Tournament recap: Sycamore, Polo

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA

48th Sycamore Invitational

Hononegah topped the field at the 48th annual Sycamore Invitational on Saturday, finishing atop the field of 26 teams with 532.5 points. Coach Tyler DeMoss’ team had four individual champions and two runners-up in topping second-place York (382) in the team standings.

“We wrestled well,” Hononegah coach Tyler DeMoss said. “Our goal was to have all fourteen guys wrestle their best six minutes for all five matches, and I think we got close to that.”

Normal Community (363.5), Rochelle (361.5), and Lyons Township (351) rounded out the top five team finishes, followed by Rock Island (348), Mundelein (333.5), Unity (325.5), Wheaton North (3125) and host Sycamore (313.5) to complete the top 10.

1st place: Hononegah (532.5)

The Indians got individual titles from Rocco Cassioppi (106), Bruno Cassioppi (113), Max Haskins (150) and Brody Sendele (157), plus second-place finishes from Robert Darling (132) and Connor Diemel (165) to lead the way.

“We had huge performances out of Robbie Darling at 132 and Max Haskins at 150,” DeMoss said. “And Max Aranki (8th at 144) also had his best tournament of the year so far.”

Kurt Smith (175) and Isaak Smith (215) also placed third for Hononegah; Jackson Olson (120) placed sixth; Max Aranki (144) was eighth; Evan Musil (126) placed 10th; Carlos Delgado (285) was 12th; Skyler Stevens (138) was 16th; and Ethan Ballard (190) placed 19th to round out Hononegah’s 14 wrestlers earning team points in the win.

Top-ranked Rocco Cassioppi added a Sycamore title to titles won at the Dvorak and the Mid-States Classic. No. 3-ranked Sendele won titles at Barrington and the Mid-States Classic.

“Rocco Cassioppi was dominant again this week and continues to improve,” DeMoss said. “Brody Sendele had all bonus point wins at 157 and is putting together the best freshman season our program has ever seen.”

In a battle of two highly-ranked wrestlers, No. 4 in 3A Bruno Cassioppi won a 3-2 decision in the finals at 113 against Rock Island’s Truth Vesey, ranked No. 1 in 2A. 

It was Bruno Cassioppi’s third in-season championship, to go with titles won at Barrington and Wisconsin’s Mid-States Classic. It also earned him the Outstanding Wrestler Award at Sycamore.

DeMoss was happy with wrestlers up and down his lineup:

“Connor Diemel wrestled great again, and closed the gap with No. 3 in the state (Lyons’ Gunnar) Garelli at 165,” DeMoss said. “Kurt Smith wrestled tough at 175 and was third, and I think he’s one small step away from being a state placer this season. 

“Jackson Olson at 120 is wrestling better and better every week and kept that rolling on Saturday (finishing) top six. Isaak Smith lost a tough match in the semis but came back and took third at 215 and he’s putting together a great senior year. Overall it was a great day, winning by a margin of 150.5 shows we are becoming more of a full team instead of just a couple studs.”

2nd place: York (382)

The Dukes and coach Nick Metcalf had an individual champion in Frank Nitti (138) and went 3-for-3 with three pins on the third-place mat, from Mondo Martinelli (126), No. 3 3A Zach Parisi (132) and Jackson Hanselman (144) to pace their second-place team finish.

York had 11 place-winners on the day. Austin Bagdasarian (215) placed fifth; Alejandro Carreon (150) took sixth; Nick Decristofaro (157) and Gavin Knill (285) were seventh; Michael Grazzini (165) took 13th; and Scott Periera (190) placed 14th for the Dukes.

3rd place: Community (363.5)

The boys from Normal were led by a pair of individual champions in No. 9-ranked 3A Cole Gentsch (120) and No. 2 Cooper Caraway (215) and a second-place finish for Jackson Soney (106) for Ironmen coach Trevor Kaufman.

Ethan Cavallo (126) and Carter Mayes (138) also placed sixth for Community, Caden Correll (113) was eighth, Hunter Hardwick (150) took 10th, Austin Chiesi (132) and Jaren Frankowiak (157) were 12th, Mason Caraway (190) was 15th, Daniel Bourbulas (165) was 18th, and Gavin Capodice (144) placed 19th among Kaufman’s 12 wrestlers earning team points for the Ironmen.

Other wrestlers winning Sycamore titles were Rock Island’s Daniel McGhee (126), Amare Overton (175), and Andrew Marquez (190), Rockford East’s Donald Cannon (132), Unity’s Kaden Inman (144), Lyons’ Gunnar Garelli (165), and Mundelein’s Abisai Hernandez (285). Leaving Sycamore with perfect season’s records were Rockford East’s Cannon (20-0) and Lyons’ Garelli (29-0).

Individuals also placing second in Sycamore were Rock Island’s Truth Vesey (113), Sycamore’s Tyler Lockhart (120) and Cooper Bode (175), Rochelle’s Xavier Villalobos (126) and Kaiden Morris (215), Mundelein’s Ethan Banda (138), Peotone’s Micah Spinazzola (144), Grayslake North’s Jacob Ronsman (150), Wheaton North’s Thomas Fulton (157), Unity’s Hunter Eastin (190), and Rockford East’s Lee Smith (285).

Other third-placers included Oak Forest’s Jacob Sebek (106) and Hunter Daniel (157), Bloomington’s Tyler Barlow (113), Maddox Kirts (165), and Kenner Bye (190), Lyons’ Griff Powell (120), Belvidere North’s Dominick Girardin (138), Mundelein’s Kevin Hernandez (150), and Hampshire’s Joey Ochoa (285).

Also placing fourth were Bloomington’s Jaylen Sandy (106), Sycamore’s Michael Olson (113) and Gable Carrick (190), Rochelle’s Tommy Tourdot (120), Grant Gensler (165), and Roman Villalobos (175), Belvidere North’s Geren Stapleton (126), Rock Island’s Temar Hudson (132), Sterling’s Austin Clemens (138), Marengo’s Mason Lampe (144), Glenbrook South’s Jacob Malek (150), and Unity’s Abram Davidson (157).

Sycamore’s top individual statistics:

Most pins in the least time – Five falls in 9:43 by Community’s Cooper Caraway (215)

Most tech fall in the least time – Three tech falls in 11:04 by Lyons’ Jack Kutchek (132)

Most pins/tech falls, least time – Five in 5:31 by Hononegah’s Rocco Cassioppi (106)

Most team points (tie) – 58 by Mundelein’s Abisai Hernandez (285) and Community’s Cooper Caraway (215)

Most single-match points – 23 by Rockford East’s Ty Smart (157)

Most total match points – 81 by Hononegah’s Brody Sendele (157)

Sycamore Invitational championship match results:

106 – Rocco Cassioppi (Hononegah) TF 2:19 Jackson Soney (Community)

113 – Bruno Cassioppi (Hononegah) D 3-2 Truth Vesey (Rock Island)

120 – Cole Gentsch (Community) F 1:19 Tyler Lockhart (Sycamore)

126 – Daniel McGhee (Rock Island) D 8-3 Xavier Villalobos (Rochelle)

132 – Donald Cannon (Rockford East) F 5:55 Robert Darling (Hononegah)

138 – Frank Nitti (York) D 7-2 Ethan Banda (Mundelein)

144 – Kaden Inman (Unity) D 5-2 Micah Spinazzola (Peotone)

150 – Max Haskins (Hononegah) F 1:10 Jacob Ronsman (Grayslake N)

157 – Brody Sendele (Hononegah) MD 17-5 Thomas Fulton (Wheaton N)

165 – Gunnar Garelli (Lyons) D 3-1 Connor Diemel (Hononegah)

175 – Amare Overton (Rock Island) D 12-6 Cooper Bode (Sycamore)

190 – Andrew Marquez (Rock Island) D 10-6 Hunter Eastin (Unity)

215 – Cooper Caraway (Community) F 5:15 Kaiden Morris (Rochelle)

285 – Abisai Hernandez (Mundelein) F 4:55 Lee Smith (Rockford E)

Third-place results:

106 – Jacob Sebek (Oak Forest) MD 15-2 Jaylen Sandy (Bloomington)

113 -Tyler Barlow (Bloomington) MD 11-2 Michael Olson (Sycamore)

120 – Griff Powell (Lyons) D 7-0 Tommy Tourdot (Rochelle)

126 – Mondo Martinelli (York) F 4:31 Geren Stapleton (Belvidere N)

132 – Zach Parisi (York) F 1:25 Temar Hudson (Rock Island)

138 – Dominick Girardin (Belvidere N) D 3-1 Austin Clemens (Sterling)

144 – Jackson Hanselman (York) F 3:15 Mason Lampe (Marengo)

150 – Kevin Hernandez (Mundelein) MD 9-0 Jacob Malek (Glenbrook S)

157 – Hunter Daniel (Oak Forest) D 1-0 Abram Davidson (Unity)

165 – Maddox Kirts (Bloomington) F 2:52 Grant Gensler (Rochelle)

175 – Kurt Smith (Hononegah) MD 13-3 Roman Villalobos (Rochelle)

190 – Kenner Bye (Bloomington) D 7-1 Gable Carrick (Sycamore)

215 – Isaak Smith (Hononegah) F 1:21 Nick Arquilla (Lyons)

285 – Joey Ochoa (Hampshire) F 4:41 Sam Costello (Lyons)

Final team scores: 1. Hononegah (532.5) 2. York (382) 3. Community (363.5) 4. Rochelle (361.5) 5. Lyons Township (351) 6. Rock Island (348) 7. Mundelein (333.5) 8. Unity (325.5) 9. Wheaton North (315) 10. Sycamore (313.5) 11. Glenbrook South (307.5) 12. Mahomet-Seymour (294.5) 13. Rockford East (293) 14. Bloomington (289) 15. Belvidere North (264) 16. Oak Forest (261) 17. Hampshire (255) 18. Sterling (217) 19. Marengo (201) 20. McHenry (187.5) 21. Peotone (180.5) 22. Nazareth Academy (158.5) 23. St. Charles North (155.5) 24. Willowbrook (153.5) 25. Portage (147) 26. Grayslake North (118).

Polo Wrestling Invitational

The 17-team field at Polo saw Richmond-Burton take the team title as the Rockets posted a 200-160 edge over second-place Freeport. Oregon (128) finished third followed by Lisle (112) and Erie (107) in the top five.

Rockets coach Tony Nelson had three individual champions and three runners-up among 10 wrestlers that finished in the top five of their weight classes.

“It was good to see the team compete against some of the competition we will see in our schedule,” Nelson said. “This season has tested our guys and our team with illness and injuries and we’re getting back to full strength.  We were missing three of our better guys for the tournament so to enter 10 point-scorers and have them all place is awesome.”

Sixth-place Fulton (106.5), Wisconsin’s Parkview/Albany (104.5), Polo (92.5), Guilford (84.5) and Genoa-Kingston (73) rounded out the top 10 team finishes. 

1st place: Richmond-Burton (200) 

The Rockets got individual titles from Dane Sorensen (138), Emmett Nelson (144), and Colin Kraus (285), and second-place finishes from Kristian Gersch (113), Clayton Madula (120), and Dominick Dickens (165).

Sorenson’s two falls and a 7-0 title-mat decision over Polo’s Phineas Mullen at 138 made his coach particularly happy.

“Dane Sorensen has been out for a few weeks and for him to come back and win a tournament shows what a tough kid he is,” Nelson said. 

“Dickens has made the finals of his last two tournaments, Krause picked up his second tournament title, and Madula has been consistent and has placed at every tournament.  Gersch making the finals and Emmett being a consistent leader also contributed greatly to the title.”

The Rockets Breckin Campbell also returned from a three-week absence to finish third at 215, and Nelson also got a fourth from Dylan Falasca (175), and fifths from Alex Reyna (190) and Dalton Youngs (150).

2nd place: Freeport (160)

Freeport coach Nathan Arendt got individual titles from Donavyn Fernandez (150) and Maddox Olson (157) among 10 wrestlers placing in the top six.

The Pretzels also got thirds from Kyle Clem (165) and Sami Odeh (285), a fourth from Dawson Holland (215), fifths from Thomas Olson (113), Cavieon Boose (120), Mathias Rada (138) and Michael Tillmon (175), and a sixth from Dayvion Fernandez (144).

3rd place: Oregon (128)

The Hawks were led by a second-place finish from Landen Elder (215), and a quartet of wrestlers winning their third-place matches in Landon Ege (113), Ethan Mowry (150), Andrew Young (175) and Quentin Berry (190).

Coach Justin Lahman also got fourths from Jayden Berry (138) and Leyton Kenney (157) and a fifth from Preston LaBay (126).

Other wrestlers winning individual titles at Polo were Guilford’s Dominic Angileri (106), Parkview/Albany’s Slater Valley (113), Sam Schwengels (190) and Wesley Egan (215), Lisle’s Alexander Ferari (120), North Boone’s Gavin Ekberg (126), West Carroll’s Connor Knop (132), Genoa-Kingston’s Brady Brewick (165), and Fulton’s Mason Kuebel (175).

Polo champions who remained undefeated were Guilford’s Angileri (106), Richmond-Burton’s Nelson (144), and Parkview/Albany, Wisconsin’s Schwengels (190).

Second-placers also included Lisle’s Cadence DuBois (106), Adam Drake (132) and Johnny Consuegra-Lopez (144), Polo’s Lucas Nelson (126) and Phineas Mullen (138),  Fulton’s Broden VenHuizen (150), West Carroll’s Cole Herrell (157), Genoa-Kingston’s Xander Gleissner (175), Jefferson’s Karlondo Dubois (190), and Erie’s Caleb Reymer (285).

Also placing third at Polo were Jefferson’s Amair Johnson (106), Durand’s Ethan Foster (120), Parkview/Albany’s Danny Finley (126), Erie’s Jacob Gibson (132) and Victor Bonnell (157), Fulton’s Wiley Blasdell (138), Polo’s Chase Bremmer (144), 

Others taking fourth place were Alden-Hebron’s George Longfield-Loftis (106), Lisle’s Nicholas DuBois (113), Guilford’s Josh Seagren (120) and Ja’Vani Torres (190), Genoa-Kingston’s Shayden McNew (126), Polo’s Jaidyn McKinney (132) and Draven Zier (150), Erie’s Aiden Jepson (144), and North Boone’s Maysen Smith (165) and Christian Allen (285).

Polo’s top individual statistics:

Most pins in the least time: 3 falls in 4:35 by Oregon’s Landen Elder (215)

Most pins/tech falls in the least time: 4 in 14:59 by Fulton’s Skylier Crooks (165)

Fastest fall: 0:07 by Oregon’s Maxx George (285)

Most team points: (tie) 28, by Parkview/Albany’s Wesley Egan (215), Genoa-Kingston’s Brady Brewick (165), Richmond-Burton’s Emmett Nelson (144) and Colin Kraus (285)

Most single match points: 21 by Polo’s Chase Bremmer (144)

Most total match points: 31 by Freeport’s Michael Tillmon (175)

Polo championship match results:

106 – Dominic Angileri (Guilford) TF 2:04 Cadence DuBois (Lisle)

113 – Slater Valley (Parkview/Albany) MD 12-4 Kristian Gersch (Richmond-Burton)

120 – Alexander Ferari (Lisle) D 12-5 Clayton Madula (Richmond-Burton)

126 – Gavin Ekberg (North Boone) D 15-9 Lucas Nelson (Polo)

132 – Connor Knop (West Carroll) F 4:32 Adam Drake (Lisle)

138 – Dane Sorensen (Richmond-Burton) D 7-0 Phineas Mullen (Polo)

144 – Emmett Nelson (Richmond-Burton) F 3:08 Johnny Consuegra-Lopez (Lisle)

150 – Donavyn Fernandez (Freeport) D 3-2 Broden VenHuizen (Fulton)

157 – Maddox Olson (Freeport) D 17-13 Cole Herrell (Savanna)

165 – Brady Brewick (Genoa-Kingston) F 1:33 Dominick Dickens (Richmond-Burton)

175 – Mason Kuebel (Fulton) D 5-3 Xander Gleissner (Genoa-Kingston)

190 – Sam Schwengels (Parkview/Albany) F 5:41 Karlondo Dubois (Jefferson)

215 – Wesley Egan (Parkview/Albany) F 1:40 Landen Elder (Oregon)

285 – Colin Kraus (Richmond-Burton) F 2:49 Caleb Reymer (Erie)

Third-place results:

106 – Amair Johnson (Jefferson) F 2:17 George Longfield-Loftis (Alden-Hebron)

113 – Landon Ege (Oregon) F 2:14 Nicholas DuBois (Lisle)

120 – Ethan Foster (Durand) F 1:15 Josh Seagren (Guilford)

126 – Danny Finley (Parkview/Albany) Inj. Shayden McNew (Genoa-Kingston)

132 – Jacob Gibson (Erie) D 5-0 Jaidyn McKinney (Polo)

138 – Wiley Blasdell (Fulton) F 3:59 Jayden Berry (Oregon)

144 – Chase Bremmer (Polo) F 3:08 Aiden Jepson (Erie)

150 – Ethan Mowry (Oregon) D 11-8 Draven Zier (Polo)

157 – Victor Bonnell (Erie) F 3:40 Leyton Kenney (Polo)

165 – Kyle Clem (Freeport) F 1:36 Maysen Smith (North Boone)

175 – Andrew Young (Oregon) F 1:56 Dylan Falasca (Richmond-Burton)

190 – Quentin Berry (Oregon) F 0:31 Ja’Vani Torres (Guilford)

215 – Breckin Campbell (Richmond-Burton) F 3:30 Dawson Holland (Freeport)

285 – Sami Odeh (Freeport) F 1:44 Christian Allen (North Boone)

Final team scores: 1. Richmond-Burton (200) 2. Freeport (160) 3. Oregon (128) 4. Lisle (112) 5. Erie (107) 6. Fulton (106.5) 7. Parkview/Albany WI (104.5) 8. Polo (92.5) 9. Guilford (84.5) 10. Genoa-Kingston (73) 11. North Boone (62) 12. Jefferson (49) 12. West Carroll (49) 14. Galena (45) 15. Durand (30) 16. Alden-Hebron (18) 17. Dakota (0)