Having opened the season ranked 15th among the state’s AA and A wrestling programs, North Central is off to a quick start to the 2014-15 season.

The Knights kicked their campaign off by defeating Camden Military Academy, 48-30, and Eau Claire, 66-12, in a tri-match last Thursday. On Saturday, Jason Brazell’s squad took part in the Cardinal Newman Holiday Classic and came home with a second place finish behind the tournament hosts. NC scored 211 points while having nine wrestlers earn top three finishes in the Columbia event.

Michael Boone, a 106-pounder, and 195-pound Kirk Hudson won their respective divisions for the Knights while Diamonte McDonnell, Christian Gomez and Ian Barden were runners-up at 126, 182 and 220 pounds, respectively.

Mason Gomez, a 120-pounder, along with Sky Williams (132), Robert Hardin (152) and Tyler Small (160) each came in third.

Brazell, whose team opened defense of their Region 4-AA title with a tri-match with conference foes Chesterfield and host Central on Tuesday, said he could not be happier with the Knights’ strong start.

"I am super-pleased about the way the season has started off," he said. "We are getting more focused every practice."