Class 3A Sectional Roundup

By Curt Herron
For the IWCOA

Class 3A Hinsdale Central Sectional roundup

Marist had 11 individual qualifiers, Marmion Academy qualified 10 individuals and Mount Carmel had four champions and nine individual qualifiers to the IHSA finals after each turned in strong performances at the Class 3A Hinsdale Central. The 11 state qualifiers is a new program record for Marist, whose previous-best was 10 in 2013.

Winning championships were Mount Carmel freshman Seth Mendoza (35-2 at 106), junior Sergio Lemley (36-1 at 126), sophomore Colinfreshman Will Denny ( Kelly (33-4 at 160) and senior Ryan Boersma (36-2 at 285), Marmion Academy junior Jameson Garcia (28-4 at 113), senior Tyler Perry (36-3 at 170) and sophomore Jack Lesher (37-4 at 182), Marist junior Peter Marinopoulos (36-0 at 195) and senior Ghee Rachal (29-2 at 220), Carl Sandburg senior Sammie Hayes (10-0 at 120), Hinsdale Central junior Cody Tavoso (24-3 at 132), Downers Grove South senior Jimmy Nugent (35-6 at 138), Eisenhower senior Nate Pacetti (28-3 at 145) and Shepard senior Damari Reed (32-0 at 152).

Boersma is a four-time qualifier who won an IWCOA title and was fifth in 2020. Garcia, Hayes, Lemley, Rachal, Reed and Tavoso are all three-time state qualifiers. Lemley won an IHSA title in 2020 and took first in Indiana in 2021. Garcia and Reed were IWCOA champions, Hayes was fifth in the IWCOA and second in 2020 and Tavoso took third in the IWCOA and was sixth in 2020. Kelly also took third in the IWCOA and Rachal was fourth in the IWCOA.

Claiming second place were Marist freshman Will Denny (28-9 at 120), seniors Owen Dunlap (16-2 at 138) and Tommy Boland (33-6 at 160), Mount Carmel sophomores Eddie Enright (24-10 at 132) and Rylan Breen (25-12 at 182) and senior Elliot Lewis (23-10 at 195), Marmion Academy sophomores Donny Pigoni (33-10 at 106) and Collin Carrigan (23-3 at 152), Morton junior Anthony Lopez (32-3 at 113), Naperville Central junior Ethan Olson (27-7 at 126), West Aurora sophomore Noah Quintana (39-6 at 145), Downers Grove South junior Will Schuessler (36-8 at 170), Hinsdale Central sophomore Marko Ivanisevic (34-2 at 220) and Carl Sandburg senior Kevin Zimmer (14-1 at 285).

Dunlap is a four-time qualifier who took sixth in 2020 while Boland and Zimmer are making their third trips to state with Zimmer taking second in 2020 and Boland fifth at the IWCOA while Enright also placed fourth at the IWCOA.

In some of the closest title matches, Tavoso won 4-2 over Enright at 132, Nugent claimed a 4-0 win over Dunlap at 138, Pacetti edged Quintana 4-3 at 145, Reed remained unbeaten with an 11-6 win over Carrigan at 152, Perry beat Schuessler 7-3 at 170 and Marinopoulos won 6-3 over Lewis at 195. Claiming wins by major decision were Mendoza at 106, Kelly at 160 and Lesher at 182 while Garcia got a win by technical fall at 113 and recording falls were Lemley at 126, Rachal at 220 and Boersma at 285).

Third-place finishes were turned in by Lyons Township sophomore Gunnar Garelli (33-10 at 126) and senior Cooper Schodrof (25-5 at 170), Downers Grove South junior Luke Swan (30-6 at 132) and senior Noah Rapinchuk (27-14 at 195), Downers Grove North sophomore Harrison Konder (39-3 at 138) and junior Ben Bielawski (35-4 at 182), Carl Sandburg freshman Rocco Hayes (27-12), Mount Carmel sophomore Damian Resendez (27-8 at 113), Oak Park and River Forest senior Jalen Dunson (19-3 at 120), Marist freshman Ricky Ericksen (35-9 at 145), Naperville Central senior Ayden Lutes (22-2 at 152), Waubonsie Valley senior Antonio Torres (29-1 at 160), Marmion Academy junior Sean Scheck (34-10 at 220) and West Aurora senior Jordan Lishman (29-7 at 285).

Bielawski and Torres are three-time qualifiers with Torres taking second in the IWCOA and fifth in 2020. Three other third-place finishers placed at the IWCOA, Resendez was third, Konder took fifth and Lishman was sixth.

Finishing in fourth-place were Marist freshmen George Marinopoulos (31-10 at 106) and Michael Esteban (34-10 at 113) and juniors Jesse Herrera (23-12 at 126) and Jake Liberatore (18-2 at 170) and sophomore Conor Phelan (27-10 at 182), Marmion Academy juniors Santino Scolaro (26-8 at 138), Tegan Chumbley (29-16 at 145) and Teddy Perry (24-14 at 195) and senior Kenny Siwicki (30-14 at 160), West Aurora seniors Moses Quintana (35-11 at 152) and Giovanni Amaya (29-8 at 220), Mount Carmel freshman Jairo Acuna (22-14 at 120), Bolingbrook senior Joe McDermott (28-11 at 132) and Downers Grove North senior Jordan Lewis (33-6 at 285).

Class 3A Granite City Sectional

Lockport had three champions and six qualifiers to lead the way at the Class 3A Granite City Sectional. Homewood-Flossmoor and Moline both had two title winners and seven other teams had champions and all but three of the schools that participated qualified at least one individual for the IHSA finals in Champaign.

Winning titles for Lockport were senior Andrew Blackburn-Forst (31-5 at 220) and juniors Logan Swaw (30-5 at 152) and Brayden Thompson (41-0 at 170). Homewood-Flossmoor’s champions were juniors Deion Johnson (34-6 at 106) and Vincent Robinson (29-2 at 126) while Moline’s title winners were senior Kole Brower (42-1 at 138) and junior Noah Tapia (44-2 at 145).

Other unbeaten sectional champions are Rich Township junior Nasir Bailey (37-0 at 132) and Pekin senior Tyler Haynes (33-0 at 285). The sectional’s other title winners were Andrew junior Trevor Silzer (31-2 at 113), Lincoln-Way Central senior Joey Malito (41-1 at 120), Plainfield North senior Jared Gumila (45-3 at 160), Belleville East junior Dominic Thebeau (33-1 at 182) and Plainfield South senior John Pacewic (30-3 at 195).

Gumilia will be making his fourth appearance in the state finals. Champions  who will be making their third to state are Bailey, Blackburn-Forst, Brower and Tapia.

Robinson’s title win at 126 is especially noteworthy since he handed Plainfield North senior Jacob Macatangay his first defeat in 43 matches. Macatangay won all 34 of his matches a year ago and so he had won 76-consecutive matches over the last two seasons. The last previous time that the Tiger standout had lost was in the fifth-place match at 113 in the 2020 state finals.

Finishing in second place were Edwardsville senior Jorden Johnson (41-7 at 152) and juniors Dylan Gvillo (43-5 at 138) and Drew Landau (33-9 at 145), Lincoln-Way East junior Ari Zaeske (32-8 at 170) and freshman Tyson Zvonar (35-7 at 120), Lockport seniors Paul Kadlec (30-16 at 160) and David Vukobratovich (29-9 at 113) and Plainfield North seniors Jacob Macatangay (42-1 at 126) and Kaden McCombs (40-10 at 285).

Also claiming second place finishes were Homewood-Flossmoor senior Justin Thomas (31-9 at 220), Providence Catholic senior Billy Meizner (28-7 at 132), Plainfield Central junior Max Bowen (24-5 at 182), Yorkville junior Hunter Janeczko (32-4 at 195) and Andrew sophomore Max Siegel (28-4 at 106). Gvillo and Meiszner will join Macatangay as three-time state qualifiers.

Nine championship matches featured two top-10 competitors. They were at 138 (No. 1 Brower over No. 2 Gvillo, 17-5), 126 (No. 1 Robinson over No. 3 Macatangay, 11-3), 220 (No. 1 Blackburn-Forst over No. 3 Thomas, 7-0), 132 (No. 1 Bailey over No. 5 Meiszner, F 1:20), 106 (No. 2 Johnson over No. 7 Siegel, 3-2), 145 (No. 2 Tapia over No. 8 Landau, 12-4), 113 (No. 3 Silzer over No. 2 Vukobratovich, 4-3), 195 (No. 4 Pacewic over No. 3 Janeczko, 8-3) and 152 (No. 4 Swaw over No. 10 Johnson, 5-1).

In the other five title matches, a top-10 individual beat an honorable mention competitor. They were at 170 (No. 1 Thompson over Zaeske, Inj Def), 182 (No. 2 Thebeau over Bowen, F 0:59), 120 (No. 3 Malito over Zvonar, 7-0), 285 (No. 5 Haynes over McCombs, 8-0) and 160 (No. 7 Gumila over Kadlec, 10-5).

Third-place sectional finishes were turned in by Yorkville sophomore Ben Alvarez (44-5 at 220, No. 5) and freshmen Jack Ferguson (32-7 at 113, No. 9), Dominic Recchia (28-12 at 120) and Luke Zook (34-9 at 152, No. 9), Lincoln-Way East senior Dominic Adamo (33-6 at 160), O’Fallon senior Isaiah Hill (26-2 at 285), Lincoln-Way Central senior Conor Smetana (38-5 at 138, No. 10), Granite City junior Dylan Boyd (30-7 at 132, No. 10), Pekin junior Shamon Handegan (39-1 at 182), Minooka junior Dominic Schiavone (20-4 at 126), Bradley-Bourbonnais junior Ethan Spacht (26-3 at 106, No. 6), Normal Community sophomore Cooper Caraway (37-4 at 195), Plainfield South sophomore Matthew Janiak (28-12 at 170, No. 9) and Homewood-Flossmoor sophomore Jaydon Robinson (29-6 at 145, No. 3).

Claiming fourth-place finishes were Lincoln-Way West seniors Cameron Knepper (34-15 at 152) and Michael Sneed (29-10 at 220, No. 8) and sophomore Jase Salin (35-13 at 120), Joliet West sophomore Wyatt Schmitt (32-10 at 285) and freshman Carson Weber (33-7 at 106, No. 10), Alton senior DeOntae Forest (26-12 at 132), Oswego senior AJ Johnson (37-10 at 160), Lincoln-Way East Connor Lindaur (34-7 at 195), Collinsville senior Austin Stewart (33-10 at 170), Homewood-Flossmoor senior Haku Watson-Castro (26-10 at 182, No. 6), Lockport junior Jad Alwawi (22-18 at 126), Minooka junior Elijah Munoz (23-13 at 138), Bradley-Bourbonnais junior Tyler Starr (37-15 at 145) and Granite City freshman Brenden Rayl (27-12 at 113).

Top-10 ranked individuals who came up a win shy of advancing on two occasions who lost in both the semifinals and consolation semifinals were Lockport junior Nore Turner (21-9 at 106, No. 3), who lost 4-2 to Siegel in the semifinals and 7-6 to Webb in the wrestleback, and Belleville West senior Will Dahm (22-7 at 145, No. 9).

Lockport junior Carlos Munoz-Flores (27-10 at 132, No. 6) lost 6-4 in the consolation wrestleback to Forest and Bradley-Bourbonnaid sophomore AJ Mancilla (36-6 at 170, No. 8) fell 4-3 to Stewart in the same round. Other individuals ranked in the top-10 who lost in the consolation semifinals to come up a win short were Lincoln-Way East seniors Jack Marion (36-7 at 152, No. 5), Gavin Jones (32-6 at 182, No. 7) and Alex Knaperek (26-11 at 285, No. 10), Providence Catholic senior Liam McDermott (43-6 at 220, No. 4).

Others who weren’t ranked that lost in the semifinals and consolation wrestleback were Moline senior Alec Schmacht (33-11 at 126), who fell 3-1 to Alwawi in the wrestleback, and Alton junior Yaveion Freeman (27-13 at 138) while Joliet West junior Austin Perella (27-10 at 145) saw his hopes of qualifying dashed when he had to injury default in the semifinals in 4:17 to Landau and then couldn’t return.

Besides Turner’s narrow semifinals defeat to Siegel at 106, there were other semifinals matches that were decided by two points or less or were resolved in overtime. At 185, Bowen claimed a 5-4 win over Handegan at 182 while McCombs won 5-2 in an ultimate tiebreaker over Schmitt at 285.

Class 3A Barrington Sectional roundup

Fremd, Hersey, Libertyville and Prospect all qualified five individuals for IHSA finals in Champaign and Stevenson had three champions to lead the field that competed in the Class 3A Barrington Sectional.

Sectional champions were Stevenson junior Lorenzo Frezza (37-1 at 126) and seniors Cole Rhemrev (37-0 at 138) and Jacob Whiting (36-5 at 195), Fremd freshman Evan Gosz (38-3 at 113) and senior Charlie Fifield (42-4 at 145), McHenry junior Chris Moore (45-0 at 160) and senior Brody Hallin (40-2 at 170), Jacobs junior Dominic Ducato (24-5 at 106), Loyola Academy junior Massey Odiotti (37-4 at 120), Prospect junior Will Baysingar (44-1 at 132), Glenbrook South senior Will Collins (21-2 at 152), Libertyville senior Josh Knudten (35-3 at 182), Hersey senior Meny Mejia (43-5 at 220) and Warren senior Reyes Gonzales (19-4 at 285).

Rhemrev (37-0) and Moore (45-0) take perfect records to the state finals while Frezza (37-1) and Baysingar (44-1) have only lost once. Hallin qualified for the fourth time and was fourth in the IWCOA while Rhemrev is also a four-time qualifier who took third at the IWCOA. Leading the way for three-time qualifiers is Moore, a runner-up at the IWCOA and state champion in 2020, and Baysingar, an IWCOA champ who was third in 2020. Other title winners who are three-time state qualifiers are Frezza, who was third at the IWCOA, Knudten, who took fifth at the IWCOA and Collins. The other champion who placed in the IWCOA meet is Ducato, who was fourth.

Claiming second-place finishes were Belvidere co-op freshman Brayden Tuenissen (41-5 at 106) and junior Antonio Alvarado (38-5 at 145), Libertyville senior Caelan Riley (35-4 at 120) and junior Austin Gomez (31-10 at 170), Mundelein junior Bryce Durlacher (36-2 at 113), Jacobs junior James Wright (24-6 at 126), Fremd junior Maddox Khalimsky (31-7 at 132, Lake Zurich junior Scott Busse (32-4 at 138), Prospect sophomore Connor Munn (30-11 at 152), Loyola Academy senior Cooper Wettig (12-2 at 160), Round Lake senior Aidan McCain (35-11 at 182), Barrington senior Zach Meyer (35-7 at 195), New Trier sophomore Ty Stringer (26-4 at 220) and Huntley sophomore Markos Mihalopoulos (29-18 at 285). Second-place finishers who are three-time state qualifiers are Wettig, who was third at the IWCOA, Riley, who took sixth at the IWCOA, and Wright while Khalimsky took fourth at the IWCOA.

In title matches that were decisions, Ducato won 2-0 over Tuenissen at 106, Odiotti beat Riley 9-4 at 120, Rhemrev won 7-3 over Busse at 138, Collins edged Munn 2-1 at 152, Moore remained unbeaten with a 5-4 win in a tiebreaker over Wettig at 160, Hallin won 5-1 over Gomez at 170 and Whiting edged Meyer 7-6 at 195. Capturing major decision were Gosz at 113, Frezza at 126, Baysngar at 132 and Fifield at 145 while Mejia was a winner by technical fall at 220 and Knudten recorded a fall at 182.

Taking third place were Prospect junior Joel Muehlenbeck (40-8 at 106) and senior Tom Miller (40-9 at 120), Glenbrook South senior Arnold Park (24-9 at 113) and junior Drew Duffy (18-3 at 285), Huntley seniors Sam Henkle (28-5 at 132) and Ryder Hunkins (31-7 at 182), Barrington senior Brian Beers (39-6 at 126), Belvidere co-op sophomore Colin Young (42-6 at 138), Hersey junior Aaron Hernandez (36-18 at 145), Libertyville sophomore Matt Kubas (20-14 at 152), Grant senior Justin Warmowski (18-4 at 160), Jacobs sophomore Joey Scrivani (12-1 at 170), New Trier senior Jack Cummings (32-3 at 195) and Mundelein senior Henri Ortiz (33-9 at 220). Beers and Hunkins are three-time qualifiers while Warmowski was fourth at the IWCOA and Kubas took sixth at the IWCOA.

Finishing fourth were Hersey sophomore Esteban Delgado (34-17 at 120), senior Billy Spassov (38-10 at 160) and junior Oleg Simakov (37-13 at 285), Fremd senior Wiley Jessup (39-5 at 106) and junior Casey Bending (38-12 at 220), Round Lake sophomore Alejandro Cordova (36-14 at 113), McHenry sophomore Pedro Jimenez (36-14 at 126), Belvidere co-op senior Kamryn LaBeau (29-9 at 132), Barrington senior Phil Chapa (35-12 at 138), Prospect junior Damien Puma (32-10 at 145), Harlem senior Marshall Cunz (22-7 at 152), Hampshire junior Dimitri Skoulikaris (18-9 at 170), Loyola Academy sophomore Quinn Herbert (32-11 at 182) and Libertyville junior Cole Matulenko (31-10 at 195). Puma is a three-time state qualifier while Jessup placed sixth at the IWCOA.

Conant Sectional Recap: https://iwcoa.net/dekalb-flexes-sectional-muscle/

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