The Trenton High School wrestling team joined a field of 17 schools at the Plattsburg Tournament on Saturday and came away with a sixth-place finish, collecting 133 team points.
Leading the way for Trenton was Mason Mounce, who won the individual title at 160 pounds. Mounce was 5-0 on the day, collecting four straight wins by fall before picking up a 5-0 decision victory over Chillicothe’s Dean Adkins in the finals.
“The Plattsburg Tournament was good experience for our kids,” Trenton Head Coach Charlie Bacon said. “There was a mixture of tough weight classes and average ones. Mason Mounce was our only champion at 160. He wrestled well all day and really wasn’t tested throughout the tournament. As a coach, I couldn’t ask for a better competitor than Mason.”
Trenton also had a placewinner in Thomas Mack, who was fourth at 170, going 2-2. Mack picked up a win by fall and an 8-3 decision win to reach the semifinals. Mack was pinned by South Harrison’s Austin Ward in the semifinals and then dropped the third-place match by a 9-4 decision to Lawson’s Preston Smidt.
“Thomas Mack also wrestled well today,” Bacon said. “His bracket was the toughest of the tournament. After winning his first two matches, Thomas faced Austin Ward of South Harrison. Thomas wrestled the match tough and made one mistake and found himself in a tight cradle. Thomas then faced another very accomplished wrestler in Preston Smidt. The match was tied in the final seconds and Thomas got stuck underneath and turned to his back. Even though Thomas placed fourth, it was a good day for him and I think he realizes he can compete with and beat the best kids in the state.”
Trey Shields gave Trenton a fifth-place finish at 182, going 3-1. Shields scored a win by fall in the opening round, but was pinned in the quarterfinals. Shields battled back with a win by fall in the consolation bracket and then capped his run with a 11-3 major decision win in the fifth-place match.
Brendon Johnson (113) and Daniel Rodriguez (120) each placed sixth at their respective weights. Johnson was 2-3, falling in the fifth-place match by an 8-7 decision after losing an ultimate tiebreaker 4-1. Rodriguez was 2-3 as well, falling in the fifth-place match by a 19-3 technical fall.
Drew Rorebeck (132), Eric Lovett (126) and Terrin Ellis (285) all placed seventh. Rorebeck was 3-2 winning the seventh-place match by pinfall. Lovett was 1-3 on the day, winning his lone match in the seventh-place bout by fall. Ellis was 2-3 and also won the seventh-place match by fall.
Other Trenton wrestlers in action included Jeramiah Chipps, who was ninth at 220, going 3-2 with three wins by fall; Tyler Warner, who was 11th at 138, going 1-4; and Nick Gass, who was 12th at 195, going 1-3.
“Overall, we didn’t wrestle as well as we did at the Butler Tournament, but I think the competition was tougher also,” Bacon said. “Most of the matches that we lost could have been won if we wouldn’t have made small fixable mistakes that cost us the match. After a week of practice and some time to get everyone 100 percent healthy, we will be the team that I know we can be.”
Junior varsity wrestlers in action for Trenton included Luke Lewis, who was 1-4 at 160, and Conner Lovell, who went 0-5 at 113.
Lawson won the team title with 270.5 team points and Chillicothe came in second with 230. Plattsburg was third with 197 points, Gallatin was fourth with 165.5 and Maplewood-Richmond Heights rounded out the top five, just ahead of Trenton, with 134 points.
Trenton’s wrestlers will be back on the mat on Tuesday, traveling to Brookfield for a triangular with Brookfield and Richmond. Action begins at 6 p.m.
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