February 10, 2025
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Coal City to compete at home for final stepping stone to state

Coalers advance all 14 wrestlers from Saturday’s regionals ahead of playing sectional host

By Adam Tumino
The opening round of the IHSA Class 1A Herscher wrestling regional comes to a close Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025.

The opening round of the IHSA Class 1A Herscher wrestling regional comes to a close Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (Daily Journal/Tiffany Blanchette)

The Coal City boys wrestling team was positively dominant at the IHSA Class 1A Herscher Regional on Saturday.

The Coalers entered regionals as the third-ranked Class 1A team in the state. They proved that ranking was deserved.

They scored 313.5 points as a team to beat fellow ranked teams Reed-Custer and Seneca with ease.

All 14 Coal City wrestlers that competed finished in the top three in their weight class, with 10 placing first, as all earned a trip to the Feb. 14 sectionals.

Luckily for the Coalers, that trip will not be very far at all. Coal City is hosting the sectional, giving the team one final opportunity to compete in on their home mats.

Head coach Mark Masters said that opportunity is something the team will embrace.

“We just want to go out there and enjoy the moment,” he said. “We get to compete at home, and that’s always a big thing to compete in front of your home fans.”

Senior Landin Benson, the top-ranked wrestler in the state at 175 pounds and the reigning state champ at 165, placed first in Saturday’s regional.

He said he wants to enjoy his final competition at home while keeping another run at a state title alive.

“I just want to take it all in since it’s my last year and all that, and work on some things for state coming up,” he said.

The Coaler wrestlers joining Benson at sectionals are Jason Piatak, Owen Peterson, Culan Lindemuth, Cooper Morris, Luke Munsterman, Brody Widlowski, Aidan Kenney, Noah Houston, Mason Garner, Brock Finch, Cade Poyner, John Keigher and Alec Waliczek.

Among the local teams at the Herscher Regional, Reed-Custer, Central-Iroquois West, Bishop McNamara, Herscher and Wilmington also had wrestlers qualify for the Coal City Sectional.

Reed-Custer advanced eight wrestlers, with Colton Drinkwine, Cole Harris, Kaaden Wood, Jayden Sanchez, Jeremy Eggleston, Reed Newbrough, Aiden Shultz and Dominic Alaimo all moving on.

Central-Iroquois West had five sectional qualifiers in Everett Bailey, Evan Cox, Gianni Panozzo, Giona Panozzo and Brody O’Connor.

Bishop McNamara had Blake Arseneau, Alex Kostecka, Cole Kimberlin and Kian Bramer advance.

For Herscher, Owen Bollino and Everett Osenga made the cut while Wilmington have Will Wilson and Logan Van Duyne advancing.

See the full story in SPORTS.