Cox, Heinold and Pawlak qualify for IESA State Tournament, IESA cancels meet

By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com

Three Mahomet-Seymour Junior High wrestlers advanced to the IESA Class 2A state tournament, which was scheduled to start on Friday, in DeKalb, at Northern Illinois University.

However, the IESA announced on Thursday that the tournament had been cancelled.

Peyton Cox won the 112-pound weight class in last Saturday’s Jacksonville Sectional.

At 85 pounds, Camden Heinold was the sectional runner-up. The third M-S state-qualifier is 95-pound Tallen Pawlak, who finished third at sectional in his weight class.

In all, 14 Bulldogs competed at the sectional.

Cox, who won the 95-pound state title in 2019, is 36-0 this season with 30 pins. Heinold placed fifth at state a year ago. Pawlak, an eighth-grader, is a first-year M-S student. Cox and Heinold are both seventh-graders.

Cox, Heinold and Pawlak were all regional champions.

M-S’ other sectional competitors were: Colton McClure (70 pounds); Justus Vrona (75 pounds); Lucas Altstetter (80 pounds); Gage Decker (105 pounds); Braedon Moore (119 pounds); Jayvon Irwin (126 pounds); Deandre Hughey (135 pounds); Luke Johnson (155 pounds), Matthew Orr (155 pounds); Collin Woodward (185 pounds) and Frankie Tomaszewski (215 pounds).

M-S Seventh-Grade

Volleyball

A 17-match winning streak for Mahomet-Seymour Junior High’s seventh-grade volleyball team ended on Monday with a sectional loss to Taylorville at Effingham, 25-21, 25-13.

The Bulldogs end the season with a 23-4 overall record and one win short of qualifying for the IESA state tournament.

M-S fell behind in the opening set before closing the gap late on three consecutive points while Emma Frazier was at the service line, but fell short. 

In the second set, M-S trailed 18-13, but could get no closer as Taylorville reeled off seven straight points to end the match.

Season highlights, besides winning the regional championship, were regular-season titles in tournaments hosted by M-S and Charleston.

M-S Eighth-Grade

Volleyball

The M-S eighth-grade season came to an end on Saturday when the Bulldogs split two matches in the Urbana Regional.

M-S started with a quarterfinal win over Champaign Franklin, 25-14, 25-12.

A four-point service run by Gabby Dawson lifted the Bulldogs into an early first-set lead that grew into a 19-12 advantage when Marin Minick served four consecutive aces.

After Franklin added on two more points, M-S ended the first set on a kill by Shelby Raver.

In the second set, M-S pulled away from a 9-8 lead and gained a 16-8 cushion with Raver at the service line and registering four aces.

A subsequent service run, with Emily Young at the line, pushed the Bulldogs’ lead to 23-12. Minick’s kill on match point clinched the victory.

In the semifinals, M-S lost to the host Tigers, 25-22, 25-15.

In the first set, M-S overcame a 7-1 deficit to secure a 16-16 tie and then forged ahead 21-18 before Urbana rallied for the three-point win.

The Bulldogs also had a lead in the second set, 9-7, when Urbana went on a run to build a 15-9 lead. M-S was unable to catch up.

M-S ended the year with an overall 11-12 record.