Barnhart leads Centennial to Twin City wrestling wins
Jan. 4—Close
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138-Centennial's T. Schoonover and Central's Rowan King at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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285- St. Thomas More's Robbie Vavrik at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
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157-Centennial's Jeremiah Robertson and Central's John Jones at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
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165-Centennial's Daniel Alele and Central's Si Bui at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
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Centennial's coaches and assistants cheer at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
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175-Centennial's Eli Duma and Central's Aidan Walker at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
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215-Centennial's Ettavias Holmen and Central's Waleed Tleimat at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
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165-Centennial's Daniel Alele and St. Thomas More's Phil Christhilf at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
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132- Urbana's Terrence Brewer wrestles a Central player at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
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144-Urbana's Emilano Bedello wrestles a Central team member at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
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285- St. Thomas More's Robbie Vavrik and Centennial's Jack Barnhart at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
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PHOTO GALLERY: Twin City Wrestling
The Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024. STM, Centennial, Urbana and Central competed in a series of duals.
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138-Centennial's T. Schoonover and Central's Rowan King at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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285- St. Thomas More's Robbie Vavrik at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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157-Centennial's Jeremiah Robertson and Central's John Jones at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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165-Centennial's Daniel Alele and Central's Si Bui at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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Centennial's coaches and assistants cheer at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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175-Centennial's Eli Duma and Central's Aidan Walker at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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215-Centennial's Ettavias Holmen and Central's Waleed Tleimat at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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165-Centennial's Daniel Alele and St. Thomas More's Phil Christhilf at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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132- Urbana's Terrence Brewer wrestles a Central player at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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144-Urbana's Emilano Bedello wrestles a Central team member at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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285- St. Thomas More's Robbie Vavrik and Centennial's Jack Barnhart at the Twin City Wrestling Meet at St. Thomas More in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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CHAMPAIGN — For the first handful of matches, Jack Barnhart just sat in his chair and quietly watched his Centennial teammates wrestle against crosstown rival Champaign Central.
He had his headphones in, wearing shorts and a big T-shirt, and only got up to help break the team huddle before each match. Hard to tell what was in those headphones. Not only did the senior look all-business, but he likes all types of music.
Three matches before his own, Barnhart left his seat and disappeared behind the bleachers at St. Thomas More. He was pacing, eyes to the ground, peeking out every few moments to check on his teammates' matches.
When the time finally came for the Chargers' first heavyweight match of the night, Barnhart emerged in his singlet with his long, curly hair going every which way out of his headgear.
The referee blew the whistle, and Barnhart had Central's Johann Opgenhaffen pinned in just 36 seconds. A couple minutes later, he was back in his chair with headphones back in and T-shirt and shorts back on.
Barnhart pinned all three of his opponents at Wednesday's Twin City wrestling meet and was a big reason why the Chargers went 3-0 as a team. Behind Centennial were the Maroons at 2-1, Urbana at 1-2 and STM at 0-3.
Barnhart's focus this year comes from a disappointing performance at state last year. He went into state as the top-seeded heavyweight but finished sixth. So far this season, he's undefeated and treating every match the same no matter who he's wrestling.
"I kind of let some things get to me mentally," Barnhart said of his state run last year. "I came in this year with a different mindset of just being dominant. It's more like finishing business at this point."
STM coach Kurt Sexton called Barnhart "a monster" right after he pinned Saber heavyweight Robbie Vavrik, a state honorable mention wrestler himself.
Centennial coach Andrew Nyland called Barnhart the best heavyweight in the state and added that all the work he put in over the summer is starting to look like it'll pay off.
"He had a little bit of nerves last year, but I think those are all gone this year," Nyland said. "He's going to go to the state tournament hungry for the title."
Another wrestler who earned three pins Wednesday was STM senior August Christhilf. He's part of a Saber roster that, while small, has a few "animals," as Sexton called them.
The Sabers only have nine wrestlers, which is why they can't win many dual matches against teams with full rosters.
As far as Sexton is concerned, however, if his wrestlers win the majority of their matches, then they won the meet.
"This team is the biggest I've ever been on in high school wrestling, and we still only have a handful of guys," Christhilf said. "We've just always had an underdog mentality and brought that into all the duals. All of us are individually confident wrestlers. It doesn't bother us that we don't win duals knowing those numbers. It's just about going out there and showing we're still dominant."
Of those nine Sabers, six are seniors, and all but one of them played football together this past fall. Wednesday was also their senior night, and it was a chance for Sexton to reflect on just how close this group has gotten.
"They're really good, and they're really close-knit," Sexton said. "I started coaching these kids when they were in fifth and sixth grade. They push each other really hard, but as soon as practice is over, they're going somewhere together."
The Twin City meet was a perfect opportunity to bring that same bond into the whole gym. Just about all the wrestlers had been competing with one another since they were little. The coaches go head to head seemingly every week. There are even relatives on opposing benches. It makes for a fun environment.
"Everyone knows each other, and there's a big rivalry between all four schools of who can be the best team every year," Nyland said. "That just brings a lot of energy to the whole room."
