Rochelle News-Leader | Wrestling: Hubs field multiple medalists at Marty Williams Invitational

MAHOMET — The Rochelle Hub college wrestling team finished ninth out of 26 schools and scored 261 points at the 2023 Marty Williams Invitational on Saturday. In the hubs (22-1, 5-0 Interstate 8), six athletes achieved top-six finishes and took home individual medal wins at the meet.

Sophomore Xavier Villalobos (28-2) led Rochelle with a second-place finish in the 120-pound bracket. Villalobos earned a 16-3 major decision over Mattoon’s Vincent Gibson and a second-half tumble over Riverton’s Kameron Sklenka to advance into the championship round, where Villalobos scored a third-half tumble over Byron’s Jackson Norris and Rock’s Daniel McGhee Iceland with a 4: passed. 2 sudden victory in the semifinals. Villalobos met Normal West’s Froylan Racey for the title, conceding a 5-3 decision in the final seconds.

Junior Brock Metzger (26-8) finished third in the 182-pound class and reached the championship class with a fall over Mahomet-Seymour’s Hayden Hart before holding off Byron’s Kyle Jones for a 14-8 decision in the quarterfinals. Metzger bounced back from a 7-2 loss to Rock Island’s Steven Marquez in the semifinals and overcame a significant deficit with a crash over Ft. Zumwalt North’s Deacon Moran in contention for third place. Metzger was 0:11 behind after the first third.

Four hubs, including sophomores Joseph Nadig (25-6) and Kaiden Morris (27-6) and freshmen Brenden Voight (24-9) and Roman Villalobos (22-13), finished sixth in their weight classes . Nadig went 2-2 in four fights in the 126-pound bracket, winning over Mahomet-Seymour’s Reese Wilson in the fall and earning a loss to Richland County’s Carson Bissey. Morris also went 2-2 over four fights in the 220-pound bracket, earning a 12-1 major decision over Peotone’s Alex Cardenas and a 7-3 decision over Naperville Central’s Nicolas Basteiro.

Voight finished five fights in the 145-pound class 3-2 and opened the tournament with a fall over Mahomet-Seymour’s Jackson David and a 9-1 major decision over Mahomet-Seymour’s Kaleb Roberts. Voight scored a fall against Metamora’s Seth Shaw in the consolation rounds. Villalobos recorded falls over Mattoon’s Brock Taylor and Mahomet-Seymour’s Brad Schoonover, as well as a fall over Byron’s James Cone during the consolation laps.

Junior Tommy Tourdot (7-5) won four fights and placed ninth in the 113-pound bout. Tourdot split his first two games, winning via fall over Champaign Centennial’s Owen Esslinger and conceding a 7-4 decision against Ft. Nathaniel Provost of Zumwalt North. Tourdot progressed through the consolation round, tying together three straight wins over Riverton’s Matthew Miller, Belleville West’s Amir McCoy and Champaign Centennial’s Jaiden Smith through the fall.

Sophomore Grant Gensler (22-12) ranked 11th in the 152-pound class, finishing 3-2 in five fights. Gensler’s wins came by injury misses over Mahomet-Seymour’s Deandre Hughey, by fall over Mt .Zion and by falling over Jaydon Fisher of Metamora. Sophomore Robert Stoffel (2-3) finished 12th in the 285-pound bracket and went 2-3 in five fights with a fall over Mattoon’s JD Sullivan and a 9-1 major decision over St. Laurence’s Normal Bilek.

Other notable finishers for the Hubs include freshmen Keagan Albers (12-10 – 16th at 106) and Frank Nasca (9-8 – 22nd at 138), as well as Weylin Nay (13-11 – 17th at 132) and senior Jorge Driggs (4-10 – 18th at 195). Non-scoring athletes for Rochelle were freshmen Freddie Hernandez (8-8 – 19th at 106), Tony Milburn (14-14 – 15th at 113) and Cammyla Macias (0-5 – 16th at 120) along with senior Josey Weber (0-4 – 20th at 126), junior Riley Damask (4-4 – 19th at 132) and sophomore Dempsey Atkinson (1-5 – 24th at 145).