It is a moment almost unrivaled in Illinois prep sports – the Grand March of athletes into the State Farm Center in Champaign that precedes the Illinois High School Association state wrestling championships. Many have witnessed it, but a relative few have lived it. To keep those dreams alive, 22 wrestlers from the Little Illini Conference must first advance out of the IHSA Class 1A Sectional tournament this weekend in Vandalia.
The top four finishers in each weight class advance to the IHSA State Finals Feb. 19-21. Five from the LIC earned a head start by virtue of winning Regional titles in Robinson last weekend. They each get a first-round bye. And one, Joshua Lamour of Paris, carries an undefeated record (26-0) into the Sectional at 165 pounds.
In Vandalia, advancing wrestlers from Regional tournaments in Auburn, Herrin, and East Alton-Wood River will join those from Robinson. Three other Sectionals – at Coal City, Olympia, and Byron – will also send qualifiers to the Big House in Champaign.
Here is a glance at first round Class 1A Sectional pairings involving Little Illini Conference wrestlers (match records listed in parenthesis). LIC wrestlers in bold. Listed in bracket order, not match order:
106 Pounds
Dalton Baker, Lawrence County (26-6), bye
113 Pounds
Landon Cornwell, Robinson (32-11) vs. Zayden Butcher, Benton (31-13)
Cameron Urbaniak, Herrin (29-6) vs. Grayson Allender, Lawrence County (22-10)
120 Pounds
Brayden Hendrix, Roxana (22-16) vs. Gracen Elliott, Robinson (32-11)
Kyler Guercio, Lawrence County (24-9) vs. Kameron Rasul, Salem (28-16)
126 Pounds
Declyn Paddock, Olney (19-9) vs. Elijah Scott, Auburn (27-14)
Vincent Moore, Litchfield (34-3) vs. Drew Seitzinger, Lawrence County (25-14)
132 Pounds
Bodee Fathauer, Shelbyville (20-5) vs. Kaeden Davis, Olney (19-5)
138 Pounds
Broady Kelly, Robinson (40-3) vs. Eli Wilkey, Benton (27-19)
144 Pounds
Hudson Meek, Lawrence County (30-7) vs. Kaden Blades, Benton (41-5)
150 Pounds
Michael Minor, West Frankfort (17-9) vs. Connor Schrader, Robinson (25-8)
Isaiah Hall, Mt. Carmel (21-14) vs. Gavin Slack, Carterville (25-12)
Cale Seitzinger, Lawrence County (33-6), bye
157 Pounds
Daniel Kiser, Lawrence County (24-13) vs. Nathan Raban, Freeburg (18-11)
165 Pounds
Joshua Lamour, Paris (26-0), bye
175 Pounds
Lenox Parker, Robinson (18-7) vs. Kyler King, Salem (31-16)
Nick Morehead, Lawrence County (28-9), bye
190 Pounds
Dominick Khoshaba, Herrin n(22-14) vs. Malikye Williams, Lawrence County (30-7)
215 Pounds
Jude DeCausey, Lawrence County (20-8) vs. Robert Horton, Roxana (28-14)
Stephen Ache, Belleville Althoff (17-7) vs. Zander Schrader, Olney (28-3)
285 Pounds
Carter Pyatt, Mt. Carmel (30-6), bye
Liam Davis, Taylorville (18-8) vs. Logan Curl, Paris (21-6)
Source: FloWrestling (trackwrestling.com)
