Three area wrestling teams competed in Saturday’s Battle Creek Invitational, with Wakefield’s fourth-place finish highlighting the day’s effort.
Cody Thomas of Wakefield was the lone area champion on the day, taking top honors at 182 pounds with a second-period pin to remain undefeated on the season. Thomas was one of three Trojans to reach the finals, with Julio Sanchez and Moises Barboza taking runner-up honors at 195 and 220 pounds, respectively. The Trojans had five medalists on the day, with Tay Guill (106) and Ben Chase (132) both finishing sixth.
Koby Ellis of Winside was a second-place finisher at 106 pounds to lead the Wildcats to a seventh-place finish. He was one of eight Wildcats to come away with a medal, with Zach Morris and Jon Escalante earning consolation honors at 152 and 220 pounds. Fourth-place medals went to Joey Heimdale (113) and Sean Mann (126), and sixths were earned by Carter Jensen (113), Mathew Fredrick (120) and Michael Jensen (170).
Laurel-Concord-Coleridge had one medalist in Saturday’s action, with Zach Dietrich taking fifth at 195 pounds.
Battle Creek Invitational Team Standings
Battle Creek 277.5, Crofton/Bloomfield 129.5, Creighton 128.5, Wakefield 127, Randolph 98, Elkhorn Valley 96.5, Norfolk Reserves 91.5, Winside 91.5, Pierce 91, Howells-Dodge 63.5, Stanton 62, Battle Creek JV 44.5, Ponca 42, Niobrara/Verdigre 30, Scribner-Snyder 28.5, Hartington CC 22.5, Laurel-Concord-Coleridge 18, Osmond 14.5.
Area Medalists
106: 1. Caydon McCracken, BC, dec. Koby Ellis, Winside, 3-1. 5. Grant Taylor, Norfolk Reserves, dec. Tay Guill, Wakefield, 8-6.
113: 3. Collin Burton, BC JV, dec. Joey Heimdale, Winside, 7-3. 5. Charlie Simons, BC, pinned Carter Jensen, Winside, 4:55.
120: 5. Gage Klug, Stanton, pinned Mathew Fredrick, Winside, 4:03.
126: 3. Darren Stewart, EV, maj. dec. Sean Mann, Winside, 14-2.
132: 5. Mitchell Petersen, EV, dec. Ben Chase, Wakefield, 6-3.
152: 3. Zach Morris, Winside, maj. dec. Clay Konopasek, N/V, 10-1.
170: 5. Alec Zimmerer, Creighton, pinned Michael Jensen, Winside, 2:21.
182: 1. Cody Thomas, Wakefield, pinned Michael Hegge, Ponca, 2:34.
195: 1. Kaleb Johnson, C/B, pinned Julio Sanchez, Wakefield, 2:34. 5. Zach Dietrich, LCC, pinned Wyatt Schmitt, BC JV, 2:59.
220: 1. Jan-louw de Jager, BC, pinned Moises Barboza, Wakefield, 2:47. 3. Jon Escalante, Winside, pinned Jordan Shakespeare, N/V, :54.
