A dominant performance across the lineup lifted St. Joseph-Ogden to a lopsided dual meet victory Tuesday night. SJO earned a 61-13 dual meet win over South Vermillion.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Spartans' Nathan Daly stops a shot by Wildcats' Gavin Martin in the first period of their 150 pound bout on Tuesday. Daly went on to win the match 53 seconds into the second period to give SJO at 39-6 lead midway through the match on Tuesday.
ST. JOSEPH - St. Joseph-Ogden’s wrestling team continued its strong season with a decisive 61-13 dual meet victory over South Vermillion County on Tuesday night, rolling to wins in 12 of the 14 contested bouts. The victory improved the Spartans’ dual record to 18-4, reflecting a lineup that controlled the match from the opening weight class. SJO jumped out early behind a fall from Weston Hubbard at 106 pounds and never looked back. Levi Lee (113) and Ben Wells (120) both added forfeit victories, while George Hale edged out a 9-8 decision at 126 to keep the Spartans unbeaten through the first four weights. Camden Getty (132) and Aiden Hundley (138) followed with falls, extending the lead to 33-0 before South Vermillion put points on the board. Nathan Daly (150) restarted the momentum for St. Joseph-Ogden with a fall, and the middle weights continued to dominate. Alex Vaughn (157) earned a technical fall, and Coy Hayes (165) added another tech fall as the Spartans built an insurmountable advantage. Caleb Dwyer (215) closed out the upper weights with a forfeit win, and Cam Wagner capped the night with a first-period fall at 285 pounds. With the dual meet complete, St. Joseph-Ogden now turns its attention to hosting duties. The Spartans will host the Illini Prairie Conference Meet on Friday, beginning at 4:30 p.m., with eight teams competing simultaneously across four mats in dual competition on Friday and Saturday.
ABOVE: St. Joseph-Ogden's Alec Bowlin lifts South Vermillion's Garret Pate during their 144-pound match. Bowlin, who scored on the shot and picked back points, was pinned in the first round by Pate. BELOW: SJO's Cam Wagner shoots in for a takedown. The junior went on to pin Wildcats' Drew Hess in a minute and 17 seconds into their 285-pound match.
Photos: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Freshman Ben Wells rebounded from his quarterfinal loss on Friday, winning his next two matches at the Clinton sectional on Saturday. Facing Olympia's Brandon Gaither (40-9) in the 106-pound consolation semifinal, he struggled and fell 17-1 in the second period, concluding his first season with a 38-13 record. Gaither went on to finish third in the division.
Sophomore Cam Wagner also experienced a tough loss in his consolation semifinal to Peoria Notre Dame's Brady Mullen, who defeated him in just 42 seconds. Wagner, in his debut varsity wrestling season, achieved 37 wins against 15 losses.
Senior Jackson Walsh, finishing his final season with over 40 wins, lost his consolation semifinal to PORTA's Kainin Fillbright, who finished fourth in the 113-pound division. Walsh's prep career ended via pin just 57 seconds into the match.
The fourth SJO wrestler at sectionals, senior Landen Butts, faced a challenging draw and concluded the tournament with a 0-2 record. He wraps up the season with a 35-15 record.
Below is the summary of how all four wrestlers performed at the Clinton sectional tournament:
