Friday, Nov. 30, the Atlantic-CAM wrestling team attended the Joe Fitch Invitational in Humboldt. To begin, the wrestlers were placed in two pools, labeled A and B. They would then compete within their pool to determine the final placing they’d later receive. After completing three rounds of wrestling, seven of the 13 wrestlers advanced to the finals. “You put seven wrestlers in the finals and it gives us an opportunity to win the tournament,” said head coach Tim Duff. Among those seven wrestlers were Aybren Moore (113), Joe Weaver (120), Steele McLaren (126), Chase McLaren (138), Connor Pellett (160), Kenny Jimerson (170) and Cale Roller (220).

Of the seven, four wrestlers went on to win a Joe Fitch Title, while the remaining took second place. Jimerson pinned his opponent for a first place win and his first tournament title throughout high school, while C. McLaren won with a score of 22-7. Both Pellett and Roller also won their championship matches with scores of 5-2 and 5-3, respectively. Pellett received his 100th career win in the semi-finals and ended the night with another win to make it 101. Moore, Weaver and S. McLaren battled through their matches but fell short of a title.

Other place winners included Garrett McLaren (106) and Kadin Stutzman (145) for third place as well as Sam Martin (182) placing fourth. Jaxson Bell (132) placed fifth while Bodie Johnson (152) and Devin McKay (195) received sixth.

As a team, the Trojans placed third, just behind first-place Emmetsburg and second place Humboldt. Duff said the team “scored lots of bonus points and pins, which kept us in the team race.” He also added that there’s always room for improvement, and the team plans to continue “working hard and getting better.”