State champions to be honored

Published by admin on Tue, 02/28/2023 - 5:06pm

Photo by Eric Fisher
BEST IN STATE! Members of the Coal City wrestling team celebrate with the 1st place state trophy on Saturday in Bloomington, IL after defeating Yorkville Christian 32-31 in the Class 1A championship. It is the first time in school history the Coalers finish in 1st place in wrestling after trying 11 times before. Team members (from left) Rey Gonzalez, Jack Poyner, Culan Linemuth, Joey Breneman, Michael Gonzalez, Mataeo Blessing and Buddy Widlowski turn hold the trophy high for Coaler fans to see.

The Coaler wrestling team arrived home on Saturday with a police escort into town, and the state champions will receive another escorted trip through the village ahead of a community celebration scheduled for Wednesday, March 1.

The wrestling team and coaches will be honored by the Unit 1 Board of Education during its monthly meeting at 6 p.m. Due to the number of team members and their guests, the meeting will take place in the high school cafeteria.

Following the Board recognition, the team will parade around town and return to the high school in time for a 7 p.m. celebration in the competition gym.

This is the first state team championship in wrestling and the high school’s third overall with a football championship in 1993 and a softball championship in 2010.

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