Urbana sophomre Rickasia Ivy finished 2-2 at the 2025 IHSA Girls Individual State Wrestling Tournament back in February. She is back on the roster on the prowl for another chance at a state title with the 5th-ranked Tigers. Here is a look back at her first state match.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Urbana's Rickasia Ivy (right) looks to get head control on New Trier's Jillian Giller during their 140-pound match on at the Illinois High School Association's Girls Individual Wrestling State Finals in Bloomington on Friday, February 28, 2025. Ivy, a sophomore, lost the match by fall at 5:04. She finished the state tourament 2-2 after a 3-1 loss to Karen Canchola in the wrestleback. Giller, a senior, ended her high school career with pin to finish 5th.
TAGS: Urbana sophomore wrestler Rickasia Ivy, New Trier wrestler finishes 5th at state, Trevian senior Jillian Giller
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.
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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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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
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JACKSONVILLE - Four Urbana wrestlers performed well at Jacksonville High School's Crimson Lady Invite, earning a 6th place finish in the team standings with 74 points. Freshman Rickasia Ivy (140) and senior Jurdan Tyler (235) both received second-place medals, while junior Franciana Kalanga finished in 5th place in the 170-pound division. In the 130-pound division, classmate Randi Campe took sixth place.
Unity's Phoenix rises at Crimson Lady Invite
JACKSONVILLE - Phoenix Molina went undefeated, winning all three bouts to win the 235-pound title at Crimson Lady Invite Wednesday. After enjoying a first-round bye, Molina stuck Triad's Claire Boehne in 34 seconds. Her next two bouts went the distance. Next, the sophomore defeated Robinson's Rylee Hammond 2-0 in their quarterfinal match and won the championship title after a narrow 3-2 victory over Urbana's Jurdan Tyler.
Going 2-2 for the day, sophomore Anna Vasey finished 4th in the 155-pound weight class.
Rockets Claire Zorns (130) and Riley Petkus (140) also represented Unity at the 39-team wrestling meet but did not place.
Spartan girls take one on the chin at State Farm Holiday Classic
NORMAL - Addisyn Martinie mustered just seven points to lead St. Joseph-Ogden's scoring effort against Bishop McNamara on opening day at the State Farm Holiday Classic Wednesday. The Lady Irish's aggressive, full-court defense produced turnover after turnover that kept SJO out of sync.
While her defensive play rose to the occasion in the second half, senior Addison Seggebruch scored just five points. Addison Brooks came off the bench to score five points in the 50-18 loss. Meanwhile, Kayla Osterbur hit one of two free-throw attempts, rounding out SJO's scoring effort.
The Spartans advance to the consolation bracket at the tournament, playing Rockford Lutheran at 9:30 am on Thursday.
Unity 47 - Salt Fork 43
The Rockets balanced their record at six wins, six losses after beating Salt Fork at the Blue Devil Classic on Wednesday. Raegen Stringer led all scorers with 17 points. Reagan Little tallied 13 points, and Addison Ray also finished in double figures with 11 points.
Rockets notch second tournament victory
Up 21-18 after two quarters of play, Unity picked up their seventh win of the season with a 46-35 win over Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin Wednesday.
Making 7 of 17 shots, Reagan Little finished with 15 points for the Rockets. Raegen Stringer made buckets in every quarter to contribute 14 points. Addison Ray made three treys, adding nine points to UHS' side of the scoreboard.
Unity snags opening day win at Williamsville Tournament
It was almost like shooting ducks in a pond. Unity (10-0) rattled off 32 points in the first quarter and tacked on another 24 in the second to start the next half up 56-10 against Havana. The Rockets kept their unbeaten streak alive, rolling to 76-27 win at the Williamsville Holiday Tournament.
Dalton O'Neil led the Rockets in scoring with 14 points. Colten Langendorf had a 13-point effort, and Henry Thomas finished with 11 points. The three combined for half of the final score.
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