Wrestling in front of a home Chadwick Court crowd, four Wabash wrestlers picked up top-eight places at the 49th Annual Little State Tournament Saturday.
Freshman Greg Rhoads posted the best finish for the Little Giants by taking third at 174 pounds. The seventh seed scored a 3-1 win in his opening match against Kris Bowser from Findlay, but lost 6-3 to eventual runner-up JT Jenkins from Indianapolis.
Rhoads rallied for four straight victories in the consolation bracket, starting with a 12-4 win against Cumberlands' Tim Collins. Rhoads defeated Reid Dickerson from Wisconsin-Whitewater 13-6, then received a medical forfeit in the semifinals before facing Keith Smith from Indianapolis in the finals. Rhoads battled to the end to take a 4-3 win in the title match to take third.
Bryan Hugo took eighth place in the 174-pound. He won his first match 12-2 over Nick Terry before losing 8-3 to eventual champion Nick Kraus in the second round. Hugo won 4-2 in his first consolation bracket match, but dropped the next two matches in the bracket to finish eighth.
Senior Jared Tribbett finished fourth at 149 pounds. Entering the tournament as the number-one seed in the bracket, Tribbett cruised to the quarterfinals with wins over Christian Moffatt from Wilmington (16-1) and a pin agaisnt Joel Jeffries from Southern Indiana at the 4:30-mark of their match. The pin went the other direction for Tribbett in the semis when eventual champ Jeff Steele earned the win 3:44 into their match.
Tribbett responded with pin in his first consolation match agasint Kyle Pittman (2:40), but lost 5-3 in the finals against Lucas Cropp to take fourth.
Freshman Brock Sempsrott added an eighth-place finish at 125 pounds. The local product out of North Mongtomery High School won 5-0 in his opener against Jurane Culbreath from Lincoln College, then nearly knocked off top-seeded PJ Martinez from Cumberlands before falling 3-2 in the quarterfinals. Falling to consolation bracket, Sempsrott took a 12-7 win in the next round, but lost 10-1 and 7-0 in the last two matches for a eighth place.
The Little Giants head to the Ohio Northern Invitational next Saturday in Ada, Ohio.
Photos - (top left) Greg Rhoads battles Keith Smith in the finals of Saturday's Little State Wrestling Tournament.
(Bottom right) Senior Jared Tribbett looks to gain an advantage against Lucas Cropp.