July 26, 2024
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BCR 2024 postseason wrestling preview

By Kevin Hieronymus
Princeton's Ace Christiansen gets a leg up against Morrison's Pruis Thursday night at Prouty Gym.

Princeton junior Ace Christiansen and the Tiger wrestlers will compete in Saturday's Sandwich Regional. (Mike Vaughn)

Boys 1A Regionals

At Sandwich

Teams: Amboy, Marquette, Mendota, Princeton, Putnam County-Hall, St. Bede. Other teams - Aurora Central Catholic, Lisle, Mooseheart, Sandwich, Somonauk.

Worthy of note: Princeton sends three state-ranked wrestlers into the postseason, including No. 1 ranked sophomore Augustus Swanson (27-1) at 106 pounds. Junior Cade Odell (25-1) is ranked No. 4 at heavyweight and classmate Ace Christiansen (30-4), who recently joined the coveted PHS 100-win club, is No. 7 at 138. Sophomore Casey Etheridge (26-7) received honorable mention at 165. Senior Preston Arkels brings in a 25-11 record at 157. PHS coach Steve Amy said this is the weekend the Tigers, who are ranked 18th in Class 1A as a team, have been looking forward to all season. “The start of the State Series is always fun and exciting,” he said. “We get to see the hard work that our guys have put in both in the off season and during the season pay off. We feel that we have a shot at being in the mix as a team, but we have to have a complete team effort to do so.” ... St. Bede boasts three solid hopefuls with senior Hunter Savage (132/30-14) and juniors Logan Pineda (150/32-9) and Garrett Connelly (175/26-16). ... Sandwich is receiving honorable mention in the rankings by Illinois Mat Men.

Advancement: Top four wrestlers at each class advance to the Byron Sectional on Feb. 9-10 along with qualifiers from the Newman, Stillman Valley and Johnsburg regionals.

Augustus Swanson

Augustus Swanson

Girls 1A Regionals

At Geneseo

Worthy of note: Princeton has four sectional qualifiers, including sophomore Izzy Gibson (17-4) at 140, who was regional runner-up at the Erie Regional and drew a bye. She’ll be joined by freshmen Abby Harris (115/7-7) and Jayden Klingenberg (125/3-8) and senior Heather Heider (170/8-6). Putnam County-Hall sends a pair of regional runners-up in junior Bailey Herr (190/11-7) and sophomore Ella Irwin (235/6-5). Herr placed third at sectionals last year to qualify for the girls state. ... The top four place-finishers at each weight class will advance to state the next weekend.

Bailey Herr

Bailey Herr

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