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Plenty of storylines at the Bob Mitton-Orion Invitational
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By Daniel Makarewicz, danmak@qconline.com
By Daniel Makarewicz, danmak@qconline.com
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A field consisting of five ranked wrestling teams -- including the top-rated Class 1A squad -- makes the Bob Mitton-Orion Invitational as competitive as it is deep. And that's not even the best storyline. Seven of the nine teams in next month's Class 1A Sherrard Regional will converge in Orion starting on Friday, making the 16-team tournament a postseason preview. Combine the local field with the state-ranked teams, and you have a tournament that should be a must-see event. "It's going to be one of your premier tournaments," Erie-Prophetstown coach Tod McCullough said. "It is every year." Better yet, the postseason ramifications add the most intrigue. Alleman, Erie-Prophetstown, Mercer County, Orion, Riverdale, Rockridge and Sherrard will compete for postseason seeds as the regional stands two weeks away. Each of those seven teams have faced each other in a dual or tournament setting this year, but the final results will help determine how the brackets are constructed. Fulton and Morrison are the only regional teams not in the field. "We'll see where we stand with everybody at our regional," Mercer County 152-pound senior Zach Nelson said. Looking at the big picture, the tournament will shed some light on state medalists, too. Nelson joins Dakota junior Josh Alber (120 pounds), Dakota sophomore Carver James (138) and Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley-Fisher junior Josh Wallick (285) as the top-rated Class 1A individuals. Twenty-one wrestlers ranked in the latest Illinois Best Weekly poll are in the field as well. In fact, the 138-pound class features James, Mercer County sophomore Tristen Finch and Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley-Fisher senior Chet McClure. Those three are rated first, second and fifth, respectively, at that weight. "It definitely will be worth its money," Orion coach Dan Diamond said. "It will be exciting." All this happens over two days. "It's two good days of solid wrestling," Mercer County coach Jeremy Finch said. "There are quality teams. It's the last tournament of the season and we want to compete." Most of all, the local teams want to get a postseason preview. "Our goal is the regional title," Jeremy Finch said. "We need to see where we stack up against these teams." Bob Mitton-Orion Invitational When: Friday-Saturday Where: Orion High School Finals: 3:30 p.m. Teams: Alleman, Erie-Prophetstown, Kewanee, Mercer County, Orion, Riverdale, Rockridge, Sherrard, Ashton-Franklin Center, Camp Point Central, Dakota, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley-Fisher, Knoxville, Macomb, Normal U-High, Oregon FYI: Top-ranked Mercer County 152-pound senior Zach Nelson is looking for his fourth title at this event. ... Dakota junior Josh Alber, ranked seventh nationally by InterMat at 120 pounds, carries a 107-0 record into the tournament. ... Alleman joined the tournament last week for the first time since 2008 after Polo dropped out. ... Six reigning champions are in the field, including Nelson, Mercer County sophomore Tristen Finch and Orion junior Jacob DeVolder. 
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Today is Tuesday, May 21, the 141st day of 2013. There are 224 days left in the year.
1863 -- 150 years ago: On Monday the 11th inst. on Center Ridge in Mercer County,some citizens got out their cannon to celebrate the taking of Richmond. The gun wasoverloaded and burst. No one was injured, but one 30-pound piece went though thesecond story of a house.
1888 -- 125 years ago: The old folks concert at the Harper Theater last night to benefit St.Luke's Cottage Hospital, attracted a large audience.
1913 -- 100 years ago: Unless depredation by vandals in Rock Island parks is halted,special policemen will be assigned to night duty to protect the flowers and other property.
1938 -- 75 years ago: Station WHBF has received a special citation from Washington forits participation in Air Mail Week, which was observed this week throughout the nation.
1963 -- 50 years ago: A 10-year high in employment in the Quad-City area was reachedat the end of the last quarter, according to an industrial employment barometer releasedtoday.
1988 -- 25 years ago: Pee Wee teams will be able to play baseball and softball as usualon Diamond Three at Dorrance Park this summer, but after that, the ball field is doomed.County crews have put the diamond back in shape after heavy trucks marred the playingfield earlier this spring. Illinois Department of Transportation crews drove onto it to makeborings for the relocation of the junction of Illinois 84 and the Port Byron-Hillsdale road.
(More History)