Newman’s Briar Ivey advances to state championship: Friday’s Sauk Valley roundup

Boys wrestling

Newman’s Ivey to wrestle for title: The Class 1A state championship match at 157 pounds will be a rematch of last Saturday’s Oregon Sectional final.

Newman senior Briar Ivey will face Riverdale senior Blake Smith for gold. Ivey avenged two prior losses to Smith to secure a 9-4 decision for the sectional title. Ivey advanced to the final after a 10-0 major decision in the quarterfinals and a 7-4 decision in the semifinals.

Smith beat Erie-Prophetstown’s Wyatt Goosens 14-6 in the semifinals. Goosens can still finish as high as third.

Newman’s Landon Near is also still alive at 106 pounds along with Morrison’s Cael Wright. Teammate Daniel Kelly was eliminated after an 8-3 loss to Byron’s Brody Stien.

At 113, Oregon’s Josiah Perez is still wrestling with a shot at a medal.

In 2A, Sterling’s Gage Tate is still alive at 175. Teammate Zyan Westbrook was eliminated at 132 after a 16-7 loss.

Dixon’s Jack Ragan was eliminated at 113 after a 6-4 loss and Charlie Connors fell at 138.

Girls bowling

Sterling’s Doughty in 20th: Sterling sophomore Sarah Doughty is tied for 20th at the state meet after rolling a 1,207 six-game series. She is just 250 pins behind the leader heading into Saturday’s final six games after averaging a 201.2 game.

Boys basketball

Eastland 52, Morrison 34: The Cougars closed the regular season with a third straight road win as Peyton Spears scored 15 points to eclipse 1,000 for his career. Teammates and fellow 1,000-point scorers Adam Awender (11 points) and Parker Krogman (12) also were in double figures. Bielema led Morrison with 12 points.

Fulton 53, Amboy 44: Braeden Brennan led Fulton with 13 points and Owen VanZuiden had 10 off the bench as the Steamers held off the Clippers to close the regular season.