Brandon Hilligeist led the McKinleyville charge at the weekend Corning wrestling tournament, placing first in his bracket at 123 pounds.
Hillegeist, who is now 15-4 on the season, defeated Durham’s Haden Solinger-Owings with a pin in the championship.
The junior grappler was the Panthers’ only winner on the day but the team enjoyed some standout performances as they continue to build toward the upcoming H-DNL championships.
Three other Mack wrestlers placed in the top five in their brackets.
At 153, league contender Jace Thomson placed third.
The impressive senior improved to 22-4 on the season with a victory by pin over West Valley’s Atreyu Dulen in the third-place matchup.
At 141, McKinleyville junior Leo Cosce place fourth, losing the third-place matchup to Henley’s Kyle Nichols.
Cosce is now 11-8 on the season.
And rounding out an impressive team performance Lucas Dickey placed fifth at 168.
The junior is now 15-8 on the season after getting the better of Modoc’s Conor Boyle in the fifth-place matchup.
As a team, the Panthers finished the 34-school tournament in a tie with University Prep for ninth.
Durham won the team competition.
A busy week for the Panthers continues with a dual meet at Eureka on Tuesday night, before they travel to compete at the Ukiah tournament this weekend.
The H-DNL championships will take place at Eureka High on Feb. 10.
