Wrestling: A Nine-to-Five Day for Foxes

Five are still alive.

Of the nine individuals Yorkville sent to the Class 2A sectional wrestling tournament at Lincoln-Way West on Saturday, five of them place third or better to qualify for the state tournament.

The Lincoln-Way West sectional is considered one of the toughest in the state, with three of the top five teams in Class 2A featured in the field--Montini, Marmion and Lincoln-Way West. Eight of the state’s top 25 Class 2A teams were represented.

Yorkville wrestling Coach Shane Darnell believes his team did well against the tough odds.

“I’m proud of the guys, we wrestled awesome today,” Darnell said. “These guys really showed up and they were ready to go. They wrestled hard for six minutes, and they kept themselves in the match and never quit. Whenever that stuff happens, anything’s possible.”

AJ Messenger, wrestling at 171 pounds, and Brant Corwin (189) placed first in their weight classes. Both are ranked third in Class 2A.

Connor Bass (135) and Clayton Bass (140) also wrestled in championship matches. Both of them lost against opponents from Marmion who had defeated them during the regional tournament at Yorkville. Adam Wyeth placed third at 119 pounds.

All five wrestlers who qualified for the state finals this year competed there last year. Darnell believes they all have a chance to place at state and possibly turn around some of their setbacks.

“We’re going to continue working,” Darnell said. “We have a week left. It’s the state tournament. Anything happens there. You don’t know who you’ve got. We’re prepared for anyone we get.”