WOODWARD — Saturday was a day to remember for the Woodward-Granger wrestlers, who sent four grapplers to the top of the podium and three others to the runner-up spot in winning the Dennis Field Invitational.
The annual tourney has been held for so long even veteran W-G mat hounds were unable to agree on the starting year, but all were certain of one thing — it had been a long time since the hosts were team champions.
Dominating performances by Class 2A second-ranked sophomore Cody Fisher at 195 pounds, Cole Carmen at 145, Austin Scharlau at 152 and Gabe Yingst at 160, combined with second-place efforts from Hunter Pierce (106), Ryan Munoz (120) and Dillon Fogarty (220) helped the Hawks compile 199.5 points despite leaving the 113-pound division open.
Martensdale-St. Marys was second at 179, with West Des Moines Valley third at 120. Colfax-Mingo (117), Roland-Story (110), Southeast Warren (95) and DC-G (71) completed the seven-team field.
Fisher was brutally efficient, winning by fall in each of his four matches in a combined 3 minutes, 34 seconds. Semifinal foe Nick Barnes of C-M the only foe to take Fisher over one minute, having survived 1:52 before being pinned.
Scharlau opened with two wins by fall, then scored a tech fall before winning by decision in the semis and then with a pin in his title match.
Yingst rolled to four pinfall wins to claim his perch atop the podium, with Carman winning his first two matches by fall before posting a pair of major decisions for a 4-0 outing.
Pierce was 3-1 with three pins in placing second, with Munoz winning twice by fall before dropping a tight, 5-4 decision to Valley’s Brendan Nielsen in the championship round. Fogarty lost by fall in his first match, but responded with a trio of pins to battle back for second place.
Colt Palmer was 3-2 with two pins and a decision to place third at 132, with Jay Dorenkamp 2-3 at 138 with two pins to also finish third. W-G received third-place points at 285 as well as Tyler Lawrenson finished 1-2, recording a pin for his victory.
Payton Tague (126) was fourth for W-G and Travis Schieltz (170) fifth, with Kade Polich sixth at 182 pounds.
W-G will join Montezuma and Ogden for a quadrangular at Perry Tuesday before competing in the Webster City Invitational Saturday.
