August 02, 2025
Sports

West's Pernevlon Sheppard caps prep wrestling career with state medal

West’s Sheppard caps career with state medal

By SCOTT SCHMID

Glenbard West's Pernevlon Sheppard (bottom) wrestles Crystal Lake South's Nick Gil Saturday during the state tournament. Sheppard finished sixth at 138 pounds to earn a state medal. Douglas Cottle/PhotoNews for Shaw Media (Douglas Cottle)

CHAMPAIGN – Making his second appearance at the IHSA individual state wrestling meet, Pernevlon Sheppard didn’t get off to the start he would have liked.

But after losing his opening round match Thursday, the Glenbard West senior fought his way back through the wrestlebacks to claim sixth place in the Class 3A 138-pound weight class.

“It feels great,” Sheppard said. “I put in a lot of work during the season and in the summer, working hard just for this moment. I never thought this could happen, but it’s great that it actually happened. I’m proud of myself.”

Sheppard began with a 6-3 loss to Jimmy Davis of Waubonsie Valley before bouncing back to defeat Munkhtulga Zuunbayan of Wheeling 7-5 and Ben Williamson of Naperville Central 4-3.

The senior then dropped a 6-4 decision to Qarin Johnnic of Wheaton Warrenville South before losing 6-2 to Nick Gil of Crystal Lake South in the fifth-place match. He finished the season with a record of 35-10.

“I had to get my thoughts back together,” Sheppard said about losing his opener. “I was down, but I came and wrestled hard to get back in the tourney.

“It was about staying in good position and wrestling all six minutes. Every match was different. You just have to brawl. Everyone wrestles different styles, so you have to adapt to what they’re doing and try to stick to your style and hit the basics.”

Sheppard, who also qualified for state as a sophomore, is hoping to continue his career at the next level but hasn’t decided where yet.

Alex Morreale also competed for West at state at 160 pounds. The junior lost his opening round match to Vince Dietz of Lockport. The two state appearances wrapped up what was another outstanding campaign for the Hilltoppers.

“What a great group of seniors,” Glenbard West coach Nick Posegay said. “Sixteen seniors finished four years with us, and I’ve been watching them wrestle since they were little kids. It was fun watching this happen, I had a real nice time with them.”

St. Francis

Competing in the 285-pound weight class at the IHSA Class 2A state meet, Cole Cunningham lost his first round match to Frank Tomaskovic of St. Laurence on Feb. 20.

Jason Rossi also contributed to this story