EDWARDSVILLE • Depth has been a plus for the Edwardsville wrestling team all season, and it led to another victory Saturday.
The Tigers won the Class 3A Edwardsville Regional with 190 points, outdistancing runner-up Granite City (182.5). Edwardsville qualified 12 wrestlers for next weekend's Lincoln-Way Central individual sectional, and with its first team title since 2009, also advanced to the team sectional on Feb. 21.
"I thought if we could (get) 10 or 12 guys out, we had a shot," Tigers coach Jon Wagner said. "We're solid in every weight class, and even the guys that didn't get out scored points for us."
Edwardsville had only two regional champions: Dillon Soliben at 132 pounds and Blake Blair at 195. But the Tigers also had five second-place finishers—Dalton Brito (113), Hayden Grammer (126), Kyle Jackson (145), Will Velez (170) and Matt Kent (182)—plus five third-place finishers.
"Dillon Soliben coming from the fourth seed to win the championship was huge for us," Wagner said. "We have a tough sectional, but with our schedule, these guys aren't going to flinch."
Soliben boosted his record to 21-14 with a 12-6 win over Alton's Nick Deloach in the title match at 132.
"It's my first time winning this regional, and it's a big accomplishment," Soliben said. "I kept up the pressure and did what (Wagner) wanted me to."
At 195, Blair improved to 36-3 with an 8-4 victory over Sam Tamayo of Granite City.
"Every time you're in the postseason, especially against Granite City, you know you're going to have a tough match," Blair said. "We went into this with the mindset that every single guy is going to go to the sectional, and with us winning the team title, we all still have a chance of going to state."
Third-place finishers for Edwardsville were James Ziegler (106), James Mosher (132), Nick Scheel (152), Cameron Throneberry (160) and Sab Champlin (285).
Granite City had 11 sectional qualifiers, including four champions: Chad Whitford (152), Justin Valencia (160), Josh Dowdy (170) and Cole Whitford (285).
"I don't ever remember being happy after not winning a tournament," said Granite City coach Allen Kirgan, who is retiring after this season. "I've been in 13 regionals and I've won 11 of them. Getting number 12 would have been nice, but you've got to take your hat off to Edwardsville."
The Warriors had a pair of second-place finishers in Tamayo (195) and Justin Nelson (106). Five Granite City wrestlers placed third: Gabe Wood (113), D.J. Millet (120), Justice Ragan (132), Alex Brooks (182) and Josh Masters (220).
"We had some guys come in with losing records and they qualified, which is a testament to the schedule we have," Kirgan said. "We had three freshmen in this tournament and only three seniors, so for whoever takes over, the cupboard is not bare."
Placing third through eighth in the team standings were Alton (119), Belleville East (110), Belleville West (108), O'Fallon (91.5), Collinsville (48) and Quincy (19).
Alton senior Taylor McGiffen improved to 41-1 with a championship at 182 pounds. Other qualifiers for the Redbirds were Phyllip Deloach (third at 126), Nick Deloach (second at 132), Joe Shimchick (second at 220) and Benniko Willis (second at 285).
East had two champions: Reggie Edwards (120) and Skyler Procasky (138). Its two third-place finishers were Ayiri Ekwejunor (145) and Kyzen Smith (170).
West had four champions—Nate Smalling (113), Mech Spraggins (126), Nate Higgins (145) and Tremont Davis (182)—while Taron Johnson placed third (195).
Qualifiers for O'Fallon, all placing second, were Jon Villagran (120), Drew Wise (138) and Bryon Pierson (160).
Collinsville's Davontae Smith was a regional champion at 106. The other qualifier for the Kahoks was Dylan Johnson, who was second at 152.
