Kahok grapplers send three to sectional
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By Mark Jurgena
Three members of the Collinsville boys wrestling team qualified out of the IHSA Class 3A Alton Regional and into this weekend’s sectional tournament at Normal Community High School.
Two other wrestlers are listed as alternates via their fourth place finishes.
“As a whole, I am very proud of my team and how far they have come,” said Collinsville coach Jordan May. “But like I’ve said before this just gives us something to build on.”
Cody Lutz of Collinsville (27-13) qualified out of the 170-pound class last weekend.
He began his tourney beating Ethan Hofmeister (17-9) of Belleville West by a score of 9-2. It was the second time this year the two had faced off with Lutz pinning him the first time.
“He wrestled him a lot more dominantly than he did in the dual,” said May. “I was really happy about that even though he didn’t get the fall.”
In his semifinal, he beat Max Miller (33-11) of Quincy by a 3-2 decision.
Miller had defeated Lutz earlier in the year but a reversal by Lutz with five seconds to go in the third period gave the Kahok a shot at the title.
For the title, he squared off with Hubey Thomas (27-8) of Edwardsville.
Lutz led for most of the match until Thomas scored a reversal late in the third to take the crown.
At 195, Scott Snyder fell in his title bout after a pair of pins.
Snyder began the day with a pin at 48 seconds over Alex Ramo (12-7) from Belleville West.
In his semifinal, he met Shane Scott (31-7) of Alton. Snyder had pinned Scott late in their earlier matchup this season but it was a back-and-forth match.
In the regional, the Kahok was taken down early in the match but quickly scored a reversal and pinned the Redbird in 34 seconds.
The championship saw him face Dominic Thebeau from Belleville East. Thebeau took third place at last year’s Class 3A state meet but has missed much of this season with a hand injury
He finished the regional by pinning Snyder at the 4:34 mark. He has an 8-1 record on the season.
“With Thebeau having the reputation he has, I think Scott was a little nervous about it,” said May. “Now he knows how he wrestles if he sees him at sectionals.”
First-year wrestler Devin Habermehl qualified out of the 220-pound class.
After a first round bye, he faced Shamontae Matthews (24-13) of Belleville West and pinned him in 52 seconds.
It was the second time the two had faced each other this season. Habermehl pinned Matthews in the previous matchup, but it was the first time he had wrestled anyone into the third period, win or lose.
In the regional semifinal, he took him to the mat two times and pinned him.
Gavin Schumacher (23-14) of Quincy pinned Habermehl in the final at the 1:19 mark.
“He’s absolutely killing it,” said May about Habermehl. “He has so much natural athleticism and his drive to win is like no one I’ve ever met before. I’m very, very proud of his performance. You can’t ask for much more from a first-year wrestler to be a sectional qualifier after finishing second at regionals. That’s unheard of.”
At 106 Jordan Thigpen (20-10) of Collinsville finished in fourth place and is listed as an alternate for the sectional.
He began his tourney with a sudden victory over Corbin Zeisset of Belleville East.
In his second match, he fell to eventual weight champion Rocky Seibel (31-3) of Belleville West by an 18-2 tech fall.
He bounced back with a pin at the 1:10 mark over Jayden Wiegand of O’Fallon. It was the third time he beat Wiegand this season.
Thigpen fell to Hugh Sharrow (34-9) of Quincy by a 4-0 decision after dropping a 10-2 decision at the beginning of the year.
“I think that just goes to show that our guys are progressing at a pretty fast rate and I think that’s something people will pay attention to especially if they do offseason training,” said May.
Nathan Cagg took fourth place at 160. He has a record of 17-24 but is listed as an alternate for the sectional.
“He showed a lot of heart,” said May. “I am very proud of him for everything he puts in for the team and all of his hard work in the room.”
In the team standings, Edwardsville won the regional with 197 points to beat Quincy by 19. Belleville East was a distant third.
Collinsville finished sixth in the eight team field with 75 points.
