Here are the top wrestlers in the Springfield area ahead of the 2024 boys regionals
The wrestling landscape in the Springfield area may seem awfully familiar.
Chatham Glenwood’s Drew Davis and Auburn’s Joey Ruzic will vie for a third straight individual IHSA state title. Teams such as Glenwood, Petersburg PORTA, Auburn and Jacksonville also remain among the area’s best.
Last year's all-area team The State Journal-Register 2023 wrestlers of the year and all-area team
According to team rankings by Illinois Matmen, Glenwood sits at No. 5 in Class 2A with an 18-5 record and has raked in multiple team titles while Jacksonville is 22nd at 19-2. Lincoln is an honorable mention at 18-8.
In Class 1A, Petersburg PORTA is in ninth place with a 30-7 mark after ascending to fourth place in the Abe’s Rumble tournament at the Bank of Springfield Center in December. Auburn (14-8) and Litchfield (14-11) are listed as honorable mentions.
Teams can only reach dual sectionals by winning the regional team title.
Here are the area’s ranked boys and girls wrestlers ahead of the boys regionals set for this weekend, according to Illinois Matmen. At least a couple of notable past state qualifiers have been saddled by injuries, including Rochester’s Nolan Mrozowski and Jacksonville’s James Cotton.
The top three individuals advance to individual sectionals. The girls regionals took place over the weekend:
BOYS WRESTLING
Brayden Barner, Petersburg PORTA
The senior is ranked No. 7 at 165 pounds. He claimed second place at the Joe Bee Memorial tournament hosted by Springfield High School in December. He bowed out in the finale due to injury. He previously qualified for the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association state finals as a freshman in Class 1A.
Tyler Clarke, Chatham Glenwood
The junior is tabbed No. 5 at 106 pounds. He finished 33-21 last season after making the second round of the 2A consolation bracket at the IHSA state finals. He has reached the top podium in multiple tournaments this season and recently defeated Rochester’s honorable mention, Pierce Bultmann, with an 11-5 decision last week.
Oliver Cooley, Jacksonville
The senior, ranked fifth at 215 pounds, won first place at the Quincy Notre Dame tournament on Saturday to improve to 38-3 overall. He also won titles at the Quincy Invitational and the Steve Bradley Invitational hosted by Bethalto Civic Memorial. He went 36-13 at 220 pounds last season and fell short at the 2A sectional consolation semifinals.
Drew Davis, Chatham Glenwood
The senior is ranked No. 1 at 120 pounds. He has previously won IHSA state titles in 2A at 106 and 113 pounds the past two seasons. He has dominated the mat in each tournament appearance this season with several championships in the higher 126-pound weight class.
John Ben Maduena, Chatham Glenwood
The senior is ranked No. 4 at 138 pounds. He has won a couple of tournaments, including the Chris Hruska Classic in Hoffman Estates and the team’s own Tyler Cox Memorial Invite earlier this season. He reached as far as the 2A quarterfinals at 132 pounds before finishing with a 42-8 mark.
Dawson McConnell, Lincoln
The junior is tabbed No. 10 at 165 pounds. He has reeled off a couple of first-place finishes at the Rochester Rocket Invite and Marty Williams Invitational hosted by Mahomet-Seymour to move to 31-4 overall. Last season, he bowed out of the 2A wrestleback semifinals to end with a 44-7 record.
Vincent Moore, Litchfield
The sophomore, ranked No. 7 at 106 pounds, is currently 27-6 after earning second place in the team’s own Rich Lovellette Invitational on Saturday. He qualified for the 1A state finals last season and went 40-8 overall.
Joey Ruzic, Auburn
The senior, tabbed No. 1 at 126 pounds, won the Rich Lovellette Inviational on Saturday to remain unbeaten at 38-0. The University of Illinois recruit has previously won IHSA state titles at 113 and 120 pounds. He won last year’s state title in a 4-3 tiebreaker.
More: Auburn high school wrestler snags another championship, this time at nationals
Aiden Surratt, Jacksonville
The junior, ranked No. 6 at 285 pounds, has placed in the top three in multiple tournaments, including second at QND to go into the postseason with a 35-5 mark.
Maximus Wiezorek, Chatham Glenwood
The junior stands at No. 5 at 190 pounds and has nabbed multiple gold medals this season, including the Tyler Cox Memorial, Joe Bee Memorial and Murdale tournament in Carbondale. He went 31-15 as a sophomore and narrowly missed a state berth in the 2A sectional consolation semifinals.
1A honorable mentions: Zach Bryant (PORTA, Soph., 120); Joey Burrow (Auburn, Sr., 175); Quinten Chizmar (Auburn, Sr., 144); Cael Cotner (PORTA, Sr., 150); Matthew Crouch (Williamsville/Riverton, Jr., 285); Luis De la Cruz (Beardstown, Jr., 144); Chuck Dailey (Beardstown, Jr., 285); Isaac Guinan (PORTA, Sr., 285); Drayven Hamm (Auburn, Soph., 120); Braxton Kieffer (Litchfield, Soph., 144); Brodie Linn (Auburn, Sr., 165); Cam McCoy (PORTA, Sr., 165); Mike Minor (PORTA, Jr., 138); Tristan Staggs (Litchfield, Soph., 195); Jacob Vogel (PORTA, Sr., 144); Zander Wells (Hillsboro, Sr., 165)
2A honorable mentions: DeShawn Armstrong (Jacksonville, Soph., 120); Pierce Bultmann (Rochester, Fr., 106); Conner Carroll (Rochester, Jr., 113); Keyshaun Harris (Springfield High, Jr., 175); Justin Hay (Glenwood, Sr., 175); Karter Hild (Lincoln, Jr., 126); Chris Hull (Southeast, Soph., 190); Jordan Kholian (Jacksonville, Fr., 126); Jacob Lawrence (Lincoln, Sr., 144); Cody Moss (Glenwood, Soph., 215); Owen Ottino (Glenwood, Sr., 126); Cort Pentecost (Lincoln, Jr., 120); Drake Pfeiffer (Rochester, Jr., 144); Joe Reif (Jacksonville, Soph., 150); Logan Wachendorf (Lincoln, Jr., 285)
GIRLS WRESTLING
Alexis Seymour, Jacksonville
The junior, ranked No. 5, won the Eerie Regional title at 120 pounds with a pin in the second period against Rock Falls' Ryleigh Eriks in the finale. Seymour, who took fourth place at last year’s girls state finals, improved to 24-2 overall.
Kadi Wilbern, Chatham Glenwood
The freshman, coming in at No. 7, won the Mount Zion Regional title at 100 pounds with a pin at the start of the second period against Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley's Justice Milligan in the finale to remain unbeaten at 18-0.
Other sectional qualifiers: Karley Moore (Jacksonville, Sr., 110); Kaitlyn Knight (Jacksonville, Fr., 115); Daisy Gil (Beardstown, Soph., 120); Hailey DeWitt (Jacksonville, Jr., 130); Emily Sanders (Jacksonville, Fr., 235); Carly Ho (Rochester, Fr., 110); Phoenix Criss (Springfield High, Fr., 110); Ella Miloncus (Springfield High, Jr., 115); Jasmine Brown (Auburn, Sr., 115); Lucie Eisenbarth (Rochester, Fr., 115); Reaghan Madura (Springfield High, Jr., 120); Anna Miloncus (Springfield High, Sr., 125); Isabella Resendez (Glenwood, Fr., 125); Jenna Tuxhorn (Glenwood, So., 135); Alexia Glover (PORTA, Fr., 140); Jadyn Perry (Auburn, Sr., 145); Elise Dozier (Glenwood, Fr., 155); Heaven Workman (Auburn, Sr., 170)
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield area top wrestlers for the 2023-24 postseason
