Senior Salute Winter warrior Nathan Daly

Senior Nathan Daly finished the season with 31 wins against 12 losses. In his Spartan Senior Salute, the Illini Prairie Conference Second-Team nominee shared a little more about himself.

---

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

---

Wrestling at 150 and 157, Nathan Daly's 31-12 record was key to a successful 2025-26 campaign on the mats for St. Joseph-Ogden. He finished his final season for SJO, placing third at the Ridgeview regionals.

The senior competes in wrestling and golf with the same mental toughness that fuels his goal of one day joining MARSOC during an exciting military career. He keeps things simple when it comes to motivation, saying the reward of a good meal after the work is done is just one thing that pushes him to compete at his best. Before a match, he's blasting “Pocket Full of Sunshine” by Natasha Bedingfield to lighten the mood and locked in. Here is a closer look at Nathan Daly.

Sentinel: What is your dream job or career?

Daly: MARSOC

Sentinel: Where is your favorite place to eat?

Daly: Chili's

Sentinel: Where do you see yourself living in 20 years?

Daly: A small hut in Dagestan herding sheep.

Sentinel: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where are you going and why?

Daly: Canada for hockey games.

Sentinel: Name an Instagram handle everyone should follow.

Daly: Couldn’t tell ya.

Sentinel: What was the last movie you watched three or more friends?

Daly: Marty Supreme.

Sentinel: Which is better? Dr. Pepper, Coke or Pepsi

Daly: Coke.

Sentinel: What motivates you to be the best at what you do?

Daly: Eating food when I’m done.

Sentinel: What song gets you hyped before a game or match? Tell us the song title and artist, please.

Daly: Pocket Full of Sunshine by Natasha Bedingfield

Sentinel: What advice would you give yourself if you were a freshman again?

Daly: Don’t take Spanish.

Sentinel: What sports have you played in high school?

Daly: Wrestling and golf

Sentinel: What is the best coaching advice you have ever received?

Daly: Run through that mfer.

---

Season photo gallery

---

Season Highlights

150, Defeated Connor Mahaffey (Westville), Fall 01:39
150, Defeated Dukeman, Jaxson (Toledo (Cumberland)), Maj Dec 14-1
150, Defeated Dunner, Nick (Rantoul), Fall 00:53
150, Defeated Forfeit, (EPG), FORFEIT
150, Defeated Forfeit, (Hoopeston), FORFEIT
150, Defeated Forfeit, (Prairie Central), FORFEIT
150, Defeated Hilligoss, Alec (Champaign (St. Thomas More)), Fall 01:43
150, Defeated Martin, G (South Vermillion), Fall 02:53
150, Defeated McLaughin, C (LeRoy), Decision 4-2
150, Defeated Moore, Tyler (Chillicothe (Illinois Valley Central)), Fall 03:36
150, Defeated Opperman, Brayden (Pontiac), Fall 01:26
150, Defeated Ramirez, Isreal (Clinton), Tech Fall 16-0
150, Defeated Weeks, Drake (Monticello), Fall 08:008
157, Defeated Pamozzo (Clifton central), Fall 1:38
157, Defeated Simpson (Oakwood 2), Fall 00:10
157, Defeated Soto (Peoria), Fall 01:48
157, Defeated Zander, Lazzerick (Centennial), Fall 04:12

Postseason Highlights

Champ. Round 1 - Nathan Daly first-round bye
Quarterfinal - Won by major decision over Connor McLaughlin (LeRoy)(MD 10-1)
Semifinal - Lost by decision to Devin Glik (Unity) (Dec 5-0)
Cons. Semi - Pinned over Nate Godfery (Heyworth) 29-14 (Fall 5:27)
3rd Place Match - Pinned Isreal Ramirez (Clinton) 20-15 (Fall 3:51)

---

Season photo gallery

---

More SJO Sports Articles

Letter to the Editor | When transparency becomes the target, a whistleblower's view from the back row

A community whistleblower recounts the reaction to recording public meetings. In his letter, he argues that transparency should not provoke fear if the governmental body is operating above board.

---

Dear Editor,

Being a known whistleblower is a wild experience because, apparently, sitting quietly at a public meeting with a camera now counts as an act of aggression. I walk in, take a seat, hit record, and you would think I just pulled the fire alarm. Heads start swiveling, whispers start flying, and before long someone decides the real emergency in the room is me documenting what elected officials are saying into a microphone.

My personal favorite is when people start recording me while I am recording them, as if we have entered some strange standoff where the last camera standing wins. I am not sure what they think they are going to capture. A man sitting in a chair? A citizen listening? The suspense is unbearable.

Then there is the dramatic parking lot energy after adjournment, when a few brave souls suddenly find the courage to confront the man with the notebook. I usually make a polite early exit because I am not interested in late-night debates next to a shopping cart corral. I am there for one reason, and it is not small talk. I am there to go straight to the source of the problem and deal with it at the head, not nibble around the edges to make everyone feel comfortable.

Here is what makes it funny and telling at the same time. No one panics over a camera when everything is clean. No one cares about public records when there is nothing in them. The only time a whistleblower becomes the villain of the story is when the story has something in it worth hiding. If the strategy is to intimidate the person asking questions instead of answering them, that says more than any investigation ever could.

Every time the focus shifts to me instead of the issue, it confirms I am looking in the right place. Targeting a whistleblower does not protect the public. It protects whatever cannot survive daylight. And if that is the reaction, then I will keep showing up, keep recording and keep digging. Because if a camera and a notebook shake the room that much, imagine what the truth is doing.

Alec Severins
Georgetown

With over 17,000 followers, Alec Severins is the founder of the Vermilion County Watchdog community Facebook page, an independent media and investigative journalism organization.

---

More Editorial Viewpoints

---

TAGS:

letter to the editor about government transparency, whistleblower recording public meetings opinion, public records and open meetings accountability, citizen journalist documenting elected officials, intimidation concerns at local government meetings