Area wrestlers bow out in second round of wrestlebacks at Class 1A state championships

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The road through the wrestlebacks ended abruptly.

Three area wrestlers — Quincy Notre Dame’s Sam Darnell, Illini West’s Shawn Watkins Jr. and Pittsfield’s Tucker Cook — saw their seasons end Friday with losses in the consolation bracket at the Class 1A state wrestling championships at the State Farm Center on the University of Illinois campus.

Darnell, who went 1-1 during Thursday’s opening day of action, drew Reed-Custer’s Dominic Alaimo in the second round of wrestlebacks and opened the second period with an escape for a 1-0 lead. However, Aliamo took Darnell down midway through the period and parlayed it into a pin in 2 minutes, 50 seconds.

Darnell finishes his senior season with a 44-9 record.

Watkins Jr. won his first match Friday morning, pinning Dwight’s Gavin Bafia in 1:44 in the first-round of wrestlebacks. Facing Tri-County’s Colin Hughey, Watkins Jr. fell behind 7-0 before getting pinned in 3:04. He finished his senior season with a 37-7 record.

Cook lost his opening match Thursday but rebounded with a second-period takedown of Clinton’s Kristan Hibbard that led to a pin in 2:42. In the second round of wrestlebacks, Cook was pinned by Tolono Unity’s Hunter Eastin in 34 seconds. Cook finished his senior season with a 40-12 record.