Newman’s Briar Ivey, Daniel Kelly avenge losses with sectional wins

OREGON – As Newman Central Catholic senior wrestler Daniel Kelly paced back and forth on the mat awaiting the start of the 165-pound third-place match, he was also eyeing the action on the opposite mat.

Kelly’s classmate and practice partner Briar Ivey was facing undefeated and top-ranked Blake Smith of Riverdale for the 157-pound title at the Class 1A Oregon Sectional.

Kelly was waiting for a rematch with Princeton’s Casey Etheridge, who had beaten him at a duel meet. Smith had defeated Ivey twice before.

Both Comets came out victorious.

Ivey held on to win a 9-4 decision over Smith, handing the fellow senior his first loss of the season at 32-1.

He said wrestling until the end through all three rounds was key to the win.

“I knew he was getting tired,” Ivey said, “and I just know I work hard and I can rely on that to get me through the whole match.”

Ivey said he did not dwell on the previous losses. He just kept working, stayed consistent and came back stronger.

“It feels good,” he said. “I’m gonna try and go there [state] and win the whole thing. I know I’m gonna celebrate tonight, but still got a whole other week to get the job done.”

A state title is the goal for Ivey.

“That’s the peak right there,” he said.

Kelly won a 7-2 decision over Etheridge to finish the sectional with a third-place win.

“It was big for me, because my first match, I was wrestling not to lose, not staying on my offense,” he said. “My last few matches, I kind of wrestled freely ... I didn’t worry about anything.”

The approach paid off as Kelly needed to beat Morrison’s Brady Anderson for a second week in a row in order to qualify for state. He did so with a 13-2 major decision. Kelly dropped his semifinal match 8-6 to Byron’s Brody Stien, who won the bracket, before his run to finishing third.

Ivey’s win set the table for Kelly to avenge a previous loss of his own.

“I was pretty invested in that match,” he said of Ivey’s title bout. “That was an awesome match by Briar. He deserved it; he’s been working hard in the practice room and that was just awesome to watch.”

Kelly said it’s been fun wrestling back-to-back with Ivey. Both will finish their careers at the individual and dual team state meets in the following weeks.

“It’s probably our last time wrestling, but just trying not to focus on that,” he said. “It’s our last ride.”

Ivey said the two have helped push each other to this point.

“It’s great when you can have a partner in the room that you can battle with all the time and take into situations where guys are really pushing each other and working hard,” he said.

Newman’s Landon Near also advanced to state after finishing as runner-up at 106 to Morrison’s Cael Wright. Wright, now 45-2, won with a 10-8 decision. Near is 41-5.

Also advancing to state among Sauk Valley wrestlers were Oregon’s Josiah Perez (fourth at 113), Isaiah Perez (fourth at 120) and Nelson Benesh (fourth at 132); Amboy’s Jose Lopez (fourth at 150); Erie-Prophetstown’s Wyatt Goosens (third at 157) and Fulton’s Skylier Crooks (fourth at 175).