The FZN wrestling team recently captured top honors at the Desmet Tournament held on December 28th. Five individuals: Storhm Jones (126), Logan Prinster (138), Chance Cole (160), Derick Buda-Smith (170), and Ryan Medley (220) all won their respective weight classes for the Panthers. The Panthers easily outpaced runner-up McCluer North, 172.5 to 127, to claim the team title. It was the second Desmet title in three years for the Panthers, who also won the team championship in 2017, at the 12 team event. Other individuals earning medals at Desmet include: Jackson Cox (3rd – 132), Eddie Angleback (3rd – 195), and Brendan Mahoney (2nd – 285). The team title at Desmet was the second tournament win for the Panthers this season after capturing the title at their own invitational earlier this season. The Panthers currently stand at 6 – 2 on the dual meet season.
The Panthers have been led by the efforts of a state-ranked pair of wrestlers: Chance Cole (160) and Derick Buda-Smith (170). Cole, just a freshman, is off to an 18 – 2 start. The individual championship at Desmet was a first for Cole at the high school level. He finished as the runner-up at both the FZN Invitational and the Mascoutah (IL) Tournament. Buda-Smith, a senior, is a two-time returning state-qualifier with aspirations of finishing on the podium at State in 2020. Buda-Smith is off to a 19 – 1 start. He has won individual titles at Desmet and the FZN Invitational, while finishing 2nd at Mascoutah. Also standing out for the Panthers is transfer Storhm Jones. Jones, a junior transfer from traditional area power Granite City (IL), is off to a 20 – 2 start with individual titles at FZN and Desmet. In addition, senior Logan Prinster (18 – 5), junior Eddie Angelback (15 – 4) and senior Ryan Medley (12 – 7) have all performed well for the Panthers this season. Prinster was a state qualifier in 2018 for the Panthers.
Next week the Panthers will host a tri-meet with St. Charles and state-ranked Jackson on Thursday, January 9th at 5:00 pm, before competing in the always tough GAC Tournament scheduled as a one-day event on January 11th. The GAC Tournament will be held at St. Charles West High School with wrestling slated to begin at 9:00 am.