AMBOY – Heading into the wrestling season, the Blanton brothers had two different paths but wanted the same finish.

Lucas Blanton, a 175-pound senior at Amboy High School, had never been to the IHSA Class 1A State Tournament and had treated the offseason like it was the season.

Landon Blanton, a 120-pound sophomore, wanted to return to state while growing in physical size and facing tougher competition.

After strong regular season campaigns, the brothers were able to go to the Feb. 15-17 state meet at the University of Illinois’ State Farm Center together as both earned fourth place finishes in their Class 1A Byron Sectional on Feb. 9-10.

“It was pretty cool to be at state with my brother. I’ve been working toward the tournament,” said Lucas Blanton, who finished the season with a 38-11 record. “I noticed early on that I was doing better this season than last season. I worked all summer. I quit football and wrestled all summer. I wrestled freestyle and in offseason tournaments. 

His reason for focusing on wrestling his senior year was simple.

He wanted to be better than last year and earn a chance to wrestle at U of I.

Lucas grappled valiantly but fell in the first round via a 3-1 decision and lost in the consolation bracket first round by a 7-6 decision.

“I wasn’t that nervous. I was ready for it,” Lucas Blanton said. “I just didn’t wrestle as well as I wanted to. I could have been more aggressive getting into my shots. 

“Coach (Brent) Montavon helped prepare us all season. When we got to state, he helped make sure we were ready.” 

Landon had been there before, but this year was different.

Different weight class.

People knew he was this time around.

And he had a travel partner.

“I had a partner this time, and he’s my brother, so it felt really good. Our parents took a lot of pictures,” Landon Blanton said.  “I bumped up a weight class. My nerves were still there, but not as bad as last year. It’s a plus. I wasn’t as freaked out. My eyes weren’t as big.” 

The sophomore lost his first match by a major decision, 13-3, won the consolation first round match with a 7-2 decision, and was defeated in the second round via a 5:06 pinfall.

Montavon was impressed by the brother’s dedication in the offseason and throughout the winter.

They were prime examples of the direction Montavon is attempting to point Amboy toward.

“We’re trying to do some good for the Amboy wrestling program. We only had eight wrestlers go into the regional and we had six made it to the sectional,” Montavon said. “That’s a big thing for a little program like this. It just goes to show all of the hard work they put in at practice. When you only have eight kids, you don’t have a lot of partners in the wrestling room. Having those kids qualify shows it is paying off. Lucas and Landon, and the entire team wrestled their butts off this year. Everyone has been putting in the effort against each other. You’re only as good as your partner.

“Lucas is by far a more aggressive wrestler. He’s a very good wrestler, methodical and slow. He picked up the speed this year. He was more offensive minded with his shooting and trusting in his takedowns. The things he knew he was good at, he fine-tuned in the offseason and it worked out. Wrestling is not easy and it’s a long grueling season. His work ethic is what it takes.

“I remember at the beginning of the season, we were at the preseason nationals and Landon was debating at staying at 113. When you kill yourself to make weight that low, you don’t have any energy. He was perfect at 120. It was a tough weight class at our sectional. There were probably six kids who were state tournament worthy, not just four. It shows the stiff competition they have to go against.”

Also leading by example for the Clippers by making it to the Byron Sectional were sophomore Chase Montavon at 126, freshman Caiden Heath at 138, freshman Jose Lopez at 144, and freshman Evan Flanagan at 215.

The Blantons and Montavon thanked assistant coaches Brian Appleman and John Janssen for their assistance through the season.