By Fred Kroner
Mahomet-Seymour won its seventh consecutive Class 2A wrestling regional championship – eight if the unofficial 2021 meet is included – on Saturday (Feb. 5) in its own gymnasium.
In the eight-school event, the Bulldogs accumulated 229 points. Runner-up Normal West ended with 205 points and third-place Centennial totaled 154 points.
M-S had six individual regional champions while a total of 10 squad members advanced to sectionals based on securing top-three finishes at the regional.
Each of the Bulldogs’ regional titlists wrestled twice on Saturday. Taking top honors were Caden Hatton (106 pounds), Tallen Pawlak (138 pounds), Braeden Heinold (152 pounds), Brennan Houser (170 pounds), Mateo Casillas (195 pounds) and Camden Harms (285 pounds).
Heinold is the lone senior among the Bulldogs’ regional champions. Hatton was the lone M-S champ to pin both of his opponents.
Hatton reached the 40-win mark for the season at regionals. Both Pawlak and Harms joined the 30-win club. Heinold is one win away from a 40-win season this year. Dobbins is one win away from achieving his 30th win this season.
All six of the regional winners carry lengthy winning streaks into the sectional. Casillas has won 42 matches in a row. Hatton owns a 21-match winning streak. Houser has 14 consecutive wins. Heinold has captured his last 13 outings. Pawlak has 12 straight wins and Harms’ streak is at 11 in succession.
Bulldogs who placed second at the regional were: Gage Decker (132 pounds) and Jacob Dobbins (160 pounds). They will continue their season this weekend at the sectional.
Nabbing the final sectional berths in their respective weight classes were Camden Heinold (120 pounds) and Colton Crowley (220 pounds). They each finished in third place.
Casillas is 46-1 and leads the team in wins.
Harms has a team-best 22 pins. Other team leaders for falls are Hatton (20), Braeden Heinold (19), Houser (19) and Crowley (18).
Three other squad members finished fourth and will be alternants at their weight classes. They can be assigned to the sectional if any of the top three placers at their weight classes are unable to compete.
Finishing in fourth place for M-S were Reese Wilson (126 pounds), Logan Petro (145 pounds) and Stevie Pogue (182 pounds).
The Bulldogs’ other regional competitor was Lukas Alstetter. He did not place at 113 pounds, but helped the team’s point total by winning one match.
In all, M-S filled all 14 weight classes at the regional. The team’s cumulative record was 28-12 with 17 of the wins by pin and two by technical fall.
Eleven different Bulldogs had pins. Posting two pins, besides Hatton, were Camden Heinold, Wilson, Petro, Pogue and Crowley.
M-S will also serve as the host for the two-day Class 2A sectional, which will begin on Friday (Feb. 11). At stake are state tournament bids, which are awarded to the top four placers at each of the weight classes.
By winning the regional crown, the entire M-S team advances to a dual-meet sectional, which will give the Bulldogs a chance to break the school record for dual-meet wins in a single season.
M-S is 27-3 and has matched the 1987-88 squad (which was 27-1) for wins in a season. Coach Rob Ledin’s 2021-22 squad has won its last 21 dual meets.
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At the Washington Class 2A Regional, former Mahomet-Seymour Junior High state champion Peyton Cox captured a regional title at 120 pounds.
Cox (35-2 for the season) was the No. 2 seed. In the semifinals, the freshman pinned the No. 3 seed in 25 seconds. In the finals, Cox upended the No. 1 seed, 14-4.
Cox transferred to Washington from M-S after eighth grade.
Washington won team honors, scoring 264 ½ points.
