Individual standouts powered Unity’s run through the tournament. Hunter Shike and Chason Daley both finished 6-0, recording multiple first-period pins. Freshman Hayden Smith added seven wins, contributing depth and bonus points.
ST. JOSEPH - Unity left little doubt about its place atop the Illini Prairie Conference this weekend. For Unity, it was a statement performance, blending individual dominance with team-wide consistency. With another conference championship secured, the Rockets will carry both momentum and confidence forged over two decisive days on the mat in the upcoming postseason. Unity captured their seventh conference championship with a dominant two-day performance, running the table against all seven league opponents to claim the title and improve to 19-10 on the season. Entering the tournament as the No. 1 seed, the Rockets delivered on that billing from start to finish, combining depth, bonus points and timely pins to separate itself from the field. The championship was effectively decided in Unity’s final dual, a 44-36 win over host St. Joseph-Ogden in what proved to be the Rockets’ stiffest test of the tournament. Despite losses at 106, 113, 120 and 126 pounds, Unity swung the dual with four pivotal pins. Hayden Smith sparked the run with a fall at 144, followed by Hunter Shike at 150 and Josh Heath at 175. Chason Daley sealed the win at 215 with a second-period pin of Liam Carter, providing the eight-point margin that held up at the final whistle. Unity’s path to the title began Friday with a commanding sweep through the round-robin bracket. The Rockets opened with a 72-10 rout of St. Thomas More, then followed with a 65-9 victory over Prairie Central. They closed the first day by pulling away from Illinois Valley Central, 60-21, positioning themselves for a championship push on Saturday. Momentum only grew on day two. Unity overwhelmed Rantoul 77-6 and Pontiac 55-20 in its morning duals before dispatching Monticello 54-24. That set the stage for the showdown with St. Joseph-Ogden, where Unity’s ability to generate falls in the middle and upper weights ultimately proved decisive. Several Rockets delivered standout performances across the two days. Shike was flawless, finishing undefeated while making quick work of most of his opponents. He recorded pins in under a minute in four of his matches and capped his weekend with a first-period fall at 1:55 over St. Joseph-Ogden’s Nathan Daley in his toughest bout of the tournament. With one forfeit mixed in, Shike closed the event at 6-0. Daley was equally dominant at 215 pounds, posting five victories, all by fall. His most competitive match came against Carter in the finale, ending at 3:49, while his other wins never extended beyond the first period. Like Shike, Daley also benefited from one forfeit to finish 6-0. Freshman Hayden Smith added to Unity’s depth with seven total wins, three by forfeit. Wrestling at 144, Smith recorded victories over Nicholas Dunner of Rantoul, Braden Oppermen of Pontiac, Drake Weeks of Monticello and Alec Bowlin of St. Joseph-Ogden, contributing critical points throughout the weekend. St. Joseph-Ogden finished second in the standings at 7-1, sweeping its other six duals with its lone loss coming against Unity. Monticello placed third, followed by Pontiac in fourth, Illinois Valley Central in fifth, Prairie Central in sixth, Rantoul in seventh and St. Thomas More in eighth.
