ROXANA - The wrestling team at Roxana Junior High School recently completed a historic season by running the table in their dual meets, completing a perfect 12-0 season with a 61-36 win over Bethalto Trimpe Middle School, and the Shells are looking to make more history in the upcoming Illinois Elementary School Association state tournament series.
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Roxana will start its journey with the Class A regional tournament on Saturday at Auburn Junior High, with matches beginning at 9 a.m. From there, the sectional tournament will be held March 7 at East Peoria Central Junior High, with the state tournament to be held at the Northern Illinois University Convocation Center in DeKalb March 13-14.
And the potential is there for the Shells to make more history, even possibly bringing home a state championship.
"The kids work hard every practice," said Roxana head coach Chris Johnson, "so they knew at the beginning of the school year, they knew they had what it takes to be successful."
The Shells won both their regional and sectional titles last year at Auburn with 304 points and at Litchfield with 172 points, then took third place at the state meet with 109 points, and had one individual champion in Bradley Ruckman at 75 pounds.
And for an encore, the Shells were determined to improve upon their performance and do even better this season.
"We finished third at state, and the kids really wanted to make history," Johnson said, "and become the first team to go undefeated in Roxana history."
That they did, and along the way, also became the first team to go unbeaten in the Mississippi Valley Conference.
"They were hungry to go unbeaten in the (conference), which is also a first," Johnson said.
The Shells did it by putting out a very solid and experienced lineup at every weight class, with the exception of the 215-pound class, which Roxana's had trouble filling this season.
"We don't have a weak spot, except for one weight class at 215 pounds, which we can't fill," Johnson said. "Our wrestlers are all seasoned wrestlers, and have competed for several years."
The Shells sent 10 of their wrestlers to last year's state tournament, and won medals in four classes: Ruckman, who is still wrestling at 75 pounds this season, Zeb Katzmarek, who came in second at 100 pounds last season, and is now wrestling at 119 pounds, Brandon Green, who came in fourth at 70 pounds, and currently wrestles at 85 pounds, and James Herring, who was a fourth-place finisher at 135 last year, and has moved up to 155 pounds.
The other qualifiers for state were Nathan Harrison at 65 pounds, Levi Wilkinson at 80 pounds, Lleyton Cobine at 95 pounds, Braden Johnson at 112 pounds, Zach Huff at 185 pounds and Chase Allen at 215 pounds.
Johnson and his assistant coach, Andy Franklin, have put together a very good team that had bonded well on and off the mat, and Johnson feels that the team is prepared for big success this postseason.
"Absolutely," Johnson said. "Last year, we won the regionals and sectionals as a team, they really came together as a team, and as a coach, team unity is why we've been so successful. The kids really get along well."
And Johnson also knows that the Shells are set for big things to happen in the upcoming weeks.
"Everything is ready to go," Johnson said, "and is prepared for the postseason."
