Coal City rolls to ICE Conference title

The Coal City wrestling team captured the ICE Conference Tournament title Saturday at Coal City with championships in 10 weight classes and overwhelming depth throughout the lineup,
The Coalers finished with 276.5 points, easily outdistancing runner-up Braidwood (Reed-Custer) with 112.0. Herscher placed third with 94.0 points, followed by Lisle (82.5), Wilmington (50.0), Manteno (48.5), Peotone (46.0) and Streator (20.5).
Coal City crowned individual champions at 106, 120, 126, 132, 138, 144, 150, 157, 165, 175, 215 and 285 pounds, building a commanding lead early that only grew as the finals progressed Saturday night.
Jake Munsterman opened the title run at 106 pounds by pinning Lisle’s Sebastian Lara in 1:39.
Tyson Price followed with a championship at 120, earning a fall over Herscher’s Kaden Shroyer in 4:20, while Owen Petersen claimed the 126-pound crown with a pin of Peotone’s Jonah Young in 5:07.
At 132, Cooper Morris continued his standout season by sticking Reed-Custer’s Jayden Sanchez in 1:53. Luke Munsterman needed just 35 seconds to secure the 138-pound title with a fall over Reed-Custer’s Rylan West.
Freshman Max Christensen added another championship at 144, pinning Lisle’s Johnny Consuegra-Lopez late in the third period, and senior Brody Widlowski dominated the 150-pound final with a 16-1 technical fall over Herscher’s Owen Bollino.
Coal City’s upper weights were just as dominant. Aidan Kenney captured the 157-pound title with a fall over Lisle’s Ibraheem Harb, and senior Mason Garner followed at 165 by pinning Reed-Custer’s Reed Newbrough in 3:20.
At 175, Brock Finch continued his near-perfect season, pinning Reed-Custer’s Nathan Vogler in 1:37 to win the championship. Cade Poyner secured the 215-pound title with a technical fall over Herscher’s Colton Carson, and heavyweight Payton Vigna closed out the night by edging Wilmington’s Will Wilson 5-4 in the 285-pound final.
Coal City also picked up key points from runner-up Evan Greggain at 190 pounds, who reached the finals before falling to Wilmington’s Logan Van Duyne, and from multiple third-place finishes across the middle weights.
With nearly triple the points of the next closest team and champions spread throughout the lineup, the Coalers left little doubt about their status as the conference’s top program heading into the regional tournament which they will host on Saturday.