Five Mattoon wrestlers have a chance to medal Saturday as the IHSA State Individual Wrestling Tournament enters its final day.

Korbin Bateman, Kiefer Duncan and Leo Meyer already secured medals after having reached Friday’s Class 2A semifinals in their respective weight divisions.

Brady Foster and Aidan Spurgeon moved within one match of also earning one of the six medals awarded in each division after posting pins Friday in the consolation round.

These five wrestlers can finish as high as third place by winning the consolation bracket.

Bateman, one of three Green Wave wrestlers to reach the semifinals, fell behind 6-2 after the first period and 10-3 after two. The sophomore, trailing 22-8 in the third, got pinned with 10 seconds left in the 126-pound match.

Kiefer Duncan relied on an aggressive style early, which had helped him advance to the semifinals. The match was scoreless until near the end of the first period when Lombard’s Jayden Colon took down the MHS senior and pinned him 1:52 into the 145-pound match.

Leo Meyer lost his semifinal at 220 in a technical fall after falling behind 9-0 through one period and eventually losing 16-1.

“We all just have to get it together today,” Mattoon coach Brett Porter. “We have five chances to get a guy on the medal stand. Legitimate chances. We just have to regroup and to refocus and just put all of this behind us. Of all the guys that we have left in, every one of them has lost to a state finalist. We need to have three great rounds. I really think these guys are going to do great. They work together, they feed off each other. I think that they’re going to be ready to go.”

  • Mattoon’s Kiefer Duncan reacts after being pinned by Montini’s Jayden Colon in the IHSA State wrestling Class 2A 145-pound semifinal Friday, February 18, 2022.
  • Mattoon’s Leo Meyer wrestles Waterloo’s Jordan Sommers in the IHSA State wrestling Class 2A 220-pound semifinal Friday, February 18, 2022. Sommers, undefeated all season, defeats Meyer on technical fall 16-1.
  • Mattoon’s Korbin Bateman wrestles Freeport’s Markel Baker in the IHSA State wrestling Class 2A 126-pound semifinal Friday, February 18, 2022. Bateman lost by fall.

All three MHS semifinalists are set for consolation semifinals Saturday, but the opponents are not yet set.

Foster, meanwhile, pinned Urbana freshman Cordaro Sims in 5 minutes, 13 seconds, to reach the consolation quarterfinals. A victory over Geneseo freshman Zachary Montez today would put the MHS senior on the medal stand.

“I think I just wrestled a really bad match (Thursday) and didn’t get my head straight until later,” Foster said. “I think part of it (winning by pin Friday) was just, you know, a good night’s sleep, sleeping on it.”

Spurgeon, who had not wrestled since eighth grade, said he was going for a pin in his consolation match. He did just that, beating Brother Rice freshman Gabino Perez 2:28 into his match to also advance to the consolation quarterfinals, where he will face Mahomet junior Mateo Casillo (51-2).

“I was a little nervous going into this,” Spurgeon said. “Stress can sometimes take over, but I thought I handled myself pretty well. Stayed calm in the match and got it done.”

“These matches in the late rounds are won and lost by the guys who are more aggressive,” Porter said. “So we’re gonna focus on getting our first takedown.”

Mattoon sophomore Aidan Blackburn was pleased even though he lost his consolation round match Friday morning.

“It wasn’t planning on me not making it tomorrow,” Blackburn said, “but I’m just happy that I made it to state as a sophomore.”

Mattoon’s Aidan Blackburn wrestles Crystal Lake’s Connor Lezama in the IHSA State wrestling Class 2A 152-pound consolation bracket Friday, February 18, 2022. Lezama defeated Blackburn by fall.
Mattoon’s Aidan Spurgeon wrestles Brother Rice’s Gabino Perez in the IHSA State wrestling Class 2A 195-pound consolation bracket Friday, February 18, 2022. Spurgeon defeated Perez by fall.

2A 113: Brady Foster (36-2)

  • Champ. Round 1 – Brady Foster (Mattoon) 36-2 won by fall over Tyler Weidman (Grayslake (Central)) 35-17 (Fall 3:31)
  • Quarterfinal – Xavier Villalobos (Rochelle) 45-5 won in tie breaker – 1 over Brady Foster (Mattoon) 36-2 (TB-1 4-2)
  • Cons. Round 2 – Brady Foster (Mattoon) 36-2 won by fall over Cordaro Sims (Urbana) 26-6 (Fall 5:13)

2A 126: Korbin Bateman (35-5)

  • Champ. Round 1 – Korbin Bateman (Mattoon) 35-5 won by decision over Rocky Almendarez (Galesburg) 36-7 (Dec 6-3)
  • Quarterfinal – Korbin Bateman (Mattoon) 35-5 won by fall over Joey Baranski (Chicago Heights (Marian)) 24-10 (Fall 0:32)
  • Semifinal – Markel Baker (Freeport) 26-0 won by fall over Korbin Bateman (Mattoon) 35-5 (Fall 5:50)

2A 145: Kiefer Duncan (41-3)

  • Champ. Round 1 – Kiefer Duncan (Mattoon) 41-3 won by major decision over Connor Kozanecki (Grayslake (North)) 33-12 (MD 13-1)
  • Quarterfinal – Kiefer Duncan (Mattoon) 41-3 won by decision over Caleb Nadig (Rochelle) 34-5 (Dec 5-2)
  • Semifinal – Jayden Colon (Lombard (Montini)) 24-4 won by fall over Kiefer Duncan (Mattoon) 41-3 (Fall 1:52)

2A 152: Aidan Blackburn (33-13)

  • Champ. Round 1 – Ivan Corral (Oak Forest) 28-8 won by decision over Aidan Blackburn (Mattoon) 33-13 (Dec 7-0)
  • Cons. Round 1 – Connor Lezama (Crystal Lake (Central)) 35-14 won by fall over Aidan Blackburn (Mattoon) 33-13 (Fall 2:42)

2A 195: Aidan Spurgeon (27-4)

  • Champ. Round 1 – Aidan Spurgeon (Mattoon) 27-4 won by decision over Jon Barrick (Crystal Lake (Central)) 23-15 (Dec 9-3)
  • Quarterfinal – Nate Wemstrom (Aurora (Christian)) 36-5 won by decision over Aidan Spurgeon (Mattoon) 27-4 (Dec 9-3)
  • Cons. Round 2 – Aidan Spurgeon (Mattoon) 27-4 won by fall over Gabino Perez (Chicago (Brother Rice)) 23-9 (Fall 2:28)

2A 220: Leo Meyer (35-10)

  • Champ. Round 1 – Leo Meyer (Mattoon) 35-10 won by fall over Griffin Carr (Darien (Hinsdale South)) 22-14 (Fall 3:29)
  • Quarterfinal – Leo Meyer (Mattoon) 35-10 won by decision over Jeremiah Morris (Galesburg) 39-6 (Dec 9-7)
  • Semifinal – Jordan Sommers (Waterloo) 43-0 won by tech fall over Leo Meyer (Mattoon) 35-10 (TF-1.5 5:16 (16-1))