Everything you need to know about the 2024 IHSA boys wrestling state series

The 2024 IHSA wrestling state series kicked off for the girls last weekend, and now the boys hit the mats, many with the ultimate goal of going all the way.

And several from the Rockford area have a shot to get there.

"I needed this, and I need to go to state," said East's Joe Young, who won a NIC-10 title at 120 last weekend. "I've got a conference title, now I want more. This (the conference meet) was more like a warmup for regionals. I feel ready now."

The last Rob Sherrill rankings through Illinois Matmen were just released as the postseason arrives, and the table is set all across the state.

So here is everything you need to know headed into the boys state series for wrestling, including what, when and who to watch:

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What's coming

The postseason kicks off with the IHSA regionals this weekend, followed by sectionals and state. Last Friday, nine girls advanced out of regionals and into sectionals. Now it's the boys' turn.

"I always wanted to see what it would be like in 3A, and I knew I was capable of wrestling up here," said junior T.J. Silva, who recently moved and went from Class 1A Dakota to 3A Hononegah. "Now I'll really get to show where I belong."

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The Class 1A Stillman Valley Regional will host the hosts as well as Byron; Dakota; Durand; Galena; Genoa-Kingston; Lena-Winslow/Stockton; Oregon; Boylan; West Carroll; and Winnebago. Byron will host this area's 1A sectional the following weekend.

The 2A Rochelle Regional will include the hosts, as well as: Freeport; Harvard; Polo; Rochelle; East; Sycamore; Woodstock; and Woodstock North. That will feed into the 2A Sycamore Sectional.

The 3A Huntley Regional, which feeds into the Barrington Sectional, will also include the recent NIC 10 champion Hononegah, as well as: Belvidere co-op; Harlem; Auburn; Guilford; Jefferson; Algonquin Jacobs; and Hampshire.

The top three finishers in each weight class advance from regionals to sectionals, while the top four at sectionals move on to state. The IHSA state wrestling tournament will be held from Feb. 15-17 in Champaign.

Who to watch

There are plenty of wrestlers who are planning to make it out of regionals and onto sectionals, and some that have the mindset that they will get all the way to state. For a very select few, the dream of winning a medal, and even a gold, is within reach.

The top-ranked wrestlers to watch from Class 3A: Rocco Cassioppi (Hononegah), No. 1 at 106; Bruno Cassioppi (Hononegah), No. 4 at 113; T.J. Silva (Hononegah), No. 2 at 132; Brody Sendele (Hononegah), No. 3 at 157; Connor Diemel (Hononegah), No. 6 at 165; Kurt Smith (Hononegah), No. 7 at 175;

The top-ranked wrestlers to watch from Class 2A: Tommy Tourdot (Rochelle) and Joe Young (East), both high-honorable mention at 120, and could meet up at regionals, and sectionals — and state; Xavier Villalobos (Rochelle), No. 5 at 126; Donald Cannon (East), No. 9 at 132; Brenden Voight (Rochelle), No. 10 at 144; Grant Gensler (Rochelle), No. 7 at 165; Malachi Cannon (East), No. 8 at 165; Kaiden Morris (Rochelle), No. 3 at 215; Lee Smith (East), No. 3 at 285.

The top-ranked wrestlers to watch from Class 1A: Nelson Benesh (Oregon), No. 9 at 113; Jason Bowers (Dakota), No. 6 at 144; Anthony Bauer (Oregon), No. 3 at 157; Jared Dvorak (Lena-Winslow/Stockton), No. 4 at 157; Carsen Behn (Byron), No. 9 at 157; Brady Haas (Le-Win/Stockton), No. 9 at 165; Eli Larson (Le-Win/Stockton), No. 2 at 175; Noah Wenzel (Dakota), No. 1 at 215; Mike Haas (Le-Win/Stockton), No. 3 at 215; Randy McPeek (Dakota), No. 7 at 285.

Others who could make some noise are: (3A) Hononegah's Jackson Olson, who has entered the honorable-mention portion of the rankings at 120; Belvidere's Dominic Girardin, fresh off a second-place finish at NIC-10 championships at 138; (2A) Bryson Teunissen (Belvidere co-op), fresh off NIC-10 title at 120; Dana Wickson (East), who rolled to the NIC-10 title at 144; Brock Metzger (Rochelle), who dominated at 190 this season; (1A) Michael Pannerale (Stillman Valley), the first honorable mention name on the list at 106, and Mack Jones (Stillman Valley) at 113, is also moving up; Gavin Ekberg (North Boone) has been moving up at 126; Arrison Bauer (Le-Win/Stockton) is trending upward at 132; Le-Win/Stockton has two honorable mentions at 150 (John Mensendike and Carson McPeek); Kyle Jones (Byron), has been solid all year and is one spot out of the latest rankings at 190;

When does it all happen?

Each of the regional meets will begin wrestling at 9 a.m., and while the next times could change due to length of matches and injuries, most of the place matches and finals will begin between 2-3 p.m. Saturday.

The top three wrestlers in each weight class advance from regionals to sectionals, and the top four move on from sectionals to state.

The sectionals will be held on Feb. 9-10, with the preliminary rounds on the first day, and the semis, place matches and finals on the last day. Those that advance to state, will reconvene in Champaign from Feb. 15-17. The first two days will be for prelims, while place matches and finals will be held on Feb. 17.

Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a wide variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears to youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star, and for over 30 years altogether.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Everything you need to know about the IHSA boys wrestling state series