Wertz wins 184-pound title at James Madison
Hunter, Guy each place second in respective weight classes
Harrisonburg, VA – Paxton Wertz went 3-0 to claim the 184-pound championship Saturday and two other Garrett College wrestlers took second place in their respective weight classes at the James Madison Open.
"Paxton had a great first tournament," GC head coach John Chambers said of the season-opening event. "Paxton executed in both offensive and defensive positions. He wrestled intelligently and technically throughout his matches."
Elijah Hunter (197 pounds) and EJ Guy (133) were the Lakers' second-place finishers.
"Elijah knocked off the overall number one seed in his opening match on his way to the finals," said Chambers of the reigning 197-pound Gulf Atlantic District champion. "I look forward to seeing Elijah improve over the course of the season."
"EJ had the most impressive debut of our true freshman," added Chambers after Guy went 4-1. "Five matches for a true freshman is a giant step up from competing at the high school level.
"I was impressed with how EJ wrestled from a technical standpoint and dictated the pace in all of his matches," said Chambers. "I believe EJ wrestling up a weight class early in the year is only going to pay dividends for him in February and March."
Ethan Doctor finished fourth at 184 pounds and Zach Schoch was fifth at 197 as teams were permitted to enter more than one contestant in a given weight class. Brody Byrd was sixth at 141 pounds.
"Overall the weekend went as expected," said Chambers. "As guys continue to work and improve, the results will come. With that being said, the level of competition takes an elevated step the rest of the first semester."
GC went undefeated in matches against Gulf Atlantic District rival Patrick Henry Community College. Wertz highlighted those head-to-head contests by defeated PHCC's Josh Wright Stuart, 6-3, in the 184-pound finals.
"Any time you can get a quality district win during the year it helps your seeding status at our district tournament, which also serves as our national qualifier," said Chambers.
