Messenger photo by Britt Kudla John Schuttler of Manson Northwest Webster works his way toward a title at the Doug Wood MNW Invitational on Saturday. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

MANSON — Competing in his first high school tournament, Ronnie Orres gave the St. Edmond wrestling team another building block for the future.

Orres, a freshman, won the 106-pound bracket here Saturday at the Doug Wood Invitational.

The host, Manson Northwest Webster, held off Twin Lakes Conference rival South Central Calhoun for the team title with West Bend-Mallard placing third.

It was a pin-filled day for Orres, as the Gael finished all three of his matches in the first period.

Orres topped Ogden’s Levi Russo in the quarterfinals in 64 seconds, followed with a 1:23 pin of South Hamilton’s Adan Perez and finished off the day by pinning Manson NW’s Ethan Egli in 56 seconds.

“I was a little nervous and didn’t know what to expect, but I just knew I had to take it one match at a time,” Orres said. “It felt good. Everyone knew I could do it, I just had to stay focused and wrestle hard.

“It definitely helps build a lot of confidence in myself. I feel really good about it and I hope I can keep doing as well as I did (Saturday) as the season goes on.”

The Cougars finished with three champions, as Christopher Krueger, Brodie Anderson and John Schuttler all went 3-0 on the day.

Krueger earned three falls, including a pin vs. Zander Ernst of Ridge View in the finals at 152 pounds.

Anderson had two falls and topped Connor Fehr of West Bend-Mallard in overtime at 182, with Schuttler picking up a pair of major decisions and a decision vs. South Hamilton’s Trevor Thompson at 195.

Egli and Daniel Thoma were second with Nathan Thoma, Carson Collins, Ian Kohnen and Carson Peterson placing third for Manson NW.

Ayden Toms and Blake McAlister each picked up titles for the Titans. Toms earned two falls in his two matches, including a 28-second pin in the semis. He bested Jakyb Kapp of Hampton-Dumont in the 120-pound finals.

McAlister scored three first period falls, including a 60-second pin vs. Hampton-Dumont’s Braden Hansen in the 160-pound championship match.

Jordan Khommanyvong reached the finals at 145 but dropped a 7-4 decision to East Sac County’s Dawson Mack, with Michael Goff, Hunter Voith and Brian King earning thirds.

Tyler Rossmanith, a sophomore, placed second for St. Edmond at 170 pounds. Rossmanith pinned his first two opponents before falling in the finals.

“Our usual 170-pounder, Jonah Hindt, had a required school function so I approached Tyler (last Thursday) about wrestling up and before I could even get it out he was on board,” SEHS head coach Eugene Carlson said. “He was giving up maybe 20 pounds to most kids, but he went out there and competed hard and did a great job.”

Noah Carlson placed sixth for the Gaels, going 1-3 on the day with a 10-4 decision win. Rick Xu, Elly Berry and Johnny Dickerson all went 0-2.

“Overall it was just a good day for us,” Carlson said. “We made some mistakes, but we learned from them on the mats. We’ll get those things hammered out and be better down the road.”

St. Edmond was without returning state qualifier Ryan Duckett, as the junior suffered an injury in the season opener on Thursday.

“Ryan has what our trainer called a severe calf strain,” Carlson said. “We held him out because it is December and we have bigger goals in mind. Hopefully, he’ll be ready to go for our next dual.”

For West Bend-Mallard, Donovan Hanson was first at 113 pounds and Logan Studer first at heavyweight, with Connor Fehr finishing second and Lucas Fehr third.

East Sac County crowned one champion in Mack, with Nathan Thomsen finishing second. Maxwell Jessen and Nathan Pobanz were each third for the Raiders.

The Gaels return to action on Thursday at Clarion to face both Clarion-Goldfield/Dows and Clear Lake in a triangular.