By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA Much as the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association’s Boys Freshman/Sophomore State Championships has served as a second-chance for boys who missed out on qualifying for the IHSA Individual Finals for nearly three decades, the IWCOA Girls Open Championships now has a similar role after being a catalyst for the foundation for the young sport’s IHSA Individual Finals series, which capped its third season with many significant accomplishments as well as a tremendous amount of enthusiasm due to the explosive early growth of the sport. A total of 30 ..read more

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA In a familiar script that has played out often throughout the years, individuals who fell a bit short of trips to the IHSA Individuals Finals again got the chance to finish on a better note when they competed in the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association’s Freshman/Sophomore State Championships at the Bank of Springfield Center in Springfield. A total of 479 individuals advanced to the Finals of the 28th annual tournament, and when the two days of competition were complete, there were champions from 15 different schools. Eleven of the title winners ..read more

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA  Angelina Cassioppi, Cadence Diduch, Sydney Perry, Gabby Gomez. In that order, history was made at the third IHSA Girls Individual State Finals at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington as those four became the first-ever three-time IHSA champions. While Batavia senior Sydney Perry closed out a perfect 41-0 season with a win by technical fall in 5:00 over Goreville senior Alivia Ming in the 145 finals two matches after Freeport senior Cadence Diduch concluded an unbeaten 29-0 campaign with a 10-1 major decision over Cumberland sophomore Natalie Beaumont at ..read more

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA One team was hoping to capture its first IHSA Dual Team championship while the other sought to follow up on its first state title in the sport with another one. A coaching staff that took over last season looked to show that they were capable of producing a championship team in two years while a veteran staff wanted to add another first-place trophy to its large collection that’s been boosted by seven top-three finishes in the last nine years that tournament has taken place. And one team wanted to demonstrate that an earlier clash between the two was no flu ..read more

By Gary Larsen Evanston Sectional Championship match results: 95 – Sunny Aitzemkour (New Trier) over Aphrodite Gineris (Maine South) (F 1:45) 100 – Lidia Basave (Proviso East) (Bye) 105 – Eliana Badeen (Maine East) (Bye) 110 – Lola Bianco (New Trier) over Victoria Rivera (Rickover Academy) (F 1:12 115 – Regina Jones (Proviso East) over Brianna Carbajal (Morton) (D 8-7) 120 – Giselle Castillo (Fenton) over Monica Garcia (Morton) (Inj. 3:00) 125 – Tierra Hardin (Proviso West) over Brithany Mondragon (Addison Trail) (F 3:48) 130 – Jaqueline Soon-Adan (Proviso West) over Paulette Olson (Rickover ..read more

Evanston Sectional Maine South led all schools with seven state qualifiers in Evanston, led by a trio of sectional champions in Brett Harman (113), Jake Colleran (132), and Caden Ljubenko (138). Evanston’s five state qualifiers were led by sectional champs Rodrigo Salinas (150) and Jeremy Marshall (285), and Glenbrook South’s five qualifiers were led by sectional champion Dominic Marino (157). Notre Dame also had three sectional champs in Ray Long (101), John Greifelt (120), and Sean Cook (215), and IC Catholic Prep had a pair of sectional champs in Martin Noth (175) and Anthony Sebastian (19 ..read more

By Mike Garofola for the IWCOA Since the 2009 season when the IHSA rebranded the dual team state series into a three-class affair, Mount Carmel has advanced four times into the final weekend of the season. The Caravan came home with a pair of state trophies, including a state title in 2022 and a second place finish in 2020 for coach Alex Tsirtsis. The Caravan lost a thriller a year ago to eventual state champion St. Charles East in its dual team state quarterfinal, but with 11 back from that team the chances to return to Bloomington appeared all but certain should good health follow the club ..read more

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOAThe 2024 IHSA Class 1A Individual State Finals will certainly be one to remember because of the great stories that played out during the three days of intense competition at the State Farm Center on the campus of the University of Illinois in Champaign.  There were two three-time champions who were four-time medalists in Auburn’s Joey Ruzic and Dakota’s Noah Wenzel and there was a two-time champion, three-time finalist and four-time medal winner in Benton’s Mason Tieffel. They each left a great legacy for their programs that will be the envy of future a ..read more

By Patrick Z. McGavin In a sport shaped by technique, form and style, the heavyweights exist in their own world. The life of the 285-pounder is often defined by math and science. Force plus mass creates its own internal dynamic. Washington sophomore Sean Thornton discovered his own rhythm and tempo, with his own peculiar sense of timing and opportunity. “I knew if I took him the distance, he wasn’t going with me,” Thornton said. “I’m good with my underhooks, and I like being in that position. He happened to go there, and I don’t think he knew I was good there. I was very comfortable.” His tak ..read more

By Gary Larsen for the IWCOA IWCOA regionals at Althoff Catholic and Springfield Southeast, feeding the Granite City Sectional on March 2 Althoff Catholic Regional Edwardsville led all schools with eight sectional qualifiers, led by regional champions KJ Jamison (132) and Braylon Hill-Lomax (215), while two other schools also had two regional champions apiece, in Belleville East’s Jackson Schadegg (101) and Eliot Dahm (157), and Murphysboro’s Paxton Pyatt (113) and Julien Tanner (285). Also winning regional titles were Cahokia’s Ja’Marcus Agnew (106), Waterloo’s Konnor Stephens (120), Mascout ..read more