No. 1 in Ida

Plymouth grapplers take title
in round-round tournament

Dec. 23, 2009, 11 p.m.

  Plymouth's wrestling team recorded an impressive performance at Saturday's Ida Round-Robin Tournament, taking first place after registering a 4-1 record.

  Two teams along with Plymouth -- Ida and Dexter -- finished 4-1, but the criteria to determine the champion was point deferential among the three placing teams, putting Plymouth on top. Ida was named runner-up and Dexter placed third.

  Plymouth defeated Jonesville (55-15), Sand Creek (48-33), Dexter (48-33) and Summit Academy (76-4). The Wildcats' lone loss came to Ida, 41-32.

  "It would have been nice to beat Ida and win the tournament outright, but they provide a very difficult match-up for us," said Plymouth coach Quinn Guernsey. "Dexter's team has the matchups to beat Ida and we were lucky enough to have that happen. Almost any criteria that was used would have been used to break the tie had us come out the tournament champions. We were the most complete team that day.

  "The team was really pleased with how we did. Winning the tournament came at a good time and we look forward to working over the holiday break as we get ready for our conference season to start at home on Jan. 6 against Salem and Novi.

  Wrestlers who went undefeated for Plymouth included heavyweights Jordon Birman and Wally Eppler; Alec Breckenridge at 112; and Jimmy Ahearn at 135/140.

  In the opening dual against Jonesville, winning wrestlers were Shadi Jammoul, Alec Breckenridge, Said Youssef, Chase Kallil, Ziad Tamimi, Jimmy Ahearn, Brandon Crowther, Rob Barackman, Curtis Crosier, Brendon Varner and Jordon Birman. Breckenridge and Youssef had particularly nice wins against returning state and regional qualifiers, respectively.

  Against Adrian-Madison Sand Creek, the Aggies won a number of close, highly contested matches in the upper weights, eventually getting out to a 21-6. But Plymouth's lightweights came roaring back, rattling off six pins in a row to seal the victory. Winners included Jammoul, Breckenridge, Youssef, Kallil, Tamimi, Ahearn, Varner and Birman.

  There were a number of pivotal matches against Dexter and the matchup provided Plymouth with some unlikely heroes at the end. Starting at 160, Plymouth and Dexter exchanged six points by virtue of an injury default and a void. Dexter then went on to win the next two, bringing the score to 16-6.

  In the first big match of the dual, Plymouth's heavy Wally Eppler capitalized on an early mistake to pin Dexter's Josh Cash in 1:14. Jammoul and Breckenridge collected first period falls to give Plymouth the lead, 24-16. Dexter came roaring back at 119/12 to retake the lead, 27-24.

  Plymouth's Tamimi and Ahearn fought back, securing pins that gained a 36-27 lead. After gaining a fall at 140, Dexter had cut that lead to three points with two minutes to go. Tate Braboy's come-from-behind third-period fall sealed the victory for Plymouth and senior captain Brandon Crowther collected an unexpected void to set the final score at 48-33.

  Ida, currently the eighth-ranked team in division 3, battled in a dual that went back and forth. Plymouth fell to the Bluestreaks, 41-32. Winners for the Wildcats included Breckenridge, Ahearn, Crowther, Jackson Chalmers, Crosier and Eppler.

  In the final round, Plymouth dispatched a very thin Summit Academy team by a final score of 76-4. Winning Wildcats included Jammoul, Breckenridge, Youssef, Kallil, Tamimi, Brett Echols, Ahearn, Braboy, Crowther, Barackman, Chalmers, Crosier and Eppler.