North’s Dylan Preston won an individual title leading the Rangers to a fifth-place finish at the 2022 Hawken Invitational Tournament on Saturday.
Preston finished the tournament 3-0 with two pins and a narrow decision in the championship bout.
“I am very excited and proud for winning the first tournament of the year,” Preston said. “I wrestled pretty good. I still got work to do and I’m always learning.”
After receiving a bye in the first round, Preston flattened Chagrin Falls’ Hunter Blair in the second round in four minutes and 38 seconds.
Next, he pinned NDCL’s Tucker Pason in 5:07 to advance into the championship match.
He edged Cleveland Central Catholic’s Angle Bermudez, 4-3, to win the 126-pound championship.
Bermudez scored the first takedown, but Preston was awarded a point after Bermudez was hit for stalling twice in the second period.
Preston then escaped from the bottom position to tie the match with one second left in the second and he took a 4-2 lead with a takedown midway through the third period.
Bermudez escaped with 30 seconds left to cut Preston’s lead to 4-3, but that’s as close as he’d get.
“My key to success was keeping in control of the match and scoring points on top,” Preston said of his tournament run. “I had to give it my all in the third period. I knew I had to score to win. It really feels good to win the first one, but I know that there are going to be harder ones down the road. I just need to keep working hard and getting better.”
Six other Rangers placed among the top six.
Shamus Brady (106), Kolt Karovich (113), and Drake Martinez (120) each finished as the runner-up in their respective weight classes, Derick Martinez (144) was fourth, and Cash Pemberton (165) and Nolan Sechler (190) both placed sixth.
The Rangers head to Riverside on Friday and Saturday for the Riverside Rumble.
