December 4, 2023 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Brazelton, Holt to wrestle at IHSA state meet

All Holden Brazelton has pretty much done during his freshman season wrestling for St. Joseph-Ogden High School is win tournaments.

If Brazelton can win his next tournament, he’ll add his name to a select few wrestlers in SJO history.

And that’s as a state champion.

Brazelton and sophomore teammate Emmitt Holt will represent the Spartans during the Class 1A state meet that begins on Thursday afternoon at State Farm Center in Champaign.

Brazelton won the 120-pound sectional title at the 1A Olympia Sectional in Stanford last Saturday and will carry his 41-3 record into a first-round match at the state meet against Pierson Wilkerson (28-22) of Vandalia.

Brazelton started his stay in Stanford by pinning Garrett Kean of Eureka in 3 minutes, 18 seconds before earning a 3-1 decision against Ethan Monson of Mercer County in the quarterfinals.

During his semifinal match, Brazelton secured an 8-0 major decision against Bowden Delaney of Tremont to clinch his berth at state — the top four finishers in each weight class moved on to Champaign — and set up a sectional title match with Braydon Campbell of Ridgeview/Lexington.

And Brazelton emerged triumphant against Campbell, posting a 3-1 decision to give him his first sectional title of his high school career.

Holt placed second at 113 at the Olympia Sectional, and will take his 33-7 record into a first-round match at state against Tony Keene (37-2) of Harrisburg.

In Stanford, Holt opened up his tournament stay by pinning Hunter Sierer of Peoria Notre Dame in 3 minutes, 23 seconds to advance to the quarterfinals. He topped Jack Thompson of Camp Point Central via a 3-0 decision to meet Dylan Crouch of Dwight in the semifinals.

Holt qualified for state after beating Crouch in a 5-2 decision before losing to Keygan Jennings of Farmington by a 7-2 decision in the sectional title match.

SJO had one other wrestler, junior Owen Birt, compete at the Olympia Sectional at 195.
Birt won his first-round match by pinning Ronin Ryerson of Chillicothe IVC in 1 minute, 20 seconds before he lost a 10-3 decision to eventual sectional champion Cooper Wendling of Tremont in the. quarterfinals.

Birt then defeated Gabe Alvarez of Clifton Central by pin in 3:19 in his first wrestle back match and then pinned Nolan Yeary of Olympia in 1:51 to advance to the wrestleback semifinals. But his season unfortunately ended with a 13-4 major decision loss to Brody Cuppernell of St. Thomas More in that match. Birt finished his season with a 23-10 record.

The 1A first-round match state matches are set to begin at noon on Thursday, with quarterfinals happening at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday.

First-round wrestlebacks are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Friday, with second-round wrestlebacks at 1:30 p.m. before state semifinals are set to begin at 7 p.m. on Friday.
The state meet schedule for Sunday involves 1A quarterfinal wrestlebacks at 9 a.m., 1A semifinal wrestlebacks at 11 a.m., 1A third-place and fitfh-place matches at 1 p.m. and state championship matches beginning at 6 p.m. after the Grand March takes place at 5:30 p.m.

Banner
Related Posts

5 Question Friday with SJO Football Head Coach Shawn Skinner

October 21, 2022

October 21, 2022

How has the team improved since the first game?I think the team has been as committed as you can as...

Get to know SJO Volleyball player Helene Jones

October 31, 2022

October 31, 2022

What do you think makes the team so successful? Everyone on the team is so close outside of volleyball, so...

SJO cross-country teams eager to start season off and running

August 31, 2019

August 31, 2019

The end goal for every high school cross-country runner in Illinois is to end the season racing at Detweiller Park...

Hamilton, relay team win state titles as Spartans place third

May 21, 2019

May 21, 2019

Bringing state trophies home isn’t an easy task. But the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ track and field team sure...

Gilliland coaching legacy strong at PVO

June 1, 2020

June 1, 2020

Coaching legacies can last decades for families. For the Gilliland family of rural Ogden, that notion has resonated for a...

SJO soccer to have new home in 2023, while issues arise about current field maintenance

July 14, 2022

July 14, 2022

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School soccer team is set to have a new home field for the 2023 season. SJO...

Hug, Martinie help SJO girls’ basketball win regional title

February 21, 2023

February 21, 2023

Winning regional championships is nothing new for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’basketball program. But earning one during the 2022-23...

SJO dances through adversity and earns date at state

January 22, 2019

January 22, 2019

On Friday afternoon, the St. Joseph-Ogden dance team thought its season was finished. Not because of how they performed. But...

Martinie, Frick propel SJO girls’ basketball in two straight wins

January 23, 2023

January 23, 2023

More losses than wins have unfolded so far this season for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball team.But the...

McCarty throws no-hitter, SJO baseball picks up two wins

May 6, 2019

May 6, 2019

Each time Keegan McCarty takes the mound, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball team has to likes its chances of...

Berry, Bigger help power SJO volleyball to five straight wins

September 26, 2019

September 26, 2019

Heading into Thursday night’s home showdown with St. Thomas More, the St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team has won five straight matches....

Wells, defense shine as balanced SJO girls’ basketball team wins regional title

February 22, 2022

February 22, 2022

The high school girls’ basketball season has taken St. Joseph-Ogden High School all across the state of Illinois. With plenty...

Spartans hope to raise the bar

August 27, 2021

August 27, 2021

By Jim Cotter St. Joseph-Ogden football hopes raise the bar this season.Last season, the Spartans finished 2-4. The Spartans are...

Vallee, Burnett lead SJO volleyball to superb spring

April 9, 2021

April 9, 2021

Playing a flurry of matches in a short amount of time hasn’t hindered the St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball program. The Spartans...

Mabry, Stegall pace SJO boys’ cross-country to regional title; sectional meet up Saturday

October 30, 2021

October 30, 2021

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School boys’ cross-country team has shown the capability it could win a state title all season....

Comments
Leave a Reply