Northern Illinois tournament roundups for Jan. 21

By Curt Herron

Riverdale wins seven titles to capture Orion’s Bob Mitton Invite championship

Riverdale had seven individual champions to help it take top honors in Orion’s Bob Mitton Invite, which featured 21 teams. Coach Myron Keppy’s first-place Rams scored 255 points while the hosts were second with 191 points and Kewanee beat out Galesburg 157-151 for third place. Mercer County (138.5), Rockridge (125), Clinton (118), Polo (115), Rock Island J-V (93.5), Macomb (92.5) and Monmouth-Roseville (89) were next in line.  

Winning titles for Riverdale were Dean Wainwright (106), Tharren Jacobs (113), Brock Smith (138), Blake Smith (145), Eli Hinde (152), Collin Altensey (160) and Alex Watson (170) while Kolton Kruse (132) finished fourth and Zac Bradley (182) placed sixth.

“We were surprised to have seven champions,” Keppy said. “And we had two other placers and everyone on the team scored points to help us score 255 points, so it was an awesome weekend.”

Leading coach Zach Nelson’s runner-up Chargers were second-place finishers Luke Moen (120), Mason Anderson (145) and Phillip Dochterman (220) while Aiden Fisher (182) and Maddux Anderson (195) took third and Kaleb Sovey (113) finished fourth.

Other Bob Mitton Invite champions were Mercer County’s Ethan Monson (120), Galesburg’s Gauge Shipp (126), Polo’s Wyatt Doty (132), Farmington’s Rese Shymansky (182), Sherrard’s Walker Anderson (195), Macomb’s Ethan Ladd (220) and Clinton’s Dawson Thayer (285).

Also finishing second were Rockridge’s Jude Finch (126), Reese Finch (138) and Ryan Lower (160), Macomb’s Carter Hoge (152) and Max Ryner (195), Polo’s Josiah Perez (106), Mercer County’s Kale Stirn (113), Galesburg’s Rocky Almendarez (132), Illini West’s Shawn Watkins (170), Kewanee’s Alejandro Duarte (182) and Rock Island J-V’s Eli Gustafson (285).

Shipp improved to 35-0 while other top records for those who reached the title mat were Altensey (43-1. .977), Brock Smith (41-1, .976), Wainwright (38-1, .974), Ryner (35-2, .946), Walker Anderson (30-2, .938), Doty (29-2, .935), Shymansky (28-2, .933), Watson (40-3, .930), Perez (24-2, .923), Monson (34-3, .919), Jude Finch (31-3, .912), Ladd (37-4, .902), Hinde (27-3, .900) and Almendarez (26-3, .897). 

Watson led all competitors with 32 team points while Brock Smith and Doty had 31 and Altensey and Thayer both scored 30 team points. Ladd and Shipp had 29.5 points, Hinde scored 29, Blake Smith had 28.5 points and Walker Anderson and Shymansky scored 28 team points.

Also finishing in third place were Galesburg’s Josh Larkin (106), Emilo Torres (170) and Dishon Nolen (220), Kewanee’s Will Taylor (138), Max Kelly (152) and Jackson Hicks (160), Amboy’s Landon Blanton (113), Rock Island J-V’s Temar Hudson (120), Farmington’s Bradlee Ellis (126), Clinton’s Cayden Poole (132), Rockridge’s Bryan Blumenstein (145) and Monmouth-Roseville’s Gavin Bell (285).

Other fourth-place finishers were Mercer County’s Eli Burns (152), Gavin Minteer (170) and Payton Coppla (285), Monmouth-Roseville’s Caleb Dillard (106) and Jay Raymond (160), Polo’s Lucas Nelson (126) and Maddux Hayden (195), Camp Point Central’s Jack Thompson (138) and Joseph Friday (145), United Township’s Xavier Marolf (120), Galesburg’s Nick Makwala (182) and Geneseo J-V’s Brayden Franzen (220).

The tournament is named for Bob Mitton, a 2005 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee who won 319 dual meets, 10 regionals and nine conference titles in his 27 years as Orion’s head coach.

Championship matches from Orion’s Bob Mitton Invite

106 – Dean Wainwright (Riverdale) D 2-0 Josiah Perez (Polo)

113 – Tharren Jacobs (Riverdale) D  4-3 Kale Stirn (Mercer County)

120 – Ethan Monson (Mercer County) D 4-2 Luke Moen (Orion)

126 – Gauge Shipp (Galesburg) D 9-4 Jude Finch (Rockridge)

132 – Wyatt Doty (Polo) MD 13-5 Rocky Almendarez (Galesburg)

138 – Brock Smith (Riverdale) MD 11-1 Reese Finch (Rockridge)

145 – Blake Smith (Riverdale) F 5:25 Mason Anderson (Orion)

152 – Eli Hinde (Riverdale) D 10-8 Carter Hoge (Macomb)

160 – Collin Altensey (Riverdale) F 1:32 Ryan Lower (Rockridge)

170 – Alex Watson (Riverdale) F 1:23 Shawn Watkins (Illini West)

182 – Rese Shymansky (Farmington) F 2:43 Alejandro Duarte (Kewanee)

195 – Walker Anderson (Sherrard) F 3:18 Max Ryner (Macomb)

220 – Ethan Ladd (Macomb) TF 5:28 Phillip Dochterman (Orion)

285 – Dawson Thayer (Clinton) F 2:51 Eli Gustafson (Rock Island J-V)

Crystal Lake Central takes top honors at Oak Park and River Forest Invitational

Crystal Lake Central scored 193 points to claim the title at Oak Park and River Forest Invite while Lyons Township edged Arrowhead, WI 179-177.5 for second place. Glenbard West (167) and Unity (152.5) were next in line in the nine-team competition in Oak Park. The school also hosted a 15-team freshman tournament at the same time, with Huntley, Glenbard West, Crystal Lake Central and the host Huskies being the top four scoring squads in that competition.

Top performers for coach Justen Lehr’s champion Tigers were title winners Zach Carnrite (145) and Leo Diaz (285) while Dylan Ramsey (113) and Ben Butler (160) were second. Cayden Parks (170) and TJ Metz (182) placed third and Payton Ramsey (106), Jon Barrick (195) and Tommy McNeil (220) took fourth place.

“Obviously I’m super happy with our guys winning a tournament,” Lehr said. “But I also want to send a big shout out to all the OPRF folks for running not just one but two great tournaments simultaneously and being first-class from tournament operation to the legendary hospitality room.”

Leading the way for coach Griff Powell’s runner-up Lions were champions Griff Powell (106) and Gunnar Garelli (160) and second-place finishers Calum Rogers (145), Charlie Campbell (152) and Cooper King (195). Jack Kutchek (120) and Sam Costello (220) took third place while Logan Hiatt (285) finished fourth.

Others who won championships were Dakota’s Phoenix Blakely (132), Jason Bowers (138) and Noah Wenzel (220), Unity’s Kyus Root (170) and Nick Nosler (195), Oak Park and River Forest’s Zev Koransky (113) and Glenbard West’s Alejandro Aranda (120).

Glenbard West had four second-place finishers, Carson Prunty (106), Cody Bochenski (126), Jacob Lachs (132) and Sasha Boulton (170). Also claiming second place were Huntley’s Aiden Lira (120) and Ben Wiley (220), Unity’s Hunter Eastin (182) and Alex Abrahamson (285) and Oak Park and River Forest’s Cooper Lacey (138).

Individuals with top records among those who met for titles are Blakely (31-1, .969), Nosler (39-2, .951), Lachs (36-2, .947), Wenzel (31-3. ,912), Eastin (38-4, .905) and King (32-4, .889). Diaz and Koransky tied for the most team points with 26, Blakely had 25.5 points and Carnrite, Nosler, Powell and Wenzel all tied with 24 team points.

Also finishing third were Huntley’s Zack Hornickel (113), Rafael Sobrepena (138) and Shane McGuine (145), Dakota’s Adrian Arellano (152) and Avery Bowers (285) and Oak Park and River Forest’s David Ogunsanya (126).

Other fourth-place finishers were Unity’s Trevor McCarter (113) and Kaden Inman (132), Huntley’s Adam Pena (126) and Alex Napientek (152), Glenbard West’s Elliot Torres (138) and Ryan Odiet (182), Dakota’s Tristen Alexander (145) and Garrett Vincent (160) and Oak Park and River Forest’s Ruben Acevedo (120).

Championship Matches for the Oak Park and River Forest Invitational

106 – Griff Powell (Lyons Township) F 5:08 Carson Prunty (Glenbard West)

113 – Zev Koransky (Oak Park and River Forest) F 0:44 Dylan Ramsey (Crystal Lake Central)

120 – Alejandro Aranda (Glenbard West) D 10-6 Aiden Lira (Huntley)

126 – Collin McDowell (Arrowhead, WI) TF 4:39 Cody Bochenski (Glenbard West)

132 – Phoenix Blakely (Dakota) TF 5:43 Jacob Lachs (Glenbard West)

138 – Jason Bowers (Dakota) D 8-4 Cooper Lacey (Oak Park and River Forest)

145 – Zach Carnrite (Crystal Lake Central) F 5:50 Calum Rogers (Lyons Township)

152 – Ramon Gulmatico (Arrowhead, WI) F 2:45 Charlie Campbell (Lyons Township)

160 – Gunnar Garelli (Lyons Township) D 4-1 Ben Butler (Crystal Lake Central)

170 – Kyus Root (Unity) D 6-0 Sasha Boulton (Glenbard West)

182 – Noah Mulvaney (Arrowhead, WI) TF 4:00 Hunter Eastin (Unity)

195 – Nick Nosler (Unity) D 9-3 Cooper King (Lyons Township)

220 – Noah Wenzel (Dakota) F 1:30 Ben Wiley (Huntley)

285 – Leo Diaz (Crystal Lake Central) F 0:20 Alex Abrahamson (Unity)

Phoenix Military Academy takes title at Phillips Elite Classic 2023

Phoenix Military Academy had four champions and that helped it win the title of the Phillips Elite Classic 2023 at Wendell Phillips Academy in Chicago with 165.5 points while Kennedy took second with 156 points. Amundsen (109), Perspectives – IIT Math and Science Academy (98), Sarah Goode STEM Academy (97), Back of the Yards College Prep (91), Hyde Park Academy (90), Schurz (88), Kenwood (82.5) and Proviso East (76) were next in the 22-team field.

Leading the way for coach Daniel Curin’s champion Firebirds were title winners Elijah Torres (106), Jose Lua (120), Mauricio Cisneros (126) and Vin Moreno (126) while Adan Bucio (113) and Kaleb Abney (195) finished fifth and Brendyn Shields (220) placed sixth.

Top performers for coach Deandre Mosley’s runner-up Crusaders were champions Victor Alvarado (113) and Phillip Lullo (145) and second-place finishers Josue’ Tankson (106) and Maciej Koscielniak (182) while Anthony Archer (120) and Nicolas Jungman (152) took fourth.

Also capturing first-place finishes were Proviso East’s Clarence Wellington (170) and Edward Love (220), Senn’s Maxwell Nevinger (138), Sarah Goode’s Kendall Martin (152), Kenwood’s Christopher Guidger (160), Hyde Park’s Wilhelm Lord (182), Chicago Military Academy – Bronzeville’s Sean Brown (195) and Back of the Yards’ Fernando Gomez (285).

Others who claimed second place were Schurz’s Majd Harmarsha (120), Andrew Delgado (132) and Ameir Alexander (160), Bowen’s Ron Tyler (145), Trevon Smith (152) and Monte Smallwood (220), Amundsen’s Matthew Nguyen (113) and Michael Wojatch (195) , Back of the Yards’ Saeed Ullah (138) and Axel Correa (170), Curie’s Porfirio Govea (126) and Sullivan’s Abdulahad Ahmadi (285).

Individuals with the best records who took first or second place were Lullo (8-0, 1.000), Alvarado (25-1, .962), Nevinger (20-1, .952), Lord (19-1, .950), Love (18-1, .947), Lua (30-3, .909), Moreno (28-3, .903) and Govea (16-2, .889). Brown had the most team points with 29 while eight others tied for second with 28 team points. Those eight were Gomez, Lord, Love, Lua, Lullo, Martin, Moreno and Wellington. Alvarado and Cisneros were next with 27.5 points.

Third-place finishes were also claimed by Perspectives’ Donald Bunton (120), Maurice Bush (132) and Mivontae Russell (195), Kenwood’s Cameron Griffin (126) and Nehemiah Pinder (170), Sullivan’s Mohamed Zia Nadre (106), Bogan’s Lee Hall (113), Wendell Phillips’ Jermaine Erving (138), Sarah Goode’s Francisco Lopez (145), Back of the Yards’ Nick Mata (152), King’s Jeremiah Poindexter (160), Proviso East’s Raphael Webb (182), Westinghouse’s Davarein Stevenson (220) and Hyde Park’s Anton Welsh (285).

And the remaining fourth-place finishers were King’s Mauriece Hearon (138), Joshua Polk (170) and Kenneth Simpson (285), Sarah Goode’s Ralph Liggins (126) and Malek Howard (182), Hyde Park’s Antonio Crump (132) and Desean Mallard (145), Perspectives’ Kenye Flanagan (106), Wendell Phillips’ Andrew Price (113), Amundsen’s John Norton (160), Curie’s Angel Ascencio (195) and Bogan’s Marcel Trice (220).

Championship Matches in the Phillips Elite Classic 2023

106 – Elijah Torres (Phoenix Military Academy) D 4-3 Josue’ Tankson (Kennedy)

113 – Victor Alvarado (Kennedy) F 0:55 Matthew Nguyen (Amundsen)

120 – Jose Lua (Phoenix Military Academy) F 1:27 Majd Harmarsha (Schurz)

126 – Mauricio Cisneros (Phoenix Military Academy) F 0:53 Porfirio Govea (Curie)

132 – Vin Moreno (Phoenix Military Academy) F 0:08 Andrew Delgado (Schurz)

138 – Maxwell Nevinger (Senn) TF Saeed Ullah (Back of the Yards)

145 – Phillip Lullo (Kennedy) F 5:07 Ron Tyler (Bowen)

152 – Kendall Martin (Sarah Goode) F 0:53 Trevon Smith (Bowen)

160 – Christopher Guidger (Kenwood) F 1:33 Ameir Alexander (Schurz)

170 – Clarence Wellington (Proviso East) F 1:30 Axel Correa (Back of the Yards)

182 – Wilhelm Lord (Hyde Park) F 4:00 Maciej Koscielniak (Kennedy)

195 – Sean Brown (Chicago Military Academy-Bronzeville) F 1:02 Michael Wojatch (Amundsen)

220 – Edward Love (Proviso East) F 1:14 Monte Smallwood (Bowen)

285 – Fernando Gomez (Back of the Yards) F 1:05 Abdulahad Ahmadi (Sullivan)

Two champions, nine Illinois finalists at Lueders invite in Clinton, Iowa

Quincy Senior’s Owen Uppinghouse and Lena-Winslow/Stockton’s Mike Haas won titles while seven other Illinois competitors placed second at the Bob Lueders Invitational in Clinton, Iowa.

Quincy (137) took sixth and Lena-Winslow/Stockton (121) was seventh in the 20-team event that was won by Linn-Mar, IA (212.5). Other Illinois teams that competed were Sterling (75), Newman Central Catholic (64), Fulton (45), Erie/Prophetstown (41) and West Carroll.

Uppinghouse improved to 33-0 after recording a fall in 1:29 over Iowa City West, IA’s Justin Avila (31-6) in the 160 championship. The Blue Devils junior had the most falls in the least time with four in 4:48, which helped him tie Linn-Mar’s Kane Naaktgeboren for most team points with 30. His teammate, Bryor Newbold (30-4) lost by fall in 1:08 to Linn-Mar’s Tate Naaktgeboren (23-2) in the 182 finals.

Haas improved to 31-6 with a 1-0 victory over Lisbon, IA’s Indy Ferguson (30-11) in the 220 title match. His teammate, Griffin Luke (36-1), fell for the first time in 37 matches when he lost by technical fall to Milton, WI’s Aeoden Sinclair (28-0) in a clash of unbeatens in the 195 finals.

Fulton’s Zane Pannell (42-1) fell for the first time in 43 matches when he lost 3-1 by sudden victory to Pleasant Valley, IA’s Caden McDermott (34-1) in the 170 finals. His teammate, Ben Fosdick (36-6), lost 6-2 to Davenport Assumption, IA’s Michael Macias (19-1) in the 145 finals.

Erie/Prophetstown’s Jase Grunder (37-2) lost 11-3 to Linn-Mar’s Grant Kress (24-3) in the 152 championship match. Newman Central Catholic’s Carter Rude (34-3) was pinned in 3:17 in the 138 title match by Linn-Mar’s Kane Naaktgeboren (26-2). And Sterling’s Zyan Westbrook (14-5) dropped a 10-4 decision to Linn-Mar’s Malik DeBow (22-5) in the 113 finals.

Illinois athletes who took third place were Lena-Winslow/Stockton’s Garrett Luke (38-2 at 152) and Jared Dvorak (34-4 at 160), Erie/Prophetstown’s Wyatt Goosens (33-5 at 120) and Newman Central Catholic’s Zhyler Hansen (28-12 at 113). 

Quincy’s Todd Smith (29-10 at 285) placed fourth while West Carroll’s Connor Knop (24-5 at 106),  Sterling’s Thomas Tate (21-6 at 160) and Lena-Winslow/Stockton’s Eli Larson (29-11 at 170) all took fifth place. 

Finishing sixth were Quincy’s Brody Baker (24-13 at 138) and Max Miller (29-8 at 170), Lena-Winslow/Stockton’s Karl Hubb (26-12 at 145) and Tanner Gile (14-5 at 182), Newman Central Catholic’s Briar Ivey (30-11 at 120) and Sterling’s Karson Strohmayer (13-18 at 126).

Championship matches involving Illinois athletes at the Lueders Invite in Clinton, Iowa

113 – Malik DeBow (Linn-Mar, IA) D 10-4 Zyan Westbrook (Sterling)

138 – Kane Naaktgeboren (Linn-Mar, IA) F 3:17 Carter Rude (Newman Central Catholic)

145 – Michael Macias (Davenport Assumption, IA) D 6-2 Ben Fosdick (Fulton)

152 – Grant Kress (Linn-Mar, IA) MD 11-3 Jase Grunder (Erie/Prophetstown)

160 – Owen Uppinghouse (Quincy) F 1:29 Justin Avila (Iowa City West, IA)

170 – Caden McDermott (Pleasant Valley, IA) SV 3-1 Zane Pannell (Fulton)

182 – Tate Naaktgeboren (Linn-Mar, IA) F 1:08 Bryor Newbold (Quincy)

195 – Aeoden Sinclair (Milton, WI) TF 4:42 Griffin Luke (Lena-Winslow/Stockton)

220 – Mike Haas (Lena-Winslow/Stockton) D 1-0 Indy Ferguson (Lisbon, IA)