{"id":7727,"date":"2025-05-06T16:57:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T16:57:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/princetonillinois.com\/?p=7727"},"modified":"2025-05-06T16:57:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T16:57:05","slug":"princetons-casey-etheridge-kane-dauber-earn-state-wrestling-medals-shaw-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/princetonillinois.com\/?p=7727","title":{"rendered":"Princeton\u2019s Casey Etheridge, Kane Dauber earn state wrestling medals – Shaw Local"},"content":{"rendered":"


Princeton junior Casey Etheridge (bottom) takes a shot during the IHSA Class 1A state tournament on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 in Champaign. Etheridge placed fourth at 165 pounds. <\/span>(John Morris)
Last year as a sophomore, Princeton\u2019s<\/a> Casey Etheridge made it to the blood round at the IHSA Class 1A state tournament, but he lost that match to leave him just shy of a state medal.
This season, Etheridge found himself in the same position.
This time, Etheridge won his quarterfinal wrestleback to guarantee he\u2019d earn a medal, and he went on to place fourth at 165 pounds.
\u201cIt\u2019s a great feeling considering last year I made it to the blood round and lost, so I wasn\u2019t able to place,\u201d Etheridge said. \u201cBut this year I was in the same spot, and I was able to finish and complete my goal of placing at state this year.\u201d
Etheridge was one of two medalists for Princeton along with freshman Kane Dauber, who took fifth at 132. The Tigers also had three other wrestlers come within a victory of a medal in junior Augustus Swanson (120) and seniors Ace Christiansen (144) and Cade Odell (285).
Princeton senior Cade Odell (top) wrestles during the IHSA Class 1A state tournament on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 in Champaign. <\/span>(John Morris)
\u201cThey all competed really hard,\u201d Princeton coach Steve Amy said. \u201cI\u2019m proud of all of them. Draws could have been a little better, but you\u2019ll have that. It\u2019s the state tournament, everybody is good.\u201d
In the blood round, Etheridge defeated Coal City junior Brock Finsh by 10-1 major decision.
\u201cI just tried to stay on my offense and keep attacking and trust myself because my coaches always tell me not to get in my head and let myself affect how I wrestle,\u201d Etheridge said. \u201cI just kept wrestling, and I was able to win the match.
\u201cI was very relieved and happy because at the beginning of the season that was my goal to medal at state and have the honor of being on that podium.\u201d
Etheridge then beat Mercer County junior Eli Burns by 13-6 decision to advance to the third-place match.
\u201cI tried to come in with the same mentality [as the blood round],\u201d Etheridge said. \u201cI wrestled him at the beginning of the season, and I knew he got better since then, so I came in and tried to attack. I didn\u2019t wrestle my best match ever, but I still was able to pull out the win.\u201d
In the third-place match, Etheridge had a rematch with Northridge senior Adam Haddad, who defeated Etheridge by 7-3 decision in Thursday\u2019s first round. Haddad beat Etheridge by 13-4 major decision in the third-place match.
\u201cI tried taking a different approach, realizing I\u2019ve wrestled him before so I knew how he wrestled,\u201d Etheridge said. \u201cI wanted to come in stronger and with a better mentality. Obviously, I didn\u2019t leave with the win, but I was happy with how I ended up wrestling at the tournament.\u201d
After losing the first match to Haddad, Etheridge bounced back to win four straight matches to earn his medal.
\u201cI wasn\u2019t too happy with myself the rest of the day [Thursday], but the next day I had a quick opening round [a pin in 1:20 of Shelbyville junior Ryne Peavler], and that helped me get my mentality back up and ready to go for the next couple matches, and I kept wrestling like I should, and I kind of went on a roll there.\u201d
Princeton freshman Kane Dauber (right) wrestles during the IHSA Class 1A state tournament on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 in Champaign. Dauber placed fifth at 132 pounds. <\/span>(John Morris)
Dauber won his opening match Thursday before losing in the quarterfinals to fall into wrestlebacks.
The freshman pinned Oakwood senior Tyler Huchel in 5:22, then edged Wheaton Academy junior Lincoln Hoger by 9-8 decision in the blood round before losing to Roxana junior Brandon Green Jr. in the semifinal wrestlebacks.
\u201cKane\u2019s a little stud,\u201d Amy said. \u201cHe\u2019s got a bright future ahead of him. He loves the sport. I know he was pleased with the outcome this weekend, but wishes it could have been a little bit better. There\u2019s some positives to look at there. He\u2019ll be back in the room trying to get ready for next season.\u201d
In the fifth-place match, Dauber beat PORTA junior Zach Bryant by 14-3 major decision.
\u201cThere were some good wrestlers here,\u201d Dauber said. \u201cI wrestled the No. 4 seed in the first round and beat him, and I went against some other real good wrestlers.
\u201cIt was a fun experience, and I am looking forward to the next three years.\u201d
In the quarterfinal wrestlebacks, Swanson lost by 20-3 technical fall to Illini Bluffs freshman Barret Speck, who went on to place fifth; Christiansen lost by 4-1 decision to Lena-Winslow junior Arrison Bauer, who finished third; and Odell was edged 2-1 by St. Francis junior Jaylen Torres, who placed third.
\u201cAll three of those guys getting top eight in the brackets they were in was fantastic,\u201d Amy said. \u201cAll three guys lost in the quarters to the eventual state runners-up. Augustus wrestled really well. He came up one short, but we fix a few things and he\u2019ll be right back in the mix next year I\u2019m sure.
\u201c[Christiansen and Odell] have meant a lot to the program. They\u2019re consistently there working hard and doing the little things right. They\u2019re leaders on the team and have been for a couple years. They\u2019re going to leave a lasting mark on the rest of the guys.\u201d
Copyright \u00a9 2023 Shaw Local News Network
Copyright \u00a9 2023 Shaw Local News Network<\/p>\n

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Princeton junior Casey Etheridge (bottom) takes a shot during the IHSA Class 1A state tournament on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 in Champaign. Etheridge placed fourth at 165 pounds. (John Morris)Last year as a sophomore, Princeton\u2019s Casey Etheridge made it to the blood round at the IHSA Class 1A state tournament, but he lost that match to leave him just shy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t