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Jaxon Bast won a first-place prize in the 285-pound weight class after picking up two pins to lead Spain Park. (For the Reporter/Dawn Harrison)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

MOODY – It was a strong weekend for three county wrestling teams as Spain Park, Helena and Montevallo all took place in the 2018 Austin Hamer Invitational at Moody High School on Saturday, Dec. 15.

While the host Blue Devils won the event with 180 points in the overall team standings, each of the three teams had some sort of success in the event starting with Spain Park, who finished in third, followed by Helena in seventh and Montevallo in 11th.

The Jaguars continued to show growth early in the season, and had several standout performances with seven of their 12 wrestlers finishing inside the top 12.

Spain Park’s strong day started in the 113-pound weight class with Fischer Harrison, who was able to pick up a third-place finish in the division.

After losing in round one, Harrison went on to pick up three consecutive pins to advance to one final match where he lost in a tough pin against Moody’s Parker Dodd.

In the 126-pound weight class, Max Milazzo was able to grab another top-three finish after bringing home third as well. He lost his semifinal matchup, but was able to bounce back with two consecutive pins to pull off the third-place match.

The next two weight classes featured two first-place winners for the Jags thanks to Caelan March and Jack Rivers, who won the title in the 132-pound and 138-pound division, respectively.

March used a pin, major decision and decision, while Rivers picked up two pins after receiving a bye in the first round.

Like Harrison and Milazzo, Carson Ray was able to place third in the 152-pound weight class. Ray lost in the semifinals thanks to a pin, but bounced back to win both the consolation semifinal match and third-place match with pins.

Following that, Spain Park ended up with two more first-place wrestlers, one in the 170-pound weight division and one in the 285-pound division.

In the 170-pound division it was Gage Hughes, who picked up four consecutive pins to pull off a perfect run to the top spot.

The 285-pound wrestler was Jaxon Bast, who has been dominant the last two years. He picked up two pins in his two matches, which gave him first place as well.

For Helena, it was four different wrestlers inside the top four that gave the Huskies a top-10 finish in the event.

Seth McGrew and Matthew Ray were two of the biggest highlights with second place finishes. Ray ended up making it to the championship match against Bast, where he ended up getting pinned, but grabbed the high finish nonetheless.

McGrew also made it to the title match in the 106-pound weight class, but ended up losing a 13-2 major decision to come up just short.

The Huskies also had two third place finishers starting with Justin Yunke in the 132-pound division. Yunke lost his opening match by way of pin, but rebounded with four consecutive pins of his own to pull off the third-place match.

In the 182-pound weight class it was Chris Miller who finished third. Miller lost in the semifinals but bounced back to win in the consolation semis and the third-place match.

The Montevallo had three wrestlers in attendance and all three had impressive showings.

Rankin Allen was the highest of the three wrestlers picking up second place after picking up two pins before losing a tight 12-6 decision in the first-place match.

Jemari Harris finished in third in the 120-pound division. He lost in the quarterfinals, but bounced back with three straight pins and a 10-8 decision in the third-place match.

Hunter Bass was the final wrestler for the Bulldogs, and he finished fourth in the 220-pound weight class after dropping a sudden victory in his final match of the tournament.

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