Rob Sherrill
01-30-2008, 08:45 PM
Whether they admit it or not, wrestlers are compulsive bracket-watchers.
Whom do I go against? What’s my bracket look like? Who’s on my side? Who’s away from whom?
A lot often depends on the answers to those questions.
In many years, seeing a wrestler from southern Illinois in the draw often produced a sigh of relief, if not outright celebration, from prospective opponents.
That's becoming less and less the case.
Particularly in Class A, southern Illinois has had one of its deepest and best seasons ever.
Want proof that there’s more to southern Illinois than perennial powers Vandalia and Litchfield this year?
Let’s rephrase that question: Where’s the nerve center of Class A wrestling on Saturday?
It just might be the Herrin regional, where the host Tigers will have their hands full as they try to advance to the Class A Elite Eight for the second year in a row.
Three teams from that regional made it into The Illinois Best Weekly’s team rankings this season for the first time in their history: Herrin, Murphysboro and Benton. And West Frankfort will play a major role in the outcome as well.
Murphysboro, currently the highest ranked team at No. 17, established itself as a pre-meet favorite with its victory in the Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference meet two weeks ago. Coach Dan Baker’s team has four certifiable point scorers, led by state champion Jake Miller (119) and state placewinner Shea Baker (160), and Cody Brashear (103) and Deven Tyrone (135) are other leaders. Murphysboro's breakthrough came in the individual state meet a year ago, when the Red Devils would have finished third and taken home a state trophy had team scoring been in effect. Having traditionally wrestled the area’s toughest schedule, against many Class AA teams from the Metro-East area, it’s amazing Murphysboro hasn’t cracked the rankings prior to this year.
It could be because of the enhanced strength of the rest of the area.
An early-season victory over Herrin propelled Benton to what has been the best season in school history. Neal Wilson coached the Rangers to a 14-0 start and a spot as high as No. 20 in the rankings before inexplicably losing four out of five, with three of those losses – to Mount Vernon, West Frankfort and Harrisburg – coming by a combined seven points. State placewinner Zach Wilson, son of the coach, is a state title contender at 140. Benton did gain some momentum by closing the season with a 50-18 victory over Carmi White County to finish 16-4.
Herrin coach Kelsey Lewis quietly bided his time after his team’s loss to Benton, finishing just 20 points behind Murphysboro in the SIRR, and everybody loves the Tigers’ tournament power with Jake Holliday (125) and John Kesler (145) having been on the awards stand at Champaign before. Kyle Borders (112), John Sargent (130) and brothers Trenton (140) and Brandon Fortner (152) are big point-scorers, too. A solid performance in the Civic Memorial Tournament in early December helped boost momentum. The Tigers fell from their pre-season No. 21 spot to No. 25 after the Benton loss, but stayed there with their solid performances.
Though they finished just fifth in the SIRR, West Frankfort should have at least five regional finalists: Keelen Garza (119), Josh Johnson (125), Cody Simpson (160), John Jones (215) and Paul Coash (285). A Garza win would be a monumental upset, but four champions appear likely. Jones, an Oklahoma state placewinner a year ago, has been tested often this year, another testament to the area’s growing strength.
Looks like this one's going to the finals.
Despite the loss to Benton, Carmi’s season can’t be overlooked, either. Led by senior 135-pounder Shane Sisco, coach Chris Courty’s Bulldogs don’t feature any household names. But they do field one of the South's most balanced lineups, solid enough to post a school record for victories – they finished 27-3 – and a fifth consecutive Black Diamond Conference title. Add to that a likely regional title at Harrisburg.
Good luck, everyone!
Whom do I go against? What’s my bracket look like? Who’s on my side? Who’s away from whom?
A lot often depends on the answers to those questions.
In many years, seeing a wrestler from southern Illinois in the draw often produced a sigh of relief, if not outright celebration, from prospective opponents.
That's becoming less and less the case.
Particularly in Class A, southern Illinois has had one of its deepest and best seasons ever.
Want proof that there’s more to southern Illinois than perennial powers Vandalia and Litchfield this year?
Let’s rephrase that question: Where’s the nerve center of Class A wrestling on Saturday?
It just might be the Herrin regional, where the host Tigers will have their hands full as they try to advance to the Class A Elite Eight for the second year in a row.
Three teams from that regional made it into The Illinois Best Weekly’s team rankings this season for the first time in their history: Herrin, Murphysboro and Benton. And West Frankfort will play a major role in the outcome as well.
Murphysboro, currently the highest ranked team at No. 17, established itself as a pre-meet favorite with its victory in the Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference meet two weeks ago. Coach Dan Baker’s team has four certifiable point scorers, led by state champion Jake Miller (119) and state placewinner Shea Baker (160), and Cody Brashear (103) and Deven Tyrone (135) are other leaders. Murphysboro's breakthrough came in the individual state meet a year ago, when the Red Devils would have finished third and taken home a state trophy had team scoring been in effect. Having traditionally wrestled the area’s toughest schedule, against many Class AA teams from the Metro-East area, it’s amazing Murphysboro hasn’t cracked the rankings prior to this year.
It could be because of the enhanced strength of the rest of the area.
An early-season victory over Herrin propelled Benton to what has been the best season in school history. Neal Wilson coached the Rangers to a 14-0 start and a spot as high as No. 20 in the rankings before inexplicably losing four out of five, with three of those losses – to Mount Vernon, West Frankfort and Harrisburg – coming by a combined seven points. State placewinner Zach Wilson, son of the coach, is a state title contender at 140. Benton did gain some momentum by closing the season with a 50-18 victory over Carmi White County to finish 16-4.
Herrin coach Kelsey Lewis quietly bided his time after his team’s loss to Benton, finishing just 20 points behind Murphysboro in the SIRR, and everybody loves the Tigers’ tournament power with Jake Holliday (125) and John Kesler (145) having been on the awards stand at Champaign before. Kyle Borders (112), John Sargent (130) and brothers Trenton (140) and Brandon Fortner (152) are big point-scorers, too. A solid performance in the Civic Memorial Tournament in early December helped boost momentum. The Tigers fell from their pre-season No. 21 spot to No. 25 after the Benton loss, but stayed there with their solid performances.
Though they finished just fifth in the SIRR, West Frankfort should have at least five regional finalists: Keelen Garza (119), Josh Johnson (125), Cody Simpson (160), John Jones (215) and Paul Coash (285). A Garza win would be a monumental upset, but four champions appear likely. Jones, an Oklahoma state placewinner a year ago, has been tested often this year, another testament to the area’s growing strength.
Looks like this one's going to the finals.
Despite the loss to Benton, Carmi’s season can’t be overlooked, either. Led by senior 135-pounder Shane Sisco, coach Chris Courty’s Bulldogs don’t feature any household names. But they do field one of the South's most balanced lineups, solid enough to post a school record for victories – they finished 27-3 – and a fifth consecutive Black Diamond Conference title. Add to that a likely regional title at Harrisburg.
Good luck, everyone!