Geneseo junior West Cathcart punched his ticket to his second straight IHSA State Finals with a second-place finish in the 189-pound weight class at the Feb. 12-13 Sterling Sectional.
Cathcart, who entered the day at 36-0, won his first two matches in his dominating fashion. He pinned Brian Kent of Wauconda in 22 seconds in his first match and then defeated Angel Botzoc of Marengo by technical fall, 17-1 in the semifinals.
“West handled everyone pretty well up until the finals,” said head coach Jon Murray.
In the championship bout, Cathcart suffered his first loss of the season to Austin Marsden of Crystal Lake Central in a 9-0 major decision. Cathcart’s record moves to 40-1 on the season.
“(In the title bout) he was up against the No. 2 wrestler in the state behind him and since then he has been learning from his mistakes, watching tape and we hope to see Marsden in the finals,” said Murray. “It would be nice to have that rematch.
“I would rather have West lose at sectionals than at state. We are using this a learning tool and are going in with the mind set of the underdog and we have nothing to lose.”
At 130-lbs., Jacob Koster was pinned in the opening round by Shane Burk of Burlington Central in 4:38. Koster later fell to Dylan Devers of Sterling in a 4-0 decision. Koster ends the season with a 19-12 record.
Shane Bormann (145-lbs.) won his opener in a 3-1 decision over Dustin Kroening of Woodstock North, but was defeated in the next round by Zack Mutton of Rockford East in a 7-2 decision.
Bormann bounced back to pin Trevor Craig of Washington in 5:36, which was followed by a pin of Marcus Miller of Metamora in 4:38. Bormann fell in a 2-0 decision to the eventual third-place finisher Kyle Davidson of Maple Park Kaneland to end his season. Bormann finishes the year with a record of 39-7.
Collin Akers fought his way through a tough 160-lb. bracket, but fell short of advancing.
Akers defeated Tim Tatum of Peoria Central in the opener, 10-3 and moved on to beat Justin Peete of Johnsburg in a 4-2 decision.
His first loss of the day was to Devon Walker of DeKalb in a 2-1 double overtime decision. Akers couldn’t rebound in his next match as he fell in a 6-2 decision in double overtime to Jack Dechow of Richmond Burton. Akers ends his high school wrestling career with a record of 32-5.
At 171-lbs., Jacob Janssen opened the tournament up with a 7-2 decision win over Dan Massengill of Washington, but was pinned in his next match in 2:46 by Jared Koch of Woodstock Marian.
Janssen came back to defeat Josh Isaac of Belvidere High School in an 8-1 decision, but then squared off against a familiar foe Johnny Lopez of Sterling who beat Janssen in a 5-1 decision.
Janssen finishes his wrestling career with a record of 27-13.
“The 160-lb. bracket for Collin was an absolutely loaded field and we are proud he gave his best effort,” said Murray. “And Jacob Janssen had a pretty tough bracket and after losing in the quarterfinals he was on a tough road, with one tough match after another.”
Ben Rudy (215-lbs.) captured his first win of the tournament in a 4-3 decision win over Matt Copple of Sycamore. Rudy was pinned in his next match by Gage Harrah of Crystal Lake Central in :36.
“Toward the end of the season Ben showed a lot of guts and I am really happy with him as far as his dedication to the team even if it was giving up 40-lbs.,” said Murray. “He was in all week helping out West get ready for state. He is a very unselfish kid and is always there to help the team.”
Rudy responded with an 8-4 victory over Dan McGarr of Bartonville Limestone, but fell in a 6-4 decision to Cole Spinks of Galesburg to end his day. Rudy finishes the season with an 18-15 overall record.
Cathcart, who was the 189-lb. runner up in 2009, will compete this weekend for the 189-lb. State Title at the IHSA State Wrestling Finals Feb. 19-20 at Assembly Hall on the campus of the University of Illinois-Champaign. Cathcart’s first opponent will be Doug Diedrick of Lombard Montini, according the IHSA Web site.
“West has to take it one match at a time in order to get to the rematch with Marsden,” said Murray. “He has to be ready and can’t take anyone lightly. Anything can happen.
“I want to see him a state champion. I know he can do it and now he has to believe he can do it.”
Geneseo, Ill. —
