Here are key 2025 IHSA girls, dual team state wrestling storylines to watch in McHenry County

The Illinois high school wrestling season will end this weekend at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington when the boys dual team and girls individual state tournaments take place. McHenry County is set to be represented well during the weekend, with two boys teams and 11 girls wrestlers competing.

Here are some of the most interesting storylines to watch this weekend.

Will McHenry County have its first girls champion?

McHenry County-area girls wrestlers have come close to winning a state championship since the first IHSA-sanctioned tournament took place three years ago. The area seems poised to break through this weekend.

Five of the 11 area qualifiers wrestling this weekend have been at state before, and four of those have placed.

Huntley junior Aubrie Rohrbacher (43-8, 130 pounds) placed third at last season’s tournament while Burlington Central senior Victoria Macias (31-6, 115) has placed three times, reaching as high as fourth. Central sophomore Ryann Miller (37-2, 170) and McHenry junior Natalie Corona (35-5, 140) each placed fifth last year in their respective weights, while Crystal Lake South sophomore Annalee Aarseth (14-2, 110) gained experience as a qualifier.

Some newcomers could also make noise and contend for a title. Hampshire senior Anneliese Tavira (34-4, 170), sophomore Amelia Nidelea-Polanin (33-2, 115) and freshman Samantha Diehl (27-5, 190) were the Whip-Purs’ first three state qualifiers in program history. Tavira and Nidelea-Polanin each won sectional titles at the Schaumburg Sectional.

After getting a taste of winning, Tavira has her sights set to become the area’s first state champion.

“I want to win the tournament, that’s the only goal,” Tavira said. “Go out there and have some fun. I want to show what I’ve been doing.”

Can another girls wrestling record be broken?

Aside from crowning its first girls IHSA state champion, McHenry County will try to build upon another historic season for the area in other categories.

The area already broke a record this year by sending 11 wrestlers down to Bloomington this weekend. Now our area’s wrestlers will try to top the number of wrestlers who have placed at the tournament.

The number to beat will be six. McHenry County continued its gradual increase last season by setting the new benchmark. The area had two state placers in 2022 and three in 2023.

“I want to win the tournament, that’s the only goal. Go out there and have some fun. I want to show what I’ve been doing.”

—  Anneliese Tavira, Hampshire senior

A number of wrestlers will have favorable brackets because of their finishes at sectionals. On top of Tavira and Nidelea-Polanin both winning sectional titles, Rohrbacher and Aarseth finished as runners-up. Diehl and Corona each placed third.

Wrestlers will lean on anything, an easier path or experience, to get as far as they can.

“It’s definitely challenging (at state), especially staying in the right mindset,” Aarseth said. “Getting to compete against those great wrestlers, it’s really exciting. It’s another chance for me to improve and work to get higher on the podium this year.”

Will Marian Central have enough to win back-to-back state titles?

The Hurricanes’ path toward a second straight dual team state championship has seemingly gone according to plan.

Marian started the postseason by winning its second straight Chicagoland Christian Conference title and then added another regional crown. The Hurricanes advanced eight wrestlers to the IHSA individual state tournament, finished with two individual state champions plus three more placers and clinched its spot in the state quarterfinals for a second straight year.

Now they’ll try to make history this weekend. Marian could become the first team in the area to win back-to-back dual team state titles since the IHSA started keeping track in 1936.

The Hurricanes will face Murphysboro in the state quarterfinals Friday. If they win, they’ll have a chance for a couple rematches.

Marian could compete against Coal City, who it beat in last season’s Class 1A state championship, in the semifinals. There’s also a chance it could face off against Vandalia, who beat the Hurricanes earlier this season, in the state title dual.

While Marian is looking forward to the challenge, the Hurricanes are mostly excited to compete together for one last week.

“It’s good to have one last round with our seniors,” sophomore Jimmy Mastny said.

How far can Crystal Lake Central advance?

Although the Tigers might’ve surprised some by advancing to the IHSA quarterfinals, reaching the state tournament for the first time since 2017 always seemed attainable to the team.

“I think we kind of had this in our sights,” Central coach Justen Lehr said. “I don’t know if other people did necessarily this year for us, but we knew we had a good team, and we’ve been working toward this.”

Now Central will try to continue its momentum toward a state title. The Tigers will open state Friday when they take on Mahomet-Seymour in the quarterfinals. They would compete against either Brother Rice or Washington in the semifinals and would eventually likely need to beat favorite IC Catholic in a title dual.

Central had plenty of experience at state under Lehr. This will be the eighth time the Tigers go down to state, all under Lehr. They’ve placed five times, finishing runner-up in back-to-back seasons in 2010 and 2011.