By: Jeremy Mack
This is for entertainment purposes only. As always, best of luck to everyone.
74 lbs
Carter Noonan from Ottawa (West Sectional) and Reese Babcock of St Charles (West Chicago Sectional).
These two are the favorites heading into the state series. Both met in the finals two years ago and both are national level kids who are very familiar with each other. I don’t see either of them having any close matches until they meet up at the state tournament.
79 lbs
While this weight may have some upsets in Rockford, there are three kids I believe who are the ones to watch.
The first two are both from the Central Chicago Sectional, Crue Hatchell from Southside Outlaws and Liam Kissane from Tinley Park. They met at regionals last week where Hatchell won by 1 score.
Then you have Cam Whitehead from Albers, out of the North Sectional. Cam is definitely one of the favorites to win state at 79 lbs.
84 lbs
You have to start the conversation off at 84 lbs with Hogan Rice from St Charles. I believe Hogan is the clear favorite to win the state at this weight. He’s a 2x state finalist only losing to Erik Klichurov, who this year is at 90 lbs.
Hogan is wrestling out of the West Chicago Sectional, and one threat he will face this weekend is Rocco Valvano from Tribe wc.
This weight class is deeper this season than in years past. Another matchup to watch out for is in the Central Sectional between Pedro Rangel from Storm and Zayden Mansfield from Unity. Both are very solid wrestlers that will be on opposite sides of the bracket at state.
Then you have Brandon Kalman from Tinley Park coming out of the Central Chicago Sectional, who’s the younger brother of Oscar. Brandon has been wrestling very solid all year. He’s definitely not one to sleep on.
One person who’s not as well known of a competitor is Carl Weidner from Combative Athletics out of the South Sectional. He can very well be the dark horse of the bracket.
Also, amongst the many threats in this weight class, are the Medinas. No relation to each other. You have Julian Medina of Bolingbrook Jr Raiders (South Chicago Sectional) and Lucas Medina from Arlington (North Chicago Sectional). Both Medinas have a unique style that in different ways are very good at setting traps.
Last but not least, you have Treyden Diduch from Albers repping the North Sectional. Treyden is no stranger to the podium and a very solid wrestler to watch for.
90 lbs
I’m gonna start this weight with Erik Klichurov of Cory Clarke wc out of the West Chicago Sectional. You have to start here because Erik is a 2x IKWF state champ and one of the front runners for this year’s tournament. Now until a week ago, I would’ve listed this bracket with Erik being the clear favorite, however, Colton Schultz from Callan out of the South Chicago Sectional decided to go 90 lbs as well.
These two, in my opinion, are at the top of the weight class and heavy favorites to win the bracket. However, that doesn’t mean that Cael Saldana from Toss Em Up out of the North Chicago Sectional won’t be well prepared by Coach Noble, who always has his kids ready this time of year.
Also, there are two teammates from NWO, out of the West Sectional, that will be gunning for the podium as well, Landon Near and Julian Hanson. Both very solid wrestlers with Landon being the better of the two.
Out of the south you have Michael McNamara from Edwardsville wc (South Sectional) and Weston Frazier of Storm wc (Central Sectional). Weston and Michael aren’t seen as often by most due to distance but neither should be distant from the podium come Rockford next weekend.
96 lbs
This is an interesting weight class. Unlike the previous weights mentioned, I think this weight is up for grabs. Two wrestlers to watch out for in the Central Chicago Sectional are Obadiah Willis from Beat The Streets, and Nathan Ortiz from Tinley Park. Both should make the podium this year and I believe Willis has a really good chance to win the bracket.
Another sectional with a strong duo coming out of it is the West Chicago Sectional. That will be represented by Carson West from St Charles wc and Nikolas Duarte from Cory Clark. They didn’t face each other at regionals so this will be an interesting matchup to follow this weekend.
The North Sectional has another strong duo, you have Leland Nelson from Richmond and Jack Benesh from Albers. I believe both will fly under the radar but neither should be overlooked.
103 lbs
You have to begin this weight with Eddie Woody. A very solid national level kid wrestling out of Edwardsville representing the South Sectional. I believe Eddie wins this bracket which will be discussed later, but here are some others to watch out for.
Brody Page from Yorkville (West Sectional) was last year’s IKWF state champ. He’s a very solid and smart wrestler that has great mat awareness.
From the South Chicago Sectional you have Kane Robles from Bolingbrook and Lucas Forsythe from Lincolnway. They met at regionals with Forsythe coming out on top. Prior to that, Kane had two convincing wins coming over the last month at senior duals and the qualifier. I was impressed by how improved Forsythe looked in this matchup.
Another Cory Clark wrestler I expect to have a good showing in Rockford next weekend is Santiago Trejo from the West Chicago Sectional. I think it was a very smart decision to go 103 this year.
Likewise, from the North Sectional, you have Dylan Knauss from ISI. Another solid wrestler that could make the podium.
From the North Chicago Sectional you have Kiernan Delaney of Toss Em Up. He’s a very strong wrestler that with the right draw can easily place next weekend.
It’s worth mentioning I expected Nikolas Dillalo to be a high placer here from Suplex wc. Not sure why he isn’t in the bracket.
110 lbs
This is a very deep weight class. The clear favorite is Aiden Mcclure from Suplex wc out of the North Chicago Sectional. His defense is his offense. I think most kids will struggle to score points on him. Your shooters will have the biggest disadvantage against him. He doesn’t wrestle locally so the first opponent who will get a chance at him is Reilen Hermsen, who is another solid wrestler from Toss Em Up. It will be very interesting to see what strategy they come with.
A kid who is most likely to be the biggest threat to this weight is Adam Glausser from Richmond wc, out of the North Sectional. I think if anyone was to upset Mcclure, Glausser could very well be that kid. Like I said this weight is extremely deep with a lot of potential placers.
Out of the Central Chicago Sectional, you have Ethan Hamilton from Harvey Twisters who was last year’s runner up, and Jonathan Fields from Mustangs. Hamilton, in my opinion, is the better of the two right now. From a style perspective, I’d like to see the matchup between Hamilton and Glausser. I think that would be a great match.
From the Central Sectional, you have Pedro Rangel from Storm and Zayden Mansfield from Unity. In what is a very deep bracket, both are having a solid season. They will get a crack at each other this weekend and neither of them will be an easy win for anyone next weekend.
Out of the South Chicago Sectional, you have another solid duo with Max Mandac from Lincolnway and Lincoln Mack from Bolingbrook. Lincoln Mack placed 3rd at state last year. What makes these two interesting is that their sectional also has two other solid wrestlers, beginning with fellow Bolingbrook wrestler and state qualifier Nolan Chrissie, along with Benjamin Howard from Frankfurt. Someone’s not making it to the state tournament next weekend. Out of the four, I think Mandac due to victories over the latter two and Lincoln with the victory at regionals over Mandac, will both have a very good chance to make it out and place.
A duo from the West Sectional is Landon Vincent from Blueline and Griffin Kellett from Lasalle Peru. Both are very talented wrestlers and both can hang with everyone on this list.
Last but not least, from Martinez wc, you have Isaiah Perez representing the West Chicago Sectional. While his resume may not be as some of the others mentioned, I think he will beat a few kids mentioned on this list.
118 lbs
I’m starting this list with Mason Swartz from Storm who will be representing the Central Sectional. I think he’s the one to beat at this weight.
In this bracket you also have Axel Rodriguez from Beat the Streets, who won state last year representing the Central Chicago Sectional.
From the North Sectional, you have a solid wrestler from ISI in Riqo Garcia.
From the West Sectional, they will be well represented by Max Moreno from Ottawa wc.
This list wouldn’t be accurate if it didn’t include Kai Enos from Batavia wc who will represent the West Chicago Sectional. I expect him to place top 4 in the bracket.
126 lbs
This is my favorite bracket. This is the one bracket you can make an argument for anyone mentioned to possibly win it. I personally think because of the depth of this bracket, the Outstanding Wrestler award should go to whoever wins this bracket.
This is easily the toughest bracket in the state starting with Jack Hanrahan from Arlington. He will be representing the north Chicago sectional. I think his style is going to give everyone problems in this bracket.
Out of the North Sectional you have Sawyer Valdez from Sycamore and Charlie Conners from Albers. Both are very solid. I think Valdez may be the stronger wrestler here but you can’t discount anyone from Albers. I’ll say it because it deserves to be said, it’s very impressive seeing what Alber has been doing with the kids up north.
Out of the south, you have Landon Weidler from Belleville. I’m guessing he was trying to figure out which is the better fit between 135 and 126. 126 is deeper but I think he made the right decision in dropping.
From the west, you have last year’s state champ Kane Dauber. I know he’s missed a large part of the season due to injury but I don’t think that will keep him from a great showing at state. Also from the west, you have Vincent Konecki wrestling out of Yorkville. Dauber is the better of the two but Konecki has had a great year.
South Chicago will have Andrew Pellicci from Lincolnway. It was a great move on his part to work his way down to 126. I think that is a better weight for him.
Another kid who doesn’t wrestle locally but is a very solid wrestler is Devin Ehler from Storm out of the Central Sectional. He’s a very good wrestler. I thought he’d go 118 but I think he’s good enough to hang with everyone at 126 as well.
One name I’m throwing out there who won’t win the bracket but could be a potential placer from the West Chicago Sectional, out of Martinez, is Daniel Skura.
135 lbs
I don’t think this bracket is very deep. I think there are three kids who stand out.
Aiden Arnett from Izzy out of the North Chicago Sectional, Chase Krantz from Assumption out of the West, and Dawson Mack from Bolingbrook out of the South Chicago Sectional.
Krantz and Arnett have never faced each other. Dawson and Chase are 1-1. Aiden and Dawson have seen each other plenty of times going back and forth with all matches decided by one score with Aiden winning the last matchup at state last year. All three have very different styles.
144 lbs
This is the year Big Jim Mastny will get it right. From Alber athletics representing the North, you have who I think is a strong favorite in Brenden Nardin. Brenden has looked great all year. Hard to see anyone beating him in the field but that doesn’t mean there aren’t strong competitors.
From the Central Chicago Sectional, you have Otis Davis from Harvey Twisters. Davis is a great wrestler coming from a great program. He will be a high placer at the state tournament.
Out of the South Chicago Sectional you have Luke Banas from demolition and Austin Bielski from Bolingbrook. I don’t believe these two have ever met but they will this weekend at sectionals.
Davis and Banas are very familiar with each other and always a great match between them.
From Yorkville representing the west, you have Max Delgado. Max was last year’s state finalist who put it all together at the right time. He will have to do the same this year after losing to a couple kids mentioned already.
From the West Chicago Sectional, another Cory Clarke wrestler, you have JT Hill. Very good wrestler many may not be aware of. He will be a tough match for everyone.
154 lbs
In my opinion this is a three horse race. Three kids all of which are friends (until they meet at state). From the Central Chicago Sectional you have Brayden Mckay, a prior state champ. Then you have Ameer Khalil from Bolingbrook and Jasper Harper from Demolition. Harper I believe has wins over the other two this year. All 3 are very good wrestlers who all have a chance to win. Harper and Khalil will get to face each other at South Chicago Sectionals this weekend.
164 lbs
From Fox Lake wc repping the North Chicago Sectional, you have Xavier Arroyo. Him along with Aiden Rodriguez I think make the strongest argument of winning state this year.
Brock Janezcko from Yorkville out of the west will challenge as well. Also at this weight, you have Brian Goggin from Panther wc out of the Central Chicago Sectional. Goggin won state last year as a novice, and I think he competed near 154 lbs throughout the year and him going 164 will let him place but I don’t believe he will threaten the others mentioned.
176 lbs
Starting this weight with 2x IKWF state champ Isaac Barrientos from Izzy out of the North Chicago Sectional. I think he’s too strong for everyone in this bracket.
One kid I think will push him a little bit is Eli Miller out of Granite City from the South Sectional. Eli is a very good wrestler that most kids up north seldom see. Another strong wrestler from the south is Luis Rugoni from Edwardsville. I definitely give the advantage to Miller.
Ending this list from the South Chicago Sectional is Xavier Pratt from crosstown spartan elite.
188 lbs
In my opinion, this weight has two kids that stand out the most. That’s Daniel Jackson from Southern IL from the south and Max Purdy from Assumption coming from the west. Hopefully these two are on opposite sides of the state bracket because I believe they are the top two.
215 lbs
Here we have from the north, Knox Homola from riot room and Mathew Lowe from Edwardsville representing the south. There may be others who push these two but these two stand out.
I was hoping to see Cameron Casey from Mascoutah here along with Shane Falasca. Both went to IESA this season. I would’ve had those two as the favorites along with these two.
Hwt
I’m going simply with Donovan Olmstead from Southern IL out of the south as the favorite. A kid out of the north I like to challenge him is Cllin Hughes from Sycamore. I think Olmstead walks away as the champ but this will all be discussed later.
