ROXANA — Roxana High alum Eric Roberson is always happy to return to his old stomping grounds inside Larry Milazzo Gymnasium.
He’s even happier when his Alton Redbirds earn a win. On Thursday the Birds bested the Shells 55-12 on the mat and got some solid performances with the postseason right around the corner.
“They’ve done a lot of really nice upgrades to the school and the gymnasium and building a new gym. It is a lot of fun to come back,” Roberson said. “I always enjoy getting back here and seeing so many faces, teachers that I had, coaches that I had like (Joe) Huff. Seeing Rob (Milazzo), we go way back. It’s a great atmosphere to wrestle in and great atmosphere here. They’ve got some good things happening over here.”
For Roxana head coach Rob Milazzo, Thursday was more about getting to see quality competition rather than winning the dual. Alton will enter the postseason in Class 3A, while the Shells go in at 1A, so matching up numbers wise can be tricky. Roxana forfeited four weight classes, while the Redbirds forfeited two.
“We wrestled Collinsville last night and then Alton and we know we’re outgunned there, but I thought we did a pretty good job and wrestled better tonight,” Milazzo said. “It’s good for us to be wrestling that good competition before we go into Class 1A.”
The biggest match come in the last one at heavyweight. Brett Nyswonger of the Shells is ranked No. 6 in the state at 285 in 1A and owned a 34-2 record entering his match with Alton’s Ryan Kane. Nyswonger defeated Kane on his way to a Mascoutah Invitational crown in December, but the AHS 285-pounder got his revenge on Thursday. Kane bested Nyswonger 5-1 to hand the Roxana senior just his third loss on the Shells’ Senior Night.
“Heavyweight usually comes down to one move and it came down to a body lock and we were able to not get turned and come out with a win,” Roberson said. “That’s a good heavyweight; Roxana’s got a good one there in Nyswonger.”
For Kane moving toward the 3A Granite City Regional on Feb. 4, the win over Nyswonger was a huge confidence booster. With Nyswonger’s strength and aggressiveness, Kane knew he was in for a formidable challenge.
“I just wrestled him as hard as I could,” Kane said. “I’ve gotten a lot better throughout the season. Coach works us pretty hard and I’ve worked a lot of heavyweight moves this week to get ready for regionals. When I was on bottom I was just focusing on getting up and getting to my base and tried not to get turned. He’s pretty strong and he was keeping my head down pretty much all match.”
Nyswonger was frustrated with the loss, but said it opened his eyes to be ready for anything come postseason. As the Shells enter the 1A Mount Olive Regional on Feb. 4 he knows guys will be targeting him.
“It shows that even with a good record you’re not invincible,” Nyswonger said. “I beat (Kane) already, but it shows that any point in time if they get a good move on you, you can still lose. You’ve got to wrestle your hardest every time you go out.”
Alton also got wins on the mat from Garrett Sims (120) via technical fall, Hunter Hobbs (126) by pin in 1:43, Lucas Tankersly (132) via pin in 56 seconds, Zak Wilson (152), by pin in 5:29, Keyondrick Russell (195) by technical fall and Grady Womack (220) via pin in 49 seconds.
Nolan Woszczynski (160), Christian Everage (170) and Keontay Holmes (182) all received forfeit victories for the Redbirds.
Roberson was especially pleased with Wilson’s efforts against Roxana’s Logan Carpenter.
“Zak Wilson basically has wrestled a JV schedule all year and he comes in helping us out, filling a spot,” Roberson said.
Russell was impressive, picking up a 38-13 tech fall over Roxana’s Blake Harkey. He feels he’s in a good spot in his final prep season with the Birds.
“I found an opportunity to work on my shot technique and improve what I can do on the mat,” Russell said. “I think attitudes are good right now, but we need to keep working because you can never be too good. We just need to practice and practice all next week.”
The Shells received wins on the mat from Alex Maguire (138) via a 6-1 decision and Michael Cherry (145) with an 11-9 decision. Cody Cherry (106) also was awarded a forfeit victory.
Maguire entered Thursday ranked No. 7 in 1A at 138, while Milazzo said Cherry has been progressing nicely through the season and he expects big things from him come postseason.
“I’m so proud of him,” Milazzo said of Michael Cherry. “Here’s a kid that is great in the practice room. He’s come on really strong the last couple of weeks and we look forward to seeing what he can do (in the postseason).”
It was Senior Night, so Roxana recognized its two seniors, Nyswonger and Jacob Carpenter (126) prior to the dual. The Shells also presented a $500 check to the American Cancer Society through this year’s “Takedown Cancer” initiative for the wrestling program.
Now Roxana will turn to the Litchfield Invitational on Friday and Saturday before entering the postseason. The Redbirds head to the Thrasher Tournament in St. Charles on Friday and Saturday to close the regular season.