Thunderbird wrestling is attracting some eyes early this season.
North Callaway won its first-ever tournament team title Saturday after beating out three other teams in the Ray Stockdale Invitational in Knob Noster - two of which finished ahead of the Thunderbirds in last season's team standings at the state wrestling championships.
Maysville finished 10th and Richmond earned 13th place at state ahead of North Callaway's 18th-place finish, but the Thunderbirds on Saturday collected 148 points - better than Maysville's 130, Richmond's 124 and Holden's 116.
Junior Eli Henry led the way with his first-place finish after going 3-0, battling some adversity along the way, head coach Jacob Louis Vitale said.
"Eli Henry led the team with his tournament championship," Vitale said. "He battled adversity in the semifinals and found a way to win when he needed to."
Vitale said sophomore Tristan Young also had a great showing with three victories and second-place finish in what was his first-ever tournament. Sophomore Lane Kimbley and senior Blake Whipple also had second-place finishes for the Thunderbirds.
Sophomore Riley Humphrey and junior Carson Safranski fought their way through the consolation bracket to finish the day with three wins each and third-place finishes, Vitale said.
The team's victory in Knob Noster followed its season-opening duals Thursday at Versailles. North Callaway had a 43-30 win against El Dorado Springs and a 54-30 victory against Buffalo while dropping a 45-27 decision to Versailles.
Whipple, Humphrey, Young, Kimbley and sophomore Cashton Holloway all had three-win nights for the Thunderbirds.
North Callaway is ranked third in Class 1 behind Knob Noster and Trenton, according to MissouriWrestling.com, after its strong start to the season. The Thunderbirds are also coming off a season when they had two wrestlers finish in the state top five - Kimbley in fourth at 113 and Henry in fifth at 160.
Vitale said the team came up short in some winnable matches so far this season and will be looking to build off the win in Knob Noster, starting with its match today at home against Father Tolton.
"I think the team will be ready to continue building from this weekend," Vitale said.