The Trenton High School wrestling team saw some of the better wrestlers in the state on Saturday at the Marceline Tournament. The Bulldogs showed they belonged with that top-tier of competition, however, placing five wrestlers on the medal podium in the tournament’s A pool.
Mason Owen (220) and Daniel Rodriguez (126) each went 3-1 wrestling in the A pools of their respective weights. The marks earned each wrestler a second-place medal. Drew Rorebeck was third in the 160-pound A pool, going 3-2, with both losses coming by decisions of three or fewer points. Ty Sayre (170) and Jadan Whitney (195) were both third at their respective weight’s A pools as well. Whitney was 3-2 on the day while Sayre went 2-2.
“I’m very proud of our medalists from this tournament,” Trenton Head Coach Charlie Bacon said. “They got some very good matches early in the season that will only help them down the road. Marceline is always one of the toughest Class 1 tournaments of the year.”
Owen got his day off with a 14-3 major decision victory before encountering his only loss of the day, coming by a 5-0 decision to Marceline’s DJ Gerhart. Owen would bounce back with a win by fall before closing the day with a 3-2 decision win over Richmond’s Bo Huffman. Rodriguez’s road to silver opened with a loss by fall to Marceline’s Dylan Wheeler, but the Trenton 126-pounder rallied back with three straight wins by fall to end the tournament.
“Mason wrestled well all day against some of the best kids at 220 from around the state,” Bacon said. “Daniel Rodriguez also placed second in the A pool with his only loss coming from a previous state champion.”
Rorebeck scored a 12-2 major decision win in his opener, but lost back-to-back matches by decisions of 3-0 to Centralia’s Carter Kinkead and 5-4 to Marceline’s Andrew Edgar. After a win by an injury default evened his record on the day, Rorebeck closed the tournament with a win by fall to clinch the third-place medal.
“Drew earned a very hard fought third-place medal in one of the most competitive weights at 160,’ Bacon said. “Drew’s weight had two other returning state medalists from last season. He came up short in his first loss by 3 points and his only other loss was a 5-4 decision. Drew looked very strong in the later periods of his matches and continues to get better on his feet. I was very pleased with the way he wrestled.”
Sayre won by fall and a 5-2 decision and lost by a fall and a 6-2 decision. Whitney opened with 5-3 and 10-2 decision losses, before winning three in a row, two by fall and one by a 15-7 major decision.
“Ty looked dominant in his wins and just made minor mistakes in his two losses against very tough opponents,” Bacon said. “I was proud of the way Ty handled himself on the mat today. This is Jadan’s second year of wrestling and he already looks like a seasoned wrestler against the top kids at 195.”
Brenden Johnson was also in A pool action, going 1-4 at 120. In B pool action, Cole Little (285) was 1-4, Okla Fitzpatrick (220) was 1-4, Mark Trump (182) was 1-4, Nick Wattenbarger (152) was 0-5, Eric Lovett (145) was 2-3, and Zane Rottman (132) was 0-3.
“Our younger kids really struggled with the caliber of wrestling that they saw this weekend,” Bacon said. “But that is pretty typical for a tournament like this.”
Trenton’s wrestlers will be back on the mat on Tuesday, traveling to Gallatin for a triangular that also includes South Harrison. Matches in Gallatin are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.
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