Patting knocks off Iowa state champion, again

Article Source Written By: Matt Coss

OCK ISLAND — When Eli Loyd took down Jack Patting with less than 20 seconds left Saturday afternoon to snatch the lead, the Alleman junior wrestler was in a precarious position.

“There is a little bit of panic that goes into your head,” Patting admitted, “but you’ve got to keep wrestling.”

Patting’s perseverance paid off.

The 152-pounder reversed Loyd and then was awarded two back points out of a scramble in the closing seconds for a 5-3 win at the Muddy Water Duals contested at Augustana College’s Carver Center.

It was the second consecutive year Patting beat the Pleasant Valley senior, who captured a Class 3A state title in Iowa last season and is ranked No. 1 at that weight class this winter.

Patting pinned Loyd with a headlock last year in the second period. This time, it required all six minutes.

“Everybody said last year I caught him and it was kind of a freak move,” Patting said. “To beat him on my own terms was nice.”

Patting, who finished the day 5-0, was named Illinois’ Most Outstanding Wrestler for the second straight year.

Iowa claimed 14 of the 25 duals, but Illinois retained bragging rights with a 955-909 advantage in total dual team points.

Davenport Assumption edged Geneseo 36-30 in the final round to finish the day as the lone unbeaten at 5-0. It was Geneseo’s first loss in 14 duals this season.

“It is almost good to lose because you look back more at what you need to work on,” Geneseo 120-pounder Cade Hornback said. “(Assumption) beat us technically. We conditioned harder than them. We should have fought a little bit harder to get that win.”

Geneseo trounced Davenport West 65-6, Davenport Central 62-18 and Davenport North 59-13.

It used the strength of its lower weights — Carson Raya (106), Anthony Montez (113), Hornback and Luke Henkhaus (126) — to slip past Pleasant Valley 37-25.

Montez, Hornback and Henkhaus were a collective 15-0 with six pins, three technical falls and a major decision.

“They train well together, a very good group in the room,” Geneseo coach Jon Murray said. “We’re always happy to have our little string through those weight classes.”

That stretch triggered Geneseo to a 21-20 lead over Assumption. Bruce Moore (152) squared the dual with a 4-2 decision win.

Assumption’s Eli McCracken (160) and Logan Schimanski (170) pulled out decisions at the last two weights to secure it.

“We had a shot at it,” Murray said. “We have to be on physically, technically and mentally. There are a lot of components to it. We didn’t put it all together the way we needed to come out with a win.”

A big turning point came at 195. Assumption’s Aiden Morgan led just 1-0 before he put Eli Allen on his back for a fall in 5 minutes, 49 seconds.

“Huge,” Murray said. “That was like a nine-point swing in their favor. We need to learn how to contain that and finish on the right side of those.

“I’d rather have that kind of thing happen now than when it really matters later in the season.”

Rock Island finished with a 3-2 mark. It beat Davenport Central, Davenport West and Davenport North, but fell to Assumption and PV.

Manny Limon (120) posted a 5-0 mark for the Rocks.

United Township did not win any of its five duals, but heavyweight Simon Wilson was 5-0 with four first-period pins and a forfeit.

Gage Mowry (126) and David Dierickx (138) joined Patting with undefeated performances for the Pioneers, who collected two dual victories.

Patting, a two-time state place winner, said the win over Loyd was a nice boost moving forward.

“You’ve got to think big picture,” Patting said. “The end goal isn’t to win this match against him. The end goal is to win a state title.

“However, (Eli) and I are kind of buddies. It was the last time we’ll wrestle each other in high school so that was a lot of fun.”