Rocky's Taylor has eye on title
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By Shannon Heaton | Tuesday, February 19, 2008 |
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — As far as Rock Island senior wrestler Reese Taylor, as well as his coaches, was concerned, only one other wrestler mattered in the 140-pound weight class.
That is, beside Taylor himself.
Now, that wrestler — formerly unbeaten and former defending champion Lee Munster of Grant — is beaten and behind Taylor after the first day of competition at the Illinois Class AA state wrestling tournament at Assembly Hall on the University of Illinois campus Friday night.
Taylor took down Munster three times in the first two periods, then managed the final 3 minutes of the match well. Despite picking up two one-point stalling penalties, Taylor was able to knock off Munster, 7-6, in the quarterfinals Friday night.
“We’ve been preparing all this last week for that match right there,” said Rock Island coach Larry Kanke. “Forget about everybody else. Forget about (Hononegah’s Rob) Fenicle, about all of them. Everybody else was out of our minds. Reese wrestled just an excellent match.”
Munster, who won state at 119 pounds as a freshman and is a junior national champion in judo, didn’t get a chance to use his bulkier upper body as leverage against the longer Taylor. Instead, Taylor dictated terms.
“I got nothing to lose. I went out relaxed,” Taylor said. “Coach Kanke has always told me to work what I do, that I should use my speed to my advantage. I didn’t really change (my style) much. I tried not to overdo it, just get shots that paid off.
“I knew he was tough, but I was tough, too. I believed in myself and went out and got it done.”
With the match mostly secured, Taylor took the stalling penalty points, rather than get himself tangled into a situation working to Munster’s advantage.
“Sometimes that’s a part of wrestling, and you have to use it to your advantage,” Taylor said. “It’s just about mat awareness.”
Taylor (40-2) faces Wheaton North’s Eric Terrazas (39-4) in the semifinals today. If he wins that match, he gets a ticket to the Grand March on Saturday night, possibly against a familiar opponent. Fenicle, too, made the semis with an overtime victory in the bottom half of the bracket.
Contact the sports desk at (563) 383-2285 or sports@qctimes.com.
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