Sports

10 Lemont Bears Wrestlers Headed to IKWF State Tournament

Tournament takes place March 11–12.

—Article Submitted

The Bears competed in a very tough Sectional Tournament at Mt. Carmel High School this past weekend, placing 3rd as a team in the Senior Division and advancing a large group to the individual state tournament this weekend.

Lemont Bears Wrestling Club will proudly send 10 wrestlers to the IKWF State wrestling tournament in Rockford, Illinois. This is the largest group of Bears to qualify for a trip to Rockford in over 15 years.

Find out what's happening in Lemontfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The Bears will be led this weekend by returning State Champion, Drew Nash, who will be competing in the 115lb Senior division and looks to repeat his fantastic performance at last year’s State Tournament. Also, returning to Rockford this year is State Placer, Apollo Gothard who will be competing at 166lb Senior Division.

Making their first trip to Rockford are Sectional Champions, Kyle Zator (122lb Senior) and Kyle Devitt (177lb Senior); 2nd place finishers Tyler Filippini (147lb Senior), Tyler Bentley (74lb Senior), Carter Mikolajczak (62lb Novice) and AJ Heeg (95lb Novice); 3rd place finishers Cooper Mikolajczak (74lb Senior) and Tyler Wilms (130lb Novice).

Find out what's happening in Lemontfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The boys will compete at the BMO Harris Center against the best youth wrestlers in the state of Illinois. The IKWF State Tournament consists of 35 different weight classes and nearly 900 wrestlers. The Lemont Bears wresters are excited for the trip and ready to cap off a great year with State medals. Lemont Bear, Anthony Crapia who wrestles for his Jr High team, also had a big weekend qualifying for the IESA State Wrestling Tournament.

Good Luck, boys!

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.