ROCKFORD — Brenden Voight credited his offseason training for his results during the annual Giardini Invitational at Rockford East over the weekend, when the junior brought home one of the Rochelle Hub varsity wrestling team’s two individual titles from the two-day tournament.

While most wrestlers are just getting into the swing of things, Voight has been honing his skills since the springtime, when he competed in freestyle and greco with the Forge club in Rochelle. Voight continued to train over the summer and his hard work showed on Friday and Saturday, when he won five consecutive bouts to finish first at 157 pounds and remain unbeaten this season. Voight recorded a team-high 12 takedowns and added four near falls in the tournament.

“I had a lot of offseason training and a lot of guys are just getting back into wrestling, but I’ve been going since the summer,” Voight said. “I’ve improved on my feet and I’ve been a smarter wrestler than I was last year. I thought that helped me a lot at the tournament. I was staying cool, calm and collected. It’s definitely a good confidence builder to start the season.”

Voight cruised through the first two rounds, scoring a 17-2 technical fall against Johnsburg’s Drew Jesuit before earning a 19-3 technical fall over Oak Grove’s Josiah Watson. Voight’s first big test came during the quarterfinals, where the junior conceded a takedown but answered with a takedown-to-pin combination in the first period to win over East Moline’s Brody Oppendike.

Voight squared off against the No. 1 seed in his weight class, Geneseo’s Grady Hull, during the semifinal round. With the match tied at 4-4 in overtime, Voight kept his composure and saw an opening, moving in for the deciding takedown to score a 7-4 sudden victory and advance to the final round. Voight clinched the championship with a 9-7 decision against Hampshire’s Aric Abbott, using a key reversal at the beginning of the third period to maintain his advantage.

“I want to continue to be a smarter wrestler and move well on my feet,” said Voight, who has qualified for sectionals over each of his last two IHSA seasons. “I’m excited to see where this season takes me. I’m hoping to make it down to state and make it onto the podium.”

Voight was one of two wrestlers to win individual titles for the Hubs (4-0, 0-0 Interstate 8), who finished second out of 29 schools with 192 points. Senior Kaiden Morris won four straight bouts to claim the championship at 215 pounds and stay unbeaten on the season.

Entering as the No. 1 seed in his bracket, Morris reached the semifinal round with back-to-back wins by fall against Rockford East’s Etungano Kakozi and Dakota’s Avery Bowers. Morris sealed his title with a 4-2 decision over Geneseo’s Colton Mooney and a 12-5 decision over Sun Prairie West’s Jaxon Johnson, a fourth-place state medalist in Wisconsin last season.

Junior Freddie Hernandez was one of two Rochelle wrestlers to take second place. Hernandez went 3-1 over four bouts at 113 pounds, opening the tournament with a 12-5 decision against Geneseo’s Elliott Kreiner before beating teammate Colten Manning via 17-5 major decision. Hernandez reached the finals after holding off Dakota’s Brandon White for an 11-9 decision.

“I’ve been practicing with my teammates at the upper weights and that’s transitioned into my success at the lower weights,” Hernandez said. “I’ve been getting to my keys and I’ve been listening to my coaches because they put me in the right situations. My defense has improved since last year and I’ve learned a lot from doing freestyle and greco wrestling. Coach [Nelson] Baker has taught me a lot. My goals are to get to state and to make the state meet as a team.”

Senior Xavier Villalobos took second at 132 pounds, winning three matches including two by fall. A two-time state medalist for the Hubs, Villalobos pinned Winnebago’s Chase Whitehead and East Moline’s Jaiden Madison to make the semifinals, where the three-time state qualifier took down Prairie Ridge’s Mikey Meade in the second and third periods for a 7-2 decision. 

Junior Roman Villalobos and senior Grant Gensler each took third in their respective weight divisions over the weekend. Villalobos took his first two bouts at 190 pounds, earning a fall over Winnebago’s Tommy Woodman and a 4-1 decision over Zion-Benton’s Tyson Poyer before a loss in the semifinals moved him into the consolation bracket. Villalobos finished strong, winning by fall over Richmond-Burton’s Breckin Campbell and scoring an 8-0 major decision over Poyer.

Gensler wrestled at 165 pounds, reaching the semifinals after a fall over Zion-Benton’s Anthony Malone and a 15-4 major decision against East Moline’s Kayden Marolf. Despite a loss in the semifinals, Gensler ended the tournament with two straight victories, notching a 5-1 decision against Mahomet-Seymour’s AJ Demos and a 4-0 decision over Northridge’s Adam Haddad.

Freshman Aidan Lopez won four of his six bouts to finish fifth at 120 pounds. Lopez’s four victories included an 8-0 major decision over Belmont/Platteville’s Aiden Weigel as well as an 11-5 decision against North Boone’s Gabe Marella in the fifth-place match. Lopez overcame a quarterfinal-round loss and picked up key wins, including a fall over LaSalle-Peru’s Austin Herron and a 13-4 major decision over Hampshire’s Lou Jensen, to earn medalist honors.

Sophomore Josh Lassiter placed seventh at 144 pounds, finishing 4-2 over six bouts. Lassiter’s wins included a fall over East Moline’s Caleb Flint in the seventh-place match and a 10-0 major decision against Geneseo’s Lincoln Barnett in the consolation quarterfinals. Junior Colten Manning finished eighth at 113 pounds, earning two victories over five bouts in the tournament.

Junior Deegan Schabacker went 3-2 over five bouts at 138 pounds, securing falls over three wrestlers including Woodstock’s Landyn White, Belvidere’s Aaron Carrillo and Winnebago’s Brayden Merriman. Junior Frank Nasca also went 3-2 with three falls, defeating Winnebago’s Liam Kast, Richmond-Burton’s Dalton Youngs and Prairie Ridge’s Tyler Cord at 150 pounds.