Girls tournament roundup: Evanston, Eisenhower, Waukegan, Westinghouse
By Mike Garofola for the IWCOA
Evanston’s Elias George Memorial Tournament
With Mid-Suburban League powers Wheeling, Schaumburg, Conant, and Hoffman Estates the ones to chase this season, Hersey made its case as another to keep an eye on as the campaign unfolds.
The Huskies would ride the waves of four individual champions, plus another tourney-high nine top-five medals to outscore runner-up Rickover Naval Academy 174.0-136.0 to capture the big trophy in Evanston, at the Elias George Memorial tournament.
Host Evanston just missed finishing second by one-half point (135.5) with Chicago Mather (119.0) and Niles West (91.0) rounding out the top five on the leaderboard.
Emma Strohmeier, Lexi Gumino, Nikita Variano and Erini Zebras would climb atop the podium for Hersey head coach Jim Wormsley.
“We are very happy with how the girls are progressing thus far as a program, and we have a great group of girls that are putting in the work, both during the season, as well as the offseason,” began Wormsley, who was a state runner-up at heavyweight in 1987 while at Dundee-Crown, and would later go on to Purdue University where he was an offensive lineman.
“We still have a lot of work to do, but we are confident that we will continue to improve as the season progresses,” he said. “And today, Emma, Lexi, Nikita and Erini all had a great day bringing home first-place medals.”
1st Place: Hersey (174.0 points)
Aside from the Strohmeier (105), Gumino (115) Variano (120) and Zebras’ (190) victories, the Huskies would earn a trio of second place medals from: Soha Faisal (125), Grace Zaia (140) and Leah Osorio at 170.
Strohmeier and Gumino would pin their way to their division titles.
Teammates A’shira Manuel (100), Audrey Sarinyamas (125), and Minnie Santeler (130) were all third, while the duo of: Fiona Jensen (105) and Ivan Petrov (155) added fourth place medals. Ariana Jeloaica would help the cause with her fifth place medal at 110.
2nd Place: Rickover Naval Academy (136.0)
One year ago, Rickover Naval Academy fans would celebrate the career of its marvelous 235-pounder, Jasmine Mejia, who earned a second place finish at state with a dazzling 38-3 record.
Mejia, now on the women’s track and field team at Spring Arbor University in Michigan, also brought home a fifth-place state medal in 2023.
Saturday in Evanston, Litzy Estrada-A (110) and Midna Lazoya (190) were first overall in their respective weight divisions, with teammates Mia Castillo (100) and Dakota Perez (105) each picking up second-place medals.
Elizabeth Castrejon was third at 120, while Alesia Magana (125), Jocelyn Quillay (145) and Melissa Sanchez (235) were all fourth.
3rd Place: Evanston (135.5)
The Lady Wildcats would snare a couple of individual championships thanks to sophomore Samatha Gipson, who pinned her way to her 125-pound crown, and Isabella Vernon’s title win at 145.
Fajmolu Omowonuola was second at 235, and would also record the fastest pin (0:12) of the tournament.
Kyra Rivera (115) was third, Danna Gonzalez (100), Michelle Manalo (105), Rachel Jacobs (120) and Aileen Trejo (130) were all fourth, and Ja’Niya Harris earned fifth at 190.
Kendra Chatman (Sarah Goode) and Sarah Al Radi (Niles West) each had a tourney-high four pins, with Soha Faisal (Hersey) recording the fast tech-fall at 2:14. Al Radi had the most team points (30.0) while Rickover Naval Academy led the way on the day with (17) pins. Evanston would lead the field with 152 total team points.
Championship Matches:
100: Adali Cruz (Speer) d. Mia Castillo (Rickover) F 0:14
105: Emma Strohmeier (Hersey) d. Dakota Perez (Rickover) F 1:38
110: Litzy Estrada-A (Rickover) d. Lesly Zepeda (Maine West) F 2:56
115: Nikita Variano (Hersey) d. Nour Al Radi (Niles West) F 3:00
120: Alexandra Lexi Gumino (Hersey) d. Elitzua Sandoval (Goode) F 2:32
125: Samantha Gipson (Evanston) d. Soha Faisal (Hersey) F 5:05
130: Gianna Mezzano (Ridgewood) d. Zoe Pomeranets (Niles West) F 3:12
135: Sarah Al Radi (Niles West) d. Kenya Lewis (Kenwood) F 2:51
140: Rose McFadden (Ridgewood) d. Grace Zaia (Hersey) F 0:57
145: Isabella Vernon (Evanston) d. Grace Grave (Maine West) D 1-0
155: Esther Gouegnon (Mather) d. Gabrielle Toney (Niles North) F 0:25
170: Midna Lazoya (Rickover) d. Leah Osorio (Hersey) F 1:00
190: Eirini Ziabaras (Hersey) d. Julissa Az (Mather) D 7-5
235: Esmeralda Bustamante (Speer) d. Fajmolu Omowonuola (Evanston) F 1:10
Third-place matches
100: A’shira Manuel (Hersey) d. Danna Gonzalez (Evanston) F 0:47
105: Bella Garcia (Speer) d. Michelle Manalo (Evanston) D 17-11
110: Brittany Velez (Mather) d. Steve Bass (Niles West) F 1:23
115: Kyra Rivera (Evanston) d. Belisma Pintor (Goode) F 1:42
120: Elizabeth Castrejon (Rickover) d. Rachael Jacobs (Evanston) D 11-6
125: Audrey Sarinyamas (Hersey) d. Alesia Magana (Rickover) F 2:38
130: Minnie Santeler (Hersey) d. Aileen Trejo (Evanston) F 5:06
135: Fiona McFadden (Ridgewood) d. Ava Reotutar (Niles North) F 1:45
140: Lisbeth Tenorio (Mather) d. Leah Davis (Kenwood) FFT
145: Mary McFadden (Ridgewood) d. Jocelyn Quillay (Rickover) F 1:05
155: Kaya Zajda (Maine West) d. Ivana Petrov (Hersey) F 1:27
170: Denise Cervantes (Rickover) d. Krishna Garfias (Mather) F 1:52
190: Emma Wilson (Niles West) d. Luz Garcia (Maine West) F 4:58
235: Jessica Ahn (Niles West) d. Melissa Sanchez (Rickover) F 5:02
Eisenhower Cardinal Girls Scramble
When a long day of wrestling finally came to an end at Eisenhower it would be the Marist Redhawks who would lift their first tournament championship trophy in program history.
The Redhawks, without four starters in their lineup, used individual titles from Tracy Balnis (115) and Ava Enright (125) to earn a tourney-high 190.0 overall points, to second-place Lane’s 142.5, followed by Joliet West with 123 points.
Bradley-Bourbonnais (119.0) was fourth and Willowbrook (110.0) finished fifth.
“We won our dual in Chicago on Friday against Lane, then followed up by winning here at Eisenhower today to complete a very good two days of wrestling,” said Redhawks head coach Kelly Sullivan.
Sullivan who would guide her club to an impressive 13-4-0 record a year ago, which would include a place in the first ever dual-team state tournament – celebrated five top three medals on the day which included the success of both Balnis and Enright.
Balnis went from the No. 14 seed to the top of the podium.
Sofia Guerrero (Lane) would register the fastest tech-fall on the day at 2:00, with a trio of wrestlers: Anapaula Serna Rivera (De La Salle), Maj Starks (Joliet West) and Balnis all tied for the most team points earned with 30.
Mia Vargas from De La Salle was the tournament leader in Most Total Team Points for the day with 47.
1st place: Marist (190.0)
Ava Enright was a sectional qualifier a year ago with a 30-7, as were Izzy Locascio (135) and Sarah Parker (170, 33-6) who both claimed second place medals. Claire Stokes in this-her first year was third at 100, while senior, and 2025 state qualifier, Sam Fontaine, 26-9 last season finished third at 155 pounds.
2nd place: Lane (142.5)
Second place Lane were led by the returning state qualifiers Sofia Guerrero (100) and Abby Badru (140) who each claimed individual titles. Junior Lauren Guerrero was third at 110 pounds.
Sofia Guerrero won (33) matches last year, Badru 41.
3rd place: Joliet West (123.0)
Maj Starks was the lone champion for Joliet West, pinning her way to the 155-pound title.
Teammates Briahna (130) and Veronica (135) Klobnak earned third-place medals, with Vanessa O’Connor adding another third place finish at 145.
Championship match results:
100- Sofia Guerrero (Lane) d. Daniella Almazan (Shepard) F 0:45
105- Anapaula Cerna Rivera (De La Salle) d. Lillian O’Brien (Bloom) F 0:17
110- Dakodia Kelly (Thornton Fractional South) d. Lauren Guerrero (Lane) F 3:36
115- Tracy Balnis (Marist) d. Riley Osborn (Evergreen Park) F 5:52
120- Gracie Meluch (Naperville Central) d. Kennedy Mort (Peotone) F 1:19
125- Ava Enright (Marist) d. Gianna Plescia (Mother McAuley) F 0:37
130- Mila Rocush (Shepard) d. Melva Gallego-Sugar (Naperville Central) F 5:36
135- Aubrianna Rapier (Bradley-Bourbonnais) d. Izzy Locascio (Marist) F 0:43
140- Zabby Badru (Lane) d. Mercedes Carrasco (De La Salle) F 2:39
145- GG Garduno (Marist) d. Marlen Morelos Perez (Eisenhower) TF 17-1
155- Maj Starks (Joliet West) d. Isabella Barajas (Willowbrook) F 5:20
170- Jazilah Gatlin (Willowbrook) d. Arianna Rico (Naperville Central) F 4:19
190- Payton Temple (Clifton Central) d. Sarah Parker (Marist) F 0:42
235- Karrine Jenkins (Shepard) d. Kaylee Morris (Bradley-Bourbonnais) F 0:23
Third-place matches
100- Claire Stokes (Marist) d. Sariya Maddox (Rich Township) F 0:45
105- Malia O’Neal (Evergreen Park) d. Ella Quigley (Mother McCauley) F 2:48
110- Taniya Moss (Hillcrest) d. Nayeli Salgado (Willowbrook) F 0:57
115- Jayden Martinez (Tinley Park) d. Aracely Stevens (Thornton Fractional South) F 1:24
120- M’Kya Harris (Romeoville) d. Aracely Torres (Bremen) F 1:00
125- Daviana Smith (Bloom) d. Holly Rowan (Mother McAuley) FFT
130- Briahna Klobnak (Joliet West) d. Imyjah Jackson (Lane) F 2:50
135- Veronica Klobnak (Joliet West) d. Amelia Quinlan (Bremen) F 1:13
140- Sophia Domont (Bradley-Bournnais) d. Abby Harris (Tinley Park) F 1:05
145- Vanessa O’Connor (Joliet West) d. Mumtaz Abdul Malik (Lane) F 0:54
155- Samantha Fontaine (Marist) d. Melissa Nance (Hillcrest) F 3:05
170- Jermia Moore (Thornton Fractional South) d. Valeria Santiago (St. Ignatius) F 0:21
190- Phoebe Heyboer (Eisenhower) d. Gabriella Teufack Momo (Mother McAuley) F 2:21
235- Madilyn Gonzalez (Mother McAuley) d. Nyla Coleman (Rich Township) F 1:08
Waukegan Tournament
The Rossview Lady Hawks made Tennessee history in 2022 when they became the first ever girls dual-team state champion, defeating Clarksville 39-27
The visitors came north to compete at the Waukegan Girls Tournament on Saturday, and would take home the team title with 161.5 points, winning by a narrow 2.5 points.
Wheeling finished second (159.0), followed by Antioch (135.0), Glenbard East (134.0) and Stevenson (130.5) to round out a terrific top five.
Wheeling, the No. 10-rated team in the state, would show it deserved its lofty spot in preseason polls with a solid performance here.
“Rossview has a great team, their girls are well coached, so our girls were excited to be within a few points of beating such a talented team,” said Wheeling head coach Anthony Piltaver.
“Elise (Burkut) and Jasmine Rene really had to battle to earn their individual championships – each of them put in a full week of work to prepare for this tournament, and in the end, it would show,” continued Piltaver.
“Everyone would contribute to our second place finish, and a few of our newer wrestlers such as Jocelyn Juarez Cruz, and Ebelin Espinoza Castro, who lost early on, wrestled back to score important team points.
“Nikol Orendarchuk fought hard to reach her final at 155, Haydee (Cruz) wrestled back to place, and Mayali Suarez made a huge jump (going) from 0-2 here a year ago to reaching the semifinals today.”
1st: Rossview, Tennessee (161.5)
While the Lady Hawks were unable to send any of their wrestlers atop the podium, they did earn four second-place medals from Isabella Schelanko (125), Kailey Perez (125), Taelyn Atkinson (170) and Michelle Harbison at 235.
Atkinson was fourth a year ago (165) at the Tennessee state tournament. Nayali Longfellow earned a third place medal at 130 pounds for the tourney champs, while Jennie Watson finished fifth at 100.
2nd: Wheeling (159.0)
The runner-up Wildcats would celebrate a pair of individual titles from 2025 state runner-up Elise Burkut (130) and senior Jasmine Rene at 235.
Burkut would record a trio of pins, one in the final, and a tech-fall in her semifinal to advance, while Rene, who transferred from Streamwood, pinned her way to her title.
Burkut is currently the No. 7 rated 135-pounder in the state, Rene No. 3.
Nikol Orendarchuk was second at 155, while Mayali Suarez third at 120. Haydee Cruz was fifth overall at 105.
3rd: Antioch (135.0)
The Sequoits led the field with seven overall medals, the best coming from sophomore Josie Blau (170) who a year ago in her rookie season won 23 matches and fell one match short of advancing to state.
Sasha Johnson, winner of 20 matches last season, claimed a second-place medal, with teammate London Lloyd third at 105. Lloyd was a sectional qualifier also.
Luana Mafuiana (135) was fourth, with the trio of: Dylylah Patterson (125), Isabella Marcomb (135) and Malina Cook (155) were all fifth place medalist.
There was a four-way tie for most pins during the tournament: Mirabelle DuBoef (Lake Forest), Kylie Eilken (Rockford Jefferson) Marissa Mayfield (Round Lake), and Asreilla Wallace from Glenbard North.
DuBoef and Eileen would share top honors for the most team points earned with (32), with senior Keagan Edwards (Glenbard North) collecting a tourney best (58) total team points over the course of the day.
Edwards, who won it all at 135 pounds, will wrestle next fall at Western Colorado University.
Championship matches:
100- Karla Sarabia (Glenbard E) d. Ester Migues-Gaytan (Grayslake N) F 1:04
105- Riley Kongkaeow (Round Lake) d. Katelyn Gallegos (Maine South) MD 9-0
110- Nadiia Shymkiv (Glenbard East) d. Giselle Arambula (Curie) F 1:58
115- Athena Zappa (Stevenson) d. Alexa Colin-Garcia (McHenry) MD 13-2
120- Mirabelle Duboeuf (Lake Forest) d. Isabella Schelanko (Rossview) F 1:48
125- Haley Ramos (Carmel Catholic) d. Kailey Perez (Rossview) F 3:12
130- Elise Burkut (Wheeling) d. Karina Lojowski (Stevenson) F 2:24
135- Keagan Edwards (Glenbard N) d. Layla Sapozhnikov (Stevenson) F 3:40
140- Maria Green (Glenbard East) d. Sasha Johnson (Antioch) F 0:21
145- Natalie Corona (McHenry) d. Isabel Hilinski (Stevenson) F 0:17
155- Ithandehui Rosas (Harvard) d. Nikol Orendarchuk (Wheeling) MFFT
170- Josie Blau (Antioch) d. Taelyn Atkinson (Rossview) F 2:47
190- Kylie Eilken (Rockford Jefferson) d. Irma Villa (Palatine) F 4:24
235- Jasmine Rene (Wheeling) d. Michelle Harbison (Rossview) F 1:17
Third-place matches:
100- Marianna Ortega (Curie) d. Danika Lamb (Rockford Jefferson) F 2:04
105- London Lloyd (Antioch) d. Jazmine Medina (Zion-Benton) D 13-8
110- Valeria Gonzalez (Grayslake North) d. Aphrodite Gineris (Maine S) F 0:37
115- Annika Lee (Maine South) d. Italia Cernas (Mundelein) D 7-6
120- Darlene Escobar (Curie) d. Elisa Garcia (Curie) F 0:46
125- Lilyann Blasius (Lakes) d. Jocelyn Lopez (Palatine) F 0:30
130- Nayeli Longfellow (Rossview) d. Natalie Gonzalez (Mundelein) F 0:38
135- Masserati Valenzuela (Zion-Benton) d. Luana Mafuiana (Antioch) F 4:54
140- Michelle Otuonye (Lakes) d. Khloe Vest (Harvard) F 2:05
145- Victoria Marquez (Grayslake North) d. Zoe Gonzalez Curie) MFFT
155- Suzy Stalley (Glenbard North) d. Camila Gonzalez (Glenbard East) F 2:26
170- Madalynn Sima (McHenry) d. Nancy Licona (Round Lake) F 1:46
190- Brooklyn Anderson (McHenry) d. Gabriella Goodson (Mundelein) F 1:17
235- Sophia Fortis (Maine South) d. Jarithsie Mercado (Harvard) D 5-0
Westinghouse Girls’ Scramble
On the westside of Chicago in the famed Humboldt Park neighborhood, Westinghouse College Prep would host its 11-team scramble on Saturday.
This event would not crown a team champion, but would offer 14 competitive weight divisions for those in attendance.
Chicago Agriculture and Science would crown four individual champions, Chicago Academy and Little Village two each.
The quartet of Emily Barajas (Little Village), Hannah Chong (Crane Medical Prep), Adelina Diaz (Chicago Agriculture and Science) and Amor Juarez from South Shore would all record three pins on the day.
The fastest tech-fall would belong to America Cabrera (2:00) from Phoenix Military Academy, who also scored the most total team points with 49.0.
Chicago Agriculture and Science garnered a tourney-high (162) total team points.
Sophomore Elena Haugh (Chicago Agriculture and Science) was a 2025 state qualifier at 170 in her rookie season, and would finish the year with a 31-10 record.
Here’s a look at the individual champions:
100- Adelina Diaz (Chicago Academy)
105- Jaden Conception (Chicago Academy)
110- Carmen Jackson (Chicago Agriculture and Science)
115- Danita Palmore (Chicago Agriculture and Science)
120- Hannah Chong (Crane Medical Prep)
125- Isabelle Mathews (Chicago Agriculture and Science)
130- No Participants
135- Trinity L Kinesy (Chicago Clark)
140- Amor Juarez (South Shore College Prep)
145- Emily Barajas (Little Village)
155- America Cabrera (Phoenix Military Academy)
170- Elena Haugh (Chicago Agriculture and Science)
190- Nyah Upton (Westinghouse College Prep)
235- Danalys Marchan (Little Village)