Christian County took first place at its Colonel Wrestling Invitational on Tuesday thanks to 12 podium finishes and four individual wins.
Malachi James, Dane Miller, Paul Abren, and Treshawn Crenshaw each won their weight class.
James needed just 75 seconds on the mat to win his two matches and win the 106-pound class, upping his season record to 8-4.
Miller, the defending region champion, won his first two matches in 52 seconds and defeated Fort Campbell’s Eithan Cassell in the 144-pound championship by a 17-1 decision. Miller improved to 11-1 with the win.
Abren won the 150-pound class with a pin and a pair of decisions on points. His record stands at 6-2.
Treshawn Crenshaw won three matches to claim the championship in the 285-pound class. He defeated Kenwood’s Karlos Ransom II by a 5-1 decision to claim the win and improve to 9-3 this season.
Anthony Velasco took second place in the 113-pound class. After two wins, Velasco fell to Apollo’s Kevin Lopez 10-7 in sudden-death overtime in the title match.
In the 157-pound class, Deacon Harrison finished in second place, falling only to Owensboro’s Kameryis Rodriquez Cline by a 7-5 decision in the title match.
Braylan Patta took third place in the 132-pound class. After losing in the semifinals, he battled back to win a pair of technical falls by scores of 18-1 and 20-3.
Nathan Harrison finished in fourth place in the 126-pound class, moving his season record to 6-4.
In his first varsity action of the season, Marquis Hart came in fourth place in the 138-pound class with a record of 4-2 for the afternoon.
Joshua Cohoon (165) and DeAsian Harris (190) also posted 2-2 records to finish in fourth place in their respective classes.
The Colonels scored 253.5 points to easily outdistance Paducah Tilghman by 103.5 points in the 17-team field.
Christian County also fielded a second team, with the ‘Blue’ team scoring 58 points to place 12th.
Ben Bentzel took second place in the 106-pound class, while Kian Bradley (132) and Evan Graham (190) finished in fifth place, and Demauriell Quarles (165) came in sixth place for the ‘Blue’ Team.
For Christian Coach coach Dee Leavell, the ending to 2025 is what he was looking for.
“We talked to the team about finishing on a good note and making sure we’re being positive, going in a positive direction, and being the most positive we can be about 2025,” he said, adding the extra effort it took to overcome some adversity.
“It’s good to go into the holidays being battle-tested with sicknesses, injuries, and all the things you can think of right now. It’s really good to come out on top.”
Leavell believes the recent obstacles will pay off in two months in the postseason.
“They found a way to battle through that and showed a lot of resiliency. That’s one of our pillars of being a great program. We call it ‘neck up training.’ It’s a priority for us because wrestling is 90% mental and 10% physical,” he said.
The 17-team field included a half-dozen that Christian County will compete against at the region tournament in February.
“We got to see some of what’s in the region this year. We don’t get all the regional opponents here this year due to some due to illnesses, and some just due to the schedule. But it’s really good to get a head-to-head with a regional opponent. Even if we weren’t able to come out on a win, we want to get that mental note, and some things we need to work on,” Leavell said.
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