Yorkville tops runner-up Joliet West at Southwest Prairie Meet for fourth straight title

Joliet West finished second with 488 points

Yorkville’s Jack Ferguson spins around Joliet West’s Aiden Brown in the 157-pound weight SPC Conference championship match at Joliet West on Saturday, Jan 25, 2025.

JOLIET – The SouthWest Prairie Conference Boys Wrestling Meet held Saturday had just about everything you’d expect from an SPC tournament – competitive matches, a wide variety of champions, and the Yorkville Foxes taking home the top prize.

Yorkville finished with 554 points and went into the finals with first place all but locked up. It was another strong day in a very strong season for the Foxes, who won their fourth straight SPC title.

“We came in expecting a lot of guys to get to the finals,” Yorkville coach Jake Oster said. “We got 10 in the finals. ... I think it’s a good test with regionals coming up and so many of our regional teams being in this conference.

“It’s good to get those matchups to get set up for two weeks from now.”

While the final result was all but known entering the finals, the Foxes didn’t run away with it. Much of that was thanks in large part to the effort of the hosts, Joliet West. The Tigers took second place on the day with 488 points and went 3-1 against Yorkville in finals matches.

“Our schedule is very tough,” first-year West coach Awais Arain said. “We wrestle a lot of quality teams throughout the year, and our guys have really battled tough and hung in there. We’ve been trusting the process, preparing.

“Our belief and confidence is high, and it’s showing.”

Joliet West’s Carson Weber works over Yorkville’s Donovan Rosauer in the 150-pound weight SPC Conference championship match at Joliet West on Saturday, Jan 25, 2025.

Minooka (422 points) took home the team bronze to round out the top three.

The tournament was rounded out, in order, by Plainfield South (365.5), Oswego (338), Joliet Central (323), Plainfield North (291), Bolingbrook (251.5), Plainfield Central (194.5), Plainfield East (176), Romeoville (168) and Oswego East (167.5).

As for individuals, the first finals match was a fitting competition of Yorkville vs. West. Nicholas Murdock-Schey of the Tigers battled Ramsey Barton of the Foxes in the 106 bracket, with Murdock-Schey winning by 10-1 major decision.

The Tigers were also represented in the 113-pound final by Jakob Crandall, but were unable to take the gold as Plainfield North’s Maddox Garbis won by technical fall in the second round.

It was a defensive battle in the 120 match between Minooka’s Noah Avina and Joliet West’s Joseph Pedrosa, with Pedrosa coming out on top of a 1-0 decision.

The 126-pound match may have been the battle of the day. Plainfield North’s Aidan DuRell led much of the bout. Yorkville’s Nathan Craft came from behind to take the lead late in the third period before DuRell made a quick move in the closing seconds to get the 13-12 win.

“(I’m) tired,” DuRell said. “That kid was good, but I’m better. It feels good (to be a conference champion).”

It was Tigers against Foxes once more in the 132 final. Adrian Hernandez continued his recent hot streak for West, beating Vincent Konecki by a 15-3 major decision.

The Foxes got a wrestler to the top spot on the podium with Dominic Recchia‘s 138-pound win over Oswego East’s Braeden Grisham via 18-5 major decision. Brayden Swanson of Oswego High reversed things shortly after, though, as he took down the Foxes’s Donncha Souza via fall in the second round of the 144 final.

Carson Webber of Joliet West picked up his 150th career victory in the semifinals and kept on rolling in the finals. The senior downed Yorkville’s Donovan Rosauer by technical fall to win the 150-pound title.

The head-to-head streak for West against Yorkville ended in the 157 title bout, as Jack Ferguson bested Aiden Brown by technical fall in the second round.

The 165-pound championship saw a break from the top two teams. Bolingbrook’s Tommy McDermott and Minooka’s Kaden Meyer faced off. McDermott came out on top of a 7-4 decision, but said he’s not just settling for a conference belt.

Minooka’s Kaden Meyer drops Bolingbrook’s Tommy McDermott in the 165-pound weight SPC Conference championship match at Joliet West on Saturday, Jan 25, 2025.

“It feels good, but this isn’t the end goal,” McDermott said. “The end goal is to make it down to state and place. Getting on the podium has always been the goal. It’s great to be a conference champion, but at the end of the day all that matters is placing at state.”

Yorkville managed to claim another individual title in the 175 bracket, as Luke Zook pinned Colin Bickett of Plainfield South in just 21 seconds. The Foxes kept the good times rolling when Ryder Janeczko pinned Minooka’s Santino Capodice in 95 seconds to win the 190-pound final.

Joliet Central managed to hoist a champion, as Charles Walker defeated Luke Chrisse of Yorkville at 215 via 8-4 decision.

Finally, Minooka got their lone champion of the day when Robbie Murphy defeated Romeoville’s Jamir Thomas in the 285 final by a 4-0 decision.