Home team crowns 6 champs in Panther Invite

The Panthers, ranked fourth in Class 2A, compiled 317 points in the round-robin bracket tourney, going 45-14 for the day. DC-G had five champs, scored 291 points and went 42-16.

Bedford/Lenox had one champion in 182-pounder Cole Bonde and took third with 185 points. Mount Ayr’s champions were heavyweight Joe Ricker and 160-pounder Shane Swank as the Raiders were fourth with 125 points.

East Union was fifth with 77. The Eagles’ highlight was at 170 pounds as Class 1A 10th-ranked Bryson Kinyon scored on a late reversal to come close in a 5-4 loss to Creston/O-M’s Trevor Frain, to end up second behind Frain.

Other Panther champions were Kruz Adamson (120), Gage Cheers (126), Joey Huntington (132), Jake Marlin (145) and Keaton Hulett (195).

Adamson had five falls in 6:07; Cheers secured five falls in 7:43; two of Marlin’s five pins were under 10 seconds; and Hulett had three falls in 2:02 for Creston/O-M.

Marlin’s final pin took 4:56, as he worked to a 10-3 lead on West Central Valley’s Ryan Joint, ranked second in Class 1A at 145. Joint had four pins going into the last-round match against Marlin.

“It was good for him to get pushed a little more,” coach Darrell Frain said. “Jake’s always looking for the fall. Once he realizes they’re a little better, he starts working on lower-leg attacks.”

Hulett, the Panthers’ other top-ranked wrestler, was not pressed in gaining three first-period falls and two byes.

“They should get tested next weekend at Centerville,” Frain said. “There’s a nationally-ranked kid at 138 from Kirksville, so Jake will go down (to 138). And the No. 3-ranked kid at 195 is from Centerville.”

The Panthers have a dual meet at Lewis Central Tuesday, which will be tough without injured Cole Tanner in the lineup at 220.

“LC is really good up top,” Frain said. “We’ll bump guys around and see what we can do like we did at Harlan.”

Dallas Center-Grimes’ sixth-ranked 113-pounder, Trevor Murano, had the fastest fall of the day in seven seconds.