Boys wrestling: Montini, IC Catholic Prep advance 8 to state championship matches

CHAMPAIGN — It promises to be an edge-of-the-seat thrilling final session at the boys state wrestling championships Saturday night at State Farm Center on the campus of the University of Illinois.

Class 2A powers Montini Catholic and IC Catholic, ever present all throughout the 14 weight divisions, will have a staggering 8 combined in the championship bouts Saturday evening under the spotlight.

Over in 3A, area fans will cheer four who advanced, including reigning state champions from Marmion Academy, Nicholas Garcia and Zachary Stewart.

Stewart (33-2), who recently bumped up from 138 to 144, will meet his good friend Evan Gosz (Fremd, 46-2) while Garcia (24-1) has Michael Esteban (Marist, 35-7) to contend with at 126 pounds.

"Evan and I are great friends, and along with Seth Mendoza (three-time state champion, Mt. Carmel) we train together at club. So I expect a great match, and right now I am grateful to be in another state final," said Stewart.

No. 1 Dom Munaretto (St. Charles, 50-1) is after his second state title in three years when he meets No. 2 Brady Phelps (Schaumburg, 42-4) in their third meeting of the season.

"I am just excited to be wrestling for a state title tomorrow," said Munaretto, second a year ago.

West Aurora senior Dominic Serio was near flawless on Friday as he advanced into his 157-pound final with Liam Kelly (33-5) from state power Mt. Carmel.

Serio (36-4) got off to a flying start against sophomore Radic Dvorak (44-4) from Huntley, a name to watch during the next two seasons.

"I've been putting in a lot of extra work lately, up early each and every day, working hard in and out of the room, and really watching what I've been eating, which is such an important thing for a wrestler," said Serio, fourth a year ago.

In 2A, reigning state champions Allen Woo (Montini, Catholic, 48-5) and Deven Casey (IC Catholic, 46-6) were unstoppable at their respective 113 and 132 weight divisions.

"Nobody works harder than Allen. His offseason training regimen was incredible, and you're seeing now how all of that extra work is paying off," said Montini coach Mike Bukovsky.

The Broncos will have three others in the finals: Mikey Malizzio (40-8, 120), Kam Luif (49-4) the No. 1 man at 138, and Santino Tenuta (40-7) at 165.

The No. 1 team in 2A will be joined by four from their 2A rivals from IC Catholic, No. 3 in the state polls behind Washington.

In addition to the aforementioned Deven Casey, teammates Max Cumbee (126, 19-5), freshman Aidan Arnett (144, 37-10) and No. 1 Colin Kelly (175, 45-5) will all be a part of the final session of this three-day tournament.

"My confidence is so much better compared to last year at this time. It's a big reason why I am back in the state final," said Kelly, second in 2024 at 152 pounds.

Cary-Grove senior Lucas Burton seemed to be on a collision course with No. 1 Jose Del Toro (East Peoria, 48-2) in the 285-final until Burton (30-3) fell short in his bid when the No. 2 rated Trojans star fell to Cody Moss (38-5) of Glenwood.

Burton had previously needed just 72 seconds to pin his first two opponents to set up his semifinal with Moss.

Class 1A stars Chasen Kazmierczak (45-8) and Lincoln Hoger (132, 45-8), both from Wheaton Academy, and St. Francis junior Jaylen Torres (30-3) are each a win away from securing a state medal.

No. 5 Kazmierczak would advance into his 157-pound final with No. 2 Brian Ivey (Newman Central Catholic, 47-3) where he dropped an intense contest 7-4.

Torres, second a year ago to Jason Dowell (Althoff, 31-2), would meet the reigning state champion in a wrestle-back quarterfinal between the top two big men in 1A, and use a massive throw to pin Dowell, who entered the tournament undefeated before a stunning upset in the quarterfinals.

Final day of competition will begin at 9 a.m. as wrestle-back play continues, followed immediately with the third- and fifth-place matches.

The always entertaining and highly anticipated Grand March starts at 5:30 p.m., with finals across all three classes starting at 6.