St. Joseph-Ogden placed second at the Illini Prairie Conference Wrestling Tournament with a 7-1 record. The Spartans swept six duals and fell only to Unity in the championship matchup. SJO opened the tournament with three lopsided wins on Friday.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
SJO's Vance McComas wrestles IVC's Mason Talley in their 190 pound match. McComas pinned Talley at 3:34 for the win. St. Joseph-Ogden went on to win the dual at the conference meet 72-9.
ST. JOSEPH - St. Joseph-Ogden put together a dominant two-day showing at the Illini Prairie Conference Wrestling Tournament, finishing second overall with a 7-1 record and sweeping its six non-Unity duals in convincing fashion. The weekend was yet another sign that Spartan wrestling program is making positive strides back to its position of one of the area's top Class 1A wrestling programs with the return of the Gallo family leading the program after a 16-year hiatus. The Spartans’ only conference tournament loss came against eventual champion Unity, which secured its seventh league title. SJO controlled the rest of the field, placing ahead of Monticello, Pontiac, Illinois Valley Central, Prairie Central, Rantoul and St. Thomas More. St. Joseph-Ogden opened the round-robin tournament Friday with a 71-6 rout of Prairie Central, followed by a 72-9 win over Illinois Valley Central. The Spartans closed the first day by overpowering Rantoul 59-9, establishing early momentum behind depth throughout the lineup. Saturday began with a 48-33 victory over Pontiac, then a 57-24 win over Monticello. SJO capped its non-championship duals by cruising past St. Thomas More 72-12 before setting up a title-deciding matchup with Unity.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Spartans' Cam Getty settles in for a pin during his 126 pound match against Illinois Valley Central's Bradley Allen.
The Spartans jumped out quickly in the championship dual, sweeping the four lightweight classes to build a 24-0 lead. Levi Lee opened at 106 pounds with a first-period pin of Vincent Abon. At 113, sophomore Ben Wells scored two takedowns before pinning Ian Skibbe 38 seconds into the match. George Hale followed with a fall over Deklyn Thomas at 120, and Cam Getty pinned Bryson Williams in the first period at 126. Unity responded with a decisive mid-match surge, winning five consecutive bouts and flipping the momentum. After a forfeit at 132, Hayden Smith pinned Alec Bowlin at 144. Aiden Hundley fell by technical fall to AJ Daly, and the Rockets added victories at 150, 157, 165 and 175 to seize control. Senior Vance McComas briefly halted the run at 190, pinning Bradley Smith to cut the deficit to 38-30. Unity sealed the dual at 215, where Chason Daley recorded a second-period fall over Liam Carter. Heavyweight Cam Wagner closed the match with a 40-second pin of Christian Sellers, but the eight-point margin held in a 44-36 Unity win. Individually, Getty finished the tournament with five wins, all by pin, with his only loss coming in sudden victory against Pontiac freshman Jack Voigts. Coy Hayes also posted six wins, including five pins and one forfeit, with his lone setback coming by major decision to Unity’s Abram Davidson. Carter finished with five victories at 215 pounds, while Wagner added valuable team points despite limited competition, recording one pin and collecting multiple forfeits.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
St. Joseph-Ogden 157 pound wrestler Alex Vaughn pins Rantoul's Jordan Cross in the first period. The Spartans cruised to a 59-9 victory over the Eagles on Friday.
Monticello responded with a string of victories, including Nick Litchfield’s 18-2 tech fall at 126 pounds and a forfeit at 132 pounds. Despite SJO's Aiden Hundley and Landen Butts securing key wins at 138 and 144 pounds, Monticello mounted a comeback. Russ Brown’s 16-1 tech fall at 190 pounds tied the score at 34-all, and Hunter Romano’s second-period pin at 215 pounds gave the Sages their first lead of the match, 40-34.
The Spartans’ hopes rested on sophomore heavyweight Cam Wagner, who delivered under pressure. Wagner pinned Nate Darnell in just 55 seconds, tying the match at 40-40 and preserving SJO’s unbeaten record for the day.
With Monticello behind them, the Spartans faced two more challenges on Saturday: Unity, a 2023 IHSA Class 1A Elite 8 team, and host Illinois Valley Central.
