Richmond-Burton’s Colin Kraus surprises the field at Princeton, wins 285-pound title

PRINCETON - Richmond-Burton’s Colin Kraus was not even ranked among the heavyweight wrestlers heading into the 61st annual Lyle King Princeton Invitational.

And yet he walked away with the PIT championship in a field of four ranked wrestlers at 285 pounds, pinning Tate Sigler of LeRoy at 4:41 Saturday at Prouty Gym.

Kraus was just as surprised to win as the ones who didn’t rank him.

“Hard work and dedication, I guess (is what it took),” he said. “I did not have the best mindset coming into this tournament solely because of the rankings and seeing that. I didn’t even think I was going to get here. But here I am. I don’t even know how to explain it. Anyone can do it, I guess.”

Kraus won all three matches Saturday, including a 5:37 fall over Randy McPeek of Dakota in the quarterfinals and a 4-1 decision over Cade Odell of Princeton in the semifinals.

He was one of five wrestlers from the Shaw Local market crowned as PIT champions, joined by teammate Emmett Nelson (144), Newman’s Landon Near (106) and Daniel Kelly (165) and Coal City’s Landin Benson (175).

Vandalia (279.5) took top team honors followed by Coal City (272), Richmond-Burton (184) and Newman (148) while Princeton and Dixon tied for fifth place at 129.

Nelson breezed to a 22-14 major decision over Ace Christiansen of Princeton for the championship at 144. Nelson, who’s won two other tournaments, including R-B’s own, said the Princeton Invitational was a good experience for him.

“It’s definitely one of the best 1A tournaments and fun to be at,” Nelson said. “It was a fun match. Something good for me to see what I can do and how many points I can put up.”

Earlier in the day, Nelson won by fall (1:48) over Drayden Smith of Mt. Zion and then by an 18-2 tech fall over Aidan Kenney of Coal City in the semifinals.

Also placing for R-B were Lelan Nelson, second at 106, Blake Livdahl, third at 175, Adam Glauser, fourth at 120, Clayton Madula, fifth at 126, and Shane Falasca, fifth at 215.

Newman’s Kelly has been battling skin infections and is just getting back on the mats. Defeating Coal City’s Brock Finch 4-2 for the title at 165 was especially rewarding after taking second at Princeton last year.

“It means a lot right now, especially because I’ve been battling some skin infections and haven’t been able to practice in two weeks,” he said. “My first time getting back was Thursday, so that was really tough for me. I just know that I can battle through. And also last year, getting second and this year coming back and getting what I couldn’t last year.

Having wrestled at both 157 and 165 last year, Kelly said he feels good at 165.

“I’m perfect for the weight class,” he said. “I’m not cutting too much weight so I feel energized. I’m strong, I feel good. I’m in pretty good shape, so I feel great.”

Near made his way to the top of the podium with a 4-0 win over R-B’s Lelan Nelson in the title match at 106.

“It feels great, especially as a freshman. It’s a big tournament,” Near said. “I knew it was going to be close, but stuck it out there.

Newman’s Briar Ivey claimed second place at 157, dropping a 7-0 finals decision to Blake Smith of Riverdale.

“I was getting into my attack, but just couldn’t finish it. So we’ll work on that,” Ivey said.

Newman also gained a fourth-place finish from Zhyler Hansen (126).

Coal City’s Benson claimed the championship at 175 with a 2-0 decision over Bowden Delaney of Tremont.

The Coalers also had a pair runners-up in Cooper Morris (126) and Brock Finch (165) and three third-place finishers in Owen Petersen (113), Cade Poyner (190) and John Keigher (215), while Luke Munsterman (132), Aidan Kenney (144) and Mason Garner (157) placed fourth.

Morris, who was the runner-up for the second year at Princeton, said he’s making good strides against Tyson Waughtel of Vandalia, who won their title match 11-5.

“I would say I did phenomenal. Good match. Definitely closing the window each time I wrestle him, so there’s some improvement,” Morris said. “I love this tournament. Second time making the finals. Got second last year as well. Great competition. Just a mini-state 1A tournament.”

Preston Richards led Dixon with a third-place finish at 144. The Dukes gained fourth-place finishes from Jack Ragan (113) and Charlie Connors (138) and a fifth-place showing by Will Howell (190).

Rock Falls’ best showing was a seventh-place finish by Josiah Tarbill (126).