BLOOMINGTON • Coal City came into the IHSA Dual Team State Championships with a bit of unfinished business from a season ago. After winning a dual crown in 2023, they would come up short in the dual championship against Marian Central in 2024. With a semifinal rematch between the last two champions in 1A on the line, it would be Coal City moving forward in what was a very intense and emotional dual between two very good teams—but now it was time for the finals.
In those finals, Coal City would have another strong program in the form of Vandalia, who was no stranger to the championships as they have qualified 24 times in their program’s history. Vandalia, who had overcome their own matches throughout the course of the tournament, were also wrestling for something, really someone, more: Head Coach Jason Clay. After 19 years as the leader of their program, this would be his final dual; he will now be taking a step back and goingdown to work with the kids’ club.
The championships dual opened at 150 pounds, and it was Vandalia coming out fast with two consecutive wins by Dillon Hinton and Parker Ray (157) to take a 6-0 lead.
Once Brock Finch stepped onto the mat at 165 pounds for the Coalers, Coal City would make a five-bout run.
Finch would win by way of a 10-1 major decision, before Landin Benson recorded a fall in 2:25. This gave Coal City a now 10-6 lead.
Next up was Cade Poyner (190), who would follow suit with Benson, and he recorded a fall of his own in 4:36. John Keigher (215) would win a 10-6 decision just before Alec Waliczek (285) would take a swing match with a 2-1 tiebreaker win.
Coal City would now lead the dual, 22-6, but Vandalia’s very strong lighter weights were now up, and Coal City knew they were going to have to work hard to limit the damage they were facing.
Just as Coal City had won a series of matches, so would Vandalia. Starting with Aiden Evans (106), Vandalia would take the next four bouts, and he would lead the charge with a 14-1 major decision. At 113 pounds, Max Philpot would win by fall in 1:34; and at 120 and 126, Preston and Tyson Waughtel would win by a technical fall and a major decision to close off the run.
After this strand of wins, the dual was now 25-22, in favor of Vandalia.
With 11 matches wrestled, this title was going to now come down to the final three matches, and, on paper, two of the final three matches could have gone either way. However, much more goes into the duals than the possibilities on paper.
At 132, Coal City would send Luke Munsterman to the mat, and he would win a tight 4-2 decision; the dual was now tied, 25-25.
At 138, the Coalers would turn to one of their best, Brody Widlowski, and he would not disappoint his team’s need for a big win. Widlowski would push the pace of the match and exit the mat with a 10-2 major decision. Coal City would now be in the lead, 29-25, and the dual would fall on the shoulders of the final two wrestlers. For Coal City, it would all come down to Aidan Kenney (144).
Kenney, who would find himself in a quick 3-0 deficit, would battle back and come through with a secure 9-4 decision that would seal the championship for the Coalers. The celebration would start a little early on the bench and in the stands, and it would be Coal City staking the claim as the state’s best dual team in 1A.
Head Coach Interviews
Here is Coal City’s Mark Masters’ response to his program’s title: CLICK HERE FOR INTERVIEW
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Vandalia Head Coach Jason Clay discusses his team’s incredible season and stepping away:
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Marian Central Head Coach Jordan Blanton on his program’s tournament: CLICK HERE FOR INTERVIEW
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Head Coach Logan Patton of Unity speaks about his team, their season, and moving forward:
Dual Team Results
Here is a look at the Top 8 team finishes from the Dual Team State Championships:
01 • Coal City • 32-25
02 • Vandalia
03 • Woodstock (Marian Central) • 44-24
04 • Tolono (Unity)
08 • Oregon
08 • Murphysboro
08 • Chicago (Hope Academy)
08 • Stanford (Olympia)
Individual State Results
Here is a look at the Top 10 team scores from the Individual State Championships:
01 • 134.5 • Vandalia
02 • 123.0 • Marian Central Catholic
03 • 111.5 • Coal City
04 • 092.5 • Tolono Unity
05 • 084.0 • Lena-Winslow
06 • 067.5 • Richmond-Burton
07 • 055.0 • Chicago Hope Academy
07 • 055.0 • Oakwood/Salt Fork
09 • 051.5 • Chicago De La Salle
09 • 051.5 • Roxana
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Here are the Top 8 individual placewinners at each weight along with the final bout results:
106
01 • Charlie Flores, Jr. (Hoopeston) • Dec, 4-0
02 • Steven Uden, So. (Oakwood)
03 • Raiden Terry, So. (Seneca) • Dec, 2-1
04 • Landon Near, Fr. (Newman)
05 • Lelan Nelson, Fr. (R-Burton) • MD, 10-0
06 • Brandon Gaither, Fr. (Olympia)
T8 • Cael Wright, Fr. (Morrison)
T8 • Aiden Evans, Fr. (Vandalia)
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113
01 • Max Philpot, So. (Vandalia) • Dec, 10-3
02 • Austin Hagevold, Jr. (Marian Central)
03 • Dylan Eimer, Sr. (Olympia) • TF, 17-1 (5 :09)
04 • Cohen Sweely, So. (Benton)
05 • Owen Petersen, So. (Coal City) • Fall, 3:08
06 • Josiah Perez, Jr. (Oregon)
T8 • Brandon White, Jr. (Dakota)
T8 • Paxton Pyatt, So (Murphysboro)
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120
01 • Brayden Teunissen, Sr. (Marian Central) • Dec, 2-1
02 • Preston Waughtel, So. (Vandalia)
03 • Jeremiah Lawrence, Jr. (DeLaSalle) • Dec, 1-0
04 • Mason Swartz, Fr. (Oakwood)
05 • Barret Speck, Fr. (Illini Bluffs) • Medical Forfeit
06 • Adam Glauser, Fr. (R-Burton)
T8 • Jacob Hardesty, So. (Canton)
T8 • Augustus Swanson, Jr. (Princeton)
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126
01 • Tyson Waughtel, Sr. (Vandalia) • TF, 18-1 (4:35)
02 • Cooper Morris, So. (Coal City)
03 • Ian Akers, Sr. (Peoria Notre Dame) • Dec, 13-8
04 • Devin Ehler, Fr. (Oakwood)
05 • Landen Lage, Fr. (GCMS) • Medical Forfeit
06 • Dawson Hawthorne, So. (Althoff)
T8 • Clayton Madula, Sr. (R-Burton)
T8 • Drew Sadler, Sr. (Anna-Jonesboro)
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132
01 • Dean Wainwright, Jr. (Riverdale) • Dec, 10-5
02 • Garrett VerHeecke, Jr. (Unity Chrisitan)
03 • Brandon Green, Jr. (Roxana) • Fall, 00:39
04 • Josiah Willis, So. (Hope)
05 • Kane Dauber, Fr. (Princeton) • MD, 14-3
06 • Zach Bryant, Jr. (Porta)
T8 • Lincoln Hoger, Jr. (Wheaton Academy)
T8 • Bodee Fathauer, Jr. (Shelbyville)
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138
01 • Taylor Finley, So. (Unity) • Dec, 8-4
02 • Brody Widlowski, Jr. (Coal City)
03 • Jude Finch, Sr. (Rockridge) • TF, 18-2 (4:28)
04 • Andrew Alvarado, Sr. (Marian Central)
05 • Clinton VerHeecke, Jr. (Unity Christian) • Fall, 3:32
06 • Pedro Rangel, Sr. (Oakwood)
T8 • Hunter Brandon, Fr. (GCMS)
T8 • Landon Johnson, Sr. (Johnsburg)
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144
01 • Emmett Nelson, Yr. (R-Burton) • MD, 15-3
02 • Kaden Inman, Sr. (Unity)
03 • Arrison Bauer, Jr. (Lena-Winslow) • MD, 8-0
04 • Aidan Kenney, Jr. (Coal City)
05 • Cooper Corder, So. (Sandwich) • MD, 15-5
06 • Logan Riggs, Jr. (Roxana)
T8 • Ace Christiansen, Sr. (Princeton)
T8 • Hudson Meek, So. (Lawrenceville)
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150
01 • Jackson Carroll, Sr. (Illini Bluffs) • MD, 16-7
02 • Vance Williams, Sr. (Marian Central)
03 • Dillon Hinton, Jr. (Vandalia) • Dec, 8-3
04 • Holden Brazelton, Sr. (Unity)
05 • Dylan Crouch, Sr. (Dwight) • Fall, 4:24
06 • Henry Hildreth, Sr. (Stillman Valley)
T8 • Kobe Brent, Sr. (Leroy)
T8 • Keyton King, Sr. (Salem)
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157
01 • Blake Smith, Sr. (Riverdale) • Dec, 10-9
02 • Briar Ivey, Sr. (Newman)
03 • Wyatt Goosens, Sr. (Erie) • Fall, 2:25
04 • Chasen Kazmierczak, Sr. (Wheaton Acadmey)
05 • Justin Zimmmn, Jr. (Porta) • Dec, 8-2
06 • Carson Bissey, Sr. (Richland)
T8 • Lucas Maier, Fr. (Pontiac)
T8 • Parker Ray, Sr. (Vandalia)
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165
01 • Bowden Delaney, Sr. (Tremont) • Dec, 7-4
02 • Lyndon Thies, Jr. (Roxana)
03 • Adam Haddad, Sr. (North Ridge) • MD, 13-4
04 • Casey Etheridge, Jr. (Princeton)
05 • Arkail Griffin, So. (Hope) • MD, 19-5
06 • Eli Burns, Jr. (Mercer)
T8 • Brock Finch, Jr. (Coal City)
T8 • Brody Stein, So. (Byron)
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175
01 • Eli Larson, Jr. (Len-Winslow) • Dec, 14-7
02 • Blake Livdahl, So. (R-Burton)
03 • Angel Zamora, Sr. (Hoopeston) • Fall, 2:58
04 • Ryan Rink, Sr. (Unity)
05 • Landin Benson, Sr. (Coal City) • Dec, 9-4
06 • Ross Miller, Jr. (Vandalia)
T8 • Colin Hughey, Sr. (Trico)
T8 • Duke Mays, So. (Johnsburg)
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190
01 • Jimmy Mastny, So. (Marian Central) • Fall, 1:45
02 • Maddox Anderson, Sr. (Orion)
03 • Danny Jackson, Fr. (Red Bud) • MD, 14-1
04 • Oliver McPeek, Jr. (Lena-Winslow)
05 • Cade Poyner, Jr. (Coal City) • Fall, 1:24
06 • Hunter Eastin, Sr. (Unity)
T8 • Logan VanDuyne, Jr. (Wilmington)
T8 • Terrelle Jackson, Sr. (DeLaSalle)
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215
01 • Drake Champlin, Sr. (Wood River) • Dec, 7-3
02 • Jeremiah Luke, Jr. (Lena-Winslow)
03 • Kaden Tidwell, Sr. (Vandalia) • Dec, 3-2
04 • Keller Stocks, Jr. (Mt. Zion)
05 • John Keigher, Sr. (Coal City) • Dec, 9-5
06 • Dominic Alaimo, Jr. (Reed Custer)
T8 • Devon Blanchard, Sr. (Sandwich)
T8 • Alex Schaefer, So. (Marquette)
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285
01 • David McCarthy, Sr. (DeLaSalle) • Dec, 7-1
02 • Roy Phelps, Sr. (Hope)
03 • Jaylen Torres, Jr. (St. Francis) • Fall, 4:59
04 • Jeremy Gagnon, Sr. (Seneca)
05 • Connor Williams, Jr. (Canton) • Fall, 3:45
06 • Jared Claunch, Sr. (Byron)
T8 • Cade Odell, Sr. (Princeton)
T8 • Tate Sigler, Sr. (LeRoy)
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• TC LIFONTI / LEAD WRITER FOR ILLINOIS MATMEN / tclifonti.com
