2025-25 Illini Prairie All-Conference Wrestling Team

St. Joseph-Ogden and Unity dominated Illini Prairie Conference wrestling honors, combining for eight of 15 first-team spots as 22 area athletes earned all-conference recognition.

St. Joseph-Ogden's Cam Wagner wrestles at state

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

St. Joseph-Ogden's Cam Wagner wrestles Murphysboro's Julien Tanner durin their first-round 285-pound match at the IHSA Individual Wrestling State Finals in February. Wagner, who fell 4-1 in his first-ever state appearance, was named to the Illini Prairie All-Conference Wrestling First Team

ST. JOSEPH - Area wrestling programs made a strong showing on the Illini Prairie Conference postseason honors list this season, with 22 athletes earning all-conference recognition.

St. Joseph-Ogden and Unity led the area contingent, combining for eight of the 15 spots on the all-conference first team.

SJO placed four wrestlers on the top squad, including sophomore Ben Wells at 113 pounds, junior Cam Wagner at heavyweight and senior standouts Coy Hayes at 165 pounds and Vance McComas at 175 pounds.

Unity matched the Spartans with four first-team selections. Seniors Hunter Shike at 144/150 pounds, Abram Davidson at 165 and Chason Daly at 215 earned the recognition, while freshman Hayden Smith rounded out the Rockets’ first-team honorees.

Two additional area wrestlers also earned first-team recognition. St. Thomas More freshman Jamir Woods was honored at 126 pounds, while Rantoul Township senior Brandon Almanza was selected at 165/175 pounds.

Unity added five wrestlers to the second team, highlighting the depth of the Rockets’ lineup this season. Vince Abon, A.J. Daly, Ben Mullins, Devin Glik and Bradley Smith were each recognized for their performances on the mat.

Spartans’ Cam Getty and Nathan Daly also received second-team honors, while Rantoul senior Michael Anthony completed the area’s list of second-team selections.

Several of the conference honorees also competed on the state stage this season. St. Joseph-Ogden’s Wagner and Wells, along with Unity wrestlers Davidson and Daly, qualified for the IHSA Individual Wrestling State Finals. Unity’s Josh Heath was also a state qualifier and received honorable mention recognition from conference coaches.

Illini Prairie Conference
All-Conference Wrestling Team

1st team:

Nick Litchfield, 132-pounds
Senior, Monticello

Will Osborne, 144-pounds
Junior, Monticello

Lucas Maier, 175-pounds
Sophomore, Pontiac

Brayden Quas, 157-pounds
Sophomore, Pontiac

Jack Voigts, 126-pounds
Freshman, Pontiac

Brandon Almanza, 165/175-pounds
Senior, Rantoul

Ben Wells, 113-pounds
Sophomore, St. Joseph-Ogden

Coy Hayes, 165-pounds
Senior, St. Joseph-Ogden

Vance McComas, 175-pounds
Senior, St. Joseph-Ogden

Cam Wagner, 285-pounds
Junior, St. Joseph-Ogden

Jamir Woods, 126-pounds
Freshman, St. Thomas More

Hunter Shike, 144/150-pounds
Senior, Unity

Hayden Smith, 144/150-pounds
Freshman, Unity

Abram Davidson, 165-pounds
Senior, Unity

Chason Daly, 215-pounds
Senior, Unity

2nd team:

Owen Moser, 175-pounds
Senior, IVC

Aiden Komnick, 120-pounds
Sophomore, Monticello

Kellan Lamb, 126-pounds
Sophomore, Monticello

Drake Weeks, 150-pounds
Senior, Monticello

Max Sinkosky, 175-pounds
Senior, Monticello

Hunter McCullough, 285-pounds
Junior, Pontiac

Andrew Patino, 113-pounds
Sophomore, Prairie Central

Michael Anthony, 215/285-pounds
Senior, Rantoul

Cam Getty, 126-pounds
Senior, St. Joseph-Ogden

Nathan Daly, 150-pounds
Senior, St. Joseph-Ogden

Vince Abon, 106-pounds
Sophomore, Unity

A.J. Daly, 138-pounds
Freshman, Unity

Ben Mullins, 157-pounds
Junior, Unity

Devin Glik, 150/157-pounds
Senior, Unity

Bradley Smith, 190-pounds
Sophomore, Unity

Honorable Mention:

Maison Toliver, 165-pounds
Junior, IVC

Hunter Toliver, 126-pounds
Junior, IVC

Malikai Bremer, 215-pounds
Senior, IVC

Weston Hicks, 138-pounds
Freshman, Monticello

Luke Andruczyk, 144-pounds
Junior, Monticello

Zach Perry, 157-pounds
Sophomore, Monticello

Noah Davis, 138-pounds
Junior, Pontiac

Braden Opperman, 150-pounds
Freshman, Pontiac

Trey Zimmerman, 106-pounds
Freshman, Prairie Central

Elijah Mowery, 190-pounds
Sophomore, Prairie Central

Harley Schultz, 175/190-pounds
Senior, Rantoul

Tyler Seals, 165/175-pounds
Junior, Rantoul

Alex Nutter, 215/285-pounds
Senior, Rantoul

Alex Mager, 190/215-pounds
Sophomore, Rantoul

Aiden Hundley, 138-pounds
Junior, St. Joseph-Ogden

Yashua Walker, 132-pounds
Freshman, St. Thomas More

Lane Sexton, 157-pounds
Junior, St. Thomas More

Josh Heath, 175-pounds
Senior, Unity

Illini Prairie Conference wrestling all-conference 2026, St. Joseph-Ogden Unity wrestling honors, area high school wrestling awards Illinois, IHSA state wrestling qualifiers all-conference

Illini Prairie Conference list all-conference players

St. Joseph-Ogden's Katie Ericksen dribbles the ball

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

St. Joseph-Ogden senior dribbles the ball down the court in the Spartans' home game against Sullivan. Ericksen and two other SJO seniors, Kayla Osterbur and Addy Brooks, were named to the Illini Prairie all-conference basketball teams. See the complete list of this year's first-team through honorable mention below.

First-team all-conference

School Name Year

Central Catholic, Emme Hurie SR
IVC Anna Foster, JR
IVC Alayah Nelton, SO
Monticello Ali Weidner, JR
Pontiac Trinity Miller, SR
SJO Katie Ericksen, SR

Second Team All-Conference

Central Catholic Allison Emm, JR
IVC Kayt Miller, JR
Pontiac Grace Lanning, SR
Prairie Central Addi Donley, FR
Rantoul Josie Roseman, SR
SJO Kayla Osterbur, SR
Unity Grace Bickers, JR

Honorable Mention All-Conference

Central Catholic Taylor Cook, JR
Monticello Sarah Cresap, JR
PBL Hallee Johnson, JR
Pontiac Bailee Branscum, SO
Pontiac Morgan Dewald, SR
Pontiac Araceli Serna, SO
Prairie Central Jayla Hammond, JR
SJO Addie Brooks, SR
STM Leighton Clark, JR

Spartans outlast Rockets in conference clash

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Unity's Natalie Haas collides with St. Joseph-Ogden's Timera Blackburn-Kelley during their regular season conference game last week. The Spartans held off the Rockets to win 57-45, improving to 18-8 and 7-2 in the Illini Prairie Conference.

Photo Gallery

Zerrusen's 22 points lead Unity past Rantoul

Down four after one quarter, Unity flipped the script behind Kendal Zerrusen's 22-point performance to defeat Rantoul 55-48 in conference play.

RANTOUL – In one of her best performances of the season, Kendal Zerrusen poured in 22 points to lead Unity past Rantoul 55-48 in Illini Prairie Conference action on January 22, giving the Rockets their second consecutive victory.

The junior sparked a second-quarter turnaround in the road game after Unity trailed 14-10 following the opening frame. Zerrusen erupted for 10 points in the period as the Rockets surged ahead 29-24 by halftime, and she continued her balanced attack with four points in each of the final two quarters.

Unity Athletics

Grace Bickers contributed 15 points and Claire Meharry added 11 for Unity (8-12), which had defeated St. Thomas More 67-44 four days earlier.

Rantoul (11-11) received 12 points apiece from Khloee McMorris and Laniece Johnson, who came off the bench to match her season high. Senior Josie Roseman chipped in 11 points for the Eagles.

Both teams head into February with postseason preparations in mind. Unity has three regular-season games remaining, while Rantoul will play four more contests—two home and two away—before the playoffs begin.

TAGS: Unity Rockets beat Rantoul Eagles basketball, Kendal Zerrusen 22 points Unity basketball, Illini Prairie Conference girls basketball scores, Unity girls basketball win streak

Depth and pins propel St. Joseph-Ogden to second at IPC wrestling tournament

St. Joseph-Ogden placed second at the Illini Prairie Conference Wrestling Tournament with a 6-1 record. The Spartans swept six duals and fell only to Unity in the championship matchup. SJO opened the tournament with three lopsided wins on Friday.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

SJO's Vance McComas wrestles IVC's Mason Talley in their 190 pound match. McComas pinned Talley at 3:34 for the win. St. Joseph-Ogden went on to win the dual at the conference meet 72-9.

ST. JOSEPH - St. Joseph-Ogden put together a dominant two-day showing at the Illini Prairie Conference Wrestling Tournament, finishing second overall with a 6-1 record and sweeping its six non-Unity duals in convincing fashion. The weekend was yet another sign that Spartan wrestling program is making positive strides back to its position of one of the area's top Class 1A wrestling programs with the return of the Gallo family leading the program after a 16-year hiatus.

The Spartans’ only conference tournament loss came against eventual champion Unity, which secured its seventh league title. SJO controlled the rest of the field, placing ahead of Monticello, Pontiac, Illinois Valley Central, Prairie Central, Rantoul and St. Thomas More.

St. Joseph-Ogden opened the round-robin tournament Friday with a 71-6 rout of Prairie Central, followed by a 72-9 win over Illinois Valley Central. The Spartans closed the first day by overpowering Rantoul 59-9, establishing early momentum behind depth throughout the lineup.

Saturday began with a 48-33 victory over Pontiac, then a 57-24 win over Monticello. SJO capped its non-championship duals by cruising past St. Thomas More 72-12 before setting up a title-deciding matchup with Unity.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Spartans' Cam Getty settles in for a pin during his 126 pound match against Illinois Valley Central's Bradley Allen.

The championship dual began at 144 pounds, where Unity quickly seized momentum. The Rockets opened the match with a fall by Hayden Smith over Alec Bowlin at 144. The team from Tolono strung together victories at 150, 157, 165 and 175 to build an early 27-0 advantage by controlling the middle of the lineup.

St. Joseph-Ogden stopped the run at 190 pounds, where senior Vance McComas pinned Bradley Smith for six points. Unity responded at 215, as Chason Daley delivered a pivotal second-period fall over Liam Carter to extend the lead to 33-6.

At heavyweight, Cam Wagner won his seventh match in two days with a 40-second pin of Christian Sellers. Wagner added valuable team points despite limited competition, recording a pin against Pontiac and collecting multiple forfeits.

As the dual wrapped back through the lighter weights, St. Joseph-Ogden mounted a late surge. Levi Lee earned a first-period pin over Vincent Abon at 106 pounds. Sophomore Ben Wells followed at 113 with two takedowns before pinning Ian Skibbe 38 seconds into the bout. George Hale added another fall at 120 by pinning Deklyn Thomas, and Cam Getty capped the lightweight run with a first-period pin of Bryson Williams at 126.

The four consecutive wins gave SJO a 36-33 advantage heading into the 132-pound match, which the Spartans had to forfeit. In the final contested bout of the meet, Unity clinched the match and conference title with a technical fall by AJ Daly over Aiden Hundley.

Individually for the Spartans, Getty finished the tournament with five wins, all by pin, with his only loss coming in sudden victory against Pontiac freshman Jack Voigts.

Coy Hayes also posted six wins, including five pins and one forfeit, with his lone setback coming by major decision to Unity’s Abram Davidson.

Carter finished with five victories and one loss at 215 pounds. Four of his wins came by pin over opponents from Monticello, Pontiac, Illinois Valley Central and Prairie Central.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

St. Joseph-Ogden 157 pound wrestler Alex Vaughn pins Rantoul's Jordan Cross in the first period. The Spartans cruised to a 59-9 victory over the Eagles on Friday.

TAGS: St. Joseph-Ogden wrestling second place finish, Illini Prairie Conference wrestling tournament recap, SJO Spartans conference wrestling results, Illinois high school conference wrestling standings, Unity vs St. Joseph-Ogden wrestling dual

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the starting weight class of the dual meet between Unity and St. Joseph-Ogden. The match began at 144 pounds, not 106. The story has been updated to reflect the correct order of competition. We regret the error.

Unity wrestling runs the table to capture seventh Illini Prairie Conference title

Individual standouts powered Unity’s run through the tournament. Hunter Shike and Chason Daley both finished 6-0, recording multiple first-period pins. Freshman Hayden Smith added seven wins, contributing depth and bonus points.

Unity Athletics

ST. JOSEPH - Unity left little doubt about its place atop the Illini Prairie Conference this weekend. For Unity, it was a statement performance, blending individual dominance with team-wide consistency. With another conference championship secured, the Rockets will carry both momentum and confidence forged over two decisive days on the mat in the upcoming postseason.

Unity captured their seventh conference championship with a dominant two-day performance, running the table against all seven league opponents to claim the title and improve to 19-10 on the season. Entering the tournament as the No. 1 seed, the Rockets delivered on that billing from start to finish, combining depth, bonus points and timely pins to separate itself from the field.

The championship was effectively decided in Unity’s final dual, a 44-36 win over host St. Joseph-Ogden in what proved to be the Rockets’ stiffest test of the tournament. Despite losses at 106, 113, 120 and 126 pounds, Unity swung the dual with four pivotal pins. Hayden Smith sparked the run with a fall at 144, followed by Hunter Shike at 150 and Josh Heath at 175. Chason Daley sealed the win at 215 with a second-period pin of Liam Carter, providing the eight-point margin that held up at the final whistle.

Unity’s path to the title began Friday with a commanding sweep through the round-robin bracket. The Rockets opened with a 72-10 rout of St. Thomas More, then followed with a 65-9 victory over Prairie Central. They closed the first day by pulling away from Illinois Valley Central, 60-21, positioning themselves for a championship push on Saturday.

Momentum only grew on day two. Unity overwhelmed Rantoul 77-6 and Pontiac 55-20 in its morning duals before dispatching Monticello 54-24. That set the stage for the showdown with St. Joseph-Ogden, where Unity’s ability to generate falls in the middle and upper weights ultimately proved decisive.

Several Rockets delivered standout performances across the two days. Shike was flawless, finishing undefeated while making quick work of most of his opponents. He recorded pins in under a minute in four of his matches and capped his weekend with a first-period fall at 1:55 over St. Joseph-Ogden’s Nathan Daley in his toughest bout of the tournament. With one forfeit mixed in, Shike closed the event at 6-0.

Daley was equally dominant at 215 pounds, posting five victories, all by fall. His most competitive match came against Carter in the finale, ending at 3:49, while his other wins never extended beyond the first period. Like Shike, Daley also benefited from one forfeit to finish 6-0.

Freshman Hayden Smith added to Unity’s depth with seven total wins, three by forfeit. Wrestling at 144, Smith recorded victories over Nicholas Dunner of Rantoul, Braden Oppermen of Pontiac, Drake Weeks of Monticello and Alec Bowlin of St. Joseph-Ogden, contributing critical points throughout the weekend.

St. Joseph-Ogden finished second in the standings at 7-1, sweeping its other six duals with its lone loss coming against Unity. Monticello placed third, followed by Pontiac in fourth, Illinois Valley Central in fifth, Prairie Central in sixth, Rantoul in seventh and St. Thomas More in eighth.

TAGS: Unity Rockets Illini Prairie Conference wrestling championship, Unity High School wrestling conference title, IPC wrestling tournament recap Unity, Unity wrestling St Joseph Ogden dual meet, Central Illinois high school wrestling champions

Mikulich defeats Noyola at IPC meet, Sages' senior wins three matches

Monticello's Christian Mikulich wrestles Rantoul's Brandon Noyola at conference meet

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

ST. JOSEPH - Monticello's Christian Mikulich wrestles Rantoul's Brandon Noyola during their 190-pound match at the Illini Prairie Conference wrestling meet on Friday. Mikulich won the bout thanks to a first period takedown and second period reversal to win, 5-0. The senior went won three out of his six matches over the two-day tournament, picking up wins over Illinois Valley Central's Mason Talley and Pontiac's Rory Gonzlez. The Sages finished the tournament third behind rivals Unity in first and St. Joseph-Ogden in second place. Monticello is back in action on January 22 in quad meet with Riverton, Ridgeview, and Olympia in Lexington next Thursday.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Meanwhile, Noyola, a senior, made three match apperances, finishing 1-2 after losses to Mikulich and Unity's Bradley Smith. His conference tournament win came on a forfiet during the team's match against St. Thomas More. Rantoul finished in seventh place in the final team standings with 42-24 win over the Sabers and 33-28 victory over Illinois Valley Central.

More match photos -

TAGS: Illini Prairie Conference, IPC Wrestling, 190-pound weight class, Varsity Pass gallery, Monticello Sages, Monticello's Christian Mikulich, Rantoul Wrestling, Eagles' wrestler Brandon Noyola

Lee finds success at conference wrestling meet

St. Joseph-Ogden's Levi Lee wrestles Prairie Central's Treyton Zimmerman in a 106-pound match on Friday at the Illini Prairie Conference wrestling championships at St. Joseph-Ogden High School. Lee, who won the bout by technical fall 16-0, finished the two-day tournament with five wins, three by forfeit, and one loss. Here are photos from the freshman's opening match.