By Fred Kroner
The Bulldogs continued their unbeaten ways on Thursday (June 3), winning two wrestling dual meets at Taylorville.
M-S overpowered Effingham 65-6 and then blanked Taylorville 78-0, marking the fourth opponent this season in which the Bulldogs didn’t lose a match.
Twelve M-S athletes were unbeaten for the night. However, just Payton Ragona (126 pounds) and Tallen Pawlak (132 pounds) didn’t receive a forfeit from at least one of the Apollo Conference foes.
Ragona and Pawlak both pinned two opponents. Ragona’s falls were in 25 seconds and in 1 minute, 50 seconds. Pawlak needed just 27 and 28 seconds to earn his pin.
For the two matches, the Bulldogs posted 12 pins and seven were in less than one minute.
Other squad members with fast falls were Logan Petro (56 seconds at 145 pounds), Peyton Myers (46 seconds at 160 pounds), Mateo Casillas (33 seconds at 195 pounds) and Daniel Renshaw (53 seconds at 220 pounds).
Also registering pins for M-S were Caden Hatton (1 minute, 48 seconds at 106 pounds), Logan Hillard (2 minutes, 32 seconds at 138 pounds), Hayden Nelson (3 minutes, 4 seconds at 170 pounds) and Colton Crowley (1 minute, 44 seconds at 285 pounds).
Brennan Houser (180 pounds) was 2-0, posting a 19-3 technical fall win and also receiving a forfeit. Teammates finishing with 1-1 records for the evening were Isabelle Leyhe (120 pounds) and Braeden Heinold (152 pounds).
On Saturday (June 5), M-S concluded its regular-season home schedule by knocking off Normal Community 56-17 and LeRoy 52-20.
Pawlak and Crowley won twice by pin. Pawlak’s falls were in 1:21 and 1:13. Crowley finished off his opponents in 1:08 and 2:34.
Three other teammates were 2-0 for the day without receiving a forfeit. Hillard had a 58-second fall and a major decision, 12-4. Casillas earned an 11-1 win as well as the day’s quickest pin, in 23 seconds.
Renshaw followed up on a 3-0 win with a pin in 1:37.
Three other Bulldogs were unbeaten for the day, but had at least one forfeit. Hatton’s only match resulted in a 6-2 win for him. Heinold posted a pin in 1:32.
At 170 pounds, Nelson received two forfeits.
Petro was 1-1, with a forfeit win and a loss by pin. Houser was also 1-1, winning 15-4 and losing 11-4.
At 160 pounds, M-S sent different competitors to the mat to receive forfeit wins: Caleb Hillard and Deandre Hughey.
M-S (24-0) returns to action on Monday (June 7) at Centennial with two matches that are scheduled to be held outdoors on the football field. The Bulldogs will face Clinton and Westville.
The team concludes its regular-season with two matches at Mattoon on Thursday (June 10). The Bulldogs will face Apollo Conference opponents Charleston and Lincoln.
M-S has a shot at breaking school records in the final week of the season. The current mark for dual meet wins in a season is 27 set by the 1987-88 state championship team, coached by Marty Williams.
The most-recent of the Bulldogs’ five unbeaten dual-meet seasons came in 1988-89 (26-0), by another state championship team coached by Williams.
Additionally, two squad members with at least five matches haven’t been beaten this season. Hatton is 22-0. Casillas is 15-0.
The last time a wrestler from M-S ended undefeated for an entire season was 24 years ago when John Lockhart, the 285-pound Class 1A state champion (and eventual 2001 NCAA champion at the University of Illinois) was 41-0.
