Full 2015 Burlington Invitational Results - click here

The Royal Valley Panther grapplers opened their season on the mats with a third place team performance at the Burlington Invitational on Saturday. 

Panthers posted a 4-1 record in duals on the mat on the day finishing the day with a 43-22 dual win over Washburn Rural for third place at the Burlington Invitational. Royal Valley also picked up wins over Eureka 39-34, Central Heights 71-9 and Garden Plain 66-15, while falling to Marion 46-25 for their only dual loss on the day. 

Zack Lux, Jacob Box and Noah Hart led Royal Valley on the mats on Saturday as Lux posted a 5-0 record at 145lbs, Box was 4-0 in matches he competed in at 182lbs and Hart finished 3-0 in matches wrestled at 152lbs. Lux picked up three pinfall wins in 1:13 over Eureka, 56 seconds over Central Heights and 2:36 over Garden Plain, while winning 8-4 decision versus Marion and 3-0 decision against Washburn Rural. Box registered two of his four wins by pinfall beating Central Heights (2:42) and Garden Plain (2:22), while picking up a 9-1 major decision win against Marion and a 4-2 sudden victory versus Washburn Rural. Hart won all three of his contests by pinfall in 1:32 (Central Heights), 34 seconds (Garden Plain) and 14 seconds (Marion). 

Blake Garrsion competed in all five duals for the Panthers going 4-1 in his five matches at 195lbs, winning three contest by pinfall against Central Heights in 52 seconds, Garden Plain in 2:59 and 1:14 versus Washburn Rural, while winning by 9-7 decision against Eureka. Three wins were earned by Lance Bailey at 126lbs as he was 3-2 winning all three matches by pin, beating Central Heights in 56 seconds, Garden Plain in 3:42 and Washburn Rural in 5:00. 

Brett House (132lbs), Caleb Burnworth (138lbs), Karsen Smith (160lbs) and Brian Shane (220lbs) each picked up a pair of wins on the mats, while Keesis Potts (285lbs), Dalton Ware (106lbs) and Ehtan Ashley (120lbs) each registered one win for the Panthers in matches wrestled at the Burlington Invitational. 

The Panthers continue their season on the mats on Tuesday in a dual against Topeka High on the road.