By FRED KRONER
For more than two decades, The News-Gazette sports staff has selected one overall area high school Athlete of the Year for boys and another for girls when the school year ends.
In my opinion, this is the most intriguing pick of any made on an annual basis.
From Day 1, this selection was geared toward recognizing an outstanding senior multi-sport athlete. A state champion in an individual sport didn’t give that athlete a leg up on the honor unless he (or she) also excelled in at least one other sport.
Likewise, being chosen as the Player of the Year in a sport didn’t put someone at the top of the list for Athlete of the Year either.
Good case in points are two former M-S athletes.
Neither three-sport athletes Jason Seaman (2007 graduate) nor Joe Kenney (2015 graduate) were the Player of the Year as a senior in any of their respective activities.
And yet, when the end of the school year arrived, they stood above the pack for their overall athletic prowess. Seaman was a stalwart in football, basketball and track. Kenney was a starter in football, basketball and baseball.
They were picked as the overall Athletes of the Year.
There are also Athletes of the Year who represent the opposite end of the spectrum.
They were individuals whose performance warranted Player of the Year status in not one –but two – different sports during their senior seasons.
And, they also became the year-end choice as the overall Athlete of the Year.
Four different former area prepsters fall into this rare category.
Included in this unique group is 2009 M-S graduate Andrew Brewer.
After setting school rushing records in football (most of which still stand) and earning Area Player of the Year accolades in that sport, he was the winter recipient of the Player of the Year award following a state championship season in wrestling.
He capped his prep career by qualifying for state in track in the 300-meter hurdles (ultimately placing 11th in a field of 27 competitors) and earning All-State laurels as a member of the school’s medal-winning 1,600-meter relay.
To this day, his personal-best 300-meter hurdles time (39.90 seconds) is still among the top five ever by an athlete from M-S.
Three other area athletes have matched Brewer’s feat since 2000: Urbana’s Cameron Mammen (football and wrestling athlete of the year as well as overall Athlete of the Year for 2012-13) along with Oakwood’s Jon Davis (2015 graduate) and Monticello’s Steve Schroeder (2012 graduate). Davis and Schroeder were both long-distance runners who starred in cross-country as well as track and field.
No one in that trio (Mammen, Davis and Schroeder), however, participated in a third sport as seniors, which helps to spotlight the significance of Brewer’s accomplishments.
He was truly competing in one sport until it ended, and then moving on to a different one.
Without further ado, Mahomet-Seymour’s Quarter-Century boys’ wrestling team.
AUSTIN ARMETTA, Class of 2012, 160 POUNDS. State runner-up as a senior. Career record of 130-33. Tied for sixth on the school’s list of career leaders with 76 pins. All-Area first-teamer as a senior when he was 38-2. Led, or shared team-lead in both takedowns and pins three consecutive years each.
RYAN ARMETTA, 2001, 171 POUNDS. Third-place at state as a senior, 72-11 record during his final two seasons, including 35-2 as a senior.
ANDREW BREWER, 2009, 171 POUNDS. State champion as a senior. Career record of 138-30. Ranks fourth on the school’s all-time leaders’ list with 472 takedowns. All-Area first-teamer as a senior, when he was 40-5.
SETH BUCHANAN, 2020, 285 POUNDS. Record of 101-26 for three years. All-Area first-teamer as a senior, when he was 42-7 with 31 pins.
MARCO CASILLAS, 2028, 175 POUNDS. Third-place at state as a freshman. Season record of 55-4, which ties for seventh on the all-time IHSA list for wins in a season. Ranks in a tie for ninth at M-S for technical falls in a season (20). All-Area first-teamer as a freshman when he had a team-best 153 takedowns.
MATEO CASILLAS, 2023, 195 POUNDS. State finishes of first place, second place and third place. Career record of 175-16. School-record-holder for career pins (85) and tied for first all-time for career wins (175). Three-time All-Area first-teamer, including a 54-1 record as a senior and 57-2 as a junior, when he had 151 takedowns.
JASON CLEARY, 2009, 189 POUNDS. Third-place at state as a senior. Record of 94-30 during his final three seasons, including 43-8 as a senior.
HUNTER CROWLEY, 2017, 195 POUNDS. State finishes of second place and fourth place. Career record of 147-40. Ranks second at M-S for career pins (80) and fifth for career wins (147). Three-time All-Area first-teamer, including 53-6 record as a senior when he posted 37 pins.
DAVID GRIFFET, 2018, 285 POUNDS. Second-place at state as a senior. Ranks fifth all-time at M-S for career pins (77). All-Area first-teamer as a senior, when he had a 46-7 record, and two-time All-Area second-teamer.
CAMDEN HARMS, 2023, 285 POUNDS. Career record of 88-20, including 47-9 as a senior. School-record-holder for pins in a season (40).
CADEN HATON, 2023, 113 POUNDS. Fifth-place at state as a junior. Career record of 140-38. Ranks eighth at the school for career wins (140). Two-time All-Area first-teamer and one-time All-Area second-teamer. Compiled a 49-8 record as a junior. Won at least 20 matches all four years on varsity.
BRENNAN HOUSER, 2023, 182 POUNDS. State finishes of fifth place (twice) and sixth place (once). Career record of 141-38. Ranks first for career technical falls (49), seventh for career wins (141) and ninth for career takedowns (425). Also, ranks first at M-S for technical falls in a season (29) and first for near-fall points in a season (305). Two-time All-Area first-teamer and one-time All-Area second-teamer. Compiled 52-4 record as a senior, when he also had 175 takedowns.
JOSH JEFFERS, 2003, 140 POUNDS. Fifth-place at state as a senior. Record of 95-42 during his final three years, including 37-8 as a senior.
JASON JOHNSTON, 2001, 140 POUNDS. Career record of 139-36, including 45-6 as a junior. Didn’t win fewer than 30 matches any year in high school.
CHRIS LITTLE, 2001, 285 POUNDS. Fourth-place at state as a senior. Record of 109-30 during his final three years, including 48-5 as a senior.
DANIEL RENSHAW, 2021, 220 POUNDS. State finishes of fifth place (twice). Record of 99-40 during his last three years, including 40-15 as a junior.. Two-time All-Area first-teamer. IHSA first-team Academic All-Stater as a senior.
JOE SAPP, 2003, 215 POUNDS. State finishes of second place (twice) and fifth place (once). Career record of 160-31, including at least 42 wins each of his final three seasons. Ranks tied for third at M-S for career pins (79), fourth in career wins (160), fifth for career takedowns (446) and tied for ninth for technical falls in a season (20).
BEN STAHL, 2018, 220 POUNDS. Sixth-place at state as a senior with a 42-14 record. All-Area second-teamer as a senior.
KOLTON TAYLOR, 2015, 132 POUNDS. Career record of 125-33. Ranks in a tie for sixth at M-S in career pins (76). All-Area first-teamer as a senior, when he had a 40-5 record.
BROCK VAN DEVEER, 2025,190 POUNDS. Record in two years at M-S, after transferring from Champaign Central, was 74-28, including 38-12 as a senior. All-Area first-teamer as a senior.
DAVID WISEHART, 2015, 195 POUNDS. Record of 67-18 during his final two years. All-Area first-teamer as a senior, when he had a 42-6 record.
Awesome reporting – thk you!