After falling a step short in two previous appearances in state championship matches, Civic Memorial senior wrestler David Pearce is ready for one last shot at a title.
Pearce and a long list of the East Side's top wrestlers will compete for state honors at this weekend at the Illinois state tournament at Assembly Hall in Champaign. The three-day, three-class event starts Thursday with preliminary matches in all three classes. Class 1A begins at 2:30 p.m., Class 2A at 4:30 p.m. and Class 3A at 6:30 p.m. The tournament continues Friday, and the finals will be Saturday.
Looking at his performance last weekend in the 126-pound weight class at the Mount Zion Sectional, it is evident Pearce is on a mission to end his high school career with that elusive state championship.
"I scored, like, 45 points in three matches (he actually pinned his first opponent in 1 minute 36 seconds on Friday)," said the four-time state qualifier. "I did pretty good. I scored a lot. I did the work. That's what I was trying to do."
Pn three matches, Pearce (22-2) was on the mat for 9 minutes 3 seconds at Mt. Zion, scoring a pin and two technical falls. He outscored his opponents 33-1, In the finals, he beat Darren Wynn of Champaign Centennial 18-1 in 3:04.
"I was trying to tech fall him as fast as I possibly could," said Pearce, who will tangle with sophomore Sam Karim (11-5) of Ridgewood in a first-round match Friday at Champaign. "If I would have been able to pin him, I would have."
Pearce lost a 20-7 major decision to Ben Whitford of Marimon Academy of Aurora in the Ilinois finals last year. As a freshman, he lost a 4-3 decision to Topher Carton of Rock Island Alleman. In 2010, he did not reach the medal round of wrestling.
This season could have been derailed by a torn meniscus in his left knee, but the senior was back in action by mid-December. "It's superhealed," said Pearce, who hasn't lost a match since dropping two decisions at the Granite City holiday tournament.
While Pearce wasn't quite ready for the Granite City tournament - "I had only a week and a half of practice," he said. "I was out of shape. I just basically walked out there and wrestled." - he has has been a powerhouse the last six weeks.
"I'm just going to have to be as focused as possible," he said. "I can't worry about dumb things when I have to really worry about wrestling. Just stay really focused. This is biggest weekend of my life, I feel like. It seriously is."
"I want to win state and show everybody I am the best," he said.
