Wrestling: Locals ready to roll for state tournament

Ten area wrestlers qualified for the IHSA Class 1A Individual State Tournament this weekend in Champaign. Preliminaries begin at noon Thursday, with the state championship matches scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday at State Farm Center.

The local contingent is a mix of first-timers (Polo’s Josiah Perez, Amboy’s Landon Blanton, Rock Falls’ Aaron Meenen and Dixon’s Shaun DeVries) and competitors returning from last year (Dixon’s Ayden Rowley, Newman’s Brady Grennan and Carter Rude, Polo’s Wyatt Doty, Erie-Prophetstown’s Jase Grunder and Fulton’s Zane Pannell).

Here is a capsule look at each local wrestler’s first-round opponent.

• 106 pounds – Polo freshman Josiah Perez (32-4) vs. Litchfield freshman Vinny Moore (39-6)

“It feels good to move on to state, … to be the first freshman from Polo to make it to state,” Perez said. “Hoping I place top 3 down there.”

• 113 pounds – Amboy freshman Landon Blanton (40-9) vs. Warrensburg-Latham sophomore Logan Roberts (37-6)

“I’m going to state, and I’m very happy for that,” Blanton said, “because I did not want my season to be over yet.”

• 113 pounds – Dixon junior Ayden Rowley (24-10) vs. Decatur Lutheran’s Clinton VerHeecke (44-1)

“I feel like it’s a pretty good feat – there’s not many people who are able to take third at sectionals, or even go to state,” said Rowley, who went 1-2 at last year’s state tournament at 106 pounds.

• 120 pounds – Rock Falls senior Aaron Meenen (37-7) vs. Canton senior John Davis (38-4)

“I just gotta work at state more. I’m a senior, so this final week is going to be rough, but I just gotta grind through it,” Meenen said.

• 126 pounds – Newman junior Brady Grennan (10-3) vs. Roxana freshman Brandon Green Jr. (33-3)

“Obviously, [finishing fourth at sectional] wasn’t my end goal, but I’m still happy with it, advancing on to state and hopefully taking first,” said Grennan, who took third at 120 pounds last year but missed most of this season with a broken collarbone.

• 132 pounds – Polo senior Wyatt Doty (40-4) vs. Roxana freshman Logan Riggs (32-13)

“I just have to stick to what I normally do. In the sectional quarterfinal, I went away from that and tried some new stuff, but it’s not time to try new stuff when it’s state time,” said Doty who was third at 126 pounds last year. “I’m going back to my roots and will keep doing what I’m doing, because it’s working. This is my senior year, so there’s no next year for me, and I just don’t want to lose.”

• 138 pounds – Newman junior Carter Rude (43-5) vs. Tolono Unity sophomore Kaden Inman (36-14)

“I’m excited. I love state week. It’s the best,” said Rude, who placed sixth last year at 126 pounds.

• 152 pounds – Erie-Prophetstown senior Jase Grunder (46-4) vs. Kewanee senior Max Kelly (40-8)

“I just really wanted to make sure I made it to state. I’ll go back out there this weekend and come back, hopefully, with a state title,” said Grunder, who finished fourth last year at 145 pounds.

• 170 pounds – Fulton senior Zane Pannell (47-1) vs. Robinson senior Jared Hermann (39-4)

“I think it’s pretty cool, especially winning the sectional, because I think there’s only been like seven people from Fulton to win a sectional. It’s the same feeling as last year. Moving on to state is always fun,” said Pannell, who placed fifth last year at 170 pounds.

• 285 pounds – Dixon senior Shaun DeVries (34-8) vs. Reed-Custer senior Gunnar Berg (38-5)

“It’s incredible. Last time I made it to state I was in middle school, and that was my first year wrestling. So it was kind of like an eye-opening experience,” DeVries said. “But making it in high school, completely different ballgame. To make it as a senior, it’s kind of like a poetic ending to the year. I started off my career going to state and ended going to state, so we’ll just see how it goes over there.