Fourteen locals make sectionals

While Mercer County advanced rather handily, 13 of the 16 local wrestlers who reached at least the third-place bout at the Rockridge regional advanced to sectionals.

Erie-Prophetstown finished second as a team with 132 points, 64 fewer than Mercer County. Six Panthers advanced, with two (Alex Cole – 145 pounds, Dylan DeShane – 182) winning title bouts. Cole earned a 3-1 decision over Orion’s Joe DeVolder, and DeShane pinned Riverdale’s Brandon Mizlo at 4:56.

E-P’s Brandon McCullough (106), Mitch Mallary (113), Nick Stoddard (152) and Nick Williams (170) all lost title bouts to place second. Seth Montgomery (160) and Jace Bright (285) lost third-place matches, and the top three advance.

Sophomore Jeff Casey won the lone title for West Carroll by pinning Orion’s Mike Dierikx at 4:32. Payton Nevills (126) and Zach Hartman (138) took runner-up honors in their ladders, while Matt Ross (160) and Jacob Klein (182) won third-place bouts to advance.

Both of Fulton’s wrestlers who reached the top four in their respective classes are sectional-bound. Ethan Jones’ 6-4 decision over Sherrard’s Tyson Schulte in the 138-pound third-place bout punched his ticket, and Matt Hartman pinned Alleman’s Nate Herron at 5:21 in the 220-pound third-place match.

Polo’s Haenitsch advances: Despite suffering an injury default in the 195-pound title bout against Lena-Winslow-Stockton’s Logan Staver, Polo’s Dalton Haenitsch earned a spot in sectionals at the Polo regional.

Zach Hagemann was edged 3-0 by Daniel Meilke of Dakota in the 160-pound third-place bout, and Keynon Janicke was pinned by Stillman Valley’s Aaron Person at 3:09 in the 182-pound bronze medal match. The top three move on to sectionals.