Eight Comet wrestlers advance to Class 1A Sectional
BY FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com
The Comets advanced eight wrestlers to the Class 1A sectional this weekend at Stanford Olympia and finished a scant one-half point behind LeRoy/Tri-Valley in Saturday’s 11-school Class 1A regional at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.
Oakwood had regional champions at the two lowest weight classes with 106-pound freshman Reef Pacot and 113-pound junior Gage Reed.
Pacao is 37-4 for the season and pinned both of his regional opponents. Reed is 36-3 and collected one pin and one technical fall among his three postseason wins.
“You can’t have a better 1-2 punch at the top of the lineup to get the energy and momentum going,” Oakwood coach Mike Glosser said.
In the team chase, LeRoy/Tri-Valley totaled 165 ½ points. Oakwood ended with 165. Third-place Heyworth ended with 153 points.
In the final Illinois Best Weekly state rankings, Heyworth was 15th, LeRoy/Tri-Valley was 17th and Oakwood 18th.
“It was a roller-coaster, back and forth all day,” Glosser said.
The Comets held the lead until the final weight class. Oakwood had no finalists in the 285-pound division. LeRoy/Tri-Valley’s last competitor posted a pin in the championship bout, which accounted for enough points for the Panthers to claim team honors.
“We can’t let what happened as a team overshadow what we did as individuals,” Glosser said.
Oakwood had six of its wrestlers in the finals. For the tournament, 11 squad members not only posted wins but also secured bonus points with either pins, technical falls or major decisions.
The Comets won 23 matches overall at regional and 19 were by more than regular decisions.
Finishing as regional runners-up were Joe Lashuay (132 pounds), Connor Hutson (138 pounds), Josh Miller (195 pounds) and Caide Borden (220 pounds).
Hutson posted the fastest pin by anyone at the SJ-O site, ending a match in nine seconds. The junior also had a dominant 16-0 technical fall triumph.
Miller was seeded fourth in his weight class, but used two pins to advance into the championship bout. Lashuay and Borden each finished with one pin.
Two other Comets secured their berths at sectional by placing third: Tate Johnson (160 pounds) and Colby Smiley (182 pounds).
Johnson was seeded fifth but went 3-1 for the day, pinning three opponents. Smiley produced two first-period falls.
Glosser is emphasizing that this is a new week and all eight of his advancers have a shot to reach state.
“It’s anybody’s game and doesn’t matter whether you were first, second or third (at regionals),” he said.
In Glosser’s nine years as the Comets’ head coach, this year’s schedule was the most challenging. The team ended 22-8 in dual meets.
“If we wanted our kids to reach their maximum potential, we wanted them to be battle-tested,” Glosser said. “This was by far our toughest schedule and it prepares them.
“We’ve had tough matches all year and now when we have tough matches, it’s not a surprise. We’ve seen that already.
“It was nice to see them rise to the occasion.”
Oakwood had two fourth-place finishers at the regional and they will be alternants at their weight classes, available to compete if one of the top three is unable to perform at the sectional.
Ben Jessup (145 pounds) and Caleb Lashuay (152 pounds) were each 2-2 at the regional and collected one pin apiece.
Also contributing a pin at regionals was Case Kopacz (120 pounds), who finished off his opponent in 44 seconds.
The Oakwood seniors in the regional lineup were Caleb Lashuay, Jack Carey (170 pounds), Smiley and Borden.
