Roundup: Seneca will send three wrestlers to state meet, while Ottawa, Somonauk and Sandwich qualify one each

The Times-area will have six combined representatives at the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association’s Class 1A and Class 2A state finals after Saturday’s sectionals.

The Class 1A meet will begin at 9:30 a.m. and Class 2A at the same time on Friday at the Bank of Springfield Center in Springfield.

At Sandwich

Seneca had three wrestlers — seniors Gavin Robertson and Nathan Elliott, as well as junior Owen Feiner — advance to state at the IWCOA Class 1A Sandwich Sectional and finished fifth as a team with 73 points. Lena-Winslow (150) took the title with Dakota (124) placing runner-up.

Robertson, ranked No. 9 by the IWCOA at 182 pounds, defeated Sandwich’s Connor Holly via pinfall in 1:36 after receiving an opening-round bye. He then fell 9-3 to Morris’ Kayden White in the semifinals but responded with pins over St. Bede’s Ethan Fleming (3:06) and Fulton’s Ethan Rash (1:50) in the third-place bout.

Elliott earned decision wins over both Rockridge’s Tristian Shaw (6-1) and Plano’s Alex Diaz (8-1) in the semifinals after an opening-round bye, but dropped the 285-pound championship bout to No. 7-ranked Michael Esquivel of Yorkville Christian, 1-0.

Feiner, ranked No. 3 at 126, opened with a 14-5 win over Erie’s Carter Jepson after a bye, then fell to Princeton’s Matthew Harris 7-6 in the semifinals. He bounced back to defeat Oregon’s Lane Halverson 8-6 and Dakota’s Jason Bowers 5-4 in the third-place bout. The Fighting Irish also had Luke Sangston (106), Jaden Casey (113), Asher Hamby (138), Collin Wright (145), and Maveric Varland (220) win single matches.

Sandwich, which scored 52 team points to place eighth, had Evan Reilly capture the sectional title at 126 to advance to state. The Indians’ junior opened with a bye before defeating Oregon’s Lane Halverson by major decision 15-6, Dakota’s Jason Bowers 5-4 in the semifinals, and Princeton’s Matthew Harris by pinfall in 1:38 in the final bout. The hosts had Alex Alfano (170) and Kaiden Gustafson (195) win a pair of bouts, while Kadin Kern (113), Nolan Bobee (138), and Connor Holly (182) won one bout each.

Somonauk junior Shea Reisel advanced to state at 106. She opened with a pinfall win in 1:06 over Princeton’s Steven Benavidez, then topped Kewanee’s Ryan Welgal 11-5 in the semifinals before dropping a 17-2 technical fall decision to Yorkville Christian’s Ty Edwards in the championship bout.

At Geneseo

Ottawa sophomore Charles Medrow will make the trip to Springfield after his third-place finish at 182 at the IWCOA Class 2A Geneseo Sectional. The Pirates scored 28 points as a team to place 13th of the 22 teams. Geneseo (161 1/2) won the title ahead of Joliet Catholic Academy (152 1/2) and Rock Island (141).

Medrow fell to Kaneland’s Serriteno Deigo 7-4 after an opening-round bye but responded with three consecutive wins over Rock Island’s Jaquez Smith (pinfall at 2:57), JCA’s Aiden Watkins (pinfall, 3:00), and Hampshire’s Dylan Mejdrich (11-7) in the third-place bout. The Pirates also received single wins from Grason Johnson (126) and Marek Duffy (160).

Little Ten releases its all-conference baseball and softball teams

The Times-area had 11 baseball and 11 softball players named to Little Ten All-Conference teams.

In baseball, league champion and Class 1A state third-place finisher Newark had seniors Dalton Reibel (.388 AVG, 30 R, 24 RBIs; 11-0, 2.12 ERA, 62 2/3 IP, 67 K) and Jared Slivka (.383 AVG, 40 R, 28 RBIs, 8 SB), juniors Lucas Pasakarnis (.424 AVG, 22 R, 42 RBIs, 8 SB) and Tegan Kruser (.393 AVG, 40 R, 11 RBIs, 8 SB), and sophomores Jake Kruser (.357 AVG, 21 R, 18 RBIs, 7 SB) and Joe Martin (.375 AVG, 22 R, 27 RBIs, 9 SB; 7-1, 1.06 ERA, 46 1/3 IP, 96 K) all unanimous selections, with Pasakarnis named for the second straight year.

Second-place Serena had unanimous picks in seniors Connor Holdiman (.370 AVG, 27 R, 12 RBIs; 2 wins, 1:32 ERA, 42 1/3 IP, 70 K) and Ivan Stafford (.349 AVG, 13 R, 21 RBIs; 3-1, 2.49 ERA, 19 2/3 IP, 27 K). Somonauk junior Brendan Roberts (.481 AVG, 17 R, 11 RBI; 21 2/3 IP, 2.26 ERA, 42 K) was a unanimous selection, as were Earlville senior Davis Sweeney (4-3, 2.65 ERA, 34 1/3 IP, 62 K) and junior Bryar Keller (.387 ERA, 14 R, 11 SB), with Sweeney a two-time honoree.

Indian Creek’s Drew Gaston, Brennen McNally, and Jordan Wortman, plus Hinckley-Big Rock’s Riley Hogan and Ben Hintzsche rounded out the 16-member club.

In softball, Newark, the league champion and a regional title winner, had senior Emily Schofield (.418 AVG, 31 R, 8 HR, 15 RBIs), sophomores Taylor Kruser (.391 AVG, 20 R, 15 RBI; 3-0, 1.54 ERA) and Kaitlyn Schofield (.455 AVG, 21 R, 5 HR, 30 RBIs; 9-2, 1.17 ERA, 65 1/3 IP, 92 K), and freshman Danica Peshia (.385 AVG, 21 R, 5 HR, 26 RBIs) and Kodi Rizzo (.263 AVG, 12 R, 10 RBIs; 5-1, 1.56 ERA, 49 1/3 IP, 89 K) all unanimous picks, with Emily Schofield named for the second consecutive season.

Serena, which finished runner-up, had senior Taylor Staton (.419 AVG, 11 R, 19 RBIs; 143 IP, 101 K), junior Katie Baker (.437 AVG, 34 R, 12 RBIs, 33 SB), and freshman Paisley Twait (.507 AVG, 31 R, 4 HR, 32 RBIs) honored, Baker for the second straight season. Earlville had juniors Elizabeth Browder (.269 AVG, 12 RBIs), Brynn Guelde (.441 AVG, 18 R, 1 HR, 10 RBIs), and Paige Marks (.305 AVG, 11 R, 2 HR; 6 wins, 2.98 ERA, 96 1/3 IP, 124 K) named to the team.

Hiawatha’s Brooke Barden and Cali Schell, as well as Indian Creek’s Mary Todd, Lauren Jordal, and Emily Frazier rounded out the 16-member squad.