The Tiger Wrestling team kicked off the IHSAA state tournament series at the Plymouth Sectional on Saturday.

Warsaw finished third overall behind Rochester and Plymouth and qualified 9 wrestlers for the Regional next weekend.

The Tigers had three championship performances from the senior group of Bryce McNees, Elias Garza, and Aaron Ross.

McNees drew a forfeit in the opening round and then hammered home a pair of first period pins to win the 113 pound bracket.

At 120 pounds, Garza put together two solid matches that ended in pins to make it into the finals. He earned his championship with an 8-3 decision that was controlled from start to finish.

Ross pinned his way into the semifinals at 157. After opening a lead in the semifinal match, the matches ended via medical forfeit and pushed him into the finals. An early takedown was immediately met with a reversal and Ross cruised to a dominant 7-2 decision.

Kameron Kauffman was also a finalist for the Tigers. The 215 pounder pinned his was into the finals before losing in the championship.

Third place finishers for Warsaw were Isaiah Martinez, Gabe Veit, and Danny Moon.

Moon (150) and Martinez (126) both won by pin in all three of their matches, only losing in the semifinals.

Veit picked up a pin early in the day, the worked to grind out two more decisions at 132 pounds.

Advancing as fourth place finishers were Donovan Frazier and Alex Vallejo. Both wrestlers came in seeded outside of the top 4 and picked up big wins to earn advancement.

Frazier knocked off a higher seed by decision in the morning round at 106, then pinned his way into the top four spots.

Vallejo avenged a loss for the week before the disrupt the 138 pound bracket. He too was a winner by pinfall to advance to the top four.

Four other Tiger wrestlers will serve as alternates for next week. Enrique Silva at 144, AJ Smith at 165, Liam Smith at 175, and Beckham Boylan at 285 pounds all placed fifth for Warsaw.

The Tigers will compete at Penn High School next Saturday in the Regional where the top four wrestlers will again move on.

Results for Warsaw:

106- Frazier
2-2 (Dec, pin)
4th

113- McNees
3-0 (ff, pin, pin)
1st

120- Garza
3-0 (pin,pin, dec)
1st

126- Martinez
3-1 (pin, pin, pin)
3rd

132- Veit
3-1 (pin, dec, dec)
3rd

138- Vallejo
2-2 (Dec, pin)
4th

144- Silva
2-2 (pin, dec)
5th

150- Moon
3-1 (pin, pin, pin)
3rd

157- Ross
2-0 (pin, med, dec)
1st

165- A Smith
2-2 (Dec, pin)
5th

175- L Smith
3-2 (ff,pin, pin)
5th

190- Vining
0-1, DNP

215- Kauffman
2-1 (pin, pin)
2nd

285- Boylan
3-2 (ff, pin, pin)
5th


Regional Qualifiers (9)
106- Frazier 4th
113- McNees 1st
120- Garza 1st
126- Martinez 3rd
132- Veit 3rd
138- Vallejo 4th
150- Moon 3rd
157- Ross 1st
215- Kauffman 2nd

Alternates:
144- Silva 5th
165- A Smith 5th
175- L Smith 5th
285- Boylan 5th

DNP:
190- Vining