LUSK – In what seems to be a tradition with the Tiger Invitational, Mother Nature once again played havoc on the opening weekend. Niobrara County High School still hosted a tournament last Friday at Tiger Gym.

Lusk finished second in team points and several wrestlers got their season off to a good start. Damieon Pavone (113 pounds) went 3-1 to finish second, while Nathan Fish (120) went 4-0 for first place. Gabe Matthews (126) claimed third place going 1-2. Colton Coffman won both matches at 132 pounds to finish first, while David West (138) was 1-1 for second place. Ivan Kremers got his first taste of varsity wrestling and finished sixth at 145 pounds.

Sean Johnson also wrestled at 145 pounds, going 4-1 to claim second place, while Cody Taylor placed seventh in his debut at 160. Alijah Pavone (170) went 2-2 to finish in fifth. Blake Miller took second at 170 with a 3-1 record, and Miles Ashurst (195) won both matches for first place.

On Saturday, Newcastle/Upton came for a dual with NCHS and edged the Tigers 36-26. Damieon Pavone got things started with a 4-2 decision, and Fish followed that with a 16-0 technical fall. Matthews lost by pin, but Coffman returned the favor, as the teams settled into trading points. West took a defeat, but Johnson won before Taylor lost and Miller responded. Ashurst was pinned and the open weights were the difference in the loss.

In a handful of non-scoring matches, Damieon Pavone, West, Coffman, Taylor and Alijah Pavone all won by pinfall, but Johnson suffered a loss.

Head coach JD Wasserburger got a bit of good news Monday afternoon as seniors Dylan Molzahn and Aiden Applegarth have decided to join the squad.

The Tigers head to the Wright Duals on Saturday.