Illinois state wrestling championships blog from the second of three days of the event at Assembly Hall in Champaign:
NINE METRO-EAST WRESTLERS REACH SEMIFINALS
Lavion Mayes of Mascoutah and Benard Gantt won their 145-pound quarterfinal matches today.
Mayes (41-1) scored a 13-2 major decision over Johnny Major of Burlington Central. Mayes wrestles Dylan Hay of Grayslake Central in the semis tonight.
Gantt (31-7) beat Connor Bass of Yorkville 10-7. Bass was second at 135 last season. Gantt wrestles Dalton Coleman of Mount Zion in the semis. Gantt defeated Coleman 13-3 in the semifinals of the Mount Zion Sectional last Saturday.
Kyle Graumenz of Triad (138) took down Dan Goress of Kaneland 11-6. Graumenz (36-2) wrestles Clayton Lutzow of Crystal Lake Central in the semifinals.
In Class 3A, Taylor McGiffen of Alton (182) had to come back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Jameer Thurman of Proviso West 3-2. McGiffen and Evan Welsh of Warrenville South wrestle in the semis tonight.
Blake Blair of Edwardsville (195) pinned Ryan Berg of Naperville Central in 4 minutes 32 seconds to get to the semis, where he will face Matt Koran of Joliet West. Blair was in front 7-3 when he put Berg on his back.
In all, nine Metro-East grapplers will take part in the semifinals tonight, which start at 7 p.m. One is from Class A, five are from Class 2A and three are from Class 3A.
Earlier today ...
TRIAD'S WYSOCKI MOVES ON
Triad freshman Cole Wysocki (106 pounds) guaranteed himself a Class 2A medal with a 4-2 overtime quarterfinal win over Pontiac's Jordan Lind. Wysocki (46-2) rallied from a 2-0 first-period deficit for the victory, scoring a 2-point reversal in the extra frame. He will wrestle Nkosi Moody of Olympia Fields in the semifinals tonight.
David Pearce (126) of Civic Memorial, who finished second last season at 132, continued his impressive 2A showing with a 14-0 whitewash of Jake Latanski of Lemont. Pearce (24-2) rolled to a 7-0 lead after one period and coasted into the semifinals, where he will tangle with Doug Johnson of DeKalb in the semis tonight.
In Class 3A, Mech Spraggins of Belleville West rallied from a 4-0 deficit to beat Zach Synon of Prairie Ridge 6-4. Spraggins, a second-place finisher at 120 last season, was unimpressive through the first half of his match before getting a point for an escape. That lit a fire under Spraggins (34-1), who then scored a takedown in the third period and put Synon on his back for a near fall with 15 seconds to go.
Those moves had both head coach Al Sears and assistant Joe Rujawitz jumping around. He now faces Nathan Davis of Plainfield Central in the semis.
In Class 1A, Michael Harris (126) of Althoff also had to come from behind to beat Stephen Licina of Kankakee McNamara 4-2. For his efforts, Harris (22-7) gets to wrestle defending state champion J.J. Whaley of Stillman Valley in the semis.
