BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Three seasons. Three state championships.
Hononegah’s Angelina Cassioppi keeps setting the bar high and then meeting it.
After winning the 2022 IHSA Individual State Championship at 100 pounds as a freshman, the Hononegah junior posted her second straight title at 120 pounds on Saturday.
This one was a bit different from the others. She had to come-from-behind in the closing seconds in the finals to edge Sophia Ball of Hoffman Estates, 4-3.
“The girl I fought in the finals was a good, solid wrestler,” Cassioppi said. “The more the sport grows, the better it gets.”
Cassioppi (17-1) reached the 120 finals with three straight victories. She opened with a 17-1 tech fall over Brooklyn Zeller of Belleville West and then posted a 6-2 decision over Ariella Dobin of Glenbrook North. In the semifinals, she won by a 5-1 decision over Norah Swaim of Edwardsville.
That put her up against Ball, undefeated at 27-0, in the title match. Cassioppi trailed most of the match until a decisive move with three seconds remaining provided her with a takedown and the winning margin.
“My coaches were yelling at me about how much time I had left so I knew I had to go,” Cassioppi said. “She turned down so I quickly went behind her. It was just a very exciting win. I was a little disappointed with my performance, but overall I was really happy.”
Cassioppi is currently ranked 17th in the nation according to the latest FloWrestling prep rankings.
“There was a little pressure on me this season, but I was also excited about the opportunity to get another title,” she said. “Hononegah (head coach) Tyler DeMoss has been my main coach and he’s helped me all the way through. I wouldn’t be where I am without him.”
Cassioppi was also excited to see the success of her younger brothers, Rocco and Bruno, who both competed in the IHSA state individual tournament last week and then again on Friday in the IHSA dual team state event.
“I got to go down and watch them last week and the girls tournament this past weekend was at a different time than the team event so I was able to watch that, too,” she said. “They did really well on a very good team.”
She wishes her own success would inspire some more girls in the Hononegah district to give wrestling a try.
“I would hope so, but there haven’t been that many Hononegah girls out for wrestling,” she said. “We only had four other girls this year. I would love to see it grow. I love to see new faces all the time in tournaments. It will be interesting to see what happens next year, if there are more that come out.”
Cassioppi will certainly be back, shooting for No. 4.
“That’s the plan,” she said.
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