After placing fourth in the IHSA Class 1A state tournament last season, Princeton senior Casey Etheridge made it his goal to move up the podium.

He nearly made it to the top.

Etheridge reached the 165-pound championship match, in which he lost by 12-2 major decision to Althoff senior Pierre Walton, who won the 2A state title as a junior at East St. Louis.

“It’s a good feeling to get second,” Etheridge said. “I got fourth last year so my goal was to take it a step further and get a better place. I met that goal, but once you reach a place like the state finals, you don’t want it to end there. So getting second place isn’t exactly what I wanted, but I felt like as long as I went out there and put 100% of my effort in, I couldn’t be too disappointed in myself.”

Classmate Augustus Swanson also ended up as a state runner-up, finishing second at 113 after a 7-0 loss to Newman sophomore Landon Near.

“It’s really good to get on the podium, especially since I didn’t last year,” said Swanson, who placed fifth as a sophomore. “Obviously, I was going for first, but I’m proud of myself for pushing through and getting up there.

“It still hurts that I didn’t win, but I’ve got better things coming for me.”

Etheridge and Swanson are the first Princeton wrestlers to reach the state title match since Ty Taylor placed second in 2009.

“Finishing in the finals is a dream,” Etheridge said. “I’ve wrestled so long, and to get to experience the grand march and all of this, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Etheridge recorded an escape in the first period and trailed 3-1 after the first two minutes. He started in the down position to start the second period and scored another escape to pull within 3-2, but Walton built an 8-2 lead by the end of the second period.

“At the beginning of the year, I had a lot of mental struggles with losing some tough matches, but my coaches kept reminding me that nothing matters until February. And I felt like it really showed because I was able to develop and make the finals. Second place isn’t where I wanted it to end, but going from fourth to second shows growth.”

In the 113 final, Near scored a first-period takedown and led 3-0 after the first two minutes. The score remained 3-0 going to the third period, in which Near tacked on an escape and a takedown.

Also for Princeton, sophomore Kane Dauber placed fourth at 138.

Dauber pinned Unity freshman AJ Daly in 5:33 in the blood round to guarantee himself a medal. He then defeated Coal City senior Luke Munsterman by 9-2 decision to earn a spot in the third-place match.

Dauber lost 7-1 to Oakwood sophomore Devin Ehler in the third-place match.

- Joel Boenitz contributed to this story