By Adam Knoll
Sports Correspondent
Last Saturday the Whitewater High School wrestling team headed out to Monroe to participate in a nine-team tournament. The Whippets performed well overall, coming back home with five champions, a runner-up and a third place finisher.
Tommy Cushman played the lead off role, and commanded his match with a 15-1 victory. That momentum carried through the entire day as the Whippets rolled off wins as if it was easy.
The Whippets were able to hold on to their lead throughout the entire tournament, holding tight while Darling-ton/Black hawk came within three points. After that, Whitewater went on to win three straight weight classes to put the night away.
Tommy DuVal recorded a second period pin to lay claim to his championship at 195 pounds.
The final round was nearly perfect for the Whippets, only Daniel Soto suffering a crushing defeat kept the Whippets from being 6 of 6 in the championship round. Soto had the lead but was taken down late, to fall 5-4.
Irving Sedano won him-self a first place finish, going 3-0 on the day, as did John Saylor, Max Reid, James Ehlen and DuVal. All of them went perfect throughout the tournament.
Sedano breezed with a 7-0 win in his final. Saylor also made light work of his last match, winning 18-3. Reid made things a bit interesting, being down by one before getting a defensive pin on the number one ranked wrestler in the tournament.
Ehlen controlled his match, winning a technical bout 5-0.
Jimmy Cushman, who started the festivities, finished the day 3-1, coming in third place and winning the teams 7th medal on the day.
Tyler Gamble, Tommy Cushman, Michael Fernan-dez, Thomas McManaway and Nathan Barrett all earned fourth place finishes.
James Ehlen also reached a personal milestone on the day as he recorded his 100th career win with a first period pin in the semifinals. Ehlen is the eighth wrestler in Whippet wrestling history to reach 100 wins.
“I was very pleased with how well the Whippets performed in the Monroe tourney. It was full of good competition and the boys were up to the task and continued to show improvement,” head coach John Schimming said in a recap of the event.
