Three Cardinal grapplers win titles at Ottumwa

OTTUMWA — Three Cardinals won their weight bracket, six finished in the top five and the Newton wrestling team tied for fourth as a team at the Ottumwa Invitational on Saturday.

Brennan Amos (145), Owen Sanger (195) and William Muckler (285) all went undefeated on the day to win their brackets, while Anthony Bestell (126) and James Wenndt (160) were fourth and Colin Sharp (152) placed fifth.

The Cardinals scored 122.5 points and tied for fourth with Iowa City Liberty. Kirksville (Missouri) won the team title with 184 points, while Albia (181.5) was second and host Ottumwa (133) finished third.

Muckler continues to impress on the mat as he went 4-0 on the day and is now 11-1 on the season with 10 pins.

Muckler won his three pool matches by fall before defeating Kirksville’s Bryce Kertz, 4-3, in the Ultimate Tiebreaker. Kertz is now 14-2 on the season.

Sanger (9-3) wrestled five times on the day and went 5-0 with three pins and a major decision. In the finals, he took a forfeit over Iowa City Liberty’s Vinny Lima.

Amos (9-2) was 4-0 on the day with three wins by fall and a 20-5 technical fall win. In the championship match, Amos pinned Albia’s Eli Zanoni (21-5) in the second period.

Bestell (5-4) won his first three matches by fall at 126. In the semifinals, he lost 4-3 to Albia’s Logan Carter and then was pinned in the third-place match.

Wenndt’s run to fourth place was similar to Bestell’s. He won his first three matches — two by fall and one by major decision — before losing the final two bouts.

Wenndt lost by fall in the third period to Class 1A No. 10 Jack Clarahan (27-2) of Sigourney-Keota in the semifinals and then lost 6-4 in the third-place match.

At 152, Sharp (6-7) lost his first two matches by fall before recovering to win the final three bouts by pin.