The future of the Downers Grove South High School Wrestling program looks bright as our youth feeder programs have wrapped up their wrestling seasons. Many of our current DGS wrestlers got their start in the IESA and IKWF, and it is always great to see what we have coming down the road. Special thanks to the staffs of the Downers Grove Cougars (IKWF), Jefferson Junior High (IESA), and Eisenhower Junior High (IESA) who do an outstanding job each year introducing many future Mustangs to the sport of wrestling.
IKWF STATE TOURNAMENT- BMO CENTER- ROCKFORD, IL
The Downers Grove Cougars had a great season and sent five wrestlers to the IKWF State Tournament at the BMO Center in Rockford, IL. One of those wrestlers was 7th grader Shawn Lee. Lee entered the 215 lb weight class of the Novice Division by way of a West Chicago Sectional Championship. Lee needed only :09 to pin his opponent in the first round and also recorded a first round pin in 1:15 in his Quarterfinal match. However, in his semi-final, Lee fell behind giving up two points on a first period takedown and also two more points in the second period to fall behind 4-0. As the third period, and Lee's Championship hopes ticked away, Lee dug in for his trademark bodylock and threw his opponent to his back for five with only seconds left on the clock. This punched Lee's ticket to the grand march and finals. Lee's opponent was a familiar one from Martinez Elite that he had faced in the Regional and Sectional finals. After a scoreless first period, Lee was on top when he got out to the side to run a "Butcher" and pin his opponent for his first State Championship! Lee becomes the second DG Cougar to win an IKWF State Title. Current Mustang Freshman Sergio Villalobos and "2015 DGS Pin King" won an IKWF State Title at 189 lbs last year. Congrats to Shawn Lee, the Lee Family, and the DG Cougar coaching staff on a great season! Collin Baker (future Trojan) also made it to the finals and placed 2nd in his Novice bracket.
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| 2015 215 lb IKWF State Champion Shawn Lee with David Lee Sr. |
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| Coach Jeff Eckdahl, State Champion Shawn Lee, David Lee Sr. |
Justin Muller from the DG Cougars also participated in the 2015 Midget State Tournament in Danville, IL. Muller started the tournament with two straight pins to advance to the semi-finals. Muller then dropped three matches in route to a 6th place finish at 108 lbs.
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| 6th Place at 108- Justin Muller |
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| Justin Muller and brother (Mustang) Zach Muller |
IESA STATE TOURNAMENT- NIU CONVOCATION CENTER- DEKALB, IL
Nine future Mustangs participated in the IESA State Tournament, which is held in DeKalb at the Convocation Center of Northern Illinois University. Qualifying for Coach Zach Holtzman and Eisenhower (Darien) Junior High were Jimmy Nugent, Joey Strauss, Matt Strauss, Tyler Bachara, Jeff Nugent, Kevon Miller, and Max Foster. Qualifying for Coach Damon Schmidt and Jefferson (Woodridge) were Ryan Campagna, D'Mauryon Hunter, and Keegan Garland.
After dropping a first round match, Tyler Bachara (105 lbs- Eisenhower) earned a wrestleback match when his opponent made it to the semi-finals. Bachara made the most of this opportunity and wrestled back to take 4th place at 105 lbs. It was a great effort in perseverance after a very tough loss in the first round. Both Matt Strauss (95 lbs) and Jeff Nugent (126 lbs) lost in the match to place in tough brackets. This brought a great season by Darien Eisenhower to an end as they won Conference, Regional, and Sectional team titles and qualified 12 wrestlers to the IESA State Tournament.
Congrats to all of the future Mustangs on great seasons on the youth level!
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