ESCANABA — The championship trophy from the Escanaba Elks Invitational wrestling tournament headed south of the Mackinac Bridge as the Grayling Vikings captured top honors with 185½ points here Saturday.

“It was pretty close, then we pulled away in the championship round,” Vikings’ coach Andy Moore said. “I think we had a similar number of wrestlers in the finals and we had three champions. We have a good mix of kids. This is our second tournament win and we’ll keep building for that post-season. It will be nice wrestling at home next weekend. This was a great place to see some of the (Division 3) district teams. It’s a lot of fun coming up here. It’s a great team bonding experience.”

They were followed by Gladstone 167½. Esky 144½, Kingsford 133½ and Marinette 133.

Three area wrestlers were crowned champions, including two from Powers North Central.

North Central junior Cooper Raab won for the second time, taking an 8-1 decision from Grayling’s Owen Lewicki in the 138-pound title bout.

“I’ve got little bit of a shoulder injury, but tried not to think about it,” Raab said. “It was mind over matter. I just focused on what I was going to do. Coach told us to control the things we can control. The train’s rolling. We absolutely have some momentum.”

Raab got to the finals by defeating Esky’s Corey Smithingell 12-1.

North Central’s Praxton Labonte won by technical fall (18-2) over teammate Mazy Olson.

Labonte pinned Negaunee’s Derek Potvin 5:02 in a semifinal match and Olson advanced with a 10-4 victory over Gladstone freshman Isla Gomez.

Gladstone junior Ben Wilson earned his first Elks title by pinning Kingsford’s Jake Lockhart 3:58 into the 215 final which featured a couple wild momentum swings.

He led 11-1 early in the second frame before Lockhart got a reversal and near fall to climb within 11-8.

Wilson answered with a takedown, setting the stage for his match-ending pin.

“He used an underhook and his weight to turn me over,” he said. “I just told myself to fight for my life and get off the bottom. I knew he was going to turn me over again. I stayed low and knew I was in the driver’s seat once I got that takedown. After coming off a couple tough losses, this is quite a boost. I’ve had a tough schedule, wrestling four guys ahead of me in the state ranking. I was surprised to see Benzie Central didn’t come.”

Wilson pinned North Central’s Myles Nehring 1:51 into the semifinal.

Esky senior Cody Crowe reached the 120 championship bout where he fell to Negaunee’s Evan Asikainen by technical fall (18-2).

“He’s a good wrestler,” Crowe said. “Being the last match of the day, my legs were super sore. Although, it was a pretty good day overall. There were a lot of tough matches and they all wanted it. This is the one that usually gets me going. I’m really ready to put my nose to the grindstone.”

Gladstone’s Cole Carlson (113) and Wyatt Forvilly (150) also reached the title round where Carlson got pinned in 5:37 by Rudyard’s Dalton Savoie and Forvilly dropped a 10-0 decision to St. Ignace’s Bodie Lipnitz.

“We had a few guys out of our lineup, but did okay,” Braves’ coach Ryan Harrenstein said. “Our 144-pounder was out with the flu. This was a good tournament with a lot of U.P. schools. This was an important one for the U.P. Championships (at Marquette Jan. 17). This helps for seeding. Grayling is in our (Division 3) individual district and regional. It was good to see them.”

Manistique’s Landon Weber (120) placed third after pinning Gladstone’s Drew Baldovski in 55 seconds.

Other area third-place finishers were Gladstone’s Gabe Carlson (126) and Jack Taylor (175), Smithingell (138) and Bark River-Harris’s Mitch Corrigan (215).

Esky’s Haidyn Denis (175), Nehring (215) and BR-H’s Charles Walker took fourth.

Those taking fifth include Esky’s Connor McClellan (113), Cash Kenneally (132), Dustin Skerbeck (150) and Zahn Anderson (285), Gladstone’s Tanner Thorbahn (175) and BR-H’s Miles Halfaday (157) and Cannon Brunette (190).

“Our kids performed well,” Esky coach John Rogers said. “We had some young kids out there and one of them took sixth at 106 and Cody (Crowe) has been very solid all year. He’s a good leader on the team and has really stepped into the role of getting things done. Third place isn’t a bad finish. We had a good day.”

Newberry senior Howard Bliss gained his 100th career victory with an 8-2 victory over Marinette’s Trentynn Shaha in the fifth-place match at 138 pounds.

North Central and Manistique visit Gwinn for a quadrangular meet tonight at 6.

Gladstone, which travelled to Negaunee for a quadrangular Monday, hosts Menominee and Kingsford in a triangular Thursday. Esky hosts BR-H and Iron Mountain in a triangular and Manistique goes to Munising for a triangular Wednesday.

The summary:

Grayling 185½, Gladstone 167½, Escanaba 144½, Kingsford 133½, Marinette 114, Marquette 105½, St. Ignace 102½, Negaunee 102, Powers North Central 93½, Rudyard 83½, Bark River-Harris and Menominee 81, Gwinn 67½, Ishpeming Westwood 57½, Manistique 38½, Newberry 34½, Munising 33, Rogers City 20½, Norway 19, Escanaba II 16.

113 — Savoie, Rud, pinned C. Carlson, Glad, 5:37; 3, Lapin, Neg; 4, Malone, Gray; 5, McClellan, E.

120 — Asikainen, Neg, tech fall over Crowe, E, 18-2; 3, Weber, Mstq; 4, Bladovski, Glad; 5, Hermanson, Mar.

126 — Moore, Gray, dec. Kuenzli, Mar, 4-1; 3, G. Carlson, Glad; 4, Christesen, WW; 5, Rector, Mqt.

132 — Stachewicz, Gw, dec. Maye, Mar, 16-5; 3, Holt, Mstq; 4, Liebman, Mar; 5, Kenneally, E.

138 — C. Raab, PNC, dec. Lewicki, Gray, 8-1; 3, Smithingell, E; 4, Barstow, Men; 5, H. Bliss, New.

144 — K. Savoie, Rud, pinned Patrick, K, 1:13; 3, Green, Gray; 4, Villarello, Mqt; 5, Melka, Gw.

150 — Lipnitz, SI, dec. W. Forvilly, Glad, 10-0; 3, Jurmu, Neg; 4, Labonte, PNC; 5, Skerbeck, E.

157 — Huspen, Gray, pinned Trudeau, Rud, 4:28; 3, Dombrowski, Mqt; 4, Hallfrisch, Men; 5, Halfaday, BR-H.

165 — Bray, K, tech fall over Miller, Gray, 16-0; 3, Taylor, Glad; 4, Depew, New; 5, Armatti, Gw.

175 — Smith, K, pinned D’Ambrosio, Mqt, 2:45; 3, Bird, SI; 4, Denis, E; 5, Thorbahn, Glad.

190 — Joseph, Gary, dec. Smith, Mar, 4-2; 3, R. Forvilly, Glad; 4, Leipold, SI; 5, Brunette, BR-H.

215 — Wilson, Glad, pinned Lockhart, K, 3:58; 3, Corrigan, BR-H, 4, Nehring, PNC; 5, Vedder, WW.

285 — Clarke, Men, dec, White, K, 2-1; 3, Smith, SI; 4, Walker, BR-H; 5, Anderson, E.

106 — Labonte, PNC, pinned Olson, PNC, :57; 3, Ellis, Mqt; 4, Rautiola, Neg; 5, Potvin, Neg.