The students named below earned recognition for their academic performance and attention to excellence at Unity High School during the fall 2025 semester. Congratulations to each student on their exceptional scholastic effort this semester.
Seniors ~
High Honor Roll: Anna Amias; Eli Crowe; Ella Darnall; Callie Ellars; Camden Fairbanks; Caden Hensch; Lucas Hood; Logan Jeurissen; Faith Lampe; Kallista Lancaster; Mylie Loftsgaard; Claire Meharry; Phoenix Molina; Deakin Moore; Leah Nickle; Brody Osterbur; Mackenzie Pound; Katie Ruggieri; Caden Stierwalt; Ginna Stierwalt; Madelyn Stierwalt; Emma Swisher; Carter Tiemann; Evan Vlahovich; Lucille Wiesbrook; Isabel Grob; Maxwell McCabe; Isaac Neverman; Harry Polonus; Analea Popovics; Paula Wilson; Chason Daly; Mason ONeill; Hunter Shike; Aria Battaglia; Johanna Langley; Vanna Schriefer; Tristin Alexander; Mylie Castle; Kaylee Cooke; Margaret Garcier; Jaxon Jett; Liana Sheets-Cowan
Honor Roll: Cameron Kaiser; Cameryn Cobb; Olivia Egelston; Samantha Gumbel; Anna Kuhns; Claire Zorns; Dane Eisenmenger; Savanna Cruz; Joshua Heath; Kyla Reed; Anna Vasey; Ty Rodems; Crewe Eckstein; Dallas Porter; Annalise Shunk; Graydin Cler; Chloe Cousins; Natalia Cunningham; Tanner Gallivan; Faith Mclain; Maddix Sutherland; Bailey Tompkins; Thomas England; Chase Mataya; Hannah Parker; Shelby Smith; Shyenne Eaton; Brayden Henry; Miles Johnson; Olivia Tempel, Bryan Crosby; Collin Graven; Sophia Hewerdine; Kaitlynn Willard; Shelby Zoch; William Hoggard; Lauren Stratton; Jillian Schlittler; Andrew Ray; Tyler Henry
Juniors ~
High Honor Roll: Juan Acosta Toro; Dominic Baxley; Alex Bromley; Clare Bryant; Caleb Coy; Lillian Daly; Addison Davis; Danika Eisenmenger; Reese Frye; Bailee Gadeken; Colton Harmon; Dustin Harris; Kathryn Knoll; Emily Osterbur; Allyson Shaw; Evalyn Skibbe; Grace Tempel; Leah Watson; Elizabeth Wayne; Grace Wherley; Rylan Wolf; Natalie Haas; Grace Bickers; Ethan Schaefer; Piper Staley; Brooklyn Mumm; Paige Bradley; Cadence
Chandler
Honor Roll: Journey Gabbard; Avery Kamradt; Landrey Mohr; Adam Reedy; Jacob Ward; Maggie Weckle; Allison Fenter; Olivia Hall; Hailey Keck; Matthew Brady; Aiden Brooks; Berkley Cloud; Cash McCann; Addison Wyatt; Hudson DeHart; Walker Hall; Benjamin Mullins; Ronin Carman; Sadie Polonus; Baileigh Thomas; Gora Diop; Max Rossi; Joel Yergler; Lucy Kleiss; William Mullins; Alyssa Shields; Isaac Siegwald; Elizabeth Farney; Madison
Spohn; Ava Beldo; Rush Little; Evan Puckett; Kendal Zerrusen; Elias Krall
Sophomores ~
High Honor Roll: Patrick Baxley; Beckam Brown; Soren Davis; Tessa Durham; Tyson Durham; Reagan Fisher; Roman Hastings; Karleigh Jamison; Lincoln Johnson; Joseph Kamradt; Khison Kern; Tatum Kirby; Bryan Kleiss; Izabella Mallast; Nolan Meharry; Rhianna Ocasio; Caleb Saxon; John White; Ausin Wiersema; Elsie Wiesbrook; Olivia Williams; Dalton Moose; Andrew Donovan; Dillon Ellars; Carson Fairbanks; Caleb Siegwald; Gavin Warren; Olivia Witheft; Jackson Cheely; Cecelia Easter; Kaylee Estes; Tessa Horn; Sawyer Weller
Honor Roll: Sadie Carpenter; Devlin Davis; Kandace Reed; Adilynn Wilson; Brady Harris; Peyton Goyne; Madison Castor; Kai Chuang; Zoe Fish; Carter Leith; Carter Schmid; Logan Wells; Rainer Robinson; Beckham Brink; Skyler Chilton; Kinzey Duitsman; Jordan Harmon; Kole VanSickle; Clint McCormick; Ava Sommer; Payton Kinney; Christena Nickle; Cole Zorns; Joel Hoewing; Brilynn Cain; Kylee Matthews; Kelsie Tritchler; Shae Fournier;
Hallie Handal; Sophia Seidlitz; Haley White
Freshmen ~
High Honor Roll: Kenny Adcock; Lilly Bailes; Maya Behrends; Ty Benedict; Elizabeth Berkey; Katherine Berkey; Kale Cowan; Trevor Coy; Alec Daly; McKenzie Deakin; Emma Denney; Amelia Good; Hayden Grussing; Alivia Krall; Adeline Marinelli; Jacklynn Moore; Holden ONeill; Marley Parks; Carolina Popovics; Luc Popovics; Makaylin Pugh; Skylar Savona; Austin Shafer; Vivian Shunk; Dylan Stierwalt; Jack Terven; Nicholas Thomas; Hayley
Thompson; Cassandra Thweatt; Mallory Tiemann; Charles Watson; Olivia Wilson; Ashton Wolf; Kelsey Adcock; Steven Gambill; Bella Robbins; Konnor Bletscher; Kynedy Hoel; Jasper Souza; Quentin Webber; Bryson Williams; Madison Zoch; Madelyn Roth-Robertson; Sylvia Cahill
Honor Roll: Brooklyn Bates; Hadley Cler; Giulietta DiBello; Jordan Hamilton; Cora Leonard; Lilly Meharry; Charles Mette; Sophia Schuckman; Olivia Styan; Ethan Bent; Aubrie Gumm; Skippy Followell; Loghan Berry; Jaxson Glad; Holly Howey; Russell McCabe; Tatum Meharry; Lillian Mohr; Hallee Patterson; Maya Rawdin; Lucas Williams; Adam Wolken; Parker Owens; Jase Eisenmenger; Caina Kirkland; Hayden Smith; Ethan Wishall; Samuel Hollett; DJ LeFaivre; Rania Evans; Lane Meharry; Ellery Merkle; Tucker Stierwalt; Logan Reimer-Couch
Champaign Central, Oakwood, St. Joseph-Ogden, Unity and Urbana will all be represented at the state meet. Several wrestlers captured titles or placed high to secure advancement.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Urbana's Lily Disanto pins Lockport's Rebekah Ramirez during their first-round 235-pound match on Friday, February 28, 2025, on her way to a fourth-place finish at state her junior year. The senior returns to Grossinger Motors Arena for another shot at a state title.
VIRDEN - Nine area wrestlers are headed to the state stage after qualifying at sectional competition, earning berths in the Illinois High School Association Girls Individual Wrestling State Finals set for Feb. 27-28 in Bloomington at Grossinger Motors Arena.
The group represents programs from Champaign Central High School, Oakwood High School, St. Joseph-Ogden High School, Unity High School and Urbana High School, with each wrestler navigating a deep postseason bracket to extend her season.
At Champaign Central, sophomore Iy'Jah Grant advanced at 170 pounds after battling through the consolation side of the bracket. Grant rebounded from a loss to Granite City’s Demi Barnes, pinning Mahomet-Seymour’s Weitekamp at 4:37 to secure her state berth. She later defaulted due to injury during her bid for third place, but her earlier win guaranteed a spot in Bloomington.
Oakwood will be represented by two qualifiers. Freshman Kate Wochner earned a state bid at 115 pounds, while senior Taylor Owens captured the 155-pound sectional title. Owens, the No. 3 seed, defeated Addison Mabry of Benton and Nahima Mateo of Murphysboro before her opponent could not continue in the championship match’s second period.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Spartans' Maddie Wells, wrestles Mother Mcauley's Maggie Zuber at last year's state championships. Wells is another area grappler hoping to medal at this year's state tournament.
St. Joseph-Ogden senior Maddie Wells advanced at 155 pounds with a resilient run through the bracket. After a quick first-round win, Wells dropped into the consolation side following a loss to Freeburg’s Grace Stratton. She responded with three consecutive pins — against Champaign Central’s Onisty Murphy, Civic Memorial’s Izabella Darr and Murphysboro’s Mateo — to clinch a state berth before finishing fourth.
Unity will send two wrestlers to Bloomington, led by junior Ava Beldo at 130 pounds. Beldo went 3-1 at sectionals, advancing to the title match with wins by technical fall, major decision and sudden victory before finishing second to Mt. Zion’s Sidney Cannon. Senior Phoenix Molina remained unbeaten at 235 pounds, going 4-0 to claim the sectional championship and secure her fourth trip to the state finals.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Urbana's Rickasia Ivy wrestles Lincoln-Way Central's Ella Giertuga in their state first-round consolation match 2025. Ivy, who recently earned her 100th win, qualified for her third trip to state after earning the 155 pound title at the North Mac sectional tournament on Saturday. Stronger and better technically, Ivy is heavily favored to finish in the top three.
Urbana, which placed third in the team standings, qualified three wrestlers. Senior Tamya Terry earned a fourth-place finish at 135 pounds, while junior Rickasia Ivy dominated the 140-pound bracket with three falls, including a first-period win over Granite City’s Audrey Barnes. Ivy, now a three-time state qualifier, also surpassed the 100-win mark for her career. She is the female Tiger to surpass the milestone. At 235 pounds, senior Lilly Disanto finished second after a finals loss to Molina.
Team results underscored the depth of the sectional field. Edwardsville captured the North Mac sectional title with 132 points, followed by Collinsville and Urbana. The state finals later this month mark the fifth installment of the IHSA girls wrestling championship, with the Illinois High School Association continuing to see participation and competitive depth grow across the state. Lincoln-Way Central will send the largest contingent to Bloomington with seven finalists.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Phoenix Molina is declared winner after pinning Moline's Kirsten Kpoto in their 235 pound match in 2025. Molina qualified for her fourth state appearance on Saturday, celebrating the win with the sectional champion title.
More Girls Wrestling Articles
TAGS: IHSA girls wrestling state qualifiers Bloomington Illinois, Champaign Central Oakwood Unity Urbana girls wrestling state, area high school girls wrestling sectional results Illinois, Bloomington Grossinger Motors Arena girls wrestling finals, local girls wrestling state tournament qualifiers Illinois
Unity's Phoenix Molina wrestles Prairie Central's Chloe Hoselton in the 235 pound championship match at the IHSA Girls Individual Wrestling State Finals in 2024. Molina, a 28-5 junior and last year's runner-up, returns to Grossinger Motors Arena with her eye on besting Hoselton, a senior with a record of 23-0, looking to defend her title.
URBANA - Seven area wrestlers will travel to Bloomington on Friday in search of a state wrestling title at the fourth Girls Individual Wrestling State Finals.
Maddie Wells will be one of the five, heading to Champaign-Urbana's sister twin city as the first female SJO wrestler to compete for an IHSA state title. She finished second at the Pontiac regional meet, falling to Urbana's Rickasia Ivy in the title match by major decision, 15-6. A week later, she took third at the Highland sectional after losing her quarterfinal bout against eventual champion Taylor Dawson from Collinsville. Wells heads to state with an 18-6 record.
"I feel privileged to be able to pave the path, but I'm excited to see the girls that follow," said Wells, coached by longtime wrestling coach Bill Gallo. She is optimistic about the future for other girls taking up the sport. "I hope I inspired girls younger than me to not be afraid of trying new things despite their gender and to follow their dreams."
Representing Urbana High School, Rickasia Ivy (28-5) will compete in the 140-pound category, and Lillian Disanto (34-9) in the 235-pound category. Coached by Phil Sexton, the Tigers secured their girls program's first regional title on February 8.
Unity head coach Logan Patton will returns to the girls' state finals with veteran Phoenix Molina (28-5) wrestling at 235 pounds along Anna Vasey (32-4) at 155.
Centennial's Ava Beldo (24-6) qualified for state in the 130-pound division after finishing second at the Highland sectional meet on February 15. The first and only Charger to advance to state, she is coached by Ron Beldo.
"I love the sport," she told the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association after winning the Pontiac regional title. "It takes dedication and mental strength. That was the biggest part for me—being able to push through no matter what. It doesn’t matter the ranking or the name; what matters is giving it 100 percent on the mat. Win or lose, you learn. I drill a lot with the boys. Last year, I was the only girl on my wrestling team, so it’s amazing to open up the environment for more girls. I just love the environment when I wrestle."
Completing the group of seven area state qualifiers, Mahomet-Seymour freshman Jaycee Weitekamp, under coach Jeff Castor, will also make the trip to Bloomington on Friday. Weitekamp, in her first varsity wrestling season, holds a 19-14 record. She finished fourth at both the Pontiac regional and Highland sectional.
Competition begins at 9 a.m. on Friday with action on six mats. Quarterfinal matches and first-round wrestlebacks start at 11 a.m.
Admission is $10 per session at the arena. Tickets are available online via Ticketmaster or by calling the City Box Office at (309) 434-2777. The tournament will be live-streamed on the NFHS Network.
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The students named below earned recognition for their academic performance and attention to excellence at Unity High School during the fall 2025 semester. Congratulations to each student on their exceptional scholastic effort this semester.
