Contact: Sam Fretto, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, sjfretto@noctrl.edu
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Jan. 17, 2026)- Traveling to Elmhurst University days after hosting the Bluejays for a dual, the North Central College men's wrestling team took part in the Al Hanke Invitational, where eight wrestlers placed top four in their respective weight classes. The Cardinals finished the meet in seventh place out of 16 teams on Saturday from R.A. Faganel Hall.
The University of Chicago placed first at the Al Hanke Invite with 144.5 points, followed by Milwaukee School of Engineering (129) in second and Harper College (98.5) in third place.
Joey Sikorsky was North Central's lone weight class champion in the 125-pound weight class. Starting out with a bye, Sikorsky moved onto the second round of the 125-pound bracket to face Juan Villa from Elmhurst. Sikorsky defeated Villa in a 17-2 technical fall, advancing to the quarterfinal round. In the quarterfinal round, Sikorsky earned a 20-7 major decision over Kader Golden (Trine) to set up a match against Esteban Delgado (Harper) in the semifinal match. Sikorsky pinned Delgado in 4:43 to advance to the championship match. He clinched the championship with an 11-3 major decision over Chris Kish (Carthage).
Tyler Starr made it to the championship match and took second place in the 149-pound division, starting off the day with a bye in the first round. In his first action of the day, Starr began strong with a 16-0 technical fall over CJ Briner (Trine) to advance to the quarterfinal. Facing Lucio Morgan (UW-Whitewater) in the quarterfinal, Starr moved on with an 8-1 decision. In the semifinal match, Starr faced Michael Galloway (Harper) and defeated him in a 9-2 decision to set up a championship bout. In the first-place match, Starr took on No. 6-ranked Max Mukhamedaliyev (Chicago) and fell by an 18-3 technical fall to clinch second place.
In the 133-pound class, freshman Xavier Villalobos took third place after a 3-1 showing at the invite. Facing Alexander Ramirez (MSOE) in the opening round, Villalobos shut him out in a 7-0 decision. In the quarterfinal, Villalobos had a strong showing against Ben Edwards (Trine) with a 17-0 technical fall. The semifinal match saw Donovin Fields defeat Villalobos in a 7-1 decision to move him into the third-place match. Villalobos finished strong, pinning Alex LaCava (Trine) in 5:24.
Coming out with a strong start at 141 pounds, Matthew Maldonado started the meet with a 3-0 record beginning with back-to-back pinfalls. Maldonado pinned Matthew Goolish (Harper) in 5:59 and followed it up with a 6:30 pinfall over Keaton Maynerik (Chicago) in the second championship round. In the quarterfinal, Maldonado faced a second wrestler from U-Chicago, this time Zack Parisi, as Maldonado advanced to the semifinal with an 11-2 major decision. In the semifinal match, Maldonado faced off against seventh-ranked Sean Conway from U-Chicago and fell in a 5-2 decision. North Central teammates Carson Prunty and Maldonado faced off in the third-place match, with Maldonado winning in a 4-3 decision.
Joseph Gliatta placed third in the 184-pound bracket with a 3-1 showing after starting the day with a first-round bye. In the second championship round, Gliatta took on London Kiser (Carthage) and defeated him in a 13-0 major decision. In the quarterfinal, Gliatta faced Gabriel Martinez (Elmhurst) and moved on to the semifinal with a 16-4 major decision. There, Gliatta came up short against Easton Hull (UW-Stevens Point), falling in a 9-0 major decision. Gliatta finished his day with a win in the third-place match, defeating Mataeo Blessing (Elmhurst) by a 13-3 major decision.
Wrestling in tightly contested matches, Will Erberck took third place in the 285-pound division after beginning the tournament with a bye. After the bye, Erberck took on Terrance Garner and defeated him in a 3-0 decision. The following match against Samuel Costello (Elmhurst) went to a tiebreaker, where Erberck persevered and moved onto the semifinals. Joshua King defeated Erberck in the semifinal match in a 7-2 decision, moving Erberck to the third-place match. Erberck clinched third place in a 2-1 decision over Jake Schmitt (MSOE).
Prunty took fourth place in the 141-pound weight class, beginning the day with a 13-3 major decision over Miles Palmer (Chicago) to face Sammy Mendez (Elmhurst) in the next round. Prunty defeated Mendez in the second round by a 10-3 decision to set him up in the quarterfinals. In a low-scoring match, Prunty got by Aidan Laird (Wheaton) in a 4-2 decision and advanced to the semifinals. There, Prunty would suffer his first loss of the tournament, losing to Xavier Ortega by a 17-0 technical fall. Prunty fell in the third-place match to clinch fourth place.
Jared Gumila placed fourth in the 165-pound weight class after a 3-2 showing, winning his first three matches of the day. Gumila kicked off the day with a victory over MSOE's Diego Snell-Martinez by a 10-2 major decision. Gumila followed it up with a pinfall in 1:04 over Blake Forke (Carthage) to move onto the quarterfinal match. Gumila was successful in a third consecutive match, defeating Aidan Cohen (Harper) by a 13-6 decision. The semifinal match went to sudden victory with Nick Cheshier (Chicago) emerging victorious 10-7 over Gumila. In the third-place match, Gumila faced Cal Kirchner (UW-Whitewater) and fell by an 18-0 technical fall.
Five of the eight Cardinals that placed in the top four were sophomores or younger, while juniors Sikorsky and Starr and senior Gumilla were the other three.
The Cardinals return home on Tuesday, Jan. 20, for a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) dual against the Millikin Big Blue for senior day. The dual is set to begin at 7 p.m. inside of Gregory Arena.
