Wrestling: Five IHSA sectional storylines to watch in McHenry County

Boys and girls wrestlers across McHenry County-area schools will compete at sectionals this weekend for a chance to qualify for their respective individual state tournaments. Here are five of the most important storylines to watch Friday and Saturday.

Quest for undefeated season still alive

Two area wrestlers still have a chance to give McHenry County an undefeated season for a second straight year. Richmond-Burton’s Emmett Nelson (43-0) and Crystal Lake South’s Andy Burburija (29-0) will try to make it two years in a row after Chris Moore’s undefeated season last year for McHenry.

Nelson’s journey to finish undefeated coincides with his goal to win a state championship at 144 pounds in Class 1A after finishing his first two seasons as a runner-up. Burburija finished fourth in the Class 2A 285 bracket in his second trip to state last season and will try to give the Gators their second individual state title in three seasons.

Nelson and Burburija are ranked No. 1 in their respective weight classes according to Illinois Matmen and will face a tough sectional bracket. Nelson’s Class 1A Byron Sectional bracket will feature four of the top-10 ranked wrestlers, including No. 2 Carter Rude from Newman Central. Burburija could face No. 4 Lee Smith from Rockford East at the Class 2A Sycamore Sectional.

Since the top-four wrestlers from each sectional bracket advance to state, there are chances that Nelson and Burburija could see rematches in a week at state.

Despite what some might see as pressure to keep an undefeated record, Nelson said he enjoyed using it as motivation.

“It’s just helped my confidence a lot,” Nelson said. “I want to keep winning and winning.”

Plenty of star-studded matchups

The sectionals will have plenty of matchups suited for the state tournament.

Apart from Nelson’s bracket in 1A at 144, the Class 2A Sycamore Sectional will feature plenty of tough brackets, including 175 and 215. Woodstock North’s Kaden Combs is No. 5 and South’s Caden Casimino is No. 6 and both could take on the No. 2, 7 and 8 ranked wrestlers.

Crystal Lake Central’s No. 3 Tommy McNeil, Prairie Ridge’s No. 5 John Fallaw, Woodstock’s No. 7 Andrew Ryan and South’s No. 8 Dominic Ariola all will compete at 215. There’s a chance they could face each other or the No. 2 and 6 ranked wrestlers in what could be the toughest bracket in the state.

There are plenty of other competitive brackets. Marian’s top-ranked wrestlers Jimmy Mastny (157) and Max Astacio (165), along with the Hurricanes’ Brayden Teunissen (120), will compete in a bracket with five top-10 wrestlers. No. 1 Vance Williams (132) will have four in his bracket and No. 1 Anthony Alanis’ (113) will feature three.

Alanis is looking to repeat as a state champion after winning the Class 2A 106 title with Grayslake Central last year. He’s excited for the challenge of a tough sectional bracket to get there.

“All the work our team put in the last couple of weeks is crazy, and we’re able to show it in our final tournaments,” Alanis said. “It’s one of my last high school tournaments, so I’m excited to put on a show for everyone.”

Wrestlers try to go back, make debut at state

Plenty wrestlers will try to return to state, while others will try to make their debut.

Alanis is eying a repeat, while the Hurricanes’ Teunissen and Williams and Rockets’ Nelson finished runner-up last year. Huntley’s Janiah Slaughter took third last season. Central’s Cayden Parks, South’s Burburijia and R-B’s Jasmine McCaskel each finished fourth, while Marian’s Astacio placed fifth.

“It’s just helped my confidence a lot. I want to keep winning and winning.”

—  Emmett Nelson, Richmond-Burton junior

Fourteen boys wrestlers will try to return to the state tournament after qualifying last season.

There will be plenty of wrestlers trying to make their debut, including South’s Casimino. After wrestling for most of his life and his freshman year, Casimino left the sport the past two seasons to focus on football.

He didn’t know what to expect heading into the season but won the 175 title at the Class 2A Crystal Lake Central Regional on Saturday. Casimino knows his ultimate objective.

“The goal is to qualify for state,” Casimino said. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Can girls numbers continue to grow?

McHenry County has been part of the exponential growth of girls wrestling in Illinois over the past few years, and that should continue heading into the third IHSA-sanctioned girls tournament.

Seven area wrestlers competed in the inaugural state tournament two years ago, while eight competed last season. Twenty-six wrestlers qualified for this year’s sectional round, including four regional champions.

Burlington Central’s Victoria Macias is the area’s lone two-time state qualifier trying to make it three, while Huntley’s Slaughter, Aubrie Rohrbacher and Taylor Casey, R-B’s McCaskel and McHenry’s Natalie Corona have each qualified once in the first two years.

Slaughter, Rohrbacher and Casey also have used their past experiences in preparing for this postseason.

“They all knew what they were getting themselves into and have been preparing themselves, staying after practice, running extra, whatever it may be,” Huntley girls coach Gannon Kosowski said. “They’re definitely locked in, and you can tell they’ve been here before.”

Earning some bragging rights

While Marian was the lone area team to win a regional title and advance to a dual team sectional, the race to see who can qualify the most wrestlers for state is still on.

Crystal Lake Central has led the area the past two seasons by sending five wrestlers to Champaign’s State Farm Center each year for state. Marian joined the Tigers in sending five last year.

The Red Raiders led girls teams by sending three wrestlers to state last year, while Huntley and Burlington Central both sent two the first year.

While the Hurricanes are more focused on getting as many wrestlers qualified, Astacio knows just how well his team is wrestling.

“Here, it’s like one team, not 14 different people,” Astacio said. “By the end of all this, at the end of team state, at the end of individual state, the whole state of Illinois is going to know who the baddest guys in the building are.”

Reporter Joe Stevenson contributed to this report