Schaumburg girls 3-peat at Morris

By Chris Walker for the IWCOA

2025 Morris Girls Reindeer Rumble Invite

It was a two-team race for the team title during the 3rd annual Morris Girls Reindeer Rumble Invite on Dec. 20, but the defending champs were victorious again.

Like Schaumburg did in the inaugural tournament in 2023, and last year, the Saxons showcased their depth and talent to take home the title for the third straight year.

“It’s a good tournament, you got Lockport and DeKalb and Minooka ,all these teams that will be at state duals next week,” Schaumburg coach Matt Gruszka said. “Dual team is definitely a different feel because it brings excitement and it’s nice IWCOA puts on the state duals for next week. It’s a cool thing. We get 16 full teams going at it. It’s a great environment. We look forward to seeing those teams again, and all the coaches here get along well here which is kind of nice.”

The Saxons were challenged by Minooka, outscoring the Indians 448 to 428. Lockport was a distant third with 360 and DeKalb was fourth at 267 with Canton’s 245 rounding out of the top five teams among 27 programs that competed in the festive-themed tourney.

“Our normal (first) tournament got canceled because of the weather so it was the first tournament,” Gruszka said. “It’s always interesting to see how your team responds in their first big tournament, but overall they definitely had the team effort and we’re going to need that when we do duals which is going to be a lot of fun.”

Nadia Razzak (190) won a title while her teammates, Isabella Rivas (125), Layla McHenry (155) and Sharon Olorunfemi (135) wrestled their way into the finals but fell short, placing second. Makenzi Aguilar (100) was third, Ava Hartman (140) and Maja Brzosko (170) were fourth, Catherine Franco (105), Reagan Paulson (120) and Lauren Brehmer (130) were sixth. Olivia Furlan (235) placed eighth to provide 24 points and Anna Villarreal (115) took ninth and delivered 27 points.

“I think our 190 (Razzak) wrestled extremely well,” Gruszka said. “Nadia had a hell of a tournament. And then we had some of the girls in the final, but I tell you, it’s a tough tournament, some tough individual girls here. To win a tournament like this some girls come from smaller teams but they’re tough as nails so you run into someone in the finals or third, who’s this girl? I love wrestling these tournaments, you get to see those individual girls.”

Runner-up Minooka earned a pair of titles from Ezra Rodriquez (145) and Abigail Underhill (155). Anastasia Dewey (125) and Sabina Charlebois (130) took third, Marian Nordsell (110) and Mia Lemberg (190) were fourth and Aubry Smith (115), Lexie Lakota (135), Melody Williams (140) and Addison Davis (170) placed fifth. Therese Escano (105) placed seventh and earned 27 points and Mia Martinez (100) was tenth with 18 points.

100 – Abella Brown, Canton

Brown didn’t get a chance to wrestle here last year. Instead, she was watching from the outside, biding her time waiting for her wrist to heal.

“I’m very happy with actually wrestling at this tournament because last year I broke my wrist the second day of practice and I was out for half the season, so I wasn’t even at this tournament last year,” the junior said. “I’m just happy to be back. I did come back and ended up qualifying for state and Chloe (Hedges) over here also qualified for state.”

Brown scored a 9-0 major over Burlington Central’s Melanie Garcia to win the title match.

“The biggest key for me was just wrestling to my ability and having my teammates and coaches push me and remind me of how I can wrestle,” Brown said. “Really after winning my first one and continuing into my second I just kept pushing and finding my angles, finding my shots was really what got me through today.”

After beginning high school at Coal City, Brown transferred to Canton and now she’s among the Little Giants at the 585-student school in Fulton County, a solid 3-plus hour drive from Morris.

“It’s been like a family to me from the beginning,” Brown said. “All the girls push each other at practice and the coaches genuinely are so amazing and they really want the best for us and they push us to work hard.”

Schaumburg’s Makenzi Aguilar beat West Aurora’s Melissa Melgar by fall at 3:07 for third place, and DeKalb’s Jade Weiss pinned Ottawa’s Isabel Gwaltney in 9 seconds for fifth.

105 – Alex Gregorio-Perez, DeKalb 

Gregorio-Perez, who placed fifth in the state at 105 pounds last year, became a 2-time champion in the infancy of this third-year tournament with a repeated win at 105.

She pinned all five of her opponents, including Canton’s LT Diephus in 2:58 in the final. Diephus won the title at 100 last year here.

Oswego East’s Vivienne Mendygral (0:59), Romeoville’s Delilah Carli (1:10), Sandwich’s Olivia Agajanian (1:21) and Ottawa’s Ciara Wolf (0:51) were among those Gregorio-Perez defeated by fall before matching up against Diephus.

“Overall, we’ve been working on my top and bottom a lot,” Gregorio-Perez said. “If I look at the bigger picture compared to my freshman year I would say my confidence is there. I feel ready to go as soon as we are out of bounds or they stop the match, I’m ready in the middle, ready to go, ready on my feet, thinking of my next move and how to work through that without thinking too much about it. It really is just a feel. Getting through uncomfortable situations as well and just putting it all out there.”

Wrestling has added structure to Gregorio-Perez’s young life.

“I tried out and I’m not going to lie, I was a little bit unstable and a bit of a trouble maker,” she said. “And my parents had told me I couldn’t wrestle and so it just made me want to actually wrestle, so I just still did wrestling and stuck with it and really liked it and now it’s everything for me.”

She’s taken advantage of a program at DeKalb that benefits from the strength of a solid boys program.

“Obviously, at DeKalb we’re very big on wrestling so we have a lot of resources with coaches and they are very willing to work with me, so obviously a lot of those coaches have seen my potential even when I haven’t seen it,” she said. “So during the off-season I worked so hard, I would get a lot of extra practice, go to the off-season stuff and just trying to get other girls to want to practice so I could get a practice partner.”

Now that she’s seeing other girls following in her footsteps, she’s counting her blessings that she was introduced to this great sport which continues to grow with her peers.

“Our girls in general want to do it because they see it’s possible,” she said. “It’s just amazing, and if anything, it’s very rewarding being a part of it and seeing not only our girls team in the high school, but middle school. Our club with girls in fifth grade and fourth grade and second grade, everything is multiplying and so great to see compared to my freshman year and there were five girls maybe.”

Shepard’s Sofia Perez won by fall at 3:07 over Ottawa’s Ciara Bolf for third place, and West Aurora’s Ruby Bolanos-Carbajal earned a 6-0 decision against Schaumburg’s for fifth.

110 – Annalee Haschemeyer, Canton

Haschemeyer, who placed fourth here at 120 as a freshman a year ago, piled up the minutes, earning five victories, including four by decision.

After opening with a 10-7 decision over Coal City’s Norah Minuth, Haschemeyer pinned Oswego’s Kendra Padilla at 3:20 to advance to the quarterfinals. She earned decisions over Sandwich’s Lydia Cartwright and Minooka’s Marian Nordsell to get to the finals where she earned an 8-5 decision against Ottawa’s Lily Gwaltney.  

“I’m really proud of myself because last year I think I got fourth or fifth, and I got first this year,” she said. “So I’m really proud of myself and my thought was just like move, move move, run, run, run on your feet. I’m really proud of how I moved.”

As for what Haschemeyer learned about wrestling from the end last season to now?

“I learned that girls are a lot easier to wrestle than boys,” she said. “From freshman to sophomore year that’s what I learned.”

DeKalb’s Larisza Gomez Guevara earned a tech fall win while ahead 17-1 at the 4-minute mark over Minooka’s Marian Nordsell for third, and Canton’s Shayla Schielein scored a 7-0 decision over Sandwich’s Lydia Cartwright for fifth.

115 – Chloe Hedges, Canton

Plainfield South’s Kayla Ochotorena avoided being pinned by Hedges in the first minute, which was something Hedges’ four other opponents were unable to do.

In fact, Hedges earned pins in 21, 40 and 53 seconds before taking down Schaumburg’s Aubree Campos in 38 seconds in the final.

Attitude and battling teammate Annalee Haschemeyer in the practice room were apparently difference makers in her dominance all day.

“Well, I tried to take a lot of shots and keep a positive attitude mainly,” Hedges said. “I don’t know. I’m not used to doing interviews. My bruises are (Haschemeyer’s) bruises and her bruises are my bruises.”

120 – Aiyanah Sylvester, West Aurora

A year after winning the title here at 125, Sylvester won at 120, joining select company as one of a handful of two-time champs here.

Sylvester dominated. The junior pinned Prairie Central senior Yurithdzy Vilchis in 51 seconds to win the title.

It was her fourth pin of the tournament. After opening with two straight pins in 14 and 33 seconds respectively, Sylvester won by forfeit in her third round match to advance to the quarterfinals where she won by fall in 1:08 against Romeoville’s Jayden Kurowski. She needed a little longer (2:22) before getting to Peotone’s Kennedy Mort in the semifinal. All told, she spent just 4:17 on the mat in Morris wrestling.

Mort received a tech fall win against Plainfield South’s Alexia Kachiroubas when she pulled ahead 17-3 at 3:47 for third place, and Reed-Custer’s Madysen Meyer won 3-1 over Schaumburg’s Reagan Paulson for fifth.

125 – Samantha Greisen, Seneca

Greisen isn’t alone at her school, but she’s in select company with Hayden Lavarier, a 145-pounder who took seventh place on Saturday.

They’re the lone female wrestlers at Seneca.

“Only got us two girls, just me and Hayden at the school, and there are some people who will try it out and they’ll be like, ‘I’m not a fan,’ and give up on it,” Greisen said. “It kind of discourages other girls from trying.”

There’s no doubt Greisen was the exact opposite. She got hooked pretty early on.

“I started when I was in middle school and I just needed an outlet,” she said. “My mom thought for sure I was going to quit. I was in fifth grade and I liked it. It was fun and so I stuck with it. And then I wasn’t a fan of the school I was at and the school was not a big fan of me. Once I moved I thought I wasn’t going to wrestle and then I got the Seneca coaches, mostly Gavin (Kurtz) and I was like ‘I really like this sport’ so I stuck it out and now I might go wrestle in college because of it.”

She’s looking to go next-level because she’s doing fantastic things currently in high school, including pinning five opponents in a single day to win a title.

Greisen’s defeated Bolingbrook’s Kayleah Tate (2:27), Romeoville’s Samantha De La Torre (1:28), Urbana’s Tauhnisjha Hart (3:01), Schaumburg’s Elena Nikolova (4:00) and Schaumburg’s Isabella Rivas (3:47).

“For me it has been figuring out the things I’m comfortable with and sticking with that,” she said. “Then I’ll slowly get out of it and maybe I don’t know if I like it so I figure it out that way.”

Last year Greisen started the season at 140 and then moved down to 135 about midway through it. She’s bounced from 130 to 125 this season but believes she’ll stick at 125.

“Weight hasn’t been too big of a problem,” she said. “The girls, we tend to monitor it a bit better than the guys do. Guys will get 15 pounds over the day before and have to cut it all off. There are times I’ll get a couple pounds over but I always make weight.”

And she’s looking to make things difficult on her opponents by attacking them.

“Last year I did not shoot at all,” she said. “I was definitely a defensive wrestler until I was on the mat. This year my coaches have definitely changed that. Gavin Kurtz is making me shoot more. I’ll say I don’t want a cut on me and he’ll say go neutral. It’s definitely helped me and it’s giving me more confidence being able to shoot. It’s helping out on the mat and off of it.”

Minooka’s Anastasia Dewey earned an 8-0 major decision over Schaumburg’s Elena Nikolova for third, and Bolingbrook’s Alejandra Flores won by fall at 0:59 over Urbana’s Tauhnisjha Hart for fifth.

130 – Ava Beldo, Tolono Unity

Tolono Unity sent Beldo and Phoenix Molina (235) to Morris for this year’s tournament and both came away as champions.

Beldo’s biggest battle came in the semifinal where she won by sudden victory, 6-3, over Minooka’s Sabina Charlebois. She used the adrenalin rush of that victory to make quick work of Shepard’s Mila Rocush in the final, getting the pin at 1:23.

Beldo also won by fall in her first two matches of the tournament.

Minooka’s Sabina Charlebois defeated Lockport’s Kyleigh Green by fall at 1:57 for third place, and Urban’s Tamya Terry earned a 16-2 major over Schaumburg’s Lauren Brehmer to place fifth.

135 – Keagan Edwards, Glenbard North

Edwards became a two-time champion. The senior won at 130 here last year before adding the 135-pound title to her resume on Saturday.

She went 5:16 until she won by fall over Schaumburg’s Sharon Olorunfemi in the final, her longest match of a day in which she pinned all five of her opponents.

Edwards also registered pins over Lockport’s Heidy Castillo Sanchez (1:27), Peotone’s Pyper Seitz (1:17), Minooka’s Gianna Boudonck (0:49) and Oswego’s Joslynn Sheets (1:47).

“I think I was very aggressive today,” she said. “I think I went out there with a goal in mind and I made it happen, that I had a decision to make whether I wanted to win or not and I wanted to win. I definitely did a few things that weren’t my best. I struggled a little bit with staying forward and being the aggressor the whole time, but mostly I think I did a decent job.”

Wrestlers are tough on themselves. Edwards is no different. She expected to go farther last post-season.

“I’m not one to be like easy on myself, you know, I’d say I have really high expectations of myself,” she said. “So it was really upsetting, but one of the philosophies I try to have is it happened, the only thing I can do about what happened is acting out in the future. There’s no way that I can go back and fix the mistakes I made last year but I can make sure I don’t make them again this year.”

Edwards went right back to work after her season ended in the sectional.

“I decided I had another year, I had the whole off-season to work and that’s what I’ve been doing,” she said. “I’ve been working really hard in the off-season, going to practice like every single day, sometimes multiple times a day, and had a good experience at Fargo. I’m just coming back into this season and it’s been really fun so far and I’m excited with how it’s going.”

Fun can get lost in competition, but it’s right there front and center for Edwards who is seeing the program at Glenbard North blow up.

“It’s been an amazing growth,” she said. “I think we had a little bit over 14 girls last year. This year we have around 30 girls coming in. I’m really excited because the first three years we had it, it was a pretty small team. Last year we had our most girls at 14 or 15, and now around 30 girls who are really excited to be there. I’m just really happy it’s grown so much.”

DeKalb’s Kara Zimmerman pinned Oswego’s Joslynn Sheets at 1:34 for third place, and Minooka’s Lexie Lakota pinned teammate Gianna Boudonck at 1:31 for fifth.

140 – Claudia Heeney, Lockport

Heeney, who won at 135 pounds here last year before going on to win her second state title, became a two-time champion in Morris with a title at 140, defeating Oswego East’s Quinn Janssens by tech fall at 2:27 (17-2). Heeney won her first state title as a sophomore in 2024 at 130.

Victories by fall preceded Heeney’s win in the title as she pinned Bolingbrook’s Brand`e Ford-Lewis (1:28), West Aurora’s Raysa Castaneda (1:26), Romeoville’s Ariana Vergara (1:11) and Schaumburg’s Ava Hartman (1:16).

“Just working technique all day,” Heeney said. “Practicing what I can, and what I’m doing in practice on the mat. I’m really trying to work on my footwork and whatnot. I’ve been to a couple tournaments these past two weeks out of state, Iron Man and Donnybrook, and I think one thing I definitely lacked was my footwork and my attacks on the mat. So, I was really just try to focus in on that today. I’ve been practicing with it the last three weeks, so just really trying to get out there and go after it.”

Janssens avoided Heeney’s bid for five straight pins.

“She’s pretty solid,” Heeney said. “You know, she’s got some good technique, headlocking and whatnot. I thought that was pretty fun match, a pretty tough one. Congrats to her. That was great. And I really love the competition, it’s always fun.”

As Heeney’s risen to become one of the state’s first all-time greats, she’s continuing to give back as the sport continues to rise.

“I’ve been wrestling a long time, so a lot of people only see what I’ve done in high school, but when I was a kid, I mean, I got my butt kicked every day by guys,” she said. “So coming here, and, seeing the girls, like, do the sport of it, and grow, and grow, and then, like, every year, from freshman year to now, the girls just get better and better every year so it’s really cool to see, and it’s fun to wrestle and be able to compete in it.”

Lockport senior Kyleigh Green (130) placed fourth, juniors Bella Romando (115) and Rebekah Ramirez (11-4) and senior Rebekah Ramirez (235) took third, and freshmen Alexandra Hardesty (155) and Jaylene Mack (170) placed sixth for the Porters.

“My freshman year we had about eight girls and we just had eight freshmen join this year so we have so many seniors this year and the culture on the team is great,” Heeney said,. “I think it’s really interesting to be a senior on the team and help be like a team captain and help guide the younger girls. I enjoy it a lot. Some people may think it’s not something enjoyable, but I love helping other people and being a mentor if I can be. or if willing, whatever. But I really do love the team culture. We have something special growing at Lockport, and I think we’re gonna be a team to watch over the next couple years.”

When Heeney sees that glint in the eye of one of her teammates, she’s thrilled to help.

“I think a lot of our girls are super invested in the sport, and once, like, I see that those girls are getting invested that makes me want to pull onto them and share my love with the sport with them,” she said. “I love the sport. I eat, sleep, and breathe it. I’m at practice all the time. So when I see girls working hard in the room and we’re all pushing together, it’s just really something special to see.”

Urbana’s Rickasia Ivy earned a 10-6 major against Schaumburg’s Ava Hartman to take third place, and Minooka’s Melody Williams won by fall at 3:45 over Bolingbrook’s Amanda Lezama to take fifth.

145 – Ezra Rodriquez, Monica

Rodriguez was the recipient of a bye to begin her day and was standing atop the awards podium to end it with a 4-1 decision over Kewanee’s Aaliyah Swearingen.

A tech fall win over Oswego’s Ella Cooper preceded the title victory for Rodriguez, who also had a pair of wins by fall on her way to her championship win.

Sandwich’s Jazmin Rios earned an 11-6 win Oswego East’s Ella Cooper to capture third place, and Robinson’s Macee Hammond Butler earned a 3-1 decision against Ottawa’s Alivia Butler to take fifth.

155 – Abigail Underhill, Minooka 

Underhill had opponents under her thumb as she pinned Oswego’s Layla Rafeh (1:49), Lockport’s Alexandra Hardesty (2:26), Oswego East’s Gianna Edwards (3:12) and Oswego East’s Julia Robb (5:11) en route to the title match where she scored a 4-0 decision over Schaumburg’s Layla McHenry.

Glenbard North’s Suzanne Stalley earned a 56-second pin against Robb to place third, and Edwards pinned Lockport’s Hardesty for fifth.

170 – Layla Spann, Plainfield South

Last year, Spann placed fourth here at 170. This year, she pinned six girls and won the title.

She opened with a win by fall in 1:34 over Ottawa’s Mary Rodriguez.

Similar wins over Lockport’s Jaylene Mack (1:41), West Aurora’s Kiveni (Tiffany) Manungu (0:49), Minooka’s Addison Davis (0:31) and Oswego’s Makayla Hill (4:39) followed into the finals where she pinned Herschel’s Henna Mullikin (3:05).

Hill survived Schaumburg’s Maja Brzosko, 7-6, to take third, and Davis won by fall at 2:56 over Mack to take fifth.

190 – Nadia Razzak, Schaumburg

Razzak became a two-time champion here after she earned a 3-0 decision against Plainfield South’s Kimyra Patrick in the 190 final.

“I really was just trying to use my head, usually my wrestling in the past was straight aggression and I’ve been more clear headed,” she said. “Obviously, when I’m warming up I’m getting aggressive like getting clear headed and working my footwork. Just those two things have made my game so much better.”

She had to get past Lockport’s Sophie Kelner in the semifinals. Kelner is someone Razzak has seen often. At this tournament last year they went head-to-head in the semifinals as well, with Razzak pinning her in 53 seconds. On Saturday, Razzak beat her 6-3.

“Sometimes I feel like in a tournament I kind of breeze through, she said. “But especially this one I feel like I really earned it. Two hard matches for my last two and one of the girls is someone I’ve seen so many times through the years. Some girls you can’t shake off of you. You follow each other to every tournament, but I think that competition is good. I enjoy seeing those girls.”

Humble in her success, the senior is especially thankful for her coaches and school.

“It’s really thanks to my coaches especially Jason, he really works with me so much and (Matt) Gruszka,” she said. “It gave me the confidence on the mat where I was able to do what I wanted to do. My coaches, seriously, I’m so grateful, and I say this every time and my team is like, Schaumburg, I would never move schools. The coaching is so good, the girls are so good, everyone is good to each other. It really makes it worth wrestling.”

Lockport’s Sophie Kelner pinned Minooka’s Mia Lemberg at 1:45 for third place, and Romeoville’s Mariyah Mani pinned Glenbard North’s Giannna Tammo at 0:58 for fifth.

235 – Phoenix Molina, Tolono Unity

You couldn’t have asked for a much better matchup than the final at 235 which paired Molina with Urbana’s Lillian Disanto as the two battled for third-place in state last year with Molina coming away victorious, 6-0. Molina earned a pin in 3:22 in their latest square off.

“Pretty much everywhere I go, as long as Ottawa or Urbana is there, it’s like a rerun of state and we’re all preparing for February,” Molina said. “Looking at the match, that was not the best I could’ve possibly wrestled. There is improvement to be had and I think that can be said for every match, never going to perform perfect, and it’s just always little things here and there. A year ago I would’ve looked at that match and said ‘Wow, I’d did amazing,’ but this time of the year I’m looking at that match, ‘So here are a few positional things I can switch to take my wrestling from good to elite,’ so that’s kind of what we’re looking for with all these championship matches.”

Last year’s state champ and runner-up at 235 have graduated leaving Molina and Disanto as the top returnees in their weight class.

“It (State) left a bitter taste in my mouth,” Molina said. “I spent the entirety of my offseason training, and I’ve been training in multiple different rooms, seeking out different experiences, going against the hardest competition I can find, just trying to absorb all of the information, all the technique that I can so I can continue to move forward.”

Molina drew falls over Glenbard North’s Laira Carrillo (1:26) and Romeoville’s Henessis Villagrana (2:51) before getting Disanto in the finals. She won by disqualification over DeKalb’s Aarianna Bloyd in the semifinals. 

“It’s definitely a long game with wrestling and that is something I’m grateful for with coach (Logan) Patton,” she said. “It’s something he’s instilled into me so deep, the discipline and long game of it, and I couldn’t have asked a better person to introduce me to get me in the sport of wrestling.”

Wrestling is truly changing Molina’s life. She’s thriving as well on the mat as off of it. After high school she’ll be wrestling at a Division I program that’s recognized among the nation’s premier research universities.

“When I started wrestling I had no idea how impactful it would be to my life,” she said. “I’m really grateful because of the healthy push forward to school and going to Lehigh for engineering and going to be on an amazing Division 1 program. In all aspects of life, (wrestling) has given so much discipline and so much drive and put me in a better mental place then I feel a lot of people my age can say they are in, simply because I know I can do it for the long gain and I don’t need that short-term gratification.”

Lockport’s Rebekah Ramirez won by fall at 4:38 over DeKalb’s Aarianna Bloyd to take third place, and Romeoville’s Henessis Villagrana won by fall at 2:33 against Shepard’s Karrine Jenkins.