Better than good: Northwestern's Collin Good dominates at Husky Invite

WEST SALEM — As he waited for his 175-pound finals match to resume, Collin Good couldn’t wait to get back to work.

And who could blame him.

The Northwestern senior had everything working Saturday as he went on to take the title in his weight class in front of his home crowd and highlight a strong day for locals at the annual Husky Invitational.

“I've been working on my conditioning a lot and he was gassed in the second period,” Good said, following his 15-0 technical fall of Keystone’s Dante Ortiz in the final. “After he went down, he got up and seemed like he was ready to quit. I was able to mentally break him.”

That ability to breakdown his opponents was a trademark of Good’s day, which included five victories — three coming via technical fall and the other two by pin.

So, you couldn’t blame the veteran for being a little impatient after Ortiz paused the final midway through the second for an injury.

That delay didn’t faze Good, who went on to score seven straight points to close out the match to earn the weight-class win and be tabbed as the Most Valuable Wrestler for the upper weights.

“He was coming in super heavy on the head, so I was just looking for an elbow pass, it opens up that single really easy,” he said. “He kept leaving a lot of things open. My go-to move is the cradle and it was almost like he was asking for it.”

Good wasn’t the only wrestler to put everything together on the day as four other locals also won their respective classes in the pool-style tournament. Fellow Northwestern wrestler, Anthony Huber (150 pounds), also placed first, along with Loudonville’s Issac Wittel (138), Caleb Gregory (190) and Dalton’s Cohen Riggenbach (285).

Dalton finished with 168 pounds to place fourth as a team, just ahead of Loudonville (5th place, 134) and host Northwestern (6th, 121½), while Hillsdale was 13th. Keystone took the title with 227½.

Huber gave up an early takedown but bounced back with seven straight points — the final two leading to a pin of Keystone’s Paul Horten at the 3:20 mark.

“I just had to stay strong and stay on top; that helped me win,” Huber said. “That gave me a little bit of anger there, when he got his first takedown, and I just capitalized after that.”

The Huskies also got a runner-up finish from 126-pounder Trent Sigler, who dropped an intense match with Mapleton’s Brock Durbin by a 16-7 major decision.

Both Wittel and Gregory both went a perfect 4-0, all coming via pins, to win their respective weight classes – Wittel eventually wore down Liberty’s Konnor Seifert for a second-period pin, while Gregory was able to takedown Dalton’s Seth Ryder at the 3:20 mark.

“I tried to turn him a couple of times (in the first) and then in the second, I chose down, so I had to get out and get to work,” Wittel said of his win. “Once you get that first takedown, you just work from there. (Seifert) got out there (in the second) and I was able to put him down again.”

For Gregory it was about using a steady attack to earn his first tournament win of the winter.

“I was able to consistently get in on the wrist,” the senior said. “I got a little higher than I wanted to, a couple times, but I just kept working it and working it and it eventually came.

“At first I was just feeling him out and from there it was just about working it and wearing him down.”

An all-area final also took place at 285 as Riggenbach clinged to a 2-1 lead over Triway’s Tristin Williamson for most of the match.

Riggenbach, who was pushed off the mat early in the third, would go to record a crucial takedown with 1:20 left and then would hold on for the victory.

“When he pushed me out there, I just tried and stayed in the middle,” he said. “I know that sounds simple, but if you stay in the middle, realize where you are on the mat, you just are able to work your way out of it.

“This is amazing,” the sophomore said of the win. “I'm sure, just that match in general, is going to help me moving forward for sectionals and hopefully districts. It will be good preparation for all of that.”

The Bulldogs also got a trio of runner-up finishes with Sam Ediger (132), Bram McCourt (157) and Ryder (190) all placing second, while Loudonville’s Drew Spreng — a state qualifier last season — dropped his title bout at 120.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Wrestling: Northwestern's Collin Good dominates at Husky Invite