Schaumburg tops the field at Dundee-Crown
By Gary Larsen
One week after placing second at the IWCOA dual state finals tournament, and after a whole lot of wrestling during winter break, Schaumburg might well have entered Saturday’s 24-team Dundee-Crown Invitational slightly fatigued.
After all, it’s tough for athletes to maintain high intensity every time out, especially in a sport as physically and mentally grueling as wrestling.“I was a little worried that there would be a letdown after the team state last week,”
Schaumburg coach Matt Gruszka said. We’ve wrestled a lot over break and I was worried that our momentum would come down a little bit.”Gruszka’s Saxons erased any and all such concern.
Schaumburg dominated the day in Carpentersville, posting a 206-110 edge over second-place host Dundee-Crown. Grant (107.5) placed third, followed by Central (100) and Stevenson (88) to round out the top five team finishes.
“They find ways and they help each other,” Gruszka said of his girls. “There was no letdown today and that’s what I’m excited about.”
“I was really proud of the girls today,” said senior Madyson Meyer, one of three individual champions for Schaumburg. “Gruszka is like our second dads. He keeps it fun but he’s stern when he needs to be, and I think that’s really why we do so well as a team.”
Senior Hope Zerafa-Lazarevic liked her girls’ ability to adjust on the fly.
“What’s impressive to me is it that a lot of our girls improved within the tournament, from match one to match three or four that they got to they were applying the things we’ve been talking about,” she said.
Schaumburg sophomore Justice Girod sees her team’s all-for-one, one-for-all approach as a key this season.
“Whenever we have a letdown, we always work harder and use that as momentum,”Girod said.
Meyer (115), Girod (110), and Zerafa-Lazarevic (145) won individual titles for Schaumburg to lead the way. Gruszka also got seconds from Alya Razzak (170) and non-scoring Reagan Paulson (115), thirds from Anna Villareal (120), Isabella Rivas (125), and Nadia Razzak (190), and a fourth from Mia Phelps (105).
Second-place Dundee-Crown got individual titles from Mackenzie Lessner (155) and Gladys Reyes (235), seconds from Iris Torres (110), Ruby Gavina (135), and non-scoring Caroline Haiges (235), and a third from Diamond Rodriguez (105).
Third-place Grant got a second-place finish from Myla Reyes (125), a third from Annabelle Melton (140), and fourths from America Camacho (120) and Veronica Vera (135).
Dundee-Crown’s Individual champions:
100 – Ariel Woodfin, Thornton
Thornton junior Ariel Woodfin left no doubt who the top 100-pounder was in Carpentersville. Woodfin (12-1) posted three pins to win the title — all over wrestlers with records well above .500.
In order, Woodfin topped Sunny Altzemko (15-7), Glenbard East’s Andrea Jones (14-3) and Freeport’s Aurielle Calmese (19-6) to win her title. Calmese also reached the finals with three pins.
Woodfin placed second at Curie’s Queens of Mayhem tournament this year, and Calmese also finished second in tournaments at Lakes and Princeton.
Jones won a 13-7 decision for third place over Altzemko.
“Ariel Woodfin put in a lot of work this summer and fall. That work is paying off,” Thornton coach Phillip Rembert said. “She really has improved a lot, matured, and I think she can go a long way in the state tournament.”
105 – Nadia Shymkiv, Glenbard East
With a blind draw in place at Dundee-Crown, two unbeaten wrestlers squared off in the semifinals at 105, in Glenbard East’s Nadia Shymkiv and Dundee-Crown’s Diamond Rodriguez.
Prior to Saturday, Shymkiv (17-0) had won individual titles at Waukegan and Glenbard South; Rodriguez (22-1) had won titles at Palatine, Lakes, and Hampshire. The showdown was hard-fought from start to finish. Shymkiv also placed third in Illinois last year at 105 pounds.
“That was the best match I’ve been in this year,” Shymkiv said after her 5-3 decision over Rodriguez. Shymkiv went on to handle teammate Karla Sarabia (8-3) by major decision in the finals.
“Nadia wrestled great and really showed her experience as she made her way through the bracket,” Glenbard East coach Matt Nelson said. “Karla, our freshman, came through the other side of the bracket showing what she does in the practice room every day. We were excited to see them both reach the finals.”
But Shymkiv’s shining moments came in her semifinal match, and her ability to fight back from Rodriguez’s early takedown by earning a reversal by the end of the first period, then earning near-fall points in the second period to secure the win.
“I just listened to my coaches and started pushing her,” Shymkiv said. “Coach just told me to keep pushing, be careful, and be smart. I feel great. Now I want to get the state and I want to be state champion.”
Rodriguez went on to place third with a first-period fall over Schaumburg’s Mia Phelps (16-9).
“We’re excited to see how Diamond finishes out her senior year,” Dundee-Crown assistant coach Rick Moreno said. “She never quits and wrestles hard for all six minutes no matter who her opponent is.”
110 – Justice Girod, Schaumburg
The closest finals match of the day went to an ultimate tie-break, between Schaumburg’s Justice Girod (24-7) and Dundee-Crown’s Iris Torres (17-8).
Tied 1-1 after three periods, neither scored in the first overtime, and then the two took turns riding each other out for 30 seconds.
Girod rode Torres out for 30 seconds to get the job done in the deciding overtime period.
“I was a little tired, but I really felt the energy,” Girod said. “As I got closer to the end of that match I just thought I had to hold out. I had to win. I just had to keep her down.
I’ve been getting better with my top work and on my feet.”
Schaumburg coach Matt Gruszka likes the evolution he’s seeing from the sophomore Girod.
“She’s just gritty and she has come a long way,” Gruszka said. “She’s really starting to become a student of the sport and learning when she needs to be calm and simply win a particular position. She did that today. And she has a motor, which definitely helps.”
Central’s Ruby Vences (21-7) placed third with a fall over Harvard’s Alexa Herrera (13-8).
115 – Madyson Meyer, Schaumburg
A state qualifier last year, Schaumburg senior Madyson Meyer won in individual tournament title at Normal to start the current season, and then placed third at a tournament in Morris.
Meyer reached the mountain top again Saturday, winning a Dundee-Crown title and improving to 28-1 in the process.
“She’s having a heck of a season and it’s a culmination of the last four years,” Schaumburg coach Matt Gruszka said. “It’s all starting to come together for her and that’s exciting to see.”
Meyer opened with a bye before doing something she had never done in her high school career — win a match by technical fall, which she did in her quarterfinal match against Freeport’s Kaiya Galindo (19-13).
“She just didn’t want to get turned and she was fighting really hard,” Meyer said of Galindo.
Meyer won by fall in her semifinal against Harvard’s Giada Reising (15-12), and then the senior had to square off against a teammate with a tournament title on the line: Schaumburg freshman Reagan Paulson.
Paulson (13-7) posted three falls to reach the finals, where Meyer pinned her late in the first period.
“We wrestle each other a lot, every day in practice, so we just went out and wrestled like we normally do,” Meyer said. “She’s a freshman and she has so much ahead of her.”
120 – Amelia Nidelea-Polanin, Hampshire
Two weeks ago, Hampshire sophomore Amelia Nidelea-Polanin lost her first match of the season, to Hononegah’s multiple-time state champion Angelina Cassioppi.
After that loss, Nidelea-Polanin did exactly what she needed to do.
“She took her loss to Cassioppi and used it as motivation to get better. She is constantly looking for improvement,” Hampshire coach Matthew Todd said. “And she had a good tournament today.”
Nidelea-Polanin (23-1) won the Dundee-Crown title at 120 pounds Saturday, winning by major decision over Central’s Tori Macias (18-6). Nidelea-Polanin used two falls and a tech fall win to reach the title mat, while Macias had a decision and two falls to get there.
Schaumburg’s Anna Villareal (26-6) placed third with a fall against Grant’s America Camacho (25-8).
“Amelia had a good tournament today,” Todd said.“Amelia and Sam (Diehl) have both been very hard workers in the wrestling room this year. They, along with their teammates, have taken coaching this year very well.”
125 – Karina Lojowski, Stevenson
Stevenson junior Karina Lojowski has come a long was in a short amount of time.
Since finishing one match away from state qualifying last year as a sophomore, then placing 7th at the IWCOA girls state tournament, Lojowski has found another gear.
“She dedicated her entire summer to training at Built by Brunson Wrestling Club,” Stevenson coach Jonathan Leibovitz said. “She has since developed a style and poise far beyond what I could expect from a second-year wrestler.”
Lojowski (14-2) continued her fine junior campaign, winning the title at 125 via first-period fall against a tough wrestler in Grant’s Myla Reyes (22-8). Lojowski also won by fall in her quarterfinal match against another tough wrestler in Schaumburg’s Isabella Rivas (25-4), before topping Richmond-Burton’s Isabella Nelson (9-7) by fall in their semifinal match.
Reyes won her semifinal by fall against Ridgewood’s Gianna Mezzano (18-4).
Lojowski won Midwest Nationals in the preseason, and also won a tournament title at Fremd this season. Her day at Dundee-Crown was a doozy.
“(Lojowski) showcased her dominance by giving up no offensive points and winning all her matches by fall, with only one match extending into the second period,” Leibovitz said. “Her continued improvement and dominant performances have her well-positioned as we head toward the state series.”
Rivas won by fall for third place over Nelson at 125.
130 – Emily Ortiz, Zion-Benton
In tournament action this year, Zion-Benton junior Emily Ortiz (25-4) placed fifth at Niles West, first at Palatine, and first at Waukegan. She upped her string of individual title wins to three Saturday with her 8-3 decision in the finals over Thornton’s Jalah Wilson (12-1), handing Wilson her first loss of the year.
Zion-Benton coach Hal Lunsford coached the programs first wrestling state champion last season when ILeen Castrejon won an IHSA state title at 190 pounds. With returning state qualifiers Ortiz, Grace Johnson (27-5) at 140, and Naomi Foote (26-1) at 145 in the fold this year, Lunsford has a trio of top-shelf upperclassmen.
“I’m truly blessed to have these three amazing young women on the Zee-Bee wrestling team,” he said. “They are the hardest workers in the room and are always striving to improve their wrestling skills. I’m so proud of their performances so far. The last part of the season should be fun.”
Ortiz posted three pins to reach the finals at Dundee-Crown. Wilson won a 9-3 decision in her opening match against Main West’s Jessica Perez (16-8), then a 16-3 major in her quarterfinal over Central’s Soraya Walikonis (21-8).
“Jalah Wilson can go a long way in the state tournament,” Thornton coach Phillip Rembert said. “That loss (vs. Ortiz) was not a disappointment. It was just a little wake up call. She will rebound from that loss and be much better next tournament.
A tech fall win over Schaumburg’s Sky Bonilla sent Wilson to the title mat. Walikonis went on win by fall over Perez for third place.
135 – Maria Green, Glenbard East
Glenbard East sophomore Maria Green is having a whale of a season.
Green improved to 14-0 at Dundee-Crown, winning the tournament title at 135 with a 10-5 decision over the host Chargers’ Ruby Gavina (12-3).
Green has also won individual tournament titles at Waukegan and Glenbard South this year.
“Maria had an outstanding day beating a state qualifier and showing her maturity by staying disciplined all six minutes of her matches,” Glenbard East coach Matt Nelson said.
Green opened with a win by fall in her quarterfinal match and then gutted out an 8-7 decision over Thornton-Fractional South’s Quincy Onyiaorah (4-1) in their semifinal. Onyiaorah won by fall in her quarterfinal match over Schaumburg’s Sharon Olorunfemi (27-6). Onyiaorah was a state qualifier at 130 last season.
Gavina posted a trio of pins to reach the finals, capped by a semifinal round pin against Plano’s April Martinez (5-3). Onyiaorah topped Olorunfemi in a consolation semifinal before winning by fall for third place against Grant’s Veronica Vera (17-7).
140 – Jillian Giller, New Trier
New Trier senior Jillian Giller (26-1) added a Dundee-Crown title to go with titles won this year at Niles West, Maine East, and Palatine.
In her final season of high school wrestling, Giller has embraced the advice of her father.
“My dad tells me ‘this is it, Jillian — your age, your weight, your year.’ There are no excuses anymore,” Giller said.
Giller went 33-6 last year as a state qualifier but she wants to scale the podium this year when the state finals arrive. She feels ready, with more tools in her kit this season.
“Last year I had my front headlock, I had my top game, but that was pretty much where my skill ended,” Giller said. “This year we have a new coach and he’s worked with me a lot on my bottom game. And now I’m ten times better on my feet.”
Giller pinned her way to the title at Dundee-Crown, capped by a fall at 2:48 on the title mat against a tough wrestler in Zion-Benton’s Grace Johnson (27-5). Giller also beat Grant’s Annabelle Melton (21-9) and Maine West’s Soila Orozco (12-6) along the way.
Johnson used a trio of pins to reach the finals. Melton went on the place third, with a fall at 2:56 over Orozco.
Giller’s work on bottom has taken a leap forward this year.
“This is the first year I’ve been comfortable with it,” she said. “Now I feel like nobody is going to hold me down. And I’m not worried on my feet anymore, which used to hold me back. I did a lot of takedown work over the summer.”
145 – Hope Zerafa-Lazarevic, Schaumburg
As last year’s state runner-up at 140, Schaumburg’s Hope Zerafa-Lazarevic is no stranger to wrestling in big matches.
Schaumburg’s third individual champ participated in one of the day’s most-anticipated matches at Dundee-Crown. Both Zerafa-Lazarevic (28-0) and Zion-Benton’s Naomi Foote (26-1) entered their finals match with unbeaten season’s records.
The match was a thriller for 88 seconds.
Foote posted an early takedown and was in the process of attempting a cross-face cradle when Zerafa-Lazarevic turned the tide. The Schaumburg senior reversed Foote and stuck her at the edge at the 1:28 mark.
“She’s a really really good wrestler and I knew it would be hard,” Zerafa-Lazarevic said of Foote. “I was a little nervous before that match. (Gruszka) just told me not to freak out after I got taken down, and I didn’t. I just stayed calm and looked for what I needed. She was hitting a mean cradle.”
Schaumburg coach Matt Gruszka knows Zerafa-Lazarevic is perfectly comfortable on a roller coaster.
“Hope has this weird wrestling sense. Sometimes she’s not the most technical, but she’s such a high competitor,” Gruszka said. “She wants to win every position and even if she loses a position, she never gets down on herself. In the state semi last year, she was down 11-1 and she came back to win by a point. It causes us heart attacks a lot, but I love watching her compete.”
Foote had already won individual tournament titles at Niles West, Palatine, and Waukegan. Zerafa-Lazarevic has individual titles from Normal and Morris under her belt.
After her pin at the edge on Saturday, Zerafa-Lazarevic got up off the mat, turned to the bleachers and locked in on someone near and dear to her heart.
“I didn’t have my parents here today, but I had my brother here, who just got home from the Navy,” she said. “It’s the first time I’ve seen him in three years. He came home last night and this was the first time he saw me wrestle, so I knew I had to show up.”
155 – Mackenzie Lessner, Dundee-Crown
After wrestling in middle school, Dundee-Crown senior Mackenzie Lessner initially gave up the sport in high school, before returning to it after a little pleading with her parents.
“I had to stop because my parents didn’t like it,” Lessner said. “But they allowed me to come back. One of my older brothers wrestled so I was like ‘why can’t I’?”
The first of host Dundee-Crown’s two individual champions on the day, Lessner improved to 14-3 with her finals win by fall against Thornton-Fractional South’s Jermia Moore (3-1).
“It was a good day,” Lessner said. “I was confident in my matches and I knew I had to come out and just wrestle my way. Since the start of the year, I’m realizing what I can do in a match and what moves I’m able to do.
“A lot of it is mental and you just have to show up to those hard practices —the repetition, the fight, and you have to have good practice partners, and teammates, who are always there supporting you.”
Moore reached the title match with a fall at 1:05 over Grant’s Amaryllis Ramos (12-3), while Lessner also posted two falls to reach the finals.
Ramos went on to placed third with a fall at 4:38 over Harvard’s April Cardenas (16-17).
“Sophomore Ruby Gavina and senior Mackenzie Lessner have improved this year and are placing in all of the tournaments they’ve wrestled in so far,” D-C assistant coach Rick Mareno said. “I would not be surprised if any of our wrestlers made it to state with the hard work and dedication they’re putting in the wrestling room.”
170 – Ryann Miller, Central
Central sophomore Ryann Miller (20-0) placed fifth in state last year at 170, and has won individual titles at Maine East, Palatine, and Morris this season.
She has been dominant during her sophomore campaign and that dominance was on display at Dundee-Crown. Miller won by fall at 0:28 in her title match against Schaumburg’s Alya Razzak (25-5).
Her growth in the sport in a short amount of time is undeniable.
“The goal coming into the season was to continue to build on the success from last year and I think she has done that really well to this point, especially today,” Central coach Andrew Brown said. “She did a great job creating offense on her feet and when she had the opportunity to score the fall, she did so, and has continued to do so through her matches this season.”
In four matches, no one survived the first period against Miller. Razzak opened with a pair of pins before gutting out a 1-0 semifinal decision over Hampshire’s Annelise Tavira (22-2).
After losing to Tavira by major decision in their quarterfinal match, Main West’s Lillian Garrett (20-4) exacted some revenge in the consolation round: Garrett won a 4-2 decision over Tavira on the third-place mat.
190 – Josie Larson, Lakes
Josie Larson’s rampage through the 190-pound division continued on Saturday, as she remained an unbeaten 19-0 with her pin on the title mat against Hampshire’s Samantha Diehl.
The Lakes senior continues to exhibit elevated levels of hunger and experience in her senior year, after placing second in Illinois at 190 last year.
“I’m just working hard at practice, hitting the gym and I keep wrestling my style,” Larson said. “At this point it’s focusing on all the little things, like putting the shoulder down, taking it in. Those little things all add up.”
Larson posted three falls, capped by a fall for the title against Hampshire’s tough freshman, Sam Diehl (17-3). Larson has won tournament titles at Lakes and Waukegan this year, and she is responsible for two of Diehl’s three losses this year.
Now a seasoned veteran of high school wrestling, Larson’s journey might be something Diehl is currently going through.
“When I started out, I was nervous before every match — not scared but right on the cusp,” Larson said. “It was really nerve-racking. I always felt like I was going to throw up. But as I progressed it got easier and easier until I started hitting my moves way more confidently than I did before. I’m calmer now before my matches.”
Diehl pinned two juniors and a sophomore to reach the finals against Larson. Hampshire coach Matthew Todd sees big things for his freshman as she evolves in the sport.
“Sam has run into (Larson) a couple of times this year. She is understanding the high school level and is improving ,” Todd said. “And she worked very hard today.”
Larson pinned Schaumburg’s Nadia Razzak (29-3) at 3:48 in their semifinal match, while Diehl won by fall at 2:42 in her semifinal against Freeport’s Lily Wurster (7-8).
Razzak went on to win by 7-0 decision against Jefferson’s Kylie Eilken (4-2) on the third-place mat.
235 – Gladys Reyes, Dundee-Crown
With only four wrestlers entered at 235, all four moved directly into the championship semifinal round in Carpentersville. Reyes (9-2) followed her two byes with a pin in her semifinal match against Thornton’s Sionna Stampley (8-3).
Waiting for Reyes on the title mat was teammate Caroline Haiges (12-6), who won her semifinal by fall against Marengo’s Madalynn Woodcock.
Reyes topped her practice partner at 235 by fall for the title, at the 1:11 mark of the finals match.
“Gladys is a senior and placed in all three tournaments she’s been in, and freshman Caroline has also placed in the four tournaments she’s wrestled in,” Dundee-Crown assistant coach Rick Moreno said. “Every week they’ve shown improvement and continue to push each other. Unfortunately we’re only able to have one in the weight class but either one will make us proud to represent Dundee-Crown.”
Stampley won by fall at 1:05 against Woodcock in the third-place match.
Individual statistics:
Among all wrestlers present, Schaumburg’s Isabella Rivas had the most pins (5) in the fastest time (10:09), and Hampshire’s Amelia Nidelea-Polanin had the fastest tech fall, in 2:19. Three wrestlers tied for the lead for most team points scored with 28, in Stevenson’s Karina Lojowski, Central’s Ryann Miller, and New Trier’s Jillian Giller. Glenbard East’s Nadia Shymkiv scored the most single match points (37), Nidelea- Polanin scored the most total match points (62), and Dundee-Crown’s Iris Torres provided the largest seed-place difference when the No. 15 seed placed second at 110 pounds.
Team scores:
Schaumburg 206, Dundee-Crown 110, Grant 107.5, Central 100, Stevenson 88, Glenbard East 86.5, Zion-Benton 74, Thornton 71.5, Hampshire 69.5, Harvard 58, Thornton Fractional South 57, Lakes 55, New Trier 52, Freeport 51, Maine West 49, Plano 36, Richmond-Burton 35, Antioch 27, Jefferson 23.5, Ridgewood 17, Carmel 12, Genoa-Kingston 11, Marengo 10.5, Geneva 0
Dundee-Crown Girls Invitational results:
100
1st: Ariel Woodfin (Thornton) 12-1, d. Aurielle Calmese (Freeport) 19-6, (F 1:07)
3rd: Andrea Jones (Glenbard E) 14-3, d. Sunny Aitzemko (New Trier) 15-7, (D 13-7)
105
1st: Nadiia Shymkiv (Glenbard E) 17-0, d. Karla Sarabia (Glenbard E) 8-3, (MD 37-25)
3rd: Diamond Rodriguez (Dundee-Crown) 22-1, d. Mia Phelps (Schaumburg ) 16-9, (F 1:18)
110
1st: Justice Girod (Schaumburg ) 24-7, d. Iris Torres (Dundee-Crown) 17-8, (UTB 1-1)
3rd: Ruby Vences (Central) 21-7, d. Alexa Herrera (Harvard) 13-8, (F 1:04)
115
1st: Madyson Meyer (Schaumburg ) 28-1, d. Reagan Paulson (Schaumburg ) 13-7, (F 1:50)
3rd: Giulia Gheciu (Lincolnshire (Stevenson) 9-5, d. Giada Reising (Harvard) 15-12, (F 3:04)
120
1st: Amelia Nidelea-Polanin (Hampshire) 23-1, d. Victoria Macias (Central) 18-6, (MD 15-3)
3rd: Anna Villarreal (Schaumburg ) 26-6, d. America Camacho (Grant) 25-8, (F 1:45)
125
1st: Karina Lojowski (Lincolnshire (Stevenson) 14-2, d. Myla Reyes (Grant) 22-8, (F 1:31)
3rd: Isabella Rivas (Schaumburg ) 25-4, d. Isabella Nelson (R.-Burton) 9-7, (F 2:49)
130
1st: Emily Ortiz (Z.-Benton) 25-4, d. Jalah Wilson (Thornton) 12-1, (D 8-3)
3rd: Soraya Walikonis (Central) 21-8, d. Jessica Perez (Des Plaines (Maine West) 16-8, (F 4:24)
135
1st: Maria Green (Glenbard E) 14-0, d. Ruby Gavina (Dundee-Crown) 12-3, (D 10-5)
3rd: Quincy Onyiaorah (T-F South) 4-1, d. Veronica Vera (Grant) 17-7, (F 0:26)
140
1st: Jillian Giller (New Trier) 26-1, d. Grace Johnson (Z.-Benton) 27-5, (F 2:48)
3rd: Annabelle Melton (Grant) 21-9, d. Soila Orozco (Des Plaines (Maine West) 12-6, (F 2:56)
145
1st: Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic (Schaumburg ) 28-0, d. Naomi Foote (Z.-Benton) 26-1, (F 1:28)
3rd: Jacqueline Diaz (Plano) 8-1, .d. Tina Hasner (Lake Villa (Lakes) 23-8, . (F 0:29)
155
1st: Mackenzie Lessner (Dundee-Crown) 14-3, d. Jermia Moore (T-F South) 3-1, . (F 3:58)
3rd: Amaryllis Ramos (Grant) 12-3, d. April Cardenas (Harvard) 16-17, (F 4:38)
170
1st: Ryann Miller (Central) 20-0, d. Alya Razzak (Schaumburg ) 25-5, (F 0:28)
3rd: Lillian Garrett (Des Plaines (Maine West) 20-4, d. Anneliese Tavira (Hampshire) 22-2, (D 4-2)
190
1st: Josie Larson (Lake Villa (Lakes) 19-0, .d. Samantha Diehl (Hampshire) 17-3, (F 1:46)
3rd: Nadia Razzak (Schaumburg ) 29-3, d. Kylie Eilken (Rockford (Jefferson) 4-2, (D 7-0)
235
1st: Gladys Reyes (Dundee-Crown) 9-2, d. Caroline Haiges (Dundee-Crown) 12-6, . (F 1:11)
3rd: Sionna Stampley (Thornton) 8-3, d. Madalynn Woodcock (Marengo) 3-10, (F 1:05)