CHAMPAIGN — Pierre Walton capped his high school career as a two-time IHSA State Wrestling Champion, finishing his senior season in dominant fashion.
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Walton, who transferred from East St. Louis Senior High School to Belleville Althoff Catholic High School after last school year, made history in 2025 when he won the Class 2A title at 165 pounds at the IHSA Boys State Individual Wrestling Tournament held at the State Farm Center on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Last year, Walton pinned Santino Tenuta of Lombard Montini Catholic at the 3:47 mark in the championship match to claim the title, becoming a trailblazer for East St. Louis’ wrestling program.
“Being a two-time state champion is great. The first was pretty sweet because it was a comeback win. This year was awesome, setting the tech record for the season,” Walton said.
This year, Walton stormed through the bracket.
In the first round, he won by technical fall over Jonner Smith, 15-0. He followed that with another tech fall in the quarterfinals, defeating Abram Davis 17-2. In the semifinals, Walton recorded his third consecutive technical fall, beating Tyler Jones 17-2 to punch his ticket back to the championship match.
In the finals, Walton sealed his second straight state championship with a 12-2 major decision over Casey Etheridge of Princeton, putting an emphatic end to his high school career.
Walton has several college visits planned and hopes to make his decision during the offseason as he prepares for the next level.
