Wrestling roundup: Warren tops talented field at Lake County invite

No other conference tournament in the area comes close to the star-studded Lake County Invite as it features far too many state ranked wrestlers to mention, in addition to a 2A and 3A list of teams who will make plenty of noise when the state series begins in two weeks.

NSC powers Warren and Libertyville would slowly distance themselves from the 16-team field — fighting the other for the top spot until Warren, for the second consecutive season, held off its rival before lifting the big trophy.

Warren would edge Libertyville 196.0-193.5 for the top spot, while Stevenson (172.5), Wauconda (164.5) and Antioch (147.5) made up the top five in the team race inside the Benedetti Center.

"What can I say (but) I am proud of our effort, and very happy to have come out ahead at such a great conference tournament," said Warren coach Brad Janecek, whose men claimed three individual titles, one more than Libertyville, Wauconda, Antioch, and Grayslake Central.

Grayslake Central, sixth overall with 145.5 points, would watch No. 1 (2A) Matty Jens (175, 31-1) defeat No. 2 (3A) Matt Kubas (30-3) of Libertyville for the third time this season in a hard-fought 5-1 decision.

"Matt is my great friend, and a great wrestler as well, and my hope is we're both in the state final in Champaign next month," said a gracious Jens, who will go after his second 2A state title in mid-February.

Jens' teammate Tyler Weidman (32-3) won at 126, while the Libertyville duo of Caleb Baczek (190, 27-6) and Owen McGrory (215, 32-2) were individual champs.

Tourney host Grant was thrilled when its own Vince Jasinski (27-6) won the 113-pound title, nearly 24 hours after his sister Ayane took home her conference title.

Antioch collected a pair of titles from Gavin Hanrahan (120, 29-6) and Edgar Albino (132, 29-4) — both of whom were 2023 state medal winners.

Round Lake big man William Cole (33-1) easily captured his second league title, as did Warren sophomore Aaron Stewart (29-2) at 157 pounds.

Joining Stewart atop the podium were No. 2 Caleb Nobel (106, 29-2) and No. 7 Royce Lopez (21-7) a major decision winner at 165 pounds.

Seniors Andrew Chamkin (Stevenson, 138, 20-11) Logan Andrews (144, 27-10) and his teammate at Wauconda, Cole Porten (150, 32-7), were deserving first time league champions.

Lake County girls invite: After a long day of competition on Friday in Fox Lake at host Grant High School, it would be Lakes and Round Lake sharing the title in the first Lake County Girls Invite with each finishing with 119.0 overall points.

Grayslake North was third by edging past Zion-Benton (81.0-80.0) with Grant, led by reigning state champion Ayane Jasinski (110, 12-0), rounding out the first five with 72.0 points.

In a conference with several found in the top 10 of the latest state polls, it would be No. 6 Riley Kongkaeow (Round Lake, 100, 30-2), No. 7 Ireland McCain (Round Lake, 115, 29-6), No. 5 Oliva Heft (120, 21-1) and Ava Babbs (125) — both from Lakes — who would dazzle on the day.

No. 2 ILeen Castrejon (Zion-Benton, 14-1) would defeat No. 3 Josephine Larson (Lakes, 24-5) in the 190-pound final, 7-1.

MSL: Reigning league champion Hersey would enter the second day of the MSL Conference tournament just four points ahead of rival Barrington (115.0-111.0).

But come the noon hour, Barrington would take a 25-point lead and never relinquish its advantage.

The Broncos, on the strength of three individual titles from Kaleb Pratt (106, 28-10), Rhenzo Augusto (150, 33-5) and Clarence Jackson (285, 25-10) — and plenty of depth and bonus points — outlasted Hersey 265.5-255.5 to claim the big trophy in Arlington Heights at the Forest View Educational Center.

"We had two really good days, and I am very proud of the way the guys battled, and fought for each other. We scored a ton of bonus points, which, in the end, we knew would be huge," said Dan Keller, who came over from Prospect this season to take charge of the Broncos program.

His former club would finish third overall with 189.0 total points, followed by Fremd (186.5) and Schaumburg and its 166.5 point total.

The Saxons’ lone champion was junior Brady Phelps (120, 15-0), now a two-time champ, who earlier in the year was struck down by Meningitis.

"It was really bad. I wasn't sure I would be back this season (but) I cannot tell you how fortunate I am to be back after dealing with something that just came out of nowhere," said Phelps, a two-time state medal winner, who missed nearly five weeks while on the mend.

No. 4 Evan Gosz (Fremd, 144, 26-0) is now a three-time MSL champion, while Jaxson Penovich (Prospect, 36-3), the No. 1 man in the state at 190, claimed his second league crown, as did Elk Grove junior Dylan Berkowitz (25-5) at 215.

The Schaumburg girls team would treat its home fans to an fantastic day of wrestling as it overwhelmed the field on its way to the MSL Girls Conference title after outscoring division rival Hoffman Estates 289.0-207.0.

Makenzi Aguilar (100, 23-6), Justice Girod (105, 22-8), Diya Patel (110, 22-11) and Anna Villarreal (115, 30-5) would help the Saxons get out to a terrific lead by winning the first four weight classes.

Then their state-ranked teammates Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevic (140, 27-2) and Valeria Rodriguez (155, 31-1) helped put the finishing touches on the Schaumburg championship.

Rodriguez, No. 2 in the state, has back-to-back third-place state trophies on her resume.

The Hoffman Estates dynamic duo of Sophia Ball (120, 17-0) and Abigail Ji (125, 26-1) continue to shine at their respective weight divisions, each winning with ease to give the Hawks two of their three titles on the day.

No. 4 Jasmine Rene (26-1) of Wheeling would pin her way to the 190-pound crown.