The McIntosh wrestling team traveled to New York last weekend and came home as tournament champions. The team competed in the 25th Annual Tony Carlucci Invitational in Port Chester, NY and defeated the host and regionally ranked Port Chester High School by a final score of 226 to 208. Harrison High School, a regional top 10 team finished in third with a score of 165.

McIntosh became the first out of state team in the tournament’s history to win the tournament.

“I could not be happier about the overall performance of the team. We had a lot of guys really step up and wrestle very tough,” commented McIntosh head coach Nick Bellantoni. “It’s hard to walk into a regionally recognized tournament in New York, you have a target on your back and the other teams are gunning for you. Coming home as Tournament Champs is a big accomplishment that we are all proud of.”

The Chiefs had 11 medalists led by tournament champion Sean Carney in the 285 lb weight class. Silver medalists were Trent Shallow (103), Jessy Toscano (140), Ricky Oskey (145), Carl Scheumann (152) and Matt Carroll, (215). Finishing in third place were Jarrod Chamblee (112), Richard Hughes (130) and Jacob Worthington (171). Matt Perry at 119 lbs and Erik Willanzheimer finished in fourth place.

Also scoring points for the chiefs were Clayton Prudeaux (125) and Jim Murrell (135).

The Chiefs competed in the Tournament without a wrestler in two weight classes, the 96lb class, which is sanctioned in New York but not in Georgia as well as the 160 lb class, making their victory even more impressive.

The Chiefs middle weights competed particularly well for the Chiefs. The combination of Hughes, Murrell, Toscano, Oskey and Scheumann combined to win 70% of their matches overall with eight pins and four medals.

“Winning this tournament shows the strength of the wrestling in Georgia and in particular Region 2-AAAA,’ said Bellantoni. “Competing against teams like Woodward, Starrs Mill, Whitewater and Fayette County forces you to become stronger and tougher. The level of competition we see in our own back yard really paid off in New York.”

It is back to the wrestling room for the Chiefs as they gear up for the always tough South Metro Tournament this weekend at Union Grove.

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