Cardinal took to the mats at the 2018 Chagrin Valley Conference wrestling tournament at Hawken on Saturday with just a handful of healthy wrestlers.
Four out of the eight Huskies that competed finished among the top six in their respective weight classes.
“Wrestling with less than half a team and really only four guys getting points, we really did the best we could do,” said Cardinal coach Jeff Zeigler.
Paul Byler and Jerry Rose both finished third for the Huskies while Ryan Shanower and Tim Baril each placed sixth.
“I’m real pleased with the two guys that took third,” Zeigler said. “Byler has come so far in a year and a half and Jerry Rose continues to surprise me every week.”
Byler finished 4-1 with three pins at 132 pounds and Rose was 4-1 at 145 despite opening the tournament with a setback to eventual tournament champion Jack Brocco of Independence.
“Jerry got kind of a tough draw by getting the tournament champ right off the bat,” Zeigler said. “He gave him a heck of a match, the closest one he had all day. He continues to surprise me.”
Shanower was 2-3 at 120 and Baril went winless at 285 but came up just one point short of wrestling for third place.
Baril was leading Harvey’s Alberto Reynoso before he fell, 7-6.
“Baril showed me some improvement this week,” Zeigler said. “He should have won the match against Harvey. He was winning but it didn’t go our way. He was more aggressive this week and kept himself in better position. We’re just so young. The guys are definitely paying their dues. Hopefully, they can get a little taste of victory here and there to get them to improve and get better.”
The Huskies return to action on Thursday when they travel to Chagrin Falls for a triangular with the host Tigers and Brush.
