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The 2023-2024 wrestling season is underway. Here are Chris Walker’s previews of teams from around the Record Newspapers coverage area.
BOYS
Oswego
Coach: Andrew Cook
Top returners: Jonny Theodor, sr., (113 pounds); Vincent Manfre, jr., (126); Brayden Swanson, jr., (138); Brett Zajac, jr., (144); Colin O’Grady, sr., (157); Joey Griffin, sr., (165); Brodie Slou, jr., (285)
Top newcomers: Nolan O’Grady, fr., (106); Aiden Ortiz, so., (120); Dillon Griffin, so., (144); Ethan Essick, jr., (150); James Strickland, jr., (175); Uzayr Mohammed, sr., (190)
Worth noting: Cook said the Panthers have holes to fill from graduation, but are excited for new varsity guys to fill in, including three upperclassmen as well as a couple sophomores and a freshman. Theodor and Griffin will look to finish strong after qualifying for sectionals last winter along with a pair of juniors in Manfre and Swanson.
Oswego East
Coach: Paul Coy
Top returners: Nico Patch, jr., (113 pounds); Braedan Grisham, jr., (138); Noah DeMarco, sr., (157); Joshua Edwards, jr., (215)
Top newcomers: Jadyn Pearson, fr., (113); Garette Patnoudes, fr., (165); Jovan Cerny, so., (190); Christian Paige, fr., (190); Jovan Cerny, so., (190)
Worth noting: The Wolves will be young but also will rely on their returning upperclassmen to lead the way. “We spent a lot of time in the offseason so hopefully that will pay off during the season,” Coy said. “We have a large freshmen and sophomore group which the program has not had so obviously the concern is keeping them motivated and keeping them having fun and learning. We will look to grow those wrestlers and get them to the next level.” The outlook remains positive as the Wolves look to continue to grow their program. ‘We will look to fill our gaps with young wrestlers,” Coy said. “But we want to mature and find success.”
Plano
Coach: Dwayne Love
Top returners: Shane Downs, so., (113 pounds), Marcos Garcia, jr., (132), Antoine Gilford, jr., (138), Oscar Cervantes, jr., (144), Trevion Gilford, jr., (144), Louis Baltierrez, jr., (160), Caiden Ronning, jr., (150), Richie Amakiri, jr. (190), Rider Larson, jr., (220), Tyler Mast, jr., (285)
Top newcomers: Ryley Soloff, fr., (120), Adrian Sosa, sr. (220), Jamarian Thurston, jr., (220)
Worth noting: Love loves what he’s seen in the gym recently and in the more years leading up to this season. “I have been looking forward to get this season going,” he said. “Our guys are ready for the season. They have been working hard on the mat and in the weight room. We are excited for the Kishwaukee River Conference. We expect to be competitive in our first year in the conference.” The Reapers return 10 wrestlers, including nine juniors. “These guys have been working hard since their freshmen year,” Love said. “Many have gone to camps to work on their technique. You will see a difference in our record and personal achievements.” The Reapers will have multiple wrestlers in the middle weights and could have a few open weights so guys will need to step up to ultimately help the team.
Sandwich
Coach: Derek Jones
Top returners: Shane McGuane, so., (106 pounds); Jakob Gruca, jr., (126); Kai Kern, so., (TBA); Miles Corder, sr., (144); Sy Smith, sr., (157); Josh Lehman, jr., (165); Kaden Clevenger, so., (175); Desi Longoria, sr., (190); Tristen King, so., (190)
Top newcomers: Jacob Ross, fr., (106); Colten Stone, fr., (113); Wyatt Gregory, fr., (126); Cooper Corder, fr., (132); Luis Murillo, fr., (215); Eddie Urbina, fr., (285)
Worth noting: Seniors Miles Corder (41-11 last year) and Sy Smith (30-19) bring back a wealth of experience for a Sandwich program that has been blessed with a huge freshman class of 15 talented newcomers. These newcomers enter high school with previous wrestling experience. Some were IESA state qualifiers. It certainly bodes well for Jones who is definitely excited to see what this year’s group can accomplish. “We have a good chunk of returning guys that have seen varsity action,” he said. “Our incoming freshmen class from last year has fought through their early bumps and are ready to take the next step. The incoming freshmen class this year is tough.” The half dozen wrestlers listed as top newcomers are all freshmen and all expected to wrestle at the varsity level this winter.
Yorkville
Coach: Jake Oster
Top returners: Liam Fenoglio, so., (113 pounds); Dominic Recchia, jr., (126); Dom Coronado, sr., (144); Jack Ferguson, jr., (150); Cam Peach, sr., (150/157); Sebastian Westphal, sr., (157/165); Ryder Janeczko, jr., (157/165); Luke Zook, jr., (175); Ben Alvarez, sr., (215)
Top newcomers: Donovan Rosauer, fr., (138); Caleb Viscogliosi, so. (157/165)
Worth noting: Alvarez is a defending state champion and three-time state qualifier, Zook placed third in the state and is a two-time state qualifier as is Ferguson while Janeczko, Recchia and Coronado also have gone to state for a loaded Foxes squad. While the Foxes graduated three starters from last year’s team which placed fourth in the state, they will continue to have an experienced and talented lineup.
“We are looking to pick up right where we left off last year, competing for a state trophy,” Oster said. “We expect to be competing for and winning conference and regional titles as a team and getting back down state as a team and winning back-to-back team trophies for the first time since winning three in a row from 1993-1995.
Individually, this could be one of the best seasons for the Foxes with six wrestlers opening the year ranked in the top 6 in the state, led by Alvarez and Zook who are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in their weight class.
Yorkville Christian
Coach: Mike Vester
Top returners: Aiden Larsen, jr., (113 pounds); Tristan Gleason, sr., (126); Ty Edwards, sr., (132); Grason Johnson, sr., (138); John Gray, jr., (150); Garrett Tunnell, jr., (285)
Top newcomers: Ryan Alaimo, fr., (120); Robby Nelson, jr., (157)
Worth noting: Beginning just their sixth season, the Mustangs return six varsity starters including a state runner-up (Edwards) and a two-time state medalist (Larsen). Johnson, Gray and Gleason are all coming off of sectional-qualifying seasons. Nelson, a Fargo qualifier a year ago, returns to the mats after sitting out his sophomore season. Alaimo is another new addition and is expected to lock down the 120 spot. The biggest news for the Mustangs is their climb to 2A after finishing second last season in 1A and winning it all two years ago. The loss of nine seniors, including six starters, makes this year’s team younger, but hungry to duplicate the success the program has fostered in a short time.
GIRLS
Note: Plano and Yorkville Christian do not have any girls wrestlers for the 2023-2024 season.
Oswego
Coach: Andrew Cook
Top returners: Kaitlynn Valencia, sr.
Top newcomers: Mikaela Busse, jr.; Lori De Jesus Alicea, sr.; Harmony Evans, jr.; Makayla Hill, fr.; Cassidy LaFan, sr.; Rikka Ludvigson, jr.; Greer McCrimmon, jr.; Ameera Murphy, jr.; Kendra Padilla, so.; Aaliyah Roldan, jr.; Joslyn Sheets, so.; Helena Torres, fr.; Riley Wilson, jr.
Worth noting: The number 13 isn’t unlucky when it refers to the number of new wrestlers who have joined the Oswego girls program. Valencia is back to lead the way in what’s just her second season wrestling. Lafan and De Jesus Alicea are seniors while the rest of the newcomers will have more time to learn and celebrate the sport.
Oswego East
Coach: Paul Coy
Top returners: QianXi Brooks, sr., (105 pounds); Jessica Stover, jr., (155)
Top newcomers: None listed.
Worth noting: The Wolves will look to build on the experience of Brooks and Stover and are hopeful to have a full girls team next season.
Sandwich
Coach: Derek Jones
Top returners: Ashlyn Strenz, sr., (115 pounds)
Top newcomers: Norah Vick, fr., (105 pounds), Zamelie Lesko, so., (110 pounds); Jazmin Rios, so., (155 pounds)
Worth noting: Strenz, who placed fourth in the state last year at 115 pounds, returns. Lesko gained some experience a season ago, but was unable to compete due to injury, Vick wrestled at middle school last year and had some success while Rios is new to the sport.
Yorkville
Coach: Kevin Roth
Top returners: Danielle Turner, so., (105 pounds), Yamilet Aguirre, sr., (125); Brooke Coy, jr., (135)
Top newcomers: None listed.
Worth noting: The majority of last year’s lineup is back and Roth said all weight classes will be filled for the first time in program history. That being said, the goals for the team have grown to have a competitive dual team that’s aiming to place higher at tournaments, to send multiple kids to the state finals and to ultimately bring home a trophy.