Girls wrestling: St. Viator’s Nold, Schaumburg’s Olorunfemi place second at state meet

BLOOMINGTON — As girls wrestling continues to grow by leaps and bounds, so does the level of talent around the state.

The same can be said of the talent in the suburbs, with dozens of wrestlers bringing home state medals, some with state championship trophies as well.

St. Viator’s Charlotte Nold (20-2), Leyden’s Zoe Dodgers (32-1) and Schaumburg senior Sharon Olorunfemi (41-7) all found a way to navigate through some terrific state brackets to reach the state finals Saturday afternoon at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.

All three fell just short, but each will bring plenty of terrific memories back with them to share.

Nold, who defeated Glenbard East’s Nadii Shymkiv (39-3) in overtime at sectionals two weeks ago, dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to Shymkiv in their 105-pound final. Shymkiv is a three-time state medal winner.

“Charlotte is a brave, courageous, gritty and tremendous wrestler, who has had to overcome a variety of health issue obstacles this season. But even in defeat, it's been a great first year for her,” said Lions coach Mark Miedona.

Dodgers (19 pins) sustained her first loss of the season to Roxana’s Chloe Skiles (31-0) in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 110-pound final.

“At the start of the postseason, my goal was to finish higher than my fifth-place medal a year ago, so it's back to work starting tomorrow to clean a few little things up and get ready for the offseason,” Dodgers said.

Olorunfemi ran into Lockport’s Claudia Heeney (43-3) in their 135-pound final.

“Sharon has come on really strong here at the end of the season, so I am really happy and proud of her accomplishment, especially this weekend,” Gruszka said of Olorunfemi, who finishes with 29 pins on the season.

Gruszka will say goodbye to his sensational four-year star Nadia Razzak (47-3), who was at or near the top of the state polls all season long. Razzak, who nearly reached 150 varsity victories, finished third overall at 190 pounds.

“What can you say about Nadia, except she is a one-of-a-kind wrestler and student-athlete and someone who will be hard to replace,” Gruszka said.

Razzak, is one of three four-year stars who have produced some amazing wrestling, beginning with Jasmine Zavaleta (40-9), fifth overall at 130 pounds, and Riley Kongkaeow (22-6), who earned her second straight sixth-place state medal.

“Wrestling has been an unbelievable experience for me and one that I will never forget,” said Zavaleta, who leaves the Conant program with 35 pins this season, 115 victories, and a program-best 96 pins.

Kongkaeow, who missed nearly half of the season to an injury, leaves with 122 varsity victories.

Libertyville junior Mary Minogue (16-3) became a two-time state place winner following her run to a third-place finish at 125 pounds.

“We all want to be wrestling for a state title on Saturday night, but even though I wasn't able to get myself into the final, I can honestly say that I left it all out there this weekend (so) my third-place finish is one that I am proud of,” Minogue said.

Elk Grove senior Valeria Pesantes (26-5) advanced into the 110-pound semifinal after her stunning pin over No. 3 Blair Grennan of Sterling Newman Catholic, then ran into eventual state champion Chloe Skiles.

The Grens star fought back to earn the first state medal for her program when she brought took fourth place.

“I just love this sport. It's been so much fun to be a part of, and I hope my success will help our program grow,” Pesantes said.

Stevenson senior Karina Lojowski (40-4) took third at 135 pounds, giving the Patriots their third state medal, first since 2023.

“I had lost twice this season to (Zabby) Badru (of Lane Tech), so it felt to be able to avenge both of those losses here today in my blood-round match and to guarantee a state medal,” Lojowski said.

Warren’s Tyanna Jackson (44-4) and Sasha Johnson (41-12) from Antioch both reached the 140-pound semifinals but were met by the eventual state champion and runner-up, sending the two back into wrestleback action.

Once there, Jackson defeat Johnson for the third time in a row to claim fifth place.

In the team race, Hampshire began the day in front of the field and never let go of its lead en route to 19.5-point advantage over runner-up Lockport.

The Porters finish with 65.5 points, Oak Forest was next with 49.0, followed by Roxana’s 45.5 and Schaumburg with 42.0.

After watching Bartlett star Lilly White take a firm grip on the big trophy at both regionals and sectionals, Glenbard North senior Keagan Edwards took control.

The record-setting Edwards (53-4) defeated favored Sydney Cannon of Mt. Zion (43-2) to set the tone for her next two days, then proceed to beat rival Catherine Diehl of Wheaton Academy (40-5) in her semifinal before recording a 7-0 victory over White (39-4).

“It's kind of an unbelievable feeling right now,” Edwards said. “This is obviously what we all work for, but it is my senior year, and I didn't have even win one state medal until today.”

Edwards, who lost to White (4-0) in her sectional final at Schaumburg two weeks ago, went ahead good in the waning moments of the first period with a takedown.

After an escape to increase her advantage to 4-0, Edwards broke things open with a nicely played takedown to make it 7-0, and there it would stay until the final whistle.

Edwards leaves the Panthers with 33 pins this season, giving her 94 in her career, plus a program-best 133 victories, and the fourth star title to go along with the three that Gabby Gomez had previously collected.

“It's been great being a part of the room at Glenbard North, the energy is great, my teammates, and coaching staff, so many great memories.”