I was pretty gassed going into the third period, but I kept thinking to myself that it was about the team and I kept improving my position.”

Roman Villalobos

ROCHELLE — Sophomore standout Roman Villalobos stepped into the circle against Yorkville Christian’s Jackson Allen on Tuesday as the last man standing between the Rochelle Hub varsity wrestling team and its first ticket to the IHSA Dual State Championships since 2018.

Rochelle held a 36-30 lead over the Mustangs with only the 175-pound bout remaining. Tasked with delivering one final win for his team, Villalobos engaged in a back-and-forth battle with Allen, who scored a pivotal takedown in the third period to even the score at 6-6. As the crowd grew louder in Rochelle’s home gymnasium and the final seconds of the match wound down, Villalobos used his last ounce of strength to break free for perhaps his biggest reversal this year.

The successful maneuver at the end of the match resulted in an 8-6 decision for Villalobos, who sealed Rochelle’s 39-30 win over the Mustangs as well as a berth in the IHSA Dual Team State Championships, which will be held at the Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington this coming weekend. The Hubs (24-6, 5-0 Interstate 8) will wrestle against Lombard Montini on Friday.

“I was pretty gassed going into the third period, but I kept thinking to myself that it was about the team and I kept improving my position,” Villalobos said. “That led to me winning the match. It feels awesome to win and we’re grateful to have another week of wrestling. We’re excited to see where we’re at as a team and we’re looking forward to spending more time with each other.”

Rochelle took a 12-0 lead after senior Brock Metzger and junior Kaiden Morris recorded falls over Hayden Wheeler and Xander Oliver to win the 190-pound and 215-pound bouts. Yorkville Christian put itself on the scoreboard after Garrett Tunnell’s first-period fall over senior Frank Decena in the 285-pound bout. The Hubs capitalized on a short-handed Yorkville Christian lineup, as sophomores Freddie Hernandez and Colten Manning took forfeits at 106 and 113.

“It’s awesome that we’re going to the state meet,” head coach Alphonso Vruno said. “I’m so happy and I’m really proud of the kids. We had some toss-up matches that went Yorkville Christian’s way and we had to tip our caps to them because they were ready to scrap. But we had some things fall in our favor. Our kids have made a lot of sacrifices and our kids continue to step up when they need to. We’re trying to build that into the culture of our program.”

Yorkville Christian took a key match at the 120-pound weight class, where Eli Foster scored a 12-6 decision against sophomore Tony Milburn. Junior Xavier Villalobos answered for the Hubs, notching a first-period fall over Jackson Witt in the 126-pound bout. State champion Ty Edwards took the 132-pound bout for the Mustangs, securing a fall over sophomore Frank Nasca.

A fortunate break went Rochelle’s direction in the 138-pound bout, where a takedown from sophomore Deegan Schabacker led to an injury and medical forfeit from Yorkville Christian’s Grason Johnson. The forfeit gave the Hubs a 36-15 lead, but the Mustangs refused to back down, scoring four straight wins to bring Rochelle within six points with one bout left.

The rally began with Yorkville Christian’s Tiras Lombardo edging freshman Josh Lassiter for an 8-3 decision in the 144-pound bout and John Isaac Gray outlasting sophomore Brenden Voight for a 7-5 decision in the 150-pound bout. After Yorkville Christian’s Tyler Gleason pinned junior Matt Lynn in the 157-pound bout, Robby Nelson held off junior Grant Gensler for a 2-0 sudden victory in the 165-pound bout. Villalobos clinched the team win with his victory at 175.