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Starting weight for the championship bouts at the Illinois High School Association individual state finals, scheduled for Feb. 21 at the State Farm Center in Champaign.
The weight was determined by a blind draw at the IHSA office Wednesday.
Holiday happenings
The 46th annual Metamora Holiday tournament begins Saturday at 9 a.m., with finals tentatively set for 3 p.m. Finals times may be moved up, depending on earlier results.
Two-time defending champion East Peoria (ranked No. 11 in 2A) and the hosts will be joined by JS-area teams Richwoods, Notre Dame, Tremont, Eureka, Galesburg, Macomb and Peoria High. Morris, Normal West, Chicago Dunbar, Danville, Byron (No. 2 in 1A) and Rock Island Alleman are also in the field.
Panthers ‘wake-up call’
Jacob Warner advanced to the quarterfinals at 170 pounds last weekend at the prestigious Walsh Ironman Tournament in Ohio, before losing a 4-2 decision to Class 3A top-ranked Kamal Bey of Oak Park-River Forest. Randy Meneweather, the state’s top ranked 160-pounder in 2A, and three-time Tennessee state champ Elijah Oliver both suffered minor injuries. Both expect to return in a few weeks.
“(It) was a good wake-up call for our team,” said Washington coach Bryan Medlin, whose wrestlers were within two points in the third period in 14 of their combined 17 losses on the weekend. “We are right there with the best in the country Just need to eliminate some minor mistakes and get better in a few positions. We have a great group with a great spirit to improve. All part of the process.”
Regional assignments
The IHSA late last week released regional assignments in wrestling for all three postseason classes. Here’s where JS-area teams will be competing on Saturday, Feb. 7:
Class 1A
LEROY: Deer Creek-Mackinaw, Midwest Central/Delavan, Olympia, Tremont.
WARSAW: Illini West, Havana, Knoxville, Macomb, Monmouth-Roseville.
STERLING NEWMAN: St. Bede, Princeton.
EUREKA: Illinois Valley Central, El Paso-Gridley, Eureka, Farmington, Illini Bluffs, Kewanee, Peoria Heights, Midland.
Class 2A
LASALLE-PERU: Putnam County/Hall, LaSalle-Peru.
GENESEO: Canton, Galesburg, Notre Dame, Richwoods.
METAMORA: Limestone, Bloomington, East Peoria, Metamora, Morton, Normal West, Peoria High, Manual, Washington.
Class 3A
ROCK ISLAND: Pekin.
First honor roll Dec. 23
The first Journal Star-area wrestling honor roll is scheduled to appear in the Dec. 23 edition. Coaches are encouraged to send individual records and fastest pins to smorris@pjstar.com, sports@pjstar.com or fax to 1-309-686-3205.
Thursday’s highlights
GIRLS BASKETBALL: Washington (8-0, 3-0) held visiting Limestone scoreless in the first quarter en route to a 40-25 Mid-Illini Conference victory. The Panthers, who led 22-2 at halftime, got a game-high 17 points by Jess Learned. … Elmwood (8-0) held off a fourth-quarter rally from Midwest Central to grab a 35-33 win. Allie Meyers’ nine points paced the Trojans, who also got eight points from Ashley Perryman. … Host Tremont (9-0, 4-0) posted a 62-30 Heart of Illinois win over Fisher. The Turks were paced by Lauren Hartman. … Kennedy Dura’s 32 points weren’t enough as Brimfield (14-1) fell to host Knoxville 69-63 at the Knoxville-Abingdon Tournament.
Check this out
Champaign Central (2-5, 2-1) at Richwoods (3-5, 1-0), 7:30 p.m., boys basketball: The return to Peoria for Manual product and first-year Champaign coach Sergio McClain.