Brian Murphy (Glenbard North, Ill.), ranked No. 2 nationally at 152 pounds and No. 11 overall in the Class of 2013, is missing that state title. As a freshman, he finished third at 130 pounds losing to two-time state champion Edwin Cooper in the quarterfinal (though Keith Surber would go on to win the weight class). As a sophomore, Murphy finished second at 140 pounds, losing to undefeated Luke Smith in the final, before last year's 3-1 defeat against 2010 state champion Max Schneider at 152 pounds.
He enters this year's state Class 3A state tournament with a 34-1 record, the lone loss coming 3-1 in the ultimate tiebreaker against No. 1 Jake Short (Simley, Minn.), which was one match after a 3-2 ultimate tiebreaker victory over No. 3 Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.). However, yet another finals showdown looms, as defending state champion Kyle Langendorfer (Lincoln Way East) -- ranked No. 15 nationally at 145 pounds -- is actually in this bracket, and has an undefeated mark of 39-0 this season.
There are three other big-time showdowns looming in the Class 3A state tournament, all of them involving both wrestlers being undefeated for the season. At 106 pounds, it would be No. 7 Miguel Silva (Plainfield South) and No. 10 Rudy Yates (Brother Rice). Silva, 38-0 during this his junior season, was a Cadet National freestyle champion this past summer at 100 pounds; while the freshman Yates is also 38-0, after winning the Preseason Nationals this past November.
At 195 pounds, No. 8 Jordan Ellingwood (Plainfield Central) enters the state tournament 43-0, while No. 5 Ricky Robertson (Carl Sandburg) enters the tournament in Champaign at 44-0. Ellingwood finished third at state last year, won the Preseason Nationals in November, and has three victories this season over No. 15 Blake Blair (Edwardsville); while Robertson was runner-up at state last year, losing his only match in the state final, and finished fourth in both styles at the Junior Nationals this past summer in Fargo. Also looming in this weight class is the just mentioned Blair, who was runner-up in this weight class last year, and is present in the opposite quarter of Robertson's half-bracket.
At 285 pounds, junior Brian Allen (Hinsdale Central) and senior Andrew Geers (Neuqua Valley) both enters the state tournament undefeated, and are on opposite halves of the draw as Illinois smartly seeds its sectional tournament champions for the state event. Allen, already placing third at state twice, is ranked No. 9 nationally with a 44-0 record this season; while Geers, who took fourth last year losing to Allen in the consolation final, is No. 19 nationally with a 37-0 record.
Other undefeated wrestlers in Class 3A include sophomore Michael Cullen (Cary Grove), fifth in Cadet freestyle this summer, at 113 pounds; two-time state placer, including runner-up in 2011, Trayvon Zabala (Joliet Central) at 120; two-time state champion, and ranked No. 2 nationally, Jered Cortez (Glenbard North) at 126; sophomore Larry Early (Oak Park River Forest) at 132, who finished third at state last year as a freshman; No. 1 Bryce Brill (Mt. Carmel) at 145, state champion as a freshman before finishing second last year; No. 18 Davonte Mahomes (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) at 160, who was third at state last year as a sophomore; three-time state placer Colin Holler (Carl Sandburg), who is ranked No. 11 nationally, at 170; and No. 17 Joe Ariola (Oak Park River Forest) at 182.
Cullen is part of a four-person group that could win the 113-pound weight class. Looming in his half-bracket is junior Mark Duda (Marist), a two-time state placer who finished second at state last year. In the other half-bracket is Brian Rossi (Lockport), third at state last year, and defending state champion Kris Williams (Thornton).
Zabala, third last year at 113 and second the year before at 112, is the top-seed in a brutal 120-pound weight group. Looming in his quarterfinal is the winner of a first round match featuring returning state runners-up Sebastian Pique (Carl Sandburg) and Matthew Rundell (Oak Park River Forest); the senior Pique happened to beat Zabala in the 2011 state finals match. Should Zabala advance to the semifinal, it would mean the Pique/Rundell loser cannot place at state. Also in that top half of the draw is Preseason Nationals runner-up Steve Polakowski (Libertyville). The bottom half-bracket features returning state placer Jon Marmolejo (Glenbard North) and two-time defending state champion Johnny Jimenez (Marmion Academy), ranked No. 8 nationally and the overall weight class favorite.
Cortez is a strong favorite to win his third straight state title in as many high school seasons. However, the bottom half-bracket will be interesting to follow with two-time state placer Nick Nasenbenny (Plainfield Central), freshman Isaiah White (Oak Park River Forest) -- ranked No. 18 nationally, and defending state champion Jordan Northrup (Machesney Park Harlem) all there. Nasenbenny vs. White looms in the quarterfinal round.
Early is well-positioned to clear to the final, while it's the bottom half-bracket that merits some attention. Two-time state finalist George Fisher (Marmion Academy), ranked No. 15 nationally and a 2011 state champion, is likely to face either two-time state placer Johnny Gosinski (Glenbard North) or fellow two-time state placer Doug Johnson (DeKalb) in the semifinal.
Undefeated wrestlers Brill and Ariola are prohibitive favorites to win state titles in their respective weight classes; Mahomes, third at state last year as a sophomore, is looking at a state final matchup against either state placer Peter Andreotti (Marist) or Hunter Rollins (Hersey); while Holler is looking at a likely finals match against one of two state placers, either sophomore Alex Benoit (Marist) or senior Dan Rowland (Willowbrook).
Only two weights in Class 3A do not have an undefeated wrestler, 138 and 220. At 138-pound, the three most accomplished wrestlers reside in the bottom half of the draw. State runner-up Cullen Cummings (Downers Grove North) is well positioned for a semifinal appearance, while defending state champion Sal Annoreno (Bartlett) is looking at a quarterfinal date with three-time state placer (2010 and 2011 state runner-up) Mech Spraggins (Belleville East). The top half of the draw features sectional champions Steve Galiardo (St. Patrick) and Manny Silva (Hononegah).
Due to injuries to returning state placer David Denne (Mt. Carmel) and freshman sensation Lucas Warren (Marmion Academy), the 220-pound weight class is the weakest of the fourteen. The projected state final could feature two-time state qualifier Tom Howell (Marist) and Luke Roth (Naperville Central); Roth was undefeated prior to an upset loss in the sectional tournament against Bill Gore (Carl Sandburg), and it was Howell who ended up winning that sectional.
Though this tournament is un-scored from a team standpoint, No. 9 Oak Park River Forest has the most state qualifiers with 11, while No. 14 Carl Sandburg and No. 21 Marist advanced ten to state, with No. 24 Marmion Academy and No. 49 Glenbard North being among the teams qualifying seven to state.
In the medium school Class 2A, No. 11 Montini Catholic is the clear dominant force with 13 wrestlers -- all but their 285 -- qualifying for the tournament in Champaign this week. Seven wrestlers enter the event undefeated, including a pair at 152 pounds: Austin Culton (Sycamore) and Garrett Sutton (Richmond-Burton). Others without a loss include No. 20 (at 113) Nkosi Moody (Rich Central) down at 106 pounds, Cameron Mammen (Urbana) at 170, Pat Vitek (Nazareth Academy) at 195, No. 19 Lucas Joseph (East Peoria) at 220, and Preseason Nationals champion Tanner Farmer (Highland) at 285.
However, it is the 120-pound weight class that is the featured one in this classification. The on-paper favorite would be No. 16 Barlow McGhee (Rock Island), a multi-time Fargo All-American who has finished second and third at state the last two years. However, McGhee suffered a 3-1 overtime loss to Kenny Baldridge (Morris) in the sectional semifinal round this past weekend. Baldridge is the second-seed in the weight and a semifinal date with Vince Turk (Montini Catholic) looms in his future; Turk, a sophomore, was Cadet National Greco-Roman this past summer but closed out by Tommy Pawleski and Kevon Powell last year. As a result of the loss, McGhee has a tough path to the championship with a first round match against Grant Sutton (Richmond Burton); the sophomore Sutton is 37-2 on the season, but one of those losses was 8-4 to McGhee, and the other 8-1 to Turk this past weekend. The winner of this match faces top seeded Sam Butler (Glenwood) in the quarterfinal.
The Class 1A small school state tournament features nine undefeated wrestlers from eight weight classes, including No. 7 Josh Alber (Dakota) at 120 pounds; Alber won the Dvorak beating Jimenez in the final and was runner-up at the Super 32 Challenge. Others without a loss include Cody Minnick (Coal City) at 106, Brandon Biggs (Poplar Grove) at 113, Nat Jozsa (Argenta) at 132, Zach Nelson (Aledo) at 152, Logan Staver (Lena-Winslow) and Devin Mahnke (Grant Park) at 170, Daniel Zimmerman (Dakota) at 220, and Josh Wallick (Gibson City) at 285.
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