BELVIDERE — The battle for Saturday’s IHSA Class 2A Individual Regional at Belvidere High School went down to the wire, with both Sycamore and Rochelle going back and forth for the top spot in the team standings. When all the points were tallied at the end of the competition, the Hubs edged out the Spartans for their second individual regional title in two seasons.

Rochelle finished first with 166.5 points, while Sycamore placed second with 163.5 points. The Hubs won their first-ever individual regional last year, and after taking home another individual regional this year, the purple and white have gone back-to-back for the first time in school history. Four Hubs won their respective brackets on Saturday, while four more wrestlers earned top-3 spots to qualify for the IHSA Class 2A Sectional in Sycamore this coming weekend.

“I’m glad everybody could contribute and it was truly a team effort,” said senior Alex Harvey, who was one of four Rochelle wrestlers to win an individual bracket title on Saturday. “It just shows that everybody’s hard work pays off at the end of the year. We couldn’t do it without everybody on the team, even the people in the mat room who are working to make everybody else around them better.”

Harvey (37-1) finished first at 195 pounds on Saturday. Harvey began his regional bracket with a first-round bye before defeating Freeport’s Trae McClain by fall in 31 seconds during the semifinal round. Harvey then topped Marengo’s James Mier, the No. 10 wrestler in Class 2A at 182 pounds according to the IWCOA, by 8-0 major decision for the championship.

Junior Eddie Villalobos (37-3) also took first place in the regional, winning the bracket at 138 pounds. Villalobos earned a first-round bye before winning by fall over Sycamore’s Isaias Oviedo in the semifinals. Villalobos had no trouble in his championship match against Marengo’s Cameron Miller, winning by 22-7 technical fall.

“It was pretty sweet going back to back,” Villalobos said. “Winning alongside the boys was a good feeling and I think it’s good for the city. It all starts with having confidence in myself and working hard in practice throughout the week. We all push each other in the mat room, and I think any of us can make it to state if we have confidence in ourselves.”

Senior Justin Hernandez (35-6) didn’t receive a first-round bye at 132 pounds, but he cruised through the first two rounds of his bracket. Hernandez topped Burlington Central’s Carter Rohl by fall in the opening round before taking down Sycamore’s Will Delmer by fall in the semifinals. Hernandez fought hard against Freeport’s Keondre Jackson in the championship round, winning by 7-3 decision.

“Winning the regional was a good feeling,” Hernandez said. “It felt good to win regionals as a team for the second time in a row, and I’m excited for sectionals later this week. I’m looking to qualify for state for the first time.”

Rounding out Rochelle’s championship group on Saturday is senior Ehren Metzger (26-6), who took first place at 152 pounds. Metzger received a first-round bye before dominating Marengo’s Chris Botzoc by 17-1 technical fall. Metzger then won by fall over Freeport’s Lucas Shippert to claim the bracket title.

“It felt really good when I won my bracket, but it was an even better feeling knowing that all my matches counted toward winning the regional,” Metzger said. “It was so close and everybody’s matches counted… It’s going to take hard work each day to keep the dream of placing at state alive.”

Freshman Ben Harvey (27-4) and senior Austin Tracey (27-15) each took second place in their respective brackets to qualify for the sectional competition at Sycamore. Harvey qualified at 170 pounds, defeating Sycamore’s Jaden Johns by fall and Belvidere’s Glenn Winchel by 9-1 major decision before forfeiting the title match to Freeport’s Major Dedmond due to injury.

Tracey advanced at 182 pounds, beating Sycamore’s Dylan Shuman by 9-6 decision after earning a first-round bye before falling in the championship round by 17-2 technical to Freeport’s Matthew Chavers.

Junior Brandon Johnson (14-5) and freshman Ivan Pineda (6-8) both placed third in their respective brackets to make the sectional meet. Johnson wrestled at 220 pounds, winning by fall over Freeport’s Marvin Monroe in the opening round before losing by 8-2 decision to Sycamore’s Matthew Hunter.

Johnson defeated Marengo’s Anthony Dixon and Burlington Central’s Josh Ferro by fall in the consolation bracket to clinch third place. Pineda finished third out of three wrestlers at 106 pounds to qualify for the sectional meet by default. Freshman Grant Thompson (20-23) finished fourth at 120 pounds, while junior Will Jandak (6-5) took fourth place at 285 pounds.