Two Effingham County High School wrestlers claimed individual titles and the host Rebels finished fifth in the 23-team field.

Effingham’s Josh Barnhill won the 112-pound class and Kevin Ulmer won at 125 pounds. Wade Hall took second at 119 for the Rebels.

Oviedo, the Florida 3A state champion last year, won the Rebel Invitational, easily outdistancing Cobb County and Class AAAAA power Kell for the title.

“It was really good competition,” South Effingham coach Tom Onorato said after his Mustangs took ninth. “(Coach Chris Hardin) did a nice job of bringing in good teams.

“But that’s good, though. You wrestle a tough schedule and tough kids to make you wrestle hard. It’s only going to make you better over time. Sooner or later, your kids catch on to the intensity.”

For both schools, the early portion of the season has been busy, with the Rebel Invitational’s deep and strong field on the heels of the Mustang Invitational. It’ll be a busy week this week too for both schools, as the Rebels head to Stockbridge for a weekend tournament and the Mustangs go to Columbus for the Hardaway Invitational.

“They’re tired, they’re beat up, they’re sore,” Onorato said. “You tell them to keep working. We’ve got time. We’ve got a lot of season ahead of us. There is no need to panic.”

South didn’t field a full roster, leading to forfeits at 103 pounds and 160. It’s also still a very young team with a lot to learn, and the early season trials by fire are expected to pay off.

“We’ve got young kids and they’re learning in the school of hard knocks,” Onorato said.

Rebel Invitational results 

Team

Oviedo, Fla., 288
Kell, 219
Jackson County, 176.5
Lowndes, 156.5
Effingham County, 138
Valdosta, 129.5
Hilton Head, S.C., 120.5
Screven County, 116.5
South Effingham, 109
Tift County, 108.5

103
Keebler (Oviedo)
Hammett (Lowndes)
Sanders (Kell)
Shekey (Jackson Co.)
Levy (Hilton Head)
McCall (Tift Co.)

112
Barnhill (Effingham Co.)
Alpert (Oviedo)
Scott (Valdosta)
Stringer (Kell)
Wright (Benedictine)
Thomas (Lowndes)

119
Summerlin (Benedictine)
Hall (Effingham Co.)
Reinhard (Valdosta)
Knutsen (Lowndes)
Leatherman (Oviedo)
Colbert (Kell)

125
Ulmer (Effingham Co.)
Lesniak (Jackson Co.)
Armstrong (Lowndes)
Jenkins (Oviedo)
Lariscey (Screven Co.)
Land (Coffee)

130
Leatherman (Oviedo)
Jameson (South Effingham)
Moody (Lowndes)
Gilliam (Effingham Co.)
Crews (Screven Co.)
Drew (Coffee)

135
Keebler (Oviedo)
Drew (Coffee)
Best (Jackson Co.)
Wilcox (Tift Co.)
Smith (Effingham Co.)
Beasley (Valdosta)

140
Spice (Kell)
Gordon (Oviedo)
Williams-McClure (Hilton Head)
Sparks (Hilton Head B)
Drawdy (Tift Co.)
Screen (South Effingham)

145
Blackwell (Jackson Co.)
Collum (South Effingham)
Stringer (Kell)
George (Valdosta)
Porcher (Oviedo)
Williamson (Lowndes)

152
DeCormier (Kell)
Spicer (Jackson Co.)
Cannon (Screven Co.)
Hurst (Coffee)
Bigelow (Jenkins)
Fox (Richmond Hill)

160
Schalles (Oviedo)
Thompson (Valdosta)
Chamberlain (Lowndes)
Pinkerton (Kell)
Kilpatrick (Screven Co.)
Tibbetts (Tift Co.)

171
Gregory (Benedictine)
Dunn (Tift Co.)
O`Dell (Oviedo)
Abraham (Kell)
Braithwaite (Valdosta)
Haskins (Lowndes)

189
Howe (Jackson Co.)
Morris (Oviedo)
Hughes (Kell)
Beck (Hilton Head)
Botelho (Richmond Hill)
Sheley (Screven Co.)

215
Meloche (Oviedo)
Morse (South Effingham)
Sunkins (Hilton Head)
Hodge (Kell)
Holmes (Evans)
Scruggs (Valdosta)

285
Carrillo-Garcia (Jackson Co.)
Tabachino (Kell)
Golsten (Evans)
Solomon (Jenkins)
Huggins (South Effingham)
Mosley (Screven Co.)