Warrior wrestlers place four during state tournament

    The Coal City Middle School wrestlers dubbed, “The Big Ten” headed to DeKalb this past weekend to compete at the IESA Wrestling State Finals.
    The Warriors battled hard all weekend, coming home with a third place trophy as a team with 98 points. Homer Glen was crowned champions with 163, followed by DeKalb (135) and Bloomington in fourth (96.5).
    Coal City also returned with four individuals earning medals, including Johnny Housman, Brant Widlowski, Zach Finch and Ashton Harvey.
    At 65, Housman finished in fourth place.  His tournament started with a pin in the prelims over Elias Ramon from Lake in the Hills Marlowe.  Housman followed that win with a 10-7 victory over Alex Lucas from Prospect Heights.  Housman then won 6-4 in overtime over Danny Tay.  In the semifinals, Housman lost to the eventual champ, but  in wrestle back he defeated Hatton from Mahomet, 3-2.              
    Housman's final match came against a familiar foe in Danny Tay who was able to avenge his earlier loss.  Housman finished his 8th-grade year with a record of 35-10.
    Widlowski (70) finished his sixth-grade season as a state runner-up.  His tournament started with a fall over Spaugh from Clinton.  The next opponent was Smith from Prospect Heights and Widlowski also ended his night by pinning him.  
    In the quarterfinals, Widlowski defeated Witt from Pingree Grove 12-0.  In the Semifinals, Widlowski defeated Hedges from Canton 5-3, but fell short in the finals losing 9-4 to Bateman from Mattoon. Widlowski finished the season with a 34-5 record.
    At 90, Finch finished his season and his career on the podium once again with a third place.
    His tournament started with a 13-4 win over Marion from Hickory Creek.  Next, he defeated Ludolph from Vernon Hill 8-1.  In the Semifinals, Finch lost to Rhemrev from Long Grove 13-4.  
    Finch battled back pinning Smith from Port Byron. In the finals, he pinned Grunder from Prophets Town. He finished his season with a 45-2 record and a career record of 147-23.
    Harvey (145) started his tournament with an early loss.  Luckily, he was brought back in and he made the most of it by placing fourth.  
    Harvey pinned Steinmeyer from Dixon.  Next, he defeated Davis from Pittsfield 6-1.  Harvey then pinned Mosier from Barrington.  He then won 7-2 against Petriekis from Taylor Ridge to finish his season with a 46-1 record.
    Also wrestling for the Warriors on the weekend were:
    Jacob Piatak (75) secured a major win (12-0) over Nagel from McHenry County, before losing to the eventual runner-up. He ended his season with a 38-8 record.
    Landin Benson (80) recorded a pin against Naughton from Mt. Prospect, before losing to the eventual runner-up. He finished his campaign with a 29-13 record.
    Also at 80, Creide Skubic made his first trip to state, but wasn’t able to record a win. He gained experience and looks to return next year, finishing with a 20-11 record.
    Jack Poyner (85) fell one match short of earning a medal, going 2-2 on the day to finish his seventh grade season with a 35-10 record.
    At 95, Mataeo Blessing was unable to record a win, but as a seventh grader he will return next season looking to improve on his 28-16 record.
    At heavyweight, Dylan Cronk pinned his first opponent before losing to the eventual fourth place medalist. Cronk finishes with a record of 28-13.