The 2025 sports year in McHenry County saw Cary-Grove graduate Quinn Priester put together a breakout season with the Milwaukee Brewers, a two-time state champion in wrestling and an Olympic silver medalist announce his retirement.

Here is a look at the Top 10 local sports stories for 2025 as voted on by the Northwest Herald sports staff.

1. Quinn Priester breaks out with Milwaukee Brewers

Priester, who graduated from Cary-Grove in 2019 and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft that same year, found his footing after joining the Brewers’ pitching staff following an April trade from the Boston Red Sox, his second professional organization.

[ Cary-Grove’s Quinn Priester putting together breakout season for first-place Brewers ]

The right-hander started to gain national attention and ended the regular season with a 13-3 record, 3.32 ERA and 132 strikeouts in 157⅓ innings. His addition to the Brewers was key, as Milwaukee won the NL Central Division title with an MLB-best 97-65 record, five games ahead of the 92-70 Cubs, the team that Priester grew up rooting for.

Priester and the Brewers beat the Cubs in the National League Division Series, with the former Trojan throwing against his hometown team during the series at Wrigley Field.

2. Marian Central’s Jimmy Mastny dominates on mats

Marian Central’s Jimmy Mastny, one of the top wrestling prospects in the country, took down some of the best wrestlers in the state en route to his second straight championship last year as a sophomore, this time taking the 190-pound Class 1A title after winning at 157 pounds as a freshman.

As a freshman and sophomore, Mastny won each postseason match either by fall or forfeit. He finished the 2025 season at 53-1 and also helped Marian win back-to-back state trophies for the first time in program history.

Mastny’s dominance on the mat came despite the IHSA arguing that the Hurricanes wrestler was improperly recruited to the private school in Woodstock, when he moved from Ogle County into coach Jordan Blanton’s mother’s home to attend Marian.

An appeals court ruled in favor of Mastny, a two-time Northwest Herald Boys Wrestler of the Year, last summer.

“I didn’t allow it to affect me,” Mastny told the Northwest Herald in July 2025. “It pushed me to work harder.”

3. Olympic medalist Evan Jager calls it a career

Evan Jager, the most accomplished steeplechaser in American history, announced his retirement at the end of November. Jager, who graduated from Jacobs in 2007, is still the American record holder in the 3,000-meter men’s steeplechase, and won a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He claimed a World Championship silver medal in 2017 and won seven consecutive U.S. national titles from 2012 to 2018.

Jager’s personal-best time of 8:00.45 still is the American record. He owns nine of the ten fastest marks on the country’s all-time list.

4. Huntley’s Dominique Johnson, Tommy Nitz win gold

Huntley had both the Northwest Herald Female and Male Track and Field Athletes of the Year after a memorable spring.

Senior Dominique Johnson, now at the University of Miami, capped her high school career by winning the Class 3A triple jump at the state meet for the third year in a row and did so in dramatic fashion, setting the state record (42 feet, 8.75 inches) in her only attempt during the finals. Johnson also won the long jump title. In her high school career, she finished with five gold medals.

For the boys team, long-distance runner Tommy Nitz became the first in program history to win a running event at state. The senior, now at Coastal Carolina University, captured the Class 3A state title in the 1,600-meter run (4:16.24). In all, Nitz broke five program records during the season. He became only the second boys track and field state champion in school history.

5. Charlie Eastland’s sensational goal

Johnsburg’s girls soccer team made a historic run in the Class 1A playoffs for its highest state placement in team history. Although the Skyhawks fell to Columbia 8-0 in the state final, it was memorable and rollercoaster-like ride.

Charlie Eastland provided a goal that will surely be remembered for a long time. The sophomore provided a sensational goal with 29 seconds left in regulation to lift Johnsburg to a 2-1 win over Timothy Christian in the semifinals to reach the championship game.

Eastland, coach Rob Eastland’s daughter, shocked Timothy Christian when she gathered a loose ball about 25 yards from goal, made a spin move to put the ball on her left foot, and sent a 20-yard shot inside the right post to break a 1-1 tie.

“It’s something I’ve dreamed of,” Charlie Eastland said. “To be able to do it with him [my dad] is unreal, and to have him by my side is a dream come true.”

The Skyhawks had to come back from two deficits in their supersectional just to reach the state finals. Junior Liz Smith came through in big spots during the run, finishing the season with 24 goals and adding seven assists.

6. Richmond-Burton’s deep playoff run

Richmond-Burton put together a dominant season on the gridiron, winning the Kishwaukee River Conference with a 7-0 record for the second year in a row and finishing the regular season undefeated, before embarking on a long playoff run.

Led by Hall of Fame coach Mike Noll, R-B went an area-best 12-1 and fell one win short of its first state appearance since 2019 with a loss to Byron in the Class 3A semifinals. R-B was seeking its first state final appearance since it won the Class 4A title with a perfect record in 2019.

Noll, who started his head-coaching career at McHenry in 1988, earned his 300th career win during the regular season, and running back Hunter Carley was named the KRC Offensive Player of the Year following a huge season in which the 5-foot-9, 205-pounder ran for 1,846 yards and 33 TDs, including a six-TD game against Marengo in Week 8.

7. McHenry, Cary-Grove baseball reach Joliet

The Fox Valley Conference continued to show why its one of the most feared baseball conferences in the state as 2025 saw both McHenry (Class 4A) and Cary-Grove (3A) make it to the state tournament at Duly Health and Care Field in Joliet.

It was a record-breaking season for McHenry, which won the FVC outright, soared past its school-record win total of 30 with a 36-5-1 record and qualified for state for the second time ever. Coach Brian Rockweiler earned his 400th career win, and McHenry placed runner-up to Libertyville, falling 4-1 in the state final, for its best finish.

Brandon Shannon, a Louisville commit, earned Northwest Herald Baseball Player of the Year and became McHenry’s all-times wins leader (26) and breaking the school record for strikeouts (111) in a season.

Kyle Williams, in his first year as head coach, led C-G to its second state appearance in team history, where the Trojans finished fourth despite a gutsy effort from senior Charlie Taczy, who made three starts in 11 days in the playoffs. He tossed a 97-pitch complete-game effort against St. Patrick to reach the state tournament’s Final Four.

8. Prairie Ridge softball brings home first state trophy

Prairie Ridge put together one of the most dominant softball seasons in McHenry County history, going 29-2-1 and earning their first state trip behind the senior leadership of Ady Kiddy, Kendra Carroll and Autumn Ledgerwood. After losing to Glenwood in the Class 3A state semifinals, Prairie Ridge cruised to a 12-0, five-inning victory against St. Laurence to place third.

Junior pitcher Reese Mosolino, the Northwest Herald Softball Player of the Year, tossed five shutouts in the playoffs, which included an 1-0, eight-winning victory over Antioch to earn the Wolves’ spot at state. Before that, Prairie Ridge rallied for five runs in the sixth inning to knock off rival Crystal Lake Central 5-2 for its first sectional title in 16 years.

9. Crystal Lake South’s Annalee Aarseth makes history

Aarseth was runner-up at 110 pounds at the state meet as a sophomore, tying the highest placement by a McHenry County girls wrestler (Huntley’s Janiah Slaughter in 2023) and earning her Northwest Herald Girls Wrestler of the Year. Aarseth also became the first girls wrestler from Crystal Lake South to place at state.

She’s among a talented group of many McHenry County girls wrestlers looking to bring home the area’s first state title.

“It was amazing,” Aarseth said of the runner-up finish. “It felt amazing to show that all my hard work got me this far.”

10. Prairie Ridge volleyball heads back to Normal

Prairie Ridge’s volleyball team returned to the Class 3A state tournament at CEFCU at Illinois State University in Normal after finishing third in 2024 despite being without Maizy Agnello, who broke the school record previously held by her mom, Hilary Agnello, with 483 kills as a sophomore, for the last five weeks of the season because of injury.

The Wolves went on to win their fourth straight regional and second straight sectional championships, then rallied to defeat St. Viator in the supersectional round and earn back-to-back state appearances for the first time since 2003-2004.

Senior Addi Smith, the Northwest Herald Volleyball Player of the Year, broke the team’s single-season record with 924 assists, junior Adeline Grider had a team-leading 329 kills and was one of two go-to hitters for the Wolves in the playoffs with senior Abby Smith, and junior Tegan Vrbancic led all local players with 404 digs.