QUINCY, Ill. – The Maryville wrestling team finished runner-up at the 2025 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Tournament, falling in a down-to-the-wire championship match to the No. 1-seeded and No. 8-ranked McKendree Bearcats, 20-18.
 
It came down to the final match of the dual at 285, where Maryville needed a pin to force a tiebreaker, but McKendree stayed alive just enough to secure its third straight league title.
 
Maryville defeated No. 5-seeded Drury and No. 2-seeded Upper Iowa on the way to the championship match.

FINALS VS. (1) MCKENDREE
Elijah Almarinez, much like he had done against Upper Iowa in the previous dual, got the Saints rolling in a way only he can, scoring a second-period fall to put Maryville up 6-0.
 
Senior JP Homfeld kept his foot on the gas from there, earning a 1-0 decision to make it 9-0 heading into 141. The Bearcats brought it within one after the next two matches, using a technical fall and a 12-9 decision.
 
Nick Zamora staved off the Bearcats with a huge ranked win at 157 over Cale Hoskinson, 8-5, to make it 12-8.
 
McKendree responded with a decision victory at 165, but the loss hurt the Saints by more than just three points as Maryville was docked a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct, leaving the score tied at 11-11 heading into the final four matches.
 
No. 14-ranked Cole Ritter got the job done at 174, beating No. 15-ranked Zeke Waltz, 5-4. However, back-to-back wins by McKendree, including a pin at 184, put the Saints in a do-or-die scenario at 285.
 
Down 20-14, Jonovan Smith needed a pin to force the tiebreaker. Despite applying constant pressure and controlling the entire match, McKendree's Casey Olszowka survived just long enough to limit Smith to a 17-5 major decision, securing the title for the Bearcats.

FINALS | No. 8 McKendree 20, Maryville 18
125 - Elijah Almarinez (Maryville) over Colton King (McKendree) Fall 3:48
133 - JP Homfeld (Maryville) over Giovanni Diaz (McKendree) Dec 1-0
141 - Ronan Schuelke (McKendree) over Caleb Carter (Maryville) TF 16-1
149 - Caleb Lavine (McKendree) over Leo Buchheit (Maryville) Dec 12-9
157 - Nicolas Zamora (Maryville) over James Hoskinson (McKendree) Dec 8-5
165 - Sam Richardson (McKendree) over Mustafa Salimi (Maryville) Dec 4-0
174 - Cole Ritter (Maryville) over Zeke Waltz (McKendree) Dec 5-4
184 - Darion Johnson (McKendree) over Dalton Litzsinger (Maryville) Fall 2:11
197 - Logan Kvien (McKendree) over Jeremiah Larson (Maryville) Dec 7-3
285 - Jonovan Smith (Maryville) over Casey Olszowka (McKendree) Maj 17-5
Maryville's team score was adjusted by -1.0 for unsportsmanlike at 165
 
SEMIFINALS VS. (2) UPPER IOWA
Almarinez got the Saints off to a perfect start, scoring a first-period pin to put Maryville up 6-0 early in the dual. JP Homfeld built on that lead at 133, using a first-period reversal and two back points to secure his win and make it 9-0.

The Peacocks got right back in the dual, however, scoring key wins at both 141 and 149, the latter a tech fall to bring the dual within one, but Zamora got it right back and more getting takedowns in all three periods to win his match 12-3.
 
Neither team could string together wins with Upper Iowa once again coming right back with their own win at 165, this one being a major 11-1 to make it 13-12 in favor of the Saints.

Ritter at 174 avenged a previous loss to Griffin Luke of UIU, earning an 8-4 decision. The Peacocks followed with a 17-2 technical fall at 184, forcing key matches at 197 and 285.
 
Down 17-16, Larson used takedowns in both the first and second periods to secure a 6-3 win at 197, sending the dual to a winner-take-all match at heavyweight. Smith rose to the occasion, leading 9-2 entering the third period before converting a final takedown into a pin for the walk-off victory.
 
SEMIFINALS | Maryville 25, Upper Iowa 17
125 - Elijah Almarinez (Maryville) over Treyton Ackman (Upper Iowa) Fall 1:55
133 - JP Homfeld (Maryville) over Dawson Schmit (Upper Iowa) Dec 5-4
141 - Tanner Arjes (Upper Iowa) over Caleb Carter (Maryville) Dec 10-9
149 – No. 8 Ethen Doty (Upper Iowa) over Leo Buchheit (Maryville) TF 18-0
157 - Nicolas Zamora (Maryville) over Preston Klostermann (Upper Iowa) Maj 12-3
165 - Nick Mueller (Upper Iowa) over Mustafa Salimi (Maryville) Maj 11-1
174 - Cole Ritter (Maryville) over Griffin Luke (Upper Iowa) Dec 8-4
184 – No. 15 Braxton Westendorf (Upper Iowa) over Dalton Litzsinger (Maryville) TF 17-2
197 - Jeremiah Larson (Maryville) over Matthew Marcum (Upper Iowa) Dec 6-3
285 - Jonovan Smith (Maryville) over Hunter Bye (Upper Iowa) Fall 6:55

QUARTERFINALS VS. DRURY
For their first match of the day, it was domination throughout the entire dual. The Saints tallied six extra point wins, including falls at both 165 by Mustafa Salimi and 197 by Jeremiah Larson to blow the dual open.

Adding on big points was Zamora at 157, Dalton Litzsinger at 184 and Smith at 285, all adding tech falls. Ritter closed out the bonus points with major at 174.
 
QUARTERFINALS | Maryville 43, Drury 3
125 - Elijah Almarinez (Maryville) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
133 - JP Homfeld (Maryville) over Dylan Roth (Drury) Dec 5-0
141 - Caleb Carter (Maryville) over Nathan Wishne (Drury) TB-1 3-2
149 - Mason Knight (Drury) over Leo Buchheit (Maryville) Dec 4-1
157 - Nicolas Zamora (Maryville) over Luke Patterson (Drury) TF 21-6
165 - Mustafa Salimi (Maryville) over Joe Beck (Drury) Fall 1:45
174 - Cole Ritter (Maryville) over Jeremiah Halter (Drury) Maj 10-1
184 - Dalton Litzsinger (Maryville) over Nathan Brower (Drury) TF 15-0
197 - Jeremiah Larson (Maryville) over Owen Gardner (Drury) Fall 1:25
285 - Jonovan Smith (Maryville) over Brady Griffin (Drury) TF 17-2
 
UP NEXT
The Saints' postseason journey continues March. 1 at the NCAA DII Super Region IV tournement. This year's regional is hosted by Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla., where the top three finishers of each weightclass will punch their ticket to Sioux Falls, S.D. for the NCAA DII National Championships.