Warren High School graduates Emery Parker and Danny Hicks, along with Deerfield High grad Colton Emmerich all are on the wrestling team this season for the University of Illinois.
Parker and Emmerich are freshman, and Hicks is in his second year in Champaign, though he redshirted last year, so he didn’t get to represent the Illini in any matches.
In college wrestling, the athletes can compete in matches that aren’t NCAA events so they can get in action without actually competing for the Illinois team.
Parker and Emmerich are doing that this season. Parker competes at 165 pounds and he’s 9-6 on the mat, and Emmerich is 5-3 at 197 pounds.
Hicks redshirted last year. So far this year, he’s 6-5 at 174 pounds.
Last year, Emmerich won the IHSA state title at 182 pounds and Parker was second at 160. Two years ago, Hicks lost in the quarterfinals at state at 170 pounds.
Another 2013 Warren High grad is Lauren Feely, who is competing in gymnastics at Bowling Green University in the Mid-American Conference. In the Falcons’ first seven meets, she competed in vault and floor exercise, scoring bests of 9.85 on floor and 9.875 in vault.
While Bowling Green is not ranked among the top gym teams in the nation this year, Illinois is, usually landing between 10-14 in the NCAA rankings.
Competing for the Illini is Jordan Naleway, who is a senior and graduate of Vernon Hills High School. Naleway competes on bars, beam and floor for the Illini and has season-best scores of 9.8 (bars), 9.8 (beam) and 9.8 (floor).
