Panthers show out at Willard Howell Invite

WAPELLO - The Mt. Pleasant wrestling team was able to show off its depth this weekend at the Wilalrd Howell Invitational in Wapello. Mt. Pleasant won the team title, thanks in part to a first place finish by Brennen Bender at 182 lbs,. and five second place finishes.

Bender just needed to win two matches thanks to a bye in the quarterfinals. He won his semifinal match on a 2-0 decision over Logan Waltz. In the 182 lbs. championship, Bender pinned Isaiah Moncada of Iowa Valley in the first round, winning in 1:23.

Corbin Broeker picked up a second-place finish at 106 lbs. Broeker picked up a quarterfinal bye and pinned Chase Witte of Wapello in 4:51 to get into the first place match. Kael Brisker of Wilton defeated Broeker in the championship match on a 15-7 major decision.

Dalton Moyle placed second in the 126 lbs. bracket. Moyle made the title match by winning two straight decisions, 9-5 over Nathan Moomey of Durant and 8-1 over Mason Haskell of Centerville. Moyle was pinned by Wilton's Colton Cruse in the championship match, falling in 3:26.

Nate Wallace picked up pins in the quarterfinals and semifinals to make the 145 lbs. championship. He pinned Wahlert's Gabe Anstoetter in 22 seconds, and then won pinned Wilton's Cory Anderson in 3:03. In the championship match, Wallace was pinned by Brady Hahn of Highland, in 4:38.

James DeMeyer placed second in the 170 lbs. bracket. DeMeyer pinned Dylan Grage of Durant in 1:06 and then won an 11-4 decision over English Valleys-Tri-County's Caleb Peach. Eric Campie of Camanche knocked off DeMeyer 9-2 in the championship match.

The fifth second-place finish went to Zach Beason at 220 lbs. Beason made it to the title match after two pins, besting Clayton Broderson of Davenport West in 1:14, and Wilton's Caleb Lilly in 4:25. Garet Sims of Iowa Valley defeated Beason in the title match, via a 7-1 decision.

Jayden Davis placed third at 160 lbs. He won his quarterfinal match via pinfall, beating Jordan Sosa of Highland in 3:22. Ater falling 13-2 on a major decision to Wahlert's Connor Dehn in the semifinals, Davis pinned Davenport West's Dylan Tomlinson in the consolation semifinals, winning in 3:41. He won the third place match with a pin in 2:37 against Highland's Jordan Sosa.

Carson Coleman picked up a fourth-place finish at 113 lbs. After falling 4-3 in the semifinals against Mediapolis' Quinten Aney, he bounced back with an 8-1 decision over Keegan Cope of English Valleys-Tri County. In the third place game, he was pinned by Durant's Ethan Gast in 3:40.

Tyler Raub took fourth at 138 lbs. He fell on an 11-3 major decision against Camanche's Brennan Kramer in the semifinals. Raub won a consolation semifinal match over Iowa Valley's Dawson Coghlan, pinning him in 1:11, but was pinned by Davenport West's Noah Downing in 1:04 to finish fourth.

Abe Wilson took fifth at 152 lbs. He fell 6-5 in the quarterfinals against Highland's Cory Stewart, but bounced back with a pin in 2:13 against Sigourney-Keota's Evan Dawson in the consolation semis. Wilson was knocked out of the consolation semis via a 57-second pinfall against English Valleys-Tri-County's Cooper Andreassen. Wilson won the fifth place match with a pin in 3:59 against Wilton's Trey Sulzberger.

Sam Carrasco placed sixth in the 195 lbs. bracket. He started the day with a 7-2 win over Ricky Pforts of Wapello, but then dropped three straight matches via pin. He was pinned by English Valleys-Tri County's John Fisher in 50 seconds, Centerville's Peyton Russell in 45 seconds, and then by Pforts in 25 seconds when the two grapplers rematched in the fifth place match.

Mt. Pleasant will be back in conference action on Thursday, Dec. 6. They'll head to Keokuk for a road dual.