Boys wrestling: Sean Kolkebeck leads 4 DeKalb wrestlers to state; Sycamore and G-K also sending qualifiers

Sean Kolkebeck wasn’t a varsity wrestler for most of last season as a freshman.

This year, he’s headed to state.

DeKalb’s sophomore earned a spot at the state tournament in Champaign, one of four Barbs at the tournament which runs Thursday through Saturday.

Sycamore will send three wrestlers to compete in the Class 2A tournament, while Genoa-Kingston will have a wrestler in the 1A bracket.

“He didn’t even make it to fresh-soph state,” coach Sam Hiatt said of Kolkebeck, who took third at 160 pounds at the Conant Sectional on Saturday. “He’s improved a lot, and it’s great to see him make that jump this year.”

After dropping his opener, Kolkebeck won his last five matches, including his first four along the consolation bracket with pins.

Joining him in Champaign are Kaden Klapprodt (fourth at 106), Austin Martin (second at 145) and Jacob Luce (second at 152).

Kolkebeck (34-15) will open with Warren freshman Royce Lopez (35-10), with seniors waiting win or lose – Marmion’s Tegan Chumbly (19-15) or Lockport’s Logan Shaw (43-1).

Klapprodt (26-14) will face undefeated Normal sophomore Caden Correll (47-0), Martin (33-15) will face Batavia’s Caael Andrews (43-6), and Luce (37-10) will battle Prospect senior Damien Puma (33-10).

“Those guys all wrestled tough,” Hiatt said. “All year long the kids have gotten better and better. You always want more, but we wrestled tough. We’re excited for next week.”

Julian Torres will represent the Cogs after he pinned Byron’s Josh Harris at the buzzer to end the first period in their 195-pound blood-round match. He then finished off the sectional in style with a pin of Orion’s Maddux Anderson in 5:11 in the third-place bout.

Torres carries the torch in Champaign for G-K, and he says he feels confident knowing that he qualified for state out of a tough sectional.

“Next weekend, I just have to work hard and keep my head up,” Torres said. “I’ve been talking to my coaches and friends, and they don’t call it just qualifying for state when we make it in this hard of a sectional. They tell me I’m placing no matter what, so I’ve just got to give it everything I have. This state lineup is full of beasts, so I just have to keep my head up and keep going.”

Torres (29-13) will open his run at state against Taylorville senior William Blue (40-7)

Torres won his first-round bout Friday by pin, then won a 6-4 decision in the quarterfinals. But he lost his semifinal match via pin Saturday morning and was forced to win the consolation semifinal against Harris to secure his ticket to state.

The undersized Torres said he has gotten good at reading opponents and adjusting to their styles.

“The key was really just taking everything that’s given to me this weekend,” Torres said. “I weigh 177 wrestling 195, and there are so many different types of styles I go against, and I just feel really confident about what they give me, and I can do everything I can.”

Crawford was one of three Sycamore qualifiers Saturday, with Gus Cambier and Lincoln Cooley each taking second at the 2A Rochelle Sectional and earning a trip to Champaign.

Cambier (41-6) will open with Aden Byal (43-5) of Glenwood. Cooley (31-4) opens with David McCarthy (25-7) of De la Salle, then potentially would face undefeated Joliet Catholic’s Dillan Johnson in the second round. Johnson is ranked as the top wrestler in the country by multiple services.

Crawford (38-1) said he’s looking forward to another shot at Joliet Catholic’s Mason Alessio (39-3), who beat him at the Don Flavin Tournament in DeKalb earlier this year. If both win out, they’d meet in a title match.

Sycamore coach Randy Culton said Crawford is laser-focused on not only winning state, but avenging his one loss on the season at the hands of Alessio.

“He’s focused on winning a state title,” Culton said. “Anyone who gets in the way, God help them.”

— Ty Reynolds contributed to this report.