ALTON - Roxana just came off a football playoff run that few will ever forget and now the Shells appear poised for more of the same in wrestling this winter. As of Thursday, the Shells, under legendary head coach Rob Milazzo, are off to a sizzling 5-1 dual start and defeated a young Alton squad 56-18 on Wednesday night at Alton High.
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Winners for the Shells against the Redbirds were: Madelyn Murphy (106), Lleyton Cobine (126), Brandon Green Jr. (132), Trevor Gihring (144), Bryan Rodriguez, (150), Braden Green (157), Lyndon Thies (165), Elias Thies (175), Robert Watt (215), and James Herring (285).
Milazzo was a state wrestling standout during his years at Roxana and each year since his return to the head coaching role, he has produced winners. This year's Roxana squad will be more of the same for the wrestling legend.
On Friday, the Shells will wrestle O'Fallon, Triad and Granite City at Granite City.
"We saw a lot of good things," Milazzo said about the Wednesday match against Alton. "Anytime you can walk away with a win over a team coached by Eric Roberson, you have to feel good. Alton has had the upper hand in this matchup for several years. Coach Roberson is a great coach, and his teams are always well-prepared.
"We have a lot of experience on this team. Even the younger kids have a lot of mat time through their off-season work. I am looking forward to the rest of the season and watching this team grow. We are off to a good start, but we have to keep working hard to reach the end-of-the-season goals we have set."
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