BLOOMINGTON — The most decorated season in the history of Rochelle Township High School wrestling came to its exciting conclusion this past Saturday, when the Hubs varsity wrestling team took fourth place in the IHSA Class 2A State Dual Championships for the first time in school history.

“It was an unbelievable season for the kids and our program,” head coach Rich Harvey said.

Rochelle began the tournament Saturday morning by taking down Oak Forest 37-34 to reach the semifinals and guarantee a top-4 finish. Andy Silva won by 16-6 major decision over Oak Forest’s Matt Zamiar at 132 pounds before Rochelle senior Justin Hernandez won by fall in 3:27 against Tyler Coyle at 138 pounds.

Junior Eddie Villalobos edged Oak Forest’s Brian Kristin by 7-5 decision at 145 pounds before senior Ehren Metzger won by fall in 6:00 over Mo Jodeh at 152 pounds. Metzger led 9-2 before reversing and pinning Jodeh in the final second of the match. Metzger’s win put Rochelle ahead of Oak Forest 19-0.

But Oak Forest rebounded with three straight wins at 160, 170 and 182 pounds. Nick Garcia defeated Hub sophomore Gavin Ansteth by 10-1 major decision before Austin Nowicki rallied to beat Rochelle sophomore Bryan Garza by 5-2 decision and state qualifier Tony Kluk slipped past Rochelle freshman Ben Harvey by 1-0 decision.

Hub senior Alex Harvey got Rochelle back on track, however, winning by fall in 1:21 over Oak Forest state qualifier Julian Ramirez at 195 pounds to put the Hubs ahead 25-10. Junior Brandon Johnson then won by fall in 2:26 over Oak Forest’s Zach Lipine at 220 pounds, and junior Will Jandak sealed the win by pinning Oak Forest’s Andrew McCoy in 2:25 at 285 pounds.

“We always talk about the next wrestler stepping up after a loss,” Harvey said. “We were a little worried after losing at 170 and 182, but Alex took care of business and then Brandon went up and pinned his kid. We knew Will had a chance to pin his kid, and getting that win was huge for us.”

Rochelle forfeited the final four matches against Oak Forest with the victory already clinched, putting the Hubs in the semifinal round against Cahokia, who went on to beat Rochelle 60-22 and send the Hubs to the third place match against Chicago (St. Rita). Hernandez won by fall in 1:51 over Cahokia’s Malik Ball, and Villalobos pinned Cahokia’s Jalon Strong in 5:40.

But Cahokia won 10 of the next 12 matches to reach the state finals against Washington. Metzger earned a 13-1 major decision over Cahokia’s Darius Frazier, and Harvey pinned Cahokia’s Zach Al-Khamoas in 56 seconds.

The Hubs recorded five victories in the third place match, but St. Rita won nine matches and took the dual by a score of 40-25. Metzger earned a 15-0 technical fall over St. Rita’s Nate Bennett, and Ben Harvey defeated St. Rita’s Marty Larkin by 12-1 major decision. Alex Harvey pinned St. Rita’s Nolan Rowling in 24 seconds.

Rochelle final two wins of the season came from Silva, who pinned St. Rita’s Julian Alvarez in 3:30, and Hernandez, who took a 10-2 major decision against St. Rita’s Brian Deenihan. The Hubs finished with an overall record of 19-14 in dual matches this winter.

“Cahokia was a tough matchup for us,” Harvey said. “We matched up a little better with St. Rita but our kids wrestled hard and they learned what it’s like to be at the state level and face tough opponents. I'm extremely proud of our kids and how they competed this season.”