The Warsaw Wrestling team competed in the Northern Lakes Conference tournament at Goshen High School on Saturday. With some lineup changes and some really tough weight classes, the Tigers found themselves battling uphill for most of the tournament and landed in the 7th spot after tying for 3rd in the dual season.
There were several bright spots for Warsaw, with eight wrestlers earning their way into the placement rounds.
The Tigers' only finalist was Bryce McNees, who picked up a second-place finish in the 106 pound bracket. McNees cleaned up his half of the bracket by earning two pins to make it into the finals.
A handful of Tigers took third-place finishes, starting at 182 and working through the rest of the upper weights.
Jaxson Walters lost a tight contest in the semi-finals at 182, but picked up three impressive wins for the day to land his third place finish. His solid outing for the day along with his work during the season earned him an at-large All-NLC selection by the coaches.
At 195, Nathaniel Rosas put together one of his best tournaments to date. His workman-like performance in the bracket helped him grind out a 3-1 record to take third.
At 220 pounds, Kameron Kauffman saw his first varsity action for the season and made the most of it. The sophomore big man picked up a forfeit to start the day, then earned two pins on the conso side of the bracket - giving the weight class champion trouble along the way.
Isaac Beam moved up to 285 for the weekend and put together an impressive showing. An early round pin was followed up with a tough scrap in the semi-finals. Beam battled back in the consos with a couple of solid wins to land his third place finish.
Elias Garza wrestled through one of the tougher weight classes at 120. Garza went 2-2 to take 4th place in the bracket, dropping the two matches by just two points each. In his two victories, he racked up 32 points as he pushed the offensive pace.
Bryson Brown was part of another strong weight class at 160. Falling into the consos early, Bryson picked up a quick pin on an impressive toss and a major decision to close the day with a 5th place finish. In similar fashion to the 120's, Brown's only losses came by narrow margins.
Freshman grappler, Gabe Veit was able to keep making progress on his climb in the 132 weight class. Veit went 2-2 for the tournament, picking up two pins and earning 5th place.
The Tigers will have two more opportunities to prepare for the sectional round of the IHSAA tournament. Warsaw will travel to Tipton on Tuesday, then hosts Fort Wayne Northside for Senior Night on Thursday.
