Chatham Clarion
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Issue Date: Dec. 10, 2009
All-around team effort paces Titan wrestlers
to tourney title
By Joe Pritchett
Chatham Editor
It's still early, but the Glenwood High School wrestling team made as big a statement last
weekend as could be made at this time of year.
Two huge Central State Eight Conference victories Friday night, followed by Saturday's team title at
the Glenwood Invite have coach Tom Johnson and the Titans off to a flying start.
"Friday's wins give us an opportunity to reclaim that conference title," Johnson exclaimed. "And
Saturday, we had 11 of our 13 wrestlers place, and that's huge. We were expecting to be in the top
three, but it's a hard tournament to seed being so early in the season. It was a great effort all the way
around."
•On Friday night, the Titans (4-1, 2-0 CS8) defeated CS8 rivals Springfield High (40-25) and
Jacksonville (37-28). Against SHS, Sam Butler (103), Ke-Shawn Douglas (112) and Brennan
Gunville (119) all had forfeit victories, while Calvin Wright (tech. fall at 130), Alec Thompson (6-4 dec.
at 135), Alex Butler (8-0 dec. at 140), Nick "Zippy" Ellinger (10-0 dec. at 145), Devonte Miller (9-8 dec.
at 171) and Grant Lee (6-3 dec. at 275) were also victorious.
Against Jacksonville, Glenwood winners included: Sam Butler (13-2 dec. at 103), Douglas (forfeit
at 112), Gunville (pin at 119), Wright (7-4 dec. at 130), Alex Butler (pin at 140), Dan Ramsden (11-2
dec. at 152), Nik Courtney (6-4 dec. in OT at 160), Miller (4-2 dec. at 189) and Patrick Bennett (pin at
189).
•At Saturday's Glenwood Invite, the Titans had six wrestlers place in the top three and finished with
178.5 points overall. Collinsville was the runner-up with 167, followed by: Rantoul (154), Lincoln
(145), Peoria Woodruff (142), Mascoutah (130), Grayslake Central (104), Decatur MacArthur (100),
East Peoria (88), Centralia (74), Warrensburg-Latham (47.5), Southeast (43) and Decatur
Eisenhower (10).
Sam Butler (103) and Douglas (112) claimed individual titles, while Gunville (119), Ellinger (145)
and Miller (171) took second place. Alex Butler was third at 140, and Chance Holder was fourth at
125. Bobby Lee (135) and Bennett (189) each placed fifth, while Wright (130) and Courtney (160) took
sixth place.
Douglas scored the most points on the day for Glenwood, with 24, while Sam Butler had 23.5 and
Miller and Gunville each scored 20. Bobby Lee's day was of particular note, as the senior lost his first
match but battled back to win three in a row to place fifth at 135. Results from each weight class
(Glenwood did not have a wrestler compete at 215) are as follows:
•103 - Sam Butler finished 3-0 on the day, defeating Josh Moll of Mascoutah by pin in 29 seconds
before scoring an 18-2 technical fall in over Bobby Raines of Grayslake. In the title bout, Butler
claimed an 8-2 decision over Johnnie Carter of Southeast.
•112 - Douglas had only two forfeit victories to his credit prior to Saturday, but he went 3-0 at the
Glenwood Invite, defeating Jordan Shreve of Centralia by pin in his quarterfinal match. Douglas then
pinned Andrew White of Mascoutah in 1:53 before claiming a 12-7 decision in the finals against
Andrew Headley of Woodruff.
•119 - Gunville had a tough opening match, slugging out a 9-6 win over Craig Bush of Collinsville.
Bush had defeated Glenwood's Douglas in a dual meet the previous week. Gunville then won by pin
in 40 seconds over Jon Beverman of Lincoln before falling by 8-2 decision to Cody Largent of East
Peoria in the title bout.
•125 - Holder finished 1-2 on the day, defeating Jacob Weaver of Eisenhower by 12-0 decision in
the quarterfinals before falling by pin to Ramon Deavila of Collinsville in the semis. In the third place
bout, Holder fell to Tom Browne of Grayslake by pin in 3:00.
•130 - Wright lost his opening match by pin to Lavion Mayes of Mascoutah. He then avenged an
earlier-season loss to Zach Haneline of Collinsville, winning a 5-0 decision, before falling by 13-2
decision to Jordan Sandrolini of Lincoln in the fifth place bout.
•135 - Bobby Lee dropped a 9-3 decision to Dylan Hay of Grayslake in the quarterfinals, but
rebounded with three straight wins to take fifth place. All three victories were by second period pin,
over Andrew Gilbert of MacArthur, Brandon Mauer of Mascoutah and Josh Hannon of Collinsville.
•140 - Alex Butler won by pin in 1:16 over Jelani Hess of MacArthur in his quarterfinal match, but
lost by 5-0 decision to eventual champion Andrew Nyland of Collinsville in the semis. In the third
place bout, Butler scored a 16-5 major decision over Jeremy Gumm of East Peoria.
•145 - Ellinger breezed through his first two matches dispatching of Brandon Issler of Mascoutah
by pin in 55 seconds and Sean Keever of Grayslake by pin in 43 seconds. In the finals, Ellinger lost a
5-2 decision to Aaron Batchhelder of Warrensburg-Latham.
•152 - Dan Ramsden finished 1-2 on the day, winning his opening match by 16-1 technical fall
over Alonzo Wynn of MacArthur. But he dropped his next two bouts, falling by 17-11 decision to Josh
Tammeus of Woodruff and 8-5 decision to Julius DePriest of Eisenhower.
•160 - Courtney finished 2-2 on the day, with both losses coming by decisions (6-4 and 6-1) to
Conrad Bray of East Peoria. Courtney defeated Brandon Hill of Centralia by pin and Marquis Williams
of Eisenhower by technical fall.
•171 - Johnson termed Miller's day as a "great surprise." Miller scored an early third period pin
over Matt Gill of Rantoul in his quarterfinal match. Gill was a sectional qualifier last year, Johnson
added. Miller then edged Mike Graf of Mascoutah by a 3-2 decision in three overtimes to advance to
the title bout, where he fell by third period pin to Colt Hickey of Lincoln.
•189 - Bennett lost his opening match by pin to eventual champion Kevin Hein of Grayslake, but
rebounded with first period pins over Jordan Keyes of Rantoul and Wes Ellis of Warrensburg-Latham
to claim fifth place.
•275 - Grant Lee finished 1-2 on the day, falling by pin to Michael Behrins of W-L in the
quarterfinals. Lee defeated Billy Newport of East Peoria by 10-0 decision before falling by pin to
Skyler Guidish of Centralia in the fifth place semis.
•Johnson indicated that Bobby Lee, who has had trouble making weight at 135, would be moved
up to 140, with Alex Butler moving down to 135. Freshman Craig Randle could be sliding in to the
lineup soon at 215, he added. Thompson and Wright will have a challenge match for the spot at 130,
Johnson said.
•Varsity records - Sam Butler (7-1), Douglas (5-3), Gunville (6-2), Wright (4-4), Bobby Lee (5-2),
Alex Butler (7-1), Ellinger (5-3), Ramsden (5-3), Miller (7-1), Bennett (5-3), Grant Lee (4-4).
•At the Lincoln JV Tourney Dec. 5, the Titans had four wrestlers finish in second place - Skyler
Hanson (112), Patrick Hansen (125), Alex Thompson (135) and Michael Ahanchi (140). Justin Noll
(119) and P. J. Sabo (285) each took third place, while Max Rau was fourth at 130. Erik Johnson
(145), Brandon Slagle (152) and Brendan Saunders (160) each took fifth place for Glenwood.
•Coming up, Glenwood travels to the Southeast Duals this Saturday morning. GHS will face
Southeast, Taylorville and Champaign Centennial in their pool, and if they win all of those matches,
state-ranked Champaign Central could be waiting in the finals. The SE and Taylorville matches count
in the conference standings.
to tourney title
By Joe Pritchett
Chatham Editor
It's still early, but the Glenwood High School wrestling team made as big a statement last
weekend as could be made at this time of year.
Two huge Central State Eight Conference victories Friday night, followed by Saturday's team title at
the Glenwood Invite have coach Tom Johnson and the Titans off to a flying start.
"Friday's wins give us an opportunity to reclaim that conference title," Johnson exclaimed. "And
Saturday, we had 11 of our 13 wrestlers place, and that's huge. We were expecting to be in the top
three, but it's a hard tournament to seed being so early in the season. It was a great effort all the way
around."
•On Friday night, the Titans (4-1, 2-0 CS8) defeated CS8 rivals Springfield High (40-25) and
Jacksonville (37-28). Against SHS, Sam Butler (103), Ke-Shawn Douglas (112) and Brennan
Gunville (119) all had forfeit victories, while Calvin Wright (tech. fall at 130), Alec Thompson (6-4 dec.
at 135), Alex Butler (8-0 dec. at 140), Nick "Zippy" Ellinger (10-0 dec. at 145), Devonte Miller (9-8 dec.
at 171) and Grant Lee (6-3 dec. at 275) were also victorious.
Against Jacksonville, Glenwood winners included: Sam Butler (13-2 dec. at 103), Douglas (forfeit
at 112), Gunville (pin at 119), Wright (7-4 dec. at 130), Alex Butler (pin at 140), Dan Ramsden (11-2
dec. at 152), Nik Courtney (6-4 dec. in OT at 160), Miller (4-2 dec. at 189) and Patrick Bennett (pin at
189).
•At Saturday's Glenwood Invite, the Titans had six wrestlers place in the top three and finished with
178.5 points overall. Collinsville was the runner-up with 167, followed by: Rantoul (154), Lincoln
(145), Peoria Woodruff (142), Mascoutah (130), Grayslake Central (104), Decatur MacArthur (100),
East Peoria (88), Centralia (74), Warrensburg-Latham (47.5), Southeast (43) and Decatur
Eisenhower (10).
Sam Butler (103) and Douglas (112) claimed individual titles, while Gunville (119), Ellinger (145)
and Miller (171) took second place. Alex Butler was third at 140, and Chance Holder was fourth at
125. Bobby Lee (135) and Bennett (189) each placed fifth, while Wright (130) and Courtney (160) took
sixth place.
Douglas scored the most points on the day for Glenwood, with 24, while Sam Butler had 23.5 and
Miller and Gunville each scored 20. Bobby Lee's day was of particular note, as the senior lost his first
match but battled back to win three in a row to place fifth at 135. Results from each weight class
(Glenwood did not have a wrestler compete at 215) are as follows:
•103 - Sam Butler finished 3-0 on the day, defeating Josh Moll of Mascoutah by pin in 29 seconds
before scoring an 18-2 technical fall in over Bobby Raines of Grayslake. In the title bout, Butler
claimed an 8-2 decision over Johnnie Carter of Southeast.
•112 - Douglas had only two forfeit victories to his credit prior to Saturday, but he went 3-0 at the
Glenwood Invite, defeating Jordan Shreve of Centralia by pin in his quarterfinal match. Douglas then
pinned Andrew White of Mascoutah in 1:53 before claiming a 12-7 decision in the finals against
Andrew Headley of Woodruff.
•119 - Gunville had a tough opening match, slugging out a 9-6 win over Craig Bush of Collinsville.
Bush had defeated Glenwood's Douglas in a dual meet the previous week. Gunville then won by pin
in 40 seconds over Jon Beverman of Lincoln before falling by 8-2 decision to Cody Largent of East
Peoria in the title bout.
•125 - Holder finished 1-2 on the day, defeating Jacob Weaver of Eisenhower by 12-0 decision in
the quarterfinals before falling by pin to Ramon Deavila of Collinsville in the semis. In the third place
bout, Holder fell to Tom Browne of Grayslake by pin in 3:00.
•130 - Wright lost his opening match by pin to Lavion Mayes of Mascoutah. He then avenged an
earlier-season loss to Zach Haneline of Collinsville, winning a 5-0 decision, before falling by 13-2
decision to Jordan Sandrolini of Lincoln in the fifth place bout.
•135 - Bobby Lee dropped a 9-3 decision to Dylan Hay of Grayslake in the quarterfinals, but
rebounded with three straight wins to take fifth place. All three victories were by second period pin,
over Andrew Gilbert of MacArthur, Brandon Mauer of Mascoutah and Josh Hannon of Collinsville.
•140 - Alex Butler won by pin in 1:16 over Jelani Hess of MacArthur in his quarterfinal match, but
lost by 5-0 decision to eventual champion Andrew Nyland of Collinsville in the semis. In the third
place bout, Butler scored a 16-5 major decision over Jeremy Gumm of East Peoria.
•145 - Ellinger breezed through his first two matches dispatching of Brandon Issler of Mascoutah
by pin in 55 seconds and Sean Keever of Grayslake by pin in 43 seconds. In the finals, Ellinger lost a
5-2 decision to Aaron Batchhelder of Warrensburg-Latham.
•152 - Dan Ramsden finished 1-2 on the day, winning his opening match by 16-1 technical fall
over Alonzo Wynn of MacArthur. But he dropped his next two bouts, falling by 17-11 decision to Josh
Tammeus of Woodruff and 8-5 decision to Julius DePriest of Eisenhower.
•160 - Courtney finished 2-2 on the day, with both losses coming by decisions (6-4 and 6-1) to
Conrad Bray of East Peoria. Courtney defeated Brandon Hill of Centralia by pin and Marquis Williams
of Eisenhower by technical fall.
•171 - Johnson termed Miller's day as a "great surprise." Miller scored an early third period pin
over Matt Gill of Rantoul in his quarterfinal match. Gill was a sectional qualifier last year, Johnson
added. Miller then edged Mike Graf of Mascoutah by a 3-2 decision in three overtimes to advance to
the title bout, where he fell by third period pin to Colt Hickey of Lincoln.
•189 - Bennett lost his opening match by pin to eventual champion Kevin Hein of Grayslake, but
rebounded with first period pins over Jordan Keyes of Rantoul and Wes Ellis of Warrensburg-Latham
to claim fifth place.
•275 - Grant Lee finished 1-2 on the day, falling by pin to Michael Behrins of W-L in the
quarterfinals. Lee defeated Billy Newport of East Peoria by 10-0 decision before falling by pin to
Skyler Guidish of Centralia in the fifth place semis.
•Johnson indicated that Bobby Lee, who has had trouble making weight at 135, would be moved
up to 140, with Alex Butler moving down to 135. Freshman Craig Randle could be sliding in to the
lineup soon at 215, he added. Thompson and Wright will have a challenge match for the spot at 130,
Johnson said.
•Varsity records - Sam Butler (7-1), Douglas (5-3), Gunville (6-2), Wright (4-4), Bobby Lee (5-2),
Alex Butler (7-1), Ellinger (5-3), Ramsden (5-3), Miller (7-1), Bennett (5-3), Grant Lee (4-4).
•At the Lincoln JV Tourney Dec. 5, the Titans had four wrestlers finish in second place - Skyler
Hanson (112), Patrick Hansen (125), Alex Thompson (135) and Michael Ahanchi (140). Justin Noll
(119) and P. J. Sabo (285) each took third place, while Max Rau was fourth at 130. Erik Johnson
(145), Brandon Slagle (152) and Brendan Saunders (160) each took fifth place for Glenwood.
•Coming up, Glenwood travels to the Southeast Duals this Saturday morning. GHS will face
Southeast, Taylorville and Champaign Centennial in their pool, and if they win all of those matches,
state-ranked Champaign Central could be waiting in the finals. The SE and Taylorville matches count
in the conference standings.