The 2025-2026 boys wrestling season is underway. Here are previews of teams from around the Kane County Chronicle area.

Aurora Central

Coach: Aaron Murauskas

Top returners: Alexander “Lex” Lopez, sr., (215); Manny Maysonnet, sr., (157)

Top newcomers: Wally Crisci, fr., (106)

Worth noting: Seniors Lex Lopez and Manny Maysonnet are the only Chargers who return with experience. Both are multi-sport athletes with are shooting to get to the state finals in their final seasons at the Aurora school. First-year coach Aaron Murauskas is rebuilding the wrestling program, welcoming new athletes to wrestling, revamping the schedule and more. “In a transparent fashion, we do not have enough kids to ‘win’ duals as many weight classes will lead to forfeit,” Murauskas said. “However, our team is giving birth to a restoration of the legacy of ACC wrestling and our outlook includes some surprises for the season. I expect that we will have a tournament champion, get a kid or two down to state and get at least signed to compete at the college level next year.”

Batavia

Coach: Seth Winkle

Top returners: Kai Enos, so., (120/126); Jack Brown, jr., (190); Elias Chaney, sr., (138); Cole Hubbard, sr., (157); Kyle Pasco, sr., (132); Colin Peyton, sr., (165)

Top newcomers: Ricky Alfaro, fr., (126/132); Jaden Lehman, sr., (215)

Worth noting: Tom Arlis slides over into a varsity assistant role as Seth Winkle takes over as head coach. Winkle also wrestled for the Bulldogs and in college. “We are very excited about this season,” Winkle said. “This team is led by 11 committed seniors and 12 wrestlers with varsity experience, six of whom won matches at the always-tough Hinsdale Central 3A sectional last season.” With declining enrollment, the Bulldogs will be a 2A squad in the postseason. Winkle said the Bulldogs will be particularly strong at the lower-middle weights thanks to the return of state qualifier Kai Enos along with Kyle Pasco and Elias Chaney. Lastly, with the football team making a deep playoff run, the Bulldogs will have some holes in their lineup as they wait for their full roster to be available this winter.

Burlington Central

Coach: Andrew Brown (second season)

Last season: 7-13 dual record

Top returners: Eduardo Vences, jr., 120; Michael Junitz, sr., 215; David Wyruchowski, sr., 126; Oscar Nelson, so., 120

Key newcomers: Axel Rodriguez, jr., 132; Berry Yildirim, jr., 150; RJ Perez, so., 157

Worth noting: Vences is a returning state qualifier, Junitz won 40 matches last year as a junior and Wyruchowski and Nelson were both sectional qualifiers last year. ... “We graduated a lot of experience and individual wins, but we’ll fill the lineup in with guys who got valuable varsity level experience last year and are excited to continue to grind and get better,” Brown said.

-- Russ Hodges

Geneva

Coach: Tom Chernich

Top returners: Noah Arreguin, sr., (126); Mark Atkins, jr., (285); Quinn Hogan, so., (190); Eli O’Donnell, so., (175); Rohit Pallavajjala, jr., (132); David Rueth, sr., (165); Joey Torrence, so., (144)

Top newcomers: Kaiden Airey, fr., (113); Devin DiSilvestro, fr., (106); Luke Myszkowski, fr., (150/157)

Worth noting: Coach Tom Chernich begins his 20th season and the Vikings are down to 2A for the first time since wrestling went to three classes. “We will have to see where we end up for regionals and sectionals,” he said. “I believe we could become a competitive team as the season progresses.” The Vikings are young and lack varsity experience but Chernich said his group works hard and are good teammates. Senior David Rueth (8-3) returns at 165 after a season-ending injury cut short his season.

Kaneland

Coach: Chris Kerwin

Top returners: Camden Skipper, jr., 126; John Harvon, jr., 132; Jack Gruber, sr., 150/157; Apollo Gochis, sr., 190; Colten Heltsley, sr., 157; Garrett Herst, sr., 215; Josh Karther, sr., 165

Key newcomers: n/a

Worth noting: Gochis leads four sectional qualifiers back from last year after a 27-8 season. Skipper, Harvon and Gruber also earned sectional berths, but none of the Knights returning from last year qualified for state. New coach Chris Kerwin said the team is excited for the season and that he likes what he’s seen so far in the preseason.

Marmion

Coach: Anthony Cirrincione

Top returners: Luke Boersma, jr., (215/285); Demetrios Carrera, sr., (138/144); Joey Favia, sr., (215/285); Nicholas Garcia, sr., (132); Ashton Hobson, sr., (150); Aidan McClure so., (126); Preston Morrison, jr., (113); Zach Stewart, sr., (138/144);

Top newcomers: Caden Morrison, fr., Brody Page, fr.

Worth noting: The Class 3A defending state team champions lost Mateusz Nycz, Anthony Haddad and Andrew Harts, but return a ton of talent, including two-time state champion Nicholas Garcia (126). Others state medalists who are back include Zach Stewart (144), who took second, Preston Morrison (106), Demetrios Carrera (132) and Ashton Hobson (150), who each took third, Aidan McClure (113), who took fifth, and Colton Wyller, Vincenzo Testa, Luke Boersma and Joey Favia who all qualified individually for state a year ago. Coach Anthony Cirrincione said the tightness and bonds of the wrestlers with one another and the staff is the team’s biggest strength. “(We hope) to keep getting better at all aspects of our faith lives, our academics and the sport of wrestling,” Cirrincione said. Freshmen Caden Morrison and Brody Page enter high school after winning IKWF state championships.

St. Charles East

Coach: Jason Potter

Top returners: Liam Aye, sr., (138); Matt Medina, sr., (285); Dom Munaretto, sr., (120); Kaden Potter, jr., (126); Declan Sons, jr., (132); Gavin Woodmancy, jr., (144/150)

Top newcomers: Jayden Hernandez, jr., (138/144)

Worth noting: Senior Dom Munaretto (51-1), who won his second state title in three seasons last year, is back to lead the Saints before he heads off to Ohio State to continue his wrestling career. Seniors Liam Aye and Cooper Murray and juniors Kaden Potter, Declan Sons and Gavin Woodmancy, all return after qualifying for state last year on a 17-5 dual squad. “The Saints will have some new faces in the starting lineup, but they are excited to see the next wave step up and compete at this level,” Saints coach Jason Potter said. “The schedule will be challenging for the newcomers at times, but it will be the battle test they need to make a push at the end of the season. Munaretto remains the powerhouse of the team, but the Saints are looking for big things out of their returners, who gained some valuable experience last season.”

St. Charles North

Coach: Dave Drews

Top returners: Damon Hill, sr., (180); Doug Mejdrich, so., (165); Hudson Von Qualen, jr., (150)

Top newcomers: Bradley Galloway, fr., (132)

Worth noting: The North Stars will be giving a lot of attention to their newcomers, namely their freshmen. “Our top strengths will be our freshmen team,” North Stars coach Dave Drews said. “We have a very young team this year and only a few seniors. So, we have a lot of potential to build. Our top concern will be that its such a young team, that we will have to develop as a team, especially since being a handful of our freshmen have never wrestled.” Drews said they’re not really focusing on the wins or losses this winter, but in getting 1% better each day.

St. Francis

Coach: Aaron Helbok

Top returners: Paul Coco, sr., (138); Chasen Siguenza, jr., (157); Jaylen Torres, sr., (285)

Top newcomers: Bobby De La Cruz, fr., (144); Santino Pignatelli, so., (113)

Worth noting: Torres, who was the Class 1A runner-up at 285 last year, is back to lead a solid core of returning wrestlers that includes senior 138-pounder Paul Coco and junior 157-pounder Chasen Siguenza. “Really looking forward to a year of getting better and taking the next step of being a good program,” Spartans coach Aaron Helbok said. “Ready to compete and level up our competition. We’re a very young team in a hard CCL conference and tough 1A regional and sectional.”