Despite a slew of injuries, Minooka competes hard

There was a scary moment at the Minooka duals on Saturday.

Minooka team captain Jeff Klank, one of the better 160-pounders from the area, got caught in a scramble against Lincoln-Way East’s William Hill and dislocated his elbow.

Klank was immediately rushed to the hospital in what’s become an injury-plagued start for the Indians.

“We had the same thing (dislocated elbow) happen last year with one of our seniors, Corbett Oughton,” Minooka coach Jeff Charlebois said. “He was able to get back a couple weeks before conference and finished well. So we’ll see what happens.”

Oughton returned and was able to net a fourth-place finish in state. The Indians will hope for a similar comeback for Klank, who is one of many on the ever-growing injury report.

“We’re dealing with it all,” Charlebois said. “The whole plethora of issues we can have, we’ve got this year.”

Minooka bested Lincoln-Way East on tiebreaker criteria after the match ended 37-all. In its other match, the Indians fell to Edwardsville 38-28 despite receiving a strong showing from some of its upper-middleweights.

Carson Oughton, Corbett’s younger brother, started a string off victories with his major decision at 160 pounds. Chris Hiscock (170) followed with a pin and Josh Bouie (182) added a 7-5 overtime victory to give Minooka a 19-14 advantage.

Edwardsville entered as one of the top teams from the St. Louis area and holds one of the biggest wins of the season with a victory over Lockport, but Minooka was able to hang tough. KJ Minor (113) and Shane Mart (132) added victories.

“We’ve been getting better. Practices have been getting harder,” Hiscock said. “Klank getting out at 160 kinda sets us back. We’ve just got to keep going and recover.”

Carson Oughton, a state-placer as a sophomore, improved to 13-1.

“I’m a lot more comfortable coming into this season,” Oughton said. “I was a little intimidated coming in as a freshman. This year I have a nick on my shoulder because I’m out here to score points and win matches for us.”

Brendan Gaynor and Nick Allegretti led Lincoln-Way East with three victories each. The Griffins beat Providence 47-17 and lost to Edwardsville 55-18.

Providence lost all three of its matches Saturday but received a strong showing from 170-pounder Matt Glenn, who is 11-2 on the year.