Quad City Dispatch Rocks recently issued the following announcement.
After beating Quincy 51-22 in the first of its two matchups Friday night, the Rock Island wrestling team wanted to complete a Western Big 6 Conference title run in style.
Facing the hosts to cap a conference quadrangular at the Galesburg Fieldhouse, the Rocks came close to pitching a shutout, ultimately winning 13 of the 14 bouts to score an impressive 71-3 win and finish a 5-0 run to their first Big 6 crown since 2013.
"After we beat Quincy, we had a feeling we were going to win the conference (outright), but we didn't want to jinx it. We wanted to come out and get it done against Galesburg," said Rock Island's Victor Guzman, who scored a pair of pins at 138 pounds. "A shutout is what we were going for; we hadn't gotten one all year."
Only a 1-0 win by the Silver Streaks' Cody Thomas in his 285-pound battle with Jesse Lynch prevented the 10-5 Rocks from posting a goose egg in the final meet of their conference season. But shutout or not, the job they set out to do after topping rival Moline in their conference opener was completed.
"We started out stammering a bit at the beginning of the year, and we didn't know how we were going to end up, because we're so young," said Rocky coach Joel Stockwell. "Our season turned around after the Moline dual, and we've been able to keep on a roll. We hope to keep it going at regionals (a week from today); that's the true test."
While undoubtedly happy to bring Rock Island its first conference wrestling title in six years, Stockwell feels the regular-season accomplishments set the table for what is to come a week from now.
"It definitely feels good to win conference, but that's always a secondary goal," he said. "The real goal is to take as many kids as we can to sectionals and state."
Five Rocky wrestlers won twice Friday, with 145-pounder Vershaun Lee and Pharoah Gray (220/285) joining Guzman by earning both victories via pin. At 132, Michael Myers scored a pin and a major decision.
Also winning twice was 195-pounder Aiden Morgan, and the first of those wins — a 9-8 decision over Quincy's J.C. Lackey — was crucial as Rocky's 30-0 team lead on five straight pins dwindled to 30-18 on four Quincy wins.
"Tough matches happen," Morgan stated. "When it counts, you have to push through. That's what I did."
Like his coach, Morgan feels that finishing off an undefeated Big 6 championship run could open the door for greater accomplishments in the postseason.
"Beating Moline to start off, it just got better," he said. "But, we're trying to make bigger things happen. We want to use this to get us pointed toward regionals. That's the end goal."
Alleman takes two: The Pioneers (20-9) finished with a 3-2 conference record, topping Galesburg (51-24) and Quincy (41-38).
Trailing the Blue Devils 26-17 with six bouts remaining, Alleman used a Zach Pinc forfeit win at 195 to turn the tide. Roberto Torres followed by pinning Lackey at the 4:15 mark of their 220-pound bout, and teammates Eli Denton (285) and Dalton Nimrick (106) followed with pins.
"Roberto came up big for us," said Alleman coach James Ealy.
Torres was one of six Pioneers with two wins, joining Nimrick, Pinc, Billy Taylor (126), Ian Snider (132/138) and Jack Patting (145). Both Snider and Patting scored two pins, with Patting's pair coming in 33 and 11 seconds. Taylor notched a pin and a technical fall.
"We've got quite a few guys stepping up at the right time," Ealy said. "All of the boys stepped up. Finishing the regular season strong will get us ready for the postseason."
Original source can be found here.
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