3 Newman wrestlers remain in contention for IHSA State medals: Friday’s SVM area roundup

IHSA Boys Individual Wrestling State Finals: At the State Farm Center in Champaign, three Newman wrestlers and one Oregon wrestler kept their seasons alive while the six other locals were eliminated in Friday’s wrestlebacks.

Newman senior Carter Rude lost an ultimate tiebreaker 3-2 against Unity junior Kaden Inman in a Class 1A 144-pound semifinal match. Rude sits two wins away from a third-place finish entering the third and final day of the tournament.

Newman senior Brady Grennan (132 pounds) took a 9-2 decision against Oakwood junior Pedro Rangel, and Newman junior Daniel Kelly (157) took a 15-9 decision against De La Salle senior Nicholas Arvetis in the second round of wrestlebacks. Both sit three wins away from a third-place finish.

Oregon senior Anthony Bauer (157) pinned Chicago Hope junior Tony Jones-Blakely in 5:23 in the first round of wrestlebacks and also pinned Olympia junior Kelton Graden in 3:13 in the second round to reach the third day of the tournament.

Dixon freshman Jack Ragan (106) took a 6-4 decision against Glenwood sophomore Tyler Clarke in the first round of 2A wrestlebacks but lost an elimination match in the second round. Ragan ends his season with 38 wins, tying the freshman varsity school record for a single season.

Newman sophomore Zhyler Hansen (126) was eliminated in the first round of 1A wrestlebacks.

Amboy sophomore Landon Blanton (120) took a 7-2 decision against Wilmington senior Landon Dooley in the first round of 1A wrestlebacks but was pinned by Riverdale’s Dean Wainwright, the reigning 1A 106-pound state champion, in 5:06, to end his season in the second round of wrestlebacks. Amboy senior Lucas Blanton (175) was eliminated in the first round of wrestlebacks.

Oregon senior Quentin Berry (190) took a 15-9 decision against Gibson City Melvin-Sibley senior Aiden Sancken in the first round of 1A wrestlebacks but was eliminated in the second round. Oregon freshman Nelson Benesh (113) also was eliminated in the second round of wrestlebacks after going 1-1 on Day 1.

Girls basketball

River Ridge/Scales Mound 48, Eastland 39: At Savanna, the Cougars ended their season in a Class 1A West Carroll Regional final loss to the Wildcats.

Eastland (19-13) was led by Olivia Klinefelter with 12 points and five rebounds, Keni Burkholder with eight points, and Trixie Carroll and Lily Mullen with seven points each. Carroll also had seven rebounds, three steals and three assists.

Boys basketball

Forreston 55, Ashton-Franklin Center 31: At Forreston, the Cardinals built a 21-9 halftime lead and rolled past the Raiders for an NUIC South win in their regular-season finale.

Forreston was led by Mickey Probst with 18 points and five steals; Brendan Greenfield with 13 points, 12 rebounds and five assists; and Kendall Erdmann with 13 points and four assists. Brady Gill chipped in nine points for the Cardinals.

Barrett Becker paced AFC with seven points.