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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