Wrestlers go 2-1 at home quad; demolish Hillsboro

The Vandal wrestling team went 2-1 at a home quadrangular on Saturday, defeating Oakwood, 50-28, and Herrin, 45-34, before falling to Leroy, 53-16.

“The effort was there all day,” said coach Jason Clay. “Nobody gave up and everybody was fighting.

“We have a lot of young guys who just need to keep learning positioning and techniques,” he said.

Dalton Blankenship, a sophomore, recorded three pins on the day, and senior Zach Jackson also had three wins, including a rematch against Herrin’s Tad Cravens.

Vandalia is 3-2 on the season, with the season's first win having come last Thursday at Hillsboro in a 65-15 thrashing.

“There’s definitely been improvement,” Clay said. “Some of the guys a lot and some other guys only a little, but we have two months until regionals, so we’re going to look better.”

Vandalia vs. Oakwood

The Vandals came out with aggression against Oakwood, taking control of several bouts within 15 seconds on the way to a 50-28 victory in the opening-match of the Vandal Quad.

In four of the first six bouts, a Vandalia wrestler secured the first takedown within the first 10 seconds, including senior Zach Jackson (170) and sophomore Blake Cripe (195), who both took control in four seconds.

Jackson would pin his opponent in 2:08, while Cripe would secure his fastest pin of the season in 0:43.

“Oakwood is young and inexperienced,” said coach Jason Clay. “We did a good job of getting out and getting on them.

“The match started with a lot of our experienced kids, and we jumped out on them.”

At 152 pounds, junior Tyler Dagen took control five seconds into the bout and finished with a pin in 31 seconds, his fastest of the season, and at 160 pounds, freshman Bobby Bradley got a takedown 15 seconds into the battle on his way to his first career pin (1:58).

Later on the match, sophomore Ryne Lipsey (113) secured a takedown in 15 seconds before pinning his opponent in 0:47.

Junior Rodney Tedrick opened the match at 145 pounds with a 20-5 technical fall win. He secured his final points with just 18 seconds left in the bout to give the Vandals an additional team point.

Following Dagen’s and Bradley’s pins, sophomore Jake Stewart moved Vandalia’s lead to 20-0 with a 4-2 win, his sixth of the season.

“He’s pretty consistent,” Clay said. “He knows how to wrestle, and will improve more if he continues to work on his technique.”

Freshman Nathan Lutz (220) and Dylan Sapp (285) each wrestled in their first varsity match against Oakwood.

Saturday, Dec. 8
Vandalia 50
Oakwood 28
•106 – Chaston Womack won by forfeit
•113 – Lipsey won by fall at 0:49
•120 – Oakwood won by fofeit
•126 – Adam Palmer lost, 15-4
•132 – Oakwood won by forfeit
•138 – Blankenship won by fall at 5:28
•145 – Tedrick won by technical fall, 20-5
•152 – Dagen won by fall at 0:31
•160 – Bradley won by fall at 1:58
•170 – Stewart won, 4-2
•182 – Jackson won by fall at 2:08
•195 – Cripe won by fall at 0:43
•220 – Lutz lost by fall at 2:27
•285 – Sapp lost by fall at 0:47

Vandalia vs. Herrin

Tad Carvens got the better of Vandalia senior Zach Jackson in the championship bout of the Civic Memorial Tournament on Dec. 1.

But Jackson made sure he wouldn’t slip up again against the Herrin sophomore at Saturday’s Vandal Quad.

His thrilling 10-8 win against Cravens was the highlight in a 45-34 team victory for the Vandals.

The two wrestlers battled to a stalemate for the first 1:32, before Jackson secured a takedown, and he would lead 5-4 going into the final period of the 170-pound bout.

“Those kids are fairly even, and Zach set the tempo by getting the first takedown,” said coach Jason Clay. “That put him into a position where he could win the match.”

Cravens reversed Jackson’s control 13 seconds into the third period, but Jackson escaped 32 seconds later to tie the bout at 6-6.

Jackson was taken down 21 seconds after that but again escaped quickly, just 10 seconds later. Cravens was then hit with a stalling penalty to tie the bout at 8-8.

A takedown with just 10 seconds left gave Jackson the victory.

His win put the Vandals ahead, 15-0, and sophomore Blake Cripe (182) added to it with a pin in 2:24 at 182 pounds.

In the first two bouts, junior Tyler Dagen (152) won by injury default and sophomore Jake Stewart (160) won with a pin in 3:54.

The Tigers won seven of the next eight bouts to take a 34-33 lead into the final two.

Junior Rodney Tedrick got a pin in 1:57 in the 138-pound bout, and sophomore Dalton Blankenship sealed the team victory with a pin in 2:59 at 145 pounds.

Saturday, Dec. 8
Vandalia 45
Herrin 34
•106 – Womack won by fall at 2:33
•113 – Ryne Lipsey lost by technical fall, 20-5
•120 – Herrin won by forfeit
•126 – Adam Palmer lost by technical fall, 16-0
•132 – Herrin won by forfeit
•138 – Tedrick won by fall at 1:57
•145 – Blankenship won by fall at 2:59
•152 – Dagen won by injury default
•160 – Stewart won by fall at 3:54
•170 – Jackson won, 10-8
•182 – Cripe won by fall at 2:24
•195 – Nathan Lutz lost by fall at 0:26
•220 – Herrin won by forfeit
•285 – Dylan Sapp won by forfeit

Vandalia vs. Leroy

The Vandals weren’t able to make it a sweep against state-ranked Leroy, falling 53-16 in the final match of the Vandal Quad.

Leroy, the No. 3 ranked team, according to www.illinoismatmen.com, trailed after the first three bouts, but would not lose again until sophomore Dalton Blankenship (145) got a pin in the second-to-last battle.

Freshman Bobby Bradley opened the match with a forfeit win at 160 pounds, and senior Zach Jackson won an 11-3 decision two bouts later to give the Vandals a 10-4 lead.

Saturday, Dec. 8
Leroy 53
Vandalia 16
•106 – Chaston Womack lost by fall at 5:55
•113 – Ryne Lipsey lost, 20-7
•120 – Leroy won by forfeit
•126 – Adam Palmer lost by fall at 1:15
•132 – Leroy won by forfeit
•138 – Rodney Tedrick lost, 6-3
•145 – Blankenship won by fall at 3:02
•152 – Tyler Dagen lost, 5-2
•160 – Bradley won by forfeit
•170 – Jake Stewart lost, 13-4
•182 – Jackson won, 11-3
•195 – Blake Cripe lost, 5-3
•220 – Nathan Lutz lost by fall at 1:16
•285 – Dylan Sapp lost by fall at 1:41

Vandalia at Hillsboro

Last Thursday, Vandalia dismantled South Central Conference opponent Hillsboro, 65-15, recording seven pins during the dual meet.

At 285 pounds, freshman Kendrick Woolsey recorded a pin in 1:59 in his first-ever varsity match, and freshman Bobby Bradley (170) was also in his first varsity match, but he was pinned in 1:28.

Sophomore Ryne Lipsey (113) had the fastest pin of the night, taking down Nichole Vieweg in 23 seconds.

Others to record pins for the Vandals (1-1) were: Adam Palmer (120), Tyler Dagen (145), Dalton Blankenship (152), Zach Jackson (160) and Jake Stewart (182).

Thursday, Dec. 6
Vandalia 65
Hillsboro 15
•106: Chaston Womack won by forfeit
•113: Lipsey won by fall in 0:23
•120: Luke Tessman won by forfeit
•126: Palmer won by fall at 0:58
•132: Hillsboro won by forfeit
•138: Rodney Tedrick lost, 11-4
•145: Dagen won by fall at 2:32
•152: Blankenship won by fall at 3:01
•160: Jackson won by fall at 5:20
•170: Bradley lost by fall at 1:28
•182: Stewart won by fall at 1:13
•195: Blake Cripe won, 18-1
•220: Kolton Etcheson won by forfiet
•285: Woolsey won by fall at 1:59