WT Wrestling Places 6th at Brookville Invitational
The Wayne Trace wrestling team turned in a strong performance at the Brookville Invitational on January 17, earning a sixth‑place team finish with five of seven Raiders placing in their respective weight classes.
Junior Colton Kimmel led the way with a runner‑up finish at 120 pounds. Kimmel opened his day with a 1:33 pin over Bryson Murdock of Brookville, followed by a 5:03 fall against Joseph Valazquez of Dixie in the quarterfinals. He secured his spot in the championship bout with a lightning‑quick 27‑second pin over Valley View’s Jason Young. Kimmel ultimately fell to Belmont’s Breyshawn Snyder by a 20‑3 score in the finals.
Freshman Camden Kimmel earned third place at 106 pounds. He started strong with a 17‑1 tech fall over Madison’s Brodie Young and a 1:40 pin of Kolton Ellis from Clinton‑Massie. After being pinned in the semifinals by Clinton‑Massie’s Carson Wissinger, Kimmel battled back through the consolation bracket, pinning Young again in 2:06 and securing third place with a 37‑second fall over Fairborn’s Marcus Watts.
Freshman Brandon Hire also claimed third place, competing at 113 pounds. After two byes, Hire dropped his opening match to Robert Allen of Preble Shawnee by fall in 1:10. He rebounded with a 1:39 pin over Marcus Burckhard of Tri‑County North and closed out his day with a 2:48 pin of Clinton‑Massie’s Kaiden Sherwood in the consolation finals.
At 132 pounds, junior Ben Gurney finished fourth. Following a first‑round bye, Gurney pinned Levi Hoppe of Dayton Christian in just 46 seconds before falling by tech fall (19‑0) to Milton‑Union’s Seth Lowry. He responded with a 36‑second pin of Brookville’s Braylon Slaton to reach the placement match, where he was pinned by Hunter Foss of Valley View.
Freshman Nathan Benschneider rounded out the Raider placers with a fifth‑place finish at 150 pounds. After a first‑round bye, Benschneider was pinned by Brookville’s Xavier Hummel but advanced through the consolation bracket with a 13‑0 major decision over Milton‑Union’s Cotton Gambrel. He then dropped a 5‑2 match to Madison’s Elliott Griffin before securing fifth place with a pin of Cooper Overman from Fort Recovery.
Also competing for Wayne Trace were senior Seth Rosswurm, who finished the day 2‑1, and sophomore Brennan Miller, who went 0‑2.
The Raiders continue their season with momentum as they head into upcoming competition.
