The Sentinel: Girls Wrestling

Loyola's Hiller claims second straight state wrestling title

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Ramblers' Harlee Hiller (left) pushes Hampshire's Amelia Nidelea-Polanin head to the mat on her way to winning her second state champion title. In her four-year prep career, Hiller never placed below third at the IHSA state tournament.

BLOOMINGTON – Loyola Academy senior Harlee Hiller capped her high school wrestling career with another championship performance at the IHSA Girls Wrestling State Finals on Saturday. Hiller won all four of her matches in the 115-pound division at Grossinger Motors Arena, earning her second consecutive state title.

Hiller allowed just three points across the tournament while controlling each match. In the finale, she defeated Mt. Zion’s Sydney Cannon by a 12-0 major decision. After a scoreless first period, Hiller broke the match open in the second with a takedown and nearfall to go ahead 7-0. The Rambler added an escape and another takedown early in the third period, then tacked on one final point in the closing seconds.

The title run marked a return to the top for Hiller, who finished as the 115-pound runner-up last season after a 4-3 loss to Gabby Gomez of Glenbard North. As a sophomore, she captured the 105-pound championship, and she placed third in the inaugural IHSA girls wrestling state series during her freshman year in 2022.

Hiller opened her final state tournament with a first-period pin against Metea Valley’s Ashley Basmajian in 1:21. She advanced through the quarterfinals after LaSalle-Peru’s Kiely Domyancich was disqualified in the second period. In the semifinals, Hiller shut out Hampshire’s Amelia Nidelea-Polanin with an 11-0 major decision.

With two titles and four state medals in as many years, Hiller leaves Loyola Academy as one of the program’s most accomplished wrestlers.

More photos from Hiller's 115 pound match against Hampshire’s Amelia Nidelea-Polanin.

Molina recovers after first match loss, Unity junior still in the hunt for top 3 finish

**BLOOMINGTON** - Unity's Phoenix Molina pulls Lockport's Rebekah Ramirez arm while looking for a takedown in their 235-pound match at the IHSA Girls' Individual Wrestling State Finals at Grossinger Motors Arena on Friday. Molina advanced to the division's consolation quarterfinal after pinning Ramirez in the first period at 1:04. She will face DeKalb's Aarianna Bloyd tomorrow for spot in the semifinals.

Off-season work pays off; St. Joseph-Ogden's Maddie Wells heads to state wrestling

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

St. Joseph-Ogden's Maddie Wells (left) wrestles Urbana's Rickasia Ivy in dual meet in December. Wells and Ivy, who took second place, qualified for the IHSA Girls Individual Wrestling State Finals in Bloomington Feb. 28 - Mar. 1.

HIGHLAND - At the beginning of the season in December, when asked what she wanted to accomplish this season, St. Joseph-Ogden's Maddie Wells said, "I'm really hoping to qualify for girls' state for the first time." Mission accomplished.

Wells, a junior who started wrestling three years ago, is a warrior. Yesterday, she became the first St. Joseph-Ogden female athlete to qualify for the IHSA's Girls Wrestling State Finals. Finishing third in the 140-pound division, the junior's grueling path through the bracket to punch her ticket to the state tournament in Bloomington was sealed after six matches at the Highland Sectional.

"I was kind of in disbelief and I was happy for all my friends that I’ve made along the way that also qualified," Wells said after her third-place finish. "I was most excited to eat Chipotle, though."

Except for her quarterfinal loss to Collinsville's Taylor Dawson, who won the sectional title in their division, Wells won four matches by fall and recorded a techfall in her consolation semifinal win over Mt. Vernon's Daniya Musgrave.

Mentally and emotionally, she said her first match of sectionals was the most stressful.

"My qualification match was my toughest," she admitted. "My previous two years I had been knocked out in this round so I was the most nervous."

Wells won her sectional opener, pinning Salem's Alan Finney at 1:44. Her quarterfinal loss to Dawson lasted 42 seconds. She bounced back from the defeat to win her next four bouts.

All the work Wells put in during the off-season paid dividends. She heads to the state tournament at Grossinger Motors Arena with an 18-6 record.

"I do a lot of open gyms," she said. She also attended camps at the University of Illinois during the summer to sharpen her technical skills. "And, I did some off-season girls tournaments."

Now a trailblazer for the Spartan girls' program and one of two girls on this year's squad, she hopes that her success will influence other female athletes to join the sport.

"I feel privileged to be able to pave the path but I feel excited to see the girls that follow," she said. "I hope I inspired girls younger than me to not be afraid of trying new things despite their gender and being able to follow their dreams."

Maddie Wells sectional match results:

Champ. Round 1 - Maddie Wells won by fall over Alana Finney, Salem - Fall 1:44
Quarterfinal - Taylor Dawson, Collinsville 32-3 won by fall over Maddie Wells - Fall 0:42
Cons. Round 2 - Maddie Wells won by fall over Kaisley Shotkoski, Mahomet-Seymour - Fall 1:15
Cons. Round 3 - Maddie Wells won by fall over Jacee Mardirosian, Carterville - Fall 3:34
Cons. Semi - Maddie Wells won by tech fall over Daniya Musgrave, Mt. Vernon - TF-1.5 2:18 18-0
3rd Place Match - Maddie Wells won by fall over Lillien Roughton, Unity Christian - Fall 3:09

Unity's Phoenix Molina finishes second at state wrestling meet

BLOOMINGTON - Unity's Phoenix Molina wrestles Prairie Central's Chloe Hoselton in their 235-pound match at the IHSA Girls' Individual Wrestling State Finals. Molina lost the bout in an ultimate tie-break, 2-1. See how she progressed through this year's bracket in the recap below. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Photo: PhotoNews Media

First Round:
Molina won in sudden victory 2-1 over Homewood-Flossmoor senior Jocelyn Williams. After a scoreless first period, Williams grabbed the lead in the second period after an escape. Molina reciprocated in the next period, tying the score at one each. Williams lost the match thanks to a penalty point to Molina in the first overtime.

Quarterfinal:
Molina won by a 4-2 decision over Ottawa's Juliana Thrush. With four seconds left in the match and the score tied at 2-all, Molina scores on a takedown to secure the victory.

Semifinal:
Molina wins by decision against Oak Park-River Forest's Sarah Epshtein by a 3-2 decision thanks to a second-period escape and a third-period takedown.

Championship Match:
Molina, placing second, is defeated by Prairie Central's Chloe Hoselton in the ultimate tie-breaker, 2-1.

Photo Gallery | Lightweights lift SJO in home win over Clinton

ST. JOSEPH - The St. Joseph-Ogden wrestling squad won seven out of the nine lightest weight classes on the way to a 56-36 win last night over Clinton. Here are photos from last night's action-packed meet against the Maroons.

Spartan's Hunter Ketchum rolls Clinton's Aric Oliver to his back in their 182-pound match on Thursday in the Main Gym at St. Joseph-Ogden High School. Ketchum, competing in second season, picked up his first varsity win with pin at 2:55.

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Fans cheer after St. Joseph-Ogden 182-pounder Hunter Ketchum's win over Clinton's Aric Oliver. Ketchum's victory put the first six point on SJO's side of the scoreboard.

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

SJO's Peyton Sarver tries to drive Kael Morlock face down into the mat during their 195-pound match. Sarver battled valiantly for nearly six minutes before suffering a loss by pin with 8 seconds left on the clock. Fall 5:52

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Peyton Sarver overpowers Clinton's Kael Morlock during second period action in their 195-pound match. Sarver is one for four seniors on this year's Spartan wrestling team.

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Wrestling at 285-pounds, SJO wrestler Quincy Jones looks for a shot in on Clinton's Dawson Thayer. Thayer went on to beat the Spartan in the first period by pin.

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Clinton's Dawson Thayer wrestles Spartans' Quincy Jones.

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Jackson Walsh shoots in for a takedown on Clinton's Jeremiah Ortiz during the 106-pound match. Walsh prevailed with pin at 4:47. Earlier in the triangle meet on Thursday, Walsh suffered defeat by El Paso-Gridley's Nolan Whitman by way of a first period pin.

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

With the crowd cheering behind him, 106-pound wrestler Jackson Walsh from SJO celebrates his win over Clinton's Jeremiah Ortiz. Walsh, a sophomore

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

St. Joseph-Ogden's Emmitt Holt dumps Clinton's Gabe Walker to the mat during their 120-pound bout. Holt, the only junior this year's squad, ran up the match score up to a 20-3 tech fall and tallied his second win of the day. Earlier in SJO's first match of the evening, Holt defeated El Paso-Gridley's Caleb Graham with a second period pin.

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Spartans' Holden Brazelton somersaults out of a takedown attempt by Clinton's Cayden Poole in their 132-pound match. Brazelton, who finished 6th at last year's state finals as a 120-pound freshman, destroyed Poole by major decision, 11-2.

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

SJO's Holden Brazelton tries force Clinton's Cayden Poole out of a neck bridge in their 132-pound match. Brazelton, who finished 6th at last year's state finals as a 120-pound freshman, destroyed Poole by major decision, 11-2.

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Student fans and members of the St. Joseph-Ogden wrestling team cheer for Holden Brazelton at the end of the second period during his match against Clinton's Cayden Poole.

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Holden Brazelton scores a takedown in his 132-pound match against Clinton's Cayden Poole.

Media/Clark Brooks

Representing SJO in the 138-pound weight class against Clinton, Landen Butts was all business in his match against Maroons' Sable Taylor. Butts crafted a 16-0 techinical fall to win the bout. Earlier in the evening, the sophomore lost to El Paso-Gridley's Tyler Roth by pin. Tech Fall 16-0

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

After earning back points, Spartans' Coy Hayes looks for an attack on Clinton's Russel Stamp. Hayes won the 152-pound match in the second period by pin.

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

SJO wrestler Maddie Wells tries score points on Clinton's Ariana Humes during their 120-pound match. Wells, a freshman, earned six points for the Spartans after pinning Humes at 2:48.

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks