Men’s and Women’s Wrestling Take 2nd in SLIAC
EUREKA, IL. – On Friday and Saturday, Eureka hosted the first ever SLIAC Men's and Women's Wrestling Championships.
On Friday, the Eureka women's team challenged Schreiner University all afternoon for first place. The two teams were tied at 123 points before Schreiner took five-of-six championship matches.
Mckenzie Cook (Homer, Alaska) and Madison Farris (Chatsworth,Ill./Rifle) led the Red Devils with individual titles, pushing the team to a runner-up finish with 131 team points. Cook won at 143, pinning Westminster's Anna Stephens in 1:55. Farris closed the day of competition with an exciting match against Schreiner's Symphanie Sampson. Despite trailing 8-0 as the clock ticked down in the championship match, Farris executed a double leg hook and slammed her opponent to the ground for five points. With under 10 seconds left, Farris maneuvered to the top mount position and secured a pin with just eight seconds remaining on the clock to claim the first-place medal.
8 other Red Devils found their way onto the podium for the women's team:
Emly Virgil (Morton, Ill./Morton) took 2nd at 101
Gada Bryant (Westville, Ill. / Westville) took 2nd at 109
Kyley Bair (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) finished 2nd at 116
Claire Schaffner (Delavan, Ill./Delavan) ended in 2nd at 130
Natallie Tobuk (Nome, Alaska/Nome-Beltz) took 2nd at 136
Parker Dafnis (Volo, Ill./Wauconda) came in 2nd at 155
Jaylah Dalton (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) placed 3rd at 155
Audrey Driskell (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) finished 3rd at 170
On the men's side, the Red Devils rivaled the University of Ozarks all day but dropped the final two championship matches to finish runner-up.
The Red Devils were led by Trevor Hedges (Canton, Ill./Canton) and Gaige Owens (Marion, Ill./Marion) who won at 125 and 133, respectively. Hedges won the title match at 125 by fall over Fontbonne's Gavin Patterson in just 14 seconds and Owens won by pinning Lyon's Jacob Kehrer in 0:54.
Five other Red Devils placed on Saturday for the men's team:
Nathan Berta (Channahon, Ill./Minooka) came in 2nd at 141
Mikie Hartnett (Morton, Ill./Morton) took 2nd at 157
Anthony Sartori (Channahon, Ill./Minooka) finished 3rd at 165
Thomas Culp (Quincy, Ill. / Quincy) placed 2nd at 197
Jackson Creasy (Lake of the Ozarks, Mo./Osage) took 2nd at 285
Coach Biehl commented: "We showed up and battled hard but fell just short of our goals this weekend. It will make us hungry for the postseason and next year. But we still have lots to celebrate from this weekend."
Next up, Eureka will compete in Regionals. The women head to Simpson College on February 23rd and the men head to Cedar Rapids on February 29th.