Mahomet-Seymour wrestling places third at Marty Williams Invitational
By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com
Six Bulldogs won both matches on Thursday as Mahomet-Seymour opened its Apollo Conference wrestling schedule with a split at Effingham.
The Bulldogs (15-1 overall) defeated the host school 73-6 before losing to Mattoon 37-32 in a match decided by the final bout.
In the most-recent Illinois Best Weekly state rankings, Mattoon was 17th and M-S was 21st.
M-S athletes who were 2-0 were Noah Schnepper (126 pounds), Gage Granadino (152 pounds), Colton Crowley (182 pounds), Mateo Casillas (195 pounds), Daniel Renshaw (220 pounds) and Seth Buchanan (285 pounds).
Both of Casillas’ wins were by first-period falls. Granadino’s wins were each by technical fall and he out-pointed his two opponents by a combined 34-4 margin.
Bulldogs who posted first-period pins, besides Casillas, were Schnepper, Braeden Heinold (132 pounds), Brennan Houser (160 pounds), Peyton Myers (170 pounds), Crowley, Renshaw and Buchanan.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs finished third in their own 22-school Marty Williams Invitational.
Meet champion Naperville Central scored 473 ½ points. Runner-up LaSalle-Peru had 372 points and was followed by M-S (362 points) and Normal West (361).
Not all schools filled each of the 14 weight classes, so M-S entered nine extra grapplers. Of the 23 Bulldogs who competed, 17 had at least one pin and five squad members finished off an opponent in less than a minute.
Logan Petro (138 pounds) was the top M-S finisher. Petro won three of four matches and took second. His two pins included one in 1:05.
Teammates Granadino (152 pounds) and Casillas (195 pounds) each finished third. Granadino was 4-1 with two pins. His fastest fall was in 1:32. Casillas was 3-1 with two pins. His quickest pin was in 3:27.
Ending in fourth for M-S was Renshaw (220 pounds). He was 2-2 for the tournament.
Four Bulldogs captured fifth-place finishes: Schnepper (126 pounds), Heinold (132 pounds), Chance Decker (145 pounds) and Buchanan (285 pounds).
Schnepper had one pin, in 5:17. Heinold had three pins, with the fastest in 0:38. Decker also ended with three pins. His fastest was in 2:28. Buchanan registered two first-period falls, one coming in 34 seconds.
Brad Schoonover was 2-2 at 138 pounds and finished in sixth place. Camden Harms was 1-3 at 195 pounds and ended in eighth. Harms’ win was by pin in 3:22.
Three Bulldogs wound up in ninth place: Payton Ragona (113 pounds), Hayden Nelson (152 pounds) and Houser (160 pounds). Houser was 3-1 with two pins, one in 40 seconds. Ragona collected a one-minute fall.
Other M-S participants were Crowley (10th at 182 pounds), Brayden Bone (10th at 220 pounds), Caden Hatton (11th at 106 pounds), Theo Ratliff (11th at 126 pounds), Mikane Didier (14th at 220 pounds), Myers (15th at 170 pounds), Adam Pillischafske (16th at 120 pounds), Steve Pogue (16th at 285 pounds), Conner Richerson (17th at 195 pounds) and Caleb Dowers (22nd at 132 pounds).
Crowley, Hatton, Ratliff and Myers all collected two pins.
Bone, Didier and Dowers each ended with one pin.
The Bulldogs return to action on Tuesday with two home Apollo Conference matches. The first dual meet will start at 6 p.m.
