Sectional champs play waiting game at state

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CHAMPAIGN – Competitors begin their day at the IHSA Individual Wrestling State Tournament by checking in before 6 a.m. to weigh in at Assembly Hall.

The early hour isn’t so bad, but sectional champions in Class 1A and 2A receive a bye in the first round and don’t get on the mat until the quarterfinals, which begin at 6 p.m. For wrestlers on the heavier end of the weight classes, the wait is longer.

Crystal Lake Central coach Justen Lehr said one of the tougher parts of his job is keeping everyone in line and ready to wrestle. The Tigers had six wrestlers with first-round byes Friday.

It’s a problem that could be eliminated, Lehr said, if the IHSA would increase the qualification limits at sectionals to the top four places, like Class 3A does, instead of the current three places.

“It’s horrible,” Lehr said. “It’s stupid how they do it,” “[Class] 3A has it right.”

Austin Marsden is one of the Central wrestlers who waited for much of Friday. Marsden said the waiting doesn’t impact him that adversely, but he would rather get in a match Friday morning.

Marsden said it would serve a practical purpose, allowing him to work out any kinks before getting to the quarterfinals.

“I prefer [to wrestle] first thing,” Marsden said. “If you have a bad match, you get that out first.”

Having 10 wrestlers make it to state is a new experience for Richmond-Burton coach Bret Wojcik. The Rockets’ previous best was three qualifiers, so it’s a new problem for Wojcik. Seven of R-B’s qualifiers received byes.

“It’s definitely a challenge,” Wojcik said. “Having 10 kids is a challenge as a coach, but it’s a good problem to have.”

Wojcik said he was trying to combat the boredom by getting his wrestlers some workouts during the day and by getting to the arena early for the quarterfinals to get properly warmed up.

If the IHSA would add more qualifiers to the Class 1A and 2A tournaments, the move \likely would necessitate starting the meet Thursday and making it 21⁄2 or three days long. As it is, Lehr knows it’s just something that’s part of wrestling at state.

“It’s a lot of sitting around,” Lehr said of Friday. “But everybody’s in the same boat.”

Crystal Lake South’s Nick Fontanetta took advantage of being in Class 3A and had qualified for the semifinals before noon Friday. Still,
Fontanetta would have preferred to keep wrestling.

“It’s good and bad,” Fontanetta said of finishing early. “I’d rather just wrestle all my matches and get it over with.”

Gators coach Ross Ryan knows the rest will serve Fontanetta well moving forward.

“It will help him to relax [Friday],” Ryan said. “He’s going to have at least 24 hours of rest.”