Reaching the Illinois state tournament in any sport is a great achievement, especially considering the tradition the Illinois High School Association has established in its' 116 years of existence.
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Among those traditions is the state wrestling tournament, especially heading into the final rounds of the tournament on Saturday night. All the wrestlers who have reached the finals of their weight classes are honored in a ceremony known as The Parade of Champions, when all the finalists march around what's now known as State Farm Center in Champiagn-Urbana, with the stirring theme music to the Olympic Games playing in the background. The song is called “Bugler's Dream”, written by Leo Arnaud, which ABC first used for its Olympic coverage with the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. The song, thanks to ABC'S use to introduce Olympic coverage, and now its use by NBC in a different arrangement by John Williams, has become associated with the Olympics.
It's always a stirring moment when the finalists are paraded with the song playing in the background. A total of 14 area wrestlers representing seven schools across three classes will enter this weekend's IHSA Individual State Tournament with hopes to be a part of that Parade of Champions when the tournament gets under way today at State Farm Center. The tournament runs through Saturday night.
In Class 1A, East Alton-Wood River's Drew Sobol (106), Zac Blasioli (152) and Zach Kincade (195) will be taking part in the tournament, while Roxana's Jarod Foiles (132), Alex Maguire (138), Brett Nyswonger (220) and Owen Robinson (285) will represent the Shells in the tournament.
In Class 2A, Civic Memorial's Brandon Carpenter (182) will represent the Eagles, while Jersey's Brandon Crutchfield (132) and Dylan Torrey (138) will be taking part in the tournament.
In Class 3A, Edwardsville's Chris Prosser (170), Alton's Connor Broyles (132) and Alejandro Lopez (145) and Granite City's Kyle Thompson (152) will be representing their schools at the state tournament.
Oiler coach Dave Sobol is proud of all of his wrestlers who have reached the tournament, but especially Drew Sobol's third trip to state, but having been through it before, the Oiler wrestlers know what they have to do once they hit the mats.
“The kids know what to do once they get there,” Sobol said. “We know that we have to keep the pedal to the floor and do our best. This is the goal of every wrestler in Illinois once they first put on a wrestling singlet; it's all about the effort and sacrifice and work they put in to get to the state tournament.
“All I want from the kids is a six hard minutes of wrestling when they're out there and to do the best that they can do. It's a great experience being in the state tournament.”
“Yes, we would have liked to send more kids to the state tournament,” said Edwardsville coach Jon Wagner. “You have to keep competing, and take everything just one match at a time.
“The goal for everyone is the same, to get on the medalists podium on that final night of the tournament.”
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