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

Quincy Notre Dame senior Ryan Darnell, right, grapples with Reed-Custer's Dominic Alaimo during the second round of wrestlebacks at 215 pounds Friday during the Class 1A state wrestling championships at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill. | Photo courtesy Chris Johns/PhotoNews Media

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…

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QND’s Darnell to chase state podium through wrestlebacks, while Illini West’s Watkins, Pittsfield’s Cook do the same

Quincy Notre Dame's Ryan Darnell, right, locks up Woodstock Marian's Dan French during their opening round match at 215 pounds in the Class 1A state wrestling tournament at the State Farm Center in Champagn, Ill. | Photo courtesy Clark Brooks, PhotoNews Media

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The luck of the draw wasn’t on Ryan Darnell’s side. A runner-up in the Class 1A Clinton Sectional, the Quincy Notre Dame senior wrestler drew a spot at the top of the 215-pound bracket at the Illinois state wrestling championships, which began Thursday at the State Farm Center on the University of…

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

Quincy Notre Dame senior Ryan Darnell earned a spot in the Class 1A state wrestling championships by finishing second at 215 pounds at the Clinton Sectional. | Muddy River Sports file photo

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…

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Introduction to Little Chargers wrestling club sets stage for Watkins Jr. to grapple with success

Illini West senior wrestler Shawn Watkins Jr., top, will chase a sectional championship and a return trip to the state tournament during this weekend's Class 1A Clinton Sectional. | Shane Hulsey photo

CARTHAGE, Ill. — It all started with a piece of paper. Shawn Watkins Sr. will never forget the day his then 5-year-old son, Shawn Watkins Jr., returned home from Dallas City Elementary School with a flyer advertising the Little Chargers wrestling club — a youth wrestling organization in Carthage — and showed it to his…

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