Buchana Places Fourth, Hedges Shines at North Central Invitational

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The Eureka wrestling teams competed at the North Central College Invitational this weekend, with the men taking the mat on Saturday and the women competing on Sunday. The Red Devils turned in several strong individual performances across both days while continuing to gain valuable experience early in the season.

On the women's side, Krisean Buchana led the way with a fourth-place finish at 131 pounds. Buchana opened her tournament in impressive fashion with back-to-back wins by fall in 0:56 and 1:40. After a setback by tech fall, she bounced back with a hard-fought 13-10 decision before dropping her final bout by fall to secure fourth place. Tayla Phillips also placed for Eureka, earning a sixth-place finish at 207 pounds. Phillips picked up a close 5-4 decision victory after her opening loss and continued to battle through a tough bracket to finish sixth.

The men were highlighted by a strong showing from Trevor Hedges at 141 pounds. Hedges put together a four-win day, opening with a tech fall in 3:50, followed by decision wins of 11-7 and a major decision victory of 11-1. He continued to battle through adversity in a deep field, gaining valuable mat time and momentum moving forward. Alex Muhammad (157) opened his tournament with an 11-8 decision win before dropping his next two bouts, while Dalarian Rose (157) earned a win by default after a tough opening-round loss. At 174 pounds, Sargent Maubach rebounded from an opening loss with a 14-6 major decision victory before falling in his final match.

Junior Trevor Hedges reflected on the weekend's competition and the team's mindset moving forward. "If I had one word for this weekend it would be 'adversity,'" Hedges said. "Stay tuned for the season—we have a lot to build on after this, and I'm excited to see where the future takes us as a team and individually. We are a young team looking to earn it every time we compete."

Eureka used the weekend as another step in its development, testing itself against strong competition while identifying areas to continue improving as the season progresses.

UP NEXT

Eureka will host its first home meet of the season on Wednesday, welcoming Aurora for a dual beginning at 5 p.m.