The Tippecanoe and Troy Christian wrestling squads have traditionally been strong competitors over the years. This year in the early season, they hoped to set the bar high and have another competitive season.

Both teams placed in the top six at the Tippecanoe Invitational on Saturday, as 18 wrestling squads competed at Pat Wampler Gymnasium last weekend.

Troy Christian placed third overall in the event, scoring 213.5 points, only behind Mason and Miami East. As for the host Red Devils, they finished sixth overall with 163.5 points.

In the lightest weight class, Troy Christian won the 106 pound division, defeating Cole Hauser of Ben Logan in the finals by major decision 12-4 to earn the title. Tipp’s John Erhard finished fifth overall, with an 11-5 win over Jarret Reid of Mason.

At 113, Drew Whaley from Troy Christian fell short in the finals against Ryan Whitten of Stebbins in 3:03 to place second overall. Tipp’s Russell Ramsey placed fourth, falling in the third-place match to Joey Dima of Valley View in 2:02.

Troy Christian’s Michael Sergent also placed as a runner-up, finishing second overall in the 120 pound weight class. He lost in the finals to Graham Shore of Miami East 8-4.

Caleb Blake earned a championship at 145 pounds, as the Red Devil wrestler defeated Tanner Cibula of Mason in the finals 8-3. It was the first of what turned out to be two titles for Tippecanoe on the day.

At 160, Jack Peura had no trouble in the finals against Cole Tibbs of Mason, cruising to a 17-2 technical fall decision.

In the 170 pound weight class, it was Jordan Strine from Troy Christian who placed as the runner-up, as he lost in the finals to Nicholas D’Agostino from Mason in 1:21. Also at that weight, it was Tanner Moyer finishing sixth overall after falling short in the fifth-place match via pin in 1:37.

Damon Beatty from Troy Christian advanced to the finals of the 182 pound weight class, but lost in the finals to Daniel Everett of Miami East in the finals 11-3 to finish second. Another placer from Troy Christian was Levi Sims, who finished fourth in the 195 pound division, falling to Robert Marquez of Hamilton in the fourth place match 6-4 in overtime.

Grant Carlson did not compete in the third-place match for Tippecanoe at 220, giving him a fourth-place finish overall, while at 285, both area schools has top six finishers. Seth Douglas from Troy Christian placed fourth, while Tippecanoe’s Logan Ferrell was fifth.

“The student athletes demonstrated unwavering determination during every match,” said Tippecanoe coach Nick Petro. “They made the correct adjustments to improve their overall performance against every opponent they faces, and we are moving forward in a positive direction.”