Benjamin Logan’s wrestling team has been on a roll recently and won its own Raider Invitational on Saturday with four champions and 12 individual placers.
The Raiders were runner-up at North Union two weeks ago and won the Utica Invitational last weekend, but winning their own tournament Saturday was something even more special.
“Winning our own tourney means more to the team than any of the other finishes,” said BL head coach Kyle Seeley. “It has been a while since we have won it. “It was a team goal we set out to accomplish this season. It was neck-and-neck with Clinton-Massie all the way down to the end. Noah Clark’s win over Colton Doyle of Clinton-Massie sealed the title for us. Overall, we wrestled very well.”
Ben Logan held off Clinton-Massie to win the 20-team tournament with 224.5 points. Tecumseh was third with 158.5 points and Urbana came in fourth with 95.5. points.
Winning championships for the Raiders were Owen O’Brien (113), Joel Abbott (152), Steele Boysel (170) and Noah Clark (195), while Chris Raterman (132) earned a runner-up finish.
O’Brien went 2-0 with a pin and an 8-4 decision over Clinton-Massie’s Grant Moorman in the finals. Abbott went 4-0 with two pins, a forfeit and a 5-1 victory over Tecumseh’s Jason Macik in the finals. Abbott also earned his 100th career victory in the quarterfinals on Friday night.
Boysel dominated his weight class, going 3-0 with three first-period pins. He beat Lehman Catholic’s John Edwards by fall in 1:40 during the finals. Clark went 4-0 with three pins and beat Clinton-Massie state qualifier Colton Doyle 7-4 in the finals.
“We had five in the championship bouts and came away with four titles,” said Seeley. “Freshman Owen O’Brien wrestled a great match against a Clinton-Massie opponent. Winning as a freshman gives him a chance to be a four-time Raider Invite champion, which has only been done a few times in its 28 years.
“Our trio of senior champions Joel, Steele and Noah finished their last Raider Invite on top of the podium. Joel has a great Friday night moment winning his 100th career win in the quarterfinals. Winning at your home Invitational is pretty special. Steele continues to dominate on the mat.”
Placing fourth for the Raiders were Kade Thomas (106), Matthew Beikman (145), Connor Whitt (182) and Matthew Creamer (220), while fifth-place finishes came from Levi Hunter (126), Henry Myers (138) and Cadman Roose (285).
Ben Logan is back on the mat Saturday for the Division III state duals at Mapleton High School.