The IHSA individual sectional boys and girls wrestling tournaments will be held this weekend at various schools across the state.

Top-four finishers at each sectional will qualify to compete in the state tournaments, which will be held Feb. 19-21 at the State Farm Center in Champaign (boys state finals) and Feb. 27-28 at the Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington (girls state finals).

Here are top sectional storylines to watch in McHenry County.

Will Marian Central’s postseason dominance continue?

For the third consecutive season, Marian Central won its dual sectional match and will compete in the dual state tournament at the Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington later this month.

The Hurricanes, who topped Washington 37-33 on Thursday, now turn their attention to the individual sectionals, where they have thrived in recent seasons. Marian Central has sent a combined 16 wrestlers to state over the last two years. In those two years, the Hurricanes crowned four champions and landed 11 medalists.

This postseason run is different from previous years, as Marian Central is competing in Class 2A for the first time in six seasons. So far, the bump in classes hasn’t mattered, as the Hurricanes advanced 12 wrestlers, including five winners, out of the Harvard Regional, the most of any McHenry County wrestling program in any class.

But things will get more challenging at the Class 2A Geneseo Sectional, where seven McHenry County schools, including Marian Central, will scrap for spots in the state tournament. According to the IWCOA’s 2A individual rankings, 19 athletes who are ranked in the top four of their respective weight classes will be at Geneseo.

Some of those athletes belong to Marian Central, however.

Jimmy Mastny, an Iowa State recruit and two-time 1A state champion, is the No. 1-ranked 215-pounder in 2A and has two victories over the defending 2A champ, Washington’s Josh Hoffer. Hogan Rice, a key freshman, is the No. 4-ranked 113-pounder, while Austin Hagevold, a returning 1A state finalist, is the No. 5 ranked 144-pounder.

Dan French, who earned his 100th career win in the dual sectional match against Washington, ranks as 2A’s No. 5 wrestler at 190. Nic Astacio is the No. 9-ranked wrestler at 165 and Brendan Nardin, a freshman, could be Marian Central’s secret weapon. Back from a torn ACL, Nardin pinned to clinch the team’s dual win.

Which classes have the most area representation?

A total of 28 girls and 99 boys from McHenry County schools are slated to participate in the sectional tournaments this weekend.

While the girls compete in one combined class, the boys are split into three classes (1A, 2A, 3A). The most representation will be at 2A, where 49 wrestlers from eight schools will compete across two sectionals. The Geneseo Sectional will feature 43 wrestlers, while Cary-Grove has six wrestlers ready to go at the Antioch Sectional.

The 43 wrestlers heading to Geneseo are from seven area schools: Burlington Central, Crystal Lake Central, Crystal Lake South, Marian Central, Prairie Ridge, Woodstock and Woodstock North.

Although there are only four 1A schools (Alden-Hebron, Marengo, Johnsburg and Richmond-Burton) in the county, those schools qualified the same number of wrestlers for sectionals as the five 3A schools (Dundee-Crown, Hampshire, Huntley, Jacobs and McHenry). Each class will feature 25 boys from area schools.

Huntley led all area 3A schools with 10 sectional qualifiers, while Hampshire qualified seven. Johnsburg and Marengo tied for the 1A lead with nine sectional qualifiers this season. The 3A wrestlers will compete in Barrington, while the 1A wrestlers will grapple in Byron.

All 28 sectional qualifiers on the girls side will be in Schaumburg.

How many returning state medalists are still in the hunt?

All three boys classes, as well as the Schaumburg Girls Sectional, will feature returning wresters who’ve previously won state medals.

In 3A, Huntley’s Colin Abordo (120) headlines the top area boys who advanced to sectionals. Abordo (37-6) placed sixth at last year’s state tournament. In 2A, Marian Central has two returning state medalists, Mastny and Hagevold, competing at sectionals. Both wrestlers have medaled twice in 1A in the last two years.

Crystal Lake Central’s Jackson Marlett (120), who placed sixth last year, is one of eight Tigers set to wrestle at the 2A Geneseo meet. In 1A, Richmond-Burton’s Lelan Nelson (126) is back at sectionals after placing fifth at state last year. Blake Livdahl, who was a state runner-up last year, is out for the season after tearing his ACL.

Crystal Lake South’s Nathan Randle (138), who’s vying to become a four-time state qualifier, medaled in second during his freshman season at Wauconda. Randle, who qualified with Wauconda as a sophomore and with Crystal Lake South as a junior, is seeking his first state medal since earning runner-up honors as a freshman.

On the girls side, Crystal Lake South’s Annalee Aarseth (115) is back at sectionals after a state runner-up finish last year. Janiah Slaughter (100) and Aubrie Rohrbacher (130) are two-time state medalists who will represent Huntley, while Sam Diehl (190) and Amelia Nidelea-Polanin (120) are returning state medalists who will represent Hampshire. McHenry’s Natalie Corona (145) took fifth at state two years ago and is currently undefeated this year.

Will McHenry County’s unbeaten wrestlers stay perfect?

A trio of McHenry County girls, as well as a pair of boys, brought home regional titles over the last two weekends and are still undefeated entering the sectional tournaments this weekend.

Hampshire’s Amelia Nidelea-Polanin (120), Stella Piazza (115) and McHenry’s Natalie Corona (145) are still without a loss. All three girls dominated at the regional, where Nidelea-Polanin (19-0) and Corona (32-0) won the second titles of their respective careers. Piazza (22-0), a star freshman for Hampshire, pinned returning state runner-up Annalee Aarseth to win her first regional crown.

Corona, a senior, is seeking the second state medal of her career after taking fifth two years ago. Nidelea-Polanin, a junior, placed third at 115 last season. She went 4-1 at the state meet, with her only loss coming to Loyola’s Harlee Hiller, who won the state title.

Marian Central’s Brendan Nardin (7-0) and Hampshire’s Carter Hintz (16-0) are the two McHenry County boys carrying perfect records into sectionals. Nardin (150) won both the Chicagoland Christian Conference title and his first regional title in consecutive weekends. Hintz (215) recorded two pins to win his regional title.