Renshaw places 5th in Class 2A IHSA State, strong showings for Buchanan and Granadino

BY FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com

All three of the Bulldogs’ individual state-qualifiers won matches at the UI State Farm Center and junior Daniel Renshaw posted four wins and placed fifth in the Class 2A 220-pound division.

Renshaw’s only losses in the state tournament were to the eventual champion, unbeaten Apollo Gothard, from Lemont, and third-place finishing Jason Farnham, from Sterling.

Renshaw started his state run with a pin over Brock Neill, from LaSalle-Peru. His other three state wins were in matches that required the full six minutes.

“We knew he had good conditioning and can keep coming at you and wearing down his opponent,” M-S coach Rob Ledin said. “He’s one of the guys that stays after practice to get more reps in.”

Ledin expected Renshaw to have a banner season, though he wasn’t quite sure where he would fit in when practice opened in November.

“He came in at about 235 pounds and we weren’t sure where his weight would wind up,” Ledin said.

Renshaw dropped to 220 pounds and has been a fixture in the Bulldogs’ lineup. His season record is 39-14.

It’s no surprise that one of the other M-S qualifiers is in the next weight class up, 285-pound Seth Buchanan.

“Year after year, when you see guys placing at back-to-back weights, it’s because they hold each other to a higher standard,” Ledin said.

Renshaw and Buchanan pushed each other in practices throughout the season although Ledin said, “we tried to mix some different guys in there.

“It was a give-and-take for those two. It gave Seth an idea of what an athletic heavyweight feels like.”

Two of Renshaw’s state wins were by 2-0 margins, the first against Sycamore’s Dylan Shuman and the other in the fifth-place match against Richwoods’ Deven Pearson.

One of his most significant wins was a 7-4 triumph over third-ranked Josh Crandall, from Prairie Ridge, in the bout that assured him his first state medal.

Buchanan, meanwhile, finished one win shy of a medal. He was 2-2 at state, winning both matches where he scored points.

After a first-round loss 3-0 to Freeport’s Isaiah Batteast – who went on to place third – Buchanan rebounded with a 7-4 conquest over Lake Forest’s Jack Owen and a 3-2 verdict over St. Laurence’s Sean Burns before being ousted by top-ranked Julian Ramirez, from Oak Forest, 6-0. Ramirez ended fifth.

“We could not figure out how to get out from bottom (against Ramirez),” Ledin said.

Buchanan is the team leader in pins as a senior with 29. He is also the team-leader in wins with a 40-7 record.

Junior Gage Granadino also recovered from a first-round state loss (by pin against fourth-rated Rocco Palumbo, from Richards) to outlast Hampshire’s Nathan Larson, 8-4.

Granadino’s state bid ended with a 6-4 overtime setback against Washington’s Donnie Hidden, who wound up placing fourth.

Granadino is 38-11.

His match with Hidden showed “Gage is right there,” Ledin said.

M-S returns to action in the team-dual series on Tuesday with a 6 p.m. bout against Lincoln, an Apollo Conference foe that the Bulldogs decisioned in the regular season.

The winner earns a berth in the Elite Eight on Saturday at Bloomington.

“As long as we do what we’re supposed to do, we have a good shot at making it,” Ledin said.

The full team worked out through Thursday in preparation for the state series and then spent time at the State Farm Center selling tournament programs.

The M-S match against Lincoln is one of two that will take place on Tuesday at Lincoln. Also seeking a state berth from that site are Mattoon and Troy Triad, who will also compete at 6 p.m. on a separate mat.

The M-S/Lincoln winner will qualify for an 11 a.m. state quarterfinal match on Saturday against either Antioch or Bensenville Fenton. The state finals will be held at Grossinger Motors Arena, in downtown Bloomington.