Hawks Finish 3rd in Great Lakes District

Palatine, IL: The Hawks wrestling team delivered a strong performance at the Great Lakes District Tournament, hosted in the Hawks Fieldhouse on Sunday, February 23rd. Competing against ten teams, the Hawks finished in third place behind Southwestern Michigan and Triton. To qualify for the national tournament, wrestlers needed to place in the top five of their respective weight classes, and the Hawks certainly delivered with eight out of ten wrestlers earning spots.

Leading the way was district champion Ali Adel in the 197 lb weight class. Adel had an impressive run, winning three consecutive matches, including a victory over Triton's Ghee Rachal in the championship match. He is also ranked number one for the 197 lb weight class after the most recent Open Mat rankings.

Pedro Jimenez and Jacob Crandall also had standout performances, both finishing as runners-up in the 157 lb and 165 lb weight classes, respectively. After winning two straight matches, they each fell just short in their final match, finishing second.

Two Hawks secured third-place finishes: Delin Jones at 141 lbs and Lennon Steinkuehler at 149 lbs, both of whom wrestled tough matches to take home hardware. Joey Sikorsky finished 4th in the 125 lb class, while Esteban Delgado (133 lb) and Emmanuel Mejia (174 lb) rounded out the team's strong showing with 5th place finishes, securing the final qualifying spots for nationals.

Cameron Lattimore, unfortunately, came up just short of a national bid, finishing 6th after a loss to Eli Marshall in the 5th place match. John Schmidt also competed for the Hawks in the 184 lb weight class but did not advance.

The national meet will take place at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, IA, on March 7th and 8th, where the Hawks will look to build on their success and compete on the national stage.

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Players Mentioned

Ali Adel: 184 lb; Sophomore

Esteban Delgado: 125 lb; Freshman

Delin Jones: 141 lb; Freshman

Pedro Jimenez: 149 lb; Freshman

John Schmidt: 174/184 lb; Sophomore

Joey Sikorsky: 125 lb; Sophomore

Emmanuel Mejia: 197 lb; Sophomore

Lennon Steinkuehler: Freshman

Cameron Lattimore: Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Ali Adel
: Sophomore
: 184 lb

Esteban Delgado
: Freshman
: 125 lb

Delin Jones
: Freshman
: 141 lb

Pedro Jimenez
: Freshman
: 149 lb

John Schmidt
: Sophomore
: 174/184 lb

Joey Sikorsky
: Sophomore
: 125 lb

Emmanuel Mejia
: Sophomore
: 197 lb

Lennon Steinkuehler
: Freshman

Cameron Lattimore
: Sophomore