CHAMPAIGN — Area wrestlers showcased strong performances on the opening day of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) state wrestling finals.
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In Class 1A, Roxana’s Brandon Green Jr. emerged undefeated, winning both of his matches in the 132-pound weight class. He secured a tech fall victory over Nelson Benesh in his first match and followed up with another tech fall, defeating Hunter Shike 15-0.
Roxana's Lyndon Thies also went 2-0 in the 165-pound weight class, edging out Ayden Larkin 9-8 in a closely contested first match before winning decisively against Brock Finch with an 11-3 decision.
However, Logan Riggs from Roxana faced a setback, losing his first match at 144 pounds by a major decision, 11-2, to Ace Christiansen. Riggs is scheduled to compete again on Saturday.
Drake Champlin of EAWR in the 215-pound class won both of his matches. He achieved a tech fall victory over Brody O’Connor, 16-0, and pinned Ryan Darnell in his second match.
In the 126-pound weight class, Dawson Hawthorne of Belleville Althoff also finished the day with two victories, winning by tech fall against Clayton Madula, 18-2, and pinning Ruben Rivera at the 5:25 mark.
In Class 2A, CM's Bradley Ruckman advanced with a 2-0 record, first defeating Isaac Mayora 5-0 and then achieving a tech fall victory over Jackson Palzet, 18-1, in the 132-pound weight class. His teammate, Knox Verbais, also went 2-0, winning his matches with tech falls of 19-2 and 20-4 against David Johnson and Malaki Jackson, respectively.
Avery Jaime of CM finished the day at 1-1 in the 126-pound weight class, winning his first match 8-5 against Adrian Cohen but losing 12-0 to Harrison Dea. Nathen Herrin and James Wojcikiewicz, also from CM, both went 0-1 and will participate in the wrestle backs.
Jersey's Maddox Williams and Nicholas Hartley, competing in the 106 and 157-pound classes respectively, also finished 0-1 and will return to the mat for wrestle backs. Williams lost by tech fall to Ray Long, while Hartley was pinned by Frank Miceli.
Tyson Rakers of Highland concluded the day with a 2-0 record, winning by tech fall over Andrew Lehman and by major decision against Aiden Burns.
In Class 3A, all four Edwardsville wrestlers advanced through the preliminaries, set to compete in the quarterfinals on Friday morning.
Michael McNamara won by tech fall against Kristian DeClercq in the 106-pound class, while Ryan Richie won by pinfall in the 138-pound class.
Simon Schulte secured a major decision victory in the 190-pound class, and Roman Janek triumphed in sudden victory at 215 pounds.
Belleville East's Terence Willis faced a loss in the 165-pound class, while Jonathan Rulo secured a win in the 285-pound class with a pinfall victory against Jeremy Marshall.
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