Wrestling on Mat 2 at the Eudora Tournament of Champions on Saturday, junior Ross Starcher pinned his opponent in the 145-pound quarterfinals. Seconds later, senior Chad Starcher pinned his foe on Mat 1 in the 140-pound division.

Chad Starcher finished in second place on the day after he lost to Lawrence High’s Brendan Halpin by one point in the finals. Starcher had defeated Halpin, 11-1, in pool play Friday, but couldn’t repeat in the title match.

“Chad was next to unbelievable,” assistant coach Scott Underwood said. “He wrestled great.”

Chad Starcher finished 7-1 on the day while Ross went 6-1 and placed third in his class.

Tonganoxie finished seventh in the team standings at the 21-team tournament with 167.5 points. St. Thomas Aquinas (Overland Park) won the meet with a 325 score. Spring Hill placed second (280), Blue Valley third (273), Baldwin fourth (265.5), Lansing fifth (227.5) and Holton sixth (216.5).

Underwood was satisfied with the finish, especially because of the competition level.

“It’s a real good tournament for us because there’s so many 5A and 6A teams,” Underwood said. “There were a lot of 4A teams that will be in our regional. There was a lot of variety.”

The Chieftain might have had more points, but Alan Bauerly had to forfeit Saturday’s bracket matches because he was taking his ACTs. He had gone 1-1 on Friday. Matt Weyer might have provided more points also, but he was disqualified after two misconduct calls.

Garrett Palmer finished the tournament at 6-1 with a fifth-place finish in the 135 class. Aaron Adcox also finished fifth with a 5-2 record at 215, while Hunter Samuels finished seventh at 119 with a 4-2 record. Josh Maxon was Tongaoxie’s final placer. Maxon took eighth in the 189 class.

Tonganoxie now will face Piper and perennial power Santa Fe Trail in dual action on Thursday in Piper. The competition will be Tonganoxie’s last before winter break. The team will be back on the mats Jan. 8 at home.

On Thursday, Tonganoxie will eye a victory against Trail, a team the Chieftains haven’t had much success against in the past.

“That was our emphasis tonight in practice,” Underwood said about facing the Chargers. “Every they come in and they plan on beating us.

“I’m really trying to get the guys pumped up for this one.”