Local wrestlers Lavion Mayes and Thomas Gantt clinch all-American at NCAA Championships

Two former rivals in high school who have made their marks in the highly competitive world of collegiate wrestling — Thomas Gantt of Cahokia and Lavion Mayes of Mascoutah — will be leaving Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday as All-Americans.

A University of Missouri junior, Mayes rebounded from a heartbreaking 149-pound quarterfinal loss earlier on Friday to win his consolation match while Gantt also recorded a consolation round win to clinch top eight finishes at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.

Seeded second in the 157-pound weight class but upset in the second round on Thursday, Gantt, a senior at North Carolina State University defeated John Boyle of American University 3-2 and Brian Murphy of Michigan 5-2 in consolation matches on Friday.

Gantt will take on Joseph Smith of Oklahoma University in the seventh-place match on Saturday.

Mayes, an all-American a year ago when he placed seventh in the 141-pound weight class, Mayes lost a 3-2 decision Anthony Collica of Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals, but bounced back to defeat Patricio Lugo of Edinboro 6-2 and Gino Martinez of Boise State 5-1.

Mayes is assured of a top six finish and could place as high as third.

SIUE’s Rodriguez eliminated

Freddie Rodriguez became the first Southern Illinois University Edwardsville wrestler to record two wins at the national championships since the Cougars moved up to the NCAA Division I level but the 125-pounder was eliminated from the tournament Friday at Madison Square Garden.

Rodriguez, a junior from Lansing, Michigan, won his first match of the day with a major decision over No. 16 seed Elijah Oliver, of Indiana. Rodriguez was relentless against the Big Ten’s fifth-place finisher, turning what was a close match into a rout late with back points as the final buzzer went off.

His next match was No. 8 seed Barlow McGhee of Missouri. Rodriguez was unable to counter the takedowns from McGhee and lost 9-5.

“It was still progress, but we had higher expectations coming into the tournament,” said SIUE coach Jeremy Spates. “We thought we could win a few more matches, but we’re still excited that we had two guys out here.”

This story was originally published March 18, 2016 at 11:10 PM with the headline "Local wrestlers Lavion Mayes and Thomas Gantt clinch all-American at NCAA Championships."