Junior A.J. Wagner won one match in the Class 1A state finals, but fell short of earning a medal.

Wagner rebounded from an opening-round 4-0 loss to fifth-ranked Michael DiBenedetto, from IC Catholic, to turn back Mount Carmel’s Cade Keepes 5-1 in his first wrestleback bout.

He then suffered a season-ending 5-0 decision to Mercer County’s Broctyn King, who went on to place sixth. Wagner ended the season with a 42-10 record.

Spartan teammate Isaiah Immke dropped both of his state bouts. He lost 12-4 to Robinson’s Jeff Hermann and 7-5 to Putnam County’s Connor Booker.

Immke ended his junior year with a 20-9 record.

The post Wagner and Immke State Finals Results first appeared on SJO Daily.

Neither of the Spartans’ state-qualifiers was ranked (by IWCOA.net) among the top six for the IHSA Class 1A state tournament, which begins on Thursday at the UI State Farm Center.

At 113 pounds, A.J. Wagner (41-8) has more wins than any of the other 15 candidates in his weight class. In the first round, Wagner will take on fifth-ranked Michael DiBenedetto, from IC Catholic.

At 145 pounds, Isaiah Immke will start with Robinson’s Jeff Hermann. The winner will likely draw third-ranked Alex Carrillo, from Nazareth Academy, in the second round.

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The three Spartans who qualified for Saturday’s Class 1A sectional at Stanford Olympia all won at least one match. Two of them earned berths at the state tournament, which starts on Thursday at the UI State Farm Center.

A.J. Wagner (113 pounds) and Isaiah Immke (145 pounds) made sure their seasons continued by prevailing in wrestlebacks.

After dropping a first-round decision, Immke faced three elimination matches, ultimately winning those as well as his fourth wrestleback bout. Immke placed third at the sectional and, in the process, hit the 20-win mark for the season.

His first and last wins in wrestlebacks were by pin. His middle two triumphs were by identical 8-7 margins.

“Isaiah really had to battle in the wrestleback rounds,” SJ-O coach Richard Vetter said.

Against an opponent from Mercer County, Immke trailed by a point with 10 seconds left in the match. He received a penalty point (for his opponent’s locked hands) and executed a late escape to pull off the one-point win.

Against an opponent from Hoopeston Area, Immke was behind by two points in the third period before garnering a match-tying takedown. He then let his opponent go, placing himself behind 7-6, but registered the decisive takedown in the last minute and then prevented his foe from escaping for 45 seconds.

“Both of those 8-7 matches came down to heart and desire,” Vetter said. “Isaiah kicked it into another gear to pull both those victories out.

“His final match of the day was far less stressful with a pin at the end of the first period.”

Immke has a 20-7 season record.

Wagner, who has a 41-8 season record, won twice to reach the semifinals, where he lost an 8-3 decision. He followed that up with a 31-second pin before suffering a 3-1 loss in the third-place match.

For the second year in a row, Wagner is the team-leader in pins. He has 27, raising his career total to 61.

In the latest state rankings by the IWCOA, Wagner was ranked eighth and Immke was 20th.

The other SJ-O sectional competitor was Isaiah Moore (126 pounds). He started with a flourish, collecting a 25-second pin in his first bout. The sophomore lost his next two matches and finished the season with a 33-11 record.

Moore ranks second on the team with 19 falls.

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Junior Isaiah Immke was the Spartans’ lone individual champion in Saturday’s Class 1A wrestling regional which SJ-O hosted.

Immke won all three of his matches and captured top honors in the 145-pound weight class. He registered pins in two of his wins.

“Isaiah Immke gutted out a good tournament after missing school during the week due to illness,” Spartans coach Richard Vetter said. “He did what he needed to do to win the regional and set himself up nicely for the sectional tournament next weekend.

“Hopefully we will see the best version of him after another week of recovery and practice.”

Immke will be joined at the Stanford Olympia Sectional, which starts on Friday, by two teammates. A.J. Wagner was second at 113 pounds and Isaiah Moore was the runner-up at 126 pounds.

Wagner and Moore each collected 28-second pins. Moore had pins in both of his regional wins.

“A.J. Wagner and Isaiah Moore wrestled tough throughout the tournament,” Vetter said.

Two Spartans placed fourth in their weight classes and are alternants: Trevon Carr (170 pounds) and Brodie Sullivan (182).

Carr and Sullivan were the only two seniors in SJ-O’s lineup on Saturday. They will compete at sectional if one of the top three finishers at their weight class is unable to go this week.

Carr, who was seeded seventh, was the busiest Spartan at the regional. He took to the mat six times, posting four wins and pinning three opponents. Two of his falls were in 63 seconds, or less.

“Trevon Carr lost to the Westville kid earlier in the tournament and had to face him again in order to move on,” Vetter said. “The second match was much closer and he wrestled hard, but unfortunately came up a couple points short.”

Sullivan registered a 21-second pin, which was the fourth-quickest among all competitors at the SJ-O site.

Overall, 11 of SJ-O’s 14 regional wins were by pins. The other Spartans with falls were 195-pound Max Shonkwiler and 220-pound Owen Birt.

SJ-O filled 11 of 14 weight classes at the regional. Also in the lineup were Chase Chaman (132 pounds), Matt Falls (138 pounds), Conrad Miller (152 pounds) and A.J. Wells (285 pounds).

“Chase Chapman and Conrad Miller wrestled some of their best matches of the year during this tournament but were unable to move on,” Vetter said. “I think they peaked at the right time, followed a good game plan, keeping themselves in matches and giving themselves opportunities to win.”

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The Spartans went 4-4 in the Illini Prairie Conference dual-meet series, which ended on Saturday at Pontiac, and placed fifth in the nine-team event.

Individually, two SJ-O athletes compiled 7-1 records during the two-day competition.

A.J. Wagner (113 pounds) won all but one of his bouts, including four by pin. His fastest fall was 37 seconds.

Isaiah Moore (126 pounds) was also 7-1 at the league meet. He posted three pins, including one in 23 seconds.

Overall, 12 SJ-O athletes competed at the IPC meet and all 12 won at least one match. Eight squad members had pins.

Brodie Sullivan (182 pounds) was 5-2 with two pins. His quickest pin was 56 seconds. Trevon Carr (170 pounds) was 5-3 with three pins. His fastest fall was in 1:03. Max Shonkwiler (195 pounds) was 5-3 with three pins, including one in 55 seconds.

Owen Birt (220 pounds) was 4-3 and Isaiah Immke (138 pounds) was 4-4. Immke had two pins, including a fast fall of 1:53.

Chase Chapman (132 pounds) was 3-3 with a pin in 4:37. Conrad Miller (145 pounds) was 3-5 with two pins, including one in 35 seconds.

Other Spartan competitors were Austin Kofoot (120 pounds), who was 2-4; A.J. Wells (285 pounds), who was 1-2; and Austin Cotter (285 pounds), who was 1-4.

The Spartans’ conference team wins were 46-4 over St.  Thomas More, 54-18 over Olympia, 47-21 over Rantoul and 42-39 over Chillicothe IVC.

The team’s losses were to eventual champion Unity 65-5, eventual runner-up Prairie Central 62-18, eventual third-place finisher Pontiac 48-32 and eventual fourth-place finisher Monticello, 50-24.

The lone SJ-O winner against Unity was Immke, who collected a 19-3 technical fall triumph. Wagner, Moore and Chapman were the winners against Prairie Central.

SJ-O returns to action on Thursday at El Paso in a meet that also includes Clinton.

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Five Spartans posted at least one pin on Saturday during a series of dual meets at Robinson.

SJ-O went 1-3 for the day in its dual meets, edging Lawrenceville 36-33 after losing to Cumberland 39-33, Mount Carmel 46-18 and Robinson 59-21.

A.J. Wagner (113 pounds), Isaiah Moore (126 pounds), Isaiah Immke (145 pounds), Trevon Carr (170 pounds) and Brodie Sullivan (182 pounds) were the squad members who registered pins.

Moore was the lone Spartan to go 4-0 for the day. Three of his wins were by falls. Teammates ending the day with three wins were Wagner, Sullivan and Max Shonkwiler (195 pounds). Wagner also secured three pins.

Other SJ-O athletes who picked up wins for the day were Austin Kofoot (120 pounds), Owen Birt (220 pounds) and A.J. Wells (285 pounds).

SJ-O will return to action on Friday and Saturday in the Illini Prairie Conference meet at Pontiac.

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The Spartans (4-1) dropped their home-opener on Tuesday, 65-44, to Paris.

Taylor Barnes scored a team-high nine points. Finishing with six points apiece were Alyssa Hamilton, Payton Jacob and Ashlyn Lannert.

Paris jumped into a 14-6 lead after one quarter.

Lannert and Katie Cramer were picked for the all-tournament team the previous week at the Lady Bunny/Lady Falcon Classic.

SJ-O returns to action tonight at home against Tuscola.

St. Joseph-Ogden Wrestling

Three Spartan underclassmen were mentioned in the honorable mention category by The Illinois Best Weekly in its preseason Class 1A individual state rankings.

Junior A.J.  Wagner received notice at 113 pounds as did teammates Isaiah Moore, a sophomore, at 120 pounds and Isaiah Immke, a junior, at 138 pounds.

The Spartans open the season on Saturday at Danville with a series of dual meets that will also include Urbana, LeRoy and Olympia.

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