Eagle Invitational Ends With 2nd Place Finish For Wildcats

The Wildcats took 14 wrestlers to Rosewood High School in Goldsboro, NC this weekend to compete in the 18th Annual Eagle Invitational.  As two-time champions of the tournament, Millbrook went into the day with high expectations.  After a long day of wrestling, the Wildcats came away with a 2nd place finish, surpassed only by defending tournament champion Holly Springs High School.

Six wrestlers advanced to the semi-finals:

• 106 lbs:  Crayton Saby
• 170 lbs:  Jonathan Woodbury
• 182 lbs:  Dillon Dawkins
• 195 lbs:  Aaron Rehberg
• 220 lbs:  Vincent Ngwu
• 285 lbs:  Quintavian Baynes

Saby pinned his way through the 106 pound bracket and finished the day with 1:30 of total wrestling action and three pins.  He took first place after defeating his opponent from Pine Forest in the finals.

At 170 pounds, Jonathan Woodbury lost a close decision in the semi-finals but fought back in the consolation bracket to take 3rd place in his weight class.  After suffering a scare in the 3rd place match with both wrestlers hitting the mat after colliding head first, Woodbury finished strong to take the match by decision.

Senior Dillon Dawkins was back in action at 182 pounds this weekend after coming off a series of injuries that kept him out last season.  His first match of the day ended with a quick win by pinfall, preserving valuable energy that would prove necessary during his semi-final match.  Dawkins advanced to the finals but lost by decision to finish in 2nd place.

The 195 pound bracket proved tough for Senior Aaron Rehberg who advanced to the semi-finals after a close one-point decision in the quarter-finals.  After losing in the semis by major decision, he worked his way back to the consolation finals after a win by pinfall in the consolation semi-finals.  He finished the day in 4th place after a tough loss by decision in the consolation finals.

Junior Vincent Ngwu pinned his way to the semi-finals and then lost a close 4-2 decision to drop to the consolation bracket.  Another win by pinfall put him through to the consolation finals where he won by injury default to take 3rd place.

At the 285 pound weight class, Senior Quintavian Baynes surprised everyone except himself and his teammates as he cruised through to the semi-finals.  His opponent from High Point Central proved too tough in the semis and he dropped match by a 10-4 decision.  After winning his consolations semi-finals match in overtime, he took a break and split the 3rd place medal due to his would be opponent facing the “five match rule” on the day.

Other notables on the day include:

• Jonathan Medina finished the day 3-2 at 113 pounds, providing valuable team points with his two wins in the consolation bracket.
• Adrian Janni stepped up in the absence of senior Nick Norton at 120 pounds and finished 3-2 on the day.
• Senior Angelo O’Briant battled back after an injury in his first match to finish the day at 2-2.
• 138 pounder Daniel Powell fought hard for team points in the consolation bracket and went 3-2 for the tournament.
• Junior Alexander Janni continued to impress at 145 pounds, going the full six minutes in all of his matches on the day and only losing his two matches by decision.
• At 152 pounds, Peter Neuenschwander fought through most of the consolation bracket to finish the tournament with a record of 4-2.

Millbrook starts their conference schedule this week, traveling to Enloe High School on Wednesday, December 18th.  Wrestling starts at 7pm.

[Eagle Invitational Brackets and Eagle Invitational Team Scores]