Wrestling roundup: Naperville Central 2nd, Libertyville 4th at 65th Mudge-McMorrow invite

It was another busy weekend of wrestling featuring one of the longest running tournaments in Illinois.

Prospect’s 65th Mudge-McMorrow Invite went to Class 3A power Joliet Catholic Academy who never let any of its 15 rivals get close inside the Jean Walker Fieldhouse, cruising to a near 90-point victory.

The No. 4 rated Hilltoppers earned 264 points, with second place Naperville Central grabbing 186 points.

Third place went to Class 1A power Dixon (157) with Libertyville (124) and tourney host Prosect (123) fifth.

Naperville Central watched Jacob Cochran (144, 14-1) use a marvelous near-fall to defeat Charlie Connors (Dixon) 4-2, while his teammate Paul Peradotti (13-1) recorded a 13-1 major decision in the 190-pound final.

"I have one more chance to make it onto the podium at state, so that is the plan this season," said the two-sport (football) star.

Cochran would ensure his victory when his third period ride dashed the hopes of Connors, who lost his first of the season.

Cochran, No. 9 in the most recent state polls, is a 2025 state qualifier.

Grayslake Central had two individual champions on the day. No. 2 ranked and 2025 state runner-up Vince DeMarco (113) and senior Warren Nash (15), who is now 13-2 following his 11-1 major decision triumph over Preston Richards of Dixon.

"Making to state last year provided the motivation to work hard during the offseason in order to make a run at a state medal," said Nash.

York senior, No. 10 Jackson Hanselman (16-2), was unstoppable as he pinned his way to a title at 165-pounds.

Hanselman, who needed just under three and a half minutes to win, earlier in the year finished second at the high profile Moore-Pettyman-Dunn tournament.

"I spend a lot of time working on my offense and attack during the offseason," said Hanselman, who will attend Johns Hopkins in the fall.

Addison Trail’s Nikolas Duarte (7-0) is off to a wonderful start one year after his fourth place finish last season in Champaign.

"Nickolas has improved by leaps and bounds since last year, and he has become a terrific leader for us both in and out of the room," said Addison Trail coach Mike Rosencraft of his sophomore, No. 5 in the state at 113.

Hampshire sophomore Knox Homola is quickly making a name for himself in the heavyweight division after he pinned his way to his first major title of the season.

"I did a lot of lifting and strength training in the offseason to get stronger, but I feel like (it's) my quickness that allows me to compete with guys who are much heavier than me," said Homola (16-2) who hit the scales at 203 pounds Saturday.

Rex Lewis invite: St. Patrick, with five state ranked men in its starting lineup, including 2025 state runner-up Danny Goodwin, had far too much firepower for the rest of the field in Buffalo Grove Saturday.

The Shamrocks amassed 213.5 overall points, 42 more than second place Schaumburg with Lake Park (146.5) third.

Palatine (127) and the host Bison (125.5) would round out the top five.

Goodwin (18-0) defeated rising star from Buffalo Grove, Mykola Shamray (9-1), in a scintillating 5-3 decision in the 120-pound final.

Despite the Shamrocks’ dominance, the area would fare just fine.

Elk Grove freshman Maurizio Castro won at 106 pounds, as did Lake Park senior Nicholas Merola, who is now 7-0 following his 13-4 major decision over Jordan Mokhtarian (Glenbrook North) in their 144-pound final.

"It's just one day and one match at a time for me," said Merola, twice a state qualifier.

Merola’s teammate, Antonin Svoboda, was a 7-0 winner in his 215-pound final against Dom Augustyniak from Schaumburg, who would later celebrate the title run of his teammate Chris Arciniega-Sanch at 285 pounds.

Vernon Hills junior Jacob Becker ran his record to a dazzling 12-2 after his 15-12 overtime thriller over Henry Hafner (Glenbrook North) to win at 165 pounds.

Ted DeRousse invite: Stevenson carried its nearly day-long lead all the way to the team championship at the 22-team Invite held at the Lake Community field house.

The Patriots would advance five into the finals with four winning: Daniel Bedich (113, 12-1), Marcelo Cantu (126), Mikey Polyakov (138, 13-4) and Philip Boyko (175, 14-3).

The effort from this quartet would help the Patriots outscore second place Sandburg by the slim margin of 404.5-400 with Grant (325) third despite missing its two best men: Vince Jasinski and Erik Rodriguez, both at the prestigious Ironman Tournament in Cuyahoga, Ohio.

Grant sophomore Jayce Glauser (11-1) won in overtime (4-1) over Kannon Judycki (IC Catholic Prep), sixth a year ago at state, for the 120-pound final.

The Knights, the No. 1 team in class 2A, sent 10 of its starters to the Ironman, including the reigning state champion duo of Max Cumbee and Brody Kelly.

Chase Nobiling (Antioch), fourth a year ago at state, was the 144-pound champion, while his teammate Dominic Garcia claimed an individual title at 150 pounds.

Garcia finished fourth at state in 2025.

John Rappa from Rolling Meadows defeated Casey Gipson (Grant) in the 190-pound final, while Dundee-Crown senior Teigan Moreno recorded a pin at 3:49 to win at 215.

Girls wrestling: Conant won the second Megoe (Emiliano) Rodriguez invite at host Maine East with 246 points.

Maine East (233) was second and Huntley (216.5) third.

The tourney champs would cheer individual titles from Giselle Varelas Gaytan (115) and Susan Bilyal at 155, with the dynamic duo of Janiah Slaughter (100) and two-time state medalist Aubrie Rohrbacher (120) also lifting the big trophy.

Teammate Isabelle Singer was first at 130 pounds.

Round Lake senior Riley Kongkaeow won her for the second consecutive year at 105, with Sophia Fortis (Maine South) adding her title at 235.