Team Illinois sweeps all three duals at Illinois vs. Indiana Classic Duals

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

Illinois athletes went 3-for-3 at the Illinois vs. Indiana Classic Duals, which were sponsored by the IWCOA and were held at Joliet Catholic Academy in Joliet.

On the boys side, Team Lincoln defeated Indiana Gold 41-26 and Team Reagan beat Indiana Blue by a 60-11 margin. In the girls competition, Team Illinois won 51-27 over Team Indiana.

Beside coaching the practice, JCA coach Ryan Cumbee was in the corner for boys who didn’t have coaches in attendance and also assisted when they had coaches there. Coaches for the girls were Hoffman Estates’ Leo Clark, Canton’s Zach Crawford and Prospect’s John Bassler.

“Representing Team Illinois is a privilege and an honor, one taken very seriously by our coaches and competitors this year,” said Cumbee, who is one of the 15 inductees for this year’s class for the IWCOA Hall of Fame. “Described as an exhibition match between the states’ best, it is anything but that for us. We treat this event with focus and pride as we look to remind Indiana where they stand. This year we were highly successful in that goal as we swept their three teams, two boys and a girls team, in dominant fashion.”

In Team Lincoln’s victory, Illinois won the first four matches to grab a 16-0 advantage but Indiana responded with three falls to grab an 18-16 lead through the initial seven matches.

After the sides split decisions to keep Indiana up 21-19 with six matches remaining,  Illinois won the next two to go up 28-21 and after Indiana closed to within 28-26, Team Lincoln wrapped things up by sweeping the final three matches.

Maddox Garbis (Plainfield North, 6th at 106 in 3A) got things started with a win by technical fall over Julianna Ocampo at 106 and Dylan Eimer (Olympia, 3rd at 113 in 1A) pulled out an 11-10 decision over Keegan Dresslar. Noah Woods (Washington, 1st at 120 in 2A) edged Levi Jonns 4-2 and Michael Esteban (Marist, 2nd at 126 in 3A) followed with a win by technical fall over Isaac Ash to give Team Lincoln an early 16-0 advantage.

Indiana responded with a fall in 2:18 from Jake Hockaday over George Marinopoulos (Marist, 2nd at 132 in 3A), a pin in 3:37 from Nathan Bryan over Jeremy Eggleston (Reed-Custer, SQ at 138 in 1A), and win by fall in 3:37 from Bryce Doss over Peyton Cox (Washington, 1st at 144 in 2A) to put Indiana up 18-16.

Carson Weber (Joliet West, 1st at 150 in 3A) captured a 9-3 decision over Seth Syra at 150 to give Lincoln a 19-18 lead but Gold moved back in front at 21-19 when Silas Stits edged Jack Ferguson (Yorkville, 3rd at 157 in 3A) by a 10-8 score. 

Team Lincoln moved back in front for good when Will Denny (Marist, 1st at 165 in 3A) claimed a 10-2 major decision over Michael Major at 165 and R.J. Robinson (Homewood-Flossmoor, 2nd at 175 in 3A) followed with a win by technical fall over Brennon Whickcar to make it 28-21 with four matches remaining.

Gunner Henry closed the gap to two when he got a win by technical fall over Cayden Parks (Crystal Lake Central, 2nd at 190 in 2A) at 190 but Nate Elstner (Lincoln-Way West, 3rd at 215 in 3A) followed with a 13-3 major decision over Jayden Bartoszek and William Cole (Round Lake, 2nd at 285 in 3A) sealed the deal with a fall in 3:27 over Max Forrester and Charles Walker (Joliet Central, 1st at 215 in 3A) capped things with a 7-1 decision over Bartoszek.

There was much less doubt about the outcome when Team Reagan faced Indiana Blue after the Illinoisans won eight in a row to build a 42-0 lead and the teams then split the final six matches.

Davion Henry (Homewood-Flossmoor, SQ at 106 in 3A) got things started with a victory by technical fall over Davin Ash at 106 and Bryce Mensik (Lake Park, SQ at 113 in 3A) followed with a fall in 4:00 over Sam Blanco Colmenares. 

Gavin Rockey (Wauconda, 3rd at 120 in 2A) recorded a pin in 4:00 over Timoteo Rocha and Xavier Villalobos (Rochelle, 2nd at 126 in 2A) won by fall in 4:00 over Cameron Woods to put Team Reagan up 23-0.

Deven Casey (IC Catholic Prep, 1st at 132 in 2A) also added a fall in 4:00 over Eddie Goss at 132 and Jordan Rasof (Deerfield, 3rd at 138 in 2A) followed with a 7-1 decision over Lucas Cadwell. Emmett Nelson (Richmond-Burton, 1st at 144 in 1A) won by fall in 1:57 over Sam Bustamante and Jackson Carroll (Illini Bluffs, 1st at 150 in 1A) completed the 42-point run with a 10-2 major decision over Jayden Lewis. 

Indiana Blue got its first win at 157 when Mason Day won an 11-4 decision over Tyson Rakers (Highland, 2nd at 157 in 2A) but Bowden Delaney (Tremont, 1st at 165 in 1A) answered with a fall in 2:46 over Gavin Davis and Fabian Ramirez (Elgin, 5th at 175 in 3A) won by fall in 3:56 to give Team Reagan a 54-3 advantage.

Ethan Farnell captured a 16-5 major decision over Nico Ronchetti (Joliet Catholic Academy, 2nd at 190 in 3A) before Drake Champlin (East Alton-Wood River, 1st at 215 in 1A) got a pin in 5:48 over Caden Brewer for the Illinois’ teams final win and Caleb Evans claimed a 20-12 major decision over David McCarthy (De La Salle Institute, 1st at 285 in 1A) in the final match.

The girls dual meet was close for a while as Team Illinois led 17-12 through five matches and the Illinoisans still owned a 27-15 advantage with six matches remaining before ending the suspense by recording three-straight falls.

Katelyn Bell (Montini Catholic, 2nd at 100) started things with a win by technical fall over Sydney Stoller at 100 and Kameyah Young (West Aurora, 3rd at 105) followed with a win by fall in 0:53 over Sanniah Hernandez. 

The teams traded pins in the next two matches as Team Indiana’s Julianna Ocampo won by fall in 1:28 over Jala Singleton (Belleville West, SQ at 110) and Victoria Macias (Burlington Central, 6th at 115) answered with a pin in 4:48 over Delaney Koebcke to make it 17-6 four matches in.

After Zoe Pugh recorded a pin in 0:23 over Aaliyah Roldan (Oswego, SQ at 120), Team Illinois got wins by technical fall from Sophie Bowers (Vandalia, 1st at 125) over Faith Hand and from Sophia Ball (Hoffman Estates, 1st at 130) over Jaydyn Mandry to boost its lead to 27-12 before Kaylea Beauchamp got the second win for Team Indiana when she claimed a 4-1 decision over Viola Pianetto (Prospect, 2nd at 135).

But that’s when Team Illinois finally ended the drama as Jillian Giller (New Trier, 5th at 140) won by fall in 5:05 over Leighna Prater at 140, Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic (Schaumburg, 2nd at 145) followed with a pin in 1:35 over Prater and Teagan Aurich (Plainfield South, 3rd at 155) won by fall in 2:57 over Ella Harpold to increase the lead to 45-15 with three matches left.

Mallory Winner got a pin in 3:31 over Alicia Tucker (Plainfield Central, 1st at 170) and Ja’Niya Howard won by fall in 4:30 over Isabel Peralta (Oak Forest, 6th at 190) before Chloe Hoselton (Prairie Central, 1st at 235) closed out the dual meet with a fall in 2:16 over Bresa Coan.

There were three four-time IHSA medalists in the boys duals, IC Catholic Prep’s Casey (1st in 2025 and 2024, 3rd in 2023 and 2022), Washington’s Cox (1st in 2025, 2nd in 2024, 2023 and 2022) and Richmond-Burton’s Nelson (1st in 2025, 2nd in 2023 and 2022, 6th in 2024). Other two-time IHSA champions in the boys competition were Illini Bluffs’ Carroll (1st in 2025 and 2024) and Marist’s Denny (1st in 2025 and 2024, 4th in 2023).

Additional 2025 IHSA champions who took part in the event were East Alton-Wood River’s Champlin (1st in 2025, 2nd in 2024), Tremont’s Delaney (1st in 2025, 2nd in 2024), De La Salle Institute’s McCarthy (1st in 2025, 5th in 2024), Washington Woods (1st in 2025, 6th in 2024), Joliet West’s Weber (1st in 2025, 3rd in 2024) and Joliet Central’s Walker (1st in 2025).

Other three-time state medalists who competed in the duals were Rochelle’s Villalobos (2nd in 2025 and 2022, 5th in 2024), Joliet Catholic Academy’s Ronchetti (2nd in 2025 and 2023, 6th in 2024), Wauconda’s Rockey (2nd in 2024 and 2023, 3rd in 2025), Crystal Lake Central’s Parks (2nd in 2025 and 2024, 4th in 2023), Marist’s Esteban (2nd in 2025 and 2024, 6th in 2022), Olympia’s Eimer (3rd in 2025, 4th in 2024 and 2022), Deerfield’s Rasof (3rd in 2025, 5th in 2024, 6th in 2023) and Plainfield North’s Garbis (4th in 2024, 6th in 2025 and 2023).

And additional two-time state medalists who took part in the competition were Round Lake’s Cole (2nd in 2025, 4th in 2024), Highland’s Rakers (2nd in 2025, 4th in 2024) and Yorkville’s Ferguson (3rd in 2025, 5th in 2024). And all-staters for the first time who participated were Marist’s Marinopoulos (2nd in 2025), Homewood-Flossmoor’s Robinson (2nd in 2025), Lincoln-Way West’s Elstner (3rd in 2025) and Elgin’s Ramirez (5th in 2025).

Three two-time IHSA champions participated in the girls dual meet, Plainfield Central’s Tucker (1st in 2025 and 2023, 2nd in 2024), Vandalia’s Bowers (1st in 2025 and 2024)  and Prairie Central’s Hoselton (1st in 2025 and 2024). 

There was also one four-time state medalist in the event, Burlington Central’s Macias (4th in 2022, 5th in 2024 and 2023 and 6th in 2025). And Hoffman Estates’ Ball (1st in 2025, 2nd in 2024, 5th in 2023) was the other IHSA champion in the competition.

Two other individuals who were also three-time all-staters that participated in the dual meet were Schaumburg’s Zerafa-Lazarevic (2nd in 2025 and 2024, 5th in 2023) and West Aurora’s Young (2nd in 2024, 3rd in 2025, 4th in 2023). 

Another two-time medalist who competed was Montini Catholic’s Bell (2nd in 2025, 6th in 2024). And three first-time medal winners who also took part in the event were Prospect’s Pianetto (2nd in 2025), Plainfield South’s Aurich (3rd in 2025) and New Trier’s Giller (5th in 2025). 

Girls meet result – Team Illinois 51, Team Indiana 27 

100 Kat Bell (Team Illinois) over Sydney Stoller (Team Indiana) TF 21-4

105 Kameyah Young (Team Illinois) over Sanniah Hernandez (Team Indiana) F 0:53

110 Julianna Ocampo (Team Indiana) over Jala Singleton (Team Illinois) F 1:28

115 Victoria Macias (Team Illinois) over Delaney Koebcke (Team Indiana) F 4:48

120 Zoe Pugh (Team Indiana) over Aaliyah Roldan (Team Illinois) F 0:23

125 Sophie Bowers (Team Illinois) over Faith Hand (Team Indiana) TF 17-1

130 Sophia Ball (Team Illinois) over Jaydyn Mandry (Team Indiana) TF 15-0

135 Kaylea Beauchamp (Team Indiana) over Viola Pianetto (Team Illinois) D 4-1

140 Jillian Giller (Team Illinois) over Leighna Prater (Team Indiana) F 5:05

145 Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic (Team Illinois) over Leighna Prater (Team Indiana) F 1:35

155 Teagan Aurich (Team Illinois) over Ella Harpold (Team Indiana) F 2:57

170 Mallory Winner (Team Indiana) over Alicia Tucker (Team Illinois) F 3:31

190 Ja`Niya Howard (Team Indiana) over Isabel Peralta (Team Illinois) F 4:30

235 Chloe Hoselton (Team Illinois) over Bresa Coan (Team Indiana) F 2:16

Boys meet result – Team Lincoln 41, Indiana Gold 26

106 Maddox Garbis (Team Lincoln) over Julianna Ocampo (Indiana Gold) TF 22-6

113 Dylan Eimer (Team Lincoln) over Keegan Dresslar (Indiana Gold) D 11-10

120 Noah Woods (Team Lincoln) over Levi Johns (Indiana Gold) D 4-2

126 Michael Esteban (Team Lincoln) over Isaac Ash (Indiana Gold) TF 17-2

132 Jake Hockaday (Indiana Gold) over George Marinopoulos (Team Lincoln) F 2:18

138 Nathan Bryan (Indiana Gold) over Jeremy Eggelston (Team Lincoln) F 0:23

144 Bryce Doss (Indiana Gold) over Peyton Cox (Team Lincoln) F 3:37

150 Carson Weber (Team Lincoln) over Seth Syra (Indiana Gold) D 9-3

157 Silas Stits (Indiana Gold) over Jack Ferguson (Team Lincoln) D 10-8

165 Will Denny (Team Lincoln) over Michael Major (Indiana Gold) MD 10-2

175 R.J. Robinson (Team Lincoln) over Brennon Whitktar (Indiana Gold) TF 19-4

190 Gunner Henry (Indiana Gold) over Caden Parks (Team Lincoln) TF 19-4

215 Nate Elster (Team Lincoln) over Gayden Bartoszek (Indiana Gold) MD 13-3

285 William Cole (Team Lincoln) over Max Forrester (Indiana Gold) F 3:27

215A Charles Walker (Team Lincoln) over Gayden Bartoszek (Indiana Gold) D 7-1

Boys meet result – Team Reagan 60, Indiana Blue 11

106 Davion Henry (Team Reagan) over Davin Ash (Indiana Blue) TF 21-5

113 Bryce Mensik (Team Reagan) over Sam Blanco Clomenares (Indiana Blue) F 4:00

120 Gavin Rockey (Team Reagan) over Timoteo Rocha (Indiana Blue) F 4:00

126 Xavier Villalobos (Team Reagan) over Cameron Woods (Indiana Blue) F 4:00

132 Deven Casey (Team Reagan) over Eddie Goss (Indiana Blue) F 4:00

138 Jordan Rasof (Team Reagan) over Lucas Cadwell (Indiana Blue) D 7-1

144 Emmett Nelson (Team Reagan) over Sam Bustamante (Indiana Blue) F 1:57

150 Jackson Carroll (Team Reagan) over Jayden Lewis (Indiana Blue) MD 10-2

157 Mason Day (Indiana Blue) over Tyson Rakers (Team Reagan) D 11-4

165 Bowden Delaney (Team Reagan) over Gavin Davis (Indiana Blue) F 2:46

175 Fabian Ramirez (Team Reagan) over Jake Thrash (Indiana Blue) F 3:56

190 Ethan Farnell (Indiana Blue) over Nico Ronchetti (Team Reagan) MD 16-5

215 Drake Champlin (Team Reagan) over Caden Brewer (Indiana Blue) F 5:48

285 Caleb Evans (Indiana Blue) over David McCarthy (Team Reagan) MD 20-12