Six Coal Coal City wrestlers medal at state

CHAMPAIGN – Half of Coal City’s lineup left State Farm Center with state tournament medals on Saturday night.

But the bar is high for this program, and the Coalers weren’t satisfied even after putting two wrestlers into championship bouts and five more in the top six at the IHSA Class 1A State Finals in Champaign. It was the most state placers in the history of one of Illinois' elite programs.

“We’re super happy to have that many guys on the podium,” coach Mark Masters said. “The expectations are so high for this group of kids that sometimes that’s just not enough.

“They want more. There’d be many schools who would love to have that. You can just see our guys are disappointed because they didn’t finish on top of the podium.”

The two Coal City finalists both took second. At 126 pounds, sophomore Cooper Morris (40-6) lost by technical fall at 4:35 to Vandala’s Tyson Waughtel (54-0), who won his third state title. At 138, junior Brody Widlowski (27-1) dropped an 8-4 decision to Tolono Unity’s Taylor Finley (51-5).

Widlowski won his third state medal to go along with a fourth at 113 in 2023 and a second at 126 last season.

The runner-up finishes provide motivation for his senior year.

“Took second twice, I hope I get first, come back for the gold,” Widlowski said.

Before that, though,will be the dual team series. The Coalers are ranked third in Class 1A by Illinois Matmen behind Vandalia and Marian Central and, assuming they get past the sectional on Tuesday, will be seeking their second team title in three seasons next weekend in Bloomington.

“Just gotta move on from this week,” Widlowski said. “Can’t let it keep you down for the long (term). Just come back better.”

Morris won his second state medal after finishing fifth at 113 last year.

“Wasn’t on top of the podium so (I’ve) just got to keep pushing forward,” Morris said. “Do great things in the offseason and come back next year (on) top of the podium.”

Also placing for the Coalers were Aidan Kenney (39-12), who was fourth at 144, and fifth-place finishers Owen Petersen (44-4) at 113, Landin Benson (42-4) at 175, Cade Poyner (37-9) at 190 and John Keigher (35-3) at 215.

“It’s a big character builder when you come (out) on the backside of the tournament (and) you’re in the wrestlebacks,” Masters said. “You find out what kind of man you are.”

It was the second state medal for both Petersen, who was sixth at 106 last season, and Benson, the defending 165 champ.

Benson had a hard-luck tournament, going 4-2 with both losses in overtime: 2-1 on a tiebreaker in the quarterfinals and 3-2 on an ultimate tiebreaker in the consolation semifinals.

“Landin put a lot of pressure on himself,” Masters said, “Had a phenomenal football career – two-time All-State running back. Anything short of a state title was not going to be good enough in his eyes.”

Also earning a spot on the medals stand was Reed-Custer’s Dominic Alaimo (45-9), who took sixth at 215 after falling 9-5 to Keigher in the fifth-place match.

Two other local wrestlers finished in the top eight at their weights in Class 1A, falling in the blood round on Saturday morning: Coal City’s Brock Finch (31-10) at 165 and Wilmington’s Logan Van Duyne (40-8) at 190.