IHSA 2A Grayslake Central Sectional roundup
By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA
Wrestling fans can be sure that the fur will be flying when top-ranked Montini Catholic and No. 2 IC Catholic Prep square off at this year’s 2A Wauconda Dual Team Sectional.
Montini advanced 12 wrestlers to this year’s individual finals in Champaign and IC Prep advanced 10, giving the two programs a combined 22 state qualifiers of the 56 who advanced from this year’s Grayslake Central individual sectional.
It’s a transgression against Illinois high school wrestling that the powers that be scheduled the two top-ranked teams in an elimination dual, ensuring that one of them won’t wrestle in the dual team state finals.
A simple seeding process would likely prevent such an occurrence — as it’s done in every other team sport except football — but that’s a story for another time.
Montini had four individual champions in Grayslake in Allen Woo (106), Mikey Malizzio (113), Josh Vazquez (126), and David Mayora (150), while IC Prep had five champs in Deven Casey (120), Bryson Spaulding (138), Joe Gliatta (165), Foley Calcagno (190), and Michael Calcagno (215).
“This sectional is so tough,” Montini coach Mike Bukovsky said. “There are weight classes where you’re going to get multiple place-winners from this sectional. We knew that going in. We had a rough semifinal where we only won four (out of 10) of those matches. So we challenged ourselves to pick it up and I was really pleased with the way they responded.”
The blood round was where Montini truly shined, going 8-for-8 in wins in the consolation semifinals – that brutal round at every individual sectional which determines who will wrestle downstate, and who goes home.
“I don’t know if we’ve ever done that before,” Bukovsky said of his squad’s 8-for-8 blood round performance. “You look at those blood-round guys. Kam Luif (132) and Jeremy Huf (138) bounced back, and Harrison Konder (157) got caught this morning by a real tough kid from Lake Forest (Seth Digby) and bounced back, and that’s what this sport is about.”
“Santino Tenuta (165) had a bad match last night and came all the way back to take third place in his bracket — it’s guts, toughness, and heart. Then AJ Tack (175) and Santino both bumped up a weight for us when Harrison became eligible late in the year, and they both qualified. They deserve it, they did everything right, and they’re just great kids.”
“Jaxon Lane had the best day of his season today at 190 and really wrestled his butt off to finish fourth. It just goes up and down the lineup.”
Isaac Mayora (120) and Mick Ranquist (285) rounded out Montini’s 12 state qualifiers.
IC Prep coach Danny Alcocer’s boys also won four blood-round matches to earn state qualification, in Kannon Judycki (113), Pat Mullen (144), Brody Kelly (150), and Nate Brown (175) to round out IC’s 10 qualifiers.
“It was a great team effort. You always want to get more guys through and there are always a couple guys you wish could have performed better to get down(state),”Alcocer said. “But overall we did great and the team is coming together at the right time. I can’t wait to see how these guys do next week in Champaign.”
In his first year at the helm, Alcocer has IC poised to make a run at state glory.
“It’s a different vibe this year but I don’t deserve to take all the credit. We have a great coaching staff and what I like to say is ‘it’s we, not me’,” Alcocer said, tipping his hat to assistant coaches Corey Stanley, Randy Spaulding, and Tony Norton for the job they do with the IC program.
Other sectional champions at Grayslake Central were Edgar Albino (132), St. Patrick’s Nikolas Karamaniolas (144), Lake Forest’s Seth Digby (157), Grayslake Central’s Matty Jens (175), and Fenton’s Thomas Klos (285).
Wauconda advanced six wrestlers to Champaign, St. Patrick advanced four, while host Grayslake Central, Deerfield, Fenwick, Notre Dame, and Antioch each advanced three wrestlers downstate.
2A Grayslake Central Individual Sectional championship match results:
106 – Allen Woo, Montini Catholic
The top three ranked wrestlers in Illinois at 106 battled for a sectional title in Grayslake, and No. 3 Allen Woo (17-3) of Montini shined in winning the sectional title.
Woo has the ingredients that could have him en route to winning a state title, as the top-ranked Montini freshman dominated Wauconda’s No. 2 Gavin Rockey in a 9-2 decision in the finals.
“Allen just does everything right,” Montini coach Mike Bukovsky said. “Great kid, hard worker, and just absolutely as robotic and disciplined as they come, in everything he does. He’s a great representation for our program.”
Woo set himself apart from the field with a quarterfinal fall before winning 8-1 over Grayslake Central’s top-ranked Vince DeMarco (39-6). Wood then handled No. 2 Rockey with a pair of first-period takedowns, one in the second, and one more in the third without giving up a single takedown.
Rockey won a 4-3 ultimate tie-break decision in his semifinal match against Antioch’s Jacob Smith (25-8). DeMarco went on to place third by walkover against St. Patrick’s Daniel Goodwin (37-9).
Woo lost part of this season to injury and only recently returned to the fold.
“Regionals was my first tournament back and I feel good,” Woo said. “I just know that nobody trains as hard as me, so I was ready. We’ve got good coaches and we train hard, so we’re all ready for whatever comes our way.”
113 – Mikey Malizzio, Montini Catholic
Along with Woo, Montini’s other highly-touted lower-weight freshman is Mikey Malizzio. Malizzio toughed out a 5-4 semifinal win over Notre Dame’s John Sheehy (39-10), then used a third-period reversal in the finals for a 3-0 win over Cary-Grove’s Hunter Lenz (14-4).
Third-ranked freshman Malizzio improved to 30-5 in winning the first sectional title of his career.
“I love what he’s doing this year,” Montini coach Mike Bukovsky said. “He had a couple growing pains early in the year but he wrestles smart, and he can wrestle in all three phases and I think that’s the secret to him.”
The junior Lenz reached the finals with an 8-1 semifinal decision over IC Prep freshman Kannon Judycki (24-16). Sixth-ranked Sheehy and Judycki bounced back with pins in the blood round, and Sheehy placed third with a fall against Judycki.
120 – Deven Casey, IC Catholic Prep
Two of the state’s best at 120 squared off in the finals at Grayslake Central when IC Prep’s No. 2-ranked Deven Casey and Antioch’s No. 3 Gavin Hanrahan took to the title mat.
Casey (30-4) ultimately prevailed 7-5 over Hanrahan (37-7) to give IC the first of its five individual sectional titles on the day.
“You just can’t say enough about (Casey),” IC coach Danny Alcocer said. “His GPA is above 4.0, he’s a great team leader, and he does all the little things that we ask of him. I can’t wait to see him compete downstate.”
Hanrahan had the first takedown of the match, Casey had the second and led 5-4 after a period. Casey reversed Hanrahan to start the second, Hanrahan escaped, and Casey’s 7-5 lead held up for the rest of the match between the two juniors.
Casey placed third in Illinois at 106 as a freshman and third at 113 last season; Hanrahan was a state qualifier as a freshman and a sophomore.
Casey won by major decision in his semifinal match against Montini freshman Isaac Mayora (29-12), while Hanrahan won by fall in his semifinal against DePaul College Prep’s Johnny Cunningham (32-13). Wauconda’s Lucas Galdine (32-16) took third to advance and Mayora placed fourth in getting to Champaign.
126 – Josh Vazquez, Montini Catholic
Another bracket featuring four top 10-ranked wrestlers saw the day’s tightest finals match play out, when Montini’s top-ranked Josh Vazquez (39-4) took on Deerfield’s No. 4 Luke Reddy (40-3) at 126.
A scoreless first period in the finals gave way to a long second period of riding time for Vazquez, but Reddy escaped with five seconds remaining in the period and led 1-0 heading into the third.
A Vazquez escape to start the third made it 1-1, which held to a first overtime in neutral, which went scoreless. A Reddy escape to start the second OT put him up 2-1 before Vazquez got a reversal to start the third OT and held on for the 3-2 victory.
“I wasn’t wresting as sharp as I wanted to but later in the match I kind of picked it up,” Vazquez said. “My conditioning kind of pulled me through.”
Vazquez placed fourth in Champaign at 132 as a freshman and second at 120 last season.
“I’ll just get my practices in, probably not too hard but just keeping my body ready for state,” Vazquez said.
132 – Edgar Albino, Antioch
At this stage, Antioch senior Edgar Albino is a wily veteran of the state tournament. He’s a two-time medal winner and three-time IHSA state-qualifier, and a medal-winner his freshman year at the IWCOA state tournament during the COVID year.
Albino finished fourth at 132 in Champaign last year and third at 120 as a sophomore. He’s now a senior with an approach that young wrestlers should heed.
“I’m having fun now. It’s a game; it’s not life or death,” Albino said. “In past years I was too nervous and I wasn’t having fun at all. Now, I’m just letting it fly. It’s just a sport.”
On the mat, Albino is also using his speed, fakes, and snaps to greater effect. The third-ranked senior improved to 38-4 with his 5-2 win in the finals Saturday over IC Prep’s No. 8 Omar Samayoa.
“I wrestled him at a (club) practice and I knew he was defensive,” Albino said. “So I already had a plan in my head — just be patient.”
A scoreless first period gave way to a second-period Albino takedown, and Albino led 3-1 before scoring again off a desperation shot from Samayoa in the waning seconds of the third period.
Samayoa (26-15) reached the finals with a 7-2 semifinal win over St. Patrick’s fifth-ranked Olin Walker (35-5), while Albino gutted out a 3-1 sudden victory decision in his semifinal against Montini’s fourth-ranked Kam Luif (33-7). Walker won by fall over Luif on the third-place mat.
138 – Bryson Spaulding, IC Catholic Prep
If you could bottle and sell senior-year urgency, you’d be a millionaire in no time. But IC Prep senior Bryson Spaulding came by that sense of urgency honestly, after three years of high school wrestling.
“I started feeling it at the very beginning of the season and I’ve worked on all the things I need to clean up, on my endurance — I felt it right away,” Spaulding said. “I feel more prepared, I’ve improved my focus and I’m definitely more driven this year.”
Senior-year drive drove Spaulding (31-10) to a sectional title, one week after winning a regional title. Both times, he faced Deerfield’s Jordan Rasof (36-7) on the title mat.
“I wrestled Rasof in the finals at the regional, so I knew I could beat him,” Spaulding said. “I just had to stay on my technique and stay aggressive. After no scoring in the first period I felt alright because I was staying aggressive and true to my technique.”
A Spaulding takedown in the second period and another in the third sent Spaulding to a 5-1 victory and a third berth in the IHSA state finals. The junior Rasof advanced downstate again after placing sixth at 126 in Champaign last year.
Fourth-ranked Spaulding won by major decision in his semifinal match over Wauconda’s Cooper Daun (36-10), and fifth-ranked Rasof won by 5-3 sudden victory decision over Montini’s Jeremy Huf (13-1). Huf won by major decision over Daun for third place.
144 – Niko Karamaniolas, St. Patrick
Illinois’ third, fifth, seventh, and eighth-ranked wrestlers at 144 dove into Saturday’s sectional pool and when it was over, St. Patrick’s No. 5 Niko Karamaniolas (31-5) was the last man treading water.
Karamaniolas won his first sectional title in a hard-fought 8-6 decision in the finals against Deerfield’s No. 7 Mark Martinez (28-3), who kept coming in the third chasing a 6-2 Karamaniolas advantage in the third period.
It was a hard day’s work for all four of the top 10-ranked 144-pounders.
“I also had (IC Prep’s No. 3) Patrick Mullen in the semi’s so I knew it was a tough draw for me,” Karamaniolas said, “but I had to just go out and treat it like it was any other match.”
Karamaniolas won a 4-3 decision over Mullen (22-8) to reach the finals, while Martinez won by major decision in his semifinal match against St. Ignatius’ Nate Sanchez (35-8). Mullen went on the place third by major decision over No. 8 Tony Hinojosa (33-10) of Carmel.
“Rankings don’t really mean much right now,” Karamaniolas said. “You just have to go out on the mat and give it all you can. I love the kind of matches I had today. In the third period it’s about who wants it more and I wanted it more in every single match. I’m locked in and have my head in the right place.”
150 – David Mayora, Montini Catholic
As one of eight seniors winning sectional titles in Grayslake, Montini Catholic’s top-ranked David Mayora is pulling out all stops during his final run at winning a state title.
Mayora has placed second and third in Champaign in the last two years but with the curtain closing on his high school wrestling career, he is wrestling with a level of aggressiveness that is off the charts.
“(Aggression) has been prioritized all season but right now I feel like I’m kicking it into overdrive,” Mayora said. “Last year I didn’t have as much confidence as I do now, to want to go out there and just rip people’s heads off. And now it’s showing.”
Mayora (34-1) won by fall for a sectional title against Wauconda’s No. 9-ranked Cole Porten (40-8). Mayora led 6-2 when he took Porten to the mat and won by fall at 3:35.
“I realized how strong he was but I didn’t want to let that affect me,” Mayora said. “I just didn’t want to put myself into any compromising positions and give up any points.”
Mayora opened with a win by fall Friday before he and IC Prep’s No. 3 Brody Kelly (30-7) wrestled to overtime in their semifinal match Saturday. Mayora got the takedown he needed in overtime for the 3-1 decision win.
The Montini senior is locked in as he makes a final run at state finals glory.
“I’ve been improving, figuring out my techniques, my strengths, and figuring out that I’m good at anything I put my mind to,” Mayora said.
Kelly won by fall for third place against Cary-Grove’s Noah Pechotta (36-9).
157 – Seth Digby, Lake Forest
State-ranked No.’s 2, 3, and 4 at joined Saturday’s sectional party at 157, and Lake Forest’s No. 3 Seth Digby was the last one to leave.
Two-time state qualifier Digby (38-2) won a 10-3 decision in the finals over Wauconda’s No. 4 Nicholas Cheshier (27-5). Montini’s No. 2 Harrison Konder (11-2) took third and St. Patrick’s Van Grasser (37-14) finished fourth to advance.
Digby won his first sectional title and heading into Grayslake, he wasn’t too concerned with rankings.
“I was just focused on wrestling whoever was in front of me,” Digby said. “It’s my senior year and I just want to have fun. Rankings can get into your head a little bit so I’ve always tried not to pay too much attention to them.”
Digby was a state qualifier in each of the past two years and this year he wants to end his high school career on a Champaign podium.
“The job’s not finished yet. My sophomore year I was sort of surprised I made it (downstate) and was almost just satisfied with that,” Digby said. “Last year I just didn’t wrestle very well at the state tournament but I think it will be a lot different this year.”
Digby led 5-0 in Saturday’s finals after one period thanks to a cradle and back points, then rode Cheshier out for the whole second period before getting two more takedowns in the third.
“We’ve worked on riding a lot in the past month,” Digby said. “It’s something I’ve struggled with but I feel like I’ve turned a switch a little bit. When you’re wrestling the top kids in the state, it’s a key to being able to win a match.”
Digby won by first-period fall in his semifinal match against Konder, while Cheshier won by 8-3 decision in his semifinal against Grasser.
165 – Joe Gliatta, IC Catholic Prep
Another tough bracket at 165 saw four wrestlers ranked among the top 10 in Illinois get after it in Grayslake.
The highest-ranked among them won the crown, as IC Prep’s No. 2 Joe Gliatta (37-6) became the third of the Knights’ five sectional champions on the day. Gliatta won by fall at 1:33 in the finals against Vernon Hills’ No. 7 Ilia Dvoriannikov (29-6), in a first period that saw no shortage of action.
“He came real hard but I got five points in the (first period),” Gliatta said. “He got a reversal, I got up, then got him to his back. It was a short but a long match.”
Gliatta placed sixth at 145 in Champaign two years ago and was a state qualifier last year as a junior. This year
“In previous years I started calm but I know I have to push the pace now because I don’t think anyone can keep up with me,” Gliotta said. “Every day I run two miles, we do bike sprints, and I’m ready to go. Everyone on (IC Prep) wants the same goal and this team is really good.”
Gliatta won a 4-2 semifinal decision over Antioch’s No. 8 Ben Vazquez (35-12), while Dvoriannikov won an 8-4 decision over Montini’s No. 9 Santino Tenuta (30-7). Tenuta went on to place third and Fenton’s Jovany Zuniga (36-5) was fourth.
Gliatta will spend the week before Champaign shoring up his technique. He wasn’t happy with his 4-2 semifinal decision over Vazquez.
“I feel like I let him come to me instead of doing my own thing,” Gliatta said. “I wasn’t attacking enough.”
175 – Matty Jens, Grayslake Central
Matty Jens’ rampage through Illinois’ 175-pound weight class continued on Saturday.
The top-ranked Grayslake Central senior and last year’s state champion at 182 won his second sectional title and improved to 37-1 with a fall in the finals against Fenwick’s Patrick Gilboy (30-12).
Afterwards, Jens was asked if he’s any different than he was when he won a prestigious Dvorak tournament title back in December.
“If I wrestled Matty Jens from six weeks ago, I’d smash that guy’s face,” Jens said. “I think I’d whip his butt. Because everything you do in this sport can get better, every single day.”
Jens got in some work on his feet at this year’s sectional. He won his quarterfinal match by tech fall and led 16-4 after a period in the finals, before a pin at 2:39 ended his day.
Gilboy won a 3-2 decision in his semifinal match against St. Patrick’s Devin Nichol (36-14). After losing to Jens in his quarterfinal match, Montini’s AJ Tack (34-8) ticked off three wins in the wrestlebacks to take third place, with IC Prep’s Nate Brown (8-12) wrestling back to place fourth.
Jens placed second in state at 182 as a sophomore and placed fifth at 170 in the IWCOA state tournament as a freshman.
“When I was younger I was just having fun, and I got to wrestle, too,” Jens said. “But now I’ve matured mentally and physically, and I want to be the best. And I’ll do everything I can do to get there.
“Losing in the finals my sophomore year was pretty rough. It was an eye-opener. But the year before that, getting my butt whipped every single day was a key to making me better.”
190 – Foley Calcagno, IC Catholic Prep
IC Prep’s third-ranked sophomore Foley Calcagno (32-6) and Notre Dame’s No. 7 senior Jim Amatore (34-7) stood across each other on the title mat at 190, and Calcagno’s 6-5 decision win earned him a sectional crown.
“Foley is one of the football players who has really bought into our new system and the culture change that our staff has brought,” IC Catholic coach Danny Alcocer said. “I’m excited to see what he leaves Champaign with, as well as his development over the next two years.”
Like multiple football players at IC, Calcagno worked out with the wrestling team twice a week during football season to stay sharp.
Calcagno had two first-period takedowns and led 5-2 heading to the third, before Amatore found a takedown with a minute left to make it 6-5. Amatore fought hard for a takedown but Foley held him off for the win.
Calcagno reached the finals with an 8-5 semifinal decision win over Montini’s Jaxon Lane (31-12), and Amatore won his semifinal 2-1 over Antioch’s Colin Arquilla (14-14). Fenwick’s Jack Paris (7-3) wrestled back to place third and Lane took fourth place.
215 – Michael Calcagno, IC Catholic Prep
IC Catholic Prep senior Michael Calcagno was a state champion at 182 his sophomore year before his junior season got derailed.
“I tore my ACL and missed the whole year last year,” Calcagno said. “I made it back for football season this year and went through everything I needed to do to get to wrestle again. I feel hungrier. I lost a year and now I have to go out and make up for it.”
Top-ranked Calcagno is making it count. He improved to 47-4 and won a sectional title with his third pin of the tournament, winning by fall in the finals against Antioch’s Owen Shea (26-13). Calcagno followed his semifinal fall at 0:37 against Notre Dame’s Jack Malenock (32-16) with a fall at 0:36 against Shea.
“I just want to go out there, take care of business, and go,” Calcagno said. “I feel like I had more mat time this year in (pre-season) practice. We got back sooner from football so I had more time on the mat, and we worked hard on conditioning, too.”
Calcagno is aware of the target on his back as the state’s top-ranked 215-pounder but he doesn’t give it a second thought.
“I don’t really care,” Calcagno said. “I don’t like looking at who I have to wrestle, or doing all that digging. I just go out and wrestle. I’ve never really looked at the rankings.”
His advice to young wrestlers who obsess over where they’re ranked is simple.
“Don’t do it,” Calcagno said. “Just wrestle.”
Fenwick’s Luke Dalise (30-16) placed third by decision over fourth-place Hunter Wahtola (29-13) of DePaul College Prep.
285 – Thomas Klos, Fenton
“I wasn’t expecting to be here,” Fenton heavyweight Thomas Klos said. “But here I am.”
‘Here’ for Klos was standing in the gym at Grayslake Central after winning a 2A sectional title, thanks to a fall in the finals against Notre Dame’s Scott Cook.
All unranked Klos had to do was negotiate a sectional heavyweight field that included ninth-ranked Cook, Cary-Grove’s No. 8 Lucas Burton, and Montini’s No. 10 Mick Ranquist. Mission accomplished.
Klos (22-6) won by fall in his semifinal against Ranquist (20-6) before pinning Cook (36-8) for the title. Klos got a headlock and threw Cook to his back before winning by fall at 0:44 in the finals.
“I was just hoping to make it to state. I didn’t think I’d win it all,” Klos said. “But I was able to get to my good stuff.”
“My conditioning is so much better now. I was something like 10-6 in December but I haven’t lost since. I’ve just been winning.”
Klos punched his ticket to Champaign with his semifinal win and stayed aggressive in the final against Cook.
“It was exciting winning my (semifinal) and didn’t really know what to think about the finals but I decided to just go out there and compete,” Klos said. “Now I’ll just heal up my body, go (to Champaign), and try to keep winning.”
Burton (22-7) won by decision for third place and Ranquist (20-6) placed fourth to advance.
2A SECTIONAL QUALIFIERS from Grayslake Central
Sectional championship match results:
106 – Allen Woo (17-3, Montini) over Gavin Rockey (38-9, Wauconda) D 9-2
113 – Mikey Malizzio (Montini)) 30-5, Fr. over Hunter Lenz (14-4, Cary-Grove) D 3-0
120 – Deven Casey (30-4, IC Catholic) over Gavin Hanrahan (37-7, Antioch) D 7-5
126 – Josh Vazquez (39-4, Montini) over Luke Reddy (40-3, Deerfield) TB-1 3-2
132 – Edgar Albino (38-4, Antioch) over Omar Samayoa (26-15, IC Catholic) D 5-2
138 – Bryson Spaulding (31-10, IC Catholic) over Jordan Rasof (36-7, Deerfield) D 5-1
144 – Nikolas Karamaniolas (31-5, St. Patrick) over Mark Martinez (28-3, Deerfield) D 8-6
150 – David Mayora (34-1, Montini) over Cole Porten (40-8, Wauconda) F 3:35
157 – Seth Digby (38-2, Lake Forest) over Nicholas Cheshier (27-5, Wauconda) D 10-3
165 – Joe Gliatta (37-6, IC Catholic) over Ilia Dvoriannikov (29-6, Vernon Hills) F 1:33
175 – Matty Jens (37-1, Grayslake Central) over Patrick Gilboy (30-12, Fenwick) F 2:39
190 – Foley Calcagno (32-6, IC Catholic) over Jim Amatore (34-7, Notre Dame) D 6-5
215 – Michael Calcagno (47-4 IC Catholic) over Owen Shea (26-13, Antioch) F 0:36
285 – Thomas Klos (22-6, Fenton) over Scott Cook (36-8, Notre Dame) F 0:44
Third-place results:
106 – Vince DeMarco (41-7, Grayslake Central) over Daniel Goodwin (37-9, St. Patrick) (For.)
113 – John Sheehy (39-10 Notre Dame) over Kannon Judycki (24-16, IC Catholic) F 3:04
120 – Lucas Galdine (32-16, Wauconda) over Isaac Mayora (29-12, Montini) fft.
126 – Tyler Weidman (38-4, Grayslake Central) over Nathan Randle (34-8, Wauconda) F 0:29
132 – Olin Walker (35-5 St. Patrick) over Kam Luif (33-7, Montini) F 4:28
138 – Jeremy Huf (13-1, Montini) over Cooper Daun (36-10, Wauconda) MD 13-4
144 – Pat Mullen (22-8, IC Catholic) over Antonio Hinojosa (33-10, Carmel) MD 16-5
150 – Brody Kelly (30-7, IC Catholic) over Noah Pechotta (36-9, Cary-Grove) F 5:35
157 – Harrison Konder (11-2, Montini) over Van Grasser (37-14, St. Patrick) MD 10-1
165 – Santino Tenuta (30-7, Montini) over Jovany Zuniga (36-5, Fenton) F 3:53
175 – AJ Tack (34-8, Montini) over Nate Brown (8-12, IC Catholic) SV-1 9-7
190 – Jack Paris (7-3, Fenwick) over Jaxon Lane (31-12, Montini) D 3-1
215 – Luke Dalise (30-16, Fenwick) over Hunter Wahtola (29-13, DePaul College Prep) D 14-9
285 – Lucas Burton (22-7, Cary-Grove) over Mick Ranquist (20-6, Montini) D 7-2