Hornets win battle of state’s wrestling titans

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HARVARD – In a dual meet pitting two storied wrestling programs Friday, Harvard came away with a decisive 42-28 win against Granite City.

The Hornets have the second-most wins all-time in Illinois with 953 and trail only Granite City, which also leads the nation with 1,376. Although Friday’s win didn’t have much impact in closing that margin, it might have made a statement for how tough the Hornets’ team is this season.

Both teams entered the meet with one loss, with Harvard improving to 25-1. The Warriors are ranked No. 19 in Class 3A by Illinoismatmen.com, and the Hornets are No. 3 in 1A.

Harvard coach Tim Haak was not ready to judge how good his team is this season and is focused on winning the school’s 25th consecutive regional title in a week.

“I don’t think you know how good you are until the end.” Haak said. “We’re done with today, and now we’ll look toward the regional.”

The Hornets started strong, winning the first three matches to take a 15-0 lead. Dan Stott at 170 pounds and Nathan Cowan at 182 won by pin, and Cody Melson (195) earned a 3-2 decision.

Cowan said he knew several members of the Granite City squad from offseason tournaments and thought the Warriors would be tough competition. Haak said starting strong was the key to the meet.

“I knew coming in I was going to have someone solid,” Cowan said. “The kid was strong, but I knew I could get him.”

Heading into the lighter weights, Harvard was up, 15-10, and won a hard-fought decision at 106 by Anthony Luis. Entering the third period, Luis was up, 4-3, and rode the Warriors’ Justin Nelson the entire period to preserve the win.

After a pin by Harvard’s Chance Shelton at 120, the Hornets were up, 24-16, going into Joey Skroko’s match at 132. Trailing, 4-1, after the first period, Skroko looked like he could be in for a long night on the mat.

That changed in the second period when Skroko caught Granite City’s Justice Ragan in a reverse and held him for the pin.

“I got him on his back and locked him up,” Skroko said. “I’m pretty sure I got lucky.”

Skroko’s win was a big momentum swing and all but ended the Warriors’ hope for a comeback.

“It’s a big adrenaline rush whenever you’re losing and you get him on his back,” Skroko said.

Harvard followed with pins by Travis Heck (138) and Tyler Kramer (145) to seal the win.