By Fred Kroner
Five Mahomet-Seymour wrestlers registered pins on Thursday (Jan. 18) at home as the Bulldogs toppled Champaign Central, 56-18.
The M-S pinners were Lukas Alstetter (in 3:01 at 106 pounds), Justus Vrona (in 1:28 at 126 pounds), Gage Decker (in 31 seconds at 157 pounds), Hughey Allen (in 34 seconds at 175 pounds) and Brock VanDeveer (in 51 seconds at 190 pounds).
Two Bulldogs captured wins by technical fall: Colton McClure (by a 16-0 margin at 120 pounds) and DeAndre Hughey (by an 18-2 margin at 150 pounds).
A.J. Demos (165 pounds) earned a 10-1 win. Receiving forfeit wins were Noah Daniels (215 pounds) and Austin Crull (285 pounds).
The Bulldogs also handed losses to Urbana (62-15) and Pontiac (59-22).
For the day, 17 Bulldogs registered at least one win.
Finishing the day with 3-0 records were Hughey, Gage Decker, Allen and Daniels.
Besides posting one pin, Hughey recorded two technical fall wins. All three of Gage Decker’s wins were by falls. Allen and Daniels each had one pin.
Going 2-0 were McClure, Vrona, VanDeveer and Crull. McClure won twice by technical fall, Vrona won twice by pin and VanDeveer also logged two pins.
Finishing 1-0 were Gideon Hayter (106 pounds), Liam Noonan (120 pounds), Jaycee Fancher (126 pounds), Demos and Noah Frank (190 pounds).
Fancher and Frank both had one pin.
Posting 2-1 records were Alstetter and Talon Decker, each of whom had two pins. Decker had a pin in 21 seconds, the school’s fastest for the day.
Ending with 1-1 records were Kaleb Collins (144 pounds) and Collin Hughes (175 pounds), each of whom pinned one opponent.
For the three meets, the Bulldogs accumulated an overall record of 31-9 with 18 pins and four technical fall victories.
M-S (10-4) is ranked eighth in the state in Class 2A and returns to action on Tuesday (Jan. 23) at home against both Danville and Normal West for the Bulldogs’ Senior Night matches.
The next dual-meet win for M-S coach Rob Ledin will be No. 500 in his Hall of Fame career.
—
On Saturday (Jan. 20), the M-S junior varsity team captured top honors in the 19-school Olympia Junior Varsity Invitational in Stanford for the third year in a row.
The Bulldogs amassed 194 ½ points. Runner-up Olympia had 160 points and was followed by Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (148 ½ points) and Lincoln (138).
M-S had four champions and three other grapplers who were the runners-up in their respective weight classes.
The school’s individual winners were Grant Munds (3-0 with two pins at 138 pounds), Hawke O’Malley (3-0 with three pins in the B Division of the 144-pound weight class), A.J. Demos (4-0 with two pins and two technical falls at 165 pounds) and Noah Daniels (4-0 with three pins at 215 pounds).
Munds’ fastest fall was in 2 minutes. O’Malley’s quickest pin came in 21 seconds. Demos had a fall in 1:36 and was dominant in his technical fall wins, outscoring those two opponents by a combined 31-0 score. Daniels’ fastest pin occurred in 1:52.
Placing second for the Bulldogs were Izaiah Brotherton (2-1 with one pin in the B Division of the 144-pound weight class), Kaleb Roberts (2-1 with 2 pins at 150 pounds) and Noah Frank (2-1 with two pins at 215 pounds).
Brotherton’s pin took place in 2:40. Roberts’ fastest fall was in 1:09 and Frank had a pin in 3:16.
Two M-S grapplers took third: Preston Sriver (3-1 with two pins at 144 pounds) and Pierce Douglas (2-1 with two pins in the B Division of the 167-pound weight class).
Sriver’s fastest pin was in 2:42. Douglas produced a pin in 26 seconds.
Four Bulldogs wound up in fifth place: Liam Noonan (2-1 with one pin at 120 pounds), Aiden Banister (2-1 with one pin at 126 pounds), Adam Dobrucki (4-1 with three pins at 132 pounds) and Wyatt Belz (2-1 with two pins in the B Division of the 144-pound weight class).’
Two squad members finished in sixth place: Jaycee Fancher (1-2 with one pin in the B Division of the 126-pound weight class) and Collin Hughes (2-2 with one pin at 175 pounds).
Noonan secured his pin in 3:54. Banister’s pin took place at the 4-minute mark. Dobrucki’s fastest fall required 28 seconds and Belz’s quickest pin came in 1:19.
Fancher’s pin came at 1:21 into her match. Hughes’ pin was finalized in 3:18.
Two M-S non-placers recorded a pin: Grant Wilson (in 48 seconds at 157 pounds) and Camden Snodsmith (in 26 seconds at 165 pounds).
The cumulative record for the 22 Bulldogs who participated at Olympia was 40-27 with 30 pins and two technical fall wins.
