Oswego's Howell left wanting more

Champaign Central's Aryn Gilenson (top) tries to gain an advantage over Yorkville's Jed Lightfoot in their Class 2A 125-pound semifinal Saturday in Champaign. Lightfoot won the match and went on to a second-place state finish.
John Dixon / The Associated Press

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CHAMPAIGN -- Heading into the Class 2A state meet at the University of Illinois in Champaign this weekend, all eyes were on a potential battle between Oswego junior Dan Howell and Montini star Grant Goebel at 215 pounds.

And lo and behold, after an entire weekend of wrestling, the two wound up battling for the state championship at Assembly Hall. And fittingly, regulation wasn't enough time to decide the match.

Tied at 1 after three periods, the two battled into double overtime before Goebel finally earned an escape and held off Howell the rest of the period for the state title. Goebel's brother, Garrett, won state titles the previous two seasons.

"There's always next year," Howell said. "I'm not ashamed. I left everything out there on the mat. My goal in the offseason will be to come back next year and win a state championship."

In the third period, Howell appeared to have Goebel caught, but Goebel wiggled out and got the escape point that eventually forced overtime.

"I wanted to keep it scoreless in the first and try to take him down in the second," Howell said. "I thought I had him, but I lost control of his leg and he got away. That was the key right there."

Yorkville junior Jed Lightfoot also battled for a state championship in Class 2A, at 125 pounds. Montini sophomore Stephen Robertson got a quick takedown in the first period of the finals and never looked back. He never trailed, earning a state title a year after finishing second while wrestling for Niles West as a freshman.

"He was the better wrestler today," Lightfoot said. "I just couldn't get anything going. I knew he was going to come out with a big flurry right away. Hopefully I'll see him in a couple of weeks at the team state meet."

That said, taking second at state was quite an honor for Lightfoot, who hopes to have a return engagement against Robertson next year at Assembly Hall.

"It's probably the biggest thing I've ever done," Lightfoot said. "Hopefully I can come back down next year and do it all over again. It kind of stinks right now, losing that match, but I've got another year. That will make me work that much harder in the summer."

Plano junior J.J. Cannon highlighted the area Class 1A finishers by placing fourth and winning a state medal. He fell in the 160-pound third-place match, 12-4, to Trey Griffin of Lena-Winslow.

Cannon's teammate, Travis Tomac, fell one match shy of earning a medal at 140 pounds.