Boys wrestling: Scouting the 2025-26 Cook and Lake County season

It was a historic season of wrestling around Cook and Lake County last season to say the least.

The dynamic duo of Caleb Noble (44-2) and Aaron Stewart (43-2) from Warren each lifted individual state championship trophies, and now find themselves atop the preseason polls in their respective weight divisions as they both chase a third consecutive state title.

Both return, along with the No. 2 rated Royce Lopez (165) and a recent transfer addition, Ilya Dvoryannikov (175) from Vernon Hills, who brings with him a pair of 2A state medals to give the Blue Devils a lethal attack with over 150 combined victories.

Fremd graduated Evan Gosz and will try to fill it with No. 9 Drew Fifield (36-7, 138), sixth a year ago at state, and No. 4 Lucas Nance (190) and his nearly 40 wins.

The memorable stories from last season continue when it comes to Hersey. The Huskies completed their postseason treble by winning a MSL, regional, and sectional title before it ran into eventual state champion Marmion Academy in their Class 3A dual-team state semifinal.

Undaunted, the Huskies would go to earn their first team state trophy (fourth) in program history, and will now lead the newly realigned MSL division that features perennial strong holds Barrington, Fremd, Schaumburg, and Class 2A Wheeling.

"This is a very deep crew, with a possibility of being a really good team when it all counts in the month of February," said coach Joe Rupslauk, who lost five state qualifiers, including his marvelous captain, Maksim Mukhamedaliyev, a three-time state medalist, now wrestling at the University of Chicago.

Among the five returning sectional qualifiers, Rupslauk added No. 3 Sasha Havrylkiv (34-4, 126) who as a freshman last season at Buffalo Grove won a fourth place state medal.

There was a time that both Grant and Wheeling dominated the wrestling landscape on a yearly basis.

With the likes of Jimmy Kennedy, Lee Munster, John Dineen, Daniel Dennis and countless others, the Bulldogs faithful watched their heroes take home shopping carts full of individual and tournament silverware under the watchful eye of coach of Ryan Geist.

Wheeling also enjoyed an unforgettable run with the help of Luke Smith, Max Nowry, Jamie Smith, Chris Johnson, Dan Vargas, and a host of others with longtime coach Neil Weiner in charge.

Both clubs went through a difficult stretch, but now are back, and ready to make their collective statements -- Grant in 3A, Wheeling at 2A.

The Bulldogs (18-7-0) overwhelmed the field at the Lake County Invite to collect their first conference title since 2014, then two weeks later beat a high profile field to earn a regional crown to advance into dual-team sectionals.

"These are exciting times for Grant wrestling, but the guys know there's always work to do, and through all of their off-season training and competitions they have set high goals for this team," said coach Mark Jolcover.

"Our main focus when I took over was to improve the culture around the room, and the drive for excellence, both academically and in the room because they go hand-in-hand. We have a great coaching staff all throughout our program, our kids program is growing, we've made our nonconference and tournament schedule as difficult as we can, but most importantly, we are most fortunate to have two incredible wrestlers, and leaders in Vince Jasinski and Erik Rodriguez."

Rodriguez, 51-7 a year ago when he earned a third place state medal, is No. 3 at 138 pounds. Jasinski (47-8) was fourth at state last year, and has been anointed No. 2 at 144 pounds, just behind reigning state champion Kameron Luif from Montini Catholic.

"It's a great time to be a part of Grant wrestling. We compete for each other (first) and that, along with our coaching staff, has helped shift the culture in our room where we know the work never ends if we expect to reach the goals we have set for the team, and ourselves," said Jasinski.

The senior was unstoppable last weekend at the 34th Barrington Pettyman-Moore-Dunn Invite at Barrington where his three pins, one tech-fall, and major decision victory in his final landed him atop the podium.

Rodriguez was second, and Casey Gipson, whom Jolcover expects big things of this season, dominated at 190 en route to his tournament crown.

"I spent a lot of time during the off-season on fine tuning my technique, but mentally, I am so much stronger than ever," added Jasinski, who earned All-American honors over the summer in freestyle at Fargo.

The Bulldogs, who were second at Barrington, enter the season at No. 15 in the state polls, just ahead of Stevenson (No. 17) who won the NSC last season.

Coach Shane Cook returns eight from a year ago, four of which were state qualifiers: Shawn Kogan (132) for the second time, Daniel Berdich (113), Marcelo Cantu (126), and Mikey Polyakov at 138.

"We have a lot of experienced guys back, and several new faces to watch, but our real strength is our camaraderie and support for one another," said Cook, whose club was 15-1 last season.

Libertyville lost its four-year star and captain Caleb Baczek, now playing football at Valparaiso, while Mundelein must replace its two-time state medal winner, Asai Hernandez.

Wheeling is the No. 15 team in Class 2A, and now features a veteran lineup led by Frankie Katz (113), David Perez (120), John Scanlon (157), Nicholas Montesinos (165) and heavyweight Pablo Morales.

"There has been a lot of different factors that have helped turn our program around. First and foremost is the commitment of our student-athletes and their families," said coach Charlie Curran, whose club was 17-4 a year ago.

"We've had a successful culture shift with our guys coming to practice focused, ready to go and looking to improve, and the commitment to off-season training has increased dramatically. Our confidence is way up, we have a coaching that works hard to stay connected with the guys, as it's important they all know that we care about them as young men, and their lives outside of the school.

"I feel that has gone a long way in rebuilding a once proud wrestling program, and that regional title last year was a big signal that we're all doing the right things."

"(So) many of us trained during the off-season at the Cory Clark Wrestling Club and that, along with a lot of lifting and extra training has helped set the standards high for Wheeling," said Montesinos. "The bar is now set higher than ever for us, and the experience gained from winning a regional team championship, and competing in a dual-team sectional, has made all of us want more this season."

The MSL will once again be one to keep an eye on all year long, with the potential for plenty of hardware coming back from Champaign, and perhaps another team claiming a dual-team state trophy on the final weekend of the campaign.

From what others say around the league, Barrington might be the team to beat this winter.

The Broncos lost just one starter, and return five state qualifiers, all state ranked, including one state medal winner, No. 3 Caleb Pratt (120-126) from a team that won a regional championship.

"The guys put in a ton of work this off-season, and are ready to build upon what we accomplished last season, and there are many in our lineup who have aspirations to finish high on the podium at state," said coach Dan Keller.

Pratt, sixth at state last season, was a Fargo national champ in Greco, and fifth overall in freestyle.

Schaumburg (22-5) won its third consecutive regional title and advanced to its first dual-team state tournament appearance, thanks in part to its marvelous four-year stars Brady Phelps and Callen Kirchner.

"When you lost two of the best ever in our room, it presents some obvious concerns, but this group likes to compete, and my hope is those back with us will ride the momentum of our Elite 8 appearance," said coach Mike Levanti.

Phelps, a four-time state medal winner and 2025 state runner-up, combined with Kirchner for nearly 300 career victories.

Conant returns 10 starters, including senior state qualifier Luis Flores.

Hoffman Estates and Rolling Meadows have state qualifiers Dmytro Patykovskyi (21-8, 157) and John Rappa (41-7, 190), both state ranked as well.

Elk Grove has been hit hard by graduation during the last couple of seasons, this time with heavyweight Mikey Milovich (29-9), twice a state qualifier who now wrestles at Elmhurst University.

Prospect lost plenty through graduation, so it will lean on its two best: Bennett Westfalen (39-14) and state qualifier Joe Quick.

Maine West was the CSL North Division champions in 2025. Despite losing five seniors from his 16-8 club, coach Demetrios Vrettos likes what he sees with five returning starters and a trio of sectional qualifiers back.

"We have five starters back with 10-plus victories, so our goal is to repeat as North Division champs to prove to all it wasn't a fluke," said Vrettos.

In addition to the aforementioned club from Wheeling, it appears St. Viator, who has endured its struggles of late, might be ready to make an imprint on the competition in Class 2A.

"(This) should be our best lineup in St. Viator history, and one that will look to end a 40-year individual state title drought since Paul Ducato won it all in 1985," said Lions coach Mike Schneider.

The 2023 state champion while at Prospect, Jaxon Penovich, has landed in the Lions room this season, and is the No. 2 man at 215 behind two-time state champion Jimmy Mastny of Marian Central Catholic.

Schneider also welcomes TJ Emery (Hersey) and heavyweight Wynn Phillippi, twice a Nevada state champion. Back is the trio of Daniel Chacia (144), Caleb Jendras (165) and Colton Schneider (215) who was second at the Greco-Roman state championships.

Class 2A starts and begins in Lake County with Grayslake Central junior Vince DeMarco (47-3), state runner-up a year ago, fourth in 2024, junior national champion over the summer, and No. 1 at 113 pounds ahead of the new season.

"Vince has worked so hard during the off-season, and it will great to watch the DeMarco brothers (Dom, 106) compete against the top wrestlers in the state," said coach Matt Joseph.

"(With) and a lot of our top guys back, including Warren Nash (2025 state qualifier) and a solid lineup from low to the middle weights, we're all very excited to see where we are (here) at the start of the season."

Wilbur Borrero, who has been a fixture at Antioch, stepped down. Former Jacobs star John Ridle takes over for the Hall of Fame coach who has enjoyed unrivaled success.

"Coming off a successful season from a year ago, this team has all the pieces to take another step forward," said Ridle.

The Sequoits sent six downstate last season and return four state medals, including fourth place honors for Chase Nobiling (144, 44-10) and Dominic Garcia (157, 35-7) who are both rated No. 4 in the state currently.

Heavyweight Owen Shea (41-10) is a two-time state qualifier, and is joined by yet another state qualifier in Marcus Macias (165).

Carmel celebrated its first state medal since 2019 when current assistant, Riley Palm, won his second straight state title.

Senior David Farjado was sixth a year ago at 150, and his departure, along with Matt Lucansky (three-time sectional qualifier), leaves Tony Hinojosa (157, two-time state qualifier) as the one to watch.

Vernon Hills lost one of the best in the state at his weight with Ilya Dvoryannikov, who has since moved on to Warren.

"We have just about the exact same team from a year ago, with a lot of experienced wrestlers back, and poised to hit the ground running from the day one," said coach Jesse Wolter.

The Cougars are led by sophomore Charles Dominguez (113) and junior Timur Arzumanov (190) both of whom are coming off standout seasons according to Wolter, who said his club is highly motivated after narrowly missing a second straight CSL title.