Illinois

2026 IHSA Illinois Wrestling State Finals Schedule And Brackets – FloWrestling

Published

1 month ago

February 9, 2026

2026 IHSA Illinois Wrestling State Finals Schedule And Brackets – FloWrestling

Of all the states in the country, Illinois has a unique format for its postseason high school wrestling action.

The Illinois High School Association Wrestling State Finals will feature three events across two action-packed weekends.

First up, will be the 2026 IHSA Boys Individual Wrestling State Finals, being held Feb. 19-21 at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. The venue is home to University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign basketball and countless other events throughout the year.

The following week (Feb. 27-28), the boys will be back on the mats for the 2026 IHSA Dual Team State Finals, and they’ll be joined at the Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington, Illinois, by the top female wrestlers in the state for the 2026 IHSA Girls Individual Wrestling State Finals.

Though these tournaments won’t be broadcast live on FloWrestling or the FloSports app, each match will appear in the FloWrestling archives minutes after concluding.

While giving each field of competitors the chance to shine, the three events also have very different histories.

The first individual state meet for boys took place in 1937. The dual event was held for the first time in 1984. Only just recently, in 2022, did the girls get their first opportunity to compete for state titles.

From 1937-1973, there was one classification, and there were two (A, AA) from 1974-2008. Since 2009, the boys side of things, including the dual tournaments, have featured three classifications – 1A (under 600 enrollment), 2A (601-1,200) and 3A (more than 1,200).

So far, the girls have been limited to a single classification.

To reach the state finals, student-athletes in Illinois must run a gauntlet of competition.

For the boys, the postseason journey began with one-day regional events across 16 locations on Jan. 31. The first-, second and third-place finishers from each regional advanced to the sectional round.

The two-day sectional tournaments, held at four locations, are scheduled for Feb. 13-14.

Once again, the first-, second- and third-place finishers will advance and get the chance to wrestle at the state finals in Champaign.

The girls schedule is similar, with regional meets taking place Feb. 6 or Feb. 7, and sectionals set for Feb. 13-14.

Three top performers from the regional meets advance to sectionals, and the top four finishers at sectionals, in each weight class, advance to the state finals in Bloomington.

As the individual drama unfolds for the boys in February, teams also must focus on the Dual Team Tournament Series.

The Feb. 5 sectional qualifiers were held at the home of the teams that scored the most points at the individual regionals, and each included four teams, or semifinalists. The two semifinal winners from each sectional meet qualified for the state event.

In all, 24 teams now will compete at the Dual Team State Finals (eight per classification).

Whew, that’s a lot of information!

The important thing to remember is that the best of the best from the state of Illinois will get to battle for state titles this month, and every single match will live forever in the FloWrestling archives!

As you get settled in for the new championship season, here’s everything you need to know about the 2026 IHSA Wrestling State Finals, including links to the brackets.

What Are The Weight Classes For High School Wrestling In Illinois?

In Pounds

Boys: 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 144, 150, 157, 165, 175, 190, 215, 285
Girls: 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 155, 170, 190, 235

2026 IHSA Wrestling State Finals Brackets

Here’s where you’ll be able to find the brackets for the 2026 IHSA Wrestling State Finals:

How To Watch The 2026 IHSA Wrestling State Finals

Coverage of the 2026 IHSA Boys Individual Wrestling State Finals, being held Feb. 19-21 in Champaign, Illinois, and the 2026 IHSA Dual Team State Finals/2026 IHSA Girls Individual Wrestling State Finals in Bloomington, Illinois, the following weekend, won’t be broadcast live on FloWrestling and the FloSports app, but the matches will be available in the FloWrestling archives minutes after they conclude.

News, notes, stats and more will be available on both platforms.

If you’re going to be in the area and want to catch the action in person, check this page for spectator and ticket information for the boys finals and this page to purchase tickets for the dual/girls finals.

2026 IHSA (IL) State Championships – ARCHIVE ONLY

2026 IHSA Wrestling State Finals Schedule

Here’s a look at when everything is going down in Illinois:

All Times Central

Thursday, Feb. 19

Session 1

8-9 a.m. – Packet pickup in lobby of East Main entrance
9 a.m. – Doors open for weigh-ins and skin checks
9:30 a.m. – Weigh-ins and skin checks
9:45-10 a.m. – Coaches meeting
10 a.m. – Table workers meeting
10:15 a.m. – Official meeting
10:15 a.m. (approx.) – Open mats
10:45 a.m. – Close mats
11 a.m. – Class 1A Preliminaries
1 p.m. (approx.) – Class 2A Preliminaries
3:15 p.m. (approx.) – Class 3A Preliminaries
5:30 p.m. (approx.) – Class 1A, 2A, 3A Winner’s Bracket Quarterfinals

Friday, Feb. 20

Session 2

6:30 a.m. – Doors open for weigh-ins
7:30 a.m. – Weigh-ins
8 a.m. – Doors open to the public
9 a.m. – Round 1 Wrestlebacks (1A, 2A, 3A)
1 p.m. (approx.) – Round 2 Wrestlebacks (1A, 2A, 3A)
4:30 p.m. – Clear State Farm Center

Session 3

6 p.m. – Doors open to the public
7 p.m. – Championship Semifinals (1A, 2A, 3A)

Saturday, Feb. 21

Session 4

6:30 a.m. – Doors open for weigh-ins
7:30 a.m. – Weigh-ins
8 a.m. – Doors open to the public
9 a.m. – Quarterfinal Wrestlebacks (1A, 2A, 3A)
11 a.m. – Semifinal Wrestlebacks (1A, 2A, 3A)
1 p.m. – Third-, Fourth-, Fifth-, Sixth-Place Matches (1A, 2A, 3A)
3:30 p.m. – Clear State Farm Center

Session 5

4:30 p.m. – Doors open to the public
5 p.m. – Grand March line-up
5:30 p.m. – Grand March
6 p.m. – Championship Matches (1A, 2A, 3A) (three mats)

Friday, Feb. 27

Girls Individual Tournament (Six Mats)

7:30 a.m. – Weigh-ins
8:15 a.m. – Coaches meeting
9 a.m. – Round 1
11 a.m. – Quarterfinals and Round 1 Wrestlebacks
1:30 p.m. – Round 2 Wrestlebacks

Dual Team Tournament (Six Mats)

3:30 p.m. – Weigh-ins
4:15 p.m. – Coaches meeting
5 p.m. – Top Bracket Quarterfinals
7 p.m. – Bottom Bracket Quarterfinals

Saturday, Feb. 28

7:30 a.m. – Weigh-ins for all wrestlers

Girls Individual Tournament (Three Mats)

9 a.m. – Championship Semifinals & Round 3 Wrestlebacks
11:30 a.m. – Consolation Semifinals
12:15 p.m. – Placement Matches
1:45 p.m. – Grand March
2 p.m. – Championship Matches (one mat)

Dual Team Tournament (Three Mats)

9 a.m. – Top Bracket Semifinals
11 a.m. – Bottom Bracket Semifinals
6 p.m. – Championship & Third-Place Duals (three mats)

2026 IHSA (IL) Dual Sate | Girls State Championships

What Teams Won At The 2025 IHSA Wrestling State Finals?

Here are the 2025 team state champions in Illinois:

Boys

Class 1A – Coal City
Class 2A – Elmhurst (IC Catholic)
Class 3A – Aurora (Marmion Academy)
Duals – Aurora (Marmion Academy) def. Rockton (Hononegah), 42-31

*Illinois only crowns individual champions in girls wrestling.

Read more: 2025 IHSA Illinois Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets | 2025 IHSA Girls Individual State Finals

Did You Know: There Are Layers To The History Of Illinois HS Wrestling

The three segments of high school wrestling in Illinois – boys, boys duals and girls – began wrestling for state titles in 1937, 1984 and 2022, respectively.

In the long history of boys high school wrestling in Illinois, only 16 boys have won four individual state titles. The latest was Seth Mendoza of Chicago Mt. Carmel, who won titles from 2022-2025 at 106, 113, 126 and 138 pounds.

For the girls, one athlete has won a state championship each year. Angelina Cassioppi from Rockton (Hononegah) won her first title in 2022 at 100 pounds and followed that with three victories at 120 pounds.

The pool of 14 winners at the 2025 Girls Individual Wrestling State Finals featured seven undefeated champions (five were repeat winners) and three others who only lost once all season.

Seven of the winners were the first girls wrestling champions for their schools. Five participants, including Cassioppi, became four-time medalists

2025-2026 FloWrestling High School Wrestling Rankings

Top 20 as of Jan. 12, 2026

Curious about how the top wrestlers from each state stack up against competitors from across the country?

Click here to see the latest high school rankings from FloWrestling.

You’ve Never Seen A High School Wrestling Dual Like This | Episode 2

Bo Bassett, Jax Forrest, Melvin Miller and Jude Correa are all ranked No. 1 in the country. What happens when you throw them all into one dual?

Trackwrestling Has Joined The New FloWrestling

Trackwrestling officially has merged with FloWrestling, bringing its powerful tournament tracking tools and live data into a modern, all-in-one platform.

Fans can follow every bout with pro-grade brackets, mat schedules, team rosters and detailed wrestler profiles—all seamlessly integrated within FloWrestling.

This move delivers a faster, smarter and more connected experience for the wrestling community. Through the updated FloSports app, users can track live results, explore brackets and even sign up for free alerts so they never miss a match.

FloWrestling Archived Footage

Video footage from all events on FloWrestling will be archived and stored in a video library for FloWrestling subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.

Join The State Wrestling Conversation On Social

Source link

Illinois

See who will be on your ballot when you vote in the Illinois primary election

Published

11 hours ago

March 14, 2026

Press Room

See who will be on your ballot when you vote in the Illinois primary election

Scroll down and enter your address in the sample ballot tool to see your ballot

Who will you be voting for when you head to the polls for the Illinois primary election on Tuesday?

The races you see on your ballot will depend on where you live, so it’s important to know which contests you’ll be voting on, especially in a year where there are five incumbents not seeking reelection in the House and another in the Senate.

There is also a race for Illinois governor, as well as every other statewide office.

This year’s primary for Democrats and Republicans will be held on Tuesday, March 17.

See who’s on your ballot

Use the tool below to see which races will appear on your ballot based on your location:

(NOTE: Judges will not appear on the ballot below. For more information on that click here.)

*If you are an android user, click this link to access the tool.

Races to watch

While Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker is running unopposed in the Democratic primary, several Republican candidates are hoping to face him in the November election.

In the battle for U.S. Senate, there are some major contenders on both sides of the aisle after Sen. Dick Durbin’s decided to retire following more than 30 years in office.

Primaries will take place in all of Illinois’ 17 congressional districts, with races in the 2nd, 7th, 8th and 9th districts among those being closely watched. Also on the ballot are contests for Illinois Comptroller and Cook County Board President.

You can find more information on races to watch here.

Voter Guide

Additional information on the races, and what else you need to be know about the upcoming election, can be located on our Illinois voter’s guide here.

Source link

Illinois

Could the Chicago Bears leave Illinois? Indiana makes a play for the historic franchise – WTOP News

Published

23 hours ago

March 14, 2026

Press Room

Could the Chicago Bears leave Illinois? Indiana makes a play for the historic franchise – WTOP News

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A turf war over a football team is developing between two Midwestern states with a sometimes-discordant…

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A turf war over a football team is developing between two Midwestern states with a sometimes-discordant history.

The storied Chicago Bears want to leave historic Soldier Field, where they’ve played for half a century. Indiana lawmakers are attempting to lure them from the Windy City with a plan to finance and build a domed stadium in Hammond, Indiana, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from their current home on Lake Michigan’s shore.

The Illinois General Assembly has responded with legislation that would give tax breaks to so-called megaprojects of at least $100 million, a plan that would encompass the Bears’ proposal to build a complex in the northwest Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, about the same distance from Soldier Field as Hammond.

Critics complain it’s a bad deal for Illinois, where property taxes are already among the highest in the nation — especially when taxpayers still owe hundreds of millions of dollars on a Soldier Field renovation from two decades ago.

Here’s a look at what’s shaping up to be a showdown.

Why the big deal?

The Bears, one of only two remaining NFL founding members, are legend. Their nine championships, including a Super Bowl win, are second only to the rival Green Bay Packers — though recent decades have brought mostly heartbreak. The franchise carries an $8.9 billion price tag, among the most valuable of the NFL’s 32 teams, according to Forbes.
Born in the central Illinois city of Decatur in 1920, the Bears have called Chicago home for 105 years. Losing them to the Hoosier State would be a major thumb in the eye.

What’s wrong with Soldier Field?

With 61,500 seats, it’s the NFL’s smallest. The Bears have always rented their facilities — the Cubs’ Wrigley Field from 1921 to 1970, and Soldier Field, maintained by the Chicago Park District, since. Like most teams, they want to own a stadium, giving them control over operations, scheduling and revenue streams from ticket sales, concessions, parking, naming rights and more.

And Soldier Field is open air. An enclosed facility would allow for other marquee sporting events: Super Bowls, NCAA Final Fours or WrestleMania, for instance.

Why the imbroglio between the states?

Along with the states’ established cultural and economic differences and an intense college basketball rivalry, the political fissure between Democrat-dominated Chicago and conservative Indiana has widened. It amped up last year when Indiana adopted a commission to study changing the state’s boundaries to include some central Illinois counties whose voters have approved ballot measures calling for secession from Chicagoland.

Arlington Heights, back to Chicago, to Hammond

The Bears have threatened to leave Chicago previously. When they broached moving in 1975, then-Mayor Richard J. Daley replied, “Like hell they will.”

But the City of Big Shoulders heaved an anxious sigh in 2023 when the Bears paid about $200 million for a 326-acre (132-hectare) former horse-racing track in Arlington Heights. They have envisioned a $5 billion, taxpayer-assisted development for a domed stadium and campus of housing, hotels, entertainment and retail space.

In 2024, the Bears offered a $5 billion plan, partially taxpayer-funded, for an enclosed stadium next to Soldier Field, which garnered little interest in the capital of Springfield. Late last fall, the team turned to Indiana.

Where the proposals stand

Indiana’s lure creates the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority to finance, construct and lease a domed stadium near Wolf Lake in Hammond. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed it into law on Feb. 26. The Bears would agree to a 35-year lease. Borrowed state money would cover the as-yet-unknown cost of construction, repaid by increased local hospitality taxes.

In Illinois, majority Democrats have advanced legislation in the House that would provide incentives for any so-called megaproject of at least $500 million — or less, down to $100 million, depending on the number of jobs created. Developers would pay property taxes frozen at the parcel’s pre-construction value for as long as 45 years. During that time, they would make annual payments in lieu of taxes negotiated with local governments. There would also be a sales tax exemption on building materials for up to 15 years.

Critics claim weakness in Illinois plan

Opponents say the Illinois legislation, with its decades-long property tax freeze, would simply mean increased taxes for homeowners and other businesses — the payment in lieu of taxes would be a bonus.
Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, who supports the plan, last week countered that the proposal would encourage development on land that isn’t producing property taxes while ensuring increased revenue for local governments.
Meanwhile, a substantial debt remains on the last accommodation. Taxpayers in 2001 put up $399 million to finance a $587 million renovation of Soldier Field. With interest, the remaining tab is $467 million, according to the state’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.
Advertisement

The Bears’ $7 million annual lease runs through 2033. Breaking it would cost the Bears a $10.5 million penalty for each year left on the agreement.
Copyright
© 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Source link

Illinois

No. 23 Wisconsin rallies to beat No. 9 Illinois in OT of Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals

Published

1 day ago

March 13, 2026

Press Room

No. 23 Wisconsin rallies to beat No. 9 Illinois in OT of Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals

Nick Boyd scored a career-high 38 points, John Blackwell added 31 and No. 23 Wisconsin rallied from 15 down in the second half to beat No. 9 Illinois 91-88 in overtime in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Friday.

It was tied at 80 in overtime when Boyd scored in the paint and Austin Rapp nailed a 3 to give Wisconsin a five-point lead with 2:33 remaining.

The Badgers were up by four with about a minute left when Boyd rebounded a missed 3 by Rapp. That led to two free throws for Blackwell, making it 87-81 with 46 seconds left.

Illinois got within 90-88 on David Mirkovic’s layup with six seconds remaining. Wisconsin’s Braeden Carrington then missed a free throw and hit the second to make it a three-point game before Illinois’ Keaton Wagler missed a long 3 at the buzzer.

The Badgers (24-9) advanced to the semifinals against No. 3 Michigan on Saturday. The Wolverines, seeking their second straight Big Ten Tournament title, held off Ohio State 71-67.

Boyd surpassed his previous high of 36 points in a win against Providence on Nov. 27. Blackwell, coming off a career-best 34 a day earlier against Washington, became Wisconsin’s all-time leading scorer in Big Ten Tournament games with 144 points.

Wagler and Mirkovic each scored 19 for Illinois (24-8). Andrej Stojakovic had 17 points and seven rebounds.

Illinois appeared to be in good shape leading 60-45 midway through the second half, only to have Wisconsin charge back. The Badgers trailed 67-63 when Blackwell made a 3, Boyd hit two free throws and Rapp made two more to put them on top 70-67 with just over four minutes remaining in regulation. Stojakovic then hit a tying 3 for Illinois.

It was tied at 76 when Stojakovic rebounded a missed 3 by Wisconsin’s Aleksas Bieliauskas and drove for a layup to put Illinois on top with just over a minute remaining.

Blackwell then hit two tying free throws. Wagler missed a hook for Illinois, and Blackwell missed a long 3 just before the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.

Up next

Wisconsin faces No. 3 Michigan in a semifinal on Saturday. Wisconsin handed Michigan its first loss when it beat the Wolverines 91-88 in Ann Arbor on Jan. 10.

Source link