Antioch ends Mahomet-Seymour Wrestling season at Elite 8
BY FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com
Five Bulldog won matches – including a pin by senior Seth Buchanan in his last high school bout – but it wasn’t enough to help the Bulldogs to victory on Saturday.
Fourth-ranked and unbeaten Antioch (22-0) upended M-S 41-26 in a Class 2A quarterfinal match in the dual-team state series at Bloomington’s Grossinger Motors Arena.
In a match that started at 138 pounds, Antioch won the first six bouts to build an insurmountable 28-0 lead. M-S won five of the final eight matches, starting with a major decision by Mateo Casillas at 195 pounds.
At 285 pounds, Buchanan added a pin in 62 seconds – his team-leading 31st of the season – and before the meet ended, Adam Pillischafske (120 pounds) and Noah Schnepper (126 pounds) received forfeit wins and Braeden Heinold (132 pounds) registered a 10-1 major decision.
“We didn’t wrestle as well as I’d hoped,” M-S coach Rob Ledin said. “I don’t know if we were trying to do too much, but we wrestled out of our style and put ourselves in weird situations.”
M-S ends the season with a 23-2 overall record. The Bulldogs were ranked 22nd in the state’s final Class 2A poll.
Antioch wound up placing fourth on Saturday.
In his pre-match figuring, Ledin believed that both the Bulldogs and Antioch could win seven individual weight classes.
“I wish we would have given them more of a battle,” Ledin said. “They took control early, and it wasn’t as close as I’d hoped.”
The Bulldogs were without state-qualifier Gage Granadino (152), who suffered a practice injury and could not compete.
A potential swing match was at 220 pounds. Antioch bumped its state-placing 195-pounder up to challenge M-S’ state-placing 220-pounder Daniel Renshaw and claimed a 10-0 major decision.
Buchanan not only led the Bulldogs in pins, but also in wins. He ended the season with a 42-7 record. He hasn’t yet made a college decision, but Ledin believes he will be a sleeper at the next level.
“He’s definitely improving and will keep improving as he continues to get stronger and specializes (in one sport),” Ledin said. “He has not hit his ceiling yet.”
Chance Decker (145 pounds) and Noah Schnepper (126 pounds) – who collectively won 59 matches this season – were the other seniors in the lineup at state.
Eleven of the 14 wrestlers in the Bulldog lineup on Saturday were underclassmen. It’s a strong nucleus and Ledin added, “we hope to put together an even more solid lineup next year.”
Four freshmen were regulars in the postseason: Casillas, Caden Hatton (106 pounds), Colton Crowley (182 pounds) and Brennan Houser (160 pounds).
In addition, another ninth-grader (Theo Ratliff, 126 pounds) reached double figures for varsity wins during the regular season.
Sophomores in the lineup at state were Braeden Heinold (132 pounds) and Logan Petro (138 pounds).
Juniors in the lineup besides Renshaw were Hayden Nelson (152 pounds), Peyton Myers (170 pounds), Pillischafske (120 pounds) and Payton Ragona (113 pounds).
Granadino is also a junior.
Also ending its season on Saturday in the 2A quarterfinals was Mattoon – coached by M-S graduate Brett Porter – after a 58-7 loss to eventual champion Lemont.
Mattoon was 17-3 for the season.
