Last year, Illinois took home a team title in the Junior Greco-Roman division while also seeing top-11 finishes in every other division, including third place in Junior women’s freestyle. Some of the heavy hitters from last season will soon be moving on to college, but the state of Illinois still has some impressive talent. On the men’s side, there are a few ranked guys, but it’s on the women’s side that Illinois looks to be the strongest. The state has 11 ranked girls with eight of them ranked in the top 10 at their weight. 

Before we get to the Illinois breakdown, here are some additional links to prepare you for Fargo: 

2023 Fargo User Guide

Every Wrestler Registered For Fargo 

All The Ranked Wrestlers Competing in Fargo

Every State's Most Decorated Fargo Champion

2022 Illinois Team Finishes

JR MFS — eighth(78 points)

16U MFS — ninth (52)

JR WFS — third (106)

16U WFS — ninth (71)

JR GR — first (164)

16U GR — 11th (64)

2022 Illinois All-Americans 

Junior Men’s Freestyle

Deion Johnson — second at 113

Anthony Ruzic — eighth at 113

Gylon Sims — eighth at 120

Kannon Webster — second at 132

Kole Brower — seventh at 138

Ethan Stiles — fifth at 152

Dillan Johnson — second at 285

Junior Women’s Freestyle

Cadence Diduch — champion at 122

Alexis Janiak — third at 127

Natasha Markoutsis — fifth at 127

Netavia Wickson — third at 138

Sydney Perry — champion at 144

Rose Cassioppi — seventh at 152

Kiara Ganey — fourth at 225

Junior Greco-Roman

Anthony Ruzic — champion at 113

Massey Odiotti — second at 120

Kannon Webster — champion at 132

William Baysingar — third at 132

Jayden Colon — second at 145

Braden Stauffenberg — champion at 152

Tyler Martinez — sixth at 160

Bradley Gillum — champion at 170

Nick Nosler — eighth at 195

16U Men’s Freestyle

James Hemmila — sixth at 88

Seth Mendoza — second at 106

Ben Davino — champion at 126

16U Women’s Freestyle

Alexandra Sebek — eighth at 94

Angelina Cassioppi — third at 106

Harlee Hiller — eighth at 106

Sophie Bowers — seventh at 122

Cadence Diduch — second at 127

Mackenzie Pratt — sixth at 132

Sydney Perry — third at 144

Lexi Ritchie — seventh at 152

16U Greco-Roman

James Hemmila — fourth at 88

Gavin Pardilla — eighth at 100

Wyatt Medlin — eighth at 113

Anthony Gutierrez — fifth at 160

Nicholas Ronchetti — sixth at 170

Wyatt Schmitt — second at 285

Lee Smith — fourth at 285

Nationally Ranked Illinois Wrestlers

Men’s

#15 at 106 — Rocco Cassioppi

#5 at 113 — Domenic Munaretto

#9 at 120 — Seth Mendoza 

#18 at 138 — Will Baysingar

Women’s

#1 at 94 — Morgan Turner

#10 at 106 — Harlee Hiller

#7 at 112 — Gariella Gomez

#8 at 122 — Angelina Cassioppi

#19 at 127 — Claudia Heeney

#4 at 132 — Cadence Diduch

#6 at 138 — Netavia Wickson

#27 at 138 — Mackenzie Pratt

#7 at 144 — Sydney Perry

#27 at 164 — Autumne Williams

#10 at 225 — Chloe Hoselton

Wrestlers To Watch 

#18 Will Baysingar (JR MFS/JR GR, 138 pounds) — A two-time Illinois state finalist who’s joining the Fighting Illini this fall, Baysingar finished as a runner-up at the Northern Plains Regional in May. Last year at Fargo, Baysingar finished third in the Junior Greco-Roman division at 132 pounds. This year he’s up a weight class.

#15 Rocco Cassioppi (16U MFS/16U GR, 113 pounds) — The younger brother of Iowa’s Tony Cassioppi, Rocco just won a state championship at 103 pounds as an eighth grader. He recently finished as runner-up in freestyle and fifth in Greco-Roman at the Northern Plains Regional. Entering his freshman year of high school, Cassioppi will be fun to watch at his first Fargo.

#4 Cadence Diduch (JR WFS, 132 pounds) — A two-time Fargo champion already, Diduch is moving up in weight in search of her third title. Diduch won the 16U title at 117 pounds in 2021, then won again in 2022 in the Junior division at 122. She also finished as runner-up last year in the 16U division at 122 pounds, making her a three-time Fargo finalist. Diduch is a two-time Illinois state champ as well and just made it to the finals of the 2023 USMC Women’s National Championships. 

#9 Seth Mendoza (JR MFS, 113 pounds) — Coming off back-to-back Fargo finals appearances i the 16U freestyle division. Won the 100-pound title in 2021 and took second last summer. Reached the finals last year at the U17 World Team Trials. 

#5 Domenic Munaretto (16U MFS/16U GR, 113 pounds) — An up-and-coming talent from Illinois, Munaretto followed up a U17 World title last summer by completing a perfect 50-0 freshman season with a 3A state title at 106 pounds. Munaretto also won an Ironman title last year at 106 and won himself a Cheesehead title earlier this year. Up at 113, Munaretto should be an All-American and title threat.

#1 Morgan Turner (16U WFS, 94 pounds) — A young phenom, Turner just finished her freshman year. Competing in the boys division in Illinois, Turner finished third at state at 106 pounds. She finished her season with a 35-3 record. At Who’s #1 in 2022, a 14-year-old Turner beat 17-year-old World Champ Erica Pastoriza via injury default after building up a dominant 10-2 lead in the first period. She’s a favorite to win this weight class.

#7 Sydney Perry (JR WFS, 144 pounds) — One of the most accomplished girls in the state, Perry is a three-time Fargo All-American. She won her first Fargo title last year in the Junior division at 144 pounds and is looking to repeat. Perry is a perfect 59-0 against girls in Illinois and just won the inaugural IHSA Girls State Championship with a 34-0 record on the year.