Neuqua Valley sends five downstate

Yes, wrestling is a team sport.

But this weekend it was all about the individual athlete. The one who spent countless hours training, practicing and trying to make weight while always keeping his eyes on the prize of a trip to Assembly Hall in Champaign, site of the individual state meet.

Any trip to Champaign for a wrestler obviously has to run through the individual sectional, and when the Class 3A Lincoln-Way Central sectional wrapped up Saturday night, five Neuqua Valley wrestlers and one from Waubonsie Valley could call themselves state qualifiers.

Senior Matt Slavik (152 pounds), sophomore Connor Swier (170), senior Vince Marrone (195), senior Casey Greenberg (220) and junior Andrew Geers (285) will represent Neuqua when the state competition begins Thursday. Senior Elton Manuel (160) made it for the Warriors.

Geers (33-4) placed second in his weight class and heads to Champaign trying to improve upon last season’s fourth-place finish at 285. Greenberg ( 37-6) was also second.

The lone District 204 wrestler to win in the final round was Swier (37-4), who defeated Lincoln-Way Central’s Bryce Gorman 7-2 in overtime for third place.

“I made sure I kept pressing into him the entire time. I kept pushing, pushing, forcing him into bad shots, and I was able to get five points,” he said.

It’s Swier’s first trip to state.

“I wrestled my heart out. It was a goal of mine to make state and that’s done. I want to try and do more,”Swier said.

Slavik (38-9) finished fourth in his weight class as did Marrone (32-10).

Neuqua coach Mick Ruettiger wants his team to take the next step when it heads to Champaign.

“Five kids wrestled well enough to get to state. We want five guys on the podium. We’re not satisfied with just qualifying,” he said. “We didn’t have a good final round. There’s stuff we’ll work on in practice this week.”

Waubonsie’s Manuel (35-10), who finished fourth in his weight class, didn’t make it out of regionals last season, so he savored qualifying for state in his last attempt. And he’s looking forward to possibly getting a second chance at some of the wrestlers who beat him the first time around.

“It’s been a dream of mine to make state. I’ve had goals, which I’ve been able to accomplish, and this is one of them,” he said. “I’m going to give it my all (at state). I’m going to give it everything I’ve got.”