Skip to content

Vandal wrestlers sweep Belleville East quad, home duals

 

The Vandalia High School wrestling squad traveled to a quad at Belleville East last Wednesday with something they didn’t have at the beginning of the year, a nearly full lineup.
Coming off a fifth-place finish at the St. Thomas More Challenge, the Vandals only conceded one match via forfeit and went 3-0 over Belleville East, Roxana and Mascoutah in what was a successful trip from top to bottom.
“We have been having to bump around a little bit, trying to fill our holes,” Vandalia head coach Jason Clay said. “We were a little more full than some of the teams, so I was able to get some younger kids in, too.”
Vandalia opened up the quad with a dual against Roxana.  Five forfeit victories and pins by Dustin Lott (145) and Zack Stephenson (106) were more than enough as the Vandals topped the Shells, 48-15.
“Dustin Lott in his first match got a varsity win. Some other guys were bumping around and filling spots,” Clay said. “We got some tough matches on the individual side of things and had some tough matches for some of our better guys.”
In the second dual, Vandalia continued its dominant efforts, picking up six wins via fall and defeating Mascoutah, 55-15.  
The Vandals took advantage of another thin lineup to close out the quad, picking up four wins via forfeit enroute to a 52-25 win over Belleville East.
Now at 17-5 in dual action for the season, Clay is happy with what he has seen from his team of late.
“I was really proud of the kids up at St. Thomas More tournament. The ninth match in two days and we wrestled a team that already beat us once. That’s a tough situation to be in, but we came out and fought hard and got the win,” Clay said. “To me, it just kind of showed what we are capable of.
“I think we are coming along; we just need to keep working to get tougher mentally and physically get better technique, but I thought our kids did a good job of fighting and battling in the duals.”

Vandalia vs. Roxana

Stephenson (106) and Lott (145) earned wins via fall at the 3:33 and 4:26 mark, respectively.  Bobby Bradley (195) and Jarrett Paslay (126) earned decision wins. Garret Stewart (170) and Kendrick Woolsey (285) dropped hard-fought decisions by scores of 8-6 and 3-2, respectively.  Luke Tessman (132) dropped a 12-6 decision and Logan Sullens (138) was pinned at the 3:39 mark.  Vandalia earned forfeit victories at 113, 120 and 160 pounds to round out the scoring.

Vandalia vs. Mascoutah

Mascoutah’s Trenton Finch led things off with a 6-4 decision over Tanner Swain (113).  However, Chaston Womack (120) and Paslay answered with first-round pins in 1:23 and :25, respectively.  Tessman picked up a fall with just two seconds left in the third period, while Sullens followed with a 5-3 decision win. Trevor Philpot (145) earned a major decision to further extend the Vandals’ lead. Mascoutah followed with two victories, with Lott (152) getting pinned in 54 seconds and Cody Phillips (160) dropping a 13-8 overtime decision. Stewart, Matt Ledbetter (182), and Rilley Smock (195) followed with pins in the second period. Zack Stephenson closed out the meet, dropping a 3-2 decision in an ultimate tiebreaker. Vandalia also earned forfeit victories at 220 and 285 pounds.

Vandalia vs. Belleville East

Vandalia opened up with forfeit victories at 113, 120 and 126 pounds. Tessman followed with a 9-0 major-decision win. Sullens earned a pin with seven seconds left in the first period. Philpot dropped a 4-2 decision to give Belleville East its first point of the match. Both teams traded forfeit victories, while Stewart followed with a pin at the 4:52 mark.  Ledbetter was pinned at the 1:53 mark. Bradley made quick work of his opponent, securing a pin in just 12 seconds. Smock dropped a 20-6 major decision, while Woolsey pinned his opponent in 1:24. Stephenson closed out the dual and the day’s action, suffering a loss via fall at the 4:16 mark.

The Vandals returned home for the first time in January Tuesday night for a pair of duals against East Alton-Wood River and Carlinville. Hosting Junior Wrestler night, Vandalia did not fail to disappoint the young wrestlers, defeating both EAWR and Carlinville 57-24 and 69-6, respectively.
“It was good to get back home and it’s nice to have a good crowd. It’s cool doing the junior wrestler night. We had a ton of junior wrestlers and it’s fun for them. It’s exciting to see them be here,” Clay said. “We were able to get some of our younger kids in there tonight. We are a little overbooked on duals, so we have to hold some people out. We did a little bit of that in the first dual and in the second, we wrestled pretty much our lineup."

Vandalia vs. EAWR

Stewart (170) opened up with a quick first-period pin. Matt Ledbetter (182) was on his way to a decision victory, but was pinned with a minute left in the final period. Bradley (195) Smock (220) and Woolsey (285) followed up with with wins via fall. Morgan Dothager earned a forfeit win at 106 pounds; while Swain (113) followed up with a hard-fought 4-2 decision win over Drew Sobol. Sobol is currently ranked No. 1 for the 106-pound division by illinoismatemen.com. Womack (120) and James Crawford scored pins in the first and second period, respectively. Tessman (138) was the final Vandalia win, scoring a pin with 11 seconds left in the first period. Dustin Lott (145) lost via fall in the second period. EAWR closed out the dual with forfeit wins at 152 and 160 pounds.

Vandalia vs. Carlinville

 Ledbetter and Smock (195) got things going for Vandalia, with Ledbetter scoring a first round pin and Smock earning a 7-4 decision with a late near fall. Bradley (220), Stephenson (106), Womack and Paslay (145) all followed up with wins via fall. Tessman (132) and Logan Sullens (138) earned decision wins by scores of 4-3 and 9-5, respectively. Philpot (145) earned a fall in just 55 seconds, while Lott won via forfeit at 152 pounds. Cody Phillips (160) fell in the first period, while Stewart closed things out with a pin at the 3:44 mark.
Clay was happy to see improvements in some of his young wrestlers, Smock and Ledbetter, in particular.
“I thought Rilley Smock and Matt Ledbetter were two kids, I held them after practice yesterday for some one-on-one time and they put some things they learned into action. I’m proud of those two; I feel like they’re working hard and getting better and better,” Clay said. “This is their second year, so they are absorbing stuff and learning fast.  Matt was up in his first and made a mistake but was in the second one from beginning to end. Rilley pulled out that takedown in his last match and got some back points. That’s a match a month ago I’m not sure he would have won, because he didn’t have the determination to do so. It’s neat to see those kids grow and our older wrestlers do well, also. “
Vandalia will resume action Thursday at home, as they face off against Litchfield and Highland.

Garret Stewart attempts an escape against Belleville East’s Ein Austin. Stewart went on to win via fall at the 4:52 mark.

Luke Tessman brings Carlinville’s Kyle Dixon down to the mat Tuesday night.

Logan Sullens

Jarrett Paslay

Chaston Womack

Leave a Comment