Dalton shows ‘grit’ with eighth place finish at WIT

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY JEFF BURRIS

Dalton finishes eighth out of 20 at the Wayne Invitational Dec. 13 and 14 in Smithville. Dalton’s Austin Ryder, 220-pound champion, pins Mercutio Williams of New Philadelphia in 1:25 of the first period during the Wayne Invitational Dec. 13 and 14 at Smithville. 

DGKN staff report

SMITHVILLE  This is an exciting part of the season, says Dalton’s head wrestling coach Kenton Lemon, as Bulldogs wrestlers are competing often.

This past weekend’s tournament at Smithville was a great “early season test” for the wrestling team, Lemon said.

Out of 20 teams at the Wayne Invitational Tournament Dec. 13 and 14 at Smithville, Dalton finished in eighth place. Austin Ryder placed first, Eric Miller placed second, Tate Geiser came in third and Xavier Munsey was fourth place.

“As a team we still have a lot of things that we need to clean up in regards to technique,” Lemon said. “Overall this tournament is a great early season test for us to find out where we are in comparison to the wrestlers in our area. I think we showed a lot of grit this weekend. Some guys struggled but we will continue to work in the room and push each other.”

Lemon said they have a big week coming up with a home dual on Wednesday and a dual meet tournament on Saturday.