By MATMEN, Wednesday, 1 a.m.
WETUMPKA, AL — Chiles made its second out-of-state trip in 48 hours, returning to Tallahassee with seven medals and a fourth-place team finish in the Indians Invitational on Tuesday.
The Timberwolves scored 131 points in the two-day IBT, but were just eight behind the runnerup. Host Wetumpka won the title with 164.5 points. All other teams in the 12-team IBT were from Alabama.
Chiles had one champion in Cody Elliott (182), with runnerup finishes from Sam Tolomeo (120), Jacob Johnston (132), Garrett Marschka (ranked 4th at 138) and Cooper Hill (145). Patrick Brooks (113) and Ethan Jackson (126) each added fourths.
Elliott was the 2 seed at 182 and had a bye into the quarters, with preliminary pins in both that round and the semis to reach fourth-seed Prattville freshman Jake McConnell, who’d edged the 1 seed by a 5-4 count. But Elliott was in charge throughout, with takedowns in each period — five in all — en route to an 11-2 major decision for the Timberwolves’ lone title.
Tolomeo was the 3 seed at 120; after a pin and 9-2 win over the 2 seed from Helena in the semis, he couldn’t get untracked against the host and 1 seed, falling to Wetumpka’s Roman Lozada, 8-1, while Johnston had three bonus-point wins (forfeit, 11-1 major and fall) before a 10-6 loss to the hosts’ Noah Smith.
Marschka took his first loss of the season, entering as the 1 seed and reaching the final after a 9-0 major and first-perlod fall. In the final, against once-beaten senior and 2 seed Chad Strickland of Wetumpka, Marschka gave up a 5-point move late in the first period and couldn’t get his offense untracked, falling by a 7-2 count. Meanwhile, Hill was able to keep his pinning ongoing after his 5-pin day in Georgia on Saturday, with three more falls to the final, but found himself slowed down by the top seed from Ben Russell, who secured a takdown for a 4-2 win in sudden victory.
The Timberwolves are now off until January 5, when Chiles will host the 2A-District 2 duals tournament, with a 2 p.m. start time for wrestling.
Rankings are per https://kabrawrestling.com/rankings
Results from Tuesday’s tournament can be found HERE.
North Florida Matmen 