Despite injuries to both knees that kept him from competing in the individual state series, sophomore Liam Zimmerman was ready to step in if short-handed Lockport needed him.
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Zimmerman thought he might be filling in Tuesday night at 132 pounds, where starter Carlos Munoz-Flores has been dealing with an injury. Then, Justin Wardlow broke his elbow at 120 while winning a state semifinal match.
Things changed fast, so Zimmerman had some major working out to do.
“I was told a couple days before (Wardlow’s injury Friday) that I could eat whatever I wanted,” Zimmerman said. “So, when that happened, I had to drop a lot of weight.
“I lost 12 pounds before this match. There was a lot of running.”
A smaller Zimmerman came through in a big way, producing a key pin as Lockport clinched a spot at state for the second straight season with a 42-22 win over the host Warriors in the Class 3A Lincoln-Way West Dual Team Sectional.
Isaac Zimmerman (106), Liam’s freshman brother, also had a pin, as did Illinois recruit Logan Swaw (170) and Aidan Nolting (182).
“It’s a lot of fun to compete with the team and I love watching my brother get a pin,” Liam said. “It’s so much fun.”
The Porters (17-8), who finished third last season, will take on Warren — a 60-16 winner over Belvidere North — in a 7 p.m. quarterfinal Friday at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.
Karter Guzman (132) and Anthony Sherman (195) had pins for Lincoln-Way West (16-3).
Liam Zimmerman, who has been dealing with pain in both knees all season, plans to have surgery soon.
“I’ve had a neuroma in there,” he said. “My dad (Josh) had it, too. I’ve had it all year. I’ve been wearing the knee sleeves. It’s not fun. Every time I hit it and I don’t have the sleeves on, it burns.
“I’ve got to thank my dad. He’s helped a lot with it.”
Lockport coach Jameson Oster was thankful Liam was able to fight through everything and be ready.
“We told him to plan on weighing in at 132,” Oster said. “Then Friday night happens with Justin. We got back from the ER, and I told Isaac, ‘You might want to tell Liam he’s going to be at 120.’
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“He’s always been like the utility player for us. He’s wrestled at 120, 126, 132 for us. It’s good to have depth and a kid that’s willing to do whatever the team needs.”
Isaac Zimmerman, meanwhile, earned some redemption. He was one win away from qualifying for individual state when he was pinned by Andrew’s Nadeem Haleem at the Normal Sectional.
Isaac bounced back with a pin Tuesday.
“It was tough to lose because I was up 6-0 going into the third period,” he said of the match with Haleem. “Losing like that gets in your head, and I got more fired up after that.”
Wojciech Chrobak (285), Timmy O’Connor (113), Jad Alwawi (126), Logan Kaminski (138) and Durango Valles (152) also had wins for the Porters.
Nick Kavooras (220), Luke Siwinski (145) and Jimmy Talley (160) contributed wins for the Warriors.
“Lockport is a very good team and they’re experienced,” Lincoln-Way West coach Brian Glynn said. “We have a very young team and we’ve got some good years ahead of us, so I think it was very important for us to be in this dual meet so the guys next year can have that expectation.”
The Zimmerman brothers, meanwhile, are headed to state together.
“It’s been really fun,” Isaac said. “Brotherly love.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.