Weybrew gives Hounds one MEC champion

Team-wise, Maryville wasn't much of a factor at the MEC Wrestling Tournament Saturday in St. Joseph, finishing sixth out of seven schools with 133 points.

On an individual basis, they made their presence felt at certain spots with one champion and three medalists emerging.

Sophomore Brendan Weybrew won the conference title at 285 pounds and finished 5-0 on the day. He beat Lafayette's Spencer Riddle in the first-place deciding match with a 7-0 decision.

Still with just one loss on the year, Weybrew pinned three of his four opponents and did so twice in under one minute.

Maryville's other two medalists were senior Derek Stiens (145 pounds) and sophomore Dane Hull (152 pounds), both of which finished third.

Stiens secured third place with a 19-6 major decision over Chillcothe's Wagner Chapman in his final match. His only two losses were to first place finisher Dalton Tipton of Savannah and runner-up Ryan Burkhart of Cameron.

Hull lost his final match to Cameron's Marshall Colson, but wrapped up third earlier with a win over Chillicothe's Lane Gaunt.

The Hounds other participants were Jacob Partridge (106 pounds), Dustyn Wilmes (120 pounds), Ben Wilmes (132 pounds), Kale Heflin (138 pounds) and Trevor Zimmerman (160 pounds).

Sophomore Nate Alexander, an MEC champion as a freshman at 126 pounds, didn't get a chance to go for another title at 132.

The Hounds sixth place team finish was their second in a row. Only Lafayette with 127 points finished below Maryville.

Smithville edged Cameron by points, 365.5-361.5 to win its second straight team title. The Warriors had three individual champions and 12 top-four finishers.

Chillicothe came in third with 243 points. Benton netted fourth place with 219.5 points. Savannah was fifth with 203.5 points.

The Hounds return to Benton tonight to dual both the Cardinals and St. Pius X at Springer Gymnasium.

Head coach Joe Drake is two wins shy of 400 for his career.