Boys wrestling: St. Viator’s Penovich, strong area contingent advance to title matches

CHAMPAIGN — From the very beginning of the wrestling season, St. Viator’s Jaxon Penovich promised his pace and attack would be far too much for any opponent to match.

Inside Champaign’s State Farm Arena, the senior showed the audience just what he meant.

The No. 1 man at 190 pounds (Class 2A) dominated No. 3 Judah Heeg (Lemont, 38-2) in a semifinal bout between two state champions.

“It's all about dominating my opponent, and I knew my gas tank had way too much for him to deal with,” said Penovich, who after a 0-0 first period, ran up a 17-2 tech-fall victory and will face Mahomet-Seymour sophomore Marco Casillas (47-3) in Saturday’s state final.

The area will have an impressive array of wrestlers in the 6 p.m. state final session with Grayslake Central’s Vince DeMarco (113, 40-7), Crystal Lake South’s Nathan Randle (138) and Wauconda senior Owen Shea all part of the 2A guest list.

No. 5 Shea (33-5) upended No. 2 Hunter Wahtola (DePaul Prep, 33-3) in his 285-pound semifinal, 5-3, while Randle (39-3), second in 2023 at Wauconda, beat No. 6 Adrian Cohen (Deerfield, 45-3) to reach the 138-pound final.

No. 1 DeMarco turned in a superb six minute effort en route to a 11-2 major decision very over No. 4 Liam Schroeder (45-2) from Sycamore.

“We know at this point that every opponent is a tough one so, for me, it was all about defending well, following the game plan, and finish my shots when they were there for me,” said DeMarco, second a year ago at state, and now after his third state medal in as many years.

Randle will face No. 1 Tommy Banas (43-7) from Providence Catholic.

In Class 3A, the No. 1 duo of Warren stars — Caleb Noble (113, 45-1) and Aaron Stewart (38-4) — will compete for their third consecutive state title.

Noble was too much for No. 6 Colton Schultz (Joliet Catholic Academy, 34-10) in their 113-pound semifinal, starting slow but finishing with a flourish and a pin at 3:01.

Next up for the Blue Devils junior will be No. 3 Erik Klichurov (Montini Catholic, 37-2) who defeated No. 2 Michael Rundell (Oak Park, 39-4).

“It was a long day of (not) wrestling, and I think that had a lot to do with my slow start, but once I found my rhythm, and pace, I was able to get back to do what I know that I am capable of,” said Noble.

Stewart was pushed by No. 5 Vincenzo Testa (25-5) from Marmion Academy in a semifinal that ended 6-1.

No. 1 Vince Jasinski of Grant (45-4) will go after the program’s first state championship since Lee Munster did so in 2010. He takes on No. 2 Demetrios Carrera (39-5) from Marmion Academy.

Jasinski won an in intense contest with No. 3 Justin Williamson (Mt. Carmel, 22-9) that saw the senior record a take-down just before the first period ended. He then held off the Mt. Carmel junior with a terrific second period defensive stand to earn a 4-2 decision.

“(That) was a key moment in the match, but I always felt that I was in control, even in a situation like that,” said Jasinski, who was fourth year a year ago.

Hersey sophomore Oleksandr (Sasha) Havrylkiv (41-4), who survived nervous moments in his first two matches of the tournament, was back in form for his semifinal with No. 8 Lucas Foster (40-7) to secure an 11-2 major decision.

“I was a little bit lucky yesterday, but I felt more like myself in this semifinal,” said Havrylkiv, who was fourth a year ago when he wrestled for Buffalo Grove.

The Huskies star will meet Oak Park junior Jamiel Castleberry (35-3), who defeated No. 3 Chazz Robinson (Homewood-Flossmoor, 34-5) with a 5-4 decision.

Day No. 3 will begin in Champaign with quarterfinal wrestle-backs at 9 a.m. across all three classes, and will continue on through to semifinals, and finals for third, and fifth place at 1 p.m.

The always popular, and highly anticipated Grand March will start the evening session at 5:30, followed by the state final championship matches.