State-ranked Bulldogs place 12th at Sycamore Invitational
By Fred Kroner
Mahomet-Seymour’s state-ranked wrestling team placed 12th in the 26-school Sycamore Invitational on Saturday (Jan. 6).
The Bulldogs had six athletes finish among the top 10 in their individual weight classes.
Gage Decker was fifth at 157 pounds, Colton McClure was seventh at 120 pounds, Talon Decker was eighth at 138 pounds, DeAndre Hughey was eighth at 150 pounds, Brock VanDeveer was ninth at 190 pounds and Justus Vrona was ninth at 126 pounds.
Gage Decker had a 4-1 tourney record and posted two pins (the quickest in 1:47), McClure was 2-2, Talon Decker was 1-3, Hughey was 1-3, VanDeveer was 4-1 with four pins, including one in 50 seconds and Vrona was 3-1 with three pins, the fastest of which came in 2:39.
Other squad members who placed among the top 20 were Noah Daniels (11th at 215 pounds), Austin Crull (14th at 285 pounds), Gabe Maya (14th at 175 pounds), Hughey Allen (16th at 165 pounds), Lukas Alstetter (17th at 106 pounds), Corey Bell (17th at 132 pounds) and Kaleb Collins (18th at 144 pounds).
Daniels was 3-2 with two pins, including one in 1:17, Allen was 1-3 with a pin in 1:32, Alstetter was 3-1 with two pins, including one in 40 seconds, Bell was 1-2 with a pin in 1:32 and Collins was 2-3 with a pin in 4:52.
Maya was 1-2 and Crull was 1-3. Neither had a pin.
Overall at Sycamore, M-S wrestlers had a cumulative record of 27-27 with 16 pins.
Team honors were won by Rockton Hononegah with 532 ½ points, followed by Elmhurst York (382 points). M-S was 12th with 294 ½ points.
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Mahomet-Seymour had two champions and seven other placers on Saturday (Jan. 6) in the 18-school Pekin Junior Varsity Invitational.
The Bulldogs placed third in the team chase with 137 points. They trailed Galesburg (214 points) and Monmouth-Roseville (211 points).
The M-S titlists were Preston Sriver (4-0 at 144 pounds with two pins) and Kaleb Roberts (4-0 at 150 pounds with two pins).
Sriver’s fastest fall was in 1:37. Roberts ended one of his matches in 31 seconds.
Runner-up finishers for M-S were Garrett Waisath (3-1 at 120 pounds), Beau Back (3-1 at 144 pounds) and Kaleb Spencer (3-1 at 165 pounds).
Waisath secured three wins by pin, including one in 1:46. Back also had three pins, with his fastest fall in 41 seconds. Spencer’s quickest of his two pins came in 15 seconds.
Other Bulldog placers were Isabelle Leyhe (fifth at 120 pounds), Grant Munds (fifth at 138 pounds), Noah Frank (fifth at 190 pounds) and Aiden Banister (sixth at 126 pounds).
Leyhe, Munds and Frank all bounced back from first-round losses to win their final four bouts. Leyhe had a pin in 3:43, Munds had three pins, including one in 2:47, and Frank registered three pins, the fastest coming in 1:03. Banister was 2-2 with two pins. His quickest was in 1:30.
M-S had one non-placer who recorded pins. Hawke O’Malley was 2-2 at 150 pounds, with two pins. His fastest fall was in 1:12.
M-S athletes compiled an overall record of 33-16 at Pekin, with 23 pins.
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Roberts won his weight class in the Bradley-Bourbonnais Junior Varsity Invitational on Wednesday (Dec. 27).
Roberts pinned all four of the opponents he faced – each one taking place in the first period – and captured top honors in the 150-pound weight class. Each of his pins took place between 47 and 76 seconds.
M-S had two other athletes who placed.
Munds was 4-1 and took fifth at 138 pounds. Hayden Hart was 3-1 and finished third at 190 pounds.
Munds had two pins, including one in 59 seconds. Hart’s one pin required 46 seconds.
Five other Bulldog JV wrestlers registered at least one pin. Allen was 3-2 with two pins at 165 pounds, O’Malley was 2-2 with one pin (in 1:40) at 144 pounds, Kody Ackman was 1-1 with one pin (in 2:55) at 155 pounds, Kaiden Hackett was 1-2 with one pin (in 3:40) at 157 pounds and Camden Snodsmith was 1-2 with one pin (in 58 seconds) at 157 pounds.
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The M-S varsity team (7-4 in dual meets) was ranked eighth in Class 2A by Illinois Matmen in the final 2023 state poll, released on Dec. 31.
The Bulldogs had no wrestlers ranked among the top 10 individually, but four athletes received honorable mention status: Donovan Lewis (150 pounds), Gage Decker (157 pounds), Tallen Pawlak (175 pounds) and Brock VanDeveer (190 pounds).
The Bulldogs return to action on Thursday (Jan. 11) at Stanford Olympia in a meet that will also include Lincoln. The 43rd-annual Marty Williams Invitational is scheduled to take place in the M-S gymnasium on Saturday (Jan. 13).
