With the calendar turning to February, it’s crunch time for basketball and wrestling. The wrestlers will be in the midst of it Friday, Feb. 13, at Byron for the individual sectional, always one of the top sporting events of the school year.

Several years ago, when I was on the wrestling beat, I preferred the sectional to the state meet. You know more of the wrestlers and the action sometimes can be just as intense.

Josiah Perez of Oregon takes an undefeated 39-0 record into the sectional. The 120-pounder seeks to become only the third Hawks state champion after finishing sixth last year. Another county grappler with a gaudy record is junior Brody Stien of Byron. The 175-pounder is 41-1.

As expected, Lena-Winslow, with four wrestlers ranked No. 1 in the state, finished ahead of Oregon and Byron at the regional. In 2024, Byron upset Lena-Winslow at the regional and Oregon beat them last year.

It wasn’t even close this time. Lena-Winslow took the title by 77 points over Oregon.

The top showing in a 1A regional came at Coal City, where the home team qualified its entire team for the sectional, including 11 individual champs. At least the Coalers are in a different sectional.

One former wrestling powerhouse that seems to have changed into a basketball school is Dakota, which was a distant sixth at the regional. Meanwhile, their hoops team is 24-1, with its lone loss to Byron at the Forreston tourney.

With its football team barely getting enough players out to field a team, the makeup of athletes certainly has changed at Dakota. Still, it’s hard to get away from a former football/wrestling mindset.

Is $12 at the door too much for admission into a wrestling regional, or $10 per session at a sectional? For a family, that can be a bit much and there has been some grumbling from fans about it.

At the sectional there are three sessions, with the gym cleared each time for readmission. Say you’re bringing grandparents, a couple of kids and a spouse. That’s $180 if you choose to attend all three sessions and pay cash.

The IHSA sets all postseason ticket prices and they have gone up considerably over the years. Compared to other forms of entertainment, such as the $359 ticket I purchased to see the Eagles at the Sphere in Las Vegas last weekend, high school sports ticket prices are still somewhat value-oriented.

Still, it would be nice if the IHSA could give consideration to families struggling to pay their way in this era of inflation. Then again, the IHSA policy probably has to be the same for everyone, whereas individual schools have more leeway in pricing structure.

Sterling Newman took its first basketball boys loss of the season to drop to 24-1, with Mendota blowing the Comets out 65-46. That’s not an anomaly. With eight wins by single digits, the Comets were due for a loss. Additionally, Mendota (20-5) has its best team in 30 years.

A 2A sectional host, Mendota might be the team to beat for Byron (which beat Mendota 69-65 last month), Lutheran, Oregon and Winnebago. Watch out for Aurora Christian, too.

Oregon is well on its way to its first 20-win season in 10 years, with a shot at Mendota on Feb. 14 at home. The Hawks still need to prove they can be competitive with quality opponents.

Several years ago during some lean times, Oregon downgraded its schedule to include more 1A opponents and that still is the case today with 13 1A teams. However, the Hawks’ best win so far was a 77-53 blowout from start to finish over a decent 3A opponent in Rochelle.

Congratulations to Jim Spencer and Matt Gingrich of Sterling for broadcasting their 1,000th Sterling sporting event (718 basketball games, 211 football, 71 baseball/softball). Having in-house talent like that provides Sterling with a great media presence.

I’ve known both since they started in 1997 and they have a passion for high school sports, something needed for anyone covering prep sports. Spencer is more of the trained professional and Gingrich the knowledgeable fan type. And it is more than just game broadcasts. The pair has experimented into other platforms over the years.

As newspaper coverage has changed over the years, it’s nice to see schools being covered in other ways. However, it’s got to be tough on the mothers who had grown accustomed to clipping articles out of a newspaper for a scrapbook for a son or daughter.

Getting back to that Eagles concert at the Sphere, I honestly can say that the show was worth every cent paid. The combination of their music and the technologically advanced venue made it a musical experience unlike no other.

But when it comes down to it, the Eagles at the Sphere can’t hold a candle to seeing one’s son or daughter compete in an IHSA state series tournament. That is truly priceless.

Finally, congratulations to Caden Considine of Byron for earning a Division I scholarship for football, giving him bragging rights over grandpa Rick at Northern Illinois and father Sean at Iowa.

• Andy Colbert is a longtime Ogle County resident with years of experience covering sports and more for multiple area publications.