Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley takes Plano Reaper crown

By Chris Walker for the IWCOA

All IWCOA rankings courtesy of Rob Sherrill’s Illinois Best Weekly

PLANO — Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley won the 42nd annual Plano Reaper Classic on Saturday. It was the first time the Falcons won the tournament since 2016.

The Class 1A Falcons finished with 261.5 points, comfortably ahead of runner-up St. Rita’s 218.5. Yorkville Christian was third with 202. Ottawa Marquette’s 152 and Sandwich’s 147 rounded out the Top 5 among the 22-team field.

Marmion (146.5) was sixth and followed by Metea Valley (83.5), Plainfield Central (66), Hoopeston (62), East Aurora (55.5), Kaneland (54.5), Westmont (51.5), Plano (50.5), St. Francis (50.5), St. Charles North (50), LaSalle-Peru (48.5), St. Bede (48.5), Mendota (48), Amboy (44), Marian (32), De La Salle (24) and St. Edward (11). 

“I was very pleased with how we competed,” Falcons coach Josh Carter said. “A lot of the things that we talk about, especially early in the season, was just focusing on getting better. And, you know, we wanna see good competition and we thought we did that today and and I felt like some guys really stepped up and did a good job of taking a step in the right direction and just competing. I mean, there was some really good kids here. So yeah, I was very proud of our guys.”

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley had 12 placers and earned their way into half of the 14 titles bouts with Bentley Fields (113), Camden Brucker (132) and Hudson Babb (157) coming away as champions. Gage Martin (126), Nolan Lowe (144), Hunter Brandon (150) and Cooper Miller (165) placed second. Landen Lage (138) and Ethan Lowe (175) were third, and Julian Rodriguez (106), Jaxon Wright (215) and Carson Sexton (285) all won their respective fifth-place matches.

“I I love our team, like they’re super passionate about the sport,”  Babb said. “They’re always cheering for you on the sidelines. There’s no one ever silent when one of the Falcons are wrestling.”

The Falcons squeezed past Erie/Prophetstown, 156.5 to 153 in 2016 with Preston Braaten leading the way by winning the 152-pound title.

“We like coming up here,” Carter said. “We’ve been coming here, I don’t know, 20-plus years, and it’s a well run tournament, and we just enjoy the opportunity to compete with some teams up in these directions.” 

Runner-up St. Rita placed 10 wrestlers, with Jack Hogan (144) and Micah Spinazzola (165) winning titles for the Mustangs. Jack Braun (106), Cleto Protti (132), Andrew Lehman (157) and James Bansley (190) placed second, Luke Pappalas (138) and Mark Kelleher (285) were fourth and Omari Jones (120) and Keishawn Triplett (175) took fifth.

106: Dakota Harmon, Marquette

Hudson was one of three champions from Marquette which placed fourth overall, but tied team champs, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley, for most champions.

Harmon had a bye and a fall to begin before earning a tech fall win over Metea Valley’s Jose Garcia in the quarterfinals. He didn’t have to break a sweat in the semifinals as he received the forfeit win over Marmion’s Caden Morrison.

Amboy’s Aden Spinelli beat Yorkville Christian’s Davin Torza, 7-3, for third place, and Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley’s Julian Rodriguez won by forfeit over Marmion’s Caden Morrison for fifth.

113: Bentley Fields, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley

This freshman Fields was the first of Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley’s three champions which led the Falcons to their first team title in the Reaper Classic in nearly a decade.

Fields finished his championship performance with a pin of Yorkville Christian’s Phoenix Senodenos at 5:57.

“I kept going after him,” Fields said. “After he got the first point, I went after him even harder. I did what I needed to do.”

Despite being in eighth grade at this time last year, Fields was close enough to the high school program to recognize what lay ahead this year. It’s certainly got him and his teammates excited about the winter.

“Last year our high school team was pretty good, but we didn’t have really lower weights,” he said. “We had good mid-weights, but now that all of our freshmen are in we have a lot of good low-weights, mid-weights, high-weights. I’m really excited for the year, really exited to wrestle really good competition. Like today. I knew there would be competition that would make me better.”

Marmion’s Ethan Bell earned a major decision over LaSalle-Peru’s Gianni Verucchi in the third-place match, while Metea Valley’s Alan Macias won by fall over Plano’s Sam Mussa to place fifth.

120: Brody Page, Marmion

After pinning Yorkville Christian’s Ryan Festerling Jr. in his semifinal match, Page turned his attention to the other semi between Marquette’s Wesley Janick and De La Salle’s Justin Forbes, a pair of young wrestlers with whom he had some familiarity.

Ultimately, he got Janick looking back at him, which matched a pair of IKWF champions from a year ago.

“I got my first couple matches done pretty quick so it was a good little warm-up,” Page said. “The finals I kind of knew the kids on the other side, (Justin) Forbes and (Wesley) Janick. They’re good competitors and Wesley won in the finals at IKWF last year. He was in the weight below me at 110 and I was 118 so we were both in the finals and he was actually a state champion so I knew this was going to be a good fight. I just came out there and got to my offense and I got the job done.”

Page is pinching himself that he’s a Cadet while his fellow Cadets and their coaching staff are pinching themselves that they’ve added such standout young talent. He was one of two athletes who was named Most Outstanding Wrestler in the tournament. Page received it among the 106 through 144 weight classes.

“It’s crazy. I’m so blessed to be at Marmion,” he said “It’s crazy. We’re like 15th in the country. I’m so glad to be a part of the squad. It’s been tough in these high school tournaments. I’m learning so much stuff, it’s been amazing.”

Having seniors like Demetrios Carrera, Joey Favia, Nicholas Garcias, Ashton Hobson, Zach Stewart and Vincenzo Testa certainly gives Page an opportunity this season to learn from an amazing group of veteran talent. Guys who know what it’s like to maneuver from the start of the season until the end and how to work in the off-season towards new ones. Guys who know what it takes to qualify for state and how to win state titles. Guys who know what it takes to win as a team, especially coming off last year’s team state dual title, the first in program history.

“Team dinners after practice, having fun at practices, it just all comes together and makes the sport enjoyable, school enjoyable, the team enjoyable,” he said. “They talk about how to just take everything in because it’s going to go by so quick so never skip reps and always put your heart into this because it’s going to fly by.”

Forbes earned a 7-5 decision to get past Festerling Jr. to win third place, and St. Rita’s Omar Jones scored a 9-6 decision over Sandwich’s Connor Blanchard to take fifth.

126: Aiden Bell, Hoopeston 

Making his fourth appearance in this tournament, Bell, ranked 2nd in 1A at 126, got rung in as a champion for the first time after pinning Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley’s Gage Martin at 3:49.

Last year Bell fell short against another Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley kid, dropping a 4-0 decision in the final at 126. Bell also took fifth at 132 as a sophomore in 2023 and was fourth at 126 during his freshman year.

“(Martin) was getting to my leg more than I would like,” Bell said. “I thought I did an all right job defending it, but definitely got better keeping my legs away from him, then I stuck him in the second period.”

It’s senior year so Bell knows his time wrestling for Hoopeston is coming to an end soon so he’s fired up for his best finish.

“Last year I fell short at sectionals,” he said. “I was a match away from state and lost a close match, 8-5, and then went into the summer not satisfied so I went over to Patton Training throughout the summer and the fall. I got to meet a lot of good guys and get better and now we’re coming into the season to dominate.”

Spending a lot of time working hard at Patton has proven to be one of the best decisions Bell has made.

“It’s just a room filled with great guys,” he said. “I know like in my high school I’ve got great coaches, and also great guys there, but over at Patton it’s just full of studs wanting to get better.”

A couple of his teammates also placed, Earl Kelnhofer (190) took fifth and Tucker Deck (215) took sixth. Last year, Hoopeston had a pair of champs at the Reaper Classic in Charlie Flores (106) and Angel Zamora (175).

Marquette freshmen Logan Huenefeld pinned Westmont’s Ardan Baglaev at 3:10 to take third place, and Plainfield Central’s Liam Thompson won by fall at 3:07 over Yorkville Christian’s Christian Sandoval to take fifth.

132: Camden Brucker, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley

A year ago, Brucker left Plano without a win at 113.

On Saturday, he left as the champion at 132.

What a difference it’s been for Brucker who credited his mental approach to playing a huge factor in his winning the title. Brucker outdueled St. Rita’s Cleto Protti, 13-12.

“I think it was my mentality overall because before the match I was really locked in,” he said. “I mean, normally I have a really big problem with staying very confident, but I’ve been focusing on it lately. So before that match me and my dad had a conversation and we were talking about what the kid was really good at. He liked to do a knee pick and ankle pick a bunch so I was making sure I was going to keep my leg back and he ended up getting me on it once, but that was it.”

After receiving two byes and losing twice last December at Plano, Brucker opened with a bye this year, pinned Sandwich’s Gus Harmon in the quarterfinals, and rested during a forfeit victory over Metea Valley’s Josue Ortega in the semifinals before beating Protti.

It was a huge victory for Brucker whose efforts also helped the team win the team title for the first time in 9 years.

“I’ve grown up with this team my whole entire life and we have a very good relationship all together so I think that really is what helps in the practice room,” he said. “We’re able to find the competition that we really need so we can get each other better.”

The Falcons, who reside about 90 miles away from Plano, have an enrollment of 269, so getting the chance to face a wide array of schools of different shapes and sizes was quite beneficial to see where they stand.

“This helps our team because we’re beating the bigger schools,” Brucker said,. “I think that really boosts our morale a lot more for all of us and we know that we’re good.”

St. Bede’s Max Moreno won by fall at 5:13 over Plano’s Shane Downs for third place, and Mendota’s Gavin Stevenson earned the forfeit victory for fifth over Metea Valley’s Josue Ortega.

138: Logan Conover, Marmion

Conover lost his keys and his sweatpants over the weekend, but he still hasn’t lost a match during his junior season. 

He met Yorkville Christian’s Ryan Alaimo in the title match. Alaimo who dropped his two matches last weekend at the McLaughlin Classic at Joliet Central, pinned three straight opponents before Conover cooled him off, scoring a 10-2 major decision in the final.

“I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into,” Conover said. “I will say, it was like a 30-minute drive, a fun drive, cold drive, I lost my sweatpants here, yeah, but I had a great tournament. At the last two matches I kind of changed my style from just digging for Peterson and chest wrapping to just kind of doing more baseline defense. And my main goal here was to open up on my offense and I think I did a good job with that. I won, but I was disappointed with myself on day two, didn’t get that goal with the offensive shots and stuff.”

Misplacing or losing personal items may have helped calm him, which apparently proved to be a good thing.

“I am not having a good week at keeping track of my stuff,” he said. “This was all (on Friday). The keys are somewhere at Marmion. I don’t know where the sweatpants are. I feel like this really helped me, even from the coaches for my matches because I get really nervous and the coaches do a great job of helping me look at the lighter side of it, with the silliness, just the laughter, it’s just an amazing team that I’m happy to be a part of.”

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley’s Landen Page earned a 10-3 win over St. Rita’s Luke Pappalas to place third, and Plainfield Central’s Brody Rangel took fifth place, winning a battle between seniors, defeating St. Francis’ Paul Coco, 7-5.

144: Jack Hogan, St. Rita

Ranked 4th at 144 in Class 2A, Hogan was one of six St. Rita wrestlers to earn a berth in a title match, and the first of two to win a title.

He had a tight 1-0 win over Marmion’s Adam Kopcio In his quarterfinals before a 17-1 tech fall effort over Sandwich’s Jacob Cassie in the semifinals.

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley’s Nolan Lowe was a formidable foe in the finals, but Hogan was able to outlast him, coming out on the high end of a 6-4 decision.

Kopcio scored a 7-2 decision against Amboy’s Caiden Heath to take home third place, and Yorkville Christian’s Adrian Wadas-Luis pinned Cassie to take fifth.

150: Cooper Corder, Sandwich

Ranked 3rd at 150 in Class 1A, Corder picked up a quick pin in his quarterfinal win before a tech fall over Kaneland’s Colten Heltsley in the semis. He picked up another tech fall win in the final over Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley’s Hunter Brandon to become a two-time champ at the Reaper Classic. He was named Most Outstanding Wrestler (150-285).

“I knew the Gibson City kid was decent,” Corder said. “I went in with the same mindset as I always do, ‘I’m going to wrestle my style and put the pace on him and do what I can.’  And I wouldn’t say I’m happy with how it went, but a win is a win. And I wanted to get it done in the first period but second period tech, can’t complain, I was happy with it.”

Corder took fifth in the state last season at 144 in Class 1A.

“I knew going into this there would be a lot of tough teams with 2A kids here and 3A Marmion, not with a full lineup because Ironman is going on but I knew there would be good competition,” Corder said. “And I went into this trying to prove a point. I’ve been getting ranked 3, 4, 7, like pretty low and I’ve been putting in a lot of work in the offseason and I wanted to prove that I’m here and I truly do think that I’ll win state this year. And my teammates are going to do a great job and hopefully go down to state as a team and I was just excited to go into the weekend and see what everyone else was working on.”

There’s no doubt that Corder is a student of the sport, constantly seeking ways to get better and opening himself up to learn from his colleagues.

“I wrestle all around the country and talk to so many people,” he said. “I try to expose myself to a lot of the hardest competition in the country because at the end of the day it’s all about growth instead of wins and losses. And through all of that I’ve learned that all the best kids, they trust in themselves. They believe in themselves and believe in their team and their coaching. I think that the good foundation you need is to believe not only yourself, but coaching, your training and all that.”

In the days of doom scrolling, Corder opts for books and podcasts as an alternative. 

“I’m big on mindset,” he said. “I read a lot of books and watch a lot of podcasts. I do all the things I need to do to make sure my mind is right because I think if in your head you have even the slightest bit of doubt, you’ve lost already. Going into this with not only believing in me, but also believing in my team gives that extra edge and it’s super cool to see everyone do well.”

Sandwich is vying to get to state as a team this season and Corder believes they can get there.

“Josh Kotalik’s been doing a lot of work and he’s looking great this season,” Corder said. “Kaden Clevenger weighs around 215 but he’s doing great at heavyweight and wrestling phenomenally. I really like wrestling with Kaden. He’s got a super good mindset of what to do, works hard, and even a lot of our freshmen are doing a great job. And Kai Kern too. He’s a senior and wrestling phenomenally. We have a young team so it’s good to see how they’re going to develop. It’s so fun. There’s never a dull moment in that room.”

A Corder has now won the 144 title three years in a row, as Cooper’s brother Miles Corder won it in 2023. The last non-Corder to win at 144 was Princeton’s Augie Christiansen in 2022.

Mendota’s Komen Denault pinned Kaneland’s Colten Heltsley at 2:38 to capture third place at 150, and Yorkville Christian’s Austin Wadas-Luis pinned St. Charles North’s Hudson VonQualen at 2:57 to match his brother, Adrian Wadas-Luis (144) in taking fifth place.

157: Hudson Babb, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley

Babb remembers it well.

He opened his appearance in last year’s state finals with a 15-1 major decision loss to Dwight’s Dylan Crouch, who would proceed to take fifth place at 150 in Class 1A. He’d respond with a tech all over Kewanee’s Ben Taylor but his season would end with a 7-3 loss to LeRoy’s Kobe Brent.

“I finished 1-2 at state and right after I got beat out I didn’t take a break,” he said. “I just went right back to work. Trained with my coach, Logan Deacetis like five, six days a week and practice during the summer sometimes twice a day. I was working really hard keeping my goal in mind.”

He wasn’t surprised to see his team outscore the field.

“I mean, we trained pretty hard in the practice room day in, day out, so we were expecting to do good,” he said. “Yeah, we work pretty hard.”

Looking at how he wrestled, Babb enjoyed his tempo.

“What I liked most was just my pace,” he said. “Just stay cool and breathing, trying to mentally break him.”

Marmion’s Alex Korpan pinned Kaneland’s Jack Gruber at 3:08 to rebound and take home third place, and Metea Valley’s Owen Wijangco earned a 5-3 decision over Ottawa Marquette’s Brysen Manly for fifth.

165: Micah Spinazzola, St. Rita

Not having to wrestle until the quarterfinals, Spinazzola wasn’t warm when he hit the mat. Fortunately, the senior fought through the cold on a day where the temps outside dropped into the negative single digits.

Spinazzola, ranked 4th at 165 in Class 2A, wasn’t cold particularly because of Mother Nature, but because of the absence of assigned opposition at the start.

“Not too many matches because I had all those byes, but I got a little cold and I feel like I should definitely take warmups more seriously,” he said. “I would say that was definitely one of my negatives. So I’d go out there cold and I’ve got to warm up in the match. I need to get a sweat going before I go out there. It will make me feel better.”

He won by fall over Ottawa Marquette’s Bobby Speaks in 32 seconds to begin and followed with a fall in 2:59 over St. Francis’ Chase Siguenza in the semis. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley’s Cooper Miller avoided a similar fate, but Spinazzola piled on the points before walking away a champ with the 17-1 tech fall win at 2:25.

“I can see it more clearly when I go against someone who really pushes me and can see my weaknesses,” he said. “I didn’t really see any this weekend so I can’t really say anything I’ve got to improve on.”

Spinazzola had high praise for off-season work with Victory Elite.

“I think preseason work with Jaydon Robinson and Chase Robinson, and all of them, they really helped me through the pre-season,” he said. “Helped me get ready for the season. Definitely makes me better.”

He expects St. Rita to be a lot better after a tough season a year ago.

“I feel like compared to last year we were nothing compared to what we are now,” he said. “We had half the guys injured last year. We’re coming with a full team. I feel like we’re going to surprise people. I feel like we are going to get up on the rankings and possibly make it to team state hopefully. That’s the goal.”

St. Francis junior Chase Siguenza won by tech fall, 15-0, over St. Charles North’s Doug Mejdrich for third place, and East Aurora’s Armani Meola had the top finish for the Tomcats, earning a pin over Yorkville Christian’s Henry Fox to place fifth.

175: Reily Leifheit, Marquette

You can’t get better without making progress. 

Nervousness used to get the best of Leifheit as an underclassman, but now that he’s a junior and continuing to absorb advice and train hard, he’s squashing it and reaping the benefits.

Leifheit dropped a heartbreaker a year ago in the Reaper Classic title match at 165, losing 2-1 on a tiebreaker against Princeton’s Casey Etheridge. 

On Saturday. he scored an 18-10 major decision over Sandwich’s Joshua Kotalik for the 175 title in a battle of two of the best in the state at 175 in Class 1A. Kotalik is ranked 8th and Leifheit is 9th so his victory based on those numbers was an upset.

Coincidentally, Leifheit’s dad, Ryan, wrestled for Sandwich, having graduated 30 years ago.

“I definitely didn’t wrestle how I wanted to,” Leifheit said. “It was sloppy, but that kid (Kotalik) was pretty strong. He just kept locking straight into me so I just blasted him. The other (matches) were pretty good.”

He’s listening to his coaches.

“Whenever I’m wrestling, if I’m in a bad match and not hitting what I want, I just listen for the coach’s voice,” he said. “It’s like exactly what I should be doing and ninety percent of the time it works.”

He’s keeping his cool.

“In previous matches I’ve learned it’s better even if you, you know, get taken down or reversed that you just keep a calm head and listen to your coach,” he said. “The minute you start to panic, things are going to get worse.

“My sophomore and freshman year I’d mess up mentally,” he said. “I would just get super nervous. This year I’m just trying to stay a lot calmer but, you know, still going to practices seven times a week. just trying to get better.”

He’s committed to the wrestling lifestyle.

“I just do a lot of recovery, like mental and, you know, physical, like cold tub sauna and then trying to focus on my matches to see what I did better and see when I panic in videos,” he said. “I look back on it and reflect.”

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley’s Ethan Lowe pinned Metea Valley’s Lucas Marcoux at 1:58 to take third, and St. Rita’s Keishawn Triplett earned a tech fall win in the fifth-place match over LaSalle-Peru’s Beau Lawrence.

190: Ty Sabin, Plainfield Central

Sabin was feeling pretty good last year and then he got hurt.

“I got injured in practice wrestling with coach and I was out for eight weeks,” he said. “I came back right for the state series and place second in regionals. So I got into sectionals. I’m hoping to get all the way to state, that’s my big goal and hopefully I’ll get there.”

The senior received great results at Plano, winning the 190 title after a 13-2 major decision over St. Rita’s James Bansley. Regardless, Sabin wasn’t necessarily ecstatic with his success, which included a pair of pins against St. Bede’s Karson Kelly in the quarterfinals and Marian’s Adrian Esparza in the semis.

Sabin took third at Barrington earlier this year.

“Honestly, I was not very happy, could’ve been more dominant, more aggressive,” Sabin said. “But I’m still happy finishing first and am looking to be more aggressive.”

His workout partner, Emiliano Ramirez, continues to push him towards greater results, while off-season work at camps, including at Aurora University with Real Woods, among others, as well as practicing with his fellow Wildcats have helped get Sabin ready for his last year at Plainfield Central.

“I know I can rely on all of my teammates to push me,” he said. “They’re all hard workers and my work partner, Emiliano Ramirez, is always pushing. I’m very proud of how far he’s come and some of our guys, like Liam Thompson, it’s nice to see them grow.”

Ezparza earned a 13-4 major decision over Yorkville Christian’s Tyler Gleason to take third, and Hoopeston’s Earl Kelnhofer pinned St. Charles North’s Damon Hill for fifth.

215: Jackson Allen, Yorkville Christian

Allen won by fall against Marmion junior Luke Boersma at 3:12 for the 215-pound championship. Last year, Allen won at 190.

“I knew this guy was a good kid,” Allen said. “Last year I faced him and I wasn’t very happy with my performance. This year I wanted to really make a statement especially against a high-ranked kid like that. I went in there with intent and knew I could get it done and did.”

Boersma is ranked 6th in the state in Class 3A while Allen is 7th in Class 1A.

With the championship victory, Allen joined Sandwich’s Cooper Corder (150) as this year’s other two-time champion.

East Aurora’s Emmanuel Diaz earned a 15-7 major decision over Sandwich’s Kai Kern to place third, and Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley’s Jaxon Wright won by ball over Hoopeston’s Tucker Deck for fifth.

285: Alex Schaefer, Marquette

Nothing could stop Schaefer.

A year after dropping the title match at 215 to Plano’s Richie Amakiri, Schaefer dominated four consecutive opponents this year at 285 to claim the program’s third individual title on the day.

Collectively, Schaefer only spent a little more than five minutes wrestling over the weekend, needing just 5:19 to get his four falls. 

De La Salle’s Jayden Ross-Pendleton, Marian’s Johnathan Dortch, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley’s Carson Sexton and finally Sandwich’s Kaden Clevenger were the blocks in the road that Schaefer needed to get past in order to win the title. He got to Clevenger in 1:12.

Westmont senior Rafael Castrejon-Tello earned a 10-2 major decision over St. Rita’s Mark Kelleher to take third, and Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley’s Carson Sexton was the 12th and final placer for his team-winning squad, taking fifth with a 2-0 decision over Yorkville Christian’s Hayden Wheeler.