Wrestling: Individuals from five area teams win championships at Erie-Prophetstown Holiday Tournament

ERIE – Seven Sauk Valley area boys wrestling teams competed at the 15-team Erie-Prophetstown Holiday Tournament on Saturday, while several local girls tangled in their own tournament of 23 wrestlers in front of a packed crowd at Erie High School.

Champions were crowned for five of the seven local teams in attendance, and two of the five girls brackets were won by locals.

Lena-Winslow/Stockton claimed the team championship with 240 points, Illini Bluffs was the runner-up with 146, and Fulton came in third with 135.

The Steamers’ Zane Pannell went up a weight class and won the 182-pound championship, pinning Lena-Winslow/Stockton’s Jace Phillips in 2:22.

“I knew [Phillips] was going to be a decent wrestler, but I knew he wasn’t going to be as good as me. So I just went in there trying to have fun and tried to get another pin,” Pannell said of the championship match.

“Yesterday, I moved to 182 from 170. I think 70 would’ve been the same result. When I moved to 82, I was hoping to wrestle [Lena-Winslow/Stockton’s Griffin] Luke, but he went 95. But I’ll get a match with him this year.”

Broden VenHuizen took second at 132 after a 13-0 major-decision loss to Illini Bluffs’ Ian O’Connor, while Ben Fosdick (145) fell 10-4 to Illini Bluffs’ Paul Ishikawa to finish second, and Mason Kuebel (170) and Braiden Damhoff (285) added a pair of fourth-place finishes for Fulton.

Newman finished seventh with 89 points. Carter Rude won the 138-pound championship, pinning Rockridge’s Reese Finch in 1:32, on his way to being named the Outstanding Wrestler for the lower weights.

“Just going out there and staying on your attack the whole match, staying after the guy and getting it done,” Rude said about the key to winning his title match. “I got [the tournament] done in three pins – I think they were all in the first period – so pretty dominating. I think it went well.”

Zyhler Hansen (113) and Briar Ivey (120) added fourth-place finishes for the Comets.

Polo took ninth with 87.5 points, led by 113-pound champion Josiah Perez.

Perez pinned Illini Bluffs’ Hunter Robbins in 5:12 to take the title.

“Probably just staying calm, not overthinking stuff. Keep good pressure, good head position,” Perez said about how he won the title match. “For the first high school tournament, it felt good. I liked how it went.”

Lucas Nelson (126) pinned Lena-Winslow/Stockton’s Mauricio Glass in 4:26 for a third-place finish, and Maddux Hayden (195) added a fourth-place finish for the Marcos.

Rock Falls placed sixth with 100.5 points, led by a second-place finish and two third-place finishes.

Josiah Tarbill lost a 6-1 decision to West Carroll’s Connor Knop in the 106-pound championship, finishing second. In the third-place match at 120 pounds, Aaron Meenen won a 6-4 decision against Newman’s Briar Ivey, while at 285, Jacob Hosler pinned Fulton’s Braiden Damhoff in 26 seconds to take third.

“It was fun,” Hosler said. “We saw a bunch of different guys, a bunch of new guys that I haven’t seen in the past year, but it was fun overall.”

Erie-Prophetstown came in 11th with 76 points. Jase Grunder dropped weight and won the 152-pound championship, defeating Lena-Winslow/Stockton’s Garrett Luke 3-2 by decision. He was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the upper weights, after winning the same honor two weeks ago at the Carson DeJarnatt Tournament in Sterling.

“Just winning on my feet, that’s the key. You’ve gotta win on your feet to win a match, and that’s what I did,” Grunder said of the championship match. “I think I performed very well [overall in the tournament]. I’ve kind of had this one marked on my calendar, get my revenge on [Luke] from last year, and I got it.”

“He’s a top-ranked kid, and I went and dropped down to 52 instead of 60 just to wrestle him.”

The Panthers’ Wyatt Goossens took second at 126 after a 12-3 major-decision loss to Rockridge’s Jude Finch, while Luke Otten (182) added a fourth-place finish.

West Carroll finished 14th with 39 points, led by 106-pound champion Knop.

“Hard work in practice, preparation, getting ready mentally and physically,” Knop said, citing reasons for his tournament success. “The tournament was pretty fun. Lot of teams here. Getting us ready for regionals, the state series. I think it was a great experience. First year as a high schooler, so pretty fun.”

Morrison took 10th with 82 points, getting two third-place and two-fourth place finishes. Brady Anderson won by default over Mercer County’s Eli Burns in the 152-pound third-place match, and Logan Baker pinned East Peoria’s Tom Flowers in 5:23 for the other third-place finish at 160. Zach Milder (132) and Camden Pruis (138) added fourth-place finishes for the Mustangs.

E-P’s Michelle Naftzger won the eight-wrestler Bracket B of the girls tournament, defeating East Peoria’s Ahriel Watts in the championship match.

“Just don’t walk out scared, don’t get in your head about it before you walk out there,” Naftzger said of how she won the title match. “Just have your moves planned out, what you’re going to do, and don’t give up halfway through.

“I’m glad with how I did [in the tournament]; however, I was kind of upset that they didn’t really treat the girls equally. The boys got the face-off and we finished way before them, but other than that I think it was good.”

Rock Falls’ Ellisa Russell won the three-wrestler Bracket D, defeating ROWVA’s DaLonna Buckeley in the championship match.

In Bracket A, Fulton’s Camryn Lippens finished second out of six, losing the championship match to East Peoria’s Bailey Lusch.