QND’s Darnell, Illini West’s Watkins Jr. qualify for state wrestling championships

CLINTON, Ill. — Ryan Darnell and Shawn Watkins Jr. will end their prep wrestling careers on the state’s biggest stage.

It took some tenacity and resilience to get there.

Darnell, the Quincy Notre Dame senior wrestling at 215 pounds, finished as the runner-up in the Class 1A Clinton Sectional, pinning his first two opponents before suffering a third-period pin in the title match against El Paso-Gridley’s Ryden Barker.

Meanwhile, Watkins Jr., the Illini West senior wrestling at 175 pounds, lost in the semifinals before winning twice in the wrestlebacks to finish third and earn his second straight state tournament appearance.

They will wrestle at the Class 1A state tournament at State Farm Center in Champaign beginning next Thursday.

Darnell (43-7) had a first-round bye before pinning Tremont’s Ethan Kinsey in 1:21 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Darnell pinned Williamsville’s Anthony Beckman in 29 seconds. In the championship match, Barker built an 8-2 lead in the third period before pinning Darnell with 11 seconds remaining.

Watkins Jr. (36-5) also had a first-round bye before pinning Eureka’s Aaron Eastman in 2:53 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Hoopeston’s Angel Zamora, who has a 48-1 record and won the sectional title, pinned Watkins in 2:47.

He rebounded to pin Chillicothe IVC’s Owen Moser in 1:56 in the consolation semifinals before earning a 14-2 major decision over Canton’s Gus Lidwell in the third-place match. Watkins had three takedowns and a four-point nearfall against Lidwell.

Quincy Notre Dame’s Bradi Lahr and Macomb’s Cohen Green missed qualifying for state by one match.

Lahr, a junior wrestling at 157 pounds, lost a 13-7 decision to Pontiac’s Lucas Maier in his opening match and then came back to win twice in the wrestlebacks. He pinned Heyworth’s Hunter Bockelman in 2:49 and scored a 15-2 major decision over Tolono Unity’s Keegan Germano.

In the consolation semifinals, Lahr suffered a 5-2 loss to petersburg PORTA’s Justin Zimmerman, getting taken down with 20 seconds remaining in overtime. Lahr finished his season with a 42-7 record.

Green, also wrestling at 157, opened with a 13-0 major decision over Eureka’s Sam Hoffman before getting pinned by Leroy’s Brock Owens in 2:36. In the wrestlebacks, Green beat Peoria Notre Dame’s John Couri 7-5 and Canton’s Daniel Kees 10-4.

In the consolation semifinals, Green was pinned by Stanford Olympia’s Kelton Graden in 2:39. Green finished his season with a 38-14 record.

No other area wrestler reached the championship or consolation semifinals.

At the Class 3A Joliet Central Sectional, Quincy High School didn’t have a wrestler win more than one match as none of the six grapplers advanced.