Northfield put together a strong showing at the IHSAA Peru wrestling sectional Saturday, finishing second overall and advancing nine wrestlers to the regional tournament.
The Norsemen were led by two individual champions and several key place winners across the lineup.
Senior Tayten Barlow (144 lbs) and junior Elijah Gahl (175 lbs) each captured sectional titles, going undefeated through their brackets. Barlow earned a hard fought decision in the finals, while Gahl dominated his competition with multiple bonus point wins.
Northfield also had two runner up finishers. Senior Brayden Rice (138 lbs) placed second, while junior Rylan Turner (215 lbs) reached the championship match. Rice’s tournament was especially memorable, as he recorded the 100th win of his career, becoming just the eighth wrestler in Northfield history to reach that milestone.
Rice’s accomplishment came after an injury plagued freshman season in which he managed only seven wins. Since then, he averaged 31 wins per season over his sophomore, junior, and senior years to reach the century mark.
Also placing for Northfield were Cooper Good (120) and Cail Dunphy (285) in third, Kedryk Haecker (106), Luke Eviston (157), and Mason Steller (165) in fourth, and Lucas Law (150) and Rylan Schults (190) in fifth.
