By Bobby Narang
St. Charles East High School senior Ben Davino capped a perfect season with a near perfect State tournament at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. Yorkville Christian senior Ty Edwards capped a season-long question with an ideal celebration.
The 2024 IHSA (Illinois High School Association) State wrestling individual tournament was filled with memorable moments.
At the top of the Saturday, Feb. 17 finals was the 132-pound weight class.
As the top ranked wrestler in the Country at 132 pounds, Davino completed his four-for-four quest by winning his fourth State championship via a tech fall victory over Hononegah two-time State champion, Thomas Silva, in the Class 3A State championship match.
“Last year was kind of close in the finals, so I wanted a big win to end my career,” Davino said, an Ohio State University recruit.
Davino (50-0) wasn’t the only St. Charles East wrestler to win a State championship
Senior teammate, Jayden Colon (41-5), captured his third State title by beating Fremd’s Evan Gosz with a 14-5 major-decision at 144 pounds. Colon, a University of Illinois recruit, said he cherished ending his individual career with a win at his future college home.
“I’m very happy with my victory and was able to overcome a lot of obstacles,” he said.
In Edwards’ case, he completed his quest to win his first State championship after a pair of runner-up finishes fueled his quest. Edwards, who will wrestle at Gardner-Webb University next season, handed Galesburg senior Gauge Shipp his first loss in two seasons by pulling out a decisive 11-4 victory in the Class 2A 132-pound final.
“It’s amazing,” Edwards said. “The third time is a charm. I’ve been here a lot and had a bad defeat, so it was an exciting moment for all of us coming down here.”
Edwards (47-2) said he was motivated to atone for finishing in second place two times in his career, but particularly last season’s runner-up placing.
“Last year I was disappointed in myself and could’ve done more conditioning,” he said. “I focused on that all year, from early mornings in the gym and getting to it. I lost last year and was devastated, but I knew I needed to refocus my mind for the next year and to keep grinding the whole season. That’s all it came down to this season for me.”
Yorkville senior Ben Alvarez fell short of defending his State title, earning a third-place medal in 3A at 215 points. Yorkville junior Luke Chrisse placed fifth at 190 in Class 3A and Jack Ferguson took fifth place at 150 pounds. Junior Ryder Janeczko ended in sixth place at 175 pounds.
Marmion Academy had a productive day, with Nicholas Garcia winning a State championship at 113 pounds.
“The key was to do the plan we set for the past month and it worked,” Garcia said. “I’ve been wrestling for 13 years, so I’ve been waiting for this since I saw everyone else at my kids’ club winning.”
Marmion’s Zach Stewart won a title at 138 pounds by collecting a 6-3 win over Lockport’s Justin Wardlow in the 138-pound class.
“I was hoping for a State title last year, but battled through a few injuries,” Stewart said. “I came back with the right mindset and came back and got what I deserved.”
Marmion missed a third title when sophomore Joseph Favia suffered a loss in the 215 final.