For most of the past decade, Graham has competed in the prestigious Walsh Ironman tournament with their sites set on the title.

This year, however, coach Jeff Jordan headed north with a little different perspective.

“We really stepped up,” Jordan said after the Falcons finished third. “Who would’ve thought? I would have been happy with a top 10 finish.”

The Falcons were winning the tournament at one time on Saturday before surrendering the lead to Blair Academy. Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) was second.

Bo Jordan (160) claimed his third Ironman title in three tries. Eli Stickley (106) claimed the other title for the Falcons. Micah Jordan (132) finished second after knocking off the nation’s top-ranked wrestler (St. Ed’s Dean Heil) 6-5 in the semifinals while unseeded freshman Alex Marinelli defeated Troy Christian’s defending state champ, Jordan Marshall, on his way to a second-place finish at 152.

“We wrestled above our seeds — I love that,” Jordan said. “To really have a chance to win the Ironman, you need five or six junior or seniors who have won the Ironman and placed high at state to get a top three seed. If you do that, you score an extra 15 points, but we did it backwards. We had to beat the tough kids early.”

Troy Christian’s B.J. Toal finished second at 182 while Dayton Christian’s Jacob Danishek — who entered as the ninth seed — knocked off the top seed and the fourth seed en route to a second-place finish at 145. Danishek lost a 3-2 decision to St. Ed’s Edgar Bright in the finals. Centerville’s Garrett Conner finished seventh at 182.

Firebirds claim Classic: The Fairmont Firebirds claimed the Firebird Classic last weekend with a 62-point cushion over Lakota West.

Josh Parrett (126) was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler after winning his second career title. Matt Denlinger (132) also claimed a title for Fairmont.

Lakota East was second, 62 points behind Fairmont, getting titles from Austin Daly (120), Douglas Davenport (182) and Jacob Burton (285).

Allen claims Edgewood title: Wayne senior Sarah Allen recorded three pins, including one in the finals against Edgewood’s Jaren Rutherford, a technical fall and a decision in winning the 106-pound title at the Edgewood Invitational.

Tristan Bean (113) and Kaeleb Payne (195) claimed titles for the Cougars while Miamisburg returning state qualifiers Jordan Branham (138) and Kyle Schmidt (170) also won titles.

Classic up next: The Glen Sample Coaches Classic is on tap this weekend at Harrison High School.

Wrestling begins at 9 a.m. Saturday with finals slated for 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

Beavercreek, Edgewood, Fairfield, Hamilton, Fairmont, Lakota East, Lakota West, Lebanon, Middletown, Ross and Talawanda are among the 40 teams scheduled to compete.