After several tough weeks, the Illinois Valley Central grapplers regained their footing by dominating Mendota and beating East Peoria at home Jan. 19.
“The kids are starting to peak at the right time,” coach Matt Russell said. “They are starting to see the benefits of their hard work.”
The tri-meet started with the Ghosts beating North Central Illinois Conference foe Mendota, 63-9.
Senior Trace Miller started the action for IVC by quickly forcing his opponent down in a pin in 1:52.
Sophomore Brendan Butler took on a tough Trojan opponent and squeaked out a close 5-4 decision after coming close to a pin several times.
The next Ghost winner was sophomore Jesse Hall when he exposed the weakness of a Trojan to grab a pin in 3:56.
The last winner for the Ghosts was senior Scott Ladd, who flat out overpowered his opponent to win by a pin.
Freshman Bret Hoover, junior Zach Switzer and seniors Frank Barrett, Eddy Grant, Aaron Lunini, John Hess and Cody Witherspoon all won by forfeits.
The Ghosts then took on East Peoria and won a closer match, 37-36.
“East Peoria was a huge win,” Russell said. “I can’t remember the last time we beat them.”
Hoover put the Ghosts on the board first by grabbing a victory with a 5-2 decision.
Switzer quickly showed off his technique and power by pinning his foe in only 0:47.
Thinking 47 seconds is too long for a pin, Lunini came up and dominated his opponent in a 0:44 second pin.
Hall kept the speedy pin trend going for the Ghosts by taking down his Raider in 1:13.
Witherspoon, although coming close to a pin several times, was able to exploit his Raider foe’s weaknesses enough to come out on the winning side of an 11-4 decision.
Ladd was the last victor for IVC when he quickly found a flaw in his opponent’s techniques and pinned him in 0:45.
Miller won his match by forfeit.
The Ghosts headed to Manual Thursday to take part in a tri-meet against Manual and Galesburg.
The Ghosts started the night by taking a 44-32 victory over Galesburg.
“Beating Galesburg to start the night was great,” Russell said.
Hoover started the match for the Ghosts by pinning his opponent in 3:26.
Switzer found himself locked in a match where his opponent would not be pinned, but he still was able to win an 18-2 decision.
Miller was locked in a battle with a tough tactician but exploited his weaknesses to create a pin in 3:40.
