The 3A sectional tournament is in the books, and honestly? There's a lot to unpack here. So grab your coffee (or your post-practice protein shake, I don't judge) and let's break down what just happened.
Who's Sending the Most to State?
If you follow 3A wrestling at all, some of these names won't surprise you:
- Joliet Catholic — 10 qualifiers
- Marmion Academy (Aurora) — 10 qualifiers
- Montini (Lombard) — 9 qualifiers
- St. Charles East — 9 qualifiers
- Oak Park-River Forest — 8 qualifiers
That's a serious statement from all five programs. They're stacked, and it shows.
The Senior Class Ran This Thing
Let's talk class breakdown, because this is where it gets interesting.
- Seniors — 110 qualifiers (49%) — Nearly half the field. You kind of expect that in 3A though. These are big programs with experienced kids who've been grinding for four years. This is their moment.
- Juniors — 72 qualifiers (32%) — Not far behind, which tells you next year's senior class has some serious firepower coming. That's a deep group.
- Sophomores — 30 qualifiers (13%) — The numbers start to thin out here.
- Freshmen — 12 qualifiers (5%) — Just a handful made it through.
And look, that's not a knock on the young guys. 3A is brutal. The fact that any underclassmen survived this gauntlet says a lot about their talent. Making it through as a 15 or 16-year-old in this field is no small thing.
Sectional Champs by Class
When you zoom into who actually won their sectional brackets, the senior dominance gets even clearer:
- Seniors — 28 sectional champs
- Juniors — 21 sectional champs
- Sophomores — 5 sectional champs
- Freshmen — 2 sectional champs
Those numbers are pretty telling. Winning a 3A sectional takes a different level of maturity and match awareness that usually comes with years on the mat.
Two Freshmen Won Sectionals. Yes, Freshmen.
Two freshmen won their entire sectional bracket. In 3A. As ninth graders.
- Colton Shultz — 113 pounds (32-9), Joliet Catholic — 3rd at IKWF in 2024
- Finn McDermott — 120 pounds (36-12), Joliet Catholic — 3rd at IKWF in 2025
Both heading to state as the number one seed. So yeah, these aren't kids who came out of nowhere. They've been competing at a high level for a while now.
And here's what makes this even more exciting: they both wrestle for Joliet Catholic, which is currently our number two ranked 3A team heading into the state team duals. The Hilltoppers aren't just good right now. They're building something scary for the next three years. When your freshmen are winning sectional titles, you've got a pipeline that other programs should be concerned about.
The Sophomore Sectional Champs
Five sophomores managed to win their sectionals, and each one deserves some recognition:
- Niko Odiotti at 106 pounds (31-2) from Loyola Academy
- Michael McNamara at 106 pounds (31-6) out of Edwardsville
- Erik Klichurov at 113 pounds (34-2) from Hinsdale
- Oleksandr Havrylkiv at 126 pounds (38-4) representing Hersey
- Knox Homola at 285 pounds (36-4) from Hampshire
Look at those records. Odiotti with just 2 losses. Klichurov with only 2. Havrylkiv sitting at 38-4 (some of those losses at national tournaments). These guys are already wrestling like upperclassmen, and they've got two more years to develop. If you're a coach in 3A, you're circling these names on your whiteboard right now.
Still Perfect: The Undefeated Sectional Champs
Three wrestlers came into the sectional tournament without a single loss and walked out the same way. That takes a certain kind of mental toughness that's hard to describe unless you've been there. The pressure of protecting an undefeated record in a sectional bracket (where one bad scramble can end everything) is intense.
- Dom Munaretto — 120 pounds (45-0), St. Charles East — Forty-five matches. Zero losses. That's not just talent. That's consistency at an elite level, match after match, tournament after tournament. Dom is easily a top 3 pound-for-pound wrestler in Illinois, and possibly at the top.
- Bobby Ruscitti — 126 pounds (43-0), Montini — Same deal. The guy just doesn't lose.
- Jonathon Rulo — 285 pounds (25-0), Belleville East — Also an impressive football player. Fewer matches, sure, but a perfect record at heavyweight is its own kind of impressive. One mistake at that weight class and you're on your back. Rulo hasn't made one yet.
All three of these guys head to state with massive targets on their backs. Everyone in their bracket knows who they are (Dom and Bobby are favorites, and Rulo has Favia to contend with). State is going to be a whole different animal though, so we'll see if the perfection holds up.
Looking Ahead
The state tournament is going to be electric. Between the loaded senior class looking to cap off their careers, the juniors making noise, the underclassmen who are already competing way above their age, and those three undefeated wrestlers trying to stay perfect on the biggest stage... there are storylines everywhere you look.
Keep an eye on Joliet Catholic and Marmion especially. Both schools are bringing incredibly deep rosters, and may walk away with multiple state champs.
It's going to be a fun weekend. Don't miss it.