Villalobos, Morris earn second-place medals at tournament

MAHOMET — The Rochelle Hub varsity wrestling team finished ninth out of 24 schools in the 2022 Marty Williams Invitational at Mahomet-Seymour High School on Saturday. Four Rochelle wrestlers recorded top-8 finishes in the tournament including freshmen Xavier Villalobos and Kaiden Morris, who each took second place in their respective brackets on Saturday.

Villalobos (29-3) finished second in the 113-pound bracket, opening the tournament with first and third-round byes before scoring a 39-second fall over Rock Island’s Samuel Niyonkuru in the quarterfinals. Villalobos defeated Naperville Central’s Ty Martin with an 8-0 major decision in the semifinals before falling by 9-1 major decision against Mattoon’s Brady Foster in the finals.

Morris (21-6) placed second in the 220-pound bracket. Morris won two bouts during the prelims, beating Champaign Centennial’s Ettavias Holmen-Anderson and Champaign Central’s Zavier Neill before earning a 8-2 decision over Limestone’s Aydan Trueblood in the quarterfinals. Morris held off Mahomet-Seymour’s Colton Crowley by 7-2 decision in the semifinals before falling by 7-3 decision against Champaign Centennial’s Jack Barnhart in the finals.

Sophomore Tommy Tourdot (16-8) took seventh in the 106-pound bracket, recording two victories in the tournament including a 17-2 technical fall over Mt. Zion’s Mason Gray and a second-period fall over Normal Community West’s Jaxxon Long. Freshman Joseph Nadig (16-9) finished seventh in the 120-pound bracket, defeating Mt. Zion’s Bradley Wilson with a third-period fall and topping Ft. Zumwalt South’s Cameron Clark for his two tournament wins.

Senior Caleb Nadig (24-6) placed ninth in the 145-pound bracket, earning a 16-1 technical fall over Metamora’s Grant Tyrala and defeating Lincoln’s Issac Decker by 16-4 major decision before withdrawing from the tournament due to injury. Freshman Weylin Nay (3-1) placed ninth as Rochelle’s second wrestler in the 113-pound bracket, scoring falls over Yorkville Christian’s Brooklyn Sheaffer and Limestone’s Ashton Menees for his two wins during the tournament.

Freshman Grant Gensler (16-10) finished 11th in the 138-pound bracket, defeating Naperville Central’s Christopher Bern by 6-0 decision before earning two more wins with a fall over Ft. Zumwalt South’s Mason Mattingly and an 8-3 decision over Normal Community West’s Cody Sears. Sophomore Brock Metzger (14-11) placed 11th in the 170-pound bracket, winning by fall over Mattoon’s Kale Alexander and Champaign Centennial’s Henry Spinella.

Sophomore Leo Stoffel took 12th in the 182-pound bracket, while junior Wesley Brown finished 12th in the 132-pound bracket and junior Weldon Nay placed 13th in the 126-pound bracket with fall victories over Olney’s Deacon Paddock, Champaign Central’s Andrew May and Mahomet-Seymour’s Cayden Grove. Freshman Brandyn Metzger took 13th in the 160-pound bracket, earning one fall victory over Ft. Zumwalt North’s Troy Emge in the tournament.

Junior Jorge Driggs placed 14th in the 195-pound bracket, winning by fall over Burbank St. Laurence’s Andrew Rybicki and topping Mahomet-Seymour’s Brayden Lamb by 8-2 decision for his two victories of the tournament. Four Rochelle wrestlers finished 16th in their respective brackets including junior 285-pounder Jaden Cook, sophomore 195-pounder Alexander McBride, senior 152-pounder Matt Eyster and freshman 170-pounder Jack Pavlak.

Other finishers include sophomore 120-pounder Riley Damask (17th), freshman 220-pounder Damon Cagle (18th) and freshman 138-pounder Dempsey Atkinson (20th).