• Article Image Alt Text
    Evan Shetley
  • Article Image Alt Text
    Ian Kilburn

Shetley Fourth, Kilburn Sixth At State Meet

For the first time since 2009, Sullivan left Mizzou Arena with two all-state wrestlers.

Sophomore Evan Shetley (170) and junior Ian Kilburn (152) are the first pair of Eagles to finish at the medal stand since Carl Lawrence and Ryan Pence. Shetley took fourth and Kilburn sixth Saturday at the Class 2 state meet.

Sullivan's other state qualifiers -- freshman Dillon Witt, sophomore Kobie Blankenship, senior Alec McCormick and sophomore Tristan Brown -- all had victories during the event, another first-time accomplishment for the Eagles.

"I can't really put into words the amount of work these young men put in throughout the year with the goal of getting into the state tournament," said Eagles head coach Matt Peregoy. "They spend three months focused on that one goal of making a showing at the Mizzou Arena. As a team we finished better than ever before at 19."

Last February, Peregoy said the future was bright for Sullivan on the medal stand. Shetley and Kilburn proved him right.

"The accomplishments these two were able to make are awesome," Peregoy said.

Shetley and Kilburn were done in just two matches at last season's state meet.

Shetley won his first two matches, getting a 14-2 decision over Kirksville's Vin Kriegshauser, then a 5-4 decision over Cassville's Wyatt Goade.

He fell to Mexico's Kellen Ekern, now a three-time state champion, in 33 seconds. Shetley bounced back to pin St. Charles West's Brendan Noack. In overtime, he lost a 5-4 decision to Reeds Spring's Clayton Johnson.

Kilburn lost a 4-2 overtime decision to Odessa's Vincent Monarca in the first round, but reeled off three straight wins over St. Joseph Lafayette's River Sisk, KC Center's Daylyn Snelling and Potosi's Jaydee Vick. He was pinned by Winfield's Clark Rogers and Bolivar's Daryin Sharp in the fifth-place match.

Sullivan's other wrestlers contributed points to the team's overall finish. Peregoy said very few squads are able to say all wrestlers scored at the state tournament.

Witt (106) lost to Excelsior Springs' Ethan Day, but won an 11-0 decision against Mexico's Carter Maxwell, advancing him to the second day. He fell by a 7-1 decision to Ste. Genevieve's Jacob Dickens.

Blankenship (138) won his first match against Savannah's Blayde Briner, but lost by technical fall to Mexico's Dillon Nichols and Odessa's Bryce Palmer.

McCormick lost a decision to Mexico's Vinny Vitale in the opening round. He had a 13-4 major decision over Cameron's Danny Gibbs in the first wrestle back, but fell by decision to Oak Grove's Noah Sears.

Brown was pinned in his first match by O'Fallon Christian's Chase McCoy. He pinned Excelsior Springs' Dylan Casey in wrestle backs and lost an 8-3 decision to Clinton's Jesse Knisely.

"As a coach, one of the most exciting things about our tournament is that we did everything with a group of mostly underclassmen," Peregoy said. "We only took one senior to state this year, which means we should have five qualifiers returning next year along with several who nearly made it. The future of Sullivan wrestling continues to be bright."

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