The Oak Park and River Forest High School boys wrestling team had a splendid IHSA Class 3A Conant individual sectional, Feb. 14-15. The Huskies had four champions and qualified three more for the IHSA individual finals, which take place in Champaign at the State Farm Center, Feb. 20-22.
“Getting seven is a great accomplishment,” said OPRF coach Paul Collins. “We feel really confident that the guys going down there are going to put their best foot forward to get on the podium.”
Sophomore MJ Rundell improved his season record to 37-2 enroute to winning the 106-pound title, defeating Nikolas Duarte of Addison Trail via technical fall (18-3) in the final. Junior Zev Koransky (25-8) won the title at 132 on a major decision (10-1) over Glenbard North’s Trey Thompson.
Senior Joe Knackstedt (32-3) notched a 13-2 major decision victory against Gavin Woodmancy of St. Charles East to win the 138-pound title. And junior David Ogunsanya (25-6) edged past Schaumburg’s Callen Kirchner 7-5 to claim the title at 150.
“MJ, Zev, Joe, and David, they all had fantastic tournaments,” Collins said.
Three other OPRF wrestlers are going to Champaign. Sophomore Jamiel Castleberry (27-5) finished second at 120 pounds, losing 23-12 to Dom Munaretto of St. Charles East in the final.
At 144, senior AJ Noyes (11-5), after losing in the quarterfinals, picked up three consecutive wins in the wrestlebacks to advance to the third-place match and clinch qualification.
“AJ did a fantastic job,” said Collins. “He’s pretty mild-mannered and wrestles that way; he’s very methodical and aggressive in his own way.”
At 215, senior Eric Harris (26-11) rebounded from a semifinal loss, pinning James Smrha of Bartlett in 2:11 in the wrestleback to advance to the third-place match and guarantee a state berth. Both Harris and Noyes finished fourth.
Collins felt good about how OPRF performed at Conant, and he believes there is an opportunity for the Huskies to have multiple podium finishes, which would mean All-State status for the top six placers in each weight class.
“We’ve been trying to get back to that level the last few years,” he said. “It’s been great to see these guys push themselves and work for what they want. I feel very confident if they continue to wrestle the way they have.”
Oak Park-River Forest High School sophomore MJ Rundell gets his hand raised in victory at the IHSA Class 3A Conant individual wrestling sectional, February 15. Rundell won the 106-pound championship, improving his record to 37-2 and qualifying for the state finals in Champaign this weekend. (Photo Courtesy of Samamantha Smart) 
Oak Park-River Forest senior Joseph Knackstedt (top) takes control of his 138-pound match at the IHSA Class 3A Conant individual wrestling sectional. Knackstedt (32-3) won the title and qualified for this week’s state finals in Champaign. (Photo Courtesy of Samantha Smart) 
Oak Park-River Forest sophomore Jamiel Castleberry (top) at the IHSA Class 3A Conant individual wrestling sectional. Castleberry (27-5) was runner-up in the 120-pound weight class and qualified for this week’s state finals in Champaign. (Photo Courtesy of Samantha Smart) 
Oak Park-River Forest senior AJ Noyes at the IHSA Class 3A Conant individual wrestling sectional. After losing his opening 144-pound match, Noyes won three consecutive wrestlebacks to advance to the third-place match. He placed fourth to qualify for this week’s state finals in Champaign. (AJ Noyes Photo Courtesy of Samantha Smart) 
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Fenwick
At the Class 2A Crystal Lake Central individual sectional, Fenwick qualified four wrestlers, all seniors, for the state finals.
“This is one of the toughest sectionals in Illinois,” said Fenwick coach Seth Gamino. “Everybody wrestled well and got at least a win. I’m very proud of the team overall, and the seniors left it all on the mat.”
Senior Aiden Burns (41-4) placed second at 157 pounds, dropping a hard-fought 8-7 decision in the final to Nate Sanchez of St. Ignatius. At 175, Dominic Esposito (38-12) also placed second, losing via technical fall (22-6) in the final to IC Catholic Prep’s Brody Kelly.
After losing his opening match at 113 pounds, CJ Brown (33-11) went on an impressive run in the wrestlebacks, winning three consecutive matches to secure a spot in the third-place match and state qualification. He placed fourth.
“CJ’s worked extremely hard,” Gamino said. “He didn’t feel well on Friday and lost, but he got a good night’s rest and bounced back on Saturday and wrestled his butt off.”
At 190, Jack Paris (40-11) lost his semifinal and needed to defeat Julian Ramos of Lakes in the wrestleback to qualify for the third-place match and guarantee state advancement for the third consecutive year. He came through in a big way, notching a major decision victory (8-0). Like Brown, Paris placed fourth.
“Jack showed resilience,” Gamino said. “He’s the fourth three-time state qualifier in program history.
“Our seniors are all hungry,” he added. “They’ve been wrestling really well and this is the time for things to start clicking. I’m really excited for this week.”
Girls wrestling
OPRF junior Isabella Miller’s season came to an end at the Schaumburg sectional, Feb. 14-15.
Things started promising as Miller (20-9) pinned Viktoria Rodnikova of Plainfield North at 1:02 in her opening 140-pound match. But in the quarterfinal, she was pinned herself by Natalie Corona of McHenry in just :36.
In her first wrestleback, Miller defeated Arianna Rico of Naperville Central via technical fall (18-3). However, she was eliminated from state contention in the next match as Ewa Krupa of Hoffman Estates pinned her at 1:12.
Still, OPRF coach Patrick Woulfe felt Miller fared solidly against the stiff competition. He’s already looking forward to seeing how she develops this offseason.
“Her weight [class] was really deep,” he said, “and while it would’ve been nice to get one or two more wins, Isabella saw how she matched up against the best in the state. We’re excited for her growth over the spring and summer, and what she’s going to look like coming back next season.”