Johnson Wins Tough Brookfield Tourney

McAtee, Gibler And Griffin All Finish Runner-Up
The Trenton High School wrestling team traveled to Brookfield on Saturday where they saw a strong field at the Gary Haag Invitational wrestling tournament.
No team points were kept at the tournament, but Trenton was able to find success individually as Caleb Johnson picked up the championship at 220, while Hunter McAtee (113), Brice Gibler (132) and Coleman Griffin (152) all came away with second-place finishes.
Proving the strength of the field at the tournament, Johnson won his title without a perfect record, going 2-1 in the round-robin-style bracket. Johnson secured a pin over Centralia’s Sam Lynn and topped Hamilton’s Fisher Nixdorf via a 12-4 major decision. Johnson’s lone loss came by a 4-3 decision to Marceline’s Nathan Cupp. But, with every wrestler in the pool suffering at least one loss, the closeness of Johnson’s defeat put the Trenton grappler at the top.
“Caleb had a tough weight class at 220 with most of the top-ranked kids in the state,” Trenton coach Charlie Bacon said. “He came out strong and had a near-perfect day, winning the tournament with one loss.”
Hunter McAtee finished second in a weight class that featured the top three 113-pounders in the state. McAtee suffered his lone loss to top-ranked Brayden Dubes of Centralia, who is 31-0 on the season. McAtee fell by an 11-2 major decision, but bounced back with four-straight wins by fall, one over third-ranked Daylen Greene of Holden, to claim second place.
“Hunter saw the number-one and number-three ranked kids in the state at 113,” Bacon said. “After a first-round loss, he came back strong to win the rest of his matches.”
Coleman Griffin was second at 152, going 3-1 on the day. Griffin scored a 3-1 sudden victory over Brady Kerperin of Blair Oaks and earned his other two wins via fall. His lone loss saw him pinned by Gallatin’s Rodell Sperry.
Gibler was 2-1, getting a big 5-2 decision win over Brookfield’s Colton Parn. He won his other match by fall and his lone loss was a close one as he was defeated by a 6-2 decision by Fatima’s Alex Even.
“Coleman put together another good day winning some close matches,” Bacon said. “I thought Brice had an excellent day and he had a huge win over the Parn kid from Brookfield. I was proud of the way those guys wrestled.”
Kaden Owen (170) and Sam Gibson (182) were both injured at the event and were unable to finish the tournament. Owen was 0-1 officially, before forfeiting his final four matches. Gibson went 1-2 before forfeiting his final two matches.
Other Trenton wrestlers in action on the day included Gavin Chambers (126), who was 1-3, and Nate Burkeybile (195), who was 1-4. Gaven Kelsall (160) and Kael Brock (285) were in B pool action, going 0-5 and 1-2 respectively.
GIRLS
Trenton had a pair of runner-up finishers in the girls tournament at Brookfield. Allison Yoder (159) and Makayla Hamilton (235) both placed second.
Yoder scored a pair of wins by fall to start off the tournament, but was pinned in her third and final match, leaving her with a 2-1 overall record and a runner-up finish.
Hamilton, meanwhile, wrestled up from her normal 195-pound position, competing at 235 where she was 0-2 against the only other wrestler at that weight. The two losses by fall placed Hamilton second in the weight class. There were no wrestlers at 195, prompting Hamilton’s move up to 235.
Mercy Schweizer was also in action for Trenton at the tournament, placing fourth at 117 pounds with an 0-3 record at the event. Schweizer was pinned in each of her three matches.
Trenton’s wrestling teams will be at home tonight (Tuesday) hosting the Chillicothe Hornets in a dual scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.