WILLOUGHBY—After having their first two meets postponed, the Kirtland Hornets finally hit the mat on Saturday at the Rebel Invitational.
Six Hornets earned a spot on the podium.
“This was the first time we wrestled this year and it definitely looked like the first time, but we saw some quick improvements from the guys throughout the day,” said Kirtland coach Scott Francis. “We have guys that have a lot of natural ability; they just need that mat time. Most of them are still young guys. We have a lot of sophomores this year.”
Junior Konnor Duncan earned the best finish by placing third at 132 pounds.
He finished 2-1 with two pins in pool wrestling and finished with a 16-4 major decision in the third place match.
“Konnor had a nice tournament,” Francis said. “He ran into a couple of tough kids but he’s definitely shown improvement.”
Freshman Aidan Marsh took fourth at 145 and sophomore Jeff Kusar was fourth at 285.
“Jeff was our 182 last year so this was his first time at heavyweight,” Francis said. “He was making some quick adjustments.”
Marsh was 2-1 in pool wrestling while Kusar was 3-0 with three pins.
Junior Ethan Thomas (138), sophomore Brayden Adkins (152) and senior Kevin Dages (195) all finished fifth.
“That 195 class, there were some good kids in there,” Francis said. “Kevin ended up taking fifth, but still, he wrestled some tough kids. We liked the way he was wrestling.”
Sophomore Carter Williamson (106), sophomore Anthony Blasini (170) and senior Austin Mayo (220) also competed for the Hornets.
The Hornets return to action on Tuesday at Madison then travel to Chardon on Thursday.
