Schaumburg hopes Dundee-Crown title provides boost for more state success

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

CARPENTERSVILLE – Ever since it made history on November 27, 2021 at Normal Community by winning the first tournament that was conducted in the initial season of girls wrestling as an official IHSA sport, Schaumburg has definitely been one of the trendsetters in the sport.

During the first four IHSA Finals, coach Matt Gruszka’s Saxons have claimed eight medals in Bloomington, which ties them with Edwardsville for the most by any school. They’ve also had four different individuals earn all-state honors for top-six finishes at state, which ties them for fifth with J. Sterling Morton, Lakes Community and West Aurora with only Edwardsville (6), District 230 co-op (5), Homewood-Flossmoor (5) and Richwoods (5) having more.

Schaumburg also is one of just four schools that has finished in the top-10 of each of the past two IHSA Finals, which have had trophy winners based on the top-three scoring teams. The others that have done that are Hoffman Estates, Lakes Community and Lockport Township. 

Schaumburg is one of four programs that has qualified at least three individuals to each of the IHSA Finals with District 230 co-op, Edwardsville and Hoffman Estates the others. And it and Batavia are the only programs that have had two individuals who’ve won three or more medals, with the three-time Saxon all-staters being Valeria Rodriguez and Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic.

Lakes Community edged Lockport Township 61-58 for the first IHSA title in 2024 while Batavia was third and District 230 scored 66 points last season to finish 15 points ahead of runner-up Hampshire as Kaneland claimed third. As a result, Schaumburg has been out of the trophy mix.

Both Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates came close to placing in the top three in 2024 when they tied for fourth place and finished 3.5 points behind Batavia and last season the Saxons finished in seventh place. But based on its strong start to this season, those in the Schaumburg program hope that the third time may be the charm in their quest to claim an IHSA trophy. 

The Saxons met up with three of the six programs that have won IHSA trophies at the 28-team Dundee-Crown Girls Invitational and in just its second individual tournament of the season, it turned in an impressive performance by having four champions, two second-place finishers and seven other individuals who finished eighth or better to help them score 240 points, claiming top honors by 50.5 points over second-place Woodstock.

Antioch beat out Glenbard East 137-132.5 for third place while Freeport edged Harvard 118.5-116 for fifth place. Others in the top half of the field were Batavia (113), Stevenson (100.5), Thornton Fractional South (89), Hampshire (86), Zion-Benton (80.5), Jacobs (80), Hersey (76) and Richmond-Burton (67).

Schaumburg missed out on its usual season-opening competition at Normal Community due to inclement weather. The Saxons’ only other individual tournament was on December 20 at the Morris Reindeer Rumble Invite when they prevailed 448-428 over Minooka for top honors to win that competition for the third-straight year.

One week later, the Saxons took part in the IWCOA Girls State Dual Team Championship and for the second year in a row, Lincoln-Way co-op beat them for the championship. This past weekend, the Saxons finished third behind Lincoln-Way co-op and Lockport Township at its third individual tournament, which was at Hoffman Estates’ 39-team Girls Hawk Invite.

Champions for Schaumburg at Dundee-Crown were Isabella Rivas (125), Sharon Olorunfemi (135), Nadia Razzak (190) and Olivia Furlan (235) while Justice Girod (110) and Ava Hartman (140) finished in second place.

Other top finishers for the Saxons were Makenzi Aguilar (third at 100), Anna Villarreal (fourth at 115), Layla McHenry (sixth at 155), Emily Fowler (seventh at 140), Maja Brzosko (seventh at 170), Aubree Campos (eighth at 115) and Reagan Paulson (eighth at 120) while Lauren Brehmer (130) and Catherine Franco (105) also contributed to the title cause.

“It was a quality,” Gruszka said. “There were a lot more girls this year and the brackets were bigger. With the teams they added, it definitely made it a tougher tournament. I was real proud of the champs. Nadia, because that girl placed ahead of her state last year, so that was a good improvement for her. Our 235-pounder, Rain, just put her nose in it. Is(abella) our 25-pounder, that was a real tough bracket, and she came out on top. And then, of course, Sharon was just doing what she does. 

“It’s like little dual meets within a tournament. The dual meet, like the state duals was nice because everyone knows exactly what’s going on, but with tournaments, everything’s kind of scattered. So as coaches, you kind of understand where they’re at, but the girls are so good because they’re by each other, so they almost treat it like a dual meet, and that aspect I appreciate. (Schaumburg’s success). It comes from the girls because they actually, especially the older ones, they try to mold the younger ones. So it’s like, this is how it needs to be done. And they do a good job of kind of like mother henning each other, and then it shows up on the mat, which is nice to see.”

Runner-up Woodstock, who’s coached by Eric Hunt, was led by champion Eva Hermansson (100) and second-place finishers Kyla Hayes (120) and Tayler Menzel (135). Other top placewinners for the Blue Streaks were Allison Hill (third at 235), Aubree Hansen (fourth at 110), Hannah Olsen (fourth at 130), Ava Kok (fifth at 140) and Brianna Crown (fifth at 155).

Third-place Antioch, coached by Isaac Reyes, was led by runner-up Josie Blau (170) and third-place finisher Sasha Johnson (140). Other top performers for the Sequoits were Dylylah Patterson (fourth at 125), Timinadi Farquah (fourth at 235), London LLoyd (sixth at 105) and Magdelyn Brough (sixth at 130).

Stevenson had two champions, Athena Zappas (115) and Karina Lojowski (130). Additional title winners were Hampshire’s Annabelle Mueller (105), Jacobs’ Julia Felton (110), Freeport’s Kaiya Galindo (120), Glenbard East’s Maria Green (140), Harvard’s Ithandehui Rosas (145), Batavia’s Audrey Sheldon (155) and Jefferson’s Kylie Eilken (170).

Others who finished in second place were Hampshire’s Madison Minson (145) and Samantha Diehl (190), Glenbard East’s Karla Sarabia (100), Jacobs’ Aaliyah Guichon (105), Harvard’s Alexa Herrera (115), Dundee-Crown’s Ruby Gavina (125), Richmond-Burton’s Madelyn Peterie (130), Freeport’s NaJeyah Wallace (155) and Johnsburg’s Carmen Sierra (235).

The title match at 190 featured two individuals who won medals at 190 at last season’s IHSA Finals. Razzak, who took fifth at state, won by fall in 1:36 over Diehl, who placed third at state.

There were two freshmen champions, Mueller and Sheldon. Mueller earned her spot in the 105 title match with a 7-2 win in the semifinals over Glenbard East’s Nadiia Shymkiv, a three-time state medalist and a runner-up last season, who settled for third place.

Only three of the title matches were decisions. At 110, Felton won 10-4 over Girod, at 120, Galindo won 15-9 over Hayes and at 235, Furlan won 6-1 over Sierra.

Eilken led all competitors with 32 team points while Green was second with 31.5 points and Rosas ranked third with 31 team points. Others in the top 10 were Hermansson (30.5), Galindo (30), Lojowski (30), Sheldon (30), Mueller (29), Rivas (29) and Zappas (29).

Finalists with the best records following the invite were Green (20-0), Razzak (25-1), Lojowski (19-1), Eilken (18-1), Peterie (18-1), Hermansson (17-1), Zappas (17-1), Rivas (24-2), Diehl (24-3), Sarabia (24-3), Olorunfemi (23-3), Mueller (29-4), Sheldon (25-4), Felton (12-3), Galindo (20-4) and Blau (18-4).

Additional third-place finishers were Thornton Fractional South’s Shaniya Tharp Thomas (110) and Jermia Moore (170), Batavia’s Natalie Lenart (125) and Jamie Gabriel (190), Zion-Benton’s Emily Ortiz (130) and Masserati Valenzuela (135), Byron’s Rylie Dach (115), Hersey’s Soha Faisal (120), Maine West’s Grace Graves (145) and Wauconda’s Gesselle Vazquez (155).

Also finishing in fourth place were Harvard’s Denise Lopez (100) and April Cardenas (155), Larkin’s Susan Cruz (105) and Mariana Flores (170), Genoa-Kingston’s Violet Sanders (120) and Marilu Mercado-Marquez (140), Richmond-Burton’s Brooklyn Peterie (135), Stevenson’s Isabel Hilinski (145) and Lakes Community’s Joslin Coon (190).

Freeport’s Nalani Isaac and Richmond-Burton’s Breanna Warren were the only two individuals in the invite to collect five pins while Mueller was the only one to have two wins by technical fall. 

Hermansson had the most total match points with 54 while Antoch’s Magdelyn Brough was second with 52 points and Mueller ranked third with 51 match points. Freeport’s Brea Balles had the largest seed-place difference with 19 after being seeded fifth and placing fifth at 115.

Schaumburg had the most pins with 29 while Woodstock was second with 25 and Antioch was third with 22. Glenbard East collected the most total match points with 210 while Woodstock was second with 194 and Schaumburg ranked third with 186 match points.

Here are the champions and their weights of the Dundee-Crown Girls Invitational

100 – Eva Hermansson, Woodstock

Eva Hermansson hopes that she can conclude her senior season by doing what no one from Woodstock was able to accomplish last season, which was qualifying for state, or has ever done from her program, which is to get a medal at the IHSA Finals. She improved to 17-1 after winning the 100 title at Dundee-Crown by recording a fall in 5:22 over Glenbard East Karla Sarabia. She was the lone champion and one of three finalists for coach Eric Hunt’s runner-up Blue Streaks. She followed a major decision and a victory by technical fall with a pin in 3:15 over Harvard’s Denise Lopez in the semifinals. She had the most total match points with 54 and was fourth for most team points with 30.5. Another highlight this season was her taking first and helping the Blue Streaks to win the title at Antioch’s Sandy Gussarson Invite by 108 points. 

“Our team has grown substantially,” Hermansson said. “I remember my first year, the first year of the program, we had 15 girls, and this year we have over 30. So it’s just crazy to see how much it’s grown in just three years, and a lot of that’s due to my coach, Eric Hunt. I’ve been wrestling for two years. I think if you’re athletic, you can wrestle. And I have played soccer ever since I was little. I build my whole foundation on my faith. I’m a true believer in my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So I think that anything is possible with Him. Like, whatever you do in life, as long as you have your firm foundation built on Him, anything will be possible. And there’s a verse in 1 Samuel, and it says that anything you do, you’ll have great success in it as long as the Lord your God is with you, and so I totally live by that. And I love the community and just everything that has to do with it. Wrestling is a super hard sport mentally and physically. But I think everybody should try it at least because it builds you so much fun as a person. And the person I was when I started is so much different from who I am today.” 

Sarabia, a sophomore who joined 140 champion Maria Green as finalists for coach Matt Nelson’s fourth-place Lady Rams, earned her spot on the 100 title mat with a 6-0 decision in the semifinals over Schaumburg’s Makenzi Aguilar, who went on to claim third place by getting a fall in 1:49 over Lopez. In the fifth-place match, Burlington Central’s Melanie Granda won a 12-8 decision over Jefferson’s Danika Lamb. And for seventh place, Hampshire’s KyLynn Larkin won by fall in 3:37 over Stevenson’s Caitlin Kilroy. 

105 – Annabelle Mueller, Hampshire

Annabelle Mueller is only a freshman at Hampshire but she’s definitely already making a name for herself. She joined Batavia’s 155 champion Audrey Sheldon as the lone freshmen title winners at Dundee-Crown and became her team’s only first-place finisher when she won by fall in 5:49 over Jacobs’ Aaliyah Guichon in the 105 title match. After getting two wins by technical fall, which no one else in the tournament was able to do, she became one of three finalists for coach Matthew Todd’s Whip-Purs with a 7-2 decision in the semifinals over Glenbard East’s Nadiia Shymkiv, a three-time state medalist who took second to Roxana’s Chloe Skiles at 105 last season after placing third in 2024 and fourth in 2023. She also ranked third in match points with 51. Other noteworthy showings for the freshman were her winning a title at Princeton and also taking second in her school’s Whip-Pur Classic after falling 9-7 in the 105 title match to Rockford East’s Saya Hongmoungkhoune, the IHSA champion at 100 in 2025.

“Why I’ve been doing so well is because I do it all-year round, and I have a really good coach, Justin Christopher,” Mueller said. “He’s really good and he teaches me the fundamentals of everything, and he helps with my technique. And then my dad pushes me hard, and this is why I’m winning, and I’ve been doing so good for such a short amount of years. (Competing at Hampshire) I love it. All the girls are amazing and they really push you. They don’t screw around. They know whenever you have to lock in and actually take it serious.”

Guichon, a junior who joined 110 champion Julia Felton as finalists for coach Gary Conrad’s Golden Eagles, followed a major decision in the quarterfinals with a pin in 5:37 over Larkin’s Susan Cruz in the semifinals. Shymkiv, who suffered her first loss in 21 matches to Mueller in the semifinals, bounced back to finish third by getting a pin in 2:43 over Cruz. For fifth place, Thornton Fractional South’s Dakodia Kelly, who went 34-13 last season and qualified for the IHSA Finals, won by fall in 0:43 over Antioch’s London LLoyd. In the seventh-place match, Hersey’s Emma Strohmeier got a pin in 0:59 over Dundee-Crown’s Esme Grugel.

110 – Julia Felton, Jacobs

Julia Felton got the good opportunity to compete in a sectional as a freshman and trying to qualify from the Schaumburg Sectional is challenging for veterans of the sport, let alone a newcomer. Now with that experience behind her, she looks to qualify for state, which no one from Jacobs did last season and ultimately try to become the first individual from her school to get a medal there. The sophomore won the Dundee-Crown title at 110 by claiming a 10-4 decision over Schaumburg’s Justice Girod. She joined 105 runner-up Aaliyah Guichon as one of the two finalists for coach Gary Conrad’s Golden Eagles after getting two quick quick falls and then adding a third pin in the semifinals in 1:56 over Thornton Fractional South’s Shaniya Tharp Thomas to earn her spot in the finals. She tied for 11th place in team points with 28.

“I feel pretty good,” Felton said. “I know that I’ve worked hard for it, so I knew that I did everything that I could to get here. (Competing at Jacobs) I think we work harder than almost anybody else. We do more sprints. My coach (Gary Conrad) always says that once we get to third period, that’s ours because we never gas out just because of how much conditioning we do. It’s unlike any other sport. It’s hard. You have to be determined and you can’t just give half effort, you have to go full in or else it’s just not going to work. And it’s like the closest that you can get to fighting. There’s nothing else like it. It’s definitely kind of like a big family.”

Girod, a junior who was one of six finalists and two runners-up for coach Matt Gruszka’s champion Saxons, pinned her way to the finals, getting a fall in 2:52 over Woodstock’s Aubree Hansen in the semifinals. In the third-place match, Tharp Thomas won a 9-5 decision over Hansen. And for fifth place, Zion-Benton’s Arelis Claudio claimed a 4-1 decision over Glenbard East’s Molly Lavin.

115 – Athena Zappas, Stevenson

Athena Zappas only won nine matches last season as a freshman at Stevenson so it’s easy to see why she was so excited by winning the 115 title at Dundee-Crown after also claiming first place at Waukegan in addition to owning a 17-1 record following that competition. She joined 130 champion Karina Lojowski as title winners for coach Jonathan Leibovitz’ Patriots. She won the 115 title by claiming a 10-1 major decision over Harvard’s Alexa Herrera. Zappas opened the competition with a fall and an 8-2 decision before earning her spot on the 115 finals by recording a fall in 3:35 over Schaumburg’s Anna Villarreal in the semifinals. She tied for eighth-place in most team points with 29

“I had some good shots and reverses, so there’s just some things I need to work on, like small things,” Zappas said. “(Why she got into wrestling in high school) I just wanted to get stronger and stuff and be able to know martial arts. (Competing for Stevenson) It’s a good program. My coaches and my parents support me, and the team’s really supportive and nice. The community is good and also like the help you get.”

Herrera, a senior who joined 145 champion Ithandehui Rosas as one of two finalists for coach Mike Stumpf’s sixth-place Hornets, reached the 115 title match with four falls, with the last of those coming in 1:26 over Byron’s Rylie Dach in the semifinals. She tied for third place for the most pins with four and also tied for 11th place in team points with 28. In the third-place match, Dach was a winner by fall in 0:48 over Villarreal. For fifth place, Freeport’s Brea Balles won a 6-1 decision over Thornton Fractional South’s Aracely Stevens. Balles had the largest seed-place difference of anyone in the invite, being seeded 24th and taking fifth place. And for seventh, Hersey’s Nikita Variano claimed a 1-0 decision over Schaumburg’s Aubree Campos.

120 – Kaiya Galindo, Freeport

Kaiya Galindo went 27-17 last season as a freshman at Freeport and fell one victory shy of advancing from the Geneseo Sectional to the IHSA Finals. She is focused on not only qualifying for state this season but also being a medalist there, something that only three-time IHSA champion Cadence Diduch has achieved for her program. Galindo, who improved to 20-4, won the title at 120 by claiming a 15-9 decision over Woodstock’s Kyla Hayes. She joined 155 runner-up NaJeyah Wallace as finalists for coach Brad Parsons’ Pretzels. The sophomore opened with a pin and won by medical forfeit before getting a fall in 2:13 over Genoa-Kingston’s Violet Sanders in the semifinals. She tied two others for fifth for the most team points with 30. 

“This is my third year,” Galindo said. “(What she’s done to get better) Go to all the practices I can and just practice a lot. (Competing for Freeport) It’s really fun. The whole team, we’re all good friends. Especially the girls’ team, we’re really close. It’s just fun to support each other and get better and watch each other grow up and get better.”

Hayes joined 100 champion Eva Hermansson and 135 runner-up Tayler Menzel as finalists for coach Eric Hunt’s second-place Blue Streaks. She recorded three pins to reach the 120 finals, winning in the semifinals by fall in 1:37 over Hersey’s Soha Faisal, who went on to claim third place with a pin in 2:26 over Sanders. In the fifth-place match, Richmond-Burton’s Breanna Warren got a pin in 0:56 over Glenbard East’s Tessa Yannias. That was her fifth fall of the tournament, which tied her for first for most pins with Freeport’s Nalani Isaac. And for seventh, Batavia’s Sarah Zuziak was a winner by fall in 3:16 over Schaumburg’s Reagan Paulson.  

125 – Isabella Rivas, Schaumburg

Isabella Rivas was one of six finalists and the first of four title winners for team champion Schaumburg at the Dundee-Crown Invite after she improved to 24-2 by recording a fall in 3:33 over Dundee-Crown’s Ruby Gavina in the 125 title match. The senior, who went 39-9 last season and fell one victory shy of advancing to the IHSA Finals from her own sectional, was joined by Sharon Olorunfemi (135), Nadia Razzak (190) and Olivia Furlan (235) as champions for coach Matt Gruszka’s Saxons, who claimed top honors in the invite by a 240-189.5 margin over Woodstock. Rivas followed two falls with an 8-0 major decision over Batavia’s Natalie Lenart in the semifinals. She tied two others for eighth place for the most team points with 29.

“I’ve been part of the Schaumburg program since my sophomore year,” Rivas said. “I started with swimming and I literally got into the sport just because it was kind of like an accident because I wasn’t planning to. I was doing weightlifting and then suddenly I got into the sport because of recommendations. It was like, ‘just do it, just try it out.’ And then Gruszka just threw me into the sport and asked, ‘have you ever wrestled?’ ‘No’, and he said, ‘just take your jewelry off and try it out.’ At the beginning, I wasn’t sure about it. And then I started falling in love with the sport. And I will say, I discovered another passion. (The difference between swimming and wrestling) Yeah, it’s so much different. When you’re in swimming, it’s so individual and you don’t feel like you get into the team too much. But when you’re in wrestling, at practice, all the people in there are in the same spot as you. We all struggle together and we go through the same things and it makes you stronger. So your relationship with others is going to be so much stronger, your partners, your team, and everything. I ended up loving it. If I’m not wrestling, I feel like something’s missing. I just love my team, I love my coaches and I love the program. I’ve met  a bunch of good girls during my three years wrestling and it’s been exciting.”

Gavina, a junior who is 22-6, just one victory shy of her win total from last season, when she fell a bit short of advancing to the IHSA Finals from the Schaumburg Sectional. She was the lone finalist for coach Tim Hayes’ Chargers. Gavina opened with a pin and followed that with a victory by technical fall before earning her spot in the 125 finals with a fall in 5:59 over Antioch’s Dylylah Patterson in the semifinals. For third place, Lenart won by fall in 1:30 over Patterson. And for fifth, Zion-Benton’s Nathaly Tenorio got a pin in 1:28 over Hersey’s Audrey Sarinyamas.

130 – Karina Lojowski, Stevenson

Karina Lojowski experienced a successful junior season in 2024-2025 for Stevenson by going 28-8 and qualifying for the IHSA Finals. But she also fell one win shy of earning a medal at 125, which would have made her the school’s second all-stater, with two-time medalist Sajra Sulejmani the first in 2022 and 2023. Now she would not only like to get back to the Finals, but hopefully get to awards stand and become her school’s highest placewinner if she can finish third or better. The senior improved to 19-1 after getting a fall in 1:40 over Richmond-Burton’s Madelyn Peterie in the 130 title match to join 115 title winner Athena Zappas as champions for coach Jonathan Leibovitz’s Patriots, who placed eighth. Also a title winner at Antioch, Lojowski followed two pins with an 8-3 decision over Zion-Benton’s Emily Ortiz in the semifinals and tied two others for fifth place for the most team points with 30.

“It’s awesome,” Lojowski said of competing for Stevenson. “It’s a big community like coach Cook always says. Our school motto for the wrestling team is always together, we’re just one big family and we just help each other out. I love the girls team. It’s just a bunch of girls who want to get better, who want to win. It’s awesome just hanging out with them, they’re a good group of people. Working hard in the wrestling room is awesome. I love making jokes and just having fun. It’s a really tough sport, so it’s nice to have some joy in the room. (Got into the sport) A lot of my friends did it for fun so I was like, why not?  It’s awesome. I love girls wrestling because it’s a place where you grow mentally and physically. It’s changed me a lot through the years to help me in my day-to-day life. It’s hard in the wrestling room, but It teaches you toughness. (Done to get better) A lot of offseason work. Always going to practice, I practice twice a day and I try to lift every day. I just try to put in as much work as I can. I don’t let the better girls outwork me.”

Peterie, a junior who went 20-10 last season and failed to qualify for state from the Schaumburg Sectional, suffered her first defeat in 19 matches. Also a title winner at Rockford East, Lakes Community and Hampshire, she was the lone finalist for coach Devin Tortorice’s Rockets. She recorded falls in her first three matches, winning in 2:28 over Woodstock’s Hannah Olsen in the semifinals. Ortiz, who went 36-8 last season and qualified for the IHSA Finals, won by fall in 1:37 over Olsen to claim third place. In the fifth-place match, Ridgewood’s Gianna Mezzano won by default over Antioch’s Magdelyn Brough, who ranked second second in total match points with 52, just two points behind Woodstock’s Eva Hermansson. And for seventh place, Lakes Community’s Elise Kaylor was a winner by default over Jacobs’ Aryannna Geiger. 

135 – Sharon Olorunfemi, Schaumburg

Sharon Olorunfemi went 42-11 last season was able to get through her team’s rugged sectional to be one of four individuals from Schaumburg to qualify for the IHSA Finals, but was able to only win one match there. The junior hopes to not only get back to state this season but also to add to her school’s total of an IHSA-best eight medals won in Bloomington, which is tied with Edwardsville for that honor. She was one of six finalists and joined Isabella Rivas (125), Nadia Razzak (190) and Olivia Furlan (235) as champions for coach Matt Gruszka’s Saxons, who captured the team title by 50.5 points. She moved to 23-3 when she captured the 135 title with a pin in seven seconds over Woodstock’s Tayler Menzel. Her other two victories were also first-period pins, with the middle fall coming in 0:51 over Zion-Benton’s Masserati Valenzuela in the semifinals. She tied Razzak as well as two others for 11th place in team points with 28.

“I love my team, I love my coaches and I love everybody,” Olorunfemi said. “We’re such a good group of girls and we all support each other. We all cheer each other on and we’re motivating each other. Even if somebody falls short, we all make sure to get the next one. Shake it off. You can’t control that. I love all of our coaches. And they each focus on different things. But it all makes sense together and they make sure to communicate with us. And we work hard every day in the room to make sure and they don’t go easy on us, but that’s what we need. And our girls are super nice to each other. We all get along with each other. We’re always going to support each other. If somebody’s wrestling, we’re going to be on each others’ mat, making sure we show up for them. I would like to think that I’m very coachable. I started when I was a freshman, and I knew next to nothing about the sport. But I always make sure to listen to my coaches and I also watched a lot of wrestling, especially freshman year. I like making my coach proud, especially if I get a good, big win. Because my coach is a strict man, but he’s also like a father figure to all of us. So, I like when I make him proud and I live up to his expectations.”

Menzel, a junior who is 14-9, was one of three finalists and two- runners-up for coach Eric Hunt’s Blue Streaks, who claimed second place in the 28-team tournament. She recorded three falls to advance to the 135 title match, winning in 4:48 over Richmond-Burton’s Brooklyn Peterie in the semifinals. For third place, Valenzuela won by fall in 1:08 over Peterie. In the fifth-place match, Batavia’s Norah Stoodley recorded a pin in 1:57 over Ridgewood’s Fiona McFadden.

140 – Maria Green, Glenbard East

Maria Green went 36-8 last season and qualified for the IHSA Finals along with 105 runner-up Nadiia Shymkiv but had a tough draw and only claimed one victory there. Now she hopes to do what her Glenbard East senior teammate Shymkiv has done the past two years and Dahlia Leighton achieved for the first time for the program in the inaugural Finals in 2022, which is winning a state medal. Green remained unbeaten through 20 matches after getting a victory by technical fall in 2:29 over Schaumburg’s Ava Hartman in the 140 title match. She was the lone champion and joined 100 runner-up Karla Sarabia as finalists for coach Matt Nelson’s Lady Rams, who placed fourth, just 4.5 points behind third-place Antioch. Also a title winner at Waukegan and Glenbard South, she claimed three first-period falls to reach the title match, with her quickest pin coming in the semifinals in 0:47 over Antioch’s Sasha Johnson. She ranked second for most team points with 31.5, one-half point behind Jefferson’s Kylie Eilken and was also fourth in total match points with 45.

“It’s really fun and it feels like a family being a part of the program and the coaches pushing me to do the best I can,” Green said. “I just like being a part of everyone cheering you on and just being in the atmosphere or the environment of Glenbard East. (Her teammate) Nadiia Shymkiv is a person who pushes you and makes you want to get better because of how hard of a worker she is in the room and outside the room, being a nice person and just wanting the best for you. I’ve been in the sport for four years, so I started my eighth grade. (why she got into wrestling) Knowing that it’s like out of the box, that girls wrestling is growing and I’ve never tried it. So then once I tried it and got the taste of losing and winning, I was like, ‘oh, wow, I love being challenged like this.’ Being in the room with all the girls and just laughing and getting to know each other and being able to wrestle hard with the girls without everyone bringing in their feelings, that even good, hard wrestling, aggressive wrestling is welcomed in there. And it’s implied that you should wrestle hard, even though girls wrestling can be viewed as if it’s soft, but it really isn’t. And the guys wrestlers, they help out with the girls. I just love wrestling for Glenbard East, it’s really nice. My favorite thing about wrestling is probably getting my hand raised. Getting my hand raised is just an accomplishment knowing that I’ve achieved winning and knowing that I put my all on the line and am just putting my all into the sport.”

Hartman was one of six finalists and two second-place finishers for coach Matt Gruszka’s Saxons, who claimed top honors with 240 points to add to a team championship at Morris. The sophomore moved to 13-6 after collecting pins in her other three matches, with that run being capped by a fall in 1:38 over Genoa-Kingston’s Marilu Mercado-Marquez in the semifinals. In the third-place match, Johnson won by fall in 1:10 over Mercado-Marquez. For fifth place, Woodstock’s Ava Kok got a pin in 2:33 over Ridgewood’s Rose McFadden. And for seventh, Schaumburg’s Emily Fowler won by medical forfeit over Wauconda’s Jatziry Godoy. 

145 – Ithandehui Rosas, Harvard

Ithandehui Rosas has been able to witness the growth of girls wrestling at Harvard and is excited about what she might be able to accomplish in the postseason to cap off her career, such as qualifying for the IHSA Finals and being the first girl from the school to medal at state and so far she’s been preparing well for that by capturing the 145 title at Dundee-Crown with a fall in 1:02 over Hampshire’s Madison Minson to add to titles that she’s won at Waukegan and Antioch. The senior joined 115 runner-up Alexa Herrera as one of two finalists for coach Mike Stumpf’s Hornets.  Rosas opened with two falls before capturing a 10-0 major decision over Stevenson’s Isabel Hilinski in the semifinals. She ranked third in most team points with 31.

“We started off my freshman year and we only had three girls, and now we’ve built up to 25 girls for my senior year.” Rosas said. “It’s really amazing to see the sport grow. I know we started off being on the boys’ team. So now that we have our own team, that’s also really amazing. What I like the most about girls wrestling is definitely my teammates and just the self-discipline. I know in other sports you rely on your team, but in wrestling, even though sometimes for duals you do rely on your team, more for tournaments it’s on your own and you compete for yourself. So you win because of yourself. I lift a lot, and then I show up every single day and give it my all. I’ll make sure that even when the coaches aren’t watching, when they’re helping somebody else, I’m still giving it 100 percent. I like seeing that the girls are growing. We started off having a limited amount of girls, so now I’m coming to a tournament where it’s all girls, where it’s completely girls and it’s not just guys.” 

Minson, a junior who left the invite with a 21-7 record, joined 105 champion Annabelle Mueller and 190 runner-up Samantha Diehl as finalists for coach Matthew Todd’s Whip-Purs, who were the IHSA runners-up to the District 230 co-op last season. She followed two first-period falls with a pin in 2:33 in the semifinals over Maine West’s Grace Graves, who went on to capture third place by medical forfeit over Hilinski. In the fifth-place match, Lakes Community’s Christina Hasner won by fall in 1:36 over Jacobs’ Desiree Bowling. And Glenbard East’s Camila Gonzalez claimed seventh place by medical forfeit over Woodstock’s Lydia Weidner.

155 – Audrey Sheldon, Batavia

Audrey Sheldon joined Hampshire’s Annabelle Mueller, who captured top honors at 105, as the only freshmen champions at the Dundee-Crown Invitational when the Batavia athlete recorded a fall in 1:28 over Freeport’s NaJeyah Wallace in the 155 title match to improve to 25-4 in her debut season. This was her second title as she also captured first place in her initial tournament at Larkin. The lone finalist and one of three top-three medalists for coach Scott Bayer’s Lady Bulldogs, she opened with two first-period pins before earning her spot in the 155 title match by capturing an 8-3 decision over Wauconda’s Gesselle Vazquez in the semifinals. She tied two others for fifth place for the most team points with 30. A big goal for her is to join three-time IHSA champ Sydney Perry and three-time all-stater Lily Enos as Batavia’s third medal winner. 

“(Sydney Perry) She was definitely a really good example for how our girls team was going to be set up because our girls team is growing every single year, and I’m really proud of, especially this year, how our girls team has grown because last year we barely even had a full varsity lineup, and this year we almost got a full J-V,” Sheldon said. “I’ve been wrestling for four years. (What she likes about her team) I honestly just love all of our friendships on the team. We’re all always there for each other, and I love that all my teammates are mat-side next to me while I’m wrestling.(What she likes most about the sport) The community, it’s really unique. All of us might not have exactly the same goals in our minds, but we all have kind of the same mindset of just wanting it and seeing who wants it more or the most and seeing who comes out on the championship side is just really interesting to me.”

Wallace, a senior who won a title at Lakes Community and moved to 17-6, joined 120 champion Kaiya Galindo as one of two finalists for coach Brad Parsons’ Lady Pretzels. She won her other three matches by fall, with the third one in 0:20 over Harvard’s April Cardenas in the semifinals. In the third-place match, Vazquez won a 5-0 decision over Cardenas. For fifth, Woodstock’s Brianna Crown won by fall in 6:21 over Schaumburg’s Layla McHenry. And Stevenson’s Jessica Ivanyuk claimed seventh place by medical forfeit over Harvard’s Kendra Cunningham.

170 – Kylie Eilken, Jefferson

Kylie Eilken went 22-10 last season as a sophomore and fell one victory shy of a medal at 190 at the IHSA Finals, so now she’s ready to become the first medalist from Jefferson and also hopes to join five individuals from NIC-10 schools who have been IHSA title winners and have combined for an impressive 11 state championships. The junior, who also finished in first place at Waukegan and Hampshire, moved to 18-1 after winning the 190 title at Dundee-Crown by recording a fall in 0:38 over Antioch’s Josie Blau. The lone finalist for coach Alexander Porter’s J-Hawks, Eilken opened with a fall, won her next match by medical forfeit and advanced to the 170 title match with a pin in 0:41 over Larkin’s Mariana Flores in the semifinals. She led all of the competitors in the tournament by collecting the most team points, which was 32.

“I used to be the only female and there were no other females and then we started getting people and it’s been getting so much bigger and there’s so many girls now,” Eilken said. “It would just be me and the coach, so it’s a big change. I talked to a couple girls, and I was like, ‘if you’re interested, come down to the room’. Some of them showed, and most of them stayed, so we have a pretty good girls team right now (Being at Jefferson) I like competing and we’ve got new coaches and they’re very interested in helping us learn. And they’re dedicated to the sport and helping us and they like to help us with our confidence. It’s a really good team, and all the people there act like we’re family and we’re just all as one. And we’re not separated by girls or boys. So it really helps, especially wrestling with the boys. (What she likes the most about wrestling) I love the community, and how everybody just comes together as one, and we don’t separate, even though we’re on different teams. It’s still such a friendly sport, and nobody discriminates. It’s not like somebody’s just being mean to it, but they’re all coming together, and everybody makes new friends, and it’s just one big community.”

Blau, a sophomore who is 18-4, was the lone finalist for the Sequoits, who are coached by Isaac Reyes. A title winner at Waukegan, she won 23 matches last season and fell one win shy of advancing to the IHSA Finals from the New Trier Sectional. She opened with two quick falls before earning her spot in the 170 finals with a pin in 3:03 over Thornton Fractional South’s Jermia Moore, who went on to take third with a fall in 3:54 over Flores. For fifth place, Freeport’s Nalani Isaac got a pin in 0:39 over her teammate, Caydence Fellows, for her fifth fall, tying her with Richmond-Burton’s Breanna Warren as the leaders for the most pins. And for seventh, Schaumburg’s Maja Brzosko won by fall in 1:02 over another Eilken from Jefferson, Kendra. 

190 – Nadia Razzak, Schaumburg

Nadia Razzak won by fall in 1:36 over Hampshire’s Samantha Diehl in a clash of returning IHSA medalists for the 190 championship at the Dundee-Crown Invitational. Razzak took fifth at 190 last season while Diehl was third at 190. The senior, who went 47-5 last season while earning All-State honors for the first time, hopes to become the program’s third multiple winner of state medals, joining Valeria Rodriguez and Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic, and help their program add to its total of eight state medals, which is tied with Edwardsville for the most by any school. Razzak improved to 25-1 and added to a title at Morris to become one of the four champions and six finalists for coach Matt Gruszka’s Saxons, who added to a title at Morris and a second-place finish to Lincoln-Way co-op at the IWCOA Girls State Dual Team Championship. Razzak followed a quick pin with a fall in 1:22 over Batavia’s Jamie Gabriel in the semifinals. She tied teammate Sharon Olorunfemi, the 135 champion, and two others for 11th in team points with 28.

“I’m really excited that we had so many tournament champions,” Razzak said. “My favorite part of winning is my team being on the side cheering for me. I literally came up to my coach and I gave him a big hug and my friends all came and gave me hugs and that was a really big match for me, too. Especially taking over as a captain this year, it’s meant so much to me. I take my position as a captain very seriously. Just seeing my team be able to grow throughout these past few years and seeing all of the different types of kids that come in here and change. My personality completely changed from this program. Just seeing everybody grow in their strengths and as themselves, as people, it’s really important to me, it’s a very special thing to see. And wrestling just does that to people. Wrestling changes you as a person, it gives you morals and values that you didn’t think that you would have. I think that’s what our program really puts into these girls. What you put into the sport is what you get out of it. Inspiring other girls, especially on my team, to be able to put in as much work as we have in the previous years is really special and really important.”

Diehl went 31-6 last season as a freshman to help her program claim second place at the IHSA Finals with 51 points and joined Amelia Nidelea-Polanin (third at 115) as her program’s top finishers and also Anneliese Tavira (sixth at 170) as the school’s first three state medalists. This season, she also has won titles at Rockford East and at her school’s Whip-Pur Classic and finished this invite with a 24-3 record. She joined 105 champion Annabelle Mueller and 145 runner-up Madison Minson for coach Matthew Todd’s Whip-Purs. Diehl won her first three matches by fall, with her semifinal match with Lake Community’s Joslin Coon being her quickest victory in 0:40. In the third-place match, Gabriel won by fall in 0:50 over Coon. And for fifth, Thornton Fractional South’s Lucia Terrazas got a pin in 1:29 over Maine West’s Amira Williams.

235 – Olivia Furlan, Schaumburg

Olivia Furlan closed out a successful day for Schaumburg at the Dundee-Crown Invitational when she captured a 6-1 decision over Johnsburg’s Carmen Sierra in the 235 title match to join Isabella Rivas (125), Sharon Olorunfemi (135) and Nadia Razzak (190) as champions, and was also one of six finalists and 13 individuals who placed eighth or better for coach Matt Gruszka’s Saxons, who won the championship of the 28-team event by a 240-189.5 margin over runner-up Woodstock. The senior, who improved to 18-6 on the season, opened with a fall and then earned her spot on the 235 title mat by claiming a 3-2 decision over Woodstock’s Allison Hill.

“The camaraderie is absolutely amazing,” Furlan said. “My drill partner, Nadia, she’s absolutely amazing and my coaches are amazing. It’s wonderful. It’s an absolutely amazing team,I couldn’t ask for anything better. I’ve been in it since freshman year and I’m a senior now. It’s been fun. I love the competition and the individuality, it’s awesome.”

Sierra was the lone medalist for coach James Sylvanus’ Skyhawks. She only had to win one match in order to reach the 235 finals and she won that one with a fall in 0:30 over Antioch’s Timinadi Farquah in the semifinals and the junior completed the competition with a 9-4 record. In the third-place match, Hill recorded a fall in 1:05 over Farquah. And for fifth place, Glenbard East’s Marianna Mendoza was a winner by fall in 4:19 over Hersey’s Natalia Berhns.

Team scores of the Dundee-Crown Girls Invitational

Schaumburg 240, Woodstock 189.5, Antioch 137, Glenbard East 132.5, Freeport 118.5, Harvard 116, Batavia 113, Stevenson 100.5, Thornton Fractional South 89, Hampshire 86, Zion-Benton 80.5, Jacobs 80, Hersey 76, Richmond-Burton 67, Lakes Community 55, Jefferson 47, Dundee-Crown 46, Wauconda 43, Ridgewood 37, Maine West 36, Genoa-Kingston 34, Larkin 31.5, Burlington Central 28, Johnsburg 27, Byron 21, Plano 18, Marengo 13, Carmel Catholic 4

Championship matches of the Dundee-Crown Girls Invitational

100 – Eva Hermansson (Woodstock) F 5:22 Karla Sarabia (Glenbard East)

105 – Annabelle Mueller (Hampshire) F 5:49 Aaliyah Guichon (Jacobs)

110 – Julia Felton (Jacobs) D 10-4 Justice Girod (Schaumburg)

115 – Athena Zappas (Stevenson) MD 10-1 Alexa Herrera (Harvard)

120 – Kaiya Galindo (Freeport) D 15-9 Kyla Hayes (Woodstock)

125 – Isabella Rivas (Schaumburg) F 3:33 Ruby Gavina (Dundee-Crown)

130 – Karina Lojowski (Stevenson) F 1:40 Madelyn Peterie (Richmond-Burton)

135 – Sharon Olorunfemi (Schaumburg) F 0:07 Tayler Menzel (Woodstock)

140 – Maria Green (Glenbard East) TF 2:29 Ava Hartman (Schaumburg)

145 – Ithandehui Rosas (Harvard) F 1:02 Madison Minson (Hampshire)

155 – Audrey Sheldon (Batavia) F 1:28 NaJeyah Wallace (Freeport)

170 – Kylie Eilken (Jefferson) F 0:38 Josie Blau (Antioch)

190 – Nadia Razzak (Schaumburg) F 1:36 Samantha Diehl (Hampshire)

235 – Olivia Furlan (Schaumburg) D 6-1 Carmen Sierra (Johnsburg)