This report and photos were submitted by Morrison High School Varsity Wrestling Coach Tony Wright.
For high school wrestlers the State Wrestling Tournament is the pinnacle of their prep careers. All wrestlers dream of it, some get to experience it, while others only get to spectate. Four Mustang wrestlers saw their hard work pay off. Joe Eads, Augustus Linke, Reilly Dolan, and Dylan Keller[, shown left-to-right, and past MHS State Champion Matt McDonnell] made the trip to Champaign, IL, this past weekend for a shot at a State title.
On Thursday, February 18, 2016, the round of wrestling started well for the Mustang grapplers; they won three of their first four matches. Linke started the weekend off right, with a 16-4 major decision over Andrew Simms of Heyworth, IL. The match started with Simms scoring the first points. Linke needed a wake-up call and poured on the points after Simms’s initial takedown. Eads picked up where Linke left off, dismantling Lisle, IL, Drew Sonnefeld, before pinning him in the second period. Not only did Eads earn the victory, but with that pin he surpassed Austin Keller’s 2014 season pin record of 29! Not to be outdone, Dylan Keller picked up a pin of his own in the first round. Keller, too, started off in a hole, giving up the first four points. He took advantage of his opportunities on top and eventually pinned his opponent. Reilly Dolan competed Thursday night but was downed by Wilmington, IL, Bobby Shields. Shields lost his next match, eliminating Dolan from the tournament. [Dolan is shown below atop Shields.]
On Friday, February 19, Linke, Eads, and Keller[, shown hoisting an opponent,] entered matchups filled with excitement and nerves. A win in the Quarterfinal round assures competitors of a State medal. It gives them a shot at a Semifinal victory and the all-coveted trip to the grand march. Eads’s Quarterfinal matchup against Benton, IL, Oliver Davis, started in a hole; Davis scored the first takedown. The two battled back and forth for position, each earning escapes. Losing 4-3 with ten seconds left on the clock, Eads locked up a cradle. He turned Davis to his back, scoring a takedown with no time left on the clock, and won a dramatic 5-4 decision. Linke and Keller were not as fortunate; they both fell in the Quarterfinals. Linke faced off against Woodriver, IL, Drew Sobol, who struck right away, scoring four points in the first period. Linke worked hard to earn some points and narrowly missed a couple sets of backpoints. In the end Sobol walked away with an 8-4 decision. Sobol went on to place fourth. Keller faced Shelbyville, IL, undefeated #1 seed, Garrett Brachbill. Keller put up a fight, but Brachbill’s offense was too much. Keller lost a 10-1 major decision. Brachbill went on to claim the 152 lb. State title.
In the wrestlebacks Linke won his first match against Kelly Griffin of Chicago, IL, Bowen. Not to be outdone by Ead’s dramatics, Linke was taken down and put to his back early in the match. After narrowly escaping being pinned, he again got on top and worked his opponent over. Linke scored a fall and moved into Saturday’s wrestleback rounds.
The Saturday, February 20, wrestleback round was not as friendly, however. Linke faced Rockford, IL, Lutheran Josh Schrank. The two are similar, scramble-like wrestlers. Schrank bettered Linke 6-0 and went on to wrestle all the way back to third place. Linke has fallen a match short of the medals two years now. Keller saw his season end at the hands of Zach Wilson of Macomb, IL.
Friday night’s Semifinal round is always one of the most exciting rounds of the tournament. Wrestlers are fired up for a chance to reach the finals. It produces some of the highest-quality matches a fan can find.
Eads faced off against returning runner-up Trey Hild of Petersburg, IL, Porta. Hild came out strong in the first period, catching Eads with a takedown followed by three back points. Sensing the urgency, Eads picked up his pace with tough hand fighting and a series of attacks. Eads forced the action and eventually caught Hild in his patented neck wrench, throwing Hild to his back. Hild fought off his back. The wrestlers went out of bounds, with Eads holding a 6-5 lead with 0:30 seconds to go. Hild was able to secure an escape, tying the match 6-6. After an exchange, Eads got to Hild’s legs and took him down on the edge–for what looked to be a takedown, but the referees waived it off as out of bounds. The match went into overtime. On the first exchange, Hild was able to score a controversial takedown and the win.
In wrestling, the hardest match to come back from is a tough Semifinal loss. Many wrestlers have lost in the Semi’s and never recover. With their dreams of a title dashed, they mentally break down. For Eads, this was a harsh reality. Not only did he lose, but he lost in dramatic, controversial fashion.
Coach Wright stated after the match, “This is a tough loss. It hurts, there’s no doubt about it. This is a defining moment for Joe as a young man.”
[Eads is shown below.]
After sleeping off the Semifinal loss, Eads faced Roxana, IL, Jared Foiles for a spot in the third place match. Eads had previously beaten Foiles twice this season. Foiles made some adjustments and altered his attack style of wrestling. Eads countered by pushing the action and being aggressive himself. His aggression proved to be the turning point in a close match, as he earned a stalling point to take the lead late in the match.
With 0:30 seconds left on the clock, the two wrestlers exchanged attacks–with Eads again scoring on his patented technique and pinning Foiles. Eads’s victory put him into the third place match, where he had much less drama. His opponent, Hunter Webb of Sterling, IL, Newman, was injured in his previous match and unable to wrestle. Eads earned a third place victory via default.
Upon reflecting on the weekend Coach Wright had this to say, “I am proud of the boys’ efforts. We fought hard. Joe [Eads] did a great job, and third place is an awesome accomplishment! He showed a lot of character and fight coming back from a Semi loss.”
Moving forward the Mustang wrestlers have plenty to celebrate this season. They finish with
- an 18-4 Dual record (second best all-time)
- second in Conference
- four points shy of a Regional title
- a record-tying eight Sectional qualifiers
- four State qualifiers.
This is in addition to all the individual records that were set. The Mustang Wrestling Nation is strong and growing stronger.
About the future, Wright said this, “We are headed the right direction, but there’s work to be done. I am greedy. I want individual and team State hardware. We want to be the best program in the State, so there’s work to be done.”
Left-to-right are Coach Tony Wright, Dylan Keller, Joe Eads, Augustus Linke, Reilly Dolan, and Matt McDonnell shared this moment at the conclusion of the State Wrestling Tournament.
