Scouting DuPage County and Fox Valley girls wrestling

Pace, precision, power, potency, pride in her program — Sydney Perry had it all in abundance during a brilliant career at Batavia where she won four straight girls wrestling state titles.

Perry has moved on to North Central College, so next in line are several top flight wrestlers who have already made their mark on the scene, and will look to continue to do so.

Senior Gabby Gomez (Glenbard North) has dominated at every weight the Panthers star has been at, including last season when she won her third consecutive state title to run her career record to a perfect 83-0.

Gomez, No. 4 in the latest national poll at 115 pounds, has set countless program records, and will wrestle in college at nationally ranked McKendree University.

The affable senior is joined by Fargo qualifier, DuKane champion and sectional qualifier, junior Keegan Edwards (28-9), as well as Asreillas Wallace, who earned 17 wins last season.

Angelina Gochis capped a marvelous rookie season with a state championship at 105 pounds to give Kaneland its first girls title in program history, and the first in the sport since 2013 when Dan Goress won at 145.

Gochis (47-5) was the lone freshman in her 105-pound bracket, which included the sensational duo of Janiah Slaughter (Huntley, 29-3) and Nadiia Shymkiv (Glenbard East, 22-1) who finished second and third, respectively. They will be back this season as well.

During her run to a state title, Gochis would demolish the field at both regionals and sectionals with several pins and tech-falls before outscoring the competition at state 37-7.

"Angelina worked even harder during the offseason to be better, and her success sparked interest in our school and community," said coach Josh West, who will welcome back most of his starting lineup.

Gochis is not the only weapon in the Knights arsenal with the terrific senior duo of Brooklyn Sheaffer (125/130, 16-5) and Dyani Torres (140, 39-10) more than capable of competing for a state medal.

The aforementioned Slaughter together with her two-sport star teammate Aubrie Rohrbacher have been the driving force in a Huntley program that was 11-3-0 on the year, with five sectional qualifiers and two state place winners.

"(To) watch both Aubrie and Janiah continue to grow after their awesome state runs last year is exciting. They both have set high goals, and it's their work rate and strong commitment to what it takes to reach those goals is what sets them apart," said Red Raiders coach Gannon Kosowski.

"We have a great room filled with girls who come in ready to work,“ Rohrbacher said. ”And with coach Kosowski, who's all about technique, staying fit and in shape, and just reps, reps, reps, we've all been able to get better quicker."

"Janiah and I came up with an idea of Motivation Monday,“ Rohrbacher continued. ”We bring that into the room at the start of each week (to) remind everyone to work hard as we share the goals we've all set."

After qualifying as a freshmen with a 30-7 record, Rohrbacher finished third overall at 135 pounds when she put together a magnificent performance in the back-draw when she overwhelmed a quartet of rivals to earn her spot on the podium.

"I learned a lot from my first time at state. You realize how difficult your state bracket (is) and how hard you'll need to work to get back here and have success," said Rohrbacher, who finished 45-5 a year ago.

That the Red Raiders junior has enjoyed success thus far is a testament to just how good of an athlete she is.

"I don't really spend much time at all on the mats because of the sport of lacrosse," said Rohrbacher.

All throughout the offseason, and even before the start of the wrestling campaign, Rohrbacher is on the road with her club team to compete in tournaments all around the country.

One week before Huntley’s opener, Rohrbacher and her Triumph National club mates traveled to Boca Raton, Fla., for a tournament.

Rohrbacher also plays for her lacrosse team at Huntley which lost in sectionals last spring to Downers Grove co-op.

"Lacrosse has really given me the type of competitive edge needed, even in wrestling, and it has helped me so much with my conditioning, speed, quickness, strength, and has just helped me get bigger and stronger," said Rohrbacher, who was named New Balance Midwest All-American for 2024.

"We're fortunate to have two great wrestlers like Janiah and Aubrie to help in the growth of our program, but there are some really talented girls in our conference, including Burlington Central and McHenry," said Kosowski.

Victoria Macias and Ryann Miller give Burlington Central a potent one-two punch in the Rockets lineup.

Macias, who will pass 100 career victories early on, is a three-time state medal winner, while Miller in her rookie season earned fifth place at 170 pounds with a sparkling 36-5 record.

Dundee-Crown senior Diamond Rodriguez (28-5) is a returning regional champion, who fell one win short of reaching her first appearance at state.

"Diamond had a great offseason, so we're all looking forward to seeing what kind of season she will have for us," said coach Tim Hayes.

Bartlett coach Matt Pancamo can boast of his terrific twosome of Emma Engels (115) and Lilly White (125). They were both state medal winners a year ago, with Engels already having a state championship (2023) in her trophy case.

"We lost to graduation our three-time state qualifier, and two-time conference champ Angie Carpintaro, but this is easily the best group we've had since the start of the sport," said Pancamo.

Engels and White were on the national tournament circuit during the offseason, Engels a qualifier at Fargo, as was Batavia junior Lily Enos, who in August claimed a national freestyle championship also in Fargo.

Enos, third a year ago at state at 100 pounds, finished with a dazzling 42-11 record, and now is 86-24 in her first two seasons at Batavia.

West Aurora’s Kameya Young, just as Lily Enos, will be considered favorites to be on the guest list of the Grand March come late February in Bloomington.

The senior was second a year ago at 100 pounds behind Alycia Perez (Glenbard West, 35-0) who has moved on to wrestle at Indian Hills Community College in Iowa.

"We will miss our three-time state qualifier, and 2023 state medalist Ionicca Rivera who graduated, but we have all but three of our starters back, including Kameya, who will lead the way for us," said coach Charles Graves.

The Blackhawks were 10-3-0 last season, with tournament titles at both Minooka and Maine East.

Montini Catholic senior Kat Bell (25-7) made history when she became the first to win a state medal for the Broncos girls program last February with a sixth-place finish.

The two-time state qualifier was fourth at USA Nationals last spring.

With one half dozen back in his lineup, Brian Hastings looks to watch his club from Fenton rise in the standings in the Upstate Eight Conference and through the postseason.

Hastings welcomes back conference champs Yannel Perez and Ariana Solideo as well as junior and Fargo qualifier Giselle Castillo, 20-4 at 125 last season.

Naperville Central coach Rob Porter has six of his seven back from his regional starting lineup, including the trio of Gracie Meluch (125), Ellen Purl (130) and Dezi Azar (130) who advanced to sectionals.

"We have a dedicated group of girls in our room, who have a lot of potential, so the goal is to get as many as we can downstate this year," said the Hall-of-Famer Porter, a 1989 state champion himself at Mahomet-Seymour.