Four Tigers medal at John J. Harris tournament in Corning

CORNING — Four Red Oak Tigers came home with medals Saturday from the John J. Harris tournament in Corning. 

Alec Selberg (132 pounds) and Tyler McMann (138) each placed fifth while Cam Vanderhoof (106) and Colin Bruce (182) finished sixth to lead the Tigers to a 14th-place finish in the team standings with 47.5 points. 

After day one, Red Oak had eight wrestlers who had to win first round matches to have a shot at medaling, and four of them did. 

Coach Tiegan Podliska said his wrestlers showed maturity and focus, pointing out Selberg beat an opponent he previously lost to while Vanderhoof “showed improvement against some individuals.”

McMann’s determination also impressed the coach. 

“Tyler showed some grit and got a fall to start the day,” Podliska said. “One thing about that kid is he’s never out of it, he doesn’t know how to quit and he believes he can beat anyone. When that happens, you start to knock off good kids and that’s what earned him his place.”

Podliska also noted Bruce looked locked in and focused Saturday when it counted most. 

“Colin showed some flashes of some really good things ... some complete wrestling, some situational wrestling, that he doesn’t always show,” he said. 

Podliska noted they were “about one wrestler away from a 7th place finish.”

“Overall, we know where we need to improve and we know this isn’t where we want to be as a team. We realize that and will never be satisfied.”

Red Oak is back in action Thursday night at CAM, taking on Atlantic/Lewis Central and then Saturday they will travel to Harlan to compete in the Hawkeye 10s.