Spartans finish 14th at Rex Avery Invitational
By Fred Kroner
Holden Brazelton and Coy Hayes were the top placers for the St. Joseph-Ogden wrestling team on Saturday (Dec. 9) at the Rex Avery Invitational, in Petersburg.
Brazelton won all four of his matches at 132 pounds – including two by pin and one by technical fall – to emerge as the champion in his weight class.
Hayes won three of four bouts – two by pin – and took fifth at 157 pounds. His quickest fall came in 1:43.
Brazelton is off to a 9-0 start to the season. Hayes has a 5-2 overall record.
Four other Spartans advanced to the finals in the consolation bracket with James Barron winning at 175 pounds. He was 4-1 for the day, with four pins.
Finishing as the consolation bracket runners-up were Camden Getty (2-2 at 120 pounds), Landen Butts (2-2 at 138 pounds) and Alex Vaughn (2-1 at 144 pounds). All three produced two pins for the tournament.
Overall, SJ-O wrestlers had a composite 19-21 record for the event, with 16 wins by pin and one by technical fall.
Other SJ-O grapplers with pins were Logan Xiao (one at 150 pounds), Devan Swisher (one at 165 pounds) and Quincy Jones (one at 215 pounds).
The Spartans’ quickest pins were by Jones (35 seconds), Barron (44 seconds), Brazelton (44 seconds) and Xiao (55 seconds).
The Spartans finished 14th in the 29-team event with 86 ½ points. The meet champion was Canton, with 211 ½ points, followed by LeRoy with 209 ½ points.
SJ-O (3-2) returns to action on Tuesday (Dec. 12) in a series of dual meets at Warrensburg-Latham.
Two Spartans are state-ranked by the Illinois Matmen in their Dec. 2 Class 1A listings. Brazelton is rated second at 132 pounds. Emmitt Holt is rated second at 106 pounds.
