TOLONO — In two days, Unity junior Buddy Daly will wrestle for the first time at the IHSA Class 1A state finals in Champaign. Between now and then, the 140-pounder has a lot of preparation to do.
The runner-up at the LeRoy Regional and Clinton Sectional, Daly drew Rockridge sophomore Kadmiel Smith in the first round of Friday’s meet. Unity coach Bob Case doesn’t know much about Smith outside of what he’s read online, so he said it’s important that Daly work on everything.
“We have to put together pretty much a flawless match,” Case said. “We have to be mentally ready to go for six minutes without making a mistake.
“Our skills are where we can beat some kids at the state tournament and place if we avoid a mistake, but it’s only going to take one. If you make one mistake and give up two points, that could be the match.”
Daly is pretty comfortable with how he’s wrestled in recent weeks (both postseason losses are to No. 2 seed Kris Powars of Argenta-Oreana), though he cites any extra stamina he can gain between now and Friday would be huge.
“I’ve got to be sure I can wrestle a whole match,” Daly said. “I got kind of tired at the end of sectionals and I can’t have that happen again.”
The 140-pound Class 1A bracket is a competitive one. Undefeated and top-ranked Guy Kirby of GCMS looms for Daly in the second round, and seven of the 12 qualifying wrestlers have at least 30 wins. At 32-7, Daly is tied with Clinton’s Jacob Bateston for the sixth-best winning percentage in the field.
Whether Daly beats Kirby or not, Case likes his chances.
“We really have to be that man going against Kirby, because then win or lose you get to come back,” Case said, referring to Daly’s opening match. “Some people may think wrestling the No. 1 kid in the state isn’t a good draw. Well, technically it is.
“If you upset him, you’re in the semis ... and even if you lose you have to think that kid will be wrestling in the finals and you’ll get to go down to the wrestle-backs and wrestle again (for third place).”
If Daly’s going to reach the medal stand, he needs to wrestle as many matches as possible. That means the Rockets’ junior hopes to avoid any nerves during his first match at the Assembly Hall.
“I’m trying not to think about it, I’m just thinking about what I have to do and taking everything one match at a time,” he said. “My older brother Johnny wrestled there and he said when you get there and weigh in and look up at the stands it’s pretty breathtaking.”
The Class 1A opening round begins at 11 a.m. Friday on two of the six mats at the Assembly Hall. Daly expects to wrestle between 11 a.m. and noon.
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