This past week, history was made in Niles North wrestling: senior Ollie Qurrios dawned the purple and white on the  campus of UIUC for the IHSA Wrestling State Championship. This makes Qurrios the first Viking wrestler to head down to Champaign since Dylan Rameriez in 2016, and the first 150-lb Viking wrestler to do so ever.

“I’m really proud of myself. I feel like I put a lot of work in throughout the four years I’ve been wrestling,” Qurrios said. “It’s really good to love this sport and it just made me really happy.”

Qurrios struggled in Champaign, but he did not leave the state tournament without a highlight. In his first match, he was immediately met with a challenge, taking on the top-ranked 150-lb wrestler in the state. The match was grueling with Quriros embracing the underdog mentality, pushing number one to his limit, and going all three periods of wrestling. Unfortunately, it was not enough as Qurrios lost his first match in Champaign by decision. However, he refused to let it phase him.

“I knew it was a tough match…whether the outcome was a win or loss, I was ready to mentally prepare myself for the next match no matter what.” Qurrios said. “Because, at the end of the day, even if I won, I would still have another match, so you got to push it to the side and look forward to what’s ahead of you.”

This state appearance was an amazing milestone for the Niles North wrestling program. Although Qurrios is the first Viking to make state in almost a decade, he believes that we might not have to wait much longer for another Viking to qualify.

“We have a lot of good freshmen that have a lot of potential and that I think continue to have the same work ethic they had this year, and they continue to work hard, they’ll probably be able to make it to State,” Qurrios said. “A lot of the freshmen are competing at varsity levels better than I was when I was a freshman, which [is] really good for the team.”

Time will tell if Qurrios’ vision proves true. But it is safe to say that this achievement is a big V for Viking Victory for Niles North wrestling in 2025.