Alton's wrestlers led by DeOntae Forest are prepared for regional competition this Saturday. The Redbirds fell in a match with Belleville East recently at Alton. (Photos by Dan Brannan)

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ALTON - This past week was a time of celebration of the career of an outstanding Alton High School wrestler - DeOntae Forest.

The senior has recorded more than 70 wins in his four-year tenure as a Redbird and has been a mainstay for the team in recent years. Forest was recognized during the recent Alton Redbirds' home match against Belleville East.

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Coach Eric Roberson had this to say about DeOntate Forest: "DeOntae is a four-year varsity wrestler for us. He only started wrestling his freshman year. He has learned the sport very quickly and has put in many hours in the off-season with spring and summer wrestling and it is paying off for him. He has been a great leader for us."

Coach Roberson always gets the most out of his Redbirds and he now has the team poised for regional competition on Saturday.

The Redbird winners against Belleville East were:

Will Harris - 126, Antoine Phillips - 145, Joey Bowman -152, Jamal Miller -195, and Jaxon Sheets -285.

Coach Roberson said the Redbirds had some good individual performances against Belleville East but thought his team overall was out hustled in the match.

"We have some work to do and our training before the post-season," he said.