Three-peat: Auburn senior completes quest for third state title at IHSA wrestling finals
CHAMPAIGN — Joey Ruzic immediately put the sectional loss behind him.
The Auburn senior didn’t flinch in his final IHSA individual state finals appearance and claimed his third career state title at the State Farm Center on Saturday.
Ruzic dispatched Coal City’s Brody Widlowski with a 6-1 decision to win the 1A title at 126 pounds.
“I definitely had a chip on my shoulder because of that, but I didn’t let it affect me,” Ruzic said. “I just came out and did what I did and well, you see the result.”
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Never in doubt
Ruzic (46-1) lost the Vandalia Sectional championship to No. 3 state-ranked Tony Keene of Harrisburg via pin in 47 seconds for his only loss of the season.
Keene wound up fourth place at state.
“We hit the reset button,” Auburn coach Matt Grimm said. “That’s all we did. We hit the reset button and we started over again. That was old news. We learned from that mistake and we came to work on Monday to get after it. We put the work in all week long. We didn’t talk about it, we didn’t have to.”
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Ruzic pinned his first opponent in less than a minute on Thursday before reeling off a couple of major decision victories to return to the championship match. That included a 12-1 decision over then-unbeaten No. 4 state-ranked Garrett VerHeecke of Decatur LSA in the semifinals. Verheecke took third place.
“That’s just a testament to how mentally tough that kid is and how much work he put in and the confidence he has to be able to go out and do it,” Grimm said.
Ruzic, who will wrestle at the University of Illinois, previously won the school’s first state title at 113 pounds as a sophomore and second at 120 last season.
He jumped ahead 5-1 through the first two periods with a pair of takedowns en route to his third top podium.
“It started slow, but that’s how some matches are,” Ruzic said. “You’ve just got to keep pushing forward, getting reactions and getting to where you need to get to.”
Ruzic never lost his poise.
“I worked hard for it, so I knew it would come,” Ruzic said.
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Glenwood senior takes second
Drew Davis was also seeking a third state title in Class 2A, but came up short at 120 pounds.
The Chatham Glenwood senior previously won the school’s first state titles at 106 and 113 pounds.
Davis (42-1) dropped a 3-0 decision late to Elmhurst IC Catholic’s Deven Casey for his only loss of the season.
He still has the dual team sectionals looming ahead before going off to wrestle at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. He could also reflect on a stellar high school career.
“I still did some great things — two state titles and the first one to do it, that’s something to be proud of,” Davis said.
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The Titans touted two other state medalists: John Ben Maduena at 138 pounds and Max Wiezorek at 190 pounds.
Maduena, a senior, earned fourth place with a 34-7 mark while Wiezorek, a junior, won fifth place with a 9-6 decision over Niles Notre Dame’s Jim Amatore.
Elsewhere in the area, Jacksonville senior Oliver Cooley (47-5) picked up third place at 215 pounds in 2A with a 4-1 decision over Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge’s John Fallaw.
Lincoln junior Dawson McConnell took fourth place at 165 pounds in 2A. He lost a 10-3 decision to IC Catholic’s Joe Gliatta to finish 44-8.
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This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA state wrestling: Auburn's Joey Ruzic wins third state title
