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Fox Valley Conference
Burlington Central
Coach: Vince Govea (fifth season)
Last season: 2-13, 0-9 FVC
Top returners: Nathan Kim, sr. (170 pounds); Doug Phillips, so. (113); Sayf Afeef, sr. (145); Ryan Wustefeld, jr. (160)
Top newcomers: Austin Lee, fr. (120)
Worth noting: Govea, the program’s head coach from 2012-16, is back in charge after serving as an assistant coach the past four seasons. When the position opened, it made sense for Govea to step back in. “I’ve always been in the program, it was just time for me to take it back over and continue to build off some of those building blocks that we have established,” Govea said. … Afeef returns after suffering a knee injury that took him away from his junior season. … Of the 37 wrestlers in the program, 25 are underclassmen. “It’s going to be a learning experience for our kids to get varsity experience at a young age. Hopefully, we maintain that and keep it going for the next couple years,” Govea said.
Cary-Grove
Coach: William Petersen (sixth season)
Last season: 3-8; 1-7 FVC
Top returners: Wade Abrams, sr. (195); Rannin Gruen, sr. (120); Andrew Mohr, sr. (132)
Worth noting: Cary-Grove will return some senior leadership to help guide a young roster. “Overall just excited for the wrestlers to get a chance to compete again,” Petersen said. “We have a young team, and we’re excited to get them some mat time.”
Crystal Lake Central
Coach: Justen Lehr (14th season)
Last season: 11-5 overall, 6-3 FVC
Top returners: Leo Diaz, jr. (heavyweight); Ben Butler, jr. (170); Rene Gaunaurd, so. (152), Dillon Carlson, sr. (152), Tommy Hammond, so. (132), Greco Rendon, jr. (126); Jon Barrick, so. (195); Connor Lezama, sr. (160)
Key newcomers: Cayden Parks, fr. (145-160); Payton Ramsey, fr. (106); Thomas Metz, jr. (182); Erik Maldonado (182)
Worth noting: Diaz and Butler both return after qualifying for the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association State Championships last season. … Lehr has high expectations for Carlson this season. “We’re hoping he can compete for a state title for us this season,” Lehr said. … Gaunaurd returns to the lineup after breaking his leg last year. … Berek also returns after hurting his wrist during an impressive freshman year. … Lehr wants to continue the tradition of competing for a conference and regional title. “It’s always our goal. Hopefully guys can stay healthy and things shake out,” Lehr said.
Crystal Lake South
Coach: Ross Ryan (15th season)
Last season: 3-6, 3-6 FVC
Top returners: Shane Moran, sr. (170/182); Amador Castro, sr. (120); Connor Hamm, sr. (145); Austin Laurie, jr. (132); Andy Buburija, so. (285); Lukas Bjork, sr. (152)
Key newcomers: Josh Glover, sr. (113); Alex Flores; Casey Brichta Bachar, so. (170); Mikey Knowles, so. (182/195)
Worth noting: Ryan expects big things from Moran, who will try to return to the state meet for the third time this season after barely missing out as a freshman. “Just seeing his improvement and where he’s able to go and hopefully get to a podium. I know he has pretty lofty goals, but I think he should,” Ryan said. ... Marian Central transfer Josh Glover is expected to give a big boost to the lineup. “He’s going to be something to contend with. He’s got lots of skill, and he’s tough,” Ryan said.
Dundee-Crown
Coach: Tim Hayes (seventh season)
Last season: 13-5 overall, 6-3 FVC
Top returners: Matt Impastato, sr. (145); Porter Leith, jr. (195); Dominick Poremba, sr. (170/182); Patrick Sierzputowski, sr. (132); Juan Jasso, sr. (220)
Key newcomers: Alec Rice, so. (106); Jose Gavina, so. (152/160); Jett Boerger, so. (152/160)
Worth noting: Dundee-Crown starts the season in Antioch for the Ted Derousse tournament, where the wrestlers could have nine matches in two days. “I’m really hoping they can get their legs under them for a full day for a tournament and potentially wrestle four to five times in a day, come back and do it the next day,” Hayes said. … Hayes said the team now has 12 girls wrestlers registered, which is a program high. “I’m really happy with the growth of that aspect of the sport,” Hayes said. … Hayes believes great leadership from his upperclassmen will help the younger athletes to develop. “I just want to try to make the most of every opportunity that we get to compete this season,” Hayes said.
Hampshire
Coach: Randy Mitty (fifth season)
Last season: 8-7 overall, 4-4 FVC
Top returners: Matt Muller, so. (120); Niko Skoulikaris, jr. (152); Patryk Barnas, sr. (285)
Worth noting: Mitty is hoping to advance as many wrestlers as possible to state, as well has his top three returnees, who’ve all come close with some honorable mention placements. … Hampshire will get some wrestlers back after they didn’t compete last season. Mitty and his coaches are excited to welcome them back. “They’ve been in the room like they didn’t skip a beat,” Mitty said. … Hampshire will return 10 wrestlers who have varsity experience. The program has 48 total, with a good mix of upperclassmen and underclassmen. “We have a great core group of juniors and seniors with that varsity experience that we’re looking to really fill the lineup to get them ready for next year with a big push and big run,” Mitty said.
Huntley
Coach: B.J. Bertelsman (10th season)
Last season: 13-8 overall, 8-1 FVC
Top returners: Ryder Hunkins, sr. (182); Jake Jensen, sr. (126); Sam Henkle, sr. (120); Zach Gurgala sr.
Worth noting: Bertelsman is looking forward to getting three-time state qualifier Jensen and two-time state qualifier Hunkins back into the state meet. … Huntley is going through a youth movement. The program will feature 67 wrestlers, 45 of whom are underclassmen. “We’re kind of in a transition where we need our seniors to step up and show the freshmen and sophomores that this is how we used to do it and this is how you’re going to do it in order to be successful,” Bertelsman said.
Jacobs
Coach: Gary Conrad (10th season)
Last season: 10-0, 9-0 FVC
Top returners: Dominic Ducato, jr. (106); James Wright, jr. (126); Joey Scarvani, so. (170)
Worth noting: Juniors Ducato and Wright will lead the way, both having state-qualifying experience. ... Conrad is looking forward to getting back to normal this season after last school year’s spring season. He’s going to have to work on retraining some wrestlers after a long layoff from the sport but looks forward to having his wrestlers compete for a shot at the state tournament. “We’ve got a couple kids who have a good shot of doing well down there, so we’re looking forward to it,” Conrad said.
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McHenry
Coach: Jake Guardalabene (sixth season)
Last season: 15-7 overall, 6-3 FVC
Top returners: Brody Hallin, sr. (170); Nick Garantziotis, sr. (195); Lucas Van Diepen, jr. (120); Nate Hanson, jr. (138); Rocky Piehl, sr. (138); Ruben Melgarejo, jr. (145/152); Luke Zunkel, sr. (220); Pedro Jimenez, so. (126); Jimmy Norris, jr. (113)
Key newcomers: Ryan Hanson, fr. (106); Ryan Nagle, so. (132)
Worth noting: Hallin is a three-time state qualifier who finished fourth at last season’s IWCOA state meet at 152 … Marian Central transfer Chris Moore will give McHenry a boost in the middle of its lineup … Guardalabene has high expectations for his team this season, hoping to win a conference and regional title and advance wrestlers to state and compete as a team. “I think we have the best team top to bottom that we’ve had in the last six or seven years,” Guardalabene said.
Prairie Ridge
Coach: Justin Peete (first season)
Top returners: Tyler Evans, jr. (120); Xander York, so. (138); Ryan Koelblinger, jr. (145)
Top newcomers: Jake Lowitski, fr. (106); Mikey Meade, fr.
Worth noting: Peete heads into his first season as the program’s head coach after being an assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He said he has a lot of young wrestlers who have some varsity experience. … Sophie Robinson could make a run at the state meet, the first girls state berth for the school. … Peete wanted to play a bigger role in his athletes’ development, which is why he came down to the high school ranks. “If I can help a 15-, 16-, 17-year-old develop their mindset and start to do everything at the next level, I think that’s my mentality here: bringing everything I learned at that next level, down to this level,” Peete said.
Kishwaukee River Conference
Harvard
Coach: David Schultz (sixth season)
Last season: 11-6 overall, 4-1 KRC
Top returners: Ivan Rosas, sr. (145); Nathan Rosas, sr. (220); Bailey Livdahl, jr. (170); Brian Hernandez, jr. (120)
Worth noting: Harvard will have a lot of seniors returning. The Hornets graduated one senior from last season’s team and will have plenty of experience heading into the first few weeks of duals and tournaments. Schultz is excited to see how his returning seniors do in a normal year, against talent from different parts of the state.
Johnsburg
Coach: Mike Miller (fifth season)
Last season: 3-10, 2-3 KRC
Top returners: Logan Kirk, sr. (152); Kyle Rasper, sr. (182)
Key newcomer: Landon Johnson, fr. (132)
Worth noting: Miller is focusing on helping his two seniors get to state. Kirk lost in the blood round at last season’s IWCOA state meet but is a consistent IHSA sectional qualifier. “Those are our two big guys. We don’t have a lot of guys, but they’re our two better ones that hopefully we can get down to Champaign,” Miller said. … This season’s team has fewer wrestlers than in years past. Miller wants to focus on building up the program for the upcoming seasons. “We want to lay down the foundation of a culture that at our junior high level, we have 30-40 kids registered. We just want to build the framework for that. It’s going to come in years forward,” Miller said.
Marengo
Coach: Tim Keefer (16th season)
Last season: 13-1, 4-2 KRC
Top returners: Robel Addis, jr. (120); Mason Lampe, so. (140); Logan Miller, jr. (132); Hunter Smith, jr. (195); Ethan Struck, jr. (120); Eddie Solis, sr. (215); Michael Macias, sr. (285); Camden Weirich, jr. (120)
Key newcomers: Ruben Boyd, jr.; Bryce Ostler, fr.; Dakota Nelson, fr.; Ryan Hauser, fr.; Quatroke Maverick, so.; Gavin Prudlick, fr.; Ryley Adamson, jr.
Worth noting: Struck made the state meet as a freshman, and Keefer thinks he has the potential to return after no IHSA state meet last season. … Keefer expects his team to compete for a conference title and is looking forward to having a nice blend of experience and youth. “That junior class, I’m really excited to see what they can do. With the help from the freshmen and sophomores, I think it’s going to help them make a great team,” Keefer said.
Richmond-Burton
Coach: Tony Nelson (seventh season)
Last season: 6-12, 2-3 KRC
Top returners: Brock Wood, sr. (220); Alex Reyna, so. (170); Steven Tower, sr. (160); Nate Madula, jr. (138); Brody Rudkin, so. (132); Joe Reyna, sr. (195)
Key newcomers: Emmet Nelson, fr. (113); Clay Madula, fr. (106); Dalton Youngs, fr. (120); Dane Sorensen, fr. (126); Issac Jones, fr. (152); Ethan Heil, fr. (145); Ivan Herrera, so. (182)
Worth noting: Nelson will have experienced and new talent this season. He welcomes back Wood, who is a state champion. ... He’ll also welcome in Nelson, who impressed in grade school and is expected to place at the state meet as a freshman if everything goes according to plan. “This could be the first time of having multiple state medalists in a long time,” Nelson said. … The starting lineup will feature a mix of different-aged wrestlers this season, which has Nelson excited. “This will be the most well-rounded group I’ve had since being here,” Nelson said.
Woodstock
Coach: Patrick Grisolia (third season)
Last season: 0-8, 0-8 KRC
Top returners: Gavin Loiselle, sr. (220); Caleb Sciame, sr. (120); Max Hodory, jr. (132); Travis Cote, sr. (138); Alex Iversen, sr. (145/152); Jovanni Murillo, jr.; Daniel Bychowski, so. (106)
Key newcomer: Trevor Cote, fr. (126)
Worth noting: Grosolia is excited to see how far his team can go. Loiselle is a multisport athlete who went 8-0 last season, and Sciame has advanced far in the regionals and sectionals. “These boys know that my biggest motto is ‘Hard work yields great results,’ and they buy into it, which is fantastic,” Grosolia said. … Woodstock didn’t win a dual last season after not having enough wrestlers because of them electing to play other sports, which forced the team to forfeit some weight classes. Grosolia is looking forward to having his full group of wrestlers. “It’s fantastic because we can fill every single weight class, which means we now become competitive with others,” Grosolia said.
East Suburban Catholic Conference
Marian Central
Coach: Fernie Silva (first season)
Last season: 12-0, 3-0 ESCC
Top returners: Nik Jimenez, sr. (145); Charlie Fitzgerald, jr. (120); Max Estacio so. (152); Aidan Harmon, jr. (113)
Key newcomers: Vance Williams, fr. (132); Val Williams, jr.
Worth noting: Silva takes over after his uncle left the program after last season. He’ll try to keep most of the same lessons as before, with a more college feel to the locker room, adding strength and conditioning work to go along with cardio. “I like to incorporate everything that I can so that the guys are ready when it comes time,” Silva said. … Jimenez returns after winning the IWCOA state title at 132. … Val Williams became the program’s first girls wrestler this season. … After losing a lot of seniors from last season’s team, Silva is looking forward to a total transition in the program. “It’s just a great opportunity to start over. We lost a lot of seniors last year, so we have a younger team, but I know the guys are looking forward to the season. All our guys seem to have bought into the system already,” Silva said.