OSCEOLA - Warsaw's varsity wrestlers traveled Saturday to the Penn Super Duals, and the eager young team took a pair of victories, going 2-2 on the day. Matt Elvidge (130 pounds) and Evan Readle (215) each nabbed individual championships.

"This was the first time the Tigers ever achieved a team victory at the Penn event," said Tiger head coach Tony Boley.

He went on to note, "We all wrestled very well and we were aggressive, with lots of action."

Warsaw was forced to scramble with the loss of several wrestlers to injury.

"We are trying to figure out what to do in those weight classes, and Evan Readle has been in able to fill the gap at 215," said Boley of the weights where he's lost wrestlers.

Readle had been weighing in at just within the 171 pound limit, but ate a little extra to qualify at 189 pounds. Wrestlers are permitted to wrestle at one weight class above their own weight, so the relatively small Readle was able to compete at 215 pounds, where he cleaned house on Saturday.

"He was just a better athlete," Boley boasted.

Against a tough Jimtown squad, just a few matches spelled the difference. Chris Elvidge suffered his first loss on the season, succumbing to Tom Piero of Jimtown, 10-7. Joel Perry (189) also lost for the first time, in a tooth and nail battle against twelfth-ranked Terry Perkey. Perry had the Jimtown wrestler looking up at the lights through most of the second period, but Perkey came back in the final stanza with a pair of takedowns to score a 9-5 victory.

In a Northern Lakes Conference meeting, the Tigers defeated NorthWood,47-26. Five Warsaw wins on the mat came by means of pin in matches won by Matt Elvidge (130), Chris Elvidge (135), Andy Keener (145), Bobby Derbyshire (152), and Tom Lowe (171). In addition, technical falls were won by Johnny Mattson (103) and Blake Deaton (160).

Penn was the powerhouse, winning all four competitions on their home mat. The Kingsmen defeated the Tigers, 46-24. Chris Elvidge (135) lost a second time, in his match against Thomas Ginter. Elvidge was ahead 6-2 when Ginter turned the tables and scored a fall with just a second remaining in period one. Winning individual matches for the Tigers were Matt Elvidge (130), Andy Keener (145), Tom Lowe (171), Joel Perry (189), and Evan Readle (215).

Portage Central, a tough Michigan team, competed with a short roster of only nine wrestlers and in those on-the-mat confrontations, the Tigers won five and Portage Central won three along with a forfeit. Joel Perry moved up to 215 pounds and pinned Kyle Higges in 4:34 to give the Tigers an undefeated record in that weight class. Evan Readle suffered his only loss on the day when he moved back down to 189 pounds and was pinned by Jordan Sherrod in fifty-four seconds.

The Tigers now stand at 2-2 in the NLC and 12-3 overall. Upcoming events for Warsaw's wrestlers include hosting a Junior Varsity invitational on Monday December 27 at 9:00 a.m. and then the Varsity squad travels to the prestigious Caveman Classic at Mishawaka. This two-day event, December 29-30, is often billed as the "North State Championship" with wrestlers from as many as thirty-two teams competing in past years. Wrestling at Mishawaka begins at 9:00 a.m. on both days. [[In-content Ad]]