Jeff O’Mara and Barrett Johnson led the charge for the Goodrich wrestling team at the Lansing Eastern Invitational Dec. 6.
As a team, the Martians finished 8th out of 21 teams at the invite with 83 points. Temperance Bedford won the tournament with 210.5 points, while Hudsonville took second (196) and Howell third (184.5).
O’Mara and Johnson both went undefeated that evening on their way to winning the 189 and 215-lb. weight classes, respectively. Three other Goodrich wrestlers placed: Jason Fischer (third, 112), Garrett Higdon (eighth, 119) and Erik Fernielius (eighth, 160).
O’Mara won the 189-lb. championship by pinning Kurtis Abraham of Grand Haven in 2:49 in the finals of that weight class. He started the tourney by pinning Ryan Cahill of Birmingham Groves in 1:49, then pinned Dan Deweerd of Hudsonville in 25 seconds and earned a 13-8 decision against Greg Mixon of Howell.
Meanwhile, Johnson captured the 215-lb. crown by winning an 11-10 decision against Josh Dahlman of Grand Haven in the finals of that bracket. He advanced to the championship match by winning a 7-2 decision against David Bailey of Temperance Bedford; pinning Levi Stegeman of Birmingham Groves in 4:41; and winning a 5-2 decision against Kevin Matthews of Eaton Rapids.
Fischer captured third place in the 112-lb. bracket by winning a 3-2 decision against Eric Sorenson of Owosso. Earlier, he won a 7-5 decision against Josh Dean of Hudsonville; pinned Brian Smith of Eaton Rapids in 3:17; and lost a pinfall to T.J. Schumacher of Howell in 35 seconds.
Hidgon defeated Devin Good of Charlotte in the first round of the 119-lb. bracket, then was pinned by Tom Grimm of Hudsonville in 3:23. He then pinned Duong Ngo of Lansing Everett in 3:13 before being pinned by Greg Roder of East Lansing in 58 seconds. Higdon lost the seventh-place match when he was pinned by Louie Martin of Owosso in 1:28.
Fernielius pinned Robert Disbrow of Lansing Everett in 5:35 in the first round of the 160-lb. bracket, then was pinned by Jacob Wyatt of Lansing Sexton in 35 seconds. He then pinned John Conway of Portage Central in 4:45 before being pinned by Kevin Zink of Temperance Bedford in 54 seconds. Ferneluis lost the seventh-place match when he was pinned by Adam Abbot of Birmingham Groves in 24 seconds.
In the team’s first meet of the season Dec. 4, the Martians split with their opponents, losing to Mayville 46-34 and defeating Frankenmuth 60-12.
Against Mayville, the following Martians won: Fernielius (160) pinned Tim Johnson in 1:05; Andy Bohlen (171) pinned Trevor Beysdell in 33 seconds; O’Mara (189) pinned Ed Williams in 4:34; Johnson (215) pinned Matt Richardson in 1:45; Fischer (112) pinned Andrew Wheatley in 1:51; and Higdon (119) defeated Ryan Mercer by a 10-2 decision.
The following Goodrich wrestlers were victorious against Frankenmuth: Kyle Fletcher (171) won by default; Bohlen (189) defeated Dustin Rembert by an 18-2 decision; O’Mara (215) pinned Ben Klein in 24 seconds; Johnson (275) pinned Alex Deschaine in 1:58; Brian Grzecki (103) won by default; Fischer (112) pinned Nick Lake in 35 seconds; Higdon (119) pinned Jeff Weiss in 45 seconds; Billy Feldmann (130) won by default; Ryan Kemp (145) won by default; and Fernielius (160) pinned Eric Ball in 1:18.
Goodrich returns to action when they hit the road Dec. 18 to take on Birch Run, Saginaw Heritage and Vassar in a 6 p.m. meet.