SPRINGFIELD, Ill. • With Triad trailing Chatham Glenwood by a point with one match remaining, 285-pounder Dan Calvin did what he needed to do.
With his Triad teammates cheering him on, Calvin pinned Forrest Sexton in 3 minutes 30 seconds to lift the Knights to a 38-33 win at the Illinois Class 2A Springfield Dual Team Sectional at Springfield High on Tuesday night.
Triad advances to the quarterfinals of the dual team tournament at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington on Saturday.
"I've done it before," Calvin said. "I guess I'm used to it. I just decided I had to pin him. I felt like I could pin him at the beginning. I've been working hard this entire year for the state (individual) tournament and the dual team state."
Calvin (37-14) had never had a winning record until this season. He was in front 5-0 when he pinned Sexton. Calvin qualified for last Saturday's individual state tournament, but didn't medal.
"Whenever it comes down to something like that, the whole team comes down (out of the stands) and cheers him on," said Triad's Jake Tindle, who delivered a key 16-0 technical fall at 195. "I thought it was pretty neat that it was that close and then make it to state for (my) third time."
Tindle's tech fall game Triad a 32-27 lead, but Glenwood moved in front 33-32 when Patrick Bennett pinned Adam McElligot in 1:41. That left Calvin to do the heavy lifting, and he responded by rolling Sexton on his back.
"I knew we had to get him hyped up before that match," said Triad's Kyle Graumenz (145), who pinned Mason Kaylor in 1:17. "He's always a little bit better when teammates are around him and he gets pumped up."
For all their efforts, the Knights will make their third trip to the quarterfinals. They finished fourth in 2009.
Triad (15-12) will wrestle Bloomington (22-3) at 11 a.m. The winner will move to the semifinals at 2 p.m. The finals and third-place matches are set for 6 p.m.
"Making it to state the third (in four years) is pretty cool," said Tindle, a senior. "We've got another week and a chance to win another team trophy."
