Richmond-Burton’s Emmett, Lelan Nelson hope to end special season with IHSA state championships

Tony Nelson and his three children, Emmett, Isabella and Lelan, stood inside Johnsburg’s gym on a Thursday night toward the end of January trying to take in one of the last moments of a memorable season.

Richmond-Burton had just won its third straight Kishwaukee River Conference title and the gym floor was filled with families taking photos of the champion Rockets. In the center of it all stood R-B’s coach, Tony Nelson, and his children, posing for a family photo to commemorate a historic night.

Not only did they want a photo to remember the night for winning a championship, they also wanted a memory from the only season when all four were part of the R-B program.

“It’s really cool because we’ve all been involved in wrestling in this area for so long,” Emmett, a senior, said. “Both my siblings are on the team. My dad’s the coach. My mom helps out whatever she can. It’s really cool, with all the effort we put in, to be able to win together.”

There were plenty of memorable moments as the Rockets dominated for much of the season. On top of finishing their KRC schedule undefeated to win another title, R-B also won three more tournaments and finished top three in its other appearances.

That winning continued well into February. Both Emmett and Lelan, a freshman, qualified for the Class 1A state tournament and will be part of 30 McHenry County-area wrestlers competing at the tournament in Champaign starting Thursday.

Isabella, a senior, ended her season with a run to the sectional tournament.

Emmett and Lelan will travel to the State Farm Center on the campus of the University of Illinois at different points in their careers. Emmett will make his fourth trip after finishing runner-up twice and placing last season. Lelan will make his first trip.

But the goal for both has been clear since the season started.

“I want to win state,” Lelan said.

The two have relied on each other to get themselves to this point. As he has for much of his life, Lelan looked up to his older brother when he first started wrestling with the Rockets this season.

There were plenty of reasons why. Emmett became one of McHenry County’s top wrestlers as an underclassman when he finished state runner-up twice during his first two seasons. He’s won two sectional and four regional titles to go along with his top-state finishes.

But Emmett’s been careful not to overstep with his advice. Although he helped his brother whenever Lelan needed, Emmett wasn’t going to constantly bombard Lelan with his own experiences.

“He’s gotta want it for himself,” Emmett said. “If I’m just constantly telling him, ‘You gotta work harder,’ then it’s not really gonna be that effective. He’s just going to hate the sport in the end. Right now, I think he’s in a really good spot, his confidence is way up and he’s having fun with it. I think that’s just really important.”

A lot of that growth came on the practice mats. The Nelsons wrestled against each other for much of the season during practices despite their weight difference. Emmett competes at 144 pounds, while Lelan is at 106.

“It’s really cool because we’ve all been involved in wrestling in this area for so long. Both my siblings are on the team. My dad’s the coach. My mom helps out whatever she can. It’s really cool, with all the effort we put in, to be able to win together.”

—  Emmett Nelson, Richmond-Burton senior

Lelan said Emmett points out his flaws when they wrestle and teaches him what to do in certain situations. Those bouts have become invaluable moments as Lelan learned how to develop his talent by watching Emmett. It also translated to success in competition.

Lelan won a regional title and finished third at Saturday’s Class 1A Oregon Sectional to enter the state tournament with a 41-4 record. Emmett won regional and sectional titles and is 41-1 ahead of state.

“I think Lelan has really picked up on his work ethic,” Tony Nelson said. “The amount of work Lelan put in the last year has just been phenomenal, and he has jumped levels in the last year. He’s going to continue to do so. He looks up to his brother, and Emmett knows that, and he keeps that in perspective. So it’s awesome.”

Both Nelson brothers enter this weekend’s tournament as favorites to compete for a state title in their respective weight classes. Emmett is ranked No. 2 at 144 in 1A, according to Illinois Matmen, while Lelan is No. 4 at 106.

There are only a few more days left from a memorable season for the Nelsons. They’ll cherish every moment through the weekend and lean on each other as far as the weekend goes.

“I think he needs to believe in himself a little bit, like he needs to know he can win state,” Emmett said. “I feel like a lot of these freshmen, they come in and they’re unsure if they could win. But I know he for sure has a really good chance at it. So I just want to kind of help get into his head that he could win.”