Eight Wabash wrestlers finished in the top six places at the 2004 Central College Invitational at Pella, Iowa on Saturday. No team score was kept at the nine-team tournament.
All-American Chris Healy (Jasper, IN/Jasper) (left) led the way once again for Wabash. The junior added to career victories with four wins on the way to the 174-pound title. After opening with a 13-7 victory in his first match, Healy pinned his next two opponents to move to the championship round. He picked up an 11-2 win the title bout to earn the victory.
Freshmen Keith Garrard (New Castle, IN/New Castle) (right) and Will Clarke (Indianapolis, IN/North Central) both took third place in the respective weight classes. Garrard lost his opening match at 184 pounds, but bounced back with three straight victories, including a pin, to take third place with a major decision over John Usgaste of Cornell in the finals.
Clarke earned third place at 197 pounds by starting with a pin at the 4:35 mark in his opening match, but lost his second match of the tournament. Clarke won a 6-2 decision in the semifinals, then scored a 12-2 major decision win against Seth Halford of Northwestern in the finals.
Three Little Giant grapplers took fourth place honors home on Saturday. Junior Adam Miller (Pendleton, IN/Pendleton Heights) (left) finished fourth at 157 pounds after going 2-2 for the weekend. He opened with an 8-3 win in the first match, followed by a 5-3 victory in the consolation semifinals after falling to that bracket in the quarterfinals. He lost a tough 3-2 decision to Jason Kruse of Brian Cliff in the finals.
Sophomore Kevin Meyer (Columbus, IN/Columbus North) took fourth place at 165 pounds. Meyer won three consecutive matches after losing his first match of the tournament to advance to the finals, losing to Jeremy Nice of Central Missouri State. Senior Marcus Ellison (Indianapolis, IN/Warren Central) (right) was fourth at 285 pounds with a 3-2 record. He also picked up three consecutive wins after losing his opening match before losing to Dan Williams of William Penn in the finals.
Freshmen Eric Slabaugh (Tucson, AZ/Flowing Wells) and Garrett Pino (Indianapolis, IN/Lawrence North) (left) both earned fifth place finishes. Slabaugh won his first two matches in the consolation bracket after dropping his first match of the tournament at 133 pounds. He lost to Luke Foor of Coe College in the semifinals, but picked up an impressive 6-1 win the finals. Pino also was 2-2 before scoring a pin at the 5:11 mark in the finals of the 141-pound weight class to earn fifth place.
Junior Phu Hong (Indianapolis, IN/Lawrence Central) picked up an 11-10 victory against Central’s Andy Ohnemus on his way to a sixth place finish at 125 pounds.