TRURO — Five of the 12 Woodward-Granger wrestlers in action Saturday earned placings at the 15-team Rich Gray Classic, an invite hosted by Interstate-35 and which included Class 2A top-ranked Albia and Class 1A No. 5 Southeast Warren.
The hosts won the team title with 224 points, with Interstate-35 second at 193 while West Marshall (174), Central Springs (142) and Southeast Warren (126.5) fifth. W-G scored 98 points to finish ninth in the team standings.
Senior Race Brant and junior Tanner Vermaas each placed second, doing so at 152 pounds and 182, respectively. Ty Turner (113) was fifth, with Hunter Pierce (106) and Josh Saak (138) sixth for the Hawks.
Brant (42-5) opened with a bye before winning by technical fall and then by decision to reach the finals, where he suffered a narrow 11-9 loss to sixth-ranked Blake Lawless of Albia.
Eighth-ranked Vermaas (43-4) began with a bye as well, with a pin and a victory by injury default sending him the the title bout, where I-35’s Dante Arzani tallied a close 4-3 win for first place, leaving the Hawk standout at 99 career triumphs.
Turner (35-11) finished 4-1 with two pins, a tech fall and a decision to his credit, with Pierce (30-13) 1-2 with a win by pin while Saak (26-13) finished 3-2 with two pins and a decision.
Cole Carmen (26-14) was 2-2 at 132 with wins by decision and major decision while Aaron Sperling (22-27 at 170) and Thomas Govig (15-17 at 195) each 2-2, with both winning twice by pin.
Austin Scharlau (25-18 at 160) was 1-2 with a pin while Colt Palmer (10-17 at 120), Ryley Saxton (17-19 at 126) and Jacob Kepford (6-21 at 220) were all in action but unable to secure a win in two matches apiece. The Hawks left the 145 and 285-pound weight classes open.
W-G will make their annual trip to the always-competitive Guthrie Center Invitational Saturday before visiting Perry Feb. 6 for their Class 2A Sectional.
