Highland wrestlers Mitchell, Rakers qualify for sectional as team performs well
A weekend that looked like a stretch to qualify wrestlers for a young Highland wrestling team ended up being a worthwhile trip to Civic Memorial High School for regional competition Saturday, Feb. 5.
Senior Benny Mitchell won the championship at 160 pounds and freshman Tyson Zobrist placed third at 132 pounds, as both Bulldogs wrestlers qualified for the IHSA Class 2A Sectional tournament Friday, Feb. 11, at Mahomet Seymour High School.
It was a special moment for Mitchell as he advanced to sectionals for the first time in his HHS career.
“It’s great and I’m really proud of the accomplishments I’ve had as an individual and as a team,” Mitchell said. “The community that I’ve had on this team has gotten me to where I am.”
Mitchell punched his ticket to the sectional round with a victory by pin over Triad rival Sam Wheeler. The two have wrestled each other since they were 9, so there were no secrets going into the final match.
“A lot of it (the match) was mental,” Mitchell said. “He and I have been rivals since we were about 9 or 10 and we’ve wrestled probably upwards of 10 times in our careers. I feel like it could have gone either way, but I just capitalized on a couple of simple mistakes and that really carried me all the way.”
Highland coach Shorty Ohren said he felt Mitchell made a wise choice in moving up from 152 pounds to 160 to give him a better shot at making the sectional cut.
“It was his decision to go to 160 instead of 152 and I think he made the right decision. He’s got a good shot of being up in the top four (places) this weekend to go on (to state),” Ohren said.
Rakers, a freshman, made his first regional appearance pay off big time as he qualified at 132 pounds by pinning Josh Cooper of Triad in 32 seconds of the first period to win his third-place match.
“He did a really good job,” Ohren said. “He lost to the one and two placers last week. We knew they were going to be tough, but he wrestled really well and he’s strong and his future is looking really good.”
Highland finished sixth overall in the team standings with 53 points but Ohren was pleased with the team’s showing given they had four wrestlers advance to the championship or third-place matches.
Gavin Merkle finished fourth at 120 pounds and Ashton Zobrist placed fourth in the 195-pound division.
“I’ve seen a lot of improvement over the year with this group of kids,” Ohren said. “They’re working hard and doing everything they can do.”
Up next for HHS wrestlers
Mitchell and Rakers will start the Class 2A sectional tournament at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 11, at Mahomet Seymour. Merkle and Zobrist will also make the trip as alternates. The tournament will conclude Saturday, Feb. 12, with an all-day session starting at 9 a.m.
Mitchell — 32-7 on the season — looks forward to his first sectional trip and will keep his tournament approach very basic.
“It means a lot to me for sure,” Mitchell said. “I’m looking to keep my head right and focus not on what I have next but the one (match) right in front of me and keep moving forward and not getting bottled up in the past.”
This story was originally published February 6, 2022 at 12:00 AM.