CHAMPAIGN — Fighting through illness, Knox Verbais put together an impressive run at the IHSA State Wrestling Finals before coming up just short in the championship match to finish second in the state.
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Verbais battled through the bracket all weekend. In the preliminary round, he earned a 15-5 major decision over Cooper Chester. He followed that up in the quarterfinals with a 16-10 victory over Dominic Garcia, defeating Garcia for the second straight year at state.
In the semifinals, Verbais needed just 1:06 to pin Brendan Nardin and punch his ticket to the state championship match.
Despite feeling under the weather, Verbais continued to compete at a high level.
Verbais is a Tom Lane State Farm Insurance Male Athlete of the Month.
“I mean, it’s tough. I had to get off the bottom. I was fighting an illness and was pretty weak. I got a little break during the blood times, but it’s the way it goes,” Verbais said.
In the finals, Verbais dropped a hard-fought 1-0 decision to Aiden Arnett of IC Catholic to finish as the state runner-up.
Even with the narrow loss, Verbais remains focused on the future.
“I still have two more years, so hopefully I can be on top the next two years,” he said.
Last season, Verbais placed third in the 150-pound weight class, earning a 6-1 decision over Dominic Garcia of Antioch in the third-place match.
This year’s runner-up finish marks another step forward as he looks to build on his success in the final two years of his high school career.
