Oak Park and River Forest High School sophomore David Ogunsanya was named All-State at the IHSA individual state wrestling finals held at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s State Farm Center, Feb. 15-17.
Ogunsanya (37-11) finished sixth in the Class 3A 150-pound weight class. He defeated Dominic Serio of West Aurora 15-10 in the first round, but lost 6-0 to Rhenzo Augusto of Barrington in the quarterfinals.
He had to win two wrestlebacks to gain All-State status, and he accomplished that feat, defeating Sandburg’s Zac Ritter 10-5, then winning via injury default over Jase Salin of Lincoln-Way West to guarantee a medal and top-six finish.
Ogunsanya had a chance to finish as high as third, but lost the final wrestleback 7-0 to Gavin Connolly of St. Charles East. He subsequently lost 3-1 in the fifth-place match to Yorkville’s Jack Ferguson. Still, gaining All-State honors is a significant achievement for Ogunsanya, who narrowly missed qualifying for last year’s state tournament by one match and underwent surgery in the offseason on his ACL.
OPRF had three other wrestlers downstate. At 106, freshman Michael Rundell (32-10) won his opener via pinfall at 1:31 over Logan Conover of Marmion Academy. But he lost in the quarterfinals via major decision (15-3) to Warren’s Caleb Noble, then lost the wrestleback via major decision (8-0) to Kaleb Pratt of Barrington.
At 138, junior Joe Knackstedt (35-11) won his opener via major decision (13-5) over Prospect’s Giorgio DiFalco. But he dropped his next two matches: 5-1 to Marist’s Donavon Allen in the quarterfinals, then via pinfall at 5:35 to Luke Siwinski of Lincoln-Way West.
At 215, junior Eric Harris (33-11) won his opener 2-1 over Warren’s Anthony Soto. But like Knackstedt and Rundell, he dropped the next two matches: 6-0 to Normal Community’s Cooper Caraway, then 7-6 to Charles Walker of Joliet Central.
However, the season is not over yet as the Huskies will participate in the Class 3A Addison Trail dual team sectional, Feb. 20 (after deadline). OPRF faces Schaumburg, with the winner advancing to the state finals at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington, Feb. 23-24.
Fenwick
Fenwick wrestler Jack Paris (top) attempts to keep his opponent on his knees during a Class 2A 190-pound match at the IHSA state meet in Champaign. Paris narrowly missed meriting All-State status and finished the season 9-5. | Courtesy of Dan Chamness 
Fenwick wrestler Luke D’Alise gets his hand raised in victory after pinning Jhymear Smith Henson of Mount Vernon in a Class 2A 215-pound match at the IHSA state tournament in Champaign, Feb. 15-17. | Courtesy of Dan Chamness
Fenwick had three individuals compete at the Class 2A state finals.
At 190 pounds, junior Jack Paris (9-5) narrowly missed gaining All-State status, losing 9-4 to Josh Hoffer of downstate Washington in the third wrestleback. Earlier, he blanked Genesis Ward of Evergreen Park 5-0 in the first round, then was pinned at 1:49 by eventual champion Andrew Marquez of Rock Island. Paris kept his All-State hopes alive with a 5-0 victory over Kenner Bye of Bloomington in the second wrestleback.
“For Jack to do what he did after missing most of the season is impressive,” Fenwick coach Seth Gamino said.
Junior Patrick Gilboy and senior Luke D’Alise also represented Fenwick. At 175, Gilboy (31-14) lost his first match via pinfall at 5:52 to Brother Rice’s Dan Costello. He bounced back with a win in the first wrestleback, 6-2 over Caden Casimino of Crystal Lake South. But his season ended in the next wrestleback as he was pinned in :35 by Hinsdale South’s Jovani Piazza.
At 215, D’Alise (31-18) was pinned at 4:50 in the opener by Sebastian Sanderson of Tinley Park. He rebounded in the first wrestleback, pinning Jhymear Smith Henson of Mount Vernon in 3:45, but was subsequently pinned himself by Cody Moss of Chatham Glenwood at 4:19 of the second wrestleback.
“All three of our wrestlers were outstanding,” Gamino said. “Luke accomplished his goal of making State, and Jack and Patrick have some unfinished business next year.”
Girls Bowling
After becoming the first girls’ bowler in program history to qualify for the state finals last year, Fenwick junior Olivia Cameron was hoping to make the cut to the final day this year.
She accomplished her mission and finished 66th overall with a score of 2,198 pins at the IHSA state finals, Feb. 16-17, at the Cherry Bowl Lanes in Rockford.
Cameron was particularly strong on Friday, bowling a series score of 1,141 pins. Her high game was 237 and her average was 190.2. Cameron followed up on Saturday with a series score of 1,057. Her high game was 220 and the average was 183.2.