The Kewanee wrestling team will begin the postseason Saturday morning when they travel to Fulton to compete in the Class 1A Fulton Regional at Fulton High School. The first round will begin at 9 a.m.
Kewanee will attempt to win its third consecutive regional title, but doing so will be no easy task. The Fulton Regional is one of the toughest small small school regionals in the state.
“We’ll be in a battle for the regional title,” said Eads. “This year we have a lot of excellent teams at our regional and it’ll be tough to beat them all.”
Schools competing in the Fulton Regional area Erie-Prophetstown, Fulton, Kewanee, Morrison, Orion, Riverdale, Rock Falls, Rock Island (Alleman), Sherrard, Sterling (Newman Central Catholic) and Rockridge.
The Boilers faced nine of the opposing 10 teams in dual competition throughout the season (the exception being Rock Falls). Kewanee’s record against those nine teams is 6-3 (after two tiebreakers).
The wins were against Sherrard (36-36, won by tiebreaker), Alleman (61-15), Riverdale (42-41), E-P (42-30), Morrison (47-32) and Fulton (46-30). The losses were to Rockridge (42-42, loss by tiebreaker), Sterling Newman (30-52) and Orion (33-48).
Although Kewanee has faced some of the toughest competition in the state throughout the season, the team is having one of its most successful seasons in the history of the program. In team dual meet competition the Boilers boast an impressive 23-5 record.
When asked how this team compares to some of Eads’ former successful teams, Eads feels this team sizes up pretty well with the best of them. “If they had some duals against each other, this team would be competitive with them,” said Eads. “I think my first-ever regional title team may have the edge but it’s very hard to say.”
The Boilermakers competed in three invitational tournaments this season (Seneca, Porta and Orion). At Seneca, Kewanee had a strong fifth place finish among the 17 teams competing.
Benjamin Taylor was crowned the 138-pound champion. Kingston Peterson and Alejandro Duarte had second place efforts and Chance DeSplinter placed third.
Hunter Vancil and Waylan Lambert were both fifth in their respective weight classes and Daniel Boswell was sixth.
At the prestigious PORTA Invitational in which 32 teams competed, Duarte had a second place effort, while Benjamin Taylor and Kingston Peterson each placed fifth.
At the Bob Minton Invitational in Orion, Alejandro Duarte was crowned the 215-pound champion. Landon Mason and Kingston Peterson had second place efforts, Jamal Lasenby was fourth and Benjamin Taylor placed sixth.
The Boilers are at full strength as they enter the regional. Throughout most of the season, the 165 lb weight class was, typically, the only vacant weight class, but Joey McGuire dropped 10 pounds to be able to compete at the 165 lb level.
Jamal Lasenby will compete at 175 pounds (the weight that McGuire competed at for much of the season).
This year’s team is relatively young. Of the 14 members competing in the regional, only four wrestlers are seniors (one freshman, four sophomores and five juniors).
When asked to describe this season’s team, Eads said, “This is definitely a motley crew. These athletes come from all kinds of different backgrounds, but they gel together. They are constantly giving rides to each other and show glimpses of a team with great comradery,” he concluded.
The Boilers are healthy in numbers as well. There are 34 on the boys team and four on the girls team. The program at Central Junior High is also strong and busy churning out talented athletes. The future is bright for Kewanee wrestling program.
TEAM LEADERS
Benjamin Taylor, junior
• Had a record of 35-15 last season as a sophomore. His current record is 29-8.
• Won the 126-pound title at last year’s Kewanee Regional and advanced to the Clinton Sectional (where he lost in the wrestleback quarterfinals)
• Honorable Mention All-TRAC (2022-23), sophomore
• Second Team All-Area (2022-23), sophomore
Alejandro Duarte, junior
• Had a record of 34-10 last season as a sophomore. His current record, as a junior, is 30-3.
• Was runner-up at last year’s Kewanee Regional and advanced to the Clinton Sectional, but was one win short of advancing to the state meet.
• Second Team All-TRAC (2022-23), sophomore
• All-Area At-Large Team (2022-23), sophomore
Kingston Peterson, sophomore
• Current record (24-5)
• All-Area Honorable Mention (2022-23), freshman.
Chance DeSplinter, sophomore
• Current record (18-13)
• All-Area Honorable Mention (2022-23), freshman.
Jackson Hawkins, senior
• Current record (19-15)
• All-Area Honorable Mention (2022-23), junior
LINE UP FOR THE FULTON REGIONAL
106 – Gideon Richards (15-13), freshman
113 – Kingston Peterson (24-5), sophomore
120 – Landyn Greenhagen (22-10), sophomore
126 – Hunter Vancil (12-9), junior
132 – Chance DeSplinter (18-13), sophomore
138 – Benjamin Taylor (29-8), junior
144 – Landon Mason (15-8), senior
150 – Waylon Lambert (29-14), junior
157 – Brayden Johnson (10-16), sophomore
165 – Joey McGuire (15-16), junior
175 – Jamal Lasenby (12-3), senior
190 – Jackson Hawkins (19-15), senior
215 – Alejandro Duarte (30-3), junior
285 – David Boswell (14-17), senior
Statisticians for the team are Jazlyn Dearing, Cadence Fink, Marissa Weir and Alanna Williams.
