By TODD TRAUB
Leader sports editor
Six area schools, including last year’s state runner-up North Pulaski, are represented at the Arkansas High School State Wrestling Tournament under way at the Jack Stephens Center on the UALR campus in Little Rock.
The tournament, which began Friday, features wrestlers from Cabot, Beebe, North Pulaski, Searcy, Sylvan Hills and Riverview competing in 14 weight classifications. Cabot and Searcy are in the large-school, 6A-7A bracket and the others are in the 1A-5A bracket.
After filling just eight weight classes last year and finishing second to Central Arkansas Christian, North Pulaski has one of the largest teams, at 14, and can boast the most seeded wrestlers, 10, from the area schools competing.
The Falcons have four No. 1 seeds: Jacob McClain in the 119- pound class, Jonathan Buzzita in the 125-pound class, 140-pounder Tony Mongno and A.J. Stephens in the 171-pound class.
Buzzita, son of North Pulaski soccer coach Tony Buzzita, won first in the 119-pound class last year and Mongno, son of head wrestling coach Tony Mongno Sr., finished first in the 130-pound class. North Pulaski’s Vinnie Osmun, who won the 189-pound classification last year, is the No. 3 seed at the same weight this week.
The only other No. 1 seed from the area is Beebe’s David Day, who is No. 1 in the 160-pound classification. Beebe has 12 wrestlers in the tournament and also has a No. 3 seed, Jason Ferguson, in the 285-pound class.
Cabot and Searcy sent the most wrestlers, 14 apiece. Tyler Kurtz, a 112-pounder, is the highest of Cabot’s four seeds at No. 3 and Micah Wilson is the No. 4 seed in the 171-pound classification.
Riverview sent a team of nine and Sylvan Hills has five wrestlers at the tournament.