A special birth, a Sterling berth: Bishop welcomes first child, Warriors advance to dual sectional
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| Sterling's Curtis Lilly tries to avoid being pinned by Geneseo's Ben Rudy during their 215-pound match on Saturday at the Class 2A Rock Island Regional. (Mark Hagen/Shaw News Service) |
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ROCK ISLAND – With their head coach gone spending time with his newborn daughter, the Sterling Golden Warriors turned in a sterling performance to win the Class 2A Rock Island Regional on Saturday.
Sterling coach Charlie Bishop missed the meet due to the birth of his first child on Friday. His team didn’t miss a beat, advancing 10 wrestlers to the Sterling Sectional next weekend.
The Warriors had five regional champions – Marquell Addison (119 pounds), Dylan Devers (130), Tyler Balsley (135), Stevie DeWitt (145) and Jeremy Galvan (160).
Sterling also had four runners up and one third-place sectional qualifier. The Warriors’ runners-up were Branden Cater (112), Jordan Lopez (125), Jordan Ristau (140) and Johnny Lopez (171). Cater, ranked fifth at 103, returned from injury to take second at 112. Sterling’s Tyler Garcia also advanced, placing third at 189.
The Warriors’ 10 sectional qualifiers were three more than runner-up Rock Island, helping Sterling outdistance the Rocks for the team title 190 to 168 and earn a berth in the dual team sectional at Geneseo on Feb. 23.
Dixon finished sixth in the eight-team field, advancing four wrestlers and scoring 75 points.
Dukes moving on as runners up were Wes Dempsey at 152 and George Canales at 189. Dixon’s third-place regional qualifiers were Blaine Greenwalt (160) and David Goad (285).
Addison (28-10), who is ranked ninth by illinoismatmen.com, pinned Geneseo’s Jake Miller in 1:54 in the semifinals before edging Rock Island’s Kyle Carstens 2-1 in the 119 final.
“I went in there and did what I needed to do,” Addison said. “Everything went according to plan. I think I have a pretty good chance of going to state.”
Devers (25-6) only had to wrestle one match in his three-man bracket. He defeated Rock Island’s Denzel Gay 7-3 for the title at 130.
“I felt I could have wrestled better,” Devers said. “I just have to get ready in practice for sectionals next week.”
Balsley (24-6), who is ranked seventh, pinned LaSalle-Peru’s Travis Mahoney is 5:41 in the semis. In the final Balsley had a 2-1 lead in the opening moments of the second period when he suddenly pinned top-seeded Geoff Huntley of Rochelle, winning in 2:15.
“I was determined,” Balsley said. “When I woke up this morning I was thinking ‘I’m winning the regional championship today.’ No one was going to stop me.”
DeWitt (31-6), ranked 11th, continued to roll, pinning Galesburg’s Eric Spray in 3:30 in the semis then trouncing Geneseo’s Shane Bormann 10-3 in his final.
“I might have the No. 1 kid in my sectionals bracket, but it doesn’t mean I can’t go out there and wrestle my hardest and try to bring another bracket home,” DeWitt said.
Galvan earned an 11-8 decision over Rock Island’s Lucas Rusk in the semis. He was awarded the 160-pound title by injury default over fourth-ranked Collin Akers of Geneseo.
“I think I could have done better,” Galvan said. “I had cramps during my match. I’m happy with how I’m doing, but I can still improve.”
Canales pinned Sterling’s Tyler Garcia at 5:59 in the semis. In the final Canales ran into top-ranked West Cathcart of Geneseo. Cathcart built a 10-0 lead before Canales fought back and made it very respectable at 13-7.
“I thought I did pretty well except for my final,” Canales said. “I went in a little timid, but then I finished strong. I felt good about that. I’m pretty confident in myself. I think anything can happen. But, I still have plenty of room for improvement.”
Sterling assistant coach Kevin Heller was filling Bishop’s shoes.
“Things went especially well,” he said. “We had special motivation with the birth of Charlie’s daughter. Unfortunately, this is going to cost me a lot of money. I told the guys that if we won the regional we’d stop at Steak and Shake on the way home and I would buy. I did not anticipate us getting nine people into the championship round. I think the team is incredibly focused right now.”
Top 3 teams
1. Sterling 190
2. Rock Island 168.5
3. Geneseo 108
Local champions
119: Marquell Addison (Sterling)
130: Dylan Devers (Sterling)
135: Tyler Balsley (Sterilng)
145: Steve DeWitt (Sterling)
160: Jeremy Galvan (Sterling)
Other local sectional qualifiers
Dixon: Wes Dempsey (2nd, 152); George Canales (2nd, 189); Blaine Greenwalt (3rd, 160); David Goad (3rd, 285)
Sterling: Branden Cater (2nd, 112); Jordan Lopez (2nd, 125); Jordan Ristau (2nd, 140); Johnny Lopez (2nd, 171); Tyler Garcia (3rd, 189)
