FORT MADISON – Two Montezuma wrestlers placed second, one was seventh, and two brought home eighth-place finishes from an unusual tournament over the weekend.
The Fort Madison Invitational is a two-day event run with the scramble format, which tends to pair stronger wrestlers against each other in the opening rounds.
There were four rounds in this event, spread over two days. And that’s what gives wrestlers a preview of what the state tounament might be like.
Involved were large, medium and small schools.
Braves 215-pounder Braxton Plants lost his unbeaten status but wrestled in the championship match. Plants, now 17-1, lost in a fall in 1:12 to 16-1 Camden Smith of Dubuque Hempstead.
The Braves’ other finalist was Owen DesRochers, who lost on a 23-7 technical fall in the championship bout at 157.
The Braves had a seventh-place finisher in Wesley Ross at 126 pounds.
Placing 8th was Rett Pargeon at 144, who fell in his match for seventh place. Ross won a 13-1 major decision in his seventh place bout against Lane Becker of Mount Pleasant.
Also taking 8th was Ethan Des Rochers at 138.
Montezuma’s other place finishers were:
Karson Ross, 14th at 106 pounds;
Jaxson Young, 16th at 113;
Cael Cheney, 21st at 132;
Cade Lowry, 14th at 150;
Yudiel Gonzalez 20th at 175;
Isaac Wedgewood, 17th at 285.
As a team, the Braves scored 174 points to place 14th in a field of 24.