Three LJHS Trojan Wrestlers qualify
for state match this weekend
[March 06, 2025]
Tuesday, March 4, three wrestlers on the Lincoln Junior High
School Trojan team who have qualified for the state wrestling meet
gave brief interviews about their win loss records, number of pins
and signature moves.
Jayce King, Carter Johnson and Adam Hendrickson
LJHS wrestlers provide a demonstration
The three wrestlers are Carter Johnson (80lbs), with a 37-4 record;
Jayce King (95lbs), with a 41-9 record; and Adam Hendrickson
(275lbs), with a 32-5 record. All of them will be competing in the
state wrestling tournament this weekend at Northern Illinois
University.
Eighth grader Christopher Lyon (215 lbs.), who barely missed
qualifying for state, is helping Hendrickson practice for the state
meet.
Coach Dylan Reel said the LJHS wrestling team had 40 wrestlers and
competed in 42 matches. The team is a cooperative agreement between
several schools including LJHS, New Holland Middletown, Carrol
Catholic, Chester East, West Lincoln Broadwell and Zion Lutheran.
Video - Bob Verderber
interviews coach Dylan Reel
This year, Coach Reel said the wrestling team broke the previous
school record with 26 wins and 7 losses. What is even more
impressive is that they are the smallest triple A team in the state
of Illinois.
Local sports announcer Bob Verderber interviewed Coach Reel, asking
Reel about himself. Reel said he grew up in Central Illinois,
wrestling and playing all kinds of sports. He is now transitioning
into coaching and said, “I love giving back to the sport that gave
me so much and basically provided every opportunity I have had in my
life whether that was going to college or travelling the world.”
Reel got to do so many things because of the sport. He said it is
really great to give back to these kids and watch them grow as
wrestlers.
Next, Verderber asked if there was any type of philosophy he wanted
to depart to the young men. Reed said, [what is] most important is
hard work. Hard work pays off. In wrestling, you get out what you
put into the sport. If you don’t put in the time or you don’t put in
the effort, then your results will show that. Reel said all three
wrestlers going to state have put in a tremendous amount of work
this year and the results speak for themselves.
As Reel stated, they have accomplished a lot of great feats this
year. we’ve got one more stop this weekend at the state tournament.
He is excited to see what the boys will do at the tournament.
To educate those who do not know about wrestling, Verderber asked
Reel to describe how long the rounds are and the point system.
In middle school, Reel said it is a little bit different than high
school. The wrestlers do a four minute match. The first period is a
minute, the last two are one and half minutes. Therefore, matches
are a bit shorter than at the high school level.
Rules have changed. Reel said there are new rules this year. For
example, takedowns are three points. If you reverse a position off
the bottom and take over on top, it is a two point reversal. You can
also escape off the bottom to get a point. Different ways to score a
near fall by putting an opponent on their back. Reel said the amount
of time the opponent is on their back is what determines how many
points the wrestler gets.
Video - Adam Hendrickson
and Jayce King are interviewed
At the start of a match, Coach Reel said they do a coin toss to
dictate whose choice it would be. After the first period is over,
the wrestlers flip another coin and can choose whether to take top,
bottom or neutral.
Verderber next asked State qualifier Adam Hendrickson to tell a
little about himself. Hendrickson goes to Chester East Lincoln and
is the son and Nathan Hendrickson and Kelly Hendrickson. His
favorite subjects are math and social studies.
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Hendrickson said he only got into sports two years ago. After he
broke his leg wrestling last year, Hendrickson is really glad to be
back and said it was a comeback season. He got 32 wins and 5 losses,
pinning about 20 opponents and placing third in the sectional meet.
The signature move for Hendrickson is the Jelly Belly, where you
take the wrist and tuck your right leg and roll your opponent over
it to their back.
Hendrickson gave a shout out to his trainer, “Big Chris” and to all
the coaches saying he couldn’t have done it without them.
Next up, Verderber interviewed Jayce King, who goes to Carrol
Catholic. His parents are Kimberly King and Jeff King. His favorite
subject is science.
King had 41 wins and 9 losses and placed fourth in the sectional
meet.
When asked about his signature move, King said it was a double leg
kickdown. You start from the top and take a penetration step with
both legs, then take them down to the left. King said he is also
good at the outside single takedown. He pinned around 20 opponents.
Video - Carter Johnson and
Christopher Lyons being interviewed
The third wrestler to be interviewed was Carter Johnson, who goes to
New Holland Middletown and is the son of Chelsea Johnson and Paul
Johnson. His favorite subject is science. Carter is the champion of
the wrestling team with 37 wins and 4 losses and got 24 pins.
When Verderber asked Johnson what move helped him qualify for state,
Johnson said it was the High Sea. You move your leg inside the
opponent’s leg by their thigh then switch over. Using the elbow, you
can sometimes pin your opponent.
Johnson said Coach Reel taught him many moves and Assistant Coaches
Dan Fulscher and Alex Dawson are also awesome.
The last interview was with Christopher Lyon, who goes to LJHS and
is the son of Wendy Selbey and Carl Selbey. His favorite subject is
history. Lyon had 24 wins and 13 losses, just missing qualifying for
the championship.
Lyon said his signature move is the hip toss. He got 16 pins. Lyon
is helping train Hendrickson for the state meet.
Since the wrestling team had a 26-7 record, Verderber asked Coach
Reel about them wrestling dual meets. Reel said the team was pretty
electric this year, battling really hard against some really tough
teams.
Reel is super proud of the whole team’s effort and said they banded
together really well. The teammates were there for one another and
Reel said they came away with one of the best seasons they have had
here in Lincoln. It was a pretty successful year.
Johnson, Hendrickson and King
Assistant Wrestling Coach Alex Dawson, Coach Dylan
Reel and Assistant Coach Dan Fulscher give the boys a pep talk
After the interviews, the boys posed for a photo and got a pep talk
about what to expect at the state meet from Coach Reel and Assistant
Coaches Dan Fulscher and Alex Dawson.
It will be an exciting weekend for the three boys as they compete
for titles this weekend at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb.
[Angela Reiners]
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