Granadino, Renshaw and Buchanan qualify for IHSA State
By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com
All 11 Bulldogs who competed in the Mascoutah Class 2A Wrestling Sectional on Saturday won at least one match. Eight of them posted at least one pin.
Three of them qualified for state.
The M-S state representatives will be junior Gage Granadino (152 pounds), junior Daniel Renshaw (220 pounds) and senior Seth Buchanan (285 pounds).
Buchanan took the field by storm, pinning all three of his foes to raise his season record to 38-5. Buchanan’s championship-match pin was recorded in 73 seconds.
Granadino dropped a 9-1 decision in the semifinals, but bounced back to win his final two sectional matches, starting with a pin in 3:43.
In the third-place match, Granadino was victorious 8-3, extending his season record to 37-9.
Renshaw dropped a 6-0 decision in the semis, but regrouped to win by pin in 5:26 and then held his opponent scoreless in the third-place bout, claiming a 4-0 victory.
Renshaw won four of his five sectional bouts to improve to 35-12 overall. M-S coach Rob Ledin was confident about his prospects entering the postseason.
“Daniel is one who stays after practice and puts a lot of time in,” Ledin said. “We felt he could be there.”
Renshaw’s first state match will be against an opponent from LaSalle-Peru whom he beat earlier in the season.
For state, only the champions at each weight class from the sectionals are seeded. Buchanan earned a No. 3 seed at 285 pounds.
“Seth had a good tourney,” Ledin said. “He stays on an even keel and keeps rolling along.”
Buchanan met the same individual in the sectional finals as he did in the regional finals, Normal West’s Skyler Hufeld. Buchanan needed 4:22 to gain a pin at regionals, but only 1:13 in the rematch.
Granadino, who was rated 13th in the final individual rankings issued by the IWCOA, is putting everything together at tournament time.
“He understands positioning on his feet, he’s better at attacking and he’s tough on top,” Ledin said.
Six M-S athletes lost in the match that would have guaranteed their advancement to state: senior Noah Schnepper (126 pounds), sophomore Braeden Heinold (132 pounds), sophomore Logan Petro (138 pounds), senior Chance Decker (145 pounds), freshman Colton Crowley (182 pounds) and freshman Mateo Casillas (195 pounds).
Heinold, Petro and Casillas each won three matches at sectional before being ousted. Schnepper and Crowley registered two wins for the weekend. Decker won once, by pin in 3:46.
The other Bulldog sectional entrants were freshman Brennan Houser (160 pounds), whose win was by a 21-8 score, and Peyton Myers (170 pounds), who competed in a weight class 25 pounds higher than where he had originally certified as a junior.
Overall at the Mascoutah Sectional, M-S wrestlers had a cumulative 26-18 record with 11 of the wins by pins.
Buchanan and Renshaw were each rated eighth in the final IWCOA individual state rankings.
The state tournament will start on Thursday at State Farm Center.
Ledin said it’s important for the team’s non-individual state-qualifiers to stay focused this week as they practice for the resumption of the team-dual series on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
“Those guys know it’s important for them to stay on top of what they’re doing,” Ledin said.
In the team series, M-S will take on Lincoln on Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. at Lincoln. The other match that evening at Lincoln will be between Mattoon and Troy Triad. Mattoon is coached by M-S graduate Brett Porter.
The winner of both dual meets will qualify for the Elite Eight at state on Feb. 29 in Bloomington.
