Impressive Wildcats take
2nd place in Flight Three

Dec. 7, 2009, 8:45 a.m.

  Plymouth's wrestling team continued its strong start to the 2009-10 season Saturday when it went 3-2 at the Columbia Central Invitational.

  The Wildcats finished second in flight three, improving their overall record to 4-3.

  Plymouth opened with a 43-30 setback to Durand. Winners included Shadi Jammoul, Alec Breckenridge, Said Youssef, Brett Echols, Brandon Crowther and Wally Eppler. Durand was the No. 3 seed in the tournament and is a perennial district champion in Division 3.

  Crowther (an 8-6 winner) and Eppler (a 6-5 winner) pulled off the most impressive victories, according to coach Quinn Guernsey, a Columbia Central alum.

  Plymouth's superior conditioning prevailed against Marshall, which was at less than 100 percent on the heels of its state football championship.  The Wildcats won nine of the 14 matches against the Red Hawks.

  Against Columbia Central, Jackson Chalmers won the pivotal match at 171 pounds when he pinned Chris White with 22 seconds left in the third period.

  "Chalmers had fought off his back for an extended period in the second period," said Guernsey.

  Other winners against CC were Jammoul, Breckenridge, Youssef, Ziad Tamimi and Schultz.

  The Wildcats dominated a young Plainwell team, 64-13, winning 11 of 14 matches. Freshman Alec Breckenridge notched a major-decision triumph over junior Eric Root, 9-1.

  In the Flight Three championship match, the Wildcats were edged by Constantine, 4-21.

  "Most of the matches were back and forth with many of our wrestlers having an opportunity to win," said Guernsey.

  Significant victories were earned by Breckenridge, who won by technical fall over Dustin Meyer; Said Youssef, who notched major-decision points against Tyler Spencer; Chase Kallil, who decisioned Matt Fashbaugh; Ryan Schultz, who nipped Benn Mallo in overtime; Rob Barackman, who outlasted Dominic Rodgers; and Wally Eppler, a 6-3 winner over Russell Schenk at 285.

  Breckenridge, Youssef and Wally Eppler all went unbeaten for the Wildcats.