Senior Justin Tripp has emerged as an anchor for this year’s Brandon wrestling team.
Fresh off a 5-0 performance at the Brandon Invitational Jan. 17, Tripp captured first place in the 189-lb. division at the Avondale Invitational Saturday, Jan. 24.
As a team, the Blackhawks placed ninth out of 13 teams with 64 points. Napoleon won the invite decisively (197.5 points), while Birmingham Groves took second (116.5) and Madison Heights Lamphere third (110.5).
Along with Tripp, three other Brandon wrestlers placed at the invite: Jimmy Millar (third, 119), David Geeham (third, 135), and Joe Tolan (fourth, 215).
Tripp pinned Ryan Cahill of Birmingham Groves in 4:27 in the finals of the 189-lb. division. Earlier, he pinned Melvindale’s Jimmy McGuckin in 3:25 and Napoleon’s Zach Kanaan in 3:17.
Millar won a 9-5 decision against Justin Miller of Davison in the first round of the 119-lb. division. He then lost a 6-0 decision to Napoleon’s Richard Murphy before winning by forfeit against Lamphere’s Adriane Wenceslao. Millar captured third with a 4-3 win against Crys Reed of Flint Carman-Ainsworth.
Geeham started out at 135 lbs. with a 9-7 overtime win against Groves? Sean Hay before being pinned by Melvindale’s Kyle Grendys in 1:11. Geeham bounced back to defeat Carman-Ainsworth’s Skyler Simpson 9-7, and captured third by pinning Hay in 3:42.
Tolan lost his first match of the day, as he was pinned by Trenton’s Greg Lockhart in 1:50. He came back to pin Melvindale’s Matt Justice in 21 seconds, and won a 14-2 major decision against Napoleon’s David Murphy. He wrapped up the day by losing the third-place match to Lamphere’s John Suarez by a 8-6 overtime decision.
The Blackhawks return to action Wednesday, Feb. 4 when they travel to Linden for a 6 p.m. meet.