Back in the quarterfinals

Vandalia’s wrestlers recorded nine pins in defeating Murphysboro and advancing the state tournament quarterfinals for the 20th time in program history on Tuesday at Benton.

A forfeit win by Zack Stephenson and Tanner Swain’s 1-0 win put the Vandals up 9-0 early in the IHSA Sectional Tournament, then Jarrett Paslay extended the lead to 15-0 with the Vandals’ first pin of the night.
Bradyn Kaiser lost to Ryan Chamber, 8-0, and Dustin Lott was beaten by fall to make it 15-10, but Murphysboro would be held to just three more points in the match, via a Marcus Gilmore 11-7 decision over David Meyer.
In between those two losses, the Vandals picked up three straight pins, by Tiler Worker, Robby Durbin and Garret Stewart to make it 33-13.
The Vandals closed out the win with consecutive pins by Gavin Mouser, Anthony Enlow, Jarek Wehrle, Dakota Gasaway and Matthew Hobler.
“Our kids battled, battled, battled early and we were able to get some pins, and that was a big deal for us,” Vandals coach Jason Clay said.
“Then, we hit our state-placers and were able to roll on through,” he said.
“It was awesome. That’s what we’re looking for, the ultimate,” Clay said. “When you’re in a dual situation, you’ve got to get pins and not give up pins – that’s one thing we preach.
“Bradyn Kaiser losing 8-0 – I’ll take that. I’d like to keep it down to a regular decision, but we’re saving points against one of their better wrestlers,” he said.
“Robby (Durbin) gave up the early takedown, got back up and was able to get a takedown and pin the kid. That was a big deal,” Clay said.
“Tiler (Worker) just hung in there and fought, fought, fought, and the next thing you know, he’s on top of the kid pinning him.
“That’s just a testament to how Tiler is – he’s going to be really good I think. He’s inexperienced as a second-year wrestler, but he’s a fighter.
“He battles and battles, and that’s going to be a good thing for him in the future,” Clay said.
“David (Meyer) wrestled well, Hobler, some of our guys who are newer, second- and third-year wrestlers,” he said.
“A lot of our younger kids wrestled really well, and some of them haven’t wrestled for a couple of weeks because of the (individual) sectional and (team) regional.
“They’ve been practicing and working hard,” Clay said.
“It was a good team win tonight,” he said.
Though the Vandals had defeated Murphysboro, 69-9, in a home quad on Jan. 13, Clay and his assistant coaches – Matt Shroyer, Alex Foster and Patrick Myers – weren’t taking anything for granted on Tuesday.
“Obviously, we respect Murphysboro and their program. They beat us a couple of years ago at state, so we weren’t going to take anything for granted,” Clay said.
“We prepare for everybody the same, and we did a lot of strategy sessions (prior to Tuesday’s match).
“We (Clay and Shroyer) said down in the bleachers and went through every scenario after weigh-ins, and coach Shroyer and I spent half an hour at lunch going through it, just to make sure we had all of our I’s dotted and T’s crossed,” he said.
“You just want to make sure all of your matchups are right.
“We lost the flip, so we lost control of a couple of situations, where we had to present (a weight entry) first.
“That’s fine, that’s going to happen – you’ve just got to wrestle through it, and I think the kids did an excellent job of competing well,” Clay said.

Vandalia’s Tiler Worker pins Jeremey Norris of Murphysboro to give the Vandals a 21-10 lead at the IHSA Sectional in Benton on Tuesday.

Jarek Wehrle pins Murphysboro’s David Penrod 1:35 in the first period to extend Vandalia’s lead to 51-10. The sectional win improved Vandalia’s record in sectional competition to 20-4.