CLINTON — Tuesday, January 9, saw the Maroons wrestlers at home on their own mats for a meet with the Mt. Zion Braves and the Paxton, Buckley, Loda (PBL) Panthers.  

The first teams to compete were the hometown Maroons and the PBL Panthers.  The Panthers were down to start, since they had only eight wrestlers leaving six forfeitures, or 36 points given to the Maroons.  

From that point, the Maroons pressed on winning seven of eight matches for a 77-6 win to start the meet.  

Next on the mat were the Panthers and the Mt. Zion Braves.  This loss for the Panthers was not as harsh as previously due to the Braves having some weight classes not covered.  The Panthers won three matches by forfeit and one by a pin to get 24 points, but Mt. Zion took the round with 4 pins and 6 forfeits for 60 points.  

The final set of matches pitted the Maroons against the Braves in a winners’ showdown.  This would turn out to be Clinton’s night, though, as they took 12 of 15 matches for a 63-11 win over Mt. Zion.  

The toughest match of the evening was Caleb Johnson’s bout with Mt. Zion as he took the early lead and was up 5-2, then 7-3, and held off a Brave comeback to win 7-6.  Clinton took top honors going 2-0 in the meet, followed by Mt. Zion at 1-1 with PBL losing out at 0-2.  

This win had a second good experience on the night because it was the senior wrestlers’ last regular season home meet and senior night.  Those moving on at the end of the school year are Aiden Coonce, Kyle Hammer, Tyler Harris, Garrett Hayden, D.J. Johnson, Kaleb Johnson, Bryce Reeves, and Luke Shobe.  

The Maroons’ are next at home on the third of February hosting the IHSA Regional Tournament.  

Above: Luke Shobe (on top) with a quick take down and pin.  Right: Kaleb Johnson keeps his cool and ekes out a one point win.