Morris’ Paxton Valentine wins Class 2A sectional championship at 113

WASHINGTON – Morris sophomore Paxton Valentine said he felt as focused as he’s felt all season as he took to the mat against Morton sophomore Noah Harris in the championship bout at 113 pounds during Saturday’s Class 2A Washington Sectional.

In the back-and-forth battle, Valentine (39-6) was able to secure a takedown in the final seconds to record a 9-6 victory and punch his ticket to next weekend’s state finals at the State Farm Center in Champaign.

“[Harris] had just beat me a couple weeks ago at a dual 5-0, so it was nice to get another chance,” Valentine said. “Last time I was nowhere near as aggressive as I needed to be, and he took advantage of that. Today my main focus was to be the aggressor while also not giving him and silly openings. It was a pretty even match until right near the end when I was able to slip out of a tight spot and get the takedown I needed.

“I missed all of last season with an injury, so to win the sectional title is special and goal reached. Now I want to go to state and hopefully reach some other goals I’ve set for myself.”

Sterling senior Zyan Westbrook (35-2) led Geneseo senior Devan Hornback 3-0 after the opening period, 6-0 after two, and eventually finished off a dominant 10-1 win in the title bout at 132 pounds,

“The key for me was staying with what I do well, and that’s attacking,” Westbrook said. “My game plan is always worrying about me and what I need to do. I’m really not a guy who worries too much about what my opponent likes and dislikes to do. When I’m focusing on me and my strengths, that’s when I’m in a good place, I feel.

I feel like my weight class here was a tough one, so to be able to win the sectional title is a huge confidence boost going into next week. Last season I lost in the blood round, so a lot of my mindset was that it wasn’t going to happen again this year."

Plano senior Prince Amakiri (40-1) suffered his only defeat this season in the 170-pound championship bout at the Kaneland Regional to Yorkville Christian junior Jackson Allen.

The two squared off for the sectional title, and Amakiri jumped out to a 3-1 lead before recording a fall with 1 minute, 19 seconds left in the first period.

“Last week I was up 11-2 late in the second, did something stupid and got pinned,” Amakiri said. “It was a big lesson learned. The lesson was I need to have more confidence in my abilities and also not force things that aren’t there.

“Last year I lost in the blood round, that was tough to take, but it just made work even harder coming into this season. That hard work paid off. I’m pretty excited to not only wrestle at state, but to also get to spend more time with my teammates.”

Other wrestlers from Washington advancing to state with second-place finishes were Yorkville Christian senior Aiden Larsen (120, 39-4) and junior Jackson Allen (170, 31-4).

Placing third and advancing to state are Dixon sophomore Jack Ragan (113) and freshman Charlie Connors (138), Burlington Central senior Austin Lee (132), Morris junior Carter Skoff (144), Plano senior Caidan Ronning (157), Yorkville Christian senior Isaac Gray (165) and Sterling senior Gage Tate (175).

Finishing fourth and moving to the state finals are Yorkville Christian junior Ryan Festerling (106), Burlington Central’s Eduardo Vences (113), Morris sophomore Brock Claypool (126) and Plano senior Luis Ballesteros (175).