SPRINGFIELD — Rob Ledin’s Mahomet-Seymour wrestling team didn’t depart the Bank of Springfield Center with any individual state championships on Friday.
But the Bulldogs did claim three medals in a single state event for the first time since 2001, paced by sophomore Mateo Casillas snagging runner-up status in the Class 2A 195-pound division of the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association tournament.
“Had a really good tournament. We ended up placing seventh as a team,” Ledin said of his seven-athlete state contingent. “Everyone probably feels like they lost a match they could’ve won, but we’re thankful we got here.”
Casillas’ title match was within his grasp, as he led Washington junior Donnie Hidden 1-0 entering the third and final period. But Hidden recorded an early escape in that last 2-minute stretch, then scored a takedown with just 5 seconds remaining to secure the comeback win.
“My goal from the beginning of the day was to bring home a title and get to that final match,” Casillas said. “And I got there. Just didn’t get it.”
Casillas entered the event with an unblemished 24-0 record. Pretty impressive considering he suffered a dislocated knee cap in December 2020 and was at one point working out for the M-S football, baseball and wrestling teams at the same time after recovering from the injury.
“It’s disappointing the outcome didn’t happen as I wanted it to,” Casillas said, “but I know these next few years will be pretty bright, and hopefully I’ll bring home two state titles.”
Ledin was pleased with Casillas’ performance despite the outcome, saying his grappler stuck to the game plan before briefly being caught off guard.
“I’m proud. Five minutes and 45 seconds we took it to the kid. We pushed the pace,” Ledin said. “We ran on a couple (scoring opportunities) we probably could’ve finished. But we were forcing the action all the way to the end and just got caught out of position because we were being aggressive.”
The Bulldogs’ other top-six finishes came from sophomore Brennan Houser and senior Daniel Renshaw. Houser grabbed fifth place at 2A 182, and Renshaw took fifth place at 2A 220.
Houser produced a 14-4 major decision versus Lakes’ Kaleb Lind in their fifth-place bout.
“It feels really good because I’ve put in work and I feel like I earned my spot on the podium,” Houser said. “I just knew I did not want to be on the bottom of the podium, so I just found it in me to gut it out.”
Renshaw’s day ended with a pinfall triumph against Woodstock Marian’s Joseph Miller. This marks the third consecutive season in which Renshaw has taken fifth at a state tournament, with the previous occurrences coming in the 2020 IHSA 2A 220-pound field and the 2019 IWCOA frosh-soph 195-pound bracket.
“Would’ve been nice to get higher, but honestly it’s kind of funny now. It’s not a curse, but lucky number five for sure,” Renshaw said. “I’ve put in countless hours (to wrestling). … It’s just a big part of my life, and I don’t ever really want to be away from wrestling.”
The IWCOA held an all-ages state tournament this year — putting 1A action on Thursday, 2A competition on Friday and 3A grappling on Saturday — because the IHSA did not conduct its own wrestling state series in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ledin and company had nothing but positive things to say about the experience.
“It is a much more intense tournament,” Renshaw said. “With having IHSA state over three days, it’s more mentally draining. But physically you get to rest between all your matches. … I actually enjoyed this much more, just because it was run very well and it just seemed to flow smoother.”
“To be quite honest, I liked (the IWCOA tournament) better,” Ledin added. “We were coaching. They were wrestling. It was fast. It was quick-paced. I thought the IWCOA did an excellent job. It’s definitely something the IHSA might want to think about — splitting the classes into individual days.”
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