Dukes, Warriors combine for one win at Dixon Duals

After a 1-5 combined performance from the Dukes and Golden Warriors, there is still plenty of work to be done and improvement to be had from both squads.

"It gives you a chance to see all these teams and what they're doing," Dixon coach Chris Bishop said. "You get to see a lot of great matches. It's nice to have it at the beginning of the season, and then when we see them later on, like at the regionals, you see how far each team has progressed from where they are now."

Dixon dropped three one-sided matches against Galesburg (55-15), Rock Island (70-9) and Boylan (58-21), but found a few silver linings along the way.

The lone win against Galesburg came from junior standout Trent Brinkmeier, who took an 8-2 decision at 132 pounds before exiting with an injury to his right arm. It was not believed to be serious.

"After the match, he came over and said, 'Coach, I'm kind of hurting,' " Bishop said. "Then a little later he said, 'Coach, I'm really hurting.' When that happened, we knew it was time to shut it down for the day and go from there."

Kylian Lally had the lone win on the mat for the Dukes against the Rocks, a 7-0 decision at 138 pounds.

Connor Sperling, Dixon's 182-pounder, and heavyweight Josh Musgrove had the only pins of the day for Dixon against Boylan. Also coming out on top was Shane Emry at 160.

"It's going to take some time, and he's got to work on his technique," Bishop said of Emry, "but he's very coachable. He's doing a nice job for us."

Sterling gained a 45-34 decision over Galesburg, then dropped contests to Rock Island (48-33) and Sandwich (54-23).

A trio of wrestlers – John Hardy (132), Bryant Lilly (170) and Josh Villareal (195/220) – went 3-0. Villareal went up a weight class against Galesburg and won by pin to help secure a victory over the Silver Streaks.