Article by Mike Giannavola and Photos courtesy of the Marshall Wrestling Facebook page
It was a special night at McNary gym where the Marshall Lions Wrestling Team hosted their first dual meet in over 60 years tonight (12/9/2025) as they hosted the Robinson Maroons. The Marshall community showed great support for the Lions by packing the stands for the event. There were also two special guests, Gayle Titus and Jack Davidson who are both Marshall Alumni and wrestled at Marshall in the 1960’s. Gayle Titus is a member of the class of 1963 and Jack the class of 1964. Titus wore his letterman jacket and had his original wrestling shoes with him. Thanks to Gayle and Jack for attending and making this a memorable event for Marshall!
The meet started at the 113 lb weight class with a double forfeit at 106 lbs. Alek Arnold led off for the Lions and faced Landon Cornwell. Alek got the crowd roaring with a quick 3-point takedown to start the match. Cornwell reacted with a quick reversal and took Arnold to his back where he was pinned at 1:27.
Next at 120 lbs, Marshall’s Jude Hoehn faced Gracen Eliott. Elliot was able to get a takedown quickly at the start of the match. He then took Hoehn to his back where got a fall at 1:10.
At 126 lbs., Marshall’s Rilee Edmonds faced Gunner VanSchoyck. VanSchoyck took Edmonds down early in the first period. Edmonds got turned to her back and was pinned by VanSchoyck at 1:22.
The next weight class was 132 lbs where Marshall’s Thomas Norton wrestled Edison Armijos. This was one of the more exciting matches of the night. Norton secured a takedown in the first period and led Armijos 3-0 going into the second period. Armijos had the choice and selected the top position. Norton was able to escape and held a 4-0 lead when Armijos took him down. Armijos was then able to work him to his back where he got the pin at 3:43.
In the next match at 144 lbs., Marshall’s Gavin Santagata wrested Brody Kelly. Kelly started the first period with a takedown. Santagata was awarded an escape, but Kelly returned him to the mat for a second takedown. Kelly turned Santagata to his back and got the pin at 1:10.
At 150 lbs. Robinson’s Connor Schrader won by forfeit as Marshall did not have a wrestler at the weight class. So after six matches, Robinson was leading the Lions 36-0.
The next match of the night pitted Marshall’s Gage Kent against Robinson’s Dalton Kilpatrick at 157 lbs. Kent scored a quick takedown and quickly got Kilpatrick to his back where Kent got the pin at 1:27 and the first win of the night for the Lions! The crowd erupted when the referee signaled the pin with a quick whistle and pound of the mat!
At 165 lbs., Marshall’s Tevin Cribelar faced Robinson’s Kellen Poole a rematch of a bout the two had at the Lawrenceville County HS tournament this past weekend where Poole won by fall after a heavily contested match. This match was similar to the first as Cribelar took Poole down in the first and after an escape Poole responded with his own takedown before the period ended. The score was 3-4 in favor of Poole going into the second period. Cribelar had choice and selected neutral. He was able to secure another takedown, but like the first period Poole escaped and got his own takedown. At the end of two periods, Poole was winning the match 8-6 and had choice in the third period. Poole chose the top position and controlled Cribelar from escaping. With less than a minute left, Poole was able to get Cribelar turned to his back where he secured the pin at 5:02.
At 175 lbs. Marshall’s Rocco Giannavola faced Lenox Parker. Parker scored first with a takedown. Giannavola was able to escape, but got taken down again before the end of the period. This made the score 6-1 in favor of Parker. Giannavola deferred the choice in the second period and Parker chose the down position. Parker was able to escape and once again got a takedown and turned Giannavola to his back and ultimately got the pin at 3:35.
Next up for Marshall was Thomas Stafford at 190 lbs. His opponent was Broxton Pethel. This was the only match of the night to go three full periods and it was an exciting bout all the way to the finish. Stafford took control of the match in the first period with a good shot and takedown. At the end of the first period, Stafford was winning 3-0. Stafford deffered choice and Pethel selected neutral. Stafford was able to get his second takedown and controlled Pethel well on top for most the second period. With seconds left in the second period, Pethel got a reversal and cut the lead to 6-2. In the third period Stafford chose top where he once again had good control of Pethel for most of the period until Pethel hit a late reversal and cut Stafford’s lead to 6-4. Pethel then went to work on top trying to turn Stafford. Stafford put up a great fight resisting being turned and held on to the win as time expired before Pethel could turn him to his back. This win by the Lions brought the score to 9-48.
At 215 lbs. Marshall’s Fisher Bishop faced Tucker Hill. Hill got an early takedown in the first period and turned Bishop to his back where he got the fall at 0:51.
The meet’s final match was between Marshall’s Lachlan Smith and Jessiah Lee at the 285 lb weight class. The two wrestlers exchanged failed takedown attempts and it appeared that we would go into the second period with no score, but Lee had a late second takedown to take the lead 3-0. In the second period Lee chose neutral. There was some close takedown attempts by both, but the period ended with the same 3-0 score. In the third period Smith chose neutral. Lee then got his second takedown and worked Smith to his back where he pinned him at 4:21.
This ended the meet with the Maroons winning 60-9 over the Lions. This matchup was a tough start for the Lions as the Maroons have an experienced squad that placed 2nd out of thirteen teams this past weekend at the Lawrence County High School Tournament. Regardless of the score, the Lions showed a lot of grit and promise for the future. We expect these Lions to keep improving throughout the season.
Next up for the Lions Wrestling team is another home dual meet against OPH on Wednesday, December 17 at 5pm at McNary gym. Come out and support your Lion Wrestlers!
Jack Davidson and Gayle Titus joined the Lions on the sidelines