A-J wrestling squad records 22 wins at Quincy tournament
Brandon Cerney finished in fifth place to lead the Anna-Jonesboro High School wrestling team's efforts at the Quincy tournament last weekend.
"We did well and we only took one senior up there," A-J wrestling head coach Rick Bittle said.
Bittle said wrestling at the Quincy tournament was "a good experience" for his squad and helps the A-J wrestlers to prepare for postseason competition. Bittle said he was "very pleased" with his squad's efforts.
Bittle said the Wildcats won the most matches ever last year at the tourney with 20 and topped that accomplish this year with 22 wins.
Cerney, wrestling at 135 pounds, decisioned Belleville's East's Ayiri Ekwejuner 5-3; lost to Mattoon's Treighton Gulliam 5-1; decisioned Belleville's Althoff's Cody Keller 8-1; pinned Lincoln's Zack Toft in 2:43; lost to Camp Point Central's Eli Hibbert 5-0 before winning fifth place with a decision over Mattoon's Trieighton Gulliam 9-5.
Brett Turner, 171 pounds, finished in sixth place. He pinned White Hall's Freddy Lopez in 3:29; was pinned by Mattoon's Treye Williams in 2:30; pinned Quincy Notre Dame's Cody Kefler in 2:35; pinned Belleville East's Anthony Guiford in 3:28; was decisioned by Bloomington's Armand Ontiferos 21-8 and was pinned in the fifth place match by Camp Point Central's Tom VanZandt in :55.
Alex Gonzalez, heavyweight, finished in 8th place. He pinned Quincy's Jamie Orevaugh in 3:35; was pinned by Bloomington's Kyle McAdoo in 1:00; decisioned Galesburg's Jacob Ryden 6-0; was pinned by Belleville Althoff's Thomas Moore in 4:07; and was pinned in the seventh place match by Quincy Notre Dame's Matt Hugenburg in 3:35.
A-J's Daniel Heath and Chase Hargrave finished in 10th place.
Heath, 112 pounds, lost a decision to Mattoon's Josh Eidson 8-4; pinned Camp Point Central's Levi Rigg in 3:08; pinned Quincy Notre Dame's Gage Stevens in 1:28; lost a decision to Belleville East's Reggie Edwards 11-2; pinned Roxana's Dewey Isom in :47; pinned Collinsville's Matt Waters in 1:50; was pinned by Jacksonville's Logan Carter in 1:30.
Hargrave, 140 pounds, was pinned by Galesburg's Troy Schisler in 3:33; pinned Belleville East's Bryant Lowe; was pinned by Cahokia's Ivan Lester in 2:37; pinned Meliopolis, Iowa's Jakob Wyss in 2:20; decisioned Jacksonville's Trevor McGee 5-3; was pinned by Collinsville's Josh Hammon in 2:17.
A-J's Andrew Adams, 119 pounds, won two matches. He pinned Rock Falls' Charlie Gilke in 2:57 and pinned Belleville Althoff's Brett Strieer in 1:21.
The Wildcats' Preston Brimm and Taylor Fitzgerald each won a match apiece.
Brimm, 145 pounds, decsioned Bloomington's Jared Aug 12-4; and Fitzgerald pinned Waterloo's Dennis Wilson in 1:42.
Others competing for A-J were Brandon Crosser, 130 pounds, and Andrew McMahan, 152 pounds.
The Wildcats are 12-3 in dual meet competition. The A-J junior varsity squad competes Saturday in the Centralia Tournament.