Five Rochelle athletes take home first-place finishes

BYRON — The Rochelle Wrestling Club sent 23 athletes to the IKWF Byron Regional on Sunday, with five athletes earning first-place finishes in the tournament. Fifteen athletes qualified to wrestle at the IKWF Rochelle Sectional scheduled for Saturday, March 4.

Elias Andronic won the 49-50 Tots Division title with a 2-0 record, scoring a 6-1 decision over Dakota’s Carter Auer and a fall over Belvidere’s Jesse Fanara. Colt Hensley won the 88-95 Bantam Division title with a 2-0 record, notching a fall over The Law’s Hunter Englert and a 13-2 major decision over Hononegah’s Cyrus Houser. Reed Dougherty won the 134 Intermediate Division with a 2-0 record, defeating North Boone wrestlers Liko Gregory and Cayden Williams.

Teddy Millard won the 64 Novice Division title with a 1-0 record, earning a fall over Polo’s Nathaniel Heidenrich. Eliud Lombardia won the 118 Senior Division title with a 2-0 record, defeating Stockton’s Wesley Gile by fall and Hononegah’s Logan Person by 10-9 decision. 

Wells Millard took second in the 47-49 Bantam Division with a 1-1 record, recording a first-round fall over Belvidere’s Knox Ferry. Chase Marruffo took second in the 70-74 Bantam Division with a 1-1 record, earning a first-round forfeit over Stillman Valley’s Hunter Jarrett. Dominic Escatel took second in the 76 Intermediate Division with a 3-1 record, opening the tournament with a 5-2 decision over Xtreme’s Elijah Whitlock before scoring a 16-0 technical fall over DuPec’s Brayden Behn. Escatel recorded a 7-4 decision over Harvard’s Logan Olbrich in the semifinals.

Benjamin Morris took second in the 134 Novice Division with a 1-1 record, notching a fall over Harlem’s Leeland Hawkins. Joshua Lassiter took second in the 126 Senior Division with a 1-1 record, scoring a fall over Rockford’s Max Brzozowski. Brandin Kirk took second in the 135 Senior Division with a 1-1 record, earning a first-round fall over Rochelle’s Danny Garcia.

Eoghan Good finished third in the 43-45 Tots Division with a 1-1 record, receiving a forfeit over Stillman Valley’s Brycen Awe. Rowen Villalobos finished third in the 56 Bantam Division with a 1-1 record, defeating Belvidere’s Johnathan Weaver by 9-2 decision. Joshua Hernandez finished third in the 100 Novice Division and Hadley Losoya finished third in the 126 Senior Division with a 2-1 record, earning falls over Hononegah’s Gianna Figueroa and Brzozowski.

Angel Hernandez finished third in the 135 Senior Division with a 2-1 record, notching two falls over Stockton’s Sawyer McPeek. Rochelle wrestlers who placed fourth include Brayden Gross (61-62 Bantam Division), Riley Koivisto (74 Novice Division), Tyler Etes (144 Senior Division) and Christopher O’Neill (215 Senior Division). Danny Garcia finished fifth in the 135 Senior Division and Quentin Ansteth took sixth in the 86 Novice Division.