However, an extreme examination is ahead during this mid-week, with a home dual meet against No. 6 Montini Catholic, Ill., on Wednesday night before traveling to No. 23 Marmion Academy, Ill., on Thursday evening. Below is a breakdown of the two dual meets.
No. 6 Montini Catholic, Ill. at No. 11 Oak Park River Forest, Ill.
106: Jimmy Pawleski (Montini) vs. Robert Campos (OPRF). This is a battle of freshmen, Pawleski ranked No. 8 in Class AA per Illinois Matmen, while Campos is No. 10 in Class AAA. If you look at their IKWF histories, Campos was third last year at 95 pounds, while Pawleski did not participate.
113: Tommy Pawleski vs. Gabe Townsell. The senior Pawleski is a defending state champion and ranked No. 1 in Class AA, while freshman Townsell comes in ranked No. 8 in Class AAA.
120: Darius Henry/Matt Rundell vs. Vince Turk. This should be an excellent match. Montini sophomore Turk ranked No. 3 in Class AA after being closed out of the lineup last year by Kevon Powell (now an Ohio University Bobcat) and Jordan Laster , and was a Cadet Greco-Roman champion last summer. Henry made his season debut last week with a title at the OPRF Invite, while state runner-up Rundell is ranked No. 4 in Class AAA.
126: Isaiah White vs. Jordan Laster. The freshman White is ranked No. 3 in Class AAA, while the senior Laster, already a two-time state placer, is No. 2 in Class AA.
Larry Early (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)138: Jake O'Mara vs. Chris Garcia. The senior O'Mara is ranked No. 11 in Class AAA, while two-time state placer Garcia is the top-ranked wrestler in Class AA.
145: Johnny Gahagan vs. Michael Sepke. The junior Gahagan was a state qualifier last year and is ranked No. 11 in Class AAA, while Sepke placed fourth at state last year and is ranked No. 1 in Class AA.
152: Kamaal Bey vs. Luke Fortuna. The freshman Bey was an IKWF runner-up last year, while the sophomore Fortuna was a state qualifier last season and is ranked No. 5 in Class AA.
160: No. 18 Davonte Mahomes vs. Xavier Montalvo. This matchup places the top-ranked wrestler in Class AAA against the top-ranked wrestler in Class AA. Mahomes placed third at state last year as a sophomore, while Montalvo failed to place at state last year in his freshman campaign.
170: Allen Stallings vs. Michael Maduko. The freshman Stallings was an IKWF champion last year, while the junior Maduko placed sixth at state last year and is ranked No. 3 in Class AA.
182: Joe Ariola vs. Jake Turk. This matchup places the Class AAA favorite Ariola against the No. 2 ranked wrestler in Class AA in Turk. Turk was fourth at state last year, while Ariola was a state qualifier.
195: Andre Lee vs. Anthony Ferraro. Lee is ranked No. 5 in Class AAA, while state qualifier Ferraro is a junior who is ranked No. 2 in Class AA.
220: Malik Broumant vs. Edgar Ruano. Ruano is ranked No. 2 in Class AA and placed fourth at state last year.
285: Adam Lemke vs. David Sarkan. This weight class represents a weak link for both teams, Lemke is a junior, while Sarkan is a senior. Either squad may try to shift around this matchup, though more likely Montini sliding someone else into 195 with Ferraro and Ruano bumping up to assure a 2-1 stretch here.
This dual meet is very interesting, with both teams having a legitimate shot of winning. Montini Catholic would enter it as the slightest of favorites though.
No. 11 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. at No. 23 Marmion Academy, Ill.
106: Robert Campos (OPRF) vs. Anthony Bosco (Marmion). Campos is ranked No. 10 in Class AAA by Illinois Matmen, while returning state placer Bosco is ranked third.
113: Gabe Townsell vs. A.J. Jaffe. This is a battle of freshmen, with Townsell ranked No. 8 in Class AAA, while Jaffe is unranked. Both were IKWF finalists last year, Jaffe winning at 101, while Townsell was second at 108.
120: Darius Henry/Matt Rundell vs. No. 8 Johnny Jimenez. Rundell -- ranked No. 4 in Class AAA -- was a state runner-up last year as a freshman at 106, while Henry did not compete in the state series but has an excellent background in USA Wrestling events. For Marmion, Jimenez is already a two-time state champion, and favored to win a third in this his junior season.
126: Isaiah White vs. Jake Field. The freshman White is ranked No. 3 in Class AAA, while the senior Field is a returning state qualifier.
132: Larry Early vs. No. 15 George Fisher. This match places the top two wrestlers in Class AAA for the weight class. The sophomore Early placed third at state last year, while the Michigan-bound Fisher is a two-time state finalist, standing atop the podium in Champaign as a sophomore.
138: Jake O'Mara vs. Matt Ferraro. The senior O'Mara, also a Junior Greco-Roman All-American this past summer, is ranked No. 11 in Class AAA, while the freshman Ferraro was an IKWF champion last year at 122 pounds.
145: Johnny Gahagan vs. Trace Carello. The junior Gahagan was a state qualifier last year, and sits at No. 11 in Class AAA, while Carello is a freshman who finished third in IKWF last year at 138 pounds.
152: Kamaal Bey vs. Riley DeMoss. This is a battle pf freshmen, who both were IKWF runners-up last season. DeMoss, ranked No. 9 in Class AAA per Illinois Matmen, earned second at 156; while DeMoss was second at 147.
160: No. 18 Davonte Mahomes vs. Nick Ferraro. Mahomes, who placed third at state last year as a sophomore, is the top-ranked wrestler in Class AAA at this weight class.
170: Allen Stallings vs. Josh Meyers. Neither wrestler in this match is even an Honorable Mention wrestler per Illinois Matmen. However, the freshman Stallings entered high school with strong pedigree, an IKWF champion last year at 177 pounds.
182: Joe Ariola vs. Nathan Traxler. The senior Ariola, state qualifier last year and NUWAY Vegas champion in the preseason, is now favored for a state title with Ricky Robertson moving up to 195 pounds for Carl Sandburg. Traxler is a freshman, who is out of his element here.
195: Andre Lee vs. Cody Snodgrass. Both wrestlers are in the top five of this weight class in Class AAA. Lee is ranked No. 5, while state qualifier Snodgrass is ranked No. 4.
220: Malik Broumant vs. Lucas Warren. The freshman Warren is the top ranked wrestler in Class AAA per Illinois Matmen, and No. 15 overall in the Class of 2016 regardless of weight class.
285: Adam Lemke vs. Alex Fritz. Two-time state qualifier Fritz is ranked No. 6 in Class AAA.
Looking at the dual meet, each squad is favored in seven weight classes, which makes it an interesting matchup to say the least.
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