EAST MOLINE — Scoring a first-period takedown against Sterling’s Drew Kested, ranked No. 4 in the state’s Class 2A division according to the IWCOA, gave Rochelle senior Caleb Nadig the confidence boost he needed to secure the 145-pound bracket title during the IHSA 2A East Moline Regional on Saturday.

Ranked No. 6 in Class 2A at the 145-pound weight class, Nadig overcame a late-season shoulder injury to win three consecutive bouts and earn Rochelle’s first and only individual regional title in the tournament. Nadig (29-3) led Rochelle (19-7, 6-1 Interstate 8) to a fourth-place finish out of seven competing schools.

“It felt great for my confidence, especially coming back from an injury,” Nadig said. “I needed to have a smart game plan and not stress my shoulder out too much while also finding a way to win my matches. Even though I was out for a while, I didn’t stop working. I worked on my conditioning and I watched a lot of wrestling so I could make sure my technique was as sharp as possible. I made sure I had good practices.”

Nadig opened his regional championship run in the quarterfinal round, building an early lead against Rock Island’s Tristan Willoughby before winning by fall during the second period. Nadig faced a much tougher opponent in the semifinal round, but the talented senior overcame two reversals to edge Freeport’s Jaylon Hail with a 6-5 decision. In a battle of ranked opponents, Nadig took down Kested early in the first period of the finals before escaping Kested’s grasp in the third period to outlast the Sterling standout by 3-2 decision.

“It was an awesome win and my mentality going out there was to just fight for the full six minutes and not worry about the result,” Nadig said. “I wasn’t worried about winning or losing. I wanted to score as many points as I could and leave everything I had out on the mat. It was a great win for my confidence.”

Nadig will be one of seven Rochelle wrestlers advancing to the IHSA 2A Sycamore Sectional, which begins Friday, Feb. 11 before concluding on Saturday, Feb. 12. Junior Jaden Cook (17-9) earned the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the 285-pound bracket, using a second-period reversal to pin Sterling’s Alejandro Arellano in the semifinals. Cook fell against Rock Island’s Eli Gustafson in the final round.

“It feels good to reach the sectional,” Cook said. “I was sick earlier in the season and I missed about half of the season, but it’s good to be back and I’m excited for the sectional. It’s going to be a challenge but it’ll be exciting. I need to focus on finding my shots, staying off of my back and wrestling for the full six minutes.”

Cook was one of three Hubs to earn second-place finishes in the regional. Freshman Kaiden Morris (37-6) was the No. 2 seed in the 220-pound bracket, recording a third-period pin against Geneseo’s Brayden Franzen after a first-round bye. Morris came just short in a 5-2 loss against Galesburg’s Jeramiah Morris.

“We wanted to finish at least third as a team, but now it’s time for us to focus on sectionals,” Morris said. “I want to become a state qualifier. I feel really good right now. I’ve been working hard in the mat room and listening to my coaches has helped me a lot. I have to wrestle my match like I’ve been doing all year.”

Freshman Xavier Villalobos (37-4) placed second in the 113-pound bracket, clinching his sectional berth with a quarterfinal fall over Freeport’s Anton Young and a 10-2 major decision against Rock Island’s Samuel Niyonkuru in the semifinals. In another battle of ranked opponents, Villalobos, No. 6 in Class 2A at the 113-pound weight class, conceded a 9-3 decision to Geneseo’s Zachary Montez, No. 2 in Class 2A, in the finals.

“It’s a great feeling to have seven wrestlers on our team qualify for sectionals,” Villalobos said. “I’ve worked on a lot of different setups throughout the season and my coaches have taught me a lot about riding on top and getting more tilts. Sweeps have been a big part of my success as well. I need to keep working on different shots and I need to be quick on my feet since Montez rode me out pretty hard.”

Three Rochelle wrestlers placed third in the regional tournament and will move on to the sectional. Sophomore Tommy Tourdot (24-12) finished third in the 106-pound bracket, overcoming an 8-6 sudden defeat against Geneseo’s Tim Sebastian with back-to-back, sub-minute fall victories over East Moline’s Logan Stone and Galesburg’s Christian De La Cruz to seal his spot in the sectional tournament.

Freshman Joseph Nadig (32-11) also earned his way into the sectional through the wrestlebacks in the 120-pound bracket. After a dominant 16-1 technical fall over Sterling’s Landon Kenney, Nadig battled Rock Island’s Daniel McGhee in the semifinals, losing by 14-8 decision. Needing two straight wins, Nadig pinned Freeport’s Adam McDanel before outlasting Geneseo’s Bennett Kreiner by 6-1 decision for third place.

Freshman Grant Gensler (29-16) took a similar road to the sectional, opening his run through the 138-pound bracket with a 13-0 major decision over Galesburg’s Caleb Johnson before conceding a hard-fought 4-1 decision to Freeport’s Tyler Calam, Gensler scored a second-period pin against Sterling’s Austin Clemens before shining against Geneseo’s Jack Snyder in the third-place bout, winning by 14-3 major decision.

Three Hubs took fourth in their respective brackets including junior 126-pounder Weldon Nay (13-19), freshman 160-pounder Brandyn Metzger (14-23) and sophomore 170-pounder Brock Metzger (25-16).