BENTONVILLE — The Bentonville Tigers wrestling team was missing a couple of starters because of injuries, but it did keep them from winning their own tournament Saturday at Tiger Arena.
Bentonville put seven wrestlers into the finals and notched four first-place finishes, but it was the Tigers’ overall depth which earned them a convincing team victory.
The Tigers rolled up 197.5 points, while Rogers High finished second with 179 and Fayetteville, which earned five firsts, was third at 163.5.
Thanks to strong depth, Bentonville held a 12-point lead through the semifinals and didn’t look back from there.
Prep Wrestling
Bentonville Tiger Classic
at Tiger Arena
Finals
106: Darian Fernandez, Bent., def. Jose Sandoval, Rog., 2-1.
113: Joey Adams, Spring., def. Gaven Long, Hert., by fall, 0:18.
120: Aaron Grigsby, Bent., def. Alex Baysinger, Fay., 5-1.
126: Rodney Ensley, Fay., def. Tony Ellis, Bent., 4-1.
132: Jeff Bizzle, Bent., def. Madison Montgomery, Rog., by fall, 5:14.
138: Jaxon Nolen, Fay., def. Justin Butler, Maum., 16-14.
145: Chuck Price, Bent., def. Willie Wright, Maum., 8-1.
152: Nick Mulcahy, Rog., def. Daniel Viera, Maum., by major decision, 17-5.
160: Tyler Mann, Central, def. Keon McVay, Maum., by technical fall, 25-9.
170: Sam Goll, Fay., def. Josh Lee, Rog., by fall, 1:03.
182: Edwin Santos, Rog., def. Kyson Larsen, Bent., 3-2.
195: Daquion Jackson, North., def. Malik Singleton, Maum., by fall, 0:23.
220: Juan Garcia, Fay. def. Edgar Ruiz, Harb, 5-3.
285: Austin Hubble, Fay., def. Jared Conover, Bent., 5-4 in 3 OTs.
Team Results
1, Bentonville 197.5. 2, Rogers High 179. 3, Fayetteville 163.5. 4, Rogers Heritage 133. 5, Maumelle 132.5. 6, Little Rock Central 89.5. 7, Springdale High 71. 8, Fort Smith Northside 61. 9, Van Buren 53. 10, Gentry 43. 11, Springdale Har-Ber 39. 12, Berryville 17.
Bentonville coach Bill Desler was very pleased with his team’s effort Saturday with 11 Tigers placing among the top four in their respective weight classes.
Jeff Bizzle won at 132 pounds, pinning Madison Montgomery of Rogers in the third period in the finals. He was also named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler for the lighter weights.
Aaron Grigsby (120), Darian Fernandez (106) and Chuck Price (145) also claimed wins for the Tigers.
But Desler pointed out Tony Ellis, who usually wrestles junior varsity, stepped in for an injured teammate Saturday and finished second at 126. He lost a close match to Fayetteville’s Rodney Ensley 4-1 in the finals.
“Our JV 152-pounder came in and won some critical matches, too,” Desler said. “It was a good outing today.”
Rogers coach Ken Simmons also came away pleased with his team’s effort in the tournament.
“It gives me a good idea of how we match up for later because I think Fayetteville and Bentonville are two of the top teams in the state,” Simmons said.
Nick Mulcahy (152) and Edwin Santos (182) continued their successful seasons for Rogers. Mulcahy improved to 32-0 on the season. Santos upped his record to 30-1 and was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler in the heavier weights.
Rogers was also missing a couple of starters because of injuries, including Justin Moore at 145. Moore has a win over Price this season.
Fayetteville had the most first-place finishers of any team with five, but had only two other wrestlers place among the top four.
Fayetteville’s Austin Hubble, defending 6A-7A state champion at 220, moved up to the 285-pound weight class this season and edged Jared Conover of Bentonville 5-4 in triple overtime in one of the best matches of the day.
Jaxson Nolen of Fayetteville was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler in the middleweights, winning at 138 and notching an overtime