Richmond-Burton’s Emmett Nelson, Marian Central’s Brayden Teunissen, Jimmy Mastny win IHSA state titles

CHAMPAIGN – Emmett Nelson laid on a mat set on the floor of the State Farm Center on Saturday night and held on for dear life. For 10 seconds, Nelson rested his entire upper body weight on his opponent as the crowd noise grew louder with each passing second.

Once the noise reached its crescendo and the referee blew his whistle, Nelson jumped up into the air and screamed out into the very arena where he had suffered some of his toughest moments.

Nelson walked around the mat, looking around the entire bowl and screamed out to the arena’s upper deck. He signaled toward a couple rows of shirtless Richmond-Burton fans.

Once he made his way back around, Nelson ran to his coach, his father, who waited for him with open arms.

After waiting for years, Nelson made the most of the moment he’d come so close to achieving during his wrestling career. Nelson had won his first IHSA individual state championship.

“I just wanted to put on a show for all the people that came here to support me,” Nelson, a senior, said. “It’s a long ride down from Richmond and I had my friends from Wisconsin, coaches from there too. I just wanted to give them something to see.”

Nelson put on one of many great performances at the IHSA individual state tournament in Champaign, Ill. He was one of three McHenry County-area wrestlers who won state championships Saturday night, while four more finished second.

Marian Central senior Brayden Teunissen and sophomore Jimmy Mastny each won their second straight state title. Crystal Lake Central senior Cayden Parks, R-B sophomore Blake Livdahl and Marian senior Vance Williams and junior Austin Hagevold each finished second.

Nelson didn’t wait around to set the tone of his Class 1A 144-pound state championship match. He came out aggressive against Tolono Unity’s Kaden Inman and took a 3-0 lead in the first period on a takedown. Nelson kept up that approach and added two more takedowns in the second and third periods.

He held on for those final 10 seconds to earn a 15-3 win, winning the Rockets’ first state title since 2017.

“I believed that if I put it on him at first, he wouldn’t be able to respond,” Nelson said. “I think that’s what happened.”

Nelson had come so close to finishing on top before. He reached the state championship match during his first two seasons and came up empty. Last season he didn’t reach his full potential because of an illness during state and settled for sixth place.

But Nelson valued those experiences, feeling like they led him to Saturday’s success.

“Stepping on the podium right after losing the finals isn’t fun,” Nelson said. “But I’m grateful for that, because it really made me want it more. It made me who I am today.”

While Nelson was one of the top young wrestlers in the area, Mastny quickly took that title last season. Mastny won a state championship as a freshman for the Hurricanes and did it in dominant fashion.

That didn’t stop Saturday night.

Mastny captured his second straight title by winning the 1A 190 championship. He also continued his impressive postseason streak, having won all of his playoff matches by either fall or forfeit in his first two seasons.

“It’s always fun to dominate people,” Mastny said. “Picking up my teammates, trying to help them out, trying to get bonus points in tournaments and doing that in tournaments.”

Saturday felt like when, not if, Mastny would win against Orion’s Maddux Anderson. He had a takedown within the first 11 seconds of the title match and built a 10-0 lead with 37 seconds left in the first period. Mastny added four more points before winning by fall with 19 seconds to spare in the first.

Heading into his high school career, Mastny set a goal of winning four straight state championships. So far, so good.

“Just keep on working,” Mastny said. “I know it’ll come down the road.”

Teunissen’s road back to winning a state championship wasn’t always guaranteed. He missed half the season with a broken hand and felt hesitant about attacking once he came back.

But after some advice from his coach, Teunissen shed those fears by getting rid of a hand brace before his 1A 120 title match and pulled out a win.

“I believe that if I just fight the whole match, I can come back no matter what the score is, down 14, down a point,” Teunissen said. “Last year I was down by four or something and I still came back and won it.”

Teunissen and Vandalia’s Preston Waughtel had a scrappy match for much of Saturday night. After a scoreless first period, the two exchanged points by escaping in the second and third periods.

Both wrestlers were aggressive for much of the match and the referees awarded Teunissen a penalty point after a late hit off the mat with 1:23 left in the match. Teunissen held off late attempts to win his second crown.

“It’s fun, like hearing all the different emotions,” Teunissen said. “There’s some people booing and then there’s people cheering. It’s really cool. It feels good to see both sides of it.”

Parks finished runner-up for a second straight season after he lost his 2A 190 match in overtime on a late-awarded takedown. Williams earned his third runner-up finish at 1A 150 while Hagevold earned his best state finish by taking second at 1A 113.

“I just wanted to put on a show for all the people that came here to support me. It’s a long ride down from Richmond and I’ve my friends from Wisconsin, coaches from there too. I just wanted to give them something to see.”

—  Emmett Nelson, Richmond-Burton senior

Livdahl was ready to get back to work after losing at 1A 175. His teammate Nelson did it Saturday night, and he’s looking forward to repeating history.

“I obviously wasn’t good enough,” Livdahl said. “I guess we just got to get back to the offseason, work a little harder this year.

“I’ll be back.”