EATON — Eaton’s Coleman Manning and National Trail’s Ben Sullivan won individual titles at the 47th Sam Ridder/Eaton Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 28.
As a team, Eaton placed fifth with 117.5 points, while National Trail was 11th with 68.5 points and Twin Valley South was 19th with 28.
Northmont won the meet with 234.5. Rounding out the top four were Milton-Union (145.5), Hamilton Ross (141.5) and Valley View (124).
Overall, 11 county wrestlers placed in the event.
Manning pinned Logan Iams of Ross in 3 minutes, 45 seconds to claim the championship at 132 pounds.
“Coleman Manning had a great tournament winning the championship in a pin in 3:45. Coleman has started to really up his game. As his confidence grows, his wrestling improves,” Eaton coach Mark Silvers said.
Sullivan won the 220 pound division with a pin of Grant Carlson of Tippeconoe in 3:50.
Eaton’s Wade Monebrake at 113, Isaac Ilo at 160, and Spencer Reynolds at 182 all wrestled well placing third in their respective weight divisions.
“They were all one match from the championship and as we continue they build for the end of the year, we will keep moving up,” Silvers said.
Seth Hodapp went 3-3 placing sixth.
“He continues to improve and has now made it to the podium. Now it’s time to move up,” Silvers said.
“Several of the guys had a great meet. Some undershot our expectations. At our Invite the goal is always to place everyone on the podium. Now we go back to the practice room and refocus for the SWBL,” Silvers said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us.”
Chris Weadick at 126, Cameron Schmidt at 138, and Spencer Leaker 145 all went 2-2 for the tournament losing in the round to place.
“They wrestled well and now focus on the meets ahead,” Silvers said.
Trail coach Micheal Eyler said it was a rough two days of competition, but he was happy to have four placers.
Senior Ben Sullivan took home the championship, winning all four bouts by pin.
“Ben looked back to form this weekend. He really went out there and wrestled well, controlling all of his matches and looking confident. I was impressed by everything I saw him do, and can’t wait to see how the rest of his season plays out,” Eyler said.
Senior Josh Cook took sixth at 152 pounds.
“Josh made it to the semifinals before losing to the first seed, and in his consolation match suffered a pulled muscle, which saw him injury defaulting for the fifth place match,” Eyler said. “Josh wrestled well, he’s a tough competitor. I could tell he wasn’t very pleased with where he finished, so we’ll rest up and get him back on the mat and continue to improve.”
Freshman Craig Montgomery took fourth place at 170 pounds.
“Craig wrestled very well, especially for a young competitor in a tough weight class. Craig has consistently improved all year and seeing him walk off the mat with fourth place, you could tell he wants to get even better. I have no doubt that he’ll be practicing extra hard the next few weeks to prepare for sectionals,” Eyler said. “He’s got big goals this season.”
Freshman 113-pounder Peyton Lane also took home a sixth place finish, but had to injury default after his semifinal match.
“Overall, it was a tough weekend, and I know a lot of the boys aren’t satisfied, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. To wrestle in a tournament of this caliber and pick up wins and medals is still a good indicator that they’re on the right track,” Eyler said. “Now, we just need to take the experience and turn it into hard work in the practice room.”
For South, Skylar Straszeim placed fourth at 182 pounds and Caleb Smith was sixth at 220.
Eaton is schedule to compete in the regional semifinal of the State Duals on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at Western Brown High School. The Eagles will host Covington Saturday, Feb. 4, at 6 p.m.
National Trail will next compete at Twin Valley South, also on Wednesday, Feb. 1.
