Class 2A individual boys state finals

By Chris Walker for the IWCOA

IC Catholic Prep and Providence Catholic reigned supreme at the IHSA’s Class 2A boys wrestling individual state finals at State Farm Center in Champaign, Feb. 19-21.

Max Cumbee (132), Frank Nitti (144), Aiden Arnett (150) and Brody Kelly (175) won state titles for IC Prep and the four were the most from any team among the three classes.

Providence was right behind the Knights with three champions as Max Mandac (126), Tommy Banks (138) and Justus Heeg (157) won titles to lead the Celtics.

In Class 3A, Marmion Academy also produced three state champions and in Class 1A, Vandalia had three as well. IC Prep, Providence, Marmion and Vandalia were the only four teams to make the bus ride back home with three or more recently crowned state champions. 

IC Prep had 10 wrestlers medal to lead the 2A field while Providence had eight kids standing at the awards podium, relishing in the limelight one final time while dozens of fans held up their phones, snapping photos of their beloved high school wrestlers.

Sammy Durante (126) was one of five Knights to advance to the finals as IC Prep and Providence both had five wrestlers move onto the finals. Durante was the lone Knight to face a Celtic in the finals, dropping an 8-3 decision to Mandac.

All but five of the 2A title matches had a Knight or Celtic battling for it as the two schools accounted for 64% representation in the finals.

While IC Prep and Providence combined for half of the 2A state titles, the remaining seven champions had the distinct honor of being their team’s lone champ.

Marian’s Jimmy Mastny (215) and Washington’s Wyatt Medlin (165) each won their third state title and Saint Viator’s Jaxon Penovich (190) won his second, after winning at 190 in Class 3A while competing for Prospect in 2024.

Antioch’s Owen Shea (285), Batavia’s Kai Enos (120), Freeport’s Treyden Diduch (106) and Grayslake Central’s Vince DeMarco (113) etched their names in the IHSA history books as the four joined select company as state champions. 

IC Prep’s Foley Calcagno (190) and Anthony Sebastian (285) finished strongly, picking up victories in their third-place matches while Drew Murante (113) and Kannon Judycki (120) took fourth and Mike Bird (106) placed fifth. 

Providence’s Christian Corcoran (113) and Jasper Harper (165) took second place, Lucas Forsythe (132) and Ameer Khalil (175) were third and Luke Banas (144) was fourth.

106 – Treyden Diduch, Freeport

A year ago in Champaign, Diduch opened with a loss against Providence’s Christian Corcoran at 106. He finished 1-2 and didn’t advance.

This year, Corcoran took second place at 113 for the Celtics while Diduch won it all at 106, earning a 6-3 decision over Glenwood’s Cooper Clarke in his title match.

“It feels good, no other way to really describe it other than it feels good, it’s like a dream come true,” Diduch said. “I went up against very hard competition and I just battled through, faced adversity. Just the people here are tough people, tough matches. All of them were tough in their own way.”

He got stronger in the course of a year.

“This year I put on weight since last year,” he said, “And learned a lot this year.”

Grayslake Central freshman Dominic DeMarco earned a tech fall against Washington senior Symon Woods to take third place, and IC Prep’s Mike Bird beat fellow sophomore, St. Viator’s Thomas Emery, by a 12-2 major, for fifth.

113 – Vince DeMarco, Grayslake Central

After taking second place at 106 last season, DeMarco was itching to get back to the state finals for unfinished business. The junior took care of it, defeating Providence sophomore Christian Corcoran, 4-2.

“It hasn’t really set in, feels like I just won another match, but I know pretty soon it’ll feel pretty good,” DeMarco said. “It’s a really long tournament, a long weekend, a lot of sitting and waiting around, and I think I worked a lot on my mental game and I really think that helped because I could stay composed and calm and wrestle how I needed to and stay confident the whole weekend.”

DeMarco earned a 15-9 decision over Crystal Lake South’s Logan Aarseth, got a 16-1 tech fall against Bloomington’s Cooper Bye and earned an 11-2 major decision over Sycamore freshman Liam Schroeder in the semifinal.

“They were all really tough wrestlers, tough guys,” DeMarco said. “I just knew I needed to get to my attacks and my offense.”

Now it’s time for celebration and respite.

“I’ll probably take one or two weeks off just to rest my body,” he said. “I’m kind of beat up, and then I’ll get back at it and get ready for freestyle.”

DeMarco’s younger brother Dominic was among the four Grayslake Central wrestlers who medaled, taking third at 106. Krish Sahu (126) and Warren Nash (157) both placed sixth.

Marian freshman Hogan Rice earned a 16-6 major decision over IC Prep sophomore Drew Murante to take third, and Schroeder upended Deerfield freshman Jayme Cohen, 10-6, to take fifth.

120 – Kai Enos, Batavia

Enos became Batavia’s first IHSA state champion, joining Mikey Caliendo, as the only other champion in Batavia history. Caliendo won the IWCOA’s 3A individual state championship at 160 in 2021, an event that was developed out of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Caliendo had back-to-back fourth place finishes in Class 3A at 138 in 2019 and 145 in 2020 during the IHSA’s annual state tournament. 

Enos surpassed three Bulldogs who placed second at IHSA state over the years, which includes Matt Weight (215 in 2000), Logan Arlis (112 in 2009) and Kaden Fetterolf (138 in 2022).

“It’s a lot of hours, it’s a lot of hard work form him and his teammates,” Batavia coach Seth Winkle said. “And, you know during sectionals he really felt for a lot of his teammates who came real close to getting here, and he was carrying them throughout this tournament and representing them and it’s just really a whole community effort: parents, family, coaches, kids, teammates.”

Wrestling against Morris’ Paxton Valentine for the third time after the two had split their previous two matches, Enos prevailed over the junior, 4-2.

“I knew it was going to come down to the last 10 seconds of the match, like it did,” Enos said. “Honestly, he’s a great opponent. I love wrestling every match with him. He gets me pumped up, because this is what I come here for, it’s for these good matches, these learning moments.”

Enos had earned a 10-1 major decision over Glenwood’s Jaxon Ferguson in his semifinal on Friday.

“After that match I felt really confident and it kind of hit me (Saturday) morning where I was just oh wow, I really got to wrestle today,” Enos said. “And you just got to get over it, it’s going to happen at some point, going to have to go after that and honestly been training for so long that I just wanted to get to that moment, I just was waiting for it, it’s been a long time.”

Enos did it for The Windmill City.

“This is for B-town, baby,” he said. “It’s inspiring. I don’t think I’d be into wrestling as much if Mikey Caliendo wasn’t a state champ. I just want to match his level. I just want to be one of the greats.”

With a state championship already, and two more years remaining at Batavia, Enos is already in select company and has an opportunity for much more.

“My mindset the next two years is just keep working harder everyday,” he said. “And just remember that this feeling, it’s great, and you’ve got to work hard to get it so I just got to keep going at it.”

Last year Enos got to state but didn’t place, losing to Warren’s Caleb Noble in the 113 semifinals. Noble went on to win a state title last year, as well as this year and the year before it, as he became a three-time champion. Perhaps Enos is on a similar path.

Crystal Lake Central junior Jackson Marlett defeated IC Prep’s Kannon Judycki, who succumbed to an injury at 2:54 for third place, while Mt. Vernon freshman Dalton St. Angelo placed fifth in his debut state series appearance, earning a 6-2 win over Glenwood senior Jaxon Ferguson.

126 – Max Mandac, Providence

A year ago, Providence had nine wrestlers advance to state, but Mandac wasn’t one of them. Mandac lost in the Class 2A Hinsdale South sectional quarterfinals to St. Rita’s Jack Hogan, who would take third at 144 at state this year. After fighting through the sectional wrestlebacks, his season came to a close at 16-22 after he got pinned by Kennedy’s Victor Alvarado at 120.

What a difference a year can make.

“It’s amazing,” the Elwood resident said. “I was just keeping consistent, practicing every single day, never getting in my head, always keeping on open mind, always learning new stuff and just keep working throughout it.”

He kept on working, eyeing the prize that was attainable through such efforts.

“I’d say I got better at everything,” he said. “Most of the mental part. I used to always get down and ‘Aw, I’m going to lose,’ and now I know I can win. I believe, and I have God with me to help so I can get it done. I just kept wrestling. Just no breaks and I knew I was going to get better some way, somehow so I just kept at it and now it’s finally paying off.”

Mandac, who placed fifth in the Chicago Catholic League Conference, pinned IC Prep senior Sammy Murante in consolation round three to stay alive. He would see Murante again in the state final on Saturday, collection an 8-3 victory.

“I’d say after I pinned him at conference that I thought I could actually win state now,” he said. “I was confident. I learned to stay on my fight and get to my attacks so I could win the match.”

Mattoon senior Tristan Porter beat Sycamore senior Tyler Lockhart, 11-5, to take third, and Mahomet-Seymour junior Gideon Hayter doubled up Grayslake Central junior Krish Sahu, 8-4, to place fifth.

132 – Max Cumbee, IC Prep

Cumbee, a junior, became a two-time champion after scoring a 13-4 major decision over Morton’s Harrison Dea. Last year in Champaign, Cumbee won a 1-0 nail-biter over Rochelle senior Xavier Villalobos to win the title at 126.

“It feels great doing it again, there’s nothing better than that except winning it in 3A next year, I can’t wait for that,” Cumbee said. “I actually thought it was kind of easier. I’ve been here before. I didn’t have as much nerves and I was really confident in all my techniques, and I was confident in my training. I felt like I made a big jump from last year to this year so, you know, I was prepared for this one.”

Upon considering how the Cumbee of today would far against the Cumbee from last year?

“I think I would tech myself,” Cumbee said. “That would be my goal to tech myself, to whoop on my last year’s self. And I’m just trying to make the leap to be top in the country, I’m kind of bouncing around that top 40 in country right now. I want to break into that Top 5, Top 10 next year, that’s my goal.”

Like his peers, Cumbee could feed off the atmosphere at the State Farm Center with packed seats and screaming fans.

“Such an amazing atmosphere,” he said. “All your fans people cheering with you, people cheering against you. You can take all that energy and wrestle a good match. I love that pressure.”

Providence sophomore Lucas Forsythe shut out Washington senior Logan Makiney, 4-0, to capture third place, and Riverside-Brookfield senior Izaiah Gonzalez defeated Morris sophomore Parker Barry, 10-4.

138 – Tommy Banas, Providence

Trust.

Banas believed in Providence when he chose to attend the New Lenox school three years ago. Today, he’s one of its three state champions. 

“I knew they had a plan for me at Providence,” the junior said. “And I knew there was something special here. I believed in it.”

Banas placed fifth at state at 132 last year, and believed he was capable of more.

Showing no fear, Banas earned tech falls over Freeport’s Thomas Olson and Champaign Central’s Talon Baker before battling to a 3-0 decision over St. Ignatius’ Colton Huff in the semifinals.

“Don’t be scared, you’ve got to be a fearless warrior,” Banas said. “Go out there and have some fun and score some points, and that’s what I did.”

Crystal Lake South senior Nathan Randle awaited in the finals. Banas ended the senior’s bid for a state title with the 7-4 victory.

“It feels amazing,” Banas said. “It’s the best feeling in the world. It took three years of hard work and dedication. I trusted the process and this is where it got me.”

Deerfield junior Adrian Cohen pinned Huff at 2:29 to place third and Civic Memorial’s Avery Jaime beat Morris junior Brock Claypool, 6-4 to take fifth.

144 – Frank Nitti, IC Prep

After going 2-2 at state while representing York the past two seasons, Nitti not only placed, but captured the 144 state title after defeating Crystal Lake Central junior Nicholas Marchese, 4-2.

“That was sick, that was something I’ve been working my butt off to get to,” Nitti said. “I visualized it for so long, crazy it became a reality and it did.”

Last year, Nitti lost to Marist’s Donavon Allen, who would go on to take fourth in the state at 144. The prior year, Nitti went 2-2 at 138.

Now just a hop, skip and a jump to another school in Elmhurst, Nitti was one of IC Prep’s state-best four champions.

“We push each other hard, we’re held to a high standard and every day is a joy to be in the room,” he said. “I don’t think it would’ve been possible without making the move, around this community and doing what’s best for me and being around my teammates.”

For Marchese, he’ll look to get back to Champaign for his swan song as a senior a year from now. He had a great experience as a junior only to be cut short by Nitti.

“It’s an awesome thing to be a part of and I’m friends with the majority of my opponents,” Marchese said. “So much respect, so much appreciation for everyone who comes out here and just wrestles as hard as they can. It’s just an awesome experience. Thank you to the University of Illinois for hosting. I don’t think any other place could do it the same.”

Last winter Marchese was wrestling for Marian, going 1-2 in the Class 1A state tournament for the Hurricanes at 126. On Friday night, Marchese got a match away from a coveted state title, winning a wild 16-10 match over Deerfield’s Alexander Shvartsman in the semifinal.

St. Rita senior Jack Hogan blanked Providence sophomore Luke Banas, 4-0, to take third and Shvartsman received a medical forfeit in the fifth-place match versus Antioch junior Dominic Garcia.

150 – Aiden Arnett, IC Prep

All you need is one.

A year ago after losing 1-0 in the state title match at 144, Arnett won 1-0, defeating Civic Memorial sophomore Knox Verbais in this year’s 150 final.

“It feels so good, especially not getting it done last year, I really had to go out there and get it done,” Arnett said. “There was no way I was getting second again.”

That would go to Verbais who took third last season at 150. Verbais has had back-to-back fantastic seasons (44-7 and 46-7) come to an end against a couple of state champions. Last year he lost to Providence’s Justus Heeg in a semifinal.

Arnett’s path to the title included a 55-second pin of Ag Science’s Maurice Bush to get started, followed by a 19-4 tech fall over Morris’ Carter Skoff in the quarterfinals and a 16-4 major decision against Oak Forest’s Austin Perez in a semifinal.

Now, as one of four champions from his school, Arnett is turning his focus on the team dual state title which will be determined next weekend.

“I already know we’re going back to-back,” he said. “It’s how much we’re winning by.”

Oak Forest senior Austin Perez pinned Rockford East senior Dana Wickson with one-second remaining in the third period to take third place. Perez, who lost to Arnett in the semifinals, had previously beaten Wickson, by a 14-6 major decision, in the quarterfinals. Last year, Perez also took third, but at 144.

“This is my fourth time facing that kid so we’re both very familiar with each other’s styles,” Perez said. “I beat him yesterday by a pretty good amount, but today, a little tired, a bit more gassed and more sore. Anyways, I knew what I had to do and I was comfortable with that latch out so I let it fly.”

Last year, Perez needed a tiebreaker to win his third-place match.

“It means a lot to me,” Perez said. “Obviously, you always root for the best. Had tough opponent (in semis) and couldn’t fight (Arnett) off so third place was on my mind and I was ready to take it. It means a lot to me, the love I have for this sport. It’s a great feeling to win. Nothing better than that.”

Marian freshman Brendan Nardin, who has been plagued by injuries for a good chunk of the season, took fifth after a 1-0 decision over Antioch junior Dominic Garcia.

157 – Justus Heeg, Providence

Heeg isn’t just making history, he’s on a path to travel where no athlete has ever traveled before in Illinois high school wrestling 

As an eighth grader in 2024, Heeg won a 2A title at 139 in Minnesota as he was afforded the rare opportunity to be a varsity athlete before freshman year even arrived.

Last winter as a freshman, Heeg won the 2A title at 150, earning a 20-5 tech fall over Mascoutah’s Brock Ross.

On Saturday, it was like déjà vu as Heeg once again went head-to-head with Ross, and once again beat him by tech fall, nearly by the same tally, 21-5, as Ross suffered his lone defeat of the season.

Still just an underclassman, but with three state titles already to his athletic resume, Heeg holds the distinct possibility of becoming the state’s first five-time champion if he can duplicate the same success he’s had in Champaign the next two years as he’s had in his first two.

“It feels good to do it three times in a row,” Heeg said. “Not as great as my eighth grade year because, I mean, I faced a little harder competition, but it still feels awesome. Feels good to get these two states titles in Illinois under my belt.”

Heeg tells himself he can accomplish great things and then goes out and gets it done.

“To get here from where I was last year, I’m just continuing to wake up everyday, talk to myself and then just talk myself throughout the day and just keep pushing myself,” he said. “I go into the room and push myself. In school, that’s the most important thing. If I’m not doing good in school I can’t wrestle and that would not be good.”

Facing Ross again, his mindset didn’t change.

“I had the same mindset to go out there and score a lot of points and put on a show for the crowd,” he said. “And that’s what I did.”

Ross has had a phenomenal season.

After opening with a win by fall over Galesburg’s Jack Bernardi, Ross extended his unbeaten record to 42 straight matches after a 19-10 major decision over IC Prep’s Joey Pontrelli and a 10-3 win over Metamora junior Grady Neal in the semis.

“I was only focused on my semis there (tonight on Friday), nothing else,” Ross said. “I have wrestled (Neal) in the past this season and did win there so it gave me a little confidence booster that I know that I can win against people like that so I just did my thing and it turned out to be good.”

But then he ran into Heeg again.

“It’s a long journey to get back here, it’s very hard but you just got to push through it and see what happens,” Ross said. “It’s super nerve-wracking here with tons of people watching, and your teammates and your coaches that are here, too. It’s definitely intense when you’re on the mat and trying to advance and not lose. Really nerve-wracking when you’re out there.”

At Providence, the Celtics focus on consistency and it’s paying off with excellent results on the state’s biggest stage.

“Consistency – we all show up everyday after school and go into the room and get our work in,” Heeg said. “And then after practice we’re going in and getting recovery and doing our homework and moving onto the next day.”

Neal bounced back from his defeat to Ross in the semifinals and earned an 11-1 major against Wauconda junior Brian Hart to take third, and Springfield junior Bryce Bryant defeated Grayslake Central, by a 14-2 major, to take fifth.

After winning, Neal ran towards head coach Jake Godinez and assistant coach Al Durst and leapt into the arms of Godinez.

“My head coach Jake Godinez and assistant Al Durst have been in my corner a long time,” Neal said. “Al, since I started wrestling, and Jake I’ve known for years now. I kind of had an idea (that I was going to do it) but I was just like caught up in the moment. You know, a lot of hard work, spending time with them.”

165 – Wyatt Medlin, Washington

Medlin was one of four wrestlers from Washington to place. Josh Hoffer (215) placed second and Symon Woods (106) and Logan Makiney (132) took fourth.

“It’s pretty surreal,” Medlin said. “If you would have told me when I was a freshman that I would end it all with a state championship and an undefeated record, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

Medlin was dominant as he finished off an undefeated season to win his third state title.

After opening with a pin in 52 seconds over Lakes’ Michael Flatley, Medlin rattled off three consecutive tech falls to win. The final one, over Providence’s Jasper Harper, 19-3, gave him three titles in three different weight classes. Quite a finish in Champaign for someone who will wrestle here next year for the Illini.

Last year Medlin had four consecutive tech falls to win at 157.

As a sophomore in 2024, he won at 138.

Medlin finished 16-1 lifetime at the state finals. His only loss came as a freshman at 126 when he lost to Triad’s Colby Crouch in the semifinals before rebounding to place third.

Geneseo junior Izaac Gaines took third as his opponent, Civic Memorial junior James Wojcikiewicz, did not compete due to injury.  St. Rita senior Micah Spinazzola earned an 18-6 major decision over Sycamore’s Cooper Bode to take fifth.

175 – Brody Kelly, IC Prep

Kelly has another week to compete as he’ll travel with his team to Bloomington to attempt to win another Class 2A team dual title.

He’s already won his second consecutive individual title after he pinned Geneseo senior Kye Weinzierl at 3:12.

“That is the goal this year, I mean, trying to put all our pieces together and win this thing as a team now,” Kelly said. “All my great coaches and great teammates make it a lot easier. Having those great resources and my parents are always there for me which helps a lot.”

Last year, Kelly ended Weinzierl’s season with a 21-6 tech fall victory in the state title match at 175. The rematch was one of two in Class 2A this season and Heeg beat Kelly at 157 for the second straight time.

“It’s always pretty hard to win, but I enjoyed it more this year definitely because I wasn’t as worried about winning,” Kelly said. “It was more the experience out there and it definitely helped me prepare.”

Weinzierl pinned Danville’s Josiah Williams, and earned tech falls over Oak Forest’s Jason Janke and Mascoutah’s Jordan Sonon-Hale to return to the title match.

“It’s something I’ve had my eyes on since last year and I set the goal of making it again,” Weinzierl said. “I’ve been working really hard for it in the off-season with an amazing coaching staff and a great room of wrestlers, great practice partner, and all that has driven me to this point. It’s just work ethic. Me and Izaac Gaines (165) get after it everyday and coaches push us really hard to get better and try to separate yourself from everyone else.”

After debuting at state as a freshman in 2023 and going 0-2 at 145, Weinzierl came back to Champaign as a sophomore, going 2-2 at 157. He’s spent his upperclassmen years as the runner-up at 175.

“Being here four years in a row it never gets easier, but having a great support staff helps,” he said. “And just kind of coming out here with one goal, one goal only, and taking it one match at a time. It’s the kind of a tactic we use in our room and something we believe in.”

Kelly was one of four IC Prep state champions.

“I think it just shows how well our coaching staff operates and how hard they push us,” he said. “It obviously works very well.”

Hard work, great fun.

“I think if you love the sport you’re always going to have fun when you do it,” Kelly said. “I definitely love this sport and I always have fun when I’m going and honestly I have more fun when it’s harder. I like the hard matches. I like having to grind out a good win.”

Providence freshman Ameer Khalil rallied past Sonon-Hale, 9-6, to take third place.

“I was down 6-1 and I know my work ethic is the best work ethic,” Khalil said. “I push myself everyday for this and I knew I broke him. I was after him. I go after them. Whoever it is I’m going to push my pace and get to my spots.”

He may be a freshman, but like any of the many underclassmen who were in Champaign competing this weekend, year in school is nothing more than a number when the talent, skill and drive are paramount.

“It’s been great, especially as a freshman,” he said. “My goal wasn’t going to come down here, it was to go and place. I’m not an ordinary freshman, I work hard, I know I can compete with any senior in the country.”

That Celtics room is special.

“I know I have the best room in the state, in the country,” Khalil said. “I get punched everyday by all my coaches, all my teammates to have the best gas tank and push the pace on these kids because I know no one in the state works as hard as us Celtics so I knew I was ready to go, I was ready to push the pace on him.

Janke finished with a win, earning a 4-1 decision over Prairie Ridge sophomore Aiden Rodriguez to take fifth.

190 – Jaxon Penovich, Saint Viator

It had been 40 years since Saint Viator had a state champion before Saturday.

Penovich, who won the 190 title in Class 3A while competing for Prospect in 2024, earned a 5-3 decision in this year’s 2A 190 final over Mahomet-Seymour sophomore Marco Casillas.

Penovich joined Paul Ducato as the only two St. Viator wrestlers to win a state title. Ducato won at 98 pounds in 1986. When Penovich won at Prospect, it had been just seven years since Matt Wroblewski went undefeated to win a title at 220 in 2017.

“I’m not too sure of the exact date but it’s been a damn while,” Penovich said. “I think it was a little harder (than his previous one) but a lot of respect to my opponent, a very tough kid. I’m grateful. Again, it’s just been an amazing journey all four years of wrestling and I’m going to continue to wrestle at Illinois and it’s just a a very exciting time.”

Doing it at his soon-to-be new home made it extra special.

“I’m wrestling here at the University of Illinois so it feels great and I’m going to be right back here and wrestling on this floor and it’s extremely exciting and a lot of fun,” he said. “Now it’s just fine tuning a lot of small little technique things and just keep pushing really pushing myself. I didn’t want to take any breaks. I had a really tough schedule this year and it’s been just one little piece at a time.”

Penovich had company from Arlington Heights as Thomas Emery (106) and Wynn Philippi (285) each placed sixth for St. Viator.

IC Prep senior Foley Calcagno had to get past a former state champion to take third place, earning a 12-1 major over Lemont senior Judah Heeg, who won the 190 title a year ago. Heeg’s bid to repeat was thwarted when Penovich earned a tech fall against him in Friday’s semifinals. 

“The tournament shows how hard we train because there is so much more on the line and we still do the basics that we were taught to do, we still do that every day no matter how big or small the tournament,” Calcagno said. “I think the difference is just our training. We train so much harder than these guys. Our coaches just push us to get better and in better shape everyday. I think that is the biggest difference is our training.”

In a battle of seniors for fifth place, Marian’s Dan French, who earned his 100th win during the team’s dual state sectional win over Sycamore, picked up another with a 1-0 victory against Marion’s Evan Francis.

215 – Jimmy Mastny, Marian Central Catholic

Mastny joined select company as he won his third state title in as many seasons, and first in 2A after winning the Class 1A title last year at 190 and at 157 as a freshman in 2024.

“It feels great that I could show all of my hard work, especially for my coaches,” Mastny said. “It definitely shows that wrestling a national schedule helps. Classes don’t really matter when we’re wrestling all of the best people. I knew I could get to my attacks.”

Mastny had to get past the Class 2A defending state champion at 215, Washington senior Josh Hoffer in the final, and the Iowa State recruit defeated the University of Illinois recruit on his future home turf, with a 17-1 tech fall victory.

Mastny had just earned a tech fall against Hoffer on Feb. 5, when Marian bested Washington to advance the team to state during the Class 2A Sycamore Team Duals Sectional.

“I just had to execute,” Mastny said. “It felt like all the other matches I was working well on top and my offense on my feet was working well.”

In addition to those two tech fall wins, Mastny pinned Hoffer twice this season.

Marian had three others in the finals. Hogan Rice (113) took third and Brendan Nardin (150) and Dan French (190) placed fifth.

Wauconda sophomore Finn Loomis won by fall at 3:41 over Rock Island junior Rowan Stockwell to take third place, and East Peoria senior Alec Del Toro pinned Morton senior Benjamin Chaffer at 2:39 for fifth.

285 – Owen Shea, Antioch

Fuel was free of charge for Shea in Champaign and the senior filled up his tank, using that to inspire him to a state title before his full attention turns to football.

“I love being doubted,” Shea said. “I felt like I was doubted a little bit this weekend. I didn’t hear my name mentioned once as a possible state champion. Not many people believed in me. I loved it. I used it as fuel.”

The Drake football recruit overcame a knee injury late in the season and won four matches to capture the 285 title after an 8-4 victory against Glenwood’s Cody Moss. 

With his knee injury persisting, Shea took a break after sectionals to recover in time to compete at state. He may not have been 100% but he got 100% of the result he wanted after not wrestling the entire week after sectionals.

At state, Shea had an 8-0 major decision over Washington’s Sean Thornton to start, earned a 15-0 tech fall over Mattoon’s Mitchell Clapp in the quarterfinals and squeezed past DePaul College Prep’s Hunter Wahtola, 5-3, in the semis.

As luck would have it, Shea’s first-ever heavyweight opponent in high school proved to be the same kid who he’d beat to win the state title.

“I lost to him in my first tournament as an official heavyweight,” he said. “I was a little nervous going into that match against him the first time. I think that the nerves were what got me to make that mistake and get reversed. But today I walked in confident and knew what I was going to do.”

Shea’s teammates, Chase Nobiling (144) and Dominic Garcia (150), battled their way back from losses in Thursday’s quarterfinals to find their way to the award podium. Both fell short in their fifth-place matches, taking sixth each respectively.

IC Prep junior Anthony Sebastian, who dropped his third-place match last season, 4-0, to Wahtola, got the junior back this time, earning a 4-3 decision to take third. Over on the fifth-place mat, Clapp doubled up St. Viator’s Wynn Philippi, 8-4.