The Tigers made their way to Kaukauna, Wisconsin yet again for the Cheesehead Tournament on Friday, Jan. 3 where they placed 12th of 32 teams total.

Three wrestlers shined, placing in top rankings.

According to the Edwardsville Intelligencer, “Senior Luke Odom came up a win short of his third championship at the Cheesehead Invitational, while seniors Lloyd Reynolds and Caleb Harrold enjoyed top-four finishes at the prestigious tournament.”

Odom’s performance especially impressed coach Jon Wagner.

“Luke had a marquee match-up there,” Wagner told the Edwardsville Intelligencer. “Personally I thought Luke did an admirable job. I definitely believe in Luke’s abilities. It was a great match. Luke had two take-downs in the match.”

Odom decided to look at this tournament as a learning experience.

“I feel like I wrestled my hardest,” Odom said. “Although I didn’t win, I still have a lot to learn from that match.”

At 316 points, the Tigers became the third ranked team in Illinois following Mount Carmel with 554.4 points and Aurora Christian with 322.5 points.

Coach Wagner reflected on the progress the team has made.

“The guys fought hard,” coach Wagner told the Edwardsville Intelligencer. “They all had a lot of matches and were able to weather it. They will be sore tomorrow, but in the long run everybody got better and we’re on our way to reaching our second-half goals.”

Looking back on the tournament as a whole, Odom feels pride in his team and their over performance.

“It went pretty well,” Odom said. “A lot of our guys had success.”