) over Gustavo Benitez-Mendez (Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville) Fall 3:23
132 – Justin Soria (Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville) over Jacob Pizarro (Rickover Naval Academy) Fall 3:41
138 – Jonny Velez (Rickover Naval Academy) over Unknown (Unattached) FFT
144 – Justin Hernandez (Rickover Naval Academy) over Ryan Singleton (Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville) Dec 7-1
150 – Jemel Obrien (Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville) over Brandon Valbuena (Rickover Naval Academy) Fall 1:50