PREP WRESTLING: Alton’s Hughes runner-up at Red Schmitt Invite

Greg Shashack, gshashack@thetelegraph.com

 Published 12:46 pm CST, Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Photo:

Greg Shashack / The Telegraph

Alton’s Kyle Hughes (left), shown wrestling Belleville West’s Dustin Olmstead in a dual Dec. 20 at Granite City, pushed his record to 19-2 with a runner-up finish at 285 pounds Saturday at the Red Schmitt Invite at Granite City.

Teams from three different states filled the top three slots in the Red Schmitt Invitational wrestling tournament on Friday and Saturday in Granite City.

The 30-team field included an 18th-place finish from the Alton Redbirds with 118.5 points. Host Granite City (32) finished 25th. Aurora Marmion Academy took team honors with 405 points, with St. Louis CBC (326.5) runner-up and Memphis Christian Brothers (324.5) in third.

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Huntley (306), Washington (302), Neosho, Mo. (297), Kansas City Staley (290.5), Lafayette (250), Chicago Marist (230.5) and Batavia (212) capped the top 10.

Kyle Hughes made the championship mat at 285 pounds for the Redbirds and lost the title bout to CBC senior Harrison Diffey in a 13-2 major decision. Hughes, a junior, got his title shot with six successive victories that included four by fall, one tech fall and one major decision. Hughes, who won the heavyweight title earlier in the month at the Mascoutah Tourney, improved to 19-2.

Two other Redbirds also recorded top-eight finishes in the prestigious tourney. Senior Garrett Sims placed fifth at 126 pounds to push his record to 19-6. Junior Pierre Evans was seventh at 152 pounds. He is 17-8.