Morrison High School Varsity Wrestling Coach Tony Wright submitted this report.
On Wednesday, January 6, 2016, prior to wrestling Sherrard, IL, and Amboy, IL, the Mustang Wrestling Team celebrated their three Seniors at Senior Night. Eric Mulnix, Tyler Todd, and Cody Vanderlaan will finish their prep careers this February. Todd and Vanderlaan have wrestled for the Mustangs all four years.
The team also celebrated a new wrestling mat after a dedication by Arnie Vegter on behalf of the Athletic Boosters and the youth wrestling club. They donated the funds to purchase the new mat. The Athletic Boosters deserve a lot of credit and gratitude for all that they do for our sports programs.
Mustang wrestlers improved to 11-2 after four duals this week. The grapplers had no problems with Amboy in a lopsided 69-6 victory. Next they faced the #15 State ranked Sherrard. The Mustangs put together a full team effort to pull off a 40-30 victory over the Tigers–a team they haven’t beaten since the 2006-07 season. Thomas Dykema came through with a pivotal pin bumping up to the 195 lb. weight class. The team also saw the return of Tyler Todd, a past IHSA Sectional qualifier, who picked up a fall as well.
On Thursday, the wrestlers traveled to Putnam County, where they made light work of Riverdale and Putnam County. They topped Riverdale 62-18 and Putnam County 42-18. With the four Conference victories the team now sits 6-1 in Conference. Their lone defeat was to #7 Erie, IL, 39-42.
The Mustangs will be in action at the Princeton, IL, Tournament on Friday and Saturday. The PIT, as it’s known, is the toughest 1A tournament in the State. It features 21 State-ranked teams from 1A and 2A and 101 IHSA State qualifiers, 11 State champions, 18 State finalists, and 50 State medalists.