Evan Wellner placed second in the 8 & Under, 58-pound weight class. He outscored his opponents 35-4 on his way to the finals, scoring from his feet with a double-leg takedown and from the top position with a cross-face cradle.

In the 8 & Under, 62-pound class, teammate Jaxson Boozer was equally impressive also winning three of his four matches to take home the silver. Boozer scored most of his takedowns with a single leg and turned his opponents with the half-Nelson.

In the 10 & Under Division, Curtis McGraw fell into one of the tougher brackets of the tournament. McGraw battled his way to sixth place in the 60-pound class despite giving up 6 pounds to the rest of the bracket. He faced off with the division’s runner-up in the third round, scoring a reversal in the second period and threatening back points against the noticeably bigger wrestler before eventually falling late in the third period.

In the 64-pound class, Ethan Gustafson ran through four consecutive opponents tallying 10 takedowns while only surrendering one as he claimed first place. Gustafson relied heavily on go-behinds and duck unders from his feet and worked a reinforced bar from the top position.

Coleman Miller throws his Grindhouse opponent to his back.

Also in the 10 & Under Division at 70 pounds, Coleman Miller placed fifth after a 10-1 victory against a Falconer opponent. Miller scored an early single-leg takedown and nearly ended the match by fall in the first period. He scored a flashy reversal in the second period with a Peterson roll and again came close to a pin. He finished out the third period with a solid spiral ride maintaining top position for the win.

At 80 pounds, Oliver Drescher pinned his first three opponents then won 6-0 and 13-3 to claim the gold. In five matches, Drescher outscored his opponents 35-5. He scored from his feet with knee picks, high crotches and single-leg takedowns. On top, Drescher put the cross-face butcher to work for most of his falls and near-falls.

Up a weight class at 84 pounds, teammate Owen Damcott placed third relying heavily on his signature high-crotch takedown from neutral and punishing opponents on top as he transitioned seamlessly from the cross-face butcher to the cross-face cradle.

In the 12 & Under Division at 97 pounds, Parker Kiser placed third. In his opening match, he scored a beautiful single-leg takedown in the first. After a scoreless second period, Kiser finished by fall in the third with a tight half-Nelson. To secure his spot on the podium, he dominated his St. Marys opponent leading 11-3 before winning by pin in the third period.

At 115 pounds, Noah Pape dominated his first opponent from Gowanda scoring a takedown with a knee pick and then back points with a bar followed by a cross-face. Pape built an 11-0 lead in the third period before finishing his opponent with a chin-whip to his back for the fall. Later in the bracket, Pape dropped two close decisions to finish fourth.

Jesse Sheats defends a high crotch shot.

In the afternoon novice tournament at 52 pounds, first-year wrestler James Sheats scored 14 points in two matches, tallying three takedowns, two reversals, and two sets of back points. Although these did not result in a win, Sheats continued to improve and his unbridled passion and enthusiasm on the mat even impressed the officials.

At 98 pounds, big brother Jesse Sheats wrestled in his first career tournament. Sheats scored five escapes in his first two bouts and used an impressive bridge and roll to power out of his opponent’s half-Nelsons. Sheats improved throughout the tournament and also matched his brother’s positive attitude as he wrestled with a smile on his face.

Teammate Mary “The Hammer” Bennett placed second in her division. After pinning her first two opponents, Bennett gutted out a tough 3-2 decision to advance to the finals. Building an early 4-0 lead, Bennett surrendered four points in the third period sending the match to sudden-victory overtime. In the extra stanza, Bennett double-legged her opponent to the mat but was not awarded the takedown as the Outsiders wrestler managed to pop his hips and come out on top, handing Bennett her first loss of the year. “The Hammer” has put the other area wrestlers on notice that she has arrived.

At 79 pounds, second-year wrestler Hunter Ingerson dropped his opening-round match to the bracket champion before storming back with three consecutive victories to claim second place. Ingerson continued to threaten his opponents with a head-in-the-hole nearside cradle as well as a suffocating half-Nelson.

Overall the Little Dragon/Kinzua Wrestling Club group placed 10th out of 35 teams. They averaged better than 10 points per wrestler in the team standings. In comparison, first-place Port Allegany averaged 4.7 team points per wrestler with 46 entries.

Noah Pape works a bar.

Owen Damcott throws a half-Nelson.