The Chieftains placed third and wrestled well, finishing behind only first-place Effingham and second-place Basehor-Linwood.

“I thought as a team we wrestled really well,” DeWitt said.

Members of the team said DeWitt and Moss pushed them hard in the week of practice after the Tonganoxie tournament. Despite a third-place finish at home, DeWitt had said the team looked lethargic.

Eight Chieftains placed in the top four and all nine wrestlers placed in the top six.

“One of our goals going in was to get every kid to place in the top six, and everybody did,” DeWitt said.

Chris Calovich, 215 pounds, and Tony Miller, 275 pounds, advanced to their championship matches and placed first.

Willy Altman, 140 pounds, placed third in his class.

Placing fourth were Bruce Walker, 103; Josh Ferris, 112; Pat Weyer, 135; Steve Adcox, 145; and Zach Subelka, 189.

Mike Andrews placed fifth at 152 pounds. Andrew Miller was sixth at 160 pounds.

Up next
They wrestle again Saturday at Osawatomie. The tournament starts at 9 a.m.

“It’s going to be a tough tournament, but we’re turning into a tough team,” DeWitt said.