ESCANABA — Despite being a bit shorthanded, Marquette had a strong showing at the Elks Invitational high school wrestling tournament hosted by Escanaba High School on Saturday.

MSHS placed sixth as a team, making a big improvement from last year’s 16th-place finish by improving its score by more than 50 points.

“The Sentinels wrestling team is aiming to continue this positive momentum into the Marquette County Championship meet and the Ray Mariucci Invitational in Kingsford,” Marquette head coach Brandon Van Schyndel said in an email detailing Saturday’s result.

Top finishers for the Sentinels were Levi Ellis at 106 pounds and Connor D’Ambrosio at 175, each coming in as runners-up.

Teammate Harland Dombrowski was third at 157 pounds, Antonie Villarello fourth at 144, John Rector fifth at 126 and Brecken Goodwin sixth at 285.

The Marquette County Meet is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. Thursday at Westwood High School, while the Mariucci Invite, with one of the biggest fields in the Upper Peninsula during the season, is set for 10 a.m. EST Saturday.

Story contents based on email received from Marquette head coach Brandon Van Schyndel. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.