Wetumpka wrestling reigns supreme in Indians Invitational

By DALTON MIDDLETON Sports Editor

The Wetumpka Indians reigned supreme at their own wrestling tournament this week.

Out of 11 total teams and all five public county schools, Wetumpka claimed the top spot in the annual Indians Invitational with a team score of 164.5 points.

The Indians had five wrestlers finish in first place in their weight class, while two more reached the Final Four of their class.

The five champions for the Indians was Ramon Lozarda (120 pound weight class), Noah Smith (132), Chad Strickland (138), Christian Preston (220), and Willie Cox (285).

Lozada started things off in the 120 pound class by beating a former Elmore County teammate and then taking down a wrestler from Montgomery Catholic. In the championship, he faced Sam Tolomeo of Chiles (Florida) and won by decision, 8-1.

Smith also defeated a Florida wrestler in the finals, but ran through opponents from Benjamin Russell and Pike Road before doing so. He defeated Jacob Johnston 10-6 in the championship.

Strickland had one of the toughest championship opponents. After defeating wrestlers from Elmore County and Tallassee, he faced off with Chiles’ Garrett Marschka, the Florida state champion in the 138 weight class.

He won, 7-2, to improve his already dominant senior campaign.

Preston was the first Indian to face a non-Floridian wrestler in the championship match. In the 220 weight class, he won 15-1 over Helena’s Owen Campbell.

Cox then, in the 285pound class, wrapped up the championship matches for the Indians with a close 6-5 win over Benjamin Russell’s Tymon Belyeu.

Tallassee’s wrestling team also turned in a fantastic performance at the Invitational. The Tigers finished No. 2 overall and had seven wrestlers finish in the top four in their class.

Two of them won their weight class, as Rutland Phillips finished as the champion in the 106-pound weight class and Christian McCary won the 152pound weight class.

Phillips faced Pike Road’s Jack Posey in the championship match, and won handily, 15-8.

McCary pitched a shutout in his championship match and beat Benjamin Russell’s Ashton Clark, 8-0.

Stanhope Elmore did not make the cut for the Top 5 in team rankings, but the Mustangs had a good turnout. Four wrestlers made the Top 6 in their weight class, with one champion and one Top 3 finisher.

Connor Russo claimed the championship in the 170-pound weight class. He pinned both of his early opponents quickly in the first minute of each match, then faced Savon Spradley of Benjamin Russell in the championship. Spradley made it more of a match than the earlier opponents, but Russo ultimately pinned him as well in the second period.

This is the second-con- secutive tournament that Russo has gone undefeated and not allowed a single point to be scored against him over the course of the tournament. He is currently undefeated this year.

For Stanhope Elmore, Kristian Seals finished third place in the 145-pound class while Cameron Hodge and Michael Berringer both finished sixth.

Elmore County had two wrestlers finish in the Top 4 in their weight class.

Christopher Eyerly finished in third place in the 285pound weight class after defeating Benjamin Russell’s Chresten Johnson in the third place match.

Clark Wood was the only other placement for the Panthers. In the 182pound weight class, Wood was defeated by Tallassee’s Caden Griffith, 11-1, in the third place match.

Holtville had only one varsity wrestler finish in the Top 4 in the tournament. Brady Goodwin finished runner-up in the 160pound weight class after losing, 11-0, to Benjamin Russell’s Jamarion Whetstone in the championship.