GENESEO — Two Rochelle Township High School grapplers were crowned conference champions when the Hubs varsity wrestling team traveled to Geneseo High School for the Northern Illinois Big 12 Varsity Meet this past Saturday.

Senior Justin Hernandez (30-6) finished first at 132 pounds, defeating Yorkville’s Tyler Peach by 13-5 major decision before winning by 15-11 decision against DeKalb’s Jacob Lindemann. Hernandez then edged out Sterling’s Noah Garcia by 7-6 decision to take first place and become Rochelle’s first conference champion this season.

Junior Eddie Villalobos (33-3) became Rochelle’s second champion of the day. Villalobos began the tournament by slipping past Yorkville’s Joe Bass by 6-5 decision, and he took down Sterling’s Isaias Oviedo by 10-2 major decision to reach the finals at 138 pounds. Villalobos defeated DeKalb’s Michael Clayton by 7-1 decision to win the title.

Senior Ehren Metzger (23-6) worked his way to second place at 152 pounds. Metzger received a first-round bye before defeating Ottawa’s Nick Stehl by fall and earning a 6-4 sudden victory against LaSalle-Peru’s Lucas Burris. Metzger faced DeKalb’s Christian Komitas for the title and fell by 6-1 decision.

Senior Alex Harvey (33-1) suffered his first loss of the season on Saturday, but Harvey bounced back to finish third at 195 pounds. Harvey pinned Sycamore’s Nick Salsberry in the opening round before losing by 9-5 decision to Yorkville’s Nick Stemmet. Harvey then dominated the wrestlebacks by pinning Ottawa’s Tre Fritz and LaSalle-Peru’s Hunter Holdcraft to place third.

Junior Brandon Johnson (11-4) was one of two Rochelle grapplers to finish fifth. Johnson wrestled at 220 pounds, defeating LaSalle-Peru’s Nick McGee by 7-5 decision before losing by fall to Geneseo’s Joe Stohl. Johnson won by fall over Brence Smith in wrestlebacks, and after losing to DeKalb’s Niels Lewerentz by 3-1 sudden victory, the junior defeated R.J. Roderick from Morris by fall for fifth place.

Senior Austin Tracey (25-13) wrestled at 182 pounds, and he also took fifth place in the tournament. Tracey lost his first match by 18-3 technical fall to Cody Baldridge of Morris before winning by fall over Geneseo’s Eli Allen in his first wrestleback. Yorkville’s Ben Stemmet took down Tracey by fall soon after, but Tracey finished strong with a 13-3 major decision over Sycamore’s Dylan Shuman for fifth place.

Sophomore Bryan Garza (8-8) took sixth place at 170 pounds. Freshman Grant Thompson (18-21) lost his opening match by fall to Justin Hames of Yorkville before winning a wrestleback against Sycamore’s Nicholas Lockhart by 6-3 decision. Thompson then lost to Geneseo’s Luke Henkhaus by fall.