Tyler Harrald
The 53rd annual Winnetonka Invitational was held at its namesakes’ high school this past weekend. A number of Missouri teams as well as a few from out of state, lined up to take a crack at winning the team title and getting their school etched on the trophy.
Seckman High School, located in Imperial, Missouri traveled the furthest and made the trek across I-70 in Missouri worthwhile. While the team as a whole placed 12th, the main topic of discussion was the dominance shown by senior Draegan Orine who tore up the 132 lb bracket and easily took first after a major decision win over Staley’s Miller Sipes. The Jaguars placed five wrestlers in total, including two semifinalists in Chance Ruble and Drake Jenkins who brought home third and fourth in their respective weight classes.
Another team who, while may not have traveled far, but traveled well were the upstart Odessa Bulldogs. Their lineup, seemingly littered with freshmen, included Jet Brown who was the runner up at 126 lbs, while teammates, Blaine Wallace and Lake Waters took third at their respective weight classes. All three freshmen lead the small school Bulldogs to a respectable seventh place.
Liberty High School, who is in search of their fifth straight team state title in Missouri’s premier class four, brought home the team title as well as four individual champions. The list includes seniors, Hunter Taylor and Gavin Linsman, as well as juniors, Devon Harrison and Peyton Westpfahl. Those four Blue Jays combined for an astonishing 13 pins and 114.0 total team points for the champions….
