Six individuals who have reached the pinnacle of high school wrestling in Illinois, either as athletes, coaches, or supporters of the sport, will be honored by serving as Grand Marshals during the respective IHSA Boys & Girls Individual Wrestling State Finals in February and March of 2025.
Four Grand Marshals will lead the annual Grand March of finalists on Saturday, February 22 prior to the championship bouts of the 87th annual IHSA Individual Boys Wrestling State Final Tournament at the State Farm Center in Champaign-Urbana.
Two Grand Marshals will lead the procession of finalists in the Grand March of finalists on Saturday, March 1 prior to the championship bouts of the 4th annual IHSA Individual Girls Wrestling State Final Tournament at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington-Normal.
The Grand March of finalists was first introduced at the boys state tournament in 1975, with the IHSA and Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association (IWCOA) working together to select the Grand Marshals who lead the parade. The tradition carried over into the girls state tourney when it debuted in 2022.
The Grand Marshals play an important role in the color and pageantry of the events, as they lead the individual finalists and their coaches in a procession around the arena floor just prior to the championship bouts.
Here is a closer look at the Grand Marshals in 2025:
---2025 IHSA BOYS GRAND MARSHALS - FEBRUARY 22---
DAVE FROEHLICH
Coach Froehlich attended East Leyden High School, wrestling for Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Farina. Dave placed third in the state his senior year in 1971 at 155 pounds. Four of the top five wrestlers at his weight that year went on to become Division 1 All-Americans, including a second, two fourths and an NCAA champion. That 1971 East Leyden team produced five wrestlers who later became head high school wrestling coaches in Illinois.
Attending Northwestern University after graduation, Dave was a four-year starter and eventual team captain for Hall of Fame Coach Ken Kraft. Dave placed second in the Big 10 his junior year and placed fourth in the NCAA in 1974. The next year Dave won the Big 10 title and finished in the top 8 at the National tournament. Graduating in 1975 with a degree in Education, Dave was selected for several awards at Northwestern, the most prestigious of which was the Big 10 Conference Medal of Honor, given to only one athlete at each Big 10 school annually.
Dave began teaching and coaching immediately after graduation at Rolling Meadows High School as an assistant to John Ellis. He assumed the Head Coaching job for the 1979-80 season and remained in that position for 36 more years before retiring in 2014. He finished his Head coaching career with 380 wins, 39 state qualifiers and 10 state place-winners.
Dave taught Health and Physical Education and served for 14 years as the school’s Boys Athletic Director and coached Cross Country and Track for 18 years. Dave has two Masters’ Degrees as well as certification as a personal trainer.
After retiring, Dave started coaching as an assistant to Shane Cook at Stevenson and still coaches there. He has also worked for 11 years as a substitute teacher. His hobbies include boating with his family and performing as an accordionist.
Dave and Sharon, his wife of 42 years, have two married sons, Steve (Brianne) and Mike (Sara) and a married daughter, Colleen (Patrick). They have been blessed with seven grandchildren, ranging in age from seven years old to six months old.
MIKE HURCKES
The youngest of seven boys, Mike was born and raised in McHenry, Illinois. Athletics was an integral part of the Hurckes family. Attending games, matches, and practices was a way of life. Mike’s love for the sport of wrestling began in high school. As a standout three-sport athlete, he was the first wrestling state qualifier to represent Johnsburg High School. A graduate of Monmouth College, Mike excelled in football during his four years and wrestled for two years.
In 1988, Mike renewed his passion for wrestling when he was hired as a teacher and head coach at Forman High School in Manito, Illinois, a position he held for three years. Mike was hired as the Head Wrestling Coach and assistant Football coach at McHenry High School in McHenry, IL. In four seasons as Head Coach of the McHenry Warriors, his teams dominated the Fox Valley Conference, winning 3 Conference championships, while losing only two Conference meets in that four-year span. Mike's 1994-1995 team finished undefeated 20-0 and ranked in the top ten. During his 7 years as Head Coach, Mike and his teams amassed a 113-30 record, along with producing 13 state qualifiers and 3 state champions.
Mike transitioned from coaching to officiating after the 1994-1995 season and is completing his 30th season as a state level wrestling official at the 2025 Dual Team State Tournament. Mike has officiated 15 IHSA State Finals, 9 IESA State Finals, and also serves as an IHSA Wrestling Rules Interpreter and Clinician. His knowledge, contributions and utilization of video technology plays an important role in educating and developing other officials. In 2021, Mike played an important role in the making of a NFHS educational officiating video.
In 2018, Mike was inducted into the Illinois Wrestling Coaches & Officials Association (IWCOA) Hall of Fame. Mike was honored as IESA Official of The Year in 2019, IHSA Official of The Year in 2020, received the (IWCOA) Lifetime Service Award in 2023 and was named (IWCOA) Official of The Year in 2024.
For the past three years Mike has served aa a special consultant and assigner for the IESA. His primary role is to help with rules interpretations and questions along with assigning officials for the Regional, Sectional, and State Tournament.
Mike and his wife Nancy are both retired educators and reside in Ringwood, Illinois. They are the proud parents of four children and two grandchildren, Shelby, Austin, Chloe, Stori, Mirra and Myla.
BILLY KELLY
Billy Kelly is arguably the best wrestler in Richards High School history, where the Oak Lawn native became a two-time IHSA state champion in 1980 and 1981 at 112 and 119 pounds, respectively. A four-time state place winner, he finished his high school career with a record of 138-4, including posting a perfect 75-0 record in duals en route to receiving All-American honors.
Kelly continued his wrestling career collegiately at Iowa State University, where he was a four-time NCAA National Tournament qualifier. His career culminated in 1987, when he won an NCAA National Championship while also helping the Cyclones win the national team title.
In Billy’s final college match at the NCAA Finals, he faced Iowa’s returning national champion. With Dan Gable’s team on the verge of making history as the first to claim 10 straight team titles, Billy delivered a stunning upset, pinning his opponent with the infamous spladle. His victory not only denied Iowa its record-breaking title, but also secured the team championship for the Cyclones.
Kelly has been enshrined in the IWCOA, National Wrestling, and Glen Brand Wrestling Halls of Fame of Iowa Halls of Fame, while also receiving Iowa State’s prestigious Walt Smith Ring for Most Outstanding Career. He collected 106 wins in his collegiate career, becoming one of 39 Iowa State records to break the century mark.
JERRY KELLY
Jerry Kelly set the stage for the family’s famed wrestling lineage at Richards High School in Oak Lawn, where he won a pair of IHSA Individual State Titles in 1977 and 1978 at 112 and 119 pounds respectively. During high school, he was also a five-time place winner and freestyle champion in the USA Junior National Tournament, while also placing sixth in the US Olympic Team Trials.
Jerry wrestled collegiately at Oklahoma State University, where he became a two-time All-American after placing second in 1980 and third in 1981.
After graduating, he set his sights on coaching, as he joined the coaching staff at Iowa State University, where he had the opportunity to coach his younger brother and fellow 2025 Grand Marshal, Billy.
Jerry returned to Illinois and joined the high school coaching ranks in the early 1990’s, as he spent over a decade coaching at Monticello High School. He was named the Illinois Assistant Coach of the Year in 1996 by the IWCOA and was elected to the organization’s Hall of Fame two years later.
Jerry went to serve as the head coach at MacMurray College in Jacksonville from 2003 to 2007, before starting a 17-year stint as the head coach of the Iron Sharpens Iron Wrestling Academy. He also served simultaneously as an assistant coach at Addison Trail High School for over a decade beginning in 2010.
Jerry’s daughter, Mary Kelly, was a trailblazing female wrestler in the state and will serve as a Grand Marshal at the 2025 IHSA Girls Individual Wrestling State Finals on March 1.
---2025 IHSA GIRLS GRAND MARSHALS - MARCH 1---
MARY KELLY
Mary attended her first wrestling event in her first week of life, riding the bus along with the Iowa State wrestling team to Nebraska for a tournament that her Uncle Bill was competing in. She was born into a wrestling family with deep roots in Illinois. Her father and Uncle were from the south side of Chicago and earned induction into the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Hall of Fame for their respective careers. Mary followed them with her own Hall of Fame induction in 2019.
Mary began her wrestling career at the age of nine when her parents, Jerry and Beccie, decided to sign her brother Chris up for the local kid’s club wrestling team. Mary followed suit and began competing on the all-boys Mahomet-Seymour kids club team until joining the Mahomet-Seymour Junior High team in 7th grade. Mary went undefeated until the State Tournament (31-1) in seventh grade. With the same undefeated scenario in 8th grade, she placed third in the IESA State Finals (36-1).
As a high school wrestler, Mary was a varsity starter from her sophomore through her senior year and was elected a team captain her senior year. She was the first female to win a match at the IHSA Dual Team State Tournament, where she helped lead the Bulldogs to third and fourth places finishes in 2001 and 2002, respectively. Mary won 75 varsity matches as a three-year starter. She was coached by IWCOA Hall of Fame Coaches, Rob Porter, Tom Porter, and Steve Combs. Combs had a huge influence on her summer freestyle wrestling.
While still in High School she became involved with women’s wrestling competitions. She represented the USA competing in age group World Championships, winning silver in 1998 at Cadet Worlds and gold in 1999. She won silver in the 2000 Junior World Championships and a bronze in 2003. Mary also took home a bronze in the 2005 World University Games. All told, Mary was a Cadet World Champ and she would win five total world level medals.
After high school Mary attended multiple colleges pursuing her wrestling endeavors, including the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University. She eventually moved on to become a resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Mary placed fourth in the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Trials. She won the USA World Team Trails in 2006 and finished ninth at the Senior World Championships in Guangzhou, China. She competed on the 2007 World Cup Team, placing fifth. Mary was on the U.S. National team for seventh years, representing the U.S. internationally in tournaments in 15 countries during her career.
After Mary’s career came to an end due to injury, she continued on the road to recovery earning her degree in Community Health Education. She has turned her love of athletics and fitness into the health and wellness realm with Personal Training and CrossFit. Mary is now engaged to her fiancé Jeremy. Together they reside on the Big Island in Hawaii.
In 2025, the Mahomet-Seymour girls wrestling program began hosting the Mary Kelly Invitational.
FREDERICK D. ARKIN
Fred was introduced to wrestling in 1970 as a freshman at Oak Park & River Forest High School (OPRF) and eventually went on to compete collegiately at Washington University in St. Louis.
It was after college when Fred returned to the Oak Park area that he found his true calling in wrestling as a coach, administrator, and advocate for the sport. He organized and built the OPRF Little Huskies Wrestling Club and then did the same with Junior Cougar Wrestling Club at JB Conant High School.
Fred became very active in the IKWF and the Illinois Wrestling Federation (IWF). He coached and officiated Freestyle and Greco Roman programs, participating in state, regional, national and international events.
Fred went on to hold multiple leadership positions for IWF, providing much needed organization and vision. Under his leadership as the State Chairman, he oversaw IWF growth that saw its membership swell to the second largest in the nation. The IWF successfully hosted the 1994 Cadet World Championships and developed USA Wrestling’s Junior National Dual Meet Championships. Under Fred’s leadership, IWF also went on to found the Freshman/Sophomore State Tournament Series.
Fred’s work with USAWrestling brought him to the 1995 World Championships and 1996 Olympic Games where he contributed as a volunteer staff member in the wrestling venue. For the past 15 years Fred has managed bench operations for the Midlands Wrestling Championships. He was inducted into the IWCOA Hall of Fame in 2010 for his contributions to the sport of wrestling.
In 2008, Fred returned to OPRF as a member of the of the coaching staff that won four IHSA 3A Dual Team Wrestling State Championships.
Then in 2017, Fred turned his attention to Girls Wrestling. He helped create the IWCOA Girls State Championships.
He went on to build a girls wrestling program at OPRF, where he hosted the first-ever high school girls wrestling tournament in Illinois, which consisted of 14 girls in three brackets. Together with leaders of the West Suburban Conference, Fred also went on to run the first girls conference wrestling tourney in state history.
As the Co-Chairman of the IWCOA’s Steering Committee for Girls Wrestling, Fred used a grassroots approach to provide assistance to schools and coaches as they created opportunities for girls to participate on teams and in competitions.
Fred supported the IHSA by drafting the by-law to officially add Girls Wrestling as a sport. Fred’s facilitation of growth and participation in Girls Wrestling for IHSA member schools lead to the establishment of and IHSA Girls State Tournament Series in 2022.
It is only fitting that the first girl to win a match at the inaugural IHSA Girls State Tournament in 2022 was coached by Fred.