Clinton third at its 40th Annual Dave Elliott Memorial Wrestling Tourney

Dave Elliott would be proud to have his name associated with Clinton’s wrestling program. For the past 40 years, Clinton has hosted Dave Elliott Memorial Wrestling Tournaments and the event has gained a reputation for bringing in tough, quality teams from Lenawee County and southern lower Michigan. Elliott was an outstanding Clinton wrestler who graduated and attended Olivet College. While at Olivet, he became an All-American his junior and senior seasons. After graduating Olivet, Elliott was hired to coach at Clinton but was killed in a car accident.This year, on Saturday, Jan. 10, Clinton placed third out of 18 teams listed as tournament participants, including a Redskins’ B-team. Competing this year were Lenawee County’s Blissfield, Morenci, Adrian, Madison and Onsted as well as Coldwater, Pinckney, Napoleon, Michigan Center, Hillsdale, Lansing Waverly, Saint Mary Catholic Central, Woodhaven, Battle Creek Lakeview, Flint Beecher and Lake Orion.Battle Creek Lakeview placed first overall with a score of 234 while Lake Orion was second with 168 points. Clinton and Woodhaven each scored 157. The Redskins were awarded third place with Woodhaven having recorded a one-point penalty deduction in a match for unsportsmanlike conduct. Madison was the second-highest county team placer with an eighth place score of 86 points. Adrian finished 10th (82); Blissfield, 13th (44); Onsted, 14th (21); Morenci, 17th (4) and the Redskins’ B team, 18th (0).The Redskins had two champions with Zach Johnson and Nicholas Rolland each placing first. Johnson wrestled at 130-pounds and opened with a pin before receiving a bye in round two. He followed with a Tech-Fall win in the semifinal against Michigan Center’s Devan Milosh and defeated Lakeview’s Mason Evans 13-7 in the championship bout.Rolland cruised through the first two bouts with wins by fall before running into a tough Jesse Miller from Coldwater in the semifinal. Rolland edged Miller with a 3-2 overtime victory to advance to the final where he defeated Lakeview’s Stephen Moody with a 7-4 decision.Clinton had six other wrestlers earn medals. Huntter Trubiano (145) placed second for Clinton while Evan Shovels (119) finished third. Hunter Mellinger (112), Jake Phillips (135) and David Chantelois (160) all placed fourth. Kenny Deshano (171) and Ethan Vaughn (285) each placed sixth for Clinton.