Cathcart wins Bi-State Invite

The Geneseo wrestling team had a long week on the mats this past week as the Leafs competed in a loaded field at the Bi-State Invitational, plus had individual showdowns with Sterling, Mercer County and Dixon.

Geneseo vs. Sterling

The Leafs traveled to Sterling Jan. 19 where they came up against a tough Golden Warrior squad that defeated the Leafs, 45-18.

Geneseo’s only wins came from Mitch?Miller (140-pounds) with a 4-2 decision win; Collin Akers?(160-lbs.) in a 10-3 decision victory and West Cathcart (215-lbs.) with a pin in 23 seconds.

In other meet results, Tristan Thies (103-lbs.) was pinned in 1:35; Jake Miller (119-lbs.) pinned in 3:38; Jacob Stimes (125-lbs.) pinned in :32; Jacob Koster (130-lbs.) fell in a 6-2 decision and Sean?Lillis (135-lbs.) pinned in 2:49.

Others falling short in their respective matches were Shane Bormann (145-lbs.) in a 5-1 decision; Jacob Arnold (152-lbs.)  in a 8-4 decision; Jacob Janssen (171-lbs.) lost 5-0; Ben?Rudy (189-lbs.) in a 4-3 decision; and Alex Carney (275-lbs.) was pinned in 3:41.

Bi-State Invitational

Geneseo junior Cathcart nabbed his first Bi-State Invitational title at 189-lbs. Jan. 16, while two other fellow Leaf wrestlers, senior Collin Akers and junior Bormann, also found their way to the medal podium.

Cathcart worked his way through the bracket with an injury forfeit, a technical fall and a pin to reach the championship bout.

Cathcart advanced out of his first match by an injury forfeit by Austin Nofsinger of Belvidere. He beat his first opponent, Tommy Pentek of Chicago St.?Rita by technical fall in 5:16 and then made quick work of Cody Weaver of New Lenox Providence, pinning him in :55 to advance to the title round.

In the championship bout, Cathcart, ranked No. 1 in Illinois, had his toughest match against No. 8 ranked in Illinois Rob Bettis of Normal Community, but Cathcart pulled out the win in a 7-4 decision.

Collin Akers?(160-lbs.) claimed third place for the Leafs. Akers won his first two matches over Aryk Arington of O’Fallon by major decision, 12-3 and then beat Greg Ventris of Moline in a 7-3 decision.

Akers’ first loss came to the eventual champion Peyton Wagner of Cedar Rapids Prairie in a 1-0 decision. He bounced back to defeat Zach Parsons of Cedar Rapids Kennedy in a 13-9 decision.

In the third-place bout, Akers captured the win in a 10-5 decision over Brandon Colletulb of Minooka.

Bormann (145-lbs.) earned sixth place in his weight class.

Bormann opened competition with an 11-6 overtime win over Josh Dowdy of Granite City, which was followed by a pin in 4:58 of Mike Balderas of Yorkville.

Bormann fell to the eventual champion Kalvin Hill of Minooka in a 7-1 decision and then lost to Mike Murphy of Chicago St. Rita in a 12-1 major decision.

In the fifth-place bout, Bormann was pitted against Balderas, who he had faced earlier, but this time Balderas pulled out the win by pinning Bormann in 2:58.

In other wrestling action, Jon Searl (125-lbs.) lost his opening match by technical fall in 2:30 to Kevin Moylan of Palos Hills Stagg and was then pinned in 1:08 by Ryan Mulcahy of Chicago St. Rita.

Koster (130-lbs.) lost his opener to Blake Montella of Minooka in a 12-4 major decision, but came back to defeat Ahmad Hussein of Palos Hills Stagg, 1-0. Koster was then pinned in 1:24 by Mitchell Berenz of Arrowhead.

Mitch Miller?(140-lbs.) was pinned in his first match by John Bozarth of Normal Community in 4:30 and was then beat in a 5-4 decision by Zack Pickering-Gahagan of Chicago St. Rita.

Arnold (152-lbs.) was pinned in both of his matches — 5:31 by Ryan Sheldon of Cedar Rapids Kennedy and 1:32 by Allen Smock of Palos Hills Stagg.

Janssen?(171-lbs.) fell in his opening match in a 9-3 decision to Sean Downes of New Lenox Providence. Janssen bounced back to pin Anthony Hernandez of Belvidere in 2:17, but was then pinned in  3:59 by Shane Hughes of Arrowhead.

Carney (215-lbs.) was pinned in his two matches — :34 by Steve Miller of Palos Hills Stagg and 3:11 by Mike Simms of Granite City.

Mark Cothron (275-lbs.) pinned Kramer Halverson of Chatham Glenwood in :25, but was pinned in his next match by Cody Jones of Minooka in :56. Cothron bounced back with a pin in 1:16 of Maurice Stokes of Belvidere, but then lost in a 13-5 major decision to Gonzalo Gonzales of Chicago St. Rita.

The?Leafs placed 14th overall with New Lenox Providence winning the team title.

Geneseo vs. Mercer County/Dixon

The Leafs suffered two tough losses Jan. 14 when Geneseo hosted Mercer County and Dixon.

After winning their first match at 215-lbs., the Leafs had a string of bad luck in the next nine matches. Mercer County won the contest, 51-21.

Carney (215-lbs.) gave Geneseo its first win of the night with a pin in 4:12.

Then came a tough run for the Leafs, Cothron (285-lbs.) was pinned in 2:36, followed by Thies (103-lbs.) who was pinned in :35 and Stewart (112-lbs.) was pinned in 1:50.

Jake Miller (119-lbs.) was pinned by his opponent in :48, while Stimes (125-lbs.) was taken down and pinned in 1:48 and Dodge (130-lbs.) was pinned in :42.

Lillis (135-lbs.) fell by technical fall, 15-0 in 5:19, followed by Mitch Miller (140-lbs.) losing in a 1-0 decision and Ryan Akers (145-lbs.) falling in a 7-0 decision.

Tyler Puls (152-lbs.) got Geneseo back in the win column as he defeated his opponent in a 10-1 major decision.  Collin Akers (160-lbs.) followed with a pin in 1:37.

Janssen (171-lbs.) was defeated in a 10-2 major decision, while Rudy (189-lbs.) finished the match with a 16-1 technical fall victory in 4:37.

Geneseo didn’t fare any better against NCIC?foe Dixon as the Leafs fell, 37-28.

Rudy (189-lbs.) came up short in the first bout of the night, losing in a 10-8 decision, but Cathcart?(215-lbs.) gave Geneseo the lead with a pin in 3:03.

Dixon came back to tie things up as Cothron?(285-lbs.) fell by decision. No score was available.

In the next seven bouts, Dixon extended its lead, winning all seven.

Thies (103-lbs.) was pinned in 2:56, followed by Stewart (112-lbs.) lost in a 3-1 decision.

Jake Miller (119-lbs.) was defeated by major decision, 10-1, while Stimes (125-lbs.) was pinned in 2:38.

Koster (130-lbs.) fell in a 7-2 decision, while Lillis (135-lbs.) was pinned in 1:00 and Mitch Miller?(140-lbs.) lost in a 4-2 decision.

Arnold (152-lbs.) gave Geneseo its next win with a 12-3 major decision victory, while Janssen (171-lbs.) pinned his opponent in 3:13 to end the match.

The Leafs will be in action next as the squad makes a run at the NCIC title at IVC Jan. 30.