Pittsfield wrestlers deliver pair of pins on cue to complete sweep of duals at Central quadrangular

CAMP POINT, Ill. — Tucker Cook and Bodine Marable heard Pittsfield wrestling coach Johnathon Peterson’s plea loud and clear.

Nearing the end of the final dual Monday night at the Camp Point Central quadrangular, the Saukees needed to rack up as many team points as they did individual victories to make a clean sweep. So as both Cook and Marable — wrestling at 190 and 215 pounds, respectively — gained control of their opponents from Central, Peterson called out the same command.

“We need a pin,” Peterson bellowed.

Both wrestlers heeded Peterson’s command, pinning their opponents in the first period to earn six team points apiece in the Saukees’ 39-33 dual win over the Panthers. It was Pittsfield’s third victory of the night as it defeated Illini West 54-12 and West Hancock 38-21.

“The kids are coachable. That’s a very valuable asset on your team when kids respond to direction,” Peterson said. “That’s what we’re here for as coaches. We see something on the side of the mat that they’re not seeing, we give them that direction, they look, they respond, and they start putting it together, like, ‘Hey, he’s probably seeing something that I’m not.’

“To do what they need to do, score the points for the team, that came through big for us and they ended up capitalizing.”

Cook pinned Connor Homan with 9.7 seconds left in the first period after registering two takedowns to gain a 6-1 advantage. When Cook heard Peterson’s call to go for the pin with 30 seconds left in the period, he went to work.

“When he said, ‘We need a pin,’ I’m like, ‘I’ve got to end it right now,’” Cook said. 

Cook had to adjust his finshing move based on his positioning near the edge of the mat.

“I was going for more of a chicken wing, but I was right on the out-of-bounds line, so if I would have run it, we would have gone out of bounds,” Cook said. “I just grabbed his arm and pretty much took him over right on the out of bounds line.”

Moments after Cook finished off Homan, Marable made even quicker work of Garryson Higley, pinning him in 32 seconds.

“I don’t really know the move. I was just kind of going with the flow,” Marable said. “I just put a power half in and tried to flip him over on his back and hold him there for as long as I could to get points or a pin.”

Waylon White also pinned his opponent in the dual against the Panthers, ending his match at 165 pounds against Mason Collins in just 30 seconds.

“I just do whatever I can think of,” White said. “I try to keep a fluid movement and go for whatever I can really. I went for the shot off the whistle, and I ended up getting really close. I went for the throw and got it then just had to squeeze from there.”

In the Saukees’ first dual of the night against Illini West, White wrestled up to 175 pounds and pinned the Chargers’ Shawn Watkins, who finished second in the Quincy Inivitational on Jan. 18 and was a Class 1A state qualifier at 175 pounds last season.

“That just shows that he’s willing to go out there and wrestle talent,” Peterson said of White, who ended the match 30 seconds into the third period. “He knows, ‘Hey, if I’m going to get better, I have to go out there and beat somebody that’s somebody.’ To step up and do that shows how great of a wrestler he wants to be and the overall competitor that he is.”

White followed up that performance with a 16-0 technical fall victory at 165 pounds over West Hancock’s Jordan Leonard and his pin of Collins.

“I usually try and get my pins early, but today I was coming off a hamstring injury,” White said. “I missed the last tournament, so I wanted to get into it real good, get my points, get warmed up back into it, do what I can.”

The Panthers registered a 32-26 victory over West Hancock in their first dual of the night. At 132 pounds, Central’s Josh Collins pinned Evan Smith. Collins then went toe-to-toe with Pittsfield’s Joel Noble and took a 5-3 lead in the second period, but Noble scored the next seven points and won a 13-6 decision.

“(Collins) got his motor running quickly in the first match, which is what we need to see out of his every match,” Panthers coach Andrew Griffin said. “If he can stay on the pace that he’s capable of, he’s really good at gassing guys out and wearing them down. That’s where his biggest strength is.”

Both of Central’s wrestlers at 144 pounds won their matches, as well. Amber Louderback won by technical fall 20-2 at the 2:56 mark against West Hancock’s Oriana Casey, while Jackson Barker pinned Pittsfield’s Jacob Hull in 2 minutes, 37 seconds.

“Amber’s tough,” Griffin said. “When she gets an opportunity to wrestle, especially against female competition at her weight which is tough to find sometimes, she comes out really aggressive and does well.

“Jackson’s a first-year kid, but he’s extremely explosive. He’s a lot of fun to watch wrestle. If he sticks with it, he’s going to be pretty good for us.”