CHAMPAIGN — On fresh footing, perhaps the maneuver would've worked. Maybe Centennial wrestler Justin Cardani could've landed a celebratory backflip without a hitch.
"A little off," Cardani said with a laugh. "I felt like I wanted to do it just because, but my legs were so tired, it was hard to get up there."
Instead of falling to his butt after following through on the flip — that wouldn't be very becoming of a senior athlete who had just captured his second consecutive state championship — Cardani rolled into a summersault and playfully stuck out his tongue.