The Edwardsville, Granite City and Triad wrestling teams didn't have any champions at last weekend's state tournament at Assembly Hall in Champaign, but all three brought home at least one medal.
In Class 3A, Edwardsville got a second-place finish from Blake Blair at 195 pounds, while Granite City's Josh Dowdy was fourth at 170. In Class 2A, Triad had medal winners in Jake Tindle (third at 170), Kyle Graumenz (fourth at 138) and Cole Wysocki (fourth at 106).
Blair (41-4) lost 3-0 in the finals to Brad Johnson of Lockport.
"Blake had a great run -- he prepared himself well and he was focused," Edwardsville coach Jon Wagner said. "In the semifinals (a 5-4 decision against Matt Koran of Joliet West), he had an outstanding comeback with two takedowns in the last 35 seconds.
"In the finals, we had a plan, but (Johnson) is real solid on top and bottom and on his feet. He had one takedown toward the end of the first period and as it turned out, that was all he needed. Blake came close (to getting a takedown) a couple times, but he couldn't get anything done.
"Blake is just a junior and right now he can enjoy what he accomplished this season. But he's set his goals a little higher for next year."
Dillon Soliben, the only other state qualifier for the Tigers, lost 9-6 in the first round to Johnny Gosinski of Glenbard North, then lost in a wrestleback to Abel Rios of Zion-Benton.
Edwardsville closed its season Tuesday with a loss to Minooka in the team sectional at Springfield.
DOWDY CAPS CAREER WITH MEDAL
Granite City had three state qualifiers in its senior captains: Dowdy, Justin Valencia (160) and Chad Whitford (152).
"Everybody won their first-round match on Thursday. They didn't look good, but they were able to pull it out," Granite City coach Allen Kirgan said. "They all lost in the quarterfinals, which made for a long afternoon on Friday."
Dowdy came back to win 7-6 in the first round of wrestlebacks over Danny Hicks of Gurnee Warren. On Saturday, he won 12-11 over Eddie Scanlon of Wheeley and advanced by injury default against T.J. Sally of Hinsdale Central. In the third-place match, Dowdy (45-11) was pinned in 2:38 by Cody Pych of South Elgin.
"Josh wrestled at 160 most of the year, but (Valencia) wanted to go down from 170," Kirgan said of Dowdy. "He weighed in at 163 pounds and he showed a lot of heart. The first time you're up there, it looks a lot different on the floor, but for not having been there, he was fearless."
Valencia lost 3-2 in the quarterfinals to eventual runner-up Farai Sewera of Roselle Lake Park, then lost 3-2 in the first round of wrestlebacks to Scott Hoff of Lake Zurich.
"If he wrestled (Hoff) nine more times, I think Justin would win every time, but sometimes at the state tournament, you freeze rather than open up, and that's happened to him," Kirgan said.
Whitford also lost his next two matches after winning in the first round.
"The kid he lost to in the quarterfinals (Davonte Mahomes of Oak Park River Forest) was the eventual third-place winner -- he had been on that stage before and he definitely came to wrestle," Kirgan said. "Chad lost 6-4 in the wrestlebacks (to Justin Weber of Lincolnshire Stevenson), but he was right there."
It was the last state meet as head coach for Kirgan, who is retiring after 13 seasons.
"(Assembly Hall) has been Heartbreak Hall for me - I have some regrets every year," Kirgan said. "It will be nice to go up there with no stress and no expectations and just be a fan."
TRIAD TRIO LOOKS STRONG
Triad's Tindle (49-2) lost 6-3 in the quarterfinals to Nate Jackson of Marian Catholic, but won four matches in a row to take third place. In the wrestleback semifinals, Tindle won 6-3 over Cameron Mammen of Urbana. Mammen had handed Tindle his first loss of the season in a sectional semifinal Feb. 11 at Centralia. In the third-place match, Tindle won 11-0 over Omar Awad of Burlington Central.
As a junior, Tindle placed fourth at 171 pounds.
"Jackson is one of the best kids in the state, and he ended up taking first place," Triad coach Russ Witzig said. "Jake had that one bad match, but otherwise he had a great tournament, and he finishes his career as a two-time place winner."
Graumenz (37-4), who placed second at 119 as a sophomore, lost in the 138-pound semifinals to Clayton Lutzow of Crystal Lake Central. He came back to win 9-6 in the semifinals to Steve Galliardo of Chicago St. Patrick before losing 3-1 in the third-place match to Garrett Sutton of Richmond-Burton.
"It was a pretty balanced weight class -- any one of six guys could have won it." Witzig said. "Kyle was ranked No. 9 in the state coming in, but he got his second medal, and he was a four-time state qualifier."
At 106, Wysocki lost in the semifinals to Nkoski Moody of Olympia Fields Rich Central. He won his next match in wrestlebacks before losing 3-2 in the third-place match to Anthony Bosco of Aurora Marmion Academy. A freshman, Wysoscki finished the season at 46-4.
"Jake had a tough quarterfinal and won in overtime against Pontiac (Jordan Lind)," Witzig said. "His eye was banged up pretty bad and almost swollen shut, but he kept grinding it out. There was a questionable call in the third-place match; otherwise I think he could have won that. He had a great year and until this tournament, he hadn't lost to anybody from Illinois."
The other state qualifier for Triad, heavyweight Dan Calvin, was 0-2 and did not place.
Triad defeated Chatham Glenwood Tuesday in the Class 2A team sectional at Springfield and will wrestle in the state quarterfinals in Bloomington.
