Hononegah, Barrington win at 3A Grant Sectional
By Mike Garofola for the IWCOA
IWCOA rankings from Rob Sherrill’s Illinois Best Weekly
Hononegah 35, Grant 31
With its rich wrestling history, Hononegah has had a firm grip on the NIC-10 trophy and has sent dozens into the individual state tournament, celebrating ten state champions along the way.
The Indians nearly hit the jackpot a year ago with a second-place finish at the dual-team state championships, with a super-charged lineup that would say goodbye to several quality men, including four seniors with over 180 victories combined, three of which finished in the state’s top four.
On the surface, it would appear the losses the Indians incurred would harm their chances of another trip to Bloomington this month.
However, before a big crowd inside the intimate East Gym at host Grant High School, Brody Sendele and his mates stunned the home side and are now on their way to the ninth dual-team state tournament in program history.
“To be honest, I always felt we had the pieces in place to make another run at state,” said Sendele (38-3), whose tech fall of Casey Gipson (36-12) at 215 dashed the hopes of No. 6 Grant (23-5-0), which was looking to make its first state appearance since 2016.
“We lost some great talent, but we returned a lot of guys who were hungry to prove themselves,” Sendele said. “And along with Rocco and Bruno (Cassioppi) and Jackson Olson to provide leadership, the rest of the team put in the extra work to make sure this could all happen for us.”
Sendele would miss half the season a year ago with an injury, but would come back to finish second in state, and is now ranked No. 1 at 175. Along with the Cassioppis – Rocco (40-2) No. 1 at 150, and Bruno (36-4), No 2 at 165 – looked every bit the part of their lofty spots in the state polls.
“In a match like this against a great opponent like Grant, it was important for us to get as many bonus points when we could, but more importantly, stay away from pins, and tech-falls, while having a few guys step up to get us wins when we needed them the most,” continued Sendele, who moved up two weight classes to deliver the lethal blow to the Bulldogs.
Sectional qualifiers Brady Myatt (106, 33-9) and Larry Quirk (113, 28-15) would send the crowd into orbit when they opened the proceedings with a pin and a decision to give the Bulldogs an early 9-0 advantage.
Jackson Olson (28-8) fourth a year ago at state, countered with a pin, but a nicely played 12-8 decision from sophomore Jayce Glauser (29-5) over Kristian DeClercq put the Bulldogs up by 12-6.
That’s when the first of two heroes for the Indians stepped up according to Sendele.
Sophomore Isaiah Martinez (23-13), a first time sectional qualifier, took an early 3-0 lead with a take-down en route to a 4-1 victory over Breiydyn Hoffman to draw the visitors close at 12-9.
“Isaiah did a great job of turning the momentum around before their two hammers came up,” said Sendele.
The combined physical and emotional force put forth by Grant’s No. 4 Erik Rodriguez (138, 35-6) and No. 1 Vince Jasinski (144, 40-5) rattled the roof of the gym when each recorded thundering pins in just under 90 seconds combined to give the Bulldogs a 24-9 cushion.
Rocco Cassioppi registered his pin at 150, followed by a DQ victory from Evan Musil when an illegal throw and take-down from Grayson Lennon midway the second period drew the Indians within three, at 24-21.
“Quinton (Martinez) really came through for us when we needed it,” said Sendele of the 7-5 comeback decision from the freshman, who will be making his first sectional appearance in a week.
Martinez was trailing 1-0 after one period to Christopher Zander, but took a 6-2 lead into the third period where Zander drew closer (6-5) with a take-down near the edge.
With fans on both sides of the gym up on their feet, Martinez (20-6) grabbed an escape with just under one minute, and would hold on to level the score at 24-24.
Bruno Cassioppi gave the Indians its first lead of the night (30-24) with a pin at 175; Grant’s Xavier Arroyo, one of (11) sectional qualifiers for the Bulldogs, made it 30-27 after his 4-2 decision at 190.
Gipson, a state qualifier in 2025, bumped up one weight to 215 and Sendele moved up a pair of weight classes. The rest was history with a 10-2 major decision from Grant’s heavyweight Ajani Williams (28-14) making the final 35-31.
The Indians will face No. 4 St. Charles East (17-5-0) in a dual-team quarterfinal on Friday, February 27 at 7 p.m. in Bloomington at Grossinger Motors Arena.
Hononegah 35, Grant 31
106- Brady Myatt (GRT) won by forfeit.a
113- Larry Quirk (GRT) d. Logan Harris (HON) (D 2-0).
120- Jackson Olson (HON) d. Andrew Ocampo (GRT) (F 0:56).
126- Jayce Glauser (GRT) d. Kristian DeClercq (HON) (D 12-8).
132- Isaiah Martinez (HON) d. Breiydyn Hoffman (GRT) (D 4-1).
138- Erik Rodriguez (GRT) d. Maddox Franklin (HON) (F 0:52).
144- Vince Jasinski (GRT) d. Logan Person (HON) (0:30).
150- Rocco Cassioppi (HON) d. John Von Hoene (GRT) (F 1:39).
157- Evan Musil (HON) d. Grayson Lennon (GRT) (DQ).
165- Quinton Martinez (HON) d. Christopher Zander (GRT) (D 7-5).
175- Bruno Cassioppi (HON) d. Aaden Arroyo (GRT) (F 0:55)
190- Xavier Arroyo (GRT) d. Alex Martin Pecino (HON) (D 4-2).
215- Brody Sendele (HON) d. Casey Gipson (GRT) (TF 22-6).
285- Ajani Williams (GRT) d. Wyatt Kinney (HON) (MD 10-2).
Barrington 39, Loyola 38
With a huge contingent of Barrington fans alongside the Grant faithful on the same side of the gym, there was a sea of red shirts delivering support of the MSL champion Broncos (16-9-0), who were in search of its 8th trip downstate and their first since 2020.
Last year in the same Grant gym, No. 17 Barrington suffered a 41-24 defeat to Hononegah with a downstate berth on the line.
“Last year we were disappointed after that loss to Hononegah, but when it was over, we put it behind us and went to work as a team during the offseason,” said the Broncos three-year veteran, No. 3 Ryan Dorn (138).
“That loss was last year, so what was most important was we all wanted to get back here and make a run at getting to dual-team state,” said Barrington’s No. 2 Kaleb Pratt (120), himself a three-year man for head coach Dan Keller.
“We knew coming in that Loyola obviously has two unbelievable hammers (Niko Odiotti (106) and Kai Calcutt (215)) and had a bunch of dangerous guys in their lineup, and they have a great coach with Matt Collum,” began Keller.
“I was fortunate to learn a lot as an assistant under Tom Whalen while at Prospect, and his tactical genius and ability to map things out for big duals was second to none. So I knew if I used what he taught me, we would be in good shape tonight.
“Of course, the guys had to do their jobs, and that’s what they did.”
Loyola, regional champions for the first time since 1997, came prepared themselves. They bumped No. 1 Odiotti (29-2) from 106 to 113, and would parlay a major decision victory from Quentin Williams (24-12) at 106 into an early 10-0 advantage.
“I always felt that, as good as Barrington is, we had a chance to win tonight,” Collum said. “But they have some very good depth throughout their lineup, and that eventually was the difference.
Collum will lead eight of his men into the Barrington individual sectional next week.
“This is a great accomplishment for our team to win a regional for our program, and to have a chance to have continue on,” Calcutt said.
The No. 1 man at 215 pounds is on his way to North Carolina State in the fall.
“If you had told me four years ago that we would be here tonight, I would have said no way,” continued Calcutt, a three-year standout on the defensive line for the Ramblers state power football team.
“Coach (Collum) has changed the culture in our room, and he’s brought pride back into the sport of wrestling at Loyola. To me, he’s the reason for the success we’ve achieved.”
After Pratt (41-5) registered a 16-1 tech-fall at 120, Ramblers senior Gavin Pardilla (126, 31-7) slowed the Broncos with his 8-0 major decision victory to increase the Ramblers advantage to 14-5.
However, a three match Barrington explosion with Ryan Dorn in between teammates Matthew Blanke (132) and Jimmy Whitaker (144) put 17 points on the board to push the Broncos ahead at 22-14.
“Matthew (Blanke) really came through for us with a big tech-fall win for five points ,to really set the tone of us for the rest of the night,” Dorn said.
“Yeah, I thought Matthew’s win was huge, and so was (Daniel Blanke’s) pin,” Pratt said. “He bumped up two weights to 165.”
Pins from Loyola’s James Hemmila (23-4 at 150) and Daniel Malan (26-4 at 157) would stem the tide for the Ramblers, giving their club one last lead at 26-22.
“We knew the strength of Loyola, but we were always confident in our lineup, and how we pieced things together in advance of where they moved their guys around during the match,” said Keller.
MSL and regional champions Daniel Blanke (38-7) and Sam Cushman (32-10) needed just 92 seconds to record their pins at 165 and 175, and with the Broncos firmly ahead (34-26), Aaron Jafri (29-17) put the finishing touches on the contest with a 15-0 tech-fall triumph.
With its 13-point advantage, the Broncos would concede forfeits to Calcutt (32-2) and heavyweight Mike Maddex to make it a 39-38 victory.
“Obviously, I am extremely proud of this team,” Collum said. “They have always worked hard for me and the staff, and many of them have been with us four years. So to see the success we’ve had thus far is very satisfying.”
The Ramblers will send eight into sectionals, while the sectionl host Broncos have nine qualifiers.
Barrington 39, Loyola Academy 38
106- Quentin Williams (LOY) d. Diego Ramirez (BAR) (MD 11-3).
113- Niko Odiotti (LOY) d. Ismael Lopez (BAR) (F 3:32).
120- Kaleb Pratt (BAR) d. Daniel Myint (LOY) (TF 16-1).
126- Gavin Pardilla (LOY) d. Saul Ramirez (BAR) (MD 8-0).
132- Matthew Blanke (BAR) d. Michael Crawford (LOY) (TF 15-0).
138- Ryan Dorn (BAR) d. Mateo Hatzopoulos (LOY) (F 2:47).
144- Jimmy Whitaker (BAR) d. Sean Smylie (LOY) (F 0:54).
150- James Hemmila (LOY) d. Maddox Orozco (BAR) (F 1:55).
157- Daniel Matan (LOY) d. Michael Fiandaca (BAR) (F 1:45).
165- Daniel Blanke (BAR) d. Aleks Knapik (LOY) (F 0:57).
175- Sam Cushman (BAR) d. Jack DeCrane(LOY) (F 0:37).
190- Aaron Jafri (BAR) d. Colton Pacholski (LOY) (TF 15-0).
215- Kai Calcutt (LOY) won by forfeit.
285- Mike Maddex (LOY) won by forfeit