Area wrestlers earn All-Conference recognition

St. Thomas More's Brody Cuppernell tries to avoid a takedown attempt by Unity's Hunter Eastin during the IHSA 190-pound championship match at State Farm Center on Saturday. Eastin prevailed to win the Class 1A title with 5-2 decision over Cuppernell. Both wrestlers made the cut for this year's Illini Prairie all-conference first team. See more championship match photos here ...

Photo: PhotoNews Media

URBANA - Eleven wrestlers from Unity and eight from St. Joseph-Ogden were selected by coaches and named to the Illini Prairie 2023-2024 all-conference teams.

Later today, the Rockets wrestle against the Shells of Roxana for a spot in tomorrow's semifinal round at Grossinger Motors Arena. The season also continues for Unity's Phoenix Molina, who is competing in the girls' IHSA wrestling championship, also at the arena.

2023-2024
Illini Prairie Conference
All-Conference Wrestling

* Unanimous choice

First Team:

Zeke Young, Monticello (Freshmen, 106)
Hunter Romano, Monticello (Junior, 175/190)
Aidan Scholwin, Pontiac (Senior, 106)*
Ayden Mackey, Prairie Central (Senior, 144)
Emmitt Holt, SJO (Senior, 113)*
Holden Brazelton, SJO (Junior, 132)*
Coy Hayes, SJO (Sophomore, 150)
August Christhilf, STM (Senior, 175)*
Robbie Vavrik, STM (Senior, 285)*
Brody Cuppernell, STM (Senior, 190/215)*
Hunter Shike, Unity (Sophomore, 126)*
Taylor Finley, Unity (Freshmen, 132)
Kaden Inman, Unity (Junior, 144)
Abram Davidson, Unity (Sophomore, 157)
Ryan Rink, Unity (Junior, 165)*
Thayden Root, Unity (Senior, 175)
Hunter Eastin, Unity (Junior, 190)*

Second Team:

Owen Moser, IVC (Sophomore, 165)
AJ Toliver, IVC (Freshmen, 150)
Gavin Ridings, Monticello (Senior, 157)
Wyatt Vaughan, Monticello (Senior, 175/190)
Brandon Peters, Monticello (Senior, 285)
John Traub, Prairie Central (Junior, 132)
Darius Williams, Rantoul (Junior, 150)
Jackson Walsh, SJO (Sophomore, 113)
Landen Butts, SJO (Junior, 138)
Devan Swisher, SJO (Sophomore, 165)
Maddie Wells, SJO (Sophomore, 126)
James Schmidt, STM (Junior, 215)
Philip Christhilf, STM (Junior, 157)
Keegan Germano, Unity (Freshmen, 138)
Josh Heath, Unity (Sophomore, 150)

Honorable Mention:

Marrissa Miller, Monticello (Senior, 113)
Luke Andruczyk, Monticello (Freshmen, 120)
Will Osborne, Monticello (Freshmen, 126)
Russ Brown, Monticello (Junior, 165)
Hunter Melvin, Pontiac (Senior, 215)
Drayden Ramsey, Pontiac (Sophomore, 126)
Noah Davis, Pontiac (Freshmen, 120)
Drew Owen, Rantoul (Junior, 215/285)
Quincy Jones, SJO (Junior, 215)
Travis McCarter, Unity (Sophomore, 113)
Hudson DeHart, Unity (Freshmen, 215)

Unity's Eastin wins state wrestling title

Unity's Hunter Eastin is declared winner after his 5-2 win over St. Thomas More's Brody Cuppernell. See more championship match photos below.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

CHAMPAIGN - Unity's 190-pounder Hunter Eastin finished the season with 47-6 record and the Class 1A state title last Saturday. He was one of three medalists from Unity's six state finalists.

The junior went 4-0 at the IHSA Individual Wrestling State Finals, beating Frankfort's Conner Henson (39-12) in the first round with first period pin and pinned Lena-Winslow-Stockton's Jeremiah Luke in third period. Down 1-2 at the end of the first period in his next match against Kaden Tidwell, Eastin rallied back to secured a spot in the Saturday finals with his win over the Vandalian with a 37-11 record via an 8-3 decision.

In championship match against St. Thomas More's Brody Cuppernell (35-4), Eastin trailed in the third period 1-0. On the command to start the final period, Eastin tied up the score with an escape. A minute later, he scored on a takedown and a near-fall three second later, going up 5-1. With two seconds left on the clock, Cuppernell was awarded one point for another escape, ending the match at 5-2.

Championship Match Gallery

Rockets' Rink advances to the next round at state wrestling

Champaign - Unity's Ryan Rink wrestles Paris's Robert Wells in their Class 1A 165-pound preliminary-round match at the Illinois High School Association Individual Wrestling State Finals. Rink won the bout advancing to the next round after notching an 11-4 decision over Wells.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Unity & SJO wrestlers head to state - Here's what you need to know

CHAMPAIGN - Starting late Thursday morning, 23 area wrestlers qualified to compete in the IHSA Individual Wrestling State Finals at the State Farm Center on the University of Illinois campus. Here is everything you need to know about state wrestling this weekend.

Who to watch?

The St. Joseph-Ogden wrestling program is sending three representatives.

Senior Emmitt Holt (37-2) qualified for one of 16 spots in the 106-pound bracket. The 2x qualifier will face Seneca's Raiden Terry, a freshman with a 40-8 record, in their tournament opener. Holt was a qualifier in the 2022 state tournament at 113 pounds.

Battling for a state title in the 132-pound weight class, SJO's Holden Brazelton makes his third-consecutive appearance at State Farm Center. Last year, then a sophomore, he finished third in the 132-pound weight class. Now a junior with 45 wins and one loss under his belt, he will square off against Vandalia freshman Cole Yarbrough (19-4) in his first-round match on Thursday.

The Spartans' youngest entry, Coy Hayes, makes his state tournament debut with a 29-8 record in the 150-pound division. He will wrestle Coal City's Brant Widlowski, a senior who is 43-3 this season.

Six wrestlers from Unity advanced out of the sectional meet. Qualifying for his third state wrestling berth, Kaden Inman (47-7), a junior, will wrestle at 144.

Sophomore Hunter Shike at 126, and juniors Ryan Rink (165) and Hunter Eastin (190) will embark on their second attempt to bring home a state title. Shike heads to state with an impressive 38-7 record, Rink is 39-10, and Eastin is 43-6.

Rockets' Thayden Root (44-9) enters the 175-pound division with 44 wins against nine losses. The senior will face Seneca's Asher Hamby (48-6) in his first-round bout.

Unity freshman Taylor Finley (38-16) made the cut for the 132-pound weight class.

When is it?

There will be one session on Thursday and then two sessions each day, Friday and Saturday.

Doors open to the public at 11 a.m. for the first session Thursday, with the action starting at noon. The state final action starts with the Class 1A preliminary rounds, followed by 2A, and then 3A bouts. At approximately 6:45 p.m., the Class 1A and 2A quarterfinal matches start rolling nonstop.

Session two is open to the public at 7:30 a.m. on Friday and will include the Class 3A quarterfinals and the first/second round of wrestlebacks for each class.

Session three starts at 6 p.m. Friday. Session four starts Saturday morning, with doors opening at 8 a.m.

The final session opens at 4:30 p.m. Saturday for the championship matches. The Grand March starts at 5:30 p.m. and the title matches begin about a half hour later, starting with the 132-pounders.

Where is it?

The tournament is at the State Farm Center, where it has been held every year since 1973, except in 2021, when the IHSA state series was put on hold due to the pandemic.

How much is it?

Tickets are $10 or $12 per session, depending on the section. All-session passes are a savings of $50 or $60, depending on seat location. Tickets are available online at statefarmcenter.com or the ticket office.

All-day parking is available for $15.

Is there anything else to know?

State Farm Center has strict rules covering items not allowed into the venue. Fans and spectators are not allowed to bring bags larger than 4.5 inches by 7 inches, containers, laser pointers, banners, flags, signs, blankets, noisemakers, weapons, laptops, video recorders, monopods, tripods or any items deemed dangerous or inappropriate. If it can be used to create a distraction, as a weapon or to conceal one, leave it in the car.

Spectators can bring clutches no larger than 4.5 inches by 7 inches, a one-gallon clear plastic storage bag, a clear drawstring bag, binoculars without a case, cameras with lenses no longer than 4 inches, jackets, items related to medical conditions and diaper bags.

Who else is competing from the area?

Photo: PhotoNews Media

Oakwood's Jamison Chambliss scores a takedown on St. Joseph-Ogden's Corbin Smith during their dual match in December. Chambliss, who qualified for this year's individual state tournament, defeated Smith by pin in a minute and twenty-six seconds. The senior along with six teammates landed berths into this year's state finals at the State Farm Center.

Centennial High School advanced three grapplers, all seniors. Andon Beldo (30-7) will battle for a Class 2A title at 126. Trevor Schoonover will compete in the 138-pound division. He is 41-8 going into tomorrow afternoon's preliminary round. Wrestling at 285, undefeated Jack Barnhart is a contender for the 2A heavyweight title.

Ron Baker III and brother Talin will represent Champaign Central in the 144 and 113-pound divisions, respectively. Talin is 30-6, while Ron has a modest 13-2 record.

Look for St. Thomas More seniors August Christhilf at 175 and Brody Cuppernell at 190 in the Class 1A bracket. Cuppernell is 32-3 and Christhilf is 38-5.

The Oakwood wrestling program is once again enjoying success in the Class 1A division this season. The program sends seven wrestlers to this year's state finals. Competitors to watch are freshmen Steven Uden (31-16) at 106 pounds and Jamison Chambliss (24-5) at 190. Brayden Edwards (33-13) will wrestle at 113 and Pedro Rangel (44-5) at 132 pounds. The Comets also had three seniors advance to state, including Grant Brewer (39-3) at 150-pounds, Bryson Capansky (40-6) at 157, and Dalton Brown (41-5) at 175.

Unity girls advance to regional title game after win on Monday

MONTICELLO - Their second game of the season against Warrensburg-Latham was over by halftime. The Unity girls' basketball team enjoyed a 23-9 lead thanks to Addison Ray's three treys in the first two periods en route to a 49-34 regional semifinal win over the Cardinals on Monday.

Illinois College recruit Raegen Stringer (six rebounds, four assists) led all scorers with 17 points for the Rockets. Ray tacked on five points to her first-half total, finishing with 14 points and five rebounds. Clare Meharry came off the bench and contributed double digits, contributing 10 points to the cause.

Unity's Lauren Haas and Meredith Reed finished the game with four points each. Haas, who dished out three assists, led the team on the boards with eight rebounds.

Two weeks ago, the Rockets beat the Cardinals at home in their non-conference game, 54-46.

Sophomore Delaney Garner paced the Warrensburg-Latham scoring effort with 12 points. Meanwhile, Breanna Dutcher went four-for-four from the free-throw line to finish with seven points.

Advancing to the Monticello regional title game, Unity will face Paris, who are also 19-11. The Tigers advanced after knocking off the host Sages, 42-37.

Unity Rockets sports for the week of February 12

Unity's Dalton O'Neill takes a third quarter shot over SJO's Tanner Jacob in last Friday's Illini Prairie Conference showdown. Down by 10 most of the third quarter, the Rockets rallied back pushing the game into overtime on a trey from Dane Eisenmenger. Falling short by a basket in OT, Unity fell 73-72 in one of the most exciting basketball games for both teams this season. Below is this week's sports calender.

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Clash of the conference Titans; SJO outlasts Unity

TOLONO - There weren't a lot of open spaces in the stands to plop down and watch the ensuing epic basketball game between visiting St. Joseph-Ogden and the host Unity at the Rocket Center on Friday. While it was a mild winter's evening outside, it was the heat and humidity of a Florida spring in the near-capacity-filled gym. The air was brewing with palatable excitement as the two teams with a combined record of 45-8, each enjoying a four-game win streak heading toward tipoff, warmed up.

Unity's Dane Eisenmenger tries to keep St. Joseph-Ogden's Luke Landrus from getting deep penetation into the paint during first quarter action of their Illini Prairie Conference game on Friday. See more photos below.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Unity (23-3) snagged the opening tip and it wasn't long before fans were forced to the edge of their seats by the 5's, Unity's Henry Thomas and SJO's Logan Smith. The two seniors, who later hugged after St. Joseph-Ogden (23-6) prevailed in the 73-72 overtime win, put on an impressive show of basketball skill, tenacity, and mental toughness.

"This was a fun basketball game," said Unity head coach Matt Franks. "This is what high school basketball is all about. I thought it was a great atmosphere."

Smith, who finished the contest with a game-high 29 points had five assists and three rebounds, drew first blood on a layup to momentarily put St. Joseph-Ogden in the lead on the scoreboard.

St. Joseph-Ogden head coach Kiel Duval said players like Smith, with his mindset, are tough to beat.

"It is tough to knock him down. He is an absolute winner," he said. "He has a 'refuse to lose' mentality. When you've got that, you are tough to beat."

On the next two possessions, Thomas scored in the paint giving, and Dalton O'Neill added two more points on a reverse layup to give the Rockets a 6-2 lead.

"Henry has worked really, really hard to get his game to where he can have a night like this," Frank said. Thomas finished the contest with a team-high 27 points and was four-for-eight from the charity stripe. Two Fridays earlier, the senior scored his 1,000th career point against Prairie Central at the Rocket Center. "I think it was a perfect combination of teammates moving the ball well so Henry can do what he does."

The Spartans would even the score on two free throws from Luke Landus and a jumper from junior Coy Taylor, tying the game at six-all.

After buckets from Unity's Tyler Henry and Eric Miebach, Andrew Thomas drains a trey, putting the Rockets up 13-6 with 1:20 left in the quarter. Flustered, the Spartans called a timeout.

The Rockets continued to lead on the scoreboard until Smith knotted the game at 19-all. After converting a free throw, SJO takes a 20-19 lead.

Unity shotmaking went cold after Coleton Langendorf hit his free throw to tie the game again at 20-all. Taking advantage of the lull, the Spartans make an 11-point run, going up 31-20.

In control the rest of the first half through the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, SJO held a comfortable lead on their hosts until the last four minutes and 12 seconds of regulation time when Henry Thomas racked up eight points consecutive points, trimming his team's deficit from seven to two, 64-66.

"We got into foul trouble and had some bad matchups," Duval explained. "Their best player got looks at the basket. Once we got into foul trouble, we had trouble recovering from that. We kind of went away from doing some of the stuff we did to get good looks."

With 10.7 seconds left in the game, SJO's Tanner Jacob sinks the first of two free throws and misses the insurance basket. Unity gets the rebound and the ball down to Dane Eisenminger, who pumped a shot outside the arc in front of his team's bench. The trey falls with three seconds left in regulation time, sending the game into overtime at 67-all and the Rocket Center into an unabashed frenzy.

Smith was the only player from either team to hit a field goal in overtime, helping St. Joseph-Ogden tallied six points against Unity's five to end one of the most exciting basketball games in the St. Joe-Unity rivalry.

"Both teams played really hard," Franks said. "A game like this could have gone all night. It was great basketball."

A free throw away from a second overtime, Franks said his game plan would have been to stay poised and composed if they had to go another session.

"(We would) stay in the moment. It's all about the next possession, and we'd have to just focus on that," he said. "St. Joe is a great team, and it takes a great effort to beat them."

Duval was expecting a dogfight and had no illusions, counting unhatched chickens. Earlier in the season, SJO suffered two losses in the last-second heartbreakers. The first in a non-conference game at Beecher 55-53, and the second on a buzzer-beater in the Small School Division State Farm Holiday Classic championship game to El Paso-Gridley.

"There were two good teams battling back and forth. We knew they were going to throw another punch," he said. "They are at home. They always play better at home."

Also contributing to SJO's scoring effort was Luke Landrus, who finished with 13 points, and Coy Taylor, 3-for-3 at the line, with 12 points. Tanner Siems had eight points, and Tanner Jacob drained a pair of treys and a free throw to finish with seven points.

Andrew Thomas, Henry's twin, finished with 13 points, and Dalton O'Neill, who went five-for-six on free throws, contributed 12 points. Eric Meibach (9), Dane Eisenmenger (5), Jay Saunders (3), and Tyler Henry (2) contributed in the Rockets' effort. Coleton Langendorf hit a solo free throw for one point.

"It was like a sectional championship game," Duval said, talking about the atmosphere. "That was huge. I am proud that our guys found a way to win."