On Feb. 7 the Magnolia Wrestling Tournament featured 14 teams. Magnolia finished third behind Caldwell and Parkersburg South, respectively with 116 points, while the River Pilots finished in seventh place with 86 points.

For Magnolia, Blue Eagle grappler Devon Phillips pulled off the biggest upset of the day by knocking off Jacob Border from Caldwell to take the title in the 125 lb. weight class. Border was the Ohio State Runner up last season and he also placed fourth in the OVAC this year. Phillips earned a bye in the opener and defeated two opponents by pins to get to the finals where he scored a 4-2 decision. He also won the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.

Also winning first place for Magnolia in the 152 weight class was Steven Heslep. He won all three of his matches by pins.

In the 135 and the 189 weight class, Eagle Eric Estep and Jason Long were runner up, while teammate Seth Pay placed third in the 171 weight class. Also wrestling for the Eagles were Joey Ingold, Michael O’Neil, and Karim Mahrous, who all won at least one match in the tournament.

The Pilots’ Paden Stewart took top honors in the 171 weight class, defeating the Eagles’ Pay in the semi finals before winning a major decision against Pat Pickenpaugh from Caldwell in the finals. Josh Bartrug placed second in the 103 lb weight class, while, Journey Wayts finished third in the 135 lb. weight class. The Pilots Logan Postile finished fourth in the 152 weight class for River.

Other Pilots wrestling included Skyler Wohnhas, Zach Strickland, Flint Postle, Tyler Ollom, Justyn Krupa, Troy Haslam, and James West.

Next up for the Eagles is the regionals, scheduled for Feb. 21, while the Pilots will head to the Sectionals and the Districts, Feb. 14 and 21 respectively.