Boys wrestling: Redemption for Coal City’s Mataeo Blessing at Class 1A Sectional

COAL CITY – Coal City 145-pound senior wrestler Mataeo Blessing started shaking his head when reflecting on his previous postseason achievements.

After qualifying for state in his freshman season, Blessing missed the postseason due to a broken neck as a sophomore, and last year as a junior struggled and didn’t advance out of the regionals.

“I had a super bad day at regionals last year and didn’t get out,” Blessing said. “Those losses were my motivation this year.”

Blessing’s redemption was a championship – one of six claimed by the Coalers on Saturday at the Class 1A Coal City Sectional – with an 11-2 major decision over Peotone’s Ian Kreske to qualify for next weekend’s state finals at the State Farm Center in Champaign.

“This was my fourth time wrestling him, and in the previous matches it was really my second moves that were most effective,” said Blessing, who scored a late takedown in the opening period. “My first moves against him just did work, and that was the case again today. Getting that first takedown today was a battle for sure, he was wrestling tough, but after I was able to get that first one, I felt confident the rest of the way.”

Coal City – which will be sending all 14 wrestlers to state after top-4 finishes – had sectional championships come from Cullan Lindemuth at 106, Brody Widlowski at 113, two-time state champ Brant Widlowski at 138, Braiden Young at 182, and Joey Breneman at 195.

IC Catholic senior Saul Trejo’s season hasn’t gone as he would have liked. The two-time state champion has battled different obstacles this season, but will be making a third trip to state after pinning Coal City’s Aidan Kenney in 2:42 in the title match at 120.

“I missed last season after having surgery for a torn meniscus,” Trejo said. “This year I started having breathing problems with my asthma midseason and wasn’t able to wrestle as much as I would have liked. I finally got cleared a couple weeks before regional to get back on the mat.

“I’ve been working hard to get back to where I was my sophomore year. I’m not there quite yet, but I’m really happy to be going to state again.”

The Knights also had sectional titles from Omar Samayoa at 126 and Isaiah Gonzalez at 285, and will send three more to state via third- and fourth-place finishes.

Seneca 195-pound junior Chris Peura was the top finisher for the Fighting Irish on the day, falling to Breneman in the championship match 10-2. He and Ethan Othon (113, third), Asher Hamby (160, third) and Collin Wright (170, third) will all be making a first appearance at state.

“The biggest relief for me was getting the semifinals, because then I knew no matter what happened I was going to state,” Peura said. “I had just wrestled him last week and he cradled me and beat me. I wasn’t going to let that happen today. He was able to get me on a takedown late in the first period, and from there I had to take some chances and they just didn’t work out for me. I made a couple of mistakes that didn’t help, but I’ll get those fixed by next weekend.”

Reed-Custer 285-pound senior Gunnar Berg came up just short in his title match against IC Catholic’s Isaiah Gonzalez, falling 3-0, but is excited to be one of four Comets making the trip to state. He qualified as a freshman, only to have the finals cancelled by COVID.

“I wrestled him last year in the sectional quarterfinals, we went two even periods, but then he rolled me and pinned me in the third,” Berg said. “He’s bigger and taller than me, so when he chose down to start the second period, I just let him up instead of trying to ride him and using all my energy.

“I knew at some point in the third I was going to have to take a desperation shot to try and get the two, but it just didn’t work out. Regardless of the result, I needed that match, and I’m really excited to actually get a chance to go to state.”

Berg’s teammate Rex Pfeifer won the title at 170 with a 5-0 victory over Coal City’s Derek Carlson, while four other Comets — including Kody Marschner, who finished second at 220 — advanced to state.

Nazareth Academy’s Gabriel Kaminski will be one of three Roadrunners making the trip south after he pinned Reed-Custer’s Kody Marschner in 3:00 in the championship at 220.

Peotone will be sending five to state (Micah Spinazzola at 126, Santino Izzi at 132, Ian Kreske at 145, Marco Spinazzola at 152, and Alex Cardenas at 220), Wilmington two (Landon Dooley at 113 and Hunter Hayes at 195) and Dwight one (Dylan Crouch at 120).