Paced by the first-place finishes of Charlie Griffiths and Dallas Daniels, the Craig Middle School wrestling team finished third at Saturday’s Montrose Centennial Invitational.

Daniels, in his third year as a wrestler, improved his season record to 7-0 in the heavyweight division. Griffiths took first in the 120-pound weight class.

Coach Ron Linsacum is excited about the performance of Griffiths and Daniels, saying they both have bright futures.

“Heavyweights are golden, and worth a lot of money at the high school level,” he said of Daniels. “Charlie is our warrior. He’s our gladiator. He is so much more advanced than a lot of his competitiors.”

Eight of the 10 CMS wrestlers scored points toward the team’s overall finish.

Other finishers included second-place finishers Kye Adams, 90 pounds, Tal Pierce, 110 pounds and Cody Adams at 135 pounds; third-place grapplers Matt Adams, 95 pounds, and Nathan Navratil at 155 pounds; and in sixth-place Cody Nelson and Chance Peters, both in the 85-pound class.

Chance Peterson came in sixth place in the 120-pound “B” bracket, and Ben Winslow at 170 pounds didn’t place.

Linsacum said his team enjoys competing against unfamiliar teams and kids, as was the case in Montrose.

“Every school from the Western Slope was represented,” he said. “We like going there and run into kids we don’t normally see.”

Linsacum, an industrial arts teacher at CMS, said he and MCHS coach Roman Gutierrez are preparing the seventh- and eighth-graders for the high-school level.

“What we really like is consistency,” Linsacum said. “That way, by their freshmen year, they know what they are doing and are pretty familiar with the program by their senior year.”

The CMS squad travels to Soroco this weekend for a district tournament.