Holiday Invitationals Roundup for Week of 12/27

By Gary Larson, For the IWCOA

Ed Ewoldt Wrestling Invitational

Lincoln-Way East won its second team title of the season at this year’s 16-team Ed Ewoldt Wrestling Invitational, posting a 240-218.5 scoring edge over second-place Yorkville.

Coach Kevin Rockett’s Griffins led all teams with eight wrestlers in the finals and tied third-place Downers Grove North (165.5) with three individual champions on the day. The Griffins are currently ranked 9th in 3A by the IWCOA and also won a team tournament title at Niles West this season. Like many teams over Christmas break, Lincoln-Way East did not have a full lineup entered at Wheaton Warrenville South.

“Winning the overall team (title) was a nice way to cap off the day,” Rockett said. “We had some underclassmen step up and capture their first individual tournament championships (Tyson Zvonar and Alex Lizak), and senior Jack Marion was our third champ for the day and captured his second individual (title) this season.

“We would have liked to finish the medal round with a few more wins in the finals but we can still take away positives from every match.  Our coaching staff is happy with our progress and is looking forward to continuing this start into the new year.”

Host WW South (127.5) finished third in the one-day Ewoldt tourney on Dec. 29. Hoffman Estates (109), Dixon (107.5), Waubonsie Valley (105.5), Plainfield East (85), West Chicago (83.5), and Lyons Township (75) rounded out the top 10 team finishers.

Lincoln-Way East got individual titles from Zvonar at 120, Lizak at 138, and Marion at 152 pounds. Also reaching the title mat and placing second were Noah Ciolkosz (106), Connor Koehler (126), Domanic Abeja (145), Dominic Adamo (160), and Alex Knaperek (285).

The Griffins also got a fourth-place finish from Jacob Hassan (220), fifths from Brayden Mortell (113) and Caden O’Rourke (182), and a sixth from Kevin Byrne (132).

Second-place Yorkville sent four wrestlers to the finals and got individual titles from Hunter Janeczko (195) and Ben Alvarez (220). Placing second for the Foxes were Jack Ferguson (113) and Luke Zook (152), and winning their final matches of the day on the third-place mat were Raymond Cavey (106), Dominic Recchia (120), Ryder Janeczko (126), and Brody Williams (160).

Yorkville got fourths from Sebadtian Westphal (138) and Justin Wiesbrook (285), a fifth from Colten Stevens (170), and a sixth from Cole Farren (145).

Also winning individual Ewoldt titles were Elgin’s Julius Avendano (106), Plainfield East’s Aidan Villar (113), Lyons Township’s Gunnar Garelli (126), West Chicago’s Pierre Baldwin (132), Downers Grove North’s Harrison Konder (145), Waubonsie Valley’s Antonio Torres (160), Hoffman Estates’ Jalen Curtis (170), Downers Grove North’s Ben Bielawski (182), and Downers Grove North’s Jordan Lewis (285).

Also placing second were West Chicago’s Connor Zentner (120), WW South’s Jaidyn Buziecki (132), Hoffman Estates’ Israel Vargas (138), Dixon’s Steven Kitzman (170), Waubonsie’s Andrew Meister (182), Evanston’s Anthony Joyner (195), and Dixon’s Justin Dallas (220).

Finishing third in Wheaton were WW South’s Ben Westmaas (113), Plainfield East’s Hunter McCloskey (132), Dixon’s Cade Hey (138), Lyons’ Ben Zeman (145), WW South’s Zean Al Obaidi (152), WW South’s Corey Gul (170), Hoffman Estates’ Josh Ellery (182), DG North’s Griff Keown (195), Evanston’s Sheldon Kinzer (220), and Luke Buntin (285).

Fourth-place finishers included DG North’s Tyler Tango (106), Waubonsie Valley’s Sebastian Sifuentes (113), DG North’s Josh Penaflor (120), Dixon’s Chris Sitter (126), Waubonsie’s Ethan Wojtowich (132), West Chicago’s Mason Dupasquier (145), Dixon’s Jayce Kastner (152), WW South’s Sedeeq Al Obaidi (160), Larkin’s Max Zamudio (170), Oak Lawn’s Evan Zambrano (182), and Hoffman Estates’ Rahmal Graham (195).

The Ewoldt’s Outstanding Wrestler Award, as voted on by coaches, was Downers Grove North’s Harrison Konder (145), who improved to 17-1 with his 6-1 decision win on the title mat against Lincoln-Way East’s Domanic Abeja. Konder posted two falls to reach the finals, over Oak Lawn’s John Parquette and Lyons’ Ben Zeman.

Ed Ewoldt Wrestling Invitational championship matches:

106: Julius Avendano (Elgin) over Noah Ciolkosz (LW East), F 3:21
113: Aidan Villar (Plainfield East) over Jack Ferguson (Yorkville), 7-5
120: Tyson Zvonar (LW East) over Connor Zentner (West Chicago), F 3:19
126: Gunnar Garelli (Lyons) over Connor Koehler (LW East), 8-2
132: Pierre Baldwin (West Chicago) over Jadyn Buziecki (WW South), F 3:26
138: Alex Lizak (LW East) over Israel Vargas (Hoffman Estates), 11-2
145: Harrison Konder (DG North) over Domanic Abeja (LW East), 6-1
152: Jack Marion (LW East) over Luke Zook (Yorkville), 5-3
160: Antonio Torres (Waubonsie) over Dominic Adamo (LW East), 3-2
170: Jalen Curtis (Hoffman Estates) over Steven Kitzman (Dixon), 4-3
182: Ben Bielawski (DG North) over Andrew Meister (Waubonsie), TF 3:45
195: Hunter Janeczko (Yorkville) over Anthony Joyner (Evanston), F 1:23
220: Ben Alvarez (Yorkville) over Justin Dallas (Dixon), 4-3

60th Red Schmitt Holiday Tourney

Marmion coach Nate Fitzenreider can best explain the way his Cadets won the team title at this year’s 25-team, 60th annual Red Schmitt Holiday Tourney, hosted by Granite City:

“We brought twelve wrestlers and put everyone in the gold pool,” he said. “We had a team record of 39-3 on the first day. An overall team record of 63-15 over two days. We were missing three weight classes and still won the tournament over four or five highly- ranked Missouri teams.

“I was very impressed with our team, overall.”

Marmion, currently ranked 4th in Class 3A in Rob Sherrill’s IWCOA rankings, out-pointed second-place Whitfield (MO) 321-270.5 to win its title. Lafayette (MO) placed third with 269.5, Plainfield North placed fourth with 264.5, and Neosho (MO) rounded out the top five finishers with 247.5.

Marmion also won team titles at Barrington’s 32-team Moore/Prettyman and at Downers Grove South’s 16-team Larry Gassen dual-team tournament this season. The Cadets also placed fifth at the 30-team Dan Gable Donnybrook tournament in Iowa, and fourth at the Crown Point, Indiana tournament.

Other Illinois teams finishing in the top 10 were Moline (8th), Mahomet-Seymour (9th), and Triad (10th). Also competing in Granite City were Batavia, Bloomington, Cahokia, Collinsville, Quincy, Belleville East, Normal Community West, Huntley, Alton, Mascoutah, and host Granite City.

All 12 Marmion wrestlers finished in the top eight of their divisions, led by second-place finishes from Donny Pignoni (106), Jameson Garcia (120), and Sean Scheck (220). Marmion got third-place finishes from Tyler Perry (170) and Jack Lesher (182), fifths from Santino Scolaro (138), John Conover (152), Kenny Siwicki (160), and Teddy Perry (195), a sixth from Jerred Durian (285), a seventh from Tegan Chumbley (145), and an eighth-place finish from Charlie McCarthy (195).

Second-place Whitfield (MO) got individual titles from Porter Malecki (120) and Keith Milley (285), and a second-place finish from Chase Brock (182). Placing third for Whitfield were Alexander Rallo (126), Evan Binder (132) and Gavin Linsman (138). Six of Whitfield’s 12 wrestlers entered in Granite City placed in the top eight of their weight classes.

Also winning individual titles in Granite City were Batavia’s Ino Garcia (106), St. Clair’s Ryan Meek (113), Triad’s Colby Crouch (126), Plainfield North’s Jacob Macatangay (132), Moline’s Kole Brower (138), St. Clair’s Brock Woodcock (145), Neosho’s Trent Neece (152), Bolivar’s Tyson Moore (160), Buchanan’s Brett Smith (170), Belleville East’s Dominic Thebeau (182), Mahomet-Seymour’s Mateo Casillas (195), and Lafayette’s Tommy Hagan (220).

Others placing second were Plainfield North’s Cayden Amico (113), CBC’s Kolby Warren (126), Mascoutah’s Santino Robinson (132), Lafayette’s Drew Doehring (138), Moline’s Noah Tapia (145), Mahomet-Seymour’s Braeden Heinold (152), Plainfield North’s Jared Gumila (160), Christian Brothers’ Aidan Bowers (170), Bloomington’s Anthony Curry (195), and Plainfield North’s Kaden McCombs (285).

Third-place finishers included Mahomet-Seymour’s Caden Hatton (106), Lafayette’s Dylan Roth (113) and Aiden Schoen (120), Batavia’s Cael Andrews (145), Cahokia’s Nick Deloach (152), Buchanan’s Charos Sutton (160), Bolivar’s Blake Goodman (195), Mahomet-Seymour’s Colton Crowley (220), and Neosho’s Nico Olivares (285).

Fourth-place finishers included Bolivar’s Forrest McMannes (106), CBC’s Dillon White (113), Bloomington’s Carson Nishida (120), Moline’s Alec Schmacht (126), Alton’s Deontae Forest (132), Triad’s Chase Hall (138), Buchanan’s Seth Littrell (145), Christian Brothers’ Mario Robledo (152), Moline’s Parker Terronez (160), Bolivar’s Trey Brewer (170), Lafayette’s Andrew Wier (182), Christian Brothers’ Cameron Cavins (195), Plainfield North’s Leo Tovar (220), and Cahokia’s Jason Dowell (285).

Red Schmitt Holiday Tournament championship matches:

106: Ino Garcia (Batavia) over Donny Pignoni (Marmion), 7-1

113: Ryan Meek (St. Clair) over Cayden Amico (Plainfield North), 8-1

120: Porter Matecki (Whitfield) over Jameson Garcia (Marmion), 5-0

126: Colby Crouch (Triad) over Kolby Warren (CBC), F 0:58

132: Jacob Macatangay (Plainfield N.) over Santino Robinson (Mascoutah), 3-2

138: Kole Brower (Moline) over Drew Doehring (Lafayette), 13-5

145: Brock Woodcock (St. Clair) over Noah Tapia (Moline), 7-4

152: Trent Neece (Neosho) over Braeden Heinold (Mahomet Symour), 7-5

160: Tyson Moore (Bolivar) over Jared Gumila (Plainfield North), 11-0

170: Brett Smith (Troy Buchanan) over Aidan Bowers (Christian Bros.), 8-4

182: Dominic Thebeau (Belleville E.) over Chase Brock (Whitfield), 5-2

195: Mateo Casillas (Mahomet Seymour) over Anthony Curry (Bloomington), 4-0

220: Tommy Hagan (Lafayette) over Sean Scheck (Marmion), 15-4

285: Keith Miley (Whitfield) over Kaden McCombs (Plainfield N.), 10-2

Lincoln Holiday Tournament

Rock Island edged Lincoln-Way Central 242-231.5 at this year’s 23-team Lincoln Holiday Tournament, as Rock Island sent four wrestlers to the finals, getting Individual titles from Truth Vessey (106) and Aoci Bernard (138) and second-place finishes from Tyler Barbee (126) and Andrew Marquez (195).

Normal Community (182.5), Champaign Centennial (173), and St. Patrick (147) rounded out the top five team finishes, followed by Galesburg (136.5), Marengo (131), Pekin (130.5), Rochester (96.5) and host Lincoln (84.5).

The tight finish between Rock Island coach Joel Stockwell’s Rocks and Lincoln-Way Central meant every point was at a premium, and Rock Island got scoring from 11 wrestlers in earning the team win.

The Rocks received those ever-important team points from third-place finishers Daniel McGhee (120), Tristan Willoughby (145), and Matthew Cook (152), fourth-place finisher Samuel Niyonkuru (113), tenth-place finishers Elian Marshall (160), and Eli Gustafson (285), and 13th-place finisher Omareon Gay (132).

Additionally, non-scoring Rocks wrestler Rebecca Ferguson placed seventh at 106.

Lincoln-Way Central sent five wrestlers to the title mat, getting individual championships from Joey Malito (120) and MJ Hollingsworth (152) and runner-up finishes from Conor Smetana (138), Max Becker (145), and Braeden Barrett (285).

The Knights entered 15 wrestlers in the tournament also got team scoring thanks to a fifth-place finish from Dustin Kozlowski (160), sixths from Gracie Guarino (106), Caden Harvey (132) and Paul Claussen (195), a seventh from Ameer Alamawi (126), a ninth from Nathan Jarres (220), and a tenth from Jake Bodenchak (170).

Non-scoring Lincoln-Way wrestlers included fourth-place finisher Lance Valentine (160) and fifth-place finisher Tim Key (152).

Also winning individual titles in Lincoln were Normal’s Cole Gentsch (113), Galesburg’s Rocky Amendarez (126), St. Patrick’s Sean Conway (132), Lincoln’s Isaac Decker (145), Peoria Notre Dame’s Joey Mushinsky (160), Lanphier’s Gabe Orosco (170), Pekin’s Shamon Handegan (182), Normal’s Cooper Caraway (195), St. Patrick’s Alex Goworowski (220), and Pekin’s Tyler Haynes (285).

Second-place finishers included Notre Dame’s Ian Akers (106), Urbana’s Cordaro Sims (113), Galesburg’s Gauge Shipp (120), Marengo’s Ethan Struck (132), Centennial’s Tyler Easter (152), Highland’s Ben Mitchell (160), St. Patrick’s Gio Hernandez (170), Danville’s Phillip Shaw (182), and Centennial’s Jack Barnhart (220).

Finishing third in their weight classes were Normal’s Caden Correll (106), St. Patrick’s Olin Walker (113), Normal’s Brock Bacus (126), Rochester’s Nolan Mrozowski (132) and Cole Peters (138), Kenwood’s Joshua Butler (160), Centennial’s David Navarra (170), Rantoul’s Keddrick Terhune (182), Limestone’s Merrick McNeese (195), Pekin’s Karson Lamb (220), and Marengo’s Michael Macias (285).

Fourth-placers in the tournament included Centennial’s Jaiden Smith (106), Normal’s Dylan Conway (120), Centennial’s Trevor Schoonover (126), Limestone’s Cosmo Palmgren (132), Taylorville’s Gage Rusher (138), Galesburg’s Alex Baughman (145), Lanphier’s Connor Janssen (152), Jerseyville’s Liam McGuire (170), Danville’s Micah McGuire (182), East Peoria’s Zach Eaton (195), Galesburg’s Jeremiah Morris (220), and Springfield’s Shamar Richardson (285).

Lincoln Holiday Tournament championship matches:

106: Truth Vessey (Rock Island) over Ian Akers (Notre Dame), 15-5
113: Cole Gentsch (Normal) over Cordaro Sims (Urbana), 6-1
120: Joey Malito (LW Central) over Gauge Shipp (Galesburg), 7-5
126: Rocky Almendarez (Galesburg) over Tyler Barbee (Rock Island), Inj.
132: Sean Conway (St. Patrick) over Ethan Struck (Marengo), 11-5
138: Aoci Bernard (Rock Island) over Conor Smetana (LW Central), F 5:53
145: Isaac Decker (Lincoln) over Max Becker (LW Central), TF 4:21
152: MJ Hollingsworth (LW Central) over Tyler Easter (Centennial), F 0:53
160: Joey Mushinsky (Notre Dame) over Ben Mitchell (Highland), F 2:37
170: Gabe Orosco (Lanphier) over Gio Hernandez (St. Patrick), 7-5
182: Shamon Handegan (Pekin) over Phillip Shaw (Danville), F 1:01
195: Cooper Caraway (Normal) over Andrew Marquez (Rock Island), 10-3
220: Alex Goworowski (St. Patrick) over Jack Barnhart (Centennial), 4-1
285: Tyler Haynes (Pekin) over Braeden Barrett (LW Central), 5-2

Lockport, Homewood-Flossmoor wrestlers compete at Powerade

Illinois’ top-ranked Class 3A wrestler at 170 pounds put a national feather in his cap at this year’s Powerade Wrestling Tournament.

Lockport’s Brayden Thompson won an individual title at 172 pounds at the formidable tournament, held from Dec. 28-30 in Canonsburg, PA.

This year’s Powerade, hosted by Canon-McMillan high school in Pennsylvania, featured nearly 600 participants from 66 schools. Many of the top high school programs in the country attended, including perennial powers like Wyoming Seminary (PA) and Blair Academy (NJ).

Thompson was seeded #7 at 172 and he topped wrestlers seeded #3 and #4 en route to winning the title.

Thompson, unbeaten and ranked #1 at 170 in Rob Sherrill’s IWCOA rankings, won by 15-4 decision in the round of 16 before winning a 3-1 decision in his quarterfinal match against third-seeded Luke Geog of St. Edward (OH).

Thompson won a 4-3 semifinal decision over #8 Michael Delllagatta of St. Joseph (NJ), setting up his title shot against #10 Daniel Wask of Blair Academy.

Thompson’s 3-2 UTB win over Wask earned him his Powerade title.

Both Lockport and Homewood-Flossmoor had wrestlers competing in the Powerade. In addition to Thompson, the Porters got a fifth-place finish from Andrew Blackburn-Forst (215) and a sixth from Keegan Roberson (145). Logan Shaw (138) also competed for the Porters.

“Overall our four kids wrestled well,” Lockport assistant coach Jameson Oster said. “Brayden (Thompson) was able to win close matches in different ways. The last three matches he wrestled against nationally-ranked opponents were all one score matches, where he was able to wrestle smart and show his grit and ability to ride kids in tight matches.

“Andrew (Blackburn-Forst) wrestled smart and stayed offensive throughout the tournament. In his 5th-place match, Andrew widened the gap against a tough opponent he wrestled earlier in the tournament.”

Oster liked the toughness Shaw showed in fighting his way through the consolation bracket, and said that Roberson wrestled his best matches of the season in Pennsylvania.

“(Roberson) is looking more offensive and getting to his positions,” Oster said. “Keegan had a couple matches he ended up losing, but he was right there to win them at the end.”

Homewood-Flossmoor got a fifth-place finish from Vincent Robinson (126), and seventh-place finishes from Deion Johnson (106) and Justin Thomas (215).

“Vincent lost a tough match in the semis in UTB against the #1 wrestler in (Pennsylvania),” Homewood-Flossmoor coach Jim Sokoloski said. “Deion and Justin wrestled well, minus a few mistakes here and there. Jaydon Robinson continues to knock on the door in national tournaments, once again finishing one win away from reaching the podium.  I was very proud of how our three placers responded in their placing matches.

“They all responded and won their last matches in convincing fashion. That really showed me their character and perseverance, which will pay dividends come February.”