Ronald Baker III is familiar with the state farm center.
Champaign Central Senior qualified for the IHSA State Final twice before this winter.
However, he is about to finish his high school career by banging. So far, so good.
Baker continued his impressive final season with the Maroon on Saturday by winning the Class 2A section title at Lincoln at 138 pounds. Baker improved to 39-1 in the season after beating Justus Vrona in a 21-6 technical fall in the championship match. The victory over Vrona won his spot at his hometown State Farm Center when the state tournament began in Champaign on Thursday after Baker won the 11-7 decision against Triad’s Braden Rowe Later.
Baker is one of the state’s two Champaign Central Wrestlers on Saturday, joining him after Tallinn took second place with 126 along with his younger brother Tallinn Baker.
Baker was also one of two area wrestlers who won the section title at Lincoln. The other is that Marco Casillas is just beginning his high school career, but he knows what it’s like to be around a state champion.
A freshman at Mahomet-Seymour, Casillas is the younger brother of former Ms standout Mateo Casillas, who won the 2023 state title in 195.
Marco Casillas has wrestled for the Bulldogs this season at 175, but after winning three times for Lincoln, he ran the record 47-3. He beat Lincoln’s Dawson McConnell with East St. Louis’ Corey Robinson in the semi-finals and 15-0 technical fall before beating Lincoln’s Dawson McConnell with a 12-8 decision in the title match.
Young Kasila is one of seven MS wrestlers competing at the State Farm Center this week. Vrona with 138, Talon Decker with 150 and AJ Demos with 165 also finished second in the weight class. Gideon Hater of 113 and Brock Vandevier of 190 came in third, while Noah Daniels came in fourth with 215.
Urbana also has state qualifiers after Emiliano Vedra came in fourth with 132.
Lingels lead O/SF conditions. Oakwood/Salt Fork will be competing with six wrestlers in the Class 1A State Final, which begins Thursday at State Farm Center in Champaign.
Pedro Rangel led the O/SF path in the Carterville section on Saturday by winning the section title at 138 pounds. Senior Lengel scored a record 41-7 in the season after beating Cole Yalbra with a 9-6 decision in a section title match. Wrangel won his spot in the state with a 15-0 technical fall on Mount Zion’s Travon Street and 15-0.
Mason Swartz of 120 added a second-place finish for O/SF, but the other O/SF wrestlers move to Champaign. 144 Carter Chambliss. Both Fouchel and Chambliss came in fourth.
Westville has two state qualifiers after the Gabriel Kidd-Doo 150, with Ethan Miller both coming in third.
Vasey, Hoselton wins the section title. There is still a chance that Chloe Joselton and Phoenix Morina meet again to win the state title at 235 pounds in women’s wrestling. Clear possibilities.
The standout area wrestler, who won the state title at 235 last winter, was squared off again in a sectional championship match at Highlands.
Prairie Central and Training State Champion senior Joselton once again won 3-2 on the ultimate tiebreaker to win united junior Morina. Hoselton is 23-0 this season and earned her spot in the IHSA State Finals at Grossinger Motors Arena in downtown Bloomington on February 28th before 33 seconds of Urbana’s Lillian disanto in the semi-finals It’s pinned.
Along with Molina, Unity also has Anna Vasey in the state finals. Vasey won the section title at 155 on Saturday and sat in season 32-4 after pinning O’Fallon’s Kira Thompson at 1:39 in the section title match.
There are 10 wrestlers in the area who are still chasing the state title. Avaveld, who is 100 years old at 130 and Licacia Ivy of Urbana at 140, placed second in brackets, while Maddie Wells of St. Joseph Ogden came in third in 140. Jacee Wightkamp of Muhammad Seymour in 145 and 190, disanto of 235, won the state berth with a fourth-place finish.
