INDIANS ON DRAGONS' TAIL

When all the sweat settled, there were few surprises after the first night of the 26th annual Tiger Classic Friday.

As expected, Ste. Genevieve, Jackson and Murphysboro are at the top and have pretty much distanced themselves from the rest of the 12-team field. The tournament was supposed to include 16 teams, but four St. Louis squads didn't make the trip due to the inclimate weather.

After two rounds, Ste. Genevieve leads the way with 108 points, followed by Jackson with 94 1/2 and Murphysboro -- last year's champ -- with 77 1/2. Wrestling will resume today at 11 a.m.

Jackson advanced 10 wrestlers to the winner's bracket quarterfinals.

"We wrestled pretty well," said Jackson coach Steve Wachter. "There were a couple areas where we looked kind of mediocre, but overall I was pretty pleased. I thought that our lightweights and some of our heavier weights wrestled well, but we have to pick up the pace and the intensity tomorrow."

Those who advanced to the winner's quarterfinals for Jackson include: Brock Howard (103), Mike Wright (119), Brett Stroud (125), Ricky Feiner (130), Justin Rice (140), James Love (152), Willie Southerland (160), Mark Wade (171), Seth Harrell (189) and Ray Goodson (215).

Jackson had to forfeit at 112 pounds because of an injury.

Cape Central ended up the night in 11th place with 27 points. But the Tigers have an opportunity to gain some ground in wrestlebacks.

Leland Woelk (145) and O.J. Turner (189) both advanced to the winner's quarterfinals.

"Both those guys wrestled pretty tough," said Central coach Josh Crowell. "Some of us didn't look awake when the whistle blew and I don't understand that because we gear up for this. I think once they saw the crowd and all the mats and everything I think our brains went to mush and dribbled out our ears.

"But we're still in good shape teamwise because I think a lot of our guys have a good chance in wrestlebacks. I think we've still got a shot to finish in the top half."

Ste. Genevieve advanced 11 wrestlers to the quarterfinals, but the tournament is too close to call with 31 points separating first through third place.

"These tournaments are won in the wrestlebacks," said Crowell. "It's not necessarily the first places that win it, but the guys who come back and get fourth and fifth. We're looking for our guys to do that too."

• The Classic was surprisingly well-attended for it being the first night and considering the weather. It was probably a bigger crowd than last year's first night.

"We had a fantastic crowd," Crowell said. "Everything ran real smooth and the help's been great. And even though a few teams dropped out, it's still a quality tournament."

* The winner's bracket finals, which will start around 6 p.m., will be televised at a later time on the public access cable channel.