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Orphans of '73 took down opponents
Putting together one of the best seasons ever as a team in the annals of the Centralia High School wrestling program, the 1972-73 Orphan grapplers were a force to be reckoned with.
Weighing in with a 14-2 regular season mark, the Orphans also copped tournament titles from the Murdale and Mattoon Invitationals as well as the IHSA District.
Varsity letterwinners included seniors Mark Crosby, Steve Eslami, Ellis Flagg, George Oglesby, Tom Pruett, Ken Schwartz, Joe Shedelbower, Don Walker, Quinton Westbrook, and David Zimmerman. Juniors were Rick Bowerman, Ron Bowerman and John Holtkamp, freshman Paul Carpenter and manager Mark Robbins. The head coach was Dick Carpenter, assisted by Larry James.
Don Walker’s 27-1 mark at 167 pounds led the team while Ellis Flagg (185 pounds) had 24 wins, Quinton Westbrook (112 pounds) at 112 and David Zimmerman (heavyweight) each won 23, Joe Shedelbower (105 pounds) and Steve Eslami (132 pounds) both won 22 matches, Paul Carpenter (98 pounds) won 20 matches, Ron Bowerman (138 pounds) won 19, Mark Crosby (126 pounds) won 18, George Oglseby (119 pounds) won 15 and Rick Bowerman (145 pounds) and John Holtkamp (155 pounds) won 14 each.
At the end of the season, Don Walker was named Most Valuable Wrestler, George Oglesby was named Most Improved, and Paul Carpenter was named Oustanding Frosh-Soph Wrestler.
It was truly a campaign to remember and here is a birds-eye view of highlights from the season:
• Centralia 58, Carmi 0: The Orphans opened the season with a blanking of the Bulldogs as Carpenter, Ron Bowerman, John Holtkamp, Don Walker and Ellis Flagg all had pins.
• Centralia 43, Lawrenceville 11: Westbrook had a win by fall and numerous other victories came via decisions.
• Centralia 32, Carbondale 15: Carpenter had the quickest pin of the season so far in 29 seconds to set the tone for a third straight win.
• Centralia 53, Murphysboro 6: Eslami turned in the fastest pin to date with a fall in 20 seconds as the Orphans overwhelmed the Red Devils.
• Centralia 36, Cahokia 21: The Orphans drew some notice with a big win against the No. 2 ranked team in the Metro-East area and the eventual third-place finisher. Carpenter had a 25-second pin and three straight pins by the Bowermans and Eslami put Centralia ahead to stay with Walker and Flagg getting decisions to help maintain the lead.
• Centralia 48, Lawrenceville 15: Quick falls of opponents (Walker in 0:18, Flagg in 0:27 and Eslami in 0:30) paved the way for a win in Trout Gym.
• Centralia 42, Carbondale 12: The Orphans handled the Terriers for a second time as Walker had a pin in 23 seconds and Zimmerman in 0:58.
• Belleville East 31, Centralia 18: Illness and two decision losses by one point and another by two resulted in the Orphan’ first dual match loss of the season although Walker and Eslami both kept their unbeaten strings going.
• Mattoon Invitational: The Orphans won the team title by a 58-point margin as Shedelbower, Westbrook, Crosby, Eslami, Rick Bowerman, Walker, Flagg and Zimmerman all won their weight classes.
• Murdale Invitational: Shedelbower, Westbrook, Walker, Flagg and Zimmerman all had firsts in claiming team honors by a 111 1/2 to 73 margin.
• Centralia 52, Carmi 9: The Orphans moved to 8-1 in duals to set the stage for a showdown with unbeaten Belleville West.
• Belleville West 36, Centralia 11: Unbeaten West downed the Orphans but Walker edged the Maroons’ Steve Bendick 2-0 in a battle of unbeatens at 167.
• Centralia 52, Harrisburg 2: Zimmerman and Eslami had pins in under 40 seconds to key the ninth dual match win of the year.
• Centralia 42, Althoff 9: Westbrook needed just 16 seconds for a pin as the Orphans won at Belleville.
• Centralia 54, Herrin 3: Seven wins by fall helped Centralia moved to 11-2 on the season.
• Centralia 49, Murphysboro 7: In the home finale in Trout Gym, the Orphans rolled to victory.
• Centralia 48, Mount Carmel 12: The Orphans recorded six pins and won the first 10 bouts of the match.
• Centralia 63, Harrisburg 3: In the wrap-up to the regular season, Centralia dominated with eight pins.
• District: The Orphans put on a dominating performance in the meet at Vandalia as 12 wrestlers qualified for the sectional in bringing home a first-place team finish.
• Sectional: In the next level of the postseason at Wood River, the Orphans received third places from Walker, who had his first loss of the season in the semifinals, and Zimmerman while Eslami was fourth.
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