Bulldog wrestlers break records as season comes to an end
By Fred Kroner
The losses on the mats were tempered by the wins in the school record books.
Mahomet-Seymour’s wrestling team ended its season with a state quarterfinal loss to Washington, 50-23, on Friday (Feb. 24) in the Class 2A state dual-team meet at Grossinger Motors Arena, in Bloomington.
The loss halted a 12-match winning streak for M-S, (32-8), which ended with a school mark for dual meet wins in a season.
Four Bulldogs – all of whom are seniors – won the final wrestling match of their prep careers.
Caden Hatton (113 pounds) posted a pin, Brennan Houser (182 pounds) secured a win by technical fall, Mateo Casillas (195 pounds) registered a pin in less than a minute and Camden Harms (285 pounds) also added a first-period fall.
By random draw, the match began at 113 pounds.
All four of the Bulldog winners claimed spots in the school record book.
Casillas’ win was No. 175 in his high school career, pulling him into an all-time tie for the lead with Brett Camden (1989 graduate) for career wins. As a junior, Casillas set the mark for wins in a season (57). He ended his senior year with a 54-1 record.
His career winning percentage (91.6 percent with a 175-16 record) is fourth all-time at M-S.
“What a great four years,” M-S coach Rob Ledin said. “Our schedule is pretty difficult, so to do the things he has done is awesome.”
Houser’s technical fall on Friday added to his season (29) and career (49) school-record totals. He also shattered the records for near-fall points in a career (655) and in one season (305).
Houser’s win in the team dual-state meet was No. 141 in his career, the seventh-best total in M-S history. He also wound up in ninth place for career takedowns (425).
Harms’ pin was his 40th of the season, a new single-season M-S record.
And, Hatton’s win was No. 140 of his career, which places him in a tie for eighth place on the career chart for wins with the Bulldogs.
“I’m very proud of our guys,” Ledin said. “We had great seniors and so much leadership.”
Senior Colton Crowley (220 pounds) also entered the record book, ranked 10th for career pins (74).
The Class of 2023 collectively combined for the most dual-meet wins in a four-year period, going 111-13. The previous four-year wins mark was 100 set by the Class of 1989.
The current senior class also had the distinction of finishing among the state’s top eight Class 2A teams all four years.
As freshmen, they were part of a state-quarterfinalist team, as sophomores when the IWCOA stepped in and ran a dual-meet series after the IHSA opted not to have a postseason, M-S was seventh. The 2022 team took third at state and the current squad was also an Elite Eight entry.
Another highlight this season was the school achieving its 1,000th dual-meet win since the sport was implemented in 1967. The 1,000th win came on Dec. 10, 2022, against Mascoutah in a 64-15 win in the Bloomington Duals. The all-time record for the Bulldogs in wrestling stands at 1,024-270-8.
Three M-S seniors will be recognized with the Ironman Award for the third time: Casillas, Crowley and Hatton.
The recognition goes to any squad member, varsity or underclassman, who is not late for a practice and doesn’t miss a meet all season.
The award was suspended in 2021. Due to COVID-19 and individuals being forced to isolate if they had been exposed to anyone with the virus, Ledin didn’t consider it fair to have the award that year.
Other Ironman winners for 2023 are Harms, Lukas Alstetter, Austin Crull, Grant Arbuckle, Phil Daniels and Colton McClure. The nine who will be honored is the most in one year since 2003, when there were also nine recipients.
M-S’ state quarterfinal match was a showdown between the school ranked second (Washington) and third (M-S) by Illinois Matmen.
The match began with Hatton producing a pin in 1 minute and 20 seconds before Washington reeled off wins in eight consecutive bouts.
Houser and Casillas turned the tide with their dominating wins, but it was too little too late. Casillas’ pin ws his 33rd of the season.
“If the bracketing had been different, we’re a placing team,” Ledin said. “Maybe at some point, the IHSA will entertain seeding the regional champions.
“In ’09, we had the second-best team (at state), and we got (eventual champion) Montini in the first round.”
Likewise, Washington went on to earn this year’s dual-meet state championship.
The Panthers defeated Wauconda in the semifinals, 52-20, and then upended top-ranked Joliet Catholic in the finals, 28-27. The team state crown was the fifth for Washington in the past eight years.
A former youth wrestler in Mahomet, sophomore Peyton Cox won all three of his state matches for Washington one week after finishing as the Class 2A state runner-up at 132 pounds.
Cox ended the year with an overall record of 48-3 and 21 pins. He was second on Washington’s team in wins and third in takedowns.
Eight Bulldogs won at least 34 varsity matches this season, led by Casillas (54-1).
Other team leaders were Houser (52-4), Harms (47-9), Crowley (42-16), Hatton (39-3), Tallen Pawlak (37-11 at 145 pounds), Colton McClure (34-20 at 106 pounds) and Donovan Lewis (34-22 at 138 pounds).
Seven seniors were on the Bulldogs’ state roster: Casillas, Crowley, Nick Demos, Harms, Hatton, Houser and Reese Wilson.
