SPRINGFIELD, Ill. • The Edwardsville wrestling team was oh-so-close but could not quite pull off the upset Tuesday night.
“It's rough, real rough. In 16 years of coaching this sport, it might be the roughest one I've ever experienced,'' Tigers coach Jon Wagner said following a heartbreaking 32-30 sectional loss to Minooka in Class 3A action at Springfield High. “They got the break and we didn't, simple as that.
“We were up and in control of the match. We had an opportunity to do something really special....''
The Tigers led 16-0 and senior Dillon Soliben was up 9-4 in the waning seconds of his 132-pound match when he was pinned by the Indians' Matt Kelly.
Edwardsville argued -- to no avail -- that it was not a pin.
“His head and his shoulders were on the kid's back,'' an emotion-filled Wagner said. “You saw it, did you think it was a pin? I asked for an explanation and didn't get one. All (the referee told me) was that it was a pin.''
The quick-pin call, with three seconds left in the match, put a damper on a another solid night of wrestling for the Tigers, the most balanced and arguably the best dual team in the area.
“We came in as underdogs and wrestled like we have all season,'' Wagner said. “We came here to compete, and that's exactly what we did. I'm disappointed right now because my team's disappointed. They had a great season, and I couldn't be prouder of them. I wouldn't trade this team for any in the state.''
The Tigers came out strong as wins by James Ziegler (second-period pin) at 106 and Dalton Brito (decision) at 113 set the tone. Following an overtime win from Sam Andresen at 120, Haydon Grammer followed up with a major decision at 126, stretching the lead to 16-0.
The Tigers' other wins came on major decisions from Cameron Throneberry (160) and Blake Blair (195). After Minooka clinched the match with a pin at 220, Edwardsville heavyweight Sab Champlin was awarded a forfeit for the 32-30 final.
In a rematch of last year's Class 3A title match, Minooka will take on Glenbard North in the quarterfinals Saturday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington. Last year, Glenbard North beat Minooka 31-24 to win the 3A championship.
Edwardsville was looking for its first state trip since 2009, when it finished fourth.
“Right now, we're hurting,'' Wagner said. “But we'll stick together, and we'll get through this. We had a great season. We competed hard, we prepared hard and we practiced hard. We gave it everything we had.''
