Mick Torres has been involved with the Illinois wrestling community since 1975 as a competitor, head coach, official and athletic director. It has been in the area of wrestling tournament management, however, that Mick has made his greatest contribution to the sport. Starting in 1994, along with his brother Dave Torres, wife Lisa Torres, and other family members, Mick and his management team at ILWrestle.com have managed more than 200 high school tournaments, mostly in the counties of northern Illinois. When not working on the weekends in high school gyms, Mick has provided training, troubleshooting and consulting on all aspects of tournament management for other tournament directors and the IHSA. 

Notable tournaments Mick and ILWrestle have run multiple times include: Al Dvorak Invitational @ Harlem, Berman Holiday Classic @ Palatine, Moore-Prettyman Invitational @ Barrington, Rex Whitlatch Invitational @ Hinsdale Central, Leyden and Hoffman Estates and more than 70 Conference, Regional and Individual Sectional Tournaments, mostly in the northwest suburbs.  Back in the mid-1990s when handheld digital cameras first became popular, Mick was one of the first to snap a photo of the tournament champ getting his hand raised by the official and then quickly transposing it on to a printed awards bracket. 

Mick wrestled at Yorkville High School, placing fourth at 98 pounds in 1976, third at 126 in 1978, and was a state finalist in 1979 at 138 lbs. He was a valuable team member on a Yorkville squad that won the IHSA Team Wrestling State Title in 1976 and finished second in 1977, third in 1978 and second in 1979. Mick finished his high school career with a 102-15 record. He was also an NEC All-Conference tailback in 1978, setting a school record with 16 touchdowns his senior year. 

Mick would go on to wrestle at Northern Illinois University, where recurring shoulder injuries ended his competitive career. He graduated in 1983, received his bachelor’s degree and teaching certification and went on to teach physical science and become the head wrestling coach at Lake Zurich High School. Mick coached three state place winners and Lake Zurich High School’s first state champion in any sport, Al Strobl at 160 pounds in Class AA in 1991. During his tenure at Lake Zurich, Mick obtained his master’s in Educational Administration in 1990. 

Mick left the classroom and coaching to become Lake Zurich’s assistant principal/athletic director from 1991 to 1994. He returned as an assistant wrestling coach, assistant principal and technology director at Antioch High School from 1994-2003 and finished his 37-year career in education as District 128’s (Libertyville/Vernon Hills High Schools) Educational Technology Director, retiring in 2022. 

Mick was also an IHSA Wrestling Official from 1993-1996. He was nominated for IWCOA Administrator of the Year in 2010 and 2019 and was inducted into the IWCOA Hall of Fame in 2016. Since 2015, Mick has served on the Executive Board of the IWCOA and serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He also currently serves as the announcer for the IHSA Individual, Dual and Girls State Tournaments and the Midlands hosted by Northwestern University. 

Mick and his supportive wife Lisa have four children (Amanda, Ashley, Zack and Ray) and five grandchildren (Allie, Sophie, Connor, Willow and Benjamin).