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

By Muddy River Sports | February 16, 2025
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

By Shane Hulsey, Sports Writer | February 14, 2025
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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