The 2025-26 Herald Cup: No. 5 IC Catholic Prep
Editor’s note: Now that the 2025-26 high school sports year is over, it’s time to announce the top schools in the Herald Cup standings. We devised a points system based on team state finishes to measure which of the 80-plus high schools from the Daily Herald circulation area had the best athletic year. We’ll announce the top five small schools this week, one per day, with No. 5 today through No. 1 on Friday. The top five large schools will be revealed next week.
Long known for the success of its football program, IC Catholic Prep showed during the 2025-26 school year it can have success with other programs too.
The Knights tallied 60 points — calculated by weighing team finishes throughout the fall, winter and spring — leading to a fifth-place finish in the 2025-26 Herald Cup’s small school ranking.
The football team reached the IHSA Class 3A quarterfinals, the softball team placed fourth in Class 2A, and boys wrestling won the team championship in Class 2A. The boys soccer and baseball teams each won a regional.
How they got there
Boys wrestling saw continued success. After being tested in a title-match loss at the prestigious Dvorak Tournament, the Knights bounced back, advancing to the state title match after beating Chatham Glenwood 60-12 in the semifinals. Meeting Providence Catholic in the final, ICCP won 39-25 for its second consecutive Class 2A team championship.
The softball team made it to state for the first time when it defeated Chicago Christian 7-0 for the sectional title, then took a 1-0, eight-inning win over Stillman Valley in the supersectional. The Knights clinched a fourth-place finish after a heartbreaking 8-6 loss to Seneca in the state semifinals and a 15-6 third-place loss to Williamsville.
Who made it happen
The dual-team wrestling final against Providence started as a back-and-forth battle, but the Knights pulled away after ICCP’s Anthony Sebastian (285 pounds), Mike Bird (106) and Drew Murante (113) beat their opponents.
Junior catcher Kelly Cahill, who was named to the Illinois Softball Coaches Association Class 2A all-state team, made a spectacular play at home plate against Stillman Valley to keep the game scoreless. ICCP then won in extra innings. Senior pitcher Maddy Dinino threw a shutout over Stillman Valley to punch the state tournament ticket for ICCP. Pinch-runner Jaida Cervantes scored the only run after a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the eighth inning.
Key stats
Dinino wrapped up her senior softball season with a 16-3 record, posting a career-best 2.89 ERA on the season.
The Knights had 12 wrestlers qualifying for the individual state tournament, with four of them winning the championship.
ICCP football player Grant Bowen has collected 32 Power Four scholarship offers, according to Rivals.
Key facts
The softball program made the state finals for the first time in its 31-year history. Softball also won its 11th straight regional title and third consecutive sectional.
ICCP wrestling senior Foley Calcagno secured a lightning-fast pin in 1:12 to push the Knights ahead during the state final.
They Said It
“Right now, I'm going to say this,” Knights softball coach Reaber said of getting his team to state. “This is great. For years, we've been close. It's hard work to get here.”
“I can’t say enough about our coaching staff. Tony Norton, Haley Augello, Dave Baysingar, Randy Spaulding. They have all been great and help out a lot. Going up to 3A next year is something we are looking forward to. We want to be the best, and that’s who we have to beat to get there,” ICCP boys wrestling coach Danny Alcocer said.