Rochelle defeats Morris and Sandwich to finish 7-0 in conference duals

LASALLE — The Rochelle Hub varsity wrestling team clinched the Interstate 8 Conference regular season championship on Tuesday, when the purple and white cruised over Morris 60-12 and Sandwich 60-15 to end the season with an undefeated conference record. Rochelle (26-1, 7-0 Interstate 8) will host Amboy and Princeton for Senior Night on Thursday at 5 p.m.

Morris

Freshman Keagan Albers controlled the 106-pound bout against Alex Hughes, taking a 6-1 lead in the first period before recording a second-period fall. Junior Tommy Tourdot and sophomore Xavier Villalobos each earned major decisions, with Tourdot defeating Brandon Anderson 10-2 in the 113-pound bout and Villalobos downing Carter Skoff 11-1 in the 120-pound bout.

Sophomore Joseph Nadig and freshman Frank Nasca notched consecutive first-period falls over the 126-pound and 132-pound bouts, with Nadig beating Jordan Martinez and Nasca topping Kazden Klinker. Morris earned decisions over the 138-pound and 145-pound bouts, where Andrew Peterson outlasted junior Riley Damask 7-4 and Tyler Semlar held off freshman Brenden Voight 4-3. Cornelius Shaheer received a forfeit in the 152-pound bout for Morris.

Sophomore Erich Metzger and freshman Roman Villalobos secured first-period falls over the 160-pound and 170-pound bouts, with Metzger defeating Jeffery Martinez and Villalobos beating Andrew Paull. Junior Brock Metzger compiled two takedowns and two near falls in an 11-2 major decision over AJ Franzetti in the 182-pound bout. Junior Alexander McBride cruised over Michael Cisneros in the 195-pound bout, recording a first-period fall to extend the Hub lead.

Rochelle notched first-period falls over the 220-pound and 285-pound bouts, with sophomores Kaiden Morris and Robert Stoffel winning against Michael Xolio and Johnny Atuatasi.

Sandwich

Keagan Albers (106), Tommy Tourdot (113), Xavier Villalobos (120) and Joseph Nadig (126) all received forfeits in the dual match against the Indians. Frank Nasca followed with a first-period fall over Jacob Cassie in the 132-pound bout before Sandwich’s Kadin Kern put the Indians on the scoreboard with an 11-2 major decision over Riley Damask in the 138-pound bout.

Brenden Voight fended off Gabriel Galvan in the 145-pound bout, scoring a 5-2 decision before sophomore Grant Gensler outlasted Josh Lehman for a 5-1 decision in the 152-pound bout. Sandwich and Rochelle exchanged falls over the 160-pound and 170-pound bouts, with Nolan Bobee winning against Erich Metzger and Roman Villalobos taking down Kaden Clevenger.

Brock Metzger followed with a second-period fall over Devon Blanchard in the 182-pound bout. The Indians earned their last win of the dual during the 195-pound bout, where Cesar Garcia edged Alexander McBride for a 5-2 decision. Kaiden Morris and Robert Stoffel each received forfeits for the 220-pound and 285-pound bouts to seal the match for the purple and white.