1. No. 2 Austin Gomez (Glenbard North) vs. No. 3 Jamie Hernandez (Oak Park River Forest) -- Illinois Class 3A 138 pounds
Two-time state champion Gomez is undecided with his college commitment after Kevin Jackson resigned from Iowa State; while a state title is elusive for the North Carolina commit Hernandez, who has placed second and fourth the previous two seasons. This past weekend at the sectional tournament, Gomez beat former No. 2 Hernandez 3-1 in the semifinal to jump three spots in the rankings to No. 2.
Each will likely have a very tough opponent in the quarterfinals. Gomez is likely to face two-time state placer Anthony Cheloni (Marmion Academy), who placed second at state two years ago in this weight class; while Hernandez is likely to face state placer Kendall Coleman (Chicago Mt. Carmel) should he clear returning state runner-up Donnell Washington (Marian Catholic) in the opening round. Due to the asinine "carry system" that Illinois still uses, it is very likely that the Coleman/Washington loser does not make it to the consolation bracket.
It is likely that the Gomez/Cheloni quarterfinal winner will face two-time state placer Jimmy McAuliffe (Reavis) in the semifinal, while Hernandez would be positioned to face now three-time state qualifier Brandon Ramos (Lockport) in his semifinal. It should be noted that McAuliffe beat Cheloni in the sectional quarter before losing to Coleman in the final last week.
2. No. 7 Anthony Madrigal (Oak Park River Forest) vs. No. 8 Real Woods (Montini Catholic) -- Illinois Class 3A 126 pounds
Madrigal, runner-up last year in this weight class to Austin Gomez, beat two-time state finalist Woods twice at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman (the 2015 state champ was upset last year in the final by Louie Hayes). The pair of elite juniors met in the quarterfinal and consolation final, with Madrigal winning 8-4 and then in overtime 5-3. Mercifully the IHSA does seed the sectional champions, and these two are in opposite halves the draw.
Woods has a pretty clear path in his half-bracket, as the most notable wrestler is Kaleb Guzior (Chicago Mt. Carmel), a 2015 state placer that took fourth in his sectional this past weekend. For Madrigal a quarterfinal date with returning state placer Dylan Burnoski (Bolingbrook) is possible, and then a semifinal with 2015 state placer Zach Villarreal (Lyons Township).
3. No. 8 Rocky Lombardi (West Des Moines Valley) vs. No. 9 Wyatt Wriedt (North Scott) -- Iowa Class 3A 220 pounds
The good news is that the bracket gods have put these two stars in opposite halves of the draw, as given the 8x2 structure of the state tournament, they could have been paired in the quarterfinal round. Last season, Lombardi beat Wriedt the three times they met in the regular season (including first period pins in the first and third of those bouts) before Wriedt got him 9-2 in the state semifinal; Wriedt would then upset Ethan Andersen to win the state title, while Lombardi bounced back to third.
This season, the pair of wrestlers have split bouts. The Nebraska commit Wriedt won 2-1 in the tiebreaker in the final at the Keith Young Invitational during the season's opening weekend, while it was the future Michigan State quarterback Lombardi winning 3-1 in overtime during January in the finals of the Ed Winger Classic. On the season, Lombardi is 35-1 with 29 first period pins (31 in all). An interesting note is that their teams could face off in the dual team semifinal on Wednesday (today) afternoon, presuming each wins first round, though North Scott would have to beat No. 44 Fort Dodge to advance.
4. No. 16 Drew Bennett (Fort Dodge) vs. No. 17 Kyle Biscoglia (Waukee) -- Iowa Class 3A 113 pounds
Want a silver lining to these two wrestlers being drawn to meet in a possible semifinal bout? Last year the pair met in the quarterfinal round, a match that was won 6-5 by Biscoglia in the tiebreaker; Biscoglia would go onto win the state title, while Bennett did bounce back to place third. The only other losses for Bennett in his sophomore season were 3-2 in the ultimate tiebreaker to Cade Devos in late January, and 1-1 in an ultimate tiebreaker against Biscoglia in mid-December; Biscoglia's lone loss last season was while up at 113 pounds, 13-9 to Brody Teske in late January.
On the other hand, this season it's Bennett who is undefeated at 38-0, while Biscoglia enters the state tournament 42-2. The lone losses for Biscoglia came to Bennett, 3-2 in mid-December and 9-8 in late January; Bennett also has a 5-4 win from early January over No. 18 Aden Reeves (Albia), who competes in Class 1A. Bennett should clear easily to the semi, while Biscoglia does have a likely quarterfinal against returning state placer Kobey Pritchard (Independence). Returning state placer Jacob Schipper (North Scott) is the likely opponent for Bennett or Biscoglia in the state final.
5. No. 3 Mason Parris (Lawrenceburg) vs. No. 7 Gunnar Larson (Avon) -- Indiana 220 pounds
These wrestlers met in last year's state final, Parris won on that occasion by 13-4 major decision. Neither wrestler has lost a match this season. However, the infinite wisdom of the Indiana state tournament has them paired to meet in the semifinal round.
Parris draws returning state placer Clayton Scroggs (Martinsville) in the opening round, who placed fourth at semi-state, including a 9-1 major decision loss to Larson in the semifinal. Larson draws Cadet freestyle All-American Kyle Cornwell (Elwood) in the opening round; with a likely quarterfinal against Justin Akers (Crown Point), a 2015 state qualifier who was one match from placing at the Super 32 in the pre-season. The most likely semifinal in the top half would pit Cadet freestyle All-American Eli Pokorney (Chesterton) against the undefeated Corbin Maddox (Daleville).
Travis Ford-Melton was a runner-up at the Minnesota Christmas Tournament (Photo/David Peterson, Minnesota/USA Wrestling)6. No. 4 Travis Ford-Melton (Marian Catholic) vs. No. 13 Joey Melendez (Montini Catholic) -- Illinois Class 3A 113 pounds
A pair of state champions from last year at 106 pounds are featured in this state tournament weight class, as Marian Catholic made the move up from 2A last year to 3A this year. The fact that Melendez was caught by Tommy Russell (St. Rita) in the third period of his sectional final distorted the bracket, and creates what is a potentially electric quarterfinal bout with Ford-Melton.
The winner of that bout is most likely to face P.J. Ogunsanya (Oak Park River Forest), an excellent expected to finally place at the state tournament. The upper half of the draw is rather clear for returning state placer Dominic Zaccone (Stagg), who is undefeated on the season. His most likely path would involve a quarterfinal with Anthony Molton (Lockport), a Cadet Greco All-American, and then a semifinal against Noah Surtin (Edwardsville).
7. No. 5 Jack Jessen (Willowbrook) vs. No. 19 Kendall Norfleet (Marian Catholic) -- Illinois Class 3A 182 pounds
The senior Norfleet is a two-time state finalist, winning a state title last season in Class 2A; while 2015 state runner-up Jessen placed third at state last year as a sophomore after losing 3-1 to Patrick Brucki in the semifinal, an opponent he had beaten the previous week in the sectional semifinal (Nathan Traxler won the sectional and state titles). Both nationally ranked wrestlers are undefeated this season.
With the state title, Norfleet is the top seed, and would appear to have smooth sailing to the final. Jessen is in the lower half of the draw, and will most likely have to clear fellow undefeated wrestler D.J. Penick (Highland Park) in the semifinal round.
8. No. 8 Andrew Davison (Chesterton) vs. No. 17 Tristen Tonte (Warren Central) -- Indiana 195 pounds
The Michigan signee Davison placed fifth at state as a sophomore, but absolutely gagged his first round match at state last year, which blocked the expected semifinal showdown against Blake Rypel. Davison is undefeated on this season after being a Junior freestyle All-American and Super 32 Challenge placer in the off-season.
The bracket gods have provided him with a semifinal against either two-time state placer David Eli (Elkhart Memorial) or returning state third Ben Stewart (Indianapolis Cathedral); both wrestlers in this match have one loss, Eli's coming by 13-5 major decision to Davison in late December, while the Boston College football commit Stewart lost in the semi-state final. Beating Stewart at semi-state was two-time state runner-up Tonte, who did so by a 7-1 score. Tonte's path to the final most likely would involve a semifinal match against 2015 state placer Kyle Shaffer (South Putnam), whom is undefeated on the season.
9. No. 4 Michael McGee (Plainfield East) vs. No. 17 Robert Precin (Andrew) -- Illinois Class 3A 120 pounds
Another bit of infinite bracket wisdom, even though Illinois does have a seeding process. Undefeated two-time state finalist McGee, a 2015 state champion, is in the same half bracket as 2015 state placer Precin whose only loss on the season was 7-4 to McGee. The sectional champions in the other half bracket are returning state placer Charles Faber (Glenbard West) and a 40-5 freshman in Fabian Lopez (DeKalb).
In order to reach that marked semi, McGee is most likely going to have to clear returning state placer Josh Stenger (Huntley), who lost to Lopez in the sectional final; while it would be more of a surprise if Precin did not reach that point. Lopez is looking at a likely quarterfinal against 2015 state placer Isaac Jacquez (West Aurora); while things are more manageable for Faber.
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