BETHALTO — The Civic Memorial Eagles secured the team championship at the 22-team Steve Bradley Invitational wrestling tournament Saturday, held at Civic Memorial High School. The Eagles amassed 211 points, edging out runner-up Murphysboro, which finished with 201 points.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
Civic Memorial also claimed four individual titles and earned multiple podium finishes. Knox Verbais, the 150-pound champion, was named the Gary Wintjen Outstanding Wrestler Award winner, as selected by the head coaches of the participating teams.
Verbais won the 150-pound final with a 20-4 technical fall over Bloomington’s Tyler Barlow. Other individual champions for Civic Memorial included Greg Harkey at 144 pounds, James Wojcikiewicz at 165 pounds, and Avery Jaime at 138 pounds.
Stanford Olympia placed third with 172.5 points, followed by Waterloo (169) and Vandalia (164) to complete the top five teams. Granite City finished 10th with 75 points, Alton was 13th with 45.5 points, and East Alton-Wood River tied for 20th place with the Civic Memorial B team, each scoring 20 points.
East Alton-Wood River’s Michael Soto secured sixth place in the 285-pound division.
Alton’s Brayden Drew earned a third-place finish at 165 pounds, defeating Springfield’s Bryce Bryant 7-1 in the consolation final.
Alton’s Austin Jones and Jake Sutphin both finished seventh at 113 and 138 pounds, respectively, each posting a 3-2 record.
The Jersey Panthers had four wrestlers place: Peyton Grindstaff was fifth at 215 pounds, Bo Allison sixth at 106, Camden Williams eighth at 150, and Hunter Hodges eighth at 120 pounds.
