Junior Grant Overcashier spearheaded a contingent of Goodrich wrestlers that earned a top-five finish at their annual Tournament of Champions Friday, Dec. 29.
Overcashier won the 130-pound weight class at the tournament for the second straight year (see chart on page 15 for a historical list of Goodrich first-place finishers at the Tournament of Champions), and the Martians placed six wrestlers in the top four in their respective weight classes.
Goodrich finished with a total of 124 points to earn fifth place out of 17 teams at the tournament. Dundee won the tournament with 181.5 points, a half-point ahead of second-place Hesperia.
The Martians just missed out on their fourth top-four team finish in the past 15 years of the tournament. Goodrich won the tournament in 1997, finished second in 1995 and tied for fourth (with Howell) in 1993.
Overcashier went 4-0 during the tournament, capturing the 130-pound championship with a 6-2 victory against Ron McNea of Swartz Creek.
Two other Goodrich wrestlers, junior Mark Weber and sophomore Kyler Elsworth, earned second-place finishes in their respective weight classes. In Weber’s case, it was the first time he has finished second in the tournament, after earning first-place finishes at 103 pounds in 2004 and at 112 pounds in 2005.
Weber lost the 125-pound finals to New Boston Huron’s Andrew Novak by a 7-4 decision, while Elsworth lost the 171-pound finals to Dundee’s Chris Eggert by a 5-3 decision.
Overcashier started the tournament with a pinfall win against Addison’s Zak Stoner in 2:39. He then defeated Dundee’s Garrett Stevens 4-2 and Hesperia’s Malcolm Martin 8-5, before defeating McNea for the championship.
Weber began his day by pinning Bronson’s Brandon Philson in 12 seconds, then defeated Springport’s Joey Cooper 11-3 and pinned Dundee’s Eric Desbrough in 4:26.
Meanwhile, Elsworth pinned Springport’s Jacob Ebbighaus in 1:37 and defeated Greenville’s Jason Sage 4-2, then defeated Highland Park’s Stephen Patterson 13-11 to advance to the title match.
In addition to Overcashier, Weber and Elsworth, there were several others that placed for the Martians.
C.C. Weber (103), David Garr (112) and Kirk Britton (119) earned fourth-place finishes for the Martians. All three advanced to the finals of the consolation bracket.
In their respective third-place matches, Micah Steiner of Caledonia defeated C.C. Weber 3-1; Josh White of Dundee defeated Garr 7-2; and Dave Priest of Swartz Creek defeated Britton 5-2.
In Garr’s case, it was the second straight year he has placed at the tournament; he finished third in the 103-pound class last year.
Joe Hopkins (152) and Kyle March (189) were the other Goodrich placers at the tournament, finishing seventh and eighth, respectively, in their weight classes.
Novak was selected as the tournament’s most valuable wrestler in the lower weight classes (between 103-140 pounds), while Flint Kearsley’s Travis Pettengill was named the most valuable wrestler in the upper weight classes (between 145-275 pounds).