No. 11 Cincinnati La Salle headlines a strong field at the Al Dvorak InvitationalWhile the field of the Al Dvorak Invitational has been down the last few years from its previous heights, it still has a strong field with power programs in Illinois plus teams from a few other states. The 35-team field features a pair of Fab 50 schools, No. 11 Cincinnati La Salle (Ohio) and No. 37 Chicago Mt. Carmel. Eleven nationally ranked wrestlers in nine weight classes are featured in this field.
In addition to the nationally ranked teams, Luxemburg-Casco (Wis.) is ranked first in its classification; Crystal Lake Central and Althoff Catholic are ranked second in their classifications; Slinger (Wis.), Glenbard North, and Huntley are ranked within the top ten of their classification; while Libertyville should be ranked after winning the Moore-Prettyman Tournament the opening weekend.
Two weight classes feature a pair of top ten ranked wrestlers, No. 4 Noah Surtin (Edwardsville) and No. 7 Lucas Byrd (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) at 113 pounds, as well as No. 3 Jack Jessen (Willowbrook) and No. 8 Jared Krattiger (Waterford, Wis.) at 182.
Also in the field at 113 pounds are state medalist Hans van Rabeneau (Iowa City West, Iowa), state qualifier Sammy Spencer (Huntley), and Noah Mis (Chicago Mt. Carmel). Also in the field at 182 pounds are state medalist Blake Wilson (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) as well as state qualifiers Danny Benoit (Chicago Mt. Carmel) and Liam O'Donnell (Crystal Lake Central).
Four additional wrestlers in this field are ranked nationally within the top ten. Walsh Ironman runner-up Kendall Coleman (Chicago Mt. Carmel) is ranked No. 8 at 145 pounds, two-time state champ Nelson Brands (Iowa City West, Iowa) is No. 7 at 160, two-time Junior freestyle All-American Francis Duggan (Iowa City West, Iowa) is No. 7 at 220, while Junior National double champion Anthony Cassioppi (Hononegah) is No. 4 at 285.
Joining Coleman in the 145 pound weight class is state placer Baan Rachal (Chicago Washington) and two-time state qualifier Gannon Hughes (Oswego). Challengers to Brands at 160 include Flo Nationals and Super 32 placer Danny Braunagel (Althof Catholic), state medalists David Ferrante (Huntley) and Devan Vandenbush (Luxemburg-Casco, Wis.), along with state qualifiers Trey Sizemore (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) and Allen Swanson (Oswego).
State champion Aric Bohn (Mukwonago, Wis.) is the primary challenger to Duggan at 220 pounds. Others in the weight class include state placers Garrett Bledsoe (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio), Nate Lloyd (Luxemburg-Casco, Wis.), and Maverick Peek (Dakota); along with state qualifiers Josh Carter (Machesney Park Harlem) and Quintin Terry (Glenbard North). Those at 285 along with all pin, all the time Cassioppi include state qualifier Guy Snow (Iowa City West, Iowa) along with Keenan Ness (Yorkville) and Charlie Schmidt (Libertyville).
Remaining ranked wrestlers in the field are No. 20 Aaron Schulist (Mukwonago, Wis.) at 132 pounds, No. 9 Elan Heard (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) at 138, and No. 14 Zac Braunagel (Althof Catholic) at 170.
Contenders at 132 along with Junior freestyle All-American and Super 32 placer Schulist include state qualifier Danny Pucino (Libertyville) and 2016 state qualifier Sam Glassco (Mason, Ohio). Coming off a third place finish at the Walsh Ironman, Flo Nationals placer Heard will be challenged at 138 pounds by a field that includes two-time state champion We Rachal (Chicago Washington), two-time state placer Max Kristoff (Althoff Catholic), state medalists Jacob Dado (Marist) and Caleb Ziebell (Slinger, Wis.), along with state qualifier Michael Gunther (Libertyville).
Those in the running at 170 pounds along with Junior National double All-American Braunagel include Cadet National double All-American Abe Assad (Glenbard North), state medalist Major Dedmond (Freeport), as well as state qualifiers Juan Quiroz (Huntley) and Eric Vermillion (Mason, Ohio); Vermillion is a returning runner-up at the Dvorak.
Walsh Ironman placer Colton Drousias (Chicago Mt. Carmel), also a Cadet folkstyle champion this spring, leads a solid field at 106 pounds. Others include Cadet freestyle All-American Dustin Norris (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio), former Junior Greco All-American Michael Leveille (Marist), state placer Luke Joniaux (Luxemburg-Casco, Wis.), state qualifier Pacey Nasdusak (Mason, Ohio), and Matthew Minick (Althof Catholic).
The 120 pound weight class features state placer Tommy Russell (Chicago St. Rita), state qualifier Antoine Allen (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio), and Reihan Uribe (Chicago Mt. Carmel). Uribe has an early season 5-4 upset victory over nationally ranked Travis Ford-Melton.
Headlining the 126 pound weight class is a pair of two-time state champions in Chase Bittle (Althof Catholic) and Bryce Bosman (Luxemburg-Casco, Wis.). Other contenders include three-time state qualifier Zach Spencer (Huntley), state medalist Luke Odom (Edwardsville), impact freshman Connor Gaynor (Chicago Mt. Carmel), along with Dylan Waugh (Mason, Ohio).
It's a rather thin field at 152 pounds, led by Cadet freestyle All-American Chris Donathan (Mason, Ohio), who qualified for state last year as a freshman. Also here is three-time state qualifier and 2016 state medalist Cameron White (Chicago Bowen).
The 195 pound weight class is led by two-time state qualifier Michael Baker (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio), champion at the Preseason Nationals this fall and a Walsh Ironman placer. Others include state medalists Seamus O'Donnell (Crystal Lake Central), state medalist Jake Trautman (Waterford, Wis.), and Nick Stemmet (Yorkville).
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