Pre-match nerves make wrestlers jitter as whistles fill the air. Illinois wrestlers from various counties take the mat for the final time this season. The IHSA State Tournament is where the best of the best compete – where champions are crowned, and others crumble.
Senior Leo Rosas competed at the IHSA State Tournament from Feb. 19-21 at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, and finished 2-2 after a tough one-point loss in the blood round, falling just short of earning All-State honors. Juniors Emanuel Rangel and Brian Correa also wrestled hard and made their presence known as top wrestlers for West Chicago Community High School.
But first, they had two days of solid competition to get through. Rangel, Correa, and Rosas held up their newly acquired WEGO State Qualifier shirts for a photo shortly after getting to the State Farm Center on Feb. 19. For Rangel and Correa, it was their first time qualifying for the state tournament, while for Rosas, it marked his second appearance at the event. Despite their different levels of experience, they all had the same goal: to win matches.
Once the matches were in session, the coaches kept an eagle eye on both their own athletes, and those of other schools. As Rangel prepared for his first-round match, Coach Miguel Silva Jr. walked toward Mat 1 to help prepare Rangel. In just his second year as head coach of the program, Silva helped lead the team to a milestone moment: the first time since 1984 that West Chicago sent three individuals to Champaign-Urbana.
Despite strong coaching, Rangel found himself trying to mount a comeback in his opening match. During his first match, Rangel looked up at the clock as he locked up a cradle against his ranked opponent, Chazz Robinson from Homewood-Flossmoor High School, after falling behind early.
“I was hoping the ref gave him a ‘fleeing the mat’ call since he was just trying to run from me,” Rangel said.
Meanwhile, Correa locked up a tie against ranked opponent senior Nicholas Garcia of Marmion Academy in the Round One Championship Bout to get his state run kicked off. Garcia, the eventual state champion, proved difficult to overcome, and Correa fell in his opening match.
“I walked into the match knowing I was an underdog and I had nothing to lose, so I just let it fly out there,” Correa said.
Correa then moved to the consolation bracket, where he faced Brady Glynn of Lincoln-Way West. Despite battling through both matches, Correa’s tournament run came to an end after two tough matchups.
Photo by Cesar Munoz
After a tough series of matchups, it was over to senior Leo Rosas to leave his mark on the mat on day two. He pinned his opponent, Brody Baker of Quincy High School, within the first period on the second day of the tournament, advancing in the consolation bracket in dominant fashion. This match helped keep Rosas’s state placing dreams alive during his final high school wrestling season.
Rosas earned the Most Valuable Wrestler award on his wrestling team last year and was looking to earn the award again.
After a quarterfinal loss, Rosas battled back through the consolation bracket to stay alive in the tournament. Rosas celebrated after beating opponent AJ Noyes from Oak Park/River Forest High School, a senior to whom he had lost the previous week at sectionals on Feb. 14.
Rosas entered the postseason ranked fourth in the state but dropped in the rankings after his sectional loss to Noyes. At state, he flipped the script, defeating Noyes and eliminating him from the tournament.
Rangel, who qualified last year as an alternate but did not wrestle, was also hoping for a breakthrough. This year was a different story: on day two, he faced senior Saul Ramirez of Barrington High School in the consolation bracket, but his tournament run came to an end after a tough matchup.
A spot on the podium was not to be, but the Wildcats proved they belonged on wrestling’s biggest stage. In the blood round, Rosas dropped a narrow 2–1 decision, finishing his state run at 2–2 and just one win shy of All-State honors.
After the final whistle of the blood round, the Wildcats left the State Farm Center without a medalist – but with a new group of young wrestlers already looking ahead to next season.
”My main goal for next season is being able to qualify for the state finals and I wanna help my team out and become a conference champ for my weight class,” junior Ulises Vega said after a impressive season earning all-conference honors.
Correction
March 2, 2026
A previous version of this article erroneously stated that the tournament was held in Peoria, Illinois, when it was held in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. The article has been updated to reflect the correct location.
