Polo-Forreston’s Nelson advances to wrestling sectional

DIXON – The Rochelle Hubs had three champions and three runners-up Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Class 2A Dixon Regional, while Polo-Forreston’s Lucas Nelson also advanced to the Washington Sectional.

Xavier Villalobos (126 pounds), Roman Villalobos (190) and Kaiden Morris (215) all won titles for the Hubs, while Freddie Hernandez (113), Aidan Lopez (120) and Grant Gensler (165) all took second.

Nelson lost a 20-4 technical fall to Sterling’s Zyan Westbrook at 132 pounds. He trailed just 3-1 after the opening round, but Westbrook recorded a pair of takedowns with back points to finish off a 20-4 technical fall in 4:58.

Nelson was happy with how he executed in the first period, but knows there’s some things he need to improve as he moves into the sectional.

“A lot of my focus this year has been extra work on neutral [position], so obviously I’ve still got more work to do. But I’m looking ahead toward sectionals already,” he said. “It feels good to have hard work recognized [by making it to the finals], and now that I know what I need to work on, I definitely have a lot of confidence that I can improve this week and really show everyone what I’ve got next week.”

Xavier Villalobos took control early in his championship match against Geneseo’s Tim Sebastian on his way to winning a 14-4 major decision.

Roman Villalobos and Morris both dominated their title bouts. Villalobos didn’t give up a point in a 16-0 tech fall over Rock Island’s Rowan Stockwell in 2:46, while Morris finished his bout in the first period with a pin of Geneseo’s Colten Mooney in 1:59.

Freddie Hernandez trailed the entire bout in an 18-3 tech fall loss to Dixon’s Jack Ragan in 4:49, while Lopez lost a 9-4 decision to Rock Island’s Merrick Stockwell. Gensler dropped a 13-3 major decision against Geneseo’s Zachary Montez.

Rochelle’s John Lassiter (144) and Polo-Forreston’s Micah Stringini (165) both finished fourth, falling one win short of advancing to the sectional.

Geneseo won the team title with 225.5 points after taking an insurmountable lead into the final matches. Rochelle (138.5), Dixon (131.5), Galesburg (120.5) and Sterling (109.5) rounded out the top five, while Polo-Forreston finished eighth (36 points).