CHAMPAIGN — A total of 13 wrestlers from the region have earned the opportunity to compete on the final day of the season at the State Tournament. One will be wrestling for a state championship–Benton sophomore Mason Tieffel.
Tieffel advanced to the 1A 126 pound title match with an 8-6 win over Wyatt Doty from Polo High School. Tieffel improves to 50-4 and will face Phoenix Blakely from Dakota in the finals. Blakely beat Richland County freshman Carson Bissey by a 10-1 major decision in the other semi.
The other two area wrestlers to reach the semifinals came up just short of advancing. Anna-Jonesboro freshman Drew Sadler lost by sudden victory 8-4 to Hunter Robbins from Illini Bluffs in the 106 semis. Sadler can still finish third with two wins Saturday in the consolation bracket. He can finish no worse than sixth.
Harrisburg sophomore Tony Keene fell 11-7 to Emmett Nelson from Richmond-Burton in the 113 semifinals. It’s the same final day scenario for Keene as Sadler. He can finish as high as third but no lower than sixth.
Wrestlebacks were the name of the game for the morning and afternoon sessions of day 2. Wrestlers that lost their opening round matches needed to win twice Friday to advance. Those that went 1-1 on day had to win their only match of the day to move on. Those advancing to Saturday through the consolation brackets will need one more win to guarantee a top six finish.
In 1A, Murphysboro’s Kaiden Richards (106) and Carmi-White County’s Titus Wood (285) both won a pair of matches Friday to advance to the consolation quarterfinals Saturday morning. Meanwhile, East Alton/Wood River’s Jason Shaw (126), Herrin’s Blue Bishop (132), and Murphysboro teammates Arojae Hart (138) and Dayton Hoffman (160) all won their single matches to advance to Saturday’s competition.
In 2A, Marion’s Nate Dampier and Carbondale’s Brenden Banz both advanced to Saturday’s consolation quarterfinals, where they will face each other. Mt. Vernon’s Jared Shafer (182) won his match to advance.
Anna-Jonesboro’s TJ Macy (132), Blake Mays (138), and Caleb Mays (145) all suffered their second defeats of the tournament and were eliminated. Murphysboro’s Patrick Campbell (145), Lawrenceville’s Brian Seed (170) and Nathan Blackwell (182), along with Fairfield’s Konnor Dagg (195) and Payton Allen (220), and East Alton/Wood River’s Drake Champlin (220) also were eliminated in 1A. Carbondale’s Isaiah Duckworth (160) and Aiden Taylor (195) along with Marion’s Kanye Gunn (285) were eliminated in 2A.
Here’s the schedule for Saturday–the consolation quarterfinals will start at 9:00 with the consolation semifinals at 11:00. The 3rd-6th place matches will start at 1:00. The Grand March is set for 5:30 with the championship matches scheduled to start at 6:00. They will start at 145 pounds as determined by previous drawing.
Complete results from the State Tournament are available here.