Local wrestlers brought home lots of hardware from this year’s Bob Kinney Invitational, the watermark event in this area’s high school wrestling scene.

Leading the way in the local team standings was the combined Plains/Hot Springs team, which captured fourth place with 134 points. Corvallis won the meet amassing a team total of 181.5.

Host school Superior was right behind Plains/Hot Springs with 121 points, good for fifth in the team chase, while Thompson Falls finished seventh with 78.5 points.

The home town Bobcats got a pair of first place finishes in the lower weights, while Plains/Hot Springs and Thompson Falls each had one individual champion.

More than 14 schools entered this year’s event which is held in memory of Bob Kinney, who spent a lifetime involved in all facets of the local wrestling community.

Superior’s individual champions were Micah Acker at 120 pounds, and Decker Milender, wrestling in the 126 pound category.

Acker won the 120 title with a pin in 1:42 over Arlee’s Brody Smith. Milender took home top honors in the 126-pound division with a fall over Sean Davis of Corvallis at the 2:33 mark.

Plains/Hot Springs’ John Waterbury, one of the Hot Springs athletes on the combined squad, won the 138-pound title with a 10-5 decision over Zekiah Meyers of Libby. Waterbury’s championship was part of a solid showing of depth in several weight classes for the Horsemen/Heat on the day.

Thompson Falls 160-pounder Eli Ratliff won the fourth individual championship for bi-County wrestlers, claiming first place over Johnny Williams of Corvallis with a fall in 3:44.

Plains/Hot Springs wrestlers also placed second and third at 113 pounds. Gavin Schrenk took second when he lost the title match to Stevensville’s Todd Whitescarver by a 15-3 major decision. Third place at 113 went to Plains’ John Thurston, who beat Bridger Bache of Libby by fall in just 37 seconds.

Another Plains wrestler, Drew Carey, was third at 132 pounds after winning the consolation match against Bigfork’s Angus Anderson by fall at the 50 second mark. The Horsemen/Heat also got a third place finish at 145 pounds when Mason Elliot won the consolation match versus Evan Clark, Shelby, with a pin at the 1:46 mark.

The overall depth of Plains/Hot Springs in the early rounds was also a big factor in their fourth-place team showing.

Superior, meanwhile, also showed it’s depth up and down the line-up. The Bobcats got a pair of second place finishes to go with the two individual titles by Acker and Milender. Carter McLees finished second in the 170 category after he was pinned by champion Canyon Sargent of Mission at 1:36 of their championship match.

Chandon Vulles also took second for Superior, by disqualification to Libby’s Tyler Smith in the heavyweight category. The Bobcats also got a third place showing from Jaxon Green in the 205 pound division. Green pinned Florence wrestler Dallas Blair at 1:29.

Thompson Falls, in addition to the individual title by Ratliff, picked up a third place medal when Noa Stevens won the consolation match by fall (1:04) over Stevensville’s Elliott Darnail.

All three area wrestling teams will be involved in this evening’s Thompson Falls Mixer at Thompson High.