A No. 4 seed, Soliben "kept up the pressure'' as directed by coaches and won the 132-pound title with a 12-6 victory over Alton's Nick Deloach in the Class 3A regional at Edwardsville on Saturday. It was the first regional championship for Soliben (21-14), a fourth-year varsity competitor and one of 12 Edwardsville wrestlers advancing to the sectional at Lincoln-Way Central in suburban Chicago this weekend. With its first regional championship since 2009, balanced Edwardsville will meet powerful Minooka in the dual team sectional Feb. 21 at a site to be determined.
Send nominations and head shots by 6 p.m. Sunday to pkopsky@stltoday.com.
