A selection of some of my best photos from the 2024 Illinois wrestling state finals.
Panoramic view of University of Illinois’ Assembly Hall / State Farm Center during the National Anthem of the grand march of the IHSA wrestling state finals in 2024.
Check the receipts! If the social media content creators only seem to have video when some future pro-athlete is at your school and you’re in the state finals, but they’re nowhere to be seen when you’re a .500 team. I’ll bet your local paper is there.
One thing is certain when I get assigned to shoot wrestling state finals, whether it’s individuals or team state, I’m going to be taking A TON of photos. And most of them won’t end up being published.
Most years when I’m tapped to cover wrestling state finals it’s for the Chicago Tribune and mainly its suburban newspapers, the Aurora Beacon News, Daily Southtown, Elgin Courier-News, Lake County News-Sun, Naperville Sun, and a plethora of 34 different weekly papers that go under the Pioneer Press banner. The problem is, with all those publications there’s usually only going to be a couple of stories for each paper and the writers kind of have to guess the morning of the final day which matches they’ll possibly need photos from.
Best case scenario you end up having a championship match between two kids from your coverage area. An example of that would be for the Daily Southtown, the 3A 126 pound bout was between Seth Mendoza of Mount Carmel and Kaidge Esteban of Marist. Both schools that paper covers and therefor, a surefire pick for a state champion story in the paper. A slightly less ideal situation is one the writer for the Elgin Courier-News had, which covers St.Charles East High School who had three wrestlers in the finals, but only one match against a local opponent.
This is without mentioning that there were also wrestlers in 2A and a couple in 1A that I needed to photograph at the same time. If it sounds like it’s getting complicated, just realize I haven’t even gotten into the part where I also was taking photos of the 5th & 3rd places matches for local teams, just in case some of the finals’ matches didn’t work out. Which meant I was photographing over 6 mats at once.
Now that you have the “behind the scenes” info on these photos, I’ll share with you some of my favorites out of 6,000 frames I took just on the final two sessions of the wrestling weekend.
Silhouettes of spectators stand out from the reflections in the glass during the grand march at the Illinois high school state wrestling championship at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).
Players wrestling in the third and fifth-place matches wait to enter the floor at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson ).Joliet Catholic’s Max Cumbee and Mount Carmel’s Justin Williamson during the 113 pound bout in the class 3A state wrestling fifth-place match at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).Marist’s Donovan Allen might be on top, but Sandburg’s Ryan Hinger has a grip on his head as they fall to the mat during the 138 pound bout in the class 3A state wrestling third-place match at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).Mount Carmel’s Damian Resendez struggles to get free seconds before Lincoln-Way West’s Luke Siwinski gets his pin to win the 138 pound bout in the class 3A state wrestling fifth-place match at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).Marist’s Donovan Allen and Sandburg’s Ryan Hinger grapple during the 138 pound bout in the class 3A state wrestling third-place match at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).Lemont’s Noah O’Connor works over Wauconda’s Cole Porten during the 150 pound bout in the class 2A state wrestling fifth-place match at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).Oak Park-River Forest’s David Ogunsanya locks up Yorkville’s Jack Ferguson during the final minute of the 150 pound bout in the class 3A state wrestling fifth-place match at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).Warren’s Caleb Noble, right, and Hononega’s Rocco Cassioppi battle during the 106 pound bout in the class 3A state wrestling championship at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).Lyons Township’s Gunnar Garelli and Gelnbard West’s Colin Carrigan battle for the 165 pound title in the Class 3A state wrestling championship at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).
Coaches
Some of the best action from the weekend came from the edge of the mat, as the coaches were just as expressive as some of the players.
De La Salle’s Jeremiah Lawrence jumps on coach Robert Forbes after winning the 106 pound bout in the class 1A state wrestling third-place match at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).
The Yorkville Christian coaches were pumped as the final seconds of the Class 2A title match at 132 pounds came to and end and Ty Edwards was assured a championship.
Joliet Catholic’s Dillan Johnson lifts coach Ben Gerdes, as head coach Ryan Cumbee looks on after Johnson’s forth state title. Johnson defeated Hinsdale Central’s Marko Ivanisevic in the 285 pound bout in the class 3A state wrestling championship at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).
Rockridge’s Jude Finch jumps into the arms of his coach after winning the state wrestling championship at 132 pounds in Class 1A at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).Marmion coaches yell out during Joseph Favia’s match in the Class 3A championship at 215 pounds state wrestling championship at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).
The Thrill of Victory
It’s hard not to get good photos of wrestlers after they’ve just won a state championship. Here’s some of the best.
Yorkville Christian’s Ty Edwards with a bloodly smile after winning the Class 2A state wrestling championship in the 132 pounds at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).Lincoln-Way West’s Luke Siwinski points after winning by fall in the 138 pound bout in the class 3A state wrestling fifth-place match at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).IC Catholic’s Michael Calcagno facial expression matches his tattoo after defeating Rochelle’s Kaden Morris in the 215 pound bout in the class 2A state wrestling championship at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).The crowd signals “two” as Lyons Township’s Gunnar Garelli and Gelnbard West’s Colin Carrigan battle for the 165 pound title in the Class 3A state wrestling championship at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).
Johnsburg’s Eric Bush may have had my favorite celebration dance after winning the Class 1A title at 106 pounds. His bang-bang shoot ’em up move beat all the back flips and a finger waving.
It’s a surprise he didn’t do a back flip while shooting down his ankle bands as he probably had extra adrenaline from the loud-shirtless upper deck cheering section for him.
Johnsburg fans bear their feeling and chests during Eric Bush’s title match in the Class 1A 106 pound state wrestling championship at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).
The Agony of Defeat
As the seasons of each sport come to and end for many of these student-athletes, the hardest part for me is photographing the agony of losing. Team sports are often very different as there is company in misery, but wrestling can often have a kid feeling like they’re on an island. Every coach knows the corridors and locker rooms of arenas from regionals to state are filled with wrestlers who didn’t make the top of the podium. I don’t take lightly capturing those moments of heartbreak.
Mount Carmel’s Colin Kelly takes off his headgear after defeating Marist’s Ricky Ericksen in the 175 pound bout in the class 3A state wrestling championship at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).Lockport’s Justin Wardlow holds his head to the mat after being defeated by Marmion’s Zach Stewart in the 138 pound bout of the class 3A state wrestling championship at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).St. Rita’s Sean Larkin walks off to greet his coaches after beating Washington’s Peyton Cox during the 144 pound bout in the class 2A state wrestling championship at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).
Behind the Scenes
One of the most prized possessions a wrestler can get is the hand-written bracket given to the state champ. They sit on a table off to the side of the mats and are done by a handful of girls with impeccable handwriting, although they do have some white-out on hand just in case, at the State Farm Center at University of Illinois in Champaign on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson).
