Four has been the magic number for Washington athletics recently.
Just two days after the Panthers’ girls basketball team won its fourth regional title in a row, Washington boys wrestling upped the ante by going 4-for-4 in state title matches on Saturday at the State Farm Center in Champaign.
The Panthers celebrated their wins in varying ways.
Peyton Cox was overcome with emotion, kneeling on the mat and gazing up to his fans in the stands with tears in his eyes. Noah Woods jumped into the arms of his coaches. Wyatt Medlin, a repeat state champion, hit a special dance. Josh Hoffer was stoic, knowing that there’s more work to be done.
But one thing they all had in common was that they knew the feat was impressive, but not a surprise.
“Washington put four in the finals and came out with four champs, it's definitely a surreal feeling,” Medlin said.
Washington broke its previous record of three individual state champions, set back in 2015 and matched in 2016. Medlin knew what the feeling of winning an individual state title was like. But for his teammates, it was uncharted territory.
“Finally being able to get it done is a dream come true,” Cox said, holding back more tears. “It always sucks going back on the bus when you got a guy losing; I'm used to that guy being me. But we're gonna be able to take home four champs this year.”
Cox earned one of two dramatic victories for the Panthers. He scored the lone point of the Class 2A 144-pound title match against Aiden Arnett, a freshman from Elmhurst IC Catholic, on an escape in the second period to win gold for the first time after finishing as a state runner-up in each of his first three seasons.
He noted having an experience advantage over his opponent, whose shoes he was in at one time.
“I think it plays a big part,” Cox said. “I remember my freshman year how nervous I was and how overwhelmed I was being on this big stage.”
Last year, Cox remembered being tense and nervous in the locker room before his title match. That wasn’t the case this time around, as he and his teammates listened to tunes put on by Medlin and had fun.
“I made it a big point to just relax and keep my body loose in the locker room, stay upbeat, listen to music, make jokes and I think that was the biggest game changer,” Cox said.
The senior moved to 40-4 on the season with the win. He won his first three matches convincingly – 7-0 and 5-0 decisions and a 25-second pin –, but persevered through his only near-stalemate of the week.
“We did our homework,” Cox said. “We knew what his go-to attacks were and we had a game plan. I didn't execute exactly how I wanted to, I didn't get any takedowns, but I was able to get the job done knowing what I needed to do.”
Woods wins in crunch time
Washington’s other heart-stopping victory came from Woods, a 120-pound senior who finished in sixth at state last season. After he, nor his opponent – Lombard Montini’s Mikey Malizzio – gave up any ground, Woods used a reversal to earn a 2-0 victory in the waning seconds of the third overtime period.
“In the middle of the match, I was battling my mind, and I was like ‘is this really happening?’” Woods said. “But I just kept going because I knew he was struggling with it too and I could feel it.”
“I didn't think it was the best performance, but I truly believe that I wrestled smart, and I did everything I could.”
Self-realization was one of the biggest factors for Woods this season, where he’s gone 45-2. After being ranked No. 1 in his class by FloWrestling earlier in the year, he found the belief that he could fulfill what was bestowed upon him.
“I was like, ‘I don't want to leave any regret’ [and] if they project me to win, I'm going to go earn it and I put in the time and work,” Woods said.
And while he’s earned two team state titles in his career at Washington, the feeling of being in control of his own destiny brought about a different sense of accomplishment. He and the Panthers will get ready to try and clinch another dual team state berth on Tuesday at sectionals.
“That was my individual goal, to accomplish and achieve that, that's everything to me,” Woods said. “But as the dual team state goes, it's just part of a team. You feel it with the team.”
Even though Woods will graduate after this season, his last name will still live on with the team. His younger brother and junior, Symon, finished sixth at 106 pounds earlier in the day and Noah is confident he can carry the torch and continue Washington’s strong legacy.
“He lost to people he's beat before, so that sucks but I lost last year to people I could have beat,” Woods said. “I believe that he will be able to go through what I went through and win it next year.”
“Focused on the next one”: Medlin adds another state title to shelf
Medlin has a recipe for success: gaining quick, early points and staying aggressive in order to earn technical falls. That’s what he did in his first three matches in Champaign and that’s what he also did against Highland’s Tyson Rakers in the title bout, winning 20-5 in the second period.
“It's all built in the practice room,” Medlin said. “I take pride in how hard I work and no one can hang with me as hard as I work.”
Just a junior, Medlin now has four state titles – two individually and two with the team. The prospect of winning more championships than fingers on his hand tantalizes him.
“That's a crazy number, I'm two for two right now for team state titles and I'm just focused on the next one,” Medlin said. “We got the job done here in Champaign but there's always more work to do.”
Medlin will enter Tuesday’s Class 2A dual team sectional at Geneseo with a 48-3 mark. Even though he’s proved just about everything in his first three years of high school wrestling, he’s still eager to further show what he’s capable of.
“There's definitely always something to prove,” Medlin said. “Being dominant all throughout high school is something I want to be known [for]. I want guys to say Wyatt Medlin and be like, ‘wow, that kid kicked some butt in high school.’”
Hoffer prevails in shutout
Hoffer was also in control for the entirety of his title match at 215 pounds. He jumped ahead early and never looked back in a 5-0 win over Waterloo’s Jaxon Mathenia. The win solidified a trend of continual improvement for the junior, who placed sixth in Class 2A as a freshman and fourth as a sophomore.
He knew that he had a strong possibility of standing atop the podium even before the year started. He also knows that the Panthers are capable of repeating this same level of success next year.
“Right at the beginning, it's been on my mind all year round,” Hoffer said. “Having a good off season and wrestling in the summer definitely helps with that.”
“We don’t lose a whole lot of seniors,” he added. “I mean, what we do lose is big, but that's just a call for other guys to step up and hopefully they can do that.”
Best friends become 1A state champs together
Illini Bluffs’ Jackson Carroll only had one gripe with winning his second consecutive state title. The Class 1A state champion at 150 pounds wanted to wrestle “King of the Hill” style against the best wrestlers from classes 2A and 3A.
And why not? Carroll hadn’t lost in IHSA action since Jan. 6, 2024, a streak extending over 75 matches.
“At first you get the rush, and it's the best thing that ever happened,” Carroll said. “But looking back, I wish I was on that [far] side of the mat, I wish I was with the big schools.”
“I feel like I'm the best in the state and I just wish I could have got the chance to really prove there's no one better than me.”
The Tigers’ senior was victorious via a 16-7 major decision over Woodstock Marian’s Vance Williams. Carroll finished his season a perfect 53-0, a single-season win mark that’s tied for 12th all-time in the IHSA.
His victory marked the third straight year that Illini Bluffs, which only fielded four wrestlers this season, has had a state champion after he won it all at 144 pounds in 2024 and Paul Ishikawa won a state title in 2023.
Last year, Carroll wasn’t viewed as an underdog, but he wasn’t seen as one of the biggest title contenders either. That all changed this year as he lived up to his season-long ranking as the No. 1 wrestler in his class.
“The only kid I hadn't wrestled this year was the kid ranked second, so it felt like this was the match that had to happen,” Carroll said.
Perhaps the secret to a state title was a trip on Saturday morning to Merry Ann’s Diner in Champaign. That’s where Carroll and his training partner and good friend, Tremont’s Bowden Delaney, got breakfast before their state title matches.
Delaney ate French toast, eggs and country fried steak in the morning, but in the evening, he ate a big ‘W’, winning the Class 1A state title at 165 pounds. He became the first Turks wrestler since Russ Witzig in 1985 to bring home a state wrestling title to Tremont.
“It's amazing and it's definitely something to know when you're going in there,” Delaney said. “Hardly anyone’s done it, let alone make the state finals twice and then go out there and win it, that's a great feeling.”
Delaney’s win was a double redemption of sorts. He lost in his state championship match a year ago and finished second at the Class 1A Clinton Sectional last week, losing to one of his training partners, Abram Davidson of Tolono Unity.
“I heard about it from my parents and my coaches, so I had to change it,” Delaney said. “And then I changed it.”
Delaney used a takedown to gain an early 3-0 advantage against Roxana’s Lyndon Thies and maintained the lead en route to a 7-4 victory and a 51-3 mark to close out the final season of his high school career.
“I knew once I got that first takedown late in the first period, I was in a better spot than going to 0-0,” Delaney said. “That three points is big, so that was just a good cushion, especially late in the third period, to end up on that.”
Several other area wrestlers concluded their seasons with top-six placements. Normal Community’s Caden Correll (113) suffered his only loss of the season in his Class 3A state title match, falling in a 17-5 major decision to Gurnee Warren’s Caleb Noble. East Peoria’s Jose Del Toro also finished second, battling hard against Chatham Glenwood’s Cody Moss and dropping a 9-7 decision.
Olympia’s Dylan Eimer (113) and Peoria Notre Dame’s Ian Akers (126) both took home bronze medals in Class 1A while Illini Bluffs’ Barret Speck (120) and Canton’s Connor Williams (285) both won their final matches to finish fifth.
Canton and Olympia will face off at the Class 1A Tolono Unity dual team sectional on Tuesday.
“[Fifth place] is not what I wanted but better than I expected,” Williams said. “You can’t change the past, I just went in there thinking that ‘I’m just going to win and don’t think about the other ones because you can’t go back.”
Morton’s Harrison Dea came in fifth at 126 pounds in Class 2A while Washington’s Symon Woods finished in sixth at 106.
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