Coal City qualifies 14 in title win at Herscher Regional

By Curt Herron – for the IWCOA

When your program was a state champion two years ago and just missed winning another title last season, you usually don’t require any boosts right as the postseason starts to let everyone know that you are well-positioned to be back in the mix for top honors on the final day of competition.

Still, Coal City entered the IHSA Class 1A Herscher Regional ready to show what it’s made of as it kicked off a postseason run that it hopes results in the program’s eighth state trophy since 2015 and its second state championship for 2022 IWCOA Hall of Fame inductee coach Mark Masters, who recently joined an exclusive club of coaches who’ve won 500 dual meets.. 

And the Coalers’ first result of the IHSA state series was a complete and dominating success as it finished with 10 champions, 12 finalists and qualified all 14 who took part for the individual sectional that they are hosting this weekend. Only one other team in Class 1A qualified all 14 of its individuals for a sectional, Chicago Hope Academy, which is also at the Coal City Sectional.

Coal City finished with 313.5 points, which was 164 ahead of runner-up Reed-Custer, who scored 149.5 points. Seneca (137) took third and Clifton Central/ Iroquois West co-op (130.5) was fourth while Bishop McNamara (92.5), Wilmington (74.5), Herscher (59), Peotone (45), Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington co-op (34) and Manteno (30) were next in line.

While the Coalers enter the postseason ranked third behind top-ranked Vandalia, who took fourth place last year, and defending Class 1A champion Marian Central Catholic, they’ve right there on two occasions with the Vandals, falling in the final match in the semifinals at ABE’s Rumble and were not far behind them while claiming second place at the Lyle King Princeton Invitational Tournament. 

Beside the fact that all but two of their 11 state qualifiers from a year ago are back, and four of those won medals in Champaign including a champion and runner-up, the team’s bond is very strong since most have been together since starting their careers in the Lil’ Coalers Wrestling Club. 

And the team is proud that its lineup is one of the strongest in Class 1A with a 414-92 (.818 percent) overall record for its regional entrants while facing one of the toughest schedules of any small school in the state. And the team likes the fact that everyone not only has good practice partners, but others also get into the mix, which gives each individual a variety of styles that they can see on a consistent basis.

Add to that a large and veteran coaching staff that most Class 3A and 2A programs would be proud of, and you’ve got a real formidable opponent that is very motivated to capture its second IHSA Class 1A Dual Team title in three years.

Champions for the Coalers were Owen Petersen (37-2 at 113), Culan Lindemuth (31-10 at 120), Cooper Morris (34-5 at 126), Luke Munsterman (34-11 at 132), Brody Widlowski (21-0 at 138), Aidan Kenney (33-10 at 144), Mason Garner (29-6 at 157), Brock Finch (27-7 at 165), Landin Benson (35-2 at 175) and John Keigher (29-1 at 215). Taking second were Cade Poyner (29-6 at 190) and Alec Waliczek (20-5 at 285) while Jason Piatak (30-15 at 106) and Noah Houston (25-12 at 150) were third. 

After taking third place in their first match of the finals, the Coalers won the next six titles before claiming their other third-place finish. Then it was three consecutive championships before going 1-2 in the final three matches on the title mat.

Beside hosting the individual sectional this weekend, Coal City is also the host for the Class 1A Dual Team Sectional on February 25, with the other three teams on hand being Chicago Hope Academy, King College Prep and Northridge Prep.

“They’re having a lot of fun in the practice room,” Masters said. “I know that sounds really cliched, but after practice is over, you can hear the guys chirping at one another about, ‘Hey, I gave you the beating today’, so it’s very competitive. These guys have been together for quite some time and our J-V team is really solid, and  I bet we had seven or eight kids that could have qualified today. Everybody is fighting to get into that lineup, but some guys are sophomores or juniors and they just have to wait their turn. So it’s highly-competitive in the practice room.

“If things go according to plans, we get a chance to wrestle Marian in the semis if we’re able to continue to win, and you get a chance to win that one back, and if we get past those guys, then you get a chance at Vandalia. But you’ve got to stay healthy and you’ve got to be lucky. There’s so many things that have to go your way. We have a handful of guys that can get on the awards stand and everybody wants to be on the top of it. 

“We won my 500th dual, and I’ve been blessed. I’ve had talent, I’ve had great parents, great families and great support at the administration level. The program is only as good as the kids that are in it. You just have to be able to guide the ship and hopefully the kids follow in that direction.”

Seneca coach Todd Yegge recently recorded his 400th dual meet victory and he had two title winners, Raiden Terry (44-1 at 106) and Jeremy Gagnon (44-1 at 285), who both have only lost one match this season. The other regional champion was Wilmington’s Logan Van Duyne (36-4 at 190).

Runner-up Reed-Custer settled for six second-place finishes and had eight sectional qualifiers while Seneca qualified six, Clifton Central co-op advanced five and Bishop McNamara had four sectional qualifiers. Herscher and Wilmington each had two advance and Dwight co-op is sending one individual to Coal City. 

Herscher coach Austin Headrick was a two-time IHSA medalist at Wilmington for IWCOA Hall of Fame coach Rob Murphy. He and his staff along with Tigers athletic director Joel Huizenga and the administration at the school deserve recognition for doing a fine job in hosting the regional.

Here are the champions of the IHSA Class 1A Herscher Regional and their weight classes:

106 – Raiden Terry, Seneca

Raiden Terry heads into the IHSA Class 1A Coal City Sectional feeling very good about his prospects of making a return trip to state and getting his first medal in Champaign after the Seneca sophomore captured the 106 title at the Herscher Regional with a victory by technical fall in 5:43 over Reed-Custer freshman Colton Drinkwine to improve to 44-1. Top-ranked at 106, he hasn’t lost in 2025 and his lone defeat came to Benton’s Cohen Sweely at ABE’s Rumble.

Terry was one of two champions and three finalists for the Fighting Irish, whose coach Todd Yegge recently got his 400th dual meet victory at Seneca. In his only other match, he also won by technical fall, prevailing in 2:34 over Manteno freshman Carter Webber in the semifinals.He was one of two individuals who claimed two wins by technical fall and did so the quickest.

“I’ve just been getting my weight down and keeping that under control,” Terry said. “Really my mindset is I don’t know how I’m going to lose when I go out there. It’s really fun being out there and I’d like to give all the glory to God. I pray before all of my matches. I always have a ton of confidence in myself when I go out there. Last year I went 1-2 (at state), but I was a freshman and a little under-sized last year. But I’m a lot bigger and I’m coming for gold.”

Drinkwine (40-5), who’s fifth-ranked and was one of six finalists who all took second place for coach Yale Davis’ Comets, won an 8-2 decision over Coal City freshman Jason Piatak in the semifinals. In the third-place match, Piatak became one of the 14 sectional qualifiers for coach Mark Masters’ Coalers when he recorded a fall in 3:45 over Webber (19-17).

113 – Owen Petersen, Coal City

Owen Petersen became the first of Coal City’s 10 champions when the sophomore claimed the title at 113 by recording a fall in 1:12 over Reed-Custer freshman Cole Harris. Petersen (37-2), who took sixth place at 106 in the IHSA 1A Finals in 2024, is ranked fifth and has only lost to two of the top three at his weight class, Vandalia’s Max Philpot and Olympia’s Dylan Eimer. 

Petersen was one of 12 finalists for the Coalers, who won the team championship with 313.5 points, which was 164 points ahead of runner-up Reed-Custer. His only other match was in the semifinals, where he got a fall in 22 seconds over Bishop McNamara freshman Landon Benoit. He was one of four Coalers who tied with two others for fourth place for the most team points with 24.

“We’ve had a couple of injuries, so I’m happy to see them back and giving their all,” Petersen said. “Practices are tough and we work on everything the coaches see and what we need to improve on. And good practice partners are definitely the first step, you have to have someone to push you. I’ve been with them my whole life, so I know a lot about everybody and I know what they like and what they don’t like.”

Harris (31-12), one of the six-second-place finishers for the runner-up Comets, also only had to compete in the semifinals prior to the title match and he won that with a pin in 1:39 over Seneca freshman Chris Thompson (33-12), who advanced with a fall in 2:33 over Benoit for third place.

120 – Culan Lindemuth, Coal City

Culan Lindemuth was the second of six-straight Coalers who won titles at the 1A Herscher Regional when the senior collected a win by technical fall in 4:11 over Reed-Custer sophomore Kaaden Wood in the 120 championship match. Coal City ended up with 10 title winners, 12 finalists and 14 qualifiers for the sectional that it will be hosting this weekend.

Lindemuth (31-10), a three-time state qualifier who hopes to make a fourth trip to Champaign and claim his initial medal at the IHSA Finals, only had to wrestle in the semifinals to reach the title mat and won there when he got a pin in 2:36 over Peotone sophomore Blake Anderson.

“We’re all friends, we bond together, we’re good together and we have good practice partners,” Lindemuth said. “This year, we’ll make another run at it. We still have Marian to handle and still have Vandalia, and they’re two tough teams but I think we can get it done. These past two years I’ve been practice partners with Cooper Morris, he placed last year and I unfortunately, didn’t. But we make each other better and we find ways to win. He’s a great practice partner and he has a great attitude and he’s very aggressive.”

Wood (32-10), one of six second-placed finishers as well as eight qualifiers for the Coal City Sectional for the runner-up Comets, won his only other match when he captured an 11-3 major decision in the semifinals over Herscher sophomore Owen Bollino (30-9), who went on to claim third place with a fall in 3:34 over Anderson (28-17). Bollino and Seneca’s Raiden Terry were the only individuals to get two wins by technical fall and he ranked second in match points with 45.

126 – Cooper Morris, Coal City 

Cooper Morris joined Owen Petersen with quality freshmen seasons at Coal City as the both placed at state with Morris finishing fifth at 113 in the IHSA Finals in 2024. He was one of its 14 sectional qualifiers and became the third of 10 champions at the Class 1A Herscher Regional when he won by fall in 1:47 in the 126 title match over Reed-Custer junior Jayden Sanchez.

Morris (34-5), who’s ranked third at 126 behind Vandalia’s Tyson Waughtel and Althoff Catholic’s Dawson Hawthorne, became one of the 12 Coalers to reach the title mat when he got a pin in 1:05 over Clifton Central/ Iroquois West freshman Owen Robinson in the semifinals. He tied for fourth place with 24 team points, making him one of eight Coalers who ranked in the top 10 in that category. 

“We’re just as good as last year,” Morris said. “And I think even better than last year since we only had one senior in the lineup and we filled that spot. We’re solid 106 to heavyweight so I think this is our year. We have great practice partners and we’re always pushing each other, it’s just a great room. And we have a lot of great coaches. We’re family and we’ve been wrestling together since we were four and five. We started in Lil’ Coalers and have just been a team ever since. There’s great team bonding and we play other sports together.”

Sanchez (35-10), the fourth of six Comets who claimed second-place finishes and one of their eight qualifier for the Coal City Sectional, opened with a first-minute pin before claiming a victory by technical fall in 4:46 in the semifinals over Herscher sophomore Everett Osenga (19-7), who bounced back from that defeat to finish third after getting a pin in 3:04 over Robinson (23-23).

132 – Luke Munsterman, Coal City

Luke Munsterman was the only one of Coal City’s 10 champions at the Class 1A Herscher Regional who had the go the whole six minutes in his title match and he did that after needing less than a minute in each of his first two matches. The Coalers junior captured a 6-5 decision over Bishop McNamara junior Blake Arseneau in the 132 title match to be part of a run of six-straight championship wins from 113 to 144.

Munsterman (34-11), who’s ranked tenth and hopes to qualify for the IHSA Finals for the first time this year, got a pin in 0:48 in his opener and needed 0:43 to win by fall in the semifinals over Clifton Central co-op sophomore Everett Bailey to become one of the Coalers’ 12 finalists.

“Two years ago, we won state and the team performed really well,” Munsterman said. “And last year, we lost by one match, so this year, we’re hoping to get another one. We only lost two seniors from last year. We all love the sport, and if you love the sport, then you’ll succeed.”

Arseneau (22-12), the lone finalist and one of four qualifiers for coach Jacob Kimberlin’s Fightin’ Irish, won his opener by technical fall and then recorded a pin in 3:29 over Seneca’s Ryker Terry in the semifinals. For third place, Bailey (7-2) won by fall in 5:51 over Wilmington sophomore Oakley Rivera (22-13) to become one of the five sectional qualifiers for Clifton Central co-op.

138 – Brody Widlowski, Coal City

Brody Widlowski found himself in a unique spot at the end of the IHSA Class 1A Herscher Regional as he was the lone unbeaten champion when the Coal City junior improved to 21-0 after handing Reed-Custer senior Jeremy Eggleston just his second loss in 43 matches with a win by technical fall in 5:58 in the 138 finals to become one of his team’s 10 title winners.

Widlowski is ranked second to Rockridge’s Jude Finch, who is 35-0 and won the IHSA 1A title at 132 last season and is a two-time state medalist. The Coaler junior took second place at 126 last season after placing fourth at 113 in 2023.  After opening with a pin in 55 seconds, he got another fall in 1:36 in the semifinals over Bishop McNamara junior Alex Kostecka. He ranked third in team points with 27.5, 0.5 points behind teammates Landin Benson and John Keigher.

“We’re trying to get better and get that title this year,” Widlowski said. “We all try to put work in to make everyone better every day, and we have a good, solid lineup. We have like seven coaches and a lot of them focus on J-V, too, so if there’s a gap in there, someone steps right up and is ready to go. We’re all a family, we’ve all been in the same program from Lil’ Coalers to high school, so we’ve all been buddies and we all hang out, outside of wrestling, too, so we do it for each other more than anything.”

Eggleston (41-2), a senior who is ranked fifth and was one of six second-place finishers and eight sectional qualifiers for coach Yale Davis’ runner-up Comets, hopes to get back to state, which he qualified for in 2023, and also win his first medal in Champaign. He followed a pin in the first minute with a fall in 1:54 in the semifinals over Seneca junior Avery Phillips. In the third-place match, Kostecka (28-17) captured a 12-4 major decision over Phillips (37-11).

144 – Aidan Kenney, Coal City

Aidan Kenney capped a run of six-straight championships for Coal City from 113 to 144 at the Class 1A Herscher Regional and eventually he was one of 10 title winners, 12 finalists and 14 qualifiers for coach Mark Masters’ Coalers for the sectional that they will host this weekend. He claimed top honors at 144 when he recorded a fall in 3:08 over Clifton Central/ Iroquois West junior Evan Cox.

Kenney, a 2023 state qualifier who is ranked eighth, hopes to get back to Champaign this year and also to win a medal for the first time. He recorded a first-minute pin in his opener and followed that up with a 12-0 major decision over Herscher’s Alex Mendez in the semifinals.

“It starts in the wrestling room with our coaches,” Kenney said. “They really push us and all of our practice partners are also great, so we can switch around and get different styles of wrestling. We have a bunch of coaches and they’re really good at multiple things so we get a mix of knowledge. We’re all friends so we can push each other in the wrestling room and that really helps us.”

Cox (39-9) one of three finalists and five sectional qualifiers for Clifton Central co-op, got a pin in 56 seconds in his first match and then earned his spot in the 144 finals with another fall, this one in 4:44 over Peotone senior Dalton Sala in the semifinals. Bishop McNamara junior Cole Kimberlin (18-11) got pinned by Sala in the quarterfinals but then won three-straight matches to claim third place, avenging his defeat earlier in the day by capturing a 17-7 major decision over Sala.

150 – Dylan Crouch, Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington

Dylan Crouch claimed fifth at 138 in the IHSA Class 1A Finals last season to give him his first medal in three state appearances. Now the senior for the Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington co-op team hopes to finish higher on the awards stand in Champaign and join Anthony Bauer, who won medals in 2013 and 2014, as the only two-time all-staters in the Trojans’ history. He made some history on Saturday by winning his fourth-straight regional championship when he claimed a 7-2 decision over Clifton Central/ Iroquois West senior Gianni Panozzo in the 150 title match.

Crouch (42-3), who’s ranked fourth, hopes to become his program’s all-time leader in victories this weekend at the Coal City Sectional. He was the lone finalist and sectional qualifier for coach Jim Gussman’s Trojans. He opened with a first-period fall before winning another close match in the semifinals, rallying from an early deficit to capture a 9-7 decision over Peotone senior Connor Pasch.

“In my semifinal match I was down 6-2 and that hasn’t happened much to me this year,” Crouch said. “I wanted it more than that kid, that’s all that it comes down to. There have been quite a few records I’ve broken this year and I’m still chasing one. I think I’m three wins away from the all-time school win record. I grind it out in the practice room every single day. I go in there with the mindset that I want to get better and I just work on stuff that I need to work on. Coming from Dwight, we don’t have a very big room now so you’ve got to make do with what you’ve got.”

Panozzo (41-5), who is ranked sixth and is a two-time state qualifier, hopes to get his first state medal this year. Only nine Comets have ever reached the awards stand in Champaign and the last one to do that was Thomas Konetski in 2019. He claimed a victory by technical fall in his first match and then won a 13-5 decision in the semifinals over Coal City junior Noah Houston (25-12), who won by fall in 5:28 over Pasch (29-11) to become one of the Coalers’ two third-place finishers.

157 – Mason Garner, Coal City

Mason Garner started a run of three-straight titles for Coal City at the Herscher Regional after his teammates had earlier won six championships in a row when he captured top honors at 157 with a fall in 1:29 over Clifton Central/ Iroquois West junior Giona Panozzo. The Coalers junior qualified for the IHSA Finals last season and hopes to make a return trip to Champaign and pick up his first medal there.

Garner (29-6), who’s ranked fifth, was one of 10 champions, 12 finalists and 14 qualifiers for the sectional that coach Mark Masters’ Coalers are hosting this weekend. He only had to compete in the semifinals and he wasn’t on the mat for long since he needed 24 seconds to record a fall over Manteno freshman Lucas Hetman.

“We’ve been putting  in a lot of work in the wrestling room,” Garner said. “We’ve got depth at every weight, including our J-V guys. (The coaches) They’re really good in the practice room for us. We’ve been together since Lil’ Coalers wrestling, we’ve been all together the whole time. It’s definitely the goal to get back in the team state finals and individual state finals, too. I like the hard work and dedication in our practice room.”

Panozzo (33-12), who also qualified for state last season, opened with a first-minute fall and he assured that Clifton Central co-op would have three-straight matches on the title mat when he won by fall in 2:57 over Seneca’s Ryan Flynn in the semifinals. In the third-place match, Reed-Custer freshman Reed Newbrough (26-16) claimed a 6-3 decision over Hetman (14-14), avenging a 9-5 quarterfinal loss, in what proved to be Manteno’s best hope to get a sectional qualifier. 

165 – Brock Finch, Coal City

Brock Finch hopes that the third time’s the charm this season as the Coal City junior seeks a third state trip but also an initial medal there. He became the Coalers’ eighth champion at the Herscher Regional when he won the 165 title with a fall in 2:57 over Seneca senior Nick Grant.

Finch (27-7), who’s ranked fifth, got his first match in the semifinals and only needed 0:51 to pin Herscher sophomore Brayden Crews. He was one of the 10 champions and 14 Coalers who advanced to their own sectional, which includes individuals from the Chicago Hope Academy, Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville and the Walther Christian Academy regionals.

“It really helps with the momentum coming from everyone winning,” Finch said. “We’ve been going through a lot of hard work at practice to prepare us for team state and normal state. We definitely are a lot better because we’ve been working way harder lately and just been putting in the work. Our team, we really don’t have any holes at all, so we come in prepared and think that we’re going to win at every single weight and every dual. Our whole group has been together since Lil’ Coalers, the wrestling club we have, and we’ve been good ever since then.”

Grant (34-13), one of three finalists and six sectional qualifiers for coach Todd Yegge’s Fighting Irish, was a winner by technical fall in his opening match and then he earned his spot on the 165 title mat by claiming a 5-1 decision over Reed-Custer junior Aiden Schultz, who bounced back from that setback to claim third place and qualify by recording a fall in 5:23 over Crews (20-14).

175 – Landin Benson, Coal City

Landin Benson is a man on a mission and he needs to be considering that he was the IHSA champion at 165 in 2024 and is top-ranked at 175 in a bracket that features two 2024 state finalists, Lena-Winslow/ Stockton’s Eli Larson and Tremont’s Bowden Delaney, as well as a fourth-place medalist from a year ago, Hoopeston Area/ Milford’s Angel Zamora. The Coalers senior became his team’s ninth champion at the Herscher Regional when he won the title at 175 with a fall in 1:22 over Wilmington sophomore Will Wilson.

Benson (35-2), who hopes that a third state appearance is as productive as his second one was, needed 44 seconds to get a pin in the quarterfinals and then only required 28 seconds to wrap up his semifinal victory over Dwight/ Gardner-South Wilmington junior Gavin Bafia. Nine individuals recorded three falls and he only used 2:34, which was about half of the time that it took the next-best in the most pins in the least time category. He also tied teammate John Keigher, who took first at 215 to become the Coalers’ tenth champ, for the most team points with 28.

“We have a great team and we’ve been working hard all year, and we have the coaches in the room and we have the talent,” Benson said. “So we just needed some hard work and it’s paying off right now and we’re just hoping that we will carry that on to team sectionals and team state. It’s all coming together right now so we’ll see how it turns out. We’ve got Joey Breneman in the room and he was on the state championship team, so he’s coaching now and he’s been working us. You want to win both team state and individual and when you win both, it’s kind of motivational to keep going and want more.”

Wilson (24-9), who was the first of two finalists and also one of two sectional qualifiers for coach Nick Dziuban’s Wildcats, won his opener with a first-minute fall and then earned his spot on the 175 title mat against Benson with a pin in 5:24 over Reed-Custer’s Nathan Vogler in the semifinals. Seneca sophomore Alex Gagnon (26-11) dropped a 12-10 decision in the quarterfinals to Bafia (24-20), but he responded with two falls and then won 15-6 over Bafia to claim third place.

190 – Logan Van Duyne, Wilmington

Logan Van Duyne already has experienced one of the joys of high school sports, and that’s being a member of a state championship team and that’s what the Wilmington junior was able to be a part of in 2023 when the Wildcats lost to Seneca in their first game and then won 13 in a row, capped by a 28-3 victory over Athens in the IHSA Class 2A championship game. Now the defensive lineman this past fall on another successful team for longtime coach Jeff Reents hopes to experience a higher level of individual success as he not only looks to get back to the state finals but he’d like to make it to the awards stand in a second trip to Champaign.

Van Duyne (36-4), who’s ranked seventh, won the 190 championship at the Herscher Regional with a fall in 5:43 over Coal City junior Cade Poyner, who had beaten Van Duyne twice this season. One of two finalists and sectional qualifiers for coach Nick Dziuban’s Wildcats. He also won his other two matches with pins, needing 1:06 in his opener before he got a victory in the semifinals by recording a fall in 4:47 over Bishop McNamara senior Ethan Pfeiffer. He finished in a six-way tie for fourth place in most team points with 24.

“Some of our coaches are from that group, the golden era of Wilmington, and I’m just grateful to have them in there,” Van Duyne said. “It was definitely something special there with them. I love wearing Wilmington on my chest, it’s something to try to live up to that legacy that they set. People definitely think of Wilmington as a football town but wrestling is not too far from it. There’s definitely a strong sense of community and we have some of our club here watching us wrestle and it’s fun to put on a show for them. I definitely hit the offseason hard, going to Joliet and wrestling there and in club. Doing Freestyle has definitely been pretty cool and I qualified for Fargo. There was a lot of social networking and I met a lot of good people.”

Poyner (29-6), a first-time state qualifier in 2024 who was ranked fifth, was one of 12 finalists and 14 sectional qualifiers for the champion Coalers. He followed a first-minute pin with a win by technical fall in 2:42 in the semifinals over Seneca junior Landen Venecia (32-9), who bounced back from that loss to claim third place after winning a 13-4 major decision over Pfeiffer (23-13).

 215 – John Keigher, Coal City

John Keigher is ranked ninth at 215 but one reason for that may be that everyone above him has competed in the IHSA Finals while he has not. The Coal City senior hopes to cap a great final season by joining several of his teammates with an initial state trip and maybe even claim a medal in Champaign. He improved to 29-1 and became the Coalers’ tenth champion at the Herscher Regional when he won by fall in 5:50 over Reed-Custer junior Dominic Alaimo in the 215 finals.

Keigher, unbeaten since falling in the semifinals at Princeton’s Lyle King PIT to Mt. Zion’s Keller Stocks, who’s ranked third, the senior made quick work of his first two opponents, getting a pin in 0:38 in his opener and then needing just 0:42 to wrap up his semifinal match against Seneca’s Colton Angeloff and make him one of 12 finalists for the champion Coalers. He and teammate Landin Benson led everyone in the regional with the most team points with 28.

“We definitely expected this,” Keigher said. “I’d say It’s because of the partners that we have in the room. Everyone is just super hard-working. We lost a few people from last year, including our two seniors who qualified for state. But everyone just works so hard, so it’s easier to replace some guys. When you have good kids on the team, it just makes higher expectations for kids that might not be in the same spot as them, forcing them to work harder to build for these tournaments.”

Alaimo (39-5), who’s ranked fourth and made his first trip downstate last season, was one of six Comets who reached the title mat and took second place. He followed a quick fall in his opener with a pin in 5:24 in the semifinals over Clifton Central/ Iroquois West junior Brody O’Connor (29-13), who took third place after getting a pin in 5:33 over Wilmington junior Memphis Iwen (11-11).  

285 – Jeremy Gagnon, Seneca

Jeremy Gagnon is quick to point out that even though he’s won every match this season but one, part of his success is due to him competing in an unlikely sport for a heavyweight where he regularly was near the back of the pack. The Seneca senior improved to 44-1 after getting a fall in 3:35 over Coal City senior Alec Waliczek in the 285 finals. He ran cross country in the fall so that he could help with his endurance, and based on how he’s been doing, that seems to have been a good game plan.

Gagnon, who’s unranked and whose lone defeat came against Chicago Hope Academy’s Roy Phelps in the semifinals of Reed-Custer’s Comet Classic, joined 106-pounder Raiden Terry as a regional champion for Seneca, whose coach, Todd Yegge, recently collected his 400th career victory. Gagnon needed 0:21 to get a pin in his opener and won by fall in 1:10 in the semifinals over Clifton Central/ Iroquois West sophomore Josh McCurry to become one of three finalists for the Fighting Irish.

“On senior night, our coach got his 400th win, we have a great coaching staff,” Gagnon said. “There’s a great culture there, everyone’s like ‘go sports, go sports, go sports’. I did cross country this year and I finished last every time but it definitely helped. I’ve always said, they remember the first and the last place, and I was the last place. I remember running along the I & M Canal with my team and they always were a mile ahead of me. I look forward to the sectional in Coal City.”

Waliczek (20-5) was one of 12 finalists and 14 qualifiers for the Coalers, who hope that being at their school pays off with numerous individuals earning trips to the IHSA 1A Finals. The Coal City senior opened with a fall and won a 9-1 major decision in the semifinals over Bishop McNamara junior Kian Bramer (25-14), who became one of four qualifiers for his school after he won by fall in 2:32 over McCurry (23-23). 

Coal City Sectional qualifiers from the Herscher Regional

106

1st Place – Raiden Terry of Seneca

2nd Place – Colton Drinkwine of Reed-Custer

3rd Place – Jason Piatak of Coal City

113

1st Place – Owen Petersen of Coal City

2nd Place – Cole Harris of Reed-Custer

3rd Place – Chris Thompson of Seneca

120

1st Place – Culan Lindemuth of Coal City

2nd Place – Kaaden Wood of Reed-Custer

3rd Place – Owen Bollino of Herscher

126

1st Place – Cooper Morris of Coal City

2nd Place – Jayden Sanchez of Reed-Custer

3rd Place – Everett Osenga of Herscher

132

1st Place – Luke Munsterman of Coal City

2nd Place – Blake Arseneau of Bishop McNamara

3rd Place – Everett Bailey of Clifton Central/ Iroquois West

138

1st Place – Brody Widlowski of Coal City

2nd Place – Jeremy Eggleston of Reed-Custer

3rd Place – Alex Kostecka of Bishop McNamara

144

1st Place – Aidan Kenney of Coal City

2nd Place – Evan Cox of Clifton Central

3rd Place – Cole Kimberlin of Bishop McNamara

4th Place – Dalton Sala of Peotone

150

1st Place – Dylan Crouch of Dwight/ Gsardner-South Wilmington

2nd Place – Gianni Panozzo of Clifton Central

3rd Place – Noah Houston of Coal City

157

1st Place – Mason Garner of Coal City

2nd Place – Giona Panozzo of Clifton Central

3rd Place – Reed Newbrough of Reed-Custer

165

1st Place – Brock Finch of Coal City

2nd Place – Nick Grant of Seneca

3rd Place – Aiden Shultz of Reed-Custer

175

1st Place – Landin Benson of Coal City

2nd Place – Will Wilson of Wilmington

3rd Place – Alex Gagnon of Seneca

190

1st Place – Logan Van Duyne of Wilmington

2nd Place – Cade Poyner of Coal City

3rd Place – Landen Venecia of Seneca

215

1st Place – John Keigher of Coal City

2nd Place – Dominic Alaimo of Reed-Custer

3rd Place – Brody O`Connor of Clifton Central

285

1st Place – Jeremy Gagnon of Seneca

2nd Place – Alec Waliczek of Coal City

3rd Place – Kian Bramer of Bishop McNamara