PR’s Vinton caps career with state title

Prairie Ridge's David Vinton scored a 7-2 victory over Kyle Rich of Pontiac to capture the 215-pound championship at the IHSA Individual State Wrestling Tournament. (PhotoNews/M. J. Peters )

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Prairie Ridge senior David Vinton’s state title in the 215 weight class capped an improbable high school wrestling career. He also picked a heck of a time to win the second tournament of his life.

Vinton, who never wrestled before his freshman year, beat Pontiac senior Kyle Rich (36-3), registering three takedowns en route to a 7-2 decision. Vinton (33-6) never trailed in the match.

“It feels great. I love it,” said Vinton, who said winning the state title still hadn’t sunk in. “My first time down here last year, I got knocked out right away. I set my goal to win state and it happened.”

After grabbing an early 2-1 lead, two second-period takedowns extended his lead to 5-1, putting the match in his control for good.

Prairie Ridge coach Joe Terhaar was thrilled for his wrestler and his performance in the final.

“He earned it. There’s no doubt about it,” said Terhaar. “He went out there and wrestled tough all year. This whole tournament he’s been focused and locked in.

“The more aggressive he is, the more it opens up his matches.”

Prairie Ridge teammate Brian Cullen wasn’t fazed by the bright lights of the 103-pound state final. The junior came out battling in the first period against Lombard Montini’s KeVon Powell, ending the first period in a 0-0 tie.

“I started off the match pretty solid. I did what I wanted to in the first period,” said Cullen.

But Powell was too much in the second period. Cullen fell behind 3-0 after an escape and a takedown as he struggled to gain control against Powell (44-6).

The sophomore pinned Cullen in 3:31.

“I didn’t follow through. I didn’t finish my moves, and I got caught,” said Cullen (36-7) of the second-period fall.

“But it was a really good experience. It was a lot of fun.”

As for Marengo senior Joey Moorhouse, this was not the ending to his high school wrestling career that
he envisioned.  

Moorhouse, wrestling in the 152-pound final, was unable to overcome a second-period takedown that gave Montini sophomore Brandon McBride a 2-1 advantage with 20 seconds remaining in the period.

“I was just looking to get the takedown and control him,” Moorhouse said. “It just didn’t happen.”

McBride (42-9) added another point on a third-period escape to seal the 3-1 win. After receiving his second-place medal, an emotional Moorhouse (33-2) struggled to explain what went wrong and tried to find a positive in the loss.

“I made it to the finals, which had been my goal for a while, but I’d really liked to have ended on top.”

Richmond-Burton sophomore Jack Dechow was in position to capture the 160-pound state final. But after Washington sophomore Dylan Reel (46-1) built a 3-1 lead in the third period after a takedown, Dechow (43-6) came up just short ultimately losing, 3-2.

“It went pretty good,” said Dechow. “I didn’t open up as much as I wanted to.”

Reaching the state final exceeded Dechow’s expectations.

“Toward the end of the season I was doing better,” Dechow added. “I’d been training all season for this. This was where I wanted to be.”