The 2025-2026 boys wrestling season is underway this week. Here are previews of teams from around the Record Newspapers coverage area.

Oswego

Coach: Andrew Cook

Top returners: Shane Dodson, jr., (120); Dillon Griffin, sr., (150/157); Nolan O’Grady, jr., (120); Aiden Ortiz, sr., (132/138); EJ Porter, sr., (190); Raynen Ruffin, jr., (126)

Top newcomers: Tyler Becker, jr., (157); Hoy Choat, jr., (285); Lucas Dobush, so., (113); Holden Reible, so., (285); Christian Walsh, so., (175)

Worth noting: Seniors Aiden Ortiz (34-17) and Dillon Griffin (37-13) are back to lead the Panthers along with junior Raynen Ruffin. All three qualified for sectionals last year. Griffin was a state alternate. Graduation, and the fact that the football team extended its season to the state final game Thanksgiving weekend, will leave some holes that will be take even longer now to fill. “It will take a while to get everyone in the lineup where they need to be,” Panthers coach Andrew Cook said. “Panthers will look to gain a lot of experience early in the season with a tough dual schedule. We will continue to make a strong push toward the postseason. We have also changed our tournament schedule a little for this year.”

Oswego East

Coach: Paul Coy

Top returners: Jovan Cerny, sr., Noah Snow, sr.

Top newcomers: Austin Crawford, fr., Sebastian Nevarez, fr., Marcus Smith, fr.

Worth noting: The Wolves are overflowing with youth which is great for the program. But they’re going to have to patient as they adjust to high school wrestling. “Lots of freshmen,” Wolves coach Paul Coy said. “They are aggressive and willing to adapt to the program. The biggest concern is we’re a young team.” The Wolves would love to fill a lineup this year, be competitive at all three levels and having fun doing it.

Plano

Coach: Dwayne Love

Top returners: Jacob Benitez, jr., (285); Jermey Chavez, so., (175); Shane Downs, sr., (113); Isaac Nevarez, sr., (175)

Top newcomers: Wyatt Crowe, fr., (106); Iaan Figueroa, fr., (132); Jordan Martinez, so., (285); Cristian Sanchez, sr., (190); Noah Vega, fr., (140); Mason Villarreal, fr., (150)

Worth noting: Last year’s senior-laden team had a season to remember, compiling a 29-4 record in duals. But it’s a new year and with 11 seniors graduating from that squad, the Reapers are young. “We have three top returning athletes to lead the way,” Plano coach Dwayne Love said. “Shane (Downs) is a great leader and is disciplined in his work ethic. The three seniors are good leaders to keep focused and on track. They led the way for our off-season workouts.” Downs was 4-1 last year before injuries halted his season so his return is key along with the arrival of some fresh bodies. “Our incoming freshmen are bringing us a lot of mat experience that will help fill the gaps by our last year seniors,” Love said. “We had a really good offseason that should help us to reach our goals. I believe that we will have a good competitive season.”

Sandwich

Coach: Derek Jones

Top returners: Jaxson Blanchard, so., (150); Kaden Clevenger, sr., (215); Cooper Corder, jr., (144); Jack Forth, sr., (138); Kai Kern, sr., (190); Joshua Kotalik, so., (175); Colten Stone, jr., (132); Dominick Urbanski, so., (120); Hunter Whitecotton, so., (113)

Top newcomers: Daniel Arriola, fr., (190); Lucas Brown, fr., (106); Isaac Brunoehler, fr., (132); Nate Christiansen, fr., (190); Eli Futrell, fr., (150); LaRyan Jones, so., (150); Aiden Sinetos, fr., (106); Brody Stone, fr., (157); Logan Torrance, fr., (126)

Worth noting: All nine top returners listed within qualified for sectionals last season led by Corder (41-9) who took fifth in the state last year in Class 1A at 144 and fourth at 138 the year before. Senior Jacob Cassie (138) and junior Luis Murillo (215) also return. “I am excited for the team this year,” Sandwich coach Derek Jones said. “We have a solid returning group of wrestlers with a lot of varsity wrestling experience. We are still figuring out weight classes, but we should be solid from top to bottom.” Expectations are high after consecutive regional titles and just falling short of qualifying to state as a team. We are looking toward earning our return trip to Bloomington as a team to compete for a team state trophy,” Jones said. “In addition to our team goals, we have high expectations for our individuals with more kids wrestling on Saturday down in Champaign.”

Yorkville

Coach: Jake Oster

Top returners: Ramsey Barton, sr., (120); Nolan Chrisse, so., (138); Nathan Craft, sr., (132); Landon Jenkins, jr., (120); Vince Konecki, so., (144); Van Rosauer, jr., (150); Donncha Souza, jr., (144); Xavion Ulloa, sr., (285); Caleb Viscogliosi, sr., (175)

Top newcomers: Julius Cole, so., (150); Rocky Delgado, fr., (132); Brock Janeczko, so., (190); Avery Lane, jr., (215); Leo Richmond, fr., (106)

Worth noting: Back for his 10th year as the Foxes head coach, Jake Oster returns nine sectional qualifiers, including seniors Ramsey Barton (120) and Caleb Viscogliosi (175) and sophomore Nolan Chrisse (138) who were state alternates and junior Van Rosauer (150) who took fourth in the state in Class 3A. Seniors Nathan Craft (132) and Xavion Ulloa (285), juniors Landon Jenkins(120) and Donncha Souza (144) and sophomore Vince Konecki (144) also return after qualifying for sectionals last winter. “We will have some guys that are getting their shot in the lineup after being behind a great graduating class,” Oster said. “We are looking to continue to compete for conference titles, regional titles and team state trophies. We have several individuals who are going to be competing for state medals.”

Yorkville Christian

Coach: Mike Vester

Top returners: Jackson Allen, sr., (215); Ryan Alaimo, jr., (138); RJ Festerling, jr., (120); Tyler Gleason, sr., (175); Christian Sandoval, sr., (126); Davin Torza, so., (106); Adrian Wadas-Luis, sr., (144); Austin Wadas-Luis, sr., (150); Hayden Wheeler, jr., (285)

Top newcomers: Myles-Avery Holland, fr., (157/165); Phoenix Senodenos, fr., (113)

Worth noting: Returning 2A state qualifiers RJ Festerling (120) and Jackson Allen (215) will lead the Mustangs, who return to 1A. Those two wrestlers, along with Ryan Alaimo (138), Tyler Gleason (175), Adrian Wadas-Luis (144) and Austin Wadas-Luis (150) all won 30-plus matches a year ago. Sophomore Davin Torza got some varsity time last season and returns at 106 and coach Mike Vester said to “look for big things there.” He also said the two incoming freshmen are tough, and will contribute along with senior Henry Fox, juniors Jackson Witt and Kenny Fox and sophomore Dom Loomis. “The kids are always trained to be the best they can be whether we are younger, older, missing weights or finding our identity,” Vester said. “Expect this group to be tough, scrappy and wrestling with an edge in preparation for the state tournament.”