By FRED KRONER
For the 18th time in the 37-year history of the IHSA dual-meet state series in wrestling, Mahomet-Seymour has advanced its full team to the Elite Eight.
The Bulldogs earned their berth on Tuesday with a resounding 71-10 triumph over host Lincoln in a Class 2A sectional wrestling match.
M-S (23-1) will meet fourth-ranked and unbeaten Antioch (21-0) in an 11 a.m. Saturday state quarterfinal match at Bloomington’s Grossinger Motors Arena.
That winner will be guaranteed a team trophy, a piece of hardware which has eluded the Bulldogs in wrestling since the 2002 team placed fourth.
M-S was rated 22nd in this year’s final Class 2A poll produced by The Illinois Best Weekly.
In the rematch with Lincoln, M-S won 12 of 14 bouts and recorded 10 pins.
The fastest falls by the Bulldogs were by Daniel Renshaw (1 minute, 6 seconds at 220 pounds), Gage Granadino (1 minute, 14 seconds at 152 pounds), Logan Petro (1 minute, 33 seconds at 138 pounds) and by Caden Hatton (1 minutes, 34 seconds at 106 pounds).
Granadino’s victory officially clinched the M-S advancement. The Bulldogs led 42-10 after his win, with five matches remaining.
Other pinners for the Bulldogs were Seth Buchanan (285 pounds), Mateo Casillas (195 pounds), Colton Crowley (182 pounds), Braeden Heinold (132 pounds), Peyton Myers (170 pounds) and Payton Ragona (113 pounds).
M-S athletes with milestone wins against the Railsplitters were Hatton and Myers, each of whom picked up their 20th wins of the season and state-placer Renshaw, who registered his 40th victory of the season.
Buchanan’s pin raised his team-leading total to 30. The 285-pound weight class is where the meet began.
Other Bulldogs who produced victories against Lincoln were Brennan Houser (160 pounds), by technical fall, and Noah Schnepper (126 pounds), by forfeit.
When M-S and Lincoln wrestled in the regular season, the Bulldogs were victorious 55-15.
Quarterfinal pairings at state in Class 2A:
9 a.m. – No. 2 Lemont (24-2) vs. No. 18 Mattoon (17-2)
9 a.m. – No. 8 Aurora Christian (14-5) vs. No. 1 Marian Woodstock (22-0)
11 a.m. – No. 3 Washington (14-5) vs. unranked Riverside-Brookfield
11 a.m. – No. 4 Antioch (21-0) vs. No. 22 Mahomet-Seymour (23-1)
2 p.m., semifinals
6 p.m., trophy matches
Antioch advanced on Tuesday by overpowering Bensenville Fenton 51-19.
Mattoon – coached by M-S graduate Brett Porter – moved on thanks to a 42-30 conquest of Troy Triad.
M-S’ state quarterfinal appearance will be its seventh this century and the second in the past four years. The 2017 squad lost by four points in the quarterfinals.
Coach Rob Ledin’s Bulldogs are working on an eight-match winning streak since suffering their only dual-meet setback on Jan. 15 by five points to Mattoon.
