Robbinsville wrestling spearheads new tournament
Robbinsville – An event that attracted 100 grapplers from around the tri-state area is already being heralded as a success.
The inaugural “Nothing but Neutral” tournament took place at Robbinsville High School on Saturday, where wrestlers in grades K-12 found themselves tasked with scoring the most takedowns possible against their opponent. The spectacle also served as a fundraiser for the Knights’ varsity wrestling program, contributing toward the cause of ordering new mats.
“It’s an idea that I’ve had for at least five years,” Robbinsville head coach Todd Odom said. “It’s hard to get kids to do offseason stuff.
“It’s not hard to get high-level kids to do stuff, but for parents that travel two hours and their kid gets to wrestle for 30 seconds … did their kid get better in 30 seconds? Probably not, because in offseason tournaments, it’s often feast or famine.”
Weight classes were combined – such as 106/113 pounds and 120/126 – and the format ensured at least two matches per competitor.
“You had a chance to recover, catch your breath, get some coaching and get back to it,” Odom said. “That was the whole brainchild behind it: what’s the most attractive, exciting thing for wrestlers and fans? A big wrestling fan loves a 3-2 match, but for the novice fan it’s boring.
“I’ll probably modify it next year. I’ll put a cap on how many points can be scored and the time format. They wrestled four minutes total (a two-minute opening period and two, one-minute periods after) but I’ll probably go to two, two-minute periods next year, with a 30-second break in-between each.”
The event was not short on recognizable names from within the Robbinsville program. Here is how each Knights wrestler fared:
* Men’s 106/113: Aynsley Fink, second place.
* Men’s 120/126: Christian Phillips, second place; Logan Hyde, fourth place.
* Men’s 132/138: Jayden Nowell, first place; Zane Luckasavage, second place.
* Men’s 145/152: Willie Riddle, third place.
* Men’s 160/170: Jaret Panama, second place; Jacob Hall, fourth place.
* Men’s 182/195: Kyle Fink, first place.
* Women’s 106/113: Aynsley Fink, first place.
* Grades K-2, 85: Channing Oliver, third place.
* Grades 3-5, 63-67: Canon Menard, first place.
* Grades 6-8, 78-82: Benton Gibby, first place; Zander Luckasavage, second place.
* Grades 6-8, 92: Noah Cross, second place.
* Grades 6-8, 98: Adair Panama, first place.
* Grades 6-8, 117: Loxston Hooper, first place; Lleyton Hooper, second place; Braydon Lane, fourth place.
* Grades 6-8, 135: Andrew Adams, second place; Christian Chapman, third place.
* Grades 6-8, 160: Devin Hall, first place; Kyler Branham, second place; Raith Hooper, fourth place.