Zain Woodburn (left) and Everett Slye show off their hardware after a day of wrestling.

The Eisenhower youth wrestlers were busy this past weekend, competing at the Ridgway Winter Classic Open, Ridgway Novice, and the Cambridge Springs Open wrestling tournaments.

Hunter Vanderhoof was the epitome of drive and determination for the weekend. In the Ridgeway Winter Classic on Saturday morning, he posted a 4-1 record and second place finish, with four pins. His only loss of the morning was to eventual champion Emmett Snyder of Sheffield by a score of 1-0 in double overtime/tie breaker. Not yet complete, Hunter then wrestled in the Ridgway Novice tournament Saturday afternoon, going a perfect 4-0 using a series of cradles to add three more pins and a major decision to his win column. And if that wasn’t enough, he was back on the mat Sunday at Cambridge Springs where he used his double leg takedowns to post a 2-2 record and a fourth place finish.

Continuing her dominating streak from last week, Autumn Waite was crowned champion of her bracket at the Cambridge Springs tournament on Sunday. Posting a 2-0 record, she used her half nelson to win both bouts by fall.

Also competing in the Ridgway Winter Classic, a round robin style tournament, on Saturday morning were Lane Morrison, Wyatt Neall, and brothers Connor and Owen Ash. Lane showed incredible grit to grind out three wins for a second place finish. Connor shook off a couple losses at the start of the day to finish the morning with a 2-2 record and a third place finish. Wyatt ended his day on a positive note with a 7-0 win to secure fourth place, going 1-3 for the day. Owen kept a positive attitude throughout the day and showed improvement after each of his bouts.

The excitement at Ridgway didn’t stop with the conclusion of the open tournament, as nine Eisenhower wrestlers took to the mats for the novice tournament on Saturday afternoon. Following Hunter’s lead, Zain Woodburn went undefeated in the afternoon, tallying three wins. Everett Slye recorded the first two wins of his young career, both by major decision. With the help of his 11 takedowns, and his unwillingness to be put to his back, he posted a 2-2 record for the afternoon. Clayton Dyke used his half nelson to post a 9-0 major decision. Parker Wilson took his opponent from her feet straight to her back on three separate occasions on his way to a 16-4 major decision. Blake Wilson used three takedowns to edge out his opponent 6-4. Connor Ash, used five takedowns to record a 12-4 major decision win in the novice tournament. Raymond Yoder fought hard on the bottom to thwart several pinning combinations. And, Gabe Walter never gave up during his matches, putting forward his best effort.

Joining Hunter and Autumn at the Cambridge Springs Open, Ramsey Williams wrestled well, scoring a takedown to the back for two nearfall. He was 1-2 for the day. Aurora, wrestling in her first ever tournament, showed true grit and determination.