The Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher wrestling team had two individuals place at the Class 1A IHSA state finals over the weekend.

Wrestling at the Assembly Hall in Champaign, Josh Wallick, a sophomore 285-pounder, took third place, while junior Chet McClure took fifth place at 132 pounds.

“This season was a great one,” said McClure, a team captain who finished the year at 40-8. “It may not have gone exactly the way I wanted it to, but nonetheless, it was fun, exciting and a stepping stone to where I will be next year. I’m proud of how my team battled this year.  I want to say thanks to everyone who helped make it all possible, from coaches, to family members and teammates. Basically everyone who supported us.”

Wallick and McClure each began their tournament runs with victories. On Thursday, Wallick pinned Mike Dillman of Anna-Jonesboro in 3:42.

“My first win, my first time at state. It’s amazing,” said Wallick.

McClure opened state by avenging an early season loss with a 3-2 decision win against Tristen Finch of Mercer County. Leading by one entering the final period, McClure rode Finch out for the entire two minutes and didn’t allow an escape to preserve the win.

“That felt good,” McClure said of getting some payback.

In Friday’s quarterfinals, McClure took an 8-2 decision over Manteno’s Schuyler Lindsay. But in the semifinals, he suffered a 6-3 loss to top-rated Max Hubbard of Sterling Newman. McClure fell behind 5-0 early in that match.

In his quarterfinal, Wallick was pinned in 4:53 by Reid Sealby of Byron. That sent Wallick to first-round wrestlebacks, where he pinned Joliet Catholic’s Lino Bibian in 1:05.

On Saturday, Wallick turned in a stellar performance, winning three straight matches to take third at state. In the wrestleback quarterfinals, he pinned Kewanee’s Cal Breedlove in 4:09. Wallick then earned a 4-1 decision against Bismarck-Henning’s Morgan Supergan to advance to the third-place match.

In that, Wallick pinned Riverdale’s second-ranked Mitch Keppy — who is going to the University of Iowa to play football — in 4:34.

“He was ranked higher, but that didn’t matter,” Wallick said. “I knew if I could get him to his back, it would be game over. It feels amazing to know I’m getting third.”

Byron’s Sealby, who gave Wallick his only loss at state, went on to become the 285-pound champion.

In his wrestleback semifinal, McClure suffered a 5-2 decision loss to Lena-Winslow’s Austin McPeek. That sent McClure to the fifth-place match, where he concluded his season on a high note by again beating Manteno’s Lindsay, this time in an 11-1 major decision.

Two other GCMS/F wrestlers competed at state but didn’t place. At 106 pounds, Cameron Schwing earned a 13-5 major decision against Roxana’s Jeremy O’Gara in Thursday’s preliminaries. Then in Friday’s quarterfinals, Schwing suffered a tough 9-7 setback to Lena-Winslow’s Gunner Wenger when his buzzer-beating takedown to potentially tie the match was disallowed.

In his first-round wrestleback, Schwing pinned Manteno’s Tucker Presler in 2:44. Schwing’s season then came to an end on Saturday with a 1-0 decision loss to Harvard’s Anthony Luis in the quarterfinals of wrestlebacks.

At 120 pounds, GCMS/F’s Dylan Donner lost 8-6 in overtime to Sterling Newman’s Garrett Webb in preliminaries on Thursday. In first-round wrestlebacks on Friday, Donner responded with an 11-3 major decision win against Manteno’s Christian Franc. But in Saturday’s wrestleback quarterfinals, Donner’s season came to an end when he was pinned by Lisle’s Ryan Kilroy in 2:36.

Schwing and Donner each finished one win short of capturing a state medal.